The days passed quickly, and realizing how useful her new AI was, she began to bond closely with it.
“I can, if you wish, take on a voice which matches your species, and instead of calling me ‘AI’ all the time, you can give me a name. The host normally does that.” Her AI told her.
“You are very wise, AI. The wisest person I knew on Aarn was Traf Dek. I will call you Traf Dek.”
“Would you like me to converse in her voice?”
“You don’t know what she sounded like.”
“I have access to all the recordings of the interviews with her, so I can easily simulate her voice.”
“Interviews? What do you mean?” Sah Lee asked.
“The interviews they conducted on board the craft to catalog and preserve the Aarn culture. Touren has mentioned these to you.”
“But, does that mean Traf Dek is on the ship? She’s alive?”
“Yes, did you not know this?”
“No! Can I see her?”
“One moment, I will consult.”
After a few moments, the AI continued: “Providing that Traf Dek is agreeable to the meeting, I can arrange it. You would have to go to visit her. Touren will arrange with Ker Din Ser Forn for you and her to travel using the internal transport. You must realize that you have a privileged position here. It would be as well if you do not discuss in detail with Traf Dek how you are living or what you have been doing. No other Aarn have had AI’s installed yet, Ker Din Ser Forn is still seeking a consensus on the level of intelligence they should have and what information should be available to them.”
Sah Lee’s eyes lit up with the anticipation of seeing her old friend, and of the possibility that more of her friends, maybe even her family had survived, even though Touren had already told her that none of them had. “How soon can I see her? Is there anyone else I know on the craft - I mean, ship?”
“There is no record of anyone else who knows you on board. I am sorry, Sah Lee. Nearly all the Aarn died either at the hands of the outcasts or in the bombardment that destroyed them.”
The light in Sah Lee’s eyes faded. “Oh. No, of course. I think I’ll carry on calling you AI.”
“Of course, Sah Lee. I’ll tell you as soon as a time is confirmed for you to meet Traf Dek.”
Touren came out of her room. “I’m waiting for the supervisor in the area that Traf Dek is in to get back to me. Everything else is set up. I don’t know how long it will take. Instead of going to the gym now, would you like to go for a run?”
Sah Lee set the pace and kept it down to a medium hunting speed. Touren had learnt to copy Sah Lee’s easy loping stride and although she couldn’t run as far or as fast her, she could keep up this speed for several hours.
They had been running for half the morning when Touren called a halt. She slowed down and stopped by the wall. Turning her back to it, she slid down and sat on the floor, breathing heavily. “Give me a few minutes, to get my breath back.” She took a long drink from a water bottle.
Sah Lee stood by her, showing no sign of having run. Fidgeting and moving from foot to foot impatiently.
“All right,” Touren said, still breathing heavily, “I can see you are eager to go. Stand close to me.”
Sah Lee stood still and blinked. When she opened her eyes, they were in what looked like a large village hut with imaya skins stretched between wooden poles. The hut was empty apart from a table with four padded chairs, all made of the gray stuff that almost everything on the ship was made from. She walked over to a wall pulled the imaya skin back. Behind it was a gray wall. She turned and saw Traf Dek enter through a door hanging accompanied by a creature that looked a bit like an Aarn, except it was more heavily built and covered with short dark fur with a crest of long hair running from low on its forehead over the top of its head and ending on the back of its neck. Sah Lee recognized Traf Dek immediately, but she looked – different, younger than she remembered.
The creature with Traf Dek spoke “Hello Sah Lee. My name is Skerendar. I am with the Boran Medical Emergency and Recovery, working with Traf Dek’s group. Touren and I can stay while you talk to Traf Dek or we can leave you in private if you prefer.”
“I have no preference.” answered Sah Lee. She turned to Traf Dek and reached out to take her hand. “Traf Dek. You are the only person I know who survived the assault on our world. I am so pleased to see you.” Tears glistened in her eyes.
Traf Dek grasped Sah Lee’s hand firmly. “Sah Lee, I am so pleased you are alive. Everyone else I knew are now dead too. I heard that Sor Tan survived, but she is now dead. By your hand.”
Sah Lee looked down. “Yes. It was wrong. There are so few of us now. I shouldn’t have attacked her.”
Traf Dek gave a small smile. “Skerendar told me what happened. My understanding is that if you hadn’t killed her, she would have killed you. I think the outcome was good for the Aarn.”
Sah Lee looked up and looked into Traf Dek’s eyes. “Thank you Traf Dek. Your words mean a great deal to me. Shall we sit?” They each took a seat at the table. Touren nodded to Skerendar, and they left the two Aarnth to themselves.
“What happened to you Traf Dek? How did you survive?”
“I was on a train leaving the city with my friends. We had a full load of trade goods, about to start a trading mission in the far west of the continent. The attack on Aa Ellett must have taken place soon after we left, but we knew nothing of it. We had been traveling half a day when the train suddenly braked hard, flinging us all out of our seats. It slowed down but before it stopped, it hit something - or something big hit it. It stopped with a crash. We managed to scramble out of a broken window and saw a huge dust cloud in front of us. Then, rocks started to fall out of the sky. The falling rocks killed two of my friends almost straight away.” Traf Dek looked down, blinking and wiped away tears with the back of her hand. “It was horrible Sah Lee. They had done nothing wrong. One moment they were standing with us, looking at the column of dust, the next moment they were smashed down, crushed by a great splintered piece of rock. Dren Lah and I ran into a patch of trees close to the track though they would have given us no protection from the rocks that were falling around us. We were half way to them when a rock crashed down on to us. Dren Lah was killed, it struck me on my left and I went flying through the air, landing in the dust. It had torn my left arm off and half my leg was missing. I lay there in agony, hoping another rock would hit me and stop the pain. I don’t know how long I was lying there, drifting in and out of consciousness, until I saw a big machine, which I now know is called a lander, land near me. Four of Skerendar’s colleagues came over - I was terrified of them. They gave me a tranquilizer and I woke up laying on a bed in a room that was empty apart from Skerendar. They had used the technology of the being that owns this ship, Ker Din Ser Forn, to mend my body, repair my leg and give me a new arm.” She smiled. “I’m not as good as new, I’m better than that. They gave me what they called ‘rejuvenation’ treatment and told me that when I become young again, I won’t age any more. I could live forever.” She smiled. “What is your story Sah Lee?”
“Much the same as yours, Traf Dek. Except, not the mending bit. I was unharmed when they found me, but a bit dehydrated and cold. And the rejuvenation, I haven’t had that yet. There’s not much more to tell.”
“That’s not quite what I hear Sah Lee. There are some Aarn who have been selected as potential leaders when we move to the new world that is being readied for us, and you were one of them. You have chosen not to follow that path but to become a warrior. You showed that you are a natural leader, people just follow you. We need you to take us forward in this new life of ours. We must build a new world around a star far away from our beloved Aa. The Makers have deserted us. We are to be given technology beyond our imagination and we must learn to live in a community of millions of strange races. This will not come easily to the Aarn. Ker Din Ser Forn has promised that his race, the People, will protect us and help us in our journey to
become citizens of the galaxy, but we need Aarnth to lead us on this journey which will be long and arduous. Will you reconsider and become one of our leaders?”
Sah Lee’s eyes hardened. “No Traf Dek. I have lost almost everything important to me. Life on the plains has gone, probably forever. My family, my friends, my village, have all gone. I have seen the demons, or outcasts, that attacked us, and I have fought and killed them. I have been attacked by Aarnth and killed them. I have seen my closest friend, my soul mate Tir Mal slaughtered in front of me. I have changed. I am not the person you knew. I am full of hate. I can feel it burning inside and it is consuming me. I fear what kind of leader I would be with the Aarn. I ache for vengeance against the creatures that did this to us. They are all dead now, but there are more like them and they have a leader. I cannot rest while they are doing this to others and while their leader lives. I yearn to kill them Traf Dek, I am no longer a hunter of animals, I burn to become a hunter and killer of these evil demons.”
Traf Dek cast her eyes down. “I am sorry Sah Lee. I hear the passion in your words and that you speak from your heart. You are not the eager young hunter I knew but I still love you as a friend. Let us not lose that. I fear you will die in your search for vengeance, but as long as you live, promise you will visit me sometimes. Perhaps if you succeed in your quest, you will come back and live in peace with us.”
Sah Lee leaned forward and grasped Traf Dek’s hand. “I will always love you as my dearest friend. You showed me kindness for no reason when we first met. You showed me that was how we should live. You are the wisest person I know. You should become one of the Aarn leaders. Your wisdom, patience and compassion will be needed, your experience of having changed from a plains hunter to a city based trader shows you have the resilience to change again for the new life of the Aarn, and I know you can inspire others to make that change too. The Aarnth need you much more than they need me.”
“Perhaps you are right. the group I am living with now have asked me to be a tribal elder. I would say it is in the hands of the Makers,” she smiled, “but they have left us now. I will let events unfold themselves and see what happens.”
“I must leave now Traf Dek. I will visit again soon.” Sah Lee said, although she knew she wouldn’t. She stood, blinking back tears, and using her AI, asked Touren to return.
Chapter Thirty Three
Return
Back in their quarters, Touren told Sah Lee to sit and got them both a drink.
“You do not look happy Sah Lee. I thought that meeting your old friend would please you. Did you have a disagreement?”
“No, but talking to her brought everything together in my mind. It made me realize what I had lost, what I can never get back. Putting it into words brought it home to me why I must do this, become a soldier, and why I would not be a good leader for the Aarn. I suppose I half wanted to change my mind, to take the easy path and stay with my people, but I can’t do that. I must do this and leave everything behind me. To tell the truth Touren, the thought of joining an army terrifies me. I don’t know what I’ll be doing, and I won’t know anyone. Everyone won’t just be a stranger, they will also be aliens, unlike anything I have ever known. But I know it is what I must do. I have no choice.”
“You won’t be alone Sah Lee, Bekkreshan and I will be with you.”
“Only while I am here. When I join an army, I will be completely alone.” Sah Lee looked down at the table, a wave of self-pity and trepidation washing over her.
“Look at me.” Touren said.
Sah Lee looked up and saw that Touren was grinning. “You won’t be by yourself when you join an army. We’re going to join with you!”
“What! But you can’t just join an army because I want to!”
“Yes, we can. We can do what we like, and Ker Din Ser Forn thinks it’s a good idea too.”
“That thing wants it? Why? I tried to kill it, and I’d try again if I thought I could harm it!”
“You may not like him Sah Lee, and you wouldn’t be alone there, but he is respected by almost everyone in the galaxy. He is an archivist, which is the most highly regarded occupation of the People, and they consider him to be one of the best. He is well known for being a remarkably good judge of character, it is almost uncanny. As well as your brief meeting with him, he has studied your file closely and has interviewed me regularly to ask about you. He believes you have it in you to become a great warrior and leader. He believes that you are capable of becoming a force for peace and security in the galaxy.”
“It is mad. And you must be too for listening to it. Look Touren, I know I brag about being a great hunter, which is true, I am, but as you have proved, I don’t know about anything about fighting. The only weapon I have ever used apart from my teeth and claws is a knife. I killed some demons - I mean outcasts, but I was hunting them like animals. I am no warrior, just a plains hunter. I am not going to be a great warrior and leader. I must fight the outcasts, but in my heart, I know that I will die quickly, it is my destiny. But I want to kill some of them first.”
“Even I can see you have the makings of a warrior Sah Lee, but what I think is not relevant. Ker Din Ser Forn wants to meet you again. He said he will give you all the aid he can within the limits of the Aarn’s technology status.”
“What! It is mad. And I am beginning to worry about you too. Why does it want to meet me?”
“He said he likes you. And it is not polite to keep referring to Ker Din Ser Forn as ‘it.’ Would you call him ‘he’ please?”
“So, it’s a male is it? I don’t like males.”
“You haven’t met many males in your female dominated culture. Nobody really knows about the People’s gender. Considering they have been around for such a long time and they are everywhere, not much is known about them at all. I don’t even know what type of species they are. They don’t appear to be mammals, they aren’t reptiles, insectoids or avians, so they must be some kind of outlier species, but all People are referred to as ‘he’ because they don’t seem to have any female characteristics. Or male either, but most species language, including yours, have gender specific personal pronouns and the People are always referred to as ‘he.’ It would please me if you would.”
Sah Lee scowled. “I can do that. But only to please you. In the Aarn theology Satan is a male, so it is quite fitting to call Ker Din Ser Forn a ‘he’”.
Touren grunted disapprovingly and continued. “You have an AI now and as a post emergent species you can also have some medical enhancements. If you assent to these, we will get them done straight away.”
“What are these 'medical enhancements'?”
“A number of things which will help you survive. Many of the Aarn have been given these already, although you are the only one so far to have an AI installed. The most important one is to make a minor change to your DNA to stop you from aging, but there are other things like boosting your immune system, fixing any chromosome damage and ensuring that all your biochemical processes are optimized. It is also normal to have technology added, for example, a blood filter to remove toxins from your blood that your liver can’t deal with. You can control it so that it can clean out recreational drugs and alcohol if you need a clear head. All these things will make life in the galaxy safer and better for you. It is all standard stuff, nothing I haven’t had for a long time.”
“If you think I should…”
“I do, and I think we should get it done without delay. The room adjoining our quarters can be configured for the procedure, I’ll arrange that now. It can be done during your sleep cycle, so we’ll get it done tonight.”
“It all seems a bit sudden.” Sah Lee said with a frown.
“There is no real hurry. Ker Din Ser Forn will be here for a while, because although moving a planet in its orbit is straight forward for the People, it affects the motions of every other planet, moon, asteroid and comet in the solar system and ensuring that the system remains stable is not only complex but time consumin
g. There is no point in delaying though, so we’ll get it done tonight. You’ve pointed out your lack of fighting skills, but you are making good progress in your training. Let’s go to the gym now and start training with hand held weapons.”
Chapter Thirty Four
Unasked For Help
The training schedule became more intense. Bekkreshan and Touren alternated teaching Sah Lee unarmed and close combat training, mixed in with high intensity training on the gym equipment. When Sah Lee was too physically exhausted to continue, she did sessions of virtual reality training in history, military history, modern weaponry, sciences and politics.
The virtual reality provided by her AI included all her senses. It had direct connections into all parts of her brain and was able to simulate her main sensory inputs, including sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. So if she picked up a virtual object, she could feel the texture of its surface and its weight. When she practiced with kinetic energy weapons, she could feel the recoil thump her shoulder and the barrel jump up as each bullet left the muzzle. The pulsed particle beam weapons were much easier to use. They were lighter and had no recoil. They were also silent apart from a muted whining sound which started after the first shot was fired and continued for a couple of minutes after the last shot.
Sally’s head was spinning with everything she was learning and she was exhausted from her intense training schedule, but she was starting to make sense of how things worked and could feel her muscles growing and hardening. She was consistently beating Touren in hand to hand fighting now and was holding her own against Bekkreshan.
She had lost count of the days but felt she was getting close to being ready to join an army and become a real soldier. One morning when Sah Lee’s AI woke her, instead of the usual, “Time to get up.” she heard “Sah Lee, when you have showered and breakfasted, Ker Din Ser Forn has requested a meeting.”
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