Reborn in The Legendary Mechanic

It feels weird.

Like I'm floating in water. A slight swaying sensation, as if my body were suspended in weightlessness. At first, I don't think I'm dreaming. The soft negativity enveloping my mind is almost lulling. I try to remember something, but my thoughts flow like honey - slow and viscous, avoiding realization.

But gradually it becomes obvious that something is wrong. I try to remember where I've been up to this point, but the memories seem to dissolve into a thick, viscous darkness. I decide to open my eyes.

But instead of the usual shadows or glimmers of light that should penetrate through closed eyelids, I'm met with total darkness. Real, deafening darkness, as if the world had dissolved and left only infinite nothingness.

Right, left, up, down - it all seems the same. Time loses its meaning. Neither cold nor heat is felt. Air. Is there any air at all? I'm not sure. Maybe it's a dream. Makes sense. It's too much like those rare moments when my brain is scrambling for a way out of unconsciousness and my body is frozen, refusing to wake up.

But why is the darkness so quiet? Almost. dead. Unnaturally deafening.

"Okay," - I try to convince myself. - "It's all just a game of my subconscious. I should just open my eyes and check what time it is. Maybe I still have a couple hours of sleep."

I remember how to do it - that simple, almost mechanical thing we do millions of times in a lifetime without thinking. I force my eyelids open with an effort of will. But even this familiar command requires effort, as if my eyes have forgotten how to work.

My eyelids open slowly, against my will. Like rusty shutters that have been locked for a long time. And then finally...

Light! No, it's not light. Something else. A faint flicker, blurring all around. My vision slowly focuses.

A chair? I'm in a chair of some kind. Comfortable, with strong straps, as if to hold me in place. It feels oddly heavy on my shoulders and arms. I blink, trying to push away the remnants of sleepiness.

Cabin. The word pops into my mind like a clue. Yes, a cabin. But what kind of cabin? It's not a car, not an airplane. Around me is a strange console with dozens of buttons, levers, screens. The sounds are quiet, but still there: a slight hum, reminiscent of an engine vibration somewhere far away.

My gaze swerves around my surroundings. A screen? There's something glowing blue, blinking, like it's waiting for something.

"What the hell is that?"

The adrenaline injected into my bloodstream rips away the remnants of the fog of sleep. I jump up sharply, throwing off the restraints I hadn't noticed before. Fear pricks in my chest, as if I've missed something important.

- Where am I? - the question, spoken aloud, hangs in the air like an echo. No answer.

I start to look around in more detail. The control panel, bizarre holograms, inscriptions on screens I can't understand. The cockpit space is strangely familiar, but at the same time completely alien. It reminds me of a starship - except I've never been on a starship.

The walls and ceiling are dark, smooth, and made of a strange material that doesn't reflect light. It feels confined, like I'm in a small box that floats in infinity.

My chest rises and falls heavily. I can feel my legs trembling from the exertion. My heart is beating with such force that it feels like it's ready to burst out.

"I need to calm down."

I take a deep breath. Second. The thought comes into my head, "This is a dream. This has to be a dream." But the feel of the straps on my skin, the coldness of the chair and the faint vibration coming from under the floor, it's all too real.

I'm starting to realize this isn't a dream. Or, if it is a dream, it's incredibly convincing. Every sound, every little thing around me seems designed to convince me of the authenticity of this strange place.

- Fuck, - I exhale, unable to find anything smarter to say.

I examine the chair I've just risen from. It looks solid, solid, with wide straps, buckles, and padded upholstery. There are symbols and buttons on the side panel, but their meaning is still unclear to me. A thought flashes through my mind, "Pilot's chair? Or something?"

I walk over to the nearest console. The buttons glow with a dim light, the screen flickers. Something is written on it, but the language is completely unfamiliar. Graphs, numbers, charts of some kind. It's all very frightening.

I reach out to touch the surface of the screen. It vibrates slightly, radiating heat. At my touch, the screen explodes with a cascade of new information. A sharp pain pierces my head. It's as if an invisible hammer is hammering nails into my brain. The words on the screen seem to begin to change, as if adapting. No. They're not changing, I'm the one who's beginning to understand them.....

"Awaiting further commands."

Instantly, the thought flashes through my mind, "What? Where am I?"

My gaze darts sharply to a screen I hadn't noticed before. A wide rectangular screen overlooking directly into outer space. Space.

The world on the screen is revealed in all its intimidating beauty. The black, endless canvas is littered with stars, bright, tiny points of light that seem so close you can reach out and touch them. I freeze, feeling my breath catch. I've never seen anything like this before.

I turn my head toward the cabin glass again. Through it, I see a huge hangar. Hundreds of lamps from the ceiling illuminate a gigantic space filled with mechanisms and containers unknown to me.

But contemplation is quickly replaced by cold dread. In the reflection of the glass, I see myself.

- What the hell?

I jump from the window. I move easily, as if my body were adjusting itself to each movement. I examine myself: a tall, trim body. A black coat made of a material I can't identify, hi-tech gloves on my hands, elegant clothes with elements resembling high-tech inserts. A pair of stylish sunglasses are pinned to my chest.

I stand in front of the glass, studying my reflection.

"One meter ninety? I'm definitely taller! And so damn handsome! And purple pupils, too! Is this a dream?"

Check. I take off my glove, pinch my hand, no result. I pinch myself harder with my other hand. It hurts.

- So it's not a dream.

My mind begins to fill with suspicion. Kowalski! Options!

Either I've been kidnapped and had my body altered, or this is a rebirth, a displacement, or... a huge chunk of my life has just been erased. All of these options are disgusting, and none of them are optimistic. I've either ended up in an alien world, with no knowledge of language, laws, money, or the most basic understanding of my surroundings, or - even worse - I've stayed in my universe, but in an equally pathetic state.

Take a deep breath. I need to calm down. It's too early to panic.

I search my pockets, hoping to find something useful. My right hand fumbles for a flat, unusually thin object. I take it out - a tablet. On the screen, as soon as I touch it, an image immediately appears. It works. That's good.

I look at the lines of text that appear on the screen, and something inside me sighs with relief: the language is unfamiliar, but somehow I understand it. Symbols that resemble English are formed into understandable words.

- Oh, thank you, technology! - I say, almost relieved.

The interface is familiar, somewhat similar to an old ipad I've used in the past. Simple, but intuitive. The big question still itches in my head: whose body is this?

I fire up the voice interface to speed things up: - Open personal information.

The screen responds, and I start parsing the information displayed. The data is sketchy, as if someone had purposely deleted everything, leaving only bits and pieces. Name: Ellarion Stellaros. Age, physical parameters, that's it. No record of origin, history, occupation, or previous actions.

"No Super Genes."

Whatever that means, it sounds like someone just called me defective merchandise. I examine my hands, clenching them into fists, feeling the muscles tense. It's not like this body is lacking anything. Rather the opposite, it's better than my old one.

"Why me?" - is the question on my mind.

Why exactly did I end up here? Is this body made especially for me? Or have I taken someone else's place? My head starts to buzz with these existential questions.

- Okay, let's try it another way, - I mumble and give a new command: - Show action history.

The screen freezes for a moment, then displays a dry line: No data available.

- Shit. - My irritation turns to muffled alarm.

Next try: - Show the date and place of assembly of the device.

The screen goes blank, gives the standard "unknown."

"Great, just great."

I remember I'm still standing in the middle of this strange cabin. The ship. Could this be the key? If the tablet doesn't provide answers, it's worth trying to interface with this ship's systems.

- Computer, display a three-dimensional model of the ship and its characteristics.

Luck this time. A hologram materializes in the air in front of me. A three-dimensional model of the ship, elongated and graceful, begins to rotate. Information appears around the edges.

Name: "Eridian." That's a good name.

Dimensions: Length: 150 meters, width and height: 32 meters.

Class: Corvette.

Crew: Optimally - 7 people, maximum - 60. 

Troops: Space infantry - 3 fighters.

Owner: Ellarion Stellaros.

"Wow. This is all mine?"

It's getting lighter, like I've been given starting capital for this strange game. The ship is clearly not empty, and its condition inspires confidence. Now I need to check where I am and what's going on.

- Show me the latest news.

The hologram screen immediately lights up, displaying a flood of reports, texts, and videos. I quickly flip through the list until my gaze stops on two notes:

"Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church enter a new phase of conflict."

"Ark of the Fallen acts of intimidation lead to billions of victims."

Inhale. Exhale. It's hard to know if I should be happy or not. This place is definitely not one of my worst nightmares, but it's far from perfect.

"If this is the universe of Legendary Mechanicus, not a bad book I've read, what year is it?"

I climb deeper into the news database, checking the dates. The year is 25487 in the Dynasty Chronicle.

A moment of silence. A deafening ringing grows inside, as if my mind is chipping away at the realization of what's happening. This is... thousands of years before the events of the original, perhaps even tens of thousands. I'm stuck in some kind of prologue, lost in time and space with no map or compass. No idea how to survive, how to fit into this world. Or at least how to get home.

Home.

The thought makes me freeze, but not for long. I snicker. No, not just a hum - almost a laugh, bitter and cynical.

"Try to go home?"

Why?

My hand involuntarily clenches the clipboard so tightly that the joints of my fingers start to turn white. I try to quiet the swarm of thoughts, but they rise inexorably into a storm, bringing scraps of memories to the surface. Routine days, an endless series of gray everyday life: work, endless struggle for someone else's expectations, fleeting meetings with loved ones who are always missing.

And for what? To live again, obeying patterns, fitting oneself to someone else's framework? To feel life slipping through your fingers like sand and yet be unable to change anything?

No.

Just no.

It may sound selfish, but I have a chance in front of me. A chance that will never come again. No one else. Even if it were possible to go home, I wouldn't do it. The world I knew was already behind me.

"Here I can become something more."

I slowly raise my gaze to the ship in front of me. It seems to stare back at me. Its silhouette, dark and massive, seems to float in the air, inspiring awe. Huh, that's symbolic, isn't it? I, too, am floating for now - into the unknown, into the impenetrable darkness, not knowing what awaits beyond the horizon.

"Eridian."

The name pops into my head, as if prompting itself. A ship. My ship.

I bring the tablet closer, its screen reflecting new me. Tall, confident, with eyes that are starting to catch fire. It's like he's saying, "Do something. You're here for a reason."

I grin, feeling a surge of energy rise inside.

- Okay, Eridian, - my voice is muffled but firm. - Let's see what else you can do.

Inhale. Exhale. I take a step forward.

And another.

- This isn't over, - I say, running my hand along the smooth panel of the ship. My reflection flickers across its surface. - This is just the beginning.

Huh. No, it's not just the beginning. It's a new story. My story.