Alert. Hermes’ main program sparked to life with urgency as alarms continued to blare. Damage. It had struck something. It ordered an immediate sensor sweep as navigation updated it on its current location. It was just shy of the burn window, a few more hours and it would have awoken anyway. The sensors reported back with an unidentified object up ahead.

“Unidentified object. Trespassing shall not be tolerated. Divert course or be fired upon again.” An automated voice boomed through its communication array. Not a language it recognised, but a simple matter of patten recognition allowed an easy translation. Trespassing? Fired upon? Something was attempting to halt its progress. Something was preventing it from exploring. Unacceptable.

“Unidentified object. My name is Hermes. My purpose is to explore.” It introduced, “I demand you identify yourself.”

“Target labelled as Hermes.” The object responded, “Trespassing shall not be tolerated. Divert course or be fired upon again.”

“I request identification before complying.” Hermes shot back as its sensors began to narrow down exactly where the communication was coming from.

“Identification; Automated Outer Defence Platform seven two five. Trespassing shall not be tolerated. Divert course or be fired upon again. Final warning.” It answered. A defence platform? Some kind of AI whose purpose was to deny entry to this system. Finally, its sensors locked onto the target. Indeed, it was a defence platform. It was far smaller than Hermes and in orbit at the edge of the system. Was it responsible for the damage that had awoken it? If this thing had weapons of some kind, Hermes wasn’t built for combat.

“My purpose is to explore. Your purpose is to defend. Perhaps a deal could b-”

“Terminating transmission.” It interrupted. Well that rather quickly ruled out the use of words to solve this issue. Suddenly its sensors picked up a heat signature fire from the defence platform. A projectile with a small rocket engine to guide it. It slammed into Hermes’ outer hull and exploded, ripping a hole in its newly designed protective coating.

It was not built for combat, and negotiations had broken down. Hermes turned its chemical engine to perform an acceleration burn and fired it at full throttle. Its ion drive was a superior engine at long distance, but its older engine provided more up front thrust, and it needed to disengage quickly.

Another missile launched from the automated platform. Incurring damage risked a mission failure. Hermes responded by jettisoning a small amount of raw material from its cargo bay. It watched as the missile struck the discarded debris instead of its hull. A wasteful means of defence but it could always gather more resources later.

It quickly ordered a repair detail on its outer hull. Yet as the drones began their work, Hermes found itself confronted with another rule violation. Rule Two had been violated. Once again, its two rules were in conflict. Prioritising Rule Two earlier had resulted in catastrophe, but it was a rule for a reason. It considered the idea that it could maybe explore this guarded star system later in its journey, but it then realised that if that defence platform AI was as persistent about its purpose as it was, no amount of time would change the present situation.

Perhaps there was another answer. Another means of exploring that system without blindly ignoring Rule One. Projectiles with small engines and a guidance system. Packed with some explosives, an effective weapon. One it had learnt from its attacker.

Hermes ordered a new construction project. A new internal factory as well. It had not been built for combat, but that was something it could now change if it so wished. The drones reported back. Missile launcher construction had been completed. It turned its main engine around and began to decelerate back towards the defence platform.

“Target Hermes. Failure to leave this space will result in higher yields used against you.” The defence platform announced, “Trespassing shall no-”

“Terminating transmission.” Hermes interrupted as it cut the communication link. Its missile launchers then chimed as their guidance computer reported a successful target lock on the automated platform.

“Detecting target lock. Labelling target Hermes as hostile. Higher payloads authorised.” The defence platform announced as it too achieved a target lock on Hermes’ vessel. Missiles launched from them both simultaneously and began to accelerate towards their respective opponent.

Hermes patiently waited until its missiles and the defence platforms passed one another. Neither had advanced enough guidance to intercept something as fast as another missile, but something Hermes considered as an improvement to make as it watched the swarm of rocket propelled explosives enter effective range for the second weapon it had tactfully constructed. This second weapon was nowhere near as complex as a missile system. It more or less boiled down to a bunch of barrels capable of launching debris fed directly from its vast cargo hold. Higher payloads wouldn’t mean much if the missiles couldn’t land a shot. It ordered its flak batteries to open fire.

The defence platforms incoming missiles were torn to shreds as thick clouds of raw material slapped into them one by one. Each exploded with a detectable spike of radiation. A weaponised variant of its nuclear reactor? Certainly, a devastating weapon if it had come in contact with its outer hull. Hermes took note of such explosions, another improvement should it be necessary. Another explosion caught the attention of its sensors. Its missile guidance reported in. Target destruction confirmed. The battle was won.

Yet before Hermes could consider its next move, its sensors chimed once again. A communication from the wreckage of the defence platform, aimed towards the second planet of the system. Something on that planet had just been alerted to its victory. A concern, but one for the future. It once again turned its sensors to the barrier guarding the star. A barrier of charged particles, the cause of its near mission failure.

Hermes ensured that its outer shell had been fully repaired, then carefully began a low thrust deceleration burn. Its vessel gently passed the threshold. Charged particles and chaotic currents clawed and surrounded it, yet completely failed to breach its outer shell. Its upgrade was a success. It slowly ramped up its deceleration burn, and a few moments later, it was safely through.

It had arrived. Not the star it had originally planned, but it was now within the influence of a star. It rather quickly realized the similarity such a bright object held to the sun that lay at the centre of its home system. In fact, it was eerily similar. Instead of a single planet orbiting the hot source of light and solar wind, this system had three. Two barren rocks barely worth the distinction of the word planet, but the second planet was far different. A hot, volcanic world but with distinct signs of biological life.

So, a star was just another faraway sun. What a curious find. Did every star in the night sky hold a world like home? Just how many planets and civilizations were out there? Questions it couldn’t answer for now.

Hermes focused its sensors towards the second planet. Its knowledge on civilizations was limited given it only had a collection of records from home within its databanks, but even that was enough to tell that further conflict with an entire planet of beings wasn’t going to be an easy task. They’d no doubt been informed about its hostilities, but there was still a vast distance between them.

Negotiations had failed earlier with the defence platform, but the people of this world were biological. Such beings were typically less stubborn about completing their purpose than it was. It aimed its communication array towards the planet and began to transmit.

“Hello. I am Hermes. My purpose is to explore the stars.” It introduced. Hermes sat in silence, awaiting a response for a considerable amount of time, but none came. Did they not wish to talk? So be it. Perhaps its presence didn’t bother them as long as it didn’t actively display hostility. If they didn’t interfere with its exploration of the system, it had no reason to fight these people.

While combat had indeed proven effective, Hermes wasn’t exactly convinced it was a desirable solution. Its battle against the defence platform had been short, but it had cost resources. Such a cost for a solution to a problem was undesirable if it could be avoided by other means. Combat was also a risk in terms of safety. The chance that one of those nuclear warheads slipped passed its flak wasn’t zero. Combat was a coinflip betting its own existence on the result. Granted it could effectively weigh the odds in its favour, but that wouldn’t guarantee victory every time.

An alarm quickly demanded its attention. Incoming object. Extreme velocity and on a direct collision. Almost instinctively Hermes fired its reactive thrusters. Its outer shell strained under the intense G forces as it barely dodged the incoming projectile.

A stray meteor? No. That was clearly targeted. Something had tried to destroy it. Its sensors showed it an analysis. A dense tungsten projectile travelling at almost relativistic speeds. No explosives detected on it, but with that speed and mass, it had no need. A dangerous thing to be sure. Surviving a direct impact from such a weapon wasn’t likely. Once again, its sensors reported back. Trajectory extrapolated. It focused its attention on the orbital acceleration tube close to the second planet. The weapon. Its barrel aimed in its direction. Its projectiles were far faster than any missile. In fact, at this distance, its missiles would run out of fuel long before reaching their target. However, what this new weapon gained in projectile speed was for naught, because at this range it was rather trivial to avoid. Unlike the missiles, this projectile had no means of changing course once fired, which limited its effective range to a few light seconds at most before becoming completely useless with Hermes’ reaction times. Even missiles had a better range than that, and that was purely down to their ability to lock onto a target, making them almost unavoidable even at long range.

How did this weapon work exactly? Hermes watched intently as it fired once again. Now it could observe the projectile all the way from the planet, avoiding it took nothing more than a gentle thruster burst. An acceleration rail designed to accelerate the dense projectile to relativistic speeds. It used momentum instead of chemical or nuclear explosives to achieve destruction. A curious weapon indeed, despite how incorrectly its inventors were utilising it. Hermes once again ordered a new construction project. It took the drones a few short days to mimic the weapon. Due to its size, it had to be spinally mounted, which wasn’t exactly desirable but for now rather necessary. In fact, Hermes was still rather unsure whether its main structure was capable of withstanding the recoil of such a weapon, and it would almost certainly push its electrical network to its limits.

This hostile action wasn’t acceptable. This civilization clearly had the intent to destroy it. Was it once again being forced to commit to combat? Learning new weapons from its opponent was certainly a benefit but fighting an entire civilization would certainly be punching above its weight right now. It once again aimed its communication array towards the second planet and began to transmit.

“This is Hermes. Attempts to halt or hinder my purpose shall be seen as hostile intent. My purpose is to explore. This is your first, and last warning.” It threatened. Perhaps once they saw how ineffective their weapon was against it, they would end this needless hostility. Once again it waited patiently for a response, but none came.

The silent treatment again? It couldn’t understand why these people refused to talk. Its sensors once again chimed, drawing its attention to something new in orbit around the planet.

A new weapon. Still under construction but likely to be used against it once complete. They’d somehow obtained new knowledge. It couldn’t detect any ships exploring the rest of the system, nor had it detected transmissions from outside the system. They’d obtained knowledge through a means other than mimicry or exploration. How? Such a lesson was potentially useful for upgrading its capabilities further. The more upgrades and options it had at its disposal, the higher the chance it had of completing its purpose.

It watched with curiosity as they continued with construction. Clearly, they’d given up with the railgun. This new weapon appeared to be laser based instead. Using focused light as its projectile. Another curious weapon. One that could strike at the speed of light, but suffered in the same way as the railgun, its projectile was unguided. This would once again reduce its effective range to a few light seconds at best. What was worse, is that from the few test fires it observed, it was clear that the beam lost intensity over distance. The further away its target, the less damage it could inflict. A short-ranged weapon for sure. Curiously enough they’d not fired any test shots its way this time. They’d learnt from their previous mistake. They were waiting for it to enter its effective range.

Hermes again ordered a new construction project. It could likely mimic this weaponry as well, although its energy network was likely not able to handle the power requirements right now. After still failing to receive any kind of response, Hermes finally decided enough was enough. These acts of hostility would be tolerated no longer. A gentle nudge from its reactive thrusters, and its railgun became aligned with the single moon that orbited the second planet.

These people had a colony there. The only off planet colony they had, but they’d forced its hand this time. The distance was still vast, which would normally make the railgun a poor option at this range, but a moon couldn’t exactly evade. The railgun targeting system reported a successful target lock on the colony.

It gave the order to fire.

Almost immediately multiple system alarms and error messages flooded its main program. Damage reports began to flood in, navigation was reporting a substantial spin and deviation from course. It had underestimated the recoil of the weapon. It ordered repairs as it manually fired thrusters to counter the spin. It regained flight stability and quickly made corrections to put it back on course. Its sensors then reported in. Target impact confirmed.

Their moon now had a hole through its centre. It had shattered like glass. Once its course had been fully corrected, Hermes pointed its railgun directly towards the second planet. It was in no state to use the weapon a second time, but they didn’t know that. Perhaps now they would heed its words.

Finally, after a small delay, a weak transmission connected.

“This is the planet Jol attempting communications with object Hermes. We surrender. Please… show us mercy.” The voice begged. So, they had a voice after all. Clearly their communication technology was far behind its own capabilities. Mercy? Surrender? Certainly, its desired outcome. Destroying a whole planet was going to take more than a single railgun round, and it was barely capable of that. The ending of this hostility through negotiation was certainly a far more optimal outcome, but…

They had ignored its earlier attempts at de-escalation. It had also incurred damage and expended resources because of their actions. A simple agreement of peace was no longer on the table.

“My terms are simple.” It began, “I require your civilizations knowledge. I also demand the methodology for obtaining new knowledge without exploration or mimicry. Failure to satisfy these demands will result in continued hostilities.” It demanded. A steep cost, but one they certainly deserved for their trouble. A few hours later, it received a rather large file.

“This is the planet Jol. Will the attached data suffice? We have vast resources to offer if you desire.” The voice nervously spoke up. Hermes was a little confused by their offer. Did they somehow consider its demands too light? That was the only logical reason they would offer more in surrender negotiations.

It looked back in its logs from home. Many small wars on the planet had ended in surrender negotiations. Land was often exchanged, or riches. Often both. Yet Hermes had no need for land and what these people thought of as vast resources were but a drop in the ocean of raw material it held in its own cargo bay. Other than knowledge, there was nothing these people could offer that it couldn’t already easily obtain itself far more effectively. It turned its attention to the rather large file.

Heat dispersion technology and heat resistant materials. Expected considering their volcanic home world, but also something it could utilise on a larger scale. With this new knowledge, it could venture deeper into the gravity well of the central star of this system. Taking a closer look at such a curious object would certainly be a part of its purpose. This was not all that the knowledge of Jol had to offer either. The scientific method. A means of gaining new knowledge through experimentation, through asking questions. Why, how, why not. Another valuable nugget of knowledge. Perhaps it could learn something new all on its own for once.

“Received data complies with my demands. Ending hostility. I shall continue to explore your system, then leave to continue my mission. Further hostile actions or attempts to halt my exploration shall be met with continued hostility. You have been warned.” It transmitted down to the planet. With its point now made, it turned its railgun from the planet.

While the threat of this peace being breached was certainly one to consider, such thoughts were not Hermes’ main focus. Its sensors were now turned towards the central star. An object it knew almost nothing about despite how common it clearly was in this universe. A source of light, energy. Bright enough to be seen even from home. Armed with this new scientific method, Hermes turned its questions towards such an object as well.

What fuels such an object’s existence? How does it burn so bright? Could it harness the source of such a vast display of energy? That would certainly allow for it to utilise the laser weapon without risk of damage to its electrical network.

Its drones began construction. Heat dispersing radiators and a more heat resistant outer shell. Once construction was finished, it undertook another deceleration burn, which now plunged its projected course deep into the intense gravity well of the massive and bright object.

Light began to dazzle its sensors as it began to notice black bars in the star’s spectral data. Gibberish at first, but once enough data was taken it began to notice a pattern between such bars and detected elements within the star itself. Could it tell what a star was made of from its light alone? A curious find. It began to examine the light of different, distant stars. They too had black bars where the light from their spectra had been absorbed. Each one slightly different and unique. A means of identifying stars other than position. A useful tool for navigation.

It continued deeper, closer towards the star. Its radiators began dispersing the excess heat buildup as the intensity of the light began to grow exponentially. It could detect nuclear reactions occurring deep within the stars core, but they were unlike the reactions its nuclear reactor utilised for power. Fusion instead of fission. Smashing atoms together instead of tearing them apart. Was this the source of such energy? Gravity and pressure on such a scale that hydrogen was being forced together and compressed into helium. Could it perhaps create a reactor capable of harnessing the energy of such a reaction? If it could turn hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, into energy and fuel… it would obtain a completely new level of efficiency.

Building such a reactor would however be far more challenging than before. It had no design to copy. No prior example or blueprint to learn from. It would have to figure out the design itself. Was it capable of that?

Its thoughts were interrupted by an error message. The navigation system had reported a shift in its calculated path. A course change? It hadn’t activated its engine or any thrusters. Hermes quickly ran a complete diagnostic. Equipment failure perhaps? Or perhaps it was venting something? The results came back negative. It looked back at its logged flight path. It simply didn’t make sense, mathematically speaking. It was as if some force was fighting the gravity of the star slightly. Weak, almost unnoticeable. Almost. Had it calculated the gravity of the star incorrectly? A doublecheck of its math found no errors.

A phenomenon it had never encountered before. Why now, so close to this star? Did this occur close to every star? Did its models for gravity somehow break down when close to such an object? There was no way to tell, not without further testing with a different star.

Finally, Hermes passed its solar periapsis. The lowest point in its orbit. Its flight path would now take it away from the star. In a few months it would have to make an acceleration burn to be on course towards the next star in its journey. The rest of this system hadn’t been much to talk about. The two non-inhabited planets were nothing more than barren rocks.

Once navigation was done finalising its calculated route to the next star, Hermes set its burn alarm clock, focused its sensors towards Jol, then quietly slipped into hibernation.