Once we’d finished planning I directed Spooky to slowly move the stratocarrier eastwards. It wasn’t the swiftest vehicle, I’d invested heavily in making the hover systems robust and redundant rather than focusing on speed. It would have been devastating to invest all those points only to have the ship brought down due to a lucky shot.

  I’d purchased it with the intention to use it as a mobile command center, and logistic hub, instead of a first responder unit, so it didn’t need to be quick. We could always send the Marsupial and Kodiaks ahead to engage the enemy while the ship caught up. Besides, I could always upgrade the engines later, once I had more points, if I wanted to increase its speed.

  This did mean that it would take close to two days to fly across the country at our top speed. Nyx had identified a handful of natural wonders we could stop at, to break up the trip, but when we arrived at the first location I had to question their choices.

  “Nyx… why the fuck did you suggest we stop at a fucking geothermal power plant?” I asked, staring down at the massive fortified compound in the distance.

  Yellowstone was once a massive national park, which was renowned for both its natural beauty and its reliable geysers. After the American government fractured into smaller regional governments, many corporations took full advantage of the lack of oversight and ravaged these previously protected areas.

  “You still haven’t explained why you suggested we stop here,” I growled. “If I wanted to visit an industrial complex I could have done that back in Calgary.”

  Although the Alliance Thermal Power company has spent years expanding their operation, creating additional thermal generators in the area, they’ve also spent billions to hire private military corporations to perform regular sweeps of the surrounding area, protecting much of the natural beauty. I recommend one of the upper falls overlooks.

  “Well, we’re already here, so it’s worth a look,” I grumbled, sending some quick instructions to Spooky through the network. I felt the ship shift as it turned further northward, avoiding the massive complex and heading towards the relatively untamed wilderness.

  Although Alliance Thermal Power had created a massive industrial compound in the middle of the area, I had to give them a little credit, their security teams had done a good job of keeping the Antithesis out of the surrounding area. Where most areas had vast swaths of land that had been stripped clean by the Antithesis before someone noticed and eliminated the infestation, Yellowstone was relatively clean. Most of the forest was fairly intact, and because the area was so rocky and uneven no other corporations or settlements had moved into the area. It was probably the closest you could get to ‘pristine’ land these days.

  After a few minutes the carrier emerged over a deep, craggy canyon, with a wide river at the bottom. As the ship settled, slowly lowering to sit just below the lip of the canyon, I caught sight of a majestic waterfall.

  Worth it?

  “Yeah… I think the family will love it,” I replied quietly. I quickly connected to the camera system and flipped through the cameras, and frowned. “There is one problem though. I don’t see a place where we can set up at the bottom of the falls. The Canyon walls are too steep, and if we settle down at the top we wouldn’t be able to take in the view.”

  It’s true. There are a number of old outlooks further down the river, however the view isn’t quite as good back there. My suggestion would be to set up a meal on the lower observation deck, then take the family out to explore afterwards.

  “Now that’s a good idea,” I grinned, stepping away from the bridge. While I descended the stairs, heading back to the residential area, I sent out a series of commands to the surrounding bears. I sent a handful to help move a table and chairs into the observation area, while another couple checked the fridge to find something to serve for the impromptu meal.

  When I stepped into the residential area, I found almost everyone standing around, staring at the bears taking the kitchen table and raiding the fridge.

  “Evelyn, why are there a bunch of bears dressed up as pirates stealing our furniture?” Jane asked.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Ahhhh… I sent them, and I didn’t realize they were dressed up,” I admitted.

  “They’re gathering booty and carrying it back to the hold!” Issi declared. “Just like good pirates do!”

  “Not exactly,” I told the girl. “They’re taking them down to the lower observation deck.”

  “The hold is always in the lowest part of the ship,” Issi insisted. “That’s the best place to hide the plunder.”

  “That might be true, but it’s not the reason they’re moving everything. We’ve arrived at our first location, and I wanted to show you all,” I explained.

  “That doesn’t explain why you sent the bears to steal our table. I was about to start cooking lunch,” Jane grumbled.

  “The bears and I will handle that,” I said. “For now I’d like you all to follow me to the observation deck. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.”

  Jane looked at me suspiciously, but still led our little family unit out of the residence and down towards the observation area. As soon as the last one stepped outside I ran towards the fridge.

  “Is there anything in there we can use to create a quick picnic lunch?” I asked Deadbeat who was standing to one side.

  “There are sandwich fillings, and bread, but… does it really have to be a picnic lunch?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?” I replied blankly.

  Deadbeat sighed. “I mean you’re having lunch downstairs. It’s not like you’re going out to the wilderness, we could whip up something slightly nicer than sandwiches.”

  “Oh. True,” I muttered, thinking for a moment. “While it’s a good idea, I’ll have to direct the bears remotely, and I don’t trust the basic AI to not burn the kitchen down.”

  “You know I’m here,” Deadbeat huffed. “I could help.”

  I stared at her for a couple seconds. “You want to cook?”

  “I wouldn’t mind trying,” she admitted. “Right now my knowledge is entirely based upon combat, basic anatomy, and medical triage. I’d really like the chance to expand my skill set.”

  “If you want to…” I replied blankly.

  “What? Do you think I couldn’t do it?” she asked.

  “It’s not that,” I said. “It’s just that you’re the first one to ask me if you could learn new skills. Both Spooky and Bandit seemed to be happy with what they had.”

  “That’s not true… they both wanted to expand their skills, but you provided them chances to do so. Spooky has been working on both his strategic command, and leadership skills, while Bandit has been working on his surveillance skills,” Deadbeat explained.

  “Yeah, but those skills assist them in performing their given roles. It’s not like they’re asking me to learn… I dunno, creative dance or something. It just caught me off guard,” I replied. “I’ve got no problem with you learning new things, I’m just surprised that you’re the first.”

  “I’m not,” Deadbeat snorted. “Spooky doesn’t think about anything but being the ideal commander for you, and Bandit doesn’t like confrontation. If he wanted to learn he’d look for the ideal time to bring it up.”

  “He’s been around for over six months,” I muttered.

  “And maybe he hasn’t found something he wants to learn, or hasn’t found the ideal time,” Deadbeat countered. “I’m a little more straight forward.”

  “Maybe…” I muttered. “Do you need anything to help you start cooking? A cooking knowledge download, or something?”

  “And take the enjoyment out of learning? No thanks. All I want is a beginner’s level cook book, and some ingredients.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her, then turned and opened one of the cabinets, revealing a row of cookbooks.

  “Jane, Alan and I have been practicing. None of these are too complicated, but if you want a place to begin I suggest this one,” I said, plucking a particularly beat up book off the shelf. “It’s the easiest to follow.”

  She accepted the book and flipped through it for a moment before looking up at me, eyebrow raised. “Little cooks big book of recipes?”

  “Don’t judge me. We’d been living on nutriblocks and garbage until last year, and none of us had even seen a working stove. We needed to start from the beginning,” I told her defensively. “Do you think you could whip up something simple?”

  “Absolutely, leave it to me!” the bear declared.

  “Alright, good luck,” I said before turning to go. I only managed to get a couple steps away before a thought occurred to me, and I stopped and looked back at her. “And when you see the others let them know I’ve got no problem with them learning new skills, as long as they inform me first. I’ll set up an area for you guys to learn, it’s not like we don’t have the space.”

  “Sounds good, thanks boss!” Deadbeat shouted back, nose already buried in the cookbook.

  I shook my head and stepped outside. I had no idea how well she’d be able to cook, the Class III bots were capable of incredible precision and the Class III AI had robust learning algorithms, but without a training package she’d have to learn from scratch. It would be an experience. I just hoped that she didn’t burn the kitchen down.

  As I descended the stairs to the observation deck I assigned a couple bears to watch over her, and make sandwiches if something went wrong.

  When I emerged on the lower deck everyone was clustered around the windows, staring at the waterfall. It seemed like they were all so entranced with the sight that they didn’t even notice my arrival, so I cleared my throat.

  “So, what do you think? Pretty good view huh?”

  Jane glanced back, smiling excitedly. “Absolutely!”

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