Dangerous Toys (Part Four)

The Chief of Security was still raging when Loki came in to see what all the fuss was about. ‘/Packmate?/Attack?/’, Patrica shook her head, ‘/Packmate/lostPride/BadHunter/’. The Captain smiled briefly at this description of his Chief. “Chief, can you stop for a moment? I will have our Engineer go through your systems and root out the problem. I would prefer that you go and check on the prisoner and find me some answers.” Glad of a task and a target for his ire the Chief nodded and stomped out of the room. The Captain sighed, “He’s a good man, just not ‘/FlowersinWinter/’, more ‘/PickerofWeeds/’. It took Patrica a moment or two to figure out the metaphors even as Loki huffed in agreement. She was definitely earning that first-contact bonus.

She moved over to the Chiefs station, carefully removing the newly damaged panels. Even the most cursory examination found issues. In the middle of the usual Xeno muddle was what looked to be an entirely separate system hardwired in. It would take her a while to map the thing but she felt confident enough when she turned to the Captain, “Sir, this thing is a mess. I can see lines running to Cams, doors, databases...everywhere. It would probably easier for me to just build a new one in engineering and take this apart for Intel. I wouldn’t let it run, not while these attacks continue. I suspect someone else is getting more information out of this room than we are.”

Loki let out a low growl, responding to the Captains scents. “Engineer, please shut this down and ensure that whatever creeping evil is on my ship is crippled. Use whatever you need to build me something, anything that can restore my Ship to me. I will be on the bridge.” Then the mystery of why the lights had been mucked about with became clear as the ship went dark.

The darkness of space is rarely seen in a Ship, except for the odd glance out the window. No emergency lights kicked in, just the absolute night falling like a curtain. Occasional flashes from the equipment did more to highlight the strangeness than anything else. In the security office, the Captain and Patrica jumped a little in surprise. The Captain called into the darkness, “Engineer, please explain! What did you do?”

Patrica grabbed her lighting pack from her toolbox, fumbling as she relied on muscle-memory and habit. It only took her a minute to slap the lenses in place and her suit now radiated a powerful sphere of light around her. She thanked the gods of small miracles that some distant Engineer had mandated that they must be carried at all times, regardless of circumstance. “Captain, that wasn’t me. I think we are about to meet whoever is messing with our ship. Are you armed?”

The Captain snorted loudly, “They want to fight me in the dark? I don’t need a weapon.” He sniffed slowly. “The Crew is upset. I will open the weapons locker for them and we will scour my ship clean. Give me a few moments and get to Engineering.” He paused, “Perhaps you could look a little less like a spotlight as you move? I will keep Loki informed where I am.” Patrica nodded and whistled for Loki. Behind him stumbled a very scared little puppy who had run out of /brave/ and may have left a small puddle. The Captain swept her up and reassured her as he went to deal with the intruders.

Patrica dropped her lights and fitted the infra-red filters to her mask. It felt weird to be wearing it indoors but right now she wished she was in her full suit. She took out her plasma torch ‘/Loki/intruders/StrangePack/Guard/PackLeader/Hunting/’ She reached down to her pet, ‘Sorrow/NewHomedangerous/BraveLokiBestBoy/’ Loki huffed and sniffed as the Captain had, ‘/Prey/LokiGoodBoy/Hunter/Happy/’ The first problem was apparent immediately. The infra-red wasn’t telling her anything useful as the ship was carefully heated to a uniform temperature and systems were insulated to keep it that way. If the intruders were clever they just had to ensure they stayed at the ambient temperature, a little trick she couldn’t do in her crew uniform. She needed to get to her shop and quickly. Hopefully, Loki’s nose would warn her. A sudden thought struck her and she stopped at a vent, ‘/Loki/Guard/’ and pulled it out. The thermostat was bog-standard and normally a question for the Engineer alone which worked out nicely. She punched in her code and raised the ship’s temperature by fifteen degrees. If the enemy weren’t paying attention, they would stand out as a cold spot. In about an hour.

The Captain moved carefully, perversely enjoying the lack of incessant lighting on the ship. The Ship spoke to him, telling him who was nearby, who was frightened or angry. In his mind, he built up a careful picture of what was around him. He considered it a given that someone was going to attack since it made no sense to show your hand and do nothing. The only question was the target. He huffed at /Scentofhappy/ now burrowed deep into his jacket. ‘/PackleaderHunt/PuppySafe/Loved/’

He scented the wrongness ahead. Two crew, /anticipation/bloodlust/fear/ and /angry/tracesofregret/determination/. He didn’t recognise them beyond the base smell of the ship on their clothes. He hissed to himself. They were /Crewnotcrew/. Traitors. From his scent map, they were using torches, something handheld and occasionally sweeping the corridor ahead. He felt he was a reasonable man, honest in a Galaxy that didn’t value his people very much. His people didn’t have great glorious wars, they didn’t try and steal worlds from others but right now these.../Rottedfruitsonapoisonvine/ would discover that he wasn’t powerless. He hushed the puppy and moved quickly ahead.

Loki growled a warning softy*. ‘Prey/AmbushHiding/ClawandotherClaw/’.*Patrica swore to herself. Why bother trying to find her when they knew where she would go? Two attackers just waiting around the corner from Engineering, certain that she would fumble her way there. Loki seemed certain that they were only carrying knives right now while they knew they had the advantage. Unlikely those were their only toys.

Patrica worked out a plan of sorts. “/Loki/FlushGame/NoAttack/FlushtoMe/”

Loki didn’t pause, flying on his great legs with his head down and ears back. He flew past the awaiting intruders without a sound, a sudden shape rushing past the confused duo. Then when he was at his appointed spot he began to howl. It started low and soft, increasing to a solid threat from the dark. Loki was thoroughly enjoying himself.

The ambushers started off worried but slowly it became a genuine fear. They looked at each other, “That’s the thing the human owns. Some kind of war-beast. It nearly took Anjoks arm off when it attacked him. He said that it only stopped when the human asked.” He looked down the corridor, “It wanted to tear his throat out.” The other Xeno followed his stare, “Well we are not here for that. I suggest we go and look for the human. The security office has a nice secure door. I imagine she’s hiding there. Probably.”

While they were distracted by Loki's antics Patrica had made it to Engineering unnoticed. She knew he would never get trapped by such a pair and was too well trained to take chances. The prey might be larger than he was used to but he enjoyed the game too much to spoil it. He would haunt those two until he could safely return to her. Her office wasn’t pretty and with a sniff, she realised that a little organisation might be due. However, her suit was prepped and ready and that was what she really wanted. Humans tended to keep quiet about how they worked or what they could do but once she was wearing that it would take more than a plasma rifle to hurt her. The only difference between it and a combat suit was the bright orange colour and the lack of obvious weapons. Generations of Engineers had designed it against ‘hostile environments’ and had taken a pretty broad view of what that meant. Time to go and get her dog. She hit her Comms and let out a call at 54 kHz and went to meet him.

Loki’s tail whipped a little faster when he heard the whistle. He had no idea why only he could hear it properly but that sound meant that his pack leader was on the way. He howled down the corridor again. The hunt could begin.