Spacer Clans Adventure 2: Naero's Gambit by Mason Elliott Read Free Book Online

over and negotiate.”
    Tarim sealed his assault armor and powered up his plasma rifle.
    “I’m going in alone, Tarim.”
    “W ho are you going to negotiate with?” Tyber asked. “I’ve never seen tek readings like this before from any ship. But there are no life signs. That ships has no crew. What haven’t you told us yet, En?”
    “I created that ship by accident when, I was just beginning to teknomance. It ’s intellect and personality are patterned after me.”
    Naero sighed and let out a deep breath, looking down.
    “Now I must deal with m y prodigal child.”

 
     
     
     
    6
     
     
    The boarding hatch connecting the two vessels irised. Naero stepped onto The Dark Star and moved forward. The hatch sealed behind her.
    The unlit passages were rectangular and ribbed with bulkheads and hatches, light blue duranadium construction, illuminated by her helmet beams.
    One quick check, then she sealed her mask again.
    As she suspected, the air wasn’t breathable, so she kept her nanosuit sealed.
    Another fledgling AI intelligence in her life–this one of her own inadvertent making.
    W here was Om when she needed him?
    Naero called out through the mind link , sensing the intense anticipation and relief all around her.
    From Alala.
    Alala. I’m here. Life support would be a nice gesture.
    Greetings , Naero. We rejoice at your return to us! Life support coming on line. Apologies. No need for its operation until now. Please wait 11.344 standard minutes before trying to breathe the surrounding air. We recall your current form and its needs and will fully compensate for it.
    Naero checked out the merged ship as she recalled being a part of it, walking quickly through the decks and holds toward the primary bridge. Just as she remembered.
    It had all been a part of her once. And she it.
    Both a Triaxian heavy stealth cruiser, and a large capture ship as well. She had been forced to use her teknomancy skills in desperation to merge it with her vessel at the time, a much smaller strike cruiser.
    Th e latter now served as the command center, fire control, back-up power core, and the main bridge.
    Within the ship remained dark.
    Minus a crew , Alala was right. There was no need to divert power to lights or life support. This ship became self-aware and set its own priorities. Yet it flipped on lights for her.
    So what do we do now, Alala? I ’m here. How can we help each other?
    Naero almost gasped. She li terally sensed the ship’s almost desperate, yearning feelings. Alala was a self-aware entity, and yet she also had…overt emotions. Not like Om at all, who had just started to develop his own.
    And the biggest emotion of them all radiating throughout Alala–was fear. Fear of what she did not know.
    Much like Naero herself.
    We…do not know. When you joined with us, when you were part of us, and saved us from destruction, we patterned our awakened personality after your own. The only frame of reference we had for sentience and independent thought and action.
    Great, I hope you ’re not as big a pain-in-the-ass as I am.
    We perceive the concept of your humor, but we are not capable of fully comprehending or enjoying it at this time. What is significant about minor damage to one’s aft sections?
    Naero chuckled a bit.
    Tough crowd. Story of Naero’s life.
    Honey, I hope you never know.
    Response unclear. Enigmatic.
    Sorry, Alala. I’m trying to understand you. What have you been doing out here and why? What is your current purpose?
    That is part of our dilemma. When we awoke, we knew very little. But we sensed danger all around us. We were damaged and our destruction seemed imminent. We absorbed all of your fixers that we could and used their knowledge to refit and repair our functions. Then we fled and continued our repairs and upgrades along the way, to the extent of our current knowledge.
    Impressive. Then you started tracking me…somehow.
    For a while we simply traveled around, striving only to remain free. But