Eliana and Adaos proceeded to show Simone images of her wound and walk her through the treatments they’d administered, including the cleaning and tending of every injury by the man she deemed a pirate.
“Janwar’s a good guy,” her friend concluded. “He really came through for you.”
He hadn’t just come through for her.
Simone looked toward the med bay’s empty doorway.
He had saved her life.
A smile lifted the corners of her lips. “And you said he sang to me?”
Eliana winked. “In a lovely baritone voice.”
Just imagining it made Simone feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Shaking her head in bemusement, she promised to talk to Eliana again soon and headed for the cleansing unit. Though her limbs bore a hint of weakness that she found unsettling, such didn’t keep her from getting clean or donning the clothing Janwar had left her.
They fit her well, a testament to the advanced technology aliens boasted. The pile included socks, cargo pants, and a t-shirt but no bra or panties, so she used a clothing sanitizer to clean those she’d awakened in. She found her boots in Med Bay’s primary room and tugged them on, then ran her fingers through her long, loose hair to comb the tangles from it.
Silence encapsulated her.
Space can be so quiet, she marveled. Her heightened hearing magnified every sound so much that she could hear someone sneeze a few miles away, so Earth had been a noisy place for her.
She heard nothing now, however, aside from the barely audible flow of recirculated air. Was the ship stopped? The Kandovar‘s engines had generated a low rumble her mortal friends hadn’t been able to hear. But this one…
Simone didn’t hear a thing. She couldn’t even hear the low hum of voices the large crew and military garrison aboard the Kandovar had produced. It was a little unnerving, sparking an irrational fear that she was all alone again without even the computer’s voice for company.
She stepped out into an empty hallway and looked up and down it. “Hello?” Which way should she go?
“Hello.”
Simone jumped when a male voice responded. Turning in a circle, she failed to find whoever had spoken. “Who said that?”
“I did,” the male replied.
Still no sight of anyone. “And you are…?”
“The Tangata,“ he announced, his tone friendly.
“As in the ship?” Was he a computer program like Evie?
If so, he sounded more human than the one on the Kandovar. Evie had always maintained the same calm, placid tone no matter the circumstances. This guy sounded downright jovial.
“Yes,” the ship said. “But you may call me T if you’d like.”
“Is T a nickname?”
“Yes. Janwar and his crew bestowed it upon me,” he told her proudly.
She smiled. “Then it’s very nice to meet you, T. Would you please guide me to wherever Janwar is?”
“Of course. He and the others are currently sharing mid meal in the dining hall. Shall I use lights to guide you?” The overhead lights began to brighten, one after the other, heading down the corridor. “Or would you like me to slip into a maintenance bot and guide you with a physical form?”
Simone’s eyebrows rose. “Is that like an android?”
“Yes.”
“The maintenance bot!” she exclaimed. The Lasarans had mentioned androids and said some could be quite lifelike. Simone and her friends from Earth had all been eager to see one, but none had been aboard the Kandovar. Lasarans were serious about enabling everyone to play a role in their society and only used androids in disaster relief or wartime scenarios to ensure they didn’t deprive citizens of jobs.
Rhythmic thuds sounded in the distance.
Simone stared at the end of the corridor, excitement rising. I can’t believe I’m about to meet my first android! The little girl inside her practically jumped up and down with excitement.
Damn, she was glad Seth had chosen her for this fledgling trip into space. For hundreds of years, her life had read like the directions printed on a shampoo bottle: lather, rinse, and repeat. Except hers had been: hunt psychotic vampires, rest, and repeat.
Now almost everywhere she turned, she encountered something new.
Like the android currently rounding the corner.
She grinned from ear to ear.
It was everything she’d hoped it would be.
As tall as Janwar, it approached her with long, smooth strides that carried just a hint of the stiffness she’d expect from a robot. Built like a man, it boasted two arms, two legs, and broad shoulders. White metal plating comprised most of its exterior, with glimpses of silver at the neck and most of the joints. Its head was bald, its face bereft of eyebrow ridges. Though its features resembled a human male’s (a rather attractive one, she had to admit), they were frozen in a blank expression. And its eyes glowed red in their sockets.
The droid stopped in front of her. “You are smaller than I anticipated,” he said thoughtfully.
“And you are freaking awesome,“ Simone declared, wanting so badly to touch it and see if its metal casing was cold or warm, rigid or malleable.
T’s head tilted to one side. “I am uncertain of your meaning.”
“You’re beautiful!” she clarified.
“I am?” he asked, the inflection in his voice conveying surprise that his face didn’t reflect.
“Yes.”
She might have imagined it, but he seemed to stand a little taller. “I thank you for the compliment.” He motioned toward the end of the corridor. “Shall I escort you to Commander Janwar?”
“Yes, please.” Simone couldn’t help staring at him as they began to walk side-by-side. “Hey, T?”
“Yes?”
“Would it be presumptuous of me to ask if I may touch you?”
“You do not need to ask permission to touch this body. It is merely that of a maintenance bot.”
She shrugged. “Well, it’s your body right now, and I didn’t want to be rude. I don’t know the protocol because I’ve never met a robot before. You’re my first.”
“Technically, I am not a robot. I am the Tangata‘s AI program. I just inhabit this form when duty requires it.”
“You seem different, though, from the Kandovar‘s AI program. More… I don’t know… lifelike?“ She winced. “I’m sorry. Was that insulting?”
“No. I believe that was another compliment. Most Aldebarian Alliance warship AIs only carry out orders and duties assigned to them and do not stray from those parameters. I, however, am a more advanced program and have achieved sentience.”
Her eyes widened. “You can feel things? Like emotions?”
“Yes, although the most common emotions I feel are satisfaction upon executing my duties to the best of my abilities and frustration when Janwar and his men ignore my warnings and place themselves in danger. Ensuring the safety and well-being of the Tangata‘s crew is, after all, my primary directive.”
And she guessed that Janwar and his crew made a habit of flinging themselves into danger.
They turned onto another corridor. “Do you feel pain? Or pleasure?” Just how sentient was this fascinating droid?
“Not in the way I believe you mean. I cannot experience sensory input the way life forms comprised of living tissue can. If you shot this body with an O-rifle, I would register the damage but would not feel pain. If I touched your hair, I could analyze the chemicals in the cleansers you used and even sample your DNA, but I could not tell you if it was soft or coarse.” He shrugged. “Though my artificial nasal passages can draw in air and analyze every chemical or particle it carries, I cannot determine its scent.”