Carter sat back in the comfortable chair he'd had installed in his room. He sighed as he raised a glass to his eyes to inspect. It was filled with something vaguely resembling whiskey. He was alone, as he didn't particularly feel like drinking with any of the human pirates aboard the ship, the ghost pirate had been cosnpiculously missing since the loss of Scarlett, Vanessa seemed lost in her own preparations for whatever she was going to do to get her closest friend back, and he wasn't about to contribute to the kid starting a drinking habit at that young an age. The plans were all in motion, the repairs were almost complete, so now all he could do was sit back and wait. Somehow, out of all the insanity his life had fallen into, this was always the worst part; the quiet before the storm.

A soft glow from off to his side let Carter know he was no longer alone. The absence of a loud and boisterous man let him know it was probably the girl at his side. Without bothering to turn and look, Carter raised his glass in acknowledgment as he addressed her. "Came to join me for a pre-battle toast?

The glow seemed to brighten as his guest stepped forward, and sure enough, it was the girl. She smiled wanly at him. "You know, you've got some weird combination of the best and worst luck I've ever seen in all the years I've sailed the stars."

Carter laughed and took a sip, doing his best to resist the urge to cough as the acrid flavor burned a path down his throat, then he answered. "That's more or less the story of my life. The only thing more amazing than the amount of trouble I seem to be able to find is the fact that somehow I've survived it all! At least I have...so far."

The girl's smile tugged at the corners of her mouth a little more, making it seem just a bit more genuine this time. "Now that's an awfully morose phrasing. What's got your mood so dark?"

Carter smiled back at her. Maybe it was just him, but she looked a little older just now, like the artificial human decided to age her appearance by just a few years to take her from her usual twenty-something to a little closer to his thirty-something. Or maybe that was just the homebrew alcohol distorting his perception. Deciding to answer her question, he shook his head. "Well, like you said, I've been lucky to make it this far. Really lucky. Hell, at this point I wouldn't be shocked to discover this has all been a hallucination and I'm still in that escape pod and this is all a dream playing out to my oxygen-starved brain as the life support finally fails on me!"

The girl leaned down and placed a hand on his arm. Carter jumped, almost spilling his drink. "What the hell? I must be hallucinating! I felt that!"

The girl pulled her hand back and covered her mouth as she giggled. "Well, yes, you did...and at the same time, you didn't."

Carter had been staring at his drink, wondering if it was to blame, but as her words sank in, he turned his gaze to the girl. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

The girl smiled, this time with real affection. "While we haven't spent as much time together as some of my captains, the time we have shared has been...intense. Our bond is as close as any I've shared in the past. Your entire nervous system is really nothing more than a compact electrical system, and as our connection has grown, it's become a simple thing for me to send the signals through that system to your brain, telling you that you're feeling something, even if there's nothing there."

For the briefest moment, Carter felt a sensation not all that dissimilar to a hand on his arm again, even though this time the girl's avatar didn't move closer. It wasn't unpleasant, but nevertheless, he felt a wave of goosebumps pass over him at the surreal experience. Something of his confusion at that moment must have shown on his face, because she chuckled again. "Don't worry, it's completely safe. Or at least significantly more so than some of your...recreational activities." She stared at the glass in his hand to drive her point home.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Carter smiled and shook his head. "Fair enough, I suppose. So, is this why you stopped by? Not that I mind the company. A pretty lady is always a welcome drinking partner."

The girl smirked. "Look at you, Mr. Casanova! I bet you say that to all the human AI hybrids whose ghost ships you become captain of!" She paused, then her face settled in a slightly more serious, though no less pleased expression. "I suppose I came by to say, thank you. Despite all the trouble you've dealt with from the very moment you set foot aboard our ship, you've never given us anything less than your best. I wanted to make sure you knew how much that means to us. Even Scarlett, though she might have something to say about that if she ever comes back, despite you two constantly bickering with each other, she has a particular fondness for you that very few men have ever gotten out of her."

Well, that was a little surprising to hear, though it did make a kind of sense. Their bickering had evolved from a contentious aggravation to more of a game over time. But Scarlett wasn't here right now. Carter focused his eyes on the girl's. "And you? What is it you feel about all this? About me?" The girl's eyes widened slightly at his directness, and Carter fought the urge to smile at catching the normally astute AI a little off her guard.

After a slight pause, in which the girl seemed to consider her response, she seemed to relax. "Well, that's part of why I'm here. After all, it's rare that all three of me agree on anything, so I wanted to make you an offer. Tell me, how do you feel about the idea of... immortality?"

That made Carter's eyebrows shoot for his slightly receding hairline. "What? That's... I mean... That is to say..." he stopped his rambling and thought for a minute, before starting over. "You're offering me a more...permanent spot on the crew, aren't you?"

The girl smiled but tilted her head. "Well, yes...but not right this moment. More like, should that bad luck you were worrying about catch up with you, how would you feel about waking up in here with us, as a welcome and equal member of the crew?"

Carter narrowed his eyes in thought. "I don't know... I mean, it wouldn't be the real me, right? More like a copy of my brain? But I'd still be dead, though."

The girl considered his words for a moment. "Well, I suppose I can't answer definitely. After all, maybe the deists are right and you've got some sort of invisible, intangible soul that'll go on to some afterlife regardless. For all my time and knowledge, I don't have all the answers. What I can tell you is that from your perspective, after you wake up in here, you will still very much be you. You'll have all your memories, experiences, strengths, weaknesses, fears, hopes, and more. Depending on when and where you...die, you might even have those memories too. It will literally be as if this is your afterlife. The only change will be that you won't be able to keep secrets from us anymore, nor will we be able to keep ours from you. For better or for worse, we will be connected more deeply and intimately than you can possibly understand until you experience it."

Carter couldn't repress a slight chuckle at that. "Not sure if I really want to think about getting intimate with John or Scarlett..."

The girl smiled. "I noticed you left me off that list."

Carter turned his gaze back to his glass to avoid her piercing eye contact at that moment. How did she manage to make him feel like some fubling kid again?"Er...yeah... I mean, I suppose I wouldn't mind getting to know you a little better..."

The girl laughed again, her voice somehow sounding both comforting and intriguing. "Well, don't worry. This isn't a decision you have to make right at this moment. Just know you are welcome. The door is open to you, should you wish." Then, as she walked past him as if to leave, she suddenly bent down and gave Carter a soft kiss on the cheek. A kiss he could feel. Was it just his imagination, or did she leave an echo of the effect in place for a while after she pulled away?

Then she was gone, and Carter was once again alone in his room. However, now his mind was no longer focused on the possibility of his imminent demise. Instead, it was a whirlwind of confusion, intrigue, fear, hope, concern, and maybe just a bit of some deeper feelings he couldn't quite define. He wondered if she'd come visit him in his dreams again tonight. Then he wondered if she really had just been a dream those other times, or if she'd maybe that had been the real her...

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