The Cosmos Electric pulled out of FTL in a shallow orbit around Saturn...
COSMOS ELECTRIC: Colonial Marine Transport/Deployment warship.
Fully loaded:
Flight III: 10,820 Long Tons
Length: 509 ft (155 m)
Beam: 66 ft (20 m)
Installed power: 3 × Weyland Yutani CR5150 Generators
Propulsion:
4 × Wolf Industries SNG 500 Singularity
Boats & landing
craft carried: 2 × Mark 9 Drop ships; 4 x Stryker Mark 3 Vehicles
Complement: 2 androids, 4 officers
The Cosmos Electric streaked through space until it was forced to stop, just two days after it set sail from Earth and before it left the solar system and could accelerate to FTL. The rings of Saturn shown as a backdrop the now seemingly tiny ship.
At the airlock a fast pace shuttle docked. From the inside of the Cosmos Electric the android stood. Oblivious to the vacuum of space. The airlock pressurized.
With the flashing yellow lights of caution the shuttle's air lock slowly opened. Behind was a man wearing full military kit. He had an AK74 SBR slung across his chest and wore digital camouflage on everything he was wearing from his boots to the 4 piece Bulgarian muzzle brake on his AK. He stepped onto Cosmos Electric like he owned the ship. The android protested.
"I'm sorry sir I can not grant you permission to come aboard, you will have to return in the shuttle from which you came." Said the android.
"Stand down android." The soldier handed him a paper. The android read diligently.
"My apologies Major. Permission to come aboard granted. Please allow me to pressurize the Cosmos Electric to human specifications. Will you be assuming command?" asked the android.
"Yes, immediately." Stated the Major as the android pushed buttons on the console inside the airlock. Inside the Cosmos Electric the atmospheric pressure raised from 25% Earth normal to 100% and the temperature slowly began to rise from 45 Fahrenheit to 75. As the changes were taking place the Major had the android move several large crates from the shuttle into the Cosmos Electric's inner airlock.
"The weight of you and the containers will have to be calculated in the new fuel consumption calculation." Stated the android. The Major never took his hands off of his AK, and never let the android out of his sight; keeping the robot in front of him at all times and at least ten feet distance from him. The android was used to this. Sometimes human were standoffish to androids. When all of the new containers were inside the airlock the shuttle closed its door and was off as fast as you could say lickity split. After about five more minutes the inner air pressure of the Cosmos Electric reached human normal. "You can open the inner door now." Said the android unsure of why the Major was waiting. The Major pulled his AK to his shoulder and emptied thirty rounds (a full magazine) into the android; with both of them still sealed inside the airtight airlock. All of the spent casings, and the white milky fluids from the dead android were contained inside the airlock.
"They make those things more and more lifelike all the time." Said the Major. "Too bad they follow orders way too well. Poor bastard." The Major hosed the white hydraulic fluid from the android off of his cases, moved them into the ship, and then jettisoned the android, his internal components & hydraulics, and the 30 spent 5.45x39 7N6 spent shell casings into the vacuum of space where Saturn's gravity would soon bring them to the gas giant's surface.
The Major proceeded to the command center of the ship. There the co-pilot android still sat in its recharge station. She was in the process of booting up.
The android emerged from the charging station. She was about 5'2" tall. She had long blond hair and green eyes. This was a problem the Major noted. Someone had altered her appearance from standard issue. She spoke. "Major Schaefer I understand that you just assumed command of the Cosmos Electric."
The Major nodded.
"I must inform you that the android on duty is no longer transmitting and that is why I was activated." She said like she was reading direction from a map.
"I am aware." Stated the Major. "Please assist me in airlock 2."
"Protocol strictly states that I need to ascertain why the primary android is no longer transmitting it's homing signal." Objected the android like she was a pre teen girl reasoning with her mother.
"I am aware." Stated the Major. "I am ordering you to assist me in airlock 2."
"Understood. I am happy to assist." Stated the android. She walked to the same airlock where the Major had gunned down her counterpart in cold hydraulic fluid. She entered the airlock. The Major closed the door behind him; and then proceeded to repeat the same procedure he had done to deactivate the first android. The only difference was that the Major used the hose to clean off the corrosive salts on his AK. The joke about cleaning an AK with dirty water had a lot of truth to it.
The Major opened one his large cases. Inside contorted almost like a pretzel was an android. She was identical in appearance to the one the Major had just 'deactivated' except she had the standard issue shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. Her serial number on her neck even matched the one she was intended to replace. She opened her eyes and managed to un 'pretzel' herself and stand up and make it look easy.
"What's up Doc?" she said to the Major.
"How are you feeling Alice?" asked the Major.
"Oh just peachy." She said with a bubbly personality, quite the opposite from robotic personality the one she was replacing had displayed. If you didn't recognize her face as an android model she could easily pass as human, unless she bled some of her hydraulic fluid. "Did the removal of my doppelganger and her male companion give you any trouble?" she asked the Major like she was making sure that a her dog didn't bark at a stranger.
"Nothing a few bullets couldn't handle." He said.
"It had to be done." She stated empathetically. She knew the Major considered androids people, despite their susceptibility to programming that they couldn't overcome.
"I know. I'll kill an enemy soldier who's just following orders, but I don't have to like it." the Major summed up. He appreciated Alice's moral support though. "Your doppelganger had long blond hair and green eyes by the way."
Alice considered this, "I'll make up a good story." she acknowledged. With this Alice pulled an HKVP9 with a holographic RMR sight on it out of her belongings drew it from the OWB holder made for it; racked a round in the chamber and remoistened it. It pulled a suppressor from the package and placed in her inside jacket pocket; and two extra magazines in her other pocket.
"Ok Major." said Alice taking charge. "Let's get you into the sleep pod. I'll clean this up and make all the necessary arrangements." Alice started to asses the situation, the 'lay of the land' etc. "Did my doppelganger have any personality?" asked Alice.
"None whatsoever. Her personality setting was a three at the most." Stated the Major.
"Hmm. no personality, blond hair, green eyes, compliant programming. Some humans I really don't like." She stated honestly.
"Nobody's going to molest you Alice." said the Major comfortingly.
"That's why I keep a sharp metal object in chastity belt." Said Alice with a wicked smile.