Chapter 29: Yastri System

After a brief rest in my cabin, my next task was to design safeguards for swimming in Yastri three. Not being an expert, it was time to consult with Laine.

“Ship, please contact Laine. Ask her if she could meet me in the main bridge shortly,” I said.

“Confirmed ... She will meet you there,” replied Ship.

I left my cabin and wandered up to the main bridge. Laine wasn’t there yet, so I fetched myself a coffee from the food dispenser and sat on the sofa.

Laine arrived a few minutes later and promptly sat in my lap, grinning. I ignored her antics and focused on the work we had.

“Thank you for joining me. As you know, we’re planning to swim in the ocean on Yastri three,” I said.

She nodded.

“Jem suggested we design safeguards to protect us. I’d like your help on this,” I said.

“Sure. I enjoy working on projects with you,” she said.

“So, how do they protect swimmers on Quard?” I asked.

“For children, they’d wear something to increase their buoyancy. A vest with air pockets, to help keep them on the surface where they can breathe,” Ship replied.

“Makes sense. Ship, do you have designs for such buoyancy devices?” I asked.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“What next?” I asked.

“A floating barricade. It surrounds an area of shallow water close to the beach. It stops you floating off into deeper water,” replied Laine.

“Ship, add a floating barricade to the list,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Oh, and we could have watercraft to rescue anyone who got carried out to sea,” added Laine.

“Ship, you got that?” I asked.

“Adding watercraft for rescuing lost swimmers,” replied Ship.

“Excellent!” I said.

“Of course, the best protection is common sense. Don’t swim beyond your ability. Don’t swim if you’re tired. Make sure someone knows where you are,” said Laine.

“I can include trackers in the buoyancy device and sensors to detect if a swimmer is having difficulty,” added Ship.

“Nice touch,” I said.

“Do we need to deal with aquatic predators?” asked Laine.

“I don’t know. Ship, can we design something to track aquatic predators?” I asked.

“Confirmed. If predators are in range, a warning will sound,” replied Ship.

I nodded. I didn’t like being eaten by aquatic predators.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“No, that’s about all you need,” she replied.

“Great! Ship, when we arrive, give the designs to Kreia. She can fabricate everything we need,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Thank you, Laine. These safeguards should make for a safe and enjoyable visit,” I said.

“You’re very welcome, Brian,” she said.

She got off my lap and bounced off toward the elevator. I sat there watching the tactical display.

A few days later, we arrived at the edge of the Yastri system. This was a system we liberated from the Lagaid in the early days of our conflict with them.

Ship gave us warning, and we arrived at the main bridge in time to watch.

“Ship, get in contact with Kreia,” I said.

“Confirmed. I am now connected via the system network,” replied Ship.

“Welcome back to the Yastri system,” said Kreia.

“Ship, please take us in to an orbit around Yastri three. Update Kreia and share those designs,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

On the tactical display, the system showed lots of blue dots. This was now one of our most protected systems. Soon we moved forwards towards Yastri three.

“Congratulations on your promotion, Captain Brian,” said Kreia.

“Thank you, Kreia,” I said.

Jem smiled at me. I’d earned my promotion by changing history and saving her life.

“Kreia, do you have any news updates for us?” I asked.

“No alerts from Baglogi, Dentra, and Earth. The defences are all working,” replied Kreia.

That was reassuring to hear.

“Kreia, you can add the Uv’ek system into our network. Ask Ship for details,” I said.

“I’ll send them a message probe shortly, Captain,” said Kreia.

“We’re coming to enjoy shore leave on the island resort you prepared for us,” said Jem.

“Everything will be ready for your arrival, Commodore, including the safeguards requested by Captain Brian,” said Kreia.

“Excellent!” said Jem.

The tactical display showed we were approaching Yastri three. Soon we’d be in orbit.

“Brian, Laine, Saria,” said Jem. “Grab your swim suits and meet me in decontamination, we’re due for shore leave.”

Talk about enthusiastic! Soon we were dressed in our away team uniforms and entering the shuttle.

I sat in the pilot seat as usual and performed my pre-flight checks.

“We are now in orbit above Yastri three. I programmed the coordinates for the island into the shuttle autopilot,” said Ship.

“Thank you, Ship. We’ll see you in a few days,” said Jem.

The outer door opened and our shuttle exited the shuttle bay. The autopilot took over, and we descended toward the planet.

“We’ll finally get to enjoy the resort! This system is secure, and the Lagaid or other hostiles won’t disturb our shore leave,” said Jem.

I turned toward Jem. “Remember when we tried to enjoy the beach on Carolus four?”

“Yes, the Varech arrived uninvited. We had a close escape from them,” she replied.

“We’re so prepared this time. If they tried to come here they’d get wiped out by our system defences,” I said.

“Carolus four was before my time,” said Saria.

“We got attacked by these evil six-legged insect creatures. Since then, we install system defences,” said Laine.

“The Varech are allies of the Lagaid. Another race of evil beings,” I said.

Laine nodded.

“I know the Lagaid well enough,” said Saria. “We faced them on the passenger transport and on Quard.”

At that moment, I had an idea.

“Kreia, I have a task for your manufacturing facility,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Kreia.

“I’d like you to build a vessel and send it to the Carolus system. When it arrives, it will deploy probes and protect the system from hostiles.”

“What is your choice of designation for the AI?”

I thought for a moment. “Kreia, designation is Rhan, gender is male.”

“Confirmed,” replied Kreia.

“What is your plan for the Carolus system, Captain?” asked Jem.

“There’s a network of obelisks, including one on Carolus four. We might want to take advantage of that network, so I’m claiming that system,” I replied.

Jem nodded. “That makes sense,” she said.

Our shuttle descended through the atmosphere. The view below showed blue ocean, except for a tiny speck of an island.

“Kreia, one more thing. In the next message probe to the Earth system, could you ask Quon if he can get several coffee plants? If he can, have them sent to the Uv’ek system and delivered to Mina,” I asked.

“I will dispatch a message probe,” replied Kreia.

“It’s not urgent. Tell Quon if he can’t do it without disturbing the primitive population, not to bother,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Kreia.

“Coffee plants?” asked Laine.

“Well, I enjoy replicated coffee, but I’d like to try the real thing. As we no longer have a botanist aboard, it’s best to send it to Mina to try growing it there,” I replied.

“Yum! I wonder how it will compare with our replicated coffee,” pondered Laine.

“If it tastes good, it could be Uv’ek’s first export in millennia,” I said.

“And we’ll be their first customer,” said Jem. “Good thinking, Captain!”

I grinned. I had to avoid violating a closed world, but if Quon could collect samples...

Soon our shuttle was on landing approach. We touched down gently on the landing pad, with no manual intervention needed.

We stepped out of the airlock onto the island. At once I breathed in the warm salty air. I made a mental note to ask Ship to update the lido when we returned.

We faced a covered structure ahead of us. The structure was open on all sides and appeared to be a reception area.

“This way,” said Jem as she marched ahead.

We followed her into the structure.

Inside, a hologram image of Kreia greeted us. It was a Quard female, no doubt based on a composite of images from Laine’s device.

She looked at us and spoke in Ori. “Welcome to the Yastri four resort.”

“Thank you, Kreia,” said Jem.

Laine stood still in awe of the image before her. “Mother!”

“Yes?” asked Kreia.

“You look incredible,” said Laine.

“Thank you, Laine. When I was created, I had access to video and images of your mother. I created this avatar to better interact with guests to the resort,” said Kreia.

Laine spoke in Quard with the image of her mother, who responded in Quard. Jem, Saria, and I stood back and watched with mild amusement.

A few minutes later, Kreia gestured at us and spoke to us in Ori. “I’m sorry, we’re catching up and I’m learning more about my namesake.”

She pointed at a path to our right. “That path will take you to the guest cabins. Please choose cabins for yourselves. If you need something during your visit, just ask.”

“We can do that,” said Jem.

We left Laine in the reception area. A brief walk took us to the first of several cabins. Jem took the first one.