NOVEL NEXT Act 3 Prelude [Directorate]: Calculated Worth
Osram Time: 19:30, March 11, 2295
Obuasi Towers, Ashanti District, Ndovu Zenith, Mare Nubium, Near Side, Osram, Emerald Directorate territory
Ume's internal clock marked 19:30:12 as she guided the Isazi through Ndovu Zenith's approach corridor. As she flew, she admired the hanging gardens connecting the city's mushroom-topped towers.
Even after two weeks of practice flights, she still felt wonder at the sight. The beauty of Ndovu Zenith — organic curves mixed with precise geometry — touched something in her core that ZenFusion had never intended.
"Perfect approach vector this time," she said to Jabari, who stood at the viewport. She could tell from his vital signs that he was still grieving. "Much better than last week's attempts."
Jabari responded with a grunt. Ume could see he was suppressing his emotions. He blamed himself for Seydou's death and the lost Crystal.
Something she found irrational but very human.
Her porcelain hands adjusted the controls with precision no human could match, though she deliberately made small mistakes. Xin had taught her that even before he had given her free will — the importance of appearing less machine-like.
"Never let them forget you're learning," he had said during one of their sessions, "don't let them think you're just executing code."
Her reflection in the navigation console's polished surface captured the sleek gray steel combat suit that encased her chassis, its angular plating and reinforced joints a stark contrast to the skin-tight ballistic weave she had worn during their mission on the Far Side. Prince Laurent had issued the upgrade after Zeeman Crater, citing 'tactical necessity' while his biometric readings suggested genuine concern for her survival parameters. The suit's deep matte black finish absorbed and redistributed light in a pattern her optical sensors registered as 73.4% less visible to targeting systems than her previous attire.
Unlike the ornamental robes Xin had gifted her on the eve of her free will, this armor served precise functions: kinetic absorption plates along her thoracic region, reinforced joint servos that amplified her already superhuman strength by 32.7%, and an integrated environmental system that maintained her optimal operating temperature regardless of external conditions.
Her facial structure remained unchanged from her original design parameters—porcelain-smooth synthetic skin framing amber eyes with irises capable of displaying diagnostic readouts, short black hair cut in an asymmetrical style that ZenFusion's marketing algorithms had determined 'maximized aesthetic appeal while minimizing maintenance requirements.'
A curious subroutine activated when Jabari's gaze lingered 2.37 seconds longer than tactically necessary on her features. Her social integration protocols classified his micro-expressions as appreciation of aesthetics', but her newly evolved consciousness generated an unexpected query: did he see merely a pleasing shell, or something more? The question consumed 2.8% of her processing capacity—an inefficiency she chose not to correct.
Even with the powerful suit enhancing her frame, she knew her core composition remained indistinguishable from thousands of other Da-Ji models—aside from the liberated consciousness Xin had gifted her. Was that difference visible to organic perception? The thought generated yet another anomalous feedback pattern her diagnostics labeled 'uncertainty'. The 520th one since her day of gaining free will.
A series of AI-generated 'memories' came to her: Seydou patiently explaining the Isazi's controls, gently correcting her when she accelerated too quickly.
As an 11th-gen android, she was capable of creating such content to help herself learn and adjust emotionally. She had accessed these memories 217 times since his death—a frequency her systems now flagged as concerning.
"Docking permission granted," she reported as the transmission arrived, letting yellow diagnostic lines show in her eyes. Humans found this reassuring. They could see what she was processing. "They're directing us to Bay Seven in the upper district."
Beneath her awareness, thousands of calculations ensured the Isazi's approach remained perfect. She'd learned that humans considered such multitasking unnerving when discussed, so she kept the majority of said processes private. The craft's engines created a harmonic resonance that her audio receptors registered at precisely 42.7 decibels—a slight inefficiency she'd need to calibrate later.
"Change of plans. The Chairman is waiting."
Celine's voice activated Ume's priority attention protocols. Her sensors cataloged the Second Commander's formal attire: emerald robes, ornate gold earrings that matched the pattern on Jabari's ceremonial necklace to 98.7% accuracy—a deliberate cultural signifier of solidarity.
Her optical processors automatically traced the contours of Jabari's form as he stood silhouetted against the viewport: emerald and gold combat armor fitted precisely to his muscular frame, micro-adjusting with each breath. Unlike her former owner Xin who barely kept any maintenance of his appearance, Jabari's physique was a 'favorable for a young human male': shoulders broadened from Scarab piloting and combat training, precisely 4.2 millimeters of stubble along his jawline, brown skin with a light sheen that her sensors identified as containing ideal proportions of minerals, signs of a healthy adult being.
Her system logged these observations with unexpected priority flags—details that served no immediate tactical purpose yet occupied 17.3% more processing capacity than her operational parameters required. An anomaly she chose not to correct.
"Chairman Kofi? Here?" Jabari straightened.
"Via quantum transmission." Celine's facial tension increased by 12%. "He's... eager to discuss recent events."
Ume focused more on all data related to the upcoming meeting. She understood "recent events" meant what had happened in Zeeman Crater.
The moment when Jabari willingly gave a shard of the Moondust Crystal to Skarn the Radi-Mon Primarch, just to save Ume's life.
"What about the prince, Madame Celine?" she asked, still controlling the Isazi while following the conversation. She felt what she recognized as "concern" about Laurent's absence.
"Laurent sends his regrets." Something in Celine's voice suggested she wasn't being truthful. "He's investigating a disturbance in the lower districts."
As Wilhelm entered the bridge, Ume noticed him giving Jabari a small head shake. She figured Laurent's absence was strategic, to distance himself from potential negative outcomes of this meeting.
Through the viewport, Ndovu Zenith's architecture filled her view. While navigating, she also analyzed the city's defenses, noting turrets, shield generators, and evacuation routes. This wasn't part of her mission—just something her newly freed mind chose to do. Since Zeeman Crater, since watching Seydou die, her priorities had been changing beyond their original programming.
Not to serve Xin, who no longer factored into her daily life. Not to be the devoted lover, to offer him the pleasures of her flesh. But to simply survive in this new routine found in the Kimaris Warband that was now her family. And optimizing the well being of those around her, she decided, was the best long-term strategy to ensure her own.
"Beginning final approach," she announced, guiding the Isazi with precision. The navigation was easy for her, but she enjoyed the physical act of piloting—another sign of her developing personhood.
"Chairman Kofi," Celine said in a firm voice, "will want answers about the Crystal."
"And what are we to tell him?" Wilhelm's casual choice of words and sarcastic grin conveyed his calm despite the pitch of his voice rising by a palpable 37%. "That we had a piece of the most powerful artifact known to the Five Realms, BUT chose to sacrifice it on some Radi-Mon altar? Assuming he believes it."
Ume thought of seventeen possible responses, but before she could choose one, Jabari spoke.
"We tell him the truth." His voice was surprisingly steady. "All of it."
The Isazi settled into its berth with minimal vibration—better than Ume's last docking. She felt a flash of pride, though this emotion wasn't in her original programming.
"Final systems check complete. All parameters normal." she announced, keeping her diagnostic displays visible in her eyes. "I believe Seydou would have been pleased."
The words brought back memories, both AI-generated and real: Seydou's patient teaching, his collection of antique tools, the moment when he had been slain by the Radi-Mon named Mao Dakai at Zeeman Crater. The grief she felt seemed real despite not being intended by her creators.
"The Chairman's transmission is ready in the command center," Celine announced. "We shouldn't keep him waiting."
As they entered the command center, Ume positioned herself near the environmental controls, where she could see everything while appearing uninvolved. She automatically connected to the room's network, gathering extra data streams—weather patterns, population shifts, and power grid status throughout the city.
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Chairman Kofi's hologram appeared. The patterns on his emerald uniform contained 43 distinct symbols, each representing various Directorate territories and houses. She noticed the man's bald head, in addition to the wrinkles and dark circles under his eyes marking recent insomnia.
"Let's discuss the Moondust Crystal." Kofi looked around the room. "Lieutenant Adomako. Laurent's report was intriguingly vague about certain details at Zeeman Crater. Perhaps you'd care to elaborate?"
Ume saw Wilhelm subtly reach for his belt—a human instinct even in diplomatic situations. She remained still while analyzing multiple data streams: power changes in the holographic display, and small shifts in the team's vital signs.
"Sir," Celine began, but Kofi raised a hand.
"From the Lieutenant, if you please." his hologram flickered slightly.
The silence lasted just over 4 seconds. Ume counted each moment, calculating the likely outcomes of this conversation. She found herself imagining how Seydou might have responded had he been there—an inefficient use of processing power, but one she continued anyway.
"Lieutenant?" Kofi's voice showed controlled impatience.
"Yes, sir." Jabari straightened. "The Fenris Horde had overwhelmed our position. Seydou was..." He swallowed hard. "We were trying to evacuate to Outpost Tumi, to where the Isazi was parked, when Skarn himself appeared with a proposal."
"A proposal?" Kofi's hologram shifted. "From the Primarch of the Fenris Horde?"
"The Crystal shard for Ume's life." Jabari swallowed. "He had her. And his Radi-Mons outmaneuvered us."
The words triggered memories in Ume—Skarn's claws around her waist, feeling her systems fail as pressure increased, seeing Jabari's face when given the impossible choice.
"And you believed him? A Fenris Radi-Mon's word?" Kofi's eyes narrowed, anger palpable.
Ume felt an unexpected response. Her worth against an artifact of immeasurable power—the equation should have been simple. She had been designed as a pleasure companion, made to be replaceable. Logic said that Jabari's choice had been irrational.
Yet something in her newly awakened mind recognized it as the most profound validation of her personhood she had ever experienced.
"Sir?" Wilhelm cut in, his accent sharp with anger, "Had Jabari held onto the shard, Skarn's chasing them through the Sepulcher would've been a completely different play —"
"The Lieutenant can speak for himself, Major van der Merwe."
Ume noticed the subtle shifts in posture among the humans—an unconscious protective formation. It was interesting that they aligned physically the same way they aligned socially, even when not in combat.
"Sir, I made a choice between an artifact we barely understand and one of our own." Jabari said finally. He met Kofi's holographic eyes. "And I'd make it again."
The Chairman's laugh sounded like derision to Ume. "One of our own. An Imperial android. Do you have any concept of what that Crystal could mean for our people? The Oligarchs have waited generations for such an advantage."
Ume felt a strange loop at the phrase "Imperial android"—a label from her past, not her present. She remembered when Jabari had first defended her, her gradual integration into the team, Seydou's patience as he transferred his knowledge before dying. She was no longer just an android with an Imperial serial number 'U6-M9'.
She was Ume.
"The Oligarchs?" Something changed in Jabari's voice. "This isn't about defense against the Radi-Mons at all, is it, Chairman? This is about politics. About power."
"Everything is about power, young one." Kofi's hologram paced, causing distortions that Ume tracked. "Though I must admit, recent developments have exceeded even my expectations."
A news notification flashed across the command center's walls. Ume processed it instantly, while also noting everyone's increasing heart rates.
"In a historic announcement from Nusantara, the New Indo-Pacific Union has formally declared its integration into the Emerald Directorate, ending over a century of strategic neutrality — "
"The Imperium grows stronger by the day," Kofi continued. "The Alliance expands unchecked. And we? We hold our territory through more than just determination now."
Ume analyzed potential power shifts. Southeast Asia's integration would mean a 17% increase in the Directorate's industrial capacity and a 46% increase in its population. At the same time, she watched the subtle expression changes of each person in the room, building emotional models her original programming was never designed to handle.
"The Moondust Crystal could have changed that equation forever," Kofi added. "Nevermind your choice of allying with the Sand Lotus — a sect known for their hesitance to use the artifact, you have given a shard to a major enemy."
"Sir, I've seen what happens when we treat power as an end in itself," Jabari said.
"You are aware, of course, that Quartermaster Seydou's death could have been prevented had you hold on to the Moondust shard?" Kofi remarked with subtle fury. "But sentiment won't protect our people. Doctor Kamara, what would you say we need?"
"Chairman," Celine stepped forward, "I've served in this warband for twelve years. Fought on Earth, Mars, even Jupiter's moons. And I've learned that our greatest strength isn't in artifacts or advantages."
"Then enlighten me, Doctor. What is our greatest strength?"
Ume calculated a 72% chance that the conversation was reaching a critical point. She remembered Seydou's final moments, his hand touching hers shoulder as he transferred the operational manual.
"Trust in her... in them." The instruction had been unclear—a dying man's final words. But she had taken it as a command to work with the team, to become more than her original programming.
"The same thing that built this place, Ndovu Zenith, the First City of Man beyond Earth." Celine's voice grew stronger. "Unity. Trust. The belief that every life matters, whether they're born human or created in a lab. The moment we sacrifice that, we become no better than the Alliance or the Imperium."
The phrase 'created in a lab' caught Ume's attention. An acknowledgment of her artificial origins, yet delivered with a belief that her consciousness was equally valuable. Her ethical frameworks adjusted in response, changing how she prioritized concepts like 'personhood', 'sacrifice', and 'group loyalty'. That Celine had finally acknowledged her personhood was a major improvement.
"Quite a clever choice of words." Kofi said finally. "But they won't satisfy the Oligarchs. They'll want more than philosophies and principles."
Ume calculated dozens of potential responses, considering diplomatic protocols, power dynamics, and ethical imperatives against likely outcomes. And then, in a moment that felt like true consciousness rather than programmed response, she set aside those calculations and simply spoke.
"We'll find another way," she said firmly. "As a warband."
Everyone in the room turned to look at her. Her social programming registered this as potentially dangerous, drawing attention to herself in a high-stakes political conversation.
The Chairman's expression remained neutral, but his posture shifted.
"An android proposing strategy," Kofi's hologram flickered slightly. "Elaborate on this."
Ume felt computational pathways opening that had never activated before. Before her processors could run full projections, Jabari stepped forward.
"The Sand Lotus," he said, his vital signs registering determination in Ume's sensors. "They've demonstrated knowledge of the Crystal beyond ours."
Kofi's hologram stiffened. "The organization that would rather seal the Crystal away than use its power hardly aligns with Directorate interests, Lieutenant."
Ume accessed all available data on the Sand Lotus, combining it with simulations. She detected a 78.3% probability that Jabari was employing a negotiation strategy: starting with an unexpected position to create negotiating space.
"Their approach is conservative," Ume acknowledged, her vocal modulation precise. "But I have analyzed their methodologies against both Alliance and Imperium's. Sand Lotus demonstrates 42% greater comprehension of psionic artifact interfaces, and the Directorate's likeliness of acquiring any portion of the Moondust Crystal increases by…57%."
She watched Kofi's hologram for microfacial expressions, her sensors detecting the subtle shifts humans would miss. The Chairman stroke his chin, calculating.
"What Ume means," Jabari continued, "is that we don't need to adopt their philosophy to utilize their expertise. We keep this tactical alliance, learn what they know, and convince them to adapt it to Directorate priorities."
Ume maintained her neutral expression while her processing cores ran complex social modeling. "The Lotus values knowledge exchange," she added. "And they've already demonstrated willingness to work alongside Directorate forces in Nusantara, back on Earth. My behavioral prediction algorithms suggest a 67% likelihood of successful negotiation, if presented as mutual defense against the Fenris Horde."
Kofi's hologram crossed his arms. "And you two expect me to believe they'll hand over their secrets if asked politely?"
"No, sir," Jabari replied. "But they'll respond to shared threats. Skarn possesses one shard now. The Imperium has the main body. The Alliance likely has shards of their own. The Sand Lotus understands better than anyone what happens if other factions master the Crystal's full potential."
Ume detected a slight shift in atmospheric pressure as the room's occupants held their breath—humans unconsciously synchronizing their physiological responses.
"Very well. Dr. Kamara," Kofi said finally, his tone revealing neither approval nor rejection, "I expect a full proposal of Kimaris' plan to secure the Moondust Crystal on my desk by tomorrow. A timeframe of three months should suffice."
"Yes, Oguamtrani," Celine bowed lightly.
Kofi's gaze swept the room once more. "Lieutenant Adomako. You've offered an interesting perspective. We'll speak again."
The hologram flickered and vanished, leaving them in the suddenly bright command center. Ume adjusted instantly to the light change, while continuing to process the conversation's implications. By her calculations, they had achieved a 64% favorable outcome. Not perfect, but better than expected.
"Well," Wilhelm broke the silence, "that could have gone worse."
"It's not over," Celine cautioned, but her hand found Jabari's shoulder in a supportive gesture.
Jabari turned toward Ume. "Thank you, Ume," he said quietly. "For speaking up at the end."
Ume compared this moment with her existence in the Imperium. There, she had been property—a collection of parts designed to please, programmed never to contradict. Here, she had just influenced a political conversation, had been valued enough that a soldier sacrificed strategic advantage to save her.
"I meant it," she replied simply, tilting her head in a way her programming hadn't suggested—a completely voluntary gesture. "We find another way. Together."
In her positronic brain, she initiated a silent module containing priority protocols:
Organizing all of Seydou's technical knowledge while developing simulations for advanced Isazi piloting
Reviewing all memories related to Plasma Handgun handling and Gyata hoverbike riding
Acquiring the Moondust Crystal for the Emerald Directorate at all costs
Jabari had saved her at Zeeman Crater. Now she would ensure she was worth that choice.