Serenity, 0952, Above Planet Earth
Mission: Test of Hyper-Jump technology
Status: Awaiting go for jump
"Cortana!" Lieutenant Keyes shouted from his rack. The AI hologram shimmered into him view. The code whizzing up and down was faster than usual. She was either angry or busy.
"What?!" She asked, her hologram holding her hips "I'm trying to configure out security with the OSC on our backs!" She huffed and the code slowed down "Sorry lieutenant, bad day. What was it you wanted?"
"Get me the file on Captain Jacob Keyes" He picked up his data pad
"Your father?" Cortana asked
"Yeah… my father" the captain responded. Cortana entered the encrypted security code she stole of Admiral Shier and used it to gain access to the personnel database. Under 'Deceased' she looked up the name and took the file. After sealing her virtual back door into the system, she then took the chance to upload it to her own data banks, before handing it to the captain himself.
"Thank you Cortana." He replied
"Well that's a first, something polite!" She quickly shut down her hologram and resumed building the security mainframe, just managing to hear another threat leave the lieutenant's eager mouth.
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A knock at the lieutenant's door sharply snapped Keyes out of a light sleep. He stared at the door searching for a missing link in his brain, before someone called him.
"Lieutenant? Lieutenant Keyes?" The man rapped the door again. Keyes stood up and looked through the peephole. A private was standing there holding a data pad, also trying to look through the peephole. He was very agitated and had a concerned look on his face. Keyes opened the door, and waited for the man to salute. "Sir! This has just arrived." He showed a package he was holding behind his back "It's from the academy sir" Keyes read the label and sure enough it was from earth's space training corp. Keyes returned the salute and both the men dropped their arms. "I have been told to keep by your side and return to the comms post with info on this package. The admiral asked me to keep it hush sir."
"Very well, private." He walked away from the door, the man still standing at ease in the corridor
"You can come in you know" Cortana told the private. He entered cautiously. Lieutenant Keyes had torn the side off the package, and was about to tip out the contents.
"Can Cortana see this?" Keyes asked
"No other man can, Sir!" the private responded
"Do I look like a man?" Cortana replied
"Zip it Cortana. Recheck the security firewalls." Cortana's hologram stared, then angrily showed her tongue at the lieutenant before giving in and returning to work.
Keyes opened the package and spread the items over his desk. There were 2 letters, one a copy and a small black silk box. Keyes reached for his heart and felt it miss a beat. The private glanced at the documents too. He waited there a moment before jumping back and standing as straight as possible, bringing up a more than perfect salute.
"Congratulations, Admiral!"
Keyes eyed the gleaming blue-platinum epilates.
"Put them on lieutenant! I mean Admiral!" Cortana said sarcastically, her hologram looking at a wall
"Cortana! What the hell did I just tell you?"
"To check the firewalls sir!" She turned around and smiled at the newborn Admiral. "I'm glad you did, because there was a massive gap which could have allowed someone to access all confidential files. I managed to recode a new firewall, all in about two point three-six seconds!" There was silence "Oh, sorry, that is if you don't count the last second I didn't use to look at a few of the confidential files I didn't see, but you didn't hear that." Keyes looked at Cortana with disgust
"Sir!" The private said, ignoring Cortana completely, "Does it say why you were promoted more than 7 ranks?" the private licked his lips "Nothing like this has ever occurred in military history!"
"If I may?" Cortana announced "Well, it's simple. One of the files I didn't look at told me nothing at all to do with this explanation!"
"Quit with the double negatives Cortana!" Keyes shouted
"Yes sir!" Cortana's code increased its pace through her body. "The captain of this ship was to be promoted to admiral, as you may have heard already. However, recent investigations revealed that… hold on, just got to give a docking permission." Her hologram flickered. "Ok, where was I. Oh, yes. Recent investigations into the person of Captain Morse have discovered a breakthrough. He was the one who murdered Admiral Linskey!" Cortana put her hands on her hips "What would you do without me, eh?"
"Cortana, this is nonsense. Why would he want to kill Linskey?" Keys asked
"Err, so he could become Admiral? And if he was admiral, he could to whatever he wanted with this ship! And if he could do whatever he wanted with this ship… well you get the picture. You were only chosen for admiral a few days ago because there was a shortage, and an admiral was needed for this voyage! you were chosen because of your military history and your rank, which is beyond all others. I don't know how they worked that out." Cortana's code stopped and started several times. "Hold on, there is some disturbance. My sensors are thinking that the jump reactor has onlined. Let me just fix that." Cortana's hologram disappeared.
"Sir? Should I have heard that? That kind of information would be for lieutenants and above!" The private looked into Keyes' eyes. Keyes took his sidearm in the left hand and took the old epilates in his right. "Sir? What are you doing?" Keyes raised the gun. "Sir? Please!" The private winced and heard a shot crack through the air. He waited for the pain to come. It never did. He opened his eyes and looked at his body.
"I'm Scaring the shit out of you," Keyes said. He dropped the epilates in front of the private. "Put these on, lieutenant!" the private was about to correct him with instinct when his mind suddenly realised what he was going on about.
"Sir?" the private asked, wanting confirmation
"I said put those on lieutenant!" Keyes looked into the eyes of the man standing in front of him. "If I'm an admiral, then you're a lieutenant! And if you tell anyone about what Cortana just said, the next bullet will be inside your skull!"
"Oh, lovely. Just like the end of a movie!" Cortana interrupted. Both men looked at her hologram "Sorry, did I break the ice? Well, someone has broken into the engine room computer system and activated the Jump drive. Fancy getting on it? Oh, the bridge crew are dead. The captain saw our arrivals and activated his own personal funeral cremation. This also seemed to trigger the instant jump drive." The two men stared at her "Well, are you going to do anything?
"Cortana! Have you ever heard of sensitivity or even order of importance? And why the hell didn't you tell us a few minutes ago?
"Because you were asking him your bloody hand in marriage!" Cortana said "That's what I call sensitive!" The new lieutenant stared at Keyes.
"What do we do sir?" He asked him
"First, we disable the IJD, then we-" Keyes was cut off by Cortana
"Ah… forgot to mention that, the IJD countdown can't be stopped. The captain used the override code. If I may, I suggest you recreate a new bridge crew, get in position, and wait and see what happens!"
"Your missing something Cortana, and you know bloody well what it is!"
"That we are going into an unknown region of space and we cannot return back? Or that you have 5 minutes to decide your crew and get into position?" Cortana replied
"Cortana!" Keyes shouted "God I wish your 'Mother' was here"
"Who, Doctor Halsey or my predecessor AI?" Keyes ignored her and ran out of the room, the lieutenant staying close behind him.
Hopefully to be continued