by M. D. Cooper
“I’m the executive officer,” Tanis said and threw a mock scowl at Joe.
“On paper,” Joe added with a wink at his wife.
“Were you ever going to come up to the bridge?” a female voice asked from behind the group.
Sera turned to see a tall woman with lavender skin and a highly exaggerated figure standing in the entrance to the lounge.
“Jessica!” Tanis cried out and ran to the woman. They embraced and spoke privately for a few minutes before joining the group.
“No wonder she never thought you two were that unusual,” Cheeky said, giving Nance and Sera significant looks. “Your kinks are nothing on hers.”
“It’s not like that!” Nance whispered. “Cut it out already.”
“Sorry, Jessica,” Joe said as Tanis and Jessica approached. “We got talking and I sort of decided to stay down here for the approach and forgot to tell anyone.”
“Well, who’s going to fly it, then?” Jessica asked.
“I’m pretty sure that Petrov can manage to dock with the Intrepid. Besides, Corisa just humors us all anyway.”
“That’s…a bit creepy,” Thompson said.
“Are all your AI so imperious?” Cheeky asked. “No offense Angela, but you’re a little bossy, too.”
Angela said.
Sera was certain she knew what the conversation would be about. She remembered learning about the Phobos accords as a child, but those laws were dead and gone. However, the crew and AIs on the Intrepid would likely not appreciate the low station of most AIs in the ninetieth century.
“Wha—?” Cheeky began to ask before Sera sent her a message to drop it.
“Tanis!” a new voice entered the conversation and Sera turned to see the holo-presence of a tall, rather distinguished looking man.
“Captain Andrews,” Tanis said with a smile as she turned to face him. “I see things are proceeding well, as usual.”
“Not too much worse for wear,” the captain returned the smile.
Tanis had never mentioned how attractive her captain was. A man from the early fourth millennia, too—if the sparse records from so long ago were to be believed.
“I have some friends coming aboard,” Tanis said. “This is captain Sera and the crew of Sabrina,” Tanis gestured to Sera’s crew. “They have some fascinating information regarding FTL that they would like to share with us. Earnest will be especially interested.”
“Thank you for returning Tanis to us,” Captain Andrews said to Sera. “From what Corsia has relayed of her conversations with Sabrina, you were a long way from here.”
“Just about a hundred and fifty light-years,” Tanis said nonchalantly. “A hop, skip, and a jump by today’s standards.”
Joe nearly choked. “A hundred and fifty! Stars…I would never have found you.”
Sera watched Tanis embrace her husband and whisper something in his ear while Captain Andrews continued.
“I’ll be glad to have you all aboard—and not soon enough. Every one of our friends out there is making more demands than I can shake a stick at. Thankfully, there are so many of them, no one wants to make the first move.”
“We’ll be docking in thirty minutes,” Joe said. “Should be up there in forty-five.”
“Very well,” the captain replied and his holo faded out.
“He’s hot!” Cheeky exclaimed.
Tanis looked aghast. “He’s the captain!”
“And a damn hot one at that,” Cheeky said to herself.
Several conversations picked up as the Andromeda approached her mothership, and Sera turned to admire the view. The design of the Intrepid was both alien and very familiar. Its elegance reminded her of some of her people’s ships—the ones built before The Sundering. Truly amazing craftsmanship had gone into what was ultimately just a colony route stevedore.
The Andromeda passed near one of the cruisers shadowing the Intrepid. The holo overlay on the lounge’s window highlighted it and identified the ship as the Orkney. Sera slipped out of her footholds and kicked toward the window, dismissing the information overlay from her vision. She wanted to look upon this vista with her own eyes.
Both ships were on similar vectors, and the Andromeda’s pilot brought the ship in for a slow pass, only a thousand meters from the Orkney.
It was built for war and Sera found herself impressed with the firepower the Intrepid was packing in a fleet of ships, which should have been nothing more than transports, pushers, and cargo haulers.
The Orkney gleamed like a jewel, sheathed in what was likely several meters of highly reflective ablative plating. Nearby, a hauler was moving an icy asteroid into position near the warship. She suspected it was to extract water and create an additional ice shield around the vessel.
She imagined some terraformer working on the world below was probably quite upset to see over a hundred trillion liters of water they had planned for a lake or sea taken away.
It was a form of warfare Sera had only read about. Take your big war wagons, sheathe them in ice and let them take the heat from enemy beams. The ice would also add radiation shielding from indirect nuclear blasts.
The tactic matched the rest of the ship’s structure. With only rear engines, this was a vessel that was made to get to the fight fast, take a beating and wipe out the opposition quickly. It was aided by an assortment of beams that even the AST dreadnaughts would envy.
With fifty centimeter lenses, Orkney’s lasers could lance across a hundred thousand kilometers and still deal lethal damage. Even at their distant position, the AST dreadnaughts were within this vessel’s firing range. Modern ships rarely fired at such distances—rapid movement made long-range targeting nearly impossible.
Sera imagined having a fleet of such vessels at her command and found a new appreciation for Tanis’s tactical mind. With a target as big as the Intrepid to defend, she had apparently pulled out all the stops.
The Andromeda silently slipped past the Orkney, and its accompanying tug and asteroid. Ahead, the bulk of the Intrepid began to fill the forward view. The rear of the vessel sported two massive fusion burners, and a pair of smaller antimatter engines.
Small was a relative term, since the Andromeda’s seven-hundred and twenty-meter hull could both fit inside and turn around within even the smaller engine’s exhaust ports.
“Imagine being at the helm of that thing,” Cheeky whispered from Sera’s side. “I can almost…” she shivered with delight and Sera rolled her eyes.
“Easy now. And here you accuse Nance and I of having fetishes.”
“Oh, I have my weird bits,” Cheeky said with a smile. “I just don’t pretend not to. Galaxy would be a better place if people were real.”
They passed beneath the engines and under the two spinning cylinders, each containing an entire world’s worth of animals, flora, and fauna. From the stories Tanis had told, the general even had a nice cabin beside a lake in one.
Surrounding the ship was a latticework of support struts, though it was not readily apparent that was their primary purpose. They looked far more like a protective web; with mobile beams and chaff cannons mounted along their lengths, they certainly fit the bill.
“I bet they didn’t leave Sol with all those,” Sera said.
“Probably not, but I bet a few were there for shooting down rocks and stuff,” Cheeky commented.
They passed the cylinders and came underneath the forward section of the ship where the doors of a massive bay loomed wide. The space inside was cavernous and empty, with all its normal occupants outside the ship on patrol.
The Andromeda turned and slowly backed into the bay. Once within the hull of the Intrepid, Sera felt the slight tug of gravity and by the time the ship settled into its cradle, over half a g pulled firmly at everyone.
Tanis gestured for the crew to leave the lounge as S
abrina squealed with delight over the Link.
Sera could tell Sabrina was a bit nervous.
They reached a cross-corridor and Tanis stopped the group.
“Sera, if you’d like to come with me, we have a meeting on the bridge deck,” Tanis said.
Sera nodded. “I’d like Flaherty to come with me.”
Tanis nodded and addressed Jessica. “Can you see to getting Sabrina’s crew settled and have someone give them a tour?”
“No problem. At the least I’ll show them where the bars are.”
“You guys aren’t taking your current situation too seriously,” Thompson observed.
Jessica shrugged. “We’ve been in worse. Besides, Tanis is back—she’ll know what to do.” She placed a hand on Tanis’s shoulder, which earned her a worried smile from the general.
“Just don’t get too messed up—or entangled,” Tanis directed a look at Jessica and Cheeky. “We may need to move fast.”
With that she turned, walking briskly down a corridor to a small maglev train floating next to a platform. They entered the car, and once they took their seats, it whisked out of the station. The group had barely settled in when the train passed out of the Andromeda and into a clear tube, which ran across the upper reaches of the bay.
“Nice view,” Sera said, looking down at the retreating form of the Andromeda and the kilometers of empty bay.
“It’s not a bad place to work,” Tanis replied. “I have to admit, it’s going to be nice to stretch my legs for a bit. It’s been a while since I’ve spent that much time on a ship as small as Sabrina.”
“Feeling a bit cooped up, were you?” Joe asked.
“A bit,” Tanis replied with a smile. “Sabrina’s not that small, and I’ve certainly spent longer on ships…I just missed our cabin and your garden-fresh veggies.”
Joe laughed. “It’s probably fallen into decay; it’s been years since anyone has been there.”
Tanis shrugged. “We’ve fixed it up before, we can do it again.”
Sera tuned out of their conversation and watched as the train car passed into a shaft in the bay wall, and then her breath caught as it shot out into empty space. After a moment’s panic, she realized they were riding one of the thin arcs which surrounded the ship. They rose up, over the forward section of the colony vessel and then down toward the ship’s nose.
The train passed back through the hull and down a long shaft before easing to a stop. The platform they stepped onto was broad and bustling with people passing through, or waiting for cars to take them to their destinations.
Tanis weaved through the throng, and as she did, people began to stop and stare. A few pointed, and whispers of “Tanis” began to fill the air.
Sera could see the general’s face begin to redden and before long she stopped and turned to the crowd.
“Yes folks, I’m back.”
Cheers erupted around them and some called out her name, while others shouted questions about their current situation.
Tanis held up her hands and the throng quieted.
“Don’t worry, I have a plan. Everything is going to be OK.”
The words were simple, and although Sera hadn’t noticed it being particularly grim, the mood on the platform immediately lifted.
Tanis gave a final wave, and then led her party to the bridge deck’s central corridor.
DECISIONS
STELLAR DATE: 10.27.8927 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: ISS Intrepid, Orbiting Fierra
REGION: Bollam’s World System, Bollam’s World Federation
They made their way down the long corridor, weaving through more crowds; individuals called out to the general, and Tanis waved or replied in turn. Presently, the crowds thinned and they came to the end of the passage, which opened into a large atrium—the centerpiece of which was a woman standing amidst a sea of holographic displays.
Sera watched in awe as the woman’s hands danced across the displays, emitters on her fingertips manipulating untold systems in the time it took for Sera to realize what the woman was doing.
As they approached, what she initially perceived to be a console in front of the woman also turned out to be a holographic display. In fact, the woman appeared to be the only real thing in the atrium. Sera altered her vision to see through the holographic interfaces and was surprised at what her sight revealed.
What had appeared at first to be the woman’s hair was cleverly disguised super conductor strands, which must be functioning as antennas. The bandwidth a system like that provided would be immense. Her face was smooth and composed, despite the rapid blinking of her eyelids, beneath which lay entirely black eyes. Sera marveled at her pure white skin, which her enhanced vision showed not to be skin at all, but rather a smooth, flexible polymer.
Other than her glossy coating, the woman wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. She was perched on a very narrow stool, or pedestal—or rather, her body merged directly into the seat. She suspected this woman spent a lot of time in her current position.
The woman’s head tilted and she smiled at them. An audible voice came from all around them, and over their Links.
“Welcome home Tanis, and welcome to your guests.” The woman’s mouth mimed the words, but no sound came from it.
“It’s good to see you, Priscilla.” Tanis smiled as she walked forward and stepped through the holo to embrace the woman, who stopped manipulating the interfaces around her and returned the embrace with an expression that was both warm, yet chillingly lifeless on her white face and deep black eyes.
Tanis turned, still standing in the midst of the holo display—though that didn’t stop them from flashing and dancing quicker than an eye could follow. “This is Priscilla. For most purposes, she is the Intrepid.”
“I’m very glad to meet you.” Sera stepped forward and extended her hand. “I’m Sera and this is Flaherty.” The silent man actually had an expression of wonder on his face as he shook Priscilla’s hand in turn. “I have to admit, I’m confused. How are you the Intrepid?”
Priscilla gave an understanding smile. “I am the Intrepid in the way that your mind controls your brain, or maybe the other way around. The Intrepid’s neural net is too vast and complex to be able to communicate effectively with humans—at least not so many of you—so I am the intermediary, its avatar, in a fashion, yet at the same time, I am the Intrepid.”
“But you are human,” Flaherty said. “I can see it; you are not a machine.”
Priscilla maintained her beatific smile. “Of course I am human, would an AI be able to think for another AI and make those thoughts into something a human could understand? The Intrepid has a human for its mind, though its brain is AI.”
“She downplays the Intrepid’s brain. It is far more than just AI,” Tanis said with a wink. Priscilla inclined her head and a wry look crossed her face, quickly replaced by her implacable gaze. “She and Amanda take turns as the human interface to the Intrepid. Without them, the ship and the humans on it would have a bit of a communication gap.”
“How long do these turns last?” Sera asked, wondering how long this avatar spent attached to her pedestal.
“We each actively interface with the Intrepid for ninety days at a time. On our downtime, we take up more…regular duties on the ship.”
“That is amazing,” Flaherty said in a distracted voice.
Priscilla smiled at him, then nodded toward the hall to their left. “You should go. The captain and other leaders are waiting.”
Tanis gestured for the group to follow her and led them thro
ugh a short corridor and into a conference room beyond.
The room was not large, but well appointed, with the center dominated by an oblong table, around which were seated nine people. Sera immediately recognized Captain Andrews at its head, and her pulse rose in reaction. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to see a man as attractive, she almost didn’t know how to deal with the change in her emotional state.
Sera tore her attention from the Intrepid’s captain and focused on the others around the table. On his right were two men who were not wearing the ship’s uniform, but what appeared to be civilian garb. The man closest to the captain sat ramrod straight, his hair was dark and slicked back. He seemed to see everything in the room at once, and took careful note of all he viewed.
The man next to him was alert as well, but also appeared to be lost in thought at the same time. On his right was a woman who had several plas sheets spread about her and looked up from them with the expression of one who was believed that more important work was being interrupted. The man and two women to the left of the Captain were decidedly military. They wore uniforms similar to Joseph’s and had the bearing of officers high in the chain of command.
Upon their entry, the Captain rose. “Welcome aboard the Intrepid, Captain Sera, Flaherty; and welcome back Tanis.” He was just as imposing in life as Sera anticipated. His voice boomed, filling the room easily.
Tanis exchanged hugs and handshakes with the colony mission’s leadership while Sera, Flaherty, and Joe took their seats at the table. Once the room had settled, the captain introduced those around the table for Sera’s benefit.
The slick-looking man on his right was Terrance Enfield, one of the financiers of the Intrepid and its journey to 58 Eridani. Beside him was Earnest Redding, apparently the architect behind the ship. The distracted woman to his right was Abby Redding, Earnest’s wife and the Chief Engineer of the Intrepid. The three in military dress were Admiral Sanderson, Colonel Ouri, and Commandant Brandt.