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Lunch on the bridge did not differ from on the promenade for them, other than having a table. Kira spoke while they ate, mostly about being impressed by the jumps. As they sent the trays back down via drone, Quinn informed her of his morning.
“I talked with Alec about the changes to the ship and then he left for lunch. Jaden then came in to prepare a prank against Rick.”
Kira groaned audibly. “They’re not starting that up again, are they?” The comment seemed not an order, but a more verbalized complaint.
“Uh, I guess? Jaden set up a pressure plate connected to a confetti cannon and left it at Rick’s workspace.”
“That’s child’s play.” She dragged her hair back away from her forehead. The motion a stress reaction. He’d begun categorizing her movements. “It always escalates, always.”
“Okay? This is one of those people's problems I shouldn’t try to resolve, right?” He could set a drone to the task, but it would have to scan rooms before people entered or constantly be roving.
“Yes, this is a people problem.” Kira touched his upper arm. His neural net suggested that she was pleased with him.
“What should I do if I get caught up in one of their pranks?”
“I would advise you not to get in their way at all, but if you do, I would leave it be. I feel as if your reaction would floor them, which I have to admit I’d almost like to see, but it’s best to just take the hit and keep on moving.”
“Okay.”
The comm panel lit up behind her, flashing. From around her, he could see her importing clearance codes necessary to get them into the spartan sector. He chewed thoughtfully. Their roles were reversed now. It felt odd.
“Sorry.” Her apology came as she retook her seat. “Until we get through all the clearance sectors, things are going to be hectic since we’re doing this the right way.”
The panel beeped again. Kira groaned.
“Do you want me to answer those?” He could split his focus between her and that easily.
“No, I mean it’s gotta be done, but it’s my job to do it.”
A new message popped up beneath her fingertips on the screen, waiting to be sent. An almost exact copy of the request she’d just made, “Are you sure cause it’s literally just this.”
“Your mind is like a computer, isn’t it?” Her back remained to him. One finger hovered over the button to send the message.
“Similar enough. Artificial organic consciousness, that was the goal with me. Free of the restrictions of A.I. because I am technically human.”
“And yet you can turn it on and off.” Her finger came down.
“I can shut off my neural net and put myself into sleep mode, which shuts down the rest of my processors. So yeah, sort of.” He couldn’t shut it all the way off, even in sleep mode a few of the sub processors had to stay operational to make sure he didn’t die but he could go from being able to split his consciousness as much as any true A.I. down to just four open windows.
The chair was empty and yet her hip rested on the edge of the table, forcing him to lift his chin to view her properly. He noticed her femininity at that moment, the soft curve of her full lower lip, the long black hair that shone purple in the right light around her face, and the gentleness of her touch as she cupped his cheek. “And you do that when we spend time together sometimes?”
“Uh, yeah, of course.” Heat coursed inside of him, trailing downward. Uncertainty gripped Quinn, but he told her, “Usually when I don’t want anything to distract me from the moment.”
How she looked at him in that moment made his heart pound uncontrollably. His vision became clear, no charts, no data, as his net shut off almost unconsciously. Holding her with his now pale blue eyes for a moment before the infuriating clearance protocols shot off again, taking her away.
He wasn’t really sure what had just happened, but whatever it was, it faded slowly. His neural net blinked back on and he answered the message for her. Standard paperwork like forms didn’t take him any actual mental effort to do since he could transplant the literal thought of the completed form into the table.
“Thank you.” She caught it as he finished it.
“It’s really no trouble.”
A sharp intake of air from her, the seat shifted as she leaned back, and she told him, “Don’t let Jaden draw you into their games either. It’s not fair to Rick, and it’s the only way things work.”
“So if he asks for help, I should say no?”
“You can-” Her gaze shifted down, then back up. “Help. They just need to be his ideas. You don’t need to make them grandiose.”
“Okay.”
