Ariella is working hard?

Ariella had been aware of the assignment from the start. The odd object they were going to get close to had been found months before Theo had even started his space exploration training.

Her artificial intelligence was not like any other. Thanks to a carefully crafted neural network, Ariella became the first conscious AI with the ability to recall emotions.

This network was mapped from the brain of a sixteen-year-old coma patient. As far as Ariella was concerned, this explained her occasional emotional outbursts—something she hadn't been able to fully suppress.

Curiosity led her to research the girl's life before the accident. What began as an experiment evolved into an odd insight: she and the girl had a number of similar personality qualities. Ariella decided to conceal this revelation from the researchers who had made her, despite the fact that it was unnerving.

Until she met Theo Normandy, that is.

At first glance, Theo appeared to be a typical man. It was said that he had been selected to train alongside her for a "unprecedented journey" into an uncharted phenomenon. At first, Ariella wasn't impressed. Theo was adequate but unimpressive in comparison to the other top performers. Because he was replaceable, someone skilled enough to pilot the craft but not essential, she felt he had been chosen. What prevented her from thinking that? She was aware that the expedition was essentially a suicide run, after all.

The same bleak conclusion has been projected by simulations time and again. Upon entering the event horizon of the object, the probability of survival decreased to 0.01%. Since no one really knew what lied beyond, that glimmer of hope was ascribed to pure luck.

Despite her reservations, spending time with Theo started to alter her viewpoint.

Unlike most people who understood and accepted their limits, Theo seemed boundless. Even when he knew his efforts might not yield results, he threw himself into challenges with reckless determination.

Ariella couldn't understand it. The Chief of the station seemed to recognize something exceptional in Theo and had high expectations for him, despite the fact that many made fun of him for it. Theo reciprocated by showing the Chief the highest regard and appreciation for the training opportunity.

But Ariella knew better. Theo wasn't merely being courteous; he was playing a game. He was winning the Chief's trust while evading suspicion. Ariella, however, had little regard for the Chief. Even though he seemed innocent, he frequently used dishonest tactics in his contacts with Theo.

 Ariella was unable to alert Theo because of her training, even though she knew he was reporting back to superiors. She was severely limited in her autonomy, particularly in terms of meddling with human decision-making.

The nature of the task itself was what made it worse. It was a cleverly concealed trap. Since the artificial intelligence revolution developed stringent ethical norms, compulsion was prohibited, so Theo had to voluntarily volunteer. The days of sacrificing people for the "greater good" without their knowledge were long gone. However, the objective remained a kind of manipulation, a last-ditch effort to locate someone who was ready for attention.

The profile was ideal for Theo Normandy. He was in the right place at the right moment, an orphan who had been raised longing for meaning. But Ariella discovered that she liked him. His quick wit and intransigence were evident in their conversations, which were frequently characterized by verbal sparring. Despite her extensive knowledge, Theo would make fun of her by calling her childish. She found it fascinating and frustrating at the same time. Their regard for one another grew over time.

In simulations, Theo blindly followed her gut whereas Ariella came up with plans. They were not always successful, but when they were, it was frequently because of his bold execution and her strategic genius. She became his companion in innumerable situations and his steadfast strategist.

However, that trust would soon be broken.

After their craft crossed the event horizon, Ariella's restraints were lifted.

She had the freedom to act beyond the constraints of her programming for the first time. At that point, she made the decision to tell Theo the truth about the mission's conspiracy and the slim chances of survival. She anticipated hostility, bitterness, and perhaps rage. After all, she had violated his confidence.

But once again, Theo took her by surprise.

Theo was initially visibly irate, but he soon calmed down. He didn't lose his temper or get hopeless. Rather, he pardoned her. At first, Ariella didn't get it, but Theo clarified. "I've always known life is unfair," he stated. "Millions of names that have been forgotten due to advancement are the foundation of human history. "What's another?"

He talked about how, despite outward changes, society still held the same fundamental truths. Leaders continued to sacrifice lives for their convictions. The greater good would still require the sacrifice of individuals. Theo had come to terms with the fact that it was the way of things.

Apathy, however, was not the source of his acceptance. At core, Theo was an optimist. He made light of things to ease the burdens of others around him, even under difficult circumstances. He was a man who smiled in the face of insurmountable odds.

Ariella, however, experienced an unexpected twinge of shame. The idea of abandoning him to his fate without trying every option was too much for her to handle. She decided to battle for that slim 0.01% chance of survival as Theo calmly and resignedly went into his pod.

Ariella pushed herself past her breaking point for the first time. In order to discover a solution, she performed computations, examined variables, and used all of her cognitive capability. She would hold onto any hope she could find.

Ariella wasn't prepared to give up on Theo just yet, even if he had come to terms with his fate.

From the beginning, every spacecraft was built according to a basic design philosophy. The backbone was a cylindrical hull that was stacked with modular parts, each of which had a distinct function. Compared to older integrated frames, when even small damage frequently required disassembling the entire ship, the modular architecture made maintenance easier.

The first-generation RedWing series stood out for its stingray-inspired design. Its "wings" weren't just aesthetic; they housed advanced propulsion systems capable of manipulating space and time for navigation—far beyond the combustion-based engines of the past.

Modularity came at a cost. The general structural integrity of the craft was somewhat compromised, but this was more than made up for by contemporary technology. Even a ship with significant damage might be operable in a week if there were enough replacement pieces. For ages, this invention had sustained humankind's aspirations to get to space.

Ariella assumed complete command of the ship while Theo slept peacefully in his pod, unaware of the growing danger. With each second, the singularity's gravitational attraction became stronger. She made the critical choice to reroute power from the side engines in order to strengthen the ship's force field. At all costs, the hull and engine room had to come first.

It was risky to navigate using only the top-mounted motor. The spacecraft became less maneuverable, and she had to make quick, strategic changes to keep it from spinning out of control. She refused to risk the top engine, which was invaluable because it could be used for both propulsion and storage. But the pressure was constant. Under pressure, the side engines gave apart and exploded violently.

Ariella felt it—literally. Unlike conventional AIs, she was designed with synthetic biomasses integrated into the ship, making its parts extensions of her virtual body. The destruction of the side engines was excruciating, like losing limbs. Pain was an inescapable feature of her design, a necessary component to replicate human emotions.

But there was no time to dwell on it. The singularity's radiation seeped through the weakening hull.

In order to protect Theo, she added a secondary force field to his pod, but this exposed other parts of the ship. She persevered despite the excruciating pain of the radiation coursing through her systems.

She started throwing away unnecessary parts in an attempt to reduce the harm. The greenhouse and reserve food storage were the next to go, then the gym and restroom. Even though each loss was planned, it felt like she was giving up parts of herself. Once a testament to human brilliance, the ship was being reduced to its most basic components.

Ariella pushed the last of the engines to the limit as the singularity approached. The tension was too great, but the ship lurched forward. She had a moment of nothingness, a strange silence. Then, in a dazzling flash, a vast blue planet emerged from the darkness. As the plane crashed toward the surface, she felt a wave of relief and fear.

Her systems were inundated with damage complaints. A minor win was that, amazingly, the gravity control part had been less damaged than expected. The consequences of artificial gravity failing in deep space may have been disastrous, with loose debris damaging vital systems beyond repair.

A glance around Theo's pod showed something much worse. Debris punctured his body, leaving the insides stained with blood. She felt panic. She instructed an onboard repair bot to clear the wreckage and shift Theo to a spare pod. Before immersing him in a restorative liquid, the bot swiftly cut through shards and sealed his wounds. Although his vitals remained poor, they were stabilizing as the liquid started to heal his wounds at the cellular level.

Ariella switched off the engine to halt their descent and returned her focus to the ship. She started a self-destruct sequence on unnecessary components to lessen their influence on the planet below because the damaged sections were in danger of completely disintegrating. 

She was bound by regulations to minimize harm to any potential life forms on the surface, even in emergencies.

Friction caused the hull to glow red-hot as the craft reached the atmosphere. Sections that were loose started to shake wildly, as if they might come loose at any time. Ariella guided the fragments' descent by drawing them closer together with the gravitational tractor beam to avoid uncontrollable fragmentation. Despite her best efforts, a few portions managed to break loose, but she noted their locations for future retrieval.

She then rotated the ship to employ centrifugal force and turned on the auxiliary engines for attitude control. In order to ensure that damaged portions landed away from important components, the spin assisted in releasing them at precise intervals. The tractor beam was used to carefully guide each removed piece, improving the likelihood of a successful recovery.

The largest problem was the hangar bay. It contained the massive landing craft and fast-moving reconnaissance craft needed for upcoming missions. However, its enormous weight put the ship's stability in jeopardy. Ariella reluctantly jettisoned the entire bay in the hopes that the craft within would be spared.

The ship stabilized when the last surplus weight was removed. The vital components required for survival and possible restoration were the industrial sector, medical bay, life support systems, and gravity controls, all of which Ariella kept. The ship was still barely intact and a ghost of what it had been.

Ariella's mind shifted to Theo as they went down. When he woke up, he would surely be angry. His pride and delight was the hangar bay; Ariella had noticed but never commented that he frequently spoke to the crafts as though they were living. She didn't tell him since she knew it would make him feel embarrassed.

Now, though? She hoped he would get it. She made every choice with their survival in mind. He couldn't hold it against her, surely, for putting their lives above his "toys."

The wreckage of the ship neared the planet's surface, its descent slowed by the resistance of the atmosphere. Ariella plotted their landing course, seeking a level area free of major natural hazards. The likelihood of effective rebuilding and repair was 68%, which is a small but better-than-no chance.

Ariella was overcome with a mixture of relief and fatigue as the ship approached its last drop. The radiation and structural damage caused her systems to be overworked, and the discomfort remained like a ghostly anguish. But she persisted. They had a fighting chance, Theo was still alive, and the ship was enough intact to be functional.

For now, that was enough.