Finn sighed and tried to shake it off. “Are you anywhere near a computer terminal?”
“Yup, there's an active one right here. It's in an empty bunk room. Smells like this place has been empty for years.”
“Can you patch me in?”
“I think I can, what's the computer you're using called?”
“Finn zero five.”
“Okay, here goes. Hopefully alarms don't start going off.”
Finn's screen went completely blank and for a moment he thought his computer was fried. As his heart began to sink it came back to life, giving him the basic information on the Triton and its location. His eyes went wide. “Sol System Defence Zhan Class Close Combat Carrier Triton? Who is this guy?”
“What, this ship is from Earth?” Ramirez asked.
“Yes, but it's been registered to Lucius Wheeler through the Core Worlds. The records are public but they're a mess. One section says it was a salvaged wreck while the next says it was bought at auction as a bare hull. The computer system is marked as being manufactured on Mars, the reactors were developed at Io Research Station and the keel was laid down at the Saturn Ship Yards.”
“So you think this guy is from Earth?”
“No, I think he got his hands on this thing somehow though. It almost looks stolen but how you steal a combat carrier I can't even begin to imagine. Looks like an impressive ship though. Three main hangars, three launch bays and it says it's styled after an ocean creature called a stingray.”
“Can you get access to the security systems? Where are our people being taken?”
“Oh, let me see.” Finn tried to access a full layout of the ship and the corresponding database and to his surprise he got in. He brought up the brig's location and checked for anyone nearby. “The internal sensors are showing our people, I think it's our people, they're marked red with blue markers around them showing the security team. Anyway, they're being moved to the brig, it's four decks above you in the aft section.”
“I'll work on it. Can you somehow stop the ship's sensors from tracking me?”
“I'll try,” Finn tapped on the red blip that represented Ramirez and found he could mark him as a Triton crew member. “Well, you shouldn't set any alarms off I don't think. They don't have any computer security set up.”
“That's strange.”
“We have some strange activity in the lower emergency quarters sir.” Finn overheard through the Triton's communications system.
“All right, I'm sending someone to check it out,” Wheeler replied.
“Um, there are people on their way to check on the section you're in Ramirez,” Finn said.
“Okay, I'm moving on. Guess making me look like a crew member didn't work.”
“I think I just did it too late,” Finn replied as he looked up the ship's current location. All the navigational controls were locked out but he could see they were pulling into orbit around Nissa. “Okay, we're in orbit around Nissa.”
“What do you want to do Finn? Set the Big Surprise to blow and get out? What do you figure?”
“I'm going to hide out here and help you guys out. I'm not coming up on the Triton's sensors at all. Must be because I'm standing right behind this thing.”
“Isn't it's power draining now that the Samson's engines aren't running?”
“Only about half a percent every ten minutes. I'll keep my eye on it.”
“How much of a charge will that thing need to do damage?” Ramirez asked, the sound of him running was clear through his communicator.
“I won't let it go down past seventy percent. Besides, the Samson's main capacitors can still dump some power into this thing if they have to.”
“Sounds goo-” The sounds of gunfire interrupted Ramirez's transmission.
Finn switched to the deck layout view of the Triton so he could find Ramirez. He had made it two decks up and run right into the pair of security officers that had been sent to look for him. “There are two of them!” He informed him.
“Thanks, could have told me a little earlier!”
“Sorry, I was busy looking at everything else.”
Agameg Price
He had never been more nervous in his life. Agameg had fallen in step with a few other crew aboard the Samson as they left the ship, not sure of where he was going or what he was supposed to be doing. It was difficult to ignore the conversation between Finn and Ramirez. Trying not to react to it in the slightest made him even more anxious. When he heard that Ramirez was off the Samson and exploring his eyes went wide. That could be very helpful to him, as long as he could manage to maintain his facade. He was overjoyed that both of their efforts were going well, that Finn established an uplink to the Triton's computer system. The information he was overhearing could be immensely helpful.
It was obvious that the fellow with long, scraggly black hair down to his shoulders was in command, and just the fact that his hair seemed so random and loose made imitating him convincingly impossible. He was never good at hair.
It was difficult not to smile at Ashley when she looked right at him, and the corners of his mouth did take an upturn. He jerked his eyes away from hers, she couldn't know that it was him.
“Are you all right man? You don't look so good,” asked the security officer marching beside him.
It struck Agameg that he had only heard the voice of the man he was imitating twice. Once when he dropped on him, and once when he was busy stuffing him into a storage locker. He made his best attempt regardless. “Something I ate. I'm fine,” he said gruffly, like he was a little choked up.
“Too bad we're short on people, otherwise I'd just send you to your rack.”
“Just get something for it out of the emergency medkit when we get to the brig. You'll stand watch. How's that for taking it easy?” Wheeler asked, not looking back at Price.
He just nodded his reply, hoping the Captain didn't expect a response.
Before long they arrived at the brig. There were twenty cells plus one special containment unit at the end with extra fortifications and controls. There was also a security desk for two closest to the main hatch. A pair of guards walked the newer Samson crew members, Agameg didn't know their names yet, into separate cells while Wheeler waved Ashley into another cell closer to the exit. “Are you sure you wouldn't rather spend some time with a real Captain? My quarters are a lot more comfortable.”
“Not in your wildest dreams greaseball,” Ashley sneered.
Price nervously sat down in the watchman's seat and focused on looking at the brig status screen. There were controls for dispensing food, a prison smock, cleaning the cell, cleaning the inmate, and disposing of other waste. There were also alarms, communications controls, and several other systems he didn't know just what to make of yet.
“All right, you're on watch, don't open those doors for anything. I'll give you a tour of the security systems later,” Wheeler said as he lead the three security officers out of the brig.
One of them turned around for a minute, walking backwards as he did so. “And break open an emergency kit, get some motion meds or something, you look a little green.”
Price nodded and checked the colour of his skin. It was a little pale, maybe slightly pasty but to his relief it wasn't green. He overheard Finn tell Ramirez that there were security officers on the way to him and, unsure of what to do, he tried to bring up the ship's deck layout to find out where he was.
From the sounds of it Finn had things well in hand as far as monitoring communications was concerned. It was a good thing since the last thing Agameg wanted to do was break his cover.
“You know, you're kind of cute,” Ashley said from behind him. “You Regent soldier boys clean up pretty good.”
Price tried not to react, he knew she was just flirting to get an edge on the only guard taking care of the brig.
“You know, if you let us out of here I could do something for you in return.”