Valorie wondered what Dupont might try next, but a message arrived from Quinns. He was through the ducts and waiting at a new hatch. Valorie steadied her eyes on the wall behind Dupont and focused on Quinns.

Evie

No one is near you.

Proceed.

Quinten

Really? Nothing?

Quinns leaned against the exit hatch. Would he be able to catch any warning of people outside before he opened it? Valorie reconfirmed that there was no one in her terse style. It was now or never. He gripped the handle. The hatches were easier to open from the inside. Quinns did not have to modify his strength to do it. Hard to get in, easy to get out. He leaned into it, trying to open the door just enough to see outside. There was no one, as Valorie had promised.

The long hallway matched up with his map – this was the last stretch to the server room. He opened the door a little wider and looked both ways. Still nothing. The server room was near the bridge, away from the engines. The distance dulled the background noise of working machinery. It left a silence that made his metal arm itch.

He dropped out into the hall and got to his feet. Compared to the ducts, he felt exposed. Valorie had promised there was no one nearby and, so far, she was right. Was there any point in skulking? A normal walk felt wrong, so he settled for a nervous jog. His heart raced, he was deep in it now. Every corner he approached, he felt sure there would be someone waiting for him. Maybe a surprised technician caught off guard. Who would believe anyone was stupid enough to board an imperial ship? He smirked at the idea the tech may not believe his eyes at first. Would that give Quinns time to escape?

Unlikely. Besides, he could trust Valorie. She had not led him astray so far. He had to press forward. He reached the door to the server room. The panel by the door read LOCKED in bold letters. Unlucky, he thought but he was already searching for the closest duct entrance. There was one duct with an entrance into the server room. He turned back down the hall, turning down one of the dreaded corners. The EMU kept him clear of most sweat, but he was sure he must be taxing its system by now.

Quinten

You didn’t forget about me, did you?

Evie

I have not.

There are two people in your vicinity.

Both a safe distance away.

Hurry.

Quinns knelt in front of the duct, taking it slow this time. He adjusted his strength and leaned against the hatch as he squeezed the handle. It took more pressure than the previous locks – it was not used as often. His eyebrows knitted as he squeezed harder and it jammed in place. Was it ever used? He closed his eyes and increased the pressure again – forgetting to be gentle. There was a loud pop and then a gust as air rushed into the duct. He froze as the sounds echoed down the hallway. It was so loud – his heart pounded with the sound echoing in his head. No one came running. He shook himself and crawled inside – closing the door behind him. Didn’t matter how quiet he was anymore.

Wires lined the walls of this duct – almost four times what he had seen in the other tunnels. There was not enough room for him to crawl. Using the toughest cables, he pulled himself forward on his stomach. His mechanical arm had the strength, but it strained his shoulders. It sent tingles of pain sparking across his back. He tried to breathe through it, but when the pain cut through his lungs, he had to stop. Gasping, waiting for the pain to pass. When it did, he started the process all over again.

He reached the hatch and yanked it open without thinking. Tumbling out into the open space, he lay still on the floor, half under a desk, half exposed. As he caught his breath, his vision cleared and he could see the tower server at the center of the room. An obelisk of lights, wires, and attachments – the server filled the room. He smiled at it.

Quinten

I made it!

Hope I never have to do that again.

Evie

Don’t you need to come back?

Quinten

That’s the joke...

Nevermind.

He got to his feet and freed one of the handheld devices from his suit. A small disc with an extending wire. He searched the surface of the server for the comms box. Lower right, near the door. He sat, cross-legged, and opened the disc. Various connectors were lined up inside. He picked the one he needed and attached it to the extending wire before securing it to the server. The display popped up and began reading off data.

The Database provided every ship registered in their system with a black box. They required registration for every legally owned ship. The three biggest factions vehemently backed this rule. It was as close to a galactic law as anyone could agree on. The black box transmitted identification data for the registered ship. Cross reference the data with the Database’s systems, and you could learn the history of a ship. Tampering with a ship’s black box could result in severe punishments. Including the permanent deletion of the ship’s registration. Unknown ships were dangerous, and often marked hostile – no one wanted that.

Quinns poked at the data on the screen. Tampering with the black box may be illegal, but changing the received data was an old trick. Assuming you could get up close with the enemy server. He stared up at the monolith server. Easier said than done.

The identity code was a 5-gigabyte file. If he scrambled less than 0.02% of it, the server would accept that as a static error. It would correct the identity code across the system. If he scrambled the right sections, it would be enough to redirect the data entry. The inspection would never appear on Heli’s record. Quinns initiated the process the moment it was ready.

Evie

They saw something.

Quinns’ back straightened. He looked at the door to the server room, half expecting it to pop open right that moment. When nothing happened, he remembered to speak.

Quinten

What?

Evie

The drop in pressure set off a maintenance check.

Near the server room - that’s you, right?

Two techs incoming.

Quinten

How long?

Evie

6 minutes.

It was… technically enough time. Quinns could disconnect, hide, and wait them out. It would be easy to try again. He hesitated. A hard disconnect might leave an error – a trace of his interference. The device felt heavy in his left hand. He glanced at the door. He had time – he could table the decision until they were closer.

Quinten

Update me at 1 minute.

Evie

That seems close.

Quinten

Trust me.

Valorie felt her chest tighten as she watched the two lights work their way towards Quinns. There was nothing she could do but warn him. She wished he would hide, but he remained steady in his location. What was he thinking?

She felt a change near her physical form. Dupont paced across the room. As the scans progressed, he was getting antsy for another round with Gareth. Could she afford to ignore them to focus on Quinns? She counted down the minutes, hoping nothing else could go wrong.