Chapter 7 - What's in a Name?

You smile as you reach into the locker and pull out a long metal staff. Set with one end on the ground, it comes to chest height. Your grin grows as your gloved hands run down the length of it. It's silver metal isn't a single smooth piece. Instead it looks like a woven cord, or a snake laid out flat. The scales though aren't smooth and flat like a snake's belly, they're sharp, like a shark's. They're like teeth.

Flashes of stances and posture work at the base of your mind and your off foot kicks the base of the staff into a spin. At your will, one end of the staff unfurls and a brilliant white blade shoots out. With both hands you bring the blade across in a sweep that cleaves the lockers into pieces. 

You laugh as you spin it again and the blade grows, as more of the scales slide down and form a sword hilt. The broad blade shines in front of you. It feels heavier than you think you can use in an actual fight. But then you may be alive and well, but you're still drained from cryosleep.

You look into the light of the blade and see the metal core at the the center, and your reflection.

"Anargyros," Not your name, but the weapon's. Who gave this to you, with a name that weighty?

"You're remembering." The golden voice approved, yet the sadness in her voice was poorly hidden. You close your eyes. She matters to you enough that you gave her a piece of your brain, or a copy of a piece, and she filled the gap with a piece of herself. Her sadness hurts.  You throw your mind into the dark and damaged parts of your mind.

What is her name?

You're on a bed, naked, and hot. Not a bad sort of hot. The sort that comes after a long workout. On the ceiling is a mirror and you see your more healthy self, with the bright red hair spread out around your head like a sunburst. There is laughter in this room. Gentle like sunshine and falling water, it echoes from beyond your vision and it fills you with content, calm, and a feeling of a job well done. 

It might also help that someone is currently sucking your dick. Hair like sheets of aurulent satin drape over her face and hide it from sight. But your distracted from that point of interest by the slow rhythmic motion. Down a tall body that goes from strong shoulders to a narrow waist, blooms one of most incredible, most bodacious, asses you can remember.

Admittedly that's like, three, maybe, and one of them is yours. But, this butt leaves them all far behind.  It jiggles and shakes like jelly only dreams of and is as shines like two great hills of wheat in the morning light. But, damn it, it's just out of reach. You frown and look down your body as you pout at the great mounds that rock back and forth.

"Don't be silly," That golden voice whispers, and you turn your head to face her. Looking down your unmarred body you see her resting on your lap. Her heavy breasts pressed against your thighs and wrapped tight around your cock. You can't see her face, but the curtain of her hair is parted just so you can see lush lips part into a smile, and a tear run down her cheek.

You reach out to cup her face in your hand, and the ring on your finger catches the light. With your thumb you brush the tear away. 

You open your eyes and a name rolls off your lips. 

"Zoraida." You whisper and a happy cry rings in your ears.

"Oh S-.... Oh, Captain." Zoraida laughs. "My Captain. I'm gonna break that bed tonight." Zoradia promises and you grip your weapon and close the gap between you and the airlock doors. "Oh, that's cute." Zoraida sighs. "IVORI hasn't gotten his own bots free, so he's sending the cleaning drones up to try and slow you down.

"Cleaning drones?" You chuckle.

"Industrial cleaning drones, some of them have got pressure jets that can clean carbon scoring off hull plates."

"Won't the cleaner just boil off in the vacuum?" You think for a moment.

"Not before it rips through your suit, and you." She deadpans.

"That's bad." You shake your head and look at Anargyros. With a nod, you spin it around your shoulders and scales peel off to spread over your body. It's a thin coating over your vitals, and your left with a shorter handle; but it's lighter in your grip and you've got some protection. "Okay. I'm liking this 'remembering' more and more."

"Hm," Zoraida's voice is thoughtful, "Maybe you should hold off remembering some things,"

You laugh, "What, why?" 

"Ah-ha ha ha ha-hm," Her laughter sparkles in your ears and you shake your head. "Better get moving, Captain. That 'exotic particle' just catapulted a whole bunch of little particles, and they're much faster."

"Missiles?"

"No, fighters and boarding craft, probably. Unless they felt like launching a dozen torpedoes to sink one freighter."

"Right then... " You smile as you trigger the airlocks and step through. 

Darkness stretches out in front of you. Not of space but of a sealed box. You're in the cargo bay, or maybe it's a hangar. It's massive is what it is; over a hundred meters wide and hundreds long. Faint emergency lights highlight various safety zones that crew would gravitate toward in an emergency. 

You see the drones in storage beneath you, and in the distance there's movement, but there's not enough light to go by. Just the flickering of emergency walkway lighting as things pass in front of the lights then past them. 

You're on a narrow walkway leading under the spine of the ship. It's wide enough to swing Anargyros in its current form, though.

<<<<<<<<<< 

You see the arrows appear on your screen and look left to see a yellow and black emergency handle.

"Will this work without power?"

"It's an emergency handle, it's all pneumatic and pressure, no electric needed." You reach out and grab hold of the handle. It's set in a recess and surrounded by warning labels, and hand written notes from the former crew about how "It's not a fucking fire alarm to get out of your shift, you lazy chucklecunts"

You start to pull downward but... feel nothing. Not any kind of give or even a rattle. "Um." You blink. "Its stuck."

"It's heavy. Try using BOTH hands." Zoraida giggles into your ears, "You should be used to that." She laughs aloud and your smile feels like it touches your eyes.

You roll your shoulders and what's left of Anargyros in your hand unfurls over your arms and shoulders, and you feel some of it slide over your back. The scales form a frame and as you grip the bar you pull down hard.

You damn near snap the thing off as you pull the switch down and there's a massive shudder as the struts shudder and you see the lights that run up and down the far wall start to move, and grow apart. Your helmet chirps as your suit reports two things to you.

Warning. Local Gravity Circuit Failure.
Flight mode now available.

You peer over the edge, and past the shadows of the drained drones, the starry blanket of space appears.

UP!

You bring your head and arms up to guard as something smacks against you. You take a step back, and see, illuminated by the emergency lights, a machine made to vaguely resemble a human. It's holding a metal pole, probably meant to be a mop for cleaning floors. The robot is dented, battered, and part of it's face plate had been caved in, but behind the black glass flickers that angry red ring of light.

Ivori.

You punch the thing, your arm doesn't even feel the impact as your silver scaled fist plows through the civilian mop bot and scrap flings out into the space of the hold, and keep going, without gravity drifting off. Your punch almost takes you off your feet, but you feel rooted to the walkway. A glance down shows some of the scales on your boots, they must be holding your footing.

With a twitch of your neck, you trigger the helmet's optic enhancements, more training and background knowledge waking up with each moment. As it does, a green wire frame outline of the walkway ahead, and the robots walking on it, appear.

You roll your fingers as you look at your hands and smile. There are only a dozen Ivori controlled janitor bots between you and-wow. You get a hint of your ship from the green outlines, she's big. 

There are only a dozen Ivori controlled janitor bots between you and the second emergency level.

"Alright then." You smile. "Cue the music."

What forms of Anargyros do you test out? What others do you try to activate? And just how do you use them to reduce these clanks to scrap?