Titan Stand

by Max Jager

  "Hey it's Amber and Gandric!" Announced Matt, "What have you guys been up to?"

  We have been talking with the "committee" concerning some of the things we discussed yesterday, it is their hope that we are able to find someone in need of a planet such as Xandrus for their manufacturing needs."

  "Well that's great," replied Kaitlyn, but I mean after what happened to the original humans or whoever they were. Aren't you're people concerned that the same kind of people might come and take advantage of you again?"

  "Yes, replied Gandric, "It is a concern, but it will be up to Amber and me to decide on the true nature of whoever is interested, it is a risk of course, but one that must be taken for the sake of we Xindi."

  "Well count us in," said Matt, Kaitlyn and I will do whatever we can to help."

  "We greatly appreciate that," said Amber. Matt and Kaitlyn then watched as she approached the flight console, flipping back her forefinger she inserted what looked like a USB plug into a socket.

  "That book you found contained some very valuable information," explained Amber, "We used the codes to unlock data stored in one of the old creator's computers, I am uploading some of that data into the ships computer right now, it should help us in navigation, and in determining the type of planets out there, as well as the possibilities of life on them."

  "I will run a diagnostics examination on this craft to possibly spot any potential problems."

  "Well maybe you could come up with some ideas for making a little more room on this ship," said Kaitlyn, "As in some places to sleep, fixing the shower, and someplace to change clothes." Gandric gave her a puzzled look, then realized what she was asking.

  "This I could do, show me exactly what you need." Kaitlyn proceeded to point out some of her ideas at making the small cargo area a little more livable. Since she seemed to be in control of things Matt went outside. Once again, he spotted a small group of androids standing nearby with seemingly nothing to do. He casually strolled over to them and called out,

  "What's happening?"

  The androids started to move away, and then stopped. These weren't all metallic ones like Amber and Gandric, but Matt guessed were "replicants," of what he assumed were the "creators." The detailing was quite good, but you could tell they weren't living beings once you got closer. It was like the difference between Europeans and Americans, everyone looked the same, but if you knew what to look for, you could always tell.

  "Are you here to harm us?" Asked one of the droids,

  "No," he replied, I'm here to help, just 'cause I look like a creator doesn't mean I am one. My friend and I come from another place entirely. Gandric told us your story, and my friend and I feel very badly for you, that's why we want to help."

  It was like getting blood from a turnip, but eventually Matt discovered that these droids all worked in a manufacturing facility as inspectors but now there was no work for them. Out of curiosity, he asked them,

  "What did they pay you guys with?" This question seemed to puzzle them requiring Matt to define "pay."

  We all have a code embedded into our individual data files, credit was advanced, or deducted according to the amount of work we performed, or upgrades we underwent."

  "Sounds like the perfect scam to steal from you," mused Matt, "So what does everyone do now that there is no work?"

  "Many are going without upgrades, a great many more are simply breaking down, since the creators have gone, there are no new programs or data being developed."

  "Well hopefully we can locate someplace that can help all of you out," replied Matt. He then walked around some more taking pictures with his camera with the droids following him. From time to time he would ask more questions of his "groupies," and gradually a picture emerged in his mind of a once great technological society that just simply "went bad."

  They stayed on Xandrus for another three days while Gandric along with a couple of the droids that had been following Matt "remodeled" the Nora-Lee to Kaitlyn's specifications. The guns and clothing he had asked the androids to duplicate also showed up. Everything was duplicated perfectly, although Matt could tell that the trousers felt like they were made of a little heavier material, but the cammo colors and pattern were perfect. The AR and the shotgun looked exact as well, although he noticed the serial numbers were the same as the prototypes. Testing them with live rounds just to make sure everything functioned properly, Matt was pleased to find out that nothing blew up or cracked; now Kaitlyn had her own rifle.

  During this time Amber ran more tests on the ship's AI, incorporating one of the programs discovered in the creator's computer, she was showing the teens how to activate certain features on the ships computer, when suddenly the ghostly image of a woman standing next to them appeared. Both Matt and Kaitlyn about jumped out of their skins

  "Oh shit! Who's that?" Gasped Matt. Totally nonplussed, he and Kaitlyn looked to Amber and Gandric for an explanation.

  "I believe that is Nora-Lee," replied Amber. The holographic image was a woman who looked to be about twenty something, long blonde hair, and quite attractive.

  "Well I see a couple of Motok's, is that you Amber?" Amber said nothing for several seconds then the image of Nora-Lee actually chuckled,

  "Awww so that's it, well Greg was a good man and I'm sorry to hear that he is gone, he loved me very much, unfortunately, I belonged to another. All the two teens could do was just stand there with their mouths hanging open staring in amazement. Finally pointing to the image standing in front of them, Kaitlyn asked Amber,

  "What happened Amber, how did she appear?" Amber shook her head,

  "That image is made up data Greg kept in his personal journal, somehow something from the data I entered from the creator's computer caused this image to appear for all intends and purposes she is the ship's AI.

  "Well I'm not sure how I got here," said Nora-Lee, I don't know who you people are, but it would appear that I am this spacecraft."

  "Well," began Matt, "My name is Matt Grainger and this is Kaitlyn Parkinson we're from Durango Colorado, it's a long story, but I met Greg Tate as he was returning to Coryville to die. He more or less passed this ship on to Amber and me. He mentioned you and why he named this ship after you, but that's all I know."

  "Interesting," replied the hologram, "Well I am aware of the "Project" we all were, but for some reason I know everything about this ship, even though I only knew of it's existence, and had never been inside. Well Amber, I detect that you are the captain, so I will communicate with you, but I will need to know more of your friends here before I trust in them."

  Chapter 11

  Titan Stand Chapter 11

  Amber and Gandric thought nothing of the ships AI being "haunted" by Nora-Lee's spirit, but after some more questioning Matt came to the realization that this "spirit" was just a compilation of everything Greg had entered in his journal. Amber had let he and Kaitlyn read it, discovering that he detailed her thoughts, and feelings, her picture, and anything he could think of about her.

  "That guy really had a crush on her, didn't he?" said Kaitlyn,

  "Looks that way," replied Matt, "It's gonna be weird talking to a computer like that."

  "Kinda like one of those GPS devices that tell you when to turn and what road to take," said Kaitlyn. Matt grinned and added,

  "I wonder if there's a way to mute her?"

  "You don't like me speaking to you?" Came Karla's "voice."

  Both Matt and Kaitlyn looked at each other and grimaced,

  "Uhh that's all right Karla," replied Kaitlyn, "We just aren't used to talking to a computer."

  "Well just talk to me as you would a friend," came the reply.

  Whispering to Matt, Kaitlyn said,

  "Remind me not to keep a journal on the computer."

  Matt chuckled and shrugged,

  "Whatever!"

  Gandric soon pronounced the Nora-Lee in top shape; everything looked good, and ready to fly. He had also completely re-modeled the whole cargo and living ar
ea of the ship. Utilizing every nook and cranny, for storage and by adding special partitions, he also created another sleeping area. Asking the teens if they would rather have one area in which both could sleep together, both rejected the idea,

  "That's all right Gandric," said Matt, we'll be fine." He told Kaitlyn the bunks reminded him of pictures he's seen of crew quarters in old sailing ships. Early on he had told Gandric to keep the basic cargo area as large as possible,

  "Hauling stuff might be a way of making money; you never know what we'll run into."

  The galley had a table that folded into the bulkhead when not in use, and the "oven" and sink were set into small alcoves, everything else was located in cabinets. Matt was quite impressed with Gandric's skills and abilities, and told him so.

  "Thank you very much Matt, "He said, Amber and I have to speak with members of the committee first, then we will be able to leave."

  While the two droids were gone Matt and Kaitlyn sat in the pilot and co-pilot seats and talked with Karla. Still intrigued with the idea of the ship's AI being "possessed" by the spirit of a living person, both teens quizzed Karla on her knowledge of Z'hadum. However both soon realized that "Karla" only knew what Greg had written into his journal. Karla's voice was real enough, as Greg had stored a voice message from the original Nora-Lee in the computer. Still, it was rather interesting to actually be talking to a computer that didn't respond with a stilted voice.

  Before long, Amber and Gandric returned,

  "Our business is done," announced Gandric, "We are now ready to leave."

  "Where are we heading?" Asked Matt, Amber brought up a star map on the scanner screen, then she said,

  "Karla, bring up quadrant XXL30056." Suddenly another map appeared on the screen, turning to Matt and Kaitlyn Amber said,

  "This map comes from the data we recovered from the creator's computer, the notes that go with this suggest there may be several habitable planets out there. Apparently the creators intended to explore it but never got the chance, now we will go have a look ourselves."

  Soon the Nora-Lee was leaving Xandrus behind. They hadn't entered hyper drive yet, or as Amber explained it,

  "We don't know what this new galaxy consists of, if it's littered with asteroids, comets or any amount of space junk care must be taken, besides we have the time, and you two must learn how to fly this craft." That was just OK with Matt, Kaitlyn wasn't so sure, but he insisted.

  "You never know what might happen out here Kaitlyn, don't sell yourself short, I believe in you, I think eventually you'll make a good pilot."

  So far, the infusion of Karla's data into the computer didn't seem to have any effect on its operation other than the fact that various controls could now be activated with simple voice commands. Amber used this feature in her training of Matt and Kaitlyn to fly the ship.

  "Karla, please retard the port thruster," or "Karla, sometime in the next arr, change course unannounced at least three times." Sometimes Amber would have Karla simulate an attack by shutting down various instruments or controls requiring Matt or Kaitlyn to recalibrate, or recite to Amber what the last reading of a particular instrument was. Amber started the training at two arr's a cycle, then increased it to three, then finally four. The two teens soon discovered that Amber was a real taskmaster and didn't grade on a curve. Once, when Kaitlyn complained, Amber read her the "riot act" about the very real possibility of coming under attack and Kaitlyn being the only one who could fly. Or another possibility of damage to the ship such as meteor hits, or damage from space junk. Gandric also began instruction in how the ship worked, giving his own tests.

  Both teens knew deep down their very lives depended on learning this stuff, their real-life educations had begun, it wasn't much fun, but each knew they had no choice.

  It had now been close to three weeks by Matt's reckoning since they had left Xandrus Karla had alerted them to a small galaxy consisting of five planets with a moon orbiting around one. A large star was acting as its sun with life very possible on the planet with a moon. The data gleaned from the creator's computer didn't give much information other than the two planets showed indications of containing life.

  "Let's go for it," Said Matt, "We've been cooped up on this ship for three weeks now, I don't know about you and Gandric, but Kaitlyn and I need to stretch our legs, and we need to look for food and water as well." Kaitlyn was in the pilot's seat as Amber was showing her how to enter a planets gravity field when suddenly something felt like it was clawing at his brain. Kaitlyn cried out as well, loosing control so that Amber had to pull her out of her seat and quickly take over.

  "Oww, shit! What is going on?" Cried Matt, Kaitlyn wasn't faring any better, Amber and Gandric were desperately trying to understand what was going on with these two humans. Suddenly the face of what looked like some demented demon appeared on the scanner,

  "Who are you? Why do you come here? The pressure in Matt's head suddenly eased, allowing him to respond.

  "My name is Matt Grainger, my friend here is Kaitlyn Parkinson, the androids are called Amber and Gandric. Kaitlyn and I are from the planet called earth, Amber is from Z'ha'dum, and Gandric is from Xandrus."

  The face didn't change expression as it asked,

  "What are these other two, are they being or machine?" Matt looked at Amber and Gandric,

  "They are a combination of the two, please we mean you no harm, we are weary from traveling, and just want to stop for awhile and rest."

  "Let me think about this," said the face on the scanner,

  "You may continue to orbit my planet, but if I should decide that you are not welcome, you must leave immediately."

  "We understand," replied Matt.

  The face then disappeared from the screen as Kaitlyn announced,

  "What the hell was that, my head felt like bugs were swarming around inside."

  "I don't know" replied Matt; my head was all screwed up as well. He then asked Amber and Gandric,

  "You two didn't feel that, nothing was screwing with your brains?" Both shook their heads,

  "No," replied Amber, "I felt nothing,"

  "Nothing here as well added Gandric."

  Suddenly, another face appeared, this time it was a rather exotic looking woman with green eyes and long black hair.

  Matt was admiring her beauty, when Kaitlyn pointed to the screen and said,

  "Look at her ears, she's an elf, ohmygod, there really are elves!"

  "You know of us I take it," came the voice."

  "Oh yes," replied Kaitlyn, back on earth we know all about elves, pixies, fairies, uh, leprechauns, oh and unicorns."

  "Interesting, but have you ever met any of these beings?"

  "Well…Uh, not exactly, they don't exist anymore, if they ever did, but our ancient lore is filled with them." There was a long period of silence, then the woman's face appeared on the screen again.

  "These lepreehun, what do you know of them?" Kaitlyn started racking her brain for anything she could remember about the "little people."

  "Um, well there is a country called Ireland on our planet, um, leprechaun's come from there. The Irish call them the "little People," supposedly they leave pots of gold at the end of rainbows, uh, if you can catch one they offer you three wishes. They are all dressed in green, oh and there's a college that has them as their mascot, that's about all I know about them, but maybe I'll think of something later." There was another long silence, then the woman's face returned.

  "My name is Queen Breca…Queen of the elves; you have my permission to land. If you will notice the large continent below you, roughly at the center you will notice a very bright flashing beacon, land there, but remain by your craft until someone comes." Her face disappeared again leaving Matt and Kaitlyn trying to come to grips with what they had just seen.

  "Who are these leprechauns' you were speaking of?" Asked Amber.

  "Back on earth, there are many cultures that feature elves and such in their folklore," Explained Kaitlyn, It's the on
e thing I truly enjoyed reading about when I was younger. Eventually I got into UFO's and stuff, but you know what I'm talking about Matt."

  "Yeah, Lord of the rings, the Hobbit, yeah I saw the movies, leprechaun's who doesn't know about them. She's right Amber, everybody just assumed that they were folk characters or something Tolkien made up, but obviously they are real."

  "Are they dangerous?" Asked Gandric, Matt shrugged,

  "I don't know, ask our "expert" here. Kaitlyn gave him a dirty look,

  "Well I've read that leprechaun's pixies and fairies like to play tricks on people, damn I hope these elves aren't like that."

  "Well I hope not either," replied Gandric,

  "Well let's go find out," said Matt.