"It's a scout ship." he replied with a shake of the head, "Very advanced, I agree, but still just a ship."
"Just a ship." laughed Maulik but didn't push the issue, his crew couldn't understand the bond that was growing between Kressa and himself.
"From what I have learned about the Diurians I'm relieved I have her with me," he thought, because the history between the Watu and the Diurians was troubled to say the least and he was certain that his welcome would not be warm. "I just hope she's as good as she claims to be."
***
"It is vital to my mission for the Federation to practice with Kressa." he had told Relik in defence of his eagerness to rush down to Hold 32 the second 7 had come to a stand still in high orbit of a giant, but dead planet. "Dead because of the harvesters" he reminded himself, he remembered the same planet teeming with life only ninety years before. There had been nothing above L3, but the now barren world had been in it's infancy, who knew where evolution would have taken those humble organisms?
"Sad, but not my main concern today." he grinned as he stepped off the grav-lift and fought the urge to run.
Jumping into the seat he placed his finger automatically on the bright blue touch panel and instantly felt Kressa's excitement.
"Ready when you are." he laughed as the seat quickly solidified cushioning him securely.
"I will be as soon as you open the Hold doors." she laughed in return. A rapid blink and shimmer on his mirror membrane, and the doors slid open with a rush of atmosphere and deep metallic clanging, the shields flickered across the growing opening and arrested the rush of vital methane that was venting into space.
"What do I do?" he questioned and heard a deep and throaty purr.
"Nothing." she sighed, "Just hang on tight." The interior cockpit lighting dimmed as the reactor in the rear began to hum as it built power. Suddenly Maulik understood why the seat moulded so completely around his body as Kressa shot forward through the still opening doors and in a split second jinked a 90° turn that crushed him into the cushioning and made his head spin.
"By the Gods." he exclaimed in awe.
"You've not seen anything yet." she purred and with a burst of acceleration that crammed him down further into his seat and blurred his vision she leapt instantly past the speed of light.
"Where shall we go?" the delight clear in her voice.
"Anywhere you want." he grinned as his body settled into the acceleration. Suddenly a star chart appeared in his mind.
"Pick one." she offered.
"Do we have enough fuel?" he asked with concern, he recognised the chart and all of the systems were many hours distant.
"I make my own," she laughed, "So don't worry about that, now choose your star."
Maulik selected at random and braced himself, Kressa was having fun after being idle for so long, she had also determined to show him her full capabilities and he knew the ride was going to be interesting.
"OK, that's good," she signalled, "Now prepare yourself for the ride of a lifetime." and as the words entered his mind she accelerated.
That was a moment in his life that Maulik would never forget, he also understood that he would never let Kressa go, he wasn't sure if Go'an would want her back after the mission or not, but at that moment he knew he wouldn't let her go regardless of the consequences.
"She is your ship now." answered Go'an as he entered Maulik's mind uninvited.
"Do I ever have a thought that you don't monitor?" he snapped feeling more violated that usual.
"I do give you some privacy... occasionally," chuckled the Chancellor, "But that was a question that I thought I should answer directly. For some strange reason which I admit I do not fully understand this Kressa unit appears to have developed a very deep bond with you, sometimes it happens that way, and in such cases it is best not to break that bond, it is distressing for both ship and pilot."
For the first time since their introduction Maulik felt a genuine gratitude towards the Chancellor.
"You do not have to thank me, thank Kressa." replied Go'an as he picked up Maulik's emotion, "look after her, and she will look after you."
"Where next?" purred Kressa as she decelerated and hung in the gravity of a small moon.
"You can't be serious," gasped Maulik as he stared through the front screen at the green and blue globe that filled his sight, "It can't be?"
The throaty purring returned and he felt a wave of pride welling up from within the living ship around him, "It would have taken your harvester three hours to arrive," she chuckled, "It took me six minutes... I told you I was fast."
Maulik's stunned silence spoke volumes.
"Well, I shall take that as a compliment," she teased, "look at that asteroid," she guided his vision, "Now you see it," she laughed, "And now you don't."
Maulik barely felt the pulse as Kressa fired, yet the charge was so strong that the small asteroid disintegrated before his eyes leaving little more than a cloud of dust.
"Did you enjoy that?" he chuckled as he struggled to comprehend the power she possessed.
"Not as much as I would have if it had been moving," she laughed, "I feel like hunting."
"Well what do you suggest?" he replied, relishing the thought of experiencing her abilities matched against a live prey.
"I don't think it is a good idea to go looking for a fight," she laughed, "Just let me play for a while so that I can burn off some of this frustration, I have a feeling when we meet the Diurians I will get plenty of opportunities to hunt and fight."
Maulik smiled inside, for weeks he had felt a growing concern over the upcoming contact, yet sat inside Kressa he felt protected and invincible.
"Play Kressa," he laughed, "This is your time... have fun."
***
Over the six weeks that followed Maulik noticed a subtle change in Kressa, she purred more, her purring reminded him of the scale rattling that his lizard displayed, it was a joy the creature felt to see him, it was then that he fully understood that the brain of Kressa was animal, an L4 animal, the same level as his pet, it was the computer that boosted her intelligence and understanding, yet deep down she was an affectionate animal that drew comfort from his attentions and company.
"How good are your shields?" He questioned one day as they approached the first harvesting planet.
"Adequate," she replied dismissively, "With my agility and instincts I really don't need them," she explained, "They actually cloud my judgement a little so I don't raise them unless I have to."
"I wouldn't want to think you put yourself in any danger." he stated.
"I will never risk your safety." she replied instantly.
"That's not what I was thinking, my concern is for you, not me."
"I know Maulik," she replied quietly, "I just find it surprising that you are worried for my safety, I am after all only a ship, there are hundreds more exactly like me on Watuma."
"That is where you are wrong," he flashed her a grin, "To me you are much more that just a ship... you are my friend."
Maulik felt a welling emotion inside Kressa that shook him, the word friend had affected her deeply, and with a sense of urgency he changed the subject.
"Do you have any data for planet X7997?" A rapid stream appeared but Kressa remained silent. "We arrive tomorrow and I want to know about the atmosphere, will it be dangerous for you to enter?"
Quickly she analysed the data stream, "Maybe a small risk of hull ionisation," she stated, "But with shields on minimum that can be prevented."
"Good," he replied with enthusiasm, "Because I want to take a trip down there and watch the harvester drones in action, I also want to make a survey. I want to see for myself how the ecosystem has recovered since the last harvesting fifty years ago."
"I will enjoy that," she purred, and clung to the word friend.
***
"How is the ionisation?" Maulik requested a status report as they burst into the thick lower atmosphere.
"Zero," she chuc
kled, "But I feel like I'm looking through frosted glass."
"Seriously?"
"Don't worry." she chuckled again, "I'm joking, I can see perfectly well."
"I can see my Kressa is developing a sense of humour." he grinned, and felt the purring return.
"Now let’s start on the largest southern continent, there are five drones working there, let’s check on their progress."
It took less than a minute for Kressa to pick up the activity and they hovered above the action. Two of the small remote drones were working a grid pattern across a dry yellow brown savannah. As they passed below Maulik felt the vibration from the shock waves directed at the planet’s surface, shock waves that stunned or killed selective life in their path ready for the collectors that followed close behind.
The drones were nothing more than modified pulse cannons but rather than fire plasma they fired sound, it was a good system that worked well regardless of the world that they visited, all of the selected life forms were rendered unconscious or killed, and felt no pain.
The collectors on the other hand were a work of art, state of the art. They housed banks of bio-filters and processors, super computers that constantly evaluated the classification level of the raw protein below lying either dead or stunned, the computers were selective, all life from L2 and above was harvested, yet L1 life was never killed and only partially collected, L1 was the least appealing protein source but that was irrelevant, the continuation of the ecosystem balanced on those tiny bacteria. Maulik knew that total harvesting of L1 spelt death to the planet, those micro-organisms were the building blocks for all life, take them away completely and the food chain crumbled, vegetation perished, higher life forms starved, loss of L1 signalled the beginning of the end.
"Move in closer to the collectors." he asked and Kressa dropped almost the surface to give him the best view. Transport beams flickered across the bellies as the computers identified each creature, both above and below the surface, the bodies beamed directly into chilled storage in the vast holds.
It was an efficient system and the fully automated craft would work around the clock stripping 20% or 30% of the continent before moving on to the next target zone.
"we've seen the dead, now let's witness the living," he exclaimed, "Northern continent, Sector 8 please."
Two minutes later Maulik stared in disbelief at a wasteland, not one blade of vegetation was in evidence.
"Scan for life please Kressa." he asked with a sinking feeling.
"Sorry Maulik... 0.0%"
"The lazy fools." he shouted, "You never harvest everything... please extend your scan and let me know where life signs begin again."
A second later Kressa replied, "There is no life in the northern hemisphere."
"Yeah, I had a feeling you were going to say that." he replied with a heavy heart, "Relik." he signalled 7, "Withdraw the drones and harvesters, we're moving on."
"Please repeat." came back a confused reply.
"The northern hemisphere is stripped, dead, we can't continue the harvest."
"Understood, recalling now," it wasn't the first time Relik had received the order, but it still sickened him.
"Come on Kressa... take me back please" he asked dejectedly, greed had closed another planet to harvesting for many hundreds of years, if it managed to recover at all, but in addition to the pointless destruction Maulik knew that his trip would now be that much longer as he would have to detour to another planet to ensure he met his full quota. "How many extra months?" he asked himself.
"You could always make up some of the difference on the new world that is approved for harvesting." suggested Kressa as they burst through the upper atmosphere and back into the vacuum of space.
"How do you know about that?" he questioned.
"7's computer told me" she replied innocently, "I had to talk to someone while I was stuck in that hold" she laughed.
"So you weren't that lonely" he chuckled.
"Have you tried to joke with a computer" she replied, "I was lonely for conversation without logic and endless algorithms."
"OK, so what do you suggest?"
"Well," she purred, "If the data is correct, the planet has an infestation of L6 life-forms, far more than is realistically sustainable, if you harvest just 3,265% above quota you will meet your target and negate the need to harvest elsewhere."
"Outstanding," he declared, "I wonder if it really is that over-run, we might just be helping the ecosystem recover by pushing the quota."
"You don't need to justify yourself," she chuckled, "The last harvester here went 100% over quota, I don't think three and a quarter percent is going to make you a galactic criminal."
"I like your logic." he grinned.
"Relik," he called, "Drop a quarantine beacon, let's make sure no other crew harvests here again,""And get us ready for FTL, we leave the second the collectors are back on board."
***
"26,000 tons." announced Relik and Maulik's heart sank as he hoped that his actions hadn't started the planets gradual slide towards death.
"Master," commented Relik formally as he caught the thoughts of guilt, "I doubt very much if we have done any lasting damage, the southern continents are flourishing and with time the north will recolonise, yes it will take a very long time but that planet is far from dead, your conscience should be clear, it is the previous Master that has to pay... and," he grinned, "At least we have fresh meat on the menu tonight."
"Thank you for explaining the positives to me." laughed Maulik shaking off his darkening mood, "Something fresh will make a very pleasant change."
***
Maulik placed his fingers gently on the surface of the meat and savoured the flavour, this was a treat. For months the ships diet had consisted of reconstituted proteins, and re-cons were just not worth tasting. With any reconstituted meal flavour was a secondary issue, a quick dab of the finger to confirm the meat was safe and then it would be quickly slipped into the digestion pouch, "feeding the body not the mind" was the expression used, it was fuel and nothing more.
But at their evening meal a chorus of happy groans resounded as fingers pressed and receptors stored the memory for the duration of digestion, a feeling of satisfaction hovered in the air, and in the minds of all present.
Maulik slipped the last sliver into his pouch and sighed. Decorum had started the trend for the digestion pouch and as a Territe reached a higher status a genetic alteration could be requested, Maulik had once witnessed his "manuals" at their daily meal and the sight of their inverted stomachs protruding from their distended belly’s rapidly dissolving the reconstituted meat had disgusted him, some cultural modifications were welcome he decided and thanked his former self for going to the expense of preparing him for polite society.
His thoughts were shattered by an urgent and shrill alarm.
"Report;" he signalled to the bridge.
"Weapons lock." replied the duty officer, "Multiple unknowns."
"Shields up." he declared and raced ahead of the rest of the off duty bridge crew, many of them running clutching the remains of their meal.
"Have you identified them yet?" he called as he stepped onto the bridge and felt the shudder of an impact on the port ventral shields.
"Negative, the computer can't identify them," suddenly a thought entered his mind, "Feed the data down to Kressa" and without another word he raced to the grav-lift.
"Relik" he called as he reached the lowest deck, "Maintain shields and increase speed."
"I know them," she confirmed the second he placed his finger on the touch pad, "They are called the Su'al."
"Are they a serious threat?" he asked quickly.
"On their own, no, but they are pack hunters, usually they scout in three's, when they discover a target two will pursue and the other will signal the rest of the fleet, a fleet can number in the hundreds... then they become a very serious threat, they will bombard your shields and drain your energy until you are powerless to resist."
"We can out run them." replied Maulik with confidence.
Kressa disagreed, "They are a primitive race, but their ships are fast... much faster than 7... let me out Maulik," she pleaded, "We have to neutralise the scout that has gone to signal the fleet, facing that many combined, I'm not sure even I can handle them all."
"Relik... assemble the gunnery crews and drop out of FTL, all available power to be diverted to the shields, Kressa and I will handle this, she will send you all the tactical data on the Su'al she has now, prepare a defence strategy in case we don't make it back."
"Understood," replied Relik, "And may the Gods be with you... both of you." he added privately making Maulik smile, he was beginning to accept Kressa for what she actually was, rather than what he perceived she was.
"FTL disengaged," she growled, "Get the hold doors open Maulik," he felt her tension and for the first time he felt raw primal aggression, "Quickly." she urged.
The ship rocked violently as a missile jinked through the gunnery fire and was absorbed by the shields extracting a heavy price on the reserves, Kressa growled again and Maulik heard her reactor straining under her impatience for the slowly sliding Hold doors, "That's enough." she cried and shot through the opening with just fractions to spare on either side.
"Hunt down the ship heading for the fleet." Maulik ordered.
"Leave me alone," she growled assertively in reply, "I know what I'm doing."
Maulik sat in stunned silence for a moment before attempting to reply, "Do not interfere." she warned him as she bore down on the lead fighter firing a rapid pulse before sliding sideways to avoid the debris of her first kill.
"Yesssssss." she roared and scorched onto the tail of the remaining fighter as it tried to run.
"Fight me coward." she screamed, and with a gut wrenching swoop she unloaded another pulse of energy at point blank range, accelerating through the explosion before it could reach her unshielded hull. "Now I feel alive," she purred with satisfaction as she plotted an intercept course with the remaining fighter, "Hang on Maulik," she chuckled before lurching forward in pursuit, "Thirty seconds." she forecast and rapidly scanned ahead. "Oh my" she chuckled, "He has found some friends."