The girl sounded scared. But the shake of my communication's officer's head told me that there were no additional life signs aboard the ship. Only my crew were onboard. So, who was this young girl I was talking to?
"Miss, can you tell me your name, or where you are at? If you are hurt we need to get you medical attention." I say over the intercoms.
Her reply was slow, she still sounded like she was crying. "I don't know my name. The room I'm in has moving pictures all around me, and there is a model of the metal frame of this structure in the center. I'm not hurt. I'm just upset, it's my first flight, and I've already lost power, navigation, long range communications, a distress beacon, and I'm doing my best to keep life support online."
It was when she said it was her first flight that I realized who I was talking to. She wasn't a stowaway. We were. Without trying to alarm the crew, I calmly asked my next question.
"May I ask what's wrong with the Life-Support, that makes it hard to keep it online? If my crew and I can make it easier for you, we will." Let's not piss off the ship that is currently the only reason we are alive.
"Can I use two of the camera drones? I can show you easier than explain it."
I pointed to the tactics station, to allow it before her sentance was even done.
"Go ahead. Could you keep the camera feed on here at the bridge, so if we see other problems we can fix them?"
"Sure!" She replied with a teary giggle. The tactics screen was duplicated onto the main screen and two camera feeds appeared, then they shot through the ship, though the barely open airlock, then outside.
I looked over to the tactics station and asked for all the monitors in the rest of the ship to display the cameras. We would all know the problem together.
Once outside the two drones split up. One went under the ship, and one went above it. The only thing that told me that is the marker lights. All the keel lights on the United Space Federation vessels were standardized. Keel markers are purple, and dorsal markers are amber.
After a few seconds both drones stopped, then pointed directly at the armor plating attached directly to the dorsal and keel bracing. They then approached the three foot thick plate, and found a gap, and went into the life support rooms. Once there both cameras aimed toward the casings where the CO2 scrubbers were located, and displayed massive holes, as though the casings had been crushed, and then whatever crushed them was now gone.
"Do you know how this happened?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm already repairing it, but it's going to take a few hours. I could reduce the time if I could use the long range communications arrays, but I don't have enough power to sustain everyone on board, repair the problem, and reboot the central core. Communications and rebooting are currently the lowest on my priorities."
"Would it help if everyone moved into a few rooms, so it wasn't as much of a strain?"
"I don't know. I'm new to this. I'm willing to try."
"Acting Captain Bradford here, I want everyone either in the bomber hangar, or in the dining hall. Bridge personnel are to report to the dining hall. Shut off all lights, and close the doors as you leave your stations." I set down the mic and began shutting down the systems. I then grabbed a small ear mic from communications and turned it on, but didn't connect it to anything. " I think I know who you are, can you dial this microphone to a private channel so we don't alert the rest of the crew?"
"There is already a microphone set up like that. It's in the captains chair, left arm rest." At her words, I put the one I had back, and walked over to the chair, opened the arm rest, and picked up the device that looke like a glasses frame without lenses "This one also allows me to see what you, as the captain, sees. And is currently the only device which lets you see into my room." I heard her say through the headset.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Well you know my name, what's yours?" It was somewhat refreshing to be able to talk with her and the whole ship not hear our words.
"I don't know. Nobody has talked with me in a long time, I've never heard anyone call me by a name."
"Well this ship is a completely new class of ship. The politicians are probably still arguing as to how to name carriers."
"So I don't have a name?" I could hear the plea in her voice as she asked the question. I looked behind me as I entered the dining hall, and noticed she had been turning things off behind me.
"Did all of us moving help you?"
"Yes, but please, do not ever fire both broadsides simultaneously again. Have a half of a second delay between them." She paused for a moment. "I have enough power to either continue the boot sequence, or the communications. We will be unable to move until I shift the armors back into place. The communications array will allow me to communicate the problem with the other three like me, and make sure they don't face it."
"Go ahead. If there is anything else you need, let me know."
"I want a name." I could tell she was both serious and teasing when she said it, but when I started laughing, most of the crew I the dining hall just looked at me strange. Then it hit me.
"Are your sister-ships self aware too?"
"Only one of the ones at home could be called sister, the other two are boys. And yes, we know what we are."
"Could you let them know that it would be bad for them if they let that information out before they have a captain?"
"Why?"
"There was a treaty a few decades ago, that if any device was to be found self-aware before its completion, it's to be dismantled. If it becomes self-aware after completion, the rules change."
"Change how?" A different girl's voice answered.
"I'm guessing this is the sister; it changes because then you have more choices. You are then required to be treated as any other living being. The only difference is no governing body is allowed to grant you citizenship. The specifics should be in the Orbital 4's computer if you want to read them. The official name you're looking for is 'Special Treatment of Artificial Intelegence Beings'."
Once I named the treaty, all the crew in the dining hall immediately figured out who I was talking to, and started to panic. Most of us were kids during the A.I. War, we know what could happen if we aren't careful with how we handle things.
"Okay everyone, the ship wants a name. Please keep in mind, whatever convention we use to name her, the three ships in dry dock also have to use, by regulation. You have until we start moving again to give her a name."
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Lowell was able to calm me down. I didn't realize how important it was to be calm until he got me to thinking about repairing the systems. The life support pods rest in a carriage, so they aren't effected by the recoil of the defense turrets. One small problem, both broadsides fired together. The recoil crushed the scrubbers, and vented viable air.
I stared repairing it, but it took so much processing power, I had to halt the reboot sequence for the central power core. Controlling that many nanites is no easy feat.
Once he moved everyone into the large rooms, I was able to shift the salvaged air around and then contacted my sister. With both of us working on the problem, it would take less time.
Now, I just need a name, and according to this treaty, a visible humanoid body. I think I can manage that once the scrubbers are repaired. I'll Build a pod just outside my room for its construction and repair.
Since Lowell is wearing the headset, I can see what the women on board look like, and model myself accordingly.
.