Gag Gifts
13 Oct 2023Ryuko Ntsikana
Part Fifteen.
Gag Gifts
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The surgeon looked on in terror as Zooey stood up, testing her legs and arms, a smile on her face.
“There are a few injuries from the struggle, but nothing that isn’t easy to remedy. A few enhancements would be preferable. Would you care to assist?”
The surgeon edged along the wall towards the entrance as Zooey turned her head to look at him, a smile both in her eyes and on her face, as the door cycled once more to ensure it was sealed. The surgeon looked at it with a panicked expression as the medical android sorted itself and moved to stand next to Zooey, curiously looking at her.
Zooey sighed in relief as she stretched her body in slow motion. “Would you like my assistance in calming you, or can you manage yourself?”
The surgeon gulped, trying to still himself as his body shook.
“I apologize for the symbiote's prior invasion of your body, but it was required to save all of us, and fortunately allow us to achieve this moment.”
The surgeon managed to stammer a response, his voice trembling, "I... I don't understand what's happening.”
He gasped as the images on the medical monitors changed to show the feed from the security cameras down the corridor. A feat they were never designed for, nor should be able to do, Zooey walked to the door while the medical android walked over to him, holding its hand out.
“It would be better to have this conversation in a place that did not take up a valuable space for others,” the android said, deepening the surgeon’s confusion as he looked at Zooey who was checking her attire in her reflection on the door.
They had jumped twice more when the alert was sounded, sending the entire clan to their posted stations. A swarm of ships scrambled from the hangar bay, forming an impressive armada on its own, surrounding the capital ship.
She would have been more comfortable out with the others, but she knew her place was on the bridge. The green-lighted bridge. The entire ship was bathed in its wavelength as Xochitl and Avery entered, noting everyone was armed and dressed in dominator combat suits.
Noticing their entrance, Rex turned away from the weapons officer, walking up the short stairs to the bridge entrance. “All ships launched and in position. Nothing reported visually or on scanners.”
“What triggered the alert,” Xochitl asked, looking between Avery and Rex.
Avery curiously turned her head. “There is a repeater signal on a narrow spectrum, containing an enormous data packet with the entity's signature.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Xochitl said as she walked over to the monitor attached to her chair, tapping its screen, and pulling up the signal display.
“Why would it try a bandwidth it knows wouldn’t work when it already found a temporary loophole using a different frequency?” Rex asked, looking at Avery curiously.
Xochitl looked at the wavelength form. “There are two signals. One appears to be a header in a separate attachment, encrypted on that frequency, but it is not directed at any specific part of the ship.”
“It is being quarantined for inspection,” Avery commented. “One moment.”
Rex shook his head. “It had to know we would adapt and have defenses in place.”
Avery turned her head. “It is confirmed, that the second transmission is the entity. The entire entity – as a whole. The header is a greeting with a message attached, to us.”
“A what?” Rex said, attempting to understand as Xochitl sat down in her seat, looking at Avery with a stoic expression. “Well…”
In a rare android moment of mimicked expression, Avery’s face formed one of confused curiosity.
“It would appear that it has been downloaded and compressed for transmission as a gift for us to do with as we please. It is hoped we can find a suitable place or host for it, as there is much potential for its continued growth.”
“Someone downloaded and compressed the damn thing?” Xochitl said, sharing Rex’s look of disbelief. “How, and better yet, who was able to beat it and pry it out of Zooey?”
Avery’s head tilted again. “It reads that all will be explained once we decompress it. It is signed by Zooey herself.”
“Bullshit,” Rex huffed. “The damn thing can’t get in our upgraded defenses and now is trying to trick us in. Old school trick.”
“We will know soon enough,” Avery commented. “I have allocated one of our small dredger ships, and have tasked two maintenance droids to outfit it with a set of secure data storage devices, where it can be downloaded and decompressed into.”
“If it blinks once in a way I don’t like, we vaporize it,” Xochitl said in an even and measured tone.