Aliens

“What am I doing?” he demanded, coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the duct. He’d had the brilliant idea to head for the drive deck, figuring that one of those aliens would be easier to capture and interrogate, since the captain or commander, or whatever they called the one in charge, was likely to have better security than the others, thus making the drive deck the better option, so he once again took to the ductwork to move through the ship undetected. There was just one problem with his plan. “I don’t know how to capture anyone!”

“Please restate the inquiry,” the pad blared, echoing against the metal walls and scaring the life out of him. He almost yelled at it to shut up but kept himself under control and hastily lowered the volume instead.

“I didn’t ask you,” he grumbled at it. He was about to continue his slide when the idea struck him. “On second thought, how do I capture one of them aliens?”

“Please restate the inquiry,” the pad dutifully replied, but very quietly.

He had to think about it a bit. The aliens had somehow overridden Security Services and moved freely about the ship undetected. The computer didn’t even acknowledge their presence on the Bridge or the Drive Deck even though he plainly saw them on the monitors. He had to phrase his question in a way that gave him answers, not arguments, if he was going to do anything about them.

“How could I report or contain any intruders onboard ship?” he finally asked.

“Security Services activation centers are located on every deck and in every corridor of this vessel,” the pad replied.

That took a moment to sink in. “What?”

“Security Services activation centers are located on -!”

“I heard you,” he snapped, cutting off the pad’s narration. But he was more irritated at himself than at the pad. He needed a moment to cool down before he grumbled, “Are you telling me that I could have just gone to one of those activation centers and set off a ship wide alert?”

“Affirmative,” the pad replied.

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” he growled.

The pad paused. “You did not make the inquiry.”

He squeezed the bezel, uselessly trying to choke it, before regaining control of himself and taking a deep breath. It wasn’t the computer’s fault, he told himself. It couldn’t detect the intruders.

“What happens if I trigger Security Services?” he asked after another deep breath.

“Security protocols engage to trap or incapacitate intruders,” the pad replied.

He grunted cynically. “And if you can’t detect the intruders?”

The pad paused.

And paused.

And paused.

He was about to rap it against the walls, not caring who heard the noise, when it said, “Please restate the inquiry.”

“That’s what I thought,” he grumbled, clicking it back on his belt before pulling himself through the ducts again. Useless thing! He was right back where he was before, trying to figure it out for himself!

He had a good view of the Drive Deck, or at least the square cubit of it directly below the vent where he finally halted. He heard the aliens chatting. They were out of his extremely narrow field of sight, but it sounded like they were spread out over a wide section of the Deck. That was good for him, since it made it easier to tackle them one at a time, but bad too, because he had no idea where any of them were, or how he was going to use their positions to his advantage. He listened for a while, but they weren’t talking about anything important, just what they had planned to do after leaving the ship, which was an oddly innocuous conversation to have under the circumstances. Raiding ships must have been just another part of their normal routine. Disgusted with their cavalier attitude, he quietly slid himself far enough away from the grille to have his own private conversation with the pad.

“You said earlier that you could incapacitate or trap intruders,” he quietly addressed the pad. “What did you mean by that?”

“Security Services incorporates multiple options for incapacitating intruders,” the pad quietly replied. “Shall I list them for you?”

He pondered it, but the pad’s phrasing suggested a long list, so he set that option aside and said, “No. How would you trap them?”

“In the event of an emergency, Security Systems is authorized to override any access point within this vessel,” the pad replied.

He scowled. Now, it was the pad’s turn to know how it felt. “Please clarify the answer.”

The pad paused momentarily. “In the event of intruder alert or environmental hazard, Security Services is authorized to lock down or secure any hatch, door, or bulkhead to separate affected sections of this vessel from unaffected areas.”

His brow lifted hopefully. “Any section? Including the Bridge or the Drive Deck?”

“Affirmative.”

“Even if no intruder is detected?”

“Activation of localized Security Services is at the discretion of authorized crew members,” it replied.

“What does that mean?” he grumbled. “Can I just activate it without any intruders being detected?”

“Affirmative,” it replied, then snapped, “Warning, unwarranted use of Security Services is a violation of Section Seven, Code Nineteen of Shipboard protocol, punishable by up to three months in the Incarceration Center.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he grumbled. “How do I activate Security Services to seal off the Drive Deck?”

“There are eight Security Services activation panels on the Drive Deck,” the pad replied.

That wasn’t good. “Can I seal off the Drive Deck from an outside panel?”

“Localized compartment containment must be initiated within the compartment in question,” the pad replied.

“Nowhere else?” he asked hopefully.

“Section separation may be initiated on the Bridge, within Auxiliary Control, on the Drive Deck, and from Command panels,” it replied. “Warning, authorized Command codes are required to access Command panels!”

“Never mind,” he grumbled. Bad luck. But what else did he expect?

“What authority do I need to use the Security Services activation panels?” he growled.

“All authorized crewmembers have full access to Security Services activation panels.”

He scowled, preparing himself for the bad news. “Even me?”

The pad paused briefly. “You are an authorized member of the crew.”

Well, that was a relief! Now for the hard part. “Where on the Drive Deck is the Security Services panel located?”

“There are eight activation panels on the Drive Deck,” it dutifully responded.

Of course! “Where is the nearest one?”

“Thirteen cubits from present location.”

Within running distance, if he dropped to the Deck. “How do I activate it?”

“To activate Security Services, simply depress the red button.”

What? “The red button?”

“Each Security Services activation panel is equipped with a single red button for easy access,” it replied.

It couldn’t be that easy. “It can’t be that easy.”

“Each Security Services activation panel is equipped with a single red button for easy access,” it repeated.

Maybe it was that easy, after all.

Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.