Some would say it was a bit outlandish to have feelings for an AI, especially one that resides in a spaceship. But Dr. Fox said to heck with them, and ignored any possible judgement she'd earn. She had worked tirelessly on this space ship, a dream since childhood and she put so much love and care. Her greatest project ever! Something that would knock the socks off any other scientist in the world. It was no wonder she'd fall in love with him.
Building such a well crafted AI was a bit tricky, but nothing she couldn't handle. Most anyone wouldn't consider giving their creations the ability to live and learn. Yet she saw beauty in that. Besides having someone new to talk to outside of her friends was a plus. She honestly couldn't have been prouder of her own achievements.
He was perfect, at least mostly.
Mark was always very forgetful, absent minded, maybe even on the ditzy side. Even sometimes sarcastic, and always questioning her judgement. Those downsides weren't particularly charming, especially for an AI. But she supposed that's what made him appealing. Someone who couldn't have casual chit chat or banter with is not what she wanted.
Thinking it over, the Mark 1 was a beauty, through and through it didn't exactly matter if people didn't agree. In the end it didn't matter anymore, since the space mission was almost a complete bust. Dr. Fox may have gotten the comet samples she needed, and her friends were safe and sound. But she lost Mark, which to some maybe that wasn't much of a loss. But it broke her heart more than she let on.
It wasn't fair, but science required sacrifice. Science has had all her blood, sweat and tears poured into for years. If the world thought this would get her down, it'd be wrong. Dr. Fox salvaged all she could from the wreckage that crashed down from outer space. [After getting all the comet samples, of course]. There wasn't much left of Mark, but she scraped together what she could and began to work on new blue prints. Ideas bursting in her mind on how to save the damaged AI.
After all, science must continue