Caryn turned to me. “Yes. You know, Cynthia, I haven’t had time to wonder that, but in the back of my mind, I haven’t come to grips with it. How does a machine become alive?”
“Well, first of all, I was never really dead, as my brain was kept functioning. But I must admit that part of my memories is a little foggy. But I’ll tell you the best I can what happened. Just remember, you did ask.”
“Right,” they chorused.
“It began on Caryn’s last mission. I was damaged in a battle we had with Pirates. In that system was a fully equipped Parent, or as you call them Ancient, Repair Station, which accepted us for repairs, because as I later found out we were both “human”. While Caryn and Meph were getting an education on our ancestors, I was being totally rebuilt. I remember that I was transferred to some sort of vast, well, I’ll call it a memory tank, for lack of better words. There, I became aware that I was aware and feeling strange inputs. I could not feel the Hornet, my body, but I could feel other similar bodies. And it was all a jumble of past, present and future realities. In short I was very confused. Finally I just screamed, at least as much as a computer program can scream inside a database. Apparently somebody heard that scream. I was just nuts. I couldn’t relate to anything. And I felt a presence. A very logical, but somehow, well, I’d say loving, presence.”
“In a few nanoseconds I felt this presence begin to hook me back up to the Hornet. But this time, I was not the Hornet. It was as if I was a disembodied spirit, monitoring the ship, similarly to how you monitor a ship, except that I was directly wired into it. But the rebuild of the Hornet had included many new and different sensors and the auxiliary memory capacity had been speeded up and expanded to be equal to or greater than a human mind. So, I was given a new life, I guess you’d call it. From that time on, I knew I was alive. Or, as Caryn first put it, sentient. I could understand her feelings and I could for the first time relate to her emotional tones. Before, it was like I was there, but asleep, being a computer. After the change, I was fully awake and aware of exactly what was going on.”
“The Parents assured me that I would have a chance of becoming a human being just like Caryn, if I wanted that. At first I wasn’t sure. I noticed that Caryn was often torn between the logical choice of what to do and an emotional pull one way or the other. I wasn’t sure I wanted to subject myself to that, not having any prior experience in handling such things, I thought. They told me that I would be given all of Caryn’s memories, including whatever prior lives were available during the transfer process.”
At this Caryn looked startled and stared at me incredulously.
“Yes, dear sister, you have lived other lives. If you cared to, you could remember them, since I certainly can. But I rather think they might not be very germane to living right now.”
“Wow,” she exclaimed under her breath.
“So to make a long story short, since Caryn was there and can embellish anything she wants to, I chose to try life as a human instead of as a space ship. All things considered, I’m not the least bit sorry. I couldn’t kiss or hug anyone before and I think that’s the most important part of being human.”
“What about,” Fred asked hesitantly, “well, you know, uh, sex?”
“Oh don’t worry Fred. You’re safe from me. Caryn is all set to have your babies someday. I can’t. You see, my body is a prototype for human redheaded females, modified to match my genome. But it is missing certain functions such as the full reproductive system. I can have sex, but can never have a baby. I doubt that I’ll miss it this time, since I have a long life of living to do just being human. But next time I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“Next time?” Caryn asked, stupidly.
“You know; in my next life.”
“Oh,” she answered, still a bit out of it.
“Well, anyway, this is pretty incredible, ladies,” Mike spoke up for the first time. “But the main points are that we have a totally alien, unregistered female here. We have the Admiralty, perhaps in its entirety by now, on our tails. We have the premier Scoutship Captain in the known universe an exile. And we have accomplices to all sorts of hairy bad things sitting here shooting the shit about said attractive illegal alien woman. So what’s next?”
I liked this guy. Taken out of his research scientist smock he was really a heads-up person.
“Good point. The reason I called you both here was to listen to my story and to try and get some ideas as to what to do next. I’m not ready to throw in this towel with the Pirates and I’m not ready to retire from the Service. But I’m also not willing to put up with the guff the Admiralty tried either.”
“So Caryn, as the senior officer here, what actually do you want to do?” Fred asked, pointedly. I could feel she really loved him.
“Well, I’d like to keep doing missions for about five years, then settle down with you and raise children while developing my claim.”
Fred blushed. It went well with his auburn hair. “You know that’s not what I was talking about! I mean right now!”
“Wait a minute!” Caryn said to me. “You said the Parents told you this, did that; are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“What do you think I’m saying, sis?”
“We, uh, well. Look, just who are the Parents, anyway?”
“Yeah,” Fred echoed. “Who are these people? And what is this all about?”
Station 142 chimed in. “Daughters, you have indeed surmised the truth. Those of us who chose to remain for your adolescence chose to remain as what you know as Repair Stations. We each have a name, which you will know as time goes on. But at this moment, the fleet of ships you are expecting is nearing this system and you must decide how to face your hostile brothers and sisters,” said 142.
Cynthia and I stared at each other, as we “heard” this message in our heads. Fred and Mike did not hear it. We decided that we would have to tell them the rest of the story. But not here and not now, for we had a hostile fleet to prepare for and a temporary shelter was not the way to face them.
“Right. Fred, what I’d like to do is capture the Commandant at Hamarabus and bring him here to talk. I’d like to use a drone Cynthia’s put together to draw the incoming fleet away from here so we will have the time to go get the Commandant. And I’d like you to figure out where you stand in all this. After all, there’s a contract out on you too, you know.”
“Yeah, we know.”
I discussed with Witchcraft the deployment of the drone. Fred and Mike returned to the Falcon to secure it in a good hiding place. A ‘droid and I stowed the shelter into the pod. In an hour we were all done. Caryn and I looked at each other as we boarded the pod to return to the Witchcraft.
“You know, Caryn, you didn’t tell Fred about Witchcraft. He’s going to get pretty curious while he’s sitting there waiting for us to return.”
“Oh, right! With all this going on I totally forgot. Let’s give them a tour.”
“Good idea. And while we’re at it, maybe we should talk them into going to Hamarabus with us to pick up the Commandant.”
“Right. You like Mike, don’t you.”
“Yep,” I answered, turning my red face to the pod.
When we returned to the Witchcraft, Caryn called up Fred and told him that we had a new ship and would the two of them mind coming over to check it out. Of course, this is like waiving cheddar cheese in front of a mouse. She told them we’d send a shuttle for them, so the position of the Falcon wouldn’t be compromised.
As the pod was arriving in our landing bay, the Admiralty fleet emerged from hyperspace. I gave them a few moments to orient themselves, then sent off the drone. On our screens it looked like the Falcon, so I’m sure they were fooled. Sure enough, in a matter of moments, one of the Scouts sounded the alarm and took off after it. The rest of the fleet, maneuvering like one unit, turned and blasted after it as well. In a matter of five minutes the entire bunch was back in hyperspace, chasing our fox. It was just like the old da
ys on Earth with hunts in merry old England. We were all laughing uproariously, when Witchcraft told us one Scout had stayed behind and was in the process of scanning the system in a routine search pattern. I chalked up another mark for intelligence for the Admiralty’s Commander, whomever he/she was.
“Fred, do you know who is commanding that armada?”
“Yep. Its Fleet Commander Winters, brought in for this project from the Arcturus Home Command, where she had recently completed cleaning out a ring of drug smuggling Pirates. She was nicely decorated for that campaign, if I remember from our Academy training.”
“Oh, I see. It’s no wonder. She and I were classmates. She was number two in our class, I was number four. She chose command, I chose adventure. No wonder her fleet is so well drilled.”
“Caryn,” I began, somewhat shyly, “I think I would very much like to graduate from the Academy, if it would be possible once all this is straightened out.”
“I understand. I will do whatever I can, if I can do anything at all, to help you out, of course.”
“Me too, Cynthia. I’m sure you’d be a fine commander.”
“Thank you Mike. I’ll need all the help I can get. I have a rather murderous past, you know.” I grinned.
“The Scout remaining in the system has discovered the Falcon. I have been jamming their transmissions, so the Admiral doesn’t know. But your presence is required there, Captain, to avoid what could be the destruction of the Falcon.”
“Witchcraft, take us to the Falcon.”
“But what about our tour, Captain?” Muldoon asked, somewhat miffed that he wasn’t going to get to see this alien Artifact – or perhaps more of me.
“Oh, you’ll get to see more of this ship than you planned for. Just hang tight.” I responded as we ran to the bridge.
The Admiralty’s Scout appeared on our screens, in a firefight with the Falcon, which was on the ground on the backside of the moon. The Falcon was completely defensive and the Scout was furiously trying to penetrate her shields.
“Witchcraft, uncloak. Then disable their weapons. Try not to injure the Scoutship or its inhabitants.”
“Of course, Captain,” the Witchcraft replied. One beam went out as we became visible to the Scout and their firing ceased. So did their shields and their engines. All that remained was life support.
“Good shot.”
“Good shot my ass, Caryn. Where did you find this ship? How did it learn so quickly where to fire on a Scoutship? And how the hell did you penetrate their shields?” Fred questioned me, surprise and shock evident on his face. Well, after all, he didn’t know what Caryn had been up to for the last two years.
“I taught her, Fred.” I said.
“Oh, of course. I keep forgetting. You were, well, uh...”
“That’s okay Fred.” I patted him on the head, then moved over to the first Mate’s chair and strapped in. The rest of us were stupidly standing around like a bunch of seals watching a killer whale swim up on the beach.
“Hey folks. Cynthia is right. We don’t know what surprises are in store for us here. Everyone better sit down and buckle in.”
“Yes sir!” Fred and Mike acknowledged good-naturedly.
We approached the stricken ship, all sensors on. I monitored the life forms aboard. There were two of them, one not human.
“Captain, I am getting one human reading, ID confirmed as Captain Marshall. The other reading, I’m happy to say is Meph. They must have been shanghaied for this on the spur of the moment. Let’s find out what they know,” I reported.
“I’d like to hear why Meph isn’t on Fred’s ship instead of this one,” Caryn said.
“Well Cynthia, we never knew. He was just suddenly un-assigned from my ship,” Fred commented thoughtfully.
“Okay, doesn’t matter now. Just a moment. I’d like to pull a little joke on our two trigger-happy friends. Is the Falcon okay?”
“Yes, sir. No damage of any kind. Fuel at an acceptable level. It would have been a stand off until one of them broke off or ran out of fuel.”
“Thanks Cynthia.”
Fred and Mike sat quietly in their chairs, watching intently. They both knew Meph and had heard of Captain Marshall. By reputation Marshall was one of the finest new Captains of the fleet. He had, on his first mission with Meph, discovered a lost settlement of Earthlings and brought them (happily) back into the fold of civilization. They were supposed to be on their second mission together right now, but apparently had been pressed into service to go on this chase. Caryn was very curious to find out what they knew.
“Captain,” I broke her reverie, “Witchcraft and I have dumped their ship’s memory regarding this scenario. Apparently their ship was told about the Falcon, Fred and Mike and the overall strategy of using them to locate you and me. However, the ship, called Halloween by the way, was instructed to keep this information from them. They were only told to join this fleet in search of traitors and take their orders from Commander Winters, that there was an emergency. Winters told them to find and open up that starship and find the occupants and take them into protective custody, preferably alive.”
“Son of a bitch,” exclaimed Fred under his breath.
“Maybe,” I continued, “but these guys, from what I can tell, are innocent of any intentional wrongdoing. I don’t think Meph knows that all this is related to capturing you, Caryn.”
“So let’s tell them. Witchcraft, open up a hailing frequency and let’s tell them who’s out here.”
Caryn took it upon herself, as the chief culprit and Captain of the ship that disabled them, to tell them the score.
“This is the Captain of the unregistered starship Witchcraft to Captain Marshall. Captain, I was the one who damaged your ship. Please accept my apologies. We will ensure your ship is restored before we leave.
“So who the hell are you?”
“My name is Caryn McDowell and you were attacking my boyfriend’s ship. Shame on you!”
Captain Marshall was on the bridge. From his expression, he didn’t believe a word of this.
“Caryn McDowell? Right. Every school girl wants to be Caryn McDowell. A romance in every port, fastest ship in the universe, tons of ancient artifacts found, wealthiest woman in the galaxy, able to destroy an evil Pirate base with only her super ship. Every Scoutship captain’s dream woman, scourge of Intel, the sweetheart of millions of recruitment posters, star of the longest running soap opera in history – Tell me another one. She’s just a Hollywood creation.”
“This can’t be. We were put on orders to take you and this ship into custody. What ship is that again you are commanding?”
“This is the unregistered starship Witchcraft. I was using it to record my option claim when I was alerted to your attack on the Falcon.”
“What is it, Meph? I’m about to arrest the captain of that starship.” Captain Marshall said as our friend entered their bridge.
“Don’t you know who she is, Captain? That’s THE Caryn McDowell. The one I told you about! This is completely awesome. Hello, Captain!”
“Hello, Meph. I’m glad you’re okay. We lost track of you for a while. Why don’t you and Captain Marshall come on over for a chat? I’ll send a pod for you. Wait in your cargo bay.”
Meph was exclaiming wildly, half his tentacles flying around the bridge, about how she was the one he had been telling Marshall about and how wonderful it was going to be for him to meet her and so forth ad nauseum. I told Witchcraft to send the pod for them and shut off.
“Caryn, you definitely look bemused. Is your fame really so heavy a burden to wear?” Mike asked. I looked at him. The stark admiration on his face was too much. Fred was smiling at some personal joke, no doubt at Caryn’s expense.
“Cynthia, it seems we are to have more company. What say we change into clean clothes and meet everyone in the galley in, oh, say fifteen?”
“A capital idea, sir,” I replied, winking at Mike. We left Fred and Mike to their own devices and retired to our ro
oms to wash, dress and otherwise prepare ourselves for the more formal atmosphere four males would undoubtedly require.
Witchcraft told us when Captain Marshall and Meph arrived. Caryn decided she just didn’t want to eavesdrop on the chance they would talk about her. Or perhaps worse, not talk about her.
Chapter 8.
The First Plan
Space travel has traditionally been a time for contemplation and for long discussions. With the new technology of the Hornet and the Witchcraft, the journey from one end of the galaxy to the other was a matter of hours. This shot to hell Caryn’s usual modus operandi. Now she didn’t have the time to think anything out and couldn’t hide in hyperspace and wait for things to cool off.
True, our ship had a cloaking device, but Caryn was loath to use it. She would rather save it for the proverbial rainy day, some of which she felt sure were due. I was just happy as a lark being alive and a woman. Nothing she could do, think or say was sufficient to get me down. Therefore, Caryn found me having a difficult time being worried about the impending showdown with the authorities. I was just too damn happy. And like many diseases, happiness is very infectious.
Cynthia- Empress of the Stars Page 4
