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Story I did for August, a 2 part piece. Yes, I know I'm behind, been a bit on the busy side. Part 2 will be posted shortly.
In this story, a computer starts causing trouble, I host some aliens on the ship and Quaren gets sent to get a shuttle ready
Part 2: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58780257
Story is pasted below as usual
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
It was just another one of those days where nothing happens. Patrol duty does keep you a little on edge, yes, but if nothing comes of it, then well, it fades because all you do is sit around.
Some alertness remains, of course, since we all have to do our due diligence, but if nothing happens, all we do is gossip about politics and complain about the food on board. Nothing new, especially if the end of the shift is coming.
We were all busy discussing the rising prices of citrus fruits when everything was interrupted by a priority hail from High Command.
I couldn’t help but sigh – I had already put my little lunch container into my sling bag with my tablet and whatnot. My shift was due to end in less than a minute, but well, I’m still technically on duty, so I accepted the transmission. “Defiant responding.”
“Oh, Captain Tano, thank fuck I caught you,” Hector remarked as his visage appeared on the screen, “we have an urgent matter that you are uniquely placed to respond to.”
“Sir, if you’re asking me to pound super volcanoes again, you’re going to have look elsewhere,” I replied with a sigh, “but I suspect that is not the case.”
A slight smirk flashed across Hector’s snout before he snorted and took a sip of his tea, “You know the Ralan Collective?”
“Oh yeah, the ones who constantly mock the way we do things?” I replied as I leaned back, folding my arms, “What do they want?”
“Trade talks, apparently,” Hector replied as he straightened his shirt, “but Intel says that they’re in some sort of hot water.”
“Trade talks my arse,” I replied with a scoff as I flicked my tail, “They know we’re good but they go second best out of spite. What’s the brief?”
“Rogue AI’s, and not of the small variety,” Hector replied as he rubbed his snout, “Seems like their ideas have caught up with them, though none of this is confirmed, we still can’t get people in. For all I know, it could be a legitimate offer, but we both know that they shun our work and five requests are a lot.”
“Admiral, with all due respect, wouldn’t this be more suitable for a detachment rather than a lone ship, and an old one at that, mind you,” I replied, pausing to accept a sandwich that Talorath handed me as he came in to relieve me, “Is it because of my AI crewmembers?”
“They requested a single ship, and yes, you’re a victim of your own success. We’re hoping to avoid a bloodbath if possible,” Hector replied with s snort, “The Diplomatic Corps have promised that you’ll arrive in six hours.”
“Sir, we are eight hours away,” I replied flatly, already knowing what the reply would be.
Hector glared at his camera as he grabbed his mug of tea, “I know, I told them and they ignored me. Do what you can, Captain, but make sure those engines can get you out of trouble in a pinch. If not, we’ll get you out, but no promises.”
“Got it. We’ll set a course,” I replied, nodding as I got up, “We’ll send ETA updates. Are they wanting us to meet on-planet as usual?”
“No, they want a tour,” Hector replied as he frowned, scrolling through what must be an email, “they’ll come aboard and see you in the shuttle bay for a tour of the ship.”
“Don’t they think our ships are stone age tech?” I replied as I rolled my eyes, “What’s their game here?”
“If I knew, I’d tell you, Tano, but they’re locked down pretty tight, I suppose you’ll have to pry it out of them when they turn up,” Hector remarked as he grabbed a piece of jerky, “We’ll monitor comms, may your engines remain reliable, Captain.”
“They bloody well better, sir,” I replied as we nodded to each other and the comms cut out. I received the coordinates immediately and had a course set.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spied Talorath making a beeline for the lift and threw a bit of jerky at him, “Come back here and do your fuckin job cunt!”
“It’s your mission, you have to drive it!” Talorath protested, but he came back anyway.
I shook my head as I grabbed my stuff, “I’m done for this shift, I’ll be back when we arrive anyway.”
Talorath, who had been caught in the act sulked his way into the command seat as I made my way back to my quarters to have a nap, though not before having Quaren, Arktak and Edge put on notice for an away mission.
Cadet (Senior) Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
I woke to find a priority message from the Captain waiting for me and not too long later, over breakfast, Arktak walked over and asked if I had been tapped for a new mission. All I could really do was nod, since my mouth was full of cereal, but that didn’t deter the android.
“Another away mission! Is he picking on me? I don’t like going down on dirt and he knows it!” Arktak protested to me, of all people, “and this is a diplomatic one too!”
I couldn’t help but raise an eyeridge at him “You only read the first bit of it, didn’t you?”
“I…skimmed it?” Arktak replied with a snort, “nothing popped out to me.”
As he spoke, none other than Captain Tano’rath strolled over, still holding his half-eaten sandwich and looking as tired as I expected and then some. “Arktak, how many times do I have to tell you to read the whole fucking brief?”
To say that Arktak started would be an understatement, he actually jumped and his scales stood for a moment before he turned to face the Captain, “I-I didn’t-“
Tano’rath waved a hand, “You didn’t read it, go read it after your breakfast, not a big deal. I know it’s boring, but you’ve gotta know what’s going on, don’t believe the shit they tell you on the lower decks. They’re there for a reason.”
Arktak was stuck stammering something out, while the Captain produced an insulated bag out of nowhere and gave us all cookies. Seems like he was making rounds and doing it, since he patted Arktak on the shoulder with a grin and strolled off while the poor android was still trying to piece himself together.
I, for one, knew why Arktak was on the roster. This mission involved a society with a large AI presence. Tano’rath probably thinks he’ll be able to help, since Edge is needed on the ship and Revelation is off on leave to get his new body sorted out.
At least the cookies were good. Apparently his mum sent enough for the whole crew, so he was sharing them out.
You don’t get this on the DN-IV ships, the commanders are too stuck-up for it apparently.
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
At the rate this is going, Arktak is going to stay a lieutenant forever, but I’m sure he’ll get his game together sooner or later. Either way, my away mission that wasn’t actually away from the ship did require some preparation, since we’d be having guests on board.
I arranged for the usual places to be cleaned and then some, hangar bays were tidied up and whatnot. Things were put away and the cleaning robots were unleashed on the corridors. Everything was to be spick and span so that if an unplanned detour were to happen, things still looked good. Besides, I had been looking for an excuse to have the crew tidy up for a while and this was perfect for that.
I’m not sure why they even want a tour, since the Ralarians, who ironically look similar to us, think our ships are last century’s news due to our policy of limiting integration between our systems. It’s the same for anything else we make, regardless of how good or bad the product is. They’ve been known to be deliberately rude to my kin, even mocking to the embassy staff on-planet. Doesn’t help that they sometimes get mistaken for us Drakonians.
Unlike the vast majority of us, though, most of them can fly with their wings, but their lither forms and lower bone density means that we’re the ones who win in a fight. They’re definitely more darty that us, since we’re naturally heavier built due to Drakonos, our homeworld, having stronger gravity than Ralar-Prime, theirs, but well, a few well-placed hits, and they won’t be running rings around us anymore.
Either way, the preparations were completed and with the help of the dietary requirements sent along by their city’s resident AI, we had some fresh ingredients brought over via Express Fleet Courier and things were more or less ready to go. A few checks of the ingredients on the list revealed nothing amiss to us, since we don’t actually know what they can or can’t eat – they never bothered to tell us, but yeah. All they have to do is tell us what they want to eat.
As the last of the prep work was done, the ship dropped out of FTL, just an hour later than the promised six and puttered towards the planet at sublight speeds.
There had been radio silence from High Command in the meantime, though a few handshake signals from other First Fleet ships that fell in line just in our sensor range was comforting enough. They backed off soon enough as we got close, but the message was clear enough.
Either way, as we acknowledged and followed the procedure to put into orbit, a little shuttle puttered its way up to the ship. With how slow it was going, I had time to go and get changed into my good set of uniform, complete with my campaign ribbons and a few medals. The rest of my team was already waiting in the hangar bay, with Arktak fidgeting as usual. I whispered to him to not do it once the dignitaries came on board, but otherwise we were ready as we’d ever be.
Cadet (Senior) Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
Tano’rath, in his usual fashion, strolled over as the shuttle came in to land. I’ve never actually seen him wear his decorations, but the sheer number of campaign ribbons he had was indicative enough. He wore only three medals too, though his record had a way longer list than three.
The Captain nodded to us as he joined our line, nodding to us as the airlock shut in front of us to allow the shuttle to enter. I couldn’t help but look over at him at ask, “Captain, our force fields can let shuttles enter and leave without the airlock, why do we still close it all the time?”
Tano’rath glanced over and snorted, “What if the emitters fail? I know that my inevitable end will be in a twisted metal wreck in space, but I rather not it be something as anticlimactic as this.”
“I see your point, but well, that’s a bit morbid, isn’t it? I replied as I cocked my head while the airlock cycled.
Tano’rath chuckled as he straightened his shirt and checked his sidearm, “Part of the job, Quaren, Captain goes with the ship.”
Arktak glanced over at me and shook his head ever so slightly and all I could do was not. “I understand.”
“I saw that, Arktak,” Tano’rath remarked with a slight smirk, “Let ‘im ask, it’s fine. It’s an old tradition, a bit ridiculous, but my job here ultimately is to make sure that everyone gets out in one piece. Better the life of one than the life of the many, no? Duty first to crew.”
As he spoke, the airlock hissed open to reveal the visitors filing out of their shuttle, with the lead ambassador, a grey-scaled skinnier version of Tano’rath walking over, clad in flowing robes. Before I could respond, he closed the distance and bowed to the Captain. I suppose the conversation will have to wait. Tano’rath, on the other hand raised an eyeridge for a second before he saluted them nice and sharp.
“Thank you for having us, Captain. I am Ambassador Sufath. I understand that we have not had the best relations, but I’m hoping that our work here might be the first steps towards correcting that,” The ambassador, who almost looked like a malnourished example of our species spoke as he bowed, though it was not hard to see that he was swallowing more than his pride to say that.
While I was half expecting the Captain to give some sort of smug reply, instead, he cut the salute smartly and nodded. “No, thank you for requesting this meeting, sir. I am Senior Captain Tano’rath, commander of this vessel. First and foremost, I must apologise for the delay as we were held up with patrol duties, but we will be happy to provide you with our hospitality. A list of food has been sent ahead by your Government for us to prepare and that will be made available to you to choose from for later. Perhaps we might open with the tour?”
“Well met, Captain, yes, I think that would be an excellent idea,” The Ambassador replied with a nod, “I have heard that your culture prefers a sit-down arrangement to discussions, but perhaps we can walk and talk?”
“I’m no diplomatic shill, sir, we can discuss whatever you like whenever you like,” Tano’rath replied, grinning, “I must ask you to excuse the occasional mess as well, this is also an active combat vessel.”
“I’ll be honest – we gathered as much from the battle scars on your ship and your campaign ribbons,” Sufath replied with a slight chuckle, “You serve your people and we can all respect that.”
“Thank you, sir,” Came the reply as Tano’rath paused to gesture at the other two of us, “Usually I have the senior staff here to meet everyone, but we are also in the midst of a major overhaul. However, you will meet them later on. For now, please meet my assistants, Cadet Quaren and Lieutenant Arktak.”
Sufath gave us both polite nods and shook our hands as we were introduced, though he stopped when he got to Arktak. “Captain, are you aware that your officer is…not organic?”
“Yeah, that’s why I fought to keep him,” Tano’rath replied with a flick of his tail, “He has some gaps in his training, but I see him going far.”
As Tano’rath spoke, Arktak went almost cherry red under his scales, but didn’t flinch.
Sufath raised an eyeridge at the Captain, “I have never encountered a non-organic working on a Drakonian ship, nor have I heard of it…”
“He’s part of my crew, he does his job just like anyone else, why is there a need to make a fanfare of it?” Tano’rath replied as he cocked his head slightly, “we’re all equal here.”
Sufath frowned slightly, but he nodded after a moment. “I see what you mean, Captain. Shall we proceed?”
“I’ll take you to the guest rooms to drop your bags off first and we’ll start from there,” Tano’rath replied as he walked over to grab one of the bags and beckoned us over to help.
Sufath stopped and stared for a moment as Tano’rath walked past with his luggage. The Captain giggled, “What, never seen someone carry a bag before? Follow me, Ambassador. I think there is much to discuss.”
I think he’s confused the poor ambassador and his one bodyguard. They were both staring at the Captain as he hauled the bags with the rest of us. Most ship captains don’t do this, of course, they usually ask someone else to do it, but well, I’ve been here for a good few months, since the final evaluation takes a while, and I know that Tano’rath is not most captains.
I’m also fairly sure that he knows, he just doesn’t care.
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
I don’t know what these two brought in their bags, but they brought a lot of it. It wasn’t terrifically heavy, but bloody hell it wasn’t light either. I didn’t complain, we all know better than to do that, but I wasn’t missing those bags once I set them down in the guest quarters. It was also worth noting that the duo, with the other male being the bodyguard for Sufath and clearly a person of few words, since all he did was nod along, kept casting glances back at their shuttle as if it was going to eat them. It was…strange, but I decided to keep my comments to myself. They also seemed to visibly relax more the further we went into the ship.
I showed the guests around their rooms, making sure to show them where the facilities were and whatnot. By the time I was done, I was ready to start the tour, but mister Sufath, the skinny and lighter coloured version of me stopped me by the door.
“Captain, I think you know as well as I do that the talks are a pretext, yes?” He remarked, looking up at me, “We both know that our people don’t see eye-to-eye on many topics.”
I raised an eyeridge at Sufath, “Yes, I am well aware. This is about one of your resident AI’s isn’t it?”
Sufath frowned at my comment, rustling his wings slightly in unease, “…how’d you know?”
“The two of you were staring at your shuttle as if it was about to shoot you,” I replied with a snort, “and I know that there’s nobody left inside, so logically it has to be the computer, no? There’d be no need for such subterfuge otherwise too.”
Mister bodyguard, who Sufath had introduced as Dral in passing finally spoke up in an almost comically high voice. It took all my discipline not to giggle at the red-scaled and more heavily built male because he sounded almost like a hatchling. Maybe that’s why he’s so quiet. “We’ve had some…issues with our central AI, Kanic. It wouldn’t be a big stretch for him to take control and actually shoot us.”
“Yes, and that was a good catch, Captain. It was hard enough to convince him that we’re talking to the Drakonians to discuss trade, as you can imagine, but it was the most believable excuse we could make up,” Sufath added, shifting his tail and feet with more than slight unease, “while we will be happy to discuss actual trade after this…but for now, we would like to formally request your assistance.”
“Alright, lets keep this tour excuse going, Ambassador, follow me.” I replied with a nod, “I’d bet good credits that your friend is monitoring us through the shuttle sensors, so we better keep appearances up.”
“Yes, that would be prudent,” Sufath replied with a nod as he fell in step beside me. My two officers trailed behind as we spoke, “This is an older ship, no? Your ambassador usually gets picked up in uh less blocky vessels.”
I flicked my tail as we walked, chuckling, “Yeah, she’s got a good few lightyears on the frame and then some, but these old cruisers don’t die even if you try. So now, as we walk to the main engineering section, tell me how bad is bad down there.”
Sufath nodded as he trailed behind me before pulling out a small notebook, of all things from one of his pockets and rifling through it as he walked. “Let me find the page, just give me a moment. We’ve been making hardware notes because these can’t be hacked.”
“I’ve not had a notebook called that before, I’ll admit,” I added absentmindedly as someone handed me a tablet and I flicked through the maintenance request before approving it and sending them on the way, “must be bad if you can’t put anything on a computer.”
“Look, I know your kind mocks us for our integration with technology, but..well, yes,” Sufath replied, bristling a little at my comment, even halve unfurling his wings at one point, “We’ve had files go missing, and then the owners of the files go missing, disappearances, behavioural changes in people with large numbers of implants.”
Sufath happened to finish talking just as the doors to Engineering hissed open to reveal Edge, the synth, who had been trying to listen by pressing a microphone to the door and had been caught red handed. He didn’t even notice initially because he was also fiddling with one of the nearby conduits, so I burped loudly into the microphone and made him nearly jump out of his armour plates. Sufath and his bodyguard gave me more confused stares and I shrugged. “I don’t stand on ceremony. Besides, he was asking for it.”
Edge put the microphone away slightly indignantly as he spoke, “Sounds like their AI is trying to turn people into drones while covering things up. While some people are into that stuff, it can also be pretty nasty.”
“Yeah, that does track with how these things tend to go,” I remarked as Sufath himself glanced around the room, though he was very obviously more interested in looking at Edge, “Also yes, this is Lieutenant Carter, my chief engineer and yes, he’s a robot, not someone wearing various tin cans.”
“Yes I am very handsome, I know.” Edge added as Sufath looked him over.
Sufath himself wrote a few more things down in his notebook before nodding, “Well, yes, it seems to be tracking that way. We still have partial control over most of our services, but it’s getting harder and harder to shut him out.”
Edge himself nodded as I let him show the duo around the engineering section, leaving me with Quaren and Arktak for a few moments.
Cadet (Senior) Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
As Edge talked the two visitors through the reactors and engines to keep up appearances, Tano’rath turned to us. “Alright, I need one of you, doesn’t matter who, to go and get a fighter prepped. Fighter, and shuttle, actually, I’ll explain later. The other needs to go and tell Talorath directly to use an encrypted line to tell Command what you both just heard, the AI has gone rogue. Might need backup and we’re definitely going down on-planet to sort this out. Don’t use internal comms, I don’t know if their AI can listen in, go physically to the bridge and tell him. Message me when done and I’ll tell you where we are.”
We both nodded and as Tano’rath turned away to watch the group, Arktak glanced over, “I can sort the shuttle and fighter out quickly, can you relay the message?”
“Can-do, I’ll see you later, then,” I replied with a nod and we both split.
Arktak gave me a wave before he jogged off and I made a beeline for the bridge. I got to wave and greet a few of the crew on my way up, but eventually, I found myself flying up towards the bridge.
The doors hissed open to reveal business as usual, with passive scans being done and whatnot. Lieutenant Talorath, the first officer, who was sitting in the command chair and sipping tea craned his neck over when the lift went ding. “Ah, Quaren, did the Captain send you?”
“Yes, he’s told me to deliver the update in person,” I replied as I walked over, “It’s regarding the situation below.”
“I’m liking this less and less already. Deliver your report, Cadet,” He replied with a sigh, “I’ve heard the word rogue being tossed around in gossip already.”
“Yeeeeeah, about that, sir…” I replied, rubbing the back of my head, “They’ve said that the main AI has been deleting evidence, disappearing people and altering the behaviour of those with augments. They’re also wrestling with it to maintain control over their services. The Captain has asked that you send an encrypted message to command to update them and tell them that we will most probably end up on the surface to work this out.”
Talorath tapped away on his tablet with a nod and groaned when I mentioned drones and the like, “Yup, pretty textbook. Good work, Cadet, go rejoin the Captain and tell him that I’ll sort it out. I assume that fighter that Arktak is setting up is for you three?”
“Yeah, Captain’s orders.” I replied with a nod, “Anything else, sir?”
“No, but you’re going to have a lot of fun later, I suspect,” Talorath replied dryly, “I’ll keep the cameras on the guest shuttle just in case.”
I nodded, saluted and returned to the lift. A quick message to Tano’rath had him tell me that they were now in the mess hall for a lunch break.
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
Sufath himself actually did ask Edge and I a few questions about the ship, though the AI issue was clearly hanging over his head like a sword. Eventually, we bid Edge farewell and headed to lunch. I had already prepared a list of dishes for them to pick from and those were waiting in the mess hall for them.
In the meantime, I started taking notes myself as Sufath detailed a rough timeline where things started to go awry, with the AI displaying belligerence and general disdain for the authorities and organic life in general. Apparently they had tried to negotiate a few times, but to no avail. They had also started to notice that the AI was creeping his control into their core systems and software through compromised software updates. This was followed with a long list of missing people that had either blown the whistle or tried to. They were all presumed dead, though all record of their existence was also erased…
In situations such as these, I pointed out, the easiest way out would be to put a mass driver slug through the AI’s core mainframe, but since that mainframe was in the middle of the capital, that would also be genocide. Instead, there were three hardware kill switches that would cut power completely from the AI itself, in the fusion reactor complexes that powered the computer.
One problem, though – the moment we throw two of those three switches, it will be noticed. Thankfully, the first switch won’t be noticed since the third power plant is just a backup, so it isn’t even running at the moment. Small mercies, I suppose.
The reports came in from Quaren and Arktak that the tasks I had given them were done just in time for lunch, so I had them both join us in the mess hall.
Upon Sufath’s request, I had the list of food shown to him and he scowled when he looked through it, “I think you’ve been deceived, that isn’t the list we sent, Captain.”
“Ah, I assume the transmission got altered in some way?” I replied with a cocked eyeridge, “are these just unpleasant or are they toxic?”
“A range from both, quite honestly, but naturally, all non-toxic to your kind, I’d expect,” Sufath replied with a snort as he rolled his eyes, “That’s a pretty cheap shot, don’t you think?”
“Yeah. I’ll spare you the stuff on the list, then,” I replied with a nod, “We’ll make a note of it in our system. Instead, perhaps I can offer you some of our own native fare?”
“That would be excellent, actually!” Sufath replied, smiling for the first time since he arrived, “I’ve heard good things about your smoked and barbecued cuisine, I would love to sample it.”
“Alright, so give me an actual list of what you can’t eat and I’ll speak to the chef,” I replied with a nod, “We don’t break out the fresh food very often, so it’ll be a treat for both of us.”
“Do you not get…how do you say it…an officers’ menu?” Sufath replied, cocking his head while he wrote down a list for me, “I’m sure Ambassador Elior has mentioned that a few times as he says that it’s quite good.”
I took the list and got up, snorting as I nodded, “There is one, but if my crew eats resequenced food, so do I. A few other captains do it too, though trust me, you’re not missing anything on that front.”
Sufath nodded with a slight chuckle as I ran the list over to the kitchen and had the chef throw a few things together from what we had in stasis.
Thankfully, with the power of smoked brisket, BBQ poultry, vegetables and a liberal amount of sauce, lunch was saved. Sufath even asked for some to take back with him, so I gave him a few packs.
The rest of the tour went the way it did, with Sufath giving me the rest of the brief. It seemed like their AI friend was gearing up for a pretty big power grab, and it was abundantly clear that we would need to act soon. I had the hangar staff load one of our operations utes onto the shuttle while we finished up.
Sufath also asked me a few questions about how we kept our systems uncoupled and while I couldn’t answer everything, I walked him through some of it. He mentioned that they would probably need help later on untangling the web of integrated systems, but that would be a problem for later. High Command didn’t reply to me, but given that a formal request for help was already given, I agreed to go with Sufath down to the surface to help flick some switches.
Besides, apparently all their self-driving cars were also tied to the network, which they could no longer trust, so I would have to drive them. So much for a quiet week of patrol duty…
In this story, a computer starts causing trouble, I host some aliens on the ship and Quaren gets sent to get a shuttle ready
Part 2: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58780257
Story is pasted below as usual
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
It was just another one of those days where nothing happens. Patrol duty does keep you a little on edge, yes, but if nothing comes of it, then well, it fades because all you do is sit around.
Some alertness remains, of course, since we all have to do our due diligence, but if nothing happens, all we do is gossip about politics and complain about the food on board. Nothing new, especially if the end of the shift is coming.
We were all busy discussing the rising prices of citrus fruits when everything was interrupted by a priority hail from High Command.
I couldn’t help but sigh – I had already put my little lunch container into my sling bag with my tablet and whatnot. My shift was due to end in less than a minute, but well, I’m still technically on duty, so I accepted the transmission. “Defiant responding.”
“Oh, Captain Tano, thank fuck I caught you,” Hector remarked as his visage appeared on the screen, “we have an urgent matter that you are uniquely placed to respond to.”
“Sir, if you’re asking me to pound super volcanoes again, you’re going to have look elsewhere,” I replied with a sigh, “but I suspect that is not the case.”
A slight smirk flashed across Hector’s snout before he snorted and took a sip of his tea, “You know the Ralan Collective?”
“Oh yeah, the ones who constantly mock the way we do things?” I replied as I leaned back, folding my arms, “What do they want?”
“Trade talks, apparently,” Hector replied as he straightened his shirt, “but Intel says that they’re in some sort of hot water.”
“Trade talks my arse,” I replied with a scoff as I flicked my tail, “They know we’re good but they go second best out of spite. What’s the brief?”
“Rogue AI’s, and not of the small variety,” Hector replied as he rubbed his snout, “Seems like their ideas have caught up with them, though none of this is confirmed, we still can’t get people in. For all I know, it could be a legitimate offer, but we both know that they shun our work and five requests are a lot.”
“Admiral, with all due respect, wouldn’t this be more suitable for a detachment rather than a lone ship, and an old one at that, mind you,” I replied, pausing to accept a sandwich that Talorath handed me as he came in to relieve me, “Is it because of my AI crewmembers?”
“They requested a single ship, and yes, you’re a victim of your own success. We’re hoping to avoid a bloodbath if possible,” Hector replied with s snort, “The Diplomatic Corps have promised that you’ll arrive in six hours.”
“Sir, we are eight hours away,” I replied flatly, already knowing what the reply would be.
Hector glared at his camera as he grabbed his mug of tea, “I know, I told them and they ignored me. Do what you can, Captain, but make sure those engines can get you out of trouble in a pinch. If not, we’ll get you out, but no promises.”
“Got it. We’ll set a course,” I replied, nodding as I got up, “We’ll send ETA updates. Are they wanting us to meet on-planet as usual?”
“No, they want a tour,” Hector replied as he frowned, scrolling through what must be an email, “they’ll come aboard and see you in the shuttle bay for a tour of the ship.”
“Don’t they think our ships are stone age tech?” I replied as I rolled my eyes, “What’s their game here?”
“If I knew, I’d tell you, Tano, but they’re locked down pretty tight, I suppose you’ll have to pry it out of them when they turn up,” Hector remarked as he grabbed a piece of jerky, “We’ll monitor comms, may your engines remain reliable, Captain.”
“They bloody well better, sir,” I replied as we nodded to each other and the comms cut out. I received the coordinates immediately and had a course set.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spied Talorath making a beeline for the lift and threw a bit of jerky at him, “Come back here and do your fuckin job cunt!”
“It’s your mission, you have to drive it!” Talorath protested, but he came back anyway.
I shook my head as I grabbed my stuff, “I’m done for this shift, I’ll be back when we arrive anyway.”
Talorath, who had been caught in the act sulked his way into the command seat as I made my way back to my quarters to have a nap, though not before having Quaren, Arktak and Edge put on notice for an away mission.
Cadet (Senior) Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
I woke to find a priority message from the Captain waiting for me and not too long later, over breakfast, Arktak walked over and asked if I had been tapped for a new mission. All I could really do was nod, since my mouth was full of cereal, but that didn’t deter the android.
“Another away mission! Is he picking on me? I don’t like going down on dirt and he knows it!” Arktak protested to me, of all people, “and this is a diplomatic one too!”
I couldn’t help but raise an eyeridge at him “You only read the first bit of it, didn’t you?”
“I…skimmed it?” Arktak replied with a snort, “nothing popped out to me.”
As he spoke, none other than Captain Tano’rath strolled over, still holding his half-eaten sandwich and looking as tired as I expected and then some. “Arktak, how many times do I have to tell you to read the whole fucking brief?”
To say that Arktak started would be an understatement, he actually jumped and his scales stood for a moment before he turned to face the Captain, “I-I didn’t-“
Tano’rath waved a hand, “You didn’t read it, go read it after your breakfast, not a big deal. I know it’s boring, but you’ve gotta know what’s going on, don’t believe the shit they tell you on the lower decks. They’re there for a reason.”
Arktak was stuck stammering something out, while the Captain produced an insulated bag out of nowhere and gave us all cookies. Seems like he was making rounds and doing it, since he patted Arktak on the shoulder with a grin and strolled off while the poor android was still trying to piece himself together.
I, for one, knew why Arktak was on the roster. This mission involved a society with a large AI presence. Tano’rath probably thinks he’ll be able to help, since Edge is needed on the ship and Revelation is off on leave to get his new body sorted out.
At least the cookies were good. Apparently his mum sent enough for the whole crew, so he was sharing them out.
You don’t get this on the DN-IV ships, the commanders are too stuck-up for it apparently.
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
At the rate this is going, Arktak is going to stay a lieutenant forever, but I’m sure he’ll get his game together sooner or later. Either way, my away mission that wasn’t actually away from the ship did require some preparation, since we’d be having guests on board.
I arranged for the usual places to be cleaned and then some, hangar bays were tidied up and whatnot. Things were put away and the cleaning robots were unleashed on the corridors. Everything was to be spick and span so that if an unplanned detour were to happen, things still looked good. Besides, I had been looking for an excuse to have the crew tidy up for a while and this was perfect for that.
I’m not sure why they even want a tour, since the Ralarians, who ironically look similar to us, think our ships are last century’s news due to our policy of limiting integration between our systems. It’s the same for anything else we make, regardless of how good or bad the product is. They’ve been known to be deliberately rude to my kin, even mocking to the embassy staff on-planet. Doesn’t help that they sometimes get mistaken for us Drakonians.
Unlike the vast majority of us, though, most of them can fly with their wings, but their lither forms and lower bone density means that we’re the ones who win in a fight. They’re definitely more darty that us, since we’re naturally heavier built due to Drakonos, our homeworld, having stronger gravity than Ralar-Prime, theirs, but well, a few well-placed hits, and they won’t be running rings around us anymore.
Either way, the preparations were completed and with the help of the dietary requirements sent along by their city’s resident AI, we had some fresh ingredients brought over via Express Fleet Courier and things were more or less ready to go. A few checks of the ingredients on the list revealed nothing amiss to us, since we don’t actually know what they can or can’t eat – they never bothered to tell us, but yeah. All they have to do is tell us what they want to eat.
As the last of the prep work was done, the ship dropped out of FTL, just an hour later than the promised six and puttered towards the planet at sublight speeds.
There had been radio silence from High Command in the meantime, though a few handshake signals from other First Fleet ships that fell in line just in our sensor range was comforting enough. They backed off soon enough as we got close, but the message was clear enough.
Either way, as we acknowledged and followed the procedure to put into orbit, a little shuttle puttered its way up to the ship. With how slow it was going, I had time to go and get changed into my good set of uniform, complete with my campaign ribbons and a few medals. The rest of my team was already waiting in the hangar bay, with Arktak fidgeting as usual. I whispered to him to not do it once the dignitaries came on board, but otherwise we were ready as we’d ever be.
Cadet (Senior) Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
Tano’rath, in his usual fashion, strolled over as the shuttle came in to land. I’ve never actually seen him wear his decorations, but the sheer number of campaign ribbons he had was indicative enough. He wore only three medals too, though his record had a way longer list than three.
The Captain nodded to us as he joined our line, nodding to us as the airlock shut in front of us to allow the shuttle to enter. I couldn’t help but look over at him at ask, “Captain, our force fields can let shuttles enter and leave without the airlock, why do we still close it all the time?”
Tano’rath glanced over and snorted, “What if the emitters fail? I know that my inevitable end will be in a twisted metal wreck in space, but I rather not it be something as anticlimactic as this.”
“I see your point, but well, that’s a bit morbid, isn’t it? I replied as I cocked my head while the airlock cycled.
Tano’rath chuckled as he straightened his shirt and checked his sidearm, “Part of the job, Quaren, Captain goes with the ship.”
Arktak glanced over at me and shook his head ever so slightly and all I could do was not. “I understand.”
“I saw that, Arktak,” Tano’rath remarked with a slight smirk, “Let ‘im ask, it’s fine. It’s an old tradition, a bit ridiculous, but my job here ultimately is to make sure that everyone gets out in one piece. Better the life of one than the life of the many, no? Duty first to crew.”
As he spoke, the airlock hissed open to reveal the visitors filing out of their shuttle, with the lead ambassador, a grey-scaled skinnier version of Tano’rath walking over, clad in flowing robes. Before I could respond, he closed the distance and bowed to the Captain. I suppose the conversation will have to wait. Tano’rath, on the other hand raised an eyeridge for a second before he saluted them nice and sharp.
“Thank you for having us, Captain. I am Ambassador Sufath. I understand that we have not had the best relations, but I’m hoping that our work here might be the first steps towards correcting that,” The ambassador, who almost looked like a malnourished example of our species spoke as he bowed, though it was not hard to see that he was swallowing more than his pride to say that.
While I was half expecting the Captain to give some sort of smug reply, instead, he cut the salute smartly and nodded. “No, thank you for requesting this meeting, sir. I am Senior Captain Tano’rath, commander of this vessel. First and foremost, I must apologise for the delay as we were held up with patrol duties, but we will be happy to provide you with our hospitality. A list of food has been sent ahead by your Government for us to prepare and that will be made available to you to choose from for later. Perhaps we might open with the tour?”
“Well met, Captain, yes, I think that would be an excellent idea,” The Ambassador replied with a nod, “I have heard that your culture prefers a sit-down arrangement to discussions, but perhaps we can walk and talk?”
“I’m no diplomatic shill, sir, we can discuss whatever you like whenever you like,” Tano’rath replied, grinning, “I must ask you to excuse the occasional mess as well, this is also an active combat vessel.”
“I’ll be honest – we gathered as much from the battle scars on your ship and your campaign ribbons,” Sufath replied with a slight chuckle, “You serve your people and we can all respect that.”
“Thank you, sir,” Came the reply as Tano’rath paused to gesture at the other two of us, “Usually I have the senior staff here to meet everyone, but we are also in the midst of a major overhaul. However, you will meet them later on. For now, please meet my assistants, Cadet Quaren and Lieutenant Arktak.”
Sufath gave us both polite nods and shook our hands as we were introduced, though he stopped when he got to Arktak. “Captain, are you aware that your officer is…not organic?”
“Yeah, that’s why I fought to keep him,” Tano’rath replied with a flick of his tail, “He has some gaps in his training, but I see him going far.”
As Tano’rath spoke, Arktak went almost cherry red under his scales, but didn’t flinch.
Sufath raised an eyeridge at the Captain, “I have never encountered a non-organic working on a Drakonian ship, nor have I heard of it…”
“He’s part of my crew, he does his job just like anyone else, why is there a need to make a fanfare of it?” Tano’rath replied as he cocked his head slightly, “we’re all equal here.”
Sufath frowned slightly, but he nodded after a moment. “I see what you mean, Captain. Shall we proceed?”
“I’ll take you to the guest rooms to drop your bags off first and we’ll start from there,” Tano’rath replied as he walked over to grab one of the bags and beckoned us over to help.
Sufath stopped and stared for a moment as Tano’rath walked past with his luggage. The Captain giggled, “What, never seen someone carry a bag before? Follow me, Ambassador. I think there is much to discuss.”
I think he’s confused the poor ambassador and his one bodyguard. They were both staring at the Captain as he hauled the bags with the rest of us. Most ship captains don’t do this, of course, they usually ask someone else to do it, but well, I’ve been here for a good few months, since the final evaluation takes a while, and I know that Tano’rath is not most captains.
I’m also fairly sure that he knows, he just doesn’t care.
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
I don’t know what these two brought in their bags, but they brought a lot of it. It wasn’t terrifically heavy, but bloody hell it wasn’t light either. I didn’t complain, we all know better than to do that, but I wasn’t missing those bags once I set them down in the guest quarters. It was also worth noting that the duo, with the other male being the bodyguard for Sufath and clearly a person of few words, since all he did was nod along, kept casting glances back at their shuttle as if it was going to eat them. It was…strange, but I decided to keep my comments to myself. They also seemed to visibly relax more the further we went into the ship.
I showed the guests around their rooms, making sure to show them where the facilities were and whatnot. By the time I was done, I was ready to start the tour, but mister Sufath, the skinny and lighter coloured version of me stopped me by the door.
“Captain, I think you know as well as I do that the talks are a pretext, yes?” He remarked, looking up at me, “We both know that our people don’t see eye-to-eye on many topics.”
I raised an eyeridge at Sufath, “Yes, I am well aware. This is about one of your resident AI’s isn’t it?”
Sufath frowned at my comment, rustling his wings slightly in unease, “…how’d you know?”
“The two of you were staring at your shuttle as if it was about to shoot you,” I replied with a snort, “and I know that there’s nobody left inside, so logically it has to be the computer, no? There’d be no need for such subterfuge otherwise too.”
Mister bodyguard, who Sufath had introduced as Dral in passing finally spoke up in an almost comically high voice. It took all my discipline not to giggle at the red-scaled and more heavily built male because he sounded almost like a hatchling. Maybe that’s why he’s so quiet. “We’ve had some…issues with our central AI, Kanic. It wouldn’t be a big stretch for him to take control and actually shoot us.”
“Yes, and that was a good catch, Captain. It was hard enough to convince him that we’re talking to the Drakonians to discuss trade, as you can imagine, but it was the most believable excuse we could make up,” Sufath added, shifting his tail and feet with more than slight unease, “while we will be happy to discuss actual trade after this…but for now, we would like to formally request your assistance.”
“Alright, lets keep this tour excuse going, Ambassador, follow me.” I replied with a nod, “I’d bet good credits that your friend is monitoring us through the shuttle sensors, so we better keep appearances up.”
“Yes, that would be prudent,” Sufath replied with a nod as he fell in step beside me. My two officers trailed behind as we spoke, “This is an older ship, no? Your ambassador usually gets picked up in uh less blocky vessels.”
I flicked my tail as we walked, chuckling, “Yeah, she’s got a good few lightyears on the frame and then some, but these old cruisers don’t die even if you try. So now, as we walk to the main engineering section, tell me how bad is bad down there.”
Sufath nodded as he trailed behind me before pulling out a small notebook, of all things from one of his pockets and rifling through it as he walked. “Let me find the page, just give me a moment. We’ve been making hardware notes because these can’t be hacked.”
“I’ve not had a notebook called that before, I’ll admit,” I added absentmindedly as someone handed me a tablet and I flicked through the maintenance request before approving it and sending them on the way, “must be bad if you can’t put anything on a computer.”
“Look, I know your kind mocks us for our integration with technology, but..well, yes,” Sufath replied, bristling a little at my comment, even halve unfurling his wings at one point, “We’ve had files go missing, and then the owners of the files go missing, disappearances, behavioural changes in people with large numbers of implants.”
Sufath happened to finish talking just as the doors to Engineering hissed open to reveal Edge, the synth, who had been trying to listen by pressing a microphone to the door and had been caught red handed. He didn’t even notice initially because he was also fiddling with one of the nearby conduits, so I burped loudly into the microphone and made him nearly jump out of his armour plates. Sufath and his bodyguard gave me more confused stares and I shrugged. “I don’t stand on ceremony. Besides, he was asking for it.”
Edge put the microphone away slightly indignantly as he spoke, “Sounds like their AI is trying to turn people into drones while covering things up. While some people are into that stuff, it can also be pretty nasty.”
“Yeah, that does track with how these things tend to go,” I remarked as Sufath himself glanced around the room, though he was very obviously more interested in looking at Edge, “Also yes, this is Lieutenant Carter, my chief engineer and yes, he’s a robot, not someone wearing various tin cans.”
“Yes I am very handsome, I know.” Edge added as Sufath looked him over.
Sufath himself wrote a few more things down in his notebook before nodding, “Well, yes, it seems to be tracking that way. We still have partial control over most of our services, but it’s getting harder and harder to shut him out.”
Edge himself nodded as I let him show the duo around the engineering section, leaving me with Quaren and Arktak for a few moments.
Cadet (Senior) Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
As Edge talked the two visitors through the reactors and engines to keep up appearances, Tano’rath turned to us. “Alright, I need one of you, doesn’t matter who, to go and get a fighter prepped. Fighter, and shuttle, actually, I’ll explain later. The other needs to go and tell Talorath directly to use an encrypted line to tell Command what you both just heard, the AI has gone rogue. Might need backup and we’re definitely going down on-planet to sort this out. Don’t use internal comms, I don’t know if their AI can listen in, go physically to the bridge and tell him. Message me when done and I’ll tell you where we are.”
We both nodded and as Tano’rath turned away to watch the group, Arktak glanced over, “I can sort the shuttle and fighter out quickly, can you relay the message?”
“Can-do, I’ll see you later, then,” I replied with a nod and we both split.
Arktak gave me a wave before he jogged off and I made a beeline for the bridge. I got to wave and greet a few of the crew on my way up, but eventually, I found myself flying up towards the bridge.
The doors hissed open to reveal business as usual, with passive scans being done and whatnot. Lieutenant Talorath, the first officer, who was sitting in the command chair and sipping tea craned his neck over when the lift went ding. “Ah, Quaren, did the Captain send you?”
“Yes, he’s told me to deliver the update in person,” I replied as I walked over, “It’s regarding the situation below.”
“I’m liking this less and less already. Deliver your report, Cadet,” He replied with a sigh, “I’ve heard the word rogue being tossed around in gossip already.”
“Yeeeeeah, about that, sir…” I replied, rubbing the back of my head, “They’ve said that the main AI has been deleting evidence, disappearing people and altering the behaviour of those with augments. They’re also wrestling with it to maintain control over their services. The Captain has asked that you send an encrypted message to command to update them and tell them that we will most probably end up on the surface to work this out.”
Talorath tapped away on his tablet with a nod and groaned when I mentioned drones and the like, “Yup, pretty textbook. Good work, Cadet, go rejoin the Captain and tell him that I’ll sort it out. I assume that fighter that Arktak is setting up is for you three?”
“Yeah, Captain’s orders.” I replied with a nod, “Anything else, sir?”
“No, but you’re going to have a lot of fun later, I suspect,” Talorath replied dryly, “I’ll keep the cameras on the guest shuttle just in case.”
I nodded, saluted and returned to the lift. A quick message to Tano’rath had him tell me that they were now in the mess hall for a lunch break.
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
Sufath himself actually did ask Edge and I a few questions about the ship, though the AI issue was clearly hanging over his head like a sword. Eventually, we bid Edge farewell and headed to lunch. I had already prepared a list of dishes for them to pick from and those were waiting in the mess hall for them.
In the meantime, I started taking notes myself as Sufath detailed a rough timeline where things started to go awry, with the AI displaying belligerence and general disdain for the authorities and organic life in general. Apparently they had tried to negotiate a few times, but to no avail. They had also started to notice that the AI was creeping his control into their core systems and software through compromised software updates. This was followed with a long list of missing people that had either blown the whistle or tried to. They were all presumed dead, though all record of their existence was also erased…
In situations such as these, I pointed out, the easiest way out would be to put a mass driver slug through the AI’s core mainframe, but since that mainframe was in the middle of the capital, that would also be genocide. Instead, there were three hardware kill switches that would cut power completely from the AI itself, in the fusion reactor complexes that powered the computer.
One problem, though – the moment we throw two of those three switches, it will be noticed. Thankfully, the first switch won’t be noticed since the third power plant is just a backup, so it isn’t even running at the moment. Small mercies, I suppose.
The reports came in from Quaren and Arktak that the tasks I had given them were done just in time for lunch, so I had them both join us in the mess hall.
Upon Sufath’s request, I had the list of food shown to him and he scowled when he looked through it, “I think you’ve been deceived, that isn’t the list we sent, Captain.”
“Ah, I assume the transmission got altered in some way?” I replied with a cocked eyeridge, “are these just unpleasant or are they toxic?”
“A range from both, quite honestly, but naturally, all non-toxic to your kind, I’d expect,” Sufath replied with a snort as he rolled his eyes, “That’s a pretty cheap shot, don’t you think?”
“Yeah. I’ll spare you the stuff on the list, then,” I replied with a nod, “We’ll make a note of it in our system. Instead, perhaps I can offer you some of our own native fare?”
“That would be excellent, actually!” Sufath replied, smiling for the first time since he arrived, “I’ve heard good things about your smoked and barbecued cuisine, I would love to sample it.”
“Alright, so give me an actual list of what you can’t eat and I’ll speak to the chef,” I replied with a nod, “We don’t break out the fresh food very often, so it’ll be a treat for both of us.”
“Do you not get…how do you say it…an officers’ menu?” Sufath replied, cocking his head while he wrote down a list for me, “I’m sure Ambassador Elior has mentioned that a few times as he says that it’s quite good.”
I took the list and got up, snorting as I nodded, “There is one, but if my crew eats resequenced food, so do I. A few other captains do it too, though trust me, you’re not missing anything on that front.”
Sufath nodded with a slight chuckle as I ran the list over to the kitchen and had the chef throw a few things together from what we had in stasis.
Thankfully, with the power of smoked brisket, BBQ poultry, vegetables and a liberal amount of sauce, lunch was saved. Sufath even asked for some to take back with him, so I gave him a few packs.
The rest of the tour went the way it did, with Sufath giving me the rest of the brief. It seemed like their AI friend was gearing up for a pretty big power grab, and it was abundantly clear that we would need to act soon. I had the hangar staff load one of our operations utes onto the shuttle while we finished up.
Sufath also asked me a few questions about how we kept our systems uncoupled and while I couldn’t answer everything, I walked him through some of it. He mentioned that they would probably need help later on untangling the web of integrated systems, but that would be a problem for later. High Command didn’t reply to me, but given that a formal request for help was already given, I agreed to go with Sufath down to the surface to help flick some switches.
Besides, apparently all their self-driving cars were also tied to the network, which they could no longer trust, so I would have to drive them. So much for a quiet week of patrol duty…
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 171.1 kB
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