Intergalactic conquest with an AI

After a few hours of relative peace, the chaos from both Rex's and Carlos's earlier situations had finally settled, well, somewhat. Rex's room had gone from being an active war zone to a fragile ceasefire, while Carlos somehow managed to keep Sharon entertained without completely losing his mind.

Now, the group was gathering at the hangar bay, preparing for the second event of the cruise: camping on a pristine, naturally protected world.

The hangar was bustling with activity as passengers and crew loaded up supplies and prepared for the scenic expedition. Carlos, however, barely had time to admire the spectacle before Rex grabbed him by the neck and dragged him behind a cargo crate, out of earshot of Ys, Cleo, and most importantly Sharon.

"Hey, man! What the hell?!" Carlos protested, rubbing his neck once Rex released him.

Rex leaned in, whispering urgently. "Carlos. How did you end up with that woman? And who is she?"

Carlos glanced nervously toward Sharon, who was standing a short distance away, casually chatting with Ys and Cleo as if she didn't have a care in the world. "I told you, man! I don't know!" Carlos whispered back.

"All I remember is meeting her outside the nightclub. We hung out inside, had a great time, and then... poof. Blackout. Nothing. Total void after that."

Rex groaned, running a hand down his face. "So you don't remember anything? Like, how you ended up in her room?"

Carlos shook his head helplessly. "Not a damn thing. But she seems like a nice lady, you know? She's classy, and she's been really chill about everything. So why were you in such a panic when you called me earlier?"

Carlos hesitated, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, the thing is..." He leaned closer, lowering his voice even further. "She told me she's married. And apparently, people are terrified of her husband. Like, they avoid her because of him."

Rex's eyes widened. "Married?!" he hissed, glancing at Sharon again. She was laughing softly at something Ys had said, completely unaware of the two men's panicked conversation. "Do you have any idea who her husband is?"

Carlos shrugged helplessly. "I don't, man! That's why I called you! Maybe Cleo can look her up or something? You know, do her tech wizard thing?"

Rex sighed, glancing at his arm device. "Fine. Let me call her and see what she can dig up." He tapped a few buttons, initiating the call. After a moment, Cleo's calm, neutral voice came through the device.

"Yes, Rex?" Cleo answered, her tone betraying no hint of the chaos happening in the background.

"Cleo, I need to talk to you in private. Can you come over here where Carlos and I are?" Rex said, waving his hand so Cleo could see him from across the hangar.

Cleo's gaze flicked to him, then to Carlos, whose face was practically radiating distress. "Understood. I'll be there shortly," she replied before ending the call. Turning to Ys and Sharon, she smiled politely.

"Ys, can you keep Sharon company for a moment? Rex and Carlos require my assistance with something."

Ys, who had been listening intently with her advanced hearing, smirked knowingly. "Sure, I'll hold down the fort. Just don't take too long. The transport ships will be taking off soon."

Cleo raised an eyebrow at Ys's unusually cooperative response but decided not to comment. "Understood," she said before heading over to where Rex and Carlos were waiting.

"Finally!" Carlos said as Cleo approached. "Cleo, you gotta help me. I'm in deep trouble here."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Cleo glanced between Carlos, who looked like he was on the verge of a meltdown, and Rex, who looked more exasperated than anything. "What exactly is the situation?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Carlos quickly explained everything: the nightclub, the blackout, waking up in Sharon's room, and, most importantly, the fact that Sharon was married to someone powerful enough to make people fear even talking to her.

When he finished, Cleo let out a small sigh, closing her eyes. "Very well. Give me a moment. I'll access the relevant databases and see what I can find."

Carlos and Rex watched as Cleo stood perfectly still, her eyes closed as she worked. For several minutes, she said nothing, her expression calm but focused. Then, without warning, she opened her eyes, fixing Carlos with an amused look.

"Well," Cleo began, her tone carrying a faint hint of mischief, "it seems you've managed to land a critical hit, as Rex would say, on one of our less friendly acquaintances."

Rex and Carlos exchanged confused glances. "What do you mean?" Rex asked.

Cleo's lips curled into the faintest of smirks. "The woman you so carelessly spent the night with, Carlos, is none other than Sharon Tameron. She is the wife of the current CEO of Nexum Dynamics."

The words hung in the air like a grenade waiting to go off.

Carlos blinked. "Wait, you mean, like, Nexum Dynamics? The megacorp that builds warships and high-tech weapons? Those that want us dead? That Nexum Dynamics?"

"Affirmative," Cleo replied, her expression perfectly neutral.

"And to clarify, it wasn't exactly easy to confirm this information. I had to bypass multiple military-grade firewalls, disable tracking programs, and delete several highly advanced viruses just to access the relevant data. That level of security is only applied to individuals of significant importance."

Carlos paled, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Oh no."

Rex groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Cleo, please tell me you're joking. There's no way Carlos could've been that unlucky."

Cleo shrugged lightly. "I do not joke about matters of this nature. And yes, he was that unlucky."

Carlos's knees nearly gave out. "I... I slept in the same room as the wife of Nexum Dynamics' CEO?!" His voice cracked as panic overtook him. "Do you know what he'll do to me if he finds out?!"

Rex grimaced, patting Carlos on the shoulder. "Yeah, this is bad. Really bad."

Cleo tilted her head slightly, her expression thoughtful. "On the bright side," she said, "you may have inadvertently created an opportunity. If Sharon holds any influence over her husband, we could potentially use this situation to—"

"Nope!" Carlos interrupted, shaking his head violently. "Nope, nope, nope! I'm not getting involved in any corporate espionage or sabotage or whatever you're thinking! I just want to survive this trip without getting assassinated!"

Rex sighed deeply. "Alright, alright. First thing's first: we keep this under wraps. No one else finds out about this, got it?"

Cleo nodded. "Understood. But I would suggest that Carlos maintain a respectful distance from Sharon for the remainder of the trip."

"Respectful distance?!" Carlos hissed. "I'm staying light-years away from her!"

As the group prepared to board the transport, Carlos couldn't shake the feeling that his vacation had taken a very dangerous turn.

"I don't think you'll be able to stay away from her, Carlos," Rex said with a teasing grin as he patted Carlos's shoulder.

His hand then gestured toward the far end of the hangar, where Sharon stood, looking effortlessly elegant even in casual camping attire. She was holding a datapad and chatting pleasantly with Ys, her lynx-like ears twitching slightly as she laughed at something.

Carlos turned to look, his stomach sinking when he realized what Rex was pointing out. "No, no way," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Rex chuckled. "Yep. It looks like Sharon's on our team for the camping event. Congratulations, buddy. You've hit the jackpot."

Carlos groaned, running a hand down his face. "I can't believe this... Why me, man? Why does it have to be me?"

"Haha! Hey, look on the bright side," Rex said as they started walking toward the transport ship. "You delivered the single most powerful hit to one of our enemies. I mean, sleeping in the same room as the wife of Nexum Dynamics' CEO? That's next-level sabotage!"

"Yeah, next-level sabotage that'll probably get me vaporized," Carlos muttered, shooting Sharon a nervous glance. She caught him looking and gave him a warm smile, waving slightly. He immediately looked away, his face heating up.

Cleo, walking next to Rex, glanced at Carlos with her usual neutral expression, though there was a faint glimmer of amusement in her eyes. "Try not to embarrass yourself too much, Carlos. We're supposed to be on a peaceful outing, after all."

"Peaceful?!" Carlos hissed under his breath. "I'm one wrong word away from getting assassinated, and you call this peaceful?"

Cleo didn't bother responding, simply stepping onto the transport ship with Rex, leaving Carlos to reluctantly follow.

Once inside the transport ship, the passengers settled into their designated seats. The interior was spacious and comfortable, with padded seats and large windows offering stunning views of the planet below.

The girls, Ys, Cleo, and Sharon, sat on one side, chatting away about various topics while Carlos and Rex sat on the other, their heads bent over their arm devices as they pretended to ignore the ongoing conversation.

"Why does it feel like my vacation is turning into a survival mission?" Carlos muttered to Rex as he scrolled through his arm device, likely searching for some way to calm his nerves.

"Could be worse," Rex replied casually, not looking up from his device. "At least she seems to like you. If she didn't, you'd already be dealing with her husband's goons right now."

Carlos shot him a glare. "Not helping, Rex. Not helping at all."

A chime echoed through the cabin, and a cheerful voice from the event announcer came over the intercom.

<<one, two, three!Can you all hear me? Im the guide that will be in charge of you guys! Are you all ready to spend an extraordinary time surrounded by nature?>>