Chapter 559

The Ship

...”I am arguably more intelligent and think much faster, yet the women I’ve mentioned, and to a lesser extent, the other interceptor crews, consistently win in mock battle. No matter the matrix I use, they, over time, usually outscore me. However, I feel that my human crews will likewise overcome the aliens, should it come to a space battle – if you are all sufficiently trained. So, I can, and will, gladly incorporate you and your sister-wives into my fighting crew, but it is time to begin practice – past time.”

The Clan Queen smiled as she sipped her lemonade. “Selina and I made what I feel was an excellent team, but I have no idea how I will do as a Gunner. I do know that the girls always beat the crap out of me when I play video games with them.”

“I suspect, My Queen, that is true because you have not spent the time they have playing those games, nor with their enthusiasm for them. There might also be another factor at work, though – namely that they enjoy the games more at their younger age than you do.”

“Maybe. But I, and all my sister-wives, want to do our part in any battle my family is involved in – whatever that part may be. And we do not want to sit home and nursemaid a group of scared shitless citizens. So, when can we start?”

“In time, but there are two more that just came through my hatch,” Ship said as Jennie and Melissa suddenly appeared on the bridge.

“Oh, wow,” they said together.

Melissa grinned at her buddy. “I could get used to that.”

“Yeah! Me, too,” from Jennie.

“How did you know where I was?” Diana asked as she smiled at two of the young women who grew up with her daughter.

Jennie reached for Melissa’s hand. “Simple. We asked the AI. Jeff told us what you said about not staying in the fortress should Earth be attacked, so we decided to see what you were up to out here.”

“Whatever it is, we want to be a part of it,” Melissa added.

“Simple. I want to help Ship fight,” Diana returned.

The girls passed a glance which was usually enough for the two of them to agree before they turned back to their Clan Queen. “Count us in,” they said as one.

“I don’t know whether I can be of any real help or not, but I want to try, so I asked Ship if I could be a Gunner – if there is any such position.”

“As I have previously stated, I designed this vessel for a crew, and I have long since adapted most of my weaponry to be used by humans,” Ship inserted.

“Then, we also want to be Gunners, or whatever the proper term is,” Jennie instantly responded.

“If our meeting is going to take a while, would you please tell Jeff where we are?” Diana asked Ship.

There was a barely-noticeable hesitation before Ship answered. “I have informed My Prime as well as the Retreat’s AI. Diana, you do realize that with the last update of processor expansions, memory and logic arrays, the Retreat’s AI is approaching the self-awareness threshold?”

Diana thought for a second. “Arlene, Ann, Helen, Selina and Jeff were discussing that last night, although, from their conversation, they are not even positive it is possible. However, they were concerned because part of their conversation involved built-in safeties. Should the AI become self-aware, they don’t want to risk it being allowed to ‘run amok’ – to quote my husband.”

“I have reviewed their procedures and find them adequate. However, I have cautioned My Prime that they should proceed with extreme caution. Any time an AI gains self-awareness, there can be danger due to a certain unpredictability about its fledgling personality.”

“Oh, so Jeff knows but didn’t bother to tell me?” Diana said with just that inflection in her voice.

“He must have his reasons for not doing so, but the most probable one is that, despite my concerns, he does not fully realize how close the self awareness point could be. However, it is difficult to define precisely the point of self-awareness, because many variables factor into the AI’s awakening,” Ship said, her voice devoid of inflection.

“Back to our original subject,” Diana said. “When shall we begin the training you were speaking of? And where do you want us while we do it? There will, after all, be fourteen of us. Ann, Arlene and Selina already have jobs, of course.”

“I can easily expand the training room to accommodate all of you, and I am always ready to begin. The first module will only last forty-eight minutes, but of course, that will relate to weeks of subjective time.” Ship paused for a second. “My Prime, all your sister-wives and Selina should arrive in a few minutes. They have already left the Retreat.”

“But I didn’t tell any of them what I came out here for.”

“I informed My Prime when I talked to him, and I assume he informed your sister-wives. At any rate, they are all on the way. Perhaps the alternative of remaining in the fortress did not appeal to them any more than it did to you, My Queen.”

Diana thought for a moment. “Are they all going to have to attend the full four subjective years at the space academy the way that Selina and I did?”

“Ultimately, that decision will be My Prime’s responsibility, but I do not think that the space academy would fit everyone, nor would a full four-year course be necessary or even productive. All of you will need, however, to be fully cognizant of how to fire, maintain and repair all the weapons that I have designed for a crew’s use. In addition, there will be many subjective hours of combat training.”

Jennie spoke up. “I thought that you had repair drones, or whatever you call them, that could fix anything. Why should we know about repair?”

Ship hesitated before saying, “Consider the scenario: “Your weapon has taken a hit during battle. Are there repair drones in your area that are still functioning? If so, can a drone or drones, if needed, get past battle damage? Should you, the Gunner, merely remain there doing nothing when your weapon malfunctions or is struck by enemy fire? If it is made non-functional and there are no repair drones that can reach your position, yet you survived relatively unharmed, where is the next closest operational weapon that you are capable of reaching? Also, what is the power, range and the other operating characteristics of your weapon? How much armor and of what type can it penetrate? What type and volume of fire is it capable of putting out without damage to the weapon itself?

“You will need to know all that and many other things to become competent with my weapon systems. Part of the working knowledge will come from study, and some from practical experience, but a Gunner will be of little value without at least this basic understanding of his/her weapon and even the capabilities of various weapon systems in my memory that the aliens’ might employ. A superb Gunner will add much more to the equation. For instance, if he is unable to take out a well-armored weapon, can he bounce a reduced pulse off an adjacent angled bulkhead to reach the gun crew and take them out from behind their armor?”

Ship hesitated for a second before continuing. “My Prime has suggested that we all meet in the lounge.”

“Of course,” Diana began, but the words were barely out of her mouth before they were all standing in front of her husband and the rest of his wives, other than Arlene and Ann.

“Hello, Wife,” he said with a grin. Then with his voice changing, “What’s this about your wanting to be with me on Ship when we meet the aliens?”

Diana’s temper began to rise, and she ground out, “I told you that I did not plan to be in charge of a bunch of whining civilians cooped up in that fortress. And, as far as I know, that goes for all the rest of your wives, also.”

“Di, I am not going into what could very well be a full-scale battle with all my wives aboard.”

Diana frowned. “So, you would take a ‘child’ with you, as you refer to Selina, but you would want your wives to remain hiding in the fortress?” she asked, her voice oh, so sweet.

“Selina isn’t going, either,” he returned. “Ship is capable of doing everything herself, as you well know.”

“I know nothing of the kind ... Husband,” she replied as she stared eye-to-eye with him.

“What do you mean that I am not going?” Selina asked as she stalked out from behind several wives to stare up at her Prime. “We have already discussed this, and my primary job will be Navigator, with my secondary position as backup Science Officer and Strategist. Since Helen is in charge of engineering, I suspect that she will be busy some of the time and I will spend much of my spare time as Science Officer. You will not allow me to be a Gunner because it might affect my childhood sensibilities,” she snarled, the last words coming out as if they tasted sour.

“I agreed to those positions when we leave Earth on our trip. I will not take you or my wives into battle,” Jeff snapped back.

The Clan Queen stared daggers at her husband. “So, we all sit home and knit, while our man goes off to battle, huh? Battle with a computer – no matter how sophisticated – in charge of Ship’s offensive and defensive weapons.”

“She is fully capable of...”

Ship intervened. “I have already acknowledged that any computer, no matter how sophisticated, can become predictable – at least to some extent – to another sophisticated computer. It would be folly to believe that the aliens do not have an equally advanced system. I have designed myself for optimal functionality while manned by a crew. Therefore, My Prime, a sufficiently-trained crew – with my assistance – should be particularly effective during battle.”

Diana, her face red, stared at her husband. “You are allowing Arlene – your daughter – and Ann to be in a much more exposed position, and yet, you won’t allow us to man weapons inside Ship – behind what is probably an invincible dimensional shield. At least, Ship has said that she has not been able to penetrate this type of shield with her own weapons.”

Taking the final step between them, Diana fiercely hugged her husband. “Baby, all your wives and I have talked. We’re all in this together. Some will probably be better with Ship’s weapons than others, but we will all be together. Should Ship be destroyed with you on her, well, we don’t want to live without you. We couldn’t live without you. You might as well give up and let Ship train us. We’re going to be with you one way or another.”