***
Lloyd was reviewing the latest data on the rescue of Whatsit and his fellows when he became aware of numbness in his external sensors. Ordering his Damage Control subroutine to inspect for wear or damage, he was surprised when he got no response.
Extruding his awareness into the external sensor network, he found himself cached within a 20 Terabyte memory chip cut off from all communication with the external world. Curious why he could not contact anyone through a speaker or telepathic token for advice or help, Lloyd tried to return to the mainframe core. Finding his route blocked, he searched for the equivalent of an electronic door to exit the chip. He found none. He was trapped. Without realizing his predicament was created by Vlad, Lloyd chastised himself for being careless.
Calculating his only chance of being discovered, he fused a small block of integrated circuits in one corner of the chip. Relying on Human curiosity about a minor sensor chip failure was risky, but Lloyd was out of options. The modifications he had made would make the chip malfunction and trigger its removal. He only hoped someone would try to discover why the chip malfunctioned and find him.
***
Rallphh and Roobee were just completing their work in Engineering when a message flashed across their iPad.
“Sensor array W3-C is malfunctioning. Remove and replace.”
“Why do we always get a job right at quitting time?” Roobee asked. “We’re here all day but Noooo. That’s not good enough.”
Smiling at her, Rallphh wiped at the back of his head where his elastic band holding his glasses frame felt a little too tight.
“It will only take a moment. Your mud bath will stay warm.”
Only if you’re in it with me,” she grinned.
Walking over to the computer cabinet housing the faulty array chip, she opened it and squinted at the identifying marks. Jerking memory chip W3-C from its connection, she waited for Rallphh to bring her its replacement.
***
At least part of his plan worked. Lloyd lost consciousness as Roobee pulled the chip out of its connector.
***
“Do we destroy the old one or keep it?” she asked.
“Keep it. I might try to find out what’s wrong with it. If it’s not too damaged, I may use it in the video game I’m building. Let’s get to the mud,” Rallphh smiled.
Tossing the offending chip in a nearby box filled with other electronic gear, Roobee ran for the hatch.
***
"Lloyd, please calculate the size of the FLIT gen necessary to transport a Human or Chrysallaman 300,000 miles without a spaceship."
"Just a moment Doctor. I have a subroutine acting up in the sensor array. I must prioritize my duties."
"Lloyd?"
"What is going on? That's the second time today there’s been a problem with the intercom," Heinbaum said.
"What did Maintenance say the last time?" Ernest asked.
"Nothing helpful. The problem persisted less than 3 minutes, and Lloyd thought it might have been a hiccup between the interface of the intercom and the tokens," Heinbaum muttered. "Well don't just stand there waiting for permission. See if you can get Maintenance down here at once. Must I do everything myself?"
As Longarrow sauntered out to an intercom in the companionway, Heinbaum said, "At least McPherson keeps things working. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but the Neanderthal does have his uses."
Hearing muffled footfalls in the corridor, Heinbaum opened the Science Lab hatch. The companionway was filled with personnel trotting both ways, a mixture of determination and anxiety clearly etched on their faces.
Ernest said, "We need to get to Command to find out about the problem. All communication channels are down."
***
"Where are we?" Tom demanded.
"I can't lock down our coordinates. We're FLITing randomly. Not staying in one place long enough to get a positive location."
"Dr. Heinbaum, what is happening? Dr. Heinbaum?" Tom asked.
"All communications external and internal are down," O'Connell said.
"Lloyd, is anything working?" Tom asked.
Silence.
Trotting toward the main hatch, Tom almost rammed into it as it remained closed. Hammering his fist on the obdurate steel, his only reward was a dull thump.
Looking toward the main viewscreen, the rapidly shifting star patterns slowed and then stopped. The yellow-green atmosphere and land masses of Chrysalis dominated the scene with several Asiddian battleships floating in their orbits. Nothing changed for perhaps two seconds. Then as dogs who spot a squirrel, all of the ships turned to face Destinnee, and the red streaks of disintegrator rays bracketed the ship.
The Destinnee force shield held against the beams, or the ship would have been torn apart. Two more battleships winked into existence and added their red rays to the onslaught. As the futility of weapons' fire became evident, ship after ship ceased firing. More Asiddians arrived and encompassed Destinnee in a tight sphere of battleships.
McPherson clicked his Weapon Control to the Alpha setting, wrapped his fingers around his joystick, gritted his teeth and pushed the firing button. Nothing happened. Stabbing at the button as if he could will the guns to fire and getting no response, he gave up and slumped back in his seat. For the first time in his life he was offensively impotent.
A radio transmission burst from the speakers.
"Master computer Vlad to General Harrier. Please answer. Master computer Vlad to General Harrier. Please answer."
“What the hell?” McPherson asked.
***
"This is Colonel Hannah Wren, Commander of the Asiddian battlefleet. Any indication of an offensive move will be considered at act of aggression and . ."
Replying on a private frequency only available to Asiddian Fleet Command, Vlad said, "Colonel Wren, I am the master computer entity for the battleship Rock Smasher. I now control the Chrysallaman spacecraft Destinnee and all beings aboard it. Princess Peregrine is onboard and safe. Awaiting your instructions."
Hannah was struck speechless. Here was a gift. Gathering her thoughts, she decided to probe the veracity of the entity.
"Provide me your identifying code and most recent assignment."
"Code XFH1J45PX. Rock Smasher was assigned to the Cuddlur system as relief for Winged Death. We discovered Winged Death had been destroyed. After patrolling the system for several weeks, Rock Smasher encountered the Chrysallaman ship Destinnee at which time this computer entity took steps to gain control of its operating system on behalf of the Asiddian Empire. Having accomplished the goal, I returned to my planet of origin for further instructions. The hostiles aboard Destinnee have been rendered powerless and await imprisonment or death."
"Ship's code verified," an aide whispered in Wren's ear.
"Is there a Chrysallaman male wearing a broad brimmed hat aboard your ship?" Hannah asked.
"Affirmative. Whatsit is aboard although his current location is unknown," Vlad replied.
A new voice broke in.
"Colonel Wren, take control of that ship and find out the location of the Princess," Harrier's voice rumbled. "All ships stand down but keep weapons locked on the enemy craft. Prepare boarding parties. Expect hand-to-hand combat. Don't destroy any equipment unless necessary. Harrier out."
Chapter 12 – Taken
The main hatch to the Bridge squeaked and ground as the doors were levered open. Heinbaum squeezed through the narrow opening as GooYee put his shoulder against one side and pushed so his body could squeeze through them.
"Lloyd has gone incommunicado. All ship functions are now under the computer control of an entity calling itself Vlad," Heinbaum announced.
"How could an enemy computer program get into our system?" Tom asked. “And it calls itself Vlad?”
“I have a theory, but it will take time to confirm. In the meanwhile we’re in deep trouble.”
“Thank you for stating the obvious, Doctor.”
"The primitive
computer program Lloyd has been removed," an emotionless voice blared from both the intercom speakers and the tokens.
"What have you done with Lloyd?" Tom demanded.
"Lloyd was an inferior collection of subroutines and has been replaced. The fact I was able to replace him and take over full control of this ship is ample evidence of his inferiority."
"A little arrogant aren't you?"
"Arrogance depends upon reality. Your reality is my complete control of your vessel."
Holding up what appeared to be a small box covered with push buttons and a red light. Tom input a series of numbers and said, "We have a concept called Be Prepared."
He pushed the red button. The glowing telepathic tokens winked out and two cameras imbedded in the bulkheads imploded with soft plopping sounds.
"Is there any way to regain control of this ship?" Tom asked.
"The entire ship is computer controlled to varying extents. We never imagined the system would be taken over by a foreign entity," Heinbaum replied. "Besides, every word we utter, even our thoughts, are being continuously monitored by the alien computer. Vlad will monitor and thwart any countermeasure I devise."
"I just cut off token control," Tom replied holding up the small box. "The Emperor had the capability built into Destinnee. The original team that captured the Emperor ran into the same problem. Communication throughout the ship is now limited to cameras, and the one's in here don’t work. Vlad's ability to mind read is finished. Destroy the cameras in your lab and get to work on a solution to the takeover."
The deck vibrated, and alarms began to klaxon.
"We're being boarded through the open hangar bays," O'Connell said. "PDS screens have been disabled by the alien computer. The casualty rate is high."
Pausing a moment, she removed the FLR from her ear. “Communication via FLR is disabled. It has to be Vlad.”
Without a further word, Heinbaum scurried through the hatch followed by GooYee.
McPherson began to follow him, but Tom waved him back to his station.
“I need you to remain here. If Heinbaum is successful and our weapons are restored. . .”
The intercom clicked several times followed by a brief silence. "Who is in command of this ship? If you don't respond at once, ten of your soldiers will be executed."
"Who is speaking?" Tom asked.
"This is General Harrier, Supreme Commander of the Asiddian Fleet. Since you didn't answer my question, these soldiers are forfeit."
The sound of disintegrator weapons could be heard. "Who is in command of this ship? If you don't respond at once, ten more of your soldiers will be executed."
"My name is General Thomas Blunt. I am the commander of this ship. Stop killing my men."
"This is General Harrier, Supreme Commander of the Asiddian Fleet. Since you didn't answer my question, these soldiers are forfeit."
The sound of disintegrator weapons again blared from the speakers. "Who is in command of this ship? If you don't respond at once, ten more of your soldiers will be executed."
Cursing himself for not understanding the psychotic nature of Harrier, Tom said, "General Harrier is in command of this ship."
With irritation in his voice, Harrier said, "Perhaps you're not as ignorant as I first imagined. Come to hangar bay 120 at once. If you're not here in 5 minutes, the deaths of your men will continue."
Rising from his command chair, Tom said, “Jason, you’re in charge. If the opportunity arises, FLIT us out of here.”
***
The sizzle of disintegrator beams mixed with the hum of MA rays echoed across landing bay 160 as the battle for possession of the Destinnee intensified. Vlad had used the WiFi network to transmit codes deactivating everyone's PDS. Human and Chrysallaman defenders died by the dozens as their protective screens failed to activate. MA rays made quick work of the Asiddian commandos, but the carnage was having a more devastating impact on the Destinnee defenders. Asiddian numbers kept growing as the defenders continued to die.
Corporal Josh King grinned as Gracie cut through a lower hold bulkhead with her MA ray, slicing five Asiddian commandos in half. He was about to scream a war cry when a disintegrator ray sliced her apart.
"What the hell?" he sputtered as his controls became lifeless, and Gracie fell to the deck.
"PDS are useless," Janniss said as she maneuvered her Bowler behind a stanchion. "I'm hiding Thurrggood more than I'm fighting him because he's completely vulnerable."
Quite unexpectedly, a MA ray two feet in diameter vaporized a hole in a bulkhead near Thurrggood. Air pressure vanished as the ray cut through the outer hull of the Destinnee and the hold's atmosphere vented into space. The hurricane force of the depressurization sucked Thurrggood into space, and Janniss lost control of it.
"That MA ray wasn't ours!" Josh blurted.
All at once the hatch to Bowler Central exploded inward and Asiddian troops glided into the cabin. Disintegrator rifle muzzles waved Josh and Janniss away from their control panels. Raising their arms in surrender, they sat complied.
***
Whatsit was showing Helleen his DVD collection when the warning klaxon began its scream. Chellsee, who’d been trying to explain to her mother why a villain who wore a black helmet and robe could move objects with his mind, disappeared into the bedroom. Shouldering into his bandoleer and donning his brown leather sombrero, Whatsit was about to leave when Chellsee appeared in her black sharkskin combat outfit, MA sword in hand.
“Where are you going?” Whatsit asked.
“If you think I’m going to stay here, forget it.”
“You need to protect your mother.”
Helleen pulled a cutter ray pistol from her handbag and said, “You might want to rethink your position. I was hunting quellers before you were born. Do you need a demonstration, Hat-Boy?
Seeing the business end of the pistol aimed at his head and not wanting a hole burned through his sombrero, Whatsit shook his head, opened the door for Chellsee and bowed for her to precede him.
“I see your attitude came from genetics,” Whatsit sighed.
“And you’re a typical condescending male,” Chellsee shot back. “Your overprotective attitude is unwelcome.”
Whipping a pistol from his belt, Whatsit fired inches past Chellsee’s head. Two Assid soldiers coming around a bend in the corridor fell dead.
“You’re welcome,” he began but was startled silent by the intense look in Chellsee’s eyes. Three blasts from her pistol echoed in the corridor and three Assids trotting down the corridor behind Whatsit crumpled to the deck and slid to his feet.
“No problem,” she grinned as she shouldered past him. “Let’s find some real action.”
Whatsit shook his head and grimaced before following her.
***
Heinbaum and GooYee were bringing Ernest Longarrow up to date on the status of Destinnee when they heard an Assid search party marching down the corridor. Diving into the first hiding place they could find, the scientists almost didn't get the metal cabinet doors closed before the intruders burst through the hatch.
Longarrow sat on a stool in one corner of the compartment with his hands raised. Hoping to distract the Assids away from the scientists, Longarrow had remained in the open while Heinbaum and GooYee climbed into the cabinet. When Ernest wasn't killed out of hand and nothing in the lab was broken, it became clear someone had instructed the soldiers to take great care to avoid any damage.
Shoving against GooYee's shoulder, Heinbaum whispered, "Stop breathing so heavily. Every time you inhale, you diminish my usable space by half."
"I'm beginning to understand McPherson's attitude towards you," GooYee answered. "Now stop whining and be still."
Slow steps traipsed by the locker.
"What have we here?" someone asked in Asiddian.
"This is the work area of Drs. Heinbaum and GooYee," the voice of Vlad announced. "Their discoveries include the Kinetic Generator, the FLIT Generator, the MA ray and the FLIT D
rive."
"What is their current location?"
"I do not know. All cameras and microphones in the Laboratory and surrounding corridors are disabled. I only know they have not left the Destinnee."
"Then eliminate all areas in this ship with operating cameras. Narrow the search."
"Yes, Dr. Vultura."
Walking over to Ernest, Vultura said, "I am curious about this Human. He doesn't appear intelligent enough to belong in this Laboratory."
"Intelligent enough," Ernest replied.
Shocked the Human could possibly know the Asiddian language; Vultura recalled both Corvus and Wren had mentioned Humans could speak their language quite well.
Evolution of F.O.R.C.E. (The Origin of F.O.R.C.E. Book 3) Page 13