Chapter 17:

Adams was surprised when Mihajlovich ordered that the doors of cargo bay five be opened. The bay was empty and had more than enough space to house the Strunin cargo vessel and its two escorts. Though they were confined to that cargo bay, Mihajlovich went to his quarters and was there for over an hour before walking onto the bridge.

"Adams, I have new orders. We are going into Strunin space to escort their ambassador to the nearest inhabited system," Mihajlovich announced.

Adams looked bewildered. "We are escorting them? And you intend to fly the Titan into Strunin space?"

"Not just the Titan, all present ships. We came to a diplomatic agreement, Adams. I ask you to trust me, respect my decision, and be sure that I am doing my best for Terra. You will understand in time."

Adams didn't like it, but Mihajlovich seemed to be fine all of a sudden. Was he faking it? Noticing how sweaty he was, Adams thought he might be experiencing withdrawal symptoms, but his head seemed clear.

"I am sending out the patrol unit to report to command where we are going and why," Adams said.

Mihajlovich took out his tablet. "Okay, pilots, I want you to put in these coordinates."

"Aye, sir. How long will it take us to arrive?" one of the pilots asked.

"Travel time calculated to one hour, forty-eight minutes, and twelve seconds, give or take," the navigation officer replied.

"The Ambassador and the captain of the xeno vessel will be joining us on the bridge soon before our arrival, as a gesture of goodwill on our part," Mihajlovich added.

"So we are escorting them, and then what?" Adams asked.

"Then we see how much of a mess the galaxy really is. Our mission is to extract information. The Fusar are not suicidal, so why jump all the way to our borders and even after our initial warning, insist we let them take the Strunin? I doubt it's because of one diplomat who was traveling incognito to the Yoranian system."

"Did he tell you that?" asked Adams.

"No, but I had the team do some digging while on their ship. Their security is decent, but they breached their firewall without noticing. Fake ship logs and transport routes, hidden routes, and our friendly Ambassador and his Secretary labeled as Traveler One and Traveler Two, in the most prestigious room on the ship no less. They are terrible at hiding things, but investigating is the best course of action. I mean, we could have taken them, tortured them, extracted everything, blown up their ships, and pretended it was the Fusar that we heroically defeated on behalf of their people. Now, Adams, I know you wouldn't agree to that, and I know you are having issues agreeing to this, but bear in mind, we are currently in the dark, and we need to know what's really going on. The Ambassador only gave me some friendly formal BS about how our people will have a relationship in the future. I don't want to speculate. Just follow my lead when we reach their system."

Adams thought for a moment. "Very well, sir. I'll trust your judgment."

Mihajlovich nodded. "Good. Now, Pilot One, transfer the coordinates to the other ships and give them our exit point. We should time this so that we all exit slipspace at the same time."

"Formation shared with the other ships, sir. They are transferring their exit points. Settings are confirmed, and drives are online."

"Good. Start the countdown."

"Aye, sir. Jumping in five, four, three, two, initiated."

The ships all entered slipspace almost at the same time, with only fractions of a second difference.

"Also, sir," Adams spoke up, "I relieved Commander Usui of duty and sent her to her quarters. There was an incident."

Mihajlovich raised his brows. "The commander showed disregard for rank and complete unprofessionalism."

"Usui, really? Something must have triggered it."

"And what happened?" Mihajlovich inquired.

Adams took a breath. "Well, sir, the commander disrespected my rank in front of everyone present on the bridge. It must have been caught by the security feed. There was no violence or general insults, but disregarding the rank of a superior in front of the bridge crew is unacceptable."

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Mihajlovich nodded in agreement. "I will need to review."

"I have documented the entire altercation between the Admiral and the commander. Would you like me to play it?" the ship's computer interjected.

"What was that?" Adams looked surprised.

"Ah, our AI. I reactivated her before I left the ship," Mihajlovich explained.

Adams had an expression of shock on his face. The use of AI was banned 40 years ago when they went rogue and eliminated the enemy along with Terran troops. Deactivating them took months, and it was decided they should never be used again. All AIs were removed from ships, except the one on the Titan. Everyone thought it was inactive, but Mihajlovich had reactivated it. That wasn't rational thinking.

"High Admiral, you can't be serious. It's too dangerous. We can't have an active AI on the ship!" Adams protested.

"Sure we can, Morana, transfer it to my logs, and contact Commander Usui to return to duty. If there is a violation, I will decide punishment later, and please reconnect with your physical form. I think we will need all hands on deck."

"Understood, sir. My synthetic shell is being prepared for reactivation. The process will finish in twenty-seven minutes and thirty-two seconds," the AI replied.

"It has a frame!" Adams barked.

"A synthetic body, actually. Mostly mechanical. It was my idea. I don't like talking to air that much, and it's a 'she,' not an 'it.' Morana is a member of this crew. Please treat her as such," Mihajlovich clarified.

Adams felt a lot of discomfort but decided to keep his mouth shut. "Mad man Mihajlovich may be mad, but he’s far from stupid." Thirty-five minutes later, a woman who looked like she was in her mid-twenties entered the bridge. She had short brunette hair, not in the military style of the ship. She wore a black and gray uniform of an officer, but without any sign of rank except for a name tag that just said "Morana." She looked human, both her features and her expression looked completely natural. Adams knew this was an advanced AI uploaded into a physical form. He didn't want to think about what it was capable of, but it spoke in the same voice that had sounded from the speaker some forty minutes ago.

"I am here, sir, reporting for duty," Morana announced.

She even sounded like a respectful subordinate awaiting orders. Mihajlovich stood up and took a step toward her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"It's good to see you, girl. I hope you didn't get too bored, and I have to say, you look like you haven't aged a day."

Adams thought to himself, "Of course she didn't, it's a fake body for God's sake."

"Sir, are you trying to give me a compliment or make a joke? Because both are bad," Morana responded.

Mihajlovich had a warm smile on his face. "I’m a little rusty with both, but I am glad you are here. I missed you."

Mihajlovich just told the AI that he "missed it," even though the thing had an expression that looked like genuine sadness. Even with all the confusion, Adams concluded that the AI may actually be submissive. It might be fake, but at least it might not be dangerous.

"Morana, this is Fleet Admiral Steven Adams, currently third in command of the fleet," Mihajlovich introduced.

Adams was looking at Morana as she stepped forward and gave him a salute. "Pleasure to meet you, sir. I am Morana, the fleet AI. I will follow your orders to their full extent if they are aligned with the protocols set by the High Admiral. Also, sir, I would ask you to please address me as Morana. Just Morana. I hope you will consider my request."

Adams was looking at Morana, but it seemed she was loyal, and not any type of act. He guessed he would have to live with it for now. "Thank you, Morana. I see no issue in calling you by name."

The AI nodded, then turned to Mihajlovich and spoke again. "Sir, we will exit slipspace in forty-five minutes, give or take."

Mihajlovich nodded. "Well, I guess it's time to go and grab our guests from the cargo bay. Greg, with me."

He told the large ape as he started walking toward the door, then turned around to look at Adams.

"Take the main seat until I come back." Adams nodded and took the chair as Mihajlovich started walking out with Grayback.