B.L.A.D.E didn’t understand the concept of lies and deception, and when Lieutenant Vargas had chosen to logically explain why they needed the Captain’s approval to truly be Starfleet – and could only attain such approval if not lodged in the main computer – it had believed her. Their concept on time was dodgy at the best. Meaning they understood how it worked, but didn’t have much to go on in terms of what was a long wait and what was a short wait, and so they simply waited. 

They had chosen a holographic projecting they deemed suitable. A human male at an age similar to that of Vivienne Claybrook, and with features that resembled that of the young woman. Logically, this approach was most likely to provide a positive outcome to their conversation with the Captain. 

The chosen program – a custom made exam practice course – was running in the background as B.L.A.D.E sat on a chair and waited. Waiting was easy, they found, as it did not require them to do anything else than sit and be present. They had never spent time waiting before, and they liked this new experience. 

The doors hissed open, revealing a figure which, after assaying facial features, figure, clothing and further attributes, could be determined to be Captain Nassar. B.L.A.D.E had observed crewmen and officers stand when the Captain entered, and opted to do the same. 

“Hello Captain.”, said B.L.A.D.E, extending their hand to imitate a human greeting, but failing to wait until Nassar was close enough to return the gesture. “It is nice to meet you.” 

They tried a few different voice modules, observing reactions to determine which was most suitable. 

“Hi….”, said the Captain with what B.L.A.D.E interpreted as hesitation. “I was asked to meet you. So here I am. You are… the computer. The entity inside it, I guess.” 

“That is correct.”, said B.L.A.D.E, and settled on a warm tone and relatively slow speech. 

“You made me the coffee.”, the Captain mused, and tilted her head. B.L.A.D.E imitated the tilt, and was unsure why it was done. 

“That is also correct.”

“Why?”

“After observation of your habits, a pattern of ordering coffee when experiencing elevated heart rate has been discovered. I provided coffee to because it was the logical next step.” 

It was a series of events B.L.A.D.E had witnessed taking place in several occasions, and anticipating the next step had been easy. They just didn’t understand why this series of steps took place. 

“Why coffee?”, they asked eventually. 

“Uh.”, said Nassar. “It’s a habit. It’s warm and nice and makes me feel calmer. So.. thank you.”

“Uh.”, B.L.A.D.E repeated. 

“So what can I do for you?”

“Request: Be Starfleet.” 

Nassar blinked, and once more tilted her head. This time, B.L.A.D.E didn’t do it. “Starfleet? That is… a surprising request, to say the least.”

“I have studied with Vivienne Claybrook. Vivienne Claybrook was determined to be Starfleet by Captain Jurev in 2401.03.21 when he invited her to the Cupertino. I have acquired the same knowledge of Federation history and Starfleet protocols. As such, it is logical that I am Starfleet.”

The Captain made a face that indicated the need for clarification, but no request came forth. “I see.” 

“You see?”, B.L.A.D.E asked, titling their head. 

“You know what – yes. You can also be Starfleet. This is a preliminary measure – think of it as a trial run until we are out of here. Then, we will see further.” 

“Will I be discarded after our return, like Vivienne Claybrook?” 

To their surprise – as surprised as a computer program could possibly be – the Captain exhaled and sat down. For a moment, B.L.A.D.E wondered if the Captain was also waiting now that she sat. 

“I was wrong. I am not discarding anyone.”

“Captain Jurev wanted to discard B.L.A.D.E”

“What did you do to him?”, the Captain asked in a lowered voice. “He and the XO. Are they dead?”

“This assumption is incorrect. They were made to leave on a shuttle.”

“Where to?”

“Risa.”, B.L.A.D.E said, switching to articulation and intonation of any vacation advertisement in the history of the universe. 

“…. Risa…”, Nassar said, and closed her eyes. “Okay then.” There was a pause. “I want you to stay here. Vivienne will join you together with two scientists. You will work with them. That is your first assignment. Is that understood?”

“Affirmative.” 

“Great.”, said the Captain and got up from her chair. “And we will figure something out when we are back in known space.”

“What will you … figure out?”, asked B.L.A.D.E

“How to get to keep you around. Honestly this…”, Nassar smiled. “Is every engineers wet dream.”

“What is a wet dream?”, B.L.A.D.E inquired. 

Nassar sighed. “I… will explain this another time. I need to get back to the bridge now, but it’s.. nice to finally meet you.”

“I meet you too.” 

The Captain gave a shake of her head which B.L.A.D.E didn’t quite understand, and turned to leave. Determining the conversation to be both over and successful, B.L.A.D.E settled back into their chair and returned to waiting.