Ch 10

"Well, that was something." Sisko said, rubbing his eyes.

"Captain, where did he come from?"

"It's a long story, Admiral. One i'd rather not talk about. The Chief is right. We do need to prepare for war with the Dominion." Sisko said.

"I agree." Nechayev said.

"It'll be a tough sell to the public. They think that having starfleet vessels in orbit is enough." the president said.

"Lets hope it is enough. But we should increase the size of starfleet's forces. If recruitment isn't good enough, then we institute the draft. I know it'll be controversial and unpopular. But once the Dominion start taking Federation planets, i think the populace will start seeing things differently." Sisko said.

"You're talking as if war is guaranteed." an aid said.

"I hope i'm wrong. Because god help us all if i'm not." Sisko said.

Inside his guest quarters, John meditated over his recent talk with the starfleet brass. He couldn't understand why they didn't take the Dominion seriously. Ever since he stepped foot on DS9, he always heard how dangerous the Dominion was, how they were going to invade the quadrant and kill billions in the upcoming war. Why couldn't their leaders see that?

"What are you thinking about, John?" Cortana asked, though she knew full well what he was thinking about.

"Same shit, different day." John said, when Sisko came in. John stood up at attention yet Sisko waved him off.

"At ease, chief. I've just spoken with starfleet command. They said they'll consider your recommendations. Hell, i suggested they start the draft and they wanted to throw me out of the room." Sisko said.

"Draft is never popular. But it is necessary in times of war. How long has it been since your Federation has been involved in a massive war? And don't tell me about the Cardassians. That's a mere border skirmish, one that you lost." John said.

"Chief, you are here as a guest to starfleet command. I'd appreciate it if you would cut back on your cynicism. The Federation isn't as weak as you think it is." Sisko said.

"No plan survives contact with the enemy. We both know that." John said.

"Did your UNSC institute a draft?" Sisko asked.

"We did. As expected, several resisted and tried to evade the draft. The Covenant were going to kill every human they could get their hands on. Avoiding the draft would only delay the inevitable." John said.

"What happened to those who resisted the draft?" Sisko asked.

"At first, we put them in prison. As the war dragged on, and the Covenant began to push deeper into human space, we had to make some hard decisions. Food, water, medicine, living space. It was all being rationed. Why should those who refused to fight be given the comforts of home?" John asked.

"Your leaders killed them." Sisko said, shocked.

"I didn't like it either. Hard times call for hard measures." John said.

"You sound like a Cardassian." Sisko said.

"Not sure what to make of that. How long until the carrier is repaired?" John asked.

"It'll be a few days. I suggest you try to relax." Sisko said, though it seemed that relaxing was the last thing John wanted to do.

Sisko left the room, leaving the Spartan to himself.

"I wonder how Johnson is doing back at the station." Chief mused.

…

Deep Space Nine

"You call that a grenade throw?! I've seen babies toss grenades better than that!" Johnson said. The security officer grabbed another grenade and threw it towards the target.

"Hey, blondie. Here's a joke. You know what to do when a blond throws a grenade at you? Pull the pin and throw it back at them." Johnson said. He grabbed a frag grenade out of a case and showed the correct way to use the weapon.

…

"I'm sure he's doing just fine." Cortana said.

"I'm sure you've taken the time to go thru their database. What have you learned?" John asked.

"Plenty. But at the moment, i'm working on adapting their holographic technology to my matrix. It shouldn't take long." Cortana said, as John inserted the chip into a holographic table. Cortana turned around and saw John taking apart a Klingon sniper rifle.

"How will it affect you?" John asked.

"Only for the better. I'll have increased memory, a longer lifespan. John, i could end up meta-stable. It's still speculation and theory, but their AI tech is far beyond what the UNSC has. Imagine the possibilities. What i could feel and sense. Not exactly as a human, but close enough. You know, we have time before we have to head back to the station. We could go to Risa. Spend some time at a beach, watch a sunset." Cortana said. She was now looking thru the window at the bright sun.

"You've been spending some time with Jadzia." Chief said.

"Well, she is the science officer on the station. I have spoken with her about my idea." Cortana said.

"What did she say?" Chief asked, now curious.

"She told me not to get my hopes up, but it could very well happen." Cortana said.

"She's smart, i'll give her that. Being a trill with 7 lifetimes will do that." John said.

"That's true. But she seems to frivolous, almost eager to indulge in hedonistic pleasures off-duty. Not that's a problem with wanting to destress." Cortana said.

"Amen on that. Dr. Halsey would love to meet with her. But regarding this procedure of yours. I'd rather trust Dr. Halsey than Jadzia." John said.

"That's because i was created by Dr. Halsey." Cortana said.

The racking of a bolt was heard and she turned around to see John putting the rifle on his back.

"Before the shit hits the fan, promise me you'll figure out which one of us in the machine." Cortana said, with a hinge of sadness in her voice. Though no-one would know by looking at him, Cortana knew the Chief was briefly disturbed by that off-hand remark.

The door opened, and Sisko came back in.

"Chief, before we left Jadzia told me that Cortana wanted to work on augmenting her matrix. Too much technobabble for my taste, but captain Picard is willing to help." Sisko said.

"Thanks, captain. When is he expecting us?" John asked.

"You can head up to his ship right now." Sisko said. He contacted Picard with his combadge and had them beamed up to the Enterprise.

John found himself beamed aboard the flagship. He walked down the hallway, and hid in a corridor. Removing his helmet, he put his fingers down his throat and proceeded to vomit.

"You okay?" Cortana asked.

"Teleportation. It's not something i'll ever get used to." John said.

"I'm putting the engineering room on your HUD. Lets see what's waiting for us." Cortana said.

LaForge was busy with the warp core, when he heard his crew gasp. Turning around, he saw the Chief walking towards them.

"Lieutenant La Forge." Chief said.

"Yes, sir. And you're the Chief. Nice to meet you." LaForge said, shaking John's hand.

"Have you been briefed on why i'm here?" John asked, removing Cortana's AI chip.

"Yes. And i'm curious about this AI of yours." LaForge said, seeing Cortana appear on top of the chip.

"Nice to meet you, Mr LaForge. My name is Cortana, and i'm a third generation AI created by the UNSC." she said.

"Fascinating." Data said, entering the room. Unlike everyone else who looked at the Spartan with fear, he only looked at the Chief with amazement.

"You're an augment. What kind of armor is that?" Data asked.

"That's classified. I've heard about you. The only android in Starfleet." Cortana said.

"Correct. Dr Song created me in the year 2336. I went thru the starfleet academy five years later." Data said.

"Cortana has an idea to combine her matrix with one of your hologram matrices. She claims it will increase her lifespan, if not make her meta-stable." John said.

"Meta-stable?" Data asked.

"Immortality for AI. I am a smart AI, cloned from the brain of my creator Dr Halsey. It does have a drawback. My lifespan is only 7 years. After that, AI will go thru rampancy. Think it of as complete and utter insanity." Cortana said.

"Is there a cure for this rampancy?" LaForge asked.

"None that i know of. I'm hoping that this theory of mine can provide the cure." Cortana said.

John watched as Data and LaForge worked on Cortana, hocking her up to various objects. He wanted to object, yet knew this could be Cortana's last chance for metastability.

Cortana appeared above the data disk and gave a cheerful smile to John. Yet she was also worried. What if it failed? What if she died during these experiments? Closing her eyes, she focused on her the data she collected during her time in the new galaxy. She heard how the engineers were working on her, and what they were discussing.

"The matrix on this AI is rather dated compared to something like Data." an engineer said.

Dated!? Cortana flushed an angry red, wanting to show this officer that she wasn't dated. She immediately attempted to access the nearby consoles, but found that the firewalls were tougher than she expected.

"And here i was, thinking they skimped on their firewall protection." Cortana said.

With that option gone, she began to work on gathering information that floated her boat. Most of it was harmless, getting information about Risa, Vulcan, and other planets. She was bored, wanting to keep herself busy.

"Chief, the captain wants to speak to you." a yeomen said, approaching the giant.

"Lead the way." Chief said.

Entering the meeting room, John saw the captain along with two other people.

"Thanks for coming, Chief. We have a few things to discuss." Picard said.

"What do you want to discuss?" Chief asked.

"We've been told about your meeting with starfleet command. You honestly believe we're not ready for war with the Dominion?" Riker asked.

"Not that I could tell. I've been at deep space nine for the past few months. I've been involved in at least three engagements with the Jem'Hadar. They've been attacking your ships, destroying any new colonies you've built in the quadrant. They're coming your way." Chief said.

"And we'll be ready to meet them. But for the moment, the Federation wants to try a diplomatic approach." Riker said.

"What if this Dominion isn't interested in diplomacy? What if your efforts fail? They'll come charging thru the wormhole, and we only have 3 assets to defend the station. Get a fleet to the station." Chief said.

"That'll take time." Riker said.

"How long?" Chief asked.

"It'll take two weeks." Picard said.

UNSC took three days to get a fleet to Reach, and that was while Reach was being bombed. How bad is their logistics?

The lights in the room suddenly flickered on and off. Picard called engineering yet Chief knew what was really going on.

"Cortana." he muttered.

John raced thru the corridors, and all but kicked the doors down to engineering. LaForge walked to him, handing him a pad.

"Is Cortana okay?" John asked.

"More than okay. Take a look." he said. John followed the engineer to an adjacent office. John stopped in his tracks, seeing Cortana sitting in a chair.

"How…" John started when Cortana stood up and walked to him.

"Oh. I'm the strangest thing you've seen all day?" she asked, teasing the super-soldier.

"We embedded our holographic matrices into her own programming. She can touch and feel things, just as if she were human." LaForge said.

"I don't know what to say." John said.

"Well, I know what to say. Thank you." Cortana said.