I waited for a moment before finally intending to obey his commands. I reached for the young human to end its life but I could not bring myself to kill it and stopped midway. I retracted my hands from it and informed my pilot of my inability to harm it.

     <No, I cannot comply with your command to kill it at this time.> I told him.

     <No? No!? And what do you mean you can't comply!? I am your pilot! You are supposed to obey me! ME! Do you understand? Now do as I say and KILL IT!!!!!> he screamed at me.

     <No, I reject your command.> I coolly replied.

     <By Gu'nic's nards and jowls, why!?> he asked me, exasperated by my behavior.

     Indeed, why couldn't I kill this young human? It was indeed a good question and one I did not yet have an answer to. However, I could not tell my pilot this. To buy myself sometime until I could find one, I took the reason for bringing its body back to base camp and devised a plausible lie.

     <I wish to observe and record its behaviors and actions for the scientists.> I told him. <I cannot very well do it if the human hatchling is dead now can I?>

     He began to cough and sputter, shocked speechless by the sheer absurdity of my reply. I cannot say I did not agree with his assessment of my reply as it was so very much unlike the war machine A. I. I was created as. In truth, it was more akin to what a lab A.I. would say than what I should have said or done. And yet.... it very unwarlike for me to not want to kill my assigned target. What more, I wanted very much for this fragile being to stay alive and not be harmed.

     No....

    On closer inspection, the impulse to not harm the human was more than not wanting to. It was more intense than that. I.. wanted.. to be certain it would not be harmed; that it would... never be harmed or come... to harm. It was a strange and unfamiliar concept I had no word for yet. A nameless impulse I had never had before or had anything similar to it towards my creators, my test pilots, or any other member of their race.

     Perhaps this small young human and its kind could help me name this new impulse of mine. After all, I had never had it before I.... met it? This human I did not want to kill... This human I did not... want to harm. This human... I did not.. want harm to.... befall it. This human..... I wanted to.... be certain no harm would come to it.

     The human I wanted to.....

     I wanted to..... wanted to....

     I wanted to.... to....

     I wanted to........