Know what? I wasn’t going to like the mission either. I knew how the Navy worked, and ship AIs needed to be below their commanders, not above them. Harry had too much access to the ship and had too many psychological issues. He might’ve been fun for a social experiment at one of the top universities in the world, but he wasn’t fit for the Navy.
“Ugh, I know that face,” Harry said, staring at me. “You’re an elitist snob, and you still think you’re better than me.”
This guy wasn’t just an insubordinate drunkard; he was also a clairvoyant. Was it too late to ask to be transferred elsewhere? I didn’t need to live aboard the most advanced ship in history if it required me to stand Harry.
Chapter 3
The men on watch announced Admiral Graff’s arrival almost immediately after the hanging. The marines hadn’t taken the body away yet, but at least the crew was already gathered to welcome our new officer in charge.
With an admiral on board, the next desertion and hanging wasn’t going to be my problem, but the admiral’s.
The men opened the hangar doors to greet the admiral with the entire crew waiting for him. Starship crews used to be more efficient and people didn’t spend their days gathering up and greeting officers, but this was part of the modern Navy. Admirals liked to have their asses licked and the rest of the crew acted as though they enjoyed licking them.
The subcommander and several lieutenants and ensigns stood to my left, ordered by rank. We were the closest to the door and ready to greet the admiral.
Harry stood to my right. He chuckled to himself and covered his mouth to avoid being noticed. The crew was starting to fidget with Harry’s irresponsible behavior. Nobody liked to see a holographic avatar pissing in laughter.
“Shut up or disappear,” I told Harry.
“You’d surely want me to leave to get all the attention yourself, wouldn’t you?” He smirked at me. “I represent the ship, remember? I can’t disappear just because you’re afraid that I’ll mess up. And besides, if you saw the cameras like I’m seeing, you’d laugh too. When did you last see Admiral Graff?”
I’d served under Admiral Graff years before. I’d been a young ensign, younger than most other ensigns aboard the Intrepid. My father had sent me off to the Navy at an early age to try to turn me into a man. I’d been a small and frightened kid, and Subcommander Graff had taken me under his wing for the first few weeks.
I’d seen the man in action, a broad-shouldered giant to my young eyes. He flew planes like no other, single-handedly captured enemy frigates with a handful of men, and always came up with the strangest solutions to avoid defeat. He fought against crews ten times larger than his, and he won anyway.
He’d become one of the youngest captains in history, and nobody had disputed his promotion to admiral. He was one of the Navy’s greatest, and he’d somehow decided to place his trust upon me. I’d been nothing but a frightened boy when we’d served together. I was no longer that child, but he hadn’t seen me since. I had no idea of what had pushed him to pick me before other willing and more capable officers, but I wasn’t going to complain.
I was going to prove Graff that he’d been an inspiration to my career, and that someday I hoped to reach his greatness.
“Someone’s in for a big surprise.” Harry chuckled to himself. “You really haven’t seen him, have you? You just remember the younger Graff, the fearsome officer who defeated enemies aboard a fighter, with a gun, or with his bare fists.”
I glared at him and he shut up, but he was fairly amused anyway.
A squad of marines entered before the admiral to check the crew and to ensure that there was no threat to his presence. Most officers reached their ships without fearing that their officers would be incompetent enough to have visible and immediate threats to their personal integrity, but perhaps this was a matter of protocol. I’d never served under an admiral, so I wasn’t used to extraordinary security measures.
Admiral Graff entered shortly afterward. He was a huge man like I’d remembered, but much rounder and less muscular than before. He had a somewhat unkempt appearance. His hair reached his chin and melded with a beard that didn’t hide his overindulgence and healthy stomach, and several chins formed under his face. His uniform had been lined in golden thread, and his cloak had several rubies, emeralds and other precious stones sewn into patterns around his neck. He was the image of an indulgent monarch.
Several small and malnourished men followed him. They carried boxes and crates larger than themselves. None of them wore the Navy’s colors or any form of civilian identification. They weren’t supposed to be aboard the Defender, but nobody was going to complain to the Admiral about it.
I was sure that there was an explanation about this. I was just the commander, so I didn’t need to know immediately.
One of the men tripped and dropped a large box onto the floor.
“You there!” Admiral Graff shouted with a loud and powerful voice. “That’s my stuff you’re dropping. It costs more than your entire home with all your family in it. Drop my things again and I’ll drop you off in space without a spacesuit.”
“Yes, sir,” the man quietly said. “Sorry, sir.” He picked the box back up and hurried away to avoid the admiral.
The man who’d boarded the Defender was not the Admiral Graff I’d known. This was not even a shadow of that man.
The admiral noticed the hanging platform and the crew, and chuckled to himself. He quickly approached me and shoved his cloak off his shoulders so that it dropped onto the floor. A servant quickly ran to pick it up.
“I see you’re having fun around here.” Admiral Graff gestured at the hanging platform. “Am I interrupting?”
“Commander O’Donnell at your orders, sir.” I said. “The Defender’s yours.”
“Yes, yes.” Graff shook his hand dismissively in the air. “I know how this works. You bow down low, tell me the genius I am and kiss my boots. But it’s been a long trip, I’m bored and tired of smelling my companions, and I’ve held my shit for long enough. I need a newspaper and my cabin. I don’t want any interruptions for half an hour. The bridge’s yours, Commander. Or the hanging square.” He strode away from the reception party and didn’t speak to anyone else.
The crew had expected a pep talk or some form of address from their officer in charge. Everyone in the Navy liked the hypocritical speeches where officers told the men that they were necessary for the mission, and the men felt reassured about it. In truth, everyone was expendable and we all knew it, but we liked to act as though we were important. Made us sleep better at night.
Some of the ensigns stared at the admiral with fear and disappointment. They’d read the stories about him, and they’d expected something different. The lieutenants and subcommander weren’t as puerile in their reactions. Instead, they disapproved of the man’s approach. None of them spoke about it, but they’d eventually clash with him. And I was his second in command. I was supposed to reduce friction between everyone.
I’m as diplomatic as a baseball bat, so things weren’t looking too bright.
“I’m the ship AI extraordinaire,” Harry said, following after the admiral. “Can I do anything for you? Music, perhaps? Human excrement is sometimes shy and needs some music to come out.”
The admiral ignored him and kept walking to his cabin. Harry stopped following him and walked back, shaking his head in disappointment.
“I’d expected him to like me,” Harry said. “Talks openly about defecation instead of acting like you.” He nodded at me. “So what are you planning to do now that you’re in charge for 30 minutes? Shall we hang someone else?”
“No hanging.” I stepped forward in front of the officers, set them tasks, told them to take their squads away and to keep working, and set the marines to take the hanging platform away. I’d have told them to destroy it, but every ship needs somewhere to hang deserters.
Chapter 4
With Admiral Graff in his cabin, I spent the rest of the da
y greeting and all the civilian contractors that the Navy had hired for the job.
Most of the civilians had the classic looks of elitist scientists: glasses, skinny-fat bodies, and sneering at us naval guys. I generally like scientists, but the Navy had picked the most disdainful lot I’d ever seen.
I don’t care when scientists look badly at me, but nobody should be arrogant towards the men who defend them. If we ended up fighting little gray guys, some of us might not protect the scientists as well as if they’d been nice all along.
Resentful, you say? Nope. I just know how the crew thinks. Trust me: they hated being treated like second-class citizens just because they’d focused on weapons instead of books.
Dr. Kate Thompson, a slim brunette with large and intelligent eyes and an intense expression, walked out of one of the transport shuttles in the hangar. She was one of the most brilliant scientific minds in the world, and she’d developed our faster-than-light tech. She smiled at some of the other scientists as if she didn’t consider herself a rock star.
She wasn’t extraordinarily attractive per se, but her features were soft and symmetrical, and her sharp expression added an impressive intensity to her character. I’d visited the scientific departments in the Navy several months before and I’d had the chance to see her in person. I’d even crossed paths with her several times, but I’d simply stared at her like an idiot and never dared to say anything. She’d been too busy to pay attention to a naval officer, but I sometimes hoped that she’d have noticed me.
I know; I sucked at flirting and I was aiming too high. Sue me. I wasn’t going to start looking at unattractive women just to be successful for a change. I aimed for the stars, and landing on the moon wasn’t an option.
Since then, I’d seen Dr. Thompson on TV a hundred times, but I’d also bought scientific magazines to read what she was up to. She’d eclipsed most modern scientists despite her young age, but she was sharp-tongued and quick-witted, and she always had something funny to respond to interviewers.
Don’t judge me. I hadn’t just bought the magazines to see more pictures of her; I also read about scientific advances. I’m not an empty-headed naval dunce.
She walked around the hangar using her tablet to find the way out. She looked around, disoriented. It’s natural to feel lost for anyone who’s never boarded a ship. Everything is logically distributed, but it can look confusing to someone who isn’t used to starships. Civilian ships and space stations don’t need to focus on defense as much as we do.
I cleared my throat, checked that my uniform looked neat enough, and dusted my shoulders. I don’t mean to brag, but my rank badge impressed the ladies.
“Whoa!” Harry sped up in her direction and caught up with me. “Look at that.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Is she married?”
Had an AI just told me that he felt attraction towards one of our scientists?
She wasn’t married. She’d had a personal interview on a magazine, and she’d broken up with her boyfriend months earlier. She was as single as she’d ever be. I’d fantasized about approaching her and talking, but what can a naval man say? She was a genius in her field; I was just one of many commanders in the Navy.
“Dr. Thompson’s personal life is none of our business,” I said.
“Nice,” Harry said. “She’s single, then. Don’t you have any important things to do on the bridge? Some of the engineers need your help.”
“Don’t you have any ship duties to fulfill?” I said. “You can leave the ambassador tasks to the officers.”
“Touché, O’Donnell,” Harry said, “but don’t try to outsmart me, human.” He tipped an invisible hat and vanished.
Less than a second later, he appeared in front of Dr. Thompson with crossed arms. He smirked in my direction and flexed his bare biceps before her. “Welcome to the Defender,” he said in a smooth and educated voice. “You look somewhat lost, Dr. Thompson. Do you need any help finding your room and the lab? I’m free to give you a guided tour of the ship, free of charge.” He gave her a lazy smile.
I hate holograms.
She thanked him and they walked in my direction.
I don’t care if he got to her first; I wasn’t going to let him win so easily. I cleared my throat again and addressed Dr. Thompson. “Welcome to the Defender, ma’am,” I said. “I’m Commander O’Donnell. I hope your trip was comfortable enough.”
She looked at me for a few seconds. I swear that her eyes recognized me. She did recognize me. I gulped and lost my breath. “It was shakier than I’d expected,” she said. “I’ve brought a little something. I was hoping to tell you about it later, but it’ll be safer with you. I’m absentminded enough to lose everything I’m carrying.”
Harry and I both laughed like idiots, then stared at each other. He was paying attention to her for ego matters. I’d been in love with her career for years.
She produced a small and delicate box that looked like a box of cookies, and handed it to me. “Don’t open it yet, though.” She hesitated. “I’d like to tell you about it first.”
A gift? Cookies? Did she really remember me? And had she looked forward to seeing me? Was I imagining things?
Harry glared at me and at the box.
I wasn’t imagining things; she was interested.
“I… uh…” I began. Damn it. Why do I always sound like an idiot when talking to intelligent women? No wonder they always ignore me. “I’ll keep it safe.”
She smiled back shyly. She opened her mouth to speak, but something got her attention near one of the shuttles.
The ship surgeon, John Langley, a tall man with graying hair, walked out of a shuttle carrying only a messenger bag. He didn’t look much older than any of us, but age was taking a toll on him. I’m not surprised; everyone had worked under too much pressure on this project, and some hadn’t slept properly for months.
He approached us and touched Dr. Thompson’s elbow to get her attention. She flung herself onto his arms. He stepped back in shock, but quickly returned the hug.
“John!” she squeaked. “I didn’t expect you to come!” She stepped back and studied his lean build and long face. “Gosh! You look so… different. What’s happened?”
“Lost some weight,” the surgeon said. “The medical advisors are a bunch of dictators and didn’t want to let me board the ship unless I lost quite a bit of mass. What about you, huh?”
He offered her his arm. She grabbed his elbow with both hands and they walked away. She wasn’t attracted to him; she was just very friendly after seeing an old friend. At least that’s what I wanted to think.
Harry and I incredulously looked at them leave. I hate acting like an idiot and trying to get a woman’s attentions only to realize that she isn’t interested.
“I… uh… um…” Harry mocked me. “Do you mind? She was mine. She’d have invited me to her room within a week.”
“I was just being polite,” I said. “And she’s given the box to me. And what did you plan to do in her room with her?”
“Cheap cookies? Oh so impressive.” Harry rolled his eyes. “Do you need a map to know what I was planning to do?”
“You’re a hologram,” I said. “Computers don’t have sex.”
“I’m an artificial intelligence,” he said. “I have the same needs as anyone, and I can meet hers too. I’m more likely to fulfill my fantasies than a decaffeinated commander.” He flexed his biceps again. “Or can you do any of this, huh? I bet that you’re as unfit as Admiral Graff.”
“Are you turning this into a contest?” My mouth got the better of me. It was too late to stand back and let the woman choose; we’d turned into two chimpanzees fighting for a female’s attentions.
He grinned back. “Challenge accepted, Decaf,” he said. “See if you can get her to speak to you twice without getting her drunk. You stink of friendzone even before trying.”
Know what? I don’t know what kind of genius decided to make artificial intelligences so human, but Harry had a mind o
f his own and he was starting to annoy me. He didn’t only sabotage me or act insubordinate; he also wanted to compete for the same girl as me.
He’d been designed just months before, and engineers denied that anything was wrong with him. He was two-faced and acted polite and helpful towards the engineers that tested his reactions. My ship was possessed by Machiavelli. I was stupid enough to compete with him for a woman’s attentions.
Harry quickly disappeared and left me supervising the hangars. Everything was full of men and women with more luggage than the regulations allowed, but nobody had limited the number of bags they brought with them. It was too late to tell them to send everything back, so we’d have to find somewhere to store their extra stuff. And the scientists’ stuff too.
Most of our civilian contractors were prominent scientists, with publication records that eclipsed even the greatest minds from previous centuries. Our world had changed dramatically in the past few years, and everything was linked to our use and adaptation of alien technology.
Several decades earlier, a large starship had crashed onto Earth. Everyone had taken it for a spy ship or a prototype from the Russians or the Chinese, but its technology had been too complex. Everything had been so different to our current state of knowledge that it couldn’t have been designed by human scientists. Further research had suggested alien designs, and everything had been classified and hidden under the rug to make sure that nobody got scared.
We hadn’t been ready to know that we were not alone in the universe. Governments had told the public about a meteor crash, but several Navy crews had had to clear the area and help hide the truth. I was fine with cleaning the landing site, but many people who’d served with me had ended up with very messed up minds, especially those who had been tasked with emptying the ship. Whatever they’d found in it, they had never talked about it. It must’ve been pretty serious.
Starship Defender: Beyond Human Space Page 2
