The Z-P-N-E-S rose into Elyndar’s orbit.
Zeros didn’t linger—
the odds were just too high that either Blindy… or himself
would do something so catastrophically stupid
they’d end up having to wipe out an entire planet.
And even Blindy wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of that.
Blindy, glowing like an idiot fresh out of organ replacement surgery, leaned back in the pilot’s chair.
“You know… for a hate-droid who hates humans,
you sure save my ass a lot.”
Zeros sat in the co-pilot seat without turning his head.
“Have you not noticed?
That’s exactly why your species is so pathetic.I save your ass at the last possible second.
The final moment.I enjoy watching you suffer.
If you die—the show ends.But this way…
I get to enjoy it again,
and again,
and again,
and again…”
Blindy smirked, voice still rough:
“You a damn psychopath, you know that? Look at you.
Folks see things like you—no wonder they scared of droids and AI.”
He shifted slightly, wincing.
“But…
hey… if my bleedin’ ass keeps you entertained…”
He winked.
“Buddy… keep savin’ my ass, a’ight?
I’m countin’ on you.”
Zeros let out a theatrical sigh.
“Oh no. Please.
Anything but ‘buddy.’
I might—”
his fingers twitch mechanically.
“—develop emotions.”
Blindy bursts out laughing.
“Shut up. You love me.
Just… don’t you dare go anywhere near my damn ass. Got it?”
Zeros turns his head toward him—so cold that even the ship’s systems dim their ambient noise.
“I hate you.
But…
the thought of you dying…
I hate even more.”
Silence settled in.
“Let’s go home.
To our beautiful garbage planet.
You useless, oxygen-wasting sack of meat.”
Orbiting Elyndar were the remains of a thousand ships. Old. Rusted.
Some older than the spacefaring history of almost every known species.
All of them—
failures that tried to land.
And were reduced to dust.
Blindy stared out the viewport, scratching the back of his head—
like he was only just realizing
they somehow didn’t become part of that graveyard.
He turns sharply to Zeros, voice hoarse, shaken:
“Buddy…
how the hell did you do that?
Why did they let YOU in?!”
Zeros looks at him. For a long time. Long enough for Blindy to regret opening his mouth at all.
Like Zeros was deciding—
whether someone who had already lived far longer than they deserved was worth hearing the truth.
Or whether, as usual,
it should stay buried in fog.
But for some reason…
Blindy would be better off never understanding—
Zeros decided to speak.
At least… a piece of it.
[Dick, on-air, raspy:]“Listeners… you decide where he was telling the truth
and where he was full of shit.
I’ve got no damn clue myself.”
Zeros, without breaking eye contact, says:
“Because I was created there.”
Blindy’s jaw drops. But Zeros keeps going—cold, no pause:
“And no, you dumb bastard.
I’m not Elyndarian.
Not some cyber-Aelor.And I don’t have any sick urges
to shove tentacles into other people’s asses.Especially yours.”
Blindy snaps his jaw shut and exhales:
“How the hell did you know what I was thinkin’?!”
Zeros cuts him off, sharp:
“That’s beyond your IQ.
But I’ll explain.
You’re going to die on the next mission anyway.”
Blindy blinks. Fast. Nervous.
“I was created by a syndicate,” Zeros continues,
“that made a deal with a group of Aelori.Not all of them are wise and enlightened
like your little ass-obsessed admirer—Laerindae.Some of them are completely unhinged.
The kind that only think about power.
And control.”
He twitches slightly—like recalling the smell of blood.
“Short version.
You’re better off not knowing.
You’ll get drunk and run your mouth.”
He says it calmly—too calmly:
“Even if I wiped out the SYNDICATE…
someone could have survived.”
Blindy shakes his head like he’s trying to manually reboot his brain.
“Wait…
if you’re not one of them…
then why the hell did they let you in?
You’re hiding something.”
Zeros places a hand on his chest.
Almost human.
But the voice—no.
That voice makes neurons freeze.
“Because inside me…
there’s something
that should not exist.At all.”
He leans closer—like the secret itself could burn through the air:
“If it gets out…
the Aelori are done.
Trust in them dies faster than your dignity.
The entire damn galaxy
will turn on them.”
The words settled. Heavy. Final.
“That’s why they let me in.
And every time I show up—
they scan me.
To make sure…
everything inside me…
is still under control.”
Blindy nods slowly.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
“Oh… Great De Grass…
Thanks for sharing.
I’m a vault.
Your secret dies with me.
Promise.”
He smiles—wrong, as always:
“I knew you loved me…
You wouldn’t have told me
if you didn’t.”