Aaen snapped, looking behind him at the Captain, wide-eyed. The look was returned. Aaen noticed in his right peripheral; the First Officer wasn't oblivious to the silent conversation searing the forward and middle sections of the bridge. The First Officer kept panning his attention between Aaen and the Captain. The emotional atmosphere on the bridge was mixed and uncomfortable—like a fire had been breathed in two directly opposite directions. Aaen chose to remain seated at his post. The Captain turned to Operations.
"How many intruders are there?"
"Just one . . ." she gasped. "It's on Deck Two."
"Deck two? Dats where I 'em!" Dimitri said.
"Do we know where on deck two the intruder is?" Aaen asked.
"No. I can't see what's down there," said Operations.
"Engineer?" the Captain asked.
He leaned down to speak through the crawlway. "No!"
The Captain fast-walked back to his chair. The red lights became gradually a little brighter. "How do we te—"
"Keptin . . . I dun' know vut it is. . .but I can hear some kind of noise from behind me. . .like. . .sumting's scratching metal."
The noise subtly filled the bridge.
"It's close to Dimitri!" the Captain started looking forward and back. "Who's in charge of force fields?"
Odyssey's not your average starship. No one computer on the bridge controls force fields, Aaen thought, facing forward, looking at the main viewscreen. "Computer: display a map of the area in the ship where the intruder is located."
The Main Computer chimed acknowledgment—"DON'T talk to the Main Computer unless I tell you you can." the Captain growled.
The image on the main viewscreen changed to a cutaway of the Odyssey—a black outline filled with jagged multi-colored lines, shapes, and spaces from stem to stern. Aaen's intuition told him that the crew's focus had understandably turned to the main viewscreen.
"Where's the intruder?" the Captain asked.
Aaen scanned the diagram intently . . . "THERE!" he pointed to a small red dot inside of a small square space on the diagram.
"WHERE?" the Captain asked. The noise was getting louder.
"Kep-tin!—Someting's–down–'ere!" Dimitri said.
"Dimitri, are you okay?" the First Officer asked.
"I'm, I'm fine for now, sir. But I'm a little worried about that intruder getting any closer! I can't see it! It's too dark down here with all the lights out!"
"Just stay put! Maybe it can't see you, either." the Captain said.
Or maybe it knows that we can't see in the dark, and so it uses that to its advantage! Aaen thought.
"Where's the main computer!" the Captain asked.
"Down, here, sir! On deck two!" Dimitri replied.
"Send security to deck two!" said the Captain.
"There are only two decks, eight bridge crew members on board, plus the Doctor, and the Computer Specialist, and two sidearms for defense. We are security." Aaen said.
"He's right, Captain." said the First Officer.
"The dot's moving!" said Communications.
"I can't get a clear reading on the intruder." said Sensors. "It's like it's there . . . but it's not there."
"That doesn't make any sense!" said the Captain, walking to the Sensor station. "Try to figure out what it is."
"That's what I'm doing."
"Good. Let me know when you've found something." the Captain returned to his chair.
"Intruder is moving towards the bow—looks like it's trying to get to the internal illumination power distribution junction," Aaen said. A loud, thundering pop filled the bridge as the lights on the bridge started to flicker, even more violently and erratically than before—
The bridge was getting darker—
"—Keptin! Vatever the intruder is, iss getteeing clooser to where I am!" Dimitri whispered loudly.
"Try to stay hidden!" the Captain whispered back loudly.
"I kent!" Dimitri replied alarmingly. "There is only so much space down 'ere!"
"Computer, activate a level-six containment field around the area of the intruder!" Aaen said.
The Main Computer chimed acknowledgment. The sound of a force field activating filled the bridge as a light-blue box appeared on the diagram around the red dot.
"Would you please stop trying to run this SHIP!" the Captain yelled.
Then you better, Aaen thought sharply, looking over his shoulder for a moment, and then focusing on the main viewscreen—
"Captain, look." the First Officer pointed to the main viewscreen—the red dot started to move right and left on the screen, and then almost in a circular motion.
"Computer: only accept voice commands from me, the Captain."
"Acknowledged." the Main Computer chimed.
The bridge was almost as dark as a cave.
Aaen looked forward to see the main viewscreen—the red dot was still moving.
"Computer: locate the bridge on the diagram." said the Captain.
The bridge filled with more explosive, chaotic electric sounds—the lights flashed erratically. "Warning: level-six containment field is failing." the Main Computer droned.
"Divert auxiliary power to the containment field!" Aaen said.
Communications looked at Aaen. "The Captain told the computer to only listen to him."
Aaen nodded acknowledgment, but disagreed with the Captain's line of decision-making.
The Main Computer chimed acknowledgment, and then an angled triangular icon appeared on the screen, circling a sleek right-triangular space on the upper-left side of the diagram.
"The intruder's below us . . ." Aaen snapped around. "And about ten feet behind the Engineer! It's moving toward the bridge!" The main viewscreen went dark. . . . Aaen found himself wide-eyed.
"Power surge detected." said the Main Computer, accompanied by explosive, chaotic hissing electrical sounds. Aaen's screen sparked, as did Communication's, and a bolt of chain lightning shot from their stations. Aaen's uniform over his left upper arm started to sizzle; Communications was stunned. She leaned back unconscious. Aaen clenched his jaws as he covered his wound as the doctor rushed to him. "Hurry, come with me, let's get that healed. First Officer, could you help Communications to one of the bunks in the back for medical treatment."
"Sure." the First Officer said disapprovingly—the look on the First Officer's face told Aaen his disapproval was not of him.
The Doctor pulled Aaen's right arm around her neck as she helped him to the back of the bridge. Navigating around the Captain's chair was thankfully a brief chore before Aaen shifted his weight to crawl inside the top of two bunks directly beneath the Operations station. The First Officer was only a couple of seconds behind with Communications, who took the bunk directly opposite Aaen on the opposite side of the bridge.
The Doctor retrieved her medical tricorder and waved the chirping device over Aaen's shoulder several times, and then repeated the procedure for Communications. The Doctor then gave Aaen and then Communications two small multi-colored pills marked with a white lower-case "m." Aaen chewed the two pills down quickly. The Doctor proceeded to her medical kit to retrieve a small T-shaped medical instrument with a small white light on one end and started waving the light over Aaen's wound. Doctor's got dang cute hands, Aaen thought but said nothing.
"Just stay still and let the wound heal." the Doctor said kindly, smiling at Aaen at an angle. Aaen reasoned she must have noticed the subconscious look he was sending her. Her shoulder-length light brown hair subtly flowed with her every movement. She was Caucasian . . . maybe five-foot-seven or five-foot-eight, Aaen guessed. That could work. He was five-foot-ten. He couldn't help but wonder if she was single. Maybe she would go out with a lieutenant? Aaen wondered.
Aaen nodded acknowledgment, and then leaned forward to look at the main viewscreen—he found himself wide-eyed.
Five seconds later—
Aaen looked across from himself at the Communications officer, who was curled up in a ball with her face hidden behind her palms, shaking from fear. She slowly parted her hands and then looked down at Aaen. The look on her shaking face begged 'DO something—please!'
Another fierce scratching noise filled the bridge.
—The lights went dark.
*****
Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."
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