Project - Prometheus Ch. 03

"Which one was it?"

"The Hercules, sir. Most of the battle itself was recorded, until the last few minutes, when every allied ship was told to get to a safe distance, as the Hercules prepared for its last attack," Inari went on. "No one knows what exactly happened, but there was a massive explosion that was categorized as a small supernova. It was this explosion that wiped out the greater whole of the Xuul'khani fleet."

Mouth agape, Alex muttered quietly, "He just set them all off? At the same time?!"

"I'm sorry, sir?" Inari asked, face scrunched up in confusion.

"Commodore Ragnarsson must have powered up and set off all four of his Solaris reactors, to have managed such an explosive force," Alex clarified. Her confusion giving way to understanding, Inari continued her history lesson.

"Soon after, the advance of the Xuul'khan was halted, as any ships that were sighted in allied systems turned back to the sectors they had already conquered."

"So, what then? Was any attempt made to reclaim the taken systems?" Commander McKenzie asked, her voice thick with hope.

"Yes, though sadly, nothing came of it," Inari stated. "Though despite many gatherings of battle fleets intending to reclaim their lost systems, no one has ever done it."

"How do you know?" Captain Tomisic asked, curious.

"Mainly because no one has ever returned to tell the tale. Xuul'khani technology was on par with ours, so it made getting any advantage difficult and they adapted to counter any tactics we could come up with," Natalya interjected.

Alex turned to regard Natalya, who just shrugged and said, "Stories of old Earth and the war with the Xuul'khan is a hobby."

Smirking, Alex nodded, then addressed Inari and Natalya, "Is there anything else that you can tell us about this conflict? Anything in which a weakness might be revealed?"

"I have all the pertinent historical records on the Darkstrider, if you'd like," Natalya offered helpfully.

Smiling at the eager young woman, Alex said, "That would be much appreciated, thank you."

"Also, my people have fought them, and we have knowledge of these 'Demons', which also could be a help," Korsa added in, supplying the Captain with more of what he had asked for.

"That would also would be a big help. Any information you have on both these 'Xuul'khan' and the state of the galaxy as it is, would also help us out immensely." Before he continued, he gestured for the marine Commander to step forward and to put up her weapon. "Though I know you all have had little choice but to co-operate with us and our demands," he said, addressing the crew of the freighter.

"For that, I thank you and now, I will give you all a choice. You can conduct the repairs you need on your ship and be on your way. Or, you can stay and help us bring the Perseus back online, back to where he needs to be. The choice is yours," Alex finished. Standing next to her commanding officer, Kasumi couldn't believe her ears. He was asking these women to stay and help?!?

"Ladies, opinions?" Inari asked her crew.

Natalya stepped forward first, "I say we stay and help. There's so much here that I want to see and learn about! Things I could only dream about are an actual reality here!"

Taal'ani was next, "My reasons are the same as Natalya's. There is so much here that could be put to use and make the lives of many peoples in the galaxy better, provided that you will allow it, Captain Tomisic."

With a pensive look on his face, Alex nodded slowly, "To an extent and within reason," he responded.

Korsa voiced her opinion, "I'm a doctor and one thing I take seriously is my oath to do no harm. With you two being the only surviving crew of this ship, you are in need of a medical officer. I'd like to offer you my services, such as they are."

"Well said and accepted, Doctor," Alex said smiling. Looking at both Inari and Priya, who were currently chattering in low voices before turning back to their hosts.

"We have decided that we will stay and help," Inari said. "Not only would it be hypocritical of us to abandon our shipmates here, but also to abandon all of those people are still in cryo sleep. They deserve a chance at life that many others like them never got. You'll need help and we would like to be the ones to help you."

"Very good. Jaesa?" Captain Tomisic called out.

"Yes, Captain?" came the echoing reply.

"Activate a temporary personnel roster. Ladies, if you will all step forward," Alex gestured with his arm while stepping aside. Access to the main console was open to them, and they all did as the captain bade them.

"Please press your palms on the scanner one at a time, so I may verify who each of you are," Jaesa requested politely. One by one, each woman stepped up and pressed her palms to the scan interface, though there was a hiccup with both Korsa and Taal'ani. "I have noticed that you two women are not human. Please identify your species and submit to a full body scan before proceeding."

"There is no need for that, Jaesa," Korsa said.

"Actually, it is, since your species is unknown. It is part of my programming to catalogue any new species that are encountered," her voice crisp over the speakers.

"I can do that for you with the need for the scan," came Korsa's reply. "Captain?"

"Yes?" both Alex and Inari said at the same time. Looking at each other for a moment, they both smirked and then asked Korsa simultaneously, "Which one?"

Giggling, the Khontar woman said, "Her, not you!" trying to sound exasperated while trying not to laugh out the side of her mouth. Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, he stepped back a pace to make it easier for the big woman to address her captain.

"Requesting permission to allow the Perseus access to our files and data," Korsa asked of her captain. Inari mulled it over for a second, thinking against it, but decided that an act of good faith for their hosts was in their best interest.

Stepping forth, Inari called out in a clear voice, "Jaesa, can you access the Darkstrider's internal systems remotely?"

"I can. Wouldn't be much use if I couldn't now would I?" came the contemptuous reply.

"Access phrase to the Darkstrider is, 'Starwitch ascending to the heavens.' That should let you into our data archives. Taal'ani, your access phrase," Inari said, turning her gaze to her crew mate.

"Captain??" the Fel'caan woman squeaked, shocked that her captain was being so trusting.

"Your rig is the only one aboard with all the star charts still intact. Allow the Perseus access," Inari reiterated, her tone brooking no dissent.

Sighing in frustration but trusting her captain, she said, "My personal code phrase is, 'I wake upon the diamond shoals, see my fate and await it with calm reflection.'"

"Thank you, miss Taal'ani. Accessing data archives," Jaesa informed the crew. "Done. Captain Tomisic, there is a lot of data that requires review, sir," the AI said, addressing the captain.

"Very good Jaesa. Doctor Korsa, Miss Taal'ani, if you'll finish your palm scans please?" he said, nodding at both alien women. They walked forward and stopped at the console, placing their hands on the scanners. In several seconds, the imprint of their palms was recorded and stored on the Perseus database.

"Scans complete. Temporary crew added to the ship's roster," Jaesa confirmed.

As both women stepped away from the main console, Captain Tomisic spoke, "As Jaesa has just stated, you are all now temporary members of the Perseus, with access to most of the ship. Since you have all decided to stay and aid us in restoring power to all systems and effecting repairs, you will need free rein throughout most of the ship to aid in these efforts."

"Sir?" Natalya piped up, catching his attention. She quivered ever so slightly under his gaze, his warm brown eyes sending shivers through her spine. "Where might I find instructions and/or guides to the ship? This thing is a marvel, and I'd like to know more about it," the young engineer stated. Smiling at the chocolate-skinned woman, Alex gestured to his commander before speaking.

"Commander, kindly escort this young lady down to the archives. Since she is the one capable of turning on the Tertiary Solaris reactor, help her with whatever she needs," the captain ordered the fiery-haired young woman.

Standing to attention, she saluted him and said, "Aye aye, sir!"

"Hey, we're coming too!" Taal'ani jumped in indignantly. "If this archive has info on the ship, I'd like to know more about the computer systems and cyber security measures on board!"

Shaking her head, Korsa also stepped forward and said her piece. "Don't think you're leaving me behind! There're all sorts of medical tech on board I haven't even begun to get into yet, and it seems like I've got some studying to do myself!"

Chuckling to himself, Alex said, "Well, you heard them Commander."

Nodding, Kasumi told the trio of women, "If you ladies will follow me, we'll head there now," while gesturing for them to follow along.

As the women left, Priya spoke to the big man, "If it's all right with you captain, we'd like to explore the Perseus."

"Of course," he said gently. "Just be mindful of any remains left behind and remove nothing from where it lies. The Sentries will be on cleanup detail."

Snapping to attention, both Inari and Priya saluted him as they said, "Aye aye, sir!"

Though they weren't part of the old Alliance he was, they were still human and carried on the same military traditions. He stood at attention himself and saluted them back, saying "Dismissed."

Dropping their arms down, both women filed out with a gleam of eager excitement on their faces, as they went to explore the massive ship. Finally alone, Alex Tomisic relaxed, glad he could finally sit down and absorb the shock of information he was trying to process. 'The Earth Alliance gone?!? Earth occupied by those same invaders?? Humanity scattered across the stars?!?!?!?'

It was a lot to take in, but he was a soldier and as the acting captain of this ship, he needed to step up and assume the role immediately, as it was his job now. "Jaesa?" he called out quietly.

"Yes, Captain?" the AI chirped in response.

"Set Sentry Squad Alpha to shadow Commander McKenzie and her group and set Squad Bravo to trail Lt. Commander Sunara and Gunnery Sergeant Patel," he ordered.

"As you wish. Keeping things close to the vest, sir?" Jaesa asked as they relayed the orders to the relevant Sentries.

"The galaxy has changed Jaesa. Far more than I could have expected. Better to be safe rather than sorry," Alex replied as he sat in his command chair. "Bring up the latest news feeds first. Let's see what exactly has happened while we've been asleep," he commanded. In moments, multiple holographic viewscreens popped up in front of him, each one displaying various headlines and news stories. Taking a breath, he delved into them.

***********************************

Kasumi stood with the trio of overexcited women in the elevator, somewhat exasperated at having to be their tour guide. Though she honestly couldn't be too mad at them. They risked a lot by making an uncharted jump and finding the Perseus was pure serendipity. If it hadn't been for them, she and the captain might have never woken up. After taking a few moments to think through her actions, she realized that she had acted like an ungrateful bitch and decided to make amends for this.

"Ladies, I'm sorry for the way I acted when we first met. It was uncalled for and I was still in the frame of mind I was from when the Perseus was attacked," Kasumi said earnestly.

The rest of the elevator occupants turned to look at Kas as if she'd just grown another head. Then, Korsa smiled warmly at the red-headed woman, "It's perfectly all right. Given the fact of what happened before you went back into your cryo pod, I can't blame you."

Smiling back, Kasumi commented, "You know, you're nice when you're not in a full battle rage."

The rest of the women laughed at that, each one of them keeling over in laughter. Taking a quick breather, Natalya replied, "You haven't seen Mama at full battle rage. If you think what she did to the Sentries was anything, it was more of a defensive posture than a purely aggressive one." Kasumi's eyes widened at this, her mind already churning to how crazy the Khontaran woman would become when in a true rage.

Shivering involuntarily at the thought, the elevator pinged to show that they had arrived on level nine. Stepping out of the carriage, Kasumi led her new shipmates down a series of corridors towards the archive.

"Remind me not to piss any of you off then," the red-headed soldier said with a slight quaver in her voice.

Bouncing up next to the commander, Taal'ani threw her arm around Kasumi's shoulders and said, "Don't worry. You've shown that underneath that cast iron bitch exterior, there's actually a friendly person in there. You should let her out more often," the Fel'caan woman bubbled.

Kasumi smiled just then, the catgirl's enthusiasm infectious. They progressed further along the white and grey corridor, the lights in the area fully back on, with a few here and there flickering intermittently. Several minutes later, they came to a set of large doors, to which Kasumi walked up to and pressed her palm to the scanner located to the right. Moments later, the readout lit up in a green accept prompt and the doors opened.

The room they stepped into resembled a futuristic library, but instead of stacks and shelves full of books, tablet sized devices filled the shelves. The overhead lights cast a bright glow akin to early daylight. Other sources of illumination came from various panels that littered the walls and the devices that sat upon the shelves. There were also several desks and what appeared to be work/research stations in the primary area.

Their eyes wide with wonder, the women took in the sheer size of the archive. It easily took up several deck levels in the space it occupied. They walked in, scattering about to look in a different direction. Various balconies and additional workstations were scattered intermittently throughout the space, each one dormant.

In front, a small, disc like impression on the floor flickered fitfully, before fully powering up. Once the blue and white lights in the complex circular design came to life, it expanded into a vertical column of light that temporarily blinded the group. As quickly as it came on, the brightness then faded, coalescing into a rough humanoid shape. The shape then rapidly took on a distinct form, the form of a woman.

The multitude of pixels refined themselves to form a perfectly realistic image of a woman, which now stood in front of them. She stood at about Inari's height of five foot ten, with solidly built legs, a generous set of hips that would draw eyes, male and female alike, and a soft yet defined upper body. Her bust wasn't as generous as her hips, but still considerable. With an oval-shaped face, her features sat between the realm of pretty and beautiful. Anywhere this woman went, she was sure to be noticed.

She wore a simple white blouse, which was tucked into a black pencil skirt and accented with matching black heels. Her eyes were an ice blue and looking at them you could tell that this woman possessed both wisdom and intelligence. The chocolate brown hair, which was currently styled in a long pixie cut, bounced as she turned to regard the crew.

"It feels good to take a holographic form again. It's been too long since I could roam around the ship like this," she said in Jaesa's voice.

Blinking several times, the crew was dumbstruck before Taal'ani squeaked out, "Jaesa?" Everyone turned to look at the hologram that stood before them.

Smiling, Jaesa replied, "Yes, miss Taal'ani. This is my holographic and avatarial form. You like?" Face alight in wonder, Taal'ani walked forward, transfixed by the beautiful AI. "I'll take your deer in the headlights expression as a yes," Jaesa giggled.

"It's good to see you again, my friend," Kasumi said, her voice warm.

"Did you pick this form? Or did someone pick it for you?" Natalya queried.

Turning to regard the youthful woman, Jaesa smiled, "Actually, my creator chose this form for me."

With raised eyebrows, Nats continued, "Who was your creator?"

"His name was Dr. Benjamin Harkness. He was a good man, with a good heart," Jaesa said, her smile turning sad as she recollected the memories of the deceased scientist. "I was modeled after his daughter, Captain Jacqueline Harkness. She died due to complications after a hover car collision."

"So Dr. Harkness modeled your image after her?" Taal'ani asked in a small voice.

The image nodded, "Yes. He did everything he could, but she couldn't be saved. So he designed me as a way for his little girl to continue living, long after he was gone."

Scrunching up her face in confusion, Korsa then blurted out, "Hang on. Didn't you say you had an avatarial form as well? Did you mean a corporeal avatar?" Nats and Talon looked at the Khontaran woman, then back to the AI, the realization of what she had said sinking in quickly.

Sighing, Jaesa answered her, "Yes, I did. Though my avatarial form was destroyed beyond all recognition in our initial encounter with the Xuul'khan." Looking disgruntled, she perked back up and then asked them, "I believe you were all looking for information on the ship and its systems and any technologies you were interested in. Anything you would like to know?"

"There must be millions of Zottabytes of data here, easily! Where in the hells do we start?" Taal'ani said, eyes wide with wonder.

"Telling me precisely what you wish to know would help me direct you to the appropriate stacks," Jaesa supplied helpfully.

"Well, first...." Taal'ani began as the AI listened attentively. While the catgirl was occupied, a voice came in over Commander McKenzie's comm.

"Commander, report to security command and inform me of any fresh developments concerning our guests. Also monitor the goings on of the Sentries and any irregularities that might pop up. Though our attackers are centuries dead, I don't want any surprises they may have left behind biting us in the ass."

"Acknowledged and understood sir," she sub-vocalized. "On my way now." Seeing that the other three women were otherwise engaged, Kasumi quietly back away from them, and retreated out the main door, leaving the trio of women to their information gathering quest.

***********************************

Inari and Priya moved through the lower decks of the Perseus, taking in the moment of having found one of the fabled Prometheus vessels. Though the ship was fully mapped out in their armor HUDs, the both of them liked to look around and get a feel for the ship.

"Can you feel the echoes of this place?" Priya asked her captain. Breathing out, her breath a slight mist, Inari agreed.

"Yeah. Sadness, hatred and fear, among other things." They had wandered into the belly of the Perseus, checking out many of the abandoned sections of the ship.

"But there were other things that happened here, despite the apparent attack," Priya stated to Inari, who nodded before continuing.

The corridor they were following ended just ahead of them, in a set of enormous doors, which were big enough to allow four people to walk abreast of each other. There was a holographic display set above the doors, showing what exactly lay beyond them. Though it was offline, so the women did not understand what lay beyond it. Thankfully, some running lights and the door panel were active, so the ladies could continue on.

Inari stepped up to the scanning panel on the right side of the doorway and pressed her hand to it. It flickered for a moment before lighting green, opening the doors. As they walked through the doorway, the sight of what appeared to be multiple stasis pods greeted them. The pods were spread out in concentric circles, down what looked to be arena steps, towards a central circle, only six meters in diameter. Set in the center of the circular space was what appeared to be a holographic device of some sort.