The New Threat 37 (Patreon)

Chapter 37

Subject: BI41

Species: Mwaltin - Pwanti Conversion Completed

Description: Mammalian Humanoid, no tail. 6'5" (1.9 m) avg height. 190 lbs (86.1 kg) avg weight. 99 year life expectancy.

Ship: BI41

Location: Unknown

'I'm running low on missiles,' AU48 informed us.

'Understood. I'll only tag targets you can hit with your MAC,' AT27 replied.

We continued to circle around the battlefield looking for enemies to destroy. We had received an order to fall back and engage in long distance combat. Most of the alien vessels did so, but we were already a good distance from the Omni-Union ships and felt no need to rejoin our host formation. The only vessels still well within the fray were the United System's ships.

AT27 continued demonstrating an impressive calculative ability in the targets he was marking for us. Our ships were designed by and built by the church, but over the years we've each added our own individual pieces to them thanks to various civilian companies that create ships for space travel. I've increased my storage bays and added a faster autoloader. AT27 has apparently done something involving his processing capabilities. I was thinking about asking him what his customizations are when I received a notification that we were being reinforced.

"The swarm is inbound. I think they're going to swap at least one of the dreadnoughts," BL28 said. "Maybe two of them."

"Why?"

"One of the dreadnoughts lost their shield and took some damage, and the other one appears to be having a mechanical failure."

"What kind of mechanical failure?" I asked as I fired my MAC.

"There's chatter about their main cannon not being able to fire," she answered. "They have a shell loaded too, if I have the meaning of the phrase 'Hot Tube' correct."

"Well, they have plenty of dreadnoughts to spare," I said casually, though the thought would have caused my flesh to shiver. "It would be smart to swap out the defective ones."

"Defective..."

BL28 let the word hang in the air as I focused on evasive maneuvers. AT27 marked another target for me, and our reinforcements arrived the moment I fired my MAC. The ships from the United Systems wasted no time joining their brethren in the fight. As they began to viciously destroy the Omni-Union vessels, we finally followed AT27 back to our strike team's position.

'I managed to get 14 kills, what about you guys?' AU48 asked.

'I killed 13,' BB39 answered.

'I got 21,' AT27 said.

'30 for me,' BA14 added.

I tallied up the number of ships I had destroyed, wondering where I had placed in this impromptu ranking. I relished the chance to partake in a friendly competition. It had been a while since I'd been able to enjoy this kind of camaraderie.

'32,' I said.

'Looks like BI41 takes the win. Congratulations,' AT27 replied.

"What will happen if I end up with defective parts?" BL28 asked, interrupting my revelry.

I accessed my internal cameras to assess her current emotional state. Her expression indicated contemplation, but her heartrate and O2 saturation indicated distress. I noted that this was a genuine concern to her, and I should treat it as such.

"Once you 'discard your flesh', as the church puts it, you can replace defective parts," I said gently. "It is easier to replace muran {a type of alloy steel that is rust resistant} than it is to replace flesh, as well. There are many defects within the flesh that cannot be addressed, but there isn't any such issue with our mechanical forms."

"Are there any parts that can't be replaced?"

"No."

"Even your brain?"

"We can replace our entire body with a new one once the conversion is complete. We simply upload our consciousness into a buffer, and then download ourselves into the new form."

"What if you lack the mental faculties to do that? Or what happens if something goes wrong during a conversion?"

As I tried to find an appropriate answer, more ships came out of warp. A dreadnought and some reinforcements for the vanguard. Among them was a Pwanti resupply vessel, which set its course in our direction.

"Once the conversion is complete, someone else can upload your consciousness if you are unable to yourself. However... there are many things that can go wrong during a conversion," I said as the resupply ship began refilling my ammunition and missiles. "Very few of them are correctable."

"So I'll... die?" she asked, a small spike of fear entering her voice.

"Yes. Were you not informed of this possibility?"

"I was... but... I don't know. I suppose it didn't feel real until we started fighting. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," I said gently. "It is of the utmost importance to address your fears. It's the only way to overcome them. While there is a high risk of fatality during the conversion process, most fatalities occur within the first three years. You are two years past this point, so your likelihood of survival has gone up immensely."

"Assuming we don't get blown up by the Omni-Union," she laughed.

I laughed along with her, "I'll make sure we aren't."

The resupply ship finished with me and moved on to the other Pwanti. I triple checked my weapons systems to make certain there were no issues, then ran a scan on my other systems. Everything came back optimal.

"So do you think the church is right?" BL28 asked. "If I die during conversion, I go to Ynorim {a type of utopian afterlife}?"

"Regardless of whether or not they're right, the thought was of comfort to me during my own conversion," I said. "Whenever my flesh protested its replacement, I thought of what would await me if I were to die. It made it less... frightening."

"I wonder if that helps with the survival rate."

"Maybe."

As the resupply ship finished with my comrades, another dreadnought entered the system and I got a notification to prepare for warp.

'Are we going to continue on as we have been?' BB39 asked over the psynet.

'Yes,' AT27 replied.

'Can we protect the dreadnoughts this time? I would like to get a closer look at them,' AU48 requested.

'If they need it,' AT27 said. 'I am hesitant to get closer to the Mobile Prime Platforms, though.'

'We nearly lost a dreadnought to the Omni-Union ships during this battle,' BA14 interjected. 'While I share your hesitancy, our primary objective is to protect the dreadnoughts to the best of our abilities.'

Before the conversation could continue, we received the order to warp. I engaged my Faster Than Light Drive a quarter of a second after AT27 and followed my comrades into subspace.

"Here we go again," BL28 muttered.

"We'll be fine, Renvira," I assured her.

She remained silent. The church frowns upon us using our pupil's true names, believing that if they don't see themselves as a machine they're more likely to lose the fight against the flesh. However, I believe the opposite. The conversion process causes distress of every nature, and it is likely this distress that causes one to succumb. Offering solace where one can saves lives.

"Exiting warp," I said.

As I left warp I immediately tracked three incoming projectiles. However, I was prepared this time and fired my thrusters to avoid them, then returned fire. The other Pwanti did the same, and we formed up with AT27 once again.

The dreadnoughts began engaging the Mobile Prime Platform, and AT27 led us in their direction. I noted that once again the United Systems had avoided casualties, and started firing on the targets that AT27 designated. We began to defend the dreadnoughts, staying well clear of them to avoid stray rounds from the MPP. One of the replacement dreadnoughts lost its shield, and the other replacement moved in front of it to shield it from the MPP's onslaught.

"We managed to avoid getting hit this time," BL28 said happily as I fired a missile.

"It is as I said. We'll be fine."

A large enemy ship began to target the unshielded dreadnought, but all five of us fired at it simultaneously. It was difficult to tell who got the kill, but the ship exploded in a way that indicated one of us had hit its reactor. We continued to defend the dreadnoughts until one of them finally fired its main cannon.

'I'll never get used to that,' BA14 said as the planet-sized enemy broke into pieces.

"Wow, that was fast," BL28 said.

"No, it took just as long as last time," I replied, firing my MAC at a distant OU ship. "You were just less afraid this time. Fear can distort your perception of time and make it seem longer."

"I see."

We continued firing at the OU ships that were attempting to engage the dreadnoughts. BB39 took a glancing blow, but was able to continue fighting as their shield recharged. I was finally able to match the pace of AT27, destroying each and every enemy he marked for me milliseconds after he had done so.

'Something is wrong,' BA14 noted. 'The dreadnoughts aren't charging their FTLDs, they're recharging their main weapons.'

As she said this, we received a notification to expect enemy reinforcements. Time seemed to slow down as I realized two very important things. First, if the enemy knows to send reinforcements, they likely have a good idea of the make-up of our current forces. Second, they will be targeting the...

'GETAWAYFROMTHEDREADNOUGHTS!' I screamed into the psynet.

Before we could react, five Mobile Prime Platforms and the biggest Omni-Union fleet I've ever seen exited warp. I peeled away from the formation as the MPPs began firing. One of the dreadnoughts fired as BA14 took multiple hits and exploded. AT27 was next, taking a shot from an MPP and turning to scrap in an instant.

Without any time to grieve our fallen comrades, BB39, AU48, and I split into different directions, desperately attempting to avoid the incoming fire. AU48 took a hit directly in the engines, then another in his reactor core. BB39 managed to avoid a missile, but instead she took a MAC round from an MPP and fell to pieces.

"No..." BL28 whispered. "Please no..."

Too much of my processing power was busy tracking incoming fire to comfort her. I initiated a full-burn away from the enemy, trying to limit my profile as much as possible. I fired my thrusters in such a way that it sent me into a spin while I deployed chaff, managing to avoid the missiles that had locked onto me. But my early warning system was still blaring.

A MAC round glanced off my shields, deflected by my spin. Another one impacted, disabling my shield. I continued my full-burn until a missile finally made it through my chaff and disabled my engines. I tried to override the safeties, but they weren't the problem. The fuel lines had been ruptured. I fired my thrusters to avoid another MAC round and positioned myself to use my keel thrusters to replace my engines and continue my escape.

This increased my profile and stopped my spin, though, and shrapnel from another missile penetrated my reactor compartment. I sealed it to prevent loss of precious atmosphere, to protect Renvira. Another second ticked by, and my only thought was getting her through this. Poor Renvira, who had suffered so much to become BL28 and join the ranks of the Pwanti.

"Come on, come on," she said. "I don't want to di-"

The MAC round had come from one of the Mobile Prime Platforms. It ripped through my hull and barely missed my central processing drive as it shredded my cockpit. I was immediately blinded and deafened, without any sort of confirmation of Renvira's fate.

I began desperately calculating her odds of survival based on my last sensory input. Zero percent. No matter what variables I could plausibly add, she was definitely dead. I had completely and utterly failed her. Because of me all her suffering to become a Pwanti was for nothing. She had made it so far, and her likelihood of shedding her flesh was as high as it could be. And now...

I bitterly tried to activate the psynet to call for help, but found that I had no access to comms. I attempted to access anything that I could, but received no answer from any part of my ship. My anger and shame at the loss of Renvira turned to panic, then a cold realization.

My CPD had survived but was forcefully disconnected from the rest of the ship. It must have taken damage, because even though my backup power was functioning, my emergency beacon hadn't activated. Even trying to activate it manually wasn't working. I tried to calculate my possible trajectories and realized that even if my allies knew to look for me, they would likely never find me.

I waited in this void for a time, a mere consciousness wondering what life will be like without a body. I checked my internal battery life. Ninety-nine years, three months, one week, six days, four hours, fifty two minutes, and eight seconds. I could let my power run out, just in case someone somehow found me. Or...

This possibility had been acknowledged and planned for. Space is hazardous even in the best of conditions. Yet, Pwanti are difficult to truly eliminate, as is evidenced by my current situation. In the event of being lost in space with little to no chance of rescue, we have the ability... To hasten the inevitable.

Being a Pwanti can be a lonely existence. However, one usually has tasks to keep one's mind off of the existential dread that comes with being alone for such long periods of time. A study to perform, a delivery to make, and even fights now and again. We can even sleep, in a way. A sort of stasis that we put ourselves into during long treks.

However, this stasis relies on ship systems that I no longer have access to. I will be awake at all times until I am rescued or my battery runs out. The main reason that I take on students is because I don't do well in solitude.

My students... I wonder how they are right now. Most of them perished, casualties of the conversion process. Some of them went on to become Pwanti, though, and are probably fighting right now. I wonder how many of them are going to make it home. I wonder if the Omni-Union are going to be defeated, and if the galaxy will be at peace afterwards. I wonder...

Another day ticked by and my odds of rescue decreased again. I wondered about all the things I could wonder about, and time ticked by. I began to imagine conversations I would have if things had gone differently. A month went by, then two. I ran out of things to think about, and felt madness tugging at the corners of my mind.

Fine. My chances of rescue are nil at this point. My only hope is that the church is right and I'll find peace and companionship in Ynorim. Maybe I'll get to apologize to Renvira.

CPD:\PwantiOS\admin>start Protocol_LiS.exe