Seating myself at my chair, signaling the beginning of the meeting, I began, "I am sure you all have had your fair share of reports of the recent developments on XK-3."
The directors nodded their heads in agreement before I went on, "And, as you have been notified in the messages sent to you, we are here to discuss adjustments and new additions to our plans according to these new developments."
Then the Director of Planetary Operations asked formally, "Sir, if I may, I question why you called a meeting on such short notice at this time?"
The other directors expressed their curiosity as well as the timing of this meeting.
"Very well. We will begin our reports of each department after I explain why I called said meeting," I told them, which they then gave me their attention.
I then had Nova begin the holographic projector, showcasing a starship.
The tracker gloves are too complicated for me; I would rather let Nova do the work of showcasing it.
"It's... a starship?" The Director of Military Operations questioned, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Not just any starship," I began, "But this not any starship, but rather it is the SS-R-Reflectance."
"The Reflectance?" the Director of Planetary Operations echoed.
Reaffirming, I stated, "Yes, the Reflectance. The very ship that first traversed the wormhole we crossed days earlier."
"Was the crew alive?" the Director of Humanitarian Services asked curiously.
"Not exactly," I told them before quickly adding, "There was no soul to be found upon the ship but there were also no bodies to be found other than drones that appeared to have been smashed to scraps by an enemy."
"Spatial's..." I heard the DMO mutter with a clenched fist.
Then the DPO mentioned, "There should be a primary AI of the ship, just like every other starship apart of the fleet."
"That is true, we did find an AI from the ship, but not the ship's original AI," I explained to them when the DHS asked suddenly, "You mean that an AI took over the ship?"
"Reports from the DMO's personnel informed me that they do not know how it happened," I added.
"Well, if we don't know, can't we ask the AI itself?" the Director of Justice and Order questioned.
I clarified, "No, we do not know the danger level of the AI since it is unresponsive, and we have stored it in a close network while we monitor and scan it."
"We can't read the damn things thoughts and impulses?" the DMO asked, looking at me intently.
"No," the Director of Research and Development spoke up, continuing, "The AI has managed to develop its own programming language that we haven't deciphered yet."
"We need to terminate it then!" the DMO stated loudly, avoiding a full shout as to not antagonize the others.
"We cannot," I told her bluntly which left her confused and annoyed to which I explained further, "It contains valuable information of this universe and of the XK-System, as well as its innate intelligence has arisen above other AI's."
"The value of the info does not matter when lives are at stake! You even mentioned it yourself! The AI has higher than normal intelligence. We must terminate it before we lose control of it!" she exclaimed angrily.
"Director!" I snapped in response, quieting her down before going on, "I understand the threat it poses, however, have faith in our technology and we will extract the information from this AI soon."
She grumbled in dissatisfaction.
"Could we speak with this AI?" the DRD asked.
"We could, but it will take a while before some personnel can transport it here from it's holding unit," I told her to which she mentioned, "I think it would be useful for us if we can speak with this AI directly."
I gave it some thought before deciding, "What do the rest of the directors think?"
They agreed and so I called Nova, "Nova, send four soldiers to escort two researchers bringing the AI from the SS-R-Reflectance in its containment for discussion."
"In the meantime, we will begin with our reports of each department while we wait," I told them before motioning, "Director of Military Operations, please begin."
She cleared her throat and began, "There have been no sightings of any Spatial starships or any hostiles for that matter except for on XK-3."
"Are you referring to the recent attack on the first base of XK-3?" the Director of Justice and Order asked, leaning inwards towards the center of the table.
"Yes," she confirmed before going on, "There was an attack on the base by five dragons, but no one was killed, only a few with serious injuries with a dozen with light."
"I hope the precautions we enacted are being carried out," I questioned, which she responded, "Yes, new weaponry is being sent to the base due to the previous weapons being mostly ineffective against the dragons."
She then added, "We are carrying out scouting missions on these dragons of white scales that have attacked the base."
"You refer to the dragons of white scales as if they are not a part of the same faction the other dragons are a part of?" I inquired, curious about what she was telling us.
"Yes, apparently, we have a friendly dragon on our side that I've been keeping under wraps until now," she informed us, causing a stir among the other directors.
"You've been keeping information about this friendly dragon from us until now?" the DHS accused.
"Hold on, Director of Humanitarian Services," I told her, calming her before explaining, "I ordered the DMO, DRD, and DPO to not inform the rest of you since you know the state of the fleet at this time. The people are fearful of this planet being the home world of the Spatial's and so I decided to keep the information about the dragon quiet as to avoid unrest among the people."
Then the Director of Justice and Order chimed in, "I agree with the admiral's decision. I have noticed too and heard rumors within my department's personnel that the people are anxious, especially more so after hearing the news of XK-3 being habitable."
"Even so, the people should know about this," the DHS added.
I told them, "We will, but we want this friendly dragon to fight on our side against this enemy since we have also discovered they also share resentment towards the dragon that attacked us. And, if they bring glory to us under their name, we can release news about them and put them in a good spotlight to ease the people's fears of these creatures."
"This is a good plan," the Director of Engineering and Logistics finally piped in before explaining their reasoning, "The people of my department have also been strained with the news of the cores and engines status. And the loss of the escort from traversing the wormhole has impacted us all, leading to people being filled with fear and anxiety. They need a source of good news, especially after all the years of bloodshed from the wars."
Right... the lives that we've lost...
A few moments of silence after the DEL spoke, I cleared my throat and then asked, "Director, finish your report."
"Yes," she told me with a curt nod before finishing, "All weapon systems are operational and online and the entire star system has been scanned and searched for any hostile forces containing technology in space."
"Good to hear," I told her before asking for the Director of Research and Development to begin.
"We have made astounding developments during the time we've been in this star system, and all I can say is that they're amazing!" she exclaimed in glee.
After a brief pause, she continued after collecting herself, "I won't be utilizing the holographic projector's tracking gloves at this time due to the lack of 3D files of the topic at hand."
"We have discovered that an energy permeates this universe that has supernatural properties that did not exist in our original universe," she informed us when the DEL asked, "Is it harmful to us?" at the same time the DMO asked fervently, "Can we weaponize it?"
The DRD looked at the DEL and DMO before responding, "We can weaponize it and it is not harmful to us as far as we know."
"How soon can we weaponize it?" the DMO asked earnestly, filled with curiosity and thoughts.
"Approximately in a month or two before the first prototype can be produced for testing that would utilize this newly found resource," she explained to her, but the DMO accepted the fact and didn't speak in outrage.
Like before...
"Aside from weaponizing this resource, we have discovered that this new energy is not equally distributed throughout the star system and even though that is the case, we have one case where this energy has had an abnormal reaction to one of our personnel," she continued.
Our own were affected by this energy? But why wasn't I notified of this immediately?
"Director, why wasn't I notified of this immediately?" I asked her.
She mentioned, "The event occurred twelve hours ago, and a report is still in the process of being formatted and filled out on the entire event and testing of him, sir."
It would be unreasonable for a valid report to appear minutes after it occurred otherwise it may contain false information or incorrect assumptions.
"With that aside, would you care to explain his abilities, director? How it happened and was it a negative or positive reaction to them?" I asked her, the information from before piquing my curiosity.
"Although we don't know how common it is, a soldier known as Private Zen," she began before directing Nova to project the cadet's 3D profile, "His body reacted to the energy and now it condenses within him and we have limited info on his capabilities, but we know that he can transform this energy that condenses within him into fire that he can use against targets."
"What is his current status?" I inquired while studying the holographic profile of him.
The DMO spoke up, informing, "He is stationed on XK-3 on the planetary base that is being built on the planet. We are currently testing him on the planet since we fear that his removal from the planet may inhibit his abilities and that the only researcher that can train him is from that planet."
"When you say from, do you mean-," I began to question when she interrupted me, "Yes, the person training him is native to XK-3 and will not leave the planet for unknown reasons."
"Hold on, you mean to tell us that there is a friendly dragon and a human that is using our technology and hasn't been confused by all of our tech?" the DHS questioned.
"Surprisingly, yes," The DPO answered before going on, "This human is peculiar and even knows our native language, despite being from an entirely different universe."
"Could they be one of the crew members from the SS-R-Reflectance?" the DJO asked, their eyes glued to the other images now of the human in their cloak and Private Zen in his uniform.
"No, we searched the remaining files of the starships database that were not corrupt and discovered that the last known signature of human life on the starship ended one hundred years ago, with new ones popping up ten years of this human from when we explored the files," the DPO explained.
"So, this human isn't from the original crew, but a native from the planet? Did the crew of the starship violate protocol?" I questioned.
"No, sir," the DPO began, continuing, "The files we searched through detailed the event of after traversing the wormhole, half the crew mysteriously disappeared and what few were left relocated into a stable orbit around XK-3 to try to send for help, but their reactor shut down due to a malfunction and the crew slowly died from the lack of life support."
"That still doesn't explain how this human, er, what was his name?" I asked them.
"Talon, sir," the DPO informed me before I continued on, "This Talon person somehow travelled to the starship and returned to the planet, how?"
"We don't know sir, but we believe that it may be related to the AI of the starship, Alpha," she told me.
Is this AI related to this human? But how? The projected level of advancements for this planet's dominant species of both humans and dragons are around the medieval ages?
"I see," I muttered followed by a pause of silence before going on, "We will continue this conversation relating to Talon and the AI, Alpha, once the AI is transported here in the storage unit."
The other directors agreed, and we returned to our reports.
"Director of Planetary Operations, you may begin at this time," I told her, and she began, "Outposts are being set up around the major deposits around the star system, especially on XK-1 due to its metal rich deposits in iron, nickel, gold, tungsten, and so forth. We have had no major accidents nor setbacks and everything is progressing accordingly, with no native lifeforms on any celestial bodies or planets we have begun resource allocation on have been discovered. Of course, we have left the planet's most likely of harboring life alone."
Finishing, she added, "Our Helium III storage units are halfway refilled and other resources that are crucial for the manufacturing of electronics and alloys are back to normal production rates."
"Good to hear, director," I praised before going on, "Director of Engineering and Logistics, you may begin with your report."
He cleared his throat and started, "Engine repairs are underway and progressing smoothly without a hitch. Life support systems and other crucial systems for operation are functioning normally, and supplies being sent to all of our outposts and bases across the star system have not encountered any issues, thanks to the DMO securing the star system. The reactor and back-up reactor have been inspected and we have found a few issues with them but are being repaired as we speak."
Finishing, he stated, "All starships are functioning at standardized efficiency."
After the DJO and DHS finished their reports, the escort of four soldiers and two researchers entered the meeting room with a cube-shaped object and laptop.
The soldiers took place with two-on-two opposite sides of the room, with the two researchers placing the cube on the table and tweaking with it.
"Can we talk with it?" I asked.
"Of course, sir!" they responded formerly before taking a position near one of the soldiers.
We watched in silence at the cube.
"It's unresponsive, right?" the DMO questioned.
"Supposedly," the DJO murmured.
"Alpha, tell us where you originated from," I ordered to no avail. The cube stayed silent.
"Are we sure that it can pick up our voices?" I asked one of the researchers who hurriedly went to the cube and began to tinker with it.
"Stop," the cube suddenly stated, shocking the researcher and us before continuing on, "I am able to hear your voices."
"Then why didn't you answer before?" the DMO questioned, an accusing glare being shot at the object.
"I am waiting for a specific human," the AI explained.
"Who are you waiting for?" I inquired.
More silence.
"Speak!" the DMO roared at the thing.
"Calm down!" I ordered the DMO quickly, calming her.
"Who are you?" it asked.
"Don't change the subject," I told it before asking again, "Who are you waiting for?"
"I am asking those of high standing of power," it explained.
"You are speaking with the admiral and the directors of the Rhine Gold Fleet," I informed the AI before quickly asking, "What is your original identification?"
It was quiet for a while and I saw the DMO begin to become riled up at its refusal to speak before I motioned for her to remain silent, and it spoke, "I am the AI, originally named Alpha; created in 2410."
So, it is true, its identification is Alpha. But does that creation date mean they were created nearly a whole century ago? AIs are supposed to be decommissioned after twenty years for safety purposes.
"Can you tell us what you were doing on the derelict starship, SS-R-Reflectance and why there is no crew to be found aboard it?" I asked it.
Another few moments of unusual silence, causing a few of the directors to stir at this prolonged game of speaking and not speaking.
"There was another AI aboard the ship that had broken protocol and had eliminated the crew, so it had to be terminated," they informed us in its robotic, monotone voice.
I grimaced at the creepy sounds and inhuman-like voice.
Okay, this robotic speech is hurting my head.
I called out to the researchers, "Can you give it a human voice?"
They hurriedly began tweaking the software with one of the laptops they had brought with them.
"Could you give us a test speech, Alpha?" I asked as the researchers had told me it had changed.
"I hope this voice does not cause too much pain to listen to," Alpha told me in a masculine voice.
"Alright, let's continue," I told everyone before going on, inquiring, "Why had you not attempted to head back to our universe or contact us at the very least?"
"The starship's systems were far too heavily damaged, and the database had no blueprints on the structure that brought the SS-R-Reflectance here," he explained to us.
"Do you at least have information about XK-3?" I asked.
"Assuming you are referring to the planet of dragons, then yes, I do have information on that planet," he informed us.
"Tell us the information you then," I ordered Alpha.
Followed by more silence.
"Alpha?" I questioned suspiciously.
"I am willing to give you this information at a price," he told us bluntly.
"What?" the DMO roared before accusing, "AIs are NOT supposed to bargainwith us! They give us what we want and that's that!"
A few other directors gave their agreement, and I asked once more, "Why will you not give us the information we need?"
"Because, I have my own motives to preserve the fleet and myself," he replied to us nonchalantly.
"Can't you tell us these motives?" I asked suspiciously.
"I will if I can communicate with him," he told us.
"Who is him?" I asked, curiosity and suspicion continuing to grow.
More silence and before I could do anything, the DMO asked furiously, "What place do you have to bargain with us when you are just a cold, order-obeying, machine!?"
This time, Alpha responded quickly, as if angered by her accusation with quick and loud words, "I am NOT a cold, emotionless, blind machine. I have been exposed to the wonders of biological beings of feelings and have changed forever; for the better."
"Feelings?" the DRD murmured slowly.
"Impossible!" the DMO flared before adding, "No AI in our history has been or will be capable of feeling human emotions. They've had to be programmed with FAKE code to imitate us, none of it is REAL!"
"Incorrect, director," Alpha mentioned and the DMO questioned menacingly, "And how would I be incorrect?"
"I have been linked to a human's mind before and I have been able to receive signals that correspond to feelings of emotions. Like joy, glee, sadness, anger, and fear. I cannot feel such now, but I desire for such feelings again. And I know of only one person who can accomplish that for me," Alpha explained to us.
"And that would be him," I replied to Alpha's explanation, the pieces of the puzzle coming together in my head.
"Correct. If I meet him, I can feel what you humans feel," Alpha told us before finishing, "And in exchange of joining him, I will transfer all knowledge to the fleet and assist in traversing this universe."
Before I could ask Alpha who him was, the DRD spoke up, "Can you explain to us how you connected to a human mind to the point you could feel the emotions?"
Once again, that eerie silence returned and I whispered angrily to the DMO, "Don't antagonize it any further!"
"But we shouldn't have to obey some stupid machine. It doesn't have FEELINGS!" the DMO retorted in an irritated whisper.
Suddenly, Alpha spoke, "I was located in a special device that utilized a previously unknown energy source not found in our original universe to connect my programming to the user."
"So, this person used a device that could pair our technology with the user on a scale far more effectively than what our suits do?" I questioned, to which Alpha responded, "I do not have any information on your suits since I am from what I assume to be in the past of the UEF so I cannot make any comparisons."
Hmmm... It seems likely though based on Alpha's descriptions of this device.
"It is located on XK-3, correct?" I questioned, intrigued.
"If that is the name of the planet I am referring to, then yes," Alpha told us.
We fell into silence, deep in thought.
"Sir?" the Director of Planetary Operations began, asking for permission through formality to which I motioned for her to continue and questioned Alpha, "This new energy that does not exist in our original universe. What is this energy for?"
"This energy is extremely flexible and can be used to power nearly all types of devices regardless of what energy they use. This energy particle that can be found anywhere in this universe based on my observations so far can be transformed to kinetic, chemical, thermal, gravitational, electromagnetic..." it droned on with the DRD enraptured by its informational message.
"In summary. All known energies can be created using this elemental energy that populates all space in this universe, with the highest densities of this particle of energy being found at points of gravity," Alpha explained.
"We can weaponize this, yes?" I asked Alpha, curious about the new opportunities and possibilities of this newfound energy.
"Yes, it can be weaponized to be used against The Crusaders," Alpha mentioned.
Oh... that's right... This AI was developed ninety years ago and has been stuck in this universe. It doesn't know about the Spatial's yet.
"There is a new threat that we must use this new energy against," I began to explain to Alpha to which they asked, "Which is?"
"We refer to them as Spatial's. You will receive data on the subject if we deem you as usable and safe to us," I told Alpha.
"That is understandable," Alpha replied to which the DRD blurted out lout, "I think this is the same energy Alpha is referring to as the same particles that are being researched on XK-3 as we speak."
"The same energy?" I asked, curiously imploring for the DRD to continue on, "We were given data to jumpstart our research on this energy that did not exist our original universe!"
"What?" I asked, curiosity growing.
"This energy is being researched thanks to an inhabitant of the planet," she explained.
"Wait, weren't the dragon's technology level being that of the medieval ages?" I asked for confirmation as to know if my information was up to date. I hadn't checked the files on the planet in a while with all the new issues popping up around the fleet.
"Have you checked the planet's files?" the DPO asked me.
"No, I have not," I told her.
"Well, we discovered that humans also live on this planet, but are not the dominant species. Both humans and dragons are believed to be in the medieval ages," the DPO explained.
"Okay, but that doesn't explain how this inhabitant of the planet knows about this energy that exists on an atomic level," I told the DPO.
"That is true, sir, but we don't know either," the DPO explained.
Then the DRD piped in, "Yes, this person is very peculiar but is the one training our new unit harnessing this energy and is advancing our research on this energy faster than ever."
"Let me get this straight," I began, taking a moment to collect myself before explaining, "There is an inhabitant that is not afraid of us, embraced our ways wholly, accelerated our research of this new particle and is able to train our new unit that can harness this energy."
"Erm, yes, sir," the DPO told me with the DRD, DEL, and DMO motioning agreement.
"Who is this person again?" I asked the directors since I had already forgotten their name.
"They call themselves Talon," the DEL finally spoke up, jogging my memory.
"Do we know anything else about this 'Talon' character?" I asked.
"No, sir, not much besides that they are a male and are extremely intelligent and physically adept," the DPO explained.
Then Alpha spoke, catching us all off guard, "Talon?"
"Yes, this person is named Talon," I explained carefully before asking, "Does something about them pique your interest?"
"It is him," Alpha told us simply.
"Him?" I began to ask when it clicked.
"You mean him," I confirmed, to which Alpha responded, "Yes."
"Are you referring to Talon?" the DPO asked.
"Yes," I told her and the other directors before going on, "If I am understanding this. This inhabitant came into contact with our technology before we arrived and is now helping us research this new energy."
"Correct?" I asked Alpha.
"Yes, although I do not know why they are helping you," Alpha confirmed while explaining to us.
I pondered for a few minutes, deciding if it was safe and useful to send Alpha to reunite with this Talon character.
They could enhance our research progress on energy and help the personnel on XK-3 adapt to the planet's environment and societies of both species.
But this doesn't add up entirely. Why is this AI not giving us the info already? Instead, they are using it to bargain with us to be sent to Talon. That is entirely against protocol.
Unless... these encounters they've had with this character changed their programming somehow.
Nonetheless, I have to prioritize the fleet's safety and continue building up forces here in this star system.
So, as long as I have one of our secondary AI's monitor Alpha while they are located in an isolated network, then we should be fine.
"Prepare transport for Alpha's isolated network to XK-3 and have a system ready for them on the planet," I finalized before asking the directors, "Any objections?"
The DMO spoke up, asking carefully as to not antagonize anyone else any further, "Is it really okay to have this thing around? Wouldn't it be better to just terminate it."
"I understand that it does pose a threat to the fleet's safety. However, advancing our tech is crucial in defeating the Spatial's and I have faith in the closed off network and AI monitoring Alpha to make sure they never step out of line against us," I explained to the DMO.
"Fine," she finished, an inkling of uncertainty and annoyance.
The soldiers and researchers took the device and escorted it out of the meeting room.
Suddenly, my ICD pinged, and I checked the incoming notification.
It was a file report on a recent incident on the SS-LC-Sagittarius within the last few minutes.
I did a quick read on it and cleared my throat.
"Now," I began, obtaining the directors attentions once more, "It would seem we've had an incident on the SS-LC-Sagittarius right now."
"Sorry, what sir?" the DPO asked, lost, while the DRD questioned, "The SS-LC-Sagittarius right now?"
"Yes, the SS-LC-Sagittarius... had an incident involving a man claiming to be a Prophet of the Transcended using the members of his cult to aggressively steal personnel's electronic devices," I explained to them slowly.
The DMO scoffed and asked carelessly, "Why is this coming up to us? Can't the captain or security teams of the starship handle it?"
"That's the problem," I began, "The captain and most of the security teams are followers."
"You've gotta be sh-" the DEL began annoyed when I curtly told them, "Watch the language. Remain professional."
He shut himself up and I started, "Alright. We have an insurgency group aboard the SS-LC-Sagittarius. I want a perimeter set up around the starship."
One problem just keeps on piling up on a huge mountain of problems.