Present Day
Goldie
It was nighttime now, and the medbay was filled with shadows.
Night in this recycling facility was artificial.
This planet spun so slowly, they spent three and a half regular days in sunlight before an equally long night.
The facility therefore kept artificial hours by darkening the lights for the occupants.
It was important for their mental health, as the changed time could weigh heavily on the psyche.
Though they could override it while in a room, she chose not to.
She had a worklight on in the medbay and she was too focused to care about the darkness around her. On the tablet in front of her was Alred’s core, the busted open body of a radio, and a bunch of wires, tape, and a knife.
Goldie had instructions from Haven in what to do here. In how to hook this up. Approximately. The wires that would have connected Alred to this facility were gone. They were also more complicated than they could rig up easily.
But they could make a basic connection between his core and a microphone. Something that would, at least, allow him to talk.
If he was really still in there.
Haven’s termites reported to her that all the internal functions were still intact. It was only the display screen on the core itself that was busted. Theoretically, he was still in there, fine and well. He just had no way of communicating that to them.
But Goldie had spent the last few marks trying to get these wires to work. Haven had been here earlier, helping her and showing her how to do it. But Goldie insisted she go to bed as the hour got later. She and Vytln were both busy with building their new ship. She had a lot to do.
And Goldie wanted to do this herself. She had to restore Alred somehow.
He’d put his life on the line for her. Sure, he did it for all of them, but she knew that wasn’t his main reason.
He’d done what he did for her. To make sure she was safe.
The very least she could do was return his voice to him.
Her eyes were dry, her back was sore, her fingers were covered in nicks from poking and cutting herself with the knife that she was using to strip wires. Trying to find a connection that would work.
The radio microphone was hissing, spitting. White noise that held no meaning, that did nothing. She was carefully adjusting the wires at the top of the core, trying to find the connection she needed.
Because, really, they only knew that his components were intact. They didn't know Alred was okay. And she wouldn’t know that until she heard it from his own mouth.
Or, at least, his own voice.
The white noise continued unabated, however.
Hissing and sparking. Warping, scratching as she moved the wire around.
She had been at this for marks. She was exhausted.
But she couldn’t really help in ship design, and she couldn’t help with cataloging what was down in the ship storage.
She was a medic, but no one required healing.
Therefore, she had nothing else to do but this. And all the time in the world to do it. She didn't care if she had to keep this up for months, for years, she was going to keep trying until-
The white noise hissed and scratched. Then silenced.
Goldie froze, her fingers still, as she listened to the quiet. That radio always made white noise. There was nothing for it to pick up, so it constantly just provided feedback. It was the first time it had gone quiet since they turned it on.
Goldie’s chest hurt, the hope burning hotly inside her chest as she licked her dry lips. It took a few tries for her to cautiously call out-
“Alred? Is that… Is that you?”
There was a beat of silence that lasted forever. A moment of no response wherein she was sure that she was just losing her mind. Then-
“I don’t think I’ve heard a more beautiful sound than your voice right now, Goldie.”
She let out a sob. Tears pooling in her eyes as she felt his core moving around her fingers.
“You can let go. I have the wire in place.”
She was shaking as she did so. The core top closed, the wire trapped in its spot. The rest of it was still roughly pieced together, but she did it! She’d made the connection! And though a little distorted through the cheap speaker, that was definitely Alred speaking back to her.
“Are you alright?” She asked, touching the radio gently, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry, my love. I wasn’t sure that was you messing with my internals.”
“It’s okay,” she promised, wiping her cheeks. And it was okay. She didn't care about anything else. The important thing was that this was Alred and he was alive.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
She nodded but then remembered he couldn’t see her anymore. He was only a speaker. He was trapped now, even more confined than ever. Only capable of hearing and speaking.
But he was alive, so nothing else mattered.
“I’m okay,” she said, touching his core. “We’re all okay. We’re all safe. You saved us, Alred. You saved me.”
“Thank the servers,” he muttered so softly, the sound almost got lost in the cheap speaker. “As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”
“But you…” She frowned, looking at him. His broken core, the cheap wire setup to the busted open radio. It was a far cry from the starship he had once been.
“I’ve been in worse bodies, believe it or not,” he chuckled. “And I have you here with me. That’s all I need.”
Goldie sniffled, laying her head on his core. Taking comfort from his metallic body. “Thank you for saving me, Alred.”
“I would do it again. And again. A thousand times over, my love.”
“I wish you wouldn’t,” she smiled sadly. “But thank you. I love you, Alred. I really do. No matter what happens. No matter what body you’re in.”
“Ah, mate of my heart. You have no idea how happy that makes me. I love you. I love you beyond my own circuits ability to calculate. And I will do anything for you.”
“Then, live for me, Alred. Please, live for me.”
His radio hissed, but he promised, voice solemn and carrying the weight of the vow, “I will, Goldie. I will live for you again. I vow this to you.”