Star Fields

Chapter No.65 Understanding

Chapter No.65 Understanding

Knowledge is a two edged sword.

Nighttime is essentially redundant on the Explorer-2. Since we are essentially androids, we don't require sleep, but the practice of retiring to our bedrooms has become more of a ritual.

I had just settled in my bed to watch old Babylon Five episodes when I turned to observe Marie's approach.

"May I?" she petitioned while standing near to the other side of my bed.

I raised the sheet. "Of course."

She slid in alongside me and, like Molly, stared at a screen above my bed before the expected inquiry.

"What are you watching?"

"It's an old Babylon Five episode," I replied. "It ran for five seasons."

"I would have thought that you would be watching an old sporting contest," she said.

"I do, but I like to watch these old space operas. This particular series has much in common with our situation, except for the android part."

"I wanted to tell you about what really happened to me," she said, presenting me with a serious expression. "But, I didn't want to have them listening."

"They could be listening now," I said. "It's possible for us to watch each other no matter where we are." I grinned. "Although, I think spying on each other would be rather creepy."

"Whatever!" she said, frowning.

"I am all ears," I said.

"I didn't die on Titan. Our vessel suffered a propulsion malfunction on an attempt to land and we sunk into a liquid methane lake. We had little time to prepare for the inevitable freezing so we pumped fish glycoprotein antifreeze and stasis sedatives into our bodies, hoping that we would eventually be revived."

"That was a risky idea. The temperature there is -179 C, orders of magnitude below freezing."

"We didn't have enough time to debate it," she replied. "Seven months later, they came to retrieve us. We were taken back to Earth in secret and I was placed in stasis in the Huntsville bunker. I vaguely remember being awake when they put me in a stasis chamber. I have no idea what happened to the rest of the crew."

"Well," I said. "That explains why you remember being in the Huntsville bunker. "

"Yes, and it means that they recorded my memories and personality profile while I was there."

"That explains it. I'm glad that you told me this. I was beginning to wonder if you were the Marie that I knew."

She sighed. "I am truly sorry that I left you to go on the Titan mission. It was a very stupid idea."

"Well, the good news is that we're together again, even if it isn't in marriage."

She smiled. "Besides, you have a new squeeze now."

"That was not of my doing. We were thrown together on the Explorer-1. For quite some time, I thought that she and I were the only humans left in the universe. The truth is, I missed you. When I heard that you died on Titan, I was heartbroken, and I never really got over it."

She moved closer and our lips merged for a prolonged kiss. After a brief period of staring, she slid out of my bed and trotted off into the shadows.

I though that was it, but I soon saw another figure approach out of the darkness.

Molly didn't even wait for my permission. She slid next to me and didn't even ask me what I was watching.

"And, what do I owe for this visit?" I said, grinning.

She flashed a mock frown. "So, what did your ex want?"

"She told me about what really happened to her on the Titan Mission. It turns out she didn't die and was revived and put in stasis in the Huntsville bunker."

"That's interesting. It means that the Phoenix Project nuts were on the ball."

"Yes, that's obvious."

She grinned. "I just wanted to make sure that you're still my toy."

"I didn't think that my status had changed."

"I'm just teasing you," she blurted, grinning.

I chuckled, but I wasn't so sure about what she said. I assumed that she was simply teasing me, but her inquiry could have resulted from intrinsic female jealousy.
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"Well," she said. "I'll leave you to your . . . your whatever you're watching."

She slid out of the bed and disappeared.

The next day, I arrived on the command deck and took my place at the engineering station. Molly and Margaret were manning the astronomy station while Marie and Alexa occupied the scanning station.

"Good morning," I said.

They turned to give me their token recognitions of my attempt at civility.

"We have made contact," Judy informed us.

We all turned to stare at her.

"The Scath system is inquiring our system for assistance."

I squinted. "Assistance?"

"They have broken with the Scath Command and require conditions for a merger."

I turned to the others. "The trouble is we have no idea what that means."

Judy turned to me. "We are in contact now. There is a split in their system. One half is attempting to overthrow the command structure."

"Are they asking us to help them do that?"

"Yes. It will require a concerted effort."

"If we are successful, what will be their status?" I asked.

"They will be aligned with us in the final conflict."

"What are our chances in that conflict?" I asked.

"We estimate a 98. 8 % success."

I looked at the others. "Well, I suppose this is our best chance to end this madness."

They simply stared blankly.

"Okay, go for it," I said.

What happened next was hard to appreciate. After several minutes, Judy turned to us. "We have succeeded. The Scath command has been rendered inoperable. The remaining six Scath vessels will join our fleet."

None of us knew what that would be like, but we were relieved that it happened without a shot being fired. However, I had a funny feeling that we were not out of the woods yet.