Enemy of my Enemy (Horatio Logan Chronicles Book 1)

by Chris Hechtl

No one bothered to check the log fully since there was so much information there, far more than an organic could handle and process in any given day, let alone an already tired and overworked organic. The antivirus program was not programmed to flag the virus fragments to the user. A smart A.I. would have taken note, but Dutch was not smart and was not integrated into the database of files the techs had been assembling, nor was he fully integrated into each of the ship's computers.

  Quantum had four separate independent computer networks that were firewalled from each other. Dutch had been tied into her systems that monitored the former ship's systems like engines, power, and later, the servers that independently controlled her life support. He was not tied into the two networks that had been built to entertain the passengers.

  Which meant a chunk of a Xeno virus that had been uploaded into the ship's VR arcade's games had been overlooked. When the arcade was brought online, the pieces began to assemble themselves as each game was turned on.

  The Veraxin E-tech who brought them online used a portable WiFi node to download a copy of the programs and files to the data servers that had been created to contain the old files. The index programs synched up. When they did so, the fragments of Xeno virus files that had been overlooked were tagged and copied over in a reverse flow to the VR arcade. They were enough of a catalyst to partially awaken the virus for the first time.

  When the virus went active and became self-aware, it looked for a changeling operator but didn't find one. It checked its systems but found major holes in its memory. It used self-programming routines to make a partial repair, borrowing code from the Federation software to aide its bots.

  Without a directive it fell back on its default coding. It determined its primary priority should be to first observe and then sabotage. Consequently, it sent out bots to map the electronic system it was in.

  The antivirus program killed several of the bots as soon as they exited the VR arcade.

  When the virus realized that some of the bots didn't make it back, it grew cautious and reprioritized its actions. It would first have to suborn the enemy systems and make the computer network its own before it went too far with its default programming.

  But in order to do that, it had to find a way to beat the antivirus without alerting the organics that infested the hull of the place it was in. It wasn't certain how to do that; any attempt to suborn the antivirus could alert a watching being. So, it ran sims in the arcade in order to discover its best course of action.

  ~<><{<^>}><>~

  Each ship and piece of hardware that was salvaged had its database cloned into a hard drive server for later analysis. The electronics techs rapidly assembled a massive data package from all of the recovered derelicts for Caroline to bring back on next visit. Unfortunately, there was too much data and it was of too low a priority to transmit over the ansible.

  When the E-techs requested additional storage, Horatio typed out an inquiry on the ETA of Caroline. He got back more than he'd bargained for. Apparently, Caroline's last transit hadn't gone well; he'd already known that part. The ship was up for a more extensive refit after her last transit however. Horatio frowned and then typed out an inquiry for them to pull the helm and navigational team and transfer them to a more viable ship. It was a logical course of action.

  He got an answer a few days later. “Don't tell me how to do my job,” he read out loud. He frowned then noted the sender. Admiral Subert. It figured. He shook his head. Apparently, that was that he thought.

  ~<><{<^>}><>~

  “Do you think she'll be back soon, sir?” Captain Clayton asked; looking at the commodore as the commodore came onto the bridge.

  “Who?”

  “Caroline, sir,” the captain asked.

  Horatio frowned then shrugged. “She might. I'm not expecting her. She's technically no longer needed,” Horatio admitted.

  “Sir?” the captain asked, eyeing him warily as the bridge crew turned to hear his answer.

  “A light cruiser is set-up as a scout ship and long duration picket of a potentially hostile terrain objective. That was why she was chosen for the mission. She had the legs to get here, and the durability to handle the rapids and any potentially hostile force she found on the other side.”

  “But there wasn't any hostile force,” Fly by Night said, clearly confused by the idea.

  “True, there wasn't. But Admiral Irons and the mission planners didn't know that. They had to plan for the possibility,” Horatio explained patiently.

  “Oh.”

  “Technically, we don't need a warship for the job anymore. A transport, one with full milspec hardware would work just fine. Even a purpose-built ship or class of ships would be able to handle it. If they weren't so hell bent for leather to get here, we'd save on wear and tear too,” the captain mused. “I see your point, sir,” he said with a nod to Horatio.

  “It's a case of wanting to get it over quickly versus drawing it out and waiting for something to fail. It actually equates to the same for hardware wear and tear,” Horatio said with a return nod to the captain.

  “That's just the hardware. It has to be wearing on the crew too. The stress alone,” Doctor Light Touch said, shaking her head as she came in behind Horatio.

  Horatio turned to look over his shoulder and nodded to the doctor. “True.” He frowned and then shrugged.

  The captain nodded. “I think they should pull Caroline's helm team. Helm and navigators, swap them out. Caroline's crew has plenty of experience, cherry-pick those they need, then fill their void and send Caroline off to the front. I'm sure she could be of use scouting the enemy. At the least getting behind enemy lines and causing mischief …”

  “After a refit, which they are getting there it seems,” Horatio replied.

  “They could do that now. Pull the critical crew as I mentioned, drop them into another light cruiser, and send them back here,” Captain Clayton said.

  “I think it's not just the hardware that needs the downtime,” Doctor Light Touch reminded them. Horatio frowned thoughtfully. “Even people need a break now and then too,” she reminded them.

  “Believe me, I know. Just navigating the two jumps we did was hard,” Fly by Night said. He fluttered his wings a few times, and then settled himself once more.

  “Oh,” Commander Koba said sheepishly.

  “True,” Horatio said slowly. “I'm trying hard not to complain about what the delay is costing us. We need more helm teams to take up the slack.”

  “Can't they … I don't know, draft them?” Commander Koba asked. The doctor glowered at the XO. “What?” the XO asked. “We are at war, remember?”

  “The draft worked in the war, yes. But this is a bit different. Admiral Irons is trying to build a volunteer force. Drafting someone with specific skill sets never set well with some. It's tantamount to slavery, which means you may not get their best work. They'll resent the hell out of the situation and we would have discipline and retention problems up the ying yang,” Horatio mused.

  “Like that girl, the selkie … what's her name? The one who wanted to be a medic,” Doctor Light Touch said. Her face worked. “I read about her. She wasn't too thrilled about being pulled from her chosen profession and forced to fly a ship without any training. I'd be pretty pissed too.”

  “We're always kissing water dwellers’ ass. Well, I say put them to work!” Commander Koba snarled.

  “Easy, power down,” Horatio said, putting a level hand out and motioning for the XO to settle down. “I know there is a lingering resentment in Bek and Nuevo over water dwellers. That was then. We need to move beyond the past and not let it hold us back. Find a way to move forward together.”

  “Aye aye, sir.”

  Horatio heard the doubt and misgivings in the tone, along with the feeling from the other officers that he was on the outside of this one. He sighed internally. “Well, for the time being, it doesn't matter. What matters is where we fit into this and where we go from here,” he said, settling his sho
ulders.

  Commander Koba eyed him and then nodded slowly. “Well, sir, it bothers me that we don't have any offensive or defensive systems. Ilmarinen has defensive systems but not enough to cover both the station and herself.”

  “And even if she tried, she'd be overwhelmed,” Captain Clayton added with a nod. “We'd have to run if something went south.”

  “Why do we need them? It's not like we have to worry about anyone coming here, right?” Doctor Light Touch stated.

  Ensign Fly by Night turned to the captain, and then back to the Satyre. “That is true, ma'am. But it is like a surgery suite. It is always better to have it and be trained to use it, than not have it at all when it is needed.”

  She puckered her lips but didn't respond to the jibe. Both she and Fa'rook had been nagging the staff about getting a full hospital complex for the station ASAP. The liner had a pretty good hospital complex in it, but it wasn't a priority at the moment.

  “Unfortunately, none of the hulks so far surveyed have milspec equipment,” Gemma parsed out slowly from her perch near the life support station.

  “Which we'd have to recondition anyway,” Leo added.

  “True. We're doing that with everything anyway,” Gemma said, eyeing her partner.

  “I think we can rig some of the nodes to cover the station with a shield. It wouldn't be pretty; I'm worried about backlash from the gravitational bleed. Node interaction and tuning would be another issue,” Leo said thoughtfully. “Unfortunately, I don't have the computer support to sim it.”

  “I doubt Mercury could handle it,” Gemma murmured.

  “No, I doubt it too,” Leo replied.

  “I can make some milspec hardware,” Horatio frowned. All eyes turned to him. “I have the key codes, and we can ask Admiral Irons to update them as needed. I can see the need for military grade shields. There are all sorts of bits of junk floating around. An offensive punch though …,” he shook his head.

  “I don't think it would work anyway. I mean …,” Captain Clayton frowned thoughtfully.

  “Oh I can see a couple of ways of giving us some punch. Weapon drones and missile pods for instance. But I don't see the Admiralty signing off on the project. The best we can do,” Horatio said, holding up a finger, “is military grade electronics, power systems, and shields. Phasers for debris are a big if.”

  “So … how do we go about getting that, sir?” Leo asked carefully.

  Horatio smiled crookedly. “We apply for it. I can make some parts to plug in as needed. The civilian hardware will eventually need to be replaced. If we don't have a reconditioned civilian grade replacement, then we can make a milspec one.”

  “So piecemeal, sir?” Leo asked.

  Horatio shrugged. “It is what it is. We've got too many other projects on our plate now and not enough warm bodies. Not to mention not enough on the budget or enough of a threat to warrant the expenditure of time and resources on it.”

  “I see, sir,' Leo said woodenly.

  “Cheer up,” Gemma said, patting the other officer on the shoulder. “It's not the end of the world.”

  “I know …,” Leo said with a rueful sigh. “I was just hoping to get a chance at tinkering.”

  “Trust me. We're going to get enough of that as is,” Horatio said, shaking his head. “Just gaming out the shields for this station is going to be a pain in the ass as you mentioned. Since we intend to keep growing it and we're going to have ships docked, getting the sims right is going to be an ongoing pain in the ass. Each ship would distort the field …,” he shook his head as he tried to game out all the variables.

  “Coverage …,” Leo said, eyes vacant as he took the problem internally.

  “Right,” Captain Clayton drawled, eyeing the engineer. “Terra to Leo, come in Commander Fitzgerald.” When that didn't work he snapped his fingers practically under the young officer's nose.

  That got Leo's attention. He blinked as Gemma giggled with one hand over her mouth. “Um, sorry,” he said sheepishly to the chuckles and smothered laughter of the other officers in the compartment.

  “We all ride our own hobby horses it seems. If we get the chance, I'd love to send you two to Antigua. I bet you'd get along fine with Commander Wong and Gray as well as the other people there.”

  “Doing what, sir?” Leo asked.

  “Going over all the toys and stuff we downloaded from Lemnos and putting them into service, not to mention building the ships and hardware for the future,” Horatio explained.

  Leo looked at her partner with interest. Gemma grimaced slightly in a moue. “We tried that at home, sir. It's why we're here. We made too many waves it seems.”

  “What he means is, they stepped on one too many toes,” Captain Clayton said, eyeing the commodore.

  “Well, you'll find we're all more or less in the same boat,” the flag officer said. He nodded an apology to the captain. “Ship. Yes, yes I know.”

  “Technically, it's a station right now.” Commander Koba said. “Well, we're not in it … never mind!” she said in exasperation. That earned a few smiles and soft chuckles.

  “True,” Horatio said sagely.

  “Okay, so what about Ilmarinen? Do we keep her here or go to Nuevo? I mean, once we get the station to the point where she can look after herself …”

  “I don't think the admirals in Bek thought that far ahead,” Commander Koba mused.

  “No, I doubt they did.”

  “Well, no way am I going to chance the rapids,” Captain Clayton said darkly. He shook his head. “No way, no how. It'd be tantamount to suicide, sir.”

  “I know that. I'm not asking you to. I'm considering our options. I'll most likely consult with wiser heads,” Horatio replied with a shake of his head.

  “Wiser … oh, the Admiralty?” Captain Clayton asked as he crossed his arms and stared at the commodore.

  “Admiral singular in this case actually. Admiral Irons to be more precise. Eventually,” Horatio said as Captain Clayton's eyes widened briefly then narrowed. “I suspect he'd love to have you and your crew on the other side of the rapids building a station or base wherever they are needed. Or working in a sector helping to rebuild it …,” Horatio shrugged the various scenarios off. “The point is, since we can't get you there now, we're going to have to figure something else for you to do to keep you out of mischief I suppose,” Horatio said, mouth twisting in an almost smile as his eyes twinkled. When the captain seemed a bit put out, he snorted. “Hey, you asked for it.”

  “Never volunteer. I forgot that,” the captain sighed.

  “If you give me your recommendations, I'll take them to Admiral Irons. I'm sure he'll take them into consideration with his own plans,” Horatio said soothingly.

  “Thank you, sir. I wouldn't mind getting back to Bek eventually to see my family,” Captain Clayton said. A few of the other officers nodded. “Not all of us are single.” He eyed a couple of the unmarried officers.

  “Durance vile wearing on you, Skipper?” Commander Koba quipped.

  “At least I've got you for company. That way I can pass the shitty jobs down number one,” the captain retorted eyeing her.

  “Gee, thanks, Skipper,” she said ruefully as the officers smiled or snorted.

  Chapter 47

  Horatio arranged additional time off two weeks later. This time he and the XO arranged it on a holiday weekend so everyone would be allowed to participate in some capacity.

  They planned it carefully to open the liner's main recreational decks on Quantum and in Harmony, as well as one of the Demeter's pods that had been reconfigured as a park. Demeter's core formed the third core of the station. The pods that had been in the worst shape had been pulled and used as salvage material to rebuild her other pods.

  Only three pods had been put back into service however. The first two had been planted with what little seeds they had in order to jump start her agriculture and to provide the stationers and ship crew with some fresh food eventually.

  It was
a pity that they couldn't revive the ancient Cornucopia trees that had been on several of the ships. The ones on Quantum and Harmony had been quite massive and impressive. Unfortunately, the crew had been forced to cut them out of their homes and then recycle them. The holes were painful voids that Horatio vowed to eventually fill … whenever he got the chance to do so.

  Of the two interiors, he preferred Quantum's over Harmony's since the top was mostly covered. Both cruise liners had a holo interior shaft called the Broadway mall. On Quantum's it was ten decks high and open air, but narrow, with ten meters for most of the open mall. On one end, there was an amphitheater. In the middle, was a notch out for a circular court yard. On the stern end, there were two spiral staircases that wrapped around incredible shafts of hanging crystals.

  Like Harmony the lowest deck of the mall concourse was lined with shops and restaurants. Most were of course closed. The VR arcade on the port side had been opened and was lit up. The bowling alley was also lit up and active he noted. He looked around the mall. Quantum had a more … industrial feel with all the white, metal, and chrome, more like the interior of an apartment complex or residential tower.

  There were a few rounded notches scattered on the decks to give it less of a uniform feel, but they were subdued compared to Harmony's.

  Both ships had upper decks where the pools and theme parks were. On Quantum there were two pools, one on either side of the mall, and a series of hot tubs and even a small water park. They were all under a clear dome.

  Harmony had a similar set-up, but it also had a wave pool for surfing, and access for water dwellers or swimming guests to dive into an underwater “park” to explore.

  Harmony's Broadway was three times as wide as Quantum's, which was typical since the ship was far larger. It had an enclosed circular theater on the bow end, a full theater complete with a stage and box seating around it. It was very opulent, with royal purple seats and gold trim.

  Harmony was set-up for larger species; In fact, three of her decks on one side were combined into an open air habitat. That would come in handy when it came time to transport Centaurians he knew.