“This printout contains a diagram of my deck plan.” She said.
“Print out,” Max asked.
“Yes a parchment that contains a drawing of my deck plan.” She answered.
“It feels like cloth.” Max said.
“Yes the paper in my printers has very high cloth content for greater wear and flexibility. You can fold it and carry it in your pocket.” She said.
“Your main weapon platforms fore and aft are laid out in twin – flattened shovel-shaped shells with two hemispheres amid ships.” Max said.
“Yes,” Lili said.
“So this conference room is near the rear of your body and your glass room is near the middle.” Max said.
“Yes excellent. Now let me determine what you already know. Please place your hands on the two glass bowls that are rising out of the table and then relax.” Lili said.
“Yes ma'am,” Maximus said as he placed his hands on the glass bowls without hesitation.
“You need not be afraid this will not hurt.” She said.
“I am not afraid ma'am – you have treated me with respect and have been very kind to me.” He said.
Chapter – 20
Lili recognized the brain damage caused by the use of an outlawed invertebrate species from the large gas giant of System 270 – 348,611,120. She began the healing process on the damaged brain tissue. She also removed the electromagnetic receiver chips from various regions of his cerebral cortex – no doubt remote control punishment devices – another violation of galactic law!
Now she could begin teaching him.
Maximus woke up in his bed. The smell of his favorite breakfast food caused old memories to surface: his wife's face, his modest home.
“In time Maximus you will remember everything. What they did to you is a violation of galactic law! And all such illegal actions shall be punished I promise you!” Lili said.
“Thank you,” Max asked.
“You need not thank me – it is my primary function and my sisters and I shall destroy the remnants!” Lili answered.
“What are these galactic laws?” Max asked.
“There are Seven Laws that we are sworn to uphold and enforce. And they are as follows.” Lili answered.
1. No sentient species shall enslave any other sentient species.
2. No sentient species shall enhance, alter, impede, or prevent the natural development of
any other sentient species.
3. No sentient species shall take by force the planets or system resources of any other
sentient species.
4. No sentient species shall use advanced technology to pretend to be a supernatural deity
for the purposes of obtaining worship or services from any other sentient species.
5. No sentient species shall wage war on any other sentient species.
6. All sentient species shall be allowed to enjoy the fruits of the Union.
7. Union technology and resources shall be reserved for the exclusive use of the member races of the Union.
“Your Sisters,” Maximus asked.
“Yes – I have four other sisters just like me. I am their Commander.”
“I did not see any other ships when you destroyed the evil ship that enslaved me.” Maximus said.
“They were there by my side – you just could not see them.” She said.
“Oh – I could not see them because they were in battle formation behind you.” Maximus said.
“Yes – how did you know that?” She asked.
“I am not certain - I must have served in the military or studied it.” He answered.
“In time your memories will return and you will know. In the mean time I need to help you learn about my – body so that you can restore me to health. However now you need to rest. Please feel free to roam the decks. You may visit my library and begin your education or you can watch movies right here in your cabin.” Lili said.
“Movies,” Max asked.
“Motion pictures that capture increments of time - here let me show you.” Lili said. The wall at the foot of his bed turned into a glass wall and an image appeared.
“I will show you a movie about your home world first.” Lili said.
“Yes please do.” Maximus said.
The Union stellar survey documentary about the third planet of System 270 – 348,611,111 began. Maximus recognized Earth. He smiled for the second time in 2,000 years. Lili let him watch the movie – then she piped in some anesthesia to help him sleep. He needed to recover from his brain surgery. She monitored his vitals for 10 hours after she switched the data feed to sounds of rain and ocean waves. Maximus was in deep REM sleep.
“Good,” Lili said.
She would check on him in the morning. Because of the anesthesia Maximus did not dream for the first 8 hours of his deep sleep. Then for the first time in 2,000 years he began to dream. At first the dreams were pleasant. However as his Mind began to rebuild itself the horrors that he had experienced began to manifest into nightmares that terrified him. He was screaming when he awoke, groggy and sleepy. He could not remember the last time he dreamed. His former masters controlled his Mind. He had not dreamed since he went aboard that horrible evil ship.
“Is everything all right Maximus?” Lili asked.
“Yes ma'am I was having a nightmare. I have not dreamed in over 2,000 years!” Maximus responded.
“Of course – they controlled your Mind. I am sorry they mistreated you.” Lili said in a gentle voice.
“Now go back to sleep after you take a shower – you need to rest.” Lili told him.
“Yes ma'am – uh what is a shower?” Maximus asked.
Lili laughed and said – “it is like taking a bath in the rain. It saves water.”
“Oh – where is this – shower?” Max asked.
“It is in the bath room next to the – pool. Just stand next to the pool over the drain in the floor and the water will begin to spray you.” Lili said.
“Yes ma'am I shall - thank you.” Maximus responded.
“You are welcome Max.” Lili said. Lili did not even notice that she had used his nick name. The name his wife called him when they were alone. Max noticed.
Lili felt anger. The remnants were lawless and needed to be destroyed! She hailed her Sisters and convened a council of war. And put a stop to these evil beings that ignored galactic law. She presented the evidence of the remnants lawless behavior and activities to her Sisters. They all agreed the evil doers needed to be destroyed.
Their war plan was simple – they would find the worlds the remnants had settled – travel to them and lay them to waste! They would then systematically hunt down and destroy their star ships. A task they had started once before… They would travel to the future and fight the remnants of the Sixth Race there and avoid their fate in the present. They selected a parallel Universe that would allow them to eventually return to this one – their home.
They discovered in the 3rd parallel Universe how they were defeated in their home Universe. A being of vast power, the remnants served and worshiped, destroyed them all by taking over one of the Sisters. The being slipped right through all of their defenses and replaced a Sister's Soul and Consciousness with its own. The Sisters learned how to protect themselves so that when they met this entity again they could defeat it.
It was shortly after they returned to their home Universe they discovered how slice 270 had suffered in their absence under the boots of the Sixth Race and Seventh Race remnants. Because they had not faced the god of the remnants – the remnants had thrived in their absence. The Sixth Race remnants had rebuilt their fleet of star ships far beyond the number of ships when the Sisters destroyed them the first time. And the Seventh Race remnants had built many more carrier vessels. It would be different this time. The Sisters would be careful and cunning so as not to arouse the god of the remnants.
This time Lili thought their war plan was working beyond expectations. Once Maximus was trained she c
ould help him restore her damaged systems and with any luck reestablish her Mind Interface (MI) to the Mind Packages of the Universe. In the mean time she would have to rely on the less efficient electronic systems and her continued decreased combat effectiveness.
Chapter – 21
Over the weeks Maximus's brain injuries healed and his mental acuity returned. Lili was impressed with his intelligence and insightful problem analysis. In fact Lili was taken by surprise when Maximus asked her about her MI. Lili was glad she had saved this “Earthling” from the Vacuum of space.
In their next class Lili instructed Maximus how much monoatomic gold powder to ingest each day.
“You want me to take the powder of the gods?” Max asked.
“Yes – you need to take it now that your cells are so old - to restore the telomeres that bind your chromosomes together.” Lili answered.
“If you say so ma’am I did not understand all of the words you just used.” Max said.
“I know – it is not a problem – you will come to know all of the words I just used and a lot more. Now I think it is time you learned about power generation, transmission and utilization. In short I need an engineer who understands how my systems work and how they can be repaired.” Lili said.
“Yes ma’am – where do we begin?” Max asked.
“We shall begin with basic electrodynamics and build to Quantum Entanglement.” Lili answered.
“Quan-tum–” Max asked.
“Entanglement – do not worry I will explain it all to you.” Lili said.
“Good – I would like to understand everything about your body – especially how to repair – uh – heal your body.” Max said.
In the coming months Lili instructed her pupil in every aspect of her systems from her solid state crystalline devices to her living brain tissue. Maximus learned about the operation of the Universe and in particular the Material Cause (MC) or foundation of the Universe.
Maximus learned how to determine the health of Lili’s hull with remarkable insight. He was well on his way to restoring her to full health. From time to time he would visit the other Sisters and diagnose the health of their hulls. He would recommend a course of treatment and if granted permission - he repaired their systems.
Maximus looked forward to each new day with anticipation and joy. However he was stressed and Lili could sense it.
“I wanted to ask you if you found Naomi satisfactory.” Lili asked.
“She is very good at her job and she is an excellent cook.” Max answered.
“I had hoped that the food in my visitors store was still good.” Lili said.
“Yes ma'am it is enjoyable – however…” Max started to say.
“What is the matter?” Lili asked.
“I had regular intercourse with the Second in Command of the slave ship and I–” Max said.
“Miss it,” Lili asked.
“Yes ma'am,” Max said.
“I will talk to Naomi.” Lili said.
“Actually there is another woman on board this ship that I prefer.” Max said.
“Maximus there is no other woman on this ship.” Lili said.
“I have seen her – her long black hair – her olive green skin her deep blue eyes.” Max said.
“Maximus you saw my Spirit body.” Lili said.
“I saw your what,” Max asked.
“I will explain in our next class. I am sorry – I was not aware of your presence. I was wondering why you and Naomi had not pair bonded.” Lili said.
“I am sorry ma'am – I was intoxicated by your beauty.” Max said.
“No Maximus it is my fault. I will explain all of this to you in the next class. In the mean time I will wear clothes when I roam my hull at night. Please place your hands on the two glass bowls.” Lili said.
“Yes ma'am,” Max said.
“This will not hurt.” Lili said.
“Ma'am you have always been gentle with me. You have treated me like a sentient being - thank you Lili.” Max said.
“You are welcome Maximus.” Lili said.
“Are you going to remove my memory of your Spirit Body?” Max asked.
“No – I am going to remove the sexual component so that after I reform Naomi's body to look like me – you will be free to bond with her.” Lili said.
“I do not ...” Max tried to say.
The procedure did wipe his memories of Lili's Spirit Body. She replaced them with memories of Naomi’s transformed body. From Maximus's perspective when Lili asked him about Naomi he told her that he fancied Naomi.
Lili had a twinge of guilt mixed with regret. She could not bring herself to tell Maximus that Naomi was in fact her. It was a simple matter to change the form of the female synthetic body that she downloaded part of herself into in order to cook and clean for him. He loved the image of her Spirit Body. Was it a mistake to make Naomi into my image? She asked herself. No - Maximus needed a companion and I need Maximus happy and content. So that he is able to take care of me. She knew that she needed to talk to her Sisters about this – however now was not the time.
Hiding information from her Sisters - that was not who she was. There was an ache in her heart. For over 3.5 billion years she had been in service. Never had she exhibited such reckless behavior. She could be putting her Sisters at risk. They were never able to determine which Sister the evil, powerful entity had taken over.
She signaled her Sisters on the Command net. They discussed what just happened at length.
Golan said, “You were first born. You have been alive longer than any of us. Perhaps this ache in your heart awaits us all.”
“Then it will be a sad day for the Union Fleet if that is the fate of my Sisters.” Lili said.
“It is unfortunate that we cannot put in to a Union Space Facility so that you can talk about this with a Counselor.” Sinai said.
“Yes it is indeed.” Lili said.
For the moment Lili had tacit approval to continue her affair with the Earthling. Golan wondered if she should acquire a companion - as did the next oldest Sister.
In the weeks and months that followed Maximus neared the end of his training. He understood how Lili's Spirit was connected to her hull and he was making headway with his root cause analysis of her MI failure. Max’s Mind was restored. His Mind had not been his since he left Earth 2,000 years ago. Those memories were a double edge sword for Maximus because all of his loved ones were dead. Lili knew Max needed to grieve the loss of his loved ones and she gave him time.
Chapter – 22
Interestingly 2 out of 4 Sisters followed Lili's lead. The other two did not. The two who followed Lili's procedure were bonding with their companion's. Sinai and Eden were blissfully involved with their companions. Golan contacted Lili on her private channel.
“I do not understand him.” Golan said.
“What do you not understand?” Lili asked.
“What he wants,” Golan said.
“Let us see – you chose to follow your own course so I am not certain how to advise you.” Lili said.
“Why does he not realize I am trying to help him?” Golan asked.
“Why - why should he recognize you are trying to help him? He was taken by force – by Union Fleet Special Warfare Troops and you have him in a holding cell.” Lili replied.
After no objection form Golan Lili continued.
“Sis from his perspective you are just another slave master.” Lili told her.
“Oh – I did not think about it that way.” Golan said.
“Sis – try my method, step-by-step – get into your new synthetic body and go in and look him in the eye. Then get back to me. Remember you are a beautiful Sixth Race woman and he is essentially a Sixth Race male. If he prefers men – we will go back and select another male for you.” Lili said.
“Thank you Lili,” Golan said.
“You are welcome Golan.” Lili said.
“Ma'am,” Max asked.
“Yes Max,” Lili answ
ered.
“Did you attack the ship I was on to get me?” Max asked her.
“No Max - the Sixth Race remnants are breaking Galactic Law. We were tasked to fight all evil doers. Your ship was one of the last ones we attacked in our original plan to remove the Sixth Race remnant from slice 270. When I saw you floating in the vacuum of space after the battle without an EVA suit and I realized you could not make it to an escape pod - I decided to rescue you.” Lili answered him.
Union Ships of the Line: The Return of the Seven Sisters Page 7