Wandering Engineer 6: Pirates Bane

by Chris Hechtl

  “He may not look like much but he put Rodrigo, Bard, and Quya in the sickbay. Chief Bard is going to need surgery on the knee, Quya is still having breathing issues,” the guard at the desk said, warily as they left. “Don't screw up,” he called out. The second guard turned to wave back and then pulled his baton to poke John a few times.

  “You hear that? Don't fuck with us. You'll regret it,” he growled.

  John nodded. He felt a wolf like snarl from Defender and suppressed it.

  Outside the anteroom they strode to the lifts. He ran a passive scan, and felt no sensors or cameras in the corridor. “Fell deeds,” he murmured.

  “What'd you say?” the bored guard said.

  “Oh nothing,” Irons said, stumbling. He yawned.

  Defender tapped his pharmaceutical implant and he felt a rush of adrenaline pump into him. It wasn't caffeine but it was something, something potent. The cobwebs cleared and the room seemed to slow and take on an incredibly clarity. Purpose flowed through him, purpose and grim determination to make this work. A lot more than just his life and the lives of the prisoners were at stake here the lives of millions. They had to get it right the first time.

  Sprite cut his cuffs off with his right arm tools, but he held them on. “Admiral, there is a camera in the lift,” Defender warned as the approached the lift doors. Irons mentally acknowledged it. Now, now was the time he realized. Whatever was going on, he knew instinctively he had run out of time. He was tempted to let them take him to the Captain's quarters, he could decapitate the head of the snake in one move... but no, he wanted back up. He slowed, allowing the man behind him to crowd him slightly.

  The man in front stepped to the lift to signal a car and Admiral Irons went into overdrive. His hands dropped the cuffs and his right shot backwards behind him, grabbing an arm and crushing it. He pivoted on his leg before the point man could signal the lift and struck the point man as he whirled, landing a blow on his larynx, crushing it instantly. The point man went down gurgling; already dying but Admiral Irons spared him no attention.

  The other guard reached for his communicator and Admiral Irons squeezed the captured arm, making him screech and collapse. A quick snap of the wrist broke the man’s neck. He turned, electrical room nearby. He tugged the bodies inside and shut the door.

  “Phase two is complete Admiral,” Sprite said in satisfaction. “I told you he was done with waiting,” she said in an aside to the other AIs.

  Irons grimly turned from his prey. “Don't pussy foot around. Proteus, Sprite, contact that Ssilli. Get her on our side. Then move on to the phase three list.”

  “Aye aye Admiral. Good to have you back,” Defender said as the Admiral's uniform changed into a copy of the Horathian utility uniform.

  “We're not back yet, but we will be.”

  “Mutiny on the bounty. A bit of an irony, mutiny against pirates.”

  “Save that for the memoirs Sprite, for now, focus on the job at hand.”

  <----*----*----*---->

  Rory Gustov inhaled deeply. Like everyone else in the brig compartment, he'd been awakened by the noisy guards entry. He looked around. Ian, Mary, and Sindri were both on shift with their teams. That sucked.

  He stretched slowly. He felt oddly better, better than he had in a long time. He rolled his shoulders and then his head, getting the kinks out. He froze when something appeared in his vision. A blinking bar... he wondered if he was losing it.

  “Booting,” the bar spelled out. He frowned, now feeling a bit of alarm. “Be prepared for break out in a moment,” the line said.

  Gustov looked around covertly. He noticed a few other people stiffening and also looking around.

  “Um, not to sound crazy, but... what's going on?” Yosef Behr whispered to him. “I keep seeing stuff. Words.”

  “Shut up and do what it says,” Gustov said mildly, stretching. He looked around, taking careful note of where the Horathians were in the compartment. Whatever was going on, he hoped it happened soon. He looked over to Craig Lewis. The other man nodded slightly but firmly. Expectant eyes turned to the door.

  <----*----*----*---->

  “Trouble coming Admiral. I am jamming radio transmissions,” Defender reported as a familiar clatter of metal claws on decking approached.

  “Shit,” Irons muttered, looking around. There was no place to go, they were close to the corner and the nearest door was too far away.

  He turned as the robotic sentries, including two flying robots and two robotic dogs rounded the corner. A third dog hanging a few meters behind the duo was a cyborg, an experiment it looked like. It was a bulldog in a robotic bulldog body he noted.

  “What the hell is that?” Sprite asked.

  “Trouble,” Defender said. “The operator is probably noting the absence of a signal Admiral. The robots are scanning you now. If you aren't in their database you are in trouble,” the security AI said.

  “Trust a security AI to think that up,” Sprite said in disgust.

  “Sprite, hack or jam the robots,” Irons ordered.

  Sprite attempted to do so but couldn't before they turned on him. Glowing red eyes contemplated him briefly before the cyborg in the back growled. The other two moved forward and then lunged, clearly on the attack.

  Defender had indeed jammed the communications though Irons noted as he waded in. The robots were programmed to expect him to run, to corner him most likely. Of course he couldn't be sure of that, but he had to assume that they wouldn't kill when they were off the grid, that would be awkward if they accidentally killed someone.

  A quick chop and one of the flying droids spun into the other, they both collided and their rotors tore each other up. The Admiral's right arm morphed and he followed up their self-destruction with a short ranged force beam for good measure.

  The beam hit the gravity field in the deck and played havoc with it, blowing it out. Panels shorted down range, momentarily distracting the three canines. They looked back and then to him once more. One of the robot dogs lunged and bit his left arm. The Admiral spun, breaking its bite and throwing it against the wall. Proteus immediately used nanites to take control of the robot. “Admiral, we have control,” the AI said hurriedly before Irons could do further damage.

  “Good dog. Heel.” Irons said as he used his right arm to shoot its partner. The other dog went down in a shower of debris and sparks.

  The cyborg whined and retreated. It limped away, having been damaged in the fight, or from poor maintenance, he wasn't sure.

  Irons threw a piece of dog 2 at it and it skittered into an open closet. He looked inside to see the cyborg monstrosity cowering there so he closed and locked the door. He'd deal with it later.

  Proteus had nanites going to various places in the ship. The AI and the Admiral were low on nanites Irons realized. He did have a new helper though. He looked down at the robotic dog. “How long until they are missed?”

  “A half hour. Shifty is the controller on duty now and he has a tendency to play Tetris or watch videos. Or so the gossips said,” Sprite replied.

  “Let me know if he tries to make contract,” the Admiral said, nodding. “We'll leave this thing guarding the brig.”

  “So...” Sprite asked hopefully.

  “Activate the signal for the uprising. Punch a signal through to Phoenix,” Irons ordered.

  “Done and done,” Sprite said. She sighed happily. “It's good to be back.” The Admiral grunted. “Signal coming in from Phoenix,” Sprite reported after a second. “Handshake protocol accepted. Password accepted.”

  “It's good to hear from you Admiral,” Phoenix replied. “I was worried.”

  “Fell Deeds Phoenix. No time to exchange pleasantries now,” Irons said hurriedly. Every second counted now. They needed to hit the ground running with minimum time to explain. That was the trickiest part of his plan; he hadn't had the time to brief the others. He felt Sprite send the plan out.

  There was another reason of course; he still wasn't certain w
hom he could trust. Today they would go a long way to resolving that, he thought.

  “Acknowledged,” the ship AI replied. “I will do what I can,” Phoenix AI said. Irons grimaced. The AI like the ship was damaged, and under guard. It was also outside the ship, so limited in its utility.

  “Admiral, with the bridge and engineering crews augmented we dared not do a hot swap of video or data feeds while they were watching,” Sprite reported. Also, our signal strength is intermittent.

  “I can help there,” Phoenix replied. “I can't get in though unless you... ah yes,” the ship AI said as Sprite sent a data package to him. “Got it. I am in. I think if we do a subtle overlay, and slowly creep in the false feed, not just slam it up...”

  “Agreed,” Sprite said. “And we do want them to continue monitoring the reactor status. Can't have that go kablooe on us right now,” she said. The Admiral grunted.

  Still the delay in things was a problem. Still springing the others should pass the time.

  “We'll have to do this the old fashioned way then,” the Admiral said. He knew the AI were his ticket on a successful take over. If they didn't do the job it could and would get ugly.

  “Mutiny indeed,” Sprite said.

  “Something like that.”

  “Admiral, the guards escorting you had communicators and weapons. Do you think it would be wise to go back and get them?” the AI asked. “We can get the frequencies from security off their radios.”

  “Agreed. Proteus, do the same for the dog,” Irons said, looking down at the robot. Proteus lit a green light on his HUD. “Then pass control to Defender. Defender, warm up my shields,” the Admiral ordered as he dragged the remains of the other robot back to the electrical room.

  “Already done Admiral,” Defender replied as Irons opened the hatch and tossed the bot in. “Getting full in there,” the AI said. “And I second the request for the weapons and radios,” the AI said.

  “Yeah, yeah, so I overlooked them,” Irons muttered.

  Grabbing the guns and communicators, Admiral Irons whirled back to the brig. The door opened and he shot the guard who looked up in surprise. The second guard tried to react, but a shot through his forehead splattered whatever intentions he had onto the bulkheads behind him.

  “I think I'm glad we worked out that sniping ability. Had you used a full plasma bolt...” Sprite said.

  “Glad it worked too,” the Admiral said. Proteus had been the one to use the weapon choice, not Irons. He shrugged it off.

  “They are primed Admiral,” Sprite reported as his hand raised the key to the lock. The outer steel door was closed and the sliding window shut. He could see someone on the other side waiting.

  <----*----*----*---->

  Captain Franx looked up as data flooded his view. He scanned the outline quickly and then moved to the door. He looked back as he felt and heard someone behind him. Lewis and Gustov were there. He turned grimly to the Horathians but they were all out cold.

  “Let them sleep,” Gustov said.

  “We could kill them,” Lewis said softly. “A blow to the throat would be all it takes,” he said.

  “No. We don't know if this will work. If it fails, I don't want that coming back on us,” Captain Franx said. He looked over to Karen Hoshi. The woman nodded reluctantly. At least two in the compartment had been part of her gang rape initiation. She had been looking forward to spacing the bastards. After she cut their genitals off and stuffed them down their throats or up their Asses. Lovingly peeled beforehand too if she could arrange it.

  Franx looked at the others. Everyone was on their feet now, determined and ready. “Whatever happens, stick to the plan. The one you can see,” he said pointing to his eyes. “Doe has gotten us this far. I'm not sure how he's doing this, but I'm willing to follow him.”

  Many of the people nodded. Some shrugged or looked away.

  “Let's give the man a chance,” Lewis said softly, looking around. His eyes fell on Karen. She shrugged.

  “We'll see,” was all she would say.

  “Someone's coming,” Gustov said, nodding his chin to the door. Franx nodded as the door opened.

  <----*----*----*---->

  Admiral Irons keyed the door open and Franx bounded through. The civilian stopped at the carnage, whistling slowly, then turned and grabbed a gun holster from a dead guard. Others followed though, one, Lewis, stopped to grab the other guards’ weapons as Gustov and others passed out equipment from the lockers.

  With the non-Horathians out of the cell Admiral Irons turned to view Bard and his goons snoring away. He smiled before closing and locking the door.

  “I have uploaded the plan to each of them Admiral. They will get a bullet point outline to follow when you call out each step,” Sprite reported.

  “I've taken measure to secure the data in case of capture,” Defender added. Sprite looked annoyed but then nodded.

  “Admiral, I need you to login. Jack into the computer net please,” the three AIs said, almost in unison.

  “Excuse me folks, make a hole, no time,” the Admiral said. Gently he pushed through the crowd to get to the computer terminal and gain access. Franx was there, staring at it.

  “Hope you know what you're doing. But hell, it's better to go down fighting. That much I've learned from this,” Franx said.

  “Better to not go down at all,” Irons replied. His right arm morphed as he jacked in. The civilian stared at him in shock. The Admiral gave him a wan smile and shrug. “I told you I have a way with computers,” he said.

  Franx nodded dumbly. Others noted John's arm and poked others. They turned and the first motioned to John. A few gasped. Irons ignored it, concentrating on the progress of the AI.

  “No alarms sounded,” Defender reported. “The computer wasn’t firewalled,” the AI reported, sounding suspiciously disgusted.

  The Admiral let out a slow even breath in relief as Sprite spiked the system with Defender riding on her heels.

  “We're in,” Irons said out loud for the others benefit. “And...”

  Together the two AI secured the lift, cutting it out of the network with a false reading program. Defender sent a spike through the net to ship's security. The cursing Shifty had one moment to pound on his keyboard in frustration before the spike seemingly fried his system. “What the hell did I do now?” he moaned. Sprite smiled maliciously when she caught the tail end of that.

  “Serves him right,” she murmured.

  “The computer net has been broken into subnets Admiral. We can't access the bridge systems, but we did manage to get a detailed map of the ship and crew locations. We've updated your map.”

  “Understood,” Irons growled. He waved to Hoshi. She looked up. “Get ready for an update. Get me some tablets,” he said. She nodded. After a moment she handed him a stack of tablets.

  Irons put his left hand on the stack and felt data flow through his arm and into the stack. Then Sprite sent out a signal to each of the mutineers, updating the map and crew locations.

  “We've downloaded the intel and maps to these and your implants. Yes, you all have Intel implants, no time to explain. The plan is in your head just follow your part. Everyone do your part,” Irons said, looking around. He felt like something else was going on, an opportunity. He realized in a flash they had thought about killing him but were now disregarding the idea. He was glad. He also wasn't going to bring it up.

  “Everyone do your part and we'll get payback.” Hoshi looked at his implants in surprise, signaling a few others who too looked on in disbelief. Admiral Irons smiled slightly and gestured. “Tablets to team leaders. You have the objectives. Read them fast and then move out people,” he said firmly.

  <----*----*----*---->

  Five minutes later, Franx’s and Gustov led the first two teams up the lift in “borrowed” uniforms. With a tight nit crew they wouldn’t stand close inspection, however from a distance they might not raise alarms for the first few precious minutes, allowing them to get to their
objectives more quickly. Franx saluted as he exited the chamber, and Admiral Irons returned it.

  Turning to the next team, he gave the leader Jake Sisko a tablet and sketched out directions to the plant. “It's in your implants too. Just pay attention. We'll update you and try to pass on news and warning as things go,” he said to the scared but determined young man. The young man nodded a choppy nod, holding onto the weapon in one hand and the tablet for dear life. Grimly but silently he waved his people onward.

  Franx and Gustov were going for the armory, and life support plant furthest from the brig. Sisko was to take the aft plant. Kinja, a tall mahogany woman would lead team 4 to take engineering. Raoul, a silent and rakishly thin but two hundred centimeter tall man would take team five to capture the port midships life support module. Lewis would remain behind with a three men as a reserve. The man didn't look happy, but he knew when to take orders.

  Admiral Irons would lead a small team to take the bridge. He had Miller, Enric and a woman named Irina Nobeki also Yuan Chi, and Marcus Ahearn. Once each critical sector was secured they would team up to stamp out any further resistance as needed.

  “Admiral, per phase 3 instructions, I have locked down what quarters I could. We have sealed the crew into the quarters, and cut off their communications. Sixteen people were caught, including the exec,” Sprite informed him.

  “Outstanding,” Irons said, smiling.

  “Unfortunately, the Captain wasn't actually in his quarters just yet. He is however, on his way to his quarters now from the bridge,” Sprite said. “I wrote a program to trap him and anyone else who enters with him when he enters his quarters. Needless to say I left his path open and didn't tamper with his lift so as not to alert suspicion,” Sprite informed him.

  “Good.”

  Doing a quick head count, Admiral Irons smiled wolfishly. Four guards dead, one with McGuyver’s team, and one each at the armory, bridge, and Captain’s quarters. The remaining four were trapped in the enlisted quarters. Three crewmembers were on his ship, vainly trying to take control of the computers. Of the six officers, two were caught in their quarters, two were on the bridge, the Captain was en-route to his quarters, and one was in engineering. Things were looking up. He paused on his way to the bridge to gather up additional re-breathers for his team from an emergency locker.