K9 Meets the Crew

Posted on Sun Mar 6th, 2022 @ 6:43am by Nollel Livaam (*) & Executive Officer Jake Ford & Chief Engineer Michael Burnstein

Mission: Mission 14: Holoworld
Location: Deck 11 - Corridor
Timeline: MD01 23:00
1338 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Nollel was not sure who would be in the mess hall at that time of day but it was a nice walk and the company was perfect. She kept glancing at the K9 and found herself grinning wondering how long the engineer had spent working on it and how he had managed to keep it such a secret from her. It was not like they were joined at the hip but it was a surprise as something like that had to have not been an easy secrete to keep.

“So how long have you been working on it?” She wondered as she spotted Ford coming towards them.

"Awhile." Burnie shrugged. He'd had the idea years ago and but had not had the opportunity to really tinker with it until recently. "I got a lot of him set up months ago, but I was missing some parts until we got a chance to do some salvage."

“Good evening Jake?” She greeted them as they started to pass and it would be impossible to not have a conversation about what was in front of them.

"Hmm." Jake was a little distracted as he approached. "Oh. Hey..." He finally caught sight of their 'pet'. "What the blazes is that!?"

Burnie stepped up, almost protectively laying a hand on his creation's head. "This is K-9. I made him as a companion and helper. Say hello to Jake, K-9."

"Hello, Jake," K-9 said dutifully, though his tail did not wag as it had when meeting Nollel as this person did seem happy to meet him.

Nollel looked at the man and offered a bigger smile as she felt the tension in the air. The man did not seem to be himself. He was normally stoic but nothing to this level nor did he normally have the air of being distracted. “K9 Jake is the second person in charge of this vessel,” Nollel explained.

Jake opened his mouth to speak, looking curiously at the automaton sat before him. Then he closed his mouth. And then his jaw worked a few times as he processed the thought. "Honestly, I expected something like this from Eden, rather than you guys..."

"Hey, I made a dog, not a spider!" Burnie objected. "Besides, K9 isn't just a pet. He's going to be a great help in engineering. He has a camera and sensor grid with basic diagnostics programmed in, and he can fetch and carry up to ten times his own weight. He has some built in tools so he can do remote work for me in spots it's hard for human-sized crew to get to, and some of those make him a very effective guard dog too." He smiled, looking over at Nollel. No boarder was ever going to hurt her again if K-9 could get to her side.

Nollel could not help but giggle at the spider comment. It was a well-known fact among the crew that Eden adore the spider but Jake was not sure much but he adored Eden so he promised on it all. "I much prefer the dog. Maybe you would too?" Nollel suggested. "Plus this is a get around of Gregnol's no pets or children rule." She pointed out with a nudge to Burnie as she teased him about their previous conversation.

Burnie rolled his eyes but grinned a little. "Maybe both at once. My sister used to joke that the dog was mom's favorite kid."

"I shall be dutiful dog and child if you wish, Master," K-9 volunteered.

"Woah woah woah..." Jake frowned, protesting quickly at the suggestion with an agape expression.

Nollel snorted and covered her mouth at K9's phrasing. It was brilliant innocent in his volunteering to be both. "Let us not go there." She commented still grinning. "Are you okay Jake? You look a bit distracted." The woman said kindly.

"I just..." he glanced between them. "Is this legal? It's definitely not an artificial intelligence, right?"

"Completely legal," Burnie assured him. "Technically. An AI has to be sentient adult equivalent to fall under restricted use. K-9 is, well, at canine level intelligence."

Nollel smiled and put her hand on Burnie’s arm and squeezed. She never had that issue, she did not doubt that her boyfriend would have considered every aspect of it all to keep and everyone else out of penal colony. “Do not worry. Without a doubt, Burnie would not get us in trouble … well that kind of trouble anyway.”

"I'm not a lawyer," Burnie said and flashed a brief grin. "But I'm related to a bunch of them - three aunts, an uncle, four cousins - so I'm pretty confident K-9 is on the right side of the legal line." He looked down at K-9, then over at Nollel with a smile. "Yeah, if anyone is worried about trouble ...maybe don't check the weapons lab too closely."

Nollel raised an eyebrow. "I am not going to ask. Are you Jake?" The woman wondered not at all questioning the suggestion. She would find out eventually if Burnie was involved.

Jake looked at the couple, and then their new 'pet'. It was a little strange, given how Eden usually acted, to see their dynamic. "I'm not one to judge, so long as it doesn't end up eating anyone's legs or whatever." Although if it could be persuaded to eat spiders... "K-9. Not 'Rex' or 'Lassie' or anything, then?"

"Bit of pun on canine, but it's also a nod to an old earth science fiction series," Burnie explained. "It was really popular - ran for decades, almost up to First Contact, and... " he flashed a brief almost guilty grin, "...there's still a bit of a cult following among people who've done anything in temporal mechanics. Anyway, at one point the main character had a robotic dog named 'K-9', who I always thought was one of his best companions."

K-9 yipped and wagged his tail. "I shall try to be worthy of my name, Master."

Nollel giggled finally clicking on where she recognised the name. They had watched a few episodes when she had first come on board before things had gotten strange with the body-swapping and her being the hero. "I am sure you will." Nollel approved looking at Jake still. She was sure something was wrong with him but she was not going to push it there and then but she would catch up with him soon.

"So, I'm guessing 'fetch', 'play dead' and 'roll over' aren't the only things it'll do? Thinking of tricking it out to help with repairs and such?" Jake wondered.

"Definitely," Burnie replied with a smile. "He can laser weld, splice ODNs, carry up to ten times his own weight. And he's got a camera and sensor grid built-in, so he can help with inspections. You won't find a better pet," he added looking down at K-9, who wagged his tail in response.

"Everyone will want one," Nollel said with a positive slant on things. She was growing more and more fond of K9 by the moment. It was just like Burnie to build something so multipurpose.

"Maybe that's what I'm worried about," Jake grumbled. "At least we don't have children on board, they'd all want one." And Eden would be top of that list, he noted to himself.

Nollel smiled as she saw him zone out for a moment. "Should probably get on to showing him off to a few more people before bedtime. We are both on Alpha watch." She said looking at her chronometer and the fact she had been dressed for bed.

"True," Burnie replied, giving a polite nod to Jake. "I got caught up in finishing K-9 as it is, so our quiet night in has already been seriously delayed."

"At least I did not drag him home from a bar or something," Nollel said brightly despite the time of the day. "Night Jake."

Jake just gave a nod, and another questioning look at their artificial pet. "Yeah...good night..."