Aurora, Wayward Pt. 02

It will go up. I am a red blade, the adrenaline junky and my father was surprised I went with the second plate because I am ambidextrous. I can use either hand I just fight with one at a time. Now when becoming a hybrid, the best location to choose the dominant hand for attachment. The foot or whatever will change and become that hand. Like mine did. It was a left foot from an older brother.

As to my skills, as you do not have them, I am checked off in all skills, tactical and piloting I excel at as I am a fighter pilot. Navigation is closely behind those two skills. I had a brief sword fight with Rocan that I am not proud of but I can honestly say I did not know his style of sword fighting. It was like a mixture of four of our styles."

Aurora smiled, "Bad assumption. I have your personnel file when we knew you would be coming aboard. I already knew this and the fact that you are skilled in many other areas as well. From repelling boarding actions to engineering tasks. You liked to fine-tune your own fighters' performance. It has kept you alive and given you an edge in many engagements."

Victoria was shocked she had her personnel file. Aurora finished, "Your father sent it to me at my request."

Victoria rolled her eyes and nodded, "He would."

Rocan looked over, "My fighting style was a mix of two of ours. We will spar again so you can see the difference and we can learn from each other."

She nodded, "I am rated a master with my type of sword and it is now a psi blade and not a laser sword. Yes, they are different. There has never been a case of a bad reaction to Drakor's blood in a human. The Caldar, on the other hand, will explode."

The ladies looked shocked at that while Aurora nodded, "True statement."

---

Over the course of several hours, all five of them took a blood injection. Parsa gaining ovaries and other genetic defects she had noted in her medical file had disappeared. The other ladies were suitably shocked enough to try it after that.

Parsa was crying tears of joy and hugging Aurora the whole time. Rocan gave blood and left medical soon after to get some rest. He got one quick hug from Parsa before he left knowing it had helped her immensely in her eyes.

He was happy for her but did not feel like a hero for doing it; it was simply something his body could now do. The next morning, he sent a second message with images of the five ladies' medical transformation from a small shot of his blood that fixed a whole series of genetic abnormalities.

Freia had a genetically created tubal ligation issue on both sides that fixed itself and was undiagnosed before this. It also fixed extra or missing toes, the ovaries, and one of them, Hira, only had one kidney which was in poor health.

She now had two healthy kidneys. All of them were feeling stronger and eager to work out their new bodies. By morning they trimmed down some and started looking younger, except Frei who looked the same age but her complexion had cleared up and she was a woman on fire in wanting to get started. He thought she was definitely a red blade.

Frei faced off against Aurora who went with defensive fighting to show Gia what she was talking about. They spared for 30 minutes and Aurora blocked every attack even though Freia was an excellent sword fighter. She had room for improvement of course as she was out of practice and she showed her that on a couple of occasions.

Aurora walked over to Gia, "Well I showed you the defensive side."

Gia nodded, "You still had to strike another. That is against my personal code. I am sorry it just would not work for me. If that means not being a hybrid then I can live with that as I am not into the violence of swordplay. I will be in medical in case anyone needs injuries treated."

Aurora sighed and nodded, "Understood. I won't force you to be able to defend yourself."

Gia looked over, "That was why I never joined the military. I was exempted because of my pacifist views. I worked in a military hospital as a non-combatant during one war and then left the military after my one required tour."

She walked away and went to medical where 2 AI units were waiting and they were armed with swords and blasters. She hit the comms, "Aurora! Why do you have 2 AI units in my medical bay?"

Aurora smiled, "If you will not defend yourself, I had to assign some personal bodyguards as you are working aboard a battleship. If we are boarded, they will be nearby to protect you and try and get you to a safe room.

They will follow you just about everywhere from outside medical to outside your bedroom. Your choice. All choices have consequences. Rocan approved the added security for you so you can argue that with the Captain if you like."

Gia groaned out and cursed under breath as she ended the comms. She thought about it for several minutes and had to admit that while she was a pacifist she was on a military ship and them assigning her guards to protect her was a sound decision. She let it go for now.

Victoria walked in, "I have known a few pacifists in my life. Some who learned the sword as Aurora showed you."

Gia looked over, "Then they were not pacifists."

Victoria shook her head, "You have wild animals on your planet. If one was looking to attack your child, you would just stand there and let it happen? Would you throw your defenseless self into the path in the hopes your child escaped?"

Gia looked shocked at the question. Victoria continued, "Sword training is not so you know how to kill. It is both an offensive and defensive means of protection. Now if you will not protect yourself or your own child if the case arose; these guards better be available for your offspring as well."

Victoria walked out of the medical bay. Gia sat there for a moment in shock. She groaned out, "Fuck me."

She returned to the shuttle bay an hour later to begin to learn how to defend herself.

Aurora looked at her, "Changed your mind?"

She sighed, "The human female came and asked me a very pointed question. You might say that changed my mind about knowing how to defend myself or my children."

Aurora nodded, "She would know about that. She has seen many hybrid battles over the years. She herself was saved by one of them. A rare ship boarding I believe. It was a few blue blade wielders who were guarding the children aboard the ship who kept them protected. I pulled her personal history when I found out she was coming aboard. Her father sent her official military file with evaluations.

She is a highly decorated fighter pilot. Some of her awards are in line with awards that Rocan received. He has more because he was involved in more out and out wars and not the occasional skirmish she has had to deal with. She has Doctorate degrees in astrophysics and is a xenobiologist. She is just as interested in our development as a species as we are in theirs."

She looked over and pointed at her with Rocan. Victoria looked at him, "A test. Set your sword in the middle of the mat." She placed hers there as well. "Now we will see who gets their sword in hand and lit first?"

He laughed and stood at the edge ready to charge forward. Aurora counted them down. He took his first step and she had her sword in hand lit up as it flew across the area. "Skills for you to practice. Just summon it to your hand." He held out his hand and the sword slowly floated into it. She nodded, "Put it down again. He did so and she moved between them, "I am going to come down with an overhand strike, "Get your sword and block it. NOW!"

She rolled forward leaped in the air. She kicked him in the chest as her sword came down and he barely blocked it as he stumbled backward.

He looked at her, "You said nothing about kicking me?"

She nodded, "It was a safety precaution in case you were not fast enough. You were not fast enough. If I had not done that, I would have struck you. I am too new at this to try and have my blade just pass through you without harming you. That takes practice as well."

She demonstrated on a practice sword and then a training dummy in which she only made it about a fourth of the way through before it started damaging it and she shut it off.

Aurora looked over, "I analyzed her attack and she is correct; you would have been about 1.6 seconds too late."

Victoria smiled, "Besides I owed you something after you cut off my hand."

The other ladies looked at him in shock. He sighed, "She attacked me first. I countered and knew it would regrow or in this case, they made her a hybrid."

Victoria nodded, "I was too impulsive and too quick to judge. I had to be reminded that while some of your ancestors killed over 3,000 hybrid children in experiments it was not you who did that."

Hira looked over, "Is that true?"

Aurora nodded, "Yes, that is true and well documented. Later investigations by Aurora put that number closer to 10,000 before the prisoners were sent off. Small cells running other experiments."

Hira moved over to a corner and threw up over the floor at just the thought of it. She sighed, "There is so much about our past that the people do not know. How are they dealing with it?"

Rocan sighed, "The Governors know. They have all of the information. It was sent to all of those news agencies. How much has been given to the people and how much they wish to believe is another matter."

---

An hour before departure Astra showed up. She gave Aurora a 3,600-digit long access code for her to connect directly if she needed to talk with her. She had a dozen bars of solid metallic hydrogen in a bag for her. She explained, "That is what they make the human swords from. I figured they will likely use the same material for your people. This will give him what he needs to make the whole crew hybrids if he wants too."

Aurora smiled, "No they all took a shot of his blood. One is a diehard pacifist. But Victoria got her to come around to learn to defend herself or her children."

Astra sighed, "That is good and bad. Make sure they know they could live to be 150 years old now. An undocumented and theorized estimate for just getting blood from a hybrid instead of an offspring.

All those who have gotten blood have died of an accident of some type, some were spaced, others died when their ships exploded for one reason or another. It is an unconfirmed theory but a possibility. No confirmed study on that I should say."

Aurora nodded, "Thank you for a direct line."

She sent Rocan a message, * Aurora gave us a dozen bars of the metal the humans use to make swords. *

She heard back from the Drakor though Rocan, * Return the bars. Remind Astra that Rocan has to prove he has the capability to get the material on his own. *

Astra rolled her eyes, "I just got chastised about the bars. We have to take those back."

She nodded, "We got the same message he has to be able to get the material on his own."

She nodded, "The MIDGE's will do the work for you." She hugged her 'sister' as it were. "Good luck out there, little Sister?'

Aurora smiled at the nickname and then asked, "What happens if Victoria falls for Rocan, Big Sister? I already see an attraction brewing."

Astra smiled at the acceptance of the term of affection but sighed, "I will talk with her father about that. Thank you for letting me know."

Astra went straight to Johnathan's office. "I have to leave but I wanted to tell you this in person. Aurora said she has already seen signs of an attraction between Victoria and Rocan. I do not know what that means."

He heard in his head from Justice incarnate, * You should tell her that though they are both human they are both hybrids to two different species. As such she cannot form an attachment to him. She cannot provide him with any clues about the process that is to come that she already knows about. *

He pulled up comms and had that discussion with his daughter who also heard it from Justice Incarnate. She thought and she spoke, "I will not bring any of them into my bed. I already told them that. I enjoyed sparring with him but that was the extent of our interaction. I will be careful and warned them all off as well."

She ended the comms and went to the bridge as they were getting ready to launch. He pointed, "Want to pilot?"

She nodded, "Got contacted by the Drakor and my father just a second ago. They heard about our fun sparring and they wanted to reiterate that we are both hybrids for two different species and forming an emotional attachment with each other is strictly forbidden. I guess it does not happen very often but I told them I already warned everyone away from my bed so that should not be an issue."

He nodded, "Thank you for telling me. I think they told you because your race is already graduated. If we had graduated then there were likely be less or no issue."

He heard is his head, * Actually, it would still apply Seeker of Justice. Even though you are both biologically human your roles as hybrids are for two separate species, by your own choice and that of Hand of Justice. That would create a conflict of the heart if something happened between the groups. As hybrids, you are held to a higher standard. *

He looked over, "I was just told that would not be the case. You are strictly off-limits. I want the crew to understand that."

Aurora went to her, "I could get one of the male or female bots on the ship to keep you company if you would like."

She looked over, "No I am still a bi-sexual virgin and I am waiting for the right mate. I have someone in mind but I am not sure my father would approve. Will see when I get back."

Aurora nodded, "I mentioned it to Astra and she spoke with your father before she left with ships headed into Pena Space."

Victoria nodded, "I figured out how they found out, but I just enjoyed a sparring match. That was all. We are fine by the way."

She patted Aurora's arm who smiled back at her.

The doors opened just outside the asteroid belt. Johnathan contacted them, "We could have put you on the inside but we thought you might want to give those MIDGE's a good workout and gain materials in clearing your first path into the system."

Rocan smiled and replied, "Thanks for that. That was just what I wanted actually." He ended the comms. Aurora looked over at Victoria, "You have taken control of all the MIDGE's guidance and that of half the battleships, and now the centipede. Can I ask why?"

Victoria reached over and brought up tactical on the next system? "How many times have you worked a convoy through an asteroid belt? Not your programing, you directing it?"

Aurora sighed, "I have never done it myself but I have hundreds of simulations on how to do it."

She looked at the layout, "You have the caterpillar opened and surround us with two other battleships. Then the other running in a column of two right behind the 20 MIDGE's and our group last."

She nodded, "Do you know how Jack's first wife died?"

Aurora went through what historical information she had pulled and found the reference. She held her hand to her mouth, "Oh my. She got hit by an asteroid just outside of a belt like this. It was traveling extremely fast and destroyed her ship."

Victoria nodded, "I have arrayed the three battleships with the caterpillar's systems to increase range on detection of fast-moving asteroids and tied that into the array of weapons we have pointed outward. I can put a lot of hits into even a very large fast mover in this case and hopefully deflect it as a minimum. The smaller ones just help with gun calibration across your fleet."

Rocan smiled, "The lady knows what she is doing and we are here to learn from each other."

Jassin came over and sat in the chair next to her while Parsa stood behind them watching what she did. Jassin got onto the tactical console and made a few changes.

Victoria started to say something and then saw what she was doing. "You have arrayed in the other navigational arrays up and down the line and refined the targeting algorithms."

She nodded, "I expanded on your idea figuring while the others do not add as much to the distance of the compact array it does add to the targeting accuracy when objects get closer even on ships in front like that fast mover it just took out up near the MIDGE's."

Victoria smiled, "Very good work."

Parsa sat down at the sensor console and made some changes. Victoria looked at them, "You have them scanning for rock and mineral composition."

She nodded, "Now I am sending you a table on the additional force that would be required depending on the makeup of the specific asteroids. I am a geologist."

Victoria nodded and made a few adjustments, "We should be well protected."

Rocan smiled and took control of tractor beams and started moving some asteroids further from the shipping lane they were creating. They were halfway through when they encountered an opening in the field ahead of them heading off at an angle.

Aurora looked over, "Other ships passed through here recently. The engines are not that clean. Preliminary analysis against known species; SCRILL ships! They are not in the alliance and are not a race to play by any rules; including their own at times. That 75% just became 100%."

Victoria looked at them, "Whatever reason they are here we need to find them. Our in-system drives are faster but they would have superior firepower on us."

Rocan nodded, "Change course, follow them and take us up to maximum safe speed. Recall the MIDGE's and have them offload what they have gathered for now." Aurora looked forward, "MIDGE's are moving. I took them back from Victoria. The front six ships I have set to move at full speed. We do not have the inertial dampeners to move this ship that quickly, not with humans aboard. The Scrill ships are limited even more on in-system drives because of their body structure. We can potentially catch them."

Rocan looked over, "Aurora, ensure all of the AI units in the front 6 ships have backups in place in case they get damaged."

Aurora left the room, "Going to put some secondary servers on-line for that and all of the battleships AI units and the crew aboard." She was glad to see Rocan see the individual AI units not as expendable assets.

It was 10 hours later when the first battleships got into the scanning range of the ships in front. Two battleships, two destroyers, and a Scrill terraformer ship.

Parsa looked over, "I am picking up 20 Terran's aboard those ships. Four on each one. They have a few hundred Scrills in total. A couple of other races are represented, one race in the alliance called the Frenor. They have 10 onboard; 2 on each ship."

Victoria looked over, "You have comms locked out. I cannot contact my father."

Rocan shook his head, "Not yet. Open comms through our lead ships broadcasting just my face."

Aurora nodded, "Tight camera angle and broadcasting."

Rocan sat there sternly, "This is Captain Rocan Chess with Penan Home Guard. You are in a Terran owned system without authorization. Remove your vessels now from this system."

A Scrill came online, "Your ships are no match for ours and yours will not fire on ships with Terrans on board."

Rocan shook his head, "Unless I order it. Their protocols were updated and your ships are flagged as hostile, Terran's be damned if they are on-board."

A Terran came into view, "Attacking us would be against the World Courts direction. We have an approved petition for establishing an exploratory colony in this system."

He transmitted the information over. Victoria looked it over, "Add me to the conversation Aurora."

She came up in the fourth box, "My name is Lieutenant Commander Victoria Travus, Daughter of the Terran Home Guard leader. This order is invalid. There are no inclusions in this order, for the Scrill, or Frenor personnel in this colony. This colony does not have a charter registered with the Terran Home Guard. Turn your ships or we will be forced to turn them for you."