Absolute Power

Posted on Wed 5th Mar, 2025 @ 9:58am by Commander Heriah Rex & Captain Gordon Francis

955 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: From The Ashes
Location: Corridor
Timeline: current, 1700 hrs

Heriah hurried her steps about the corridors catching up to Frank. She had just read herself into the recent developments and...

'The last time we were under the influence of that much power...'

"You were, Rex. Not me. And I know."

'I'm just saying, you give someone absolute power...'

"Rex," Heriah said aloud and ignored the wandering eyes of the passers-by. "I am aware," she lowered her voice. "Starfleet regulation...oh you know my thoughts. Why am I bothering to..."

'Because it makes you sound like a crazy person.'

Heriah caught up to Frank, still a ways off from where the Thunderchild was being docked.

"Captain," she said from behind him. Heriah did not want to use 'Frank' in the open with so many lower ranks spread about the corridor. "A moment while you walk, please."

"Of course, Commander," he said. "What's on your mind?"

"The Thunderchild, sir," she said as she arrived upon him. They both continued on in the direction he was going. She kept her voice somewhat lowered. "I just read the report. Skimmed it more like. Apparently an AI, some kind of intelligence, has taken over the ship's computer?"

'I, for one, am not comfortable with a sole intelligence having full control of a Starfleet vessel.'

"I, for one, am not comfortable with a sole intelligence having full control of a Starfleet vessel," she said.

They entered a turbolift. Francis barked "Deck six-hundred," before turning to Commander Rex.

"What makes you uncomfortable, Rex?" Francis asked, careful to not voice his own opinion.

There came a faint sound of a whirl in the back of Heriah's mind. The whirl had become a drill. The Borg's favorite chant all but started to sound within the cosmos of her mind when she willed it away. Then came the desire to be rid of whatever entity had absolute power. She felt Rex's anxiety stemming from his short stint as a Borg Drone.

"An outside intelligence," she said. "We don't know if the Thunderchild is infected by an artificial intelligence just posing as something sentient. From the report, it sounds like this entity has complete control of the ship, can have complete control should it want. What's to say it won't decide to detonate the Warp Core inside our dock, unload its complement of torpedoes upon this starbase, rain down phaser fire, deactivate life support with a full crew on board?"

Francis nodded as the lift doors opened and they stepped out into the open and most populous part of the station, the lower deck of the Promenade. Francis talked as they walked.

"This is also on my mind, and I share the same concern," he said. "The problem with all AI is that when you tell it to do something it has the ability to say 'no way Jose.' These Exo-Comps, for example. What's to stop them from having some jollies eating a power conduit? One bite and it knocks out a whole deck." He stopped and smiled. "Sorry, Rex. I'm only making this worse, aren't I? It just feels like everyone else is more jazzed up over a 'first contact' they're ignoring exactly what you and I are saying.

'He's right. He's only making this worse. Tell the old fart he needs to...'

He stopped and turned to Rex. "Tell you what, since we seem to be the only people with brains enough to think of this, why don't you and I approach this new life form together?"

'If it is a life form.'

"If it is, in fact, a life form, sentient and potentially friendly," she started and then added a few nods to her words, "then I want to be there."

"Is Graves in on this?" Francis asked. "If it's sentient--and I'm not saying the thing is--we'll need a good psych eval. I'm already a little spooked the thing expresses itself as female. It opens up a whole new can of ravioli I don't even want to consider."

"Seeing that this entity had been dealing with Fouran...a male...and males do tend to loose a few IQ points when speaking with females...I am not a bit surprised this thing chose to identify as female." Heriah stepped along beside him as they continued. "I should comm Graves and get him to meet us there," Rex said.

Francis grunted. "Do you think his IQ can take the hit?" he asked as they reached their destination, Orchids & Jazz. "Get the meeting scheduled for 0900 tomorrow morning," he said as Heriah was already working at her palm-sized PADD, scheduling and including required parties. "Say Rex, I'm playing backup banjo for Chuck Utah here at O and J. Show starts in fifteen minutes. Grab a korfmager and enjoy yourself!"

'You should listen to this old fart. When the man says to grab a pint, you...'

'Kor'Fmag'R,' she thought back against Rex, 'is also a Klingon bass instrument. Garan played a little bass. This is no different.'

Heriah put her PDDlet away. "If Chuck does not mind a little backing bass," she said. "15 minutes is enough time for me to knock off the rust."

'Blades, battle, and beer. That is our language now. Not plucking strings.'

"Unless if you think I've lost Garan's touch," she said.

Francis gave a sly smile. "You're flirting with danger, little missy," he said. "Then again, it's what Garan would've said. I guess it's a Rex thing!" He turned and entered the establishment, and as the doors closed, Heriah could hear Francis say, "Hey Chuck! You got room for a bass?"

 

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