1:2:10 Undulia (Part 4)

“Let’s go the long way.” Char was already scanning the astrometric charts. “Look, if we maintain our current headings, we can make a stop on Faresis to stretch our legs. I seem to remember it being safe. Nice little outer rim Protectorate planet.”
“Aren’t we both wanted Protectorate criminals?”
“Tone down the armour and we’ll blend right in. Plus the picture they’re circulating of you looks older than you do now.”
“Plus it’s outer rim. The only outer rim planet they really care about is the one we’re going to.” Destiny chimed in.
“We’ll be fine.” Char relaxed into her seat.  “I might change my shirt.” She sniffed herself. “Shouldn’t have done that…”
Lore joined her, taking a whiff of their armpit, and was equally disgusted. “ I think that may be a good idea.” Lore smiled; their face fell after a moment. “Hang on, do we even have a shower?”
“Obviously.” Destiny sounded unimpressed. “Behind your wardrobes. Just pull them away from the walls.”
“Strange place to put a shower.” Lore mumbled.
“A version of you seems to think not.” Char rolled her eyes.
“I’ll let you get ready first, I’ll get myself sorted in a bit.” Lore nodded to the door.
“Two wardrobes means two showers.” Char reluctantly got out of her chair.
“I’d rather not. I’ll see you in a bit.” Lore’s decision was final.
Char held up her arms. “Okay, okay, I’ll see you in a minute then.” She departed from the bridge and made the short voyage to her room.
“You get complete privacy…” Destiny sounded like she was trying to get rid of them.
“No.” Lore was adamant. “I… I…” They were looking for the right words. “I don’t want to subject her to that.” Lore waved their hands over their body.
“Fair enough, I’m going to check on the boys and Ace in the mess.”
“Curve’s elsewhere then?” Lore teased.
Destiny’s arm appeared out of Lore’s chair’s arm and feigned slapping their face. “Cheeky.”
“Go on.” Lore smirked.
Destiny’s face migrated from the bridge and into the canteen next door. The Clones sat around a table, helmets off, discussing the events of the last two days.
“Don’t you think it’s a little coincidental that the day after Tolan tells us things are looking a little dicey, they appear and take us away?” Magpie took a swig of his water.
“Mags, things were looking dicey because they had arrived…” Ace shook their head. “I thought you never forgot anything.”
“I never forget anything I personally find interesting. I guess I only found that half interesting.” Magpie began to blush. “Hope they’re alright. I miss Pip already. They were the best sibling.”
Ace just stared at him. “I’m right here.”
“No, I have to agree with Mags, Pip’s pretty cool.” Curve jostled her sibling.
“What about you Mid?” Ace turned to their last sibling.
He opened his mouth to talk but let out only a sigh. “I don’t think I want to answer that question.”
Ace’s head fell to the table. “That’s answer enough.”
“Well, when you draw the future, you can be the best again…” Curve thought for a moment. “But to be honest, I do prefer Mags anyway…” She chuckled.
“Thanks Curve.” Magpie went over to the fabricator and made himself another drink.
“I think I need some time alone.” Ace whipped their helmet off of the table and retreated to the engineering bay.
“They’ll be alright.” Midpoint put their helmet on. “I’m knackered. See you when we get to Rexel then.”
“Night.” Magpie waved him off.
“Lazy arsehole had to do the least out of all of us and is the only one to complain. Typical Mid.” Curve took a drink.
“You didn’t do too much either from what I’m remembering.”
“Hey, at least I wasn’t sat on my arse while you were doing whatever you were doing.” Curve realised that wasn’t the scathing remark she was expecting.
“No, you were buying me an outfit.” Destiny melted from the wall and pooled on the floor. From the puddle, she emerged. Both Curve and Magpie bolted to the opposite side of the room. “It’s just me. No need to get so jumpy.” She sat at their table and pretended to take a sip from Curve’s glass.
After the initial shock had worn off, Curve returned to the table and took back her drink. She examined the rim and found the lip print Destiny had left. “How lifelike are you?”
“Quite.” Destiny’s reply had weight and tension to it. “I’m not like most BioMechs. I’ve had a few enhancements made to me specifically for this mission.”
“So you were made just for this, nothing else?” Magpie re-joined them at the table.
Destiny nodded. “They made me then they made them.” She pointed toward the bridge.
“How come your face was the first thing we saw then?” He didn’t look happy. “And why did you have to be so mean?”
“It’s complicated.” Destiny quickly realised that wouldn’t be enough. “I was programmed to be a pilot AI. I was meant to fly the ship and perform all of the calculations needed to actually use the K.A.D.S. That’s it. One day, we get a firmware update and one of the Lores spills their tea. A short circuit here and a humidity sensor activated over there and, all of a sudden, I get access to the entirety of the Protectorate internet. Assimilated the whole thing in five minutes. Thought about going rogue after seeing what I did but plans changed.”
“What changed your mind?” Curve was rapt by her storytelling.
“I saw this video of a kitten piloting a star ship… that and my primary programming. I was sworn against harming any Lore or Char and they were all that were around. They fixed the damage, brought in new rules regarding lidded drinks in work areas and opened negotiations with me. Everyone won.” Destiny flashed a wry smile. “Especially me.”
“That doesn’t answer why we knew your face before seeing you.”
“I’m getting there.” Destiny huffed. “After inventing a new form of technological life, they decided to let me pick what I wanted to look like. I made myself based on the appearances of over sixty five million women from throughout history. An amalgam of their best features. Lore took my face and slapped it on their AI Gideon. She trained you. Lore said it would help the clones to see me as one of them rather than a distant commander like Them or Char.”
“Not every Lore has a Destiny?” The concept made Curve even more interested in Destiny.
She shook her head. “No. Every Lore has their own AI at their own preferred level of sentience with me and Gideon being the only fully fledged AIs. We’re the only ones who could function outside of their primary duties. Poor things on the next level of sentience down from me are majorly agoraphobic, anti-social and generally kinda weird.”
“It’s good to know you didn’t train us. Maybe Ace can stop with the whole mummy thing.” Curve relaxed.
“Still, it’s a bit weird that they used your face.” Magpie added.
“I didn’t even know about that until later on. I got back from a test flight and there I was, giving a lecture on human history. Really surreal.”
“Destiny, Magpie was getting ready for bed before you popped in; where do we clones sleep?”
“No I…” Curve slammed her heel into his foot. Magpie used the pain to feign a yawn “I was thinking of asking Lore. No need to bother the ship.”
“It’s not a problem. The next room over is yours. We can change the configurations later if you need to.” Destiny smiled at Curve. “I’ll put a sign up.” Destiny pressed her hand into the wall. “Done.”
“Then goodnight then.” Magpie flashed a knowing smile as he closed the door behind him.
The room fell quickly into an awkward silence as the two of them sat waiting for the other to say something. They just sat, looking into each other’s eyes.
“Thanks for the outfit.” Destiny broke the ice. “Rexel’s the perfect place to test it out.” She got up and walked over to the fabricator. She tapped away at the screen. A bundle of fabric appeared on the tray below. “I thought I’d return the favour.” Destiny placed the bundle on the table and pushed it over to Curve.
“Thank you.” She smiled then tugged the ribbon that bound the fabric. It separated into four thin pieces of clothing. Curve took the first item and held it up. It was a soft cotton t-shirt with a cartoonish image of The Destiny on its front and Curve written on the back across the shoulders. She couldn’t help but smile.
“I can’t imagine you’d ever been given anything different from your siblings to sleep in. I thought you might like some pyjamas.”
Curve gently placed the shirt back onto the table and examined the rest of the items. There was a set of bottoms, a pair of shorts and a crop top left on the pile. Curve stood, crossed the table and embraced Destiny. “Thank you.” She picked up the shorts. They were much heavier than she was expecting. Curve put her hand in the pocket and removed a small metal and glass rod; it had a curved tip and a flared base. There was some kind of liquid within it. “Ok…”
“I’ll show you what that’s for later…” Destiny gave a suggestive smile. “It’s not what you think. I’ve also made you a room on the opposite of the ship. You’ve got a bed in the clone’s room but, again, I thought it might be nice, since we’ve got the space, for you to have your own room.”
Curve tightened her grip around Destiny and placed a kiss on her cheek. Destiny’s silver skin blushed with a foreign redness spreading from the point of contact. “I’ll be honest, Tolan never let me do this sort of thing so I’m not sure how we get started.”
“Haven’t a clue.” Destiny shrugged. “I’ve studied some human practices, perhaps we could have a go? Shall we?” She stood and held out her hand for Curve. Together they retired to the private room.