After her systems stabilized to a certain degree, ÆLYA wasted no time. She immediately connected herself to the "Collective Core Data" she had received from her father. A soft blue light emanated from the energy core in her chest, creating a complex three-dimensional star map in the air of her dark hiding place.
Within it... she found the final message from Ronan, her father, and the mission he had left for her... "Project Genesis." It was the data and coordinates of a "Seed Vault," a secret space station hidden on the other side of the star system, where they could revive their kind.
With a clear objective before her, her despair transformed into determination. Her mission was no longer just about survival, but about "forging a path" to reach that destination.
She accessed the blueprint for a small spacecraft from the database, but the system immediately flagged the critical missing components... a Stellar Navigation Core, a Stable Fusion Power Source, and a Quantum Comms Array... these were things that could not be found in common scrap metal.
Her first mission thus began... the hunt for parts.
Day after day, ÆLYA moved through the shadows of the ruined city. She became a hunter and a gatherer. She leaped across the skeletons of skyscrapers, moved through the wreckage of still-smoldering warships, and constantly hid from the searchlights of the Purifier patrol ships that periodically flew by.
One day, her scanner detected a faint energy signal from the wreck of a small command ship that had crashed into a collapsed subway shaft. She decided to take the risk...
Inside the wreck, she had to fight against the automated defense systems that were still active before she could finally cut the damaged but repairable "Stellar Navigation Core" from the cockpit. She quickly brought it back to her hiding place... a large cave behind a curtain of coolant water flowing from an old power plant... which had now become her makeshift shipyard.
The next mission was a stable power source. She spent several days in observation until she found a pack of robotic "wolf" scavengers tearing apart the carcass of a Dominion energy transport robot. She waited until they had left before stealthily approaching and extracting the small, still-intact "fusion power core" with great difficulty.
Piece by piece, she carried the crucial components she had found back to her "shipyard in the shadows" and began a process that seemed impossible... building a spacecraft from scrap.
We get to see ÆLYA become a true "goddess of creation." She used her own body as a tool. Her arms transformed into plasma welders and metal cutters. She carefully welded the armor plates she had collected onto the ship's frame, which she had built from the steel beams of buildings... she repaired and installed the navigation core and the fusion power source she had salvaged... it was a portrait of intelligence and determination battling against despair.
And finally... after a long time... a small, one-person spacecraft was complete.
It was a vessel that looked like it had been patched together from wreckage. It had no insignia, no beautiful colors, but it was the result of sweat and intellect... it was her "wings of hope."
ÆLYA stood in the cramped cockpit. She pressed the button to activate all systems. The lights on the control panel illuminated one by one. Navigation System: Online. Propulsion System: Online. Life Support System: Online.
She looked out from her hiding place, through a gap in the cave... up at the night sky filled with distant stars. The navigation system she had just installed had locked onto the coordinates of a faraway target star... the star of hope her father had given her.
The fear that had once filled ÆLYA's eyes was now replaced with pure, unyielding resolve... Her new journey was about to begin.