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Quinn grunted. If the AI wanted to think himself into circles and be awkward in his body, that was his business.
“Is he connected to it now?” Kira asked politely for Watson.
“We can do the upload in the morning.”
Dinner wrapped up shortly after. Kira walked after Quinn to ask, “Do you have to initiate the transfer for the first time? I’m sure he’d like to thank you for your work.”
“Have to? No. Watson will have access to the drone bay controls. Once I put his body into its charging unit, he can transfer his primary algorithm in and out of his body from there seamlessly.”
“Ah.”
Quinn paused mid-step when he realized she kept following him, frowning. “Do you... want me to be there?” One of the various algorithms he designed to help him with social cues indicated that may be the case.
“I-” She took a deep breath. “I have to admit that for once I’m nervous. I’m not sure why...”
“I really can’t guess.” It seemed like everyone thought this was a bigger deal than it was. He controlled dozens of drones all the time and his brain functioned in similar ways to the AI’s. “Whatever, I can be there to run a diagnostic and make sure my work is functioning perfectly.” He hadn’t been planning to bother since the AI would be capable of self scan and diagnostic.
“Thank you, Quinn.” She flushed with appreciation, and a smile crossed her features at his agreement. “Just let me know what time.”
Chapter Fifteen
KIRA
Quinn sent a signal telling her to come to the drone bay at 0900 hours. How he’d added an entirely new bay to the ship without changing its dimensions was a mystery. Then again, she also learned that he’d installed an infinity pool in the exercise room, so perhaps it was best not to question how he managed anything.
Inside the drone bay were racks of drones designed to tend to basic maintenance and repair of the ship. Nestled into a corner and turned outward to the room, a singular large pod with a man’s body resting inside of it. The egg-shaped design with a flat bottom took up only a small area. The inside of the pod formed to the body perfectly, with unnecessary padding covered in smooth and shining black fabric. A glass dome sealed the front. A pair of fabricated shorts rested on the android form to provide some modesty.
The body that lay in the pristine chamber was immaculately beautiful in its own right. Tall, a little over six feet, broad in the shoulders, slimmer in the hips, with eyelashes as long as the depth of space outside. The eyes were closed for the moment, waiting to be opened by a consciousness that had yet to take control. It looked peaceful. While Kira had not said it, she felt like she’d stepped into a child’s novel. As if he was a male sleeping beauty, encased awaiting a princess.
“Alright, you ready?” Quinn asked Kira and Watson as he scratched his neck.
Kira only nodded, but Watson came over the line with a gentle, Yes.
Kira looked at Quinn, not expectantly, but nervously again. She wasn’t ready for this to become the truth, even if she’d been working for it. Watson had fashioned himself as well as possible based on his prior looks and being Praetorian he bore the dusky skin and high features, but she’d not expected the purposeful five o’clock shadow to be redone, which made her smile, and the shaggy long hair in a dark brown that hung over his eyebrows.
“Okay.” With that, Quinn gave Watson access to the drone bay.
From there, the process became incredibly simple for him to transfer his primary interface into the android's body. Watson took a moment to do so, and the instant that it clicked, his eyes opened. They were a startling shade of blue, brighter than Quinn’s, and more focused the instant they opened. They did not veer away from anything. Instead he took in the world around him.
The pod’s concave dome opened outward to Watson’s right, and his hands grasped the side of it.
Kira had been standing a few feet directly in front of the pod. She stepped back a little when his feet touched the ground. The breath she’d been holding came out then and her eyes trailed over him. Quinn watched her cheeks flush, the angle of her gaze calculated without thinking, it’d been on Watson’s chest. She averted them rather quickly, to the ground, then to Quinn, then back up to Watson’s face as he took another step, coming directly in front of her, his steps eating the ground up quickly.
Quinn remotely accessed the diagnostic feed of the android’s body, his eyes roving over the data. Something that might be a problem for Watson, as the data access would cause it to flit over his eyes as well. Quinn examined it all rather quickly and then shrugged his shoulders.
“No signs of any issues with the takeover. Told you he’d be fine. See? He’s walking around already.” Closing the diagnostic feed, Quinn added, “you should get some clothes. I designed a clothing fabrication drone. I’ll let you access that and you can have it create whatever you’d like.”
Quinn’s personal drones did not share the same network as the drone bay. He kept sole control of his literal army of drones, which now took up a fair chunk of one of the many cargo bays.
“Thank you.” Watson looked at Quinn, but still stood in front of Kira.
Kira jolted visibly. He’d synthesized his voice before based on his memories, but this time it did not have the unnatural feel of an A.I. overlaid to protect him. Even the Callistar was not immune to hackings, and if they’d found a sentient being, there was no telling what might have happened to him.
Watson turned his gaze back down to Kira and raised his hand. She stood perfectly still while he did so. He was… exactly as he had been.
“Captain,” he said in almost a whisper as he touched her cheek, feeling her skin.
“Watson,” she said breathlessly in return, just the slightest upturn to the corner of her lips.
