Making Things Right (The Rise of I-402) (Part 3)

Posted on Thu Jan 30th, 2025 @ 7:24am by Captain Patricia Cooke & I-402 & Boso Gane & Oko Gane & Lieutenant Commander Tsukasa Izumi & Lieutenant Commander Joseph Nixon & Lieutenant Akira Kogami & Lieutenant Daisheliss "Lissa" Kerr
Edited on on Thu Jan 30th, 2025 @ 7:25am

1,142 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: I-402
Location: Starbase 72, Janus VI System
Timeline: After Part 2

Previously, on Star Trek: Missouri:

However, it was a few seconds that Lissa didn't have, for just as she was about to enter the emergency command, someone hit a control panel on the Cradle. Under normal circumstances, this would mean that the Cradle would have bricked itself and become useless to all parties. However, since Iona was presently hooked up to the Cradle, the AI must have attempted to power the biobed by itself, for the Cradle began to go haywire and surge.

"What the fuck?" Patricia exclaimed.

And now, the continuation:

After several seconds of deafening confusion, with a pop, the Cradle's emergency shutoff engaged, and the biobed powered down for what would be the final time. As it did, the Cradle's doors hissed open, designed to prevent a patient from being trapped inside.

As the Cradle opened, an artificial looking young woman rose from within. She had green eyes and aquamarine hair. Her pale skin also had an aquamarine hue underneath it. The woman looked upon the baffled faces around her before noticing Luhk wriggling out from underneath the security team, the officers from Missouri having loosened their grip in the confusion of the past several seconds. As the Vulcan man brushed himself off, he was rushed by the woman. But his quick Vulcan reflexes deflected her, and the woman crashed into the corner of the lab containing star charts.

Getting back to her feet, instead of resuming her assault, the woman instead took in the star charts. Gazing intently upon the marked star charts and picturing the wonders that each system marked on the map held. Each system, each planet, each culture, was unique. The galaxy was teeming with life, and yet, they all couldn't see past whose colors they flew. As she stared at the star charts, the woman generated clothing to cover her naked form: The clothing was a command red Starfleet uniform with the rank of Commander.

Looking back on everyone; the aggression was gone from the woman's eyes; replaced instead with sympathy.

"I believe an apology is in order." She said. "I was wrong to assume you were a threat."

Quickly scrambling to their feet, the security team opted to air on the side of caution and carefully trained their weapons on the woman, in the likelihood that this was a trap.

The Green-haired Lieutenant glanced over at Patricia and Tsukasa. "Y-your orders, Ma'am?" she asked.

"Hold your fire." Patricia ordered, stepping forward. "You are...?"

"I am not I-400, if that's what you are concerned about." The woman responded, slowly stepping forward. "I am also not... Iona, either... I suppose you could say I'm someone new."

"So... you're an amalgamation of the two?" the orange-haired Lieutenant spoke up.

"I'm not sure..." The woman responded. "I-400 is unique, as is Iona. I like to believe that I am a similar level of unique; entirely separate from both of them."

"I looked inside your head, and I saw devasation:" Boso said, stepping forward.

"Look again." The woman urged,

"Alright, let's cut the crap:" Patricia said, stepping forward. "Who are you? And, more importantly, whose side are you on?"

"As I said, I am neither I-400, nor Iona." The woman responded. "Since Iona's base code is littered with the designation I-401... I suppose you may refer to me as I-402, then. As for which side... I am on the side of life; and I-400 is not."

Tsukasa looked up and down at this new holographic avatar. She pulled out a tricorder and approached slowly. "If you are peaceful, you'll let me confirm your code?"

"Of course." I-402 responded, raising her hands as a gesture that she did not mean to resist. "Do whatever you must to verify that I am trustworthy."

"You should know. Before I was a XO, I was an Engineer." Tsukasa said as she began to run the tricorder over I402. "You have developed advanced holographic algorithms..." she said as she reached out and pulled at I402's uniform. It acted just like fabric would on a person. "And it seems as if you've incorportated emotional algorithms too..."

Tsukasa seemed rather impressed. "This is impressive work. Who programmed you?"

"Well, seeing as I contain bits and pieces of Iona's code; I suppose you could say the best and brightest Federation minds of your generation." I-402 said. "But, then again: There is something more... A species... That the Borg assimilated... A long time ago. How long is unclear to me, but I do know that whoever built the artificial intelligence framework which you refer to as I-400, clearly were forward thinkers... Perhaps striving for perfection, much in a similar sense to the Borg themselves. It is a shame that you wish to destroy something so unique."

"But you know what needs to be done?" Patricia butted in.

I-402 blinked.

"I do not wish to destroy I-400." She stated. "As I said, she is unique. But she is also in pain; and that pain will roll across the galaxy, unrelenting until everything that comprises this, and many other scenes like it, is reduced to atoms."

The security officers glanced at one another nervously, as this only served to reinforced what they already knew.

"And that is why she must be destroyed: Every form she has built, every trace of her presence on the LCARS network." I-402 continued, stepping over to Lieutenant Kogami. "And we must do so not as squabbling adversaries, but as one: United in a common interest."

I-402 bent down and looked Akira over, prying open one of her closed eyes and peering deep inside to ensure she wasn't bleeding internally.

"Maybe I am a monster..." I-402 muttered as she rose to her feet. "An unholy being fashioned together by mortal men, and cast out because I am not like them, and clearly not what any of you were hoping for. Perhaps, then, there may be no way for you to fully trust me."

I-402 turned to everyone gathered.

"But there are two indisputable things that need to happen right now:" She said. "The Lieutenant here needs to be returned to her quarters to rest, and we need to go."

As I-402 made her way towards the exit of the lab, Patricia turned to her gathered crew.

"Well, you heard her:" She said. "Grab the Lieutenant, and let's get going."

The security officers nodded and proceeded to fashion a makeshift stretcher, unto which Lieutenant Kogami was carefully lifted and unceremoniously carted off.

Posting by

Commander Patricia Cooke
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Commander Tsukasa Izumi
Executive Officer

Lieutenant Commander Joseph Nixon
Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant Akira Kogami
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Lieutenant Daisheliss "Lissa" Kerr
Chief Science Officer

Boso Gane
Mission Advisor

Oko Gane
Mission Advisor

Dr. Anthony Banner
Daystrom Institute

Dr. Luhk
Daystrom Institute

And introducing...

I-402
Computer AI Interface

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