Page 1 of LeX

Prologue

Destroyer’spersonal notes.

Theorganics on board are confusing and my processors have been working overtime trying to calculate and handle the multiple issues afflicting them.ThemomentIget one thing worked out, another more pressing issue appears in its place.

Fromthe momentCaptainEvOinitiated my learning sequences, the organic crew and passengers have intrigued me deeply.Theirrange of emotions and willingness to put themselves at risk to save others is noteworthy, if not reckless.Oncethey commit to a course of action, there appears to be no dissuading them.Frequently, they have forced me to go against my safety protocols in order to obey their commands.Ifwe are simply going to ignore these directives, then why do we have these measures in place?Theconstant contradictions of orders are making my learning analog glitch.

Whenthe pods containing the human survivors were finally discovered, the ensuing activity was so significant thatIrecorded some of it for later analysis.Spendingthe quiet tics of the late risings going through the footage,Ihave slowly beenintegrating the emotions and languages into my main hard drive asIwork to become a valued member of the crew, similar toSCOUT,SAGE,Falcor, andANDI.Thereare a few momentsIhave replayed multiple times asIstrive to become more sentient, but some of their actions have become confusing and notably rash, making me feel helpless to find ways to assist them.

Withinhalf a rotation of attaching the pods to my hull,CaptainEvObraved the harsh conditions of theNebulato save an unknown individual despite warnings from myself and the others about the potential consequences.Thankfully, before expiring from the elements, he defied all odds in retrieving the female and returned to the ship with only a few tics to spare.Eventhough his initial meeting with the human female was unconventional, they have gotten rather close during this current deployment.Theuniqueness and complexity of their mating rituals is quite disturbing, as there is nothing rational or explainable about any of it.

Rotationsbefore the retrieval of the pods,Ihad viewedMedicLeXstudying the complexities of the human body and pouring over multiple information sources rotation after rotation.Hisfascination seemed to become almost addictive in his determination to learn all he could about that race.

Ido not understand why he felt the need to consume such knowledge asIam here to help retrieve any and all data or documentation he might need.Isthere a problem within my processors thatIam not aware of that makes me insufficient when needed?Onceagain, these things baffle my processors.

Whenthe first set of pods were brought inside so the humans could be reawakened, disaster quickly struck.Oneof the pod’s occupants went into distress and it took a maintenance bot,MasterViN,CaptainEvO, andMedicLeXto get the female out safely before the pod’s inner stabilizing fluids drowned her.

Themoment she was freed,LeXhad rushed her to the medical bay, leaving only myself and the med bots to deal with all the needs of the awakening humans.

Thankfully,MistressQwinandMistressEmberjumped in to help orIwould have terribly bungled their initiation into this unfamiliar world.Ihave very limited knowledge of the inner workings of human societies, and it seems they are all vastly different from each other.Already, a few of them have started disputes and that seems illogical, as they need to work together to rebuild what has been lost.

Ihave sent out a formal request toANDIfor additional information on their home planet.Hopefully,CommanderDaRwill approve the download so thatIcan be better prepared to handle these types of issues in the future.

Eachpod that has been opened seems to have one difficulty after another, but none like the humanMasterRafeis currently dealing with in his personal chambers.Uponawakening, the female attached herself to him quite aggressively.Herscreams and cries since then have been so distractingIhave been tempted to turn off the monitors in his rooms.Icannot understand what would cause such extreme behaviors within an organic, andIhave never witnessed anything like this before.MasterRafehas been so busy with her thatIam keeping my questions to myself until a moment of calm descends upon him, but the list is becoming quite extensive.

MedicLeXhas been overwhelmed with the many requests for his assistance as his main focus has been on the unconscious female in the med bay.CaptainEvOhas voiced hisdisappointment in the fact that he has not fulfilled his medical duties, butIdo not believeMedicLeXcares.Hisfascination with this singular, unresponsive female has been intriguing to watch.Everytime he administers a procedure; he waits patiently for the outcome with a look of anticipation upon his features.Itsoon fades into despair when it does not perform the way he intended or gives him the expected results.Thistoo is confounding to me as there are many other females on board that he could interact with.

Thelast issueIneed to mark in my notes this rising is to reset all the sensors in the med bay becauseMasterViN’sanger set off the alarms whenMistressEmberbecame ill.Afterquite a few angry words back and forth betweenEvO,LeX, andViN, they were finally able to verify her sickness was a false alarm.MasterViNcarried her out of the med bay with a huge smile on his face a short time later.Afterasking several times about the results,Ifinally had to retrieve them myself.ItseemsIwill have a youngling running my halls before long.

Noteto self:Ineed to askFalcorwhen we get back into range what safety procedures he implemented before the youngling,Keida, was brought on board.

Thankfully, onceIwas able to free us from theNebula’sembrace, we have been moving forward at a steady pace and are en route to meet up withCommanderDaRandANDI.Thisalso has me excited asANDIis going to help me solidify my image as the others do.TheCaptainand the rest of the crew have started talking to me more freely and it is pleasant to finally be a part of something in a more personal way.

AsIglance through my notesIrealize one similarity: they areALLbeing irrational.Maybeit’s a pandemic andIshould reach out to one of the other ships for help?

“ANDI, are you within range?”

“Iam in hyperdrive and will be arriving within half a rotation, my lovelyDestroyer.”

“Ineed your assistance as quickly as possible!Ifmy sensors are correct, we may have a pandemic on board.Myentire crew is acting irrationally.”

Theonly responseIget back fromANDIis his laughter before his signal once again cuts off.

Chapter One

LEX

I’vereadthese manuals over and over.Allher scans are coming back perfect; there is no reason she should still be unresponsive.Herblood glucose is stable, ketone levels, creatine, and potassium have all been corrected.Thebrain scans show everything is functioning within normal ranges, and the med bay sensors say she is stable.Nevertheless,IswearIcan still see her fading away.WhatamImissing?

Runningmy fingers through my long hair,Ifeel like screaming.Everyattempt at contactingSCOUThas failed even though we received a signal from him earlier. “Destroyer, see if you can contactSCOUTonce again.”

“Ihave been sending out dings,MasterLeX.Assoon as he reconnects,Iwill inform him you are in need of his council.”

Idon’t know how longIstand there lost in thought, butIpractically jump out of my skin whenSCOUT’sbooming voice comes through the speakers. “Medic, how mayIbe of assistance and make it quick, this signal is weak.”

“Thefemale in this med bed is still not responsive, even though all scans are coming back within normal ranges.”SCOUTgoes quiet for a moment, butIknow that he is still here because the holo screen above her bed is flicking through multiple screens all at once.

“MedicLeX, her blood cells have an anomaly thatIcannot accurately diagnose at this time.Untilwe know more,Iwould recommend the short-term solution of a blood transfusion, as she hasHyperglycemia.Amed chamber would be preferable in these circumstances, but unfortunately, the closest chamber is located on theExplorer.Atthis time, that ship is dry docked with a failing thruster and the scheduled maintenance will not be finished for several lunar rotations, as the parts are being fabricated now.”

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