Aurelia cast a forearm over her eyes as she lay in bed, feeling far more exhausted than when she had gone to sleep. She looked over to her window to be met with the cool night sky of Rith and sighed. Despite the temptation of more sleep, she threw her covers off her, the threat of more unpleasant memories surfacing convincing her.

The redhead decided to change her usual routine of going to the bathroom to indulge in a spot of self loathing, and instead went straight to dressing herself after deciding she wasn’t too randy to begin the day. It was going to be a very busy week getting everything ready for their planned excursion, and she hoped to show her creation the best of what the galaxy had to offer while shielding her from at the very least, some of the worst. That included some of the trips to see some of her… acquaintances. Not that she had ever made much effort to make friends in the first place before her seclusion. People had tried, especially when she was younger and wanted what she had to offer, rather than her. She let out a large huff, earning a response from her assistant.

“Would the great creator care to enlighten this foolish machine of your worries?” Said Addison in a cheery tone, betraying no change in her usual candour. This earned yet another sigh from the exasperated scientist.

“Just bad sleep, my devoted acolyte.” Retorted Aurelia with a slight curve on her lips.

“May I suggest a change in sleeping arrangements then? I can have any of the other rooms prepared for you if you wish. The change in scenery is often known to help.”

Aurelia chewed the inside of her cheek as she walked along towards her workshop. She relented with a shake of her head. Perhaps she did need a change of scenery, rather than stewing alone in what backwater planets would consider a backwater planet. That being said, she would not be changing rooms at any stage. Larger ones made her feel uneasy; she felt far more comfortable and cosy in enclosed spaces. It was something she was used to ever since she was orphaned many years ago.

As the door slid open, she saw the workshop was already alight, and it was occupied. Stationed at one of the many workbenches in her workspace was her creation, tinkering away at a curious device. As much as she didn’t want to indulge in her own ego, Aurelia couldn’t help but feel a nuggets of pride warm her. Isobel was beyond all expectations she previously held.

The android was curious about everything, asking her constant questions, trying out as many new things as she could get her hands on and using the GalNet to link surf over as many subjects as she was able to. Of course, knowing every little thing went out and came back to her home, the redhead was well aware of her more unusual proclivities. It wasn’t something she wanted to interfere in, so she decided to leave the lifelike automaton to discover her sexuality on her own.

Aurelia Cleared her throat to announce her arrival, causing the short android to jump in her seat, eliciting a small yelp. “May I see what you are working on?” Aurelia said with a modest chuckle.

Isobel quickly calmed down, her shock quickly melting into pure excitement. She glided to the side allowing her creator to shuffle alongside her. After hooking her cane to the top rim of a nearby chair, Aurelia bent down and adjusted her glasses, her vision magnifying twice fold. It was a small, flat, egg-shaped device with the lid of a compartment opened up, revealing a neat arrangement of circuitry and thin wiring within.

“What is it?” Said the redhead. She already had a hunch but she wasn’t about to deny Isobel the excitement she was clearly unable to hide.

“So…” Isobel started as she slid closer to the table. “You know how you don’t sleep very well?” With her assumptions confirmed, Aurelia smiled and feigned ignorance.

“I do have a spot of difficulty with it, yes.”

“Well, I wanted to try and help with that, so I did a little bit of research into neurotonal theory, and had an idea for something. If I can manipulate certain frequencies on a localised magnetic field, it could possibly trick the brain into feeling safe when asleep.”

“That is interesting.” Said Aurelia nonchalantly. This was a struggle for her as she very much wished to be as chalant as possible, but she wanted to see this play out.

“Well, I was testing some fields while I slept using a basic communicator, and found that I was slightly more rested than usual. Not sure how that works since I’m not exactly organic, but it did. So I went back to it and I found a forum on the GalNet that's like, super deep into this stuff, and I asked some people to try some of the fields while they slept. After that, it was just a matter of adjusting based on the data they gave me.”

“How long have you been working on this?” Aurelia was having a hard time containing herself at this point, she felt like she was fifty once more. She knew Isobel had been working away on something while she herself wasn’t in the workshop. That couldn’t’ve been easy coinciding she basically lived here.

“Oh, about nine days so far. I was doing this while you were away because,” Idobel idly swung her chair from side to side. “Well, I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Well, you can consider me thoroughly surprised then. This is impressive for such a short time span. I also noted a holo projector in it, what was that for?” Asked the scientist tentatively, her pensive look being betrayed by the smile it was trying to betray. Isobel somehow perked up even more, jittering like a caffeine addict.

“It’s not really important, but it’s a sort of planetarium. It’s basically a light show, though if that doesn’t appeal to you it can be deactivated pretty easily. I used Rith’s night sky as the template for it, but you could use any planet's sky, or make up your own. I Have a few dozen presets and making another is easy.” Explained the excited android.

“Well consider me sold.” Chortled Aurelia. “When do I get to try out this little device?”

“Wellllll… I’m still trying to debug a flickering issue in the holo, but otherwise it should be ready to go. I think I should have it done in, say, two days? Maybe three if I struggle more than I think I am. Oh, I also have to rewire the part I was just working on cause there’s a power leak that I accidentally introduced.” Isobel said sheepishly in the last part. 

Aurelia stood up straight and turned to the android, gently patting the top of her stomach length snow-white hair. She offered a beaming grin and took one of the nearby chairs, sinking into it with an expression of relief.

“Well, don’t let me keep you. Do you mind if I watch for a while?”

“Of course not!” Said Isobel with a gleam.

“I know this is a ship, but it still hasn’t quite sunk in yet.” Isobel said excitedly.

“That will change when you see the bridge. I commissioned the civilian refurbishments a while back but you still haven’t seen everything. Hell, there’s even still some manned batteries that I kept for defence in case we come across less than savoury folks.” Said Aurelia with a tinge of pride. “That being said, most of it is controlled by Addison. She isn’t an RM designed for combat, but she can defend us.”

The android chewed on those words for a moment. She hoped it wasn’t as bad as her creator said. After the conflict from a few weeks ago, she had very rapidly decided that she didn’t like fighting very much. It made her feel sick, despite the fact she could never feel ill.

The pair reached a split in the corridor, punctuated with a large silver door in between. It opened into an elevator that they promptly rode a upwards for several seconds. When the elevator doors opened, they were greeted with what could only be described as an artfully designed room, with sleek curves and silvery embellishments. Consoles lined either side of the room, each facing towards the windows that lined either side, meeting to the front. The windows themselves were blocked by dull metals on the other side. In the centre of the room was a lavishly designed chair that could only be described as a throne fit for a king or a queen. Everything about this room screamed excessive wealth.

“This is beautiful.” Said the android breathlessly.

“Eh. Not really to my taste.” Aurelia said dismissively.

“Excuse me, young miss. You do not have taste.” Chirped the artificial assistant.

“My taste is impeccable, thank you very much.” The redhead growled superficially.

“No, Addison is right. Your usual taste is lacking any tact or cohesion. The kitchen itself is a crime against art itself.” Isobel said slyly.

“Bah, ganged up on in my own home. It was more trouble than it was worth to change the bridge up, so I left it as, despite how gaudy it is. The Guul love their opulence. So what if I prefer more homely designs.” Said the redhead as she sat herself down on the throne. “At least this is damn comfortable, even if the bridge is a damn eyesore.”

Isobel wasted no time in flitting around the large bridge, dancing from one end of the room to the next as if it were her final dance. Aurelia couldn’t help but betray a slight smirk as she watched her creation touch every surface in the room. Isobel eventually settled down as she picked out one of the lavish seats and sat herself down, spinning towards the console. The console was much different to the ones she had gotten used to over the past month of her existence. It had large, analogue keys with what she recognised as the Raxth language. She pressed down on one of the buttons, finding while it was easy to push, there was more resistance than she expected.

“Addison, give me the run down.” Aurelia said from her throne.

“I do not have legs, miss.” Chirped back at the assistant.

“I might stick you in a body just so I can hunt you for sport. Now, what’s working and what isn’t?”

“The fold drive is working, though there is some degradation to the neutron core casing, so it is recommended that it be replaced as soon as possible. The wormhole generator is in peak condition, and should last approximately fifty eight years before needing intensive maintenance. Since testing seven days ago, all but two drive chambers have been properly aligned. They should be read within the next nine hours.”

“Good. Any other issues?” Said the redhead without lifting her eyes from the holo in front of her.”

“Some. We had enough fuel for facility operations lasting up for fifty years, though with active use, we have about a month. Strenuous use would last only up to three days.”

“Strenuous use?” The android asked as she tilted her head to the side.

“Combat, essentially.” Aurelia said glibly. “Which… never mind.”
Addison continued. “The reactor is in peak condition.There was some hull degradation, but that is the process of being rectified, and repairs should be complete within the next day. Finally, the barrier generator is as new as it was thirty years ago.”

“I see. What is the ETA for travel readiness?” Aurelia let out a sigh as she looked up, coking a subtle smile as she watched the android  poking curiously as everything she could get her hands on. A tinge of worry knotted in her stomach at the thought of unleashing her creation to the galaxy so soon, but she lived a very interesting life, and interesting times always followed her.

“Approximately two days. We are missing carlinnium alloy for some of the repairs, but as long as we get several tons within the next year, it will be fine.” Addison replied.

“Right!” Exclaimed the scientist as she slapped her knees., the android jumping in place and letting out a small yelp. “There isn’t much else to prepare for. So lets laze about for a few days.” Isobel responded with an enthusiastic nod, reluctantly getting up from the chair she was in, then left the bridge with the aged scientist.

Over the next two days, Isobel peppered the scientist with questions about the galaxy. How many intelligence species were there? How big were their civilisations? How many humans were there? What species liked art the most? While Aurelia always answered her questions, when it came to herself, she became tight-lipped and redirected the conversation to other topics, something the android took note of.

Isobel stared up at her dark ceiling as she lay in her overly luxurious bed, her deceptively heavy frame sinking deep into the mattress. She had been laying there for the past six hours, but found she felt restless. She was overcome with excitement at the idea of leaving this planet. She enjoyed her time here, there was no question about this fact, but she wanted to see more, experience more. Deciding she had lay here for long enough, she eagerly climbed out of bed and threw on the first clothes she could find. The corridors were always dark when it was night, only the occasional dim light lit the way for her.

She made her way to the workshop and sat down at the desk that she had essentially claimed as her own, her first real creation still sitting there in need of more work. She didn’t really know if it would be of use to the scientist, but she felt closer to her when she tinkered away at the small contraption. This ship was filled with the scientist's creations, and many more things she could see and things she could not. While this ship was originally military in origin, it had been thoroughly refurbished for civilian use. Isobel was confused on one point however, the fact that Aurelia could have used a far smaller ship for her needs. The android liked to think she had explored a large portion of the facility already, but Aurelia tended to stay in a small area of the facility to eat, work, and sleep.

She didn’t think she would get any sleep, so she set to work.