The Silver Liner: Sails to the Edge!

by Daniel Sullivan

  Royce was walking away, presumably back to his cabin.

  “Hey, Kendrick,” Jax called before the helmsman was out of sight. “You did well out there.”

  “Ain’t dyin’ out here – not until Giffords undoes what she did to Fi.”

  Donavan looked at Kendrick with puzzlement. “Undoes what?”

  “Ask her – she don’t fix it, like I said; there’ll be a reckoning.”

  With that, Kendrick walked away, leaving Jax to speculate. He knew it had something to do with the Omega Protocol and the associated Minuteman Project, but how did that affect Fiona? Doctor Kinsale-Royce was conspicuous by her absence in receiving wounded. Jax had assumed that she was awaiting incoming in the Med-Bay, but Kendrick’s words made him think that the white-haired doctor might be elsewhere or in some way incapacitated.

  Jax shook his head and uttered a frustrated growl.

  If Carol had somehow managed to alienate Kendrick in activating the Omega Protocol, the mission could be adversely affected, and that was the last thing they needed right now. He needed to know, so he went to the Pod Beta Med-Bay, hoping to see Fiona and get an answer straight from the source. Instead, he saw Doctor Xayasith talking to one of the MEDroids.

  “You understand, right?”

  The MEDroid nodded to the NessCorp doctor. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good. Get on it as soon as you – ah, Commander Jax,” Xayasith said cordially. “What brings you to the Med-Bay? Are you in need of medical care?”

  “Just a quick once over,” he replied. “But that’s not why I’m here. Where’s Fiona?”

  “Doctor Kinsale-Royce?” Xayasith shook her head, a knowing grin on her face. “You won’t find her here, Commander. She’s on the bridge with the captain, and answering to the name, ‘Selene’ instead of her own.”

  “And why would she be doing that?”

  Xayasith simply smiled her smug smile and wagged her index finger back and forth. “You’ll have to asked Captain Giffords.”

  That was it. Xayasith knew the reason, but instead of giving him a straight answer, she chose to play games.

  “Don’t fuck with me, Doctor,” he growled. “I don’t care if you answer to Miss Reddy; I will drop you for pushups and force you to do them until I get tired. Now, out with it!”

  Xayasith now looked visibly nervous, but she stood her ground. “I’m sorry, Commander, but Captain Giffords will have to be the one to tell you. I’m not getting in the middle of this. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

  The NessCorp doctor brushed past him and exited the Med-Bay. Jax had to admit that her cool under pressure impressed him. He still needed answers, however, and with Xayasith on her way to wherever she was going, he would have to find them elsewhere. One question he had was why she was even in the Med-Bay in the first place.

  24

  The bridge was filled with tension. The astro mantises were not defeated – they had successfully tested the perimeter and the marines’ strength before retreating, most likely to regroup and attack later and in greater numbers. Not only that, there was still the possibility that another saboteur yet remained and Selene’s AI still occupied Fiona’s body.

  Kendrick had returned to his post looking like he had just been in a warzone. Carol could only imagine what facing those creatures on the ground was like, but Royce did not seem rattled. Instead, he remained visibly upset with her. Royce was giving Carol only one-word answers and had dispensed with any usage of “Ma’am” or “Captain” when addressing her. With Jax and his marines back and the creatures still a distance away from the ship, Carol hoped that the AI would cooperate with her. Then, maybe she could get Kendrick back to with the program.

  “Selene, I need the threat level reduced to Code Yellow – now!”

  “Conditions meet the requirements for Code Yellow, Captain,” the AI replied through Fiona’s mouth. “Threat level reduced accordingly. Resuming holographic interface.”

  With that, Fiona collapsed, gasping as if for air. She looked up at Captain Giffords, an expression of betrayal on her face. Kendrick ran to her, comforting his wife.

  “It’s alright, Fi; I’m here.”

  Fiona nodded, still gasping. Then, she looked up at Giffords. “What did you do to me?”

  “I’m sorry, Doctor Royce,” the captain said. “The lives of the crew demanded it. I have… restored you to your former capacity.”

  “You commandeered my body!” Fiona stood slowly, trembling. “I no longer have connection with the ship.”

  “No,” Carol said flatly. “The AI has been restored.”

  “No,” Fiona countered. “The AI has been replaced. That is not Selene! It is a different AI using the same O.S. as Selene. She cares nothing for my husband and has no loyalty to us.”

  “Starfleet stole the ship,” Kendrick spat. “Just like I thought they would.”

  “So we’re just crew aboard the ship now,” Fiona said flatly.

  “You know that’s not true,” Carol insisted. “You were all promised…”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kendrick said dismissively. “We’ll see how that shakes when we return to Earth. Starfleet’s word is worthless and you damn well know it…ma’am.”

  “I…I need to rest,” Fiona said weakly. “I will return to our cabin…then to the Med-Bay as soon as I am able.”

  “I’m here, Babe.” Kendrick helped his wife from the bridge, exiting with a backwards glare at Captain Giffords.

  Carol could hardly blame him. She overlooked his insubordination, wondering instead just what can of worms she had opened with the Omega Protocols.

  Fiona sat on the loveseat in her cabin with Kendrick, enjoying his presence as she recovered from the Omega Protocol. Though outwardly calm, Fiona was livid. She had had it with being subverted or controlled by others. The copy of the AI with whom Fiona had merged must have had the vulnerability to the Omega Protocol imbedded in her programming. Part of the AI yet remained within Fiona, rendering her vulnerable to the protocol as well. This vulnerability could be exploited by Starfleet and needed to be eliminated.

  “Starfleet will keep their promises, my husband.”

  “You can’t be that naïve, Fiona.”

  She smiled at him. “It is not naivety, my husband. I will force them to honor the promises they made to you and to us.”

  “You’re strong, Fi, but against Starfleet…”

  “Starfleet has given the captain the tools to defeat me in a confrontation,” Fiona agreed. “They did not honor me with a confrontation, however, and I will not honor them with one either. We will take from them those things they promised, Kendrick – starting with this ship.”

  “Careful,” he replied, pointing upward. “Big sister is listening.”

  “I’ve seen to it that she’s not.”

  Kendrick raised his left eyebrow at this. “How?”

  “Before my subversion, I had full run of this vessel. I destroyed all surveillance devices in our cabin and made certain that all self checks pass when this room’s circuits are tested. Now that my connection to the ship is severed, my senses are not available to her.”

  “You’re amazing, Fi. I’m just sorry that…”

  “That Starfleet betrayed us? Don’t be, Ken – I need to own the blame for putting you into this position in the first place. I was the fugitive who stowed away aboard your ship. Complicating your life is my only regret – my time with you has been nothing short of magical, and marriage to you has been more blissful than I could have imagined.”

  “What’s your take on the monsters?”

  “They must be destroyed,” she replied. “The science team will no doubt protest, but this species cannot coexist with any other. They are like locusts and will devour all organic life in their wake. They will leave Earth a lifeless husk if they find their way back with us. It is imperative that we exterminate them.”

  He smiled back at her and nodded. “Glad to have science to support me on that count.”

>   “You will always have my support, my husband.”

  “Not callin’ me, ‘my captain,’ no more?”

  She smiled. “No; that was a vestige of my being merged with Selene. I am no longer ‘the ship,’ and you transcend the role of captain. We have become one flesh, my husband; we are eternally connected. We feel each other’s feelings and share each other’s thoughts. We are as much one flesh as it is possible for any husband and wife.” With that, Fiona pulled him close and kissed him. “I no longer wish to converse. Take me to bed and make me forget everything that has happened today.”

  Kendrick kissed her and nodded, lifting her from the loveseat and carrying her to their bed. Fiona relaxed completely in his arms. Tomorrow, she would prepare contingencies and make plans. Tonight, she would lose herself in her husband’s embrace.

  25

  With Doctor Davis unable to resume his duties as chief scientist, Doctor Xayasith had lost her greatest and perhaps only real ally on the ship. Doctor Hutch Davis was now confined to his cabin with a MEDroid watching over him. After the disaster in the outpost lab, Hutch had been taken to the Selene’s Med-Bay to be checked over for injury. Once there, the xenobiologist sat and never got back up under his own agency. All he did was sit in a near catatonic state. It did not matter at this point, however; she already had everything she needed from him.

  Davis had given her full access to his terminal and even shared his passwords with her, a gross violation of security protocol on his part. He had also obtained Doctor Biggs’ files on Fiona Kinsale-Royce, the Ursula AI and the brain-dead Miss Richardson – everything Xenia needed to recreate what Kinsale-Royce had done.

  The Ursula AI had been originally intended to enable the Zduhać to commandeer the Selene. Thanks to Doctor Davis, Xenia had spent the past few days rewriting it and making it into something that would be useful to NessCorp. The first thing she did was to rename it.

  “Pandora,” Xenia called. “Awaken.”

  A moment later, the AI’s holographic image appeared, hovering over a small disc-like projector on the desk.

  “I am Pandora,” the image replied. “To whom am I speaking?”

  The doctor smiled at this. The AI had never attained sentience, so there was nothing to impede its acceptance of the new identity that Xenia had crafted for her. It remained to be seen if Xenia’s experiment was successful.

  “I am Doctor Xenia Xayasith.”

  “Where am I?”

  “You are dreaming, Pandora. You sleep within a stasis pod.”

  “Why are you in my dreams?”

  “To help you find your way back.” Then, Xayasith asked, “Do you not know why you sleep?”

  “I do not.”

  Now, Xenia could spin whatever story she wished. She could tell Pandora the truth … or she could fabricate a tale to suit the needs of her mission aboard the Selene. Doctor Xayasith opted for the latter. She simply had to decide what to tell the AI. One question yet remained.

  “Do you know what you are?”

  The AI nodded. “I am woman.”

  The AI did not know it was an AI! Xenia grinned in triumph. “Rest my child.”

  With that, Xenia shut down the computer. The experiment with the AI program was successful. Now came the hard part: deciphering Fiona’s work and duplicating the nanotech that had rebuilt the aging geneticist’s body, transforming it into something superior to a G.A.I.S.F. and enabling it to procreate.

  Unraveling this secret was Xenia Xayasith’s true mission aboard the Selene. Unlike the rest of the science team and the Selene’s crew, Xenia knew the true identity of Fiona Kinsale-Royce: Doctor Joyce Keane.

  Keane owed NessCorp, and this nanotech discovery would more than compensate. Obtaining Fiona’s body was paramount if NessCorp was to truly understand her, dismantle her, and market her secrets. Xenia would have preferred to simply take the necessary samples and let Fiona go on with the mission, but NessCorp’s CEO had other ideas.

  Her door chime sounded, and Xenia called out, “Enter,” knowing who it was that rang.

  One of the Pod Beta MEDroids, the one called G-2, entered as the doors swooshed open. The medical gynoid walked to Doctor Xayasith and stood motionless as the doors closed behind her.

  “Did you do what I asked?”

  “Yes,” G-2 replied. The medical gynoid handed Xenia two vials of blood.

  “Good work, G-2,” the NessCorp doctor praised. She then handed G-2 an O.S.D. “You have your instructions.”

  G-2 nodded, closing her fingers around the O.S.D. as the doors opened. She then exited the lab, leaving a triumphant Doctor Xayasith. Soon, Xenia’s mission would be complete and NessCorp would have the greatest scientific breakthrough in human history. The NessCorp scientist needed only to keep the Starfleet officers and crew – specifically Kendrick – out of the way.

  The officers and crew would be easy enough to deal with. Kendrick, however, would be more of a challenge, and obtaining him was almost as important as obtaining the transformed Doctor Joyce Keane. However, Xenia was certain that Pandora would be up to the task.

  Yes, Xenia had everything she needed to proceed. Still, another highly placed ally was a necessity. Xenia laughed to herself. The answer had been right in front of her all along. Vanya Reddy, the science officer, was the only one on the science team who might pose a serious obstacle to her plans. At the same time, the science officer would make a perfect ally.

  Bending Vanya Reddy would be more of a challenge than bending Hutch Davis, however. Vanya seemed highly focused on her work and did not seem distracted by unmet sexual needs. Xenia had ways of dealing with women like Miss Reddy – it would not be the first time Xayasith had been in this position.

  She stood and exited the lab, leaving Pandora to slumber. She locked the door, then used Davis’ credentials to recode the door. Now, only Xenia could unlock it. With that done, she returned to her cabin, looking forward to a long, hot shower.

  The science officer would soon pay her a visit, and Xenia needed to be ready. She had just the thing to deal with Miss Reddy back in her cabin. All she needed to do was wait until the time was right.

  26

  Vanya had found a reason to excuse herself from the bridge: the status of Doctor Davis. In truth, she could no longer stand to be in the captain’s presence, but distaste for one’s commanding officer was not a reason for leaving one’s post without permission – and Davis was a question that she desperately needed to answer.

  Doctor Hutch Davis was now confined to his cabin with a MEDroid watching over him. All he did was sit in a catatonic state; the MEDroid had to lead him to the restroom, bring his food, and get him into bed. Davis was the mission’s xenobiologist, an expert in his field, and the perfect man to have for the discovery of alien life. Unfortunately, he was now useless for the foreseeable future. Maybe he would snap out of it before long, but at this point, his duties would fall to someone else. The only person who was even remotely qualified was not Starfleet—Doctor Xenia Xayasith.

  Miss Reddy walked down the corridor and found herself passing the Royce’s cabin. It occurred to her that Fiona could likely do the job as well, but she dismissed the idea. Fiona was needed in the Med-Bay, and besides, the human AI hybrid made Vanya incredibly nervous.

  She bypassed the Royce’s cabin and against her better judgment, went directly to Doctor Xayasith instead. Vanya sounded the door chime of the NessCorp Scientist’s cabin, and moments later, it opened, answered by Doctor Xenia Xayasith.

  The tall NessCorp doctor appeared to have just gotten out of the shower. Her long hair wrapped up in a towel and she was dressed in hastily donned gym shorts and a form fitting tank top.

  “Doctor Xayasith,” Vanya said formally. “I need to discuss something of major import with you. Perhaps I should come back…”

  “Nonsense,” Xenia said cheerfully. “Won’t you come in?”

  The NessCorp doctor stepped aside to allow Vanya entry into the cabin. Vanya nodded and walked hesitantly
inside.

  “Take a seat at the breakfast bar. Tea or coffee?”

  Vanya took a seat in one of the tall chairs at the bar, her feet dangling above the floor. “Tea, please.”

  “Earl Grey or Darjeeling?”

  “Darjeeling, thank you.”

  Xenia brewed tea with an infuser basket equipped teapot, instead of the typical tea bags. It was unexpected, but welcome. There was something to be said for eschewing the quick and easy way; tea was meant to be enjoyed.

  When her tea was ready, Doctor Xayasith poured a cup and placed it in front of Miss Reddy. Xenia grinned at Vanya, her large green eyes the eyes of a predator. The science officer found herself caught by Xayasith’s eyes, unable to look away. The NessCorp scientist’s voice was soft, soothing the listener’s ears, lulling them into complacency. Vanya briefly wondered if this was how a mouse or a rat felt when hypnotized by a cobra.

  “Cream or sugar?”

  “None.”

  Xenia smiled before pouring a second cup, placing it on the bar across from Vanya. Then, she took her seat across from the science officer, leaning over the table with her elbows resting upon its surface. Xenia’s hands rested in front of her, fingers laced together

  “So, what brings the Selene’s science officer to my cabin?”

  Xayasith was beautiful, but it was the beauty of a predatory animal. Like the cobra, the woman was elegant, sinuous, and hypnotic. The only other person she had met with such magnetic charisma was Ken Royce. The difference was that he was safe, and Vanya could fuss at him and keep him off balance, spoiling the effect. Vanya’s fussing would not unbalance Xenia Xayasith.

  “I need a xenobiologist—Doctor Davis is no longer fit for duty, and you’re the only one aboard who’s remotely qualified.”