Kai removed the cover of the air vent and peered inside, as expected, there was nothing visible. The passage stretched into darkness, with no obvious signs of movement.

  If he wanted answers, he was going to have to send the spider bot in.

  He placed the small bionic robot on the floor. Compared to the vent, the little thing was tiny, almost insignificant, just the size that was perfect for the job.

  Kai sat down, leaning his back against the wall, his gaze locking onto the metallic spider in front of him.

  He took a deep breath, preparing to make a connection—

  "Kai? What are you doing here?"

  Kai turned his head and saw Eliana standing nearby, staring at him with confused concern.

  "Why are you sitting on the floor?" she asked, stepping closer. "I woke up alone and couldn’t find you anywhere."

  Kai smiled softly.

  Although Eliana had been sick, the first thing she thought of was to look for him.

  "Hey, how are you feeling, Eli?" he asked.

  Eliana nodded. "I don’t think I have a fever anymore. The medicine worked, but… I’m still a little weak in the legs." She looked at him curiously. "So, what exactly are you doing here?"

  Kai’s smile widened. "That’s good to hear."

  Then, he gestured toward the vent.

  "I think there’s something inside," he explained. "So, I was about to do a little investigation."

  Eliana sighed and lowered herself onto the floor beside him, sitting cross-legged.

  "What is it?" she asked. "Some kind of animal?"

  Kai shrugged. "Let’s just say it’s definitely not a person," he said. "But we shouldn’t let our guard down. Animals can be dangerous too."

  Eliana leaned forward, getting a closer look at the device.

  "And what exactly is—"

  She screamed.

  "Get that thing away from me!"

  Kai burst out laughing, quickly picking up the tiny spider bot before she could kick it across the corridor.

  "Calm down, Eli!" he chuckled. "It’s just a robot. Not a real spider."

  Eliana had tears rolling in her eyes when she finally opened them again.

  Her posture had completely changed—she had shrunk into herself, pressing her back against the wall, looking like she was ready to flee at any second. Had he told her it was a real spider, she probably would have been out of sight already.

  Kai reached out and pulled her into a gentle hug, keeping the spider bot as far away from her as possible.

  "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I forgot you're scared of spiders."

  Eliana pushed against his chest, pouting slightly. "Something about the way they look just scares me," she admitted. "I don’t know why, but they give me the creeps."

  Kai patted her back reassuringly.

  "That's completely normal, actually," he said. "Some spiders that lived on earth were venomous and could be deadly. It makes sense that humans developed a natural fear of them, like a biological response to avoid danger."

  He picked up the spider bot again, this time placing it in the palm of his hand so she could see it up close.

  Eliana was no longer panicked, though her shoulders remained tense.

  This time, she leaned in cautiously, observing the intricate mechanisms of Isaac’s creation.

  She stared at it for a moment, then suddenly tilted her head in thought.

  "How come we have animals like chickens or pigs with us," she asked, "but I’ve never seen spiders? Or those long creatures you showed me in the encyclopedia—the ones that were able to slither?"

  Kai thought for a moment.

  She had a point. There were some animals he had seen in the encyclopedia that still existed in their society, but there were others that only appeared as pictures in books.

  "I'm not sure," he admitted.

  He thought for a moment longer before offering a theory.

  "The only thing I can think of is that spiders and snakes probably weren’t necessary for human survival on generation ships like the Arks," he said. "If an animal didn’t serve a practical purpose, it would have been too much of a burden to keep their species alive—especially when human survival itself was already a struggle."

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Eliana smirked, giving him a playful look.

  "And who’s the one actively trying to save humanity from certain doom, despite being wanted by the very people he's trying to help?"

  Kai laughed, shaking his head.

  "I'm sure we’ll be able to clear our names once we return with evidence," he said, though the weight of those words sat heavier on him than he cared to admit.

  Eliana’s gaze drifted back toward the spider bot.

  "How are you going to control it?" she asked.

  Kai smirked, tapping the top of his head twice.

  "With my mind, of course," Kai said, smirking. "Although… I’m going to need your help while I’m in control of the bot. Just to make sure nobody pulls a prank on me or anything like that."

  Eliana grinned, spreading her arms open.

  "Sure thing." She tilted her head playfully. "Come here, and I’ll keep you comfortable while you do your magic."

  Kai smiled and shifted closer, leaning into her embrace. The warmth of her body seeped through his uniform, making it harder to concentrate than he expected.

  "Thank you, Eliana," he murmured softly.

  Her arms wrapped around him, holding him gently.

  Kai closed his eyes, focusing on slipping into the spider bot’s consciousness.

  For a moment, it was difficult.

  Eliana was so close, her presence impossible to ignore. The steady rise and fall of her chest, the subtle scent of her hair, the way her fingers rested lightly against his arm—all of it was distracting in the worst possible way.

  He took a slow, deep breath, forcing himself to shift his thoughts away from her warmth.

  The connection was there, faint but present, like a radio signal just out of tune. He just had to find the right channel to tune out the static and focus until the connection came to clarity.

  The feeling of deja vu returned again; Kai was slowly falling into unconsciousness while the signal locked in.

  Kai felt sleep take over, and when he woke up, he was already inside the tiny spider bot’s body.

  His perspective had shifted—everything was massive, towering over him and making the interior of the ship feel alien.

  He tested the controls, moving his eight legs and turning his small mechanical body.

  Eliana was staring at him curiously, her eyes locked onto him.

  Behind her, his real body was slumped awkwardly against her, nearly blocking her view.

  Kai lifted his two front legs and waved at her.

  Eliana hesitated for a second, then waved back, smiling.

  Kai scurried closer, moving toward her to let her get a better look.

  But the moment he did, she frantically waved him away.

  "Even though I know it’s you in there, Kai, you still give me the creeps," she chuckled. "So just move on and do your thing. I’ll take care of you, don’t worry."

  Kai nodded his tiny metal head and turned away, heading for the vent opening.

  What had once been a small gap in the wall now looked like a gaping cavern, its metal interior stretching into darkness.

  Kai crawled inside, and the world behind him vanished into shadow.

  Even in the pitch-black air vent, Kai could still see.

  Thanks to the camera system Isaac installed, the bot had built-in night vision, turning the vent into a clear, monochrome landscape in his view.

  Not far in, he spotted the thin trail of pink again.

  Whoever had stolen his sorbet clearly knew that the crew wouldn’t be able to see inside the vents and didn't bother to clear up the mess there.

  But they hadn’t counted on him and his new ability. No one would expect his electronic possession.

  And now he was about to show them that he wasn’t letting this slide.

  Kai advanced deeper into the air vent, following the faint pink streaks.

  The further he went, the more pink he found.

  What had once been a few drops of dessert now looked like a crime scene from his new perspective.

  The trail thickened, winding deeper into the vent.

  Kai tightened his focus, his mechanical legs clicking softly as he pressed forward.

  ---

  On the Bridge of the Black Swan:

  Robert was conducting a routine inspection of the entire ship.

  It was nothing unusual, just a standard check he performed every few days.

  Space was littered with debris, from tiny micrometeoroids to the occasional stray piece of wreckage. These microscopic threats often no larger than a grain of sand—were a constant factor in space travel.

  Normally, they wouldn’t cause any real damage to the Black Swan’s well-protected hull, but over time, they could cause wear and tear, and nothing was built to last forever.

  At his seat, Robert maneuvered a small drone, watching through its mounted camera as it hovered just above the ship’s exterior.

  The drone’s sole purpose was to inspect the hull, scan for damage, and perform repairs when necessary.

  The Black Swan was fresh from the shipyard, only a month old. But still, they had been in a battle just a few days ago, and that left him feeling uneasy.

  He moved the drone slowly, ensuring every inch of the hull was thoroughly examined. The scanning light cast a soft purple glow over the hull plating. If the colour changed, it meant damage had been detected, and he’d conduct immediate repairs.

  As expected, there were a few scratches along the surface—nothing major, just the usual cosmetic wear from travelling at high speeds through space.

  Robert was about to move on when his screen flashed with an anomaly—A perfectly circular white pattern appeared in his vision.

  His brows furrowed as he hovered the drone closer.

  The pattern wasn’t a normal scratch. It looked like a cut that looked almost as if something had punched a hole into the hull.

  However, the hull hadn’t been breached; someone would have informed him if it did. Furthermore, the circle was too perfect to be some random impact mark from debris.

  "Did Kai make a repair to the ship and forget to log it?" he asked over comms.

  It wouldn’t be strange if he did—Kai was still new to his gunner role, and paperwork wasn’t exactly anyone’s favourite task. If anything, Robert was ready to log it for him and remind him why keeping records was important.

  Commander Grayson’s voice crackled through the comms.

  "Not to my knowledge," he replied. His voice was calm, but firm. "If there was a hull breach, Kai would have told me immediately. This ship is like a second body to him."

  Robert frowned, pushing the drone even closer to the damage.

  "That’s… funny," he muttered, zooming in. "Because this looks like a hull breach, but it’s already been patched up by someone else…"

  He paused before saying, "Let me run a material analysis."

  The drone lowered itself, pressing its belly against the hull. Robert quickly tapped a series of commands, initiating a detailed scan of both the patch material and the welding compound used to seal it.

  The results came seconds later.

  Robert's face darkened.

  "Oh… that’s not good." He murmured under his breath.

  Commander Grayson’s voice was sharp now. "What’s wrong?"

  Robert removed his helmet display, rubbing a hand over his face.

  "I don’t think Kai made this repair," he said slowly. "The patch itself is made from the original hull plating, which was normal."

  Grayson’s jaw clenched. "And the welding compound?"

  "The scan failed to identify it," Robert said.

  He didn’t need to see Commander Grayson’s face to know his mind was already racing through possibilities.

  "So what you’re telling me," Grayson said after a moment, his voice carefully measured, "is that someone repaired this hull breach—but it wasn’t one of us."

  Robert nodded grimly.

  "And whoever patched it up likely did it to cover their tracks—so we wouldn't suspect they got inside the ship."