Not the Force, Amir reminded himself. This ability was biological—something tied to physiology—and probably had little to do with the Force.
Still, even if it wasn't the Force, Amir felt he could use the Force to assist his perception.
"Looking" into his own mind, Amir searched in every direction… and found nothing.
At that moment, No. 032 tapped Amir, interrupting the attempt, and Amir turned to him.
"No." No. 032 said only the simplest word.
No… what? Amir didn't understand immediately. Not like that? Can't close my eyes?
Seeing Amir's confused expression, No. 032 extended his mechanical right hand. BD-4, who had been hovering nearby to watch, slowly rose into the air.
"Can't use the Force?" Amir guessed again.
No. 032 finally nodded.
With that confirmation, Amir stopped trying to connect to the Force and instead relied purely on his body—trying to "sense" his brain directly.
But he had no idea how. The "field of view" with the Force and without it were completely different. Without the Force, Amir discovered nothing at all beyond what his eyes could see.
Then No. 032 placed his cold palm against Amir's forehead.
That same strange stream of information surged into Amir's mind again, and all at once Amir "saw" something he could never perceive normally.
The signal from No. 032 vanished—but Amir had already captured the state. It was like a deaf person suddenly regaining hearing. The world became loud: chaotic, jumbled, noisy "voices" everywhere.
And then Amir finally found one "sound" in particular—something radiating outward from his own brain, broadcasting continuously into the surroundings. It wasn't as "loud" as when No. 032 actively projected it, but it was constant.
And No. 032's body… wasn't producing it at all.
As expected, these were electromagnetic waves scattered through space.
Once you saw the essence of it, the mystery disappeared. Amir tried to rein in the wave his own body was emitting—and it folded inward easily, as if it had been waiting for permission.
He hadn't expected it to be this simple.
Amir opened his eyes and laughed under his breath.
The problem that had haunted him for so long… could be solved this effortlessly. Without No. 032's guidance, though, Amir might have died never knowing he even had the ability.
Looks like he didn't need to play hide-and-seek with purrgil after all—though the lab base still had to be dealt with.
"What do you want to do next?" Amir asked. No. 032's body was fixed now—free at last. It was time to decide where he wanted to go. Amir had finished what he needed to do on the Eternal Ark station, and it was time to move out.
No. 032's eyes were blank, uncertain.
"Then come with me for now," Amir said.
"We're leaving, Kaharman." Amir stood and walked to Kaharman's office.
When there was no response, Amir opened the door—only to find Kaharman, who had been so energized earlier, collapsed face-down on his desk, asleep.
Euphemia walked over and said, "Don't worry about him. I'll see you out. We've mostly cleaned up the hostile forces outside, but you should still leave as soon as you can. We'll be moving soon ourselves—anyone bold enough to challenge us is going to pay for it."
"Understood."
Without waking Kaharman, Amir led the others toward the docks.
"If you run into trouble you can't handle, contact me," Amir said anyway. Kaharman had helped him a lot—gratitude aside, Amir considered him a friend. If they hit a real crisis, Amir would help.
The massive station had lost its earlier buzz. They moved through cooler, emptier streets toward the hangars, where the Traveler was waiting.
Amir felt lighter than he had in ages. This trip hadn't been for nothing—his biggest problem was finally solved. Now came the counterpunch.
After saying goodbye to Euphemia, they boarded and lifted off, flying beyond the shield.
No. 032 sat in the co-pilot's seat, staring blankly at Amir's hands as he worked the controls with practiced ease.
"You need to learn to speak properly, Thirty-Two," Amir said. "But first—pick a name. New life. No more numbers."
At Amir's words, No. 032's eyes brightened slightly.
A name? From the back, Millisyn instantly perked up.
"Me! Me! Let me pick!" she volunteered.
Both of them looked at her, waiting.
"Uh… let me think. When Xian named us, there was also… Jessica! How about Jessica?"
"That's a girl's name, Millisyn," Amir couldn't help laughing.
"Mmm—!" Millisyn scrunched up her tiny brow. "How is that fair? I like that name! Well—fine. I like Millisyn more anyway!"
No. 032 waved his hand. After a moment of effort, he spoke:
"Thirty-Two is fine."
Amir and Millisyn both stopped and looked at him. After everything he'd endured, his gaze was still clear—clean.
"Alright," Amir said. "That's simple and practical. Thirty-Two it is."
Then Amir grinned. "And since you're already in the co-pilot seat—besides learning to speak, you're going to learn how to fly. From now on, you're my first mate."
Who wouldn't want a cool, fully converted cyborg as a first mate? And on top of that, Thirty-Two was his clone—what remained was basically a brain in a machine body, and genetically he was the closest kin Amir had in the galaxy. Amir felt an instinctive fondness for him.
"Mm." Thirty-Two nodded seriously and went back to reading the materials Amir had pulled up for him.
"What about me? What about me? I want to be first mate too!" Millisyn panicked—some random newcomer couldn't just steal her spot as the ship's number two! She'd been here first!
"You'll be the Chief Steward," Amir decided after a moment.
"Deal!" Millisyn agreed instantly—it sounded powerful. "So what do I do?"
"Start with mopping the deck."
"NOOOO!" Millisyn howled as the realization hit.
The corner of Thirty-Two's mouth lifted into a small, unconscious smile.
Amir saw it and smiled too. Kaharman had installed the newest model—capable of facial expression.
Good thing Euphemia didn't know that.
Though even if she did… she probably wouldn't care.
The Traveler jumped to hyperspace, cutting along familiar lanes. When they dropped out again, a sand-yellow planet filled the viewport.
"Where are we?" Millisyn had dozed off and now woke at the sound, unbuckling and scrambling up to stare outside.
"Tatooine," Amir said.
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🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past
📢 The Force Calls! 📢
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