QBSE Ships

TKE02 Compelling Evidence/01

The QBSE were a group of twelve scout ships, created to explore for Kurtherian presence, in any area to which they might Gate. They didn’t need to talk to anyone, and they had hes (for EIs) who preferred their almost complete autonomy. The only thing they lacked was the ability to develop emotion. Consequently, the twelve scout explorer fleet EIs were a bunch of salty bitches (for EIs) who preferred their own company. It helped them deal with the isolation. Loralei had examined her personality algorithms and was certain that a line here and there had been “borrowed” from Shinigami’s original programming. While Loralei and her sisters could never ascend to AI status, they were the next best thing. Loralei might not feel, but she could react appropriately to whatever situation she found herself in. Could Gate to whatever destination they chose.

When the Lorelai found herself about to be destroyed in a new system, she embedded an encrypted copy of a report concerning the situation in a tiny torpoedo programmed to return to a predesignated destination where it would feed the data back to High Tortuga via the Etheric. A short time later a small, unmanned torp cruised over the remains of the two ships. The onboard EI scanned the wreckage thoroughly, paying extra attention to what remained of the Loralei. The alien torp completed its circuit, turned, and shot out of the opposite end of the system in a flash of blue light.