Birthright: Battle for the Confederation- Pursuit by Ryan Krauter Page A

Loren with a smile.  Some people needed to practice
their 'diplomat' smile; the one that could be made to appear whenever needed. 
Loren, despite the darker things he'd seen so far during the war, still enjoyed
talking to people and came off as genuine when meeting others.  "I suppose
we haven't been officially introduced."  Loren held out his hand, which
the scientist shook with her own six-fingered one.  "I'm Commander Loren
Stone, Executive Officer of the Confederation ship Avenger," he began. 
"This is Captain Second Rank Corinne Sosus and Commander Merritt
Elder."
    "I'm Sera Dom," the woman
replied as she shook hands with Cory and Merritt.  "It's gratifying to
finally meet you."  She caught Loren's puzzled look.  "The rest of
the galaxy knows about the war with the Primans, I assure you.  We've heard
about some of the work Avenger has done, you know.  I suppose we didn’t come by
all the most interesting and daring things, but enough to know your ship and
your crew a bit by reputation."
    Loren couldn't entirely stifle a slight
grin.  "Perhaps you could help spread the word to the Primans that it
would be best for them if they just ran away," he replied.
    "If only it were that easy," she
said.  "In any case, my team is part of the people who put together the
presentation for your captain.  Hopefully our technology can do some small part
to help you, and I admit selfishly to hoping that it will test well for you in
case we need it for ourselves."
    "Oh, the Primans will come calling
sooner or later," Cory said softly. 
    Loren saw this as a time to shift the
topic.  "Can I ask you what may be more of an opinion question than
technical?"
    Sera looked at him without giving any
emotion away.  "Please."
    "It's well known that the Kingdom
has a very neutral stand on the use of artificial intelligence," he began
tenderly, not wanting to scare her off but also needing to show that he wasn't
afraid of the topic.  "You use the most intelligent programming allowed in
the civilized galaxy.  Do you think creating a fully conscious AI would help
with the weapons design over what you've done so far?"
    Sera digested that for a second, staring
at the finely crafted cup of stim-caf she carried.  "I admit we wondered
about that for a while," she confessed as she looked back at Loren and his
comrades.  "But other than the fact that we aren't allowed, there wouldn't
seem to be any point in making the weapon conscious.  It's smart enough to
follow an incredibly complex set of algorithms to seek out its target; making
it feel emotion about it, to wonder why the target needed to die, seemed like a
bad idea."
    Loren nodded sagely.  "I guess I
never really thought about that side of the technology."  He wanted to
push more, but didn't want to seem obsessed.  "I guess I'm just throwing
ideas at the walls to see what sticks.  We need something to help tip the
scales back towards those of us caught up in the fight; I couldn't help but
wondering if there was a way having access to AI intelligences would
help."
    "A valid question," Sera
returned, "but a futile one, I'm afraid.  Just remember there are places
in the galaxy where you might be detained for mentioning such things."
    "Of course," Loren demurred. 
"Can't blame a guy for wondering, though, right?"
    "On some planets, you can.  Not
here, though."  She pushed back from the table with a smile, leaving her
empty cup behind.  "Would you three care for a quick tour of the line
before the afternoon briefing?"
    "We'd be honored," Loren
replied.
                 
     
    The next few hours were interesting in an
academic sense, but to Loren it seemed a waste of time.  They weren't going to
buy any of these weapons, he'd pushed as far as he felt he could with the staff
at the facility, and it was time to go.  Chasing across the galactic core
looking for a mythical band of camera-shy androids was no longer his first
choice of ways to spend his time. 
    Finally, they