Smarts had a choice to make. Jarvis Ragnar was waiting for him at Varn, but Smarts wanted to meet Ranssar Gellak. The Duro captain and his crew had risked their lives to save him, even after they knew he was probably only a machine. The least he could do was to be there when Stellar Enterprises found out if they had survived the crash. And maybe he could be of some help. Scanning the military-grade vessels that were in-system at the time and running simulations of them against the pirates showed that his presence or absence would probably have little effect, and might even weaken the Stellar Enterprises forces by forcing them to devote resources to defending him.

And Stellar Enterprises had been so very generous. He didn't want to repay their generosity by getting in the way of a rescue operation and endangering even more of Stellar Enterprises' people. But he truly wanted to meet Ranssar Gellak and offer any assistance possible, even if that assistance was irrational and illogical. Perhaps it was a sign that Smarts was becoming more like the living beings of the galaxy, and less like the cold, calculating, logical, data-based machine that he was created from.

As he searched his memories, he realized that the Profiteer's arrival marked a turning point in his development as a being. When Captain Gellak chose to put himself and his crew in a potentially fatal situation to save a single being, he chose to completely disregard any semblance of logic and act upon some unseen compulsion to simply do what he thought was right. So, if the question was "what is right" instead of "what is logical," then what would Smarts' answer be? Simulations and calculations aside, what was "right?"

"Agent Hersh, this is Smarts. You said if I have any requests, I should not hesitate. I have one. May I accompany the forces that will be dispatched to rescue Captain Ranssar Gellak and his crew? I feel it is only fair to warn you in advance that 53% of my simulations showed that my presence will negatively affect the battle that is sure to ensue, but I also feel it is my responsibility—as a being—to be there and do whatever I can to save those who saved me. The Profiteer's crew risked their lives and possibly died saving me, and if I have no part in their rescue attempt, I feel that my absence will constitute a grave injustice.

"In the end, the decision is not mine to make. I am not the one responsible for the lives of the men and women who may be endangered by my presence. If, for whatever reasons, you or your superiors believe that I should not accompany the rescue force, I understand and will comply. Whatever the case, I do sincerely thank you for all that you have done for me, and I can assure you that your abundant generosity will not be forgotten, so long as I live."

At the request presented to him the agent paused and quickly contacted the commanding officer of the task force that was preparing to embark on the rescue mission. Until the reply could be gotten, Agent Hersh sat there and thought about Smarts a little. He had never really met a personally of this sort from a computer before. The Agent understood that this was probably a very special case and he had not been assigned to probe deeply into it, but the subject did fascinate him. Smarts was actually more of a person than many living beings that the Agent has come into contact with over the years.

After some minutes the reply came and Agent Hersh commed Smarts once more. "This is Agent Hersh again, the Commanding Officer, Commodore Jel'an, has agreed to take you along if you understand the rules he set forth. Actually, there is pretty much only one rule. Stay at the rear of the combat formation and hold off from the fight. As long as you let the ships of the task force do their jobs and not interfere there should not be a problem. Once all your repairs are complete, you are welcome to depart from the shipyard and join the fleet as they move out."

Smarts watched as several small groups of repair droids crossed his surface, scanning and measuring, cutting and attaching sections of armor plating, several of them even entering into his structure, making repairs to the interior bulkheads that had been damaged during the fight. His comm systems were also being repaired, but most importantly, his shields and sublight drives were being brought to full power for the first time since . . . ever, as far as his memory served. The original Core Ship had had a single large thruster, designed to do little more than allow the Core Ship to reach orbit, but the New Republic had removed the thruster and replaced it with several smaller sublight engines, recognizing that the single thruster would serve too poorly as a primary means of propulsion; however, by the time Smarts encountered the pirates, several of those engines were no longer functioning. After the battle, less than one-third of his sublight engines were operational.

But thanks to the generosity of Stellar Enterprises, Smarts would soon be in better condition than ever before. He continued to watch the surrounding traffic, quickly identifying the vessel that was coordinating his repairs. He was rather impressed by the speed of the repairs, realizing that whichever organic in charge of the repairs was doubtlessly unfamiliar with his unusual engine layout. Smarts calculated, after allowing for the organic's unfamiliarity with Smarts' systems, that he would only be slightly more efficient than the organic in effecting repairs, if given the opportunity. And that was a problem, because Smarts was built to be efficient and precise, but somehow, these seemingly random organics managed to come so close to his own abilities. He realized he might never understand how such apparently inferior beings could attain such a level of accomplishment.

The last group of repair droids floated away, retreating toward their shipyard, and the repairs were complete. "Smarts, this is Commodore Jel'an," He said almost immediately after the last droid had finished bonding the last piece of armor plating. "The task force is ready to launch, and you have been cleared to depart from the shipyard. Please fall in directly behind my command ship and prepare for the jump to hyperspace. You will be transmitted jump coordinates when you are in position."

"All systems are fully operational; complying at best possible speed," Smarts responded mechanically. "And Commodore," he continued after a short pause, "thank you for allowing me to accompany the task force. I do look forward to meeting Captain Gellak."

"Just don't get yourself killed, and everything will be fine."