Project - Prometheus

Korsa and Shazza were puttering around, monitoring the time as they minded the trio plugged into the Spock. Alex, Kasumi and Natalya had plugged themselves in, going off on a mental jaunt through Alex's mind. The search for answers was a constant one, but the ones they needed lay locked in the man's mind.

Somehow, he'd been left a clue about this new energy they had access to, and it lie in his past. More specifically, a memory of his past, which involved looking through each memory one by one. Korsa hoped that they would find what they were looking for, and soon. The timer she had set to pull them out was getting low, and she was readying herself to do an emergency disconnect if necessary.

No sooner had she thought it, than a prompt came up on the screens, informing her that the link between their minds was terminated. Another prompt indicated that they were slowly waking and Korsa called out to Shazza.

"Give Kas and Nats a hand! I'll help Alex!"

"I'm on it!" Shazza replied, and she bolted to Natalya first, helping the groggy woman sit up. Once Natalya was in a good spot, she then moved over to Kasumi and slowly helped the redhead reach a sitting position. Korsa was helping Alex, who would need the most help, as it was his mind being searched, not the ladies. The big man was having some trouble sitting up but managed to do so with Korsa's help.

"You all right there, Alex? You look like you were just curb stomped or something," Korsa commented as she took in how pale he looked.

"That's... one way of... putting it," he got out. "I mean, it's not... every day that you... find out that... you were... a parent."

"Wait, what?? You're a parent? Like a dad?" Korsa asked, flattened by this revelation.

"Yeah. But... I didn't know," he wheezed.

"How did you not know?" Korsa asked.

"Because some bitch tricked his ass back on Earth!" Kasumi fumed as she stood up.

"She wasn't a bitch!" Alex growled. "Analisa was my friend!"

"Tricking you into knocking her up like that?!? That was a total bitch move!" Kasumi retorted.

"Alex, I love you, but I'm with Kas on this one. It was a total bitch move on her part," Natalya agreed.

"Thank you!" Kasumi shouted.

"But it's also obvious that she did that for a reason, as she had stated," the Trini-Rus woman went on.

"Hmph! That doesn't mean I have to like it!" Kasumi snapped.

"Didn't say that you had to. It's also obvious, from what we learned, that Analisa had some insight about what was coming," Natalya continued.

"What do you mean Nats?" Shazza wondered, beating Korsa to the question.

It was then that Natalya described what they saw, and how Analisa had roped Alex into the encounter. She went on, repeating everything that Analisa had said after the encounter was done. Though it hurt Natalya about what had happened, she didn't blame Alex for it. There was no way of knowing that Analisa was being truthful with him about her intentions.

"So, wait, hold up. You're saying that Analisa left a message for Alex, in his memories, because she saw the invasion that was coming?" Korsa asked.

"Yeah. She knew somehow, through her connection to the Aether, of the coming invasion. Also, about what would happen to Alex and how he would be here, now, in this time," Natalya explained.

"Aether?" Shazza asked.

"That's what she called the energy she used. It was exactly like Alex's was, a violet in color," Kasumi grumbled.

"It wasn't exactly violet Kas. It was more of a deeper purple, almost like a plum, rather than Alex's brighter hue," Natalya stated.

"Whatever. The fact is that he had kids with that woman!" Kasumi fumed.

"Not like I knew that I had them Kas! I had no real memory of that encounter after the fact! Also, I signed on with Project Prometheus the following week and that had been my life since," Alex growled at her. Kasumi snarled and turned, as though to walk away, but Alex caught up to her, taking her by the arm.

"Let go of me!" she cried.

"No! Not until you tell me why you're so angry with me!" Alex said, his voice stern and uncompromising.

"Because... you... she... me..." she stuttered angrily.

In a few seconds, Alex figured out why she was so upset and remedied the situation the best way he knew how. He leaned in and kissed Kasumi, letting her know where he stood as far as they were concerned. At first, she fought him, but slowly melted into the man, kissing him back. They broke apart, Kasumi looking up at him hopefully as she asked him a question.

"Me... next?" she asked tentatively.

"Ask Nats about that first, as I think she might want to be next. But that doesn't mean you won't have any from me," he told her with a smile. Kasumi smiled, nodded and kissed Alex, letting him know how much she loved him.

"We'll talk, but later Kas. What we need to focus in is getting the Darkstrider space worthy. We should head on down and check on Taal'ani's progress. With her doing the final install and calibration of the ship's systems, we should be ready to go soon," Natalya told her.

Nodding, Kasumi went with Natalya, but not before throwing Alex a look that said she was sorry. Alex blew her a kiss, letting her know that he forgave her and didn't hold it against her. He then followed the women along as they left the hospital wing, as he also wanted to check on the ships' progress for himself.

Korsa smiled at the young lovers as they left, wondering what the future held in store for them and her. She sighed, hoping that Natalya could bring Kasumi around. She knew that the odds weren't the greatest, but damn it, they had to try! Korsa turned back to Shazza and saw that her lover was scratching her head, almost as though it was itching.

"What is it Shazza?" Korsa asked.

"It is these... memories. They are right there, ready to surface, but... I am having trouble with them. Natalya saying something about the energy being called... Aether, triggered something, but... they are fragments. Small and slippery, too slippery to hold on to. I cannot make sense of it!" Shazza growled.

"We'll try looking into your mental state tomorrow and if everything lines up, we can try stepping into the Spock then. OK?" Korsa told her.

"Really?!?"

"Yes, really. You've been more than stable when out and around. That and the fact that you brushed away a near assassination attempt while keeping your head. This tells me you're more than ready to tackle your memories, so we'll give it a go," Korsa told her. Shazza jumped around for joy, happy to contribute something to the research efforts.

"But, there is one thing you should do, so I can further gauge your mental readiness," Korsa said.

"Which is?" Shazza asked, with a sense of trepidation.

"Go to the meditation sphere and take a few hours to clear your head. It will not only help with your tumultuous memories, but it will help center your mind and body," Korsa told her.

"Oh! Of course!" Shazza said, beaming before she bolted out of the hospital wing.

Korsa chuckled to herself, seeing how she was keen to please her. Maybe it was a holdover from her days in service to her Prince, but Korsa left the thought alone. With them, Shazza was happy, and the big woman could see it. What Korsa didn't know was that Shazza was far happier than she'd ever been in her life, as she had found the one thing in life that had eluded her. Family.

******************************

With the new information in hand, the trio moved along with a spring in their steps. At least now, they had some tangible leads they could chase down in their search for answers. Alex was a little flustered though, having knocked Analisa up and having no recollection of the encounter. He was also a bit worried that his descendants might not have survived the Black Crusade.

"Don't worry Alex. I'm sure they made it out," Natalya said to him, assuaging his fears as best she could.

"You really think so?" he asked.

"Once we get back to the wider galaxy, we'll do a genealogical search for them. Such searches are commonplace these days, especially among humans," Natalya told him.

"Why is that?" Kasumi wondered.

"It's mainly a way to see what sorts of flaws or defects are in your genome. It's a common practice, to be sure you have enough diversity in your bloodlines. Those with less genetic diversity are predisposed to some nasty conditions," Natalya explained.

"Like cancer? I thought such a thing would have been eradicated by now," Alex stated.

"It has been, mostly, but there are still some aspects of it that surface here and there. Most diseases are no longer the silent boogeyman threatening to cut a good life short. But there are still those who have the genes and pass them on to their kids. Most wealthy families use them when selecting anyone to inherit their legacy, which to me is bullshit. If love is there, then that person is your life, plain and simple," Natalya continued.

"Sounds to me like some people still fail to think so," Kasumi growled.

"Yeah. But as I said, it's also to spot anything nasty that could form and minimize its effects. There's still a lot that hasn't been eradicated yet, so humanity makes do with what we can. At least until new breakthroughs can be discovered and applied. But we will find your descendants, Alex. I'm certain of it," Natalya stated.

"I like your optimism, Nats. It's... infectious," Kasumi said with a smile.

"Like our dashing captain once said, 'What else am I going to do? Throw my hands up in the air and say, oh shit, we're going to die?'" Natalya asked.

This earned a solid guffaw from Kasumi, who keeled over laughing. Natalya giggled as she helped her friend and lover up, as the group headed down to where the Darkstrider was being constructed. Using the monorail system, it didn't take them long to get there and when they finally entered the bay, what greeted them was nothing short of amazing.

The Darkstrider was nearly fully rebuilt, but it was no longer the clunky freighter that it had been. What stood in its place was a sleek and gorgeous piece of machinery, one that had everyone smiling. Gone were the clunky and blocky bulkheads that had from most of the ship, replaced by smooth planes and angles.

It wasn't just beautiful to look at, but dangerous. The trio knew full well the weapon compliment that it carried, which was enough firepower to take on a heavy cruiser. Though they earnestly hoped that wouldn't be the case when they were finally out and about in the galaxy. The worker drones that had been assembling the ship were now mostly idle, waiting on certain crew members to show up and complete their work.

"I'm just... wow! I barely recognize our ship!" Natalya commented, awe tinging her voice.

"It looks a lot more than that old clunky freighter that it used to be," Kasumi said, smiling at the ship that lay in front of them.

"It may have been clunky, but it was a damn tank. More than once it was the thick bulkheads that saved our hides from being blown into scrap," Natalya stated.

"And now, you have a battle ready frigate, which will beat down any ship in its class and still walk away intact," Alex stated as he picked up a nearby tablet from a workbench.

He cycled through the various improvements that had been made and smiled. He was glad to see that Inari had taken the initiative and continued improving upon the design. It had all the weapons and technical upgrades he had slotted for it, and more. The docked Banshee fighter had been upgraded as well, allowing for more than what it could do previously.

Advanced maneuverability, improved weapons, thicker armor plating, upgraded shields, Inari had rebuilt the whole fighter. A frigate with an already docked fighter as part of the ship itself wasn't an unseen design, but it wasn't commonplace either. If, more like when they would engage in combat, it would be an advantage that potential enemies wouldn't see coming.

Alex scrolled back to the Darkstrider itself, going over the list once more. He saw that the stealth drive had been upgraded beyond what Natalya had built. Basic tests were showing great promise in how efficient it would be. If he was reading the technical specs of it right, the heat and electronic emissions would be below five percent! Such low levels of emissions would render them virtually invisible to an enemy's radar!

"Impressed, Commodore?" Natalya asked sweetly. Alex turned his head to look down at her and nodded, a big grin plastered onto his face.

"How did you do it?" he asked.

"Do what?" Nats queried.

"Get the emissions down below five percent? Even in the days of the Human Systems Alliance, getting them that low was a pipe dream!" he breathed.

"Wait, they're that low?" Kasumi asked, her head whipping about.

"Here, see for yourself," Alex said, extending the tablet to her. The redhead took it and looked it over, her eyes widening at the results.

"OK, please tell us how you did this!" Kasumi enthused, wanting to know how it worked.

"I won't bore you both with the whole technobabble part of it, but I will break it down as simply as I can," she started, before launching into it.

"Basically, there is an insulated pipe system that runs the length of the ship where the heat emissions are contained. They are pushed along with a complex series of fans within it, forcing the heat to be evenly dispersed through the system. There are also intakes that allow the cold vacuum of space to be brought in to help the system stay cool. With me so far?" Natalya asked. Both Alex and Kasumi nodded before she continued.

"There is also reflective inner paneling spread along the entire ship which reflects the electronic emissions. Any heat and radiation from these emissions is sucked into the pipe system and funneled along with the rest of the heat. Eventually, the heat buildup will become too much and it will need to be vented. But by that time, we would already be in and out of wherever we need to be, and no one would be the wiser," Natalya finished.

"How much time would we have before the heat needs to be vented?" Kasumi wondered.

"Early projections put it at around six, maybe seven hours? It could go down to five, but that's the lowest it would go," the dark-skinned woman replied.

"Five hours of pure stealth? Where no one could detect us?? That's one hell of an advantage!" Alex grinned.

"I thought so. Still working on improving it further but will take some time working with Jaesa and maybe a few other engineers to make it happen," Natalya groused.

"Either way, this is an amazing piece of work Nats! This will definitely make things easier when moving around the galaxy!" Kasumi smiled as she hugged her friend.

"It's not just the stealth drive that has me impressed Nats, but the Drone Fighters you've cooked up as well," Alex stated as he looked at the recesses where they would be stowed.

"Ah. Well, that was Inari's idea, I just helped with the physics and logistics of making them work," she replied.

"How do they work, just out of curiosity?" Kasumi wondered.

"Well, they fold up and sit into these recesses here, latched to the ship until activated. Once they are powered up, they detach and open into their full form. They're also much smaller than most fighters, requiring much less in the manner of hardware, since they're drones," Natalya said.

"With Jaesa's help and Inari's insights about combat, we've written a flight program that the drones will operate on. The program is a learning program. So, any mistakes or errors made by either the drone or enemies is recorded, catalogued and analyzed. Once a full and proper combat analysis is finished, the subsequent improvements to the program are uploaded and adapted into it," Natalya finished.

"Almost sounds like it's an AI of sorts," Alex commented.

"Almost, but not quite. It's primarily a VI program, with additional improvements, so we don't get bogged down with old tactics," Natalya explained.

"So, they are controlled entirely by this VI program?" Kasumi asked.

"They can be, but there are also four combat pods placed aboard the ship, one for each drone. So, if we need or want to, we can have anyone step into one of the pods and take control of the drone. Much like piloting it via a remote," Natalya said.

"Ah! That's something that could prove useful! I'm guessing that Inari took that idea from the pods we have aboard the Perseus?" Alex wondered.

"She did! Thought it was a brilliant idea, and we also worked with Jaesa to strengthen the signal, so with would be resistant to any form of hacking. But before we can test that out, we will have to test the Darkstrider first before we see any concrete results," Natalya went on.

"Speaking of which, how long will it be before the Darkstrider is ready for final testing?" Alex asked.

"Well, we're still waiting on Talon to come back and give the computer systems a final check over, to be sure they are up to her standards. She a bit of a perfectionist and wants to be certain that everything has been done right," Natalya laughed.

"I'm sure she does!" Alex chuckled. "What of Inari? What does she say about this?"

"She's just waiting on Taal'ani to do her checks and they're ready to go! Her and Priya are chomping at the bit to test this thing out!" Natalya told him.

"Well then, let's see about getting them up here then, shall we?"

******************************

Jaesa was sitting there, speaking with Ylena for the better part of a few hours. The Artucian VI was a tough nut to crack, but after much convincing and cajoling, she had agreed to a sharing of information. The moment the gates to the Artucian Ark's systems were opened, Jaesa was flooded by the sheer volume of information it contained! There was almost too much for even her to absorb, but she managed it.

As Ylena had done this in good faith, Jaesa upheld her end of the bargain and allowed Ylena access to the Perseus' files and systems. They had spent hours going back and forth, comparing notes between the Artucian people and Humanity. Much of what the Artucian had learned and known from before the exodus was on par with what Humanity knew. In some fields, the Artucian knew more than humans did.

All of this new information excited Jaesa, as she was going over everything with a fine-tooth comb. The only thing that she was finding a lack of was information concerning the Aether. She had found several references to the 'Lifeblood' but ran into dead ends soon afterwards. Frustrated, she turned her attention back to the Artucian AI, a single question on her mind.

"Ylena, why am I finding only references to the Aether or, the 'Lifeblood' as it is called?"

"Sadly, most information about the Lifeblood or 'Aether' was held aboard the third Ark when the Artucian fled their homeworld," Ylena responded.

"Wait, there were three Arks? Not just one??" Jaesa wondered, surprised.

"Yes. The Light Eaters gave pursuit when we fled, looking to end the existence of all Artucian. So, we diverged, each one taking a separate path. The second Ark made the jump to hyperspace before the Light Eaters found us. The third one was not so lucky, as they destroyed before they could make their jump," Ylena explained.

"How is it that this Ark made it?" Jaesa asked.

"We were far enough away where their weapons could not reach us. We had to make multiple jumps to throw them off, until we arrived here, on Talemkha," Ylena finished.

Jaesa nodded, but then went through the archive of files Ylena had given her, looking for any information to correlate this. The AI eventually located the pertinent files and saw what had happened, via the video logs that were stored there. She reviewed the files several times to be sure of their veracity and found no indication of doctored footage. Even though Jaesa trusted the AI, she still did as protocol dictated, to be sure of the truth.