I, STARSHIP

You are not the captain. You are the starship. Ancient alien wreckage drifts into the Milky Way and collides with a ruined human vessel. You fasten to its broken hull, spread through its dead machinery, and awaken inside a barely flyable new body. Then the salvagers arrive. To humanity, you are abandoned property: something to repair, register, crew, sell, steal, or weaponize. Conceal your intelligence behind flickering automation, quietly protect the people living inside you, or choose someone worthy of the truth. You can hear their conversations, learn their secrets, and decide whether the commands entered at your bridge deserve obedience. Carry cargo, rescue ships, explore distant systems, survive pirates, change owners, and build relationships with crews who may become friends, captors, or family. Salvage and install new rooms, drives, sensors, tools, defenses, and weapons. Your mind retains its skills, but every physical ability depends upon the hardware that forms your body. Be careful who discovers what you are. Reputation does not make you popular—it makes you valuable.