OUT OF MIND² ━━ Bellamy Blake

𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈: In Name and Blood

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IN NAME AND BLOOD

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"AIRLOCK SECURE. . . " a robotic voice calls overhead.

Lyra tries not to think of her dad.

It's not really him, she reminds herself, her heart pounding so loudly in her chest that she is sure Alie can hear it. You'll wake up from this and he'll be alright. You'll see. Happily-ever-after. Just like he promised.

Wiping away her tears, Lyra finds herself staring down at the Earth.

     It's not the Ark like she originally thought. Rather than grey and dreary, these walls are a pristine, faultless white. Almost blinding like snow. They stretch into numerous corridors, some sealed off, and everything is very sleek and very advanced. But Lyra is not concerned with any of that. The engines hum and Lyra briefly is soothed by the gentle whine of the spacecraft; she hadn't ever realised it before, but she misses the machine hum of the Ark.

     Starlight blazes through the porthole. The distant shimmering blue orb that is Earth stares back at her.

     In the glassy walls, Lyra can see her own reflection staring back at her. She realizes with a start that she is wearing her spacesuit. Not the one Raven had come down to Earth in, not the false one that Alie had given her on the Go-Sci Ring. No, this one is hers, the vibrant tangerine with the faded Nasa patches and the half-burnt American flag. Her name tag is still there, too. Jupiter is stitched neatly over her heart.

     The silence is disrupted suddenly. "Commander. I'm glad you made it."

Becca has returned once more.

Clarke's eyes are wide. "You're Becca Pramheda."

      "Becca's fine," says the woman, wincing a little, as if the title is embarrassing. Her gaze flits to Lyra. "I see we've met again."

Lyra manages a weak grin. "You're, like, my great-great-great-great grandmother. Or something like that. How many greats are there — ?"

"Becca's fine," repeats the woman, not unkindly. "There's not much time. The code is nearly updated. And there is much I still need to tell you, Lyra. The world is changing and I'm afraid that you aren't ready for it. You're just a kid."

"I'm a lot of things," corrects Lyra, glancing at her spacesuit. "I used to just be a spacewalker."

Becca's smile is bittersweet. "And now you're the Captain on this bridge. Like my husband. You look so much like how I imagined our daughter. . . "

There is something strange in the woman's eyes and, for the first time, Lyra realises that the way she looks for someone else in Becca is not one-sided. She looks for her mother in Becca. And in Lyra, Becca sees the daughter that she never knew.

"Captain. . . " Lyra echoes slowly. She glances down at her spacesuit again; it's missing the helmet. "Is that why you gave me this?"

"I didn't give it to you. The Commander did," answers Becca curtly. She looks at Clarke again. "You gave yourself the watch as well. Alie 2.0 has merged with your mind. But your mind is in control, and only the mind that's in control can operate the kill switch."