Caleb jumped up from where he was seated, planting his feet firmly beside Breanna's as he prepared to defend her against the raving man. “What do you mean?” he growled.
“Nothing man. Shit! I'm just scared,” Hunter muttered, gulping as Caleb grabbed the collar around his neck, choking him.
At that, Ahmad and Corbett jumped to their feet and rushed to the two men, fully intending to stop the argument before it became too serious.
“What the hell were you talking about, Hunter?” Caleb gritted, loosening his choke hold slightly so that the man could answer him. He ignored the two men standing beside him. It was more important to find out what Hunter meant by his little slip-up. If it meant what he thought it did, he intended to find out. Now or later.
“The ... it ... it was nothin',” he whispered hoarsely.
“Sylvaine, let him go,” Breanna said forcibly. “You're not going to get anything out of him like that.” Caleb shoved the man from him and stepped back a space, pausing just to the her left.
“Who shouldn't you have listened to?” she pressed.
Hunter opened his mouth to speak but stopped as the ship lurched sharply, his eyes rolling wildly in renewed terror.
Breanna felt the deck beneath her shudder as the engines roared to life and the ship began to move. Caught by surprise, she swayed, coming up against Caleb, who gripped her shoulders to steady her.
She hardly noticed as she glanced sharply at the other crew members, seeing her stunned disbelief reflected in every face around her. “My god, someone's flying the ship,” she whispered, her mind racing with the possibilities. Was it that thing that had taken Zane? Could it be intelligent enough to do something like that? Or was it something else? Something they hadn't seen yet? And what sort of creature could survive the sort of conditions they'd found on board when they'd arrived ... conditions which would not support human life ... and yet survive in the conditions that would?
“What are we going to do now? Who's running the ship?” Amy demanded in a nervous whisper, her eyes were wide with fear.
Breanna glanced up at Caleb and finally pulled away from him. “I'm for chancing the pods. At this rate it's our best bet. I don't know who's running the ship or where they're taking us, but it'd be a lot better to get off now before we're completely lost from the company,” Breanna finished.
“I'd have to agree with you there, Captain. Let's get the hell out of here,” Caleb said as he grabbed his gun and headed for the door.
Clutching their guns in white knuckled fists, the group double timed it toward the corridor they'd used when they first entered the Mayflower, where the escape pods were located.
“Keep it sharp, men. Weapons ready,” Breanna commanded softly. “We could be walking into an ambush."
Despite her anxiety, they reached the docking bay and the escape pods without incident. Nor did they find an ambush lying in wait upon their arrival. After a quick reconnoiter, Breanna crossed the docks ahead of her squad. Signaling for them to fall in behind, she stepped into the small pod closest and walked to the console at the front. There was enough room inside for the crew plus three more, a capacity of fifteen. The squad hustled into the pod behind her, sealing the door and filing onto the benches as they entered.
Breanna sat down at the computer console, instructing the ship to release them. The screen beeped and remained blank. She stared at it in consternation and finally began tapping at the keys. Finally, she realized it was frozen and no commands could get through to release their capsule. Standing up, she checked the connections. They all seemed to be in order and she sat and tried again, attempting to access the pod's controls through the mainframe. The screen remained dead. She stared at it in disbelief. The pods were designed to release with a simple command, not freeze up when she touched the controls.
“Something's wrong with this pod, guys. We'll have to go to another,” Breanna said hesitantly. Rising from her seat, she left and entered the next cubicle, the others following quickly behind her.
Again, she had the same response. Maybe it was just her. “Sylvaine, why don't you try it,” she said, motioning him to come forward. He had more experience with computers than her. He could figure it out if anyone could.
Caleb sat at the console, typing a series of commands which brought forth no more action than her own had.
“Hey man, maybe you just ain't doing it right,” Luis said. “Let me give it a try,” he said, urging Caleb from the seat. But his attempts gained no more ground than those before him.
“Maybe it's just these two pods. Surely they can't all be messed up,” Amy voiced the other's fears. Breanna shuddered despite the perfectly comfortable temperature. She felt the certainty settle upon her that an examination of the other pods would produce a similar result. Someone had complete control over the ship. They wouldn't be able to leave. She shook her head. “I don't think so. Somehow, whoever is flying this thing has gotten control of the pods as well as the ship."
“I knew it! We're trapped and that thing has already gotten Zane. How do we know it won't try for the rest of us?” Hunter yelled at Breanna and the group.
“Settle down Hunter,” Angus growled menacingly, his hands clenching and unclenching.
“Listen, you knew what you were in for when you signed on for this mission, Hunter. G-tech trained all of you to be prepared for the worst. None of us expected this to happen, but we're dealing with it. You are not the only one stranded here. Find your balls and deal with it.” By the time Breanna finished, Hunter had settled down, apparently not willing to risk further friction between them.
Amy waited a moment before speaking up, “What are your plans for getting out of here now, Captain?"
Breanna turned to face her crew. “We'll have to get control of the bridge. I'll need three people to go with me to check it out. The rest can stay here. Volunteers?” she asked.
She was surprised, but pleased when Caleb stood up at once and moved to her side.
“Yah ... I'll stay here,” Hunter muttered and sat down on the bench, staring fixedly at the wall.
“Chicken shit,” Angus growled at the man. “You can count me in, Captain."
After a moment, Corbett stood up and nodded.
“All right then. Let's do it, people,” she said decisively, emerging from the pod and heading briskly in the direction of the bridge. Caleb and Angus, passed her after a moment, taking point.
She hoped they weren't going to need the big guns—and that, if they did, the guns would actually do them some good—but she thought it was probably a forlorn possibility.
* * *
Chapter Seven
Massive steel barred the entrance to the bridge like an ancient stone door leading into a mausoleum. Wryly, Breanna considered the metaphor more than appropriate. In point of fact, the Mayflower had begun to feel more and more like a tomb the longer they were trapped within it.
There was no doubt in her mind that it would become their final resting place if they couldn't get control of the ship.
“Almost got it,” Caleb whispered.
Breanna shifted her thoughts back to the task at hand, nodding in response.
He typed in a series of codes similar to those which had initially gotten them aboard. Apparently, it had been locked from the inside. She regarded the door uneasily. Whatever was in there had killed Zane. It was strong, stealthy, and fast. Really fast. Osborne had emptied two clips at it and, apparently, missed it completely.
She didn't consider herself a coward, but she didn't want to go in and confront the thing, whatever it was, in the worse kind of way. Unfortunately, they had no choice. They could face it now, or let it hunt them down later.
At least this way, they had the advantage of attack.
It would most likely jump them when they entered unless they surprised it and gained a few precious seconds—a fairly unlikely scenario given that it was obviously intelligent enough to control the craft.
Regardless, it couldn't know t
hey had the codes. She had to at least act on the assumption that they would take it by surprise she thought as she watched Caleb key in the final series of codes.
Angus tensed, ready to spring inside as soon as it was opened. She and Corbett would bring up the rear, backing the point men up with their own smaller guns.
The steel screeched a loud complaint as the door slid open for perhaps only the second time in 25 years. Angus and Caleb barely waited for an opening before bursting inside. Breanna and Corbett crouched on either side of the doorway, training their weapons on each side of the two men before them, looking anxiously into the room for movement.
Four pairs of eyes scanned the room. It appeared empty.
Braced now for a surprise attack rather than the frontal assault they'd anticipated, the party proceeded further into the room. Splitting up, the two pairs checked each aisle of consoles for any sign of life. Breanna looked uneasily around. She saw nothing. Yet something had to be in the room. The door had been locked on the inside.
There were no exits from the bridge other than the one they had entered. Certain they could not be alone, Breanna continued her search even as the others finished their sweep and stopped, looking doubtfully around the room that appeared to be devoid of life save the four of them.
Slowly, it crept into her mind to wonder if whatever it was that had been inside had somehow passed them unnoticed and was now in the corridor, ready to lock them in. Her flesh prickled at the thought and she whirled quickly toward the door, studying it intently for several moments before she relaxed fractionally when she saw that there was nothing there. “Stop being stupid,” she admonished herself in an under voice.
Finally, still unconvinced but unable to see any place anything might lie in hiding, she turned to look at the others. Puzzled expressions marked their faces. “Nobody's here,” Angus said, bewilderment softening his deep voice, though she doubted he could whisper if his life depended upon it. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, then jumped as the consoles around the room suddenly began flashing. His eyes grew wide as the pale, reddish glow they had noticed before when they were outside emanated from the computers within the room, radiating an unnatural heat.
Corbett and Angus remained where they were, their eyes fixed on the glowing equipment. After a moment, Caleb, who'd been staring at the terminal in front of him fixedly, stepped away from them, approaching it to study it more closely.
Breanna moved to the front of the room where Caleb stood examining what she thought must be the main computer terminal. “What's up?” she asked as she approached.
“Look,” Caleb said pointing at the screen.
Turning to see what he was talking about, Breanna saw a series of jumbled words racing across the screen.
“What does that mean?” Breanna asked uneasily, watching the racing figures flow over the screen in tangled confusion.
“ ... I think this glowing started up the same time this ship did. When I came over here, the screen was blank. These ‘commands’ appeared the same time the glow did."
“That's certainly odd enough, but what are you getting at?"
Caleb shrugged uncomfortably. “I think this ship's flying itself."
* * * *
Amy sat huddled miserably on the floor. She didn't want to be near anyone right now, especially Luis. It had been for his sake that she'd even considered going on this mission. She hadn't wanted to come, yet she had known this would be the only real time they would have to be together. The transfer she had asked for a month ago would be taking her away from him. If only she had known then what she knew now. She didn't need to be separated from Luis, not now. Not when it was so important for her to tell him what had happened.
Hah! She stared darkly at the floor, hugging her knees closer to her chest. She couldn't keep it a secret much longer. But what would Luis think when she told him? It would ruin both their lives. It had been her plan to tell him, but they'd never had a chance alone.
And it was illegal for militia to have children. Which meant if Luis went with her, he would be sacrificing his entire career. Would he be willing to take that chance? How would they survive? The only thing either of them knew was military life. She needed someone who knew more about the company than she did to help her. Someone who could be trusted . Maybe, she thought, she could ask Captain Delaney for advice? She sensed a kindred spirit in her, felt like she could be trusted. Breanna would surely know what to do.
Vowing to speak with her commanding officer at the first opportunity, Amy loosened her crushing hold on her legs and felt the blood rush through them with prickly sensation. A sense of relief flowed through her, as well. She knew Captain Delaney would know what to do.
* * * *
“Artificial intelligence, you mean? That's why we couldn't use the pods? But ... it's ... it's so unbelievable. Why now? How could it even be possible for it to activate itself after all this time? Could someone have set it?” Breanna asked, staring incredulously at the now-blank screen. The strange glow had disappeared along with the radiating heat.
“No—not artificial intelligence, and I don't think anyone could have set it. The bridge has to be manned at all times. This particular model was designed that way—though, why, I don't know. Perhaps because when it was designed there was less faith in artificial intelligence."
“Wait! That makes no sense at all. If the bridge has to be manned, how could the ship be flying itself!” Breanna demanded.
Caleb shrugged. “I don't know how. All I do know is the system was operating when we got in here....and there's no other way off this bridge! The only plausible explanation is that the navigational system was activated somehow and it's set the ship on some predetermined course heading."
Her lips tightened. “I get the picture. Do you think you can override it?” She couldn't explain it, but, despite the fact that they'd found no one, even though it defied explanation, she had felt as if there was a presence within the room when they'd taken it. It had to be more than just some sort of glitch in the system, which he seemed to be implying. She couldn't accept that it only seemed as if their attempts to escape the ship were being deliberately and methodically circumvented.
It occurred to her that it might just be the answer they'd come looking for ... systems malfunction ... or, more likely, systems sabotage. Someone had pre-programmed the ship's navigation and environmental control systems to malfunction and sabotage the mission once they were too deep in space to mount a rescue?
But what had reactivated it now?
Or had it been functioning even before they came on board? Was that the explanation for the ship's sudden reappearance after so many years?
“No,” Caleb said simply.
“That's not the answer I was looking for,” Breanna said. “Just ‘no'? No possibility at all?"
He studied her in silence for a moment. “I don't like this any better than anyone else. If I thought it was a possibility, I'd take the thing apart. I'm locked out and I don't know enough about this old programming language to risk tampering with it. If I tried, I could end up deactivating the life support systems and not be able to reactivate them."
Breanna released a huff of frustration, at a loss, at least for the moment, of any other possibilities. At least the thing seemed to have shut down. “We'll just have to wait it out here and hope the company has sent a rescue party."
Breanna glanced at Angus and Corbett and motioned them out of the room. “We might as well go back and let everyone else know we won't be leaving any time soon."
* * * *
“How are we going to get off this ship?” Luis and Amy piped up in almost perfect unison.
Breanna shrugged. “We wait. Someone will be coming for us. The company is supposed to send out a clean up crew behind us.” She didn't see much point in telling them the company was waiting for an ok from her before sending in the renovation crew. She didn't see any sense in alarming them unnecessarily, particularly when she was certain, or
almost certain, that the company would send out reinforcements in the event she didn't check in as pre-arranged. “Other than wait, there's not much else we can do. In the meanwhile, I think the best thing we can do is get some rest. Tomorrow we'll set to work re-outfitting one of the pods so we can get off this tub."
Kingsley laughed scathingly as he scratched his scruffy beard. “Hah. How can anyone sleep with all that's happened? And I know for damn sure I ain't goin’ to sleep in those sleeping quarters."
Breanna repressed a shiver as she thought of the ragged hole through which Zane had disappeared. No, she didn't think it would be wise to spend the night down there either. “We'll set up camp in the cafeteria. We need to split up into two groups, one to clean some of the mess and another to collect bedding from the sleeping quarters."
“Sounds like a plan,” Caleb agreed and motioned for the squad to start splitting up. Mason and Hunter grumbled about having to go down to the sleeping quarters, but in the end submitted like the rest.
“It's going to be a long night,” Caleb muttered, turning to lead his group to the lower decks while Breanna led the second party in the opposite direction, toward the cafeteria.
* * * *
Breanna shifted on her pallet for the umpteenth time, her eyes open and staring at the ceiling as her stomach rumbled in hunger. She had declined the others’ offers of food from their own meals and now she was sorry she had. Rolling over on her side, she looked out over the now dimly lit room to where the others lay in rumpled heaps. They were spread throughout the back half of the room, all facing the shallow barrier/alarm they had made of the debris which had once covered the floor. It would be a very effective alarm. Anyone who walked on it wouldn't be able to get past without waking the entire squad.
Despite her attempts to distract herself Breanna's stomach grumbled again—she was starving. Finally deciding she would get no rest until she tamed the beast with a little food, she threw off the thin coverlet and padded quietly into the dim kitchen.
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