Astra Pt. 01

He opened the hatch to the forward compartment and walked inside. There was an access pad but it showed it was unlocked. He entered. There were spots for 3 more power cores on the floor.

He spoke aloud, "What could they need so much power for?" He took a step forward and saw a video message.

"Jack,

You found this deck much sooner than we would have guessed but it is yours to use. This is deck 5.5 if you will. It is 1.2 meters taller in here and the largest deck on the ship. The aft section houses a particle collider that, while smaller in size, would rival the capability of the Large Hadron Collider.

It also has a means of collecting those elements for mass production if needed. These are molds, resins, and fabrication machines. Machines to build your ship more ammunition if needed, provided you get the basic materials. A small amount was provided.

You will find a set of star charts with known accessible deposits of some of the rarer minerals you might need in the Terra system. The collider could be used to create others not on the planet if you study the science behind it. I know you studied Iaido while growing up in Japan.

You know the sword and the discipline required to succeed in that style. I took the liberty of leaving you a matched set; katana and wakizashi. Forged in the 27th century by a master not yet born obviously. He utilized his hereditary style of blade-smithing and incorporated new alloys.

He created some of the strongest swords ever made. This has been known to have broken five swords. Four with the katana. The set is called Sword Slayer or Sōdosureiyā.

I am not looking for you to get into a fight but firearms on the space stations are strictly prohibited. It is a rough-and-tumble place. Swords of all kinds are known to be drawn. Stay safe and use this equipment to fight the good fight."

The message cut out. He walked around and saw the location for the other 2 power cores. He chuckled to himself, 'I could build up all 7 of those cores before we leave here by setting up the first 1 in the forward middle slot. That set of fabricators along with the one on deck 7. That will speed this job along.

Now to draw up the blueprints and parts specifications.' He dropped down to deck 7 to find Astra just standing there. He looked at her, "What bridge roles can you do?"

She looked at him, "Communications. I am barred by programming from doing anything combat-related with the ship's external weapons. I can get the ship to flee an area if required. If boarded I know several styles of martial arts and have a collection of swords to choose from.

I do not use firearms directly but can control the internal system defenses, including all laser turrets. I am designed to handle the internals of the ship. I have an automated docking function for shipyards and such. In case you are uncomfortable with docking this ship as designed."

Jack sighed and nodded, "What about Engineering tasks?"

Astra looked at him, "During an emergency, I can dispatch repair bots where needed but cannot order ship personnel to perform tasks; I can relay the request. I can assist you in building the power core if you are asking for assistance already."

Jack contemplated his next question, "Can you give me an assessment of the capabilities and speed of the machinery in the ship?"

She smiled, "Yes, that I can do."

Jack chuckled, "I found the hidden deck, I went through the ship blueprints today and saw the blatant errors. I would like an accurate set of blueprints set up, A hoist stop on that new deck. Currently, the cargo hoist is set to pass through that location. If I must craft 5 power generators for that deck and 2 for engineering, I want them to get delivered whole."

Jack walked over to the portable display and connected it to the engineering scanner. He walked over to the only operations Power Core and scanned the interior a while and recorded the findings. Astra looked at him, "What are you doing?"

Jack smiled, "Not using the blueprints or you for the cores to create a new one. I can take these scans, which gives me the metal and resin compositions, the tube material, angles, and thicknesses. The types of wiring and fiber optics being used. Program them into the fabricator and draw in the raw material. We should be on our way within a week if not sooner."

She frowned at him, "That is cheating."

Jack shook his head, "You told me I could use any diagnostic tool available to me in the engineering bay. This is a Series 5604 Internal Scanner from your era. I am adapting to the tools available and learning the ship technology. That was the direction I was given."

Astra groaned out and sighed, "Fine it is not cheating but it was not what was intended. You should be done in 3 days." Jack shook his head, "If I installed the first 1 here that would be true but it will get installed on deck 6. All the lower decks get renumbered. I am not doing deck 5.5.

Assign the worker-bot crews to get that hatch open and renumber. I will put the first 1 in the slot for the other bank of fabricators on that level. Depending on the output of the product I might make a few changes. Anyway, you can get them started on opening that section up and installing the proper bulkhead to secure the doors."

She smiled, "Shouldn't you be building those?"

Jack laughed, "Nice try. I have seen the existing bulkheads on each level. The ones on the lift are all identical. I am sure there is a spare one already made for an emergency or if I found that location.

We will worry about the personnel lifts access to the bulkheads later if at all. The maintenance tube suffices for now on that end. Now I have work to do and so do you. Stop by at lunch and dinner. I will rock your world then eat my Pink Snowballs."

She walked away smiling, "I have three orifices, not just two."

He smiled, "Then one will get a repeat today as I do you twice each time." She laughed at Jack but he was fucking serious. They spent the next 2 days working and fucking. He spotted her storing his sperm samples on a couple of occasions into cold storage.

He also lucked out and came across a different standard ration. The Twinkie rations which he enjoyed better but there were more Snow Balls and he only came across the 1 so far. He could not help but chuckle at that. Astra told him it was designed for those with chocolate or coconut allergies. He did find the setting to turn down the sonic shower from skin ripping to massaging and cleaning.

On the second day he sat in his quarters after he left Astra bent over in medical from the sexual pounding he gave her; 4 times in her rectal receptacle. He returned to his room and talked to the hand. The old pun was not lost on him, * If you can set it up so we can communicate then do so. Thank you for your patience. *

He felt a crawling sensation inside of his arm that extended up to his brain on the back of his head. It hurt but was bearable.

He heard, *This hand belongs to you now. The Drakor would welcome another brother but you are not a brother they would want. *

Jack sighed, * Do you know anything of the previous owner of this arm? Why would they not want me as a brother? *

The arm sighed, * Everything I am telling you is encoded into the DNA of our being. The individual name of that Drakor is not known to me. I am a part of you and have no name. You are The Even Hands of Justice. They would find a Justice bringer coming from fragmentation to be an abomination to the species. They are thought to be rare and only viable through a mated pair of Drakor. A hybrid Justice bringer is unknown to them. *

He thought back, *You are one of those voices in my head. I am trying to figure out if you're an Angel or the Devil. How do I gain your knowledge and end these questions? *

The arm twitched, * There is not enough of me to do what you ask, I would have to grow and consume. Once you make a choice you cannot go back. Given your traits and demands for physical pleasure, I would surmise you would want to be a hybrid.

The Drakor don't mate the way you do. They only mate when the partner's egg is ready and do not do it for pleasure after that egg is fertilized. I would need a significantly larger part of your body. Once I have completed you will not need the dermis regenerator. My exterior would adapt except when that part is injured of course. *

He thought out, * Explain what would happen in detail. *

The arm responded, * Each hybrid species is unique but certain features do remain constant. An additional heart would be formed. Your connection to your mental pathways would be opened beyond your base species. Then your life could be significantly longer. Centuries even.

Each is different. Limbs like the arms can move faster and bend in unusual ways as our skeletal structure differs from humans. They are more adaptable to the mind. You would still be mostly human but the percentage of your body changes could go as high as, but no more than 40%. *

Jack took a deep breath and centered himself as he had been taught through years of sword training, * Make me a hybrid. *

The black alien limb extended and altered his right arm consuming the human flesh to create the alien tissue. Tendrils snaked out and ran to different parts of his body. He worked on trying to keep calm as the pain rose and ebbed from the transition. The one at his brain expanded and ran inside his skull formed a plate inside his skull.

It created an overlying shell of the right side of the brain and connected more pathways into the left. As tendrils snaked between the lobes and connected into the pathways on both sides. Two went to his legs transformed them painfully but quickly. The last tentacle ran over the chest plate and then surrounded the right lung.

It reformed the lung making is smaller but more powerful. It created the home for the second heart above the lung. That heart connected to the main circulatory system to provide support. Though it appeared any 'blood vessels' it needed were connected to the new lung and other tissue directly.

He had passed out from the pain but never screamed. The entity left him a final message to hear for when he awoke, * Your leg long bones were deemed necessary; they provide cells for your upper body and themselves.

They remain and are encased for added protection with the support structure needed. All other leg and foot bones were replaced. Including your knee caps and sections of your hips. This made them more resilient. Your right arm was completely transformed.

The expansion runs up and is connected to the right side of your brain. The part that deals with creativity will be enhanced. The part where you could make technology-based on psychic powers with the right materials.

Also, the ingrained data on Drakor technology from the arm's original era. They would be interested in this information. When they contact you, they will simply know this data going forward. The second heart and lung support your human parts.

They will also fully care for your Drakor parts. Given time the Drakor parts can and will repair you with no intervention required. In short, you will regenerate provided you do not die. The skin in those areas consumed by the DNA will reform and match your host in the next 24 hours.

You have complete control. You always had complete control. The choice was yours. I believe that you made a wise choice, for what you, or should I say we...wish to accomplish. Now you will be even better equipped to deal with the challenges that will come. *

Astra came in several hours later looking for Jack because he did not respond. She had stopped monitoring his room after that first night. Now she felt like that was a bad idea going forward. She checked his vitals on his left arm and his pulse was extremely slow at 30 beats a minute. She carried him down to medical and stripped him down. "Core Run a full scan on the Captain."

She stared at his blackened body. The Core responded back, "The alien DNA now resides in 32% of his body." Astra's own eyes could have told her that. "It has connected to his brain. A second heart has formed and his right lung was shrunk to accommodate that. It beats in rhythm to the human heart.

Major long bones in the legs remain and are functioning but they were encased for an unparalleled level of protection. The second heart is providing support to the first and carrying the weight for the new Drakor tissue. The same goes for the right lung. It is just as powerful as the left it appears."

Astra groaned out, "What did we do to him?"

Jack shifted but did not respond as his mind went over the delayed message a few times. He finally opened his eyes and looked at her. "Could not wait to get me out of my clothes again so soon?"

She laughed at his joke, "Your arm, it spread..."

Jack looked up, "I gave it permission."

She sat there open-mouthed, "You what?!"

He sat up on his elbows and looked at her, "I am a full human hybrid now. Tell me that was not what your mission planners were hoping for."

She shook her head, "I have nothing in my file about this outcome."

He nodded, "If the ship were hit by an asteroid do you have information on that scenario? How about a gravity well pulling us off course?"

She nodded, "Of course they covered those situations!"

He opened his eyes wider, "The ship just got hit. They did not give you a response to it because they did not wish for you to respond to it. Here is the deal. This might be the first time they have done this, but I seriously doubt it.

It is more than likely that they have done this several times if not several hundred times. The problem is that the 'test subject' must be willing to accept the change and they must avoid being willing to change completely to a Drakor. The choice remained in the hands of the individual.

The chance was one in three, less if the user was not given a choice in the initial graft. It did not expand a millimeter up my arm until it talked to me about it and then I gave it consent. This is hardcoded into Drakor DNA.

They propagate by fragmenting and attaching to another living being. They also have sexual reproduction. They do not force there will on the subject in the case of fragmenting and in some cases, it is only taken to a hybrid stage.

You make a choice. Reject it I assume is a choice, hybrid or full transition. Your bosses knew. They needed the choice to be mine."

Astra shook her head, "How can you be so certain? That arm could have poisoned your mind against them."

Jack rubbed her face with his left hand, "Think about the odds of them sending something completely 'never done before' into this hail-marry attempt to change the future. Human or machine, they would have considered the odds of success."

She looked at him, "What do we do now?"

Jack smiled, "Any children I have going forward will be sexually reproduced. They will all be a partial hybrid. They will not face this choice because they will be born that way. The advantages it could give humanity would be astronomical. Hence those mission parameters that had been given to you.

Destroy all of the previous samples and collect away with gusto over the next couple of days so you have the proper swimmers out there doing the job."

She shook her head, "Against my mission parameters to destroy the samples unless they have expired. If what you say is true then it does not matter. They will still inherit those traits. The new stuff will just be stronger with it."

He nodded, "You just proved my point. They want this DNA in human society. If you cannot set those aside then when you sell it, sell it with two doses and one will have to be from this day going forward. Anything that prevents you from doing that? Anyone who only wants one gets a new dose."

She sighed and nodded, "That I could do." He smiled, "Then you better get to collecting."

She sucked in his cock and did so 2x every 6 hours for the next 2 days. He still felt there was more to give. The fifth day he just fucked every hole she had as often as he could get it up. He never let her leave his side except when she went to store samples.

Sometimes fucking her while she did that. He had to know what the upper limit was and he had to wait on parts from the fabricator. The first power core only gave out 84% of expected output. After seeing the difference between the two of them Jack modified the design. He designed and replaced some parts. He then incorporated some of the liquid metallic hydrogen that was captured into another design as well.

He had to design a portable power supply that could be recharged. It allowed the system to hold the magnetic containment of the new superconductor. One would be needed if someone wanted to do a new installation. The new core with metallic hydrogen core operated at 118% above the redesigned core. While the power output for the original design was the same, his new design was more energy efficient than the one Excalibur had originally, He also modified some of the more damaging circuitry. Astra looked at the design and the reading, "Alright you impressed me with your new designs."

Jack pulled her in and gave her a very passionate kiss. "Time to start these engines and see how we do. Power to all systems, use hard shields for now. Retract the atmospheric collection rig. I am heading to the Bridge to pilot us away. I will set a course once I spend some time flying this beast to understand how she moves. Let me know when the system is locked down."

The Excalibur had a containment sleeve that extended down and past the hard shields and it cleaned the line of any contaminants prior to the line entering the ship interior. Any damage would be noted to effect repairs. He left it dragging and topping off tanks as he used them. He had cycled in another 6 smaller tanks to keep some of the hydrogen and metallic hydrogen on hand and stored it in the secondary cargo bay on deck 5.

Astra finally called up, "Line retracted, we are all buttoned up." Jack tweaked the engine up to 5%, kicked in the starboard retro thrusters. The ship broke orbit and lurched. Luckily, he was sitting.

He called out, "Astra, first are you alright? Second what is going on with the inertial dampeners?" Jack slowed the spinning so he could get out of his chair.

Astra actually groaned, "I will be fine. I have a lot of skin damage to fix. I am checking and they look like they are only running at 31% at the moment."

Jack went back to engineering and checked the resistance on the powerline and then checked the dampeners itself. It apparently fried the mainboard during the last jump in time it made and was running on a secondary.

He went to the fifth floor scanned the boards and programmed two of the fabricators to generate two more boards with some of his modifications from the engines. He took them down and installed the first and switched it over to primary. It now showed it at 100%. He pulled the secondary and it dropped to 69%. He installed the other new board and it was running at 138%. He nodded, "Need to redesign that unit in the future."

She chuckled at him as he went back to the Bridge. He tried a few tentative burns, followed by a wickedly fast set of maneuvers on the retro rockets. He put the ship into a spin as they moved forward. He had it doing a spin in the angular axis as well. He got them facing forward and had stopped the spins using the retro rockets in both directions to do a measured response.