by Kocho
As she studied the language at the same time she was studying the soldier that spoke to her.
Fillip watched the AI carefully and continued shifting between languages.
“My name is Anaya. Welcome home.”
It took a second for the words to register. When she repeated the same words in Latin again both he and the linguists and several of the other people that understood Latin gasped. It took them a second to get their bearings.
The first ones to recover from the shock were Fillip and Karagunis. The soldier spoke first.
“What do you mean home. We have a home. It’s Earth.”
Anaya considered his words carefully. It was obvious that none of them had any knowledge about their past, about the past of their race. No one knew about the sacrifices her last crew had to make for this planet, this system to remain safe and secret. That thought brought back the pain, and the memory of that last goodbye. She knew that he and everyone else were now long gone, nothing but dust that was spread through the distant world for twelve thousand cycles, but for her those last memories, those moments were just hours away, before she went to sleep.
As those thoughts past through her she realized that there will be time for her to tell their story, but that that moment has not yet come.
And, as she prepared to speak the flood of data from the ships sensors and the probes in the system over flooded her with data that were gathered for so many cycles. The shock was so intense that the hologram disappeared. She was still here but she couldn’t keep her hologram active and receive all the information at once.
As she disappeared everyone stepped back surprised.
“Where did she go?”
The question came from Edward.
Fillip turned to him and lifted his shoulders.
“Don’t know. Maybe it was some malfunction. This ship is old.”
“I don’t think so. The chip is still active. She must be here. If Edward and what we believe is right and she is the ships AI then she might be accessing the ships data or preparing it and she can’t do the two things at once.”
The reply came from Hans.
When everyone looked at him he just shrugged.
“He might be right. She probably has lots of things to check and lots of data to see.”
The soldiers looked at the scientists who started chatting among themselves.
Fillip raised his hand and gave several signals that everyone of the soldiers understood. Without a word the group of soldiers dispersed, only two remaining on the bridge, while the rest started another search of the ship.
While Fillip and Ellis watched carefully the bridge they received the information on their military channel. There was no sign of any changes so far and as the search continued they were both confident there won’t be any.
As she looked at the raw data that was in her systems now, data from twelve thousand cycles, Anaya was shocked. She now knew the reason why no one knew of her or her crew. The Alterans were long gone and the continent where they settled was covered with thick miles of ice. And then there was the information’s and images of the strange visitations that came and went every couple of centuries. She didn’t know the name of the race nor the ships but she knew their purpose and it filled her with rage. They were slave ships taking the, at that time still not developed enough human beings who believed that these creatures are their gods. What before she only read on the human networks she now saw as she saw the rise of Babylon, ancient Egypt, the long gone civilizations before them, then Macedon and Carthage, and then Rome. She saw all the beauty and in the wonders of a new civilization being born and living through the horrors of the constant comings of those strange ships. But she had to give a do because they never seemed to want to destroy anything and they rarely took anyone by force. It was like they were trying to preserve humanity and only take someone who was lost.
She remembered the stories of her creators, all their history was safely stored in her information banks, remembered their rise that was helped by the Icarians…and their wondering how would have they developed if that help was not there. And now she was seeing it.
She saw the cruelty of the ancient times, the wonders as they discovered first the writing, then the fire, the metalwork, the first cultures and societies, the discovery of the stars above them, and then the wars between them. She saw the building of the ancient libraries and the hanging gardens of Babylon, the pyramids of Egypt, the ports of Carthage, the temples of Greece and then Rome in all its beauty. She saw the rise and fall of civilizations and the birth of new ones that took their place, she saw the birth of the religions that humanity still believed, the dark times that followed, the start of the religious wars that still plagued their world, and then as they developed she saw the birth of the first conscious thought of their existence as one civilization, as humans. And then she saw the real horrors that thanks to the Icarians the Alterans managed to avert. She saw the horrible wars that erupted with the discovery of the gun powder, and then the terrible what her new masters called First and Second world war, the use of the atom bombs and the rapid advancements, and then she saw again why the Icarians chose them as humanity realized the horror of the nuclear weapons and stopped it’s self before it was too late, she saw them turn to new fronts and challenges, the first satellites, the first landings on the moon and she smiled at the recorded broadcast, those simple words that held so much hope for the future.
And then… her consciousness screamed as she detected the signs of Dacarian ships in the system and she noticed that it was the third time that they were here.
As the marines searched the ship lights and sirens suddenly started blazing all around them.
“What the hell…”
Fillip and Ellis looked at one another and then at the scientists. As soldiers they both knew the meaning of those lights and sounds. It was the sound that was made before battle. The scientists knew it too.
And as they beckoned to the scientists to move to them the hologram appeared.
“Dacarian ships are detected in system.
Dacarian signals detected in system.
Ship is preparing for action.
All ships systems are activated.
All ships systems are activated.”
“What is happening?” - The call came from the Deadalus.
“Not sure sir.”
“Whatever it is you better get moving and do it fast. We are detecting vibrations on the scanners. And they are reporting that the ships systems are going active. We are leaving the ship.”
“Yes sir.”
Ellis turned to the scientists and shouted.
“Move it people. We are leaving.”
At those words the scientists rushed towards them.
“Lead to all teams. Lead to all teams, head to the barn. I say again head to the barn.”
Signals of acknowledgment arrived immediately.
The AI didn’t notice their confusion. It continued with scanning the ships systems.
“All ships systems report active.
Repeat all systems report active.
Ships shields at ten percent.
Ships shields at ten percent.
Weapons systems activated.
Ships armor massive damages on all sides.
Ships hyper engines can’t be activated.
Ship will hold but cannot fight a long battle.
Need for repair immediate.
Gravity is now being initiated.
Repeat gravity is now being initiated.
Atmospheric pressure is being restored to all sections of the ship.
Closing both hangar bays.
Sensors are now going active.
Dacarian probe detected.
Repeat Dacarian probe detected.
Scanning, scanning reports no other Dacarian ships in the system.
No ship emissions detected.
Long range scans show no Dacarian presence in five light years.
No other ships
detected at the same distance.
Probe appears not active.
No life signs detected.
Red alert standing down, ships weapons systems deactivated.”
As the scientists exited the bridge, both Ellis and Fillip turned. As they started to run Anaya’s hologram appeared before them.
They both raised their guns instinctively but didn’t fire.
She surprised them both by raising her hands.
“Please don’t leave. The danger is passed. Please don’t leave.”
The biggest surprise came from the fact that now she was speaking to them in perfect English. But although their minds refused the fact they both knew enough to know that in fact she was an advanced computer system that was light years ahead of anything that existed on Earth. And she was obviously capable of fast learning.
“You speak English.”-the comment came from Ellis.
“Yes major.” - She answered calmly and looked at the major. And then she turned to Fillip.
“And I speak your language too colonel. Please tell your people that they return. There is no danger. At least not yet and there is much that we need to discuss. There is much that i need to tell you.”
“How do we know that we can trust you?”
She smiled at Fillips question.
“Because I have no reason to harm you…You are the descendants of my creators and because you can’t leave. The ships hangar doors are closed and the shields are still active. Call your radios and report to your ship that there is no need to panic. And tell them that they can start exploring more freely now that the gravity and atmospheric pressure is on.”
As they activated their radios she disappeared. The next moment they heard the curses from several soldiers that managed to fall when the gravity was activated.
“Deadalus can you check and confirm that we have air? I repeat can you confirm that we have air pressure and breathable atmosphere.”
The confirmation came almost immediately.
“The presence of breathable atmosphere is confirmed.”
After a moment with a grunt came another comment.
“And the presence of gravity is confirmed. Damn colonel my but still hurts from the fall. You should have told us before it was activated. There are a lot of sore faces around here and among those that are on the ship.”
The last comment made both Fillip and Ellis laugh. Funny images appeared in their heads, and they both knew that most of them really happened to someone on the ship.
“There will be a lot of joking around for this you know.”
Fillip smiled as he took off his helmet and took a gulp of fresh air.
“There sure will. There sure will. And I’m damn sure that there will be some for Michaels. He is like a magnet for this kind of things.”
“Yea he probably kissed some unlucky bulkhead.”
They both started laughing and headed back to the bridge. They heard footsteps behind them and they knew that the scientists are returning.
“Actually it was first a wall, and then a door sir.”
“What?”
“It was Michael’s sir. He first hit a wall and then went straight through the door.”
“Manning you pig. I will get you for this.”
“Sorry pall.
“Yea Michaels how was the kiss.”
“It was sure better than the one you got from the floor Edgars.”
“O…you bastard!!!”
“Which one was better Michael’s, the one from the wall or the one from the door?”
He heard a sound of anguish from the other side.
“Not you to sir. Not you to.”
The sound of laughter after this came from every marine on the line.
Both Ellis and Fillip laughed as well.
They never noticed the AI watching them.
“Marines… they never change.” - And then she laughed as well. He laugh was a women’s laugh, gentle and compassionate but also sincere and real.
The soldiers looked at her with looks that showed surprise.
She returned their gaze and winked at them.
“You don’t believe that you are the first marines that walked the decks of this ship. Do you? Hope you are as funny as the last ones. I really liked that bunch… really liked them.”
The last words showed her inner pain. It was obvious that she could feel and that she could think. She was not just a computer program that became active. She was a real person. She was just different but still human.
“You miss them don’t you, your last crew.”
She turned her blue eyes and looked directly at Fillip. It was a look that was the same look that he had seen a million times before on so many human faces. He could see the pain in those eyes.
“I know you do.” -he repeated as she looked at him.
“Miss them? Yes I do. Even do now they are nothing more than dust, just a memory of a moment in time that passed twelve thousand of your years ago. For me that moment seems like it was yesterday. I still see them laughing, crying, still see their joy when they saw this world for the first time, the sadness and the tears when they saw their homes for the last time, the joy of every victory, the pain of every death and loss, still remember the talks that I had with each one of them. You see they were more than just my crew, they were my friends...true friends.”
Both Fillip and Ellis smiled with a smile that held compassion.
“Then remember them with joy. Remember them because they live still through you.”
They both pointed to the place where every Alteran had his heart.
“They are still alive there.”
That last move showed her that they understand her, and even more showed her that they had already taken her as one of their own. They were younger but they were the true descendants of her creators.
A smile appeared on her face. It was a sweet smile that looked so sincere and real that Ellis and Fillip almost forgot that she isn’t real.
“Thank you.”
“I will be here when all the others arrive. Have to finish something first.”
Before they could answer she faded away.
CHAPTER NINE
The scientists arrived slowly in groups and with them came several soldiers. The soldiers stayed on the bridge until the last of the scientists arrived and then without a word went on with their search of the huge ship. With the gravity on the search went faster.
Half an hour later the captain, several members of his crew and several scientists from Deadalus arrived on the bridge as well.
They were accompanied by Gama team. Herrick and his team were the closest team to the Deadalus and were the first team to finish their search.
As the scientist arrived they spread out through the bridge and started checking and looking at the activated screens and consoles. The soldiers saluted and spread out as well in a protective formation taking positions that allowed them to cover every angle.
Jennings and Linda went straight towards Fillip and Ellis.
The soldiers saluted when the captain arrived.
“So where is our host?”
The question came from Jennings. The captain limped a little and that brought smiles on their faces.
“Your buttocks sure took a beating sir.”
Jennings smiled on that comment. So did Linda.
“It sure did, but I’ll live. From what I heard several of your jarheads took quite a beating to. I think i heard something about doors and bulkheads, and floors.”
“Yea they had quite an adventure.”
“So did several of the scientists and engineers. You should have warned us about that.”
Ellis sighed.
“We would’ve if we had any idea. She did it without telling us anything, although she might have said something. She spoke a lot but no one understood her at the time.”
Linda raised an eyebrow.
“At the time..?”
Fillip smiled and looked at her.
; “Yes. She was speaking on the language that our dead friends used long ago at the time. But she is a fast learner. She first spoke Latin, and now she speaks English… and several more languages probably.”
Before she could ask how that was possible he continued.
“Before you ask how think about the fact that she is an advanced AI, probably like the ones from our SF movies. She can probably hack any system we have here and on Earth without breaking a sweat.”
Anaya chose that moment to appear before them.
“Actually I’m quite similar to the AI’s from a game you played on your world. I believe you called it HALO…interesting story by the way...touching.”
As everyone else before both Jennings and Linda reacted with backing up when they saw her. The others watched her with awe.
She smiled on that reaction. She knew that she represented something that they knew was possible but that was far ahead of their time. And the fact that her creators were people as well only made that worse. She smiled on the thought of the computer game she just mentioned. The story reminded her of the struggle and the war her creators had at the end. And the things not just in that game but in so many other computer games and shows she managed to find on the net. The sheer imagination they had. She knew that many of the things she saw were unrealistic but many, so many things were things that were achievable and possible. Many of those things their ancestors had. And about many others they knew and planned. Humanity, this humanity was way behind but she was here now and she planned to give them that technology, slowly to let them achieve it and reach their destiny. All they needed was time and with the probe she discovered and the short battle she observed, she knew that time was something that they might not have. The Dacarians were somewhere out there, and they knew of Earth. And somehow she knew they were coming.
She knew what her mission was now and gave her a new purpose. Humanity, the descendants of her creators, their destiny was now in her hands and she knew that was the reason that Talia told her that she has a new mission so many cycles ago. She somehow knew. This was her mission.