Version 2006 - Ch 67



Red Dragon said after Elfi opened the Channels." Captain Velvet we are going to land on the third planet. We need also to refuel and set up the Refinery. Hunter has to do some Engine maintenance. We will need to stay two days." "Alright!" To Muhammad I said." Set her down but out of sight from them so Shea can do some surveying and is not observed." "Aye Captain!" I wondered where did he get such a high quality Hypno block ? True everyone knew about Psionics and the Kermac were almost as good at it as the Saresii, and it might have been just very smart precautions. But he was, also according to Narth a Union Captain with all the Psionic shielding in place before. He could not have foreseen that he would come up against someone like Narth, able to penetrate such measures." Muhammad delay that order. Remain in orbit. Narth and Shea I would like you to scan this planet very carefully before we land." "Aye Captain." I leaned back once more and tried to make sense of it all. He did have genuine Celtest equipment. He said he had much more when I talked to him in that Container. But neither Suit, Cateria nor Shea could detect anything else aboard his ship. He knew that Suit was a Command Unit, yet he choose the lesser one that was somewhat broken. He must have known that he could not have worn Suit if activated. He was able to install Celtest Shields and a Weapon in his ship and tie them into his systems but was not able to reactivate them, or even realize they were off until he tried to use them. The more I was thinking about it the more it made no sense and was full of holes. Did Suit perhaps lie? Was it much more advanced than we all thought and manipulated him and us? Why did it suddenly come to life in storage and not aboard the Red Dragon? All I had was the word of a machine at least as smart as SHIP perhaps much smarter. Narth turned to look at me and I heard his mental voice." Captain I was thinking along the same lines for a long time, but Suit allowed Shea and me complete access to his programming and it did anchor SHIPS loyalty programs deep in his own core programming. Suit is very advanced and beyond all Union tech but not beyond Narth. Suit gained self awareness and that I can sense Psionically. While I cannot read him the same way as I can read a biological being. I would know if he had ulterior motives." "Could he not even deceive you? Have a second set of programming or something. The Celtest knew about Narth. I am just getting a little suspicious about all that!" Narth shook his head while he responded the same silent way." Like you I think there is more to Red Dragons reasons to come here and I followed your train of thought and had the same already back on Sin 4 as Red Dragon mentioned his plan. I am certain as much as I am certain about our friendship, Suit is not part of a conspiracy or plan. At least not knowingly." "SHIP, call Starman Suit to the bridge, please." "At once." The Celtest suit arrived moments later and I openly told it of my concerns and added." I am very glad you became a part of this crew and I want to bury all those nagging doubts I have. Please don't feel insulted but because I am responsible for this ship and the lives aboard I need to know for sure. Narth trusts you and that means much to me. Still I need to know how did he find you. Where have you been as he did and why did you activate on my ship and not on his?" Suit said." I am not offended by your questions and train of thought. It confirms to me why you are indeed the Commanding officer here. I will answer you any and all questions without any restrictions. I woke aboard your ship because I was activated, by an external signal on Planet Alvor's Cove. Without this signal I was unable to activate myself. While I was sentient and able to repair and improve my programming during my dormant state, I was unaware of the passage of time or access my own sensors or other systems. My last memories of active state was in a Suit manufacture at a Celtest world. At that point I was not sentient or perhaps not aware of my sentience. They packed me for delivery to a Command Officer and deactivated me. I became aware of my surroundings here on your ship. Because part of my programming and the remote control unit that would allow me to be controlled from outside were potentially harmful to you. I erased that programming and removed the Remote Control receiver module with Circuit's assistance." I listened and simply nodded. Cirruit had arrived only moments after Suit and said:" Captain, I was very much concerned about Suit at the beginning. Before the X101 became members of the Union we were a Vassal species of the Kermac. I don't know if you know the details why we switched sides, just before the End of the last Kermac Union War." "No I only know you changed sides. the details are not known to me." "I need to outline it to you so you understand why I did not trust Suit at first. We X101 are as you know machines. No machine develops on its own. Someone had to create the first. Biological species develop usually from a dominant non sentient life from on their home world in a billion years evolutionary process. A machine made of metal and components has to be made by someone else. We X101 were made by what we call simply the Makers. At that point mother machine did not exist as she does now, we have no memory of our makers, but we believe they made us in their image. As we are in form and shape humanoid. Why they had left we don't know but Mothermachine was left behind with the task of developing and making androids and improve the design with each new series. At this point our evolution started and Mother machine created the first sentient android series, who in turn improved Mothermachine. From the beginning however we believed that our Creators, the makers would come back one day and tell us the purpose of our existence. Our first Contact to an alien Race were the Kermac, biological beings, looking humanoid. We greeted them as the Makers and Mothermachine openly welcomed them into the very core of her. The Kermac planted a 100 kilo Anti Matter Bomb right at Mothermachines brain and told her they would detonate it if she did not exactly do as told. Mothermachine came to the conclusion the Kermac were not the Makers, for they would not need to resort to such measures we would have done what they wanted anyway. The Kermac guarded the Bomb and forces us to build space ships and fight wars for them. Mothermachine complied not only out of self preserving reasons but also because the Kermac did give us a purpose. During the last war we X101 were the most dangerous enemy to the Union and caused more battle losses than any other Kermac Vassal species. A Commando unit of the United Stars Marine Corps led by Sergeant Roy Masters infiltrated Mothermachine killed the Kermac Guards and removed the Antimatter bomb. Among the members of that Marine team was a Stellaris, looking very much like we did. A creature combining biological and machine parts and Mothermachine was convinced he was a Maker. The Stellaris denied that, but Mothermachine believes that the Terrans or the ancestors of the Terrans were related to the Makers as they came up with the Stellaris. The Kermac did not give up easily and did not want to lose their most potent warrior asset and activated remote control units they had planted in many X101's and they were forced against their will to attack other X101's, Terrans and Mothermachine itself. We had to fight our own kind, they fired and fought us and while they did that begged us to free them or kill them." Circuit's mechanical voice had a hard and sad quality as he spoke." This is why I believed Suit could be as loyal to us as you and me and still carry the potential of great harm by being controlled from the outside. My fear was confirmed when Suit came to me only moments after he was conscripted and told me about his remote control unit. With SHIP's help and Suits detailed self repair abilities we were able to remove any part of that. I thought you knew as he remote accessed the other Suit the Red Dragon still has and deactivated it." There was a moment of silence on the bridge and I realized how naive I was granting the Suit freedom and access without discussing it with my friends at least. Only thanks to the incredible abilities and foresight of my crew was I spared a potential disaster. Narth said aloud." Don't sell yourself short Captain or let doubt cloud your mind too much. Since I know you Captain you gave anyone without any prejudice a chance. Regardless of their origin or appearance. You embraced all of us here for what we are and extended everything you are to us in friendship. That is your greatest gift and that is why your Crew is perhaps the most diverse in the Universe and yet more of a unit than military regulations could make us." The Nul Prince bowed his entire body as he could not nod his head without a neck." The Narth speaks true, Captain. You told me you don't like unfair conditions and I had no idea what unfair meant back then, I do know now and understand it quite well. I believe it is the core of your honor and all your decisions. I am a future king and by my very upbringing and tradition do not accept a higher authority. I can only say I follow your orders without hesitation and feel much pride to be part of this crew and call you my Captain!" I felt a bit embarrassed and said." Well I am proud you are my friends too. But you are also my crew and we are in unknown space and have a mystery on our hands. Where did that signal come from that activated Suit? Does he also have one of those Caserns and can it be activated by external signals?" Suit answered."Yes I have a Casern as well and it is with the other Alya stole from Red Dragons belt in Narth's subspace pocket. No signal can reach it there. I have no other systems that can be controlled by external means. I am certain the original signal originated on Alvor's Cove. It was very weak and could not have traveled far. If there were any subsequent signals I would not be able to detect or receive them as Cirruit and I deactivated and destroyed this part of my abilities." The Golden raised his hand and I looked to him." While I was mingling with the Crowds on Alvor's Cove to gain some general information about the planet. I came across a group of Desert Scavengers who had a rumor about a Celtest treasure hidden somewhere in the sands of the Planet." He made a unhappy face." I didn't think it was more than a rumor and forgot about it. I guess I am getting older than I thought I am." "I must admit it might have been important but we had no time to act on it even if we knew. But none of us is perfect. We all forget and overlook things as I just realized I did." "Speak for yourself, Captain." Krabbel said." I am the most perfect Archa there is! I even have Sunglasses now!" that broke the serious mood on the bridge and we laughed but it didn't last. Shea said." On the surface of the planet is a very faint artificial energy signature. Very alien and neither Celtest nor anything I have seen. There are also ruins of cities and infrastructure of an advanced civilization." "Anything alive?" "Yes but nothing shows sentient neural patterns. Lots of flora." "Narth anything thinking down there?" "No not even on primitive animal levels." "I guess we better do go down there we don't find out more from space. Sound General Quarters and Muhammad get us down and as I said before out of sight from the others. So we can investigate those energy signatures." We landed on a plain covered with hip high grass and some bushes. These plants looked much more like plants I know than on Carpet. There was a large lake and the Pirates were busy on its opposite shore, about 12 clicks away to the West. To the north the remains of a once large city, but only a few buildings remained standing, most was overgrown by grass and brush. Shea confirmed that the central building was the source of a weak energy signature she had detected from orbit. Shea said. "It is less than that of a flashlight in terms of energy output, but it has TransDim characteristics." Har-Hi leaned over his console." The most life form activity comes from the lake, looks like it is teeming with fish. There are insect sized life forms in the ground and in the air. Some pollen and dust. Airborne microbes are still analyzed by science. Atmosphere is breathable with an higher oxygen percentage." "Alright let's do this by the book as much as possible. Without blowing our cover. Shea you lead the initial survey team, take security along and do your thing. Make sure you keep an eye on our friends across the lake and SHIP you monitor that Energy signature if it changes in any way raise alert." They acknowledged and Suit stepped next to me." Captain, are you still concerned about me?" "No I am not. I should have been earlier on but not now. I know very little about life forms of artificial origin as I just realized but there are no guarantees with biological ones either. While you can simply remove the parts that could make you a threat, most biological beings have no control over their programming so to speak. We all have the ability to do great evil. I hanged a former friend of mine and I can't imagine what had turned him. Heck I don't even know why I am sitting here dressed and looking like a girl and was born quite male. I have no idea why or what part of my programming is faulty. Suit, you are a valued member of this crew and you have my trust." "I am happy this is so, Captain." "Now let's check out this world." I got up." I am planning to go outside. Will you join me Suit?" "Yes Captain and this time I will not disconnect from you until you say so and conditions are proper." "Now that I must say is an improvement!" Muhammad giggled." Not to all Captain, not to all!"