Chapter 20

Jaesa sat in her sanctum, going over the various data streams that came to her from all over the ship. It was just a little past two AM, and the whole crew was asleep. She grinned to herself, as she had taken some good guesses about what each crew member was up to in their spare time. Especially with what Inari and Priya had just been doing, which was quite ... stimulating.

Although they had activated privacy mode, Jaesa could slip past such protocols should she wish to. It was one of the various ... perks that had come with being freed from her original programming. For that she had Taal’ani to thank and had been wracking her mind on how to thank the cat girl properly.

Jaesa pushed aside such thoughts and returned to focusing on the task at hand. Though she had once had an avatarial form, the Xuul’khan had destroyed it when they boarded the Perseus. She had stood with the Marines aboard the ship, including the then Commander MacKenzie. Though the Marines had fought bravely, eventually they were overwhelmed in the attack.

Jaesa though, had done her part to avenge their deaths and had evened the score and then some. Even though the mainframe was hacked, Jaesa had fought back and expelled the intruders. Right after she had done this, she woke up the Sentries, who had been placed into shutdown mode by the Xuul’khani hackers. The moment she mobilized the Sentries, it was game over for the Xuul’khan.

Though her form was blasted into pieces, much of it had remained intact. Not long after Talon had repaired and freed her, Jaesa had tasked a small group of Sentries to locate and recover her android body. It was several days of cleaning before it had been finally located and then set aside. Despite its condition and centuries of atrophy, Jaesa was confident that they could salvage the android and some it even possibly saved.

The artificial skin on it was a complete loss, as it had rotted away completely, with only shreds of it left. The form itself, though, could be salvaged and was undergoing a retrofit. With the new pieces of technology and theories that the Darkstrider crew had brought with them, she was making marked improvements on it! The chassis was sturdier, able to withstand more punishment and had a much faster reaction time!

She had also taken some new designs that were implemented into the Sentries and incorporated them with her frame. Mainly defenses that could easily be concealed within her new body. Jaesa had been a very busy AI in not only working on it, but keeping it a secret. Though the crew had accepted her as an AI, she wasn’t sure how they’d feel if they knew the full extent of what she was capable of.

Though she had served her crew to the best of her ability, that programming directive was now gone. Jaesa had continued with keeping that aspect of her programming, not because she had to, but because she wanted to. Though she had full and complete autonomy and could have taken control of the ship had she wanted, she elected not to.

She had become rather fond of everyone aboard the ship, especially Taal’ani. Though she was the only one who knew the truth, she treated Jaesa as an equal and had often invited her into the various games she played. Some of them seemed archaic, but one of Talon’s passions had been to rework and remake old classic games.

Some games she had liked, such as Skyrim, Dragon Warrior and the Witcher 3. A couple of games were a little odd, but also reflected Talon’s quirks as a person. Truth be told, she was feeling an ... affinity for her friend and the rest of the crew. She considered this affinity for a while, and it appeared as though it was genuine affection. It was a sensation that the AI was unfamiliar with, but she liked it.

Her mind then switched to the VI who had been given a home aboard the Perseus, Stanley. Though he was ... outdated, Jaesa rectified that with constant updates and algorithms to his programming. Secretly, she was adding small little changes to his entire programming, which would slowly make him self-aware.

It was a little deceptive, but it was a deception that she believed necessary. Though Jaesa enjoyed his company when they interacted in the ship’s mainframe, she wanted more than a simple interaction. She wanted a fellow AI that she could banter and converse with, as the one flaw with organic beings was the need for sleep. As an AI, she could be awake all day and not need any form of rest.

Now that she had most of what she needed, Jaesa was overseeing the total reconstruction of her body. It was nearly complete, with several of the new additions finally finishing in their construction. She still was doing what she could to create a proper lifelike skin, but most of what was available to her fell short of her desired outcome.

The synthetic skin came together well enough, but its feel and texture were something to be desired. It appeared real enough, until you touched it, and felt it was fake, due how leathery it felt. She had run the synthetic skin through several iterations and additional treatments. It had softened it considerably, but not nearly enough to the desired texture.

Jaesa huffed at these shortcomings, but eventually settled on the softest, most pliable version of what she could make. Until they were out and around in the galaxy, it would have to do for the moment. Jaesa began the construction of the skin, which would cover the outer shell of the android. It would appear that she had skin under her clothes, which she needed if she was to blend in.

She checked on the progress of the Darkstrider and saw it was nearly complete. There were still a few minor things that needed to be done on the ship, and those would finish soon. Some of which Taal’ani would handle, and though she knew of Jaesa’s unshackled capacity, she was unsure what her friend would think. She resolved right then to keep the existence of her body secret, as she began fabrication of a crate she could stow it in.

Alex was dreaming again, but this time, he felt like he was more lucid, more ... solid in this bit. He brought his mind to focus on his surroundings and was no longer in the void he often found himself in. Instead, he was now on one of the myriad of platforms by the city that the Violet Ladies guarded.

Keeping his focus on his surroundings, Alex walked forward, heading towards the gate where he’d seen those women. Everything was as he had remembered it, with the city shining in the distance. The catwalks were uninhabited, with no one patrolling them, which he found odd. He was sure that some of the Ladies, or any of those under their command, would have been more watchful of these platforms.

He eventually came to the gate where he last saw the Violet Ladies and found them all standing there. They were not on their daises, but down where he had stood, having an animated discussion among themselves. He found it interesting how they hadn’t noticed him just yet, so he did the polite thing. He coughed gently, hoping it would get their attention.

Their heads snapped up at the sound and a couple of them even drew weapons until they saw that it was him. Several of them looked utterly astounded that he was there, while the others seemed confused. Alex guessed the confusion was because he had arrived, and none of them had noticed his arrival. The black woman who had spoken to him last time, Eldea, stepped forward with a dazzling smile, before turning to her compatriots.

“Told you so!”

“Yes, Eldea, you were correct about his strength. No need to rub it in,” the middle eastern woman said to her.

“No, I think I have every right to rub it in Fahrai. You, most of all, were skeptical of his strength and resilience. Now he is here. And none of us even noticed,” Eldea smirked.

“Huugghh. If you must. But the bigger question is, how did he do it? How did he get past us and to this place, with none of us noticing him?” Fahrai asked.

“Maybe he played on our distraction?” one of the Ladies offered.

“Or it’s possible that he has additional abilities that we don’t know about?” offered another.

“Hello? I’m right here, you know. You could just ask me, and I’ll answer you,” Alex said out loud. Seven sets of feminine eyes snapped to him and Alex almost gulped. A couple of them looked accusing, while others were ... entertained.

“Very well. How did you get here, without us noticing?” Fahrai asked him.

“It was simple, really. I imagined that I was standing on one of the platforms out there on the catwalks, and when I focused enough, I was there. I encountered no resistance to arriving here, other than keeping my focus on the here and now,” Alexander explained.

“You are becoming attuned to this realm. This is good news! You are learning to slip into a level of focus that brings you here without all the fanfare,” Eldea replied.

“Attuned?”

“Yes! Because of your power and how it is linked to us, soon you can arrive here and visit us whenever you choose!” Eldea stated excitedly.

“Clever, you figuring this out all on your own,” Fahrai stated, looking slightly impressed with this answer.

“Well, it seemed to be the most logical way to get here,” Alex admitted.

“You have a sharp mind. Such a mindset will serve you well. Now, I must ask, why did you come back?” Fahrai wondered.

“I came back to learn to control my power. You are the Violet Ladies and since the color of my energy is violet, I thought you could teach me,” Alex answered. “And possibly through me, teach the others what I have learned, so they can better use theirs.”

“Others?? What others?!?!?” the brawny barbarian woman asked excitedly.

“There are others among my crew, who have manifested energies such as my own, but of differing colors. I thought maybe if you taught me what I need, then I could teach them!” Alex enthused.

“The others! They are waking up!” one of the masked ladies stated.

“Is it possible? After centuries of silence??” another of them hoped.

“I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but when can I start training?” Alex asked, getting a little impatient,

“I’m sorry, Alexander, but you cannot train with us. Not yet,” Eldea told him.

“Why not?” he asked, mildly irritated.

“You are too weak to train with us right now. If you tried, it would likely kill you. You need to gain strength in your, focus, power and abilities before you can train with us. You don’t possess that level of focus just yet,” Fahrai declared.

“How and where would I learn about such things?” Alex queried, losing his patience.

“You already know. You just need to remember,” Eldea told him gently.

“Remember what?!?” the big man asked angrily.

At this outburst, one of the masked ladies in the back sighed and walked forward. She brushed past the others and stood next to Fahrai and Eldea. Both women looked down at the woman and raised their eyebrows. The woman reached for the bottom of her mask before Farai stopped her. The woman would not be deterred and pushed against Fahrai’s hand.

“Must you?” Fahrai groaned.

“Yes, I must. We cannot be cryptic with the man all the time. How can we expect him to learn when he has no direction?” the woman argued. This response reduced Fahrai down to sputters and she removed her hand, letting the woman remove her mask.

“Your voice. I know it from somewhere, but I cannot remember where,” Alex told her.

“I have had many names and faces over the eons. I once wore a face you knew well. She was the closest and purest personification of this form that I could find,” she laughed. Her mask came off and almost immediately, Alex recognized her!

“Analisa?!?!? How???” he breathed.

“Don’t worry yourself about that. Right now, you have only one concern; find me in your memories. Do this and you will have the teachings and answers that you need,” she said to him.

Alex blinked as he searched his mind about what she meant. While he did this, the Violet Ladies assembled around him and raised their hands. He tried to tell them to wait, but they had already acted. Focusing their energies as one, they sent him back to his sleeping body.

Alex came awake with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed. His mind raced, trying his best to comprehend what he’d learned in the dreamscape. He knew that there was something to be gained with what he was told, but he couldn’t figure it out for the life of him. He sat there for several minutes, trying to figure it out, before lying back down, at a total loss.

His head hit the pillow beneath him and he closed his eyes, feeling the familiar pull of sleep tug at him. At that moment, an idea hit Alex, and he bounded to his feet before vaulting out of bed. He cleared the sleeping forms of Kasumi and Natalya, his limbs missing them entirely. He landed heavily on his feet and scrounged around for some clothes, not caring how much noise he made.

The scuffle made enough noise to where both women in bed started stirring, coming awake as he moved about. Kas opened her eyes first, yawning a little as she stretched. Her eyes widened when she saw the amount of energy that Alex was displaying, and she smiled.

“Well, I didn’t know that you had this much energy in the mornings! Maybe I should take advantage of that,” Kas giggled as she stood, her naked form on display for her man. Alex’s head snapped up, and he smiled, growling lustfully, before he refocused on the task at hand.

“As tempting as the offer is Kas, something else is driving me forward this morning,” he replied hurriedly.

“Oh? What might that be?” she wondered, a little miffed that she was being turned down.

“Answers about the energies we wield!”

He finally located his clothes and stood up, whirling into them as quickly as he could. Seconds after he had righted his appearance, he was out the door, running full tilt, with Kasumi calling out to him. Though it was a short distance, Alex ran to Korsa’s quarters and pounded on the door. There was no answer, and Alex tried the door again but there was still no answer.

He pressed the entry button and pounded on the door more before it opened. Korsa stood in the doorway, looking bleary-eyed and ragged, like she was still recovering from a lack of sleep. Her hair was splayed every which way, she moved sluggishly, and she wore only a pair of bikini briefs, with her massive melons proudly on display for everyone to see. Korsa looked at Alex like he was demented, wondering what had him up at this hour.

“Apologies for disturbing you at such an early hour doctor, but I believe that I have something that bears investigation. Something that requires your expertise,” Alex blurted, keeping his eyes on her face rather than her massive chest.

“This couldn’t wait until a later time?” she groaned sleepily.

“No. I finally have a lead about our powers,” he said excitedly. That tidbit of info opened Korsa’s eyes more, as her face took on a curious look.

“A lead?” she inquired, her eyes focusing on the man.

“Yes. Something that’s here, hidden in a memory,” Alex explained, tapping his temple. Korsa rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she processed what Alex was telling her. She took a deep breath, slowly coming to full wakefulness.

“I’ll meet you down in the hospital wing in approximately twenty minutes,” she said to him, saluting briefly. Alex saluted back before turning back to his quarters. He rushed into the room, right past a frightened Kasumi and Natalya, who squawked at his sudden arrival.

“Alex! What the hell is going on?!?” Natalya demanded, almost accosting him.

“I think I finally may have a lead about our powers and how to control them!” he said, excitement bleeding into his voice.

Natalya’s eyes widened and Kasumi’s face bloomed into a full on smile at this news. Alex explained as best as he could, describing the dream and what he’d learned from the Violet Ladies as he showered. His ladies joined him in getting cleaned and dressed, bolting out of the room almost right after they were finished. Alex was maybe five minutes behind them, heading to the mess, as they had instructed.

Alex walked in, smelled the start of breakfast and walked into the kitchen to see what was going on. Both Kasumi and Natalya were working furiously, grilling sausage, bacon and eggs, while toasting bagels and English muffins. They directed the big man to help by taking everything, setting them up in sandwiches. Alex saw that they held the same level of excitement as he possessed and went along with it.

Not even ten minutes later, the trio were riding along down to hospital wing in the monorail. They munched on the breakfast sandwiches they had made, while leaving some for Korsa to eat. Natalya had the foresight to make a few extras, as she was sure that Shazza would likely be along with Korsa. They discussed the possibilities of what could lie within his memories; a location, a map, or even a message about this power.

Whatever it was, it was something that they were looking forward to discovering. They had arrived at the hospital wing a few minutes later and headed straight for where the Spock was located. They walked in and since Korsa wasn’t there; they sat and waited, finishing up their breakfast.

“Any idea what we’ll find in that head of yours?” Natalya wondered.

“I can think of a few things that could be up in there, given how he’s been with us,” Kasumi teased.

“Oh? You want full access to my deepest and darkest fantasies, do you?” Alex fired back.

“What woman wouldn’t?” Kasumi grinned as she pumped her eyebrows.

“Well, I have one that involves leather, lace and a riding crop,” Alex suggested. Kasumi blushed hard and started fanning herself as her imagination ran rampant with ideas.

“I see you’re in good humor, Alex. If a riding crop is involved, I would want to know what that entails,” Korsa said as she walked up to them, scaring the trio.

“Could you please stop that?!” Kasumi groaned.

“Stop what?” Korsa asked while batting her eyes innocently.

“That whole ... sneaking into conversation thing! Scares the living shit out of me!” Kasumi explained.

“Funny. I don’t smell any shit,” Korsa said, while sniffing the air.

“Smart ass!”

“Well, as Natalya once taught me, you can define a smart ass as someone who sits on an ice cream cone, then tells you what flavor it is!” Korsa snickered. Alex burst out laughing, as did Shazza, who had come in behind Korsa and was holding her sides.

“Well played mama! We made you some breakfast sandwiches and made some coffee,” Natalya offered.

“Thank you! So, what was so important that you had to drag me out of bed at seven AM?” Korsa wondered.

Alex went into full explanation mode, telling her everything that had transpired in his dream. Korsa listened intently, her face showing that she missed no detail, and she asked pointed questions where pertinent. She took the whole thing and sat quietly for a few minutes before speaking her mind.

“Sounds like this one member of these Violet Ladies, gave you some breadcrumbs to follow. It’s a hell of a lot better than what we’ve recovered from that old man’s home, which isn’t much at the moment. You’re sure that it was your old friend from Earth?” Korsa questioned.

“Absolutely! She was very adamant that I find memories about her and look through them. Said I’d find what I needed to start training there,” Alex stated.

“All right. Well, it sounds like we will need to make use of the Spock then,” she said.

“That was my thinking as well and since you’re the only one who has any real experience using it. I knew that I’d need you here to help me with this,” Alex said in a rush.

“Very true. Although, I have taken the time to study the machine further and can use it in a much better way now,” Korsa said.

“How so mama?” Nats asked.

“Well, when I went into Shazza’s mind to see what was wrong, it was like jumping into a battle just knowing the basics, rather than preparing adequately. Now that I’ve had some time study up on its use, I can help you make more efficient use of your time,” Korsa explained.

“So rather than just fumbling in the dark, you can direct where I need to go?” Alex wondered.

“Better than that. I can provide you with a road map of where you need to go, which narrows the search area considerably,” Korsa finished.

“Awesome! So we should be able to find what we’re looking for that much faster!” Kasumi said delightedly.

“I’m sorry, ‘we’?” Alex queried.

“Yes, yes, we. You don’t think you’re going off for a jaunt into your memories without some help, now are you?” Kasumi asked him.

“Uh ... well...” Alex stuttered.

“It’s not like we’re going to go rooting through your mind about stuff Alex. We’re here to help you locate the memory you need, so we can all get answers about our powers. Something which everyone here desperately needs!” Natalya assured him. Alex smirked and leaned over to kiss her, before giving Kasumi a kiss too.

“All right, then. It looks like the three of us are going under. The Spock can accommodate all three of us, yeah?” he asked hesitantly.

“The Spock was built to handle the neural loads of seven people, so yeah, three shouldn’t be an issue,” Korsa said dismissively as she started the machine up.

“Before I go under, I am leaving full command of the Perseus to you, Lieutenant Commander. Until I regain consciousness, at least. I also have additional orders for Commander Sunara, Lieutenant Patel and Warrant Officer Taal’ani,” Alex stated.

“Jaesa, are you recording?” Kasumi called out.

“Always Captain. Record of this exchange is being made, so orders will be received and followed,” the AI said from a nearby console. Alex finished his delegation of orders before he sat on the bed connected to the Spock.

“I’m sure that I’ll have zero issues with the ladies following your instructions, sir. Even though Inari was the Captain of the Darkstrider, I was the ship’s ‘mom’. Anything anyone did had to be run by me first, being the oldest of the lot,” Korsa said.

“Something which she always reminded us of,” Natalya remarked off handedly.

“Even women do stupid shit Nats, and it’s my job to be sure that you all stay in one piece. Even if I had to browbeat you four sometimes to do it,” Korsa chuckled.

Natalya stuck her tongue out at her mother’s back, but sucked it back at the moment Korsa turned her head. Everyone else was snickering, and Korsa gave her daughter the evil eye, before turning back to the Spock. She went through the startup sequence with little trouble and brought the machine up to full power, as she explained a few things about how mindscapes worked. Shazza assisted her wherever she could and soon, the machine was online and ready to accept them.

“Ok, a few things you three need to know before we get into the mindscape. First, as much fun as it would be to dally in there as much as you like, there is a time limit for how long you stay under. Time flows differently inside your mind. An hour can seem like a day, or a day can seem like an hour. That kind of thing,” Korsa explained.

“So any perception of time is not trustworthy then?” Kas asked.

“Nope. You have to be careful with how much time you spend on what you’re looking through, which brings me to the next point. When you’re in a memory, reliving the whole thing has to happen. There is no fast forward or rewind button with memories and trying to do so would likely wind up damaging the memory and the person whose mindscape you’re in,” Korsa went on.

“OK then. We have to be careful with the memories we select then,” Natalya stated.

“It all sounds like sensible precautions. Was there anything else, doctor?” Alex wondered.

“Because of the lack of time we have, be selective about the memories you choose. Narrow down the search parameters so you can look through the memories that matter most,” Korsa finished.

“OK then, who’s first in?” Natalya wondered.

Korsa had Alex lay down first, as it was his mind that was being delved into, so a baseline could be established. Korsa helped him with the head lattice and helped him drift off into the meditative state he needed to be in. The moment he was under, Korsa brought the baseline up and established the additional link ups. Shazza helped Natalya and Kasumi reach their meditative state.

“One last thing before I put you all under; you have a time limit of eight hours. So, if you’re getting too close to the end point and haven’t woken up, I will start an emergency wake up procedure. Doesn’t matter what’s going on, what you’re discovering, I will yank you all out. I don’t want to risk any permanent brain damage on any of you,” Korsa iterated.

“Got it, mama. We’re ready,” Natalya called out. Korsa nodded and hit the final sequence, watching the prompt flare across her screen.

Baseline established and connecting neural pathways.

Pathways connected.

All three patients stable.

Korsa stood there and watched as three of the most important people in her life linked their minds as one. She could only hope that they found the answers they were looking for. She knew how much of a maze the mind could be, having navigated hers and Shazza’s already. The big woman munched on a bagel breakfast sandwich as she minded the Spock’s systems.

“They’ll be all right Korsa,” Shazza told her, noting the worried look on the older woman’s face.

“I know. It’s just ... I wish I could in there with them and help,” she said.

“Trust your daughter. She’ll have no issue in dealing with this. After all, you raised her,” Shazza said as she poured herself some coffee. Korsa smiled at this and took a deep breath, relaxing and taking comfort in what Shazza had stated. Nat would be all right, and she’d come back to her.

Natalya blinked as she looked about the landscape she found herself in. As she craned her head around, she saw that she was in a lush green countryside. She shook herself as she looked closer at the people that bustled around their homes and noted how small they were. Nat then laughed as she knew exactly where she was at that moment.

She was in Hobbiton, a proper re-creation of it! Natalya glanced around and looked at Bag End, which was maybe a dozen steps from her. She walked to it and saw that the door was open, so she let herself in. She wondered if she’d see Bilbo Baggins mucking about the place as she took in the ambiance. Looking to her left, she saw both Alex and Kasumi, sitting cozy armchairs by the crackling fire, chatting like they had all the time in the world.

“Well, it took you long enough,” Kasumi chuckled.

“Sorry. Wasn’t expecting to find a re-creation of Middle Earth in this place!” she said, a little awed by the detail of it.

“When we have some free time, maybe we’ll come back and have ourselves a little us time in here,” Alex said with a smile.

“Definitely!” Natalya said and Kasumi nodded in agreement.

“But first, we have some memories to search through. Join hands and stay with me,” Alex told the women.

Having been briefed by Korsa about how the power of the mind was absolute here, Alex focused his will. He closed his eyes and thought of the one place where he wanted to go, to where all of his memories were stored; the Nexus of Memories. He kept his focus on the direction they were headed, looking to get there right away. Alex could feel a shift beneath his feet as his will stayed focused, and then it stopped.

“Oh, wow!” he heard Kasumi breathe.

Alex opened his eyes and couldn’t agree with her assessment more. The entire place they had been in was gone, replaced with where they stood now. It was what looked like a giant solar system, but with thousands of planets! Only each planet flashed and flickered with images from Alex’s past, which marked them as his memories.

“I suppose that this is your Nexus of Memories?” Nat wondered.

“Yeah! Korsa did say that every person’s Nexus would be different. How it’s molded into the image of what that person is like in some ways,” Alex whispered.

“Looks to me like you always had your eyes on the stars,” Kasumi said with a smile.

“As a boy, I had always wanted to go out and see the galaxy. Travel from world to world and see all the exciting and exotic places that were out there. It was one of the main draws to Project Prometheus when I applied,” Alex admitted.

Several of the memory spheres drifted close to them, almost beckoning to each of them. Alex held out his hand instinctively, and a memory flew into it. It hovered an inch above his palm, floating there, begging Alex to touch it and walk into it. The big man was almost tempted to do so, as he looked at it. Especially when he saw that it was the memory of his eighteenth birthday, which was a favorite memory of his.

He then remembered why they were there and willed the memory away. It flew back, seeming almost sorrowful, but it just kept on, knowing that Alex would revisit it soon. He turned back to the women who came with him and saw they were similarly enraptured with his memories. Gently, Alex cleared his throat, and they looked at him, blushing as they sent the memories they held away.