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Authors: John Walker
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have.”
“Won’t it be coded in such a way that it won’t be compatible with your software?” Clea asked. “Or are you using…” Her eyes widened. “Wait a minute, you’re not using our universal translation code, are you?”
Olly’s cheeks flushed. “Yes, Ma’am…”
“Where’d you get that?” Clea spun on Gray. “Who granted him access to that data?”
“If I’m not mistaken, Lieutenant Darnell has top clearance for computer based applications.” Gray shrugged. “He probably has access to better programs than I do. Hell, he wrote half the ones they’re using at the academy now. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Someone unfamiliar with our protocols could cause some pretty serious damage with that code, Captain.” Clea folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. “I…feel we need to continue this conversation in private.”
“And just as soon as we’re not in the middle of an operation, I’ll listen to your complaint through an entire shift. Right now, I think we should be grateful that Olly took the initiative or we wouldn’t get as far as we are with this ship.”
Clea shook her head but remained silent, staring out the viewport.
“How long before your new application is ready?” Everly asked.
“A few more minutes…I’ll have it in plenty of time to use it when we’re in position. Then the marines can do their thing.”
“You might need to access hangar control,” Gray said. “I don’t really want our men having to cut through whatever that is…if we even can.”
“Understood. But my scans will show me any weak points in the event we have to breach their hull.”
“Sounds good.” Gray sat back to wait, one of the hardest things to do as a commander. Everyone around him buzzed through their jobs, coordinating the preparations for a landing, managing the pilots and receiving reports from all over the ship in relation to normal operations. The Behemoth was proving to be a well oiled machine on her first real mission and it filled him with pride…and no small amount of relief.
***
“We’re in position,” Redding said. “Go ahead, Olly.”
“Already on it.” Olly put his findings on the view screen for all to see. “It’s working! We have access to their information and I have the lifeforms they referred to in their message. There’re quite a few.”
“Probably not as many as there should be for an entire race,” Gray said. “Where are they onboard?”
“They seem to be in the center.” Olly tapped at the screen and the view changed, moving the vessel in a circle so they saw it from the top. “Here, roughly dead center.”
“Defenses?” Everly asked. “Internal? Automated? Robots?”
“They seem to have automated defenses all attached to three redundant network stations, which are surprisingly not as alien as expected.” Olly cleared his throat. “I’ll just um…use this code to tap in…”
Clea sighed.
“Sorry, Miss An’Tufal.” Olly worked his controls like a pianist playing one of Chopin’s etudes. Redding started to say something but he shushed her without looking up, his eyes wide with concentration, face scrunched up in a scowl. An alarm went off, a flashing red light followed by a beeping. “That’s okay, don’t worry about it, I’ve got it under control…ish…mostly…”
“Olly…” Everly warned. “What the hell are you
“Won’t it be coded in such a way that it won’t be compatible with your software?” Clea asked. “Or are you using…” Her eyes widened. “Wait a minute, you’re not using our universal translation code, are you?”
Olly’s cheeks flushed. “Yes, Ma’am…”
“Where’d you get that?” Clea spun on Gray. “Who granted him access to that data?”
“If I’m not mistaken, Lieutenant Darnell has top clearance for computer based applications.” Gray shrugged. “He probably has access to better programs than I do. Hell, he wrote half the ones they’re using at the academy now. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Someone unfamiliar with our protocols could cause some pretty serious damage with that code, Captain.” Clea folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. “I…feel we need to continue this conversation in private.”
“And just as soon as we’re not in the middle of an operation, I’ll listen to your complaint through an entire shift. Right now, I think we should be grateful that Olly took the initiative or we wouldn’t get as far as we are with this ship.”
Clea shook her head but remained silent, staring out the viewport.
“How long before your new application is ready?” Everly asked.
“A few more minutes…I’ll have it in plenty of time to use it when we’re in position. Then the marines can do their thing.”
“You might need to access hangar control,” Gray said. “I don’t really want our men having to cut through whatever that is…if we even can.”
“Understood. But my scans will show me any weak points in the event we have to breach their hull.”
“Sounds good.” Gray sat back to wait, one of the hardest things to do as a commander. Everyone around him buzzed through their jobs, coordinating the preparations for a landing, managing the pilots and receiving reports from all over the ship in relation to normal operations. The Behemoth was proving to be a well oiled machine on her first real mission and it filled him with pride…and no small amount of relief.
***
“We’re in position,” Redding said. “Go ahead, Olly.”
“Already on it.” Olly put his findings on the view screen for all to see. “It’s working! We have access to their information and I have the lifeforms they referred to in their message. There’re quite a few.”
“Probably not as many as there should be for an entire race,” Gray said. “Where are they onboard?”
“They seem to be in the center.” Olly tapped at the screen and the view changed, moving the vessel in a circle so they saw it from the top. “Here, roughly dead center.”
“Defenses?” Everly asked. “Internal? Automated? Robots?”
“They seem to have automated defenses all attached to three redundant network stations, which are surprisingly not as alien as expected.” Olly cleared his throat. “I’ll just um…use this code to tap in…”
Clea sighed.
“Sorry, Miss An’Tufal.” Olly worked his controls like a pianist playing one of Chopin’s etudes. Redding started to say something but he shushed her without looking up, his eyes wide with concentration, face scrunched up in a scowl. An alarm went off, a flashing red light followed by a beeping. “That’s okay, don’t worry about it, I’ve got it under control…ish…mostly…”
“Olly…” Everly warned. “What the hell are you
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