Theseus

I eagerly opened my cargo door, wondering what the hell had happened between dropping comms and the crew’s return that they somehow suddenly had a prisoner when both targets were dead. Was this the rumored separatist of the three? How was he still alive?

I shook off the confusion and turned the volume down on the intercom in my heart “Uhh, crew’s back… and they got one alive?” I asked, watching him get just as confused.

“Theseus, be on your best behavior for our new guest!” I heard Aisling declare. The man couldn’t know about me, so she couldn’t refer to me by name. I’d let it slide for now, but it didn’t feel good.

I guessed that I was playing the part of AI assistant now. I put on my best computer voice and activated the intercom to respond “Yes, Captain.”

The man was thrown unceremoniously into one of the empty crew quarter rooms. It would work as a makeshift brig. Aisling stepped away from him and slammed the door shut, leaving him to squirm for a bit as she locked it tight from the outside and then immediately walked into my heart. “At ease.” She declared with a satisfied smile.

“Look at you acting all cool.” Doc huffed, motioning her to sit down on the medical bed. She rolled her eyes and obeyed, getting herself comfortable comfortable. “Shoulder shot.” He muttered, moving over to a cabinet to grab a few supplies “You were right though, it’s just skin deep.”

She clicked open her tactical vest, setting it aside and laying on her other arm so he could get a better look “Told you. Patch me up, I need a word with our prisoner.”

“Care to explain that?” I chimed in “I thought we botched this.”

“Not sure yet. That’s why we need an interrogation. This guy was already tied up in the back room of that place. Wouldn’t make sense for him to be a hostage, they already had their leverage with the supplies. Ray’s gonna go grab that too, should get a decent finder’s fee for it. But I think this guy’s the one that broke off from them.”

“Why would they keep him alive?” Doc asked, beginning to open a bottle of alcohol over the wound.

“Don’t know.” She clenched her teeth as the wound was doused with the cleansing fluid. “I’ll give him a chance to be honest. Don’t mention that we’re taking him to his execution anywhere near him though.”

“And I guess I’m just Theseus until we get him out of here?” I asked. It felt a little bit dehumanizing, and frankly, I was already feeling pretty insecure about my status as a person after recent revelations and the damper test.

“You’re an assistant AI, yeah.” Aisling nodded “Shouldn’t take more than a few hours to get back to Luna and hand him over, and he won’t be moving from his room… you gonna be okay?”

“Yes, Captain.” I said with my best effort at a sarcastic tone, watching the captain flinch slightly as Doc wrapped a bandage over her shoulder.

She took in a deep breath and flexed her shoulder a little, satisfied with the wrap, and she stood up again, ready to move toward the door “Alright, as soon as Ray’s on board with the goods, take us off this rock. I’m going to have a word with our guest, see if I can confirm who I think he is.”

She stood up and walked back out of my heart, and I was left alone with Doc again “Well… that was certainly unexpected.” He smiled “There’s always a surprise in these missions, they never go exactly as we plan. But I suppose this is a pretty good resolution.”

Of course I had to follow along. I was just as curious about this bound bandit. Aisling opened the door again and closed it behind her, cracking her knuckles in front of her “Alright. Time to fess up.” She knelt down and ripped the gag out of his mouth, eliciting a pained groan as he tried to get feeling back into his mouth “How’s it going, Shaw?” she asked quickly.

Shaw? Wasn’t that the name of their leader? How had he ended up as the one who was tied up? That made no sense to me at all.

The man took a few deep breaths and stretched his jaw without the thin bundle of cloth blocking his words “Ow.” Was the first thing he said before he muttered “I suppose there’s no convincing you I was a hostage then. Got anything to eat? I’m starving.”

“Oh good, you can talk.” Aisling dripped sarcasm as she tossed the gag aside “Before we turn you in, I’m a little curious how you ended up in such a compromising position. Must be quite the story.”

He didn’t seem terribly scared, miming bobbing his head back and forth as if having a loud internal debate about it “Might be, but awful hard to think about it without something to chow down on.”

Aisling rolled her eyes “Theseus, tell Ray to grab a bowl for this asshole.”

She knew me better than to think I wouldn’t be listening in, I supposed “Of course, captain.” I replied over the intercom and then shifted my presence down to the mess. Ray was already cooking something in a large pan that I really wished I could smell the moment I saw it. Doc had been right, Ray was a wonderful cook. Despite the simple ingredients she worked with, her meals so far had been delicious. I dropped my computer act and spoke to her “Guess we’re feeding the prisoner.” I warned her.

“I was already counting on it, Meryll.” She said with a small smile “Prisoners are people too. Even scum like this deserve a proper last meal.”

I really couldn’t help but ascribe the term ‘gentle giant’ to Ray. She even cared for someone who we could have been in a battle against under slightly different circumstances. I felt a little bad that I probably wouldn’t have been as considerate if I was in her shoes.

I returned to the cell to see Aisling casually holding a knife in front of him as he spoke “Can you believe these fuckers? No sense of loyalty.” He scoffed “Once I learned the goods were Skull property, I told ‘em we had to bail. Instead, they turn on me and get high waiting for the hammer to come down, thinking they could win. Fucking fools got what they deserved.”

“You say that like you didn’t take the goods in the first place.” Aisling said impassionately “You’re not talking your way out of this.”

The man gave a chuckle, seeming in much better spirits than someone ought to be in his situation. “Yeah, I figured. Still, nice to get your story straight when you tried to do the right thing.”

“Being smart enough to try and save your hide after the fact doesn’t mean you did the right thing. Your boys did screw you though. Could’ve disappeared pretty easy if they didn’t think you would flip on them.”

“I’ll take my chances in a colony prison.” He sighed “Least I’ll get a chance to start over. They’re gone for good.” Aisling stared down at him silently for a moment, flipping her knife back and forth in her hand. Was she considering breaking the news to him? “What?” he asked, noting her silence.

“Nothing, just thinking.” She stood up, barely wavering as she grabbed hold of a metal bar by the door to keep her balance as we broke atmosphere. It was like she knew exactly when it would happen despite the artificial gravity keeping things steady. Was she that in-tune with the ship or was it just good timing? “We’ll be on Luna in a few hours. Sit tight, don’t try anything stupid, and we’ll get you in a nice comfy cell before morning. Theseus, if he does anything suspicious, get the core to shut off life support to this room.”

I huffed. No publicly manufactured computer would be capable of anything like that. If she wanted me to act an AI, I supposed I may as well play the part well. I put my computer voice back on “I cannot comply with that order, captain.”

Aisling flinched, looking up at my sensor array with an expression of bewildered exhaustion “And why’s that?”

“Artificial Intelligence common law one. I may not, through my direct action or inaction, knowingly bring harm to a human being.” I almost felt like I was fucking with Aisling by saying it, a mischievous smirk coming over my face as the words came out, but it was true.

“New AI?” Shaw asked, an amused tone to his voice

“Yeah, still got some Foundation code to strip out, I guess.” She muttered “Alright, well let me know if he tries to escape so ‘I’ can tell the core to make him dead.” She slammed the door to the cell shut again and started walking toward my heart with a small smile on her face “Think you’re real funny don’t you?”

“Gotta sell the bit.” I couldn’t really laugh effectively in the lubricant, but my body certainly tried. I put my AI voice back on and spoke “Computers never work how you want them to.”

She rolled her eyes and turned toward the stairs “Yeah, well, now that we’re in the air, lock-in’s over. Dry off and get your ass to the mess. You earned a good meal too out there, and I’m sure you’re getting sore.”