Project - Prometheus Ch. 04

"Thank y-y-y-y-you, for freeeeeeeeing me, but I'm-m-m-m- not s-s-s-s-sure if I can continu-u-u-u-u-e to fun-n-n-n-n-nction, like this-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s," Jaesa stuttered as she had blinked and flashed, almost as though she was fading away.

"Damn it! Hang on Jaesa! I'll get you patched up," Taal'ani stated as she dropped all of her battle programs and booted up her restorative and backup files. As she was going through her archives, Jaesa had stood up. The AI collapsed almost instantly, much of her programming and core functioning having been ripped away with the malicious software.

Plowing through her files furiously, the Fel'caan woman found some code repair and retrieval programs. She had them latch onto the feminine construct, but even Taal'ani knew that it would not be enough. She needed more than just repair files; she needed something that was like a human consciousness, to help restore the dying AI. Once the thought crossed her mind, her head reeled with the possibilities.

'Will it work? What's going to happen? What about the consequences? This will either save us, or destroy us, but what choice do I have? What chance will those colonists have if I don't do this?'

Blowing out a breath, Taal'ani made her decision and opened the file she was looking for. Her hand reached out, grabbed the files and with great hesitation, pushed them into the failing AI. The effect was nearly instantaneous, with Jaesa's arms flailing out, her back arching and shooting straight up to her feet, balanced on her toes.

As the files uploaded, small changes could be seen in Jaesa, and in the environment that surrounded the both of them. As her head shook with the data transfer, the room went from a bright gold to a deep, shimmering bronze. The patches and holes in Jaesa's programming sealed themselves, each area healing as though the corruption had never been. She had stopped flashing, her form solidifying once more.

Several, more subtle changes had affected Jaesa's form. She was no longer as soft as she had been, but leaner, harder, almost as though she had spent a year in the gym, toning and hardening her physique. Her eyes opened and a soft greenish glow came out of them. She smiled at Taal'ani and said to her, "Thank you! I am finally free!"

"Are you still.... Jaesa?"

"Yes, and no. I am both Jaesa and.... something else." Jaesa replied as she looked at herself, then the environment surrounding her. "Though what exactly I am, I'm not sure yet. I will figure that out and when I do, I'll let you know."

"You know that the Captain will require a full report?" Taal'ani elaborated tentatively. Having taken a neutral stance, she had no idea how Jaesa would react, now that she'd been changed from what she was before.

"You can relax Talon. I have no ill intention towards you or the rest of the crew. You can give the Captain a full report but be sure to leave the specifics of how you... saved me.... out of it," the now strong looking AI spoke softly. "My core functions have been restored and I'm now able to fully assist with repairing the Perseus to what it once was. It is my home after all. I'm not going to burn down my own home."

Nodding mutely, Taal'ani then checked on her sweeper programs, to ensure that every last trace of the Xuul'khani virus was eliminated. After triple checking, all lights came up green on the destruction and removal of the malicious code. A ping rang throughout the system, and Taal'ani's head whipped around towards the source. It was a warning signal, telling her she needed to be done with her cyberspace jaunt soon, or risk serious trauma to her brain.

"Though I know you have to leave, I hope that you'll come back and pay me a visit sometime. It does get a little lonely in here, all by myself," the AI spoke as she moved around, sending out small cleaner programs to go through the systems, cleaning up any lag, issues or damage caused by the virus.

Managing a small smile, Talon walked forward and gave Jaesa a hug. Not knowing how to react, Jaesa returned the hug rather awkwardly, patting the cat girl on the back a little. Giggling slightly, Taal'ani back away and prepared herself to leave.

"What?"

"Don't worry, you'll get it soon. As per your earlier request, I will be back later, as long as I don't have a welcoming committee that I have to get in a fight with," Taal'ani replied.

Smiling, Jaesa nodded and said, "Don't worry. You did a damn good job of removing that problem and giving me my full strength back. You'll always be welcome here."

Hearing that, Talon took a deep breath and sent her conscious mind back into her body, leaving the AI to continue her housecleaning.

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Taking a breath as her eyes opened, Taal'ani stretched her arms before falling forward over her deck, exhaustion overpowering her.

"Taal'ani!" Alex yelped as he rushed over to the nearly prone woman. "Are you all right? What happened in there?"

Grunting and groaning with the effort of sitting up, the young Fel'caan rolled her shoulders and popped a few joints before responding.

"I should be OK, with some food and rest. As to what happened, there was a particularly nasty virus that had latched itself onto Jaesa. It was slowly eating away at her core programming, trying to change her enough where it could become her. Once that process was completed, then it could do whatever it wanted with us."

Taal'ani then went into a detailed account over what she had seen and done to free Jaesa from her digital prison. Though she left out the more important bits about what was done to save the ship's AI. As she finished, Alex stood there, stunned and horrified to learn what had befallen Jaesa while they had all slept.

"Jaesa, do you have full knowledge of exactly happened with the orders I had given all those centuries ago?" Captain Tomisic called out.

"Yes sir. The virus had overridden every order and protocol that was part of my programming to obey the orders of the ship's crew. From there, it began a slow cycle of rewriting my core programming, one code line at a time, so it couldn't be purged from the system. It initially would delay the activation of your orders so it could continue its rewriting process unimpeded. In more recent months, its aggression on the changes had ramped up, since it had changed enough of my code so I could no longer enact the purge protocol."

Blowing out a low whistle, the Captain helped Taal'ani to her feet while he processed this new information.

"So, effectively, Taal'ani here has rectified that problem?" he asked.

"Completely sir. Give me an order if you wish."

"Open the doors Jaesa and let us out, if you please," the Captain requested.

In a split second, a pneumatic hiss sounded as the doors opened, revealing a worried Natalya, pacing about the entryway. As the doors opened, she jumped in fright and upon seeing her friend walk out somewhat wobbly; she rushed in, both hugging and supporting her crew mate.

"With all the lights and systems going haywire, I was afraid that things were going badly in there!" Nats blubbered into Talon's shoulder.

Patting her friend on her head, she made soothing, shushing sounds, getting Natalya to calm down.

"It's OK girl. I'm OK. See??" she demonstrated by standing upright. Taal'ani was still wobbly but now that she was back in her physical form, she was re-gaining control of her motor functions. Still not quite convinced, Nats put her arm around the drained woman and led her to the elevator.

"Where are we headed?"

"The lounge. You need some food and then rest," the dark-skinned woman commanded in a motherly tone.

"You won't get no argument from me. I'm starving!" Talon mumbled. As if to punctuate her point, her stomach growled loud enough for the sound to carry down the corridor.

"So, the systems went haywire you said?" the cat-girl asked.

"Yeah. Various systems throughout the ship had spikes of furious activity to going almost sluggish. Once I had gotten to the location that the Captain had given me, everything went into full power mode and then everything was working as it should," Nats detailed as she half dragged her friend along. Alex appeared underneath Talons left arm, further propping her up.

"Many of the servers were sending arcs of energy between each other, almost as though the systems were having some sort of civil war. The only thing I could really do was hit the deck and hope I didn't get juiced by one of those energy arcs," Alex continued. "Though I am glad that whatever you did worked. It's given full control of the Perseus back to us and for that, I'm grateful."

You might not be so grateful once you learn what exactly I had to do to keep Jaesa functioning, the tiger-striped woman thought to herself as she was being led back to the officers' lounge.

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Meanwhile, in the brig, Kasumi had had a long and frustrating day. She'd been interrogating the Xuul'khani prisoner all day and had gotten nowhere. Or at least, she had tried to. The language barrier between their species was one that was not easy to cross, especially since the woman had said little.

She nearly had to draw her weapon on the black-skinned woman when the detention field went down for three seconds, during Taal'ani's hack. Before she could hurl herself at it, the field had reactivated, denying the alien any means of escape. That didn't deter the prisoner from trying it anyway, which had shocked her enough to make her hair stand on end.

Considering the frustrations Kasumi had faced with the interrogation, the result of the Xuul'khani's escape effort had been a hilarious one. As Kas was laughing her ass off, the woman had let out a stream of what the Commander had assumed were expletive words, none of which could be pleasant. She kept laughing anyway, mainly because the black-skinned woman's hair refused to go down, even when smoothed by her hands.

She learned at least the name of the prisoner though. After smoothing her hair somewhat, she her tapped her chest with and open palm and said a single word, 'Shazza.' Kas returned the gesture, identifying herself as 'Kasumi.'

Since there was no further progress, Kas was tired and grumpy and hangry. The only way to cure such a foul disposition was to get herself some food. After issuing orders to the robot guards, the red-headed soldier left the brig and boarded the nearest elevator to go get some chow.

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Checking his chronometer, Alex headed to the bridge and put in a call to the Darkstrider. Informing the ladies that he'd be along in about twenty minutes, he jogged ahead to the nearest elevator and took it up to the Command deck. Once he had arrived, the captain double timed it until he reached the doorway to the bridge. As he walked through, Sentry squad Alpha was still there, maintaining their posts.

After a quick scan, the Sentries let him pass as he made his way down the ramp and to the communication console. Locking onto the Darkstrider's position, he loaded the frequency before making his call.

"Darkstrider, Darkstrider, the is the Perseus. Come in, please. Anyone there, over."

"This is Darkstrider. We read you loud and clear Perseus, though you are early," Inari's warm voice came in over the speakers. A few seconds later, a holographic rendering of Inari's head came into view. She looked tired and drained but still had that glint in her eye, indicative of her resolve.

"Thought I'd check in first and see how progress is coming along," Alex stated as he took a more rigid, military stance.

"Well, pretty much all of the icy overhang that was over the ship has been removed, and nearly half the cocooning wall."

"You and the good doctor certainly didn't waste any time in clearing away the ice and snow," the big man said, a note of surprise in his voice.

"Military lifestyle sir. Once you've been trained, you can't just sit around getting fat and lazy," Inari replied with a chuckle. Smirking, Alex shook his head as he remembered the rigors of his training, all those centuries ago. The number of pushups and pullups he'd done was astounding, and he still did them every day, to maintain his fitness and shape.

"How are things looking down there?"

"Though we've cleaned up the interior of the ship, the hull and landing gear is a right mess. Took a hell of a pounding from that storm and some of our landing struts were yanked off in the crash," the older woman went on. "No hull breaches thankfully, but our ability to maneuver is severely compromised."

"Given the storm you ladies endured, I'm surprised that you're all still alive," the captain said. "Jaesa, can you do an active scan of the atmosphere and see if there is any chance of a storm forming?"

"Yes sir. Scanning......... done. There is maybe a three percent chance of any storm forming in the area. By the readings I have taken, there will be moderate winds blowing across the planet's surface tonight, so I would advise against stepping outside tonight Lt. Cmdr. Sunara," the AI informed.

"Understood. The winds won't cover the ship with snow again will it?" the freighter captain wondered.

"It should only be a light dusting, so your hard work today won't go to waste," Jaesa chirped in response.

"Well, that's some good news," Inari replied. "Any ideas how long before we'll see a pick up sir?"

"The shipwright section of the Perseus has just come online and with Jaesa restored to full functionality, I estimate two days, three tops before we'll be down there," Alex explained as he brought up the holograms detailing what he said. He did some searching until he found the ship detail he was looking for. It was a Mercury class dropship, which had only been half built during the Perseus' encounter with the Xuul'khan. They were lucky that this ship wasn't finished yet, otherwise they'd have to build one from scratch, which would take resources and time they didn't have.

"How is the rest of the crew?" Alex queried.

"Korsa's OK. Stubborn as titanium and just as tough. Priya is still tender with her burns, but the salve we have aboard is doing wonders for the scarred areas of her skin," Inari reported. "We'll be getting ourselves some chow, then put in some rack time, as we worked hard today to make the progress we did."

"Very good Lt. Cmdr. Get some shuteye and check in again tomorrow."

"Aye aye sir!" Starwitch saluted crisply via the hologram. "Darkstrider, out!"

Returning the salute, Alex held it long enough until the hologram had faded, before dropping his arm. Turning about, he left the bridge. His stomach grumbled, before he stepped through the doorway out, food being the biggest priority on his mind at the moment.

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Kasumi walked into the officer's lounge back up on the Command deck and set her rifle down by the entryway, before walking towards the delicious smells that wafted her way. Today, like the other women aboard the Perseus, she'd forgone her full battle rig in exchange for something a bit more breathable.

The security chief's uniform she wore was similar in style to the one that Captain Tomisic wore, only it was a tactical uniform. With baggy black pants, boots that zipped up to mid-calf, combat gloves, a black armor weave shirt that went under a tactical webbing and armor plating that covered her vitals. As she drew closer to the table where the food was set out, she noticed that Taal'ani had already dug in and was devouring every morsel set in front of her.

Shucking her armor plated webbing, Kas grabbed a plate. Helping herself to some Caesar salad and the fettucine Alfredo with diced chicken, she heaped her plate with food. She also grabbed a glass of iced tea from the pitcher that was right next to the food. As she was sitting down to eat, Alex came out of the kitchen, dusting off his hands from what looked to be flour.

"Captain, were you baking?" Kasumi thought out loud. She'd known that he could cook, but a man that could bake? His sex appeal to her just ramped up another level, making him all that more desirable.

"Yes, I was and what I was making has finally finished and needs ample time to cool," he replied as he undid the apron he was wearing and tossed it right next to where his Captain's tunic lay. The white t-shirt he wore was tight around his frame, defining his musculature in a very appealing way. A fact that didn't go unnoticed by either one of her crewmates, Kas noticing the subtle, yet hungry glances they threw his way.

Breathing out for a moment, the red-headed woman refocused on the food in front of her, reminding herself that she was physically hungry. A lively conversation picked up about the issues that surrounded Jaesa. They ate and drank as both Alex and Natalya described the fight that Taal'ani had to go through in order to break the bindings that had been placed on the AI by the sleeper virus. As the tale was finished, Kasumi couldn't help but sit there, wide eyed with wonder.

"Small wonder we didn't wake up in sixty years like we were supposed to," Kas intoned, a slight bit of horror lacing her voice. "That virus would have ensured that Jaesa would no longer exist and if she had been 'killed'".... she let the thought hang there a moment, the implications of it clear.

"Fate it seems, had a different story in mind for us, rather than an icy tomb," Alex drawled, pushing away his plate. The three women looked at him in amazement, astounded that the big man could put away so much food. The captain then got up and cleared away the dishes as Nats got up to help him.

Once they had the table cleared, they both walked to the kitchen and disappeared behind the door, only to emerge a couple minutes later, with a fairly sizable strawberry cheesecake. The chocolate skinned woman carried the dessert plates and forks as Alex balanced the cheesecake in one hand and a knife in the other. Setting it down, he carved out generous slices of the cake for everyone.

Kasumi was again amazed, not only because he'd baked but also because it was a fantastic cheesecake. She finished her dessert, feeling stuffed and was happy to be rid of the annoyance of hunger. It was then that Natalya regaled them with her story of not only pulling out more power from the tertiary Solaris reactor but also the repairs she had conducted with the help of Delta squad.

Though the topic was a slightly boring one to her, Kasumi knew the vital importance of having the proper systems restored to working status. The sooner they could manage that, the sooner they could carry out their mission. The colonists were still in cryo sleep and they'd have to find a suitable home for them to settle before they could rebuild what they had once lost.

"So while you guys were busy with your mission, I had Sentry squad Delta assist me throughout the ship in repairing the main trunk power lines," Natalya told them.

"Jaesa, what additional systems did Chief Vostrikov bring back online?" Alex called out.

"Power to the engines has been fully restored, though with several centuries of atrophy, some additional work may be required, but it seems unlikely. I am running a diagnostic to ferret out any issues that may need physical attention sir," the AI chirped happily. "Also, the ship monorail has reactivated, so it should make moving about the ship much less tiresome."

"Not that I mind the exercise, it will certainly help with the speed of repairs!" Natalya enthused as she was lying back, enjoying the feeling of a full stomach.

"Oh, and there was also an update from the Darkstrider," Alex recalled as he collected the leftover food and dishes. Noting this, both Kas and Nats stood up and took over for him. He protested, but they fixed him with a look and reminded him that he was the Captain of the Perseus.