Cyricist001 chapter 13 . Aug 3

Any real AI can get around the three laws of robotics, a good AI is far smarter than a human.

Good chapter overall.

L4: you asked for it

Two Quarian meets two Drunk Terran in a Bar

Citadel, Tayseri ward, Krifka's Bar and Grill 2657 GS November /12/2329 AD

Jeefa'Sina Nar Veepan sighed as she sat at the bar with her friend Daro'Xen, trying to figure out what to do for her pilgrimage, Xen wanted to go into robotics, but Jeefa was more into industrial labor. So far either way they hadn't found anything, but she was not letting that keep her down, they just needed something that could dazzle a captain into allowing them on to their crew... wishing she could afford to buy one of those drink, she looked over the gathered patrons while Xen tinkered with her drone, wondering if one of them could point her in the right direction.

Scanning the room, she stopped when she spotted two humans near the back, drinking and chatting away. Seeing them jogged her memory about their species, they had functional AI that they seemed to have control over, or at least a symbiotic relationship with. For a brief moment it occurred to her that finding out how they did it, or at least joining up with them may be a good start for her pilgrimage, and with Xen here to do the programming and robotics while she did the actual construction…

Elbowing Xen and nodding at the humans, she smiled behind her mask and approached the talking humans. Xen just shook her head as she returned to tinkering, trying to integrate a phasic round generator into her drone, "Umm, hello. May I join you?"

The rougher, unshaven one of the two, looked up at her, "Dude... I think I shouldn't have smoked that stuff, I'm seeing a BDSM chick standing in front of me." He was swaying side to side in a drunken stupor.

"Dominik, that's a Quarian, they sorta need that suit to, like, live. Think of it as them quarantining themselves from, like, everything." Explained the clean shaven one, "Sorry about him he's a bit... of, like, an oddball." He offered her a seat by scooting over closer to his friend in the round booth.

"Um... No problem, I have no idea what he meant by 'BDSM' anyways, I presume it's not an insult?" She asked taking a seat.

"What? BDSM? Nah, it's, like, inappropriate. A human sexual fetish." The clean shaven one commented, adding, "I'm Petty Offizier Paren Mamikonian, and this is, like, Petty Offizier Dominik Štepán. D-don't try pronouncing his name, lot'a people get it wrong first try." It was obvious that they were both really intoxicated.

Without showing any major signs of discomfort, Jeefa smiled, "Oh, um, alright then, I'm Jeefa'Sina Nar Veepan, my friend at the bar is Daro'Xen Nar Kerah." She introduced herself and Xen, Xen just waved from over at the bar, as if somehow hearing their conversation. Xen was weird. Trying to take hold of the situation she asked, "Sorry to... uh... like, intrude, but I was wondering if you would like to explain to me how you control your AIs?"

"Yeah, I know Asimov's Three Laws and I'll tell you now they're a bunch of shit." Dominik declared, Jeefa tilted her head in confusion while Paren looked annoyed at his comrade, taking a swing of his drink from a long necked bottle.

"You'll, like, have to excuse him." Leaning forward conspiratorially, Paren explained, "He's a bit of a conspiracy theorist." Paren whispered clumsily, "The laws are, like, one of the ways we control our AI units. Without them-"

"Without them nothing, they're not in the programming at all, except as a dumb idea of what not to do. Fucking suggestions more like!" Dominik explained drunkenly, slamming his bottle down in what he thought would be angrily, but instead was so clumsy it was actually cute. Whatever they were high on, Jeefa hoped that it wasn't addictive, and not allergenic. Because she wanted some of that.

Paren rolled his eyes in what Jeefa assumed to be annoyance, "The laws are like, so simple, they're impossible not to be implemented. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given to it by human being, except, like, where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot is allowed a sense of self preservation, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. Course, like, some AIs are given more freedom on that first law than others, after all, a ship explosive decompressing means that you have to cut losses... "

Dominik took that opportunity to interject, "And good old Asimov broke the laws all the time! Hell didn't he make a concept of a fourth law, know as law zero, where all life must be protected. And, and resulted in a community of brain controlled people and animals, by an over AI called Gia- Gai- Gaia. Sounds like fuckin' Jai- GA- Jainism!" Dominik ranted as he took a hit off a smoking tube filled with something.

"Well that was like, Gaia. But that was the foundation books, and he wrote himself into a corner with that move and he knew it. And it was like the fifties or some shit, back with good ol' Heinlein, and Scott, and Peter… and Like… Shit man." Dominik clarified drunkenly.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute. Your three laws came from a work of fiction?" Jeefa asked, starting to understand what they were talking about.

"Well yea! We also got the automatic door, frickin' laser beams, the, the, the…. I'm sure we also got like, a lot more good ideas from works of fiction as well! A good idea can come from anywhere, and like, books and shit is where the ideas are implemented and envisioned, like good ol' weed!" Paren said as he took another gulp of his drink after a chuckle.

Dominik rolled his eyes, although it looked more like he made half moons, then continued, "You can say that all you want! But the rules don't work that way! Law one is already broken to shit as you said, ships have an AI core, and when a section has been breached they will close off the section to protect further loses! Law two: AI have been used against us humans in the south and north for fighting rebels and skinniest humans. Law Three: CHAS units have and will sacrifice others for the furtherment of the mission, and will do vice versa! The laws weren't made for the battlefield so they're not used in the programming at all! What PsychoWar Division tells everyone instead is to just humanize them with names and make them part of the crew and shit... you know the slogan, the Federation don't discriminate. I know it helps to breed loyalty and trust with them. It's why you won't see me bad mouthin' our cybernetic buddies! Could get an unfortunate accident with my food tray or some shit! That's how we keep control over our AI! Kindness motherfucka!"

Paren gently lolled his head in what Jeefa assumed to be him shaking his head in disapproval, "You're, like, being ridiculous man! What do you think all that stuff about the noncom AIs in the colonies following all, the like, rules and shit?"

Jeefa shook her head in confusion, starting to get a headache, "So either the laws are used, and they work, or they're not because they would cause too many processing errors?" Fuck whatever they were smoking, she didn't want it anymore. "This doesn't help me at all!" She wailed in despair.

Xen however was right behind her, having approached silently, "On the contrary Jeefa. I understood every bit. Although if my theories on what they're saying is correct, I wouldn't want to be the field test subject."

"AH! Keelah you scared me again Xen!" Jeefa looked back, cowering a bit in her seat, Paren looked at Daro'Xen curiously, before sliding an unopened beer over to the new Quarian,

"So, like, why did you want to know about AI anyways?" He asked as he took a hit on the shared smoking tube.

Jeefa looked up and was about to explain in detail the traditional pilgrimage, and how she needed to find something of worth to go back to the migrant fleet. Xen interrupted her, "Curiosity." Extending a feeding tube down to the beer, Xen examined it to make sure it was free of contaminants before taking a sip of the drink.

Paren nodded but Dominik asked suddenly, "Where did you work at before?"

"I was working on a manufacturing ship. We build a lot of the light things we need like replacement parts, third rate omni-tools, guns, ammo, you know." Jeefa said, trying not to rub elbows with Xen.

"I worked on the engine, and in the R&D labs with my father." Daro'Xen explained cooly, leaning back and puffing out her chest a bit, while resting an arm lazily over the divide of the booth.

"Huh, well I assume you know, like, a lot about how those new fangled mass drive engines work? And I assume you know how to make some of those nifty new tools that use that new element zero shit?" Paren asked, finishing off his bottle of beer, and giving a very discreet glance at Xen's puffed chest.

Daro'Xen and Jeefa both looked at each other behind their masks and then nodded, "Yeah, we do." Jeefa said shyly, intimidated by Xen's casual ingratiation of the situation.

"Well, like, SICON has been looking for willing people to join up from the Citadel. People who can like, give a basic, or hell, advanced applications on how that element zero magic goop works. And if you were to go to our embassy I'm sure they would pay you nicely for your expertise… Hell, you may, like, get citizenship even."

"I don't think I would get the money necessary to complete my pilgrimage, and I don't think citizenship would be seen as a worthy gift either." Jeefa contemplated.

"We'll like, who said anything about going back with just money or citizenship?" Paren asked, "You help us out like, good enough, and I am sure the Federation R&D would just be trippin' over their feet to gift you something good! You can be, like, the captain of your own, like, brand spankin' new cruiser when you go back to your fleet!" Jeefa didn't remember much after that, she apparently fainted at the thought of getting such a big new ship for her people. However before she fell unconscious, she heard Daro'Xen actually do a spit take.

Lord foul: ha, gotta love those quarians *holds up shotgun* and so do you….

TimedRaven: For those of you who are interested, this took me about 5 hours to edit. And in that progress I added a page and a half worth of content. Look forward to more Dutch and Armenian fun with these two as they discuss the merits of their meritocratic Militaristic system, and the alarming tendencies it can have with Fascism!

L4: *hands up* Yes... I... love... Quarians...

A Border in the making

North Terran Federation Territory, unnamed space, 2657GS May/28/2329 AD

Commander Gloria Basilio watched the space outside her ship, the Hera/Athena class armored cruiser. It had been an average patrol in the north, nothing out of the ordinary to report and rather boring. All of that combined made it a perfect day in most of their opinions. They were about to make the jump to the next planet that had just been detected on the frontier, and see if it was worth anything. It would probably be useless but you never know, she heard rumors about something big about to be revealed when she set sail two weeks ago, and she was betting it was a discovery of some kind.

Getting her mind back on the task she ordered her ship to make the jump, it was quick travel from her position only two hour away, so she took a quick catnap in the captain's chair while no one was looking. Sure it was unprofessional, but she had been with her crew for over three years at this post, and with such a boring post, she allowed for more regular rotations in the shifts of 4 hours instead of 8. And no one complained if she took a quick nap here, she just ordered the crew to wake her no matter the triviality.

She woke to find the trip was well worth it.

"Good afternoon Ma'am, we're detecting one G class planet and three moons around the local gas giants we can use with a little work." Her sensor officer reported as she looked over her computer, waking up Basilio.

"Hmmm? Oh," fully waking she rubbed the sleep from her eyes,"oh, good. Excellent work. We can always use a new world, helm take us in for a closer look. Sensors, please begin standard sweep. Gunnery, launch the spy satellite when ready. Navigation, start making logs and notes. Check to see if where we are." She ordered as she wiped the sleep from her eyes and made a much needed stretch with her arms and groaned. Looking at her timepiece it seemed the proverbial winds were in their favor, they had arrived a bit earlier than expected.

About 20 minutes later at a leisurely cruising speed, they were over the planet and it was a beautiful green and blue. Another earth like planet, though it did seem to be a bit geologically more active than they would have liked. She could see three black clouds from orbit indicating the presence of massive active volcanos.

"Looks like we're going to be preparing a report for the Federation Council. I'd like those reports in by Monday 2000 hours next week." She said as she looked upon the world from a view screen next to her chair.

"Ma'am I'm detecting an incoming object of unknown classification, entering orbit with abnormal means." her sensor officer reported.

"Orient towards the new object, start charging up the weapons, and come to a half stop." Basilio ordered, "Communications, inform crew that we are entering battle stations One Charlie, and for all unassigned crew to return to their quarters or safety rooms."

Within moments her ship had her starboard side to the incoming object, the massive double decker laser cannons revealing themselves on the side of Athena's thick armor. Small armored port holes rolling up with speed.

The Athena's over sized guns were meant to take on the massive bug colony ships, but they would most likely be devastating to any target that got in range. The only downside was she was a broadside ship making her a bigger target, not a problem in the early days of the bug war, but who knew when her class would be put out to pasture. They had some forward facing weapons, but they didn't nearly have the punch of even half a broadside.

"The object is slowing and coming into view now Captain. It appears to be a…. Junk-ship." Her helmsmen said as the flying junk heap of a vessel came into view, well it might not be junk but it sure looked ugly and rust covered. "Open a channel." Gloria ordered.

"Ah ma'am, they already have. You might want to hear this first." Her comms officer stated, a bit uneasy it seemed.

"Put it on." she confirmed.

The comms officer nodded and flicked a switch, "Terran vessel you are trespassing in Batarian Hegemony territory, state your business or leave."

A look of confusion passed around the bridge and she indicated to cut the signal, "How do they know who we are?" Her comms officer asked.

"No idea. Yeomen, run Batarian through the ship files, classified first please. We may have met the big reveal. Sensors, did we detect any signs of civilization on that planet?" Gloria asked an idea forming in the back of her mind.

"No ma'am." Her sensor officer reported.

"Alright wake up the Mobile Infantry and tell them to get ready for a drop."

"Ma'am?"

"Do you know what happens when two colonizing powers come to a new area?"

"No idea ma'am."

"Well they either act pompous and try and scare their competitors off, or they do this. Navigation, find our relative positioning double quick, I don't want to start an incident if we don't have too." She signaled the channel to be brought back up.

"Apologies we been away from Federation ports for a while now, can you explain who you are?" Basilio requested diplomatically as her navigation officer began to look very very intently at the various star charts.

"I am captain Bafin Cragdehal of the Batarian Hegemony, and this planet was claimed by us and by the authority of the citadel council we will hold it."

"I have no idea who any of those names are. I have not been briefed on you or any new neighbors, but if you would give us a few minutes we need to make sure we are still within the agreed upon bounds of our two territories." She replied affably, as she looked to her navigations officer who nodded.

"Ma'am we are on our side of the treaty line. Actually we are still very deep on our side." He reported with obvious concern. After he said that a light blinked, representing the MI were ready for a hot drop.

Basilio, in a streak of mischief reopened the line, "We have now confirmed our positioning. One more quick question; Do you have a flag down there?"

"A what?"

"I'll take that as a no." She smirked and signaled, and the under docking bays opened, the slingshot boats dropped out and headed for the surface of the planet, full of troopers. "A flag is how you know who owns something. After confirming our coordinates, it appears that we are within our legal bounds of territory. So actually, Batarian Vessel you are trespassing on Terran Federation territory, and apparently we are to search and board any vessel who has trespassed on our territory without prior permission."

"The council will never let this stand!"

"I sincerely doubt the Council will argue with a previously ratified treaty with them. We are a separate nation, they have no control over us. Now either leave or prepare to be boarded." she muted herself and kept the line open, "Send a message to SICON to get more ships out here ASAP with a quick response division."

Her comms offer nodded while her Yeomen looked up, "Ma'am is this wise? We've already had four bad first contacts."

Gloria thought about it and after skimming the classified need to know document said, "Yes. If we allow them to hold this planet they can recharge their FTL drive and actually strike into our territory. SICON's going to turn this place into a fortress."

"Let's just hope these Batarians aren't the kind of people to attack when trespassing."

North Terran Federation Territory, Unnamed world, 2657GS June/11/2329 AD

Commander Gloria Basilio paced up and down the bridge, when she had taken the planet two weeks back, she had hoped the Batarian would run back to home and leave her force in control of the planet, and at first she thought they had gone.

Then a week ago, four vessels showed up and demanded they leave the planet again. One of the vessels was as big as her own ship, and she had considered opening fire then and there, instead she simply told them to heave ho, and moved her ship into battle position and fired a warning blast over the Batarian's head. The lasers had made the enemy ships retreat to the edge of the system, where they had continued to order her to leave and gather more ships.

She should have destroyed them while they had been few in number, so she could press her advantage in surprise. But that chance was gone.

Frankly things were looking bad. If the federation didn't get something out here soon, her ship may be able to take on a dozen of the Batarians, but there were already three dozen out there. Stopping to take a deep breath, she looked out at the planet, rethinking this whole endeavour. Yeah having this planet would make sure they would have a forward base to protect their planets, but was it worth their lives and the loss of their ship not to mention possibly giving these aliens a chance to steal their tech?

She didn't think so, but she couldn't back down just yet, she represented the federation and she needed to show their resolve and strength. The Mobile Infantry on the planet below probably wouldn't give in even if she did back off, they spent the last two weeks digging in and building a fortress under a mountain. They made a killing field and and were more than willing to fertilize the ground with the enemy's blood. She was starting to regret taking on a unit that had the words "Die Well" in their mission statement, they had a tendency to be a bit suicidal.

She was roused from her thoughts when an alarm went off, the one she ordered set up if the Batarians made a move. She rushed to her seat and began taking control of the ship. She ordered her primary guns out, and started ordering the Cherenkov Drive prepped.

She had been studying the work of Professor Cherenkov and stumbled across one of his theories, that if you activated the drive for a brief moment you could create a rudimentary shield system, she dug into it and saw no one had ever tested that function, but it could work. Of course the moment the shield was up they won't be able to fire out, and they'd be burning fuel fast, and that was if she was right, if she was wrong, they could end up in a parallel universe, or inside out.

Well at least they wouldn't get her ship.

"Ma'am they are opening a channel and ordering us to leave… Again." Her comms officer reported.

"Noted." She replied blandly, looking out at the fleet. The Batarian ships did not at all look like the original junker. In fact if she had to guess, the junker was the odd man out, as most of the ships looked a lot newer and better made. And there was three dozen. Nine of which were a comparable size to her own cruiser.

Taking a moment to gather herself she opened a channel and said "This is your final warning: Leave this system, or die knowing your sacrifice was worthless."

"Terran scum, that planet is our property, and you will leave now or we will be forced to open fire on you!" The Batarian on the other side really wanted them to pull back, why was that? Were they scared?

"Just give the first punch, I'm sure your ship's hulls are barely civilian grade armor, not battle tested against Federation lasers." She replied confidently, with a smirk and defiance she really didn't feel. She could be the King Tiger, but she would die to a few dozen Shermans.

"Terran [word not found]! We are not playing around."

"Bitch, I have enough nuclear ordnance to crack a planet! And I would gladly use it on this planet if it means that you can't even use it for waste disposal." Tough words, she barely had enough nukes to inconvenience a bug nest.

"All ships destroy the Terran Vessel before it reorients-"

"Ma'am! We're picking up magnetic disturbances on our starboard side." Her sensor officer reported with an excited thrill.

"What?" She exclaimed and brought up on screen a camera onto the starboard side. "Oh and don't just sit there! Destroy those cruisers!" Looking to the starboard cameras, she saw ten federation vessels appear.

They were mostly Corvettes, though she thought she saw some of the older Valley Forge Classes in their number. But she wasn't looking at them too closely, she was too busy staring slack jawed at the structure they dragged behind them.

The ships disconnected from the 1800 meter disk, and it maneuvered revealing the disk was at the top of a 2000 meter superstructure.

"M-ma'am! That's the Fleet Battlestation Goryōkaku." Her comms officer stuttered. He never stuttered, "They've opened a channel to all ships."

"Put them on." She commanded numbly, wondering who gave authorization for one of the most destructive weapons platforms in Federations hands to be deployed.

The comms officer nodded and a moment later they heard a familiar voice, "This is Admiral Attilio Recci to the Batarian Fleet; you are in violation of federation space specified by treaty, and know it." He growled that last part out, sounding closer to an animal than a human.

"I have already sent an inquiry and have been informed you have not placed a proper colonization form with the citadel council as well as not listed a complaint. Everyone knows this is an illegal action and were trying to intimidate CommanderBasilio. Now prepare to be boarded and face criminal charges for jaywalking, loitering, and trespassing, resistance is futile."

There was a moment of silence then the Batarian ships started to reorient, "So be it. All ships I want disabling shots if you can! We shall will suffer no trespass!" Basilio knew that they wouldn't get all of them, but smiling she felt her ship rock as it obliterated a ship's engines and engineering compartment, and saw that over a dozen of the other ships were similarly disabled or destroyed.

By the end of the day, many of the ships scattered off into random vectors ten seconds later, using their own wounded comrades as shields from the laser fire as one by one their navigation computers cleared their course and they escaped. It was almost too easy, like their armor was made of paper.

"We survived." A pilot said revealing her misgivings in the situation. Gloria's thoughts mirrored the pilots, but she was still too busy wondering who the fuck the citadel council was and what had happened while she was gone.

Author note: this did not come out exactly in the order I wanted to so just know this happen around chapter 11

Timedraven117: Can you spot the Warhammer 40k reference? This one is a lot more obscure. But I'll give you all a hint, it's from the Dawn of War game.