Enlightened Ignorance

by Michael Anderle

  “Nothing I was doing would have had that sort of effect.” A few seconds passed before Emma let out a disappointed sigh. “And I also no longer have access to internal systems.”

  “You were detected?” Erik asked. “There’s no way this transport has enough system security to lock you down that quickly. This isn’t a Fleet ship or a corporate yacht.”

  “No, this is less a door being closed in my face than a massive conflagration blocking my passage,” Emma replied, annoyance in her voice. “The system has been infected with a sophisticated adaptive virus. Most minor systems have been disabled, and general systems access is being blocked from outside the primary systems interface in the cockpit. To clarify, the virus is actively destroying the pathways between the system access points and the main system. Even before then, I noted the internal cameras and primary sensors were being disabled.”

  “A virus?” Erik growled. “How is that even possible?”

  “On a contained system like this, it’s far easier.”

  Pounding came from the flight attendant’s alcove, along with a muffled cry. Scattered murmurs of concern broke out amongst the passengers.

  “Bad timing on her part.” Erik nodded toward the alcove. “And I’m having a hard time thinking this is all a bunch of coincidences. The Lady might play games, but when she slaps you, there’s a reason.”

  The pounding grew more insistent.

  “Someone needs to help her,” called a passenger. “I think she’s in trouble.”

  A gray-uniformed security guard emerged from an alcove in the back and made his way toward the forward alcove with a frown on his face. He waved his arms. “Everyone, please remain calm. This is just a minor technical difficulty because of, uh, cosmic rays. We’ll have everything back on track in a few minutes. On behalf of Dandelion Interplanetary Transport, I apologize for any inconvenience you may have suffered.” As he passed Erik’s seat, the guard mumbled under his breath, “How did you get stuck in the alcove, Brianna? You’re smarter than that, and now we look like idiots. Don’t expect me to cover for you this time.”

  The guard continued up the aisle, trying to force a smile onto his face but slipping into a glower every few seconds. The snoring man sprang up from the seat right after the guard passed. He yanked a tiny knife from his pocket, leaned forward, and slit the guard’s throat. The guard clawed at his neck, blood spraying on the floor. The man with the knife kicked out the guard’s knees and stabbed him several more times.

  Shouts and screams filled the passenger cabin.

  “Everyone shut up!” the killer roared. He knelt over the guard’s body. He reached toward the guard’s stun pistol to place a small black disk on the side of the gun before yanking it out of its holster with a cocky grin.

  “That’s what I’d call trouble,” Jia mumbled. “We’re going to make a move, right?”

  “Yeah, especially if he goes after any other passenger.” Erik frowned, and his hand slipped inside his coat.

  “This transport is now under the control of the United Freedom Alliance!” the man shouted. “My comrades and I will not harm you as long as you do what we say. You will be released once our demands are met. Anyone who attempts to interfere with our hijacking will pay the price.” He fired a stun bolt into the guard’s body, which jerked. “We’ve already shown you what we can do.”

  “Then it’s time to show them what we can do.” Jia whipped out her stun pistol and fired three shots. The terrorist jerked backward and fell into the empty seats behind him. More passengers screamed.

  “NSCPD!” shouted Jia, rushing to the downed terrorist.

  Erik pulled out his gun and swept it back and forth, looking for any sign of reinforcements. “Didn’t want to wait for more info?”

  “They already tried to kill a man, and we have to assume they’ve killed or captured the other security on the ship, which means they probably all have stun pistols.” Jia reached into a pocket and pulled out a med patch. She slapped it on the man’s throat as she looked around. “This might not save him, but maybe we can stabilize him.”

  Erik walked over to the stunned terrorist. “I’d love to say it’s only the one guy, but I doubt it.”

  Jia hissed in anger. “We need to move quickly. If they had slug-throwers or bombs, he wouldn’t have gone after the security guard in the way he did, but we can’t assume the virus isn’t related.” She dropped to one knee and pulled binding ties from the downed security guard’s pockets to wrap them around the terrorist’s hands and feet. “And if they have that kind of systems access, they could…”

  She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

  There was no reason to panic the passengers. They had already witnessed one potential murder, and it was likely there were several more dead or dying security guards or other people in other sections of the transport. Hijackings might not be rare in all the UTC, but a hijacking on or near Earth was a different matter.

  Part of her job was keeping the public calm.

  “I’m Detective Jia Lin of the Neo Southern California Police Department,” she announced. “I’m here with my partner, and we’ll assure this transport makes it safely to the moon.” She nodded to Erik.

  He walked over to her and lowered his voice. “I know what you’re worried about. They could kill the life support for the passenger cabins or start opening airlocks.” He looked down the aisle. “We’ve got the advantage now. They don’t know we’re on this transport, and the Lady’s on our side. We practiced for a tubular assault, and now we have one. It’s like she’s begging us to kick their asses.”

  “I’m sure our training practice is exactly what caused it,” Jia snarked. She stood. The terrorist might be ruthless, but there wasn’t much he could accomplish without his arms or legs.

  “Damn it.” Erik motioned to the terrorist. “Next time, we’ll practice fighting terrorists on beaches with beautiful, well-formed girls playing volleyball.”

  Jia smirked. “That’s rather selfish.”

  “We can have a few shirtless studs playing volleyball, too,” Erik suggested with a faint shrug. “Emma, do what you can to gain control of the system. I don’t care who knows now.”

  “I’m dubious at this point that it’s possible without direct access to the main system,” she explained. “Their virus’s effect is staggering in both its boldness and stupidity. They’ve isolated themselves in a sense as well. I wouldn’t want to be a fleshbag attempting something so brazen on a transport in deep space.”

  “Just try it,” Erik insisted. “At least get that flight attendant out of her alcove.”

  “Very well,” Emma responded merrily. “Try not to die before I’ve gained control, Detective. Even if the uniformed boys can’t get me here, there’s little I can do if this ship ends up lost in space, and I would live a long time, counting down the milliseconds until the power finally goes out.”

  “We have to work our way to the cockpit anyway, so we’ll get you into the system one way or another.” Erik stared down the aisle to the door separating the first-class passengers and the private cabins. “These terrorists must have access to the cockpit if they’re willing to try something like this. They had no reason to suspect cops might be on board.”

  “We’re on the bottom level,” Jia noted. “We should start from the back, work our way forward, and sweep around. We’ve got no eyes because of what they did to the cameras, but that means they have the same limitation.”

  Emma snickered. “As I said, bold and stupid.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The detectives headed toward the door to the first-class section.

  They were on the second of two levels, each containing a general and a first-class passenger section. Taking the elevator was questionable given the virus, which meant their best shot was a ladder, but first they needed to free the flight attendant from the crew alcove near the door.

  Emma’s efforts paid off. The alcove slid open, and the flight attendant stumbled out. Her gaz
e settled on the security guard and shifted to the stunned terrorist.

  “Are you two responsible for this?” she asked, reaching into a pocket, her eyes narrowed.

  “Yes.” Erik kept his weapon pointed down at a forty-five-degree angle. “You’ve got a terrorist situation here. We’re cops from Neo So Cal. We’ll take care of the terrorists.”

  She nodded slowly and moved toward Erik, her hand still in her pocket. “How do I know you’re not the terrorists? I think I’ll need to see some proof.”

  Erik raised his pistol. “What’s in the pocket?”

  The flight attendant whimpered. “Why are you pointing a gun at me? You are the terrorists, aren’t you?”

  “I’m sorry, but please show us what’s in your pocket.” Jia pointed her weapon at the woman.

  “Okay, okay,” the flight attendant murmured. “It’s nothing. Just a keepsake. Calm down.” She jerked her hand out of her pocket to reveal a small knife identical to the one the terrorist used.

  The detectives fired in unison. The woman fell back, slamming her head against the wall before slumping to the ground, her eyes rolled up.

  Jia knelt to bind the woman. “Inside job, which explains a lot. There’s no way they could have gotten a virus that deep into the system otherwise.”

  “We need to move now,” Erik insisted. “Before they get a chance to check in with each other and realized what’s happened.” He nodded toward the door. “Get ready. Just like we practiced.”

  Jia moved to the opposite side of the narrow passageway and aimed her gun at the door. “We practiced with slug-thrower rifles, not stun pistols.”

  “You take down assholes with the weapons you have.” Erik slammed the access panel. The door slid open, revealing the first-class passenger section. One wide aisle split two rows of seats that were taller and wider than those in the general passenger section. Passengers cowered in their seats. Many had ducked and had their hands over their heads, but none were looking their way.

  Two men holding stun pistols spun toward the detectives. Erik and Jia opened fire as the terrorists brought up their guns. Their practiced aim landed the white bolts in the chests of the unarmored men with ease. The terrorists dropped to the floor, landing with a loud thump.

  Their stun pistols slid over the smooth white center aisle.

  A seated nun in a full habit leaned over to grab the weapon and pointed it at the downed men with her eyes narrowed. A frowning man in an expensive suit picked up the other and trained it on the terrorists. A flight attendant lay unconscious in a seat near the nun, her right eye and nose swollen and a dark bruise forming over half her face.

  “Neo Southern California PD,” Erik announced, hurrying forward. “Everyone, please remain calm.” He inclined his head at the flight attendant. “What happened to her?”

  “She tried to tackle one of the men after they killed the guards,” the nun announced. “They beat her and stunned her.” The nun crossed herself and gestured to another pair of seats. Two dead security staff had been shoved into them.

  Erik recovered their binding ties, confident of his temporary nun and angry businessman squad.

  Jia remained at the rear as Erik swept forward. No one else popped up to take a shot. He gestured for Jia to come to him and waited until she closed in to murmur, “The passengers can defend this place. There will be more terrorists up front.” Erik motioned to a sealed door next to the elevator. “Emergency ladder’s behind there. I think we should head back. Best bet’s to approach from the rear.”

  “Agreed.” Jia frowned at the terrorists. “They might be rendezvousing with another ship. That would explain the odd course.”

  “Yeah, which is why we need to take this ship back ASAP.” Erik jogged back toward the general passenger section, nodding to the nun. “You see anyone who isn’t us, Sister, you stun them.” He handed her some binding ties. “And you make sure they don’t go anywhere.”

  The nun gave a firm nod.

  Erik and Jia reentered the general passenger section. The man angry about his lack of entertainment had taken over the terrorist’s stun pistol. He stood near the front, arms folded, suspicion all over his face. At least he had something to keep him from being bored. He nodded at Erik and Jia with a grunt.

  The detectives proceeded through the compartment to the rear ladder.

  Erik pressed the access panel, and the door slid open. He hopped onto the narrow ladder and pulled himself up the shaft with his left arm. Jia rushed beneath him, pointing her gun upward. He waited at the top hatch for a moment, then shoved it open with all the strength of his cybernetic arm, denting it as he popped it off.

  As Erik yanked himself up and over, a stun bolt flew past his head. He didn’t hesitate as he returned fire and nailed the terrorist standing in the center of the aisle. The man pitched forward.

  Erik hopped onto the upper-level floor and stood, keeping both hands on his gun. Jia joined him a few seconds later.

  They moved to opposite aisles. Several of the passengers whimpered, but no one looked their way. A dead security guard lay in the center of the aisle in a pool of his own blood. He’d been stabbed worse than the guard in their section.

  “This is the police!” Jia shouted. “There are still terrorists here,” she whispered to Erik, her eyes glancing back behind her. “Even if the passengers don’t know who we are, they just saw us take down a terrorist, and they’re still acting afraid. Someone’s trying to ambush us.”

  Erik grunted. “Yeah. They might know about us by now. We have no idea what kind of comm setup they have, but they haven’t made any other major course changes yet.”

  He took a step into the main passenger section with Jia on his left. He spun to the right, finding only scared passengers. Jia encountered the same and offered a comforting smile.

  The detectives crept up the aisle, checking each seat but never turning completely away from the front. Erik slowed as he spotted a woman sweating profusely, a man resting his head on her shoulder. The woman looked straight ahead, wide-eyed and rigid, her breathing shallow.

  Erik nodded to Jia and inclined his head toward the couple. She nodded back, and they both rushed toward the couple. The sleeping man jerked upright with a knife in his hand. He pressed it to the woman’s neck.

  “I’ll slit her—”

  Jia and Erik cut him off with stun bolts to the face, and the knife tumbled out of his hand. His hostage squeaked and jumped out of her seat. The knife bounced off the armrest and hit the floor.

  “Any others in this section?” Erik asked aloud.

  The woman shook her head. “Just those two. But they said they had control of the whole transport, and if we resisted, they’d kill us.”

  Jia scoffed. “At this point, all they have is a lot of stunned terrorists in binding ties. We’re the ones in control.”

  “Detectives,” Emma reported. “It’s unlikely I’ll be able to do much without direct access to the main system. Their virus was rather thorough.”

  “We’re almost there,” Erik announced.

  The passenger looked at him oddly. He ignored her and headed toward the top-level first-class passenger section door. The door slid open, and Erik and Jia dropped to one knee.

  A terrorist stood on the other side and fired right down the aisle. He had been anticipating Erik and Jia standing on the other side of the door, not kneeling, so his stun bolts flew over their heads. The detectives replied with two quick volleys that downed the man. They aimed down the aisle and fired again at another terrorist who was running toward the front of the transport. He yelped and slammed to the floor face-first. An angry teenage girl in a voluminous expensive-looking dress started kicking the man in the side.

  Erik snickered.

  “This is far easier when they’re not wearing armor,” Jia admitted, standing. “I was wondering if we would have to take on a bunch of full-conversion Tin Men with only our stun pistols.”

  Erik chuckled. “I’ll give them points for the viru
s, but the rest of it was just them being cocky.” He grabbed binding ties from the dead guards and tossed them to the girl. “Tie those guys up.” He nodded to a trembling burly man. “You help her. They’re not going to do anything for a while. We’ve got to finish this and get this ship back on course. We’ve cleared out the other passenger sections.”

  The burly man bit his lip and nodded. He moved out of his seat to help the teenage girl, who was applying the binding ties with vengeful glee.

  Jia winced when she kicked the terrorist once more for good measure.

  Erik and Jia continued toward the forward crew alcoves on the level. The reinforced doors protecting the cockpit were located immediately past the crew alcoves, and there were two small storage closets on either side.

  “Can you open the doors, Emma?” Erik scanned the door. Given the material, he doubted he could punch through it with his left arm. If the terrorists had explosives, they would have announced them already.

  There was also the small issue of blowing anything up in space.

  “Yes, give me a moment,” Emma replied, eliminating the need for dangerous scenarios involving explosives. “I’m rerouting power. Prepare for opening.”

  The detectives raised their guns, ready to stun the terrorists inside. The thick doors slid apart with a loud hiss. Inside, the two pilots sat in their seats, their heads lolling to the side. Blood covered the fronts of their gray uniforms. Both had huge gashes in their throats.

  Blood stained the console in front of them. Floating holographic data windows and readouts were positioned around the console and the seats. Flight yokes rested between the legs of the dead pilots. An array of colorful virtual buttons were displayed on smooth panels on both sides and the front of the seat. Erik had no idea what most of them meant.

  For the first time in his life, he briefly regretted joining the Army instead of Space Fleet.

  Erik pointed his gun everywhere, including the roof of the cockpit, but there was nothing to shoot. It was a small space, and there were no terrorists or killer bots hiding in it.