“It was just an organizer program with a base personality over top,” he said, still out of breath.
“There was no security installed?” Captain Valance asked.
“No, it wasn't that important.”
“Good, let's hope that we caught the problem in time. If the rest of the people who transferred AI's to their C and C units had security installed, they might get lucky.”
Captain Valance picked up his own arm unit. “Not by much, my AI was secure and it's already looking erratic,” he entered his security code and deleted it.
“If it's all the same Captain, I don't think I'll put my unit back on. Can I get another with just the base software?” Larry asked, finally catching his breath and wiping his mouth with a handkerchief from his thigh pocket.
“No problem,” Jake smiled back at him. His attention was drawn to the pile of throw up beside the young man and a sinking feeling came over him. He looked to the security station where a small, older fellow stood watch. “Shut down all the maintenance and cleaning bots. Everything that could have an AI.”
“Aye sir,” He replied. “Wait, they're already shut down.”
“Chief Grady to the Bridge. I shut them down as soon as someone down here collapsed. We lost three people.”
“I'm sorry Chief, take them to medical in case we can do something.”
“That's not likely. They were injected with hydrofluoric acid and blood thinners. It's like their AI's were networked and all came up with the same plan.”
“Do you have any recommendations Chief?”
“I'd have all the arm units with AI's tossed into recyclers. Even if they were deleted. Other than that you've done exactly what I would've.”
“Thank you Liam, I'm sorry about your men.”
“Nothing we could have done. Chief Grady out.”
Ashley Lamport
The two hours following the incident on the bridge were filled with bad news. They had lost forty seven people to attacks from the artificial intelligence programs many crewmembers trusted to help them through their every day lives. Over three hundred had been injured. The infirmary was full past brimming, and Alice had gone to help however she could. When she was an artificial intelligence herself she possessed a complete medical treatment database and a great deal of that knowledge had survived the transfer. It surprised even her how quickly it came back to her.
Morale on the ship was low, and to the crew's relief, only a minimum watch was required during hyperspace travel. Security was finally under control, and that made everything easier. If someone didn't know where they were supposed to be or got lost a soldier was always nearby to help them find their way. The unexplored sections of the ship were closed off and the entrances were all locked down or had guards standing watch.
Ashley changed into a light blue vacsuit with transparent arms and midriff after getting a new command and control unit from the materializer. She didn't have an AI installed in her last one, but it made her feel better to get a new unit anyway. Besides, the newer versions could make vacsuits look like practically anything and she was eager to give it a try. Anything to brighten her day after what she'd seen on the planet and the incident on the bridge.
Her new quarters were incredible. She looked around while putting on her gun belt. Everything was coloured a deep shade of red except the carpet, which was midnight black. There was a thickly padded seat along one wall, a two dimensional display coating the wall behind it gave the illusion of a long window. By pressing a button the floor would part and up would come the silver table with six chairs around it. A holographic projector somewhere, she hadn't found it yet, could entertain her with full height programs anywhere she wanted in her quarters whether she was sitting on the smaller seat closer to the door, in the soft queen sized bed that adjusted to the needs of her body, or in the slightly smaller space that was left unfurnished except for two end tables that had been left stacked there.
I've seen apartments I couldn't dream of that weren't this nice. I hope they didn't assign me here by mistake. These look more like Captain's quarters.
She adjusted her gun belt and took an extra data chip, small makeup kit and hair tie from a floor to ceiling trinket shelf beside the door and dropped them into a pouch on her belt. Her new vacsuit didn't have pockets, she had forgotten them until the last minute.
“Dim lights to three hundred lumens please,” she said to the computer, forgetting the artificial intelligence had been removed and they hadn't put in a new voice activated system yet. She adjusted them with the control by the door then set out.
Her quarters were less than fifty meters from the main entrance to the bridge. She wanted to move into a smaller compartment in the same berth as the deck crew, near where fighter pilots would bunk up, but Stephanie's security department assigned her to the command deck quarters. Instead of arguing she thought she'd take a look. Good thing too. If those really are my quarters I really do want to live here. I'm sure I won't be the only one, she thought to herself as she stepped into the express lift. Another crewman looked her up and down as she entered her destination. She gave him a little smile and looked back to the lift doors. His hair was tied into a ponytail, and his grey vacsuit had Triton printed over his left pectoral. It marked him as a new crew member, probably part of the gunnery team on his way back to the gunnery deck.
She had just read the bulletin right before getting off duty. Even as tragedy struck the ship, policies were put in place and things changed. On her next duty shift she'd have to wear a full black vacsuit with a silver skull and Triton printed underneath it on the left side of her chest just below the collarbone. Five silver wings would mark her as Master of the Helm, a rank she had only heard of in a holographic feature movie about a war in the Core Worlds. She had no idea the system was keeping a score card for her, but when she got her rank it gave her pages of statistics. Apparently the only person who had out flown her in the few simulations she had taken part in was Alice, she had even beaten the Captain by a very narrow margin.
Alice had been given the rank of First Officer and was placed on the first night watch Bridge Commander. That's probably why I got Master of the Helm. Don't really care though, as long as I get to fly. This ship might be the heaviest thing I've ever seen, but it feels like I'm drifting through an ocean when I fly her. It makes the Samson seem like flying a twitchy sand bug.
The lift stopped and she got off. The medical center was busy, most of the beds were full and several emergency beds had been pulled out, making the normally spacious and airy infirmary seem cramped and noisy.
“Um, hi, is there anything I can do here?” She asked a fellow wearing a dark blue vacsuit with a red cross on the back.
He stopped and looked her up and down. “Do you have any advanced medical training?”
“No, I just thought if you needed an extra pair of hands.”
“We're all right now. Mostly everyone's in recovery or here for observation.”
“You're sure?”
The nurse smiled and nodded. “Thank you for offering, you're the first.”
Ashley shrugged. “I'm here to see a friend anyway.”
“Who?”
“Finn.”
His smile faded, she could tell he was bracing himself to deliver some bad news. “He's been in stasis since the initial boarding. Did anyone tell you about his condition?” He asked in a whisper, gently putting a hand on her arm.
She faked a little smile to reassure him. “I know, I was with the Samson. I just stop in to say hi when I can.”
“Oh, okay. I can show you there.”
“I know the way. You have more important things to do,” she walked around him and continued on to the
