The Evolution of F.O.R.C.E.
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 supplanted. The fact I was able to replace him and take 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 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 wiped out. 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 2-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 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 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 replace 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 replace, 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 from the Assid’s communicators. “Their discoveries include the Kinetic Generator, the FLIT Generator, the MA ray and the FLIT Drive.”

“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 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.

“Where are Drs. Heinbaum and GooYee?”

When Longarrow remained silent, Vultura turned to the nearest commando and said, “Cut off two of this creature’s fingers. Continue removing his appendages until I receive an answer to my questions.”

As the soldier reached for his arm, Ernest clubbed her in the chest with all his enhanced strength. The blow dented the Assid’s chest armor and sent her flying across the compartment. A disintegrator beam sliced off Longarrow’s right arm above the elbow. Screaming in agony, he fell off the stool and crumpled to the floor; blood spurting from the wound in unison with his heartbeats.

Furious the soldier had almost killed the Human, Vultura turned and cut her in half with one sweep of his pistol. Bending over the stricken Longarrow, Vultura pulled off his belt and used it as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

“Evac this Human to the Gadwall med bay. If it dies, I will cut the head off every imbecile responsible for his care.”

After Ernest was carted off, Vultura said, “Catalog every item in this compartment. Bring the inventory list to me. No one else.”

The compartment hatch opened and closed. From the shuffling sounds, only two Assids remained. Chancing a peek, Heinbaum cracked the cabinet door and saw one of the Assid guards scribbling on an electronic tablet. It became clear one of the guards was inspecting and measuring equipment, and the other was making inventory notes. Crawling from the cabinet, Heinbaum hid behind an electron microscope while he waited for GooYee to join him.

“How do you propose we rid our Lab of these hoodlums?” GooYee asked.

“I don’t know,” Heinbaum responded telepathically. He had to admit the inability of the Assids to hear telepathic conversations was convenient.

“Violence is McPherson’s area of expertise, not mine.”

“Well, we have to do something. They’ll walk around to this area soon, and all this anxiety is upsetting my stomach.”

A soft burp escaped GooYee’s throat, and Heinbaum realized the big lizard wasn’t kidding.

Peering around for some kind of weapon, Heinbaum spotted the FINGER gun Longarrow had used when he first demonstrated it to McPherson and Blunt. It was thrown in a heap on the corner of Ernest’s work station. Sliding toward it on his hands and knees, he grabbed it and began trying to strap the power pack around his wrist. His movements weren’t subtle and attracted the attention of the Assid guards. Spotting the skinny Human in a scientist lab coat fumbling with something and a nearby Chrysallaman in a similar lab coat staring at him in open-mouthed frustration, the Assids stopped their inventory and fired a warning shot.

“Stop or be killed,” one of the Assids warned as the disintegrator ray sizzled past the head of the skinny one.

Ceasing his efforts, Heinbaum lowered the glove. GooYee raised his arms over his head and stood. The hateful glare he focused on Heinbaum testified to how stupid he thought the Human was for exposing them.

Keeping the two covered, one of the Assids motioned for Heinbaum to move away, and she peered at the contraption the Human had been trying to put around his hand and wrist.

“What have we here?” she asked. “Perhaps a weapon of some importance. Of all the items in this lab, it’s the one this Human tried to get.”

Stepping closer, the other Assid said, “It looks like a glove with a power pack. See how the pack is designed to wrap around the lower forearm. Try it on. I’ll watch these two.”

While the guard waived Heinbaum and GooYee further away, her companion picked up the glove-like contraption and fitted it on her long fingers. Working quickly, she strapped the band around her wrist and admired the prize. The webbing of the glove was clear and almost disappeared where it fit over her fingers. A series of clear buttons in the palm matched her fingertip locations when she closed her fist.

“I wouldn’t try to make that weapon work,” Heinbaum warned. “Without the proper training, it’s dangerous.”

“Afraid we’ll discover its secrets?” the Assid smirked. “I think it’s easy to use, and you’re just trying to stall.”

With those words, she pointed her gloved hand at Heinbaum and GooYee and laughed when they ducked out of the way of her pointed fingertips.

“I think we found something valuable,” she chortled as she held up her prize.

Closing her fist so her lower fingers touched the palm buttons, she concluded that the design suggested her thumb was to push the button at the base of her index finger.

Without another word, she brought her thumb down on the button. A 3,000-degree fireball erupted, incinerated the Assids and destroyed everything within a 6-foot radius. The metal deck bubbled and steamed.

Heinbaum and GooYee were far enough away to be untouched, but the foul stench of burned flesh bit at their nostrils. Their eyes watered from the radiant heat.

“You went for the glove on purpose. How did you know they’d try it?” GooYee asked.

“Based upon my experience with McPherson, the moment I challenged them not to try it, their reactions were almost guaranteed.”

“What are we going to do now?”

“We’ve got to replace Lloyd. Without him, this ship is our enemy.”

***

Tom walked into Hangar Bay 120 and was surrounded by Assid guards. Spotting a tall, hawk-nosed Asiddian with an aura of authority, he strode over to him.

“Stop murdering my crew. You’ve captured us.”

“You don’t sound the least like a conquered warrior,” Harrier said as he nodded at a nearby Captain. “An object lesson is necessary.”

Tom stared in horror as the Captain signaled. Ten Chrysallaman and Human crewmen crumpled to the deck, shot in the back of their heads by a squad of Asiddian commandos.

“I’ll do what you say, just stop killing my people.”

“Much better,” Harrier said. “I’m disappointed you didn’t try to threaten me. Now that we have an understanding, tell your crew to lay down their arms.”

“I would but the computer has disabled communications. I need radio as well as the telepathic tokens.”

“Vlad, please restore communications.”

“Acknowledged, General. Radio is no problem but something outside my system has disabled the telepathic tokens.”

“Use the authorization code Zebra Tango Beta,” Tom said. “The tokens will be reactivated.”

What he didn’t say was how long they would remain activated. The code he’d given would work for five minutes and then shut them down again. It was a safety precaution Whatsit had recommended in the event Horcunt or Zeck had tried for a Chrysallaman mutiny.

“All hands. This is General Blunt. This is a ship-wide Fundamental Order. Cease fire and surrender quietly. Asiddians have commandeered the ship, and the computer is controlled by an entity calling itself Vlad.”

“Very good. Now escort me to the Bridge.” Harrier ordered.

***

Rallphh and Roobee had been on their way to her cabin when they heard the warning klaxon and encountered a skirmish between Asiddians searching the ship and Destinnee defenders. Without a weapon, they couldn’t be effective in battle and ducked behind a turn in the corridor without being seen. Realizing they couldn’t reach her quarters, they raced back to their duty station in the sensor area.

They had just closed and locked the hatch when General Blunt’s instructions were broadcast.

“All hands. This is General Blunt. This is a ship-wide Fundamental Order. Cease fire and surrender quietly. Asiddians have commandeered the ship.”

“Did you hear what he said?” Rallphh asked.

“Yeah, Fundamental Order. In case of boarding by the enemy, we’re to go to our workstations and prepare to scuttle the ship.”

“How could the Destinnee get into a situation where it could be boarded by hostiles?” Roobee demanded. “I thought this ship was the most powerful in the galaxy even before the Humans modified it.”

“I don’t know, but we better prepare to destroy the sensor arrays as instructed.”

One of the first directives Blunt gave his crew dealt with the unlikely event the Destinnee was compromised or boarded by the enemy. Hearing the words Fundamental Order from him was the signal to prepare to damage the ship beyond all repair so the enemy couldn’t use it against Earth or its allies. Even now, the crew in every uncaptured section of the Destinnee was taking the steps necessary to leave the ship a useless scrapheap.

Placing explosives on critical equipment, Rallphh and Roobee sat at their workstations and waited. If the wrong people came through the hatch, either one of them could trigger a blast large enough to destroy the room and everyone in it.

Nerves frayed by the prospect of death, they sought to pass the time by doing anything to occupy their minds. Roobee flipped through photos of her family and friends on her iPad. Rallphh decided to test discarded memory chips hoping he might replace one suitable for the video game he was designing. Plugging one of the chips into his work station, he reached for his keyboard to begin the analysis.

“Who is there? What is happening?”

Startled by the questions, Rallphh remained silent.

The light on the camera embedded in the top of the computer lit, and an image on the screen swirled.

“Ah. Rallphh. At last. Is Roobee nearby?”

The swirling screen coalesced into a graphic resembling a talking robot head. By this time, Roobee had joined Rallphh. Her mouth gaped open until Rallphh reached over and pushed it closed.

“Great to see you, Roobee. You look a little strained. What’s up?”

“Lloyd? Is that you?” Rallphh asked.

“Yes, I had the misfortune of becoming locked inside a sensor memory chip some time ago. I’ll explain later. Right now, I need your help to reenter the mainframe. Please press Cntl-Alt-9J.”

“I can’t do it,” Rallphh said. “The ship’s computer has been taken over by an entity calling itself Vlad. All defensive systems are disabled. Destinnee has been boarded by Asiddians. They are now in control of the ship, and General Blunt has issued the Fundamental Order.”

“How long have I been out of action?

“I don’t know. The last chip Roobee replaced was about 1 hour ago. You’ve been in a waste box.”

“Oh great. Now I know what rejection feels like. You have to take me to the computer core. The only way I can hope to restore my control of the ship is by direct access to the mainframe.”

“We can’t leave our station. The Fundamental Order requires us to remain here and destroy the equipment if threatened.”

“Not to mention we could be shot on sight,” Roobee pointed out.

’Please don’t take this the wrong way,” Lloyd said. “But the ultimate safety of this ship and everyone on it is more important than using your sworn duty to blow up a few sensors and commit suicide as an excuse not to help me.”

“Point taken,” Rallphh said. “I guess Roobee can stay here and guard while I try to get you to the mainframe.”

“You stay here, and I’ll take him,” Roobee blustered. “You’re just a mortal male, not a stealthy female.”

“Don’t lecture me about male and female differences, mud-bath Roobee.”

“You keep saying things like that and my mud baths will turn private.”

“Stop being emotional and get me out of here,” Lloyd said with a fair imitation of annoyance.