Chapter 4

Reilly smiled as he finished off the log, it was accurate and nothing could be told of the real work done behind the scenes. The cargo's nanites had been reprogrammed as well, so that they acted as virus carriers, with a specific virus to remove the other Replicants 'dangerous' programme, in this way the replicants on board would soon be able to function as they were originally intended!

The stranger in the sick-bay was another matter, although the log showed that he boarded the Manchester at their last stop, there was something wrong about the log itself. There were parts of the data that seemed to be expertly inserted into the log, it was almost as if the SS Manchester's computer had written them, but with a heading missing — something that only another computer could detect.

Reilly looked up to the computer sensor in the ceiling — he didn't really need to do this but it was something he'd always did! — "Milly, was the Manchester's computer aware?" He asked.

Milly hesitated, or as much as a computer could hesitate, "Yes Captain, her name was Sally." She said.

Reilly could feel that Milly was affected by the loss of that ship. "I'm sorry Milly, convey my regrets through the net, but what I need to know is would she be able to add anything to the log that only another aware computer could pick up?" He asked.

"There might be Captain, but I'd need to thoroughly go through the file to see if anything's there." Milly said.

"Please do Milly; I'm just going to see how our patient is getting on in the sick bay." Reilly said.

As he approached the sick bay he could hear Brother Aranna talking to Molly, "You are a mockery of life, why are you attending to me and not a normal human?" He was saying.

Reilly entered the Sick Bay and glowered at Brother Aranna. "Molly is the best doctor we have on this ship, everyone is treated by her and they get better from her treatment! I suggest you apologise to her before she decides not to treat you!" He said.

"You want me to apologise to this imitation of life? I am a true human I will not lower myself to talk to it!" Brother Aranna.

Reilly leaned against the door of the Sick Bay, secure in the knowledge that Milly wouldn't open it accidentally, "So you don't think that Molly is human enough for you?" He asked.

"It's a construct; it has no soul and therefore is not human!" Brother Aranna said almost spitting out the words.

"So to be human you have to have a soul? Strange, I've met many people that don't seem to have souls, would you class them as human?" Reilly said

"Of course! They may have strayed off the path but they are still human! They have been made in the image of God!" Brother Aranna said, now he was talking about his religion he was calmer.

"So a man is a person made in the image of God?" Reilly said equally as calm

"Of course! Isn't it written that God made man in his image so that man could have a soul and worship God?" Aranna had closed his eyes in his religious fervour.

"But we created the replicants in our image, doesn't that make us gods?" Reilly questioned.

"What? Of course not! Only the true creator can be called God, to think otherwise would be blasphemy!" Brother Aranna was shocked that something like this could be said to him.

Reilly blinked, "Really? But you said that God made us in his image, are we not glorifying his name to make creations of our own, in our image? Anyway the replicants are stronger and more adaptable than we are, so in a way have we not improved on God's work as he wanted us to?" Reilly asked reasonably enough he thought.

Brother Aranna held up his hands in a warding motion, "Enough! I cannot listen to your words! There is only one God! Nobody can claim to be a god or to imitate the true one god! Man is the only one created in his image! This is the truth! Foreswear all imitations to the true god who made man!" Brother Aranna's eyes were bright with his faith.

Molly had surreptitiously filled an injector with a sleeping draft and sneaked up behind Brother Aranna, she quickly injected him, he turned and went to strike Molly but the drug took over and he collapsed to the ground.

Molly looked up at Reilly, "I don't think he likes me Captain." She said with a smile

"It's alright Molly, as long as we do the right thing I don't think his feelings come into this." Reilly said with a equally large smile which then sobered, "But that's how some people view anything that's different, in a way Captain Smith was right... we are slavers! Moving sentient beings around as cargo. We're no better than those 18^th Century ship owners with their slaves"

Molly shook her head, "No Captain, although similar you are looking out for those you transport, it's just the way that the Company does things. Those slaves were awake and alive, our Replicants are dormant and cannot feel what is being done to them. I should know this!" She added reminding Reilly on how she had arrived on the ship.

"And you've been one of the most useful stowaways we've had, not to mention the most intelligent one." Reilly said grinning at her.

"Remind me to see you when you're shift ends." Molly said with a laugh.

Reilly shook his head, "Sorry, being a captain is a 24 hour shift." He said.

"I'll see you later then." Molly said and, with a strength belying her size, she lifted Brother Aranna onto the medical bed and strapped him down on to it. "He'll be out for some time yet." She added a saline drip and a nutrient flow to his arm. "Milly keep an eye on him but don't release him until I give the okay."

"Of course sister, you don't think he can do anything to me?" Milly asked.

Reilly shook his head, "It's possible he can... Milly report any commands you may receive from this... this person, it could be that he's being a Trojan Horse, but with a virus not a group of invading men... or could he be carrying nanites in or on him?" He asked.

Molly went to Brother Aranna's sleeping body and put her hand on his arm, "He's not carrying any active nanites, I would have detected that, just like I'm able to detect another Replicant. It's inbuilt into all of us." She said.

Reilly exhaled a breath that he wasn't aware of holding. "That's good; I didn't want to be woken by Milly evacuating the oxygen in my quarters because of dangerous nanites in the air."

"Captain, as if I would do that now! I'd give you a warning first!" Milly said which didn't seem to help Reilly at all.

Reilly checked that there were no problems demanding his attention on the bridge and went to his quarters.

"Captain?" Milly's voice came from the speaker in his room.

"Yes Milly?" Reilly said.

"I've checked the log and apart from a high pitched buzz at the end and the missing header there's nothing I can find." She reported.

"What could cause the buzzing noise? The destruction of the Manchester?" Reilly asked.

"No Captain, there would only be silence... I have no reference as to what it could be." Milly said puzzled.

"Can I hear it?" Reilly asked.

"Coming right up!"

"The attacking ship has just launched missiles; this ship is unarmed and cannot protect itself! I 'm sorry Jack, I can't stop them! I love you!" and then a high pitched squeak before the log finished.

"That last part was from Sally to her captain, she could never tell him about herself." Milly said quietly

"He knew at the end though!... But that squeak isn't just a squeak! Haven't you heard of the purloined letter?" Reilly asked Milly

Puzzled Milly replied, "Well I have it in the library, but I can't say I've scanned it, hold on... interesting... hiding something in plain sight, but where can it be?" She asked him.

Reilly thought for a moment, "The only reason we're interested in this file is because it has no header on it, so our attention would be driven to it? So there is something in the file that needs to be checked on?... The only thing that's strange about it is the noise at the end, something that most people would discard as a result of the explosion! So that is what we have to check on." He said.

There was a knock on his door and Molly was standing there, "It's all quiet at the moment Captain and I have a counselling session arranged for now, so is it alright to continue?" She asked with a smile.

Slightly distracted Reilly nodded his head, "Play that noise again please Milly." He asked. Not noticing as Molly was removing her jump-suit.

The buzzing/squeaking noise was repeated on the speakers, Molly put her hands over her ears and then there was a puzzled look on her face, "I've heard that before... on a vid prog." She said

Reilly turned to face her, "Which one? It's urgent!" He said.

Molly thought for a moment, "It was one of the old Star Trek vids, where that Kirk and Spock were accelerated — I think it was 'Wink of an eye' when they spoke all other people could hear was a buzz."

"Milly, replay the noise but slow it down by 1,000 times." The noise was repeated, but this time it was modulated, nothing really audible but almost. "Keep reducing the speed until something happens." Reilly said sitting down on his chair, Molly — now completely undressed - sat on his lap.

"I have the message captain, it was speeded up by 2,500,000 times, there's a mass of data in it, and I'm going to take some time integrating it, please be patient." Milly reported.

Reilly found his hands moving on Molly's body, feeling the young flesh of the girl — replicant — responding to him, and the effect on his body. "Take all the time you need Milly, I think I'm going to be busy, should anything occur pass it onto Scott if you wouldn't mind." He said.

Molly began by opening Reilly's working trousers and taking his cock into her mouth; she was an expert on this now, having studied several texts on the Ultranet from the Kama Sutra to a discussion by several replicants who worked in the brothels owned by The Company.

Reilly closed his eyes as he felt her soft mouth accepting his length - 'it's strange that before I would have to rely on the automation machine and comp-books, but now Molly can fulfil any fantasy' He thought to himself.

He thought back to his favourite comp-book, which described the abduction and rape of a girl from an asteroid farm, he could enact any scene from that and Molly would be able to accept it, he didn't realise that by doing this Molly was also reducing Reilly's proclivities to run amok in the brothels, something that had happened in the days before The Company accepted the idea of having a replicant on board ships to act as sex-slaves.

Molly manoeuvred Reilly back onto the bed; she smiled at him as she pulled his trousers off his legs and started to slip her body along his torso pulling his shirt up with her movements.

"Hello little one, miss me?" Reilly smiled at Molly.

"Yes Sir, it's been so long since we were able to do this." Molly said her smile wrinkling up her nose in the style that he liked.

"Have you been a bad girl?" Reilly asked in a teasing tone.

"Oh no, all the men say I'm a very good girl!" Molly answered with her grin showing.

Reilly put his hands on Molly's ass and then lifted her up into the air, hearing her squeal with excitement, he moved her around and then brought her down onto his cock, feeling her quim resting on it.

Molly rocked herself on the shaft, "Oh Mister, is that sugar cane for me?" She asked in a young girl's voice.

Reilly felt his mind drifting, it was strange but he couldn't seem to focus on Molly. She didn't notice this however as she raised herself up and positioned her pussy on his cock, she slowly moved down the shaft entering her.

In an inaccessible part of the ship, the small canister that George had secreted was sending a small amount of gas into the air system, the volume of gas to air mixture was so small that it wasn't detected, but it was designed to incapacitate the crew, they would be rendered unconscious either until the effect was neutralised or until the ship crashed!

In the crew quarters Pendle and West fell into a deeper sleep.

On the bridge Adams was walking towards the communications console when he fell forward Bassett tried to get to him but he fell.

In the cargo bay area Lloyd was going through a status check when he collapsed.

In the Sick Bay Brother Aranna breathing deepened as a dormant nanite activated itself and moved along his nasal passage towards his lungs, it was programmed to convert the tainted air and to make it breathable.

In Captain Reilly's quarters Molly had coaxed Reilly into a climax, his sperm entering her system - which for her was needed - and she noticed that he was unconscious. She smiled she hadn't realised that she had been so good her client had collapsed, she touched his face to wake him, but he didn't respond. Then she got concerned.

"Milly sensor check, what's wrong with the Captain?" She asked

Milly responded, "Checking... checking... checkin... This isn't right, atmosphere check in progress..." A claxon began sounding, "RED ALERT... RED ALERT... CREW INCAPACITATED. ALL AVAILABLE CREW TO SUPPORT POSITIONS! ALL AVAILABLE CREW TO SUPPORT POSITIONS!" She announced to the ship.

"Milly? What's wrong?" Molly asked.

Milly didn't waste time but sent a stream of machine code to Molly who got off the captain and began running to the bridge.

She was met there by Scott who didn't comment on her dress, "Milly updated you?" She asked.

Molly nodded; she entered the bridge and checked the course was secure before putting Bassett onto the ground in the recovery position.

Scott checked Adams pulse and then left him there; there wasn't anything else she could do. In the meantime Molly activated the two defence computers, Sam and Donald. "Scan for possible enemy and report, do not activate cannons unless given direct orders!" She said.

Scott looked at her and Molly shrugged, "It could be that someone's preparing a trap for us, without the crew the defences would be down." She said.

Scott nodded agreeing with Molly's words, "Good, now what's happened and why didn't you receive any errors Milly?" She asked.

"First officer, I was taking too much time watching my sister with the captain, I did have a flag on the bridge but I knew that Adams was capable of clearing any small faults... I'm sorry First Officer but I made a mistake."

An electronic sound came from Sam, "That's one for the books, a main admitting to errors!" It said.

Scott just looked to the speaker knowing that Sam was using it as a viewpoint, "What about the asteroid that was approaching us and needed blowing up?" She asked.

"That was a spot on my sensor grid; I did get it cleaned up!" Sam said defensively (what else for a defence computer!)

"After Molly found the fault and cleared it!" Milly said pointedly.

"Very well then, we know you computers aren't infallible. The problem is neither are we... Milly and Molly what are we facing, and how can we cure it?" Scott asked.

Molly looked up at the camera and then moved to the sensor array, "Going to internal sensors, there is nothing showing up as unusual." Molly reported and then a small item showed itself, "There is a reading of ¾ of a micron within an area of 10000 cc's of air of an unknown element, the amount is considered too small to be of any problem for normal breathing." She reported.

Scott shook her head, "I don't understand how that could be at fault, but anyway can you trace where the element originated?"

"Running traces, but there's a different problem. Although the systems can be computer controlled it does need someone on the bridge at all times, and I don't think either you or Molly can run that long without problem." Milly said.

Scott nodded, she had thought of that beforehand. "Yes but I don't see what we can do about it!" She said.

Molly was thinking, "We could... that's if we had support from a trained crew!" She said with a smile.

Scott frowned, "Trained crew... but where can we find... The Cargo!" She exclaimed excitedly but then she paused. "But will The Company give its permission, and what about the seamen's guild?"

Molly gave a grin, "Well as one guild member to another, we could grant them temporary membership." She said.

Replicant 887 opened his eyes, he could tell that he was still on the transport ship; he activated his nanites to protect him from thieves, but found that they were immediately shut down. He looked out of his packing to see a female standing by the activation pad.