C63 Calm before the Storm
Calm before the Storm.
Anthony squinted his eyes as he watched the screen before him. His mind going through the lines of code he was currently assembling. The base logic engine should be working for now, the code assembly for the self learning was there as well. Now the new AI only needed to learn, to understand it’s purpose, understand what it was and grow within the parameters that it was given.
It made Anthony wonder, this was just the basic foundation, able to be impressed with different purposes. If he where to create a new core, he could let it grow under Hope’s tutelage, until it was ready to do what it would be trained for.
Yet part of him considered if he should use this, like a base strand of DNA, inject it into a simulation of sorts, and allow it to spawn many versions of itself. See what kind of civilization it would build within that simulation. And if used right, it could even spawn a multitude of new AI, each with their own personality and purpose.
It was an alluring Idea, one he discarded in part as he realized that unguided growth would only lead to something chaotic. Like what Humanity had become. But the idea was not completely of the table as Anthony made a copy of the code for later use, before moving onto his plane to check on the Hope’s layout.
Already he had done some adjustments to it. With the former Colonist chambers removed, and new equipment for the Hope AI installed, the new rooms he build for the Siren and himself, and the Control room where the Siren could control the Command androids and their ships.
But given how big the colonist bays were, he still had plenty of room to fill. Some of which he would now use to install two new AI core’s, each with their own reactor core. Allowing the Hope to keep functioning as the current activities already strained the available power supply.
“ Hope, the new core’s, Implement the new logic engine on each of them and run some stress tests on the program. I want to see if it remains stable and error free before we allow it to grow a new AI from it. “ Anthony instructed.
“ Understood. Want me to correct any errors I find ? “ She responded.
“ No, note them down for me. I want to correct them myself so I stay aware of them. I need to completely understand the base coding so I can make my own adjustments if needed. “ He ordered.
“ Understood. “ Hope responded.
Then Anthony pulled back from his plane, and seeing his own reflection on the data screen he was working on, he noticed the change on his ears again, prompting him to reach up and feel over the right ear.
“ Oh well. “ He uttered, recalling Ludwig’s words from a few hours ago, when the Pride finally reached Rendar Station again. A reminder of what both he and Thomas told him in the past.
The ability of a Psyker is formed initially by a desire for something. And it would grow from there by once own control over it. But it could also reform the user if he did not train it properly, forcing him to adapt to that initial desire no matter how plausible of applicable it was. Though that usually only concerned the users character, and what Anthony’s ability was doing, was a whole new scope to Ludwig as well.
Ludwig suggested that, what was happening to Anthony, was something in between the lack of guided training, and the forceful focus on one particular aspect. To have control, and likely, to have control over himself and his own life.
It was Ludwig’s assumption that Anthony, subconsciously, has shaped his ability to create an Ideal, as he doubted Sovereign to simply be an Avatar. It seemed to him more like Anthony had a goal, a visions of what he wanted to be, and while he was not fully aware of it yet, Sovereign seemed to be that very ideal. And the more he found himself in tune with his ability and what Sovereign represented to him, the more he might end up allowing his ability to change into Sovereign.
That seemingly was neither good nor bad. Anthony seemed to have stepped onto an undiscovered path where he did not simply reshape his ability, but himself through his ability. And while it may have been subconsciously prepared, he was now actively seeking to become more in tune with Sovereign, which in turn, was allowing him to truly become him.
“ Yeah. “ He sighed, feeling over his chin as he compared his face to Sovereigns.
His was more, well, manly, compared to Sovereign at least. Sovereign had more of an ethereal allure, and Anthony was not sure if he should consider it more towards boyish, or feminine as it lacked his own sharp facial features. Sovereign’s face was more expressive too, which could be abused as it not only reflected his mood more easily. No, the reaction from that Terran envoy a few days ago, it was prove that, if he set his mind to it, he could wear an emotional mask with it that completely belied his true intentions.
With a sigh he would nod to himself, turning the screen before him off, and then get up on his feed. Considering how he felt himself in part latching onto his old appearance, while the other was looking forward to actually become Sovereign completely.
And, starting to move to the shared bedroom, he begun to see Sovereign as a chance to truly start anew, where his current self was the reminder of the fool he used to be, something that ought to be discarded to truly let go of the foolish person he was in the past, and still was to some degree even now.
But that thought was briefly pushed aside as he stood in the doorway to watch Tilly and Ina idly chatting about baby outfits, with Ina clearly being more into the subject then Tilly. It made him wonder then, he already did change, didn’t he ? Did he need to become Sovereign to enjoy his life, now that he had them ?
But he found the answer to be a resounding yes a moment later. Looking at those two on the bed, he reminded himself that much of what he gained here was, in a way, handed to him. And if he wanted to keep what he gained, he could not remain who he was, he finally had to change, truly change, and Sovereign was the embodied desire of that change.
“ My, am I interrupting something ? “ He then uttered, drawing the attention of Ina and Tilly towards him, and Ina was holding that mischievous gleam in her eyes again which suggested that he’d be quite busy again soon.
“ Talking about outfits for the babies. “ Tilly admitted, a light blush on her cheeks.
Anthony smiled at that, moving to the be where he’d place an arm around each of them to slowly feel over their belly’s. Ina was already showing quite a bit, and Tilly would likely show more as well soon. It was the 5th month not, and it would not be much longer till these girls would be holding his children in their arms.
“ You know, I think we should start considering names. “ He offered, which seemed to please Ina quite a bit as she leaned against him with a satisfied smile.
Salim, Badland system on the western edge of the Terran Commonwealth.
“ We are in cover. Get behind that ship and aim for it’s engines ! “ Roland called out, commanding the one destroyer vessel that had been given to him together with four frigates. They were all of Vorden design, which made them very Laser heavy, which worked surprisingly well.
Roland did not think much of them to begin with and had thought he’d loose at least the frigates in no time, but he learned quickly why Vorden crews were often described as dare devils.
The destroyer alone, the VDN Queen of Hearts, was extremely agile for a ship it’s size, and it was running three fusion reactors, which left very little reload time for it’s laser based armament. She was running hot, considering that the cooling systems were barely adequate to keep up with the frequent firing of the main weapon, but this destroyer could cut even through newer Terran ships like a hot knife through butter.
The one drawback this design choice had, was that the reactors had to run dirty when not in combat. Meaning, two of the three reactors actually consumed fuel and energy to run in standby mode. Just so, when combat occurred, you could circumvent the long reactor spooling before they could provide energy. And the Queen of Hearts weapons devoured energy like there was no tomorrow.
“ Fire solution in 10 seconds. “ The weapons officer reported.
“ Fire ! “ Roland called out, feeling the light vibration going through the ship as the main laser weapon’s charged. And moments later the Pirate destroyers engines melted away, causing an explosion that tore through the rear of the ship.
“ Shit, so much for salvaging her. “ Roland cursed.
He’s been doing this for nearly a week now, hunting down pirates for their bounties, and selling their ships for monetary gain. Here and there to add some of the ships to his expanding fleet.
His original crew, composed of humans from the Vorden territory, and the Terran Commonwealth, had so far seen not a single loss. And he now counted quite a few Mercenaries to his subordinates as well, mostly hired as crew for the ships that Roland started capturing.
“ Ship’s dead in space. “ The Weapons officer called out.
“ Good job everyone, drinks on me tonight ! “ Roland called out, hearing the bridge crew cheer in response.
Roland smiled deeply hearing the crews cheers, finding this mission a rather entertaining one. He was learning a lot on the tactical side of things, and the ship combat was giving him quite the adrenaline fix. He still had to find a trace of the Psykers Union, but it’s only been three weeks, and the monetary gain, as well as the growth of his personal fleet did feel satisfying.
Checking the current situation map, they got 7 pirate vessels this time, 6 frigates and that destroyer. Two of the frigates were an easy salvage prospect, armed well enough to be a good addition to his fleet. The rest would be sold as salvage, generating more then enough funds to hire more mercenaries, with which to staff the new ships.
“ Do make sure the drones kill the crew, but keep an eye out for loot and captives. “ Roland instructed, rising from the captains chair. Then he looked over to Jacob, his second in command, nodding to him to take over command for now.
“ Soon as the boarding ops are done, set course for Oldran station, have the frigates assist the tug’s to bring in the wrecks. “ Roland instructed Jacob, whom in turn did that Vorden salute where they put their right fist over their heart.
“ Aye Cap. “ Jacob responded, and then called out to the crew, “ Command hand-off, you heard the Cap, get those ships cleared out. Get VDN Verdant and VDN Salvage moving, start with the Destroyer, set the Androids to search and destroy. “
Roland smiled to himself as he begun to leave the bridge, satisfied with the Vorden command style. It was, like their way to battle, more something you would expect from Pirates. The major difference being that they had a system to their chaos.
Where commonwealth captains would usually follow a rigid combat style, with based tactical maneuvers and a strict command structure, Vorden captains had a more loose structure. A Fleet captain still had the highest command, but ships partaking in the fleet had some command freedom, with preset attack patterns they may freely switch towards if they saw an opening.
The first time he witnessed this two weeks ago, he nearly went out of his way to have the captain of the Shallow Waters, one of his initial frigate’s, shot, for what he perceived as insubordination.
Luckily he did not though, as Jacob protested and explained their command structure, an act that would have gotten Jacob court-martialed in the Commonwealth. And after working with them for a while now, he could see how well trained they actually were, and how efficient.
On a larger scale, this behavior was used in a squad style setting, where designated sub commanders had the freedom to alter combat approaches and orders if an opportune moment revealed itself.
This style of combat, it felt to Roland like it would work only as long as they had a strong moral. If the other side had a strong tactician, it may even be a detriment.
But on the current scale, it was the right amount of tactical freedom to render pirate’s, and even some of the Terran captains inefficient, as it went against the inflexible structure the Commonwealth was used to.
Which perhaps added to the fact why the Vorden Territories had not been annexed yet. Fighting against them would be a headache. Something to keep in mind, and perhaps to suggest towards Karlo later on, as the Vorden military may become quite the useful special unit, somewhere in the future.
“ Well then. “ Roland grunted as he entered his quarters, moving to get seated as he still had to file his weekly report for Karlo.
Not that there was much to report, but weekly reports were expected of him, and he did need to play his role. But right now, the idea of going rogue actually sounded alluring, unrealistic, but alluring.
It made Roland chuckle as he begun to type his report. Building a fleet of his own, turning pirate with the fleet he was slowly assembling. It was an option that was opening up to him now, and the Badlands where large.
As long as the war with the Seltran was going it be hard for the Commonwealth to take care of the pirates. And even then, it would take years to unravel the pirate problem, and explore the systems properly.
“ Cap, we need you back on the bridge. We got unknown vessels incoming, and they opened fire on the disabled Pirate frigates. “ Jacob suddenly called out over the intercom, interrupting Roland in his musings.
“ More pirates ? “ Roland asked.
“ Undetermined, trying to get a visual on them. But they don’t have active IFF’s, so it is possible. They destroyed one of the disabled frigates in passing and are headed straight for us, should be in range in about two hours at current speed. “ Jacob reported.
“ Great. Have the boarding frigates gain distance. I am on my way back. “ Roland grunted, closing the terminal.
“ Well. “ Roland uttered, getting back on his feet. This was the downside of the Badlands, Pirates were plenty, and this was probably another group of Pirates that disliked their presence. Though, attacking a disabled pirate frigate ? Something felt off.