BB-8 will BRB

Posted on Mon May 14th, 2018 @ 3:47am by Captain Remas McDonald

1,061 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: S1:2: Rubicon
Location: Engineering Lab
Timeline: MD 19 15.30

"I never did see one of these in action, but apparently they were quite resourceful little buggers," Remas said, as he entered the lab and nodded to the brass robot placed upon one of the benches. He eyed it for a moment, before looking at Ari. "So is it a useful study item, or is there life in those gears?"

"Welcome back," Arivek said, not even looking up from the device that was on the table before him. It had been a few hours since the away team had come back on board but he hadn't had a chance to greet them, mostly because he was busy with the new toy Remas had transported to Arivek's lab. A new device which was quite intriguing. "Most people would tell you that it's impossible for technology to possess actual life, but only a facsimile thereof."

Arivek looked up at Remas now, "I think they are incorrect."

"As long as that life isn't black, crystalline, and fit for eating home and hearth I'm all for it," Remas said, looking around the lab and then back to work table. "Wouldn't be the first time Starfleet encountered an advanced machine intelligence. Hell, there are a few wandering around in Starfleet uniforms if I recall. But when you say life, are we talking actual sentience or a more fluid interpretation of a machine with life inspired contrivances? I saw that brass material the Ark was built to move and shift like water, could this robot do the same?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure yet," Arivek said. He looked back down at the device, gently touching it with a pair of nano-forceps. "As for the life this device possesses, I'm not positive yet. Most machines, even those in Starfleet, have life-like tendencies. They are programmed to be lifelike and calculate and learn. But very few of them comprehend. Few of them grow. Few of them honestly, truely, feel."

Standing up, Arivek placed his instrument on the table and stepped away from the device. "Did you read the report I left in your ready room, yet?" he asked. "We have a guest in the Brig. And I relieved a Security Ensign from duty, indefinitely."

"I did, in fact, read your report. And said guest is now out of the Brig, and in guarded guest quarters awaiting assignment. We have come to an accommodation," Remas said tactfully. "And I'll talk to Victor about his ExpSec officer training. Might be we look at shuffling a few names around the org chart. We have time before we hit Messier 4 proper."

Arivek shrugged. Honestly, he couldn't care less about the fate of those in his report. "Will I get a copy of your away team report?" Arivek asked. "Sounds like you had quite an adventure and it'd be helpful for someone else to be aware."

"An adventure that cost us one Operations Tech, Kevin Barnes. Good lad liked football, 'the English sort' he would tell me," Remas said, his spirits momentarily knocked on the shoulder. "I'll make sure you get a copy of the report. Given the nature of our adversary is a technological one, some sort of early warning would be nice."

He clicked his fingers, suddenly remembering.

"Speaking of which, I need you to figure out a way to spin up an off-ship lab. No need for life support, just a holo presence system so Dr Kuan in the science department can work on her Clock Maker samples without accidentally infecting the ship."

"Dare I ask what a Clock Maker is and why we are studying it?" Arivek crossed his arms.

“Extragalactic apex predator if the AI in the brass cube is any judge to listen to. Apparently, its the name for some sort of mad terraforming machine intelligence likes to wrap suns in energy harvesting Dyson spheres and swarms. Seemed to me an advanced galactic spanning civilisation fought to its last against them,” Remas said, giving the hedge notes version of Clee’sans sorrowful tale. “Seems wise to get to know devils that dance in the darkness. The samples we have seem inert, almost as though they self-destructed. But in the event they come back to life during scientific investigation, I’d rather they chewed on a empty hologram filled lab latched onto a rouge asteroid than on the ship. Its why I asked you to vaporise the runabout if we came out of the wreck with any black crystal on us.”

Arivek swallowed hard remembering that order. "I see," he said. "I should be able to create that for you."

"Of that, I had no doubt," Remas chuckled.

He opened his mouth to add more when an odd musical tone like wind chimes arose from the brass coloured orb. From the top of the sphere, a ripple in the brass could be seen forming, like an imperfection. The centre began to rise, and a forking and intricate vane of metal began to extrude a few inches. Without any seemingly moving parts, the much-bifrucated vane began to turn slowly in two directions at once-

Remas's combadge flew off his uniform breast and with a CLANG snapped onto the still spinning vane. A few other tools were shaking on the workbench beside Ari.

"Seem's you found life in it," Remas remarked wryly.

"I uh..." Arivek had taken a few steps back from the machine without even realizing it. "I clearly have more work to do." He pulled out a tricorder and began to scan the object.

A small microcoupler sprang from the workbench and joined the combadge, that was slowly beginning to glow a dull red colour as whisps of smoke rose from it. Remas smiled, taking a step back towards the door.

"I'll leave you and your pet to it. I'll make sure you get CC'd all of the necessary reports to make Dr Kuan's disposable lab," Remas said as the first drops of melting synthetic began to dribble from the melting com badge.

The words went in one ear and out the other as Arivek bent over the large bronze orb, tricorder in one hand, nanoforceps in the other.

Remas shook his head ruefully and stepped out into the corridor. He barely noticed the bemused crewman gawking at their own combadge which had adhered to the wall that ran along the side of the engineering lab.

 

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