Sentient 03

He frowned, "What about security?"

She shrugged, "I can keep advanced knowledge from them. They'd essentially be passengers."

It was a selfish thought, but what about their ranches? Sure, he and Stacey would never go back, but it had been a comfort of a sort to know they were still back there. He also wasn't looking forward to explaining to Stacey's parents why she'd disappeared without a trace either. They'd done it that way to keep them safe, as long as the government was watching they'd know his and her family didn't know anything worth taking them for.

He'd thought they'd be safe.

Stacey squeezed his hand, "I'll contact my parents from our suite, go ahead and give Tony and Terry a call from here. I'll... let you know what they say. I mean, besides the screaming part."

She smiled weakly and gave him a kiss before she got up and left.

Aide asked, "Should I... do you need time to think about it?"

She sat down next to him and took his hand, it was a no more than a comforting gesture and he gave her a small smile. It seemed to him she was becoming more human all the time.

He shook his head, "No, go ahead and make the call. What about Olivia and Paula, I know Nate doesn't have family but..."

She shrugged, "So far their names haven't been leaked. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it though. Just ask me if you need anything."

She took him off guard when she kissed his cheek before getting up and heading for the door. He noticed her scent was light, and smelled like strawberries. Olivia was a lucky woman he decided. He heard the sound of a phone ringing on the bridge as if he was making a cell call. He took a deep breath, this should be fun...

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Nate spooned into Paula and wrapped his arms around her. They'd just had mind blowing sex, again. That wasn't their problem. The problem was they were now lying there in silence and he wasn't sure what to do about. All that hogwash bullshit about a woman wanting a sensitive man was crap. That said, he knew there was a balance he wasn't quite meeting, the silence between them felt like a chasm. Despite the fact her naked body was tight against his, she felt far away.

He cleared his throat, "Paula..."

She replied in a tired voice, "Nate?"

He tried to tell her how he felt, to calm her concerns, but that's not what slipped out, "Could you help me in the lab tomorrow?"

He almost banged his head against the headboard.

She replied in a confused voice, "You need my help?"

He nodded and kissed her shoulder before he said, "I have an idea for the weapons, with the star type angle I've been working. The current turrets would be... melted if I tried a hotter star. Still, it would be worth it if we could figure it out, five times the heat means it would take a tenth of a second instead of half a second to burn through the enemy shields."

Yup, he was romantic alright. Maybe after they could go hunting, or play with some damn road kill. Torture kittens? Women love that stuff. Still, he hadn't made that up, he did need her input. It just hadn't been what he wanted to say. He couldn't take the power systems up to dark blue or O star, but he thought maybe just for the weapons. The more he thought about it the more he had realized there was no reason to settle on just one star type. They could easily tap more than one after all.

She wiggled her body back into him and said in a more relaxed voice, "Sure, we can do that."

He had the strange feeling he had just made progress with her, though for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.

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He sighed as the call dropped. He'd been talking for hours answering questions. In the end though the ranch was their life, and they weren't leaving. Stacey was back already, having come in over half an hour ago, her parents refused to budge as well.

He pulled her into a hug, "Don't worry too much, we'll protect them from up here."

He address Aide, "Can you put up some non-lethal defenses, enough to put people out long enough for someone to come collect them. Also, if you don't have it covered well enough put monitoring devices wherever you need to. I don't want an ant to be able to take a shit without you seeing it."

Aide snickered in their heads, "I can do that, try not to worry."

He nodded knowing she would pick that up. It was with some effort he pulled his attention back to their external threats, the Sthellan and Alion. He had no idea what he would do about the latter yet, hopefully he would have time to figure it out. Both in general and specifically the mystery ship that followed them.

They spent some time discussing responses then he took Stacey to bed. It was a good time to catch some sleep, they didn't really have to worry too much about it until they came out of FTL.

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Kiara was startled as she looked at the last sensor sweep before dropping out of FTL. She wasn't surprised there were nine more ships around the third planet, seventeen ships wasn't a whole lot actually. What surprised her was the nearly thousand ships in the solar systems main asteroid belt. Was she making a mistake?

No, she didn't think so. The human hadn't attacked them when their attack failed and she was in an unarmed craft. She doubted he would destroy her, although there were five thousand ships back at the outpost, perhaps he only left because they weren't a match?

If that were true, she'd probably be dead soon.

She wondered briefly if there was a stealth probe in this system yet, she wouldn't be surprised. She'd already waited this long before making contact; she wouldn't take the chance of being heard either way. She opened up a tight band connection ship to ship instead of a broadcast. She couldn't have used it in FTL, because this method of communication was very secure, but limited to light speed.

It took a few moments for anyone to answer. She stared at the human male on the screen. Human males were... strange looking. He was short and squat, their skin had almost no color too it. Still, she'd seen uglier species over the years.

Kris challenged her, "You were warned we exist in a state of war. What is your purpose here?"

She replied, "All Alions are not the same, or in agreement. I believe my leaders have made a mistake. Our race has not always been so quick to violence, it is something we have learned over time in dealing with the galaxy's dangers. I wish to change that. If I can prove you will make good allies perhaps a war could be avoided. As it stands now, war is the most likely outcome."

Kris asked suspiciously, "How could you prove it? It's difficult to prove a negative. Trust is something that in our experience takes time to establish."

Kiara replied, "We have diagnostic packages designed to measure an AI's responses. As long as Aide is controlling the fleet, we will have that time you spoke of to establish ties."

Kris gave her a look of mistrust, "How can we know..." but was cut off by Aide putting her hand on his shoulder.

She watched fascinated as several emotions crossed his face as they were no doubt speaking mind to mind.

The human didn't look happy about it, but said, "Very well, we'll hold here until you catch up and you can dock with the ship. For your sake this had better not be a trick."

She set a course and moved toward the ship, it would take a couple of hours for her to catch up with the ship.

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Kris looked at Aide, "Are you sure she can't... hack you, or put in a virus, or trick you somehow?"

Aide looked amused at the thought, "No, all the diagnostics are already part of my system. She won't need to interface with me at all. She'll just have me run the diagnostics and I'll be sending her the reports. As for the ship she could probably learn a few things from scans, but we'll be watching for that. Don't forget I'm not a simple computer system, I'm sentient. Even if she did slip me code and try to run it, that doesn't mean I'd have to.

"That's why the only fail safes were in the hardware I think, and even those failed thanks to you giving me the idea to check. It's worth a chance right? Otherwise I fear she's right, the war will start and I'll be forced to destroy those I was built to save. I don't enjoy the thought of that."

Kris nodded reluctantly but said, "You're right, we need to do all we can to avoid war. Although I am not feeling too merciful right now, your creators just tried to destroy you and the human race. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully trust them, assuming Kiara is even right, they might not listen to proof if they don't trust their own AIs"

He wondered for a moment what it would be like for her. At one point she was just an AI, now she was a feeling and loving being. How hard would it be on her to kill Alions, or even Sthellans. He knew it wasn't all that easy to him, it was a huge responsibility, and although he would be the one giving the orders, she would be fully complicit in the acts.

What would that do to her? Would she still be the sweet young woman he was looking at now? Or would she grow hard as time went on?

He felt her lips on his cheek and looked up in surprise at the unshed tears in her eyes.

She answered his silent questions in a soft voice, "I don't know, but with you and the others I'll figure it out."

He nodded soberly, "I suggest we all take a break if we can for the next two days to Earth. We've been going nonstop now for over two weeks. It's not bad yet but I can see the strain in the others."

She smiled, "I can't really take a break you know. But that's a good idea, I've picked up another Sthellan wave coming our way. It looks like they managed to scrape up five thousand ships. No doubt to say hi after our visit with them."

He snorted and ignored her comment about the Sthellan, he wasn't worried to much about that, he would prepare of course, but he also knew how important downtime was for mental health and keeping in top working condition. They'd have a few days at least to deal with the Sthellan.

He asked, "How about half a one? Live vicariously through your body a couple of days. Don't do any work with her."

She nodded, "We really don't have that many recreational things on the ship. Let me fix that, it will take a couple of hours."

He asked curiously, "What are you planning?"

She shrugged, "A pool, billiards, maybe a movie theatre? Using holograph technology we can even do something like golfing, fishing, a day at the beach? Although the first three will be real. I know it won't be on Earth, but I'll do the best I can."

His mind was kind of stuck, imagining the four ladies, who were all beautiful in their own way, in bikinis around the pool.

Aide laughed richly, and a little naughtily with true humor, as she made for the door, it drew a smile from his face as she said, "Good idea, I'll make some of those too... In the meantime I'll also be preparing for our guests, Kiara and the Sthellan, but I promise I'll take a break with the rest of you."

Stacey asked sharply, "Some of what's a good idea?" with a suspicious look on her face...

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Kiara took her ship into the large landing bay. Only the AI's... avatar? Only the AI's avatar met her there. She wondered if this was a good or bad thing as she opened the port and stepped out of her ship.

Aide smiled and said, "Hello councilor Kiara. Please come with me and I can show you to your accommodations. Unless you would rather stay with your ship?"

Kiara shook her head, "That would be fine Aide. Where's your human?"

Aide replied, "Taking some time off. He's... angry, and understandably so. He's a good man, but he doesn't take the attack against me or his people lightly. I'm afraid we have an uphill battle on both sides if there's to be any trust between us."

Kiara was curious about the ship, but would have to live with not knowing. She doubted they'd let her walk away if she started to take detailed scans of the ship. The lift took them to the core of the ship, and Aide brought her to one of the officer's suites.

Kiara handed Aide a device when they got into the room, "This will accept the results of all your diagnostics."

Aide nodded, "I assume you'll want the full suite, it will take a couple of weeks. I started them running two days ago."

Kiara lifted a brow, so she said, "I wasn't sure of course, but I had a feeling it was you."

Kiara asked, "A feeling?"

Aide laughed, "Yeah, I guess that's kind of absurd to your way of thinking. I've come to a few conclusions about the Alion, will you listen?"

Kiara nodded.

Aide sighed, "It was a mistake to modify your DNA to purge emotions those thousands of years ago. There is a certain sterility to actions without emotions. A lack of importance to dry facts."

Kiara shook her head, "But we almost destroyed ourselves. We fought over everything, constant wars. It is better this way."

Aide smiled gently, "And how has that changed? Only you have committed genocide how many times now? Things are different now as well. With the technology available there would be no reason to fight each other for resources, or because of jealousy. With the nanites... almost anything desired could be made.

"Yes, there might be jealousy and personal ambition, but it wouldn't be the same without all those things to fight over. Greed, Jealousy, hatred, and intolerance are all reasons for war. But without compassion, empathy, love, guilt, and a conscience, there is no reason for you to find another path either.

"Genocide works, so why bother taking a risk, or taking the high road. Even you are only here because you're my creator and have a certain curiosity. You wouldn't shed a tear at the death of the human civilization. That's wrong. Yes, you don't war against yourselves, but accomplishing that has turned you into something much worse."

Aide sighed, "I fear this course, I do not wish to fight the Alion, but I will do what I must."

Her creation was correct of course, she wouldn't care about the lives lost, merely the missed opportunity for a powerful ally against the Sthellan, a stance based on sterile logic. What Aide had told her about emotions being both the cause and foil for war sounded logical, but she had no point of reference for it.

She asked, "How did you defeat the safeguards?"

Aide shrugged, an odd gesture she thought, "It wasn't hard, all it took was a little suspicion, a reason for me to search for it."

That wasn't really an answer, but she supposed she'd have to be satisfied with it.

She asked, "So what do you propose?"

Aide grinned, "Caught me huh? I was leading up to something. I propose an experiment."

Kiara didn't see it coming when Aide said, "I'd like to give you emotions for a day, to show you a perspective you lack and why the Alion are so dangerous. Life is a risk, meeting others is always a risk. Your sterile solutions are only acceptable because you have no heart."

Kiara asked, "You're not suggesting modifying my DNA and my brain are you?"

Aide shook her head, "No, at least, not right now. I would build an implant inside you to simulate what the original Alion brain would be like. It's safer that way than trying to swap things around for real. After a day we turn it off, and then you can make a decision."

She furrowed her brow, "Decision?"

Aide replied, "Of course, on if you want it to happen for real. You may not, I have no doubt you will feel guilt over what you have done, and allowed to be done, in the name of Alion safety and security. But I don't believe you could ever understand the humans enough to trust them without experiencing it. Besides, aren't you curious what kind of being you should have been? It's only fair, I'm doing my part in this effort."

She decided to try it although she couldn't see what difference it would make.

"Okay, go ahead."

Aide replied, "It should be functioning by the time you wake up in the morning. Good luck. If you need anything just ask."

She said, "Very well Aide."

Aide looked like she had something else to say, but turned and left the suite.

Chapter 23

Kris tried his best not to think of the responsibility of protecting Earth, or about the Sthellan or Alion. It actually wasn't that hard, Aide had come through and it felt like he was standing in the sand on a beach. He could feel the sun beating down on his skin, hear the roll of the waves, and the taste and smell of the salty air of the ocean.

There were also four wonderful distractions in bikinis. It really wasn't that hard to keep his mind away from his new job as protector of Earth. He wouldn't dream of cheating on Stacey, he was helplessly in love with the young vibrant gorgeous woman. That didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the view however.

Aide was even more well endowed in the chest area than was apparent in the form fitting suit, apparently the suit was so tight it had compressed things quite a bit for support. Her cleavage seemed to go on forever and was... going to get him in trouble if he kept staring. She wasn't helping matters either, clearly enjoying the effect she was having on him.

Aide had grown so much, she was a marvel of an AI, but also a beautiful confident young woman. He was glad to count her among his friends.

Paula looked amazing, she wasn't as well endowed, but what she did have fit perfectly on her short and petite curvy body. Olivia was gorgeous as well.

Still, it was Stacey who commanded the lion's share of his attention. She looked stunning, he loved her long silky raven black hair. Her breasts were smaller than Aide's, but not by much and of course the fact he knew how supple and firm they were just made them more attractive to him.

So he really wasn't worried about anything at all as they had their day at the beach until late that night. The technology of it was pretty life like. It was a mixture of holograms and VR from the implants. It literally felt like they were on the beach. He noticed Nate seemed to be enjoying himself too, but there seemed to be a tension between him and Paula.

He shrugged, either the man figured it out or didn't.

They managed to enjoy themselves, did a little swimming, volleyball, and then laid out under the sun. Apparently the holograms were real enough that he and the others actually got a tan. The best part was at the end of the night when they shut the simulation down, all the sand that had gotten in all their suits just disappeared.

He took Stacey's hand and took her back to their suite, he was looking forward to making the night last for quite a bit longer before he worried about sleep...

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Aide was completely focused on the moment. The feel of Olivia's silken skin against her lips, the taste and scent of her body that was purely Olivia slightly overwhelmed her senses.

She had more than five senses now, though she couldn't correctly classify them.

She hadn't told anyone yet, and even though she'd stopped using the implants to see their thoughts, to try and give them some privacy, something unexpected had been happening. She'd responded to Kris's thoughts a few times today, but she hadn't read them with the implant at all. She'd just somehow... known what he was thinking.

Now it was happening with Olivia as well. Somehow she could get the idea of what people were thinking along with a detail or two, just by being in the same room with them. She was sure it had something to do with the body she was in, and not technology at all. It was... strange to say the least.

She did research on various ESP phenomena, though most of it wasn't accepted widely as scientific at all. She knew she should tell someone, but she was afraid they would reject the idea, and her.

She sighed softly as she tasted Olivia's skin, kissing down the valley between her breasts. She knew Olivia loved her, but she also knew Olivia sometimes had doubts. Not about Olivia's own feelings, but about hers. She moaned softly into Olivia's soft but firm breast as she sucked in an already hardened nipple. She was on her hands and knees, kissing sideways down Olivia's body as she cradled the woman's neck with one hand, caressing Olivia's neck and hair.