“By the way, you do have your own quarters despite what the Osiris told you, Khoth. Let me take you to them. They’re just down the hallway here,” Jace said. “Right next to mine and across the hall from my parents.”
Khoth was surprised at how his heart seemed to fall into his feet. But, of course, he should have a separate set of quarters from Jace. If they were going to keep things purely platonic for a time they would need separate quarters.
Just as Jace was opening the door for them, General Intoshkin exited Jace’s parents’ quarters. He was putting on his cap. He took one look at Gehenna and jolted to a stop. Gehenna, seeing his reaction, crowed and clanked over to him eagerly.
“General!” she cried. “Jace said you would appreciate my new form the most! Am I not friendly-looking? I am a protector!”
She put her hands on her hips and turned her head to the side, lifting it up slightly, as if she were gazing into the far horizon. The general had taken one step back from her, but he’d just hit the wall. He blinked rapidly now.
“Gehenna?” General Intoshkin gasped out.
“Yes, of course! Who else would it be?” Gehenna’s arms dropped to her sides. “Khoth didn’t recognize me either, at first. That’s distressing.”
The general stepped towards her, reaching out a tentative hand to touch the metal chest plate. He then slowly walked around her. Gehenna turned her head to follow his progress but otherwise remained still as he inspected her.
“By God, she’s the Terminator!” General Intoshkin let out a choked laugh.
“Yes! As I told Jace and Khoth, I wanted to choose a form that would evoke protectiveness and wonder! Have I succeeded?” she asked.
Her metal hands came together, much like her pincers had done in the robot body, and twined with one another nervously. The general stopped his circling directly in front of her. He was smiling broadly.
“Well, I’ll be damned! And I thought this day couldn’t get better,” General Intoshkin stated. “Can we make more of you?”
“That’s what Jace asked! I’m so glad you think this form is so wonderful that you want more of them!” Gehenna jumped up and down.
The floor didn’t exactly shake, but there was a very solid thunk when she landed. Jace was pinching the top of his nose and looking down as she spoke to the general. A smile was twitching suspiciously on his lips, but he was trying to hide it.
“Indeed! I think you are most wonderful, Gehenna. And I wouldn’t mind a few thousand of you at my disposal,” the general said as he petted her shining exo-skeleton.
“Oh, there’s only one me. But if we find a fabricating facility sufficient to create more robot bodies like this one, perhaps I can create linked forms, but--”
“There’s a lot of buts in there.” The general’s happiness dimmed.
“Indeed! As there are in life!” Gehenna was still vigorously happy. “But this is more than you knew before was possible. So there is that.”
“True!” The general was grinning again. “The Osiris is a wonder all on its own though…” and here General Intoshkin turned to Jace with a slight frown, “I’ve been severely restricted to only certain parts of the ship. I need access to everything, Jace. This is a US military vessel now.”
Jace’s head lifted at those words. The smile that had been threatening to break out across his face was completely missing. His expression was neutral if Khoth were to describe it.
“Actually, General, it isn’t,” Jace said firmly.
The general’s complexion darkened. “Are you saying this is an Alliance vessel then? Because, son, they don’t have our best interests at heart!”
Jace’s voice didn’t rise, it was calm, as he answered, “No, the Osiris is my vessel. I am the Pilot. The ship, myself and its crew will be a source of good for all enemies of the Khul. But we will be neutral, representing no single world or species or alliance.”
Khoth was not surprised by Jace’s determination. He had spoken of it before, but he couldn’t help but be impressed with how certain Jace was about his position.
A vein twitched in the general’s right temple. “Now look here, Jace, I’ve entertained your--your claims of independence so far, but we have agreements with the Alliance about this ship! It was found on Earth by humans. Possession as they say is 9/10s of the law! You can’t just take it!”
“I know that this is distressing to you and has upended yours and others’ plans,” Jace answered simply, “but the Osiris is my ship and it will only respond to my commands. Not yours or any other military personnel. Any agreement you made with the Alliance is irrelevant.”
“So you’re an army of one?! Bah!” the general shouted.
“Hardly that,” Jace said as he gestured to Gehenna who was now glaring at the general. Though really she had been glaring the whole time, but this time Khoth was sure she meant to. “I am very concerned about Earth, sir. I will not let humanity go unprotected. And it is very much my desire that Earth join the Alliance and have the same rights and privileges as all other member species. I will work towards these goals with the Alliance. And I hope that humanity will work with me to offer their best and brightest to join my crew.”
“We could just take the ship from you, son,” the general said softly.
“You can try. We can go that route. Do you want to go that route?” Jace asked evenly, seemingly unconcerned.
