Project Eden Zero

The Storm Returns Part- 4

“She needs a name,” I turn to look down the side imagining a name.

“She’s your bird, I’m just gonna fly her.” I see Dani running down the docking rail as if to be running away from something.

“Hey!!! Wait for me!!!” I wait up for her and usher her in the airlock doors and close it behind me. I activate the power and the shield. “Thank you! Huff puff, I almost got caught in that little scuffle. I was not about to get blamed for some

Bullshit like that! Anyways. Thanks for letting me on. I’m gonna go see if I can tinker around the battery, I know these guns are top of the line, but there’s always something that can be improved.”

“Alright, just don’t break anything please....oh! And btw, we are using code names from now on. With that coup in play we don’t need our real names being said over radio or any broadcast.”

“Ok so yours is Viper obviously, and the corporals is Falcon, what about me?” I look around thinking and realize she’s wandering around looking at things saying “whoo! Neat, whoo! Neat.” She sounds like an owl whooting.

“Owl, it’s a good fit for you.”

“Alrighty cap’n!”

“....commander.....”

“Right commander sorry....ass.”

“I heard that!” She trails off shooting me a bird and then drops down some stairs and into an elevator on the right. “Hey Raven, what do you think about storm strider? As a name for the ship?”

“A brand new frigate that’s got all the bells and whistles and enough firepower to take down 2 dreadnaughts with the right maneuvering and is about to be plummeted into a giant s**t storm? Sounds fitting. I like it.”

“Great, then Storm Strider it is...hey swing around the tech lab and lay low. Use the stealth cloak if you need it.”

She turns around with a sly look, “why? Got some more recruits?”

“Yeah, something like that. We need the help and extra hands.” She pulls it out of dry docks and soldiers start firing at us.

“Hey imma keep it low and run the rocks and ravines, don’t need their damn air cannons clipping this beautiful birds wings before she has a chance to fly.”

“Good thinking. Now if only we had someone who could counter hack systems to keep them from getting into our systems.” Eve pops up.

“Viper, I can do what you’re asking. But I will need access to the ship. You will have to plug into an outlet.”

“Umm, Eve are you ok? I don’t think that’s a good idea..”

“I sense skepticism. I did not mean it in a harmful manner.” The middle finger of my left hand retracts to the first joint and a key comes out. “I mean for you to integrate with the ships systems, basically releasing me into the ship. I can counter hack any system with the programs that we have been given.”

“Hey uh, Commander...who are you talking to?” Falcon turns in her chair looking at me with concern.

“It’s an AI...”

“I’m not an AI Viper.”

“Right sorry, she’s a Virtual intelligence that was programmed into my cybernetics. I guess to help me be able to function and keep me company. She’s actually really useful. So where do I...umm plug in?”

“It looks like there is a systems connection port in the engine room.”

Falcon turns back around and gets back to flying. “Just don’t let it go rogue and kill us all.”

“I am understanding of your mistrust corporal, but the day humans will kneel to me is not today.” Falcon turns back and looks at me and my face matches hers. “That was a joke.”

“Ha...ha...ha, let’s not tell jokes like that Eve.”

“I apologize, I will reprogram my humor settings for better timing.” I walk over to the elevator and press the button for deck 5 engine and shuttle bay.

“Alright so where is the integration input?”

“Sensors indicate its its under the engine in the maintenance port. Just down the stairs and straight back.”

I walk down the stairs and hear scuffling. “Hmm, must be Dani down here...” I decide to speak up and call out to her, “Hey owl! You down here?” I hear another shuffle and some containers falling over.

“What’s going on down there? I can here you screwing things up down there from here. You need to hurry it up, they’ve sent some fighters after us.”

“Just shake them loose and get us to the tech labs....please.”

“Copy that.”

“Thanks Falcon.” I walk around the corridor and see a skinny figure huddled by the knocked over containers. Looks like a teenage girl. “Hey? Umm you alright? You don’t really need to be here.” She moves backwards behind a container trying to hide. “I’m not gonna hurt you kid. I just need to get over to that port. I gotta walk by you though.” I walk by her slowly showing her my hands and make my way to the maintenance port.

“I’m sorry.” I turn around and see her walking out from the containers. Clothes shredded and burned, barely enough to cover her body. Shorts torn to shreds, shirt hanging by one shoulder and not covering her stomach, no shoes and her hair a matted mess. “I was just hungry...”

“Well you don’t have to steal, just sit down and finish what you’re eating. But when I’m done we gonna get you up top and get dan....owl to fix you up alright?” I lay down on the grated floor and slide into the port. I see a small hole under the engine weld and stick my finger in it. “Is that it Eve?”

“Yes it is, please give me a mom....”

“Eve?”

“That’s not my name...I didn’t know my parents. But I decided to call myself Kalina.”

I damn myself for forgetting that I keep talking to Eve out loud when I realized the girl was talking to me. “That’s a pretty name Kalina, I was actually talking to my buddy that’s inside me.”

“Oh you have a Virtual intelligence thingy?” She crawls down beside me and watches me.

“Yeah something like that. She don’t act like a VI but she claims she’s not an AI. Say, Kalina, how old are you?” She tried to squeeze inside the port with me and easily sits up crossing her legs.

“I think I’m 13, earth years. I’m not sure though. What about you?” She stares at me studying my face.

“I’m 28, how did you get in here anyways?”

“I climbed aboard when all the soldier guys and builder guys left. I knew they left snacks in here it just took me a while to find them. Hey wait! You never told me your name!” She leans in studying my scars and metal parts on my face.

“My names Viper, Commander Viper. Please to meet ya.” I bring my right hand up to shake hers. She looks at it and then my other hand. She grabs my right hand feeling of it.

“Yeah...how come you got 3 fingers and a thumb on your metal hand and 4 fingers and a thumb on the real one?”

Eve interrupts out loud through the intercom, “It is complete Viper.” I pull my hand down and slide out, Kalina follows right behind me. “Viper’s robotic arm was made during a...”

“Later Eve, we got some stuff to deal with first.” I grab Kalina by her hand and start walking towards the stairs. “Come on let’s get up top.”

“No! Tell me why! Then I’ll go with you!” She tugs her hand away from me. I let out a big sigh of contempt and aggravation.

“Ok, there was this female Vystern who...”

“Wow! A Vystern?! You met a real Vystern?!”

“Yes, actually fought with a krate once, but it doesn’t matter right now. Anyways...she gave her body so that I could live. Her arm and legs were used to rebuild me. Now can we go?”

“You got her legs too? Robot legs?”

“Yes can we go please?”

“Show me! Show me!”

“Ugh, fine...” I pull up my pants legs and show her my legs. “Happy?”

“Wow!! So cool! Ok let’s go!”

“Finally thank you.” I grab her hand and we rush up the stairs and into the elevator. I press the button for 2nd deck Bridge and control center and the power goes out. “s**t!” Just a moment later the power comes back on and Falcon comes over the intercom.

“What the hell was that?! What did you break?!”

“I am sorry. I had to reboot the ships systems to converge successfully.”

“Well warm me next time! I’m trying to lose some fighters here without having to kill my own comrades who are fighting for the wrong koshram side!”

“Language Falcon!! We got a kid aboard!” The elevator stops and we both step out and I lead her down the walkway and set her in a control seat. “Don’t touch anything, please.” Falcon turns around sees me buckling her in.

“Oh god, another stowaway?! First your little tinker buddy and now a kid? For fu...”

“Language Falcon!!”

“For flights sake....there happy?”

“Sure, turn on the ship wide intercom please.” She flips the switch, “Owl, I need you up top stat, I got something that could use your, umm, expertise.” Falcon flips the switch back off.

“So what do we call the new crew member?”

“We are dropping her off back on earth, I can’t have her...”

“No!!!” Kalina interrupts, “I wanna stay on the ship with you!”

“Seems like someone has a crush...”

“Shut up Falcon...her name is Kalina. And yes, I can’t have you on the ship needing a babysitter to make sure you’re safe.”

“You could just toss her out the airlock once we break orbit...”

“You’re pushing it Falcon...” Dani steps off the elevator and sees Kalina.

“Oh no, no no no no no!” She starts to turn back to the elevator with a worried face.

“Please! Just give her a bath and let her eat a decent meal. Then when we hit earth we will find a nice home to drop her off on.”

“You owe me.” She walks over to Kalina, “Hey there I’m da...”

“Names miss Owl.”

“Right, I’m Owl, what’s your name?” She reaches out her hand to shake. Kalina looks up at me with tears in her eyes.

“If I go back to earth they will just put me back in the corn fields. I don’t wanna go back. Please let me stay.”

“Her name is Kalina. And I’ll have to give it a lot of thought. Now Owl, please take her.” Dani unbuckles Kalina and they both walk to the elevator in silence. We arrive at the tech labs an hour later.

“I’m gonna set her down about a click east in the sunlight, maybe we won’t be detected and we get in and out no problem...haha like that ever works.”

“Have faith Falcon, you gonna stay with the ship and make sure she’s safe?”

“Are you talking about the ship or the girl?”

“Just stay here, I left you a present in the closet next to the research lab. It’s on the other side of the elevator...”

“I know where the b****y lab is asshole, now get going and get your people. Don’t be long or the ship may belong to me.”

“Yeah yeah, just keep her safe.”

“The ship or the girl?”

I walk off shooting her a bird and I can hear her laughing as I drop down some rocks. It kind of feels a little lonely without Eve speaking to me. I also wonder if it was a good idea for me to let her integrate with the ship.

“It is a good idea as any.” I drop to the ground and catch my breath realizing it was Eve speaking.

“What the hell? Don’t do that! I thought you were in the ship?!” I stand up and dust myself off then keep walking.

“I am sorry I didn’t reiterate myself. I am in the ship, as I am also still within you.”

“You can do that?”

“As long as I am within range, yes. My core processing is now within the ships computers. It is much bigger and more powerful than your own. I can not calculate your brain, it processes too many thoughts at once. The ships computers let me process 1000 thoughts at a time. So I am upgraded, if you will.”

“Oh right, now you’re even more powerful, what the hell was I thinking?”

“It is safe, I am on your side Viper. I do believe that I want to help you, and protect you as best as I can.”

“You ‘want’?”

“Yes. I have grown fond of you. I wish to keep you alive and keep learning from you and your friends.”

“My friends are a wild bunch I’ll tell you that.” I round a corner and come up on the back door to the labs and see armed men outside a room through the windows. “That’s the tech labs right? I think the living quarters are on the other side and the decommissioning office is before you get to those.”

“Scanning...yes you are correct. Who are you looking for?”

“Three people mainly. But if one will join me, then four.”

“What are their identifications?”

“How am I supposed to know that? I don’t know their code number...oh right, names.”

“Yes sorry, I was communicating with a robot on the inside who wished to know their names.”

“Wait what? You can do that too? Damn what can’t you do?”

“There are a list of things I can’t do. This bot refers to itself as Sam.”

“The names of the people are...” I duck down past the rock and ready my pistol. I notice it has a suppressor built into the guns body. Nice, this will come in handy. I ready myself and reach over the rock and see the men carrying out four people with black bags on their heads. “Eve can you identify those people?”

“Scanning...yes. They are lieutenant Katie Ray, Doctor Kelly Ollison, Russell Adiran, and Tiberius Tydis.”

“They got Dr. Tydis?”

“Tiberius Tydis has no doctrine to his name on record.”

“Really? Then how did he become a doctor?”

“Scanning...it would seem that this man is not the real Dr. Tylerius Tydis. But his twin brother. Dr. Tylerius Tydis is deceased. Tiberius Tydis is the third person in that group.”

“A doppelgänger act? What the hell...?” I slide back down the rock thinking.