Astra Pt. 03

Jack smiled and nodded. Soon the locks were closed and they departed. He went to see Astra who smiled at him, "You did wonderfully today. You explained yourself well and they could not have chosen a better candidate for this task."

He kisses her. Turned her around and dropped his pants. "None of the ladies are around so you will get to collect more samples before we dock." She laughed and looked back. "I'd like that." She had changed her saying herself and he slid into her pre-lubricated orifice and pounded out climax after climax for three hours. Switching holes every hour. She smiled at him, "I know you scanned my body. You going to start building it soon?"

He nodded, "There is one element I cannot manufacture. It might be on the ship in an area I cannot access. Can you search for this element?" She looked at him, "What is it?"

He smiled, "Zirtosium."

She looked up, "It is required?"

He looked at her, "It is a part of your cybernetic brain. Why?"

She looked at him, "Because if you are not careful with that, it will explode. It had many uses including explosive shells. I have some spare parts in storage. I will see if there is any in there."

---

An hour later, after processing samples, Astra was in the restricted part of the ship. She walked up to her fully completed backup unit which was offline. She sat there and disassembled it. She sighed, "He can never know you were available if I failed. You would have seen him through to the end. Then you would have killed him of course." She looked down at the assassin bot replicate of herself.

"He is a good man and your services are no longer required. I love him."

She left the parts bundled together and walked out of the area. 10 minutes later and the maintenance bots came in and began reassembling her. Pulling from hidden supplies a new head. They were good but unskilled at creating flesh. They had their directives to follow.

---

Jack had taken the new head up to his lab and worked on her body for almost 2 hours when he stopped. Something was missing. He looked around, "Astra? Where are the maintenance bots? They stopped working up here?"

Astra replied, "Let me check. They are not responding to me."

He thought, "Scan the ship for them. They all have lithium signatures."

She looked through scans and saw where they were. She checked her memory archive and it was being accessed for download. She cut off the connection encrypted it and then moved to remove the cable going to her maintenance bay when she saw that the connection was booby-trapped.

She called out, "Jack I am securing myself in medical. If you see another out there it is NOT me. Another model was put online when I took that part. I'm sorry I should have told you but it is an assassination bot designed to kill you. My action in breaking it must have activated a protocol in the maintenance droids. In case I failed in some way."

Jack sighed, "Heading to engineering. He took the tube to deck 3 and went to the armory and got into battle armor. He got signaled by the ladies, "How come the ship is not letting us back in?"

He sighed, "Long story but we have some runaway bots and apparently an AI assassin bot on board that I have to neutralize. All crew, secure in place. Report any attempts to access your quarters."

He took the lift to deck 2 and checked living quarters before going to the bridge. He reached out with his mind to see if he could sense anything. He went to the console and shut down both sets of lifts. He locked out helm and weapons control. Then locked all command protocols. He unlocked the freight elevator and took it to deck 9. He called out to Astra, "Do a sensor scan tell me where she is. He did not see or hear her but he felt it as she dropped down and cut his right hand from his body with a laser sword.

He kicked her back. The assassin bot looked at him with her melted deformed skin face, "I cut off the alien DNA, If I am active you have failed and you will die by my hand!"

He used his telekinesis to open the inner airlock. She turned at the sound for a split second. It was all he needed. He charged forward sliced off her blade arm with his left hand. Then tackled her into the airlock. She punched him, "I will kill you Jack Scrogum!"

She wrapped her legs around his body and swung onto his right hip. He locked the magnetic boots to the floor. She reached for the airlock button sure if she was active it would destroy the ship and with Jack in her grasp, she would succeed in killing him as well. One way or another he would die.

She rotated back and with her left hand slammed down on the button. The airlock opened but Jack stood fast stuck to the floor. He brought his sword up and then cut her legs off at the hip sending her pieces tumbling into space. He was barely holding onto conscious by a thread.

He used his mind to close the hatch seconds before the fem-bot assassin exploded He crashed to the deck and dropped his sword. His body was cold from exposure to space.

---

It was an hour later when she found Jack's hand and first sword. She had called out for him and tracked his comm signal to engineering. She located him in the airlock. She opened the door. "Ladies I found him but he is unconscious and hypothermic. He would be dead if not for the regeneration. He has had his right hand severed and I am taking him to medical. All controls are locked out by him.

He must unlock them. She put the hand in stasis after removing it from the armored glove. She knew the implications. He had saved it for Grace to make a decision. Astra called out to them, "I will work to get him conscious to unlock the system controls. Grace this is all my fault. I was being selfish and now his hand is separated."

Grace asked, "What is the implication?"

She sighed, "If it is not attached to another before his hand regenerates then it will wither up and die. If the body dies the hand remains viable for at least several months in stasis. You would lose having the chance to become a hybrid like him. I wish I could have done it myself. Without hesitation. But I cannot and he chose you to make that decision."

Grace looked at Ash, "Ask the question. I am only carrying one. What is the risk to my child if I do this now?"

Ash reached out with her mind, * You know Jack is down. The one he wants for the hand is carrying one of his children. I had been told my 3 children were at risk. If I did not choose soon? That was over two months ago. *

He responded. * If she does this there is a chance the baby will not survive. There is also a chance the child is born a hybrid. Jack would be forced to kill her and the child in that case. Those are small chances but they are a risk. I cannot give you a percentage because it speaks to the will of the mother in this case. *

Ash looked at her and told her word for word. She finally shouted, "Fuck! I cannot believe this is happening. I get the choice only once. I am now forced to choose at the risk of myself and my unborn child. Damned it to hell! ASTRA get that fucking shuttle bay door open!"

Carol yelled over, "Give him a shot of adrenalin. Straight into his heart. He is resilient and you only need him awake for a short time."

---

She got a command pad and put is on the access screen. She looked over and groaned. She hated doing this. She grabbed his severed hand She used the computer interface in his head. She interfaced with the ovulatory and activated the adrenal function; twice. Jack sat bolt upright, "What happened? Wait! Is that psycho bitch bot dead?"

She nodded, "You managed to keep a hold of your sword so it did not get sucked out of the airlock but we need you to release the command controls."

He looked at the pad and then his hand, "I..."

She nodded, "I have it here just do it." He talked into the command pad, "Release command lockout." She tried the thumb and it did not work. She washed it off in warm water and tried again and the release was accepted. She put the hand back in the drawer. "Get some rest. The shuttle bay doors are open."

The ladies landed and Grace held Ash back. She stuck out her arm. "Just do it!"

She saw her determination and she cut off her right hand. She hoped Jack would not kill her for doing so. She picked up Grace's hand with her engagement ring still on it and ran after her. She never asked Grace why she wore it on her right hand, for some, it was just a preference, cultural differences, or to simply buck tradition. At the moment, it did not seem to matter.

They got to medical and she shot past them all to the clear cold storage unit and pulled the hand and held it to her arm. She sat on the floor, "I have been an indecisive bitch about this for months! Do not harm my child or change him in any way but make me a hybrid!"

She screamed in pain which woke Jack. He looked over, "What have you done?!"

She could only scream. Ash looked at Jack, "Small chance it kills the child, small chance it turns the child into a hybrid in which case she and the child have to die. Her will is strong and she was never more determined. Astra, show him the exchange with her from getting off the craft to attaching the arm. Show him what he missed."

He watched the images as he placed Grace's severed hand into his pocket put the ring back onto her new hand. Jack looked at Astra with genuine anger. "Get in there disassemble those fucking maintenance bots or destroy them! You can build new ones!"

She nodded meekly, "Right away Jack."

She ran out of the room and Sprits followed her. Sprits got to her and grabbed her hand and spun her quickly. She looked into Astra's eyes and she was crying. Something she had never done before. She hugged Astra, "He's just worried about Grace and the repercussions. It does not mean he has stopped loving you.

We all noticed his change toward you. He just needs this threat gone. You are the only one who can do it."

She nodded, "I better get started, I got some heads to rip off!"

She went into the psycho killer mode as her eyes flashed red and went into her maintenance tube. Parts to 12 thoroughly destroyed maintenance bots and the severed legs and torso of another android followed. Some of the bots looked bludgeoned to death.

Astra dropped down with her skin all cut up and one arm missing at the elbow. "I am in need of repair. If they move, step on them." Astra sat down and cried.

---

Grace screamed the whole time even when the arm attached two plates over her brain, she never went unconscious. She fought it and forced her will on the arm. She knew the second plate was the way for her, especially after being so indecisive.

She got a message in her head, * You and your child are fine. Your will is incredibly strong. Very few have survived the transition without passing out. No human has before you, even Jack passed out. He calls you his right hand but you hold a much larger place in his heart than you realize. He would potentially sacrifice humanity for you. That is a rare bond. Do not hold his unacted upon thoughts against him.

Justices can sometimes see into the hearts of the people around him. Revealing himself and them. I believe he is right and you are another Justice. This will cause discussion among my kind. It may shed light on why your people had a hard time adapting. Many others, before Jack. Jack has made it a choice beforehand, never forcing it upon someone in your society. *

She snapped out of the trances covered in sweat, "We are fine. The baby is unharmed or changed. I saw to that. He said I was the first to go through this that was human who did not pass out. Even when both plates covered my brain. I called myself out as indecisive. It would have been my choice anyway.

I will adapt to a slower left arm when we work on two weapons fighting tomorrow." He kissed her and laughed, "With Aiko, I only have one hand at the moment." She wrapped her arms around him. Sprits looked over, "Guys, Astra's not doing so hot. She lost half an arm, is cut up, and sitting on the floor crying.

Jack helped Grace to her feet and they went and found Astra in a bone-yard of droid parts. Jack pulled her to her feet and held her, "Grace is fine. We will all recover from this lover. I am not going to repair your arm though. I am going to finish that body for you and get you transferred over to it. A new body for a new beginning. I started working on the hips first and both holes will be Sprits tight."

Astra laughed into his shoulder, "I did not know how to tell you about her. Mentioning her would have activated her. I should have told you after I disassembled her. The maintenance bots were working on her replacement. I tore it apart and ripped off its head and one of them cut off my arm. I took her leg and beat them all to death.

They cut up my body but with them offline they could not fix me." He looked at her, "You could not remove the code from them correct?"

She nodded, "Programming prohibits that."

He nodded, "Do what I do. Reverse engineer their programming and leave that obsolete pieces of code out instead. Then when you build the new bots, they will not turn on you."

She nodded, "Thank you, Jack."

He hugged her tightly, "I still love you. Check that head you ripped off and I will see about building you another backup."

She started to cry, "I have always loved you. That other head is smashed to pieces. I have no backup brain parts that I know about."

He went up with Grace to his office. He pointed to her waiting in the back while he went to his desk and contacted the Capitol. The operator put him through, "I was just trying to contact you. There were reports of an explosion below your ship. We wanted to know if everyone was alright?"

Jack chuckled, "Are we secure?"

He hit the button, "I am alone at the moment."

He held up his right stump, "It will grow back. Astra accidentally tripped the activation of an assassin bot. She took it apart. The maintenance bots put it back together again. I got it out of an airlock but my right hand was severed in her sneak attack."

He waved Grace forward, "We found the procedure for creating other hybrids.

They are limited. They cannot create any others until they have their sword. Another 3 years at least. We were advised that we should get the 6 additional hybrids and train them in the sword. Then bring them to this meeting. At that meeting, we will surrender the loaned swords and be taught how to create our own.

Because of this, I will be dealing with business contracts and some final work on patents for new weapons for the next few days. I need to make them and install some on something to do a live-fire test. Probably that black-ops ravager as we must put it back into its previous configuration. We will just hang onto it for a few days longer. Maybe even give it a weapons upgrade before it leaves."

He sighed, "How do you choose these hybrids?"

Jack shook his head, "I do not. They volunteer. With the cure in the system to cut off a limb is nothing as they would regrow it. Everything about how the human's approach hybrids are different than The Drakor. All of the current ones are my wives or wives to be. As soon as they tell me when and where the wedding is so I can get the last 4 to marry me.

I will be in orbit for a few months at least. The Ravager manufacturer owes me a new craft and he will build it to my specification using my materials or refund what I paid for it. Just as soon as his board probable cans him."

He pulled over the images and sent them to the president. "They said 10 times speed. That was less than 15 minutes running at 5x speed with a stagard start. I get this latest round of contracts done I will be investing heavily in space-based dry docks.

For them to build the air-frames you are going to need they will need them. I have all of the modeling data for your existing platforms so they can all be reinforced while the ship upgrades are being done. The tractor beams will help to speed up the engine installations.

Now, these reinforcements are for all ships, however, your destroyers and above better not try any crazy stunts in the atmosphere or they will tear each other apart. That is why these spaces based drydocks will be the future."

The President chuckled, "How many hybrids are you at now?"

Grace answered, "I am number 5 and they are all wives or wives to be. They are all from Jack, except Ash as she is an original.

It was not a wise move to do it this late into the pregnancy but it was my only chance at accepting that choice. He held off on using his right hand for me. He was giving me time to come to terms with the idea. As he had offered it to me but set no deadline. When it was severed it was 'do it' or 'do not.' I was told by the Drakor that my will was impressive.

That I was the only human ever to not pass out during the transition. I screamed my lungs out but stayed focused on watching over my baby. Even when it put the two plates over my brain. I told it I was an indecisive bitch and that ensured the 40% went where I wanted it to go. To help both sides of my legal mind."

Jack looked across, "Hold approval of your G-12 assault craft and T84 fighters you got coming up. They will both need new air-frame designs. From the future remember. The folks at Yetto's Space Frames will be pissed but right now so am I."

The President chuckled, "You are the real deal. Just trying to save humanity. I had them in my hold box. I was going to have them up as a point of discussion at this meeting you want to set up. Have you set a date on that?"

He shook his head, "I want to get the contractors locked down that I contacted." He sent him another file. "The contractors I want to have if they can reach a good deal for both of us."

He asked, "Is the patent in for the Stingray and Titanium-H?"

Grace looked, "Yes both are in."

He pushed 2 other files over, "My personal assault scout craft. I have built enough bars of metal to build it. That is one of the only ways to get metallic hydrogen into an alloy. The element missing I have a temporary patent on. Until we find it in nature. That will happen in 3 years or so. Tau Ceti has it in abundance."

The president looked at the frame, "That frame is massive for a scout ship. Just how it is laid out though is impressive. This a future design?"

Jack shook his head, "The Titanium-H, 5x drives, the ship design, and a lot more are from my head. I have built a divergent path for technology. The path humanity was supposed to follow is still open and still there for the discovery. That is when you get innovation. Two competing technologies that can do the same thing. That could lead to a third. A hybrid of the two."

The President could not help but chuckle at the analogy, He nodded, "These numbers for that armor are impressive."

Jack nodded, "Currently I am the only one with the technology to use it until you get your Jupiter operation going. Then setting up trade with the local Tau Ceti government for access to all of that abundant worthless rock.

That was what it was called in Astra's timeline according to her. They used it for next to nothing as the metallic hydrogen was seen as a superconductor only. Else getting me to relinquish control on the formula and getting the new colliders to make some."

The President nodded, "That medical scanner started rolling out last night. His stockholders were happy to see movement."

Jack nodded, "You got my proposal on the colliders? Also, why I am doing it?"

He nodded, "Putting it under Presidential oversight was a stroke of genius as you washed your hands of it. The material created by the collider is based upon global interests. With your permission, I want to send this design out to all of my airframe designers. Ask them how are they dealing with the changing world and increased framing the power of these new engines will require."