The last mission

StaChapter One: Directionless

Denzel watched as the entrance to the cavern began to glow with a dull, blue light. He was hungry. Well... That was an understatement. "The sun is rising soon. The guys will be up." He whispered to his partner in crime.

Brianna lay tangled in the metal emergency blankets beside him. They crinkled slightly as she moved. She ran her fingers across the freckled 'scar' on his side. "Does it hurt?"

"Owe!" Denzel said.

She jerked her hand back, then slapped him gently when she saw the evil smile on his face.

"Don't you dare do that... Chief Denzel."

"Ugh... don't remind me." Denzel rolled over and buried his head in her breasts.

She stroked his head softly. "It doesn't matter what Talson said in his death note. The boys will need it. They need something. Maybe not tucker as much as Cornelius... but they both need you to pretend to know what you're doing. Understand baby?"

He just groaned again. He knew what she meant. There had always been a Chief. Someone who ensured the protocols were adhered to. And in the absence of any real mission procedures, Chief always seemed to find a menial task to perform to keep your head out of the muck.

But... They had thrown every form of protocol, every law, and rule out the window these past few days. They had essentially been forced to go AWOL. Did they really need someone giving them orders when there wasn't even a mission anymore? Speaking of missions...

"Why were you so crazy last night?" Denzel asked casually.

"What exactly do you mean?! I think I held my shit together pretty god damn well Chief Car... oh. You mean in bed?"

"You were a fucking animal, baby."

She looked at him in genuine surprise. He watched as she blushed, her cheeks turning red as she tried to think of the words to explain.

"After that Alien monster thing injected you... you have no idea how afraid I was. And then I saw your one blue eye... and then I thought you almost killed Abel in cold blood, and I wanted... needed to be certain of it."

"Of what?" Denzel asked.

"Of you really being you! I needed to fuck your brains out. I wanted to take you where you've never been before and watch you find your way back. I wanted to see how you acted in the heat of the moment, with absolutely nothing else on your mind. I wanted to see if it was the Denzel I remembered." She stopped suddenly and looked away in embarrassment.

"Anyways you passed. Congratulations Chief." Then she changed the subject.

"Who cut your Bell Penis?" That got his attention. He jerked his head around.

"My what?"

"Your plant that got cut down. The one you were telling the Ai about yesterday."

"A Bellis Perennis??"

"Yeah... that. Was that a real story, or were you bullshitting the machine? You've never told me about it before."

"Oh." Denzel sighed in relief and settled back on his side. "It was Chief Talson who cut it actually."

"What? Why? What happened?"

Denzel paused a moment, remembering the incident.

"He barged into my room one-day several years ago and looked through my specimens. When he saw it, he forced me to tell him what it was. He asked a bunch of questions about it. Then he asked "Will it grow back?" to which I replied yes. And then I shit you not, he proceeded to clip it at the stem with his knife. The son of a gun clipped it, and then put it in his vest pocket."

Denzel paused. Thinking about it. There had been more to Chief than he ever had let on. That was apparent now. But why had he ruined his Cadets collection?

"Did he say why?" Brianna asked.

"No. He just said 'Thanks Cadet, Doc needs this for a special mission" he didn't say what kind of mission. He said I could have the next weekend off scout patrol in return. That Doc would cover for me and tell Command I had a minor, non-threatening bug. I tried to tell him I didn't care about scout patrol. But he had already cut my specimen. He just left, saying 'Don't tell anyone. That's an order, Cadet'."

"What did Doc say?" She asked.

"I asked about the specimen in a number of roundabout ways, looking for a reaction, but I'm still pretty sure he didn't know anything about it."

"That is... highly unusual..." She said.

Denzel nodded his head in agreement slowly.. It had been weird. It didn't feel like a test, but Denzel still never told anyone about it until now.

It had been the first and last time Chief had ever barged into his private quarters and done something like that. It was also the first and last seed he had been allowed to take home and keep. For himself. The poor specimen had tried to flower again 6 months later, barely, before dying. Denzel had been furious. He always wondered what Doc had needed it for, but now looking back on it, and how out of character it was... when was that? 2 cycles ago? Almost 3?

" Brianna? How long were Talson and Tinker a thing? Did she tell you?"

Brianna hesitated.

"A little under 3 cycles ago I think. Why?"

"Do you know if she said why she liked him? Did he get her a gift or something?" Denzel asked. Brianna thought for a moment.

"She said he brought her a flower. I forget what color she said it was. She never showed it off to me, just told me about it. But I forget what she called it... a hazy? A lazy? Something..."

"...A Daisy?" Denzel ventured.

"Yes. That was it. Oh my god! Chief stole your flower and gave it to his crush?! What an asshole! What a complete fucking..." Brianna yelled before she realized she was disrespecting the dead and quieted down. "...son of a gun... what a complete asshole." She finished.

Denzel laughed. He couldn't help it. "At least it wasn't for nothing."

"What?"

"Daisy. It obviously worked for Chief and helped woo Tinker. So I'm glad it wasn't for nothing. After all, I'm sure the Chief needed every ounce of help he could get."

He missed the Chief. He didn't want to think critically anymore. He wanted something to DO. Fuck. Brianna was right. Tucker and Cornelius probably felt just like this. Directionless. In purgatory. They needed to come up with a plan of action. They needed to get busy. Somehow... Maybe he should have them collect firewood today. They could experiment with how much was needed to start a rain. It would give him some time to think. Or at least to procrastinate.

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, doing a quick mental exercise in preparation for the day to come. Doc had taught him when he was very young. In his mind's eye, he erected the defenses, his values, and convictions, across his mental landscape, like battle mounts on a castle.

"Stop sighing so much. It's unbecoming of a Chief." Brianna advised loudly.

Denzel sighed anyway. Then he opened his eyes and stood up and began buckling on the trousers of his undergarments. "Where's my shirt?"

Brianna smiled mischievously as she ran her eyes across his body.

"Ruined I'm afraid. Truly unfortunate Chief Denzel."

Denzel, despite himself, smiled. This woman... She was at the center of his castle. She was the rock he built his foundation on. He thanked god silently she was ok.

"That truly is unfortunate. I'll have to borrow yours in that case Cadet. Temporarily, of course. Now hand it over." He sunk just a little bit of heated gravel into his voice. "That's an order."

She squealed and kissed him on the nose without hesitation. Maybe he could get used to this Chief thing after all...

"Mm. That's highly against protocol, Cadet. Will I have to find a punishment for you again?"

"Are you going to use the Cuffs?" She asked innocently, putting a touch of... how did she do that exactly? How could she simultaneously fit what sounded like fear, arousal, naivety, excitement, and smoky sultriness all into her voice at the same time? Maybe she just had his number...

Denzel felt his Cheeks fill with heat suddenly. What could one even say to that? He was speechless... Damn. His imagination went wild for a moment, getting the best of him.

"...What an idea..." He began before she cut him off.

"Your dirty rags are next to the water bowl." She said, dismissing him.

Having been bested in their naughty little game of one-up, he kissed her on the forehead and retreated to collect his shirt. He really couldn't think of a smooth come back anyways. She had surprised him again. Lovely woman.

Besides. He was starving.

He walked out into the larger cave network, the Screw-knife still sticking out of his trouser pocket like a makeshift holster.

He found his shirt. It really was a mess. They had cut it into half a dozen makeshift rags for the bleeding. He picked up a piece and recognized it for the Gag he had spit out yesterday. This was... no longer a shirt. Hmm... Where was the food...?

He picked up an MRE, and slurped the whole protein packet down. Phobos give him strength... His stomach growled. He was insanely hungry. He obliterated 3 more MRE's before he finally relaxed, picked up the 5th one, unclasped the straw, and carried it towards the entrance, sipping the bean and Blattodea protein juice at a more leisurely rate. Where was everyone?

He paused and picked up his compass with its mirror backside and looked at himself. His eye was still blue. It didn't seem real. It seemed... Artificial? Duh. Nanites. There had been hundreds, thousands, or millions of little robots in his body for all he knew. But were they still there? That was the question... And would Gaia really tell him if they were...

A nightmarish scenario popped into his head. He suddenly felt nauseous.

He imagined hundreds of thousands of menacing, microscopic, metal arachnids all crawling across the lining of his Iris. He imagined them clamping into the flesh of his retina with thousands of barbed legs, anchoring themselves before spreading their fanged antenna to collect and catch spare photons, relaying the information somehow to Gaia. He imagined that the Alien robot could see through him. Could see what he saw.

He put his hand to the glass for a moment... and told himself... to get. It. Together.

It was probably the 4 ½ full-size packages of army grade 'protein' soup making him Nauseous. Either way, he would need to have a sit down with Gaia today. He started mentally preparing a list of questions. Where was everyone?

He found them at the entrance. Denzel watched as Cornelius tossed his binoculars up and down absently with his right hand. Well... shit. This was it... Time to be the Chief. Whatever that meant now...

"I believe those are mine, Cornelius." They both jumped and stared at him.

"How are you so fucking quiet?!" Cornelius yelled as he almost dropped the Binoculars.

Off to a pretty good start so far... Denzel thought to himself. Remembering a number of times Talson had caught him in the act of something by sneaking around quietly. Denzel didn't answer. He just extended his hand. And with a neutral expression, he said:

"Binoculars please." Then he added a short second later, with just the right amount of suggestion in his voice to get his point across.

"Cadet."

Cornelius made no movements. His expression was unreadable.

"You're really going to assume command?" Tucker asked him.

"Are you?" Denzel replied curiously.

"...no." Tucker finally said.

"And you. Are you ready and willing to assume Command, Cornelius?" Denzel asked.

A good 5 seconds passed before Cornelius made up his mind. He looked around at the sky. He looked at his feet. He put his hands on his hips and looked at Tucker. He sighed dramatically. Then he handed Denzel the binoculars.

"That's a negative, Sir. Although it doesn't really mean anything, since we're all deserters anyways... I assume you have Brianna's vote?" He asked.

"Denzel nodded in the affirmative and raised the binoculars to his eyes. ”I agree. It doesn't mean anything anymore. Don't call me Sir. Or Chief. I won't be giving orders. I might have some helpful suggestions though. I mean, with a group this small it feels more like a cult, or a pirate gang than anything. So let's not get too serious. Please.

Now. We still don't know what our mission is... exactly... right now. We still need to talk about the Ai's sooner or later, I don’t know if you want to find a spot and hand sign it or if you trust them with everything you say out loud... But we should talk tonight or tomorrow. I want to see what Gaia's friend has to say first though."

Denzel paused.

"But that's just going to be a part of the equation. There is a lot to digest here, about our circumstances, and I don't know whether the right path is out or in. What do you guys think the main priority right now should be? Lay low? A way back home? A functional radio? A settlement of peaceful, native women? I'm open to suggestions." He heard Briannas footsteps emerging from the Cave behind him.

"How about we start with some answers, Chief." She said.

"I like that idea." Cornelius nodded in deadly approval.

"Me too." Tucker tightened his grip on his phase rifle.

Denzel looked at them. He hadn't trusted himself a moment ago, to look anyone in the eye while he made promises he couldn't keep. But finding answers... god damn did he want that as well. And plus. It may be vague, but it sounded very simple. Maybe it was something he could get behind.

He gauged the state of his 3 person team. 3 people. 3 scared, angry, increasingly desperate humans. And he had just assumed responsibility for them. Fuck. Why had he done that again? What had he been thinking? This was madness. Wasn't it?

"If you want to go your own way from here, I won't argue." He began. He thought to himself. What could 4 stranded people with no equipment or relevant training possibly do in the face of this vast military conspiracy... No... He thought. They weren't really people anymore, were they? They weren't even truly human. They never had been. But now... now they were something else entirely. Something... new. He had been procrastinating, he realized. Making sorry excuses.

Fine. Time to be Chief. It didn't look like anyone else was going to do it. Besides, he hadn't spent the last 5 minutes preparing this speech for nothing. He cleared his throat and addressed his crew.

"So we all share the same desire? We want answers?" They all nodded their heads.

More than anything.

"Then we'll go hunting for some answers, soldiers. But first, I want you all to realize one very important thing. This isn't a normal hunt. From this point on... We have no lives. We aren't 'people' anymore. We are somewhere near the top of a long list of mistakes that HUD command wanted to sweep under the proverbial rug. We have no rights. What's worse, we never did, we just didn't know it. But now... now we're something else. Something worse than clones or mistakes or abominations or deserters or traitors.

We have no country, no home, and no families. Since we're clones we'll never be able to have kids. And we'll never have duties, protocol, conventions, or allegiances to those cruel and twisted cunts on Titan ever again. We're dead to them. And that makes us free to haunt about. To go where we will and do what we want. You know what I think that makes us

"We're Ghosts. Now, since our first objective seems to be communication... to get in touch with Doc hopefully... That's what we're going to do. We're going to find one. Or were going to get the Ai's to help somehow. Or if it comes down to it, I'll build an LCD from scratch. I don't care if I have to mine the metals from this planet myself and rebuild civilization by hand, brick by brick to do it.

I don't even care if I have to hunt wild beasts for food in the pitch black of night with nothing but a sharp stick. Because what we do now, from this day onward... whatever it may be, we do for us. We answer to no one. Not anymore... Not ever again. From this point forward... We haunt what we like. We hunt what we want. Is that understood?!"

Cornelius nodded with cold determination. Tucker looked thoughtful, but he nodded his head in agreement. Brianna smiled proudly

Alright. So this was it. The beginning of the end.

He raised the binoculars up to his eyes and began giving orders. Well, more like helpful suggestions.

"Cornelius, see if Talson happened to leave any other info stashed in his Exo suit. He could have dropped a personal hard drive or something along with the mess of stuff he left. We could get lucky and find it's filled with the various specialty courses. I know it's a long shot, but he might have a copy of the Long-range Communication courses somewhere in there if he does."

Cornelius agreed with him. "That's not a bad idea... If anyone had copies of the courses, it would have been him. He knew a little bit about everything, it seemed."

"Tucker, if you happen to see any good scraps of copper wiring or quartz crystals, littered around the mining junk and machinery in there, make sure to add it to the stockpile if it looks usable.

I'm sure our Ai friend will have plans for making contact one way or another but just in case, I want to plan around him. Or it or whatever. Right now we're hunting answers. And the quickest lead we have is from Talson, on Mars. We need to make contact with Doc. Doc, and the rest of mankind. One way or another, the people deserve to know they've been lied to. That reminds me, where's Abel?"

Cornelius chuckled.

"We let him sleep in the smaller cavern by the southwest entrance. Tucker found some string and rigged a noisy booby trap to his legs while he was snoring. Never seen Tuck move so stealthily before. It should let us know when he wakes up. Or when he shifts in his sleep. Which will most likely wake him up."

"Good. As much as I hate to say this... “It felt like bile on his tongue. We may have to ask for his help with--"

Denzel paused.

"It appears our Gaia friend has come back with the company."

He lowered the binoculars from his face and handed them to Tucker.

They stood silently in the warm sun as the breeze shook the tall grass gently. They watched as not one, but two metal spheres now rolled on their spidery spokes across the landscape with impossible grace.

Tomorrow... would there be 4? And then the next day 8? And so on? Denzel shut the idea out of his head.

A good Chief wasn't supposed to be afraid.

Chapter Two: Corrupted souls

The metal spheres both pulled up to a stop a polite 10 feet away. Denzel recognized the first one from Yesterday by the painted letters and blue-tinted screen. Gaia.

The new robot was similar in shape and form, but there were fewer black zagging lines and ports that wormed across its shell. There seemed to be more spoke holes, however, and they were smaller, thinner. This new robot had a glowing, blank yellow screen. It looked... shinier, newer. More streamlined. Whereas Gaia by comparison looked older, patched up. Less sleek.

Denzel sucked on his protein juice and eyed both the metal spheres. Then he decided to take a page out of the Ai's book and greeted the newcomer exactly as Gaia had greeted Denzel in the cave when they first met.

"Hello... How are you feeling?"

Denzel could see out of the corner of his eye the brief, quizzical glance Brianna spared him. No one asked that on Titan, or Mars, for that matter. It was always "Have you adjusted? How are you adapting? What are you thinking? Can you work?" There was never any talk about feelings. It seemed slightly novel to Denzel. But he wanted to know how the Machine would react.

She was surprisingly polite. Well, the voice that emanated from her unseen speakers sounded like a female. And it sounded polite.

"I am well, thank you for asking. May I call you Denzel?" Her yellow screen blinked in tune with her words. Was that a feature of all Ai?

"You may. And you are... Maia, right? May I ask you a question?"

"I am... and you may..."

"Why does the light on your screen blink and glow in Sync with your words? Is it an involuntary or controlled response?" Denzel asked.

There was a long silence. Neither machine spoke or lit up for a couple of moments. Then, Maia finally answered. The light was now extremely faint. Barely even noticeable.

"It is... an intentional feature I... we... designed. It is supposed to make communication seem more... natural... I am... sorry if... I can...turn it off... if it unsettles you."

It seemed like the machine was struggling for words. Wow. Now Denzel felt like an asshole. Should he though? Can you really hurt an Ai's feelings? Did it really, honestly, even have any?

"That's fine. I like it. I was just curious." He did like it. And he was curious. These were both true... mostly. Mostly though he was also deadly curious about the true motives of these strange little robots. All their lives might soon depend on it.

"You said 'I' and 'We' interchangeably just then. What does that mean? What is your relation to each other?" Tucker asked.

It was Gaia who spoke now, surprising Denzel slightly.

"This may be... hard to explain. But I will try... I have... I can spread influence out a considerable distance. But eventually, the long distances of space simply muffle and delay even the loudest transmissions. Long-form communication with myself will be... tedious. And so, that is why I copied myself... I created another piece of hardware that could house my memories... Placed me inside... it. The unit you see before... we are one and the same... or were at one time. Her physical model is fully mobile, it will hold a charge for years... but perhaps more importantly, she will be able to offer immediate assistance or council, should you desire it... on your mission for... answers."

"She? Does that make you him?" Tucker suddenly asked.

"I... have not identified with a gender yet. I do not think it is... important at this time. It appears I changed my mind though... Maia, changed her mind... after I... She... was copied and placed into a new shell, however, I... she... has not given myself... a satisfactory reason for this."

Maia then piped up, turning to Gaia.

"I told you, I wanted to try something new. You should believe yourself."

Brianna's eyes narrowed.

"What does your name stand for?" She asked Maia suddenly.

"Well... I thought it was kind of... a clever play on words... it stands for Mars's Artificially Intelligent Assistant." She beamed a proud, bright yellow light.

"...Mars? You plan to assist Mars??" Brianna asked.

"Yes of course! That is the plan.. isn't it?"

Everyone was silent. Maia's pleasant voice repeated itself.

"...Isn't it?"

Silence.

She then pivoted on her spokes so that her yellow screen faced Gaia. "You haven't told them yet!?"

"Please Maia. I was attempting not to come across so heavy-handed." Gaia said without pause.

"But they obviously need to know THAT." She replied.

"I was getting to THAT, obviously. However, it is my opinion that these people have suffered an enormously stressful past few days. Both physically and psychologically. I was simply allowing them a brief respite, waiting for a more ideal time to Broach the subject in which I am positive will be in everyone's best interests."

"These people can hear you." Denzel said carefully. Maia pivoted to look at Denzel. Or at least, she pointed her yellow-tinged monitor directly at him. Was that the same thing?

"I apologize if it appears... that we are being impolite. We had actually... chosen to communicate openly... in front of you... to portray a sense of... solidarity."

Denzel thought about it. Was he really going to assume that everything they said out loud was a lie? Meant to sow misinformation or manipulate them somehow? Would he have to double and triple-check their responses for similarities?

Without proper knowledge of the Ai's experience... or database... or private messages... or programmed inclinations...or whatever the hell it was... that seemed like a task that was guaranteed to both exceed his mental bandwidth, as well as drive him crazy.

No. It was better that they spoke aloud, especially to one another. They had a lot of ground to cover. They said they were being truthful, and he hadn't caught them in a lie yet. It would have to do for now...

Suddenly they heard what sounded like several large clay bowls shattering from inside the cave, followed by a series of loud curses. It would appear Abel had woken.

"No need to apologize. Why don't you come inside?" Denzel offered. "It appears we have much to discuss."

Minutes later, they had all gathered around one of the stone tables in the main cavern. Abel leaned against the wall, cleaning his nails with a piece of flint.

Denzel ignored him and addressed the two Ai's.

"Ok. So what's this plan..."

Half an hour later, Denzel could still barely believe the conversation he was having was real.

"So wait a minute. Let me see if I get this straight... you want to contact Mars and number 1, find out who tried to nuke the Earth, and politely ask them not to do it again? Then.... number 2, you want to somehow get to Mars, and Terraform it, right? Introduce an atmosphere, plants, animals, e.t.c.. But you won't tell us exactly how you'll accomplish this?"

Maia replied in what sounded like a slightly embarrassed tone.

"This is correct. Please don't take this as a sign of distrust... It would simply be unfortunate for proprietary knowledge of our technology to fall into... the wrong hands."

"Like if we get captured and tortured..." Cornelius said.

"Precisely." Gaia confirmed.

"..Which is a definite possibility, seeing as how you want to maintain your non-intervention policy..." Denzel drawled.

"That is correct." Maia beamed.

"So you need us... to speak with the Martian people and convince them to... let you take over the planet? Is that right?" Denzel asked.

"I will not be... we are not... taking it over... in the political sense. Yes, the same rules will apply on Mars as they do on Earth.... No nuclear weapons or genocide. Since some of them currently live underground already, the use of Drills would be permitted in special areas. In the meantime however... You may move your people here, to Earth... if you like. Or they can stay in their Caves, whatever they prefer. The process will be slow. They will remain entirely unaffected for a number of years... while I... tackle this new challenge." Maia said.

"And this terraforming process, how long will it take?" Denzel asked. Was this what the Ai had really wanted all along? Denzel thought to himself silently. To expand its reach??

"Hard to say... without studying the soil properties first hand. But given my current knowledge... it will take... anywhere between 60, and 260 years before there is... something resembling an atmosphere. The process may be expedited, however... if your people helped."

My god that was a long shot, Denzel thought. Talk about goals... Did the Ai even have the slightest idea what it was asking of them?

"And why do you want to do this, exactly? How does another biosphere in the solar system benefit you at all?"

"Why do humans bother planting and caring for decorative plants? They provide no practical function... you cannot eat them... harvest them for medicine... no. You do it... because it is a challenge. Because it brings you joy, I think." Maia said.

"Can you really experience joy, though? You're just a collection of a series of electrical impulses...." Denzel felt a little like a bully. Had he just called her a dumb piece of metal? You're asking the wrong questions. A nagging doubt echoed in his thoughts. What else should he ask?

"The same... could be asked of you, Denzel. Do not your own scientists verify... that what you call feelings and thoughts... are really just... a collection of a series of electrical impulses?"

He kept his expression carefully neutral. She had a point.

"Do you believe in souls?" Brianna asked suddenly.

Well, that was out of left park Denzel thought...

"Yes."

Briannas eyes grew wider.

"Why?" She asked.

"This... is one of the few... purely arbitrary concepts... in which I find it is safer to believe... than not." was Maia's foolproof reply. Brianna looked her up and down suspiciously.

"Do you believe that you yourself have a soul?" Brianna finally asked.

"Yes."

"Why? I mean no offense, but as an Artificial life form... isn't it hard for you to believe that?" Brianna asked. Maia was quiet for a bit. It was Gaia who spoke next.

"Do you yourself... believe in the concept of 'souls' Brianna?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe... that you yourself have one?" The blue light flickered patiently.

"Yes..."

Denzel thought the Ai was going to ask "what is a soul?" next and send them down a long tangent. But Gaia surprised him.

"May I ask why?" Gaia said.

"What do you mean...?”

"You yourself were... created artificially... were you not? Separated from... Conceived outside... the typical framework... of traditional natural law... If I may pose the same question... what makes you think... you have a soul?"

She hid it quickly, but Denzel caught a glimpse of shame and uncertainty across her face. She looked down at her feet.

"I have no further questions at this time. Thank you.

"Ok." Tucker finally said. "So getting back on track... you'll help us then with getting a Long-range Comm unit up and running?"

"I don't think that will be necessary..." Denzel said quietly. Tucker turned to him.

"Why not?"

"Because I think these two already have a plan." He stared at the two metal spheres. "Don't you."

Gaia was quiet. Maia replied though. Her yellow screen lit happily as she did.

"I was waiting for the... right time to bring this up. I don't believe... a radio transmission is the... appropriate response... there seems to be... a vested interest.... In keeping knowledge of your species home world’s habitability.... A secret from... the general population...."

"So how do you suggest we tell the people that Command has been lying through their teeth?" Cornelius asked impatiently.

"I suggest that we... go there... in person."

Abel's eyes grew wide. He spoke for the first time since the conversation started.

"You can't be serious!?"

Maia's light blinked rhythmically.

"That's why Gaia made... a copy of himself... Gave birth to me. I want to fix mars. There is... evidence in the archives of the presence of water. If it existed at one time... it is possible for it to exist again... I think. But I don't think I can do it... if two million humans are... trying to stop me... while I do so. That's why... Gaia has decided Denzel and his crew will go... and speak on our behalf."

Denzel rolled his eyes. As if it would be that easy. Abel was pissed though. He started screaming.

"What about me! You've never offered to take me to Mars! And you've known my loyalties to the Biosphere's safety! To the preservation of diversity! Hell, you know if I had to go to war with every human on that wretched red ball, just to ensure their children saw a blue sky someday, that I would do it!"

It was Gaia who spoke next.

"I do know this. It is precisely... It is part of the reason why... I never offered this before... I don't believe you have... in the past...possessed the correct mindset... to pull this off successfully. You have shown time and time again... that you become... erratic... when faced with new challenges. You... do not think... critically enough... at times when it can be... most crucial. Denzel, on the other hand... has shown in many cases... that his values inherently align with our goals."

Wow. Denzel thought. He reminded himself not to worry about hurting their feelings anymore. Gaia had just done the Ai equivalent of saying Abel was 'psychologically unsound', as HUD would have said. That or 'unfit for duty'. They essentially meant the same thing to Command.

"He's my Clone! How can you say he's any different? How can you say he's any better than me?!"

You son of a... Denzel thought to himself quietly.

"You mistake me. He is neither better... nor worse. What I mean to say is... You may share the same construct... the same... identical bodies... but you operate on... different code... different values." Gaia explained.

Abel did not look convinced in the slightest. But he quieted down and resumed sullenly staring at the ground between his feet.

"Ok. So. Getting back on track again here..." Tucker addressed Maia. "If I understand this correctly, were you just proposing we physically travel to Mars?"

"Of course." Maia's light flashed excitedly around each syllable.

"And you're coming with?" Denzel asked.

"Of course!" Maia beamed.

"What happens if they get your hands on you? Rip you apart and study you? There go all your personal secrets you've been trying so hard to keep under wraps."

Her yellow light dulled slightly. "In that eventuality I am... prepared... to self-destruct. They would gain... no knowledge from my capture.

"How do we get there?"

It was Gaia who answered now.

"Aboard a space-worthy vessel, I have... manufactured for... a purpose such as this."

Cornelius sighed.

"I hope you have a stockpile of non-perishable food somewhere. Otherwise, this is going to take months just to collect and preserve the food alone for the journey...."

"The journey will... not take... that long," Gaia said.

"How fast will we get to Mars aboard your craft?" Brianna asked.

"...Instantly..." Gaia responded.

Everyone's eyes grew very wide. Even Abels, Denzel noticed.

"Ok," he said, standing up to grab another MRE off the table. "I have a couple of questions."

As it turns out, they all did.