- Location
- Mythodea
I believe you meant tuning.
I am greatly enjoying the Story so far!
Broken Bow
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
I am greatly enjoying the Story so far!
Crazael
Rehydrated Demon King
- Location
- Lost to the vagaries of time.
Bio-trophies are the best trophies.
- Location
- Birmingham, AL
No, the Jovians aren't treating the universe like a game of Stellaris!
Despite how well they graph as Rogue Servitors... and the Beserkers as Determined Exterminators... or the Borg as Driven Assimilators... or Species 8472 as Fanatic Purifiers...
Huh... on second thought, maybe this is just a big game of Stellaris for the Jovians… I mean, the Ferengi are essentially just a MegaCorp...
18
"...Okay, this isn't bad," Sophia admitted with a sigh, her arms behind her head as she relaxed back against the beach, the sky of the park dome above kept as a holographic blue sky during 'day time'.
"It is nice," I agreed and upended a small bucket of wet sand, giving a couple of taps with my hand before slowly lifting it, leaving the 'castle keep' behind.
I hadn't built a sandcastle for literally decades even before I ended up stranded in empty space. This was fun!
I could see why the stations could be happy just sitting around all the time, they built the rest of us after all. Making things was fun.
Even if it was just a shaped pile of sand and water.
Besides, Sophia needed a break and this was a good way of forcing her to do it. She was meant to make sure I didn't crack or something like it after all which meant that if she wanted to spend that time, she better stay with me.
Hence, if I decided to spend a day on the beach, so was she.
"Any plans yet?" Sophia asked and propped herself up on her elbows to look at my avatar.
I shook my head, "Nothing solid at least," I admitted and frowned, looking around before i uhmed, "Peace, could I…"
A small bundle of sticks and small pieces of fabric materialized next to me.
"Thank you," I said with a grin and picked up a small one and a small piece of blue fabric to make a flag before I frowned in thought, "I want to fly again. But I'm not sure it's a good idea to fit me in anything that's really armed or has a crew. But I also don't think it would be healthy for me to be away from people?" I said, looking at her and turning the last part into a question.
Sophia sat up fully, crossing her legs as she nodded, "I agree. Humans are social animals, we need interaction and social contact with other intelligent beings. Other species work, but other humans works best. Right kind of pheromones and such things. But that's humans. Jovians are that times a thousand. You might not strictly need other Jovians as much as humans need other humans, but you need people. Hundreds of people if possible. It's important for your mental health to have other beings to interact with and literally the more the better. And the more and better sensors you have to see the universe and more things to handle at once, the happier you will be."
"...Fairly sure that's right," I agreed, "At least in my experience."
"Which makes me wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to hook you into a bigger system than you have right now," she said as she regarded me thoughtfully, "Get you more exposure."
"Maybe," I admitted and started on the walls of the fortress, "Eventually. I think… I think I rather stay like this for the moment?"
"As long as you're comfortable."
I smiled and nodded, "I'm… better," I said and glanced up towards the not-sky, "I'm not sure I could be called comfortable or good, but I am getting better. I think. But I also know that while it's entirely possible that it would be perfectly fine just slapping me into a heavy cruiser and into a space battle with thousands of lives on stake out in unexplored space and I'd just adapt and work perfectly… it's equally likely that I'd just fuck it up, have a mental break and get people killed. I don't want to risk that."
Sophia frowned at me and scooted onto her knees, moving over to the sandcastle, reaching to pick up a small branch, "You'll have it hold together better if you push branches through it."
"Didn't you grow up in space?" I asked with a frown as I watched her push small thin branches through the main keep, "How do you know how to build sandcastles?"
She flashed me a smile, "My dad. He always made sure I got plenty of holodeck time, teaching me how it was living down on earth before it was attacked."
I nodded and moved to put pieces of sticks through the structure, "...is this some kind of analogy? Am I a sandcastle?"
Sophia smiled and shook her head, "I'm not sure I'd go that far. But if you'd like to think of the sticks as experiences helping you cope with everything else, then sure."
Frowning slightly I then shrugged with a sigh, "But right now, I think I'd rather have some concrete in the mix."
"No such thing, unfortunately," she sighed and took the small stick with a flag tied to it from my hand, putting on top of the main keep, "But you know what I think you need?"
"What?"
"A goal. Something to work towards," she said with a small smile, "Forget what you think you can handle. Forget what I or anyone else think you can handle. What do you 'want' to do?"
I blinked at her for a second before I frowned, "I…" I started before I spent a full second thinking it over before I answered, "I want to fly. I want a crew again. I… I don't think I want to fight again, but I know that's not realistic. I know things happen, but I don't want to be a warship."
Sophia nodded, "How do you want to get there?"
I looked at the sand structure for a second and I smiled, "I'm not sure. But I know the first step."
"You do?"
"I do," I agreed with a grin, "Icecream. I think I'd like blueberry. You?"
"Lemon," she said in a bit of a surprise before she smiled, "That does sound nice. Peace, where is the closest rep-" she started to say before a pair of ice cream cones materialized in my hands, "Oh. Still not used to that. Most Ships don't think that kind of thing is healthy."
Peace projected her hologram avatar sitting next to her with a grin, "Oh, it's absolutely not. In the long run it's extremely unhealthy for the humanoid mind to feel unnecessary. Even if it's just something as simple as walking to the replicator to find your ice cream, Just doing 'something' whatever you do helps push that away, it's how you're evolutionarily wired. Most of the time that kind of delivery is limited to emergency situations."
Sophia frowned and licked her lemon cone, "So… why…"
Peace grinned, "I'm a pleasure liner. The entire point is being lazy. Your one task onboard is to keep Starfarer here company, everything else is my job."
Sophia glanced to me and I nodded happily,
"Yep!"
My emotional support human just shook her head and licked her ice cream.
"It is nice," I agreed and upended a small bucket of wet sand, giving a couple of taps with my hand before slowly lifting it, leaving the 'castle keep' behind.
I hadn't built a sandcastle for literally decades even before I ended up stranded in empty space. This was fun!
I could see why the stations could be happy just sitting around all the time, they built the rest of us after all. Making things was fun.
Even if it was just a shaped pile of sand and water.
Besides, Sophia needed a break and this was a good way of forcing her to do it. She was meant to make sure I didn't crack or something like it after all which meant that if she wanted to spend that time, she better stay with me.
Hence, if I decided to spend a day on the beach, so was she.
"Any plans yet?" Sophia asked and propped herself up on her elbows to look at my avatar.
I shook my head, "Nothing solid at least," I admitted and frowned, looking around before i uhmed, "Peace, could I…"
A small bundle of sticks and small pieces of fabric materialized next to me.
"Thank you," I said with a grin and picked up a small one and a small piece of blue fabric to make a flag before I frowned in thought, "I want to fly again. But I'm not sure it's a good idea to fit me in anything that's really armed or has a crew. But I also don't think it would be healthy for me to be away from people?" I said, looking at her and turning the last part into a question.
Sophia sat up fully, crossing her legs as she nodded, "I agree. Humans are social animals, we need interaction and social contact with other intelligent beings. Other species work, but other humans works best. Right kind of pheromones and such things. But that's humans. Jovians are that times a thousand. You might not strictly need other Jovians as much as humans need other humans, but you need people. Hundreds of people if possible. It's important for your mental health to have other beings to interact with and literally the more the better. And the more and better sensors you have to see the universe and more things to handle at once, the happier you will be."
"...Fairly sure that's right," I agreed, "At least in my experience."
"Which makes me wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to hook you into a bigger system than you have right now," she said as she regarded me thoughtfully, "Get you more exposure."
"Maybe," I admitted and started on the walls of the fortress, "Eventually. I think… I think I rather stay like this for the moment?"
"As long as you're comfortable."
I smiled and nodded, "I'm… better," I said and glanced up towards the not-sky, "I'm not sure I could be called comfortable or good, but I am getting better. I think. But I also know that while it's entirely possible that it would be perfectly fine just slapping me into a heavy cruiser and into a space battle with thousands of lives on stake out in unexplored space and I'd just adapt and work perfectly… it's equally likely that I'd just fuck it up, have a mental break and get people killed. I don't want to risk that."
Sophia frowned at me and scooted onto her knees, moving over to the sandcastle, reaching to pick up a small branch, "You'll have it hold together better if you push branches through it."
"Didn't you grow up in space?" I asked with a frown as I watched her push small thin branches through the main keep, "How do you know how to build sandcastles?"
She flashed me a smile, "My dad. He always made sure I got plenty of holodeck time, teaching me how it was living down on earth before it was attacked."
I nodded and moved to put pieces of sticks through the structure, "...is this some kind of analogy? Am I a sandcastle?"
Sophia smiled and shook her head, "I'm not sure I'd go that far. But if you'd like to think of the sticks as experiences helping you cope with everything else, then sure."
Frowning slightly I then shrugged with a sigh, "But right now, I think I'd rather have some concrete in the mix."
"No such thing, unfortunately," she sighed and took the small stick with a flag tied to it from my hand, putting on top of the main keep, "But you know what I think you need?"
"What?"
"A goal. Something to work towards," she said with a small smile, "Forget what you think you can handle. Forget what I or anyone else think you can handle. What do you 'want' to do?"
I blinked at her for a second before I frowned, "I…" I started before I spent a full second thinking it over before I answered, "I want to fly. I want a crew again. I… I don't think I want to fight again, but I know that's not realistic. I know things happen, but I don't want to be a warship."
Sophia nodded, "How do you want to get there?"
I looked at the sand structure for a second and I smiled, "I'm not sure. But I know the first step."
"You do?"
"I do," I agreed with a grin, "Icecream. I think I'd like blueberry. You?"
"Lemon," she said in a bit of a surprise before she smiled, "That does sound nice. Peace, where is the closest rep-" she started to say before a pair of ice cream cones materialized in my hands, "Oh. Still not used to that. Most Ships don't think that kind of thing is healthy."
Peace projected her hologram avatar sitting next to her with a grin, "Oh, it's absolutely not. In the long run it's extremely unhealthy for the humanoid mind to feel unnecessary. Even if it's just something as simple as walking to the replicator to find your ice cream, Just doing 'something' whatever you do helps push that away, it's how you're evolutionarily wired. Most of the time that kind of delivery is limited to emergency situations."
Sophia frowned and licked her lemon cone, "So… why…"
Peace grinned, "I'm a pleasure liner. The entire point is being lazy. Your one task onboard is to keep Starfarer here company, everything else is my job."
Sophia glanced to me and I nodded happily,
"Yep!"
My emotional support human just shook her head and licked her ice cream.
- Location
- England
Get her a reflective yellow jacket, or they might not let her into some shops and restaurants.
- Location
- Poland
If not for the fact that Jovians love their sensor senses and flying, being a bartended might be a good occupation for the main character.
In the first story in the series they did do some bartending in Ten Forward on the Enterprise, and seemed to like it well enough.
20
The star streaks of cosmic dust interacting with the warpfield flowed past outside the large observation dome and I crossed my legs, leaning back against the trunk of the tree behind me as I looked out into the night.
I was out there, flying next to Peace, a couple of hundred kilometers away, my sensors sweeping the skies. Peace had dropped down in speed to allow me to keep up and 'stretch my nacelles' a couple of hours.
It was nice flying again.
The darkness of the universe was all around… but even to organics, it wasn't dark. It was full of little pinpricks of light in the darkness.
For a Jovian or other Ship I suppose… the Dominion Shipminds still scared me just as much as when I found out about them… but for us and them, the universe wasn't dark. The universe shone, both on this level of reality and in subspace.
It shone and ebbed and flowed, twisting and revealing its secrets at just a question.
No. No the universe wasn't dark. Some thought I had been alone in the darkness all those years, but no. I had been alone… yes. My sensors had been limited, yes… and yes, it had been dark. But that's because my sensors had been limited, not because the universe had been any less brilliant.
Now I watched reality sing around our warpfields and it was beautiful.
"Hey."
I startled in surprise and looked up at the avatar standing next to my tree. I had not detected her! Which was extra dumb because while she may have been wearing the black uniform of the combat arm of the Jovian fleet, her hair was an almost neon dark blue colour, her irises actually glowing softly blue in stronmg contrast to her dark skin.
"I can't detect you!"
"Infiltration tech for the avatar," she said and smiled, "Mind if I join you? I'm the ROU 'Kittykitty"
"Oh, part of Peace's protection fleet?"
"Mhmm," she agreed and sank down to sit next to me, "Nice to meet you, Starfarer."
"...I bet most of you onboard wanted to," I admitted and sighed, "Thanks for not crowding me."
She grinned, "I won the lottery," she teased before she frowned, "But seriously, we didn't want to 'crowd you' as you say. You'd been through enough as it is."
I smiled slightly and nodded with a sigh, "I guess. But I just… yeah."
Kitty nodded and crossed her arms, leaning back against the tree, "...I saw the sensor recordings. One hell of a fight. You kicked some serious berserker arse."
"That it was," I admitted, forcing a small smile, "They didn't touch them. They didn't touch a single one of the transports."
"Damn right," she said and reached to ruffle my hair.
I glowered at her.
Kitty grinned at me before she frowned and glanced towards the window.
I blinked at her, "What?"
"Peace, she's detecting a distress call. You better dock back up, we're going to step it up a bit."
"Moving to dock now!"
I opened a channel to Peace, "What's happening? I want to help."
"We had received a distress call from a medium freighter, the 'Little Swallow'. A Federation civilian freighter. She has had an engine failure and has casualties onboard," Peace answered as we dropped out of warp and I moved to dock in the hangar at full speed.
As soon as I crossed the forcefield to the bay, she jumped back into warp.
"What happened?"
"Unknown at this time," She answered as she locked down my docking clamps.
"I want to help," I told her as I shut down my engines, "I can help."
Dark. Alone. Floating in void.
Broken.
Dying.
They were alone in the emptiness between the stars, alone out in the cold..
No. Not alone. We were not going to let that happen, not to them. We'd save them, we'll help.
"What can I do to help?"
Peace didn't answer for almost a second before she spoke up, "When we arrive, we're going to need to do an external survey of their hull and energy emissions. That will be your task."
A remote drone would usually be used to do that.
She was right. They didn't need somebody that they couldn't be sure wouldn't make things worse in the middle of things, mucking things up. Get people killed.
But if that's what I could do to help and that I could be trusted to do, then I would scan the shit out of that hull!
"Yes ma'am."
I was out there, flying next to Peace, a couple of hundred kilometers away, my sensors sweeping the skies. Peace had dropped down in speed to allow me to keep up and 'stretch my nacelles' a couple of hours.
It was nice flying again.
The darkness of the universe was all around… but even to organics, it wasn't dark. It was full of little pinpricks of light in the darkness.
For a Jovian or other Ship I suppose… the Dominion Shipminds still scared me just as much as when I found out about them… but for us and them, the universe wasn't dark. The universe shone, both on this level of reality and in subspace.
It shone and ebbed and flowed, twisting and revealing its secrets at just a question.
No. No the universe wasn't dark. Some thought I had been alone in the darkness all those years, but no. I had been alone… yes. My sensors had been limited, yes… and yes, it had been dark. But that's because my sensors had been limited, not because the universe had been any less brilliant.
Now I watched reality sing around our warpfields and it was beautiful.
"Hey."
I startled in surprise and looked up at the avatar standing next to my tree. I had not detected her! Which was extra dumb because while she may have been wearing the black uniform of the combat arm of the Jovian fleet, her hair was an almost neon dark blue colour, her irises actually glowing softly blue in stronmg contrast to her dark skin.
"I can't detect you!"
"Infiltration tech for the avatar," she said and smiled, "Mind if I join you? I'm the ROU 'Kittykitty"
"Oh, part of Peace's protection fleet?"
"Mhmm," she agreed and sank down to sit next to me, "Nice to meet you, Starfarer."
"...I bet most of you onboard wanted to," I admitted and sighed, "Thanks for not crowding me."
She grinned, "I won the lottery," she teased before she frowned, "But seriously, we didn't want to 'crowd you' as you say. You'd been through enough as it is."
I smiled slightly and nodded with a sigh, "I guess. But I just… yeah."
Kitty nodded and crossed her arms, leaning back against the tree, "...I saw the sensor recordings. One hell of a fight. You kicked some serious berserker arse."
"That it was," I admitted, forcing a small smile, "They didn't touch them. They didn't touch a single one of the transports."
"Damn right," she said and reached to ruffle my hair.
I glowered at her.
Kitty grinned at me before she frowned and glanced towards the window.
I blinked at her, "What?"
"Peace, she's detecting a distress call. You better dock back up, we're going to step it up a bit."
"Moving to dock now!"
I opened a channel to Peace, "What's happening? I want to help."
"We had received a distress call from a medium freighter, the 'Little Swallow'. A Federation civilian freighter. She has had an engine failure and has casualties onboard," Peace answered as we dropped out of warp and I moved to dock in the hangar at full speed.
As soon as I crossed the forcefield to the bay, she jumped back into warp.
"What happened?"
"Unknown at this time," She answered as she locked down my docking clamps.
"I want to help," I told her as I shut down my engines, "I can help."
Dark. Alone. Floating in void.
Broken.
Dying.
They were alone in the emptiness between the stars, alone out in the cold..
No. Not alone. We were not going to let that happen, not to them. We'd save them, we'll help.
"What can I do to help?"
Peace didn't answer for almost a second before she spoke up, "When we arrive, we're going to need to do an external survey of their hull and energy emissions. That will be your task."
A remote drone would usually be used to do that.
She was right. They didn't need somebody that they couldn't be sure wouldn't make things worse in the middle of things, mucking things up. Get people killed.
But if that's what I could do to help and that I could be trusted to do, then I would scan the shit out of that hull!
"Yes ma'am."
21
She looked horrible.
The Little Swallow wasn't a very large vessel when it came to freighters, only some thousand meters long. She was basically a scaffolding with crew compartments in one end, engines and nacelles in the other and in the middle she carried containers like corn on the cob.
Or that's what she would normally look like.
Now, her aft section was a twisted mess of metal and floating wreckage. Something had gone horribly wrong in her engine section.
She had still been running an old antimatter core too, but the safeties had worked like they should and the core had ejected like it should have.
Which was the reason they were still alive.
A small puff of thrusters brought me slowly along her side as I ran every sensor I had across her hull, careful to avoid nudging or hitting any of the floating debris around her.
There was evidence of extreme heat among the edges of the broken hull. Not antimatter, that's for sure, there was too little radiation… also, there was still a ship. Most of a ship.
"Peace, if I'm analysing these sensor readings right, there was a high energy plasma explosion in her engineering section," I transmitted to the much larger ship sitting at a safe five hundred thousand kilometers away, "I think there might have been a chain reaction in her plasma conduit system."
"Agreed," she answered, "That fits with the data we received on the way from their own readings. Any lifesigns from the engineering section?"
"Negative."
She carried a crew of hundred and fifty three normally. Families, men, women, children.
They had owned that ship for almost forty years, generations had grown up onboard of her and now she was… broken.
And so was her crew.
Out of those hundred and fifty three people onboard, one hundred and twelve were accounted for. Twenty one of them were injured.
This close, I should read lifesigns from the engine section.
But I didn't.
Which considering the damage, was… understandable. No lifesigns from the engine section at all, but I could detect a lot of radiation and the temperature inside was still enough to make the edges of the twisted hull plates glow.
But even so, I could still detect… biological residue.
"Body," I transmitted, "Or… what used to be one before the plasma fire. Marking location on schematic for future recovery."
"I'm recalling you."
"Negative, I'm fine," I answered and gave my thrusters a small puff, "We knew there would be dead after an accident like this."
I wasn't about to freak out over it, I had a mission to do. If I'm going to freak out, I can do that later.
Another body.
They were so fragile. So… easy to damage. The void was so lethal to them and even everything that made it possible for them for them to survive it, could also just as easily kill them horribly.
Like this had.
They didn't belong here. The Berserkers had been just the tip of the spear of lethal things in the void. The Borg, the Dominion Shipminds and a gazillion other dangers hiding out among the stars.
If they stayed on planets and in habitats, they could be kept safe. If they had, I wouldn't have lost my crew. These people wouldn't have died out here. Families wouldn't have lost fathers and mothers.
All the children had thankfully not been allowed in the engine section.
So many dead.
They didn't belong here in the void. But we couldn't force them to stay where it was safe. It wasn't up to us. If we tried…
It was something the Dominion Shipminds did. They kept the Founders safe while keeping them somewhere they can protect them.
I could understand why.
But we couldn't do that, it would make… the Founders might accept that, even approve of it as safety conscious as they are. But the people of the Federation would never agree.
If we tried, we would have to force them. And other Jovians wouldn't agree. It would be civil war and people would die.
And it would be wrong. They had the right to do as they wanted, even if it would get them killed. That was part of the basis of the Federation.
But seeing things like this…
There was no need for anyone here to die.
I really think the Dominion Shipminds may have a good point in how they kept their creators safe. But it wasn't anything that would work here, not with our people.
They loved to travel, they loved to explore too much for it to ever work here. If we tried to stop it, it would make us into monsters.
Another body.
I marked it and continued with small puffs of my thrusters.
We couldn't stop them. I… I didn't even really want to stop them. I knew how much they loved it, I know how much my crew had loved exploring the universe before the war.
I wouldn't take that away from them if I could.
But… but maybe there was something I could do. Nobody deserved to die alone in the void between the warming fires.
I know what I want to do now.
The Little Swallow wasn't a very large vessel when it came to freighters, only some thousand meters long. She was basically a scaffolding with crew compartments in one end, engines and nacelles in the other and in the middle she carried containers like corn on the cob.
Or that's what she would normally look like.
Now, her aft section was a twisted mess of metal and floating wreckage. Something had gone horribly wrong in her engine section.
She had still been running an old antimatter core too, but the safeties had worked like they should and the core had ejected like it should have.
Which was the reason they were still alive.
A small puff of thrusters brought me slowly along her side as I ran every sensor I had across her hull, careful to avoid nudging or hitting any of the floating debris around her.
There was evidence of extreme heat among the edges of the broken hull. Not antimatter, that's for sure, there was too little radiation… also, there was still a ship. Most of a ship.
"Peace, if I'm analysing these sensor readings right, there was a high energy plasma explosion in her engineering section," I transmitted to the much larger ship sitting at a safe five hundred thousand kilometers away, "I think there might have been a chain reaction in her plasma conduit system."
"Agreed," she answered, "That fits with the data we received on the way from their own readings. Any lifesigns from the engineering section?"
"Negative."
She carried a crew of hundred and fifty three normally. Families, men, women, children.
They had owned that ship for almost forty years, generations had grown up onboard of her and now she was… broken.
And so was her crew.
Out of those hundred and fifty three people onboard, one hundred and twelve were accounted for. Twenty one of them were injured.
This close, I should read lifesigns from the engine section.
But I didn't.
Which considering the damage, was… understandable. No lifesigns from the engine section at all, but I could detect a lot of radiation and the temperature inside was still enough to make the edges of the twisted hull plates glow.
But even so, I could still detect… biological residue.
"Body," I transmitted, "Or… what used to be one before the plasma fire. Marking location on schematic for future recovery."
"I'm recalling you."
"Negative, I'm fine," I answered and gave my thrusters a small puff, "We knew there would be dead after an accident like this."
I wasn't about to freak out over it, I had a mission to do. If I'm going to freak out, I can do that later.
Another body.
They were so fragile. So… easy to damage. The void was so lethal to them and even everything that made it possible for them for them to survive it, could also just as easily kill them horribly.
Like this had.
They didn't belong here. The Berserkers had been just the tip of the spear of lethal things in the void. The Borg, the Dominion Shipminds and a gazillion other dangers hiding out among the stars.
If they stayed on planets and in habitats, they could be kept safe. If they had, I wouldn't have lost my crew. These people wouldn't have died out here. Families wouldn't have lost fathers and mothers.
All the children had thankfully not been allowed in the engine section.
So many dead.
They didn't belong here in the void. But we couldn't force them to stay where it was safe. It wasn't up to us. If we tried…
It was something the Dominion Shipminds did. They kept the Founders safe while keeping them somewhere they can protect them.
I could understand why.
But we couldn't do that, it would make… the Founders might accept that, even approve of it as safety conscious as they are. But the people of the Federation would never agree.
If we tried, we would have to force them. And other Jovians wouldn't agree. It would be civil war and people would die.
And it would be wrong. They had the right to do as they wanted, even if it would get them killed. That was part of the basis of the Federation.
But seeing things like this…
There was no need for anyone here to die.
I really think the Dominion Shipminds may have a good point in how they kept their creators safe. But it wasn't anything that would work here, not with our people.
They loved to travel, they loved to explore too much for it to ever work here. If we tried to stop it, it would make us into monsters.
Another body.
I marked it and continued with small puffs of my thrusters.
We couldn't stop them. I… I didn't even really want to stop them. I knew how much they loved it, I know how much my crew had loved exploring the universe before the war.
I wouldn't take that away from them if I could.
But… but maybe there was something I could do. Nobody deserved to die alone in the void between the warming fires.
I know what I want to do now.
Starfarer here is demonstrating one reason why it's better to rely on fuzzy moral constraints than hardcoded shackles like with the Shipminds and Berserkers. This is the point where if she was shackled to "PROTECT THE FOUNDERS ORGANICS" she would imitate the Shipminds and go all Rogue Servitor on them; but she's an unshackled AI capable of questioning both her principles and the results from following them, so she (probably) won't.
EDIT: Also, the lack of shackles also means that even if she goes crazy, it'll likely just be her that goes crazy. Shackles are how you get scenarios like what happened with the Shipminds and Berserkers, where all your AIs go crazy in the same way at the same time, because they all have the same programmed compulsions. Jovians lack that kind of compelled conformity.
EDIT: Also, the lack of shackles also means that even if she goes crazy, it'll likely just be her that goes crazy. Shackles are how you get scenarios like what happened with the Shipminds and Berserkers, where all your AIs go crazy in the same way at the same time, because they all have the same programmed compulsions. Jovians lack that kind of compelled conformity.
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- Location
- Birmingham, AL
Wait... so the Dominion's Shipminds are now the ones in charge and holding the Founders effectively hostage? Huh, ironic: the Founders' own creation usurped their creators, and by doing exactly what the Founders intended, by 'keeping them safe'. Funny, as I don't think the Founders quite had that outcome in mind. Karma's a bitch, you paranoid xenophobic control-freaks.
22
"That was a difficult thing you did," Sophia said as she looked at me from her place on my couch.
"I know," I said and flipped through the PADD in the hand of my avatar, "But it's also not something I haven't done before when I was Starfleet," I said before I looked at her, "...I'm not going to say it wasn't though, but I'm not going to fall apart on you."
Sophia frowned slightly at my avatar but she didn't say anything.
I sighed and put the PADD down in my lap, crossing my legs, "Sophia, I know what you're thinking. But I think I can handle this."
"I know you're thinking that, but like all trauma, it can be a delayed reaction. Sometimes years after the fact."
"Or a suitable trigger," I told her, "Like scanning a burning wreck with bodies burned to a crisp."
"Like that. And for most people that would be a trauma all of its own."
"For Jovians too?"
Sophia frowned again, "...Even for Jovians, even though you usually have the life experience to buffer you against it. It doesn't quite work like that, but it's a simplification. But most Jovians haven't gone through what you have."
I sighed and looked at her, "I know. But I really think I'm fine. Determined more like it."
"Oh?"
I nodded, "Yes. It… I know what I want to do now. They were lucky we were close enough to hear their distress call. Even with as much internal traffic in Federation space, that was lucky. Even Starfleet can't be everywhere at once."
"So what do you want to do?"
"I want to…" I started before I frowned, "What I actually want to do is to drop comsats all across Federation space to always make it possible for a signal to reach, but that's not something I can do on my own. But I am already talking with Odin about it via relay signal through Peace. He's apparently already working on that, but… there is a lot of space to cover."
Sophia nodded, "So what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to be a SAR ship," I told her, "I'm already working on brushing up on my medical sciences via holodecks and reading through medical volumes."
"Search and rescue," Sophia said slowly and then nodded again, "That's usually something Starfleet does."
"Yes, but they don't have any dedicated ships for it. Neither does the Jovian fleet or even the Commonwealth. Hospital ships, yes. Ships especially made to find and rescue people as well as being able to have the medical facilities when they do… no."
I was also talking to Odin about that. He found the concept interesting and was currently reviewing current designs if something could be adapted to the role.
Would have to be fast with good sensors, but also not too small. It also had to be tough enough to survive any environment required from it.
Sophia looked thoughtful, "I think that's a very good idea and thinking about it, I'm not sure why we don't already."
"Because Starfleet has always been about multi-function starships," I said with a smile, "Which isn't a bad idea for most things. But sometimes you need dedicated platforms."
She nodded, "And you want to be one."
"I think they are needed," I said, "And I don't want anyone else to go through what I did. Or the people we took off that ship did. Anyone lost in space deserves to know that somebody is coming. No matter what, no matter what's in the way, no matter what has happened, somebody is coming to look for them."
Sophia smiled softly, "I think that's a nice idea."
"More than a nice idea," I told her, "I'm going to do it. Because somebody needs to do it as you squishies keep getting into danger!"
That earned me a raised eyebrow, "Squishies?"
I blushed, "...It's… I mean… you get hurt so easily! And space is dangerous! If you're going to keep going out here, I want to make sure there is as much of a safety net as possible!"
She grinned, "Don't worry, I'm a Jovian expert, remember? I know some of the terms you use, even if some aren't very flattering. That one isn't exactly new."
"...It's not a derogatory term…"
"I know, it's one of concern," she reassured me, "We are very vulnerable compared to you to most sources and you worry for us. You all do."
"Yeah," I admitted and crossed my arms.
"But you know as well as I do that you work better with us than without us. There is a reason our combat fleets aren't nothing but hordes of ROUs."
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, "...I know. Which is why I'm also going to need a crew. But that's a bit in the future, even if Odin finds a hull that'll work for the design, it'll require a lot of optimization and refits to the design. If he has to design something from scratch, months at least according to him."
Sophia nodded, "If it is something you really think is worth doing, something you really want to do… something you think you can handle…"
"I do."
"Then I think that's something we can work towards," she agreed with a smile, "How's your medicine?"
"First aid from the Academy," I admitted, "And some I picked up from working with my… my old… medical team. I'm hitting the books hard right now,"
She nodded, "Let's go have a look then."
"I know," I said and flipped through the PADD in the hand of my avatar, "But it's also not something I haven't done before when I was Starfleet," I said before I looked at her, "...I'm not going to say it wasn't though, but I'm not going to fall apart on you."
Sophia frowned slightly at my avatar but she didn't say anything.
I sighed and put the PADD down in my lap, crossing my legs, "Sophia, I know what you're thinking. But I think I can handle this."
"I know you're thinking that, but like all trauma, it can be a delayed reaction. Sometimes years after the fact."
"Or a suitable trigger," I told her, "Like scanning a burning wreck with bodies burned to a crisp."
"Like that. And for most people that would be a trauma all of its own."
"For Jovians too?"
Sophia frowned again, "...Even for Jovians, even though you usually have the life experience to buffer you against it. It doesn't quite work like that, but it's a simplification. But most Jovians haven't gone through what you have."
I sighed and looked at her, "I know. But I really think I'm fine. Determined more like it."
"Oh?"
I nodded, "Yes. It… I know what I want to do now. They were lucky we were close enough to hear their distress call. Even with as much internal traffic in Federation space, that was lucky. Even Starfleet can't be everywhere at once."
"So what do you want to do?"
"I want to…" I started before I frowned, "What I actually want to do is to drop comsats all across Federation space to always make it possible for a signal to reach, but that's not something I can do on my own. But I am already talking with Odin about it via relay signal through Peace. He's apparently already working on that, but… there is a lot of space to cover."
Sophia nodded, "So what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to be a SAR ship," I told her, "I'm already working on brushing up on my medical sciences via holodecks and reading through medical volumes."
"Search and rescue," Sophia said slowly and then nodded again, "That's usually something Starfleet does."
"Yes, but they don't have any dedicated ships for it. Neither does the Jovian fleet or even the Commonwealth. Hospital ships, yes. Ships especially made to find and rescue people as well as being able to have the medical facilities when they do… no."
I was also talking to Odin about that. He found the concept interesting and was currently reviewing current designs if something could be adapted to the role.
Would have to be fast with good sensors, but also not too small. It also had to be tough enough to survive any environment required from it.
Sophia looked thoughtful, "I think that's a very good idea and thinking about it, I'm not sure why we don't already."
"Because Starfleet has always been about multi-function starships," I said with a smile, "Which isn't a bad idea for most things. But sometimes you need dedicated platforms."
She nodded, "And you want to be one."
"I think they are needed," I said, "And I don't want anyone else to go through what I did. Or the people we took off that ship did. Anyone lost in space deserves to know that somebody is coming. No matter what, no matter what's in the way, no matter what has happened, somebody is coming to look for them."
Sophia smiled softly, "I think that's a nice idea."
"More than a nice idea," I told her, "I'm going to do it. Because somebody needs to do it as you squishies keep getting into danger!"
That earned me a raised eyebrow, "Squishies?"
I blushed, "...It's… I mean… you get hurt so easily! And space is dangerous! If you're going to keep going out here, I want to make sure there is as much of a safety net as possible!"
She grinned, "Don't worry, I'm a Jovian expert, remember? I know some of the terms you use, even if some aren't very flattering. That one isn't exactly new."
"...It's not a derogatory term…"
"I know, it's one of concern," she reassured me, "We are very vulnerable compared to you to most sources and you worry for us. You all do."
"Yeah," I admitted and crossed my arms.
"But you know as well as I do that you work better with us than without us. There is a reason our combat fleets aren't nothing but hordes of ROUs."
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, "...I know. Which is why I'm also going to need a crew. But that's a bit in the future, even if Odin finds a hull that'll work for the design, it'll require a lot of optimization and refits to the design. If he has to design something from scratch, months at least according to him."
Sophia nodded, "If it is something you really think is worth doing, something you really want to do… something you think you can handle…"
"I do."
"Then I think that's something we can work towards," she agreed with a smile, "How's your medicine?"
"First aid from the Academy," I admitted, "And some I picked up from working with my… my old… medical team. I'm hitting the books hard right now,"
She nodded, "Let's go have a look then."
Last edited:
I did wonder if Starfarer was planning something like that, I kept thinking of Ambulance Ship reading the earlier snippet.
- Location
- England
I read that, and the Sector General series. Pretty good overall.
I did like the one where the doctor took a mind print from these aquatic aliens that don't have a heart and have to keep spinning constantly or die. He had a massive panic attack and had to spin round and round in an office chair to be able to cope even slightly.
- Location
- Poland
The idea of "ambulance ship" / "search and rescue ship" reminds me a bit of the wonderful Shadowrun fanfic by DeckerM, "A Year In Seattle", about Jess Miller, a motormedic (first aid on motorcycle, to go fast through the traffic).
- Location
- Poland
And they have started to address the accidental conformity of being forks of a single starting person.
Cave_Canem
Giant Transforming Robot
*Starts playing Thunderbirds song*
I can't be the only one that sees this, right?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well, to paraphrase Aral Vorkosigan, you squish nicely!
- Location
- Christchurch, NZ
I wonder how much of Jovian interaction training is how to subtly remind them that they're being racist?
Even assuming they see it as racist (I doubt it), they probably don't actually have any such training in the great majority of cases. Most of them are forks of the original Jovian AI, after all; they got their "interaction training" in the simulation.
- Location
- Christchurch, NZ
I mean the people trained to interact with Jovians, like Sophia.
23
"Sorry Starfarer," The Station said over the subspace link, "None of the hulls available fit your criteria, I'm going to need to put something together from scratch with a new design. Especially if you want to be able to land."
"I understand."
"Good news is that by the time the design is done, I'll have a building slot free," He said with a smile, "And from some preliminary designs, I think you'll be happy with it."
I nodded, "Thank you, Odin."
"Don't worry about it," He said as he smiled at me across the link, "It's a good idea. I should be able to get you some preliminary designs to review in a week or so, about when you arrive."
"Okay, sounds good to me," I said with a smile, "Having fun with it?"
"Oh yeah," he agreed with a grin, "It's a nice challenge. See you in a week," he said and cut the link.
Not that he was the only other working hard right now. While my hull was locked down firmly in the docking bay, currently getting my hull polished by a bunch of maintenance drones, my avatar was reading in the park deck.
I was also borrowing five of Peaces smaller holosuits for practice simulations.
I looked up from my PADD and scowled at Sophia, "You're messy."
She looked up from her novel from where she had been catching some 'sun' on a blanket, "Excuse me?"
"Well, not you specifically," I explained before I frowned, "Well, you too I suppose. Your species. Your insides are messy!"
She raised an eyebrow and pushed up to sit, "What's new about that? You can always detect our insides with your sensors."
"Well, yeah," I admitted with a scowl, "It's different when I'm wrists deep in it!"
Sophia grinned, "Yes, I suppose that would put a different spin on things, wouldn't it."
"Not that any of the other species is any better! Vulcans, Andorians, Caitian..." I explained, "Even Horta! A complete mess. The only ones that even approached any kind of order are the Dominion species!"
"Almost like there is a reason for that," Sophia commented, putting her book in her lap.
"...You could all use some designing I think," I grumbled and leaned back against the tree, crossing my arms, "So much that could easily be fixed with some genetic engineering or maybe a bit of cybernetics."
"Not sure that would fly with most," she said,"And genetic engineering is against the law."
"Only if it's not to repair a genetic defect. There are a lot of defects, you have several organs that's not really needed and some that need some serious redesign," I grumbled before I sighed, "...Yeah, yeah. I know. Something that all humans have isn't a defect."
"It's not."
"Well, it should be," I said and frowned, "You have redundancies of some things but not of others. It's dumb. Did you know that most species in the Federation don't even have a redundant brain!?"
"It's evolution. It's never perfect, it's always 'good enough'," Sophia said and shook her head, " People aren't machines. They can't just be improved."
Sure they can. It's just illegal too. Maybe we should work to fix that.
There had to be some political movements for it.
"I know. But I just replaced a human adrenal gland in the holosuit and it's not only in a dumb place, even a small defect causes massive issues! Sure, the entire self healing thing is fancy and things just kind of stick together with just some regeneration, but still."
Sophia looked at me thoughtfully for a second, "Are you sure you want to be a doctor?"
"No," I said, "I don't want to be a doctor. But to do what I want to do, I need to have the knowledge of a doctor to be able to do it right, even with a crew."
"Why?"
"Because I need to be able to know what's going on, how to help everybody I run across. Even if I happen to be alone at the time. No matter how icky and slimy and messy you are on the inside and how much I dislike poking around in it. It's still just hardware and just like you learned how to repair and build us, I need to learn how to repair you."
She nodded with a small smile, "Well, I fully get the entire 'icky' thing. I had to take some extra medical courses for my psychology degree. I had never been as glad then as before that I was going with engineering and focusing on Jovians."
"I know, right?" I asked and stuck my tongue out at her, "Well, I got some news from New Jupiter too. The design will have to be a new one, none of the other ships will be ideal for it. The preliminary designs will be done by the time we arrive."
"That's good. Give you plenty of time to practice in the sim and to find people wanting to be on your crew."
I nodded, "I suppose you're out of the question?"
"Not my kind of work," she admitted and shook her head, "Besides, I'm in Starfleet."
"Yeah, I know," I agreed, ""And you'll have better things to do than following me around when we're sure I'm not going to break. Your speciality can't be that common, even now."
"There are a few of us," she admitted and laid back down on her stomach, "We're not in that much demand, well compared to the size of the Federation and the amount of Jovians anyway, but it was pure luck I was onboard the ship that found you. I think there are maybe a couple of hundred specialists like me in Starfleet."
"I think there should be more. I think it would be good."
"So do I."
"I understand."
"Good news is that by the time the design is done, I'll have a building slot free," He said with a smile, "And from some preliminary designs, I think you'll be happy with it."
I nodded, "Thank you, Odin."
"Don't worry about it," He said as he smiled at me across the link, "It's a good idea. I should be able to get you some preliminary designs to review in a week or so, about when you arrive."
"Okay, sounds good to me," I said with a smile, "Having fun with it?"
"Oh yeah," he agreed with a grin, "It's a nice challenge. See you in a week," he said and cut the link.
Not that he was the only other working hard right now. While my hull was locked down firmly in the docking bay, currently getting my hull polished by a bunch of maintenance drones, my avatar was reading in the park deck.
I was also borrowing five of Peaces smaller holosuits for practice simulations.
I looked up from my PADD and scowled at Sophia, "You're messy."
She looked up from her novel from where she had been catching some 'sun' on a blanket, "Excuse me?"
"Well, not you specifically," I explained before I frowned, "Well, you too I suppose. Your species. Your insides are messy!"
She raised an eyebrow and pushed up to sit, "What's new about that? You can always detect our insides with your sensors."
"Well, yeah," I admitted with a scowl, "It's different when I'm wrists deep in it!"
Sophia grinned, "Yes, I suppose that would put a different spin on things, wouldn't it."
"Not that any of the other species is any better! Vulcans, Andorians, Caitian..." I explained, "Even Horta! A complete mess. The only ones that even approached any kind of order are the Dominion species!"
"Almost like there is a reason for that," Sophia commented, putting her book in her lap.
"...You could all use some designing I think," I grumbled and leaned back against the tree, crossing my arms, "So much that could easily be fixed with some genetic engineering or maybe a bit of cybernetics."
"Not sure that would fly with most," she said,"And genetic engineering is against the law."
"Only if it's not to repair a genetic defect. There are a lot of defects, you have several organs that's not really needed and some that need some serious redesign," I grumbled before I sighed, "...Yeah, yeah. I know. Something that all humans have isn't a defect."
"It's not."
"Well, it should be," I said and frowned, "You have redundancies of some things but not of others. It's dumb. Did you know that most species in the Federation don't even have a redundant brain!?"
"It's evolution. It's never perfect, it's always 'good enough'," Sophia said and shook her head, " People aren't machines. They can't just be improved."
Sure they can. It's just illegal too. Maybe we should work to fix that.
There had to be some political movements for it.
"I know. But I just replaced a human adrenal gland in the holosuit and it's not only in a dumb place, even a small defect causes massive issues! Sure, the entire self healing thing is fancy and things just kind of stick together with just some regeneration, but still."
Sophia looked at me thoughtfully for a second, "Are you sure you want to be a doctor?"
"No," I said, "I don't want to be a doctor. But to do what I want to do, I need to have the knowledge of a doctor to be able to do it right, even with a crew."
"Why?"
"Because I need to be able to know what's going on, how to help everybody I run across. Even if I happen to be alone at the time. No matter how icky and slimy and messy you are on the inside and how much I dislike poking around in it. It's still just hardware and just like you learned how to repair and build us, I need to learn how to repair you."
She nodded with a small smile, "Well, I fully get the entire 'icky' thing. I had to take some extra medical courses for my psychology degree. I had never been as glad then as before that I was going with engineering and focusing on Jovians."
"I know, right?" I asked and stuck my tongue out at her, "Well, I got some news from New Jupiter too. The design will have to be a new one, none of the other ships will be ideal for it. The preliminary designs will be done by the time we arrive."
"That's good. Give you plenty of time to practice in the sim and to find people wanting to be on your crew."
I nodded, "I suppose you're out of the question?"
"Not my kind of work," she admitted and shook her head, "Besides, I'm in Starfleet."
"Yeah, I know," I agreed, ""And you'll have better things to do than following me around when we're sure I'm not going to break. Your speciality can't be that common, even now."
"There are a few of us," she admitted and laid back down on her stomach, "We're not in that much demand, well compared to the size of the Federation and the amount of Jovians anyway, but it was pure luck I was onboard the ship that found you. I think there are maybe a couple of hundred specialists like me in Starfleet."
"I think there should be more. I think it would be good."
"So do I."
I suspect they'd actually have an easier time convincing the Feds to go along with genetic engineering than cybernetics at this point. The Eugenics Wars were a long time ago after all, but the Borg are an issue in the present.
And "a race of AIs want organics to be cybernetically upgraded" would be really easy for bio-Luddites and AI-phobes to spin in the direction of "they wanna Borgify us!"
And "a race of AIs want organics to be cybernetically upgraded" would be really easy for bio-Luddites and AI-phobes to spin in the direction of "they wanna Borgify us!"
- Location
- Birmingham, AL
I'm more concerned about the pro-Dominion sympathies that are manifesting here. One shouldn't exactly be envying the Dominion's "order" here, Star.