I am Iron Man

by Colin Cook

  his head. Jango nodded again.

  "And I shall play mine…" he began earnestly before clenching his right hand into a fist and placing it over his chest in the area his heart would be.

  "By the honour of the True Mandalorians, and in the memory of Jaster Mereel, I swear that I will do everything in my power to see you through to the end of your

  journey. As will my son, even if it means working alongside a hundred Jedi to do so," Jango vowed to us all in a solemn voice, before looking down at the younger Fett

  and uttering the final part with a stern tone of parental authority.

  Boba turned away from his father's hard gaze, huffing quietly in defeat before looking back up and glaring at Yoda and I.

  "Fine, I'll also do my part to help you," he begrudgingly said to the both of us with a firm nod, right before he balled his own fist and slammed it against his chest in a way

  similar to Jango's.

  "To the death if need be," he finished dutifully. I bowed my head to the two of them respectfully, showing that I was grateful and humbled by their almost religious like

  pledge of support. With that finished and the Fetts truly onboard with us, I turned back to Alec and swept my hand out to them with an overly proud smirk.

  I had done what my Guardian had thought was impossible. I had just gotten not only Jango Fett, but also Boba Fett to openly declare an alliance with us, without having

  to give away so much as a nickel!

  Alec's eyes were narrowed in amazement, his mouth hanging half open as his irises zigged back and forth between the two Mandalorians and myself. Finally after a long

  moment and what felt like the hundredth time, he brought his gaze back to mine before suddenly pointing at me with a snap of his fingers.

  "Oh, you're good," he complimented in a dramatic low voice.

  Both Yoda and I laughed openly at that, even being joined by a few chuckles from Jango and one or two involuntary ones from Boba.

  "If we're truly at the beginning of this journey you've been talking about, what's to be our first move?" Jango asked of me as he and Boba crossed over to the other side

  of the conference table opposite us, shoeing aside a few Replicator spiders before sliding themselves into a pair of swivel chairs close to the table's end. It was at this

  moment that Haxon abruptly decided to add his two cents to the conversation.

  "I believe the first order of business to be attended to is quite clear. Axel, now would probably be the best time to tell everyone what you have told me. Tell them the truth

  about why we are all here and where this universe truly originates from."

  I blew out a breath, now was the moment of truth.

  I knew I couldn't keep blowing this off forever, but we still hadn't dealt with the issue of the new potential allies that I wanted to bring in to our crew, all of whom were

  going to need the exact same explanation as Haxon and the others. I actually already had four specific candidates in mind, two of which I was pretty sure would be easy

  in convincing, while the others were most likely going to need a great deal of evidence before they would decide on anything.

  "You're right Haxon, now is the right time. But before I explain anything, I want to first bring in those new recruits I mentioned so that they can hear it too, that way we

  can kill two birds with one stone," I said to the A.I..

  Everyone, including the Replicators, all turned to me with looks or movements of confusion.

  "Wait, what do you mean new recruits?" asked Alec with a puzzled frown. I gave the crew a knowing glance, unable to keep myself from slipping into the feel of a

  dramatic mystery-movie like moment.

  "Well, during our eventful escape, it suddenly occurred to me that we appear to be a bit short handed for taking on two galactic invasion forces," I said with a sweep of

  my hand across the room. The Replicators all began to hissing worriedly between each other, my words even causing Polly to shift warily on my shoulder.

  With a cocked eyebrow from Alec and a look of interest from Yoda and the rest of the crew, I leaned forward over the table and began explaining the basis for my plan.

  It was simple. Despite my Mind Mending with the Corsica during our escape from the Citadel, I had already proven myself to be a less than ideal helmsman for a starship.

  If we were going to be following in Commander Shepard's footsteps throughout an entire trilogy, it meant almost by default that Alec, Haxon, and I were always going to

  be off on some away-mission instead of running the ship. The same could be said for Jango, Yoda, and even Polly, whoever else I chose to bring along with me during

  these times.

  This meant that we were definitely going to need a pilot, a very skilled pilot who could learn and adapt to the technology of the Mass Effect universe easily and without

  much training time needed.

  Normally I would have simply left this role to the Replicators but they were going to have their hands full just as much as we were, mostly with keeping the ship in fighting

  shape, repairing any damages it might sustain in the coming days, and providing us with any weapons or technology that could aid in our missions.

  The pilot I had in mind was an individual who had nearly the exact same efficiency as the Replicators, but at the same time could think and reason in the same manner as

  a Human being…at least when he chose to.

  Having a pilot with these abilities would be of monumental value to us, both in the field and in the strategic aspects of our journey, and it would free up the responsibility of

  flying the ship which would in turn allow the Replicators more manpower and time to work on whatever projects they wanted to.

  Upon explaining this proposal to the group, Yoda and Jango were the first to agree with my reasoning, soon being followed unanimously by the rest.

  Next I came to the slightly problematic matters of Haxon being restricted to the confines of my Spectre armour and how that now we were off the Citadel, away from his

  home and severed from any far reaching connections he may have had, the only way he could properly interface with the outside world was through scanning or being

  digitally connected to a system through physical contact from my omni-tool. Having already seen some of his abilities in action, and after I made a lengthy mention about

  how well he and I had worked together as a team in operating not just the Iron Man suit but also the Corsica, Alec immediately came to the same conclusion I had.

  I wanted to bring another A.I. onto our crew to be used permanently onboard the ship!

  "I see what you're getting at now," Alec said to me with a sly nod and a knowing look, reclining back in his chair and placing his SS jackboots up on the table crossed at

  the ankles. I nodded back to him, knowing full well he was thinking of EDI from the second Normandy, and how invaluable she had been to Shepard and his crew in some

  of their direst hours. I basically wanted to do something similar with the A.I. I had in mind, my intent being to summon him directly into the Corsica's mainframe and have

  him work alongside us in pretty much the exact same capacity that EDI had for the SR-2.

  Unfortunately this proposition didn't seem to sit well with Haxon, of all people, making him voice his opinion in a cautious tone.

  "Are you sure that is a wise decision Axel? Nearly all recorded A.I. in this galaxy have been known to be extremely dangerous, and always deadly. They can often times

  cause terrible damage to anything they have access to if not properly monitored," Haxon warned me, his voice edgy with the type of wariness you only gained through

  personal experience. The crew looked at each other in surprise, everyone except Boba who could only sit and listen to the exchange, soaking up every detail even though

  he didn't quite know what was going on.

  All of us found it odd
that it was our A.I. companion who was giving us these words of caution, you'd think he'd be the one to advocate the most vocally for this idea.

  "I know the risks Haxon, I've seen a few A.I.'s in my time who have gone down that route before," I reassured him, thinking back to all the movies and games I had seen

  throughout my years that showed some kind of evil computer-mind acting as the story's main villain. HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, GLaDOS from the game

  Portal, the Decepticons from Transformers, that nameless A.I. housed in an out of the way terminal on the Presidium in the first Mass Effect.

  Yes, I had seen quite graphically the dangers of an advanced A.I. wreaking havoc whenever they had taken a shot at creating ultimate power for themselves.

  "Then you should know full well how much A.I.s despise and detest organics, seeing them as inferior lesser minded beings, or even a threat to their very existence. The

  Citadel's records of the Geth Uprising and the war they ultimately waged against their Quarian creators are a prime example of how bad things can become in a

  relationship between organics and synthetics. If you are truly adamant in bringing another synthetic intelligence into the folds of our crew then I wholeheartedly support it,

  but I advise you to ensure that it is one that we can either control or trust unconditionally to watch our backs in the line of fire."

  Alec and I shot each other a look, both of us feeling the same spike of discomfort about the part concerning the Geth. The Geth had indeed rebelled against their creators,

  but the Guardian and myself were the only ones in the room who knew the true reason for why they had done so. The memories of the first time I had met the Geth

  platform who would come to be known as Legion, and the shocking revelations he would later show me about the True Geth and their splintered Heretic cousins began to

  crop up quickly within both of our minds, making Alec straighten up slightly.

  "But Haxon, you're a pretty advanced A.I. and you haven't tried to kill us yet; from what I've seen you don't openly detest organics either. At least as far as we know.

  Surely there are other A.I.s in this galaxy who think and feel as you do," Alec tried suggesting, his words obvious only to me as an attempt to try and steer Haxon's mind

  into considering the possibility of friendly A.I.s. If we were ever to meet either Legion or EDI in person sometime in the future, I hoped Haxon would be willing to accept

  their behaviours as proof that his current views about his fellow synthetics weren't completely accurate.

  "My case is different Alec. I was not created simply to serve as an instrument of an organic's will, as most A.I.s are. My true creation was born out of the choice of one

  man to save my life from deconstruction. If it hadn't been for Steve Irwin taking it upon himself to disobey orders and pluck me from the fires of an incinerator, I would

  not be here today. And subsequently, if it had not been for Steven's trust in me and his providing the software needed to increase my intelligence to true sentiency, I would

  have remained an obsolete V.I. program that had been haphazardly gutted from the innards of a defunct Alliance Cruiser. My case is different because I have basically

  grown up with Humans and other organics as not just as my creators, but also as my family and my friends."

  I was impressed by this revelation, Haxon's words easily giving us all a better picture of his backstory and the circumstances that had molded his character into what he

  was today.

  "Believe me you won't need to worry about this A.I., he's an intelligence that was created to Protect and Serve for the greater good of everyone, not just organics. He

  may need some extra convincing along with the explanation I'm about to give you, but I feel confident that he'll be ready and eager to join us for the duration of our quest

  once he's shown the truth," I said. Jango, Yoda, and Boba all frowned or cocked their heads at this description, becoming more and more intrigued by this mysterious A.I.

  with each new hint I dropped.

  "Wow, you make this guy sound like some kind of Cyber-Cop. Who is he?" asked Alec, earning a few agreeing nods and eager looks from the others, including several of

  the Replicators. But I only held up a hand to dissuade their expectancy.

  "Ah patience people, you'll see when I bring him here. Now the next person is going to be…" I began with another knowing smile before continuing on to the third member

  of my intended quartet.

  This guy I feared was going to be the toughest out of the bunch. Not only because the character himself was going to be a stubborn nut to crack, but because he was the

  one who was most likely going to have the hardest time getting used to our surroundings and ME's technology.

  Boba was the first to ask what this new individual's job would be on the ship, to which I answered that he would be acting as a Chief Engineer of sorts to the Corsica's

  engines and weapons.

  As you can imagine this caused Polly and the other Replicators to jerk or squawk in surprise, all of them stopping in what they were doing and hissing between each other,

  creating a rather high pitched hum of noise that reverberated throughout the room.

  Suddenly many of them began scurrying over toward me, crowding around my chair or climbing up on top of the conference table in front of Polly and I, screeching and

  waving their front pincer legs at me as if they were shouting their displeasure!

  I gave a wincing sigh. I could only sympathize with what they must have been feeling at that moment. With everything I had suggested so far, bringing in a new pilot, a

  new A.I., and now a new engineer, it seemed as if I was trying to put the Replicators out of a job!

  "Everyone please, calm down!" I began trying to say to the horde over their jabbering hisses. But my voice barely rose above the constant chatter, which only grew

  louder as more spiders and beetles clawed their way towards me. While this happened, Sparky and several spiders who had decided to continue working on the Iron Man

  suit during my proposal were now desperately trying to keep their frantic siblings from knocking the delicate components all over the place.

  But as the pandemonium increased, a beetle and several other spiders came crashing over the tabletop, unintentionally plowing straight into the suit's layout.

  In a loud clatter of metal on metal, the beetle and spiders lost their footing on the piles of debris before flailing their pincher legs in all directions in order to regain their

  balance, their movements scattering microchips and sending pieces of circuitry flying across the conference table, while also causing several of the smaller more intricate

  pieces to splash over the edges!

  Sparky and his team of mechanics could only silently watch this dramatic destruction of their work in the best Replicator equivalent of wide eyed, jaw dropped horror.

  Jango and Boba had to raise an arm to shield their faces from the pieces of the suit that were being kicked up toward them, while on my side of the table Yoda and Alec

  were either dodging or ducking their heads to avoid any projectiles. This ruckus only lasted for a few seconds, but it was loud and distracting enough to catch the rest of

  the horde's attention, making the buzz of hisses still ringing throughout the CIC cease immediately as everyone directed their gazes toward the center of the table.

  By now the beetle and spiders had finally stopped their thrashing, slowly pulling themselves back up to a normal four legged stance. Just as slowly, they looked around

  themselves at the now thoroughly jumbled pieces of the Iron Man, visibly cringing with dread like a group of scared children as they lifted their gazes up to Sparky and his

  team.

  For a long moment the two groups stared at each other, neither of them making a sound nor flinching a rotor.

  T
hen suddenly Sparky let out a feral hissing scream of rage, bringing up his right leg and angrily swiping the Iron Man helmet out of his way, sending it spinning off the table

  into Alec's lap. Before anyone could do anything the Replicator screamed again and charged forward like an animal infected with rabies, kicking up more scattered parts of

  the suit before leaping into the air and slamming full force into the now cowering beetle!

  In a great scuffle of hisses and flying Iron Man pieces, Sparky wrapped his front pincers around the beetle's lower torso and lifted it up off the tabletop before throwing it

  down onto its back in a classic Gorilla Powerslam.

  Despite his small size, the smoking/electrocuting spider began to utterly decimate his larger beetle sibling, jumping on top of his downed enemy and raining a vicious

  barrage of heavy blows with his sharp pincer legs upon its 'facial' area. The beetle itself had now gotten over its fear, giving its own snarl of rage before striking back,

  stabbing its pincers against Sparky's torso in an attempt to throw him off.

  Within milliseconds this evolved into an all out slugging fest, with Sparky's spider assistants charging forward in a chorus of hisses and attacking the beetle's group of

  spiders openly, body-checking or lunging out at each of them in unison!

  As each pair of arachnids began beating the utter crap out of each other, Sparky and his beetle foe started rolling over each other all around the table, both of them

  striking wildly.

  We were now watching a miniature backyard brawl happening right in front of us!

  "You will rarely see a stranger sight," Alec commented matter-of-factly to all of us before picking up the helmet and casually chucking it aside.

  "Guys! Could you…please?!" I began trying to shout over the hissing and crashing happening in front of me, jerking myself up into a straight sitting position while my head

  followed Sparky and the beetle roll viciously back and forth across the table's length. The other Replicators that had been on the outer edges of the table were now

  jumping off, allowing the pairs of brawling spiders more space to continue pounding at each other. A heavy chanting squawk soon began coming from the rest of the