Emerald Flight: “Human Factors” (continued)

Hope stared hard into the darkness. Sounds echoed oddly within the space of the cargo bay, making it difficult for her to determine their source. She was forced to rely as much on logic as she was on her senses.

He has attacked.

Based on everything she knew, it was the most likely conclusion. Calculating their approximate rate of travel, she was about to estimate, within a few hundred meters, where each of the two teams were located. Taking into account the time elapsed since they had departed from her position, she deduced that they should have been almost within minimal visual range of one another. If the Tactical Officer judged it necessary to take offensive action, he would choose to do so when his chance at victory was better. That meant that he would attack before the two teams rejoined.

Hope listened, trying to better understand what might be happening. She considered heading to the location of the conflict, but the Captain had ordered her to remain where she was. The Captain—or one of the other Crew—would contact her if her medical skills were required. Until then, she would continue to wait.

She still wondered, though, what had triggered the Tactical Officer’s atypical behavior. In her mind, she once again reviewed the contents of his secured file, sensing at some intuitive level that the answer existed there. Nothing in his regular psychological profile had revealed any clues, nor had the results of the Tactical Officer’s last fitness examination.

Sounds came to her through the open bulkhead. At first, she thought the Chief Engineer might have returned, but the footsteps, even as distorted as they were, did not sound like his. From the mix of the sounds, she estimated that at least two people have arrived. The noises faded to the occasional scuffle of a boot against the deck.

Hope who they might be and why they had arrived there. So far, they had made no effort with anyone inside the cargo bay. She considered the idea that the Tactical Officer might not have been acting alone, or had been acting under the influence of some other being. After evaluating both scenarios, she dismissed them both as unlikely, deciding that the new arrivals were most likely Security Officers. Their lack of further activity was probably the result of them waiting for additional orders or for the arrival of the officer who had summoned them there.

The Captain?

No communications had been audible through her portable communications unit.

She removed the device from her belt and studied it. Based on the status indicators, it was activated and was functioning properly. Hope examined it more closely, turning it around in her hand, but could find nothing to indicate that it was not operational. Returning it to her belt, she turned in the direction where she had heard the first shouts. Peering into the darkness again, she tried to discern any movement or forms.

After a few minutes of effort, she stopped trying, having seen nothing new among the shadows. Although unarmed she considered disobeying the Captain’s order and seeking out the source of the sounds. The Captain and other Crew could be injured and unable to call for assistance. She was certain that the Tactical Officer was capable of rendering them so.

A new set of footsteps joined the previous ones on the other side of the bulkhead. Muffled voices carried to her, but were almost completely incomprehensible.

“Captain?”

The First Officer’s voice, although oddly toned, penetrated the space through the torn bulkhead.

“Captain?” The First Officer repeated, louder this time. Even with the strange reverberations caused by its passage through the bulkhead, the concern that it held was clear.

“No.”

“Hope?” the First Officer asked uncertainly. “Is that you?”

“Yes.”

“Are you all right?” the First Officer asked. “Is the Captain with you?”

“Yes. She is not.”

There was a pause and some muffled conversation before the First Officer spoke again.

“Okay,” the First Officer said. “We’re coming in.”

Hope waited while the First Officer and other two Crew made their way through the bulkhead. She followed their progress through the sounds that they made during their passage. At one point, she heard the First Officer speak several words that the Captain had long ago explained to Hope as meaningless sounds intended to convey displeasure or extreme disappointment. Hope had observed, during her time serving the Human crew, that, while purportedly without meaning, there seemed to be an extensive vocabulary of such word-sounds. The Chief Engineer, in particular, appeared to possess a considerable knowledge of them.

The First Officer’s head appeared through the ragged opening in the bulkhead. She paused, looking around, before sliding the rest of her body through the tear. Turning as she came through, she landed on her feet with surprising agility.

When she saw Hope observing her, she smiled, “That’s what eight years of dance lessons will do for you.”

Hope stared at the First Officer, attempting to comprehend the reference. Although Hope thought she understood the meaning, it seemed wholly out of context in the current situation.

A Security Officer pushed his way through the opened with considerably less ease than had the First Officer. When he was standing again, his hand went immediately to his weapon as he surveyed his surroundings. The second Security Officer entered about a minute later. He quickly echoed the motions of the first Security Officer.

“Where’s the Captain?” the First Officer asked.

“She went there.”

Hope pointed in the starboard direction that the Captain had originally headed.

“Have you heard anything from her since then?”

Hope hesitated a moment before answering. She had not been able to fully explain the cause of the sounds that she had heard coming from deeper within the cargo bay. Logical deduction informed her, however, that they must have come from someone in one of the two groups, if not the Tactical Officer. She had no data on which to base a more specific hypothesis.

“I do not know.”

The First Officer frowned and stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“There have been sounds.”

“What do you mean?” the First Officer asked Hope.

“I do not know.”

“Where did it come from then?” the First Officer asked her. The First Officer’s voice had risen in pitch.

Hope pointed into the shadowed expanse of the cargo bay.

“There.”

The First Officer looked at the Security Officer who stood to her left and then into the darkness. She reached down, removed an item from her belt, and then fastened it around her wrist. Hope recognized it as a portable light source similar to the ones that the Captain and Engineers had worn. The two Security Officers did the same, taking up positions on either side of the First Officer. All three of the Officers had now drawn their weapons.

“Okay then,” the First Officer said. “Let’s go.”