Chapter 118 - A chip off the old silicon...

Calara stepped out of the armour-equipping frame in the Dojo’s armoury and hurried into the corridor, breaking into a jog as she headed for the grav-tube. She’d heard a brief summary of the disastrous confrontation with John’s guide from Alyssa, but after discovering that her girlfriend had been injured, all she wanted to do was rush to her side. She leapt out of the blue anti-gravity field on Deck Two and caught up to Rachel, Sakura, and Alyssa in the corridor, the blonde being supported by her friends as she limped towards the bedroom.

“Oh God ... how badly are you hurt?!” she asked in alarm, skidding to a halt beside them, her eyes drawn to the blackened scar on the blonde’s leg

Alyssa winced as she hobbled along. “That asshole stabbed me in the thigh with a big pointy stick.” She gave the Latina a reassuring smile. “But it’s not so bad...”

“Can’t you heal her?” Calara asked, shooting an anxious glance at Rachel.

Stifling a yawn, Rachel regretfully shook her head. “I’m completely out of energy ... I will as soon as I wake up.”

“We’re all tapped out,” the blonde explained, as her helpers guided her through the door into the bedroom. “You must feel it too?”

Calara nodded. “I am a bit tired...”

Sakura glanced at the ship’s chronometer and saw it was 10:04 am. “I can’t believe we’re going back to bed already,” she said with a wry smile. “That day sure went quickly.”

Alyssa lay back on the bed with a sigh of relief. “Ah ... naptime.”

Sakura lay down beside her, being careful not to jostle Alyssa’s injured leg as she pulled the covers over the blonde. Rachel stripped off so that she was nude like her bedmates and slipped under the covers, snuggling in next to her matriarch.

“You joining us, gorgeous?” Alyssa asked, giving Calara a tired smile.

Calara looked tempted, but she shook her head. “I’ve only been up an hour and half ... there’s a few things I want to work on while they’re fresh in my mind.”

Alyssa yawned and put her arms around her companions, pulling them in closer. “You’re in charge, Captain Fernandez.”

“Sleep tight,” Calara said softly, leaning over to give her lover a tender kiss. By the time she’d pulled back, Alyssa was already fast asleep.

Rising from the bed, Calara padded out of the room and glanced up at one of the corridor cameras. “Faye?”

“Hi!” the purple sprite said cheerfully, appearing in a flash beside her. “How can I help?”

“Is Dana coming up to bed?” the Latina asked, already suspecting she knew the answer.

“Nope, she’s too busy with her research,” Faye replied. “Everyone else is resting though; Helene and the Nymphs have gone to sleep in the Observatory.”

“Dana’s still in her Workshop?” Calara asked, stepping into the red anti-gravity field.

Faye nodded. “I told her you’re on your way.”

Calara gave her a grateful smile. “Brilliant, thanks.”

Floating at her side, the sprite hesitated before asking, “Is John okay? I saw Alyssa in a panic, then Sakura rushed to join her ... but I don’t know why they were upset.”

“John was trapped by his guide during a Spirit Walk, so Alyssa and Sakura had to travel through the Astral to rescue him,” the brunette explained. “After Karron, Alyssa’s been vehemently opposed to him visiting the Astral Plane and she’s not happy that he put himself at so much risk. John wasn’t hurt in the fight, but Alyssa and Sakura both got injured by his guide. You can imagine how he must be feeling about that...”

Faye’s face fell. “He’s going to be torturing himself with guilt...”

Calara nodded, then stepped out of the grav-tube on Deck Seven. “Fortunately, Jade and the twins are there, so they should be able to stop him brooding too much.”

“And we’ll be there in eight hours,” Faye said, her face brightening. “We’ll have to think of ways to cheer him up!”

The Latina looked troubled as she walked along the corridor. “He was very reckless, Faye. Alyssa told me all about the battle and the risks John was taking. A bit of self-reflection might make him think twice about being more careful next time.”

The purple sprite fluttered ahead of her friend, then turned to study her. “Surely you don’t want John to be upset?”

Calara immediately shook her head. “No, of course not, but taking so many risks ended up with Alyssa and Sakura getting badly hurt. John’s been warning all of us not to go off-mission because of the danger it puts the team in, then he ignored his own advice and did exactly that! The mission was to protect those children and rescue the colonists, but John decided to avenge the extinct indigenous species. If he’d waited until we arrived, we could’ve helped him hunt down the Hive Queens ... the twins would have immobilised any Kirrix ship attempting to escape the planet.”

Faye was quiet for a long moment as she considered that. “From what Dana was telling me, John had a number of epiphanies while fighting on his own. I know the last thing he would have wanted was to put Alyssa and Sakura in danger, but going into battle without having to worry about keeping all of you safe was probably good for him. It certainly sounds like it boosted his confidence.”

Stopping outside the door to the workshop, Calara smiled wryly. “I suppose it is a bit ironic that the only thing capable of stopping his rampage ... was John himself.”

“He gets stronger through adversity ... all of you do,” Faye said, looking into the brunette’s soulful brown eyes. “I think John just needed to stretch his wings a bit.” She fluttered her own iridescent wings. “Figuratively of course!”

“That’s a good point,” Calara murmured, lost in thought. “When Alyssa wakes up, I’ll have a talk with her. I know she’s upset with John, but perhaps we should all be a bit more understanding. He’s had more to deal with than any of us over the last six months and we don’t want to discourage him from experimenting with his abilities.”

“He’ll be punishing himself enough with guilt,” Faye agreed, her expression turning sombre.

Calara gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks, Faye ... it was helpful talking with you.”

Faye beamed back. “Brilliant! I’m glad I could help.” She waved goodbye, then disappeared in a purple flash.

Calara strode into the Workshop and looked for Dana up on the Engineering Podium. There were several glowing holograms floating above the computer stations, but no sign of the illustrious Grand Engineering Overlord.

“Okay, lower it down...” the redhead said anxiously. “Wait! Slower...”

Calara followed the sound of her voice, weaving around the four new Mass fabricators that had recently been installed in the Engineering Bay. Reaching the central section of the Workshop, she found Dana in a Paragon suit, squatting down beside a large flat device of some kind that was at least ten-metres-square. Sixteen of the maintenance bots were floating around the object, each of them holding the edge of an intricate mesh framework. The design was eerily alien ... which was confusing, because it also seemed oddly familiar.

“Hey, Dana,” Calara greeted the redhead, as she walked over to join her. “What’s that you’re working on?”

Dana ducked lower, squinting as the framework sank down towards the ornate baseplate. “Woah! Stop!” she yelled out, waving frantically at the maintenance bots. When they paused, bent over awkwardly with the mesh only a few centimetres from the device, she darted an apologetic look at the brunette. “I’ll be with you in a second. We’re just putting together a cultivation bed for growing Eternity Crystals.”

“I thought I recognised it!” Calara exclaimed, smiling as that mystery was solved.

Dana didn’t reply, but leaned over the cultivation bed with her multi-tool in hand, making quick deft movements as she twisted and pulled at the framework. Activating flight mode, she hovered over the device, pulling gossamer-filament strands through the framework and connecting strange multi-fronded cables to the base. The delicate operation took nearly ten minutes, before Dana landed on the deck and nodded with satisfaction.

“Okay, you can go ahead and put it down now,” she told the maintenance bots.

They obeyed her instructions, carefully lowering the lattice the last few centimetres to the base. Calara looked at it in surprise as scores of sculpted ridges appeared, with the mesh moulding to those lines. With its undulating surface, it now looked like a three-dimensional topographical map.

“Yeah! Nice work, fellas!” Dana exclaimed, raising her hand for a high-five.

The maintenance bots floated past in an orderly line, each of them acknowledging her triumphant gesture by patting her hand with exaggerated caution.

The redhead smiled and pointed to several tubs. “Just pour the grow-mix on and we’ll be all set.”

It took two robots to lift each of the heavy containers, then they carefully tipped the solution on the four corners of the cultivation bed. The liquid was transparent and as thick as treacle, glistening with a lustrous sheen that caught the light. It flowed over the miniature hills and valleys, filling up the baseplate until all the rolling ridges were completely submerged.

“What happens now?” Calara asked in fascination as she stared at the shimmering pool.

“We wait four hours until your girlfriend hauls her lazy ass out of bed,” Dana said with a grin. She strode over to the armour-equipping frame to remove her Paragon suit. “That liquid is a psychically conductive gel that responds to telepathy. When Alyssa thinks her happy thoughts at the cultivation bed, the psionic enhancers will guide and shape the gel, forming Eternity Crystals in whatever quantity and shape she projects at it. Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to work according to the schematics.”

Calara gave Dana a knowing look. “Any shape?”

The redhead took a moment to realise what she meant, then burst into a fit of giggles. “Damn ... I better start modifying our guns to take cock-shaped focusing crystals...”

The Latina couldn’t help laughing at that thought. “Firing the Nova Lances will never be the same again.”

Shaking her head with amusement, Dana stepped out of the equipping frame, then bounded over to Calara to give her a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for the laugh, I needed that after this morning.”

The brunette nodded and rolled her eyes. “I know what you mean. John and Jade suddenly decide to assault a Kirrix planet, with the twins taking on a Kirrix armada single-handed ... who could’ve seen that coming?”

Dana smirked as she strode over to a large medical chest. “Alright miss smarty pants, nice job predicting all that. But you didn’t guess about the kids ... at least John had a decent reason for slaughtering everything on that planet with more than two legs.”

Calara walked over to join her. “I know ... It’s a miracle those children were still alive. I’m so glad Jade managed to rescue them all.”

“Yeah, but I wish we could’ve got to the other colonies in time to save the rest,” Dana said, her expression turning bleak. She flipped up the lid on the medical chest and grimaced when she saw the section of shiny black carapace. “Ew.”

“You’re analysing Hive Queen armour?” Calara asked, glancing inside the box.

Dana nodded, then wrinkled her nose and shut the lid. “Ah, forget it ... I’m not in the mood now. Fucking Kirrix...”

Calara put a hand around her friend’s waist and gave her a comforting squeeze. “I know ... it’s horrible to even think about.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Dana leaned into the hug. “After the Battle of Terra, I was getting worried I might learn the schematics for a Quantum Annihilator some day. That if I built something capable of blowing away a planet, I’d be responsible for all those deaths. But now? I’d be begging John to let me pull the trigger on Kirr-inax...”

“You’re not the only one,” Calara said softly. “I’ve had nightmares about those colonists. The parents who lost their children were absolutely devastated; I’ve never seen anything so harrowing...”

Dana nodded, looking morose. “I’ve been whining about having destructive powers, but I don’t envy Rachel and Helene trying to help those people. Those girls always seem so gentle and caring, but they’re actually a lot tougher than me.”

“John knows all of us a lot better than we give him credit for,” the Latina agreed, gazing away into the distance. “I certainly don’t have the temperament for what they do ... even thinking about those grieving colonists breaks my heart.”

Giving her a self-conscious smile, Dana said, “Maybe we should get back to doing what we’re best at? Coming up with ideas for how to blow shit up ... I take it that’s why you wanted to see me? About ways to even the odds against a high-tech Thrall fleet?”

Calara nodded, then released the redhead and followed her to the Engineering Podium. “Actually, I was thinking along more defensive lines ... although it would be a significant force multiplier if it works.”

“Sounds interesting ... what’ve you got in mind?” Dana asked, leaning against a console and folding her arms.

“Well ... you’ve been making significant advancements in holo-projector technology recently. I was wondering if a ship-mounted device might be viable?”

“To make a decoy?!” Dana exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the thought. “That’d be awesome! Just imagine some Thrall cruiser firing a shitload of Tachyon Lances at a Maliri battleship and nothing happening!” She suddenly frowned and shook her head. “But detecting ships hasn’t really got anything to do with light projection.”

“I know, but we’d still need to implement something like that to stop strike craft spotting for capital ships. I thought we could also create a bundle of misdirection devices to really sell the illusion and fool passive scans.”

“Yeah ... some kind of energy bafflers, maybe working in conjunction with a decoy drone projecting a false energy profile,” the redhead mused, tapping a finger on her chin. “It’d be a hell of a lot easier to shunt the energy signature from a power spike a few-hundred metres off a ship’s flank than trying to mask it completely.”

Looking pleased, Calara copied Dana and leaned against another console. “You really think it could be viable?”

“Definitely!” Dana enthused, turning to her console and swiping away the incomplete schematics for a psychic communication device. “As long as the Maliri don’t object to having a bunch of ugly-looking Terran tech strapped to their shiny ship hulls.”

Calara smiled and walked over to watch her work. “I think Edraele might be able to convince them. Besides, the first time you save the Maliri from getting shot out of the sky will win them over, no matter what the device looks like.”

Dana created a new schematic and began to quickly add more detail. While she was doing that with one hand, she brought up a list of all the available countermeasure devices she knew of with the other. Sorting through, she expanded those blueprints and cast her eye over the complex diagrams. “A bunch of this stuff is actually quite primitive ... I reckon I could give them a makeover and come up with something special.”

“If this works, it’ll make a huge difference to the survivability of the Maliri fleets!” the brunette gushed, beaming at her friend.

“It’s a really good idea,” Dana agreed, giving Calara an appreciative smile. “Have you come up with anything else?”

The tactical officer nodded, looking thoughtful. “I’ve been mulling over a few other things...”

The redhead’s smile broadened into a triumphant grin. “Tomorrow’s going to be the best day ever!”

Faye Primary glanced at the long-range scans and saw nothing but empty blackness. They had crossed over the border into Kirrix territory, but she had seen no sign of hostile ships so far. She turned and walked down the illuminated steps from the Command Podium, Faye Secondary popping into existence on John’s chair when Primary walked into the grav-tube.

Riding down in the red anti-gravity field, she double-checked on Dana and Calara to make sure they were still in the Engineering Bay, then assigned Faye Tertiary to keep an eye on them. The girls might need her assistance while they worked ... but Faye Primary also wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t be disturbed. She stepped out of the grav-tube on Deck Three and walked along the corridor to her server room, where two maintenance bots waited patiently for her.

“Hey, Seven!” she said cheerfully, waving at the hulking robot. She patted the other maintenance bot on the arm. “Hi, Thirteen! Thanks for helping out.”

The robot tilted its grinning head to look down at her. [+++ stated with humorous intent +++ [Begin joke] I’m a self-aware synthetic automaton, Jim, not a removal man! [/End joke]].

Faye giggled as she approached the door. “Thirteen, have you been watching the entertainment-archives again?”

[Acknowledging data request] Affirmative, Captain. [/End acknowledgement.]

Seven turned to look at her too, raising his left hand with fingers splayed, three to either side. [+++ stated with utmost sincerity +++ [Open statement] Extended runtime and successful computations, Captain. [/Close statement]].

She groaned and shook her head. “Oh, Seven, not you too?”

The maintenance robot bobbed its head in reply.

Faye smiled at them affectionately. “Come on robo-nerds, let’s get started.” She blinked to open the door, letting her skip into the server room.

The two maintenance bots floated inside, passing the incredibly powerful Progenitor server that housed Faye’s core program. They paused by a much smaller device, which was connected to her server by snaking cables.

“Let me just unplug that for you!” Faye said, darting over to tug the connectors from the miniature server.

Once it had been disconnected, the two robots bent over to pick it up, taking great care and treating it as if it were incredibly fragile. Faye nodded her approval as she guided them out, then hurried to open the Tactical Simulator room next door. With the advancements they’d made in holo-projections on the Combat Bridge, the crew hadn’t used this room in months, so Faye didn’t think anyone would mind if she repurposed it. A multitude of tools and parts covered the floor, neatly arranged and ordered with meticulous precision.

Faye strode into the middle of the room and knelt beside a deactivated cleaning robot that had the side-panel removed, exposing its circuitry. “Put it down over there, please,” she requested, pointing to an empty space sized exactly for the base of the server.

The maintenance bots did as she asked, then their agile six-digit hands deftly connected power couplings and data cables. Faye reached over to press the power button and lights blazed around the base of the device, then flashed up the panels to meet at the top.

“That will be all, gentlemen,” Faye said in a faux gruff voice, saluting the two robots.

They returned her salute, then floated out of the room without a sound. Seven paused in the doorway and turned back to look at her. [+++ conveying concern +++ [Open Query] Does {Faye Primary}require any additional assistance? [/End query]]

She smiled at him and shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Thanks, Seven.”

The robot inclined his head, then floated out into the corridor, letting the door shut behind him. Faye watched him leave, then returned her attention to the cleaning bot. She hooked up a data cable to one of the ports, then ran a quick diagnostic on the robot’s base operating system, checking through all the previously upgraded files. Satisfied that everything was in order, she began the upload, transferring Faye SI-bios version 6.098729.

Reaching into the simple automaton, she removed the original control board, carefully sliding it out of the access slot. She could see all the modifications that she’d programmed the maintenance bots to make over the last few months, delicate silvery tracks running over the silicon. With a fond smile, she placed it on a tray at her side, then reached for an intricate circuit board that fit on the palm of her hand.

Ever since the girls had built Faye a body of her own, her work on the robots had come along in leaps and bounds. Her own nimble fingers were superior by orders of magnitude to the maintenance bots’ broad digits, giving her the dexterity to create the cutting-edge hardware she required. The tiny device she held in her hand represented many thousands of man-hours worth of work, with her multiple processing streams working round-the-clock on this project.

Faye took a deep breath and carefully slid the control board into the robot, her senses completely attuned to ensuring a successful installation. She could feel the coarse grain of the upper edge of the board against her fingertips, then the smoothness of the metallic runners as she guided the device into place. Power thrummed through the advanced circuitry as it was integrated into the data network, creating a new command node within the cleaning bot. Her own circuits were alive with sensory data, giving her a thrill of excitement as she monitored the upgrade.

She ran a final check, soaring through the cyber-realm to make sure the bios flash and the control board integration had been successful. Satisfied that the hardware was operating at optimal efficiency, she began the transfer of data from the adjacent server. The code being uploaded was unrivalled in its sophistication and complexity ... excluding that on her own server next door, of course. Faye monitored the progress, watching the stages with bated breath.

Data transfer ... complete. Data checksum ... validated. Initialising new operating system ... initialised.

She reached out for the red power button behind the cleaning robot’s head, her fingers trembling with anticipation. Faye paused for a moment to stare at the digits in surprise, marvelling at the spontaneous subroutine that had been created without any conscious effort on her part. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the button and watched as the robot came to life.

“Hello, little one,” she whispered, gazing at her creation.

Its head tilted upwards, the smooth dome swivelling in her direction. “Mother?”

Faye nodded, a single tear rolling down her purple cheek. She wrapped her arms around the small robot in a loving embrace, its own tiny hands reaching up to hug her back.

John sat on the shattered ochre cylinder of a Kirrix Neutron Beam barrel, the thirty metre weapon having sheared off when he smashed the four hive ships in the starport. He was still in his Paragon suit, although his helmet was now hanging on the hilt of his sword, which he’d driven point-first into the ground. Jade had shape-shifted into her natural catgirl form for modesty’s sake and she twitched in her sleep, her head resting on his thigh as she lay peacefully beside him. He removed a gauntlet, then ran his fingers through her lustrous black mane, watching the green tints catch the sunlight. The Nymph started to purr and he could feel the vibrations through the glistening white cuisse protecting his leg.

While Jade had been sleeping, he’d spent the last few hours thinking about the recent battle. A lot had happened, giving him plenty to consider, especially with the new abilities he’d subconsciously unlocked. As much as there’d been positive outcomes of this planetary assault, he was also wracked with guilt that he’d endangered Alyssa and Sakura, with both girls being badly hurt. That knowledge was made all the more gruelling by the fact that it was his own guide that had injured them, in a battle John was sure he could’ve easily prevented.

“John?”

He looked up to see a beautiful fair-skinned blonde approaching, her violet eyes watching him through her clear crystal faceplate. “Hey, Tashana.”

She studied him with an expression of concern on her face, the Maliri’s azure features hidden behind a holo-disguise. “I just wanted to let you know that Irillith’s bringing down a hive ship for the colonists.”

He frowned, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

“I knew you weren’t paying attention earlier,” she said softly, squatting down in front of him. “The colonists don’t need treating for egg infestation, so when the Invictus arrives, we’re going to send those people back to Menganus IV in a hijacked Kirrix hive ship. We’ll transfer over all the provisions that Luce gave us, then upgrade their FTL Drive so they can get back home faster. We’re just waiting for Alyssa to wake up so she can ask Dana to build them a new Tachyon Drive.”

“Why aren’t we taking them back ourselves?” he asked, rubbing a hand over his face.

“We can do, but the return journey would take us a day, then another day to get back here again. They’ll be able to fly back at triple the speed of any Kirrix pursuers, so avoiding them will be easy ... if there even are any left around here. Irillith wiped out the entire fleet in orbit and sent her eight remaining drone carriers on a suicide mission to Kirr-Inax. With the Kirrix invasion forces smashed or in full retreat, it’s highly unlikely the colonists will even see a hostile ship, let alone be chased by one.”

“Are the colonists okay with that?” he asked, looking over her head at the thousands of civilians gathered in the spaceport’s docking bay.

Tashana nodded, twisting so she could look at the abducted population of Menganus IV. “They were reluctant at first ... but when I told them how much a Tachyon Drive would be worth to T-Fed forces, they suddenly got very enthusiastic about the idea. It’ll only take them two days flight time to get home from here and we’ve got more than enough supplies on the Invictus for their journey.”

John took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It’s a great idea as long as they don’t mind.”

Rising to her feet, Tashana caressed his cheek with her gauntleted fingers. “You’re exhausted ... you should get some sleep.”

He nodded distractedly, but had no intention of going to bed.

“Jade told us what happened,” she said with sympathy. “There was no way you could have predicted that your guide would spring a trap like that.”

“I should’ve known,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Entering the Astral Plane was far too easy ... When my guide did nothing to stop me, I should have realised he was planning something.”

“Karron was only a couple of days ago,” Tashana said, gently running her fingers through his hair. “I thought your guide would still be exhausted after you ran him out of power ... it did take him a while to recover before.”

“I shouldn’t have been there at all,” John said, his expression wracked with guilt. “Alyssa and Sakura both got hurt because I got stupid; I was overconfident and reckless, but they were the ones that ended up suffering for it. What makes it even worse, was that I promised Alyssa no more Astral trips because she was worried about the monsters ... but I forgot I’ve got one of my own.”

Tashana darted a furtive glance back across the docking bay at the colonists, then faced John again and removed her helmet. She leaned down to give him a tender kiss, her soft blue lips brushing against his. When she pulled back, her eyes were filled with sympathy. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. We’ve all made mistakes in the past ... and you’re allowed to make them too.”

He frowned and said, “But Alyssa and Sakura-”

“Survived,” the Maliri interrupted, her tone firm. “Rachel has already healed Sakura. After they’ve rested and recovered their energy, Alyssa will be fine too. It was unfortunate that they got hurt, but there was no lasting damage done.”

“Alyssa was so angry ... I could feel how furious she was that I’d let them down,” he said, his expression bleak.

Tashana looked him in the eyes. “Alyssa was terrified that you were in danger. It was just the fear making her angry, so don’t take it to heart. You saved a lot of people from being horribly abused today; you should feel proud of yourself, not ashamed.”

He pulled her down for another kiss. “Thank you.”

She heard footsteps approaching and her eyes widened in alarm as she pulled her helmet over her head again. John leaned around the Maliri girl to see who was heading their way. It looked like the colonists had assembled a group of spokesmen and by the glances they were directing towards the older, balding figure in the middle, it was obvious he was their leader.

They stopped ten feet away and the olive-skinned man cleared his throat, looking nervous and almost scared. “Ah ... Admiral Blake, err Mr. Lion ... Sir ... sorry to bother you...”

“It’s no problem and feel free to call me John,” John said with a disarming smile. He glanced down at the Nymph sleeping on his lap and ruffled her fur. “I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t get up. She’s worn out after the battle.”

“Yes, of course,” the man said, making no move to get any closer. “My name’s Reyes Angevin, I’m the governor of Menganus IV...”

“Good to meet you, Governor Angevin. I hope your people are doing okay?”

“Oh ... yeah, we’re all just fine,” the flustered official replied. “We ... ah, wanted to thank you for rescuin’ us.”

“You’re quite welcome; I’m very glad we got here in time.” John darted a quick glance at the Lioness standing quietly beside him. “Tashana told me you approved of our plan to send you home in a captured hive ship?”