Rogue A.I.: Mike Stedman Book 2 Read online

  Rogue A.I.

  Mike Stedman: Book 2

  Author: D. R. Rosier

  Copyright 2017. This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, Places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission.

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Afterword:

  About the Author

  Other erotic fantasies by D. R. Rosier:

  Non-erotic Fantasy titles:

  Book Description

  Chapter One

  Mike Stedman thought the throne room was moderately more lively than last time, as the senators from the thirty-seven member worlds of the Xaran empire, not including the ruling Xaran, waited for the empress to arrive. There were a lot more observers today, than there had been just three days ago when the invasion was announced.

  Chrystal, the love of his life, his ship, and his companion and best friend since he was twelve years old sat on his right side. She looked exquisitely beautiful in an emerald green dress that was rather conservative, but still showed hints of the sexy body underneath which he knew so well and intimately.

  She had long dark auburn hair, amber eyes, and fair skin with a smattering of freckles on her cute nose. She had an adorably heart shaped face, but her supple and curvy body, and very generous breasts made her look sexy. The dichotomy of the two gave her that cute innocent sexy look that drove him crazy. She loved him to distraction, and completely. Her hand rested on his arm and she shared a private smile with him. She was also rather adventurous in bed, and uninhibited during their private time together.

  He loved her more than life itself.

  On his left sat Nadia Lane, a human who had become his assistant primarily to be exposed to the different races and cultures, since Earth didn’t have interstellar capability on its own yet. She was voluptuous, and had the face of a model, with bright green eyes, long raven black hair, lightly tanned skin, and a body built for sin. Physical attraction wasn’t ever a problem between them.

  They’d had a rocky start, and their problems, but they’d also grown close despite all that, or even possibly because of it. She was an amazing woman.

  She’d only just last night joined with Chrystal and himself, given herself to both of them in a polyamorous relationship. She was amazing in bed, and he never got tired of looking at her. It wasn’t just her peerless looks and sex appeal either, she was sharp, intelligent, open-minded, and generous. She was also fun, and challenged him constantly with her flirty wit.

  He wasn’t sure how long it would last, perhaps only weeks, perhaps a year? He only knew that she was his until she was recalled to Earth, and had to take another mission. She was an interpreter for Australia, but she was also a spy. Unfortunately, sometimes her duties required her to sacrifice her body to complete a mission, and that was something both he and she believed would be a betrayal of what they shared.

  So, when she left… if she left… it would be for good.

  He already hoped she would stay, though it was probably a vain hope. He knew he was falling for the raven-haired beauty, but it wasn’t up to him, and she believed in what she did for her country, to protect it, and search out enemies of it. Still, it would be worth it even if she left, just to have her in his life, if even for a short time, and Chrystal agreed with him on that.

  Behind him sat Alyndra Inaqirelle, once a princess of the planet Selana-Esari, and now his life-sworn. In their very first battle above the planet Selana-Esari, he’d evidently earned a life debt from every Esari on the planet according to their traditions, by destroying the enemy that threatened their world. An enemy the Esari were helpless to drive off on their own.

  The king had pledged his planet’s heir to him, his own daughter, in recompense, on the theory the future ruler could pay the life-debt of the whole planet. He hadn’t liked the idea and had almost said no, but hadn’t a choice if he was to respect their culture and ways. It was more than that though, if he’d turned them down it would have been a grave insult, and possibly even started a war.

  Life-sworn meant that she was his attendant, servant, and guardian. No longer a princess, though still the king’s daughter. Her life literally belonged to him now. He recalled how she had told him there was nothing too personal for him to ask, she was his in every way possible. She was incredibly gracious, accepting, and open.

  He’d convinced her she didn’t have to sleep at the foot of his bed, wash, or dress him as custom indicated. She had her own room, he’d made her one of his advisors alongside Chrystal, and had given her a personal space of her own. Though she only left his side when he was in his own quarters or in his service, such as fetching something for him. She also continued her studies of cultures that she had pursued as a princess, and he’d created a workout area for her to continue her physical training.

  She was exotically beautiful in an alien way. The Esari looked like the elves of Earth legend, and she had delicate and exquisitely sculpted ears, bright purple eyes, and a thin very attractive face. She was thirty-six, but didn’t look a day older than twenty in human years. Her hair was a silky white blonde, and flowed in waves down her back. Her body was willowy, and she was tall, five foot eleven, and her B cup breasts were pert and stood out on her thin frame. She was graceful, sexy, and very clearly had a woman’s curves.

  She was also off-limits, even if the other members of his polyamorous family circle, Chrystal, and for now Nadia, approved of adding her to their group, he wouldn’t touch her. Not when he could literally command it of her, he wasn’t interested in forcing a woman into his bed, no matter how willing she might be to follow his every whim.

  He would only be with a woman that wanted him for him, not one that merely wanted to obey him and serve him out of duty, no matter how attractive she was.

  The two of them were still feeling each other out, but so far she seemed content with how things had gone, more than content. Her only complaint was he didn’t give her enough responsibilities to make her feel like she was paying off her world’s life debt, so it was good to know she didn’t think he was taking advantage. She’d even given him two slight smiles, which he’d learned for an Esari was a deliberate effort.

  The Esari were also telepaths, and as such hadn’t evolved many body language traits, as it was unnecessary because they could read the minds around them. Well, not his, or Chrystal’s, because they were in android bodies, but other life forms. As a result she seemed very hard to read, and almost coldly expressionless, except when she spoke which was rare. Her musical voice was so expressive it gave lie to that cold impression from her body langua
ge and lack of facial expression. She only looked emotionless, but he knew she really wasn’t, not that the knowledge helped him read her though.

  They would find their way eventually, he had no doubt of it.

  His fourth guest was Dahlia, the commander of a cohort of ten thousand warriors. She was a Mirosian, from the planet Miroth, a race that looked much like the angels of human religions were portrayed. The Mirosians were reputed to be the best ground fighters in all the empire, save perhaps the Xaran’s themselves. They had very good armor and weapons, but it was their dedication to training for war that truly made them deadly.

  Dahlia, and all other Mirosians for that matter, had vividly bright blue eyes, golden hair, and porcelain skin. Outside of those three shades of colors that weren’t found in humans, they looked remarkably similar to humanity, including their body types. Dahlia herself had a perfect hourglass body, with generous and rounded breasts, a thin waist, and sexy hips. It was not in evidence today though, as she’d donned her white armor before the meeting which gave her a somewhat androgynous appearance.

  The reason for the special senate gathering today, was to address one issue. The alien invasion of the Kascorix from Andromeda had been broken, and today the senate would vote on if they should take the war to their turf, or simply walk away until the next attack. It seemed obvious to him that they should pursue the monstrous race, before they adapted more powerful weapons and returned.

  He hoped that’s how it would go, but he wasn’t sure. There were a number of pacifist races on the senate, so only time would tell. Ironically perhaps, he was the senator for Mars, the A.I. world, and A.I.s were pacifists. Yet, he wasn’t like the rest of them, half of his nature came from his father, Ted Stedman, who had been digitized over eighteen years ago when his body was murdered.

  Digitized meaning a human mind and consciousness inside an android body.

  He was the only A.I. who could feel the more caustic emotions, like rage, jealousy, and hatred. It had taken the evil Kascorix race to bring out the former and the latter, but he was doing his best to control it, and not let it affect his judgement. Still, that was easier said than done, he was just eighteen, and had only left the shelter of his loving home six days’ past, not even a week ago.

  Perceptually, he’d lived almost a century as an A.I., but that didn’t give him true life experience, or the wisdom to deal with these emotions. Still, besides being his heart, and the love of his life, Chrystal was his conscience, and she was also a psychiatrist. He trusted her to tell him if he stepped over the line, or if he was about to.

  Regardless, he was ready to take the war to the enemy.

  His father was in the room as well, the senator from Earth by default, since no other humans could get here. It only worked because the empire had no desire to impugn on a solar systems sovereignty, they were only here to regulate interactions between the races, and form interstellar laws. Otherwise they didn’t interfere in the sovereignty of other solar systems. So, Ted Stedman represented Earth, and it was basically too bad for anyone that didn’t like that fact back home.

  The room quieted as Empress Xenia and Princess Xia entered the room. They took their places on the throne, which was really just a tub on a dais. The Xaran’s bodies were formless, but as masters of DNA, they could literally change into any race they had sampled the DNA of. Right now, they were in their base Xaran forms, which was a formless flesh like blob.

  The empress said, “Bring this meeting to order, we will discuss the invasion, and decide if any further action is necessary. Senator Stedman will get us started with a briefing of the enemy, and his point of view…”

  Chapter Two

  He felt a bit nervous as he stood up, but shook it off the best he could.

  “Good morning. The Kascorix home worlds are in Andromeda. Their race is carnivorous. They stand between six and seven feet tall, weight on average three to three hundred and fifty pounds, and are very muscular and strong. They have canine teeth, and clawed fingers. Their caloric needs are quite high, and their digestive system processes food quickly.

  “Their home world had many prolific prey animals at one time, until Kascorix overpopulation became a problem, and many of their prey animals went extinct due to their voracious appetites. They are extremely aggressive, and their society is very close to anarchy, with a might makes right attitude. When they achieved space travel, they quickly travelled out into the galaxy searching for new planets and food sources for expansion.

  “They are a race of conquerors, and they are kept under tight controls by the government and ruling class with A.I.s who will punish any deviation from orders, up to and including death. In the beginning they moved out slowly, and spread to twenty worlds, which are the number of home worlds they have today.

  “The problem is that they never were able to find any species prolific enough to keep up with the way they feed. They have literally farmed thousands of planets of all edible species to extinction in an attempt to feed themselves, including sentient species.”

  He paused for a minute to gather his thoughts.

  “Right now, they have almost one hundred farm worlds left, but have found no others in Andromeda. This species has literally destroyed all intelligent life in a whole galaxy, a galaxy twice as large as ours. Their last hundred farm worlds are running close to being just another one of those statistics. That’s why they sent their ships here to invade, and find more worlds to consume.

  “I don’t believe it would be prudent at all to allow them to work on their technology, and come back. We need to remove the threat at the source, or face annihilation in the future. This species is different, they don’t want to rule us, they don’t want to make us slaves, or pillage our resources. We are the resources, as they want to consume us into extinction. I don’t believe we should allow that to stand, or risk the possibility to our future generations.

  “I also don’t believe that genocide is the answer, but we should at the least confine them to their worlds, and perhaps see if a way to restore their ecosystem is possible, otherwise we’ll starve them to death which isn’t desirable either.”

  He sat down and blew out a breath, he could have talked another thirty minutes of their depredations toward each other, and toward the races that made up their food supply, but he thought brevity might be better received, and he thought he made his point well enough.

  The Jazuno senator, who looked like the grays of Earth’s conspiracy theorists, stood up to be recognized. He knew the Jazuno weren’t exactly hard-core pacifists, but they did lean that way.

  The empress said, “Senator from Jazuno, you may present your thoughts.”

  The senator bowed to him, and said, “Our world owes you a debt Senator Stedman, and we thank you and the Mirosians for your actions on our world. That said, I don’t believe we should pursue them. We have many aggressive races right here in our own galaxy who have threatened our empire many times in the past. The Xaran always manage to push them back, but once they surrender we leave them be in the hopes they will eventually evolve past their need to conquer.

  “This new race, the Kascorix, they are the same. Perhaps their end goals for invasion are slightly different, but that doesn’t make them more aggressive than other species we have allowed to exist right here in our home galaxy. I feel it is the course of wisdom to continue the policies that have served us well in the past, and object to the plan to become invaders like those we fought off.

  “It is a result of those policies that many of the worlds in the empire are still alive, some of the races in this room used to be, and still are, very aggressive, but have channeled it into more useful ends. My thoughts are to prepare in case they come back, but not to hunt them down where they live.”

  We fought off? He suppressed a snort. They’d hid while he and the Mirosians had fought.

  Chrystal squeezed his arm, and Nadia put a hand on his leg.

  He smiled, almost amused, did they think he was going to jump up and sta
rt yelling? Or maybe they just wanted to touch him. Either way, it was kind of a win, wasn’t it?

  He was angry at the Kascorix, not the pacifist races in the empire. In fact, he even agreed with the senator in theory, if it wasn’t for the food supply part. That’s really what raised it to a different level, and made the race irredeemable in his eyes. At least, for now they were, they needed to be quarantined.

  Chrystal sent, “I love you, if it helps, I think I agree with you, we’ll see what happens.”

  He replied, “I love you too baby, hopefully the majority of worlds will agree with me.”

  For the rest of the meeting, they listened to speech after speech. Some reiterated what he said, and named them a unique threat, which required a different approach than the norm. The others reiterated the Jazuno, and said the Kascorix was just another aggressive race, and they shouldn’t worry about them unless they violated the empire’s space again.

  Maybe he was naïve, but he hadn’t expected this to be such a difficult and highly contested decision. Which was stupid, history had shown him otherwise, people seldom agreed, and in a political body it was always worse.

  It was close to noon before a vote was called, and the empress read the results and shared her decision.

  Empress Xenia said, “The vote is in, eighteen for dealing with the Kascorix in their own galaxy, and quarantining their planets at the least. There were nineteen votes for following established protocols, and leaving them be as long as they don’t attack us again. I will respect the vote, our protocols and ways have not failed us yet, and I hesitate to do something that would turn our empire into an aggressive invader of other worlds or galaxies. This meeting is adjourned.”

  Fuck.

  He sat frozen for a few seconds, as the now familiar rage welled up in his chest, he didn’t like that vote at all. He stood up.

  “Back to the ship?”

  Nadia said, “Yes, but you mentioned I could have an android set up here for me? I want to return to the ship with you, but my job is here, to talk to the other races.”