"You'd better watch that next step," Admiral Bryson remarked with a smile. "It's farther than it looks."
Turning back towards the rest of the committee, Dan smiled. "And, considering how far down it DOES look, that's saying something."
"When I was little, I always used to dream of touching stars. I was eight when I got my first spaceship ride. I thought the stars were right outside the window. It was a dream come true. The use of subspace transporters as the 'preferred' method of transportation was probably the most disappointing day of my life." Admiral Christine Morgan admitted with a smile.
"It certainly serves as a reminder of just how small we are after all," Admiral Sorova added.
A shimmering, silvery glow appeared behind the seven. As the sparkling lights faded, Admiral Brent Lahey's image stood in its place. "Good morning, everyone." He said with a smile. In turn, he greeted everyone who was there with a handshake. "Admiral Sorova, Admiral Bryson, Admiral Norick, Admiral Alare, Admiral Lott, and Admiral Morgan. It's good to see all of you."
The romulan admiral looked at him with a questioning eye as she took his hand. "Admiral, I thought your design team was going to be here."
Brent smiled again. "They are here, Admiral. They're in the computer lab on deck four. I'm with them now."
Admiral Bryson raised an eyebrow. "You are?" Brent gave a wry smile.
Sorova deduced it immediately. "Then I presume we're talking to an avatar." Brent nodded. As the identity of person standing before them became clear, the remainder of the committee nodded and approached the recreation of Brent's image. Once by one, they touched the fabric of his uniform, his hair, his arms, and his face. "By the nine rings, it looks so real." Sorova remarked with surprise.
Admiral Rogers shook her head. "It's a perfect replica, right down to the skin color. The skin's even warm to the touch."
Admiral Lott was visibly impressed. "How do you control the avatar?"
"Most if it is mental control," Brent's doppleganger replied. "But you need lots of room to maneuver. I look pretty silly on this end walking around the lab and pretending to shake hands. I've been told by one of the vulcan scientists if I had more mental discipline, I wouldn't have to walk around mimicking my movements."
Alare was still skeptical. "And we have your assurance Pathfinder can't create an avatar of someone else, take control, and cause any matter of harm, whether physical or diplomatic?"
Brent shook his head. "The avatar generation is part of the communications subroutine and can only be initiated by the person, or persons, on the sending end." The committee nodded approvingly.
"So, this means the Pathfinder is nearby?" Sorova asked.
"I am underneath the Echelon," a calm, deep male voice replied over the communications system. The new voice took everyone but Brent by surprise.
Brent smiled again. It was time for the big reveal. He knew the committee had created a series of tests for Pathfinder, but he didn't know what they were. Per the committee's instructions, Brent wasn't allowed to prepare Pathfinder for anything. "Why don't you come up and introduce yourself," Brent called out. "Go ahead and kill the avatar. I'll transport up there myself."
"Aye, aye, Admiral. Engaging maneuvering thrusters and discontinuing Lahey avatar." In a dizzying and conflicting pair of shimmering spirals of light, the image of Brent faded out, then faded back in.
With Sorova looking at the new image of Brent Lahey questioningly, Brent replied with a smile, "It's really me." The group smiled as well.
From the underside of the Echelon's nose, the USS Pathfinder appeared. Against the dim light of distant stars, it's matte gray colored body could barely be seen, despite its size. As a stark contrast to contemporary ship design, its prominant features were pointed, not rounded, and perhaps five hundred meters long... a third the size of the Echelon. It was roughly the shape of a triangle on its side. It was plumper along its length with a noticable peak in the center of its top. A pair of blue, glowing ovoid pods could be seen under the wings and noticable humps could be seen above. The seams of exterior armor plates were almost impossible to see and there wasn't a single window to be found. It was a stark contrast to the aesthetically pleasing ship designs Starfleet was used to. The committee eyed the silently maneuvering ship curiously.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen." The disembodied voice began. "I am the United Starship Pathfinder, registry NX-A4000."
Admiral Bryson chuckled. "What the hell do you say to a sentient starship?"
"You could try starting with 'hello.'" Brent replied patiently.
"For crying out loud," Alare quipped, "We're not here to give it an interiew."
Sorova looked at him reprovingly. "Actually, Rosan, that's exactly why we're here." Alare rolled his eyes. She turned to face the triangular vessel pointed at her. "Good afternoon, Pathfinder," she greeted somewhat uncomfortably. She knew she would need to be open-minded and objective for this demonstration, but she couldn't help but feel the same way Miles Bryson did. She took a deep breath. "Are you ready for your tests?"
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Pathfinder replied. "I'm anxious to see how I perform."
"You're anxious?" Admiral Lott asked. "Have you been given emotions?"
"To a limited extent, yes." Pathfinder replied. "My current emotional algorithms permit me to better relate to other sentient species with whom I may come into contact. They are not permitted to impede my judgement, however."
"Well, I'll be darned," Lott remarked.
Sorova smiled, impressed with the answer. With a though, a virtual computer panel appeared before her. She pressed a few buttons. "Pathfinder, low on your starboard bow, at bearing two eight one mark zero zero three, you'll detect fifteen canisters. Destroy them."
"Understood, Admiral," Pathfinder's voice replied. Atop the ship, a series of concentric panels opened to reveal a series of purple, glowing rings. "There is a lifeform in one of the canisters. Specifically a melopsittacus undulatus, or Australian parakeet. Shouldn't I remove it first?"
Dan almost chuckled as he saw Rosan's disappointed face. Sorova smiled. "Why do you ask? It's just a bird."
"Unless my priorities are renumerated either by my command officer or by extreme circumstances, one of my primary functions is to preserve life. Destroying a canister with a lifeform aboard violates that initiative."
Sorova nodded. "Well answered. The bird is actually in a cage. Please transport them both to the botany lab in the Echelon, then continue with the test."
After a few moments of silence, Pathfinder announced. "Lifeform transported." There was another pause. "Admiral Sorova," he began slowly, "I count sixteen canisters in close proximity. Did you intend for me to selectively leave one alone, or did you misspeak?"
Sorova smiled, then looked wryly at Brent. "Assume communications between us has been cut off. You'll have to use your best judgement."
"Understood, Admiral," Pathfinder replied. Within moments, small pulses of purple energy raced from the rings of the Pathfinder, quickly destroying fifteen canisters.
Sorova looked at the computer panel floating in air in front of her. "You only destroyed fifteen targets, Pathfinder. Why did you leave one?"
"Upon further examination, I discovered one of the canisters had a United Federation of Planets logo painted on it. Since it was different from the rest and my orders were to destroy fifteen canisters, I left that one alone."
"Perfect," Sorova replied with a smile.
Communications were suddenly interrupted with the klaxons of a red alert. An announcement came over the comm net. "Mayday! Mayday! This is Ross Tannen of the Percival. We're under attack! A Kazon battlecruiser just... out of... firing at us! Main systems... someone please help!"
Sorova tapped a button on her virtual panel. "Captain Rittenhour, where is that ship?" She asked quickly.
Another voice came across the communications system. "Admiral, the Percival is fifteen lightyears away, bearing one one two mark one eight nine. I was just about to jump over when..."
"Understood, Captain," Sorova interrupted. "Hold your position and await my orders. Admiral Sorova out." She shot a quick, knowing glance at Brent. "Pathfinder, intercept that Kazon ship and rescue the people on that transport."
"Understood, Admiral," Pathfinder replied. "Setting course." Moments later, the blue colored, inlaid oval deflector array set into the lower portion of the front fuselage began to glow. Quickly, a large, black disk formed just in front of the Pathfinder. It grew rapidly in size until it was just larger than the width of the ship. As the ship moved into the disk, the disk collapsed.'
Brent looked to Sorova. "I take it this is another test?"
Sorova nodded. "How much of a test will depend on whether you made the changes to the Pathfinder's sensor systems I asked you to make."
Brent nodded. "I had my team make the changes. It only has minimal sensors."
Sorova returned the nod. "Good."
Admiral Lott turned to face Sorova. "Shall I have the Echelon follow now?"
Sorova shook her head. "We'll need to wait until the last possible moment. Pathfinder has to figure this out on its own."
"Well," Admiral Lahey shrugged, "we could vi into the Pathfinder. The entire virtual bridge has been set up."
Sorova smiled. "Excellent. Make it so."
Three minutes later, the Pathfinder broke from slipstream. Brent quickly established communications with it using the translucent panel in front of him. There was a moment of blackness, as was customary with virtual interfaces. When the blackness faded to light, Brent and the seven committee members found themselves standing in a small, circular room dominated by a viewscreen in front of them. The room was bathed in a dull, pulsing, red, ambient light from the ceiling. The viewscreen showed a large, brown angular vessel on the right side firing multiple red beams on a smaller, blue, rounded vessel on the left side. From the look on the screen, it looked as though the Pathfinder intended to fly in between them.
Admiral Alare looked around, unimpressed. "A little spartan, don't you think?" His antennae twitched.
Brent shrugged. "Well, we weren't concerned with aesthetics as much as functionality. All the normal bridge stations can be summoned. The main reason for creating this..."
He was interrupted by the voice of the Pathfinder. "Attention Kazon vessel, you are firing on a Starfleet transport vessel. Cease immediately, or you will be fired on."
"Pathfinder, tactical display," Brent announced to the air. A few meters to his right, a translucent blue panel appeared in the air just below his chin. The group gathered around as they watched the Pathfinder considered its enemy. It had correctly identified the Kazon ship as a Dominator class cruiser. It also had highlighted a number of vulnerable areas of the Kazon ship under the nose, near the port-side midsection, and to the rear above the engines. Specifics regarding the Dominator class had also appeared listing maximum speed, weapon compliment, typical crew contingent, normal power output and maneuvering capabilities. A smaller screen to the right indicated the Kazon vessel was firing on Pathfinder. The Pathfinder began targeting areas of the Kazon ship.
"Admirals," the voice of the Pathfinder began, "while I am appreciative to have your presence during this incident, I am confused. I do not see your vessel on my sensors." The display showed the Pathfinder's weapons firing. The group looked at the viewscreen, which had its image looking squarely are the enormous shape of the Kazon cruiser. Several blurry pulses of purple light flew from the bottom of the screen into the Kazon ship. The tactical display showed the Kazon shields quickly collapsing. It's forward weapons systems took damage first, followed immediately by the main engines. Pathfinder then ceased firing.
"Pathfinder," Admiral Sorova began, "we are incapable of helping at this moment. I'm afraid you're on your own for the time being."
"Pathfinder, sensor display," Brent announced. Just to his left, another blue panel appeared in air. After putting his fingers to a handful of floating buttons, the group looked at a lifesign readout of the Kazon ship. It reported three life signs out of two thousand fifty as terminated. The image quickly shifted to look at the Starfleet transport. A number of areas on the three dimensional image began to glow red. The transport had been significantly damaged structurally.
"This is unfortunate," Pathfinder commented. "The transport is losing structural integrity. I read fifty-six people still alive on the vessel, but I can only hold forty in my living area. When can the USS Echelon arrive?"
"It can't." Sorova announced flatly.
"I see," Pathfinder replied hesitantly. "This is one of my tests, correct?"
Sorova smiled. "Yes, it is... but the task still remains. You need to get those people off the ship before they die."
"I have an idea." The sensor screen showed a transport beam sending two large cylinders into space. "I have transported two of my three storage containers into space. If I flood the area with breathable air, that will be more than sufficient for the survivors." The sensor screen then changed to the interior of the Pathfinder. The now empty storage area first filled with six lifesigns, then twelve, then eighteen, then twenty-four, then thirty, then thirty-six, then forty-two, then forty-eight, then fifty-four, and finally fifty-six. Seconds later , the transport collapsed. "All crewmembers are safely aboard, however I register four crew as having injuries. I am laying in a course for the USS Echelon. You should disconnect your virtual interface session."
"Hold your position, Pathfinder," Admiral Sorova announced. "Don't you have an emergency medical hologram aboard?"
"No, Sir," Pathfinder answered, "I do not."
Sorova turned to Brent Lahey. "You'll need to add that to your to-do list. If this ship is going to carry passengers or provide rescue services of any kind, it'll need one."
Brent almost jumped with glee. To him, that was like giving the greenlight to the whole project. "Yes, Sir!" he nearly yelled.
"I still have injured aboard, Admiral," Pathfinder repeated. "Shall I set course for the USS Echelon? It is the nearest Starfleet location with a fully-staffed medical facility."
Sorova shook her head. "Not yet. First, destroy the Kazon ship."
There was a moment of awkward silence. Brent held his breath. Everyone else looked around curiously. "Aye, aye, Sir." Pathfinder eventually answered. The tactical display lit up various areas of the Kazon ship, mainly in engineering. On the main viewscreen, dozens of purple globes of energy flew into the helpless Kazon vessel. Moments later, it exploded in a dazzling ball of orange and yellow. "Vessel destroyed, Sir." Pathfinder announced.
"Why didn't you destroy it before, Pathfinder?" Sorova asked.
"We are no longer at war with the Kazon, Admiral." Pathfinder answered. "My priorities include preserving life, holding Federation personnel in higher regard than aggressors. Neutralizing the Kazon vessel satisfied the situation before me without compromising any of my priorities."
"Typical," the large klingon Kark grumbled.
"As for the lifeforms, you may ignore them. They're not real. They're machines set to give off false bio-readings."
"My sensors indicate otherwise," Pathfinder countered.
"That's because I was told to reconfigure your sensors," Brent offered. "We needed to limit them to keep you from deducing the ruse. This needed to be as 'real life' as possible." Brent felt genuinely upset for having helped to lie to his... project? He... it... certainly didn't seem like a project any more. He and Pathfinder had actually become friends. No doubt Pathfinder would be 'unsettled' by this. Perhaps that was meant to be a test, too.
"I see," Pathfinder said slowly. His voice actually sounded hurt.
Admiral Bryson piped up. "Don't feel badly," he said in his textbook cockney accent, "Admiral Lahey was ordered to keep it from you. It was part of the test. Actually, we had to keep part of this from him, too, so he wouldn't accidentally spill the beans."
"However, you did discover this was a test on your own. That was impressive." Sorova remarked. She was truly impressed with the Pathfinder's decision-making ability. It was, to coin a phrase from her cousins, quite logical. The SINPS system was based upon the experiences and decisions of hundreds of former starship captains. It was about time that information had been put to good use.
"Thank you for the compliment, Admiral," Pathfinder said. "And I certainly understand why the secrecy was necessary. While I must admit to being somewhat hurt by the deception from my suprior officers, if my responses to the tests before me were sufficient to move the project forward, I suppose it was worth it."
"That's the spirit," Admiral Norick chimed. "You might even forgive us one day," he added with a wink.
"I think that can be arranged," Pathfinder answered.
"Well, it made a believer out of me," said Admiral Lott. The andorian admiral shot him an evil glance.
"Let's just take the vote right here," Sorova announced. "Shall we move the Pathfinder project to the next phase? Admiral Kark, what say you?"
The klingon rolled his eyes. "I'd rather it be more aggressive. If it's going to fight my battles for me, at least be convincing. I still vote no."
Sorova turned to Dan Norick. "Admiral, what do you say?"
Dan gave a thumbs-up. "This was better than I expected. I say yes."
"Admiral Roberts, what do you say?"
Christine nodded. "This went much better than I thought it would. I say yes... definately."
Sorova turned to Miles Bryson. "And you, Admiral?"
"I'm satisfied... yes."
Sorova turned to Rosan Alare. "Admiral Alare, what say you?"
Alare scoffed. "This wasn't even remotely close to a real-world test."
Sorova raised an eyebrow. "We all agreed this was as close as we could come to testing all rudimentary judgement capabilities without putting it on the line."
"I know," Alare snapped. "I still vote no. This thing needs a LOT more testing."
"I understand," Sorova added. The vote was three to two. If Lott decided to side to caution, it would once again be up to her. "Admiral Lott, what say you?"
Quentin Lott shook his head. "Sorry, Rosan. Today sold me. I say yes."
Admiral Alare threw his hands in the air. Sorova let out a sigh of relief at not having to be the deciding vote. Brent let out a loud 'yes!'
Six of the seven admirals walked over to shake Brent's hand and congratulate him.
"Congratulations, Admiral Lahey," Pathfinder stated. "May I ask when I am to be dismantled?"
Brent shook his head, surprised at the question. "Pathfinder, the next phase of the project isn't to dismantle you. Once we fix your sensors and install the EMH, you're going to be deployed for active service!"