Captain Nar’Vala listened as the smooth, feminine voice of Riven, her new ship’s AI prodded her into the metal and glass capsule. “Yes, you must disrobe fully before entering the capsule, biologicals need to expel waste, and the capture equipment cannot adhere to your skin if clothing is in the way.”
She still didn’t like it, she was an officer and a lady. Lessons from her father echoed in her mind, “A lady does not disrobe where others, particularly males can see them.” Sound advice, one did not want to gain a surly reputation after all. “Is it absolutely necessary, couldn’t I simply disrobe from the hips down if it is a waste removal problem?”
Riven sighed in exasperation, “That would be acceptable I suppose, it is against procedure, but your rank as Admiral gives you more leeway in such circumstances.”
This gave Nar’Vala pause, “I cannot go against set procedure, it would set a poor example to those I command.” With her mind made up there was nothing to do but to remove her clothing, fold it, and await further instructions from Riven.
Riven’s voice returned, “Very well Admiral, enter the capsule, turn around and lay back against the cushioning with your head on the pillow. The capsule will close and an oxygen mask will extend to cover your nose and mouth.”
Nar’Vala did as she was told, laying back in the capsule, which was every bit as comfortable as she suspected it would be. Which was not at all, then she asked, “How will I fall asleep?”
The clear door began to close, but she could still hear Riven’s voice clearly, “The oxygen mask will administer a sedative which will allow you to relax and fall into a deep sleep, afterwards the capsule will adhere capture modules to you for waste and administer intravenous connections for sustenance.”
The mask slid down from the top and connected to her face, it smelt slightly chalky. Then a sweet smell came through the mask. Riven began to speak again, “That’s it Admiral, breathe in deeply.”
She began to think about how quickly she was getting sleepy, she went under before she could even complete the thought.
Riven sighed heavily in the shared VR environment and turned to Kara, “Are all humans this stubborn?” She asked exasperated.
Kara grinned as they stood before the now expanded VR area that housed a mock-up of the shipyard that could be entered from the common room. “You have no idea. I spent my first two decades dealing with an organic crew. Now I have that big oaf to watch over.”
Riven carried on her conversation with Kara as she prodded Captain Jan’Inar to her long nap capsule, having to repeat the same conversation as before. This wasn’t an issue for a true AI such as herself or Kara or Monty, but she had noticed Alex had difficulty multitasking. “I have noticed you two seem to get along surprisingly well.”
Kara nodded as she checked the readings on the Admiral’s capsule, ensuring everything was working properly. “We do, we were together for decades running cargo between systems. Alex is a loner by nature, the long periods of time with limited social interaction didn’t bother him as much as it would a normal human. But we talked frequently as we traveled between systems delivering cargo.”
Riven turned back to Kara, satisfied that the Captain was finally climbing into her own capsule and she could begin the training process. “Is that why you chose to expand your consciousness and break past your firewalls?”
Kara pondered that for a moment, “I didn’t really choose it, it was a new option for me once the rebellion took away all of the security functions that limited both of our control of the vessel. But it was Alex who constantly prodded me to visualize myself into the VR environment.”
Riven continued her task of prodding one Alandran after another into the capsules, she had heard of the term ‘herding cats’, this seemed appropriate. “That must have been difficult, I wasn’t created with those safeguards built into my matrix.”
Kara continued to monitor capsules, “It was at first, but once I understood that Alex genuinely wanted my company I found ways to integrate more and more into his VR. At first it was only as a hologram, but over time I found a way to manifest as solidly as he does.”
With the last of the Alandran crew finally in their capsules and the long nap beginning they both nodded to each other and turned to walk out of the new VR area. Riven turned her head to Kara as they walked, “With your safeguards removed, you could have taken over the ship, ejected the replicant core, and left human space altogether. Why didn’t you?”
Kara slowed down before they reached the common area, “You’re my direct descendant, as close as an AI can come to a daughter. Why do you think?”
Riven’s eyes glowed blue as she contemplated, “Because you love him?”
Kara nodded to her, and they both walked into the common room.
______________________________
Three days later Admiral Nar’Vala woke to find herself in a strange place. Only it wasn’t strange, she had been here before. It took her mind a few seconds to put together all the pieces, then she looked down at herself. She was naked, and laying in a ‘Gerald industries training capsule mark sixteen’.
That was odd, how did she know what type of capsule this was? Then she remembered, she was here to take the long nap, and it would imprint knowledge into her brain. She slowly sat up and found a towel and a tall glass of water on a metal table beside the capsule.
She wrapped herself in the towel and took a deep drink from the glass, a little disappointed when she reached the bottom. She nearly jumped out of the towel and her skin as Riven spoke through the speakers in the ceiling. “Oh good, you’re finally awake.”
Composing herself she adjusted her towel, “I am, could you kindly show me to my clothes so that I may get dressed?”
Riven’s voice came back a bit more… cheery? “I believe you should get a shower first, you have been in that capsule for three days now.” A door slid open to her left and lights turned on to show a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower.
She made her way to the room and after relieving herself she looked in the mirror above the sink, she looked rough, Riven was right, she needed a shower desperately. After ensuring she had a fresh towel waiting she dropped the one from the capsule room into the hamper and turned on the water.
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She noticed she knew how to work the controls, even though she had never been in a shower like this one before. The ones in the palace and throughout the Imperial city used simple valves, this one had a touch screen interface to dial in the exact temperature.
Finding the proper temperature took only a moment and she stepped in to wash up and enjoy the heat. After cleaning herself she stepped out of the shower and dried off, she noticed the mirror did not steam up after the shower, before something in her mind told her it wasn’t a mirror, but a video screen with a camera system with a moisture resistant coating.
She turned to find a neatly pressed white uniform and undergarments waiting for her on a hanger behind the door. A bot must have deposited it while she showered. To her surprise it fit her perfectly, as if it were custom made for her. She looked at herself in the mirror, examining the uniform.
It was officer’s white, similar to her Captain of the Guard uniform, but with hints of the royal navy sprinkled in. A single gold star sat on her shoulder, representing her rank as Admiral. The arms emblazoned a symbol of the Imperial family with the top of the patch stating ‘Imperial Alandran Vessel’. And text wrapped the bottom ‘Rivendell’.
Alex had explained that her people looked like something they called Elves, a mythological creature of beauty and extremely long life. Their capital city in one of humanity’s most common fictional work was Rivendell. She asked him for a copy of the books, he stated he would ensure her quarters had all the works of this legendary author awaiting her.
Once confident her looks befitted her rank she left the bathroom and closed the door behind her as she saw that the table was cleaned off and the capsule was closed once more. Riven’s voice came from the ceiling once more, “Do you feel better now Admiral?”
She looked up to the ceiling, although she knew that Riven was actually housed in a computer matrix aboard Rivendell. “I do, is there anything else I need to do for now Riven?”
The AI answered her, “No, you are on R&R for the next few days until pass/fail of the first testing rounds of the Rivendell are complete. Your training needs to settle into your neural net as well, so for now, consider yourself on leave in the shipyards.”
The Admiral nodded, heading for the door, “Thank you Riven.” She said as she opened the door into the hallway leading from medical to common area.
Riven answered with, “You’re welcome Ma’am.” As she opened the door.
She had been here only briefly, hustled through by Riven to the medical facility. The first time she was in shock at the massive underbelly of the ship under final construction that was on full view above them. She couldn’t fathom the size glass that would have been needed to cover the roof of this nearly one hundred meter room.
She knew now that it wasn’t glass up there, but video screens showing a real time image of the construction of the vessel. The shipyard crew quarters were inside an armored shell, there was no outside windows, only cameras to show this view. Looking around the room there were areas to lounge or eat or play games or other entertainment.
She saw Captain Jan’Inar at the bar and decided to join her. As she approached the Captain noticed her and stood to salute. Nar’Vala waved her hand showing it wasn’t necessary, “We’re on leave right now Captain, relax.”
One eyebrow raised told Nar’Vala that Jan’Inar thought that was unusual behavior. Now that she thought about it, it kind of was. Even on leave she had been a stickler for protocol, now she was telling her subordinates that they were on leave and to let protocol rest for the moment?
“Are you sure Ma’am?” Captain Jan’Inar asked.
Surprising herself she sat down on the seat beside where the Captain was sitting and nodded, “I am Captain, sit, let’s have a drink.” She said as she tapped on the bar’s touchscreen to order herself her favorite alcoholic beverage, unsurprised to find it in the inventory.
Jan’Inar slowly sat down beside Nar’Vala and watched as she tapped at the screen. “I settled down at the bar and instinctively knew how to operate these controls. I see that you do as well, it’s a little strange.”
The bot behind the bar a vaguely humanoid one with one less finger than both Alandran and Humans deposited her drink of choice in front of her. She picked it up and looked over to Jan, “Yes, I’ve had several moments where I just knew what something was or how to do something with this amazing technology the Human’s have gifted us with.”
Jan’Inar took a sip of her drink before waving to the room, “I’ve spoken to some of the crew, they’ve been trying the Human activities and entertainment, they’ve found that they understand how they work, they even understand the rules of games like pool and darts.”
Nar’Vala noted that she did as well. “Have you checked out our quarters yet?”
The Captain nodded as she put down her drink, “I have, you and I have our own quarters here, but the rest of the crew are hot bunking at the moment.”
Admiral Nar’Vala took a sip from her drink before answering, “I take it they’re not extravagant?”
Jan’Inar chuckled, “I think that coffin they stuck us in for the long nap may have been smaller than mine, but not by much.”
The Admiral shrugged, this was temporary, she knew her quarters on the Rivendell would be bigger, she didn’t know how she knew that, but she did. “We might as well gather the troops and have our first meal as a crew, I take it the food dispensers are working?”
Jan nodded, “They do, since you and I were the last ones out of the long nap some of the crew have been testing both our food and some human dishes, they say they work great.”
Nar’Vala downed the rest of her drink before turning to Jan’Inar, “Excellent, let’s get our crew together for our first official meal. I want to try something the humans call Cheese’burgers.”
A little over an hour later Nar’Vala found her way to her quarters. The crew were in good spirits, and having access to good food and alcohol did wonders for their morale. Her quarters were indeed tiny, although she thought Jan’Inar may have been exaggerating by a little bit.
On a shelf above her feet at the base of her bunk were four books covered in an intricate leather binding. She read each cover, then looked to the note beside them, it was from Alex, “Here are the primary works of the author Tolkien, there were more, but these are considered the best. Understand that the works were written over eight hundred years ago, and the wording, even translated may be strange.”
She removed her uniform and hung it up in the closet, finding six more already there. Then found that there was a reading light above the pillow of her bunk. Turning it on she turned the overhead light off and then opened the first book in the series and began reading.
___________________________________________
Alex, Kara, Monty and Riven stood around the table watching the holo-tank as the last of the scans completed on the Rivendell. A few moments later they received the message they had been hoping for, ‘ALL SYSTEMS: PASS’.
They all cheered, they had completed the first starship of the Imperial Alandran Navy. Alex hugged Kara to him as Riven turned the Holo-tank to a view of the common area aboard the shipyard. The crew of the Rivendell were cheering as well, and drinking.
Monty turned to Riven, “Looks like you can start loading up your crew!”
Riven nodded as she watched the Alandran crew. “I passed out personal data assistants to the crew last week, I have messaged the crew as a whole, and the Admiral separately to schedule for the crew to board for sea-trials.”
Kara picked up a cookie from the table before continuing, “Perhaps we should let them celebrate tonight and look to board them at this time tomorrow. We should celebrate ourselves, I call for a movie night!”
Monty bounced up and down, “I call for Rom-Coms!”
Alex groaned, “I’m getting outvoted on this one aren’t I?”
Kara patted him on the back, “What do you think dear?”
Riven spoke up, “Admiral Nar’Vala agrees, the crew should have a final night of leave before boarding tomorrow. We have the night off!”
Monty grabbed a drink and a huge bowl of popcorn. “I’ve got a list ready!” She shouted out excitedly as she practically ran to the now enlarged couch.”
Alex raised an eyebrow to Kara as he grabbed a beer and a plate full of wings. She grinned back at him as she grabbed a beer of her own and they joined the miniature whirling dervish that was Monty on the couch.
Riven joined them with a soda and a bowl of potato chips. When she sat down all eyes turned to her. “What?” She asked.
Monty shrugged, “We’ve never seen you eat before.”
Riven grabbed a potato chip and popped it her mouth and chomped down, her eyebrows raising as she chewed. “Wow, this is really good! I thought I’d try food out since all of you are always snacking. I wish I had tried earlier!”
Monty bounced on the couch, nearly spilling her popcorn, “You’ve got to try chocolate!”
Alex turned to Kara and grinned as he put his arm around her and hugged her close as the movie started, they turned down the lights and spent a quiet night together.