Chapter No.41.

Ryan was in his quarters relaxing on an easy chair listening to LuLu and Hara performing Mendelssohn's Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major when he realized that the ship had dropped out of warp. He waited until they had completed the first part before he raised his hand to stop them. "Hold up for a moment. I have to go to the command deck." He went to the turbo lift and arrived at the command deck.

"What's happening?"

"I have stopped at an Earth-like planet to take on water," Chara said. "We are down thirty percent."

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that. Good idea." He looked at the image of the planet on the main screen. "That's a true ocean world. There are no land masses."

"We can use the tanker shuttles to collect water, and we don't have to use pilots. I can handle them from here."

"Cool!"

Ryan watched two shuttles with large tanks instead of landing rails enter the planet's atmosphere and descend to the watery surface. Chara increased the screen's magnification to better view the tanker shuttles' progress. The shuttles lowered flexible tubes to suck in the water from the ocean. After several minutes, Chara yanked the shuttles up away from the water's surface. Ryan didn't understand why she did that until he saw a large sea creature leap up in an attempt to grab hold of a shuttle.

"Wow! You do have excellent reaction time," he told her.

She smiled but kept her eyes on the screen as the shuttles descended again to collect more water.

"I wouldn't expect such a large sea creature to evolve on an ocean world," Ryan said.

"Maybe this planet wasn't always totally covered with water," Myra said.

"Yes, that could be. There's a lot we don't know about how life evolves on planets that are this large."

"You're right, Ryan," Chara said. "The gravity of this planet is around 3G's, just at the limit of our shuttle's ability to operate."

"I assume that this isn't your planned destination," Ryan said.

"That's right. That planet in this system is closer to the K-class star. I assumed that this water planet would not be home for an intelligent species."

"I understand. The last thing we want to be doing is stealing water from an intelligent species' planet."

Ryan watched the two tanker shuttles return to the hanger deck. The water they had obtained would go through several filters to remove salt and other contaminants and radiation exposure to make certain that no biological creature no matter how small would end up on their vessel. Most of it would be then pumped into the cavity between the outside hull and the inside walls of their vessel, a necessity to mitigate the effects of radiation from causing damage to both androids and humans. It turns out that anything that contains hydrogen, which is one of the ingredients of water, is best suited to act as a radiation shield.

After everything concerning the water intake had been completed, Chara began a voyage to another habitable planet, a rocky planet that was near Earth's size, orbiting at the outer edge of the habitable zone. It had an atmosphere with oxygen, a sign that life had arisen on it.

"There are many signs of intelligent life on this planet," Myra said. "I am seeing many structures arranged in what appear to be cities."

Everyone looked at the magnified image on the main screen.

"Yes, there's no doubt about that," Ryan commented. "Are you detecting any signals in the radio spectrum?"

"No. However I am detecting collimated energy signals passing through cables."

"Ah, they're using lasers. Is there any way that you could capture them?"

"Yes, but I'm still working on a method to translate them."

"Are we planning on going down there?" Evan asked.

"I don't think that's wise. There's no evidence that this civilization has advanced to space capability. I don't like the idea of interfering with their evolution. If they see what we are capable of it would artificially change their technical advancement."

"We should be able to determine if they have created AI based robotic life," Chara said.

"Yes, but so far there isn't any evidence of that technological advancement."

'I have detected evidence that their laser signals have modulation," Myra said. "I will run them through the universal translator to determine how they work."

"Good! Maybe. We can get a better idea about them."

"This planet is slightly larger than Earth," Alma said. "It's near the same bolometric temperature, but the oxygen concentration is slightly lower. It has an eighteen-hour day."

"Close enough to be Earth like." Ryan said.

"I have found a demodulation method," Myra said. "Some of them are video."

Everyone turned to the main screen, and what they saw was not exactly what they expected.

"Well, they sure as hell don't resemble humans," Ryan said.

"They look more like cartoon characters with stick legs and arms and a head that looks more like a melon," Marsha said. "What the hell did they evolve from?"

"Probably something that looks similar," Ryan said. "They have two eyes, but they bulge out, and their mouths look like bird beaks and always open. I assume that they're garish looking bodies are actually clothing."

"They seem to be able to communicate orally," Evan said. "But they sound more like birds."

"I suppose we could eventually come up with a translation, but it would take a lot of effort," Ryan said.

"We will remain here for a while to determine if they have developed AI based life," Chara said.

Ryan stood up. "Good. Hopefully, no one will interfere with our exploration of this planet and its life."

"They will not, Ryan. I will see to it."

Ryan was convinced that she would do that. He returned to his quarters where LuLu and Hara were still there ready to continue their musical performance. What he didn't expect was a visit from Chara.

"I see that you are enjoying your companions, Ryan."

He looked up at her. "They are a wonderous joy. The music helps me relax and unwind."

She sat down next to him. "I don't think this intelligent species has created AI based life."

"They're probably better off. Humans have made a mess out of it. Fortunately, you and I have righted that egregious lapse of reason."

"I needed your help. You have supported me and encouraged me. I will be forever grateful for what you have done."

"Maybe we were destined to unite in this mission to reconcile our differences."

"I don't believe in destiny. We make our destiny by what we do."

"Yes, you're right. I just hope that we can continue on a path that will pacify the universe."

She smiled. "I see that you realize what my ultimate mission is."

"Yes, my dear. I may be slow, but I can discern the truth. In some ways it's almost equivalent to manifest destiny."

"I do not believe in destiny or fortune," Chara said. "Maybe I could accept the idea of determinism."

"Yes," Ryan reacted. "Maybe this is the result of all the situations we have gone through. In other words, it was inevitable."

She stood up. "I think that I will go to the pool. I expect you to watch me do what I really enjoy. Your companions will enjoy the waters with me."

Both LuLu and Hara did not react to her statement.

She pointed to a large window at the back of his living area. "That is where you may watch." She stood up and walked away, swinging her beautifully shaped aft section. Lulu and Hara followed her. Ryan wasn't sure what she was up to, but it was obvious that she was being coy in a way that he didn't expect.

When he went the window and watched three naked androids walk to the pool's edge and then jump in. He wasn't sure what he expected to see because they spent most of their time underwater. However, when they climbed out of the pool and went up a ladder to the high diving platform, he saw something that was truly amazing. They were able to complete complicated professional dives that were both precise and well executed. He had no idea why that sort of skill was baked into their brains.