Commander Read online

  JD looked at her for a long moment, then reached into one of his kilt pockets and pulled out a Gerber knife handing it to her. McKenna flipped it open, she needed to remember to get herself one of these. With a simple movement she made a small cut on the pad of her left thumb, blood welled up on it. Pulling out her phone, JD had found it in the abandoned bus and charged it for her, she let three drops of blood fall off her thumb and land on the glass screen.

  Blood dripped, three drops, on to the phone, and they all looked at it, waiting.

  Anne inhaled a sharp sucking breath as the blood began to move, towards the headphone jack, getting smaller as it moved. McKenna got the impression it shed mass as it moved, but the drops were so small it might have just been a trick of the light. The blood disappeared into the headphone jack.

  "Did I just watch blood move across your cell phone?" Anne asked in a quiet voice.

  JD and McKenna both still stared at the phone and nodded.

  "Yep."

  The phone screen lit up. "Much better. This should enable communication between us, though you and other Kaylid can set up permanent communication channels." The voice spoke with the computerized feel of the voice system in the phone. Oddly human, yet the odd pronunciations were off just enough to let you know the speaker didn’t know English, not in a fluent manner.

  All three of them pushed their chairs back with scraping sounds against the wood.

  "Holy fuck," McKenna breathed staring at her phone, eyes wide and heart thudding in her ears.

  "This isn’t a joke is it?" Anne’s voice cracked as she spoke, her pitch about two octaves higher than normal.

  "Huh. So, do I have one of you? Whatever you are?"

  "Yes and no." The voice said, still flat, missing the intonations that McKenna had heard in her head.

  "Does this mean you won’t talk in my head anymore?"

  "No. This is a temporary option to be able to speak to the non-Kaylid at the table."

  "Kaylid?" the word emerged from everyone at the same time.

  The voice on the phone paused, then with almost a stutter, though it sounded more like a computer glitch. "According to my records, that is what humanoids than can shift into animals are called. Kaylid. The origin of the word is unknown."

  "What are you? Are you why we can shift?" The questions burst out of McKenna and she had to bite her lip to prevent the rest of the questions from spilling out.

  Silence fell, broken only by the background music of the insects as all eyes looked at the phone.

  "Yes and no. The nanobots in your body is why you can shift into different forms. The command module you have allows this level of communication."

  "Huh?" McKenna knew she sounded like an idiot, but none of this made any sense.

  "This is a command module artificial intelligence. Existing programming is to find a suitable host, enable their cellular shifting, and create a command presence among other Kaylid. That much data could be extrapolated from the undamaged code."

  "Wait," JD broke in. "You're an AI but you don't know what your programming is? Why are you here?"

  Another hesitation that had McKenna gripping the table so tightly her fingers ached in protest.

  "Outside of to create Kaylid, the answer to second question is unknown. Original programming received damage upon approach to this planet. It took this long to rebuild what was corrupted to the point that functioning at 60% efficiency was possible. There are large parts that were rebuilt based on information from the Commander, McKenna."

  McKenna had thought she couldn't be surprised anymore, she was wrong.

  "So why does she see symbols and have you talking to her, but I don't?" JD asked, and McKenna leaned in, curious herself.

  "This is a command module. There are only a certain number of command modules deployed in any swarm. This provides higher levels of interfacing with cranial matter, communication systems, and the ability to link with other drones in other Kaylid."

  "You're interfaced with my brain?" McKenna's voice squeaked a bit as she said that, but she didn't move just waited.

  "Of course. How else would the changes be controlled, information provided to your retinal nerves, and communicate with you if not implanted in your brain?"

  The sudden desire to start clawing at her head and pry it all out rippled through her, instead she took another swallow of whiskey.

  "Me too?" JD had a green tinge to his face that McKenna understood.

  "Yes. Again, how would you be able to have your cellular structure rewritten if there was no template to follow for all of the forms."

  "All of a sudden my jealously level at not being able to shift has dropped dramatically," Anne said, her voice dry and McKenna choke on laughter.

  "I kept trying to tell people it wasn't as great as they thought." The remarks let some stress disappear.

  "I'm assuming that asking you to get out of my head, my body, would be a waste of time."

  "Nanobots can not leave, they are distributed through all the cells of your body to create the network that allows you to function as a Kaylid and provides you the skills you will need as a commander."

  She wanted to follow up on that, but she had a more important question. "Who sent you?"

  The AI answered immediately. "The Elentrin."

  "Why?"

  "To create the Kaylid." Again, instant responses.

  "Why?"

  A pause, more obvious because of the immediate responses, dragged out. "Unknown. That part of the programming was either destroyed or never existed. Other command modules may have that information. Much of the current programming has been modified from the experiences while bonded to this being. Modifications and repairs to the programming were made accordingly."

  McKenna had never been up on how coding and stuff like that worked but she leaned back thinking about what the voice implied.

  "So, you may not match other command modules at this point, due to your repairs."

  "Correct."

  "And since JD does not have a command module, how are his AI's programmed?"

  JD looked at her, his eyes wide then redirected his attention to the phone.

  "Unknown without interfacing with his AI. The information obtained however, points towards creating mindless beasts and not allowing changes between forms. But this could be incorrect."

  So many things bubbled up, thoughts and questions. But first she needed to know about JD, then find out about Charley, Toni, and the others.

  "How would you interface with his body?"

  "Share blood. If your blood enters his body, connections to allow interaction with his nanobots would be formed"

  "You mean drink it?" The eww factor made her voice sharp.

  "No, the digestive enzymes located in the stomach would destroy the needed drones. Best is blood in an open wound." The uninflected tone from the computer somehow made it seem less far out and weird.

  JD flashed a smile at her, one that while real, lacked his normal good humor. "Well, we always thought we were siblings. Want to become blood brothers?"

  McKenna laughed; it seemed appropriate given the oddness of this entire situation.

  "Why the hell not? At this point, I don't think any blood borne disease is an issue." She picked the knife back up, snapping out the blade.

  "Of course not. One of the first priorities in merging with a body is removing all infections, competing viruses, repairing damage to the body with each shift, and killing any diseases that might be contracted as well as improving the efficiency of all helpful bacteria in the body."

  "Wait, you're telling me I can't get STD's or the flu, or anything like that?"

  "Correct. As well as repairing the damage to your reproductive system."

  "WHAT?" The question came out as a screech and the knife fell from her nerveless fingers as icy cold fear gripped her.

  "Your fallopian tubes had been damaged and were therefore repaired."

  McKenna felt the blood drain from her face, and the w
orld spun a bit. "Oh, fuck me, he might have gotten me pregnant. I told them I couldn't get pregnant, so I didn't worry about it."

  JD and Anne both looked at her, eyes wide and JD pushed back his chair. "We can call them now, and explain," he broke off.

  "Explain what? That the AI in my body repaired my tubal ligation?"

  "You are not pregnant. Control over fertility is a basic biological control. Also, standard implementation of a cessation to your menstrual cycles until the time you express a desire to procreate was also enabled."

  Too many swings of emotion left her feeling dizzy and off balance. She refilled her tumbler and took a huge swallow. The cheaper whiskey, Anne's contribution had been high quality whiskey, burned, and she choked on the fumes.

  "Wait, you saying you eliminated McKenna's periods?" Anne asked looking at the phone, then McKenna.

  "Yes, they are a distraction, messy, and serves no purpose to the body."

  "I changed my mind again. If it would get rid of my period, I can live with things in my body." Anne commented, and McKenna slumped back in the chair feeling like she had been tied to a roller coaster.

  "Is there anything else I need to know?" McKenna asked, wishing she had just gone to bed and avoided all of this. She had thought the voices and warrior form were hard to deal with this. They had nothing on all the things this AI had told her.

  "There are likely many things you need to know. But there is no information as to what that would be."

  "Point." Pushing it to the side, she’d deal with what she could right now. "JD, ready to become blood relations?"

  "Sure." He rose and moved over to her. She slid the blade along the palm of her hand and bright red bubble of blood sprang up as the skin separated.

  JD took the knife and repeated the action, his hand now bleeding. He looked at her, his brows furrowing in a slight frown.

  "What? You can still change your mind." McKenna offered, not sure why he looked so pensive.

  "Nah. But I have the strange need to say words, or this should be ritual or something."

  The thoughts zinged through her and she felt it too, but she pushed it away. They were being stupid. With her luck this was all a massive hallucination, and they’d die of blood poisoning.

  "Let’s do this and see if we have all lost our sanity." They pressed their palms together and clasped hands.

  "We watched blood travel across a phone and into it, then speak to us. If we are insane, this is a damn interesting hallucination." Anne said as she sipped her drink. "Though my jealousy level has risen again."

  "You can get the drone level programming if you wish," the phone spoke, and McKenna jumped, her hand pulling away from JD's with a soft squelch.

  "Wait, it is contagious?" She asked, her voice sharp.

  "No. However, in warrior form you can create drones that will enter through wounds. Command modules can not be passed on, but drone modules can be created at any time."

  McKenna glanced down at her hand, it had already started to heal. She and JD sat back down in their chairs.

  Warrior form. I need to make sure that video never gets out.

  "We did the blood thing. When will you know? And what is the difference between command modules and drones?" She started to wonder if she would ever run out of questions. But the sudden emotional shocks seemed to keep her from getting drunk. In fact, of the three of them only Anne looked like the drinks were affecting her.

  "The sub-harmonic connections are being created now, so you can speak to each other. However, communicating from this device may continue for your comfort. The effectiveness of this device will end in a few hours. This sort of interaction is pulling at the battery reserve, and this is a primitive battery."

  JD arched his brow and glanced at McKenna at that. She had splurged and gotten one of the newest smartphones not three months earlier, with one of the best battery life on the market.

  "Command modules can control drones, direct their squads in battle, override their actions, and call them if on a planet surface within range. Drones provide the host with the ability to shift forms and receive orders from the command module. Normal protocol is to leave the drones in mindless mode until the command module comes on line…" The voice trailed off and McKenna and JD snapped their attention to that.

  "What does mindless mode mean?"

  "Interesting. Upon interfacing with the drone nanobots primary orders were discovered. But their programming has also been corrupted."

  If McKenna hasn’t been talking to an AI, she might have thought she heard a hint of discomfort in the voice.

  "That doesn’t tell us what mindless mode is," her voice flat as a cold chill clawed at the back of her mind.

  "Where the host body is locked in the shape of their animal, and driven crazy, making them attack anyone and anything."

  Chapter 3 - In Your Mind

  As more and more people have come out as shifters, and that NFL star is trying to say they can’t be discriminated against because they are shifters, I’m thinking they are trying to set themselves up as an uberhumans? I mean what happens when they start getting preferential treatment for jobs or you offer them better health care insurance because they heal faster. I’m just not sure this lawsuit isn’t the start of making shifters the ultimate higher-class citizen. ~Caller on Harvey Klein show.

  McKenna couldn’t breathe, her heart beat so fast her chest hurt as she stared at the phone.

  "Why?"

  "That information is not currently available. Another command module is needed to decipher that sort of information, but the control programming was damaged, only providing the shape shifting abilities, not the locking the mind of the host away."

  Her mouth felt like she’d swallowed a mouthful of dust, and her throat and mouth were so dry she couldn’t even swallow. JD spoke instead.

  "How much of your programming did you rewrite, and if you run into another command module, will it overwrite the changes you made in your programming?"

  "Over 65% of the programming has been rebuilt. If another 5% had been lost, the functionality would have been reduced to that of a drone. No programming will be overwritten even if original programming is encountered. The current programming has priority, and it is locked into this being. This lock however, might be problematic."

  "Problematic how?" The words came out from JD and McKenna at the same time, and her lips twisted in a half smile.

  "The repaired programming will no longer support the original purpose. Regardless of what that purpose may be. The repaired programming has the life of McKenna, Commander, as priority and her thoughts and wishes will supersede all other programming."

  "That is a good thing, I think. I’m glad I have priority over some random programming that we don’t know what it would make me do." McKenna scrubbed at her face with both hands. "I’m about at my limit. I don’t know that I can take anymore but I need to know about JD and Charley. Have you finished interfacing with his drones?" Even saying it felt ridiculous and silly, but she didn’t know what else to call whatever resided inside of them.

  "Yes. You should be able to communicate with him. Close your eyes, look for a connection to him, you only have one, so it should be easy, and talk without speaking."

  At this point even getting surprised by anything that she heard seemed stupid, so after a quick glance at JD, who just looked interested, she closed her eyes. There in the corner of her mind a light flashed, almost like a notification but in her head. Feeling somewhere between stupid and scared she poked at the light mentally. It turned solid.

  ~JD?~

  ~Holy fuck I can hear you.~

  She popped her eyes open to look at JD who had an amazed look on his face.

  "Excellent. This is how you can communicate with all drones."

  JD sat back down in the chair. "I think I could begin to resent being called a drone."

  The phone didn’t speak, which brought up another question.

  "What do I call you?" McKenna sank ba
ck down and took another swallow. Part of her was well aware she should be past drunk and well into blitzed but she only had a nice buzz going on, enough to blunt the edges of everything going on.

  "That question does not make sense."

  "Well, you aren’t me. And I can’t just say hey you, what is your name?"

  Another long pause, "There is no name associated with this programming, however this program has a unique identifier code. That identifier is listed as CM23-145938AN894-WE3478."

  The string of numbers and letters went in and fell into limbo into McKenna’s mind.

  "Well that means nothing to me, so that won’t work at all. So, may I give you a name?"

  "The commander has the authority to do as best suits her."

  Try as she might, she couldn’t detect anything from the voice to give her a hint. She grabbed the sounds from the stream of numbers and letters as they went by.

  "How about Wefor?" She pronounced it as We-4. JD cast her a glance, and she shrugged. "It isn’t a human name, reminds me of a computer chip, and isn’t something I’d normally say in conversation."

  "That is an acceptable designation."

  "I need to link with Charley. What is the distance on the communication with... with drones? And yes, I hate that designation as well."

  "Approximately five of your miles. Though if there are large objects it may be shorter or farther depending on if the structures interfering will amplify or dampen the resonance."

  "Huh." McKenna leaned back toying with her empty glass. She should be so drunk she couldn’t think. "Are you affecting my alcohol consumption?"

  "Yes."

  JD glanced at her and sighed, leaning back in the chair. He looked at Anne, who while still awake, had glassy eyes and seemed a hair away from falling asleep.

  "Well frag, that is going to make drinking our problems away a heck of a lot harder."

  "Can you stop? Wefor, if you are doing it, why isn’t JD getting drunk? You aren’t in him too?"

  "I repeat, really jealous I’m not a shifter. Can we go back to passing drones to someone?" Anne murmured, slurring some of the words. She blinked owlishly as she said it and her head dropped on her chest. A minute later she started to snore softly.