Two weeks had gone by since I had sent Carrie to recieve her AI implant, she was having fun learning its limits and acting as the knowledgable senior to the several other people that had signed on for the Nephilim Army. I was dealing with my own issues of trying to limit the mad scientists who were demanding that I allow some of the recruits to begin being outfitted for their armor before they underwent the Nephilim transformation that still wasn't ready. They wouldn't accept "not until after all of them have recieved their upgrades." Even worse than that were the scientists who wanted my permission to test cybernetic augmentations on the recruits. Didn't find out they wanted to do that until I spoke to Carrie and she told me that some of the cadets were preparing for those tests. Needless to say I wasn't happy with my Warden scientists and techs who kept trying to go around me and outfit humans with things designed for Nephilim to test. If everything went the way I expected it to, then all that testing they did wouldn't help when everyone stopped being human and became Nephilim. For some reason, they didn't get that even though they stopped trying to go around me.
"Cai what's on the docket today?" I asked as I finished dressing and made my way out my door, I'd have to put off my training for a few hours.
"Commander Hyell and Commander Mult wished to discuss the chosen designs for the Galaxy-Jumper class vessels they are soon to begin constructing for your organization," he answered. "After your meeting with them, you will be attending a meeting with Commander Gul-fen and be introduced to the Commanders who have just arrived. They are the Warden Commanders of the races Shneel, Cthani, and Muthnar."
"I thought the Muthnar Commander was here already and I'd met them," I said.
"Muthnar is a very populous race, it is estimated that there are nearly three trillion Muthnar alone," Cai told me as we approached the door leading outside the building I was quartered in. "Theirs is a race with an excellent ability to birth young. The females lay eggs in fluid, much like amphibians and fish from Earth do. Once the eggs are laid, the males approach and attempt to fertilize the clutch. Each clutch is known to hatch upwards of twenty young at minimum."
"I could have gone without the description of the breeding practices of the Muthnar race," I said dryly. I had enough issues with human mating rituals to worry about another race's.
As Cai and I went back and forth discussing the plans for the day, I made my way to the landing pad where I would be meeting Commanders Hyell and Mult before escorting them to the conference room that had been prepared for my meeting with the two of them. Gul-fen was busy preparing to introduce me to the new Warden Commanders and Krnnmt was three systems away putting his small fleet of 302 ships to use mining the two asteroid belts in the system designated SG-8390-RS-0561, another mouthful string of letters and numbers I wasn't happy to keep having to say.
While waiting for Cai to finish telling me the plan for the day, I examined the black sky of Rallypoint and watched for the shuttles that were supposed to be down soon. The atmospheric burn of the shuttle's entrance had just begun when Cai dropped a bomb on me.
"The final activity planned for today is to schedule when you will undergo your Nephilim transformation. Dr. Yurnel has sent word that they have finished simulations and testing and are currently working to synthesize the serum that will be injected into you and begin your upgrade process. Shall I tell her to prepare for your injection and transformation later today?"
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"You said that they're ready for a live test?" I asked to confirm.
"No," Cai clarified. "They are ready for the first Nephilim transformation to occur. Shall I tell her to prepare to recieve you later today?"
I almost couldn't believe it. Finally, after almost a month of waiting, the Nephilim serum was complete and ready for someone to be changed by it. I wanted to run straight there and have the doctor and her team begin to change me. I had started this, it was only right in my eyes that I be the one to confirm it was safe for everyone that would follow after me. Instead, I told Cai to send the doctor a message that she should prepare for me to show up tomorrow and then I turned back to the landing shuttles that were just touching down in front of me. I had Commander's business to take care of today and I could wait until tomorrow to become the first Nephilim.
"I am sorry Commander James," Mult said waving toward the floating hologram of blueprints for the ships. "This seems ambitous even for Galaxy-Jumper class ships. Automated control of secondary systems and all the data flowing to a certain point so that one person may control the entire ship with only a few button presses? It seems mad! What if someone who is not trained to control the vessel were to gain access to the 'captain's chair' as you have called it?"
"I must agree with Commander Mult," Hyell said from her floating perch across from him. "This design leaves far too much control in one area and risks to much of the vessel being taken out from under you or whoever is in control of it."
"I understand your concerns," I told them. I really did. "I've taken them into account and made multiple failsafes that will be built into the ships. Here and here for expample. These areas will recieve and monitor data from communications systems and life support systems; if certain codes or orders are given or not given then these areas will take total control of these systems and allow them to remain in the hands of whoever is actually in charge of the ship. Whether that's the ship's captain or the next ranking officer will be detected by the vitals monitoring that the Cybernetic Artificial Intellect allow. Each of them will determine if the Captain and his or her crew is alive and in control of the vessel or the vessel will enter a lockdown state that will not allow whoever is attempting to control the vessel to maintain control or use the vessel for their own desires."
"I understand this but I still feel that continuing this course will be folly and may cost you much in due time," Mult said emotionally. "If you insist on having these blueprints be followed then I must beg that you allow my crews to create a more typical bridge that will allow others on the vessel to monitor and communicate with the bridge and the crew there in the event that the captain is lost."
That particular conversation continued to run for the rest of the meeting but eventually I was able to get the two of them to agree to build my ships the way I wanted them and they brought me around to the idea of having a bridge and a crew for it. Just in time to have to rush to the landing pads and catch a shuttle to the Last Life of Cal-nok so that I could meet the other Commanders that had shown up.
That meeting went well enough and they were all willing to agree that the creation of the Nephilim Army was neccessary and something that allowed them to avoid having to choose more and more desperate things in their fight with the Scourge. I was more taken aback by the appearance of the Schneel than I was worried about any of them choosing not to endorse the creation of the Nephilim through genetic manipulation.
Once I had finished the meet and greet I made my back to the human compound on Rallypoint in time to catch the last wake-up session that Carrie had agreed to run today. I thought she did alright, better than I did. After the humans had been sent to their new barracks I made my way to her and updated her about what I needed her to do for me tomorrow. More wake-ups mostly, but I also needed her to take over showing the new recruits what to do during training. She agreed but only if I allowed her to be the second Nephilim they made. I don't know why she wanted to leave being human behind so fast but I agreed to her request anyway; she couldn't have backed out now anyway, not after the CAI was implanted.