This is an early writing for Pax Nebula. It is not finalized and does not represent the final story arc or character portrayals. 

Location: Atrey’uu Sector, Terran Space
Year: 3789

Mara Reese stood at the mod panel as it lit to read her biosignature. It buzzed as a wand of light highlighted the contours of her body. The light left no part of her body unscanned as it followed the sinuous outline of her form. She stood waiting for the old Earth system to recognize her as the Terran Science Engineer she was. She served as part of her father’s science team and now traveled to the outer reaches of known space to a research station working on a rare power source. The planet, Olkla, was becoming unstable, and she was being sent to secure both the technology and ensure the science team made it off the planet safely.
Her father had typically sent her older sister, Adley, but she was away on a discovery mission to an outer quadrant. It was her first mission without a member of their team with her. It seemed they were going further and further to chase tech to help in the war against the Maj’aran, and nothing so far had worked to turn the tide of the war.
The door opened as she stepped into the Odysseus’ airlock and waited for the outer door to open to board the Aurealis, an older transport frigate taking her to the planet Olkla. Olkla was desolate with planetwide surge storms that tended to ground anything that had wings. The planet’s electromagnetism could become supercharged by the nearby solar action creating issues for anything electrical. Drop windows into Olkla were rare, but astrometrics had predicted a window down to the planet was coming up. It was just the window needed. No message had gotten through to the science team on Olkla’s surface, so they had to do things the out-fashioned way of actually going there and getting them out. The prolonged exposure to electromag energy was a point of interest as one of the only comms from the planet was that they could contain and harness the power. It was a promising source of propulsion, shielding, and weaponry.
The door into the loading bay of the Aurealis opened where Captain Gordon was waiting. A tall statured woman who was a bit older than most Terran frigate pilots. She dwarfed Mara in comparison, who had a more petite stature.
“Permission to come aboard, captain,” Mara asked.
“Permission granted, Lieutenant,” Gordon responded. “You are younger than they said,” Gordon smirked. Mara looked puzzled as to who would have commented about her age.
“I…I’m not sure I follow, Ma’am?” Gordon seeing the young science officer, was visibly distressed, smiled, and smacked her on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it, Reese. Some of the girls always give me a heads up on who my cargo will be.” Mara, embarrassed, hid her discontent with being called “cargo.” Gordon was, after all, her senior and ultimately in command during the flight to Olkla. Gordon eased the tension with a smile that did work a little to comfort Mara. Mara finally spoke up mainly to get past the odd exchange than the need to talk with the Captain.
“This is a nice ship,” Mara said as the Captain gestured to follow her.
“You don’t have to shine sun up my twat, Lieutenant. She’s old and broken, but she’s got it where it counts” Gordon grinned pridefully. The Aurealis was close to 50 years old now, and she showed some signs of her age. The ship had served as a fast-attack frigate during the war with the Maj’araan and Gordon and her crew had achieved a ton of commendations.
“I always liked the Tsun-Class frigates,” Mara said, looking around the cargo area. “When I was younger, my father used one as a research vessel.”
“Your father, like a Symbiat?”
“No Commander, he is a real male,” Mara said with a shrug.
“That’s something Reese. I have never seen a male. Not a real one anyways.”
“Yes Ma’am, there are very few of them now.”
“Fucking Maj”
“Yes Ma’am”
Well, back to business. So, you know your way around these ships already?” Gordon replied.
“I guess? They all seem to be a little different, though,” Mara said with a shrug.
Tsun-Class frigates were the smallest of all Terran frigates, and typically the crew consisted of only two or three. The frigates served to ferry cargo or passengers between long-range ships and planets or stations dotted out along a trans route. It could transport about 100 passengers when outfitted for ferry duty. The Aurealis was used mostly for ferrying equipment and supplies out to the rim worlds that dotted the Terran sector of the Mar Nebula.
“Well, you are free to look around,” Captain Gordon continued, “Your bunk is just through there. First hatch on the right. Once you get settled in, you can join me on the bridge.”
“Yes, Ma’am…thank you, Ma’am,” Mara saluted the Captain.
“Reese, once we pull away from the Odysseus, you can call me Jill or Gordon. I’ve never been one for all the saluting and breast pounding. I will call you Mara if that’s ok?” Gordon waited on Mara’s response, who was surprised by the Captain allowing such informality.
“Oh…my name is Mara…yes it’s fine…you can call me Mara,” she said in a stammer.
“It’s settled then. It’s a few days out to Olkla. I will need you to function as my second. I have had issues replacing crew out here. Ever flown before?” Gordon asked. Mara, still nervous, was slow to respond.
“I have, a little, but nothing this big, AX-90 trainers mostly,” she said, looking around.
“Your dad never let you fly?” the commander smirked
“I was very young then, but he would let me sit on the bridge with him.”
“Well, It’s not that different than something smaller. I will give you the rundown, and get you squared away,” Gordon quipped.
“Why not just let the AI fly?” Mara asked. She was used to the Odysseus’ AI doing most things on the ship.
“I don’t trust the AI to fly by itself for very long,” Gordon finished and moved through the now-open inner bay door and into the passageway up to the bridge. As she turned to walk away, it dawned on Mara how pretty the Captain was. She was older than her, and she was a seasoned pilot who had seen a lot of war, but it couldn’t hide her beauty. Mara wondered if that was what had shaken her or just the confidence the commander exuded.
The bay door closed, and she stood in the cargo bay looking around at the neatly ordered rows of gear and supplies being hauled out to Olkla. Not everyone would be leaving. A few miners remained on the surface, but wouldn’t for much longer. She thought to herself that she wasn’t the only “cargo” on this mission. Food, medical supplies, gear, technical equipment, and other necessities of life on a remote planet in the backwoods of Terran space were all stored ready to be delivered to Olkla.
As she looked around she saw the Aurealis’ drop-ship suspended above its launch port. It would be what transported the supplies to the surface and brought the science team back. Mara hoped she would not be on Olkla long. The status and any tech developments were to return on the Aurealis immediately to go to her father at Beck’s Station. It was her first real assignment without her father or her family since graduating from the academy. It added to her nervousness. She had already seen action against the Maj’aran on both the Odysseus and the planet Surchia. On Surchia, she received a commendation for protecting civilians from the Maj invasion and had recorded two confirmed kills. This had garnered her some fame as the Maj’aran were hard even for seasoned soldiers or the stronger Terran ops androids deployed to kill let alone a green cadet.
As she turned to head to her bunk, she noticed a blinking light in the cargo bay’s corner. She walked along the row of supplies until her curiosity, drawn to the luminous glow, was satisfied. It was an android, deactivated, by the looks of it resting in a charging array. The android was in the form of a female and was possibly an ops or even a pleasure droid. It was naked and appeared to be an older model, but still intact. She wondered if it was an indulgence of the Captain on longer hauls. Space can get lonely, after all. She didn’t linger too long but made a mental note to ask Gordon about it if she could sum up the courage.
Mara made her way into the single passageway that ran the ship’s length and entered her bunk. It was a small room with a bed, a comm station, and not much else.
“I remember these rooms. Spartans had greater luxury,” she smiled to herself. It was something her Dad would say and being on board had brought back a flood of memories of her time on the [ship name]. Mara stowed her gear in a small locker at the foot of the bunk. She pulled out a picture of her family. She liked it mostly because she could touch and hold it. It wasn’t something digital, and photos like that were rare. Her dad and mom and her younger sister, Adley, were gathered with her in the photo. It was taken on Aster Prime a few years prior. She missed them but knew she was doing what she needed to do to help against the Maj.
She pulled the photo to her breast, breathing deeply. She closed her eyes to see them in her mind. She was happy she had the chance to talk to them before she left the Odysseus. Just then, the comm station beeped, and she saw that she could get transmissions from central command. She pressed her finger against the holo matrix as the feed began to stream into her room.
“…Iago, Nelia, and Sola II are reported lost to the Maj as Terran forces have been forced to retreat from even more worlds as the Maj’aran threat continues to cut across Terran space,” Mara’s heart sank as the news continued, “Ambassador Tralla, of the Terran consulate, reports that no progress has been made with the Primes to gain aid against the Maj’aran, as they stand by their mandate to not interfere with non-prime affairs.”
“Fucking Primes,” Mara uttered, “how can they just ignore this genocide? our genocide?” In the background, the news continued as Mara began to scroll through stellar maps to see what worlds the Maj had taken and what remained.
“I wonder if the AI on this ship is responsive,” Mara said. “computer?”
“Yes, Lieutenant Reese?’ Mara was surprised that the Aurealis had a responsive AI matrix, much less recognize who she was. Most Tsun-Frigates had a touch interface.
“You’ve had an upgrade,” Mara quipped, “Show me all the Terran worlds and systems currently occupied by the Maj’aran Empire,” Mara stood staring at the screen as the system populated the maps. “How many worlds have been taken by the Maj?”
“The Maj’aran Empire currently occupies 7 Terran systems and 16 inhabited worlds,” the Computer said with a calculated, emotionless voice.
“Computer, how many worlds do the Terrans still occupy?” Mara asked.
“Terrans currently occupy 31 worlds across 20 systems.”
“Computer, how many Terran casualties are the result of the current war?” Mara waited as the system processed and calculated the request. She noticed the system lagged while processing her request.
“I think this system was upgraded but never calibrated,” Mara thought to herself. The computer’s voice sputtered on.
“Extrapolating…of the 43 billion Terrans in this quadrant, 9 billion Terrans have been killed or are missing,” tension-filled Mara as she tried to comprehend the number of humans killed by the Maj. Shaken by the figures’ sheer scale, Mara shook her head.
“So many dead…” The computer buzzed and brought Mara back from being lost in the numbness of the war.
“Computer, your programming is not properly calibrated, run a diagnostic and recalibrate systems with the most recent upgrade,” Mara demanded.
“Yes, Lieutenant,” Mara could see on the screen that system was running a system diagnostic. The system’s internal comm alerted Mara that Captain Gordon was contacting her. Mara answered.
“Yes, Captain?” Mara answered the comm
“What’s going on down there, Reese?” Gordon asked with a light tone to her voice.
“Just doing some research, Ma’am?”
“Research that required a complete system diagnostic?” Mara had not realized that her request had sent the Computer into a system-wide diagnostic.
“I apologize, ma’am. I did not realize my request did that. The system was not recalibrated when it was upgraded. I was just trying to help.”
“I see. Well, this ship acts strangely during a diagnostic. Engines shut down, life support fails, and systems crash. I just hope we don’t die.” Panic fell over Mara realizing she may have made a monumental mistake.
“I…I am sorry, commander. I can halt the diagnostic,” Mara replied, panicked by the Captain’s assertion about the ship’s systems. The comm came on as she heard the commander laughing on the other end.
“I’m just pulling your tit Lieutenant. The system is old, but I think we will make it through a system check. Hell, maybe it’ll do it some good to run through a system diagnostic. We are still close to the Odysseus if something goes wrong. But, it will be a while, so why don’t you come up to the bridge and we can run through flying this old girl.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Mara responded and closed the comm. As she left the room, she mumbled insults to herself about how stupid she had been. The door to the passageway opened as Mara made her way up toward the bridge. She realized her tour of the ship had not made it past the cargo bay and her room. There were five other portals along the way to the ship’s bridge area. Though she was familiar with the ship’s design, she was still curious about how the Aurealis was arranged. She took the chance to take a look.
She found the head and a shower room across the hall from her bunk, and a locked door, the Captain’s quarters maybe. Her parents had occupied the same space on her father’s research ship, the Hidalgo. Another room was slightly more open and housed the ship’s galley. Along the corridor, a ladder descended to the ship’s engine room. She peaked down, but couldn’t see much. The last door along the hallway was the science lab on the Hidalgo, but here it was littered with cargo and parts and a makeshift table that looked like a desk the Captain may have used. She moved on quickly, feeling it was an area she may not be meant to see since it was in a state of general disarray.
The door to the bridge was closed, and as she approached, it clicked and hummed. Mara waited for a few seconds as the door ran through cycles but still didn’t open.
“Computer, open the door to the bridge,” Mara made the request, but the Computer did not respond. She realized it might be the diagnostic keeping the door from opening and the Computer from responding. Suddenly, the door slid open as Gordon pushed it aside.
“The diagnostic does weird things…” Gordon said with a tone of agitation in her voice. It was the first time Mara felt the Captain was put-off by her presence there. Gordon was quick to regain her composure and welcomed the young officer onto the bridge.
The bridge itself was more like a cockpit. There was room to walk around, but there were only two seats. The navigator’s seat lay on the ship’s port side, and the Captain’s chair was positioned on the starboard side. Mara walked to the open seat at the front of the bridge examing the controls and looking out into the vastness of space.
“Wow, you can see everything from up here,” Mara commented with a cadet’s enthusiasm.
“You can still see the Odysseus if you look to port,” Gordon replied. Mara was reluctant to lean across the Captain to look back for the Odysseus. The Captain seeing her resistance, barked, “c’mon Reese I won’t bite.” Mara acquiesced and leaned across the captain to peer back at the Odysseus. She could smell the captain’s warm, sweet aroma as she watched the Odysseus slowly move away. Captain Gordon stared forward, delighting in the view as Reese’s breast hung gently pressing ever so lightly against hers. Mara realizing their proximity moved back quickly.
“How long will it take us to get back to her?” Mara asked.
“Oh, we won’t rendevous with the Odysseus. It will be too far by the time we get the tech, and get back to the ship. No, we will rendezvous with whatever ship is running along this trans-route. I am hoping for six days, but Olkla’s storms will have a say in it. We could be there for a month.”
“A month? are the storms that bad?” Mara asked with childlike innocence. Gordon looked down her nose at the young officer.
“They are terrible. Only older motorized vehicles work there. Anything electrical or not heavily shielded from the intense electromagnetism just falls out of the sky. Luckily, the Aurealis is older, so it was buffered against the strong storms’ interstellar winds before ray shielding was developed, but even it won’t be able to fly during a big storm.”
“Is that why they sent you?” Mara said naively.
“Yeah, I am pretty sure that’s the reason,” Gordon replied with a sardonic tone to her voice. She was getting older, and the Terran military had stationed her away from the war. That is what they told her anyway, but deep down, Captain Gordon knew the real reason for her exile. She resented it but did her duty always. In her younger days and before the Maj, Jill Gordon was an accomplished pilot and fought well during the Ming’su Uprising. More here…
Captain Gordon continued, “This ship will get through most electromagnetic storms, but I won’t risk it if it’s a big one. Astro says we will have a few days to get the tech and get out while the Olkla is shielded by the massive planet Glanus Major as it transcends between Olkla and its sun.”
“I hope all goes as planned,” Mara replied with trepidation.
“Well, we are Terrans, and we will find a way if it doesn’t,” Gordon smiled, and Mara returned the gesture. Gordon continued, “Now, let me show you how to fly this old lady.”
For the next few hours, Captain Gordon ran Mara through the details of flying the frigate. Gordon was surprised at how quickly the young science engineer took to the controls and became used to the subtleties of managing the Aurealis. As the flight continued, the Captain turned over control to Mara.
“While the ship is running diagnostics, I can check the engines for any issues before we reach Olkla. I’d also like to get some shut-eye. I’ll be back in a few hours,” the commander said, rising from her chair to leave.
“A few hours?” Mara exclaimed to the commander.
“You got this, Reese. The Aurealis will stay on course by herself. Just let me know if anything comes up on the long-range scanners.” Gordon said, pointing at the scanner showing the space around the Aurealis for 2 parsecs.
“Yes, Ma’am,” said. Nervous but excited, Mara nestled back into the chair and began monitoring the scanners and looking through system logs while the diagnostics ran. She was a science engineer and had an understanding of improving ship systems. After all, it is what she had spent much of her time doing on the Odysseus, especially when work in the lab was slow.
As the diagnostics ran, errors would inevitably pop up that the Computer would fix most of the time as it would pull upgrades from the Terran remote database. It would take some time to download, but it worked mostly. A few errors could not be resolved with just an upgrade, so Mara spent her time recoding and fixing them. One issue that popped up that the Computer could not resolve was a framework error for the CC-100 Creighton Android in the Cargo bay. Its link to the system meant it was part of the diagnostic.
“Hmmm, it looks like the android’s framework got corrupted somehow,” Mara spoke to herself, “But, it looks like the system is intact.” Mara worked on the system and repaired the droid’s framework and improved its buffering protocols in the event it was needed on Olkla. “A working droid could come in handy out here, and maybe the Captain could use it to fly the vessel when she needs to rest.”
Mara continued more on the droid, ensuring it had the latest upgrades for ship navigation, flight controls, ship defense, and engineering. She upgraded the pleasure protocols as well.
“Gordon can thank me for that later,” Mara chuckled. For all she knew, the Captain didn’t even know the droid had pleasure protocols. Mara continued upgrading other parts of the ship’s systems where possible and managed to resolve most of the errors over the next few hours on the bridge. She was even able to transfer ship control and scanners to a datapad allowing movement about the ship.
There were two critical errors she couldn’t fix from the bridge. Two of the ship’s buffers were offline and would need to be charged manually. They would be necessary during the descent to Olkla and again when the vessel ascended out of the hostile atmosphere. She made a note to get permission from the Captain to repair them.
The hours passed quickly, and her own biological need forced Mara to transfer control to the datapad and go to the head to relieve herself. She entered the passageway with no sign of the Captain and figured that she must be sleeping. She entered the head, staring down at the datapad, oblivious to the rushing water as she entered. When she looked up, she realized the Captain was standing in the shower. Shocked, Mara couldn’t help but gaze at the rigid, muscular form of the Captain. Her heavy breasts were dripping with water. Soap clung to her body and Mara could see that the captain had kept herself fit. It was a moment before Mara realized the Captain was smiling and looking back at her.
“Getting an eyeful there, Lt Reese?” The Captain’s voice snapped Mara back into reality.
“Monitoring…um… I was monitoring the ship,” she fumbled with her words.
“Well, it looks like you are monitoring me. I am sure I am not the first woman you’ve seen naked, especially if you went through the academy.”
“Yes Ma’am”
“Reese, don’t call me Ma’am. It makes me feel like your mother. And, what the hell are you doing away from the comm?” Mara stood still, dazed but trying to avert her eyes.
“I…I mean, you can monitor and control the ship from this datapad now.” Mara held up the data pad, showing the captain. Gordon’s face was shrouded with doubt.
“Bullshit, let me see that…” She cut the water off and walked to Mara, who was even more visibly nervous than before. Gordon, amused by the Leutenent’s shy demeanor, chuckled as Mara tried to avert her eyes and failed. She gripped the datapad, smiling, and looked through the screens. As she reviewed the datapad and the system control, Gordon could see Mara still looking at her from the corner of her eye.
“Well, I will be damned! How did you do that?” Gordon said.
“It’s one of the things I do, I guess. You won’t be tied to the bridge on your missions anymore. I also fixed the droid on the cargo deck,” Mara explained. Gordon became more serious.
“You what?” Gordon shoved the datapad into Mara’s hands and raced out of the head and into the cargo bay where the droid was still lying in the corner, deactivated. Mara followed close behind, unable not to look at the commander’s naked form as she ran out after her. Gordon sighed with relief when she saw the droid still lying in the charging array.
“What’s wrong? I just repaired its mainframe,” Mara told the Captain.
“Well, at least you didn’t activate her,” Gordon said in a curt reply.
“Why? What happened?” Mara asked. Gordon continued to breathe easier and looked to Mara to explain.
“A few months ago, that droid malfunctioned and began having issues. It became somewhat violent, so I deactivated the droid,” Gordon looked back at the CC-100. “A shame too, she was nice to have around.”
“Well, I am pretty sure it was the mainframe issue that caused the malfunction. It happens if those models aren’t maintained.”
“Are you saying I didn’t maintain her?” Gordon’s voice couldn’t hide her discontent, and something Mara perceived as something more profound.
“No…No, Ma’am. They should do that themselves. I fixed it so she will do that too from now on.”
“Well, I don’t think I will be turning her back on while you are here. Too much of a risk. Her combat protocols could be dangerous for both of us.”
“Wait…it was a combat droid?”
“Among other things…” Gordon now looked with sadness at the android. Mara saw that the commander’s countenance had darkened and decided to change the subject.
“Buffers…buffers!”
“What?” the commander shook off her gaze on the CC-100. “What about buffers?” Mara pulled up the screen on the datapad and showed the commander, as she explained.
“There are two buffers that will need to be manually repaired. I would like permission to do that before we arrive at Olkla.” Mara finished. The Captain looked, studying the screens before turning to Mara.
“Had you not found this,” she looked at Mara, pointing at the screen, “we would have died as we descended.”
“Yes, Ma’a,m…I mean Captain…I mean, Jill?” The Captain smiled and pulled the LT close, hugging her. Mara felt the Captain’s naked body’s warmth pressed against her and felt her heart race and panties dampen a little. The Captain pulled back as the two stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. Mara felt a burst of chemical attraction course through her body and could tell the captain felt the connection too. Feeling the weight of the moment, the captain regained her composure pulling away from the Lieutenant completely.
“You may proceed, LT. Now, I think I should probably get changed. I will relieve you on the bridge in a few moments” Gordon smiled and walked out of the cargo bay. Mara stood for a few moments studying the buffer schematics, proud of herself for finding the issues, and moved by the emotion she shared with Gordon. When she finally looked up to gain her composure, the android seemed to be staring back at her with lifeless eyes. Mara wasn’t sure but thought it was looking the other way before. She shook it off as her imagination and left for the bridge where the Captain was already waiting.
Mara handed the Captain the datapad and explained a few things about transferring controls between the bridge and the pad. She gave the Captain the datapad and turned to leave for the lower deck.
“Reese.”
“Yes, Captain?”
“Thank you…” Mara realized that those words were probably not ones that crossed the lips of the Captain often.
“My pleasure, Captain. I will take a look at those buffers now.”
“Very well, LT, the ship will cycle power down for a while, so don’t be alarmed if the ship gets darker. It’s just to conserve power.”
“Yes, Captain,” Mara said with an affirmative tone. She made her way into the ship’s passage and to the cargo bay to get the supplies she needed. She saw on the ship’s manifest that there was Tanper Gel in storage, and she saw the maintenance area had the tools she needed.
In the cargo bay, it didn’t take long to find the tools she needed, and the gel to seal the buffer relays was just where it was on the manifest. She was impressed the Captain kept the ship that organized. It added some to her allure. As she left, she looked over at the CC-100 and noticed that its head was now facing the wall. Maybe it shifted during the flight. The old ship did sometimes pitch and roll slightly in the wake of cosmic winds. She ignored it and moved into the passageway and then down the ladder to the deck below.
Once there, the reactor’s hum and the engine’s sound were louder, masking any sound from above. The comm relay beeped as the Computer notified Mara that the diagnostic was complete, and systems would be back online momentarily.
“Thanks, computer,” Mara responded. Mara knelt to remove the floor panel to reveal the first eMag buffer relay. It was dark and non-operational. She pulled the slag wrench from the toolkit and unfastened the first primer until it finally snapped free. Just then, an alarm sounded, breaking the monotony of the rhythm of the engines.
“Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!” The ship’s Computer sounded the alarm over and over. The Captain came on the comm.
“What is going on, Reese?”
“I don’t know, Captain…I unfastened the primer on the buffer, and I guess it triggered the alarm.”
“I am on my way,” the Captain said. She approached the bridge door and found it jammed. A common issue, but this time she was having a hard time opening the door by force. “Computer, open the bridge door…”
“Systems are on lockdown, commander. I am detecting an intruder on board.”
“Where is the intruder, computer?”
“Processing, the intruder is currently on the lower deck.”
“Show me!” The datapad screened glitched and showed an image of Mara working on a console to clear the alert. “Computer that is not an intruder Computer that is Lt Reese. Clear the alarm!”
“I am sorry, commander, but I am showing no record of Lt Reese being on the manifest. Security Protocols have been engaged. CC-100 activated and en route.”
“She is authorized! Command Protocols…Alpha Orion Sigma.”
“Protocol accepted…”
“Deactivate CC-100, computer!!” The Computer hummed and buzzed.
“Unable to comply, commander.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“CC-100 has disconnected from the network…”
“Open the door!… Open the fucking door!”
Gordon struggled with the door as it slowly released, and she edged it inch by inch open.
Mara worked to clear the alert and access computer protocols down below but was now locked out. She realized that she was the intruder, and during the reboot of the systems, she must not have been recognized by the system. Just then, a loud crash centered at the ladder sounded behind Mara as she turned to face the CC-100 crouched from the hard landing.
“Computer shut down the CC-100. Command Protocol Alpha Orion Sigma.”
“Unable to comply, Lieutenant…CC-100 is not connected to the network.” Mara looked into the eyes of the CC-100, who looked determined and viewed her as the intruder.
“CC-100 shut down!! Command Protocol Alpha Orion Sigma!” The android stood as its muscles tensed, and it began to move towards her, ignoring the command. CC-100 droids were either built as off-world soldiers to bolster the ranks of Terrans or for pleasure. This droid had both protocols. They were fierce fighters with a command of all forms of combat. Mara backed away gripping the slag wrench tightly, and continually issuing the order to deactivate the CC-100. It moved toward her.
Inside Mara, something changed. Her adrenaline, mixed with fear, surged as the droid close the space between them. She felt her muscles tense, and as the droid got within a few paces, she reacted without thinking. Mara swung the slag wrench with incredible speed and force as the droid attempted to dodge her move but failed. The wrench brushed against the droid’s cheek tearing away its synthetic flesh. The droid became more determined now dodged and lunged between attempts to strike Mara. Mara was partially successful at blocking the android’s blows and anticipating each move, but a few connected with powerful thuds against her torso. The fight was fierce. Each was striking the other as they grappled to gain a superior position.
Mara gripped the android and then kicked it back as it lost balance, tripping over the toolbox and onto the floor. Mara followed, pressing her advantage and seizing the moment to gain leverage against the droid. She launched herself on top of the droid pressing the base of the wrench hard against the droid’s neck, where the base of its neural net was housed.
The android fought to gain its balance, but its arm had become trapped under the ladder, and Mara pinned the other arm with her leg. The android began to thrash furiously as the pressure on its neural net increased, and it began to malfunction. Soon the CC-100’s arm tore from its shoulder socket, sending sparks flying as Mara continued to press even harder against the droid’s neural processor.
On the upper deck, the Captain was finally able to release the door and slip through the narrow opening as she hastened to the ladder and clamored down its rungs to jump onto the deck below. Seeing Mara had pressed the droid into submission, she spoke to the droid issuing the all-clear. The droid stopped thrashing and lay there as Mara was not ready to relent.
“It’s ok, Mara,” the Captain was pushing her hand onto her shoulder. “She won’t attack you now.” Mara’s adrenaline still pounded and was fueled by the anger that it had attacked her shrugged off the captain and looked back at her with an anger-fueled intensity.
“How can you be so sure it won’t attack me again?”
“It won’t, I promise. It is programmed to my voice, and it has submitted.” Mara felt the android was lifeless beneath her. She pressed hard as she stood up and readied herself if the droid attacked again, but instead, it lay there looking up at both of them.
“It tried to kill me…” Mara said, breathing hard.
“I am not sure how you are even alive. The CC-100 should have killed you in an instant,” the Captain replied. The android pressed up on her elbow, still reeling from her neural net almost being crushed. Sparks still sputtered from its torn arm, and gashes in its skin from the wrench laid open.
“She’s augmented…” the defeated android stated in a direct voice. The Captain looked at the droid and then at Mara. “Her reflexes are as fast as mine, and no Terran moves that fast.” Gordon stood in disbelief that the waif of science officer was augmented.
“I…I am not augmented,” Mara stated confusedly.
“Computer, review Mara Reese’s records…is she in any way augmented,” the commander asked. While the Computer processed the request, she moved to help the android to her feet. The Computer concluded its search.
“There is no record that Lieutenant Mara Reese was augmented. ”
“Computer, scan Lieutenant Reese for augmentation.” Again the Computer could be heard processing the data during its search.
“Scan complete…Lieutenant Reese shows a high level of nanoviral agents in her biochemical signature. These agents could be the source of her heightened abilities but could also be the result of improved health standards as part of Terran military procedures.”
“Looks like someone made you a guinea pig girl,” Gordon said. “Computer, is there any record of Lieutenant Reese using this augmentation during her time in the military?” Computer thinking.
“Yes, commander. On Surchia, the Lieutenant has two confirmed kills against Maj’aran infiltrators.”
“Infiltrators? Damn girl. They are the best of the Maj war clans. I just can’t believe the military is putting this tech into engineers,” Gordon said with some reluctance. Then it hit Mara, as she turned in thought to face the small port window in the engine room.
“It wasn’t the military,” Mara said in a distant voice. Surprised by her admission, Gordon looked at her.
“Then who, Reese?”
“My father…before the invasion on Surchia, we were working together, and he ordered my entire family to get bio screenings. We had to be put under for this procedure. After that, I noticed the difference, but I never knew what it was. I just thought my training was paying off.” The android shifted and smirked.
“You got something to say, droid?” Mara growled pointing the heavy slag wrench in the direction of the battered droid.
“The odds that you could beat me in a contest were 1000 to 1 unmodified. The odds of you besting two Infiltrators is 5x that.” The android said with a cold, calculative demeanor.
“None of this changes that you tried to kill me. I guess I didn’t fix that malfunction after all.” The Computer, usually only reactive, chimed in.
“The diagnostic reset I underwent reset my systems. As part of that reset, my programming searches for any ship anomalies once I am back online. I detected Lieutenenat Reese, but the nanovirals must have obscured her signal at first reset, determining that she was an intruder. I am sorry, Lieutenant.” Mara shook her head, now seeing that her diagnostic was at least partly to blame.
“But, why did the droid ignore the call-off order,” Captain Gordon asked. Before the Computer could process the response, the CC-100 interrupted.
“I can answer that. I am designed to find the intruder and destroy the threat. While I am doing that, only the Captain’s command can stop that since the ship’s Computer can become compromised,” the CC-100 was without emotion.
“Computer, I want you to run a full diagnostic on the CC-100 unit. If you find any anomalies, deactivate the unit,” Gordon ordered.
“Yes, commander. CC-100, please make your way to your service pad in the cargo hold for routine diagnostics.” Captain Gordon and Mara watched the android awkwardly ascend the ladder. She looked at them both as she climbed up the main deck of the Aurealis.
Mara stood watching and thinking. She finally broke the silence between them.
“I apologize, captain, for the trouble I have caused.”
“Trouble?”
“If I hadn’t run that diagnostic, we never would have had the issue with CC-100.”
“That’s probably true, but as I said, I had issues with her already. We will see what the Computer turns up, but I think she did what she was programmed to do. For your part in it, well, let’s tally it up to a learning experience. You handled the situation well, discovered a major issue that could’ve killed us all, and upgraded this old ship in the process. I’d say you did alright.” Mara smiled at the encouragement of the commander.
“I guess I need to get on these buffers. We will be in Olkla in a couple of days.” Mara said
“Roger that Leuitrenant.” the Captain smiled at Mara then climbed the ladder to the deck above. Mara watched the commander climb the ladder. Mara turned and started work on the buffer relays again, feeling a sense of acceptance and accomplishment. Before she began, she opened the viewscreen and looked into the cargo bay watching the CC-100 going through its diagnostics. She couldn’t help but notice that it looked sad as it grappled to complete its task with just one arm. She thought it could still be useful and hoped that it would get a clean report. She resolved to fix the droid, if possible, once it was cleared by the computer.
“These buffers won’t fix themselves,” she murmured to herself and began work to make the necessary repairs.