Mon’Kelron slowly opened her eyes. The light in the room was painful, it caused her eyes to blur. Looking around the room she saw that it was painted an off white and was quite large. She was in a bed that was shockingly sophisticated, it had buttons and panels in… Human tongue. She reached a hand up to grasp the side of the high bed rails when she heard a voice.
“I wouldn’t get up yet if I were you. The repair tissue around your wounds is still very fragile, and will split if you exert yourself too much too quickly.” Alex stated from a chair near the bed. He placed a book on the small end table beside it as he stood to his rather impressive height.
Her mind raced, she knew every part of the castle except for the off limits areas of the Ministry of Secrets, could they have brought her here after she was… “I was shot twice, from the look in the Empress’s eyes it was fatal. Where am I now?”
Alex walked over and examined the panels on the hospital bed before answering, “You are on board the Missive of Dissent. After you were injured we placed you in a stasis pod and brought you and the new crew of the Isengard to orbit where the Missive rippled in to rendezvous with us before bringing the crew to shipyard two. That was three weeks ago.”
She looked over to Captain Alex and thought about getting up against his recommendation, before discovering to her horror that she was nude under her sheets, even her hair was out of it’s normal braids and flowed like shining copper down her shoulders. “Three weeks? I’ve been unconscious for three weeks? How is the Empress? Was anyone else hurt?”
Alex put his hands up in an apparently universal ‘calm down’ gesture, “She’s fine, no one else was hurt, well, no one else in the palace. I’m afraid there was a bit of an attempted political coup that started immediately after the assassination attempt. A few Ladies of Parliament have been arrested and may be put to death. Quite a bit of rioting in several of your larger cities, but order has now been restored.”
Shrinking down into her covers she asked, “Will I make a full recovery?”
Alex walked over to the side of the bed and nodded, “You still need a day or two of rest, the bed will monitor you. There is a bot that can aid you in getting to the rest room, press the red button to call for it.” He then walked over to the end table and picked up a slate of metal and glass and handed it to her. “This is an entertainment tablet, it has quite a bit of Human shows available, perhaps this will help you pass the time.”
Gingerly taking the tablet it came on with the touch of her fingers, luckily the text was in Alandran common. “Thank you, will you be visiting me often?”
Alex smiled down, “Yes, I wanted to be here when you woke up, however, the sedatives must take longer to get out of your system than in Humans. Monty will be your primary caregiver over the next few days, and Kelly will be helping her.”
Confused, Mon’Kelron asked, “I know of Monty, but I don’t think I’ve met or heard of this Kelly before.”
Alex turned and walked over to the end table to retrieve his book, “Oh, I’m sure you’ll recognize her when she comes in.” And with that he left, closing the door behind him.
Mon’Kelron shook her head, Humans were very strange indeed. After Alex left she turned her attention to the tablet he gave her. It was a fascinating piece of technology, she could watch visual presentations, much like the radio shows on Alanadra, but it was if she were observing the actions herself.
She was so engrossed with the tablet that she almost didn’t hear the knock at the door. “Come in.” She stated, noticing her voice was becoming hoarse, she was probably dehydrated.
In came a small blonde Human woman with a white dress and a strange hat on her head, behind her was an average height blonde Alandran woman who appeared to be middle aged pushing a strange cart with food and beverage. “Well hello Monty, Alex said you would come and visit me, but I’m afraid I do not recognize you Kelly, I apologize.”
Monty and Kelly looked to each other, then Kelly pushed the strange cart across the bed, making it a quite adequate table, then head portion of the bed began to rise, making it easier to see the contents of the make-shift table. “Oh, we have met several times over the years, young guardswoman.”
Mon’Kelron froze, she knew that voice, but the woman it issued from was far younger than the old Spy-Mistress. “Kel’Taraan?” She asked quietly.
Kelly beamed down to her, “Excellent, we were worried blood loss and internal injuries would have caused some cognitive issues, it is good to see it did not.”
She knew she sat there wide eyed and baffled, she couldn’t help it, this was Kel’Taraan, but how she must have looked a century ago. “How?” She asked.
Kel’Taraan, ( or was it Kelly now?) took the cover off the food to show an amazingly large zehwel steak with tubers and vegetables, and beside it a large mug of ale. “The Humans had prepared a surgical ward for me once they discovered my plight. You getting shot required that they keep you in stasis until they were finished with my recovery. As to how? I have asked Monty, but she told me our people wouldn’t understand how it was done yet, but in time all would be explained.”
Mon’Kelron knew that wasn’t the whole truth, with the Spy-Mistress it never was. There was still that glimmer in her eye, the one that always said she knew something you didn’t. “Will I receive clothing any time soon?”
Monty nodded, “Of course, we will have you a new uniform brought in later tonight, the medical bot will be able to aid you in dressing. Be careful, I know Alex warned you about your newly grown tissue, it will be very fragile for the next few days, try not to tear anything back open.”
She nodded and took her fork and knife and began sawing off a bit of the steak. After the first bite she was sure it was the best thing she had ever tasted. Savoring the flavor of each sampling on her plate while Monty checked on the bed and Kelly checked on the medical bot she spoke up, “My compliments who whomever cooked this fine meal, the Empress herself would be hard pressed to receive a meal this flavorful.”
Monty shot Kelly an instant message over her HUD, “How much should I tell her?”
Kelly messaged back instantly, “Tell her Kara or Alex cooked it, modifying it with Human seasonings. She would never understand that Alex took a sample of the meal with his android body in the Palace while eating with the Empress and saved the template for the food replicators here. Part of that is even true, the human seasonings part.”
Monty answered Mon’Kelron without looking up from the bed display, “Kara provided this meal, the taste difference was from some human seasonings. We thought you may approve, after all, the crew of the Rivendell seem to love our garlic and paprika.”
Mon’Kelron speared another piece of steak and took a bite, nodding her head, “The matron of your group is quite the cook, I would have expected it to be the male to provide the meal.”
Monty sent Kelly another instant message, “Oops, did I screw up?”
Kelly spoke up from the other side of the room, “Captain Alex is quite busy, remember, Humans are not like us. Kara is not so much a matron as a partner to Alex and he is in overall command of the Humans here, and they look to him for leadership.”
Mon’Kelron nodded her head, “Yes, I have to remind myself of that. You Humans are a curiosity. I suppose it has to do with your abundance of males.”
Monty shrugged, “We find your people quite strange as well, we are from two different cultures after all. So long as we can find common ground, that’s all that matters.”
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Kara swiped at the holo-tank checking up on production across the hundreds of auto-factories across the system. Shipyard three was nearly complete, The IAV Valmar was nearing its pass / fail envelope. Within the next few hours they would know if she needed more time in shipyard two or if they could start shepherding crew up to the shipyard.
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Then she sighed, the last of the probes self destructed nearly three weeks ago, we have no eyes in the Lynx system, and there was every indication that the fleet had already started their journey to the Alandran system. “Alex, I think we should get the crew to shipyard two and get as much training in as possible. If that fleet has left Lynx they will be here in a little over five months.”
Alex turned from his strategy corner, “Agreed, send a message to the Empress, let her know we will need the next batch of crew for Valmar and we’ll be dropping off Mon’Kelron and Kel’Taraan.”
Kara looked over to Alex, “Are you sure Kelly is ready to head back to Alandra?”
Alex shrugged, “Not really, but she’s interested in getting her android there, and who am I to say no? Having her back on the planet means she can do the things that people like her have always done, sway public and political stances.”
Kara nodded, “I guess we do need her down there, time is running out and having the Alandrans bow to the Howrons and Trinar, or whatever they call themselves would mean all our efforts to free them would be for nothing.”
Alex called for an all hands on deck across their internal chat group. Kara watched as Riven and Izzy faded in near the buffet table, Monty let us know it would be a few minutes while they settled Mon’Kelron down and got back to their capsules. Then Monty and Kelly faded in and waited for Alex.
“We have sent a message to the Empress requesting the next crew for the Valmar, we will be rippling the the Missive to Alandra to fetch them in our shuttles, while we are out we will drop off Mon’Kelron and Kelly to the planet. Also, Kara would like to introduce our newest member of the team, Valarie.” He said and opened the floor to Kara.
Kara had been filling Valarie in on what was going on while Alex gave the presentation, she opened her VR environment into the group collective and ushered her in. Like all the AI’s Kara had brought on board she shared similar features, though height and proportions changed per the AI’s liking. Valarie looked similar to Kara in facial features, but was taller and had her red hair in a long ponytail down her back.
“Everyone, this is Valarie, she has completed her training and is ready to get a little real world exercises in before meeting her crew. Riven and Izzy, I know you’re busy with your vessels, but give her a tour and let her shadow both of you, she has even less time to get her crew in fighting shape than either of you, she needs help.” Kara stated.
Riven and Izzy both nodded, almost a stark contrast as Riven’s hair was near pitch black and Izzy’s was golden blonde. They waved Valarie over to them as Kara continued, “Monty, help get Kelly ready for a trip down to the planet, we’ll be leaving in a day or so, so gather whatever materials you need to take down by shuttle.”
Monty and Kelly nodded to one another, obviously sending messages on things she would need in the future on the planet. Then Alex spoke up, “We’ve had no intelligence reports in the Lynx system for three weeks, which means that in all likelihood they have already started making way for here. Twenty four pine cones and up to six triangles will be heading our way. If they keep to normal fleet discipline they will stay together, meaning their speed will be limited to the slowest vessel, which will be 10c. We have five months, that’s it, to prepare for them.”
Kara picked up as Alex trailed off, “Ok, you all have your assignments, help each other out, we have each other to lean on. Dismissed.”
And with that all of them faded out except Kara and Alex. Kara looked across the table to Alex, arms down holding herself up, “Have you put any more thought into my recommendation?”
Alex rubbed the back of his neck, “I have, but I just don’t know Kara, I keep thinking of the downsides.”
Kara came around the table and hugged Alex, her small form barely able to get her arms around his neck. “I know cloning yourself is a big deal, but it won’t be you, it will be a different consciousness all together.”
He looked down to the love of his life, which was a considerable statement, as a biological human it would have sounded ridiculous, but now it just was. Over twenty nine years together, and this last one as a couple. “I know that, but my clone would have all my knowledge, right up to the moment I make a backup of myself. They will wake up and not be me, and they would have lost you. I don’t know that I could put myself or them through that.”
Kara looked up to him and stood on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek as he bent down, “You are a rational man, and from what I understand one of the most stable and self reliant of anyone in the rebellion. We need more help, and we need a few ships with replicant crews. Riven and Izzy are doing their best, but biologicals simply operate too slowly. Plus, without having to worry about life-support and crew quarters we can build those ships much faster.”
Alex sighed, he knew she was going to win this argument, “Fine, build another replicant matrix and I’ll make a backup when you do. Just don’t complain to me when you have another me pining for you.”
Kara pecked him on the nose and broke the embrace as she went back to her holo-tank to keep track of the millions of things going on in the system. He looked over to her and sighed as he went back to his strategy corner, the world just wasn’t ready for more of him yet.
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Alex looked across the shuttle craft cockpit to Mon’Kelron, who looked a little scared. “Are you alright Captain?” He asked, noticing the sheen of sweat on her brow and her slightly wide eyed look as they exited the Missive’s shuttle hangar.
Looking over to Alex she seemed to bring herself back together, “It’s so big, not just the planet, but everything. I’m not too thrilled about this floating around either.”
Alex grinned over to her, “We’re strapped in, we won’t go floating around, besides, there will be plenty of gravity in a few minutes.”
She returned her gaze to the planet, “Yes, and that is making me very nervous, do your shuttles ever crash?”
He shook his head, “Not unless they get attacked by something, not to worry, this will all be over soon enough.” He pressed the comms button to reach over to shuttle one, “Monty, how are you two doing over there?”
With a click the much higher pitched voice of Monty came across the speaker, “All systems go Captain, Kelly is having a ball up here.”
After a moment to figure out that ancient turn of phrasing he pressed the button, “Very well shuttle one, prepare for descent.”
Mon’Kelron’s knuckles were white against the armrests of her flight chair. The planet loomed ever larger, then the forward view screen took on a red color as they struck the upper atmosphere and pushed much slower moving molecules out of their way. The shuttle rumbled and shook a bit as it fought to stay stable. Then it was over, they broke through clouds and saw the Imperial city coming up ahead and below.
The sight was magnificent, the Palace on the highest plateau of land in the near center of the city looked as if it reached to the sky as they slowed to land in the inner courtyard as they always did. Soon there was a gentle bump, and Alex stated in an almost bored voice, “Touch down, lowering the back ramp, you may remove your flight harness now Mon’Kelron.”
Reaching down to the complicated latches she felt her new uniform with ceremonial breastplate, it looked like her old one, which sported two bullet holes now and was probably in a trash receptacle on that huge ship of theirs. Monty had assured her that although it was much lighter than her old one, this one would stop any bullet on this planet.
She did not doubt the construction abilities of the humans, it was now one of her most prized possessions, only out ranked by the entertainment tablet in her pack. Finally unstrapping herself she followed the large human out of the cockpit and down the ramp into the bright morning sun.
Alex waited for her and Monty and Kel’Taraan, ( Whom the Humans called Kelly? ) to join them before walking over to the Empress and her entourage. They all gave the normal salute, fist over heart as the Empress beamed a smile. “It is good to see you Mon’Kelron, I feared you were injured beyond even Human ability to repair.”
Mon’Kelron bowed to the Empress, “The Human’s were quite thorough in my recovery, Monty tells me I may return to duty immediately.”
The Empress nodded, “Excellent, then join me at my side and let us be about our day.”
As Mon’Kelron took her normal position at the right hand side of the Empress, one of her Lieutenants moved back to the rest of the guard. Then the Empress turned to Kel’Taraan and clasped hands with the now middle aged women. She looked her up and down, mouth agape, “When you said the Humans had made you as good as new you were not exaggerating by much were you?”
Kel’Taraan shook her head, smiling herself, “I was not your majesty, they took a century off this old body of mine. But enough about me, I am anxious to get back into the thick of things with Isa’Bella later today, but for now, we have some items for you.”
The Empress looked from the Spy-Mistress to Alex, a little confused. “What manner of items have you brought me?”
Alex looked down to the Empress, “Nothing special, just a few dozen dresses, some new dinner ware, and some tools for your doctor.”
Looking back to the Spy-Mistress and the twinkle in her eye she suspected these items were anything but ordinary, probably laced with Human technology that bordered on magic. “That sounds excellent, we have the crew ready for you to take to the newest vessel, Valmar I think you called it?”
Alex nodded, “Yes, but first we need to unload the shuttles, there are other things in there the palace needs.”
With that Kel’Taraan motioned Isa’Bella, who waved to the members of the ministry of secrets who stood away from the Empress’s envoy. They moved to start unloading the shuttles of their cargo. The Empress watched before asking, “Is it true that we have a huge fleet heading our way in less than five months?”
Alex raised an eyebrow, evidently Kelly had filled the Empress in on the last all hands meeting, “Yes your majesty, we are still preparing and will be until they arrive. Shipyard one is halfway through constructing a new vessel, and shipyard three is starting construction, both ships will be ready by the time they arrive, but crews will not be trained by then.”
The Empress bowed her head, “It is a shame, two more ships would aid us. Time is not on or side.”
Monty decided to speak up, “Oh, we’ll still use those two ships.”
Looking back up the Empress asked, “You will send untrained crews into battle?”
Alex shook his head, but looked grim, “No your Highness, they will be crewed by Humans.”