Reaching decisions

Posted on 25 May 2020 @ 2:05pm by Captain Mallory Thorne & Ensign Kat Walker

1,003 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Changing Faces
Location: Ready Room

A, by now familiar, form made its way onto the bridge. The alternate form of the AI, Kat Walker, an iridescent black feathered four-winged avian saurian circled the bridge once before slowing down to land, shifting to her humanoid form in a shimmer as she did. Once there she gave a nod and a soft smile to all present before she made her way to the ready room. Without any real ability to press the door chime or otherwise announce herself, she bumped the chime the only way she could, by floating her remote projector into it - causing the hologram to flicker a bit as she did.

Mallory was, of course, inside, because really, where else was she when not being used for some specific purpose by her obnoxious writer? "Enter," she called, not looking up from her PADD and cup of coffee until enough time had passed for the person to have entered. "Ah, Ms. Walker. Nice to see you here. What can I do for you?"

"Captain. It is good to see you. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Kat ventured. "I was hoping for a moment of your time, to discuss some things."

"You're not interrupting," Mal said easily. She resisted her normal urge to offer Kat a seat or drink, since neither would be viable here. "What's on your mind?"

"You asked me to think about what I wanted to do, onboard. And I've made my decision," Kat explained, that ever present soft smile ever present. "I would like very much for my AI core to be built into a Valkyrie fighter. This would likely involve the design and manufacture of a sled and interface and require me to enlist in Starfleet and become a commissioned officer, but that is a journey I am very much willing to undertake."

Mallory nodded. "I did receive a message from the flight deck about your interest in doing so and I found the prospect to be fascinating," she said. "May I ask what brought you to this decision?"

"A desire to be useful, and to pay back the kindness you and your crew have shown me in picking me up, activating me, keeping me active and showing an interest in what I want," Kat replied easily. "Plus a desire to follow my purpose, that of piloting a small or medium sized craft. A Valkyrie is considerably larger and more powerful than a model 2501 walker, but I believe I am powerful enough to operate one to a sufficient level. Also a desire to belong, to no longer be an outsider, a stranger in a strange land. Finally, a desire to be more free, to no longer be confined to a barely functional wreck in a cargo bay."

"That is all understandable," Mal said thoughtfully. "How will integrating into one of our fighters--of Starfleet origin and design--alter your abilities?"

"I'm not sure I understand, Captain?" Kat asked, tilting her head a bit. "My physical capabilities will increase exponentially, even compared to a fully operational type 2501 walker, though following a different doctrine. My mental capabilities will remain the same, except in cases of extreme load, in which case they will diminish slightly. I have a total of one thousand and twenty four threads available for all my processes. My personality and base programming will remain the same, except where enlisting and being commissioned will dictate different responses than my base programming."

Mallory nodded slowly. "It's an interesting idea, and certainly is not unheard of in Starfleet's history, although it's rare. I would be remiss as captain to not bring up that you haven't been aboard long. You've been helpful so far and proven trustworthy in that, but this is still a big step when we don't know much about your history. When you don't know much about your history. Do you think there might be any concerns hidden in your programming that we are unaware of?"

"I do not believe so, Captain. All my address space is accounted for and there are no function calls in my programming that I cannot explain by way of my main programming," Kat carefully explained, furrowing her brows a bit. "If any such hidden code or directives exist, they do so outside of my program and address space that I can see. Of course, in theory I could just be telling you what I believe you want to hear. In the end, it will have to come down to a choice that you have to make, whether to trust me or not."

"I suppose it will," the captain agreed levelly, sitting and looking contemplatively at the AI's avatar for several long moments. "I'm going to go with my gut and give you a shot, and hope that my trust is well-founded."

"Thank you Captain," Kat's smile broadened a bit. "I will do my best to be a successful and productive addition to this crew. The first step I think would be to undergo training to become a member of Starfleet, with appropriate rank. Because of my nature this should not take long."

Mallory smiled, but she also realized that she had never been the one to induct someone into Starfleet. "The holodeck has a program for the academy introductory test, so we'll start there." At least this was not the first time someone had to be tested at a distance. "I'm sure you'll have no problem with that, so we'll move on after you've completed it."

"Then, it seems I have a lot of work ahead of me. A complete officer's training course and exams, continuing work with Lieutenant Dering on an AI sled and cradle, getting to know the ship and crew better," Kat offered, though she seemed happy at the prospect of all that work.

At this, Mal smiled again. "Well, then. You'd better get to it."

"Very much so. Though I will need permission to access the Holodeck and the Academy Training Program," Kat smiled. "I will start the moment it becomes available to me."

 

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