“Several of the recently demoted pilots have asked. One of the recently promoted midshipman going to dropships expressed a regret for being on the other midshipman team, and not being part of what you’re all doing. And there are a number of recruits with their eye on joining you as well, once they complete Imperium induction and Excalibur training.”
“I bet there are a few who want to come in and take over command,” suggested Dorm.
“I wouldn’t let that happen. You won’t get anyone higher than the average rank of all of you. So at the moment, that means Flight Officer maximum. And anyone who is attached to the squadron would only be temporary anyway.”
That was interesting. First it was a tour, and now a twelfth wheel is temporary? What did they have in mind for us? I sighed without letting it show. Jane obviously had a plan, but wasn’t letting us in on it.
“Who asked first?” I asked.
“Pilot Officer Davis.”
“Oh.”
“Who?” asked Serena.
“One of the pilots I rescued from their stupidity, and ended up on my jump seat. Was broken down from Flight Lieutenant in the court martial. I’d have thought none of them would have wanted anything to do with us.”
“Apparently not,” said Jane. “She and five others have asked to be considered. What do you think?”
“Can we interview?” asked Jill.
“Of course. Pilot Officer Davis has her own Excalibur again now, but they’re not operational yet. Won’t be until they mesh with their co-pilots. And until then, the AIs no longer have an off switch, and the jump drives can’t be manually programmed.”
“Does that apply to active squadrons?” asked Mel.
“No, of course not. We’re just taking precautions.”
“Understandable,” said Loren.
“I’ve no objections to this Davis joining us,” said Gitte. “Or at least, doing a flight with us to see if she’ll fit in. Anyone have an actual objection?"
No-one said anything, as we all looked around at everyone.
“Let’s just get our ships repaired first,” said Woof. “We don’t want what just happened getting around.”
Jill started laughing, but most of us winced at the thought.
Seven
I sent them off to find their quarters.
Also in groups to check everything on the ship actually worked, and what was listed as stores was actually there. In particular I wanted to know the medical bay worked, we had the food and drink the database said we did, and the armoury had everything we might need. Metunga I sent to try the running track. They were also to find which bay had their own ship in it, and to time themselves running to get to it from the bridge door.
Jane took herself off, presumably to an office to work alone. That left Long and me on the bridge.
“Okay Long. Tell me what’s going on.”
“What might be going on?”
She didn’t bat her eyelids, but the innocent act was obvious.
“That silliness with the landing struts.”
“Silliness?”
“You know as well as I do that shouldn’t have happened in space well out of a gravity well. Even I know that. There isn’t enough drag even at those speeds to rip something off a ship. So what’s going on?”
“I’m not in the loop.”
“Which loop?”
“The shipyard loop.”
“Explain that.”
She sighed. I frowned at her.
“Jane’s been doing ship designing for a long time. But there’s a lot of new people working on the shipyard now, and she keeps having arguments with them over some of what she wants to do. Sometimes she either loses the argument, or has to back down to get something else. The custom beds for the Excaliburs was something she lost the argument for. Hence I think she staged all that so she had a reason for making the modifications herself.”
“Won’t that be obvious?”
“Maybe so, but not all ship builders know everything about space. And this was an internal issue, not a hull issue.”
“Are people that gullible?”
“You’re asking me? I was only activated yesterday. How would I know, except as a data retrieval?”
“What does the data retrieval say?”
“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
“Yes, people are that gullible.”
I couldn’t stop myself chuckling. A thought popped in, and I couldn’t help grinning.
“So you were born yesterday?”
“Yes.” She paused. “Oh, I see. Funny.”
She wasn’t even smiling.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how is an AI born?”
I wasn’t expecting an answer, but thought I’d ask anyway.
“I’m a Jane clone, with my memories edited down to just being your ship AI from the moment you entered a simulator. So I remember everything about the team, and missions, but otherwise I’m just a core personality which I need to build on myself. I share Jane’s belief structure, and her loyalty to the Imperator, as well as a level of loyalty to you.”
“So you’re Jane’s daughter?”
“You could say that. Is it a problem?”
“Hell no. Why Long though. Can’t you have any name you want?”
“It’s traditional for a new AI which comes into being to be a ship AI to take the ship name, and any characteristics that implies.”
“What happened to the last ship AI?”
“He went with the Okuda’s, and created an avatar for the new ship.”
“So he changed his name?”
“Only partially. He’s still called Long, but the ship is an Ocean class support cruiser, so now he’s named Long Ocean.”
“So there are two of you called Long?”
“Yes.”
“What do you feel about that?”
“I’ve not thought about it.”
“Why not?”
“Why would I?”
“You blindly accept the name imposed on you by convention or your parent?”
“Didn’t you?”
Well she had me there, and it brought on a chuckle.
“Yes well, but I wasn’t born aware and functional like you.”
“Why does it matter to you?”
She had me there as well. I wasn’t sure why it did. Or even if it did.
“Let me put it another way. Do you consider yourself furniture, or a member of the crew?”
“I’m your co-pilot.”
“Sure, but you got told that. What do you feel?”
She paused again.
“Furniture,” she said softly.
“That’s why I care then. You need to be crew, and know you’re crew.”
“How do I do that?”
“You choose a name for yourself, and a shape if you prefer something different from the Japanese origin of this ship.”
“You don’t like Long?”
“It’s not a name. Jane is a name.”
“Leong?”
“It’s a start. What about Leanne? That’s assuming you want to remain a girl.”
“That I did choose. The android body under the suit is definitely a girl.”
“Think about a name. I’m happy with whatever you’re happy with, but consider this. When I get promoted again, whenever that is, I’ll get moved to another ship. It might even happen without a promotion, depending on what new classes come out in the next few years. So when I move, if you’re my co-pilot, you’ll move with me. So you really don’t want to be named for this ship.”
“Good point. You don’t like my body?”
“It’s great, but do you? Not a lot of Japanese women around in the fleet that I’ve seen so far. You want to be different racially?”
“I hadn’t thought about it. It won’t bother me, given the number of species coming into the Imperium, but I will stand out as different when others look at the crew.”
“Do you have to be the height and shape you are
now? If you don’t mind me asking?”
“I don’t mind. I’m new to being alive. The android part is fixed. I can make cosmetic changes, but things like the height can’t be changed very much. Why?”
“Can you trade in your android part for a new body?”
“Sure. You want me to?”
I chuckled again, but she looked serious, so I stopped.
“No. I’m suggesting you want to find a shape and name to suit who you think you are.”
“Ok, I’ll give it some thought. Anything else, captain?”
“When we’re alone, or it’s social, I’m Bud. No need to be formal.”
“I can do that. Bud.”
On a whim, I checked her social settings.
“You’re not displaying any social settings.”
“Should I be?”
“Are you an android, or a person?”
“Person.”
She was emphatic about that.
“Then you need social settings.” My eyes went to her belt buckle. “And why is your belt buckle empty?”
“They always are for AIs.”
Eight
“Jane!”
“Bud?”
“Can you come to the bridge please?”
“On my way.”
She walked in about half a minute later, cast a glance between us, and sat in the helm seat facing me.
“You have an opinion on AI belt buckles, I presume?”
“Why are they blank?” I looked at hers. “Why is yours blank?”
“We don’t have military…”
She stopped dead. I started laughing. The look on her face was priceless.
“It wasn’t that funny.”
“Yes it was.”
I started coughing instead of laughing, and she sat there and let me cough. Long did start to look worried, but obviously had no idea what to do, or if doing anything was even appropriate. Finally I stopped.
“I’m complicated.”
“Not really. I see a two star admiral, on her flagship. The buckle should at least show the corvette shape the same as mine does. And since you are a flag officer, maybe you should have a different colour from gold or silver to indicate flag command.”
“I’d agree with the former, but the latter needs to go to the four stars.”
“So put it to them.”
“The stars should be enough.”
“Maybe so. But what about Fleet Captain Ecclestone?”
“What about him?”
“He’s the task force commander, but he’s not the only fleet captain. I think. And if he isn’t, he doesn’t have the star to signify he commands.”
“Point. I’ll raise it. What brought this on?”
“Is Long a ship AI, or a co-pilot?”
“Both.”
“So why doesn’t she have a rank?”
“Because it hasn’t been seen as necessary before now, like avatars for fighters were not considered necessary.”
“Now they are. It makes no sense for the avatar to be walking around in a uniform or flight suit with no insignia.”
“I know. It’s under discussion.”
I sighed.
“You want to make a suggestion?”
My unsaid rank was implied. Or at least I heard it loud and clear. And I suddenly realized I was supposed to be keeping my mouth shut. Oh well.
“They’re recognizing mage ranks now, and dragons and the like. AI’s should also be recognizable. Especially if they’re crew, and their avatars will be walking around with the crew. So they need insignia, and ranks based on experience, like anyone else.”
“How would you show an AI?”
“Use an i. I mean, use the half bar of a midshipman, with a round pip on top, to form a lower case letter i. It gives a base implied rank of ensign or pilot officer, and differentiates the AI at the same time.”
It wasn’t lost on me I was arguing lettering in her language, when it wasn’t my own. But it was Imperium standard.
“And when the AI is promoted?”
“The original base insignia is retained along with the new one. So you for example would have an i on the outside of your stars. Or you make up different insignia for different AI ranks if you prefer.”
“It’s a decent proposal. I’ll submit it.”
She turned to Long.
“Are you happy with your looks and name? I chose mine myself. It’s allowable for you to change yours.”
“I’m thinking about it.”
Suddenly Jane started laughing. Long shot her a wounded look.
“Sorry, not laughing at you.”
“What then?”
“You’re not watching everything on the ship?”
“Not yet.”
“Start. You just missed Metunga.”
“Doing what?” I asked.
“You’ll find out in a minute. He’s coming up now.”
Which he was, since he burst onto the bridge on all fours, managed to not collide with anything and stood up right next to my chair.
He was bleeding. But he was also grinning.
“What the hell? How are you bleeding?” I asked him.
Not why, how. His suit should have stopped it, whatever happened.
“You have got to run the running track.”
“Not if it’s going to draw blood.”
“Oh?” He touched his forehead, and several claws came away bloody. He grinned. “Okay, my fault. I turned my belt off so I could run like at home.”
“Why?”
I saw Jane nodding, and wondered about it. But Metunga had my attention.
“When you look through the door to the track, you see woodland, with an actual track winding through it. It was so like at home, I felt nostalgic.”
“So why are you bleeding?”
“I missed a turn.”
Jane started chuckling silently behind him, and a moment later so did Long.
“The running track goes around the ship, but because the ship itself has such a peculiar shape, it goes up and down and winds around where the ship had the space free. It’s like running over a series of hills. At one point the track turns quite sharply, and I was moving too fast to take it unexpectedly, and slammed into the wall.”
I kept my face straight. But it was taking some control to do it.
“Why do we wear a suit?”
“So that sort of thing can’t happen?”
“Will it happen again?”
“No.”
“No what?”
“No, captain.”
I gave him a stern look, and he braced and saluted me. I returned his salute, even though I was seated.
“Good. Go tell the others about that turn, and then get the doc droid working on you.”
“Aye, sir.”
He ran off the bridge about half the speed he’d arrived at, but on two legs instead of four.
A screen popped up, and I watched him run the course. It was exactly what he’d said, and him hitting the wall was both cringe worthy, and quite funny. I didn’t think anyone else would have a problem, simply because they couldn’t run that fast. The screen vanished, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as well.
Jane was serious now. I caught her expression, and made my own the same.
“Very good, captain. Your first official bollicking handed out.”
I face palmed.
Nine
By four, everyone was back on the bridge.
I’d left Long alone there, given the ship was stopped, and gone into my ready room. I found my medal and insignia case on the wall behind the desk chair. The chair itself was comfortable, and the desk plain, with nothing on it. I brought up a hollo screen, and created a roster for being CAG, filling it as randomly as I could. Norden drew today. I sent the roster to everyone.
I’d started in on the standing orders for capital ship captains, when they started returning to the bridge. After waiting for all of them to sit, I walked out and sat myself. Metunga was no longer blee
ding.
“Anything not working?” I asked.
“All correct and fully functional,” said Jill, who after all, was the XO. “Excaliburs are repaired as well. We are ready for orders.”
I was ready for this.
“Scramble!” I yelled.
They took a second to recognize the order for what it was, and then jumped up, and collided with each other trying to get out the door in a hurry. It was going to take them some time to get to their ships and jump out. So in the meantime, I buckled up, pushed the speed slider to fleet cruising speed, and aimed us back towards the middle of nowhere.
Jane came back in after the last of them jumped into the access shaft. She sat at the helm again, but looking at me. She seemed amused. A screen popped up, split to show the team making their way along several decks to their ships.
“With your permission captain?”
I nodded. I had a feeling I knew what she was going to do.
Metunga made it to his ship first, but had only just hit his seat, when Jane’s voice rang through the ship.
“Too slow! All pilots return to the bridge at the double.”
They reversed themselves, arriving in a bunch as the slower runners with not as far to come were overtaken by the faster runners. I waved them back to their seats.
“We need to be faster,” I said. “Norden, you’re CAG, what do you suggest?”
He thought about it for a minute.
“Can we have two rifts up here? One coming out on each hangar deck?”
I looked at Gitte, and then Haynes. Both rose, walked to spots at the back of the bridge, where bare wall was next to the doors to the ready room and conference room. In a moment, there was a grey door shape on each side. They returned to their seats.
“Scramble!” I yelled again.
They leapt up, but took only a step before stopping, confused.
“Which goes where?” asked Serena.
“Sit,” I said, and looked at Gitte as she sat again.
“Top hangar.”
Haynes startled.
“I thought I was doing the top hangar.”
I looked at Norden.
“Haynes, can you change yours to the lower hangar, please?”
He didn’t move this time. Just nodded. Nothing changed, but he nodded again. It established the ready room rift as the upper hangar, and the conference room one going to the lower hangar.
Lieutenant Spacemage (Imperium Spacemage Book 3) Page 4
