The first year of her tour had passed. Arsha was gaining some fame as a Realmfleet Captain. Right now, she was ordered to go to Galthar to pick up the famous Dr. Ganshar, the robotics expert, for the test of a new robot crewmember. Marshii, of course, had something to grumble about that. \u201cMaking a robot to do the work of a Realmfleet member,\u201d she muttered to Arsha as they looked out the window of Barmek\u2019s. \u201cI tell you, it ain\u2019t right to replace one of us with a robot! It\u2019s a walking computer with only preprogrammed instructions! No real drive to go beyond its limits like us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not replacing one of us,\u201d replied Arsha, \u201cit\u2019s a supplement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSupplements can only get you so far!\u201d argued Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBesides, this new robot,\u201d continued Arsha, \u201chas initiative programmed into it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…Initiative being programmed?\u201d quizzed Marshii. \u201cNow THAT I wanna see. You can\u2019t program initiative into something! It\u2019s something people like us are born with!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019ll be something to celebrate in robotics,\u201d declared Arsha. Just then, the comms buzzed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShalvey to Arsha,\u201d began the caller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo ahead,\u201d directed Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDr. Ganshar and her new robot are ready for pick-up,\u201d reported Shalvey. \u201cTransport room 3 is standing by.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn my way,\u201d answered Arsha as she and Marshii headed off to the transporter room. A Centaur crewman running the place checked the runic circles and gave the thumbs-up when they arrived. \u201cTransport,\u201d directed Arsha. The crewman chanted a spell, making a shape of blue light appear in the circle. The shape became two, then the light died down as it formed a female Stone Elf and a being of metal. The metal being was built like a woman and had a pentagon with a single dot for a face. The dot moved as if it was an eye. It seemed to scan the room. \u201cWelcome to the Endeavor<\/em>, Dr. Ganshar,\u201d greeted Arsha. \u201cI\u2019m Captain Arsha Royana and this is my chief medical officer, Marshii Borontho.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo glad to be here!\u201d cheered Dr. Ganshar. \u201cI\u2019d like you to meet my creation, X5272-Jansha!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGreetings,\u201d bid the robot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJansha?\u201d asked Marshii. \u201cAs in the late Dr. Jansha?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy mentor,\u201d confirmed Dr. Ganshar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI see,\u201d muttered Marshii. \u201cSo, what if it does something to disgrace the name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cImpossible,\u201d assured Dr. Ganshar. \u201cJansha, sweetheart, could you explain?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is not in my programming,\u201d replied Jansha. \u201cI have three directives preventing me from causing harm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd those directives are?\u201d invited Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDirective One:\u201d began Jansha, \u201cI will not, through action or inaction, allow any life-form to come to harm. Directive Two: I will obey all orders unless that order conflicts with the first directive. Directive Three: I will defend myself unless that defense conflicts with the first and second directives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI programmed them into her in case her emotional subroutines cloud her judgement,\u201d whispered Dr. Ganshar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSmart,\u201d praised Arsha. \u201cNow then, Jansha, we\u2019re going to run some tests to see how well you can perform in a combat situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI understand,\u201d replied Jansha. \u201cI hope to be a valuable First Officer to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…I…don\u2019t think the position of First Officer is open on this ship,\u201d remarked Arsha, confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI apologize for any presumption,\u201d answered Jansha. \u201cDr. Ganshar and I have been under the impression that Commander Oak Mosstrunk was leaving for a new ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…I see,\u201d muttered Arsha. \u201cIn the meantime, Jansha, how good are you at engineering?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTop of my class,\u201d exclaimed Jansha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood,\u201d answered Arsha. \u201cMarshii, mind leading them to Main Engineering? I need to get in touch with Realmfleet about this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSure thing,\u201d replied Marshii. As Marshii led them to Main Engineering, Arsha headed to her ready room and called up Admiral Rokalla. His face appeared on screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cArsha,\u201d greeted Rokalla. \u201cHaven\u2019t heard from you since the Vorkath Affair. What can I do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s about the robot crewman,\u201d explained Arsha. \u201cShe and Dr. Ganshar are onboard now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA delight, isn\u2019t she?\u201d chuckled Rokalla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd a bit presumptuous,\u201d continued Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCaptain?\u201d quizzed Rokalla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe said she was going to take Oak\u2019s place,\u201d elaborated Arsha. \u201cLast I checked, he\u2019s still my First Officer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t tell me he\u2019s passing up another commission!\u201d protested Rokalla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne\u2019s available?\u201d inquired Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Realmtrail<\/em>,\u201d confirmed Rokalla. \u201cThis is the fourth one he\u2019s declined!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…A bit odd, considering his career,\u201d mused Arsha. \u201cHe\u2019d make a fine captain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou may want to tell him that,\u201d suggested Rokalla. \u201cLike I said, this is the fourth time we\u2019ve pulled out the Captain\u2019s chair for him and he\u2019s refused to sit in it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell him he\u2019s more than ready for command, especially since he\u2019s been a First Officer since Daddy commanded this ship,\u201d declared Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood to hear,\u201d replied Rokalla. \u201cIn the meantime, where do you have Jansha?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe\u2019s in Main Engineering,\u201d reported Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThangred\u2019s going to like her, I know it,\u201d chuckled Rokalla. \u201cAll right, I\u2019ll leave you to Jansha\u2019s tests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSee you around, Sir,\u201d finished Arsha. \u201cArsha out.\u201d The call ended as Arsha considered how to approach the topic with Oak.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The first year of her tour had passed. Arsha was gaining some fame as a Realmfleet Captain. Right now, she was ordered to go to Galthar to pick up the famous Dr. Ganshar, the robotics expert, for the test of a new robot crewmember. Marshii, of course, had something to grumble about that. \u201cMaking a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,95],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-2067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-2-the-rise-of-living-metal","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2067"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2068,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067\/revisions\/2068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}