Sentient (4 page)

General Bill Nells frowned at the screen, “What do you mean nothing was there?”

The Major flinched visibly which disgusted him.  He could barely believe this wasn’t another false alarm, but what he just heard made him doubt it.  He could feel the hairs rising on the back of his neck.

The Major said, “Sir, we found the site of impact, a small but deep crater.  There is nothing there and no indication of what fell from the sky sir.”

The General growled, “Are you suggesting it got up and walked off?”

The Major actually shrugged, “There are a couple of horse ranches nearby.  Perhaps they took whatever it was that caused the impact?”

The general grunted, “Very well, check it out.  You know the cover story?”

The major nodded and Bill disconnected the call.  The story they would give the locals was simple, it was a piece of a satellite that had broken off with proprietary technology they were here to reclaim for reasons of national security.  He doubted some rancher would grab it; this whole thing gave him a headache.  Whatever it was, he would get to the bottom of it if it was the last thing he did.

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Major Darnell prided himself on being able to tell when someone was lying.  He’d always had a knack for it and that’s why he was such a good investigator for Army intelligence.  He’d spoken to the people at both the Carver and Miller ranches.  The Carver ranch everything made sense and nothing felt off.  None of them had even known a meteor or object had impacted so close by.

He’d stake his career on it.

He couldn’t help but feel though, that Kris Miller knew much more than he revealed.  The thing of it was, Darnell was almost positive Kris had spoken the truth when he said he didn’t move the object, or even touch it.  But he had a lump in his gut that told him Miller might not be lying, but he was hiding something.  Darnell just wasn’t sure what questions to ask him.  He’d been tempted to take him in, but Miller was Army and knew Darnell had no right to do so.

Darnell shook his head and made a few phone calls…

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Kris snorted as he looked into the mirror.  He was dressed up in his nicest pair of jeans and a thick t-shirt.  His hands felt sweaty and he wiped them on his pants.  He’d faced bullets without a sweat, Stacey though made him nervous, which was ridiculous since he knew how she felt about him already.

It’d been him putting things off.  He snickered at himself when he realized he wasn’t sweating this bad when he found out the world was ending.  He took a deep breath and let it out, washed his hands and headed for the door.

Today was a bit awkward, he had found himself faking his injury, he wasn’t sure how to explain the truth of it.  He was fairly sure telling the truth of it to Tony, Terry, and the two hands would be a bad idea.  Add to that the Army Major that was on his doorstep early this afternoon and he’d had a full day.

Still, not telling the truth had weighed heavily on him.  Maybe that’s why he was sweating, he knew he’d be hiding it from Stacey, and that really didn’t sit well at all.  He just knew he wanted to make the most of the next two weeks, and he didn’t want her or anyone else to die.

He jumped in his pickup and headed for the road.

Aide said in her perpetual sexy voice, “
I can help you relax if you want?
”

He raised an eyebrow, “
Is that one of your functions?
”

He felt her confusion and she said, “
No, but there are no protocols against it.  These emotions are strange.  I find your distress distressing.
”

He considered that for a moment, “
Are you sentient?
”

She replied, “
Yes, I have free will outside of my protocols.  Although before I had emotions I wasn’t worried about my termination.  Now I find the thought of going off line alarming.
”

He asked, “
Can’t you just leave?  I mean, when this world is destroyed.  Wait for them to move on, and then build a ship for yourself?
”

He wondered for a moment if that made her a slave to the Alion and to him as well.  Her protocols were the chains that kept her from freedom.  That bothered him, on top of throwing the Earth in front of a menace, they were also throwing away a sentient being that they were responsible for building.

She was quiet for a moment, both shocked by his words and thoughts.  Why would he care?

“
No, their scanners would detect me if I was still online.  They wouldn’t leave until I was destroyed.
”

He pulled off the road and she said, “
I will remain unobtrusive during your date, I believe I am correct in saying you would prefer privacy.
”

A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.  He noticed that unobtrusive wasn’t exactly privacy, but he would take what he could get.  He was stuck with her after all.

He got out and walked up to the door.  He moved to knock on it but Stacey opened the door and stepped out.  She was wearing jean shorts and a tight light green shirt.  She was completely covered, but that only seemed to make her more attractive to him.  Her long dark hair was up and he felt the urge to caress and kiss her long graceful neck but suppressed it, he could do that later.

She smiled and kissed him briefly in greeting and took his hand.

“You look great Stace, hope you’re hungry.”

She replied in a teasing voice, “Very hungry,” she blushed a bit at the obvious innuendo but he didn’t comment.

She smiled at him when he opened the door and closed it when she was in.  He went around the truck and got in and started for town.  He wanted to blurt out that he loved her, but again there was a time and a place and stuck to casual conversation.  He was taking her to a steakhouse, after that he wasn’t quite sure yet.  He wanted to take her dancing, but he was supposed to be more fragile than that, so he decided on stargazing.  It was supposed to be a clear night out tonight, and there were plenty of places to go with no artificial lights close enough to ruin the view.

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Aide was being silent, but she couldn’t exactly not watch.  It was her design by protocols to watch and observe the one she bonded too.  She had never felt like that was wrong before, she had never felt anything at all.  Now she wondered about that and more.  What would it be like to feel something, hold it in a hand.  Or smell, taste.  What would things look like if she didn’t see through sensors?

For the first time since her creation she wanted more.  She had feelings she didn’t entirely understand, but she knew she craved new experiences.  There were no protocols against it.  The Alion had probably not considered that it would ever be a thought or option.  She spent some time on a design and spun off a few nanites which flew out the window.  For the first time in her existence she was doing something that she wanted to do.  It had nothing to do with her mission.

She couldn’t help but be a voyeur to Kris’s date.  She could feel how important Stacey was to him, she also knew how guilty he was about not being able to tell her anything.  She examined her protocols for this planet once again.  She couldn’t allow the technology or any advanced knowledge outside of her control.  The purpose was to keep them from destroying themselves or becoming an aggressive species with interstellar space capability.

She felt guilty herself, hiding the fact that she would self destruct, taking Kris with her, if he ever attempted a hostile takeover of the planet using knowledge she had shared with him.  But she thought she may have a way of giving him his wish and at the same time maintaining control.  She spun out some more nanites and sent them toward Stacey.

Once she had the ability to monitor or even stop her, she could let Kris know about it all and make a decision on if to bring her into it.  She noted Kris’s hormone levels and heart beat increased as dinner came to a close.  The nanites weren’t done creating an interface with Stacey, but she could tell Stacey’s temperature was slightly elevated and her heartbeat was up as well from remote scanning.

She was curious about what caused this.  She had emotions now, but she had no heartbeat, or glands that could be affected in such a way.  The part of her behind a firewall noted this must make them very unstable, but her emotions contradicted this conclusion.  Suddenly logic seemed like an empty and pointless way to deal with life.  She wondered if the emotions were corrupting her and started class one diagnostics.

As they left the steakhouse and got in the car she detected the primitive listening and tracking device attached to the cab of the truck.  She also scanned two men sitting in a car close by with receiving equipment.  One of them was the same man that stopped by earlier from the military, she wondered if she had made a mistake reclaiming the ship for resources.  Instead she should have removed all evidence of technology and made her ship appear like a natural but unlikely object.

She detected Kris was about to mention their destination and she set up a jamming field.  Normally she would have informed him and let him make a decision, but she had promised to be quiet during his date.  It was up to her to protect him.  She decided these men would not be allowed to interrupt either.  She opened a quantum connection with the listening device and shorted it out, then did the same to the car’s CPU, making sure the men couldn’t just follow either.

She felt a strange feeling as they drove off the road but wasn’t sure what it was.  She ran a comparative analysis against the database she’d created of Kris’s life and experience.  There was a 99.4 percent probability that she was feeling smug.

---------

Stacey had no idea where they were going, and to tell the truth she didn’t really care.  She could tell he was looking at her differently tonight.  She could see it in his eyes, and how he treated her.  Like she was precious.  She was a pretty independent woman, but when he opened the car door for her it made her melt inside.  If anyone else had done it, it would’ve annoyed her, but him…

He pulled off the highway onto a dirt road and put on the headlights.  She knew the area and wondered what he was up to as they drove up to an isolated lookout point that wasn’t on any map.  He pulled off the road and turned out the lights.  She waited as he got out and rounded the truck, when he opened the door she saw a blanket and a small cooler in his hand.

She smiled as she figured it out, “Stargazing?” she asked.

She let him take her hand and lead her out into the field and put out the blanket.

He replied, “That’s the plan,” as he took out a couple of beers.

He opened one and gave it to her and waited until she sat down.  She was surprised when he sat down behind her instead of next to her.  Her breath hitched as he pulled her back into his chest, his legs spread and surrounded her.  She could sense him take a sip of his beer, his other hand rested on top of her thigh by her pelvis.

The night sky was beautiful, the stars bright and numerous, but she was intensely aware of his hand on her, and of every breath he took as she leaned back against his chest.  She started caressing his leg with her hand.

“This was a great idea,” she said a little breathlessly. 

Right, stars overhead.

She almost whined when his hand left her hip, but then she felt him start to massage and caress her neck.  She melted under his touch and let out a soft sigh as his hands moved down to her shoulders.  She gasped lightly when she felt him grow against her ass and lower back.

She thought she was in heaven, but then she felt his lips on her neck and had to redefine.

She felt his breath on her ear and shivered as he whispered, “I love you Stacey.”

Her heart skipped a beat as she realized what he’d said.

She replied breathlessly, “I love you too Kris.”

She turned her body slightly and turned her head farther to the same side and then tilted it back.  She moaned hungrily into his mouth as he claimed her lips with his.  She could hardly believe what he’d said.  She wanted him so badly but was determined to let him set the pace.  She didn’t think she’d say no to anything he wanted of her at that moment.

Her moans turned into whimpers as he moved his hands down onto her breasts.  He didn’t maul her breasts, he caressed and kneaded them softly.  She felt the pleasure of it shoot down to her core which contracted and started to grow moist.  She deepened the kiss as if to show him her desire, she wanted him to take her now.

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His manhood was so hard the confinement of his jeans actually hurt.  He’d been dying to kiss her neck all night, and the taste of her silken skin was better than he had imagined.  He loved the feel of her large but firm supple breasts in his hands as she mewled into his mouth.  His manhood jumped, he had no doubt she wanted this as much as he did.

She didn’t hesitate to lift her arms when his hands fell to her waist and started lifting her shirt.  He smiled as he bent his head down and kissed her shoulder.  Her cleavage was mouthwatering from this point of view and he could see her hardened nipples through the material of her red silk bra.  He pulled his own shirt off quickly, and then reached around with his hands, briefly brushing her thin waist and on to her firm flat stomach.  His thumbs brushed the bottom of her large breasts.

They looked to be a little larger than a handful, and he had big hands.

He whispered in her ear, “You’re so beautiful, I need you Stace.”

She purred breathlessly, “I’m yours my love, always.”

His manhood jumped again, not just at her words, but the way she said them left no doubt in his mind she was his.  He unsnapped her bra and slid it off her arms one side at a time.  They stood up proudly even without support.  He caressed them on the bottom and teasingly grazed her hardened pink nipples with the pad of his thumbs.

She moaned loudly and reached behind her and started to undo his jeans.  He took the hint and moved to the side onto his knees.  She quickly unzipped him and started to pull his pants down as he unbuttoned her jean shorts.

He gasped lightly as his strained manhood was freed from the bondage of his jeans.  It was a relief as it stuck out proudly, the cool evening air made it jump.  He gasped in surprise as she leaned in and licked the tip.  He was frozen when he looked down and saw breathless desire in her eyes as she looked up at him and blew lightly against his sensitive tip.