title was too long for wattpad so its in the chapter

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Oopsies, I forgot to mention that my family was a bunch of war heroes with savior complexes.


(the title was too long so its above this text)


"What the hell are you talking about, Tommy?" Fundy breathed out, fixing him with a look.

"It's a trap," he said grimly. "I—I need to warn the bridge."

"I can comm—"

"NO!" he shouted. "They won't believe you, and I don't have time to argue. I can prove that it's a fucking trap, and I need to do it up there with Clementine and—and the holograms—"

"Is he okay?" Fundy asked, glancing at Lani and Drista, who stood behind him.

"Unfortunately, he's serious," Drista said. "I believe him, and the evidence is staggering."

Fundy nodded once, and Tommy sprinted past him into the hallway. He didn't draw on his Avian abilities—he couldn't risk it, and besides, ever since Jacob, he just...hadn't. Hadn't felt like it, hadn't wanted to. The second time using his biology to beat the track kids had been far more manageable—and less dangerous—than the first. He'd known that it would be hard to breathe and so had held his breath for the ten seconds it took him to run the length of the track.

He skidded to a halt next to the elevator, vividly remembering the code Sapnap had typed in the first time he had been on the ship and tapped it in with slightly shaking hands. The lift slid open, and the three of them stepped inside.

"Dream isn't going to like this," Drista muttered as Tommy paced irritably, the computerized elevator starting its ascent.

He ignored her. "Clementine," he said. "You knew this was a trap. And you still let them go on this mission?" Lani frowned, glancing at the white steel around her.

» That information is in my classified records, Tommy, and as such, I cannot speak of them to those that do not hold a clearance. This includes everyone from Command. «

Drista jumped, clearly surprised that the A.I. had responded. "Clementine," Lani murmured, a new understanding entering her eyes.

Tommy hissed through his teeth. "So you knew this was a trap?" There was no response. "Consider Ensigns Lani and Drista with clearance to those records, Clementine."

» Of course, Tommy. Yes, I was aware this was a trap. Unfortunately, it is against my rules to break my coding and override such commands. «

"But don't you care for the crew?" he burst out.

» Of course I do. But commands are commands, and I must stand by them. «

"Even if hundreds die?"

» I am not alive, Tommy. You know that. I do not have the emotions that you beings have. I admit that I would be saddened to see the crew of the L'manburg gone, but affection is not something that I am available to have. «

"You said you were glad to see me," he pointed out through clenched teeth, his knuckles white. "When we first met after seven years. You said you were glad to see me. "

» A standard greeting among the living, unless I am mistaken? «

"No, you aren't," Lani answered when Tommy squeezed his eyes shut and didn't respond. "People say that."

» Unfortunately, Tommy, you will find that I am nothing like what you imagine your sister could have been. I am an artificial intelligence, and nothing tangible. I realize that saying something as callous as this may seem harmful to your mental well-being, but I must point out that while I was named after your dead sibling, I am nothing like her. I am not a real person, and therefore, cannot feel emotions outside of the coding that I was given. «

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