In need of power

The screen displayed a cascade of numbers and symbols, so fast and numerous that Grey couldn't make heads nor tails of it. Was that all data from his implant?

"The program is just booting up." Ren replied, as deadpan as ever.

"And you wrote this code?" The idea of a kid half his age writing a code that complex was simply astounding to Grey. He knew Ren was a genius, but this was beyond what he expected. 

After several more seconds of code flying by on the screen the image shifted, displaying a full human body with colored icons in its chest and head. 

Ren reached over to the screen and tapped the one in the chest. "You said you were worried your heart implant was malfunctioning?"

The screen became filled with data, some of which Grey could recognize. Flow rates, oxygen levels, pressure.

"Interesting." Ren began swiping data readouts around, dismissing some. Some of the readouts contained symbols Grey hadn't seen before. "But why is it…oh, I see. That is very interesting."

Ren turned to Grey, and without the slightest change in tone asked; "Where did you get an alien implant?"

"A fucking what?"

Ren simply pointed at the screen, which was now mostly filled with more of the symbols he didn't recognize. "None of these characters are galactic common, nor any language the program can translate. It's not any of the extinct languages humanity used to speak or from the other space faring races we've come in contact with either."

Grey had expected to learn something about the Vessel from Ren, but not this. Not only was it ancient, but it was from an unknown, maybe even lost, civilization. But if that was the case, how did he understand everything it said?

Grey found himself lost in thought, until the weight of Ren's expectant stare became too heavy to ignore. Ren had found something new to learn. Something maybe no one else alive knew. He wasn't going to let up about it.

That put Grey in a tough spot. He trusted Ren, but knew Ren was terrible at secrets. And yet, he still needed the kid's help.

Eventually, he came to a reluctant decision. 

"Sorry, kid. I can't tell you everything. I barely know what's going on myself. I found this thing, got seriously hurt, and woke up with it inside me."

Grey shifted in his seat, debating how to explain his situation. "There's some sort of…artificial intelligence in it, too. That's really why I came to you. The AI seemed to bug out and crash earlier. Most of all, I just need to know if the implant will keep working without the AI, everything else is gravy."

"Gravy…?"

He should have known better than to use slang with Ren. "A bonus. Anything else you can tell me is an extra bit of help."

"I see." Ren nodded, Grey wasn't sure he really understood. "Well, then the…potatoes… is that it's operating well without the AI active, and should continue to do so indefinitely. As for the gravy, I'll need some more time to sort through the data. I am unsure how much I can get before I manage to translate the language."

"How long d'you think you'll need?" Grey had several things he needed to do, and holding up here as Ren's lab rat was not on his list. 

"Give me thirty minutes, I'll record a lot of the active data. That should be enough to get an idea on its operating system. The language could take weeks, or months, before I can find a way to translate."

Grey ended up giving Ren an hour. The more data he had, the better the chance of him understanding it all. It also gave him time to think about his situation further. If the AI didn't come back online, it could be months before Ren cracked the language. And even with that, he may not be able to do anything with the Vessel.

His face twisted in a grimace as he realized that without the Vessel active, it would likely treat any attempt to remove it as unauthorized and kill them both. He needed the AI awake.

During that hour Raidi came and went, poking, prodding, and generally being a nuisance to Grey for taking up time with her brother. Himari checked in once, to bring the boys a drink and to make sure Grey wasn't trying to get Ren into the freelance business. Eventually he had enough sitting around, hoping Ren had something to tell him. 

"Not really." The genius replied when Grey asked. "This data is unlike anything I've seen. I've only understood the absolute basics. The best thing I can tell you is that it's currently underpowered."

Ren pointed to one of the readouts, "This seems to indicate the implant's power reserves. I don't know how much it has, but it's dropping fairly slowly. If you could find a way to charge the system, the AI should have enough power to reactivate."

"How the hell would I do that?" Grey had no idea how to recharge something like this, there didn't seem to be a battery port to plug into. Trying to give it power via his neurojack would likely kill him.

"I have no idea. You'd have to pull a dangerous level of power." Ren remained quiet for a moment, before a spark of realization hit him. He turned back to his earlier project, the electric field generator. He could adjust the voltage correctly, he might be able to wirelessly charge Grey's implant without frying him. "I may have a solution."

"Will I like it?" Ren's solutions always worked, but they weren't always enjoyable.

"Most certainly not." Ren began explaining his idea to Grey, who's face slowly took on the same color as his name. "I just need some replacement parts and we can get to testing."

"Are you sure you aren't just using me to help you get parts, kid?"

"No. It is simply coincidence, though very fortunate for us both."

"Damn it, alright. What do you need?"

Ren didn't answer right away. He would need more than just the cable he'd burnt out earlier, he'd also need time to reconfigure the field generator to be of use. "A lot. Give me a day to plan it out. I'll need your help getting it all together."

Grey had a terrible feeling.

"We're going to steal it all, aren't we?"

"No. We're just going to borrow them. And not bring them back."

An hour later found Grey back in his apartment, returned to his much needed resting. His time with Ren wasn't strenuous by any means, but it wasn't pleasant on his sore body. 

Ren had asked for a day to plan their 'shopping trip'. Ren's way of saying the we're going to steal parts from various machines around the outer ring. It wouldn't be the grandest heist, but it wouldn't be an easy affair. 

The outer ring, where they both resided, contained the poorest of the city. As such, crime was highest here. Citizens salvaging valuable parts was a common form of employment, though most stayed away from outright stealing from city infrastructure. But not Ren. 

Most would take from old and broken machines dumped in the streets, corps wouldn't bother paying the expense to ship them to a scrapyard. Ren wanted parts that weren't end-of-life. This wasn't hard, really. Security was almost non-existent in the outer ring, but that didn't mean city property wasn't watched. 

Across the outer and middle rings, a surveillance system watched everything valuable and everywhere public. The inner ring was only for the influential and rich, both of whom considered privacy a must, thus the security was provided by the city's autonomous droids, or by the local's own private forces. 

The middle ring had no private armies, but the city's security droids would often be accompanied by flesh and blood police. In the outer ring, both were rare, and held in reserve for the most significant crimes. Riots, murder, stealing city property…

Grey was doubtful they'd send a droid after them. Ren had been stealing for years without serious trouble. Grey had saved him from a cop once or twice, or maybe a couple dozen times. Ren had been young enough to play the dumb kid and Grey the disappointed father. But now that Ren was old enough to know better, that story wouldn't fool anyone. 

Of course, the best plan was to not get caught. But life rarely went so smoothly. Even in the best of times, Grey wasn't much of a fighter. He had some skill with tech and was a half decent shot, but what kept Ters coming to Grey for jobs was his ability to think things through before the job, and to improvise when things went wrong. 

Vic was always blast first and blast after. Error wasn't the type you wanted to make calls, unless you wanted to find the worst choice available. Ters was the go-to tech man, and while he was the one who set up jobs, he often listened to Grey when he spoke up.

Grey knew that Ren was smarter than him. The kid may not have a lot, or any, social awareness, but he made up for it in other places. Grey just hoped that whatever he planned would be the optimal route. If not, well, Grey was good at improvising, at least