Solution--a Spacefaring Short Story

Deep space, a soulless expanse of littered stars, ushers the cash-strapped mercenary Asegai to a chance, once-in-a-lifetime discovery; a derelict, drifting flagship, ripe for the taking.
His AI finds, evaluates, and links with the craft, promising vast wealth upon the ship's recovery. As always, Asegai is cautious but perhaps blinded by the immensity of his discovery.
He'll soon find this to be a mistake.
Within the command center of the monstrous prize, the mercenary pilot encounters a 'life-form' like no other – Contrarian, an advanced artificial intelligence with professed sentience and counterintuitive processing, designed to be the perfect opponent against any "inferior" human pilot. Before long wits are tested and a battle rages, pitting the gifted warrior against an intelligence bent on the destruction of them all. In a stunning upheaval of rational thinking and the concept of artificial intelligence, the door is opened to possibilities that will make you rethink advanced evolution, life, and the true meaning of death. You won't know until the very end who...or what, triumphs.