Several simulations were tried and failed. A new scenario was generated for each, with more mistakes being revealed every time. Their second attempt was much better, with them securing more information and avoiding detection until they found the room the humans were held in.

  Unfortunately, they failed to gain control of the ship, with Lunai being gunned down in the control room. The third time, Lunai managed to control the ship for a minute before more soldiers showed up to dispose of her. She and Argalax started getting frustrated and sloppy, performing worse in each subsequent simulation. Each time they died, Bliss just floated in the air, a faint smirk of superiority on his face.

  “The station is generating a mission meant for three agents. Why come in if you’re not going to do anything?” Lunai crossed her arms.

  He was barely paying attention to her, typing something on his CellPulse. “I put it on easy, didn’t I? You should still be able to do it without me. If it makes you feel better, when we have students do this, they sort of just freeze up and stand there. I always say, ‘hey, there’s literally no consequences here, go crazy,' but they just stand there with eyes as wide as a black hole.”

  “You just don’t remember everything in the moment! You read the protocols over and over but you don’t have time to think it all through. I need muscle memory. We have to go back in, Argalax.”

  Lunai slumped over. She was tired, but she really wanted to get this right. It meant almost too much to her, as if succeeding was the only way she would feel at peace. Bliss would be guiding them during the actual mission, but she wanted to iron out every stupid mistake now.

  “I like your spirit. Tell you what, I’ll sit this one out and watch outside since you think it makes a difference.” Several pings were heard from his wrist. “Actually, I’m gonna head back to the resident room because I’m super nice and don’t want you to be intimidated by me watching. You know enough about using the machine now. Have fun, don’t die, and most importantly, don’t break anything. I swear to the Old God, I will disown you if you do!”

  He walked away and disappeared into the elevator. The interns looked at the attendant, who was trying to hold back a giggle.

  Lunai turned to him. “So, can we go back in with the same settings?”

  “Yes, yes, I’ve got you. You can go in as many times as you need as long as you’re done by my shift change.”

  The same voice greeted them on the way in, and they both grumbled that it was not their first time using the machine. They had to listen to the same safety rules, as they were unskippable. The kind voice had become grating at this point, and they yelled to skip all dialogue when possible.

  When the walls around them vanished, they found themselves within the airlock of the ship. Lunai immediately scanned the walls for cameras, but did not find any. Lockers lined the side of the wall, protected by finger-scanners. She placed her finger on the screen and her roots grew inside, reaching the circuit board below. With a just a few light stings to her finger, she saw a spark and the lock screen went dark.

  She opened the locker to find a few spare uniforms meant for the ship’s crew. The interns smiled at each other as they quickly put them on over their suits. Lunai’s dress was awkwardly crumpled in the process, but Argalax wore the suits together perfectly.

  They looked at the door ahead of them and listened for any conversations or nearby footsteps. They could likely pass as members of the crew at a glance, but if anyone took a closer look they’d notice these two people lacked name tags or any other identifiers of their role on the ship. They hoped the crew members were not close with each other, or they would be singled out immediately.

  Nothing could be heard behind the door, and Lunai carefully tried opening it. The handle remained still, refusing to budge against the pressure. She looked for a lock she could disable, but found nothing. The door was airtight and she couldn't slide her roots underneath, either.

  Argalax stepped up. “I've got this.”

  He placed his hand against the door and his body started to morph and melt into the door’s structure. Merging with the door and its multiple locks, several clicks were heard. The bottom of the door melted towards the floor and started dragging itself forward, slowly opening the door. Molten metal peeled off and reformed Argalax’s figure. Lunai gave him a thumbs up as they cautiously moved through the entryway.

  We’ll need to corner the ship’s crew in isolated spaces. If we don’t neutralize everyone, they’ll just stop me in the control room again.

  “Let’s try for a break room. People should be going in and out every so often, shouldn’t be too crowded at any point,” she said.

  They patrolled the ship searching for a good room. Opening the wrong door could mean the end of the simulation. Whenever they reached a new door, Lunai checked for cameras and kept watch while Argalax merged with any door they passed. His body spread to the other side of the door, allowing him to see inside the room.

  The ship was fairly small, so it only took two doors before they found a room with a dining table and kitchenette. Argalax opened the door for Lunai and removed himself from it. Set up in this room, they would be able to surprise anyone walking in, taking them out quickly with a well-placed blow to the head. Luring people into the room would be the real challenge. Lunai took a seat at the table and grabbed her leg, ripping it off in one pull.

  “I can control parts of my body from afar. A big enough chunk can be changed into something that walks. I’ll shift my leg into a small animal to lure people here, then you can take them out.”

  Argalax nodded and took his place behind the door. He morphed both of his hands into the small hammer he used before for precise strikes. Lunai’s leg shifted into the shape of a cat and she gently placed it in the hallway. Her vision was not fully intact through her leg, but she could sense nearby objects and movement. If someone was following it, she would be able to tell.

  The mass of roots started scrambling through the hall in search of crew members. It only took a few minutes before she felt the presence of three people near the cat. She had it run back towards the break room, with the three figures chasing behind.

  They could hear yelling in the hall. "What the? Get that thing!"

  When it reached the door, it dissembled into a flat bed of roots, crawling through the crack under it. They heard the door handle turning, and three men entered the room. They looked at Lunai in her disguise for a second before Argalax hit two of them with his hammer hands.

  When the third man watched them fall to the floor, Lunai grabbed his face with the roots from her leg, knocking him unconscious. They moved their bodies to the corner of the room, hiding them behind a table.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Maybe if I get better at neural manipulation I’ll be able to fully control people with my roots. That would come in handy in a situation like this, though I’d feel pretty bad using it, even on bad guys.

  They continued the same routine, luring small groups of people with the cat before taking them out. The pile of bodies in the corner started growing out of control, with ten people smushed up against each other. Lunai’s leg searched the halls but could not find anyone else. She had it return to the break room and absorbed it back into her body.

  Lunai walked over to the corner and surveyed the bodies. “I think we got everyone who patrols the halls. The only people left should be scattered around in other rooms. Let’s look at these guys and see who matches our body types the most. We’ll take their identification cards so we’re less conspicuous.”

  They both found an appropriate match and were ready to start searching for more people. The halls were somewhat safe to wander now that the patrols were removed. The first priority was to locate the control room and then the room where the humans were being held.

  They would need to fight the people in the control room last, since leaving the ship without a pilot would be dangerous. Lunai started to draw a makeshift map in her CellPulse, marking areas where they found a door.

  Argalax melted into each door they passed, looking for danger on the other side. If the room was clear, he would open the door for Lunai. They were able to locate the cargo room with the human captives this way, with Lunai adding it to her map. The first room they entered was filled with whirring terminals. Four crew members were walking around, occasionally surveying the equipment. They appeared to be the maintenance workers of the ship.

  One of them looked up at the interns. “Hey guys, need anything?”

  Argalax spoke up. “We just needed to talk to everyone real quick, can you come here for a second?” He beckoned the rest of the workers towards him.

  Everyone looked confused, but slowly convened in the center of the room. Lunai extended her roots and started wrapping them around the huddled group. Their eyes widened in confusion as the roots surrounded them and tightened around their bodies.

  “Hey, what the hell is going on? You can't do this to us! You still...you still need maintenance!”

  They don’t think we’re intruders yet, I guess not everyone on the ship is super close. These guys are probably contracted.

  Argalax continued, “Sorry, we just need you guys to sleep for a while.”

  They knocked the workers out and hid them behind the terminals in the room. When the captain of the ship was taken care of, they could wake these people up and convince them to continue maintenance work for them. Lunai realized leaving them knocked out for the entire simulation would end in failure.

  They left the room and continued their search. The ship was small, meant to match the size of the simulation group. They went through only two more rooms before finding the control room. Three crew members sat at the ship’s main controls, with the captain standing behind them. A large entropic sword rested across his back, a warning to any surprise attackers.

  He turned around when they entered the room, addressing the disguised invaders. “Hmm? What’s going on, why are you two here?”

  They walked forward and started to charge him. Argalax melted into the floor and slid under the captain’s feet, reforming behind him. Lunai flanked him from the front, and Argalax started aiming his fists for his head. Still looking at Lunai, the captain brought his sword to meet Argalax’s fists. He lifted his foot and landed a swift kick at Lunai’s knee. The joint extended with such force that her leg snapped in half. She fell towards the injury, and he shifted his body to face Argalax, taking a slice at him with his weapon. His leg twirled with him, hitting Lunai in the neck when he turned around.

  Argalax formed one large shield from both forearms, avoiding a major injury on his body, but still left with a shaking arm. Lunai’s broken leg crawled forward and circled the captain’s foot. She pulled back and he lost his balance, slamming face first at Argalax’s feet. He slammed his shield down, hitting the center of his chest. He let out a pained gasp as the room turned red. The ship suddenly stopped and all of the lights turned off.

  An unfamiliar man’s face appeared on the ship’s communications screen.

  “Greetings, ship BA-246. No updates from maintenance had been received for thirty minutes. This prompted an investigation of your ship and we determined you have intruders onboard. We have detached the room holding the cargo and disabled your ship. Thank you for your sacrifice.”

  The screen went dark. The workers at the controls stared at them in fear. Lunai punched the ground, dumbfounded at how many things they needed to account for in a simple simulation.

  “Seriously? That’s how this is going to end? You can’t keep throwing us in here with no idea of what to avoid! We need information! We need a briefing!”

  She ripped her broken leg off and threw it at the window. One of the crew members picked it up and threw it back towards them in a panicked attempt at defending himself. It hit Argalax in the face and knocked him to the floor. Lights started flashing in the room and an alarm sounded. Everything around them disappeared.

  WARNING. Our system senses you have started attacking each other. You will be ejected from the simulation. Attacking another participant can result in fatal injury. Breaking this rule is an extreme violation; your access to the Standardized Situation Station will be re-assessed.

  They were back in the transition room. Staring at each other, they started to burst out in laughter. Lunai looked to see a slight dent on Argalax’s face from her leg’s impact. Injuries sustained from parts of her body still caused damage in the real world.

  The attendant greeted them outside. “Sorry guys, I saw what happened there at the end. Don’t worry about your access; I know you didn’t actually attack each other.”

  Lunai rubbed her forehead. “Thanks, but I think I might be done for the day.”

  The attendant nodded and they took the elevator back to their floor. They walked back into the resident room and saw Bliss with his feet up on the desk, lounging back in his office chair.

  “Back already? Were all your problems solved without me?”

  Lunai sat down next to him. “Nope, the ship got disabled by the armada commander.”

  Bliss started laughing. “Yeah, that’ll happen.”

  “I can’t believe that was easy-mode,” Argalax sighed.

  “Oh, well I forgot to tell it to make a simulation where you had the information the agency usually provides before ship infiltration. That’s what Sir Jelly is there for. It’s important to know how to act on the spot in case you’re ever kidnapped, but Dr. Crux doesn’t send people on missions with nothing.”

  Lunai glared at him. “So this whole time, we were supposed to be told what to avoid and where to go, but you chastised us for missing these seemingly obvious security measures you never briefed us on?”

  “Yeah.”

  They stared at each other for a second before Bliss turned back to his computer. Argalax shrugged his shoulders at her and they both started laughing. Bliss ignored them and continued staring at his computer. His mind was threatening him with genuine attachment to his interns. The months were feeling longer and longer, and he desperately needed people to pass the time for him. He looked back and saw them happily joking about the failed simulations. A smile came to his face, followed by a small pain in his chest.

  He resented the loneliness he inflicted on himself. There was no one he could simply exist around. They always wanted more from him, even Entropi. More attention, more affection, more vulnerability, more guidance. No one was his equal; no one saw him as their equal. He was trapped in the space between icon and slave, a possession either way. He was both human and void siren, both the closest and furthest from the Old God’s design.

  He wasn’t real. He was a contradiction. A lovely contradiction that no one could look away from. The cliff that a fool can't help but stare at.

  Lunai shook her hand in his face. “Bliss, are you all right?”

  He blinked and saw his interns staring at him. He wordlessly turned back around and continued typing on the computer. The silence droned on, and he cursed himself once again. The interns continued the usual pattern of leaving him with his thoughts, choosing to spend the rest of the day monitoring active situations. Lunai took notes on the ones most likely to escalate and need intervention by heroes.

  She glanced at Bliss every so often, hoping for her senior to start talking again. She wasn’t sure what set him off, but she couldn’t learn properly if she always had to walk on eggshells. It was always an option to request a new senior, but she liked Bliss and had to admit that being his student was good for her career. Maybe that was selfish, but if she could befriend him she could also help him with whatever he was dealing with. High-risk, high-reward. It was the reputation Bliss had carved for himself. Whether accidental or not, he was now stuck with it. The very worst part was that it was true.