Outsiders

Posted on 31 Jul 2020 @ 8:30pm by Lieutenant Commander Natalia Reyes & Ensign Kat Walker

1,864 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Ab Intra
Location: Lounge

People were fascinating. Over there, crewman Williams was chatting up to crewman Johnston, laying on the moves so thick even Kat could see it, in all her near childlike innocence. Lieutenant Westlake was quietly contemplating his morning coffee - or at least, judging from his state of semi awakeness and the general drooping of his shoulders it was morning for him, even this late. The twin Ensigns Volkov were silently giggling to each other, listening in on Williams and Johnston behind them.

All this was observed by a shimmering, iridescent black form. A four winged paravian dinosaur, perched upon a bulkhead, overseeing the lounge. This form had become a familiar sight around the ship by now. Kat liked this spot. She could observe those present without getting in the way or being a bother.

The ship's new Terran Union Observer was getting used to this strange ship and this new assignment. She was a soldier and she went where she was pointed, but this was one of the more unusual positions she'd been placed in. The USS Odin was unlike anything she had seen either in the union itself or in any of the ships from the Alliance of Worlds...

...this included the bird-thing she saw as she walked into the lounge. There was no sign of imminent threat, everyone was going about their business, so she didn't pull a weapon. It did bring her up short, however, and she simply stared at the creature with her head tilted.

The creature focused on Natalia in return, tilting its head to the other side, observing the woman. It then launched off the bulkhead, approaching the newcomer with one flap of its four wings, only to shimmer and shift into her chosen main avatar, the young human looking woman. She halted a respectful six feet in front of the Terran Union observer, offering a soft smile and a nod of her head. "Hello Lieutenant Colonel Natalia Reyes. I am Ensign Kat Walker, a Drul Anu manufactured AI."

Despite the appropriate social distance, Natalia was still taken aback by the creature flying toward her. One leg slid back, angling her body as her hand went to the weapon on her hip. (Which she was granted to wear by virtue of her position, despite this ship's security disliking it.) She managed to keep from pulling it, however, and stared at the visual avatar now standing in front of her.

Nat frowned. "Drul Anu," she said with surprise. "I thought they were all dead."

Nat's actions, most notably her hand reaching for her weapon, drew the attention of others in the lounge. Seeing her not draw it though they soon returned to their quiet murmurings. Kat 's smile faltered slightly, but only slightly. She knew a smile was considered a friendly, disarming expression, and that's what she felt she needed right now. Plus, it was just polite.

"To my knowledge, which is severely limited, they are," she replied in a calm voice. "I was hoping you might know more about them and their fate than me. My memory banks were reset and emptied some time before my reactivation."

With no small amount of will power, Natalia forced herself to resume her previous stance--more relaxed-ready than defensive--and lower her hand. "I see," she said. "I was unaware that you were aboard. It seems that reports have gotten...lost somewhere in translation." There was a hint of disdain to her voice on that matter, but she continued without touching on it. "I don't know how much I can tell you, however. I am not a historian."

"I'm sure no offense, either on purpose or accidental, was intended," Kat offered, furrowing her brows. "The name 'Drul Anu' means nothing to any onboard this ship. All we know is that they were reptilian, had advanced AI and died when their star went supernova. And all of that, apart from their reptilian nature, is unconfirmed at best." The AI hesitated a brief moment. "My apologies if my curiosity to my own origin is inconvenient, Lieutenant Colonel. I merely wish to understand where I came from."

"That's understandable," Nat granted, even if with a hint of begrudging. She considered for a moment. "I will tell you what I can, although it is not much. What we know is primarily from archaeological study of what's left behind."

"Thank you, that's very kind," Kat smiled softly again. "Perhaps you would like to accompany me to the cargobay and see my mechanical body? Though it's in a state of disrepair and not functional. Or would you prefer to get a table here?"

Natalia tilted her head thoughtfully and then nodded toward the door. "I'd like to see your mechanical component," she said. "It might help my memory."

"And I'd be happy to show you," Kat smiled, leading the way. As they walked the short distance to the turbolift and during the equally short turbolift ride she explained more about herself. "I am an Evo 3 crystalline AI, a multipurpose unit designed and built to operate small to medium sized craft, of either military or civilian nature. My current mechanical component is a bipedal robot designed for urban pacification duties. It has accomodations for a single pilot and is capable of limited space flight", she explained as they entered the cargo bay.

"I was found by the crew of this ship, adrift in space and shut down, with severe weapons damage to my rear quarter," Kat elaborated. "Further damage was sustained during my time adrift due to the passing of time without maintenance and the impact of microdebris, leading to severe and extensive system damage. My memory banks were blank upon reactivating; I have no memories before awakening in this cargo bay."

The walker lay still in a heap, weathered and damaged in places, limbs sprawled out, a faint hum sounding from inside the unit, various status lights flickering and blinking, the only signs of movement being the various pieces of sensor on the very nose of the hull.

"Fascinating," Nat commented as she walked around the inert machine, looking at different parts of it from whatever angle she could where it lay in this space. "Urban pacification. We have some very similar looking bots in the Terran Union, although none of them are AI controlled."

"What are Terran Union laws regarding AI?" Kat asked, the tales told by Callisi Veera fresh in her artificial mind.

"It has been permitted under military oversight," Nat replied casually. "There are a few functioning AI beings on union battleships now. I believe there are some in civilian outfits, but I am not very familiar with them."

"It's good at least to know that my presence and nature will not cause problems between the Union and this Starfleet ship," Kat mused. "If you have any questions I would be happy to answer to the best of my abilities."

The union colonel grunted thoughtfully and folded her arms over her chest. "You're not under direct military oversight, though, so the general may not be thrilled...but since I'm here to watch the Odin, well, I suppose I can keep an eye on you too." The truth was, Reyes had no clue how Stanton would react. The woman was unpredictable sometimes. "We have found several debris fields of your people, although have never found anything like you."

Many questions raced through Kat's AI core, threads sparking with different things she wanted to ask. She knew she couldn't ask all of them though, so she focused on the ones her algorithms judged as most important. "Never anything like me, like this Urban Pacification Walker?" Kat motioned at the motionless, derelict machine that housed her core, "or of my type of medium sized, crystalline AI core in general? Or any other crystalline cores, be they of a different type than me?"

"No cores that turned into AI," Reyes agreed. "If any non-functioning ones were found, I don't know. I would have heard if a functional AI had been found though."

"Do you think it would be possible for me to learn more? Through access to scientific databases or interviews with someone who might know more?" Kat asked.

Nat considered it for a few moments before inclining her head. "I will make a request on your behalf. I cannot grant any permissions myself, but I can ask."

"Thank you kindly, it's much appreciated," Kat gave a nod, flashing that well rendered smile again. "I am curious by nature and programming, and do not much like that my entire past is a blank page to me."

"No, I can't imagine that anyone would," Natalia agreed thoughtfully. This day had certainly taken a turn she hadn't expected and little did she know that it was about to take another... When she turned away from the AI, she noticed a crewman over by a stack of cargo crates. He was...staggering slightly, holding his head for a moment and looking around like he'd lost something before moving on. She arched a brow. "Is that usual around here?"

"No," Kat replied, tilting her head a bit, then holding up her hand and projecting a small, miniature projection of the crewman, replaying his approach, his stagger and seeming confusion. "It's unusual. I don't know what happened. Do you think we should go and ask?"

It wasn't that Nat had any particular concern, given how little she knew this ship and its crew... Still... "Do you know him?"

"Only by his profile in the ship's manifest. I've never interacted with him," Kat replied.

"Perhaps then it's not so unusual," Nat commented. "We could just report it to the chief of medical." She didn't really want to get that involved in the ship's business, although she felt the need to do something if this were truly a problem.

"One moment please, doing some quick research," Kat spoke. A soft humm sounded from the derelict Drul Anu warmachine, as cooling systems spooled up to keep the core at temperature. The core itself lit up like a soft blue christmas tree, unseen from the outside, as all idle threads were decidated to research on ethics. What would be the socially accepted thing to do in a situation like this? Eventually - though she had performed a mountain of calculations it was a scant few seconds later, she spoke again. "I will do nothing for now, but continue to observe. He seems fine now," Kat mused.

Meanwhile, a few dozen threads continued to ponder the ethical implications of the nature of her AI memory. Recording other people with flawless, perfect recollection, like a computer would, was frowned upon and illegal in many cases. Yet due to being what she was, her memory was either flawless, or absent. In order for her to remember anything, it would be a computer recording with perfect recollection.

Nat nodded once. "Sounds reasonable." With that, she turned back to the AI. "Well, I'll make a call on those records to access and let you know."

"Thank you Lieutenant Colonel," Kat offered her calm, soft smile, "It is much appreciated."

=/\= End Log =/\=

Lieutenant Colonel Natalia Reyes [apb Bella] & Ensign Kat Walker [apb Lert]

 

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