Adventures of an Ancient Space Battleship

Kohli walked down the forest path, her boyfriend a pace behind her. They had been walking through the woods for a good hour or so. She’d had to pick a few bugs off her legs after they went through some denser underbrush. It had been a good walk though and she had enjoyed the chance to stretch her legs. 

The trees thinned and the town came into view. It had been barely a day since the transport had brought the first wave of colonists. Already people had their shelters up and were starting to build new lives. The start of a few new houses and shops could already be seen. People were about and exploring. On the beach she could see some couples enjoying the shore, some perhaps a little too intimate for public.

She smiled and then stretched as she turned around. It was fun watching his eyes shoot to her breasts and linger for a moment, “So D’rik...”

He cut her off with a kiss, which she promptly returned. Kohli didn’t even bother to stop the hand that slipped into her panties to cop a little feel. When he broke a moment later she gave him a teasing smile, “Oh, we are totally going to have some fun later!”

She meant it too, but she hadn’t changed her mind. Grabbing his hand she guided him towards the river where the boat she had arranged was waiting. “What’s the hurry, Koh? There is plenty of daylight left.”

“Oh? You will see! It’s going to be great.”

He sighed, “Sometimes I wonder if you are going to kill me.”

She gave him a look, “And if I didn’t drag you around you would sit around all day doing nothing. Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that hike.”

“The hike was fine, but I could do without the bugs crawling on my legs and in my pants.”

She shrugged, “You just have to pick them off.”

He gave her a look, “Most girls don’t like bugs that much.”

She laughed, “I never said I liked them.”

“Right...” he replied. She ignored him for a bit as she dragged him along to the boat.

As arranged it was waiting for them at the river, tied to the pier with someone to drive them. The pair clambered into the boat and it soon began to float down the river. Giving them the time to enjoy the gentle rocking and enjoy the sights.

Fish leaping from the water, people moving to and fro. Some enjoying each other's company, others working to build the expanding colony.

As they sailed past a house being built next to the water, she could hear a pair of lovers enjoying each other’s company. Not that she could see them. “So about my impending trip. I was...”

She sighed, “Did you decide to stay after all?”

He shook his head, “It’s too big an opportunity. I have to do it.”

“What about us?”

“I think I can come out maybe once or twice a year,”

She gave him a look, that wasn’t enough, but she didn’t know what to say about that. “Could we not discuss this now?”

Suddenly her sexy mood from earlier was gone. Why did he have to bring up the fact that he was leaving her for some distant university? The rest of the boat ride passed awkwardly.

Smiling, she set down the glass. Dinner had been fun and now the two of them were sprawled on her couch. She’d been wanting a little more fun, but he just had to bring up the trip again. “D’rik? Could we please not talk about that?”

He gave her a look, “Why not, you clearly have a problem with it.”

“Of course I do! You are going to be a thousand light years away. How are we supposed to have fun together if we can’t even see each other? It will cost a fortune just to visit each other.”

“And that’s why I wanted to talk about it. So we could plan out our meetings.”

Letting out a breath she shook her head, “NO. Drop it.”

He blinked, “Huh?”

“Out! We are done!”

She ushered him out a moment later, a confused look across his face.

R23-G walked down the hall. It was time to check the unprocessed babies. They weren’t yet part of the collective, but they still needed to be cared for. It had been almost three hours since the last check so it was time for her to ascertain how they are doing. As long as they were healthy the collective was happy. Not that it had much to spare for unprocessed babies, current resources were limited anyway and there was little inclination to process them. More mature specimens were of more use right now.

Not that any of those thoughts were proper for a drone. So she shelved them. Reaching the nursery she walked inside and proceeded to examine the subjects in the batch. Reaching the first one, she took a moment to scan the young girl with her eye. The subject was generally stable aside from not having fed in three hours. The minor infection noted last time had gotten a little worse, but she concluded no intervention was required at this stage. All the better as far as the collective was concerned. The baby would be fine without eating for a while longer as well, so she moved on to the next while making her first report.

The second was fine but needed a feeding and same with the third. She moved on down the rows making quick work of their health assessments. It was pretty simple and she already had the requirements expected by the collective. Before long she reached batch subject number fourteen where she quickly noted an anomaly. 

It only took R23-G a minute to discern that 14 had been fed when she wasn’t supposed to. A mistake perhaps, her feeding schedule might need some adjusting. Minor bloating was also found, likely hadn’t been burped after feeding. She felt an impulse to sigh, but quickly suppressed it as she took a moment to decide what was required.

After a moment she proceeded to burp and clean the female before moving to her twin number 15. Where she found the same anomalies. Two babies being fed when they were not supposed to be, was an issue. One she noted down and then moved on.

Subject sixteen had continued to deteriorate. Action would be required to save her, but R23-G took none. The child had failed her initial evaluation and was one of the rare female babies that had been cut off from collective resources. It was on schedule to expire, body was rapidly burning fats, skin irritations had become more severe and now it was showing signs of infection. She marked it down for another check in three hours and moved on.

The next subject of any note was number twenty-nine. The girl had previously been noted to have an infection, but now it had progressed too far. Intervention was required as the girl wasn’t fighting it off. Not well enough anyway. With that in mind she marked the girl for treatment and recommended an increase in nutrient supply. The first was quickly approved by the collective, but the second was denied. 

The rest of the batch was as expected. Finished she left the room as other drones went in to conduct the feedings. She briefly stopped by the nearby nurse’s station. Collected a syringe and waited for a drone to deliver the required medicine before heading back to give 29 her first treatment. With a second treatment pending assessment at the next check.

Once she was done she walked into the hall planning to look into the anomalies regarding babies being fed when they weren’t supposed to be. Only to learn the collective already knew and had a new job for her.

Ruyi shifted a bit, but didn’t feel like getting up just yet. Right now it was warm and comfortable, she drifted back into her dreams. Finding herself in a field of flowers as far as the eye can see. She smiled as she watched little electric mice running around in the field. One of them ran up to her. It was so cute with its light blue fur, yellow strips and puffy little cheeks. She reached out and touched it. The creature let her play with its ears. 

She giggled a bit as it started to nuzzle her hand. Her fingers tingled a bit as it let off little sparks of electricity. It was so cute. Ruyi smiled, and simply enjoyed the field. Then suddenly the mouse was gone, the flowers withered and where before there was sunlight was only a shadow cast over a dying field.

Looking around she could see decaying flesh and skeletons walking the field. While a burning house sat to her left. From the building a skeleton wrapped in a shroud of black cloth walked towards her and knelt, it spoke but she could not understand the words. Only the biting cold that came with them.

An instant later she shot up, the blanket falling from her skin. The cooler air brushing against her bare skin helping her wake up. Then she blinked as her memories came to the forefront. Wasn’t she sleeping in a trunk before? Where did this bed come from? Why was she naked? Where were her clothes?

Questions ran through her mind one after another as she took in her surroundings. She was in a small room. Resting on a very comfy bed, it was better than the one she had back home. The blanket she took from Auntie was still here wrapped around her frame, but her clothes were gone. Above the bed was a window, a nice curtain draped in front of it helped block the morning light. Giving it an interesting glow. The room was dimly lit, with only the light from the window giving her anything to see by. Reaching for a switch she saw on a nightstand, she was soon greeted with a bit of light. Not from a lamp on the nightstand like she expected but instead from four little sconces in the corners. 

Taking in the room she noticed it was quite unfamiliar. It didn’t have the stark white walls she was used to seeing in the hospital. Instead they were a sleek metallic grey, barren of decorations. The room was modest with the bed she was resting on against the wall with the window. There was a desk in the corner, complete with a computer. It had a sleek monitor, but no apparent wires of any kind. The keyboard seemed built right into the desk and there was a wireless mouse just sitting on a pad to the right. Ruyi hadn’t seen a computer built into a desk like that before.

There was a trunk at the base of the bed, and a dresser on the one wall. Two doors led out of the room. Peeking in the drawers of the dresser proved pointless since they were all empty, but the trunk had plenty of spare bedding stored in it. She found neatly folded sheets and blankets. All of good quality either as good or better than the blanket she took from Auntie.

Glancing at the two doors, she figured the one on the far wall from the bed led out of the room, the other might be a closet. So she opened the side door, but found not a closet. Instead she was greeted to the sight of a clean and sleek bathroom. Metallic grey tiles, a giant tub dominated the rear wall, it was a nice shade of black with golden fixtures.

A matching toilet sat nearby and along one wall was a large vanity with a matching sink. There was a closet on the wall opposing the vanity. One with a glass door, letting her see the neatly folded bath towels, rugs, and the basket of toiletries. There were even soaps just waiting to be used. She closed the door, used the toilet and then gathered some soaps and towels. There was a bath just begging to be used.

Ruyi was delighted to find the water was flowing when she turned the knobs. It took a bit to get the perfect temperature, but once she had it, she looked at the bottle of bubble bath she had found. Smiling, she poured it in and was rewarded with bubbling water. Then she found a control to the side and little jets turned on. Helping churn the water, she had seen tubs like this on tv, but got to use one. The girl jumped in to try it. What followed was the most fun bath she’d had in a long time, but she couldn’t help wondering why she was here.

Why wasn’t she in the trunk, and who gave her this nice room? Her missing clothes bothered her a bit too, but so far things seemed okay. So she pushed the questions aside to simply enjoy her bath. At least for a little bit.

Freshly clean and wrapped in a towel she stepped out of the bathroom. Looking towards the door she hadn’t gone through. For a moment she just stared at it. Beyond that door could be anything. Perhaps even answers for why she was here, but what if they were bad? What if she didn’t like them? Then her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she was hungry. There wasn’t any food in the room. So she took a breath, and drew closer to the door. Pausing for a moment before pulling the knob and looking out.

What she saw was a little kitchenette. Not unlike the one in front of Auntie's room, but it was different. Everything was different. Where the microwave would be was something of alien tech. She felt her heart sink a little and then a familiar voice spoke, “Good morning, did you sleep well? How was the bath?”

Her gaze turned to see a familiar figure in metal panties and bra. It was Medical Drone R23-G. At least that was what she called herself now. Ruyi didn’t know what her real name was. She froze seeing her standing there watching her. There was no smile or frown on her face, just a blank cold look. Ruyi gulped, “Um... yes?”