Chapter 12: Wild Blue Nowhere

We emerged into the same cargo bay we had entered the ship from yesterday. This time I started noticing more details about the area. It was about the size of a small auto shop; enough room for four cars if I carefully stacked them two wide and two deep. A mixture of containers lined one of the walls; some of them wooden casks and crates, others looked like plastic boxes and drums. "Some of the food and water supplies I was provided for my trip." Krystal explained. "There's another deck underneath the cargo bay; follow me." The vixen pointed to a set of steps leading off the side of the cargo area.

The set of steps was shrouded in darkness, but as soon as we approached the lights switched on. I blinked and let out a whistle as we descended. The floor beneath the cargo bay was equally spacious; it looked to take up most of the footprint of the ship other than one closed-off area to the rear. A door off to the side had several brightly colored pictograms and a ton of what looked like warning labels; I was relatively sure that was the ship's airlock. There were also a bunch more of the plastic crates and what looked like a section set aside with a bunch of tools and some heavy machinery. An area near the back of the ship also had a bunch of pictograms and warning labels; if I were a betting man I would put down money that was the engine room. More of the mixed crates and casks were set in a large portion of the room. Judging by the state of the containers, most of them were empty.

The tools and machinery piqued my interest, which I made a beeline for. "I'm not sure what those machines are used for. I don't come down here very often, other than to check on my supplies." She stopped as I looked them over. "I don't think they're used like the main terminal in the bridge.

The area tuned out to house what looked like a fully equipped machine shop, complete with a device that looked like a combination CNC mill and 3D printer judging by the finished part that rested inside it. Everything seemed to have a thin layer of dust over it; it was fairly obvious that Krystal didn't have much use for a work area like this, but I practically drooled over it. If I could figure out how it worked, there wouldn't be much limit to what I could do. I could fully rebuild my car if I wanted to; impossible to find parts be damned. I walked up to what looked to be a holographic control panel on the side of the mill; I was met with some sort of tactile feedback as I pressed my fingers against it. The control panel glowed angry red as I did so; more of that flowing script met with a synthesized voice calling out in a language that sounded vaguely Arabic but definitely wasn't. I pressed on it again to the same result. It was locked out. "Well, this would be some seriously Mass Effect shit if I could get it to work and understand what it was saying."

My Cerinian companion cast a strange look in my direction before realization set in. "Oh! You don't understand the Lylatian language?" She paused for a moment; confusion turning into concern. "I thought you did. Then…"

I just about finished her sentence. "How do you speak and read my language, then? Is it by being in contact with me?" That hypothesis made sense as she could speak Lylatian and Saurian in the game. "Does that also mean Saurian is a separate language from Lylatian and Cerinian?"

She shook her head, the mixture of concern and confusion deepening. "I think my mastery of your language is better because I'm in close proximity to you, but I was almost certain I knew how to speak it before. She closed her eyes, lost in thought. "I know Ceriei, Lylan, Juihaud, Sermo Ipranis, Al'arai, and your language, Anglisc. In varying degrees, of course. Ceriei is what you call Cerinian and Lylan is what you call Lylatian; Juihaud is the native language of the Saurian people. The rest may have been what the pirate knew how to speak."

It was my turn to look confused. "That's English, hon. Where did you hear the term Anglisc?" Something didn't sit right with me. "And, how would a Lylatian pirate know how to speak English? Barring some massive global coverup I don't see how Lylatians could be visiting Earth."

Krystal's response was a wry smirk. "Yet your people have made a series of entertainment programs that not only feature a famous band of Lylatian combat pilots but also mention me, specifically." Her good hand fell on my shoulder as she edged in closer. "And you can't say I am simply a figment of your imagination, che." Her lips pressed against my cheek in a soft kiss.

"You make a good point, Krys." I conceded. I couldn't explain the current situation without going through a ton of mental gymnastics. Ancient Cerinian teleportation objects. A video game series that somehow got some future events correct but was still wildly inaccurate with the details. A human skeleton on an alien planet, complete with a symbol I've never seen before. On top of all that I was being dragged along on a convoluted quest to stop the planet I was marooned on from being destroyed and helping a vixen whom I had just become more than platonically involved with discover the truth about her own tragic arrival here. I wasn't just in over my head; I felt like someone had tied me to a steel plate and threw me overboard into the Marianas Trench.

Still, the only way forward was one step at a time. I was good at focusing on one problem at a time, which was probably for the best. "Still, even if you learned how to speak my language from an unlikely source that doesn't really resolve the issue that I can't speak or read Lylatian."

Her expression grew thoughtful; tail swaying gently as she remained silent for a moment. "Do you happen to have a personal item of great importance such as a ring, pendant, or necklace? It has to be something that you would wear."

I shook my head. "Other than my sunglasses, not really? I'm not particularly the type for jewelry or anything like that. Why do you ask?"

A soft smile graced Krystal's muzzle as she leaned in closer. "I think I have an idea. Wait down here for a little bit?" She leaned forward and placed another kiss on the tip of my nose; her tail brushing against my leg as she turned for the stairs. I blinked as she exited the room, unsure of what she had planned or how it would help me with my language problem.

Left to my own devices I figured I would start exploring. Striking out with the machine shop, I decided to take a look at the airlock. I was pretty sure those were spacesuits hanging up on one of the walls; they looked modular enough that I could probably piece one together that would fit me if absolutely necessary. At the same time, it would take quite a bit of convincing for me to take a damn spacewalk. There also appeared to be a few flightsuits similar to Krystal's sitting in cabinets next to the EVA gear; a few of those had helmets similar to what came with Krystal's suit yet others had what looked like gas masks; some other type of protective gear? The form-fitting, skin-tight sci-fi aesthetic was something Krystal could pull off very well; I wasn't about to flaunt what I really didn't have. Unless there was a very good reason to wear one I'd stick with my normal street clothes.

Next to the airlock I noticed something that seemed off. Two stacks of bunks were mounted to the wall; there was also a couch and a table. There was also some sort of locked storage rack nearby; it was empty but the design screamed that it was meant to hold weapons. This wasn't exactly a personal craft, but it was like every trace of the previous occupants had been erased for some reason. I sat back on the couch, taking a deep breath as I went over the situation.

Krystal said she was sent here on what seemed like a one-way trip to enact revenge on the pirates that had attacked her city. The way she described it felt like she had been coerced to do so; the shuttle we were in had been used by one of the pirates. However things appeared to be locked out and bunks that likely once held other pirates had been cleared out. Something seemed fishy about the entire situation, and I wondered if her Cerinian friends were somehow a part of it. The ship's computers probably held some clues, but accessing them would be difficult. If push came to shove I could probably walk her through the motions of digging into the systems, but there was the likely probability she would miss some critical detail my trained eye might catch.

After a moment I got up and checked out the mix of wooden and plastic crates that were stashed nearby. Most of them were empty, but a few still contained packages of food and water. The disparity between the ultramodern Lylatian packaging and the old-time Cerinian packaging was on display; the plastic crates housed pouches of water and instant meals that looked like they were self heating; the wooden crates and casks housed wax paper-wrapped packages of dried meat, fruit, and a grainy powder that I suspected was more of the same porridge that Krystal had used for our breakfast this morning. There were also ceramic jugs of what I figured was water; the necks sealed with wax. There wasn't much in the way of food supplies; I figured the nonperishables in my house would help us along for a few weeks if we watched what we ate.

The light sound of footsteps ended my snooping; I looked up to see Krystal coming down the stairs. She held something shiny in her good hand; it looked like some sort of pendant about the size of a quarter. "I made something for you that might help." She held it out to me; the engraving was of a stylized vixen looking upwards with a staff in one hand and her other outstretched. Runic symbols encircled the engraving besides a hole drilled into the top, through which a leather cord was tied. I took it; noticing an almost imperceptible tingle as I held onto the pendant. "This belonged to my father; it is a symbol of the Sacred Order of the Protector. While Guardians like me belong specifically to a certain region or city, Protectors traveled far from those reaches; actively seeking out and confronting bandits, raiders, and dangerous wildlife to ensure travelers could move along the roads safely. I have woven energies into it which will help you decipher Ceriei, Lylan, and Juihaud."

As she spoke those words something interesting happened; my mind had interpreted them. Cerinian, Lylatian, and Saurian. I heard the words as they were, but somehow I knew what she meant when she spoke them. The vixen placed her hand on my arm; a serious expression on her features as her eyes gazed into mine. "This is one of my most prized possessions, Adam. In order for such imbuements as a translation spell to work, the item that I pour energy into must be of great personal value. I hope you will treasure this gift as both a token of my friendship and gratitude as well as a tool to help you along our journey." A smile tugged at her lips as I slipped the pendant over my neck.

"The words 'Thank you' doesn't seem to really cover it for this kind of gift, hon." I reached out and drew her in for a hug; the vixen's more mobile arm winding around my waist as I did so. "I really appreciate your kindness and, well… friendship." I was reticent to put any additional qualifiers on what was going on between us. I wasn't really dating her, and ascribing anything intimate to what I still felt awkward about didn't feel appropriate.

Krystal tucked her head against my shoulder. "I appreciate your companionship, too." We remained there for a moment, before she pulled back for a moment and grinned. "Try looking at the signs on the walls and tell me what they say?"

I pulled my attention from the Cerinian who was half holding onto me and glanced to the two rooms that were festooned with various signs. Again, I didn't see any strange visual effects over the signs; it wasn't a Google Translate type of deal, but I somehow just knew what the characters were, somewhat like how my high school German classes taught me what the eszett, or 'ß' meant. The only real stumbling block is that Lylatian apparently had a right to left reading order, much like Japanese or Hebrew. "The door over there to our left reads 'Caution: Airlock. Pressure Gauge must be at 1.0bar to enter." I wasn't sure if they were somehow automatically translating to metric measurements or not, which was odd; another quirk was that Krystal had given me the distance to her ship from Thorntail Hollow in kilometers. As someone who had wrenched on mostly Japanese and European cars, spoke passable German, and watched his fair share of non-US based shows I could work with it, but it was a strange quirk. "The other sign above that door reads 'Warning: Hard Vacuum Hazard! Sealed EVA suits required past this point!"

Krystal's grin widened as she pointed to the other door. "And those?"

I glanced to the other door, blinking as I read the signs. "Okay, the first one reads 'Engine Room;' the other sign reads 'Warning: Particle Beam Exposure Risk. Authorized Personnel Only!' Uhm, have you had to do any maintenance to the engine?"

She shook her head. "To be honest with you, no. I believe the ship is nearly out of fuel, however. I have enough control over the ship's computer to fly it, but I'm locked out of most everything else."

I pulled away from her, but placed my hand on her shoulder. "Then, maybe it's time I took a look at the main computer. No guarantees, but I might be able to find a way to break in."

I took a deep breath as I delved into the terminal, feeling like I was both in familiar territory and completely out of my element at the same time. This was an alien computer system in an alien language; the only reason I was able to understand what was on screen was the fact that Krystal was able to craft the translation amulet I was now wearing. All of this was incredibly new to me, but I wanted to get familiar with the operating system first.

The 3D screen and the holographic controls were a handful; well beyond next-gen tech. Like the controls on the fabrication unit downstairs, much of it was locked. Some sort of emergency mode was initiated, but the logs I found indicated that a lockdown procedure had failed about two weeks ago. "Wasn't that about the time you arrived here, Krys?" I inquired, pointing to the screen. The vixen nodded and I squinted at the text. 'Complete Lockdown command by User: Administrator overridden. Reason: Command given in violation of CSC:82907-658, Emergency Evacuation Standards. Please ensure the vessel is not occupied before initiating Complete Lockdown procedure.

"Wait. Someone tried to lock me into the ship?" Krystal's expression grew confused. "High Priest Meran wanted me to attack the pirates that raided our city. He said he was able to program the ship to follow them to their destination. Could he have overlooked this?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. However, this looks like a high level warning. Let me see if I can't find the log of when this command was first entered." I poked around a little bit in the log viewer, marveling at how plain the language seemed to be. If that was partially due to the translation amulet I was impressed; at the same time this was far less obtuse than going through a core dump to figure out why your graphics drivers caused a BSOD.

A few minutes later I had bounced to nearly the beginning of the log stack. I wasn't familiar with the Lylatian calendar, but it looked to be just over a year ago. I arched an eyebrow; if this had been used in the pirates' raid on Krystal's people, why would the logs stop here? I couldn't make heads or tails of the navigation information, but there had to be some sort of smoking gun. I had found the command to initiate the total lockdown, however. "Hm. Looks like the command to perform the lockdown was requested by the local administrator account about an hour before the logs started doing the automated launch procedure. I assume this was done on Cerinia. I guess it's time to figure out where this rabbit hole leads."

Krystal's expression grew a few shades of confused. I gave her a reassuring smile. "I might get sucked into the shop talk, hon. It's just part of digging the secrets out of this system." I reached out and grasped her hand for a brief moment before returning to the three-dimensional GUI. "Let's see what the beginning of the logfile has to say."

"Wait." The vixen's crisply accented voice caused me to stop. She pointed out one of the entries. "The one that says 'Personal Account Creation Process.' I… vaguely remember something similar to this."

"Yeah, we can take a look." I replied, jumping into the entry. I was curious about the account creation process anyway; primarily because I intended to make one once I had admin rights.

'Personal User: User created. Access Level: User(restricted). Biometric Data: Logged(Data corresponds to female Vulpine; see appended log for further details). Warning: No Personal Account created with Pilot or Administrator rights. Restoring symlink to previously existing Personal Account; please insert PAT to restore shadowed data. Warning: Created Account will have temporary Pilot(limited) access rights until another Personal Account of Pilot(unrestricted) or higher access rights is created or restored.'

I blinked and glanced to her."Okay, that's weird. It's like the only accounts in the system are yours and the default admin. For security reasons you want to lock down the default admin account and give another account admin rights. It sounds like whoever created this didn't realize that, and the system automatically gave your account some user rights." I looked back at her. "I'm not an expert with alien spaceships, but I get the feeling that someone did wipe the system before you were stuffed in here. They just didn't do it well enough."

Krystal sighed, shaking her head at the screen. "Why would this be done? This was supposed to be a one-way trip. High Priest Meran expected me to not return and die fighting the pirates who attacked us."

"Krys, the dude sent you on a year-long prison trip and fully expected you to die." I pointed to the list of log entries. "This is sounding more and more like something was stored on this ship's computer that you could have stumbled across; something that could have allowed you to turn this thing around and go back home. Would you really put it past him to wipe the drives in order to make sure you, or even the pirates that he figured would kill you, didn't figure it out?"

The vixen sent a short, frustrated growl in my direction. As close as we had become, I knew this was a touchy subject. I didn't blame her one bit. "If Meran 'wiped the drives' as you said he did, then what use is speculating what he had to hide, Adam?" To her credit she wasn't glaring or snarling at me; despite the frustrated expression I could see the sadness in her eyes.

I fixed her with a determined look. "Because he did a piss-poor job of it, Krys. I should know. You have your doubts about what we're going to find, I get it. But, please understand that doing things like this was my job back home. This system might be alien to me, but the concepts behind how computers work and how to secure the data stored on them isn't. This will take me some time to figure out, but until your arm is healed we've got that time, right?" I smiled at her. "Besides, I'm going to pay you back for saving my ass whether you like it or not."

"Do you really think you will be able to find something?" Her voice betrayed a glimmer of hope; her hand falling upon my shoulder.

I placed my hand on top of hers. "I think I've got a good shot at finding something. In fact, I think we already found a lead. I nodded to the display. "So, this word 'symlink' means 'symbolic link'. That's a file that acts like a 'soft' link to a different area. The whole 'shadowed data' reference might be something akin to a shadow copy. Since this references one of these Personal Accounts, I think the account of Mr. Pirate got copied over to a protected portion of the drive when it got wiped. I'm not sure what a PAT is, but it sounds like we need it to access this symlink."

"What would that do?" Krystal sounded confused. I didn't blame her; she hadn't grown up around computers. Most of the reason I knew this was growing up with PCs; I cut my teeth on DOS and wrote my own batch files to load up Doom mods when I was a kid. I volunteered as a technician for my high school; mostly to fill in elective classes but also because I liked fixing computers. It wasn't until years later that I got into the IT field, but my interest in computers was as strong as my interest in cars. Logically, this Lylatian system wasn't too different than what I dealt with in my day job.

"This PAT thing is acting like a key to this account; some sort of physical authentication process would be my guess." I explained. "If we can find it, we'll have access. If we're lucky it'll give us enough access to create our own accounts. If we're very lucky we'll find Mr. Pirate's user data. I'm just not sure what a PAT is." I backed out of the log and started browsing the filesystem in an attempt to find a user manual or something.

Krystal muttered something as I began to search. "I might know what it is. Personal Access Token? Does that sound right?" I nodded at her. "I only have shards of memories from the pirate. It should look like a keycard of some kind." A mental image flashed in my mind's eye; something that looked like a credit card with additional contacts melded to its surface; a holographic representation of its likely deceased owner emblazoned on it.

"If that mental image was you showing me what it should look like, that's probably as good a guess as any. The only question is where would we find it?" If it was still on Cerinia or floating somewhere in the endless void of space, we were kinda screwed. I had a few questions and it looked like I found a promising entry.

"Okay, here we go." I pointed out the help page I had pulled up. "A Personal Access Token is a backup access method if biometric authentication fails or if normally unauthorized persons need to gain access to systems in an emergency. Creation of a PAT is mandatory for any unrestricted Pilot or Administrator account as per Cornerian Space Code; this allows anyone with access to the PAT to regain control of systems in case the Pilot or Administrator is incapacitated or deceased. A primary PAT must be kept aboard the ship at all times; if the primary PAT is removed the ship will be locked from launching. To run an inquiry on the status of a shipboard PAT, please run the following command: 'cmdl/sysdev/patstatus|i|y|d'." Bingo. This didn't feel too different from some Linux terminal stuff I messed with from time to time.

I punched the command in using the haptic keyboard attached to the terminal and crossed my fingers. The screen flashed its response:

PATStatus: Primary PAT online. Signal Strength: 98%. Battery: 63%. Secondary PAT offline. Tertiary PAT offline. NOTICE: Please insert Primary PAT for proper system initialization.

I grinned like a cat that had made its way into an aviary. "It's in the ship, Krys. We just need to find it and we're golden."

"I'll check the shelves with the pirate's personal effects." Krystal's voice grew excited. "It may be there. It could be hidden in one of the consoles on the bridge, so while I do that take a look around here?"

I nodded at her. "Sounds like a plan, hon. I also need to figure out where that card needs to be inserted anyway." I didn't expect her to lean over and place a kiss on my cheek, but she did just that before exiting the bridge via the stairs that led back to the living area. Finding the port the card needed to go into was easy enough; there was some I/O on the center console and one of them read 'PAT Input Slot'. Having determined that my next task was to see if the card had been hidden somewhere on the bridge. Storage consoles were abundant here, though most of them seemed to contain emergency supplies, another first aid kit similar to the one we had used last night, and something that suspiciously looked like a hard-shell pistol case that was clamped down underneath the 'dashboard'. Intrigued, I placed the case on my lap. "Whoever prepped this ship for Krys's journey didn't do as thorough a job as they thought."

The case was locked but not impregnable; the plastic-like material seemed soft enough to cut through. I had my Swiss Army knife in my pocket; it didn't take too long for the multitool's saw blade to make short work of the case's handle. I pulled the case open to reveal the contents.

A flash of gold caught my eye as I rummaged inside the case; what looked like a slightly larger version of a credit card with a picture of a grizzled Lylatian canine embedded into it. The text underneath read 'CPT Seth Garafut, IVS Guardian Six Primary PAT'. "Found it!" I called down the stairs. Underneath it were a few similar looking cards; however they were emblazoned with a logo that translated to 'ValuChit'. Some sort of credit card, maybe?

By the time Krystal came back onto the bridge I had set the case on the console and inserted the card. Lines of data cascaded over the terminal; the machine was definitely doing something. "You found it?" the vixen asked. "Where?"

I pointed to the case. "This case was hidden underneath the dash. They meant to hide this and did a pretty decent job of it." I poked around the OS for a moment, trying to find any indication of what it was doing. "It's restoring the pirate's user account now. Looks like the data will be copied over in about twelve hours." I frowned at the screen. "I hoped for better transfer rates, but I figure there's a ton of data to restore."

I felt Krystal grasp my hand as she leaned over my shoulder to glance at the screen, her voice full of relief. "At least we've found something." I glanced up to her to notice a soft smile. "Thank you for looking at this. If it's going to take some time, perhaps we could do something else in the meantime?"

"Like what?" I asked. I glanced through the bridge's windscreen and noticed the sun seemed to be a bit lower in the sky than it was when we had eaten earlier. Either the days were much shorter or I had lost track of time.

The vixen's ears blushed slightly; her tail swaying nervously. "I hoped we could perhaps watch another program on your datapad?" She almost sounded like she was asking me out on a date. "I enjoyed the program we watched last night; that and I'd appreciate your company." She smiled sheepishly; it was a bit confusing but there was a dormant part of my mind that opined that she most definitely did look cute when she blushed.

"Uhm, sure?" I responded. "We can go back downstairs; I'm pretty sure there's enough battery charge to watch something." I stood up; a little confused at the nervous smile she sent my way. "Is everything okay?"

The vixen nodded as she reached her good hand out to grasp mine. "If we're waiting, I'd like to spend more time with you. I… I haven't really had the chance to do anything like this for a while, and I suspect you haven't, either." She tugged on me a little bit. "I'll even make us something to snack on while we watch?"

As she led me down the short set of stairs back into the cabin, I had to admit that the dormant part of my mind that I tended to ignore was definitely right about the random thought it sent up for my perusal.