ShipCore

USD: Seven hours after arrival to MIL-1A

Location: Van Biesbroeck’s star, Meltisar, MIL-1A, Navy Administration Offices and Bureau of Personnel

Alex walked beside Captain-Major Thraker through the higher-security checkpoint, their escort explaining that the Admiral had ordered them expedited through to see him. That seemed a major failing of security in Alex’s opinion, but she did not complain as the guards waved them through the checkpoint.

The weight of her ShipCore in her bag did not allow her to forget in the slightest that she was carrying damning evidence. It would just take one suspicious guard to ask to search her bag or her going to one wrong checkpoint and being found out.

As they moved down the corridor as a group, Alex wracked her brain trying to think of ways to mitigate the danger. Leaving the ShipCore somewhere secure seemed like a terrible idea. She did not know how far she could get from it and not die, and the thought of being stuck on a tram moving away rapidly when she crossed that line was not a comforting one.

It was also too large to hide in her female parts, a horrifying thing she’d seen done in a much too visual holovid. She didn’t think stomach acid would hurt it, but it was also way too large to swallow. Being a bowling ball in size and just as heavy, it was hard to conceal.

The only saving grace was that while it weighed about 45kg, that wasn’t very much to her.

She knew she needed to spend some time studying all the security measures on the station when she had time. She added it to the top of her list of things to do when she got back to Elis.

Alex had confirmed that she’d be allowed to stay with Elis, but she realized if they were on the station for very long, she’d likely need her own apartment to stay in. It wasn’t likely they’d keep Elis in the hospital bed forever, stepping her down to a long-term care facility…

Alex swallowed and pushed away the thought. Not forever, but she needed to focus on the meeting. Elis was going to get better. Was already getting better. She had to.

Thraker slowed his pace a bit, allowing their escort to get slightly ahead of them just enough that when he talked to her, they wouldn’t be overheard.

“Have you had any thoughts on what you plan to do?” Thraker asked.

Alex shook her head. “Not really had enough time to think about it, yet.”

“I am afraid that we will need to disclose your NAI status to the Admiral. When I spoke to him on the comms before the meeting, he hinted at knowing something more than the specific details I promised him on the frontier. I would not divulge your authority level as being higher than chi, though.”

Alex looked at Thraker with alarm. “You promised I could choose whether to share that!”

“I’m sorry Alex. It has been a few years since I’ve been here. Admiral Darren is the man to speak to, though, and he is likely on our side.”

“I’ll determine who is on my side or not.” Alex growled at him, keeping her voice low. “There certainly isn’t much choice for me but to go along with what you want, is there?”

Before Thraker could reply, they reached the Admiral’s office. The escort opened the door for them, and they were shown inside.

The walls were lined with brown wooden panels that radiated warmth, while the floor was covered in a thick navy-blue carpet.

At the center of the room, a large desk made of a dark brown wood dominated the scene. A monitor and holographic display were built into the surface, and a pile of datapads were stacked on one side. Admiral Darren sat in a high-backed leather chair and waved them inside.

In front of the desk, two visitor chairs sat facing the desk, their cushioned seats and backrests upholstered in soft, tanned leather. On the desk on a golden name plate, with three stars and a descriptor: “Director of Naval Intelligence and Integration.”

On both sides of the room flanking the chairs were real wooden floor-to-ceiling bookcases, filled to the brim with actual paper books bound in leather.

Behind the desk, a large wall display faked being a window, showing a camera feed of the station and Meltisar below, a sight Alex was quickly becoming familiar with.

Framed prints of various ship schematics and system maps adorned the empty spaces along the walls, while inset lighting cast a beige hue on the space in contrast to the harsher stark white lighting in most of the corridors Alex had seen.

They had almost hidden a second door near the back of the room among the decorations, and there was no hint of its purpose to Alex.

The Admiral stood and offered his hand to Thraker. “Wistenburg, welcome, old friend. I was not sure if you’d ever be getting around to returning. It’s been years.”

Thraker took the hand and shook it heartily. “Westlake. I see the admiralty finally lost what few marbles they had and promoted you to the largest desk they could find.”

Admiral Darren laughed. “Not all of us are so in love with a ship command. A section on MIL-1A and a desk is enough for me nowadays, at any rate.” His gaze slid over to Alex and she did her best to offer a fake smile and not be self-conscious.

“And who is this lovely young lady you’ve brought with you?”

Thraker introduced her as she shook the Admiral’s offered hand. “This is Alex Myers, a promising young protégé of mine.” The handshake was firm, but not excessive, and Alex kept her grip at a measured equal pressure as the Admiral’s the entire time, never breaking her smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, Admiral.” She offered as the most neutral and non-descript greeting she could think of.

As the three of them sat down, Admiral Darren homed in on Thraker, a frown creasing his face, “It’s a real circus you’ve asked me for, Rake. There will be some real questions for me about ‘lax’ security measures and violations of normal protocol. Even if some of us don’t forget favor that are owed, I hope you brought me something worth the mess. On the surface, the measures don’t seem to be warranted.”

Thraker nodded and launched into an explanation of the events that had occurred on the Western Frontier, starting with the Grazhdanin and the conflict between the colonists and the Rexxor.

Alex listened as he led the Admiral through the events, continuing to the nuclear strike, the refugees and food shortages, and finally the arrival of the Corpo fleet. He included information on the Solarian and Corpo fighting in 90 Pegasi in more detail than Alex had realized they had collected, complete with ship designations and confidence levels for actual ships.

“So, a Corpo fleet has taken the Western Frontier, and we can expect a major session of IFRB meddling and even the Drakari getting involved with Octanis accord violations. Lovely.”

“Not quite. The Corpo fleet around Dedia was destroyed.”

“What? The Solarians gave the colonists that much firepower? They’d have had to violate technology limitations, because I know where all the Solarian outer fleets are, and Dedia did not have any.”

Thraker looked at Alex, causing Admiral Darren to raise an eyebrow.

Alex hesitated at first, but the inevitability of answering prodded her. Changing the course she’d been led to felt impossible. Giving an unhappy glare at Thraker, she turned to the Admiral.

“I’m a NAI. I arrived in 92 Pegasi with a FedTech corvette.” Alex started, as she went over a summary of events from her POV. She did her best to avoid some subjects and information she felt she didn’t want to divulge and wouldn’t be easy to piece together. Especially the fact that she was Omega and that she’d made two Psi-level subcores and at least one was still operational on the frontier.

She watched several emotions play over Darren’s face, and by the time she reached the end of her story, the man reached down to pull out a wooden cigar box.

In a move that almost mirrored Thraker’s when she first had a conversation with him, the Admiral retrieved three from the box.

“Cigar?”

Thraker accepted, while she declined. The two men went through the motions of preparing and lighting the smoky things up. Alex didn’t comment on the smell or smoke, although she didn’t exactly like it.

No one spoke for some time, and she wondered if the cigar-thing was common in the higher-ranking naval circles.

Thraker restarted the conversation, and the two men discussed the Iron Horse Mercenary Company’s issues. The Iron Horse being heavily damaged and in need of a retrofit was the first point. The Company’s lack of funds the other.

“Surely there is some need for local security? We need a local contract while I sort through the company's finances. I’m afraid I will likely need to sell one of the frigates to a shipyard.”

A frown appeared on Darren’s face. “I’ve already stretched to get you past security, and now you want a government contract. That comes with considerably more red tape to be dealt with and the service does not, despite the appearances, favor nepotism strongly.”

“You’re the Chief of Naval Intelligence and Integration, and the information we’ve brought you must be worth something.” Thraker countered.

“I will tell you what. I will see about getting you a contract for some planetside security work. It won’t pay anything special, but it should pay the bills. But I will need several of your officers and personnel to come be debriefed by NavInt in return. You as well.”

Thraker winced and took a long puff from his cigar. “I don’t have many other options. I’ll make my crew available.”

Admiral Darren turned to Alex. “Myers,” he said as if remembering something, “Ah. Your sister is the one who was transported to the medical facility. Is she an NAI as well?”

“No.”

“I have several questions for you, but the largest one on my mind is, where did you come from?”

“No.”

The Admiral’s brows furrowed. “No?”

“I didn’t really want to come here since I wanted to stay in 92 Pegasi. I messed up and events made that impossible, but Captain Thraker led me into thinking I had choices, when really I didn’t, and I don’t think he really thought I did!”

Alex took a breath, trying to settle her thoughts and calm down. “Before our meeting, I didn’t know he was going to force me to reveal that I was an NAI, and I don’t know or trust you.” She glanced at Thraker, who was looking at her with a frown. “Either of you.”

Admiral Darren leaned back in his chair, cigar smoke rising to the ceiling as he explained the situation of NAI laws inside Meltisar.

“Technically, there would be no issue if our nation was in possession of a Chi NAI,” he said. “We have the legal standing of an inner system thanks to our diplomatic position. But the major polities don’t want to see Meltisar gain more power, so they won’t provide one. It means that NAIs being here is a legal gray area.”

Alex frowned, not understanding. The big alarm bells in her head were ringing due to the way he had phrased it. She was absolutely certain she was not a possession to be had or not. “Why won’t they provide one?”

“They want to keep Meltisar under their thumb. Because of the star lanes we find ourselves at the center of a four-piece play with all the relevant star-nations preferring that we accommodate their needs while making sure their rivals don’t take control,” the Admiral continued with a sigh, taking a puff on his cigar.

“As for the low-level NAIs already here, well... some people are willing to take risks and bend the rules if it benefits them.”

Alex frowned. “What does this mean for me? You say it’s a legal gray area, but I thought if someone looked in my bag, I’d be arrested on the spot as some illegal piece of technology.”

Darren furrowed his brow. “Your bag? Why?”

“My ShipCore is in it.” Alex said bluntly.

The Admiral raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “I doubt a security guard would realize what it was? How in the stars did you miniaturize it to be so small?”

Before she could think of an explanation, he raised a hand, stalling her.

Admiral Darren looked at her seriously. “I can’t say for sure. You’re in a legal gray area, but if you stay under the radar and don’t cause trouble, you should be fine. But if the wrong people discover you... it could be dangerous. Rake was not wrong when he encouraged you to keep your status hidden. NAIs are quite controversial in Meltisar. On paper, they do not exist. There are not many of them.”

Alex frowned, still feeling lost. She glanced at Thraker. Betrayed as well.

“So, you already know of some NAIs here… How many are there like me?” Alex questioned.

“I can’t divulge that information. I’m sorry.” Admiral Darren responded.

Admiral Darren hesitated, glancing at Captain Thraker with a frown before continuing. “To be honest, there’s some infighting going on in the military right now. There’s a new government coming in that has a poor view of NAIs, and sees them as a danger.”

Alex furrowed her brow, unhappy with the feeling that her situation was about to get even more complicated.

The Admiral continued. “And there are factions within the military that feel the same way. The Traditionalists, who want nothing to do with NAIs and see them as a threat. And then there’s the New School, which I’m a part of, that sees them as a potential asset. We have some major policy disagreements, and there’s a lot of jockeying for positions going on.”

Alex looked at Thraker. “You knew about all this ahead of time and didn’t tell me?”

Thraker frowned. “I knew a bit, but not exactly. I knew Darren would see you in a favorable light, but I did not know things had devolved into… politics.”

Admiral Darren cleared his throat. “Currently, the New School is firmly in power and ascendant in the military, and I have some influence within it. It’s unlikely that the Traditionalists will make any headway, even with the support of the new government.”

Alex’s mind raced as she tried to process everything. She narrowed her eyes at the two men. “How am I supposed to trust either of you? Captain Thraker basically lied to me, and now you’re telling me I’m in some kind of legal gray area? How do I know you won’t just capture me and do experiments or something?”

Admiral Darren held up his hands in a calming gesture. “The proof is in how you’ve been treated. Other star nations would have captured you and tried to enslave you. I don’t want to see that happen. I’d rather have a mutually beneficial relationship with you. You’re an asset, not a commodity to be traded.”

Alex still didn’t feel entirely trusting, but she knew she had few other options. “I need your help to get back to 92 Pegasi. Is there any way you can assist with that?”

The Admiral frowned. “Why is it so imperative that you return?”

Alex hesitated, but explained despite her distrust. “I don’t have a computronics module, and my sub-core could provide me with one. But my sister is in a coma, and I think maybe nanites could help. I just need to get back to 92 Pegasi and see if I can find a way to access my sub-core for help.”

Admiral Darren remained silent for a moment as he considered what she had said. “I do not know how we can help you return to 92 Pegasi with a war on. As for the computronics module… I might be able to put you in contact with another NAI who can help. I can’t promise anything.”

Alex had suspected the first answer, but the second seemed… possibly promising. Nothing said that she had to have A31 be the one to help her restore Nameless, and she was very confident that any NAI she met wouldn’t be overriding her authority level.

Darren continued. “More importantly… sub-core? You left another NAI in the war zone?”

Alex winced. “Yes… It’s part of why I need to go back. I’m worried about them. I started a company there and things were not in a good state when I left after the battle with the Corpos.”

Darren and Thraker shared a look.

“I told you about the sub-core when we first talked after I… woke up.” Alex pointed out to Thraker.

He shook his head. “I somehow missed it. I’m not sure it would have changed our course of action, but that might have been because I was focused on getting the convoy to safety.”

“You left a sub-core in charge of a brand-new corporation on the frontier?” Darren asked carefully.

“I think Amy was actually in charge.” Alex said.

“Amy?” Darren asked.

Alex gave a short, nonchalant answer. “She was a miner who A31 hired to run things while we were in Nu Crateris. Elis and I confirmed her as the system manager.”

“What rank NAI is it?” Darren asked, clearly exasperated.

Alex winced, realizing she really shouldn’t tell them the truth about this.

“As high as I could make it.” Alex hedged.

The Admiral reached down behind his desk again, and Alex thought he was going to pull out another box of cigars, maybe a relaxing, calming flavor, when he brought up a glass bottle of some type of alcoholic beverage instead.

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