Carpathia IV: Episode 209 - AI
NCCS Shadowdancer-A
The stroll to sick bay took less time than it took to get the the bridge, probably, Aire thought, because Alka had already intimately familiarized himself with wondrous things like wall panels and carpet. No need to stop and look at every little thing and they did not break stride on their way.
Alka: Not much water on the ship, is there?
Aire: We have plenty for cooking, cleaning, bathing, drinking, and other things. Did you have something else in mind?
Alka: It seems none of the species you work with require water as much as we do. Even my suit is made of moisture-retaining microcells to keep me wet.
Aire: Indeed, we do not have any species who require that much moisture, but I can tell you that our doctor will be very curious about that. Speaking of, here we are.
Aire ushered Alka up to the wide double doors leading to sick bay. With a nod, Aire tapped the control and they slid open. Inside, he found Sorchae, Tamati, and Darius, front and center waiting to greet them, with many more members of the medical team behind them.
Aire: Sorchae, I see you're ready.
Sorchae: Ensign Savea has been kind enough to keep us updated on your progress. Please come in.
Alka: Thank you, Doctor.
Sorchae: You may call me Sorchae. This is Tamati, our chief nurse.
Tamati: Welcome!
Sorchae: And Darius. He's our newest cadet and is learning about all we do up here.
The look on Darius's face, pert ears, wide eyes, and mouth open with no sound coming out, a rarity for him. Easy to see that he was awestruck.
Alka: That would make us opposites, I suppose, since I was born in space.
Darius: Um, I suppose it would. Perhaps I could introduce you to planet life sometime.
Alka: If that happens someday, I hope you could!
Sorchae: Well then, what would you like to see first?
Alka: Actually, Sorchae, why not a demonstration? Can you give me a checkup?
Not awestruck now, but dumbstruck, and this applied to everyone present and Sorchae, fortunately recovered quickly.
Sorchae: Well, we can certainly do that. Unfortunately, since I don't know your physiology, I won't be much help interpreting your results, but I can give you a copy of all our scans.
Alka: That would do nicely!
Sorchae: Right this way, then. Tamati, Darius, you will assist.
Darius tippy-tapped between his two feet with his paws clutched to his chest.
Darius: Yes, Doctor!
A day of surprises. The last thing Aire expected was to sit in the sick bay waiting room while his guest received a medical checkup. Unlikely scenario, the hotoh are generally health nuts and this is an extension of that. More likely, he thought, they're having a problem and if that is true, he expected to hear about it eventually. For now, however, he had some time to kill. After awhile sitting and doing nothing, he thought of having a chat with Kit, who was studiously working on his tablet.
Aire: How is married life, Kit?
Kit put his tablet on his lap and thought for a moment.
Kit: Hmm... Not much different than before, but I really like sharing quarters and Amenaru has been much more cuddly lately.
Aire: That sounds really good. An excellent start for you two.
Kit: We're still working out how to arrange my wood carving table and his instruments.
Aire: I'm sure you'll come to a reasonable solution. That's married life, I suppose. Not that I can give advice, since I've never done it.
Kit: At least you know people who have. It's entirely new for me.
Aire: I suppose it would be.
The door to the exam room opened and Sorchae stepped out, followed by Alka.
Sorchae: I hope this is informative for you. Come back if you need more information.
Alka: Thank you!
Aire and Kit both stood, eagar to continue.
Aire: Shall we head to Engineering?
Alka: Let's go!
Aire approached the large double doors to Engineering first. Unlike the doors for sick bay, which were simply larger versions of regular doors, these doors had considerable weight to them and trundled along their tracks as they opened. Inside, Minnie and her team stood waiting to greet their guest.
Minnie: Welcome to Engineering, Alka. I am Minnie Calloway, Chief Engineer, and this is my Deputy Chief Engineer, Ramei Sokari.
Ramei: We're very pleased to have you here.
Alka: Thank you for having me. This is very impressive. Much more spacious than ours.
Minnie: Our scans showed that you use a similar matter/antimatter injector core.
Alka: Similar in function, but ours isn't this nice.
Ramei: Come. We'll show you around.
Alka eagerly nodded and entered with Aire and Kit following. Keen to let Minnie and Ramei handle this round, Aire had a quick look around the room for Shep and his team. They were not difficult to spot. After all, nobody said anything about being stealthy, just vigilant. Alka didn't make it very far in before Aire's attention was forced back upon the tour.
Alka: Oh! Oh! What's that?
All turned to where Alka pointed. It was the Engineering lab and, through the windows, they could see Phobos inside working.
Minnie: That's the engineering lab. We use that to run experiments when needed.
Alka: Can I see?
Minnie and Ramei exchanged glances.
Minnie: If you'll give me a moment, I'll have to ask to make sure that Phobos isn't working on anything sensitive.
Alka: I understand.
Minnie left, disappearing into the lab while Aire made some small talk.
Alka: I've been calling you by your name all this time, but would you prefer to be addressed by a title? You haven't told me of one yet.
Alka: I suppose you could refer to me as Praetor Alka Minas, but we really don't use titles so much anymore. My name will be fine.
Aire: Whatever you prefer is fine with me.
Minnie returned from the lab and stood just outside the door, ushering Alka in.
Minnie: It's fine to go in.
Alka: Great!
Alka rushed to the lab. Before following, Aire made eye contact with Shep and gave his head a little tilt. Shep got the message immediately and followed them both. Minnie was the first to follow Alka inside and started a little speech about what the lab was and what they do there.
Minnie: We use this area for many things. Constructing and testing new designs is one of...
Alka paid none of this any mind and made straight for Phobos.
Alka: Look at you! This is an astounding work of artificial intelligence you have here!
To Phobos's surprise and chagrin, Alka started poking him all over and pinching his cheeks.
Alka: Strange... Amazing AI, but the body isn't particularly impressive.
Phobos: Oi, please stop that!
Alka didn't listen and started pinching Phobos's ears.
Phobos: Ow!
Alka: These could use some work too... I think. I have to admit I don't know what the real ones are like.
Alka moved on to the tail next and started rubbing it up and down. By now, both Aire and Shep were inside witnessing this and noting Phobos's clear discomfort.
Alka: Same issue. Still, I commend you for your AI work!
Shep: Mr. Alka, I must ask you to desist immedia...
Before Shep could finish, Phobos balled up his fist and spun around, knocking Alka hard enough to send him to the back of the room and where he collided with the wall. Shep sprinted to Alka, who was now rubbing the back of his head while Minnie attended to Phobos.
Aire: Phobos!
Deimos: I won't let you harass Phobos like that!
Deimos. This, Aire thought, was entirely unsurprising and he silently chided himself for not expecting as soon as the grabby-grab started. What was a surprise, however, was Alka throwing up his hands with a massive grin on his face.
Alka: Fantastic! Amazing! Full sentience! Emotions! Bodily autonomy! I'm so sorry, but I just had to test you.
Aire: Alka, I have to insist that you keep your hands off my crew in the future. If you have questions, ask. Now, do you need a doctor?
Alka: My apologies, Captain. I might need a little patch up later, but if you don't mind... You really are an astounding AI... Phobos, was it? But something seems a little off. You appear to be having some difficulties of some kind, but I can't make out what it is.
Aire: If Phobos consents to explain, I will allow it, but keep your hands to yourself. In the meantime, how is he, Shep?
Shep: Minor bleeding. I believe we should have the doctor check before anything else.
Aire nodded and Kit knew what he had to do.
Kit: Engineering to sick bay...
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
