Imposter System

The setup was actually very simple. The captain had an engineering team bring over a holographic projection device from one of the combat simulation military bays. With enough raw material, the machine was able to accurately reproduce a scenic outdoor wedding. The decision on venue was decided on by Alexis without Matt's knowledge, so when he stepped out of the rest room, he was shocked with what he saw.

This was a near perfect replica of the wedding from their dream. He had to hand it to Alexis for being very detail oriented in this matter. The guests flooded in, but only a tenth of the crowd were actually invited. Therefore, there were several people watching the wedding from large monitors outside. Although the act of marriage wasn't very common, people loved big events regardless of their content. Some even made side gambles of various improbable things like the groom tripping or the bride's clothes spontaneously combusting.

Matt walked up to the pedestal where the captain was standing. Soon, all of the guests were situation and the doors closed with a swish. The hologram quickly covered that section of the wall and it signaled the start of the wedding. Everyone quieted down once the music began to play, which Alexis had picked out herself. Although it wasn't the typical wedding soundtrack, the songs had a fitting melody to them. The side doors swished open and Alexis began to walk out in her beautiful wedding gown.

Matt couldn't get his eyes off of her. The accident that happened only a few hours ago was but a distant memory at this moment. He could feel a cooling sensation was over him as if his whole body suddenly released the pent-up energy. Ever since he lost himself in the dream world with Alexis, he had unconsciously been anticipating this day. Alexis finally made it to the pedestal and stepped to the other side of the captain and turned to face Matt.

The captain began his speech.

"We are gathered here today, not as Federation officers, but as friends and family, to celebrate the marriage of two of USS Odyssey's finest. Since the era of wooden ships, all captains have had the privilege of joining two people in matrimony. Although the era of marriage has passed us, this privilege remains. Thus, in honoring old traditions, I ask the bride and groom to state their vows."

The two awkwardly stared at each other for a moment before Alexis spoke up. "Uh, I guess I'll start. It isn't every day that you meet someone that you are willing to spend your whole life with. I always thought that becoming one of the youngest Federation officers was the highlight of my life.

However, I realized that that is only one facet of my life and it is not all that defines me. Although there is no difference between being married or not, taking this step with you, Matt, has fulfilled another facet of my life. I hope that in the future, I will discover more wonderful things and broader horizons—with you."

Many people in the crowd were compelled to clap, but held back as they noticed Matt was about to speak. He started opening his mouth, but couldn't seem to hold back his smile and had to relax his face in order to speak properly.

"I was in my own world for all of my life, and when I was suddenly thrust into this reality, you were the person by my side. At first, our relationship was based on an exchange of benefits, but very quickly I realized how important you are to me. I wouldn't be able to make it this far without you, while also maintaining my sanity.

Being with you has been the accumulated fortune of this life and my previous life. At any point throughout our relationship, the fickle hand of fate could have ripped us apart on a whim. However, as if the masses wished us to stay together, we pulled through and are now here today. You are a part of me now and forever and we will spend eternity together."

Most of the spectators didn't find anything Matt said strange since it seemed like he was speaking in metaphors. However, Alexis knew some of what he said was literal. Only Matt knew everything he said was the exact truth. After they both finished, the captain nodded to the two of them and continued speaking.

"And now, by my right as the captain, I pronounce these two bound in matrimony. And as tradition dictates, you may now kiss!"

Alexis didn't wait for the captain to tell them and had already wrapped her arms around Matt's neck in order to give him a deep kiss. Everyone watching started clapping and the hologram shot fireworks in the distance to accompany the celebration. Once the two stopped kissing, those attending got up and started socializing with each other. Matt and Alexis walked around together and greeted people.

Matt was about to begin collecting supporters using his hypnosis when his device gave him the 'message received' notification. Since there was only one person that would bypass the undisturbed setting on the devices, Matt knew who it was. He opened the message and saw the familiar 'W' at the end of his message. The content of the message was quite brief, quaint even. Willard congratulated Matt on his wedding. The latter half of the message was likely the main point.

'… Stand next to the hologram device for five minutes.' Matt thought to himself. This was a rather simple command. He was tempted to ignore the command. Since Alexis was safe from the device, he didn't need to go along with Willard whims. He revealed his hand already. The man likely never intended to hurt Alexis and only wished to scare and control Matt. However, Matt was curious at what exactly Willard would do.

At this point, he could consider himself being caught between a political battle. Whatever Willard was trying to accomplish cannot be done directly. Instead, he and his opponent must use proxies to carry out their maneuvers. This was like a game of chess, and Matt was a pawn originally. His existence in the match between the two was inconsequential. However, at some point, he turned into a queen. This made him a very useful tool.

Seeing that Willard did not request something impossible, Matt decided to follow through. He ensured to disguise his movements to be as natural as possible. He went from person to person holding short exchanges. Using this technique, he managed to situate himself in front of the hologram projecting device which was disguised as a rock—or rather a boulder. Fortunately, there were people standing here so he could insert himself into their meaningless conversation while fulfilling the task.

Five minutes passed and the room suddenly flickered. The hologram abruptly changed into one of billions of lines of code along the walls. The lines of code congregated into person. His face was shrouded in darkness, but Matt recognized him immediately as Willard. The hologram began speaking in the dark room, and a voice was played through the room's intercom.

"Do you really know who your captain is?" The voice said. Immediately after, various other voices echoed in the background to emphasize the question. 'Traitor, Monster, Villain,' they called out in hushed tones. The dark projection changed to one of the boarding party several years ago on Earth. Then, the voice began narrating. "two-thousand passengers aboard the most advanced piece of technology on Earth, well beyond our capabilities. Two-thousand… two-thousand… then, who are these people?"

The scene changed to the cargo loading onto the ship after boarding finished. Approximately a hundred people were brought into the ship in magnetic cuff links and the bay door closed behind them. The hushed voices echoed again, 'Murder, Oppression, Lies.' Before the scene could change again, the captain was already yelling to shut the device off. Many armed security officers rushed in with their weapons.

The scene already changed to what seemed like a butchery. The shelves were specially designed hibernation pods. One of the original plans for long-term voyage relied on the use of hibernation technology to skip the travel time. However, when the faster-than-light travel technology was developed to the current state, that idea was scrapped by the Federation. A large man wearing an apron pulled open one of the hibernation pods, but before the crowd could see what was in it, the security opened fire on the hologram device, destroying it.

Suddenly, alarms started blaring. Many thought that it was in response to the gunfire, until a robotic voice began speaking. The AI was making an announcement which shocked everyone on board. Matt listened carefully and began to understand what Willard's plan might be. He nodded his head in realization at the brilliance.

"Scans have detected unauthorized access to restricted functions. Self-diagnostics indicates malfunction of primary Artificial Intelligence. Initiating emergency protocol."

Chaos ensued.