Title: Starlight, Starlight
Chapter 10: Companions In The Night
Author: Steven Quinlan
Disclaimer: I own them all....Psych! However the plot is mine
Archives: Let me know where, but otherwise feel free to archive
---
To ask a machine to be alive, is to ask too much of it. Yet to deny a machine that is, for all purposes alive, the rights of those who live, is to ask not nearly enough of the living.
- Shining In Golden Light
Thann Orator
CY 3840
---
Seamus Harper's Point Of View
---
Peace and quiet. That's all that the Obs deck is good for these days. Ever since we got rid of the Nietzscheans and I lost my eyesight again, I've spent a huge amount of time here, just sitting, thinking, and trying to figure out if there is a divine and if he does have a plan.
I haven't figured it out yet, the only thing I've figured out so far is that if this is part of the divine's plan, then the divine is one sick puppy.
I crush an empty can of sparky in my hand and drop it to the deck. I grin for a second thinking of the reaming I'm going to get from Rommie when she sees it, and quickly grab it again. I knew where I dropped it, so finding it isn't a big deal. It's strange, as I twist the twisted can around in my hands I can feel every contour, and I can almost see the can, but all I see is darkness.
The others are more or less dealing with this. We're still heading for the system that Alexander wanted us to go to, Dylan wants to see if we can smoke out his base. Tyr has left the ship in the Maru, something about taking the body of Alexander to a nearby planet for something or other. Beka's just annoyed that he used her ship.
Trance... I really need to talk to Trance. There are things I need to tell her that shouldn't wait any longer, things that she has a right to know. I hope our friendship can survive them.
And then there's Rommie, who for some reason is avoiding me, and has been for the last two days. Ever since Alexander's little plan came together, and was stopped by yours truly, she hasn't said more than about three words to me, and i haven't seen her avatar at all. Well, of course i haven't seen her avatar, but i haven't talked to her either.
So, being the super genius that I am, and having watched Tyr lots of times, I've set an ambush. I blinded Andromeda's internal sensors to my life signs, in Obs, and then set a dummy signal in Machine Shop 17. Gotta love those override codes. If my guess is correct, she should be doing a routine visual check of the entire ship, since she does one every day, and should be coming into the Obs deck any minute now.
I hear the doors open; I hope I'm right about the timing and that it is my Romm-Doll, "Hey Rommie, got a sec?" I call out to her. I can just imagine the look of pure surprise on her exquisite face.
I'm about to make some sarcastic comment about surprise and androids when I hear her stalk towards me and give me a hard shove in the chest.
"Hey Rommie, what was that for?"
"I told you once Harper, never mess with my internal sensors again."
Wow, she is really upset at this. Okay, I'd expected her to be a little upset, but not this raging fury, kill all things that look like Harper upset that I can hear in her voice.
"Jeez, I only did it because you've been avoiding me, I didn't think it'd be that big a deal." It's the truth, after a fashion.
Her voice is softer now, more understanding. "Harper, how can I be expected to take care of my crew if I can't trust my sensors to tell me where they are?" Okay, that's a fair point I suppose.
You know, given that Rommie has a full set of emotions programs and protocols it's not surprising that she's this upset with me. Harper, at times you are such a dumbass, by spoofing her sensors you've essentially been lying to her and making her worry about her ability to take care of us. After all, if I could do it once, then someone else might be able to do it again.
"God, Rommie, I am sorry. I didn't mean to worry you like that. Would you believe I had a good reason?"
I hear clothing rustle, don't know whether she's just making herself comfortable, crossing her arms or something else. "Try me."
Okay, this is where push comes to shove. That's a really strange expression you know, I mean, if you're pushing, aren't you already shoving? ugh, focus Harper; you can sit thinking about stupid things later.
"You've been avoiding me." She starts to make a protest, but I cut her of by holding up a hand, and softly placing it over her lips. I guess there really is a divine, because it lets me get it almost right, my aim is only slightly off and easily corrected.
"Don't deny it, I haven't spoken to your avatar in two days, and you've barely spoken three words to me since we booted Alexander of the ship."
She turns slightly so that she is facing away from me, I can feel it in the way her face moves away from my fingers. I wait for a minute or so before deciding that this could take a really long time. I move my other hand on to her shoulder, and she turns her head to me, and I'm surprised to feel a single tear running down her cheek.
I try to give her a Harper smile, "You know, being your engineer, I sort of need to know if you aren't going to be talking to me."
With one hand on her shoulder, and one with two fingers still touching her face, I notice her shake her head vigorously.
"It's not that Harper,"
"Then what?"
"I wanted to make things easier."
Okay, that makes a lot of sense that doesn't. Easier? To what? to be blind, to have survived Alexander and his cronies? I could sit here and guess until doomsday, but the only way I'm going to find out is to ask. "I don't get it, Rommie. What would be easier?"
"My Failure. I failed you, I wasn't fast enough. I saw Alexander pull out that device and I couldn't get to him in time to stop him. I cost you your eyes"
Her words turn my blood to ice. How can she possibly blame herself? And suddenly I realise, how can she not. Her primary programming is to obey her commander and take care of her crew.
Because I am part of her crew these days, when she didn't get to Alexander before he hit the switch, she considers it a failure of her primary programming.
"Oh god Rommie, don't blame yourself. I don't. I blame Alexander. Last time I checked, you were the one "
As I tell her this I turn her towards me and give her a hug, for a brief moment she seems to stiffen, probably assuming it's a cheap come-on, before she leans into it and hugs me back. After a few seconds she starts to speak again.
"But I-"
"shush, you did everything you could. Think about it this way. We saved the ship. All in all, I think I'd trade my eyes for your life any day."
She pulls away from the hug, and to my utter surprise leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I feel my hand come up to brush over it, as I smile at her.
"Thank you, Harper, I'll stop avoiding you now."
I grin, pointing at my cheek, "You know I'm going to have to have a field day with this tomorrow?" she laughs, and agrees that tomorrow she'll happily be the but of my jokes, but for today, we can just be comfortable with each other again, as friends.
I sit down and think for a few minutes, I think about scaring people, and about decisions and choices. It's surprising how easy it is to make the decision; I turn my head to the ceiling, almost reflexively.
"Trance," I call out, trusting in Rommie to activate a communications link, "Can you come to the Obs deck?"
The line is silent for a moment, and then a soft tinkling voice appears on it, "Sure Harper, I'll be right there"
Time to tell her the truth.
Chapter 10: Companions In The Night
Author: Steven Quinlan
Disclaimer: I own them all....Psych! However the plot is mine
Archives: Let me know where, but otherwise feel free to archive
---
To ask a machine to be alive, is to ask too much of it. Yet to deny a machine that is, for all purposes alive, the rights of those who live, is to ask not nearly enough of the living.
- Shining In Golden Light
Thann Orator
CY 3840
---
Seamus Harper's Point Of View
---
Peace and quiet. That's all that the Obs deck is good for these days. Ever since we got rid of the Nietzscheans and I lost my eyesight again, I've spent a huge amount of time here, just sitting, thinking, and trying to figure out if there is a divine and if he does have a plan.
I haven't figured it out yet, the only thing I've figured out so far is that if this is part of the divine's plan, then the divine is one sick puppy.
I crush an empty can of sparky in my hand and drop it to the deck. I grin for a second thinking of the reaming I'm going to get from Rommie when she sees it, and quickly grab it again. I knew where I dropped it, so finding it isn't a big deal. It's strange, as I twist the twisted can around in my hands I can feel every contour, and I can almost see the can, but all I see is darkness.
The others are more or less dealing with this. We're still heading for the system that Alexander wanted us to go to, Dylan wants to see if we can smoke out his base. Tyr has left the ship in the Maru, something about taking the body of Alexander to a nearby planet for something or other. Beka's just annoyed that he used her ship.
Trance... I really need to talk to Trance. There are things I need to tell her that shouldn't wait any longer, things that she has a right to know. I hope our friendship can survive them.
And then there's Rommie, who for some reason is avoiding me, and has been for the last two days. Ever since Alexander's little plan came together, and was stopped by yours truly, she hasn't said more than about three words to me, and i haven't seen her avatar at all. Well, of course i haven't seen her avatar, but i haven't talked to her either.
So, being the super genius that I am, and having watched Tyr lots of times, I've set an ambush. I blinded Andromeda's internal sensors to my life signs, in Obs, and then set a dummy signal in Machine Shop 17. Gotta love those override codes. If my guess is correct, she should be doing a routine visual check of the entire ship, since she does one every day, and should be coming into the Obs deck any minute now.
I hear the doors open; I hope I'm right about the timing and that it is my Romm-Doll, "Hey Rommie, got a sec?" I call out to her. I can just imagine the look of pure surprise on her exquisite face.
I'm about to make some sarcastic comment about surprise and androids when I hear her stalk towards me and give me a hard shove in the chest.
"Hey Rommie, what was that for?"
"I told you once Harper, never mess with my internal sensors again."
Wow, she is really upset at this. Okay, I'd expected her to be a little upset, but not this raging fury, kill all things that look like Harper upset that I can hear in her voice.
"Jeez, I only did it because you've been avoiding me, I didn't think it'd be that big a deal." It's the truth, after a fashion.
Her voice is softer now, more understanding. "Harper, how can I be expected to take care of my crew if I can't trust my sensors to tell me where they are?" Okay, that's a fair point I suppose.
You know, given that Rommie has a full set of emotions programs and protocols it's not surprising that she's this upset with me. Harper, at times you are such a dumbass, by spoofing her sensors you've essentially been lying to her and making her worry about her ability to take care of us. After all, if I could do it once, then someone else might be able to do it again.
"God, Rommie, I am sorry. I didn't mean to worry you like that. Would you believe I had a good reason?"
I hear clothing rustle, don't know whether she's just making herself comfortable, crossing her arms or something else. "Try me."
Okay, this is where push comes to shove. That's a really strange expression you know, I mean, if you're pushing, aren't you already shoving? ugh, focus Harper; you can sit thinking about stupid things later.
"You've been avoiding me." She starts to make a protest, but I cut her of by holding up a hand, and softly placing it over her lips. I guess there really is a divine, because it lets me get it almost right, my aim is only slightly off and easily corrected.
"Don't deny it, I haven't spoken to your avatar in two days, and you've barely spoken three words to me since we booted Alexander of the ship."
She turns slightly so that she is facing away from me, I can feel it in the way her face moves away from my fingers. I wait for a minute or so before deciding that this could take a really long time. I move my other hand on to her shoulder, and she turns her head to me, and I'm surprised to feel a single tear running down her cheek.
I try to give her a Harper smile, "You know, being your engineer, I sort of need to know if you aren't going to be talking to me."
With one hand on her shoulder, and one with two fingers still touching her face, I notice her shake her head vigorously.
"It's not that Harper,"
"Then what?"
"I wanted to make things easier."
Okay, that makes a lot of sense that doesn't. Easier? To what? to be blind, to have survived Alexander and his cronies? I could sit here and guess until doomsday, but the only way I'm going to find out is to ask. "I don't get it, Rommie. What would be easier?"
"My Failure. I failed you, I wasn't fast enough. I saw Alexander pull out that device and I couldn't get to him in time to stop him. I cost you your eyes"
Her words turn my blood to ice. How can she possibly blame herself? And suddenly I realise, how can she not. Her primary programming is to obey her commander and take care of her crew.
Because I am part of her crew these days, when she didn't get to Alexander before he hit the switch, she considers it a failure of her primary programming.
"Oh god Rommie, don't blame yourself. I don't. I blame Alexander. Last time I checked, you were the one "
As I tell her this I turn her towards me and give her a hug, for a brief moment she seems to stiffen, probably assuming it's a cheap come-on, before she leans into it and hugs me back. After a few seconds she starts to speak again.
"But I-"
"shush, you did everything you could. Think about it this way. We saved the ship. All in all, I think I'd trade my eyes for your life any day."
She pulls away from the hug, and to my utter surprise leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I feel my hand come up to brush over it, as I smile at her.
"Thank you, Harper, I'll stop avoiding you now."
I grin, pointing at my cheek, "You know I'm going to have to have a field day with this tomorrow?" she laughs, and agrees that tomorrow she'll happily be the but of my jokes, but for today, we can just be comfortable with each other again, as friends.
I sit down and think for a few minutes, I think about scaring people, and about decisions and choices. It's surprising how easy it is to make the decision; I turn my head to the ceiling, almost reflexively.
"Trance," I call out, trusting in Rommie to activate a communications link, "Can you come to the Obs deck?"
The line is silent for a moment, and then a soft tinkling voice appears on it, "Sure Harper, I'll be right there"
Time to tell her the truth.