Was looking for....
Posted on 02 Feb 2025 @ 6:51pm by Ensign Kat Walker & Lieutenant JG Zhivise Silatuyok
1,346 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Miranda
Location: Fighter Bay
...yet again, Zhiv found herself not where she wanted to be, she was heading for the shuttle bay to take a look at the shuttles, as there would be a chance she would be piloting those as well.
But, somehow, she ended up in the fighter bay, and well, she was very underqualified to fly anything down here. "Ugh, crap," she muttered, looking around, "right, I can figure out vectors in my head, know what was up and down in space, but I can't navigate simple corridors on a ship," she muttered.
From atop one of the fighters, sleek machines that looked fast even standing still, small black eyes watched Lieutenant Silatuyok. Feathery appendages twitched almost imperceptibly as the creature - about the size of a cat - tilted its head slightly, craning its neck as if to get a better look. It rose to its full, albeit still diminutive height, before leaping off the Valkyrie's hull. Four wings - as each limb had pennaceous feathers - spread, allowing the iridescent black-coated creature to soar, landing before Zhivise - shimmering and changing to a seemingly young human woman, features almost too perfect.
"Hello Lieutenant," the Ensign spoke, her voice friendly, as she stood at attention, offering a practiced, soft smile in greet. "I don't believe we've met before. You seem lost, is there anything I can do to assist?"
"Shi....," but she caught herself, "...sorry you scared me, um yes, I am lieutenant Zhivise Silatuyok, but you can call me Zhiv, and I was looking for the shuttle bay, but it appears I ended up in the fighter bay," she asked as she was not 100% sure if that was true or not.
"My apologies, Zhiv. It was not my intention to startle you," the young Ensign replied, lowering her gaze for a moment in an apologetic manner. "This is the fighter deck, yes. The primary shuttle bay is several decks down, with the secondary just below that. I am Ensign Kat Walker, callsign Deadeye, the pilot of Valkyrie number Three."
"No, no, no, no need to apologize, ensign," Zhiv said quickly, "right, of course it is," Zhiv said spotting the sleek fighter, "how fast does she go?"
"Warp 4.5 emergency, warp 2 sustained," the Ensign motioned towards the nearest fighter, speaking of it as if it was her, rather than 'just' a craft she piloted. "I can do mach 1.8 in standard M-class atmosphere," Faster than a Type 9 shuttle, though not nearly as fast as a Delta Flyer. More firepower and far more maneuverable than either of those, though. Upon closer inspection Zhivise could see that the unit was modified, the standard cockpit had been gutted and replaced by machinery, power conduit systems, cooling equipment, and additional sensors - and just visible was a slight blue glow of a strange device front and center in the cockpit.
"Are you, I mean are you," Zhiv said trying to comprehend what she was seeing.
"I am an AI, integrated into the airframe of unit Three," Kat offered with a pleasant smile, folding her hands together before her. "The glowing blue you see is my AI core. A crystalline neural unit that runs my base program." As if to demonstrate the blue glow shimmered and pulsed before returning to its simple, gentle glow.
"Impressive," Zhiv said as her mind went back to the speed of the fighter, "mach 1.8 in the atmosphere, that is also very impressive, what is the thruster and impulse speed with maneuvering," Zhiv asked, her eyes darting around the fighter, she was impressed with the AI tech, but it was the speed of the fighter that was more impressive for her.
"I can rate 27 degrees a second at 500 knots sustained in the atmosphere, and roll in 2.9 seconds for 360 degrees. Thrust rating of 1.9, allowing me to accelerate to above the speed of sound straight up in standard gravity," All very impressive numbers, for a powerful fighter - a machine that was basically just a suite of weapons, a cockpit and a set of wings bolted to a pair of overturned engines.
Zhiv let out a laugh; it was a nervous tick, one that happened when she was overstimulated, "sorry, I am not laughing at you or what you said," she said, feeling herself blushing, "this this is just incredible, how often do you get to fly?"
"Some might say not often enough," Kat replied, her smile faltering slightly. She took a step or two towards the fighter, her physical home, and reached a hand out to touch the nose. "When I am flying I - ... I'm not sure how to explain. It's like I am fulfilling my deepest task, my primary directive. The options and possibilities seem endless, as do the opportunities. Yet I am also very aware of my fragility, and the transient nature of existence."
Zhiv was not ready to have an existential crisis talk with an AI, especially when she still didn't fully understand AI. But that feeling she/they got was one she got, "I completely understand that," she said with a soft smile, flying and going at those speeds was unexplainable.
"Pardon my forwardness, but I am curious, Lieutenant - From where comes the fascination with the Valkyrie's performance specifications?" Kat asked.
"Anything that goes fast is thrilling, dangerous, and can push the limits," she said with a smirk.
"From the context, can I assume you are a shuttle pilot turned helm officer?" Kat asked. It would've been easy to confirm her guess with a single, simple query to the ship's computer, but she felt confident enough in her guess not to.
"Shuttles and transports before this assignment, but my father is a test pilot," Zhiv said, "...so I saw my father push the limits, and well, guess this my way of pushing," she said with a shrug as she gently touched the nose of the fighter.
The fighter's nose was cold and hard, unfeeling steel. A machine, built for a purpose. The purpose for which it was built was perhaps not very nice, but it was very good at it. "I've often wondered what it would be like to fly a shuttle or a transport, but that is something I'm unable to do and probably never will. Same as flying a Starship."
"Shuttles are kinda like a fighter, not as agile or quick, but both are nimble. Unfortunately, transport is a bit boring; they were designed to go from point A to point B safely, but not quickly, hence why most military transports were always protected," Zhiv said with a shrug, "within combat and war zones, as for ships like the Odin this is also new for me," she added.
"I can look at the performance numbers and run simulations on my AI core, I could even go to the holodeck and run a simulation there and it would be just about accurate to the real thing, but I could never pilot the real thing, unless they transplant my AI core. And that's not something that they are going to do. Flying a craft in a simulation and flying a real craft is not the same thing. That is what I meant," Kat explained, her voice entirely calm and friendly.
"Ah, yes," Zhiv said, trying to understand but really couldn't as for her, that would be like trying to put her brain into someone else's body.
Zhivise's reply confused Kat, on some level. A function of her mind being alien to any biological she'd ever met; being based on pure, raw math rather than based on emotions and feelings. She often had trouble reading people's responses. "My apologies, Lieutenant. I did not mean to bother you with my existential doubts. I can show you to the shuttle bay if you would like."
"Thank you, that would be great," Zhiv said as they were both confused about where they were all Zhiv knew was she was confused.
"Very well. If you would follow me please. This way," Kat was glad to be able to help someone. After all, it was one of her primary directives.