Freda climbed into Sysko’s ship and was immediately awestruck by the level of technology inside. She sat in the passenger seat of his craft as he slid his fingers over the holographic control panel and the vehicle lifted into the sky. She gasped as it accelerated through the clouds, rising toward the edge of the atmosphere. The craft burst through with a fiery blast. In several seconds, they rushed into space, leaving Earth behind.

She marveled at the sight of her planet below. She could see the outline of the East Coast and the Atlantic Ocean. Soon, she saw the expanse of the United States, the entire Atlantic, and half of the globe. Her heart slammed in her chest as her eyes widened in awe. She had never seen anything so magnificent or so beautiful. Just the sight alone was enough to inspire her into an entirely new state of being.

The attack on the Earth by the cyborgs and the subsequent saving of the human race by the Draxos was one thing, but actually being in space and seeing her planet from above, made her realize for the first time that humanity had truly entered a new era. As Sysko turned the ship toward a mighty space fleet orbiting the Earth, she saw the moon hanging over the planet. Sysko’s small spacecraft flew through a hatch into the larger ship and they landed in a landing bay as the hatch closed behind them.

“This is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me in my life,” Freda said with awe.

“I hope that you will experience many more exciting things with me during our lives together,” he said.

She looked over at him and tried to read the expression on his face. But all she could see was his complete sincerity and seriousness.

“I hope so too,” she said in a low voice.

They exited the spacecraft into the landing bay and were met by several of Sysko's crew. The seven-foot-tall and obscenely gorgeous, dragon shifters were dressed in skintight gray uniforms with silver circlets around their wrists. She knew that the wrist device enabled his clothing to deconstruct and reconstruct at will, and also acted like a hyper advanced smartphone.

“Admiral,” one of the men said. “We need you on the bridge.”

“I have brought my bride to show her the ship. Can this wait?”

“We have the president of the United States on the line and he needs to speak with you urgently.”

“Do you mind?” he asked her.

“You have to meet with the president right now?” Freda asked, feeling silly that he was even asking her if she minded. “Of course I don’t mind.”

They hurried through the landing bay and continued through brightly lit hallways up an elevator into the spacious bridge of the ship. All the officers on the bridge stood in salute of their captain. Freda could see the image of the president on a big screen that must have been the front window of the ship.

“President Carver,” Sysko said. “How can I help you?”

“I must apologize for the unscheduled meeting. But this can't wait. Our allies in Europe have asked us for help in the capture of rogue cyborgs who have been spotted on their soil.”

“Why didn't they come to us themselves?” he asked.

“They knew that we had direct access to you. It is a very small country, and they had not come into contact with you.”

“Please send me the details, and I will send an away team to investigate immediately.”

“Thank you, Admiral. I speak for everyone on Earth when I say your continued help and protection of our planet is our greatest resource.”

“No thanks are necessary.”

“Let me know if there is anything else we can do,” the president said.

“I will,” Sysko said.

President Carver disappeared from the screen and the image was replaced by a view of the armada and the curve of the planet below.

Freda looked at Sysko as if for the first time and saw him in an entirely new light. She observed him as he organized an away team to go investigate the cyborg appearance in Slovenia. He then received updates from the rest of the armada. Now that her senses had been opened to their connection, all she could do was stand and watch him in awe. When he was finished, he turned to her and apologized for taking so long.

“Let's take a tour of the ship now, shall we?” he said, offering her his arm.

As she took his arm they left the bridge and took an elevator that he called an anti-grav lift down to the residential deck where he had his quarters. He explained all of this to her as they traveled, and she had to wonder why he was taking her to his quarters. She was nervous and excited at the same time and wasn't sure which emotion to pay more attention to. Sysko slid his hand over a control panel and his door swished open to reveal a well-appointed cabin with couches, tables, chairs, and a view of space. He invited her inside and she walked across the room to stand near the window that looked out at space.

“El’ara, please turn on music,” he said.

“What would you like to listen to today, Admiral?” the female voice asked him.

“I would like to hear the popular Earth music of today,” he said.

“Yes, Admiral,” the voice said.

The music began to play; it was a top-forty hit that was currently popular with kids on Earth.

“Is that artificial intelligence?” she asked as he moved across the room to press buttons on device on the counter.

“Yes, it is,” he said as a dish of food appeared out of the device he was fiddling with.

Freda watched in amazement as he produced an entire lunch for them and carried it over to her on a tray. He set the tray on a table and they sat together.

“I'm writing my doctoral dissertation on artificial intelligence,” she said.

“I know,” he said. “I've looked into it.”

“Have you been cyber stalking me?” she asked with a giggle as she took her first bite of the manufactured food.

“I've been stalking you in every way,” he admitted.

She had to chuckle at his honesty as she ate the pepperoni pizza that he had created out of thin air.

“How did you make this food?” she asked.

“With a replicator. We’re getting shipments of fresh food from Earth, but I replicated a snack for you. It’s quicker than having something fresh brought up from the cafeteria. I want to show you the rest of the ship and you need a full stomach.”

“I've never eaten replicated food before,” she said. “It's not bad.”

“Tell me more about your dissertation,” he said.

Freda went on to tell him about her work with robots and artificial intelligence and how she hoped that it would have numerous applications across multiple sectors. She could tell he was impressed with her knowledge.

“Why don't you use more AI and robotics?” she asked.

“We have to be very careful with our application of robots and artificial intelligence because of the cyborg threat. If our systems get hacked, it could easily threaten our entire existence. The ship does not have an overall artificial intelligence. There are individual personalities onboard, but that’s it.”

“I would like to learn more about your systems,” she said.

“And I would like to show you how it all works.”