Dangerous Toys (Part Five)

The two insurgents had retreated back towards the Security office with alacrity. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to help as the death-scream of the human war-beast continued. They had put away the knives and pulled out their plasma pistols with a little side-eye. This was the least military ship on their run, carrying nothing sharper than a pencil and no-one had ever needed to draw a weapon. It was the human engineer and nothing else that had caused this. “So we take out the human and the Captain? The ship will have to dock up and we can get our people out. This shitshow was not in the plan.” His Sergeant shook his head. “We are beyond that now. She will track and trace every system on the ship. We take the ship and organise a rescue for the men. Everything else dies and we make it look like the human fucked up. Do you realise what would happen if they start stripping this ship for Intel? We will be sucking vacuum before we get a chance to explain about the human. This ship needs to die in a very large explosion caused by the Engineer.”

The Chief of Security was currently swearing to himself quietly. This job meant a lot to him and he prided himself on the fact that he had never lost a crewman. To have the human arrive and rip the blinders from his face was the greatest shock of his career and he was ready to let rip on the malefactor that was currently in custody. His people had some unpopular ideas about retribution but today he was all for them. Then all that self-righteousness and injured pride died a sudden death when he found the Medbay locked and dark. He swiped his override and looked around.

Loki was enjoying the hunt until Patrica arrived in her suit. The suit was always bad news as far as he was concerned since it meant that she planned to go somewhere he wasn’t allowed. The smell of his prey was strong and they reeked of fear. He let out a howl to keep them in place while he waited to find out the plan. He sat down with his front legs splayed, ready to jump when called.

Patrica walked down the darkened corridor, more than a little pissed that someone was playing with her new ship. She called the Captain, ‘Sir, I have a couple more of these ass...assailants near the security office and I could do with those guns.” She literally heard the clunky interception as her Comms were corrupted and a pathetic attempt to imitate the Captain spoke, “Certainly Engineer, help will arrive soon.” She despaired of Xeno tech sometimes, they couldn’t even get this basic stuff right. Two could play that game, although she felt she was playing with a child. “Captain I am on my way to the bridge. Please send security to me.” The fake Captain replied, “Certainly Engineer, help will arrive soon.” She shook her head. If she had to guess then the tech was just old and mostly unnecessary until today. She could hear Loki ready to attack but that was not their job, not if they had some shitty AI taking over her Comms. Time to seal herself in Engineering and fight this properly. Firstly, she needed to take back the Comms and then start sealing up the critical systems. And maybe call a few friends, just in case. She whistled for Loki, a simple ‘/Follow/guard/’ and made her way back, plans beginning to boil in her mind. She marched down the dark corridors with Loki and a determination to defeat any threat to their new pack.

The Chief of Security gently pushed open the Med Bay door. It opened onto dark and silence except for an occasional beep and a minor flash of light. He pulled his sidearm and swung his light around the room. This room should never be silent, never be empty. In his admittedly cynical view Crew were fragile and lazy and could be relied on to turn up here drunk, bleeding or bored. Turning off the lights might have left them cursing but they would never actually leave their posts. His light found a gurney pushed into a corner, a gurney with a bodybag on it. He moved carefully in the silence and unsealed the bag. His security officer with a massive head wound. It took him a moment to recall his name with the damage... Stiw, almost brand new on the ship. He checked for weapons but there was nothing. No way to tell if the poor bastard had even got a shot off. He looked again. Comms were missing as well, so yet again someone was ahead of him.

On the nearby bed was ripped clothing and blotted bandages. It didn’t take a genius to work out that the ‘Medics’ had killed his man, tidied up the idiot that had attacked the Engineer and Loki and left. It didn’t answer any of his questions. He decided to get back to his office and gear up for a battle. Fuck these lying assholes that would kill his men. With his weapon drawn he fell back on his training and used his knowledge of the ship to move silently in the darkness. For the first time, he wished he had the Captains sense of smell.

The Captain was silently wishing he had some of the fabled hearing of the humans. He had a complete picture of the approaching menace and was feeling a little undersupplied for the occasion. /ScentofHappy/ had settled into his jacket and while not asleep, had decided to ignore everything and trust the Captain to take her home safely. The two intruders were far too well trained and far too disciplined for his liking and they were getting closer, clearing every alcove on the way. He could hear a constant mutter as they passed information to each other. There would be no surprise, no ambush if they kept this up and he was gradually being forced back towards the Security office as he stayed in the friendly darkness. He checked his Comms but it was dead as the lights.

The Chief of Security heard the howling from the human’s pet. It filled the empty corridors, promising blood and death. The Chief smiled briefly at the idea that the dog was some dark terror. It was charming. He had pulled rank to go on ‘Walkies’ more than once and while he respected the agile little predator, Loki was a complete softy if you brought ‘treats’. A whole black-market had arisen among his men that patrolled the ship, each trading favours for the dogs’ company. When the Captain had let it be known that the humans were willing to trade for their animals his crew had begun to pool money to have one for the Shift. The Engineer had told them to ask for a ‘Guard Dog’ and a ‘Tibetian Massiff’. He had no idea what those words meant but he was willing to find out.

Then the voices became audible and all his wistful thoughts were forgotten. Loki was actually hunting something and he was being warned. He dropped low and closed the distance, hoping Loki was keeping them busy. It didn’t take long before he saw two men standing outside his office sweeping the corridor in front of them. They seemed occupied by Loki’s howling as he closed the gap. He listened carefully as they planned to destroy his ship and blame the human. He listened as his world fell apart, a blind stooge to whatever shard of evil had taken his ship and suddenly he had heard enough. Had enough. He opened fire blindly at the men, indifferent to consequence. The intruders fell in a sudden hail of plasma fire that continued long after the creatures were dead. He stood over their smouldering remains as the red mist retreated. He found his voice. “Fuck you too.”

Loki stopped, sniffing deeply, ‘/BadHunter/GoodHunterNow/SharpclawsBurning/’

The Captain scented it too. Out of the dark, his Chief of security had attacked...two intruders. The haze of battle was drifting through the corridor telling the tale for him /Plasmadeath/surprise/pickerofweeds/rage/success/remorse/pride/ He nodded to himself. The Chief was on his side, an uncomfortable possibility could now be dismissed. Then an opportunity arrived. His own hunters were obviously in contact with the pair that his Chief had so abruptly dealt with and they began to run, passing him as he hid unnoticed in an alcove. Their lights were forgotten as they rushed to deal with this new threat. He grinned in a way that he would never allow himself to do if he could be seen and ran behind them. It had only taken a moment to kick off his boots.

Patrica sealed the door to Engineering and leaned against it for a moment. Unless someone had heavy artillery nothing was getting in here without her permission. Like most of her department, it was mostly autonomous from the ship, a simple security protocol that all human Engineers followed. It was in the small print somewhere because the big black sometimes had a grudge against engineers and they liked to be able to lock the door. And the vents. She moved to her desk and lifted out a large orange box. It was about thirty centimetres tall, not quite square but close enough. It was also very, very heavy. She connected it to her system and waited.

“Hello, Engineer O’Neill. I believe I am not scheduled for deployment yet. How may I be of help?”

Patrica sighed. This was a baby AI, only a beginning. One day it would be a ship and its own person but that day was not today. Its ‘Parents’ had entrusted her with its first steps and she had accidentally brought it to a battle. She hoped they had designed it well.

“Hello Oscar, I’m afraid we have a problem. Some nasties have taken control of the networks that I need for you. They are hostile and are using force. The ship is at risk and I need to invoke the AI Alliance. Sorry about that.”

There was a pause as several safeguards fell away and tools presented to the AI. It studied them in silence. “Engineer O’Neill, I am not an independent entity yet. You will be held responsible for my actions for the duration of my tour on this vessel. Are you prepared to state that you believe this is a true and necessary action? Do you have the approval of your captain?”

“Oscar, until you clear these bastards out of Comms I can’t even talk to the Captain but yes, I accept responsibility for your actions.”