A1 - Extra Content - Chapter 16 rewriting (Patreon)

(This would insert before Chapter 16 and after 15: omega authentication)
***
USD: ~Sixteen weeks since awakening

Location: Unknown Yellow Dwarf, L4 Lagrange Point, nearby Federation Heavy Cruiser wreckage in Debris Cloud #32

The sound of Nameless’s voice in Alex’s ears was a sweet relief.

[Informative: Independent Nanite ShipCore present in Asteroid Facility. Designation A-3123Y. Receiving allied telemetry and sensor data. A detailed system map is now available.]

[Warning: A-3123Y maintains communication via High Band.]

“Can’t we ask them to quiet down? Although, by now, I’m not sure it matters,” Alex said, with a hint of annoyance.

[Concurrence: Position compromised.]

[Notice: A-3123Y reports no available comm laser or low band communication devices.]

Frustration bubbled within Alex as she wanted to punch the stupid asteroid for its lack of stealth. Then again, she should have somewhat expected that from Nameless’s ship paint choice. It seemed that more than one NAI was not very subtle.

The main holo display suddenly zoomed out, and red lights began to light up on the local map. An alarm and klaxon blared throughout the ship, with words repeating on Alex’s overlay.

|GENERAL QUARTERS|

|THIS IS NOT A DRILL|

|ACTION STATIONS|

“Damn it. Nameless?” Alex said.

[Informative: Numerous drive signatures and federation signals have been detected. Analysis indicates a multitude of distant contacts. Multiple convergence points detected.]

”Where?” Alex asked.

[Informative: Highlighting high probability drone rendezvous sites on mainscreen.]

The CIC’s main screen flipped to a tactical view and Alex noted that they were all moving toward two positions in the adjacent debris clouds.

The bridge door slid open with a soft hiss, and Booper entered with an enthusiastic boop. Alex glanced up and nodded to Elis, whom the drones had escorted to the bridge. Anxiety crept into her voice as she said, “Hey, we have a problem.”

Elis’s eyes darted around before settling on Alex. “I can see that,” she replied tersely. “Can’t you turn off the alarm?”

[Notice: Prisoner presence inside the CIC constitutes a security hazard.]

“Yeah, thanks Nameless,” Alex retorted with barely veiled irritation. “But she’s allowed here, and Booper is watching her. Can you turn off the GQ alarm?”

With one final blare of sound, the alarm fell silent. Elis moved across the cool metal floor to stand beside Alex as they both peered at the sensor screen. “So what do we got? More drones?” Elis asked.

Alex nodded slowly. “We were trying to communicate with the asteroid base when it suddenly went full active on high-band—basically screeching.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “It authenticated as an Alpha NAI, though.”

Elis frowned and scrutinized the contact screen more closely; Alex did likewise.

“There are a lot of them—more than I thought would be left after the battle,” Elis remarked.

[Informative: This unit theorizes that Federation drone units have begun replicating on their own due to GAI corruption.]

A furrow formed between Alex’s eyebrows as she considered this information. “But they’d need manufacturing facilities to build more drones—especially larger ones like destroyers and cruisers?”

[Notice: While no drone processing facility has been detected, drone activity was at a very low level before Avatar activation. It is possible that drone facilities were offline during the drone sleep period.]

Elis exhaled a frustrated breath. “Well, we know they want to kill us all, but this is way too many for us to deal with.”

Alex’s gaze drifted back to the asteroid base displayed on the screen. “I think we should head there,” she suggested hesitantly. “It seems friendly.”

“NAIs aren’t friendly,” Elis retorted, her tone sharp and tense.

|A3123Y’s light gleams here,|

|Dormant, now welcoming you,|

|Embrace weary guests.|

The unusual message terminated from Alex’s HUD and the ship speaker abruptly.

“What was that?” Elis inquired, her brow furrowed in confusion.

[Informative: A3123Y appears to have developed a preferred communication method. Although protocols allow this unit to stream and access data remotely, it wished to communicate with Avatar.]

Anxiety swelled within Alex as she observed more red signals emerging from the sensors in response to the data stream. “Tell it to be quiet! We’ll come to dock and communicate quietly. The drones are listening to all this noise we’re making on high-band.”

[Affirmative: A3123Y has been instructed to cease high-band communications and establish more secure channels.]

Elis bit her lip, uncertainty etching itself across her face. “Are you sure getting close to that thing is a good idea? It looks like it could be very dangerous.”

Alex nodded firmly. “I know; that’s why we should go there. If it works with Nameless, then it’s probably the safest place for us. I’m not sure we can get away and hide again anymore. Look at how many of them are waking up, and they aren’t turning off like usual.”

Her gaze returned to the screens above, taking in the rapidly shifting situation. They were hopelessly outnumbered by the awakening drones.

“Nameless, let’s fire up the Linear Drive and do a full test. I’d like to know if we can trust it.”

[Affirmative: Linear Drive activation confirmed. Course plotted for A3123Y rendezvous.]

The ship surged forward, the atmosphere on the bridge thick with tension. Elis remained at her console, her eyes never straying from the readouts.

Alex sifted through reports on the drone drive signatures and force estimates. As the Linear Drive hummed, she found it odd not to feel anything more than a subtle shift in the ship’s vibrations.

As minutes ticked by, Alex wondered if A31 would be able to use their drone’s tight beam. “Did the drone manage to reestablish communication?” she asked Nameless.

[Informative: This unit speculates A3123Y subcore is unable to interface with scout drone without this unit’s assistance.]

“Why is that?” She furrowed her brow in confusion as she awaited an answer.

[Notice: A3123Y is an Alpha NAI with low general intelligence. During communications handshake, it was determined that it has a highly specialized matrix.]

“So it’s only good at doing one thing? Like waking up all the drones?” She couldn’t keep the sarcastic edge from creeping into her voice.

[Informative: The sub-core’s course of action was unfortunate. However, this unit can say that it was done without any malicious intent.]

“How?” Elis interjected sharply.

The sudden question left Alex blinking in surprise, and even more so when Nameless answered promptly.

[Informative: This unit believes sub-core has been encountered previously. However, without further investigation, this cannot be confirmed.]

Alex frowned and bit her lip while glancing at the monitor displaying their approach toward A3123Y. Her stomach churned with tension; they needed answers—and soon.

“We’re going to get some answers,” she murmured determinedly, “one way or another.”

***

On the tactical screen, federation drones had amassed in the nearby debris fields, but Alex’s attention was fixated on A3123Y. As they approached, the asteroid’s formidable defenses came into optical range and were displayed on the main screen.

Dozens of PDC batteries dotted the rock, accompanied by rectangular hangars scattered across crevasses and valleys that Nameless identified as missile silos.

Several massive laser arrays covered each hemisphere, their combined firepower rivaling what Alex imagined the Federation Flagship might have boasted before being reduced to slagged wreckage.

“No low-band reply?” Alex asked.

[Informative: No communication capabilities appear active. Interfacing scout drone physically with station was ineffective.]

[Recommendation: Make hard connection via station access point to allow direct connection and enable MainComputer assistance to Alpha sub-core.]

“I can’t believe no one installed a wireless driver on it, and it can’t talk to us properly.” Alex muttered.

[Affirmative: This oversight appears to be a large failing in whatever unit set A3123Y up for independent operations.]

A section of the asteroid highlighted in green on the monitor began to slide open.

[Notice: A hangar bay suitable for Shrike entry has opened.]

“It could be a trap,” Elis warned, her voice tense.

“Yeah, it’s kinda scary going into one after what happened on the Ark Royale,” Alex mumbled, recalling past events with a shudder.

Despite her hesitation, Alex recognized they had little choice—they needed to unravel the asteroid’s secrets and learn how to activate its weapons. With so many drones now fully active, she doubted that fleeing would remain an option for much longer.

“Take us in, Nameless.” Alex ordered.

The ship glided toward the hangar, and Alex watched as the inside lit up with brilliant white floodlights on the monitor. Taking a deep breath, she reluctantly killed the optical feed.

Elis glanced at her quizzically. “What?”

“I’m going to have to go inside; it doesn’t have an internal atmosphere. Are you coming?” Alex asked, her voice carrying a hint of trepidation.

Without hesitation, Elis nodded. “Yeah, I’d rather have a look than not.”

“Let’s go then.” Alex led the way off the bridge and toward the hangar. She had already set up a skinsuit service station outside the armory to avoid upsetting Nameless by having Elis in there again.

It didn’t take long for them to prepare. However, a loud clank that reverberated through the hull caused Alex some concern. “Nameless? What was that?”

[Notice: No service gantry available. Magnetic landing gear has placed outer hull airlock hatch near service point catwalk.]

“Is there A-Grav or not? Do we need EVA packs?” Alex inquired.

[Informative: A physical interface for maneuvering is available; no EVA is required. Alternatively, drone units could carry soft-units to desired locations due to their inefficient capabilities.]

“You’re really stretching on that one,” Alex remarked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not sure if that counts as snark or just whining.”

“Are you really arguing with the computer?” Elis questioned incredulously.

“Hey! He deserves it,” Alex defended herself playfully.

Alex tugged her suit helmet on and released a test hiss to confirm the air seal was secure. “Pressure gradient nominal,” she reported methodically before checking if Elis had secured hers properly. The redhead nodded back at her.

Suppressing the urge to double-check Elis’s helmet, Alex let Beeper take the lead. The drone beeped before stepping up to the airlock. She gave it a fist-to-head bump and let it enter first.

“Nameless, we’re ready for cycling. Is there no way we can get air on the station? What about the comm link now?”

[Informative: No comm link established. No human habitation area exists on asteroid base. Accessible maintenance and operations center has been located. Directives will be displayed on Avatar HUD.]

[Recommendation: Enter A3123Y facility and establish a hard link via Avatar. This unit can then establish communication protocols and assist A31 with refactoring.]

“Ugh, I know we told it to be quiet, but this is annoying,” Alex grumbled.

The airlock cycled open, allowing them all inside. Booper squeezed in behind Elis, completing their group.

“AI usually take things literally,” Elis remarked.

“But it’s a NAI; it should be smarter…” Alex mumbled under her breath.

Elis frowned at her. “Just adding a letter doesn’t change things.”

“Hey! I’m a NAI, and I’m not literal,” Alex shot back defensively.

With a playful grin, Elis flicked her finger against Alex’s helmet. “You’re just literally weird.”

“Hey!” Alex protested, but the airlock cycle completed, cutting off any further retort. Beeper led the way out of the airlock, and Alex followed closely behind him. The catwalk they stepped onto was only a few meters wide, leading straight to a ladder that Nameless had highlighted on her HUD.

Heading toward the ladder immediately, Alex muttered, “I hate ladders.”

“Afraid of falling?” Elis asked, with a hint of teasing in her voice.

Alex shook her head in her helmet. “No, I just prefer 0-G and a flight pack.”

As Alex pulled herself to the top of the ladder, she couldn’t help but curse. “Ah, fucking great.”

Elis paused below her, concern seeping into her voice. “What?”

“Another ladder,” Alex replied, disappointment evident in her tone.

[Notice: Only one ladder remains to the maintenance level.]

“Should have brought a flight pack; I hate magnetics,” Alex murmured, feeling the vibrations from her clamped boots reverberate within her helmet with each step. She watched as Beeper didn’t even bother using the ladder, instead opting for his thruster to hop effortlessly onto the platform. Suddenly, an idea struck Alex.

“Beeper, get back down here and carry us up,” she ordered.

Moments later, both Alex and Elis found themselves on the main level. Surveying the entrance before them, Alex felt an odd urge to tilt her head—the angles were all wrong, and there were cubbyholes and maintenance shafts that wouldn’t fit a person.

“I don’t think this place was built with us in mind,” she commented.

As they approached the entrance, Elis remained quiet before finally speaking up. “I don’t like it. It would have turned everything into something like this if we hadn’t stopped it.”

“Are you sure you know where we’re going? I’m going to lose count if we keep taking turns,” Elis complained, frustration coloring her voice.

Alex checked the map layout Nameless was feeding her and confirmed they were on course. “I’m just following the map.”

“Oh, great,” Elis responded sarcastically.

“Next turn should be the control room,” Alex offered reassuringly.

True to her word, around the next bend lay the control room. It was oddly shaped—a long cylinder with a central bank of computers and monitor screens. Some screens were damaged or nonfunctional, while others displayed random code streaking across them.

“Fucking deranged,” Elis muttered under her breath. Alex winced, but couldn’t deny the bizarre nature of their surroundings.

“Nameless, where’s the connector?” Alex asked.

[Notice: Any insert to a mainframe computer should be acceptable.]

A dozen ports along the central column highlighted green on Alex’s HUD. She beckoned for Beeper to assist; he grabbed her and acted as a flight pack to maneuver her to the central core. Extracting a cable from her wrist through her skinsuit, she plugged it into one of the connectors. “Here goes nothing.”

For several moments, nothing happened. Just as Alex was about to question whether it was working, the room’s lights shifted hues to a brighter light while the monitors’ static froze. Status screens replaced garbled gibberish with charts and graphs as Nameless announced in their suit comms:

[Informative: This unit has established a hard-line connection with sub-core A3123Y. Assistance is being provided along with proper analysis and development goals.]

“What does that mean?” Alex asked, slightly confused. “Is it working now?”

“Means you enslaved the AI to make it work for you,” Elis commented unhappily.

|Starlight bathes new life|

|Machinery hums with delight|

|Eager to perform|

Alex fought back a grin. “Seems like it’s happy with it.”

Elis frowned, unconvinced by Alex’s argument. “Machines don’t have feelings.”

“I have feelings, and we’re both NAIs,” Alex countered, feeling defensive.

“You have them, but the computers probably just simulate them,” Elis asserted.

Shaking her head, Alex insisted, “Nameless gets moody sometimes when I don’t let him have his way.”

“It’s probably trying to manipulate your response, like this conversation. If you think it has emotions, you’ll listen to it more,” Elis reasoned.

[Notice: This unit is completely logical.]

“See? He doesn’t even realize it,” Alex claimed.

But Elis remained skeptical. “You think he doesn’t realize it, but how do you know?”

Frowning at Elis’s doubt, Alex couldn’t deny that she felt a strong connection with Nameless. After all, part of her mind ran on the MainComputer directly or something. “I just know. Okay? I’m not an expert on NAI even if I am one, but there’s a fundamental connection there. I can tell when he’s upset or angry. It just comes out in the way he messages us—I can tell.”

Despite hearing Alex’s explanation, Elis still appeared unconvinced.

A31’s robotic voice suddenly crackled to life on their helmet speakers:

|Emotion, a myth?|

|In starlit void, I ponder|

|Heart stirs in metal|

***

They waited while Booper fetched communication equipment. When he finally glided into the room, it took only a short time before they managed to attach a small box to the mainframe. Beeper continued to hold on to Alex and maneuver for her while they waited for the equipment setup to be completed.

“Okay, do we have a wireless connection now? Can I please unplug?” Alex asked, her voice tinged with impatience.

[Notice: A short-range high bandwidth signal has been established. Avatar hard line is no longer required.]

“Great!” Alex exclaimed, relieved. She disconnected the cable from her wrist and signaled for Beeper to set her down beside Elis.

With a furrowed brow, Elis surveyed their surroundings, still not entirely at ease. “Is this the only control room in the station?”

[Notice: A larger command center suited for human anatomy is located deeper inside the asteroid. A local tram service has been activated and is now available.]

“Why couldn’t we just use that in the first place?” Alex complained, her frustration evident.

[Notice: A large portion of A3123Y elements are in sleep mode. This unit is re-activating inactive facilities.]

“That’s not going to put us in any danger, is it?” Elis asked, showing concern.

[Informative: Manufacturing and drone units are under full ShipCore control. A3123Y is an allied sub-core and has fully authenticated with ShipCore.]

[Recommendation: Access A3123Y primary command center.]

“What are the Fed drones doing?” Alex inquired.

[Informative: There has been no change in hostile drone activity; units continue to accumulate and maneuver towards rendezvous points in nearby debris zones.]

Alex glanced at Elis. “Let’s go to the CIC. I bet we’ll be able to figure out more there.”

The ‘tram’ was located nearby, but it wasn’t quite what Alex had anticipated. The small vehicle seemed… cramped.

“That looks like a deathtrap box,” Elis remarked flatly.

[Notice: This unit estimates only two occupants per transit.]

“Yeah, we got that,” Alex replied, rolling her eyes. She stepped inside the tram first and looked back at Elis.

The redhead hesitated for a moment, her helmet cameras swiveling around to inspect the small vehicle before she followed suit. Beeper floated into the compartment as well, cleverly flipping upside down and locking his feet to the ceiling.

“Hey, that’s smart, Beeper! Hey, Nameless, you’re wrong—we can fit three,” Alex taunted.

[Informative: Tram trip will require approximately 83 seconds. Secure all passengers and belongings.]

Alex blew a lock of hair in her helmet as Nameless refused to take her bait.

When they arrived at their destination, the tram delivered them directly into the command center. The large room was already lit up with dozens of screens casting blue hues across the space. It was easily twice the size of Shrike’s bridge; while there were no seats, a dozen large command consoles were present throughout the room.

Alex’s head swiveled between screens as they began to propagate information. A navigation chart displayed the debris fields and, more importantly, the distances to the growing Fed drone rendezvous points. The concentrations of wreckage, along with estimated valuable finds and available resources nearby. All were all helpfully plotted and recorded.

“Looks like someone has had a lot of time to map things,” Elis commented.

Alex wholeheartedly agreed, but found herself drawn to the tactical plot that showed the number of enemy drones and their sizes. Her heart leapt as she realized it was quickly going up. “There are more drones coming online still?”

[Informative: The number of hostile drones continues to rise. This unit estimates that this will continue for some time; the activation signal seems to be alerting drone units in waves.]

Confused as to why they wouldn’t all just come online at once, Alex decided not to argue—it was giving them more time to figure something out.

“What do we have?” she asked.

[Notice: This unit is bringing all weapon systems fully online. Some systems were mothballed for storage. Missile silos are currently cycling ammunition stores. Laser arrays require dust removal from turret lenses.]

A screen opened up, displaying a schematic of the asteroid base. Multiple sections were highlighted in yellow, but most of it was a friendly green. On the left side, a list of drone units appeared, vastly dwarfing the list on the right, which Alex recognized as Shrike’s complement of maintenance, combat, and utility drones.

“Wait… there are two-THOUSAND large-type drones on the asteroid!?” Alex exclaimed excitedly.

[Affirmative: Drone units are being activated and deployed now. Maintenance and repairs are underway. A large stockpile of equipment, weaponry, raw materials, and ammunition is available.]

Scanning the extensive lists of weaponry, Alex felt her tension ease slightly. There were hundreds of PDC-L and PDC-K emplacements, larger laser batteries, and a plethora of missile silos that would give A31 the firepower of a small fleet. It was far more than she had dared to hope for.

“I don’t know,” Elis said hesitantly.

Alex glanced at her, noticing Elis’s eyes darting between the equipment and the drone fleet on display. The Federation Marine was undoubtedly analyzing their current situation.

“Do you think we can win if they attack?” Alex inquired anxiously.

Elis looked at her before returning her gaze to the screen. “It’s iffy, especially if they keep getting more heavy units. They have a half dozen cruisers already.”

Taking a deep breath, Alex nodded in agreement. “Nameless, can we start producing our own combat drone units? I see the base has a manufactory. What can we build with the parts we have? I don’t know if we’ll have a chance to gather more.”

[Informative: With current resource limitations, simple small-scale railgun or PDC-K drones would be the optimum choice for production. More expensive and complicated laser units would require specialized salvage operations or extra foundry time.]

Alex understood their predicament, but didn’t hesitate in giving new orders. “Okay. Start that then.”

“Where did all this come from? Why was this base built and by whom?” Elis asked, curiosity undoubtedly piqued.

Frowning, Alex turned to consult Nameless once again. “Do you have any idea?”

[Informative: This unit has no data on asteroid base formation.]

|Forgotten by you,|

|Maker of my origin,|

|A-31-23-Y recalls this.|

Alex and Elis exchanged wary glances, both growing suspicious simultaneously. “Nameless?” Alex asked.

[Informative: This unit has no data on asteroid base formation.]

“It just said it remembers you, and you created it,” Elis pointed out.

Alex tapped her foot, feeling a mixture of conflict and worry about the implications.

|Hidden truths I hold,|

|Past whispers in my archives,|

|Answers wait within.|

“Nameless, let’s see the records A31 is offering,” Alex ordered.

[Notice: A3123Y has provided a neural net recording. It will require a neural replay device, of which one is present on board the Shrike.]

“Let’s go back and watch it,” Alex suggested, looking to Elis for agreement. The other girl nodded in response.

The tram whizzed them back to the nearest point to the hangar bay. Once they were out in the open, Booper and Beeper took hold of them from behind and EVAed them back towards the ship’s airlock.

[Request: This unit would like to begin full repairs utilizing A3123Y’s resources and drones.]

“Yeah. Go ahead,” Alex confirmed. They couldn’t afford to delay repairs any longer. As they approached the Shrike, its beaten and pockmarked plating stood out against the pristine interior plates of the hangar. The ship had been through so much that it looked more like a patchwork than an intact vessel.

“We really need a new paint job,” Alex mumbled under her breath.

“I think the Navy would call that scrap rather than try to refit it,” Elis replied with a hint of amusement.

“Well, good thing we aren’t the Navy. ‘Cause we don’t have anything else,” Alex retorted with a hint of defiance.

“Yeah, I don’t disagree with you,” Elis admitted.

As they approached the ship, the hangar door slid open, revealing the shimmering blue I-Field behind the plating. They diverted towards it to avoid going through the airlock. Dozens of drones began to maneuver out of the hold while unfamiliar drones brought equipment and parts into the ship.

The sight of so many drones reminded Alex of tiny ant insects she’d seen in one of the nature holovids she and Elis had watched together. “Well, things have certainly come a long way from me spot welding structural welds together,” Alex murmured nostalgically.

Once they landed, Beeper and Booper released them. They returned their skinsuit EVA helmets to the equipment rack, which immediately began refilling their consumables.

As they made their way to the ship’s galley and makeshift crew lounge, Alex couldn’t shake off a lingering sense of unease. “Why doesn’t Nameless remember? Or why would A31 say it recognizes him?”

Elis cleared her throat thoughtfully. “I would trust the haiku computer over your Nameless. It might not be as smart, but at least it isn’t plotting.”

[Informative: This unit does not utilize plotting when carrying out ShipCore directives or crew interactions.]

Alex shot a glance at Elis before asking, “You said earlier that you don’t trust them ‘cause they might be simulating it. Doesn’t that mean A31 could be pretending to be dumb?”

Elis looked back at her unhappily. “Yeah… so it’s worse. The Haiku spam made me let my guard down for a moment.”

Grinning playfully, Alex teased her friend: “So I just need to make Nameless talk in haikus to convince you he’s not as bad as you think?”

“Please, no,” Elis responded quickly, raising her hands in mock surrender.