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Echoes of Death	By : straha86 Category: +S through Z > Starcraft Views: 3266 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I profit from the Starcraft or Borderlands universe.

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Dash'r found the AI easily enough. When he sought out the brief psionic emanations he had felt on Korhal when talking to it's proxy, he was guided almost straight to it, sitting silently in the ships lab, next to the various odds and ends Raynor had collected over the years. He had somehow managed to convince the Terran authorities to allow him continued jurisdiction over the Xel'Naga weapon, something which had made all the Protoss leadership grateful. They still had limited trust in the government of the Terran Dominion, and a weapon that could be reconfigured to wipe out whole planets of zerg and Protoss was not something they had wanted to remain in the hands of a government that had actively slaughtered it's own people by the billions. Jim Raynor had, however, proven himself a friend time and again.
Also in the collection were samples of both Protoss technology, and growing zerg tissues. It unnerved him how easily the humans had been able to both contain and utilize information gleaned from both sources. He could feel the power being given off by the crystal growing in a tank of fluid. It was the very beginnings of the crystalline matrix that made up the core of much of the Protoss technology, especially the computers and self assembling military hardware. Along the other wall was another tank, with a large human like eye that tracked his every movement. It was growing out of a sack of zerg tissue, lacking the form of any zerg breed he had ever seen. He had heard of the sample, held in the old Hyperion's lab, and he wondered how it had survived the activation of the weapon, or if it was even the same sample, as the small number of zerg that had been held in a cargo bay after their flight from haven had all been killed either in the crash or when the Xel'Naga device was activated during the fight.
The satellite that was housing the artificial intelligence sat abandoned in a corner. Portions of it had been torn off in the mad rush to bring it on board in a potentially hostile situation. The device was clearly entirely of human construction, and with visible access to it's internals he was unable to glean any understanding of how it was generating a psionic field. He pried of other sections of the protective plating, ignoring the looks from the guards who were stationed nearby.
With no luck finding an interface for the machine that he could use, he fell back into his mind, examining the psionic emanations, attempting to follow it back to it's source. If he could find that it was possible he would be able to find where on the primitive satellite he could more directly link his mind.
The mental image that grew of the lab was confusing. Several wrecked pieces of hardware were still emitting traces of activity. Under the scattered noise he was drawn to a three piece web of major activity, linking otherwise separate entities together.
When he opened his eyes,once again taking view of the physical world, he was drawn to the pieces of the web. A tightly knit shared mind had been formed, linking the satellite to both the zerg sample, and the crystal matrix growing in their respective tanks. He activated a human computer, literate enough in it's use to access the lab notes that had been compiled in regards to both samples. A melding of technology and organics should not have been possible on this level, and yet, as he scanned the information, he found that the crystal matrix had indeed fused with the Hyperion's, and had done so again upon it's transfer to this ship. How the zerg tissue was able to be tied in was obvious, the basic psionics inherent to Protoss technology were similar in nature to the zerg hive mind. Zerg were at all times aware of the Protoss, and the reverse applied. None had ever spent months with the other without attempting to destroy the other that none had ever learned of this inherent compatibility. When the AI had interfaced with the ship upon being brought on board, it provided intelligence to the otherwise instinctive union.
He approached the crystalline sample, intent on connecting with it as he would the computers on his own ship. He touched the glass container, and his mind was met by another, seemingly ancient and incredibly young all at once.
It invaded his mind, showing glimpses of the monstrous creature that had inhabited Pandora. The understanding flowed and he knew what the beasts nature was, why it had been locked away rather then killed. He saw his own creators, growing it in their labs, in the millenia before his own kind had even been dreamed of, as they attempted to recreate their own kind using shortcuts. The knowledge that both the Protoss and the zerg had been a means to an end, simple tools to be harvested and turned, as the final portion of the generational cycle of the gods. The betrayal hit hard, that the gods that had abandoned the in ages past had viewed them as simply a component, to be blended with that of the zerg. The hybrids were closer to being true Xel'Naga then any had realized, yet they had been warped and twisted.
His hand recoiled from the container. His mind was awash in information, to much to be handled in the short seconds that he had been connected. Additional images and information had crossed the link, but had not set in, and was rapidly fading from his mind. The key portions of the message had been firmly ingrained, and yet he thought that there was some other important message that he was supposed to have received, and yet he could not recall it.
He turned to see a young human in a lab coat watching him intently. He recognized the man, boy really, as the chief scientist that ran and maintained the lab.
"How much of the ships systems has the matrix interfaced with?" he asked, startling the man.
The human was startled, and Dash'r could feel the beginnings of a lie forming in the mans mind, he had not informed anyone that the crystal had broken containment.
"Do not attempt to lie to me, human,"
"A-a-all of them." was the stuttered response.
Dash'r turned his gaze on the zerg sample. The eye was still watching him intently, and never wavering or breaking contact.
The man seemed to misunderstand his gaze, as his face paled, "No, the zerg sample is contained, it can't get out I swear," the words tumbled out of the mans mouth, "I mean, it tried for a while, but then it gave up, after a few tries."
"Has the matrix shown any capability of controlling any systems?"
The man paused to think, going through a mental list in his head, his nervous twitching replaced by an eagerness to understand, "Well yeah, it's been rewriting the coding of almost a dozen systems, optimizing and the like. Somehow it actually manages to change or repair physical damage from a distance, I still haven't figured that one out, no one else has noticed but you thankfully."
It was disquieting in Dash'rs mind that a portion of zerg intellect, acting through a Protoss computer, had gained access to a Terran ship. The zerg had infested and used Terran technology before, but only when using the remains of humans as the intermediaries. Yet, with no means of knowing how long it had been in contact, he had no means of knowing how much influence it had on the trio of sources now bonded together. The human satellite, with it's own AI, possibly a remnant of an older AI, seemed to be the dominant portion of the redeveloping mind.
He had to find Michael. The human had a knack for reaching correct conclusions, even when not enough factual information was present. The question of what the artificial intelligence that now possible controlled the entire ship was after needed answering.
He returned to his ship, intent on passing the time making sure that the hybridized AI had gained no access to it's systems. Whether by paranoia or not, he was not comfortable allowing a zerg influenced computer program to take it over and learn it's secrets.
He had finished setting up additional security procedures into his ships own limited intelligence when Michael returned. He had found no evidence of contamination, and wanted to make sure it stayed that way.
His lover was lost in thought, not particularly paying attention and on autopilot.
"Michael, did she have any information of value?" he asked, waking the human from his contemplative daze.
"Not really, it's virulent as hell, resident in every networked computer computer on Pandora. The satellites not it's original form, more just a storage device, Lilith thinks that the real programming of it is somewhere in the ruins. No explanation on how it's managing telepathy, what about you?"
Dash'r explained the information he had been given, and watched as the human slowly processed it all. Michael's mind seamed to make connections of seemingly irrelevant data, picking pieces from wildly separate sources, and compiling them into a working picture better then any he had met.
"We're missing something," he said, after several moments thought, "If it was a Xel'Naga computer it would have directed the refugees towards Auir, or somewhere, anywhere but the Koprulu sector. And only the military knew about the humans out here. There was no military on Pandora, so it had no way of knowing how to find us."
"And what of the ship, without knowing it's full intentions, can it be trusted when linked so thoroughly with it's systems?"
That would be an issue. He had no trouble picturing the reaction of the crew should they find out that their ship had in effect been commandeered by a artificial intelligence derived from components of four races, all blending together under their noses.
"We'll have to, and it hasn't don't anything yet. Short of destroying every computer on board there probably wouldn't be a way of getting rid of it."

A/N: Yeah, sorry for the delay, hopefully I'll do better.
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Echoes of Death