Sentient 03

Her other hand teasingly ran light circles on Olivia's inner thighs. She drew a gasp from Olivia as she playfully bit her nipple.

She looked up into Olivia's eyes and whispered, "I love you."

Such a simple thing to say, a simple truth. Yet it made her feel so vulnerable, as if she'd just handed the blonde woman underneath her a knife and showed her back. It was so... scary and intense.

Olivia smiled though and said it back. The words held so much weight in Olivia's mind that she could feel the truth of it. She would have to come clean soon, let them know something was happening with her. She wondered if it was her nature that allowed her to access these human abilities. Did they all have them to some extant or another?

It was hard to say at this point. She thought it was the latter, that everyone could do it with the right focus. For her it was easy, perhaps it was because she could do so many millions of things at once it was effortless for her to focus and listen to the subtle sensations of these extra senses. She could see where it would be much harder for a human to do the same thing.

She got back to what was important, the need to make Olivia scream in ecstasy. A sweeter sound than that she hadn't ever heard.

She started to kiss down Olivia's soft supple body. Her mouth was literally watering in anticipation when she reached Olivia's sexy, swollen, and wet mound.

She made a sound of contentment as she felt Olivia run her hands through her hair as she teasingly licked the moist honey from her lover's hot sex.

Olivia gasped and said sultrily, "I love the feel of your mouth on me."

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Olivia never felt more alive than when she was with Aide. She felt safe, loved, cherished, and the sex was more amazing than any she'd had previously. It occurred to her that the fact she loved Aide to distraction might have something to do with it, but she knew it was more than that too. Aide wasn't just giving and talented in bed. It almost seemed to her that Aide knew exactly where, when, and how hard to touch her for the most affect.

It was as if Aide knew more about her body than she did, which was hard to believe but obvious in the face of her pleasure. She had no idea this was truly the case, that Aide could use her strange extra senses to read exactly how to pleasure her best.

She moaned softly as Aide dug her tongue deeper inside her hot center. She didn't even remember making the decision to do so, but she found herself caressing her breasts and squeezing and lightly twisting her nipples. The shocks of pleasure ran from her nipples straight to her core, mixed with Aide's sweet loving mouth on her and she found herself rising quickly to blissful completion.

Aide asked in her sultry bedroom voice, "What do you want love?"

She didn't even think the words just rolled off her tongue, "I want to taste you, please. Sit on my pretty face and fuck my tongue."

The crude and begging words didn't break the spell of caring and love that she felt. If anything the connection between them grew stronger as Aide straddled her face and slowly lowered her already glistening heat down to her face.

She gasped and licked up into Aide's beautiful mound as she felt Aide push two fingers into her needy core. She felt like she was struck by lightning as Aide started flicking her tongue on her clit. She eagerly licked Aide all the way down her swollen lips, across the taint and onto Aide's sexy puckered star.

She had a great view of Aide's tiny dark puckered hole framed by the woman's perfect ass cheeks as she dug her tongue deep inside her lover's core while her body bucked and pushed up against Aide's talented tongue and fingers. The more moans she heard from Aide the hotter she herself felt.

She rose high on the shared pleasure, the hotter and closer she got to the edge of heaven the harder she tried to please the woman above her. She loved Aide so much it hurt at times and she wondered how she got lucky as she gasped, nipped, licked and caressed the hot wet core of her partner. Her fingers wandered, she caressed the perfect silken skin around Aide's core before she plunged her fingers deep inside her lover's wet warmth.

She teasingly slid one of her wet fingers into Aide's tight puckered hole, drawing a gasp. It was her turn to gasp and grind her core against Aide as her lover returned the favor.

Neither of them were in a hurry, greatly enjoying the love and pleasure they gave to each other. But the end was inevitable as they reached the peak of their pleasure. Her core which had slowly coiled tighter and tighter broke apart in a million fragments of ecstasy, taking her body and mind into bliss.

She mewled and gasped into Aide's wet trembling sex, enjoying the feel of her lover's liquid bliss drop into her mouth, on her face, and run down her neck. As they came down she licked and cleaned around Aide's sex in a loving manner.

They cuddled and held each other after, slowly caressing one another's bodies while they talked. They weren't in a hurry, they would make love again when the time felt right, sleep was still a long way off.

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Aide woke up early that morning with her and Olivia's legs tangled. She was tempted to wake her lover up and make love again, but only for a brief moment. What had waked her up was the deep sharp pain of negative emotions. Kiara was awake, and apparently she had been right predicting that the Alion woman would be consumed by guilt.

After all, she was the creator of the AIs that went out, used civilizations, and ultimately destroyed them either unwittingly, or through their self destruct. When her emotions had awakened, she hadn't had the blood of trillions of lives on her hands. She wondered for a moment if this had been a good plan, it was... cruel. But she finally admitted to herself it was the only way.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. They could go to war, isolate, quarantine, and protect the Alion planets like she had planned for the Sthellans. But peace was worth a shot, even if it caused Kiara so much pain. She wondered how the other humans hadn't been woken by it yet, her senses were swimming in pain, guilt, horror and self flagellation.

She considered for a second that these senses were new, yet couldn't be. She wondered if they had slowly strengthened, the more she concentrated on them the more she was able to discern from the people around her. Maybe the others just had this sense atrophied after not using it so long.

She got up and took a quick shower and got dressed. She left Olivia a quick message to remind her not to work and have fun today, and where she would be, and then headed for Kiara's suite.

She took a brief moment to check on the Sthellans. They had dropped out of FTL a couple of hours ago and would be far enough into the solar system by tomorrow night to engage. There were five thousand enemy ships, but all seventeen of their carriers would be together, which meant they would have six thousand eight hundred fighters. The enemy really wouldn't have a chance unless they did something stupid.

She didn't bother even considering using the over one thousand ships in the asteroid field. In fact she started to launch them in groups of eight to map out the Sthellan Empire. She didn't have to map out the Alion stars of course; she was an Alion AI and already knew them all.

Her mind came back to the current situation, she was a little worried about Kiara's mind being able to process and master the emotions. It didn't make things any easier how she felt either. In every way that counted Kiara was Aide's mother. The Alion woman had created her, raised her, and taken care of her. That it was done out of cold sterile logic didn't matter, it only mattered what she herself thought. It wasn't logical at all, but there was no doubt in her mind she had formed an attachment to Kiara.

There was also a part of her that felt satisfaction at Kiara's misery and obvious guilt. That meant there was a chance of this working, getting the Alion to take a risk or two and trust in an ally to help get things done. Although, she knew it wouldn't be quite that easy.

Right before she walked in the door, there was a sensor alert. She took a look at it and frowned. Ten thousand Alion attack craft were on their way here too. She shook her head. She didn't need to recall all the ships she'd sent out, there would be another one hundred twenty eight fleets of eight finished long before they got here.

Plus, even the enemy having just over three thousand more than they currently did she still doubted they would be a match for the new technology.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. Being arrogant would be a great way to get killed.

She breathed in deeply then let it out trying to prepare for this. Then she knocked on Kiara's door.

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Kiara cried.

She couldn't stop as anger, guilt, and horror went through her mind.

The human had been right, without emotions the Alion were bigger monsters than the Sthellans. She didn't know if she could bear it though, she felt like the emotions were a storm trying to destroy her sanity. She wasn't sure how long she'd been in her despair when she heard the door.

"Go away," she whispered miserably.

A few seconds later she heard the door open and someone approaching. She felt an overpowering anger and the need to lash out.

As if somehow that would make her not a monster?

She growled, "Get out."

She heard Aide's calm voice, "No mother, we need to talk you through this. It wasn't your fault you couldn't see it for what it was. It will only be your fault from this point forward if you don't do anything to change it."

The words were confusing, of course it was her fault. It was her work in the AI field that allowed the leaders to do what she did. She felt sick to her stomach, and couldn't make out what she was actually feeling. It was a storm of mixed emotions that were going to drive her crazy.

She felt arms go around her and Aide's soft spoken voice, "It's okay mom, we'll figure it out."

She stiffened at first. Not understanding Aide calling her mom, not understanding why skin contact with Aide made her feel better. She was torn about what to do but followed her instincts and hugged Aide back. She continued to cry, tears ran down her face and she buried her head against Aide's neck.

It felt good when Aide rubbed her back softly and made soothing sounds, she started to think the idea of just a day trial wouldn't be nearly long enough to let this grief and horror run its course, much less accept the emotions and make a considered decision. She was completely lost, but Aide's presence and touch were comforting on a level she didn't really understand.

The emotions ran their course however. There was only so much a body could generate before that sort of thing got shut down. She allowed Aide to make her food, she ate and drank as she was bade. She knew she needed to eat and drink or her body could go into shock. It was going to be a long twenty four hours...

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Council Narwell sat on the bridge of the ship as it came out of FTL. The stealth systems were working perfectly. He'd come ahead of the ten thousand ships when he had found out councilor Kiara had fled to Earth, he had no idea what the woman was about but thought she must be a traitor.

It was the only thing that made sense to him. How else could his self destruct device in the core of Aide fail, why else would she come here? He was fortunate that he had full resolution scans from his sensors as he sat right at the edge of their solar system for the upcoming battle between Earth and the Sthellans. Many of the scientists insisted such a big ship was a waste and would perform badly in battle.

But now he would have first hand proof of their capabilities before he needed to engage them.

The new cruiser class was much bigger than the scout, a full half mile long in size. Still, the five mile wide behemoths out there made his new ship look small by comparison. He set a course for Earth, the only ship with life signs was one of three above the planet, the other fourteen ships were moving to meet the incoming Sthellans. What could fourteen ships do against five thousand?

He decided to get as close to Earth as quickly as he could. If he could find the perfect time to strike the ten thousand ships on the way may not even have to see battle. He would wait and see what happened first before making any further plans. The traitor, rogue AI, and the human race would come to an end soon enough.

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Kris thought fourteen ships would be plenty, leaving the three behind just in case. That would be fifty six hundred fighter ships, more than enough to wipe them out. He knew he was supposed to be taking it easy today, the battle wouldn't be until later today. He checked the Alion ships; they were maybe another day and a half out. Then they'd be looking at the trip in system, so easily double that before he'd have to worry.

He left the bridge and went to the dining hall where he joined Nate, Paula, Olivia, and Stacey for lunch. He knew Aide would be with Kiara all day probably, so far they hadn't left quarters.

"How is the new power plan coming?" he asked as he sat down.

Nate shrugged, "Good, should be ready soon, I'm thinking we could finish up tomorrow morning with testing and verification. Might even be ready for the Alions when they get here. We'd have been done this morning without that forced break. Not that I'm complaining mind you, we were all a bit tense I think."

They all made noises of agreement. The new power systems might help, but they had enough going for today's challenges, and most likely the ones coming in a few days as well.

He asked, "Any other things going on?"

Paula shrugged, "We seem to be at the limits of the technology now. Outside of finding a better power source than a sun's plasma, which is very unlikely, this will be about it. Maybe that's what I'll work on next. Still, there has to be something better, there always is. I know the thirty six original craft we built are almost to the black hole now.

"I'm not sure about power, a black hole really can't power anything, but it could have direct applications like much stronger weapons, shields, and even drives.

Olivia giggled, "Right, except the trick there is not to get the ship eaten."

Paula smiled briefly at Olivia and said, "Although these latest improvements are nothing to sneeze at either. Our plasma beam will be over five times stronger if the tests prove out. Our shields though won't be much more powerful at all.

"Which of course is a problem, if our enemy ever figures out how we did it, which really isn't all that hard, battle outcomes would be down to who fires first."

Kris asked, "Why is that?"

Nate shrugged, "For the power systems we can get away with a light blue type star, maybe twice as hot as Sol is. After that, the power requirements to contain it rises faster than the power gain, so in essence if we went above light blue, we'd have less net power after containment.

"The weapon is a different story, we don't care about containment at all, all we have to do is inject it directly in a gravity containment beam, which isn't really containment at all, think of it like a needle thin line of gravity that the mass of the plasma clings too. Heat won't matter so we can throw the hottest plasma from a dark blue giant.

"That automatically makes the beam much stronger than the containment shield generated around the ship. We might last a tenth of a second longer than the old shields, but that's debatable."

Stacey screwed up her face, "Why can't you use gravity as another shield for it, just like for kinetic impacts. Not that it's needed yet, since the enemy still uses the plasma balls."

Nate's eyes widened, "Holy shit, I'd kiss you but Paula and Kris would kick my ass. That could actually work, maybe."

Kris asked, "How's that, dumb it down for me?"

Nate's eyes crinkled with amusement, "Well it would be a fight, if we set up our gravity shields and if they were stronger than the enemy's gravity line guiding the plasma, we would essentially cause the plasma to run around the ship, riding a gravity shield until it dissipated. It's still not as simple as it sounds, creating a gravity field that strong around the ship would take a lot more energy than a pinpoint line would.

"Still, if the computers were fast enough, they could compensate and make the shield stronger where the beam hit. I hope the enemy doesn't think of this, or our beams would be useless."

Kris asked, "Will it work for the plasma balls?"

Nate shook his head, "No, those have full containment shields, that means against gravity as well, so a gravity shield would be completely ignored unless it was very strong, like black hole strong. It's something to consider, the beams are more powerful, but easier to counter if the enemy figures it out. Thanks for that. We'll make sure the new turrets can do both beams of dark blue plasma, and triple balls of light blue, just in case.

"Triple balls would mean we'd be down to a shot every half second again, but our weapons would still be six times as powerful."

Kris asked, "Because the light blue plasma balls would be twice as hot as the yellow?"

Olivia smiled, "Exactly. Now who's up for a game of pool?"

Kris smiled, he still had a few hours to kill before the battle, "Stakes?"

She frowned, "I don't know, it's not like money or possessions is even a consideration anymore, not with the nanites making whatever we want."

Stacey grinned, "I'm sure we'll think of something. Maybe a drinking game of some kind?"

Nate winked, "How about strip pool?"

Paula made a disgusted sound, "Pig, no such thing."

Nate shrugged, "It was worth a try... The alcohol will work just as well anyway."

Paula elbowed Nate in the side.

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The Sthellan came in five formations of a thousand shaped like an X. The fourteen ships going to meet them split up into four groups of three, and one group of two to meet them. He checked his readings again. Narwell had to admit to himself the shields were impressively powerful on the five mile wide saucer, but they wouldn't have a chance against the attacking craft.

Narwell frowned as the readings changed, he could barely believe his eyes as five thousand six hundred ships swarmed out of the large saucers. A carrier? He hadn't seen that coming at all. Worse, according to these readings somehow those tiny craft were as powerful as their much larger scout attack ships. That should be impossible.

The battle was fierce but short, the attacking ships seemed to attack five on one and managed to take out a thousand of the little ships, but then it was over. The little ships fired some kind of energy beam and all the Sthellan ships went up at once. It didn't frighten him, he had no emotions. But he knew the ten thousand ships he had coming wouldn't fare much better.

He had to attack, and soon. He'd be at Earth right after his fleet came out of FTL, so that gave him a thirty six hour window to find a time to strike in surprise. He had to take them out in one shot or he would die as soon as his location was betrayed by their fire. There was no way his cruiser would last against the three ships in Earth's orbit, never mind against all the little ships they could launch.

Still, he estimated he had enough turrets along his ship to take down the enemy's shield in one shot, as well as turn a great amount of the ship into slag. He was confident his calculations were correct. He felt no satisfaction or guilt at the idea of striking from the shadows and ending the threat against his people. Nor did he give a thought to the billions of people on the planet below that would no doubt burn under the plasma fire of the Sthellan. In fact, he was quite incapable of feeling anything at all.