The android bolted in through the cargo doors, full of purpose and intent. His body was still not finished. Most of his muscloskeletal system was complete but there were still some missing parts, so sections of his skeleton were still visible, and he was dripping fluids as he walked. His skull was still bare, with only parts of his facial muscles and mouth complete. The team could see the large quadriceps and other muscles contract and relax as he walked into the room. It was still a little clumsy, but both Chief and Dr. Min were amazed that it could walk at all. Its naked eyeballs quickly scanned the team, and then fixated on the captain.
It opened its mouth, but nothing came out. It was as if it was trying to mimic a human’s mouth movements, but didn’t know what to do. Seth was annoyed that he had to deal with this at the most inopportune time. “I don’t have time this. Chief, get him out of here.”
“There’s something that’s not right about him…” Dr. Min noted.
“Someone’s been messing with my machine?!” LeCroy barked.
“SOMETHING…NOT RIGHT…HIM?…” it mimicked. “…CHIEF…OUT OF…HEEEEEE-RE…”
“…It’s trying to comprehend our syntax,” Dr. Min said, while examining its tricorder. “And it’s learning how to use its lips for the first time. Whatever lips that he has.” Indeed, only one side of his mouth was complete. There was only jaw muscle on the other side.
“I don’t understand how he’s functioning. Dr. Min and I weren’t finished with him,” the Chief continued in disbelief. “He’s still missing vital organs, parts of his brain, and a circulatory system. He’s…”
“It’s not him,” Dr. Min interjected.
“What? What do you mean?” Seth asked.
Dr. Min moved his eyes towards the Draloos V species, which were flashing internally, on and off, brimming with activity. “It looks like we’ve just answered the question of how we can communicate with them. They have found a way to use the android. This is…amazing.” Indeed, on the back of BX-12’s neck, they could see an organism attached to the base of the skull. They had found a way to access his brain and control it. Min didn’t think that synthetic neurons would be compatible with natural ones, but since they were designed to perform the exact same function, maybe it wasn’t so outrageous.
“That’s not the word I would have used,” Santiago said.
“They must be in control of the hippocampus and other sensory parts of the brain, and must have synthesized all of the necessary neurotransmitters for the brain to function. His visual and auditory cortexes must be active. But I wasn’t finished with him. He shouldn’t have any knowledge, memory, or higher reasoning.”
“WE…ARE…THE ANNECTA…”
The very sound sent chills through their bones, maybe because it was the first solid indication that this was a sentient species.
“It must be Latin…or annecto, for the connected,” Ariele said.
“Why would they be using Latin on their planet?” Ester bursted aloud.
“They don’t,” Dr. Min interjected. “We transcribed some basic Latin skills onto BX-12’s brain. They must be drawing on those skills to come up with a name that conveys to us a meaning of their existence.”
Seth stepped forward, and decided to repeat his introduction. “I am Captain Seth of the U.S.S. Dragonfly, speaking on behalf of the United Federation of Planets,” he began. “Do you understand why you are here?”
“…UNDERSTAND…Captain Seth of the U.S.S. Dragonfly…”
Seth was getting impatient. He turned to Dr. Min. “Can we help it in some way?”
“Just keep talking to it. It’s learning as it is listening to us.” It was true; its’ pronunciation was significantly improving with each passing sentence. “Don’t forget, these things here may not hear sounds the way we do, or process them the way we do. This is likely the first time that it is able to hear our voices like we hear them, because we’ve shaped the ear of BX-12 and the ear canal like a human’s,” Dr. Min explained. “Even if it already knows the language, which I’m presuming that it does if it’s trying to speak with us, it will still take some practice.”
“We want to understand your relationship with the people of Draloos IV. You have killed several innocent people from there. We want to understand why.” In fact, the captain knew why, but what he was trying to get at was whether or not they had a concept of revenge.
“…KILLING INNOCENT……MISSING CREWMEMBERS….UNDERSTAND WHY…”
Captain Seth threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “Give it time, captain,” Dr. Min said. “They’re actually learning very quickly.”
“We don’t have the time,” Seth said to Min. “I want this situation resolved before the situation on Draloos IV escalates.”
“…YES, RESOLVED…”
Dr. Min moved closer to the android. He took out a small flashlight to get a better look at some of his interior. “His circulatory system’s active.” The team could see his heart pumping, and his lungs expanding and then contracting. “He’s breathing. We originally had a closed system where the blood wasn’t going to other major organs, just in and out of his pulmonary system. Right now, there is ‘blood’ flowing to his brain.”
“Why the disturbed look?” asked the captain.
“Because I haven’t made any blood for him yet. He wouldn’t exactly be using human blood; I needed time to determine all of the necessary components for him and to synthesize it. He has been pumping essentially saline solution prior to…this.”
LeCroy continued to be flushed with anger. He did not enjoy seeing anyone mess with his work. Yet he couldn’t help but be curious as to what had happened to the android. “His musculoskeletal system isn’t complete yet. And his vascular system is still currently limited, and he is still missing vital organs, like a spleen and pancreas. He won’t last long like this. I suspect that they understood that he had the bare minimum to function, and activated him for the sole purpose of communicating with us.”
“…COMM…COMMUNICUT…FOR CAPTANE…UNDERSTAND WHY KILLING…,” it continued. “…SPEAK WITH CAPTAIN…UNDERSTAND WHY KILLING INNOCENT…”
“I’m right here,” said the captain reassuringly. “I am Captain Seth. To my right is Captain Santiago. To my left are Dr. Min and Chief. Can you understand us?”
“…WE UNDERSTAND CAPTAIN. WE WISH TO SPEAK WITH CAPTAIN. WE WANT UNDERSTAND WHY KILLING INNOCENT…”
“Yes, we want to know why you have been killing innocent crewmembers. You crashed a ship from Draloos IV and the men were killed.”
“…YOU HAVE BEEN TAKING US FROM SURFACE…KILLING FROM OUR PLANET…WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY KILLING…”
This was getting frustrating. Its crude way of speaking was causing Seth to develop an unwavering headache. But admittedly, their grammar and skills were quickly improving, which surprised the captain more than he’d realized. At the same time, their voice was getting deeper, and angrier. “We don’t understand you,” Seth told them.
“Captain, I don’t think they’re talking about the destruction of the cargo ships. They’re talking about the killing of their own kind,” observed Dr. Min.
“YOU ARE DISRUPTING ECOSYSTEMS ON OUR PLANET. OUR BIOSPHERE HAS BEEN…COMPRIMISED.”
“They appear to understand everything that is happening on the planet, even though they grew in the labs of the Dragonfly,” Dr. Min told the captain. “That means they have some means of communicating with each other over large distances.”
“The people who have been transporting your bio-resources are from a neighboring planet, Draloos IV,” Seth explained. “This is Jerad, a representative from that planet.” Jerad was dead silent.
“I was right, captain,” Dr. Min interrupted. “The transport of enough of their species at any one time will significantly affect their neural net.” The android stared at them intently. His look seemed curious, but since it had no eyelids or eyebrows it was difficult to tell exactly what his expression was.
“WHY? YOU ARE DISRUPTING ECOSYSTEMS ON OUR PLANET. OUR BIOSPHERE HAS BEEN COMPRIMISED. WE ARE ACTING IN RETRIBUTION.”
Its voice was angrier still. Ensign Ester grew scared.
“WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE.”
“The population didn’t know that there was sentient life on the planet. Had they known, they never would have taken your species aboard,” Seth lied.
“THAT DOES NOT ALTER OUR QUESTION. WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE.”
“We have every right,” barked Captain Santiago, from out of nowhere. “From the moment we evolved into beings that empowered us to make the technology to better hunt and feed ourselves. We have the right do whatever we feel is responsible and right for our survival, because we can.”
“THEN…” It seemed perplexed. “…IT IS THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST…THOSE WHO HAVE THE POWER DESERVES THE RIGHT…?” It looked straight at the two captains.
“Yes,” Santiago said sternly.
The android responded in kind, “SO BE IT.”
The android instantly fell to the ground as the Annecta ‘disconnected’ from him. The organisms themselves began to glow brighter. They could see the fiery neural activity that was zipping between them. They were up to something.
Commander Ariele turned to Santiago. “What have you done?”
