The Two Body Problem

Posted on Tue Jun 20, 2023 @ 9:18pm by Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Commander Zachary Addams & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot

2,643 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: We Will Take Care of You
Location: Brig

Entering the Brig, in response to the security officer on duty’s immediate reaction in standing up sharply upon seeing the Captain unexpectedly enter the otherwise unoccupied security space the Captain quickly said “At ease Lieutenant, for the moment at least. We are about to give you more to do ..”

Waving her hand to indicate that the Lieutenant should move himself clear, the Captain took position at the security console and quickly began adjusting the settings for the security system protocols on the two high security cells which the Brig did provide. Not only were these cells equipped with maximum level security force fields, they also offered the use of heavy, reinforced doors which could be closed and sealed into place used in tandem with the force fields. Each door was fitted with transparent aluminum viewports reinforced with triple-braided tritanium mesh for additional strength. Considering the nature of their soon-to-be occupants, while she was reasonably certain that Lt. Naroot would not enjoy her stay, she was also certain that the hostile doppelgänger would make every attempt to break free if given the opportunity, and the Captain was determined to remove any and all option for escape from their unwanted guest.

Once all security measures were in place, then and only then did the Captain use the console to access the cargo transporter system for Cargo Bay 2. Using the remote access, she isolated both signatures held in the transporter buffer and then beamed each individual into a separate holding cell. A small bit of spite may have been why both of them materialized 36 inches above the deck, falling to the floor of their cells with decidedly noticeable thumps upon impact.

The Captain said nothing, just stood silently watching with her arms crossed over her chest.

Since neither Penny had wind to get knocked out of her, they both stood up without complaint and looked at each other, then at their new accommodations. "Good idea," they said in unison. They looked at each other and scowled. "Stop that!" they said to each other. "STOP THAT!" they both shouted. "You aren't me! I'm me! Cut it out!" they said, both appearing equally vexed. They looked at the Captain and pointed at each other. "Captain you can't let her out. If you have to keep us both here, then--" they looked at each other again. "No, I'm the one sacrificing, not you." They both balled up their fists and stomped a booted foot in the exact same manner. "Stop copying me!"

In a very flat, annoyed voice which her husband and daughter would have both recognized if they were still there to witness, the Captain said “I knew beaming them to the brig was going to be a mistake. Deep space was the better option..”

Then, in a strong commanding voice she bellowed out “ENOUGH!” Then, in a slightly lower volume she added. “I will lock you both into the transporter buffer and leave you there.”

"That might be what it takes," Zach said, quietly. He walked up to the Penelope on the left and looked her in the eyes, then walked over to the Penelope on the right and did the same. A few errant thoughts about the two of them went through his head, but he shoved them aside. "What were you fighting over in the cargo bay?" he said.

"My probe!" they said in unison. "Did you find it?"

"No, I didn’t see it," he said, watching their reactions as simultaneously as he could. "What does it do?"

"It's a multi-use tool," they said. "Basically, it's a fancy-looking tricorder."

"If it's just a tricorder, why fight over it?" he said.

The Pennys glanced at each other. "Because if she gets ahold of it, it's over for all of us," they said.

"So it could stop you. Either of you," he said.

"Yes," they said together.

"Is that the only thing that could stop you?" he said.

"Yes," the Penelope on the right said, then looked over, confused at the Penny on the left as she said, "no."

Zach immediately turned to look at the Penny on the left. "Klaatu barada nikto," he said.

Penny's face lost all expression, and her eyes went blank. "Initializing synchronization," she said.

Penelope looked confused, then terrified, then grabbed her head. "No! You can't! Stop!"

Zach's eyes got wide and he backed up slowly. "Oh goddamnit, what did I just do?"

"Security to Lieutenant Tanaka!" the comm system came to life.

"Tanaka here," Arashi said, tapping his combadge.

"Sir, the androids are reactivated. They're acting erratic, and seem to be engaging in an information download. Do we engage?"

"Hold your positions," Tanaka said, watching the two Pennys. "Only engage if they take aggressive action."

There was no sound, no dramatic buildup of volume, but there was still a sense of crescendo as Penelope seemed to be attacked from within, and the battle came to a head. Finally, she stood up and took a deep breath. "Woah," she said. "Cool..."

"Right?" Penny said, grinning at her.

"Do you think they'll go for it?" Penelope said, looking over at her.

"I mean, they aren't the most tolerant about it, but what's the alternative?" Penny said.

"Yeah, point," Penelope said. She looked at the Captain and stood at attention. "Captain Kennit, I've instructed the rest of my people to stand down and prepare to return to our ship. With your permission, we will immediately return to Alpha Quadrant and instruct the rest of the collective to stand down in unconditional surrender. If the Federation is willing to grant us mercy, we will return to our planet and remain in exile until such time as coexistence is possible."

Furious, aware something had just happened, and tempted to simply transport the entire lot of androids into space then use them as target practice, the Captain snapped. “And allow you to attack Federation worlds from there after being released? I have zero reason to believe you..any of you.”

"Would either of you mind explaining what the hell just happened?" Zach said.

"That would make a good start.” Kennit added. Privately, part of her was debating the next course of action following this situations conclusion. How to file her report on this action, and what recommendations she would make regarding disposition of the android homeworld and her own thoughts on what measures should be taken to ensure an incident like this did not happen again.

"You should," Penny said.

"It was your idea," Penelope said.

"Yeah, but I used your program," Penny said.

"Still, it's your ship, you should--"

"Beep, beep, Penny!" Zach said, seeing the Captain's expression.

"Okay, short version," Penny said quickly. "During the end of the Dominion War, while I was a cadet, the ship I was on was involved in the fight at Cardassia Prime. We took damage; if I was human, I'd have been killed. Instead, I was deactivated. That's when we all found out I was an android. After the battle, the crew repaired the damage to the ship and, when they realized what I was, made contact with Planet Mudd."

"The androids assumed she'd been destroyed en route to Earth, since they hadn't heard back from her," Penelope continued. "When she showed up, they immediately began to diagnose and repair her, as well as analyze her experiences thus far."

"They patched me up, good as new, and explained who and what I really was," Penny said. "And they offered me a choice."

"She could accept reintegration of her original programming, free of glitches and unreliable emotional responses," Penelope picked up, "but that would erase who she'd become. Or, she could maintain the patch-worked subroutines and make her own repairs and continue her 'growth.'" She made quotation fingers. "She chose the latter."

"But since they left me with the ability to keep tweaking my programming," Penny continued, "Admiral Markus decided to put in a failsafe. He didn't trust the androids entirely, so he gave me a piece of secure code: a command that would basically make me go into 'protect at all costs' mode, to stop them from doing...well..." she looked at her twin.

"Pretty much exactly what we tried to do," Penelope said, shrugging apologetically.

"So when Zach pulled the trigger, my restraints were gone," Penny concluded. "I used their own synchronization subroutine against them. Instead of them just downloading the data they wanted, I uploaded all my experiences and feelings about it, as well as our arguments against their plans, and the emotional rationale behind it, and why I rejected having my program reset. There's a lot I learned about humans that just can't fit into a report home. They got all that in one shot."

"And we're sorry for any trouble we've caused," Penelope said. "However, we need to return and disseminate these new updates within the rest of the collective so that they'll understand why we need to return to Mudd. The sooner we can get back to the Alpha Quadrant, the fewer problems they will cause before we get them to stand down."

The Captain was torn. Her gut instinct was to eradicate the threat posed to the Federation and to Earth by these Android creations. The long years of her career, and the darkness which she knew was out there had left her jaded and cold. But, years of working with Penny had proven that the Mudd androids could be not only trustworthy, but valued members of Starfleet. Penny was a unique individual in her own right, with personality quirks and a sense of humor as well as a fierce loyalty to those she considered her friends. She was torn now between the desire to deactivate the androids completely, and to trust what Lt. Naroot was saying and get the Victory heading in pursuit of the Android ship to allow the upload of data to the rest of the Android contingent on their ship.

“Even if I was willing to accept what you’ve told me, your sabotage of the Victory’s propulsion systems has left us adrift. We can’t catch the Android ship or get you to the Alpha Quadrant until we can restore propulsion and control systems.” Kennit said finally.

"Oh! Easy peasy," Penny said. "I downloaded the lockout codes as well as the subroutines they installed, and I can have them undone fairly quickly. Plus, I'm pretty sure I can establish a firewall to stop them from trying this again."

"Not that we will," Penelope added.

The Captains expression left little doubt to her skepticism. “Oh ‘easy peasy’. Of course. Just, let you out and grant full access to the Victory’s systems regardless of what has already happened. Why not?”

She looked to Dr. Addams, “Any thoughts you’d like to share Doctor?”

"None in polite company," Zach said, frowning and folding his arms across his chest. He looked between the two Pennys and finally settled on "their" Penny. "How did Commander Walker get your code?"

Penny shrugged. "I'd guess Nicole--I mean, Doctor Anderson, your predecessor--gave it to Commander Walker, just in case."

"Mmm," Zach said. He looked at the Captain. "Is a secret activation code the kind of thing her previous CO would do?"

“Her previous CO is the sort who would tell you he wasn’t a thief while he had one of his minions steal your wallet and use that distraction to steal candy from a child.” Kennit replied.

Zach looked back at Penny with a raised eyebrow.

"To be fair," Penny said, "it would usually turn out to be a really, really, evil child."

Zach let out a breath and draped his hands behind his back, raising an eyebrow in thought. "Logically, we cannot allow a security threat loose on the ship. However, we also cannot sit idly by and allow the unaffected androids to continue their plans. While we may risk our ship, there is a chance they are telling the truth. If we do nothing, the damage the others will do is guaranteed." He took a breath and relaxed his stance. "I suppose we need to take a leap of faith in our Penny."

The Captain didn’t speak for a long moment. Then, entering a code into the console she dropped the energy barrier and opened the access to Lt. Naroot’s cell. “We will escort you to the bridge. Be aware, as much as it may pain me to do so, if you attempt anything other than full restoration of ship's control, I will initiate whatever is necessary to stop you.” She glanced at the other android, still locked firmly into her cell. “You will remain here under guard.” Kennit said with a nod to the silent security officer who stood to one side having entered the brig while they were speaking.

Penelope gave a small salute. "Aye, Captain."

Penny walked up to Zach and held out her hand for her probe.

Zach looked her in the eye for a moment, then quietly placed it in her palm.

She took her wand and held it tight, then leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Thanks," she said.

"Thank me by not getting us all killed," he said, quietly.

Penny gave a salute similar to her twin and headed for the door, the others in step behind her.

After a final check to verify that the other Android was indeed secure in her cell and all necessary safety protocols and safeguards were in place, the Captain followed Lt. Naroot and the Doctor to the ‘lift. In short order, they arrived on the bridge. “All right. Restore all system controls so we can get out of here.”

Glancing toward the helm, the Captain then said “Helm, as soon as control is restored get us moving in pursuit of the Android vessel.”

"On it," Penny said, pointing her wand at one of the rear engineering consoles. She looked at the lights blinking along the edge of her wand and then aimed it again, causing the engineering panel to come to life. She sat down at the adjacent station and began entering commands rapidly into the console, holding her wand in her mouth while the station next to her continued to scroll through computer code.

There were a few tense minutes while Penny's hands flew over her console. Finally there was a beep, the consoles went dark, then suddenly came back to life. The helm lit up and Penny nodded to the Captain. "We should be good to go, Captain," she said.

“Engineering, run a systems diagnostic and verify current operational status,” the Captain immediately ordered.

A tense moment passed while the system diagnostic ran. Finally, Cmdr. Torres responded. “All systems check out. We have full control restored. Warp drive is back online.”

As soon as the confirmation came, the Captain said, “set course in pursuit of the Android ship; maximum warp! I need long range scans, give me our current distance and tell me we can catch them before they reach the gateway back to the Alpha Quadrant!”

Penny had been coming around from the rear of the bridge and tapped the ensign who had been manning the helm for her. She brought up the ops console with one hand and began entering a course with the other. "Course set, Captain," she said. "If we get close enough, we can upload the new commands remotely."

“Very well. Begin preparations for slip-stream transit. As soon as the drive is online and ready, take us to slip-stream propulsion and let’s put an end to this.” The Captain ordered.

"Aye, Captain," Penny said, engaging the engines and bringing them around. She entered the coordinates and watched as the drive came online. "Drive ready. Entering slipstream."

The ship shot forward and vanished, heading to intercept the android ship and save them from themselves.

 

RSS Feed