"All right, everybody, this is what we're going to do: We're going to engage the intruder on the station! Now, we only have two sidearms, and there are ten of us on the ship, including the doctor, and Dimitri. We don't know anything about the station, so we need to get it mapped out before we can leave the ship."
Really, Aaen thought, let's not be too obvious right now. Aaen had already contemplated the next several possible moves for the crew. Of course, we wouldn't know the station, Aaen thought. Scan the station, upload the tactical readouts to the Doctor's scanner, and use the data to find an area to use as a staging ground to make a stand. Clearly, the intruder is pursuing us, not the ship. It's after something. The question is: what? Aaen started to contemplate the possibilities, but there was no way to be sure—unless. . . Aaen had an idea, but kept to himself, turning around to indulge the Captain's apparent desire to listen to his own voice.
"We need a plan of action," the Captain said.
"Aaen looks like he has an idea." the First Officer said. Aaen found himself raising both his eyebrows in surprise. He realized he had the rest of the bridge crew's full attention. He felt his heart skip a beat as he gathered his thoughts before speaking.
"It's true: we do need to find an area in the station where we can stage a stand against the intruder. If we just go running about the station, we're probably going to end up like the crew of Relentless. Sensors, what data do we have on the interior of the station?"
"Right now, it looks like the station is just full of a lot of empty rooms. I've checked for life signs. Haven't detected any. It looks like between all of us and the intruder; we're alone on the station."
"Captain, if the crew's really alone on the station, then we need to search the station for anything that we can use to our advantage against the intruder. I would strongly recommend that we make sure that the station is pressurized as much as we need, and then use hand signals to talk to each other. At this point, the sooner we can get to the staging area, the better."
"How do you know that the intruder won't try to steal Odyssey?" the Captain asked.
"That's a good question." the First Officer said looking at Aaen with a straight face.
"Dmitri is on deck two, with the main computer. If the intruder was that interested – or even that motivated – to take over the ship, regardless of whether or not the rest of us are still on board, it could've done that by now, without coming up to the bridge." Aaen replied. "That's why I'm thinking it's coming after us: it thinks we have what it wants. If it destroys the ship or takes over Odyssey, then it risks losing what it wants. If the intruder takes over the ship, then we will not cooperate, and it would have reasoned the same. If it destroys the ship, then it loses what it's after, and it dies."
"But by staging a stand on the station. . ." The First Officer said, with a tone that Aaen read as an indication of an indirect question to him.
"If the intruder wants to fight us, for whatever reason, then we'll have more room to engage it."
"But the intruder hasn't really been affected by any of our weapons, so far, Aaen. What makes you think staging a stand on the station is going to help?" Sensors asked.
"I have a hunch that our weapons do affect the intruder. I think there's—" Aaen paused to gather his thoughts. "I think it's a question of timing, not necessarily all about power output."
"You're not making any sense, Aaen." the Captain said.
"Actually I think he is making sense." the First Officer said, looking at the Captain directly.
"Well, I don't get it." The Captain said skeptically, throwing his hands in the air.
The First Officer took two minutes explaining to he Captain what Aaen had tried to say. After an exchange of puzzling questions and answers, the captain looked at Aaen directly with a straight face.
"The intruder is moving again!" said Sensors. "I'm showing it's moving towards the bridge!"
"Somehow, I seriously doubt it's coming up here to just look around, again," Aaen said determinedly. "Sir, we all need to move out – we need to move out, now!" Aaen said. "For all we know—the intruder may be listening to everything we're saying and doing, right now."
"Then it would already know our plan." the Captain said, doubtfully.
"How do we know any of our weapons would do any damage at all?" Jason asked, looking toward the forward bridge.
"Yeah! How do we know that we don't need bigger and stronger weapons to protect ourselves?" Communications asked.
"Well, there's only one way to find out. The intruder is coming up here. Are we going to stay here—knowing that we are basically seemingly defenseless as it is?" Aaen said, looking at the captain directly.
The First Officer looked at the Captain. "He's got a point!" he said sharply.
"Everyone! Get ready to move out on my order!" the Captain said aloud.
It's about time! Aaen thought enthusiastically. He felt much more energetic, and he had a butterfly-like gut feeling that the station might be equipped with heavier weapons than Odyssey was equipped with, by default. He quietly mused about having access to a particle rifle, versus a sidearm. He reasoned, there must be for such a space station to exist in a remote area of Federation space. He checked his computer's navigational charts—particularly and especially when such a station is not on any navigational charts? He guessed that was deliberate, to prevent anyone merely passing by—Federation or otherwise—from finding the station. But why? He squinted at his computer screen. Could that have something to do with why the intruder is so intent on taking the entire crew hostage? He wondered, looking up at the docking bay on the main viewscreen with curiosity, and determination. Time to find out.
Aaen looked slightly right at the operations officer. Quote is the aft cargo ramp still operational?"
She looked at her computer screen, scanned a few details, and then looked toward the forward bridge. "Yeah! Why?"
Aaen looked at the Captain, and then quickly reasoned that he and the Captain were thinking the same thing. . .
*****
Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."
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