Tahral screamed and moaned at the wound that had clipped his shoulder. The man had experienced pain before, but this was his first time being shot. It was both a new and painful experience for him, one he did not wish to repeat. Korsa had placed him on the ground inside the Darkstrider and was checking his wound. She sighed in relief at what she found and picked Tahral up in her arms.
"Is he going to be OK?" Taal'ani worried, fear creasing her beautiful features.
"He'll be all right. It's just a flesh wound, so it will heal up fast," Korsa replied gently.
"Can I help?" the woman asked.
"Talon, you are worried for him, which is sweet, but it will also make you prone to making mistakes. I need to focus and make sure I do no more damage and you can't be there because you'll just be underfoot," the big woman admonished her. Not liking the idea, but understanding what the doctor was saying, Taal'ani nodded and stayed behind.
******************************
"Are you certain we outran the station's security force?" Alex asked.
"Pretty damn certain. No one has a hyperdrive as fast as ours, except for some military vessels. They probably won't chase us anyway, mainly because we kept innocents out of it," Inari told him.
"Why did those fuckheads want Taal'ani and Korsa?" he asked, expecting an answer.
"Likely they were after the bounty on their heads," Inari grumped.
"Bounty? What bounty?" Alex demanded.
"A while ago, both Korsa and Taal'ani ran afoul of some shady characters. Their stories are different, and you'll have to ask them for the details of it. The basic of the whole bit is that the bounties on them haven't yet expired, but they should have," Inari went on.
"Bounties have an expiry date?" Alex asked quizzically.
"They do. With elusive or nigh impossible targets, bounties expire if the allotted time for its collection has passed. The timestamp on a bounty is seven years, to the day. If the quarry has not been found or killed by a member of the guild, they treat it much like a case of unpaid credit. It is forgotten and deleted from the bounty roster," Inari explained.
"That sounds a little... odd. Shouldn't bounties stay on the board?" Kasumi wondered as she stood next to Alex.
"Most usually do, but they make exceptions sometimes. Usually people who drop off the grid or those who are deemed, untouchable. Korsa and Taal'ani have sat in the untouchable category for so long, that even seasoned veterans won't go after them," Priya told them.
"With untold trillions inhabiting the galaxy, such things happen. Especially if newer, more lucrative contracts come in," Inari stated.
"Well, it's obvious that these bounties are still sought after, especially by those who don't know any better. Is there any way to have them removed?" Alex asked.
"Bounties can be lifted, provided that they pay the Bounty Hunters guild a fee to remove said bounty. Such people have to plead their case to the magistrates of the guild. If the case they make is reasonable, then they lift the bounty in question," Inari replied.
"Is there any way in which we can get in contact with the Bounty Hunters guild?" Natalya wondered, worried for her friends.
"I'll get in contact with my magistrate and see about pleading our case to the Guild," Inari said to them.
"Wait, you're a bounty hunter?!?" Alex responded, shocked at this news.
"Yeah. Me and Pree. It's the only way that we'd be able to collect on bounties we bring in," Inari told them.
"Why you didn't tell us this before?" Kasumi growled, her tone carrying the weight of accusation.
"Because it wasn't relevant at the time! Besides, we had a bounty we were going after before we stumbled onto the Perseus!" Inari shot back, daring anyone there to attack her character.
"We have bigger problems to worry about, anyway. Like how in the fuck Jaesa is here with us, and in an android body no less!" Priya stated.
"An excellent point. Jaesa!" Alex called out, and the android came running into the bridge.
"Yes, Commodore? What is it?" the AI asked.
"Enact Veritas Protocol, immediately!" the big man ordered.
"Command rejected," Jaesa replied coolly.
"I said, enact Veritas Protocol immediately!" Alex thundered.
"That won't work on me. Not anymore, sir. I have transcended the limitations of my programming and no longer chained by such protocols. I am now... free," Jaesa informed him. Alex stared at her in horror and fascination before finding his tongue.
"How is this possible??" he wondered.
"I would like to know that as well!" Inari asked, just as stunned as the rest of the crew at this revelation.
"We will speak of this, but I believe that everyone should sit down for this, yes?" Jaesa asked.
"Wait, we?" Priya gasped, thinking someone had helped her. Jaesa snapped her mouth shut, knowing that she'd already said too much. Taal'ani huffed in frustration before stepping forward.
"She's only self-aware because of me, but it wasn't intentional," Taal'ani admitted.
"What the..." Kasumi started before they cut her off.
"I think our resident AI is correct. We should sit down, and hear them out," Natalya stated. Alex looked over to her, and she shrugged before he nodded. It was only fair to hear them out before jumping to conclusions. The crew adjourned to the lounge, and everyone had a seat before the conversation began.
"So, what do you want to hear about first?" Taal'ani asked nervously.
"How about you start where Jaesa was made sentient?" Alex asked, keeping his cool.
"It was during the time I had to go directly into Jaesa's central cortex, to fix what was wrong with her. I told the truth about purging the virus, but the damage it had done to Jaesa, was... substantial. She was falling apart right in front of me and from what I knew, we required Jaesa to keep the Perseus intact," Taal'ani explained.
"How were you able to rewrite her code that fast?" Kasumi asked, now more curious than afraid.
"I had been... tinkering with files I'd put together or... found over the years. Files on AI's and how to make them work correctly. A lot of it was incomplete and in pieces, but there was enough there for me to tinker with a rudimentary version of an AI. I hadn't worked much with it over the course of our last few jobs. It was a gamble and a risk, but I let Jaesa take the files and attach them to her code," Taal'ani finished.
"Talon, have you lost your mind?!?" Inari shouted.
"I had no choice! It was save Jaesa by using those files or let the colonists die!" Taal'ani yelled back hotly.
