They took a jeep to the outskirts of the barrier, where a small group of soldiers had been assigned to maintain the connection. When they saw the jeep pull up, the leader of this group stepped forward.

“Secretary sent word to us that the Welcome Wagon plus one would be first in. I can’t say I envy that task.”

Commander Miller stepped down from the jeep and approached the soldier. “Anything come out yet?”

“Nope, the ship is dead as far as we can tell. We tried running scans but we’ve been unable to get past the hull. It's like it was designed specifically to stop enemy ships from scanning its contents. Which is not good for us.”

“I might be able to help,” came the voice of Vadir leaning over the side of the jeep.

Commander Miller gestured for him to come over. Vadir did so, joining the two of them. “You’re correct that the hull is designed to block most scans but there’s a way to get around that. Mind if I take a look at your setup?”

“Go right ahead,” said the soldier.

The three of them entered the nearby tent where a bunch of support equipment was set up. Some of it, like the pylons, supplied power to the barrier while technicians were working close by trying to determine if any life still existed inside the ship. Vadir approached the group of technicians and saw on the computer that the projection they had showed no life signs. They were using some form of thermal imagery to try and determine the status of anyone inside the ship. The problem was that the entire ship was blanket red.

“The hull has a thermal layer that obscures heat signatures, you need to do the opposite. Amplify the cold spots.”

“The technician looked confused for a moment. Vadir looked at those around him in shock. “You can shoot me down, but you can’t adjust your scanners to amplify the blue over the red. How did you even make it this far?”

“Luck, probably,” said Commander Miller.

Vadir eyed the pylon nearby. “Luck and some help from the Old Masters I bet.”

“Who are the old Masters, Vadir?” Commander Miller as the Alien worked their magic on the computer. Instead of showing the false thermal image generated by the ship’s thermal plating, the new image showed mostly cold spots in white while in black it displayed multiple concentrated sources of heat.

Vadir looked back at him. “They are the reason my people came this far out, why we’ve done nothing but run.”

“What happened?”

Vadir straightened and couldn’t meet Miller’s eyes, instead he directed attention to the screen. “I managed to bypass the thermal plating by scanning for cold spots. The areas in black are where large sources of heat are gathered.”

Realising that Vadir wasn’t willing to answer his last question, he followed the train of thought. “Do we have to enter those sections to complete the mission?”

“That depends, are you still wanting to access the Archive or would you rather just destroy the ship.”

Commander Miller chuckled. “You seem awfully adamant about destroying the ship outright.”

“Because I know how this ends. Your planet is not the first to fall foul of the Nirimor. Even if it takes centuries once the seed is planted, much like what you would call a weed keeps coming back. So does the Nirimor. Each time stronger, each time better equipped. And of the worlds that fell, all had tried to control it. To subjugate it. We failed as the usurpers when they weren’t monsters. What makes you think you can control them?” Vadir asked, pointing a long finger at the Commander.

“Sheer will. That’s how it works most of the time.”

Vadir simply scowled. “Let’s get going then, Commander, and since you’re so insistent about the data banks, I’ll take us to the section that likely doesn’t see much activity.”

“Glad you’ve come around to our way of thinking,” The commander said as the two of them left the tent and climbed back into the jeep. The commander took the front passenger seat, while Vadir joined the Welcome Wagon in the back.

“Lower the barrier, and throw it up once we cross the threshold. Let’s not get complacent,” Commander Miller said to the nearby soldiers standing at the main console.

The jeep soon crossed the threshold and it wasn’t long before the Dauntless occupied much of their vision. For the humans, it was unlike anything they had seen before but for Vadir a strong sobering dread entered his thoughts. Those thoughts were soon dispelled when they came to a sudden stop near where an airlock was located. Another was situated above it but was inaccessible.

“Will this one do?” Commander Miller asked Vadir as he stepped down from the vehicle. He was soon joined by the Welcome Wagon and their new alien friend.

“It will get us in for sure, give me a moment.”

Vadir approached the rounded door and looked for a panel of sorts that he would be able to open. After a bit of tinkering, the airlock door made a clicking noise but didn’t open.

Vadir sighed. “Sorry but it’s jammed. One of you needs to open it.”

Commander Miller signalled for Jackson and Mason to take a position on opposite sides of the door. “Everyone else keep your weapons trained on the opening. While unlikely, it’s not impossible that something might have taken refuge in the airlock. Jackson and Mason began pushing and soon the metal ground as it was forced open. The small crack let light flood into a small chamber. With weapons primed they each held their breath waking for something to emerge. When nothing came, both men stopped once the opening was big enough to let them all in. The airlock had a couple of spacesuits behind clear transparent doors and so far as they could see, there were no dead bodies. Vadir was the last one in.

“Turn on your torches.”

The Commander understood and relayed the command to his men. “Nothing leaves this ship, even us if it comes down to it.”

Vadir opened another panel and pulled a small lever that jolted the airlock shut. He approached the second seal that would let them into the main body of the ship. He tried peering through the glass but couldn’t make out anything.

“Looks clear so far, give me a moment.”

Just like before he did whatever was necessary to force a manual release. Soon all of the Welcome Wagon stood inside the ship and waited for Miller’s next order. To all their surprise a nearby cylindrical station lit up and a hologram emerged. It turned its focus to Vadir without regarding the other intruders.

“Welcome back, Engineer Kor. Who are these guests?” the A.I asked in the Kaskarian tongue.

“Friends,” Vadir signalled. “Our only chance at stopping what now roams this ship unopposed.”

The A.I’s expression showed defeat. “Despite my best efforts, the Nirimor are entrenched in hydroponics. I suppose you intend to destroy the ship by heading through there to reach engineering.”

“Yes or by going through the maintenance tunnels but first the humans seek information. As much as I tried to dissuade them they won’t budge on the matter”

The A.I looked to them and then back to him.

“Make them talk.”

“Chatter amongst yourselves, it needs to run linguistic checks.”

The Welcome Wagon didn’t quite understand why except for maybe Miller.

“It wants to communicate with us right.”

“Yes,” Vadir said.

“How can we trust it?”

“Because as a member of this ship, I have some authority now that much of the crew is dead.”

“The Captain still lives but was relocated to medical,” the A.I suddenly said in English.

“That was fast,” Mason said, standing to attention. “These units are pretty similar to the one we found in Site 51, sir.”

“This one probably was based off of that template,” Webber said.

“Yes, a lot of our advancements came courtesy of the old Masters just like it also led us here. And to you. It seems you haven’t fared much better than us though,” Vadir said.

No one knew how best to respond to that. “We should head to the Archives, Vadir can the ship show us the best route?” Commander Miller asked.

“I can even light the way for you,” The A.I said, facing the Commander.

“It’s not objecting to us at all, why?” Commander Miller asked, transfixed by the blue translucent holoform.

Before Vadir could speak, the A.I spoke up. “I have assessed that the valuable data present on board this vessel must be secured. Otherwise, the centuries worth of cataloguing would be for nought. It may not be in the best hands. But I cannot see any alternatives.”

Vadir approached the A.I. “The Archives require clearance. Which means we need to get the code from the Captain.”

“I have already generated the optimal path that will give you access to him.”

One of the medics, Munroe spoke up. “Is the Captain infected?”

The ship’s A.I flickered for a moment. “I lack the necessary information. With how fast things got out of control - I just saw him be moved to medbay.”

“What if it’s a trap? Commander. The Deterrent must be pretty rooted into this ship. We know they can mess with technology. It’s how we’re in this mess in the first place.”

“I assure you, I have not been contaminated. The mind chosen to rest in the heart of this ship has not yet matured. You still have time but other forms of resistance will fall soon enough.”

Commander Miller folded his arms. “Are there humans on board?”

“A couple, their status is unknown. The damage down to the ship has made me more limited than usual. I apologise for that.”

“No need,” Vadir said. “Lead us to medical, we get what we need from the Captain. Download as much data as we can, and then we destroy this vessel. This Deterrent cannot be allowed to leave. How much of the hull’s integrity remains?”

“It is at 60 per cent, some areas have weak spots but for now the Deterrent is more interested in gaining a numerical advantage.”

“That makes sense,” Munroe said. “Even if it can’t leave right now, it doesn’t take much effort to realise it has to account for human resistance. Something it knows well enough.”

“Well enough to be patient,” Miller said. “And now that intelligence has incorporated a new race, may God help us all.”