Food For Thought Ch. 007

"Fighting both the dead and the living?" Logan asked as he examined the damage.

"I don't think all the infected are dead." Lilith's observation caused Emily and Logan to turn to her. "Sure, the ones with significant damage probably are. It's plausible that those with fully intact bodies are still alive somehow."

"What makes you sure?" Logan was curious about her thought process but didn't feel this was the right moment for that discussion.

"I don't think what's causing this is killing them when they turn." Giving Logan a knowing look, Lilith continued to examine the room before following Emily to a staircase.

They slowly climbed the staircase upwards. The signs of fighting continued up the cramped stairs to a damaged overturned table that looked like it was a makeshift barricade at the top.

With no hostiles presenting themselves, they moved into the upper floor. A row of bodies was lined up against the wall. All were covered with sheets and positioned carefully. Logan approached one and pulled the sheet back; it was a dead marine. Looking at the rest, he assumed they were all Navy personnel; there had to be nearly twenty-five bodies.

Covering the marine backup, Logan began looking around for a way to access the roof. It was Lilith who found a ladder in a small closet; the hatch at the top was closed.

"I'll go first." Logan holstered his pistol before he began to climb the ladder. When he reached the top, he drew the J7 again and looked down at the two women.

With a nod, he opened the hatch and peered through, weapon awkwardly held next to him as he scanned the roof before him. He couldn't see too far; the darkness and the rain were doing an excellent job of making it difficult to see. The street still had some light coming from occasional lamp posts and building lights, but up here, there wasn't any real source of light.

As swift as he could manage, Logan climbed through the hatch and was onto the roof. Alone. Taking a quick look around, he could see the solid hull of the Sparrow at the other end from where he was.

Logan turned to call back down to the others when he was suddenly bathed in bright light. Blinded, he dropped to a knee and tried to shield his eyes as best he could. Hearing movement, Logan readied his weapon.

A voice called out to him, loud enough to hear but not so loud it would carry very far, "Stop, or you will be fired upon."

"I'm Logan Firth, Auditor. I was sent to this location by Chief Auditor Victor Rellor." He kept still, though his J7 was still ready.

"Can you prove that?" The voice asked.

"With the data net down, It's not like you can scan my ID. I have my terminal with me and can show you the message." Logan waited.

A few moments later, the intensity of the light dropped to a dim glow. Above him, he saw an open hatch with two marines looking down at him. One of the docking lights on the side of the Sparrow had been pried loose and was aiming down.

A ladder was unceremoniously dropped down, and one of the marines began to clamber along it while the other covered him. Logan stood there and watched the awkward climber as he progressed; it was a good distance to the hatch from the rooftop. It was hard to tell what deck the opening into the ship was on.

"What's happening?" Lilith called up from behind him.

"I'm watching a man climb down a ladder." Logan heard a small giggle from the darkness below.

Eventually, the marine reached him; he approached Logan cautiously, and they eyed each other. Taking a quick look over the marine, Logan noticed he was in a rather sorry state.

Slowly pulling his glass out, Logan opened its interface and displayed the window large enough for the weary marine to see. Logan pulled up the message in his secure terminal interface.

"I've never seen an actual terminal window before," The marine commented.

"Hope it fits all your wildest dreams. Could you let me speak to Captain Norn? She should recognize me." Logan was tired and drenched.

Giving him a frown, the marine spoke into his communicator.

"I have two friends with me; one of them is a sergeant." Motioning to the hatch behind him.

"Have them come up." That was the only response he got.

Logan motioned down the hatch for Lilith and Emily to join him on the roof. Once they had climbed up, Emily eyed the man in front of them.

Clearing her throat loudly, Emily approached him and stood slightly too close. "Corporal, what seems to be the problem here."

Looking up at her, the marine had opened his mouth but froze once he looked at her uniform and armor.

"I'm just confirming with the lieutenant, ma'am," He stuttered slightly. While Emily wasn't taller than him, she knew how to make her presence felt.

Logan and Lilith smiled at his shift in demeanor.

After another minute or two, the marine awkwardly waved them past.

The climb up the side of the grounded destroyer wasn't pleasant. Rain continued to pelt them the whole way up, but they eventually reached the dry confines of an airlock where a handful more marines were waiting.

"Gentlemen," Emily said with a nod; upon seeing her rank, the other marines shuffled out of the way slightly. Logan couldn't see any senior officers or a rank higher than corporal among them. A ship this size didn't have a large complement of marines to begin with. With the bodies down below, this might be all that was left.

"Thanks for the warm welcome, but is the Captain available?" Logan inquired.

The group of marines looked at each other, but no one spoke. Some movement further in caught his eye, and a 2nd Lieutenant made his way from the corridor into the airlock.

"I'm Lieutenant Kilder. I can assume you are the auditor who claims he was sent here?" Logan took the measure of the man pretty quickly. He looked green and full of himself.

"It's not a claim; it's a fact. I would really like to speak to Captain Norn. She can vouch for me." Growing slightly more irritated, Logan tried his best to calm down.

"That won't be possible. She is current..." He was cut off by the intercom.

"Lieutenant Kilder, please escort our guests to me at once." Logan smiled pleasantly at the lieutenant. He didn't look happy having the Captain's voice cut him off over the internal PA system.

"Be a good boy." Emily's tone was patronizing; a number of the marines around them stifled some laughter, causing the lieutenant to turn a little red.

Without another word, Kilder turned and began to walk away; Logan shrugged and began to follow him in silence.

The corridors outside the airlock had the same signs of combat that the building below did. It didn't bode well. Emily and Lilith had noticed the same things and had concerned looks on their faces.

Stepping onto deck 1, Logan was greeted by the same small corridor he and Lilith had stood in only a handful of days prior.

There were no marines stationed outside the Captain's ready room this time around. Kilder tapped on the door's panel, and it slid open.

Everyone shuffled into the room, which comfortably accommodated them. If they tried to squeeze anyone else inside, it would get uncomfortable quickly.

"Mr. Firth, seeing you again is a pleasant surprise." Captain Norn looked right at him. Logan could tell something was wrong the moment he laid eyes on her. She was pale and didn't look too well.

"Captain, I didn't expect us to meet again. Especially not under these circumstances." Logan did his best to keep his concern from creeping onto his face.

Norn's eyes narrowed slightly, but she relaxed. "Lilith, was it?" Lilith nodded politely in response, "And Sergeant, what's your name?"

"Emily Ma'am, Emily Burbeck." She was now standing straight and affording the Captain the respect her rank deserved. It was a noticeable shift from her attitude toward the Lieutenant.

With a nod, the Captain turned back to Logan, "I understand you were sent to us?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I received a message from Chief Auditor Victor Rellor last night with a set of coordinates attached. They led us here." Logan pulled the message up and displayed it for her.

As she took a moment to look it over, Logan noticed the irritation visible on Lieutenant Kilder's face.

"Any clue what the priority mission is?" The Captain's face was unreadable.

"No idea. I was hoping I would find out once we got here." Logan wondered if she knew anything.

"On our way down, the ship took out part of the administration building's data relays. It was unfortunate, but the helmsman did the best he could to remove us from the situation we were in." She was angry, and that was easy to read. "Communication with Fleet Headquarters and the other ships in orbit has been unreliable."

"We saw that, Ma'am. Honestly, we thought the ship was destroyed." Lilith offered.

"It might have been better if we had," Captain Norn's voice seemed regretful. "I believe I have some idea as to why you were sent here."

Taking a few solid breaths, the Captain took a minute to gain some strength. It was apparent that she was struggling. No one spoke until she continued. "A day or so after the quarantine had been put into effect, we were ordered to recover the data log from the administration building. We were unable to access the central servers remotely; the governor must have done something. Contact with the team we inserted was sporadic; the communication issues were present before part of the data relay was destroyed." The last part concerned Logan.

Something interfering with planetary communications before the relay was damaged solidified a thought that had been gnawing at the back of Logan's brain. Whatever this event was, it felt more and more like it was planned.

"I've been able to upload data, incredibly slowly, to the C.A.S database. Most of it has been footage of the infected and the subsequent fighting." Watching the Captain, Logan was worried about interrupting her, but he could see she was thankful for the small break to catch her breath.

"The Audit Service might use the military network to route their communications, but I'm pretty sure you use a different frequency to keep everything separate. Whatever is causing the interference might be only aimed at the Navy." Captain Norn coughed lightly.

"Captain, are you ok?" Logan was worried about a bite.

She waved her hand dismissively. "A civilian shot me. No doctor to patch me up properly; a large number of casualties turned before we understood what was going on. The chief medical officer sealed the infirmary, and shortly after, we think a grenade went off."

"We saw all the bodies outside..." Emily trailed off.

"There have been quite a few casualties, Sergeant. We've lost almost the whole crew in only a few days." Lieutenant Kilder interjected.

"We are the last two officers left onboard currently." There was a deep sadness in her voice that became masked quickly as Captain Norn composed herself again.

A tense silence hung in the room briefly before the Captain redirected the conversation.

"Back to the task at hand, I believe Fleet Headquarters wants you to try and pick up where we failed." She didn't sound very confident in the statement. However, it was undoubtedly aimed more at her assessment of Logan's ability to finish their mission.

"But you don't know for sure?" Logan asked.

"Now that you're here, I believe we can get some more answers. We should be able to piggyback our communications off your terminal's access to different frequencies."

"That's possible?" He wasn't sure how well Navy systems would play with those of the Central Audit Service.

"I don't see why not. Now, if you would..." The Captain held her hand out.

Logan looked at her outstretched hand and then back up to her eyes. He could tell she wasn't used to being told no. "Unfortunately, Ma'am, I can't give it to you."

She held his gaze momentarily before moving her chair to the side and gesturing to her console. "Have at it then."

"Captain, you can't..." Lieutenant Kilner was cut off.

"Lieutenant, I can do whatever I want; I'm still the Captain of this ship. That will be all." Her eyes moved between the flustered Lieutenant and the door.

"With all due respect, Ma'am, you can't let them access military..." He was cut off again.

"I won't repeat this. You are dismissed, Lieutenant." The Captain's gaze was sharp; Logan didn't want to be on the receiving end of a look like that.

Standing there for a moment and clearly flustered, the Lieutenant finally saluted and quickly left the room.

"Out of all the officers I got stuck with, it was one fresh out of the academy." She sounded exasperated.

It's odd that Kilder was a lieutenant fresh out of the academy and not an ensign, Logan thought to himself. He didn't strike Logan as the valedictorian type.

Logan moved over to her table and pulled his glass out; pressing gently on the terminal, it popped out of its slot. The captain's table had a built-in console that was filled with all sorts of data and information. He saw a few damage reports and crew information. Logan sensed he could access sensitive ship information and controls from here.

Shifting his gaze to look for a slot he could use, a single space on the side of the console looked like it would work.

Not wasting any more time, Logan pushed the terminal into the waiting port, which accepted it with a faint 'click.' Unsure of what to expect, Logan hesitantly looked between the console and Captain Norn, who was now right next to him.

Being closer, Logan could see how pale she was. A deep and dark stain was visible on her uniform that was previously hidden behind the desk. A gunshot to the abdomen would be tough to fix for a medic. If the ship's medical officer was really dead, the Captain might not have too long.

A beep drew Logan's attention back to the console; a new window was open, asking for identity verification. Typing his credentials in, Logan watched the screen go blank; a part of the table pulsed gently with light. Logan placed his hand on it. After a moment, the light became steady, and a single word appeared in the middle of the screen: Verifying.

Quiet moments passed with no change.

"Ma'am, may I ask a question?" Emily broke the silence.

The Captain looked at Emily for a moment before nodding at her.

"What happened outside?" Emily asked with evident hesitation in her voice.

Captain Norn held Emily's gaze before replying, "We had established a small perimeter in the building below us and did our best to help those we could. A ship on the ground attracted a decent amount of attention." She paused, taking a few deeper breaths before continuing, "There was an altercation with some civilians, which is when I was shot."

"But all the bodies in the street..." Lilith almost whispered.

"The noise drew the infected, as you called them. There were dozens of them. I'm not entirely clear on what occurred after that as I was being dragged back into the ship. The few marines that survived said they were overwhelmed until one of the crewmen in the CIC opened fire with the point-defence system."

"Shit... That's one way to handle them." Emily sounded almost impressed.

"Point-defence?" Lilith asked.

"It's a system of small rapid-firing weapons meant to intercept missiles and small craft like fighters or bombers." Logan offered.

"They use that on people?" Given the carnage outside, there was a degree of shock in her voice.

"Not under normal circumstances, no, it's not meant for that at all." The Captain was interrupted by a series of beeps from the console.

"Now what?" Logan was familiar with ship signatures, drive sounds, emissions, and hull patterns. Internal systems were not his forte.

"I press some buttons." Captain Norn nudged Logan out of the way and began to tap through various screens on her console, changing some settings in a field of information that looked like it related to communications.

After a moment, a large window materialized, and the familiar tone of a communications connection filled the room.

They were greeted by the sight of a slightly frazzled-looking woman with grey hair who stiffened at seeing them looking back at her.

"High Admiral, it's good to see you." A clear tone of relief was present in the Captain's words.

"It's good to see you as well, Elinor," There was a pause as the High Admiral turned and called over her shoulder, the words muffled by the directional nature of the communication system to ensure surrounding conversations were not overheard.

Chief Auditor Victor Rellor walked into the frame a few moments later and stood beside the High Admiral. He nodded curtly. Logan could see they both looked tired.

"I'm not sure how long this connection will last, so let's get down to it." With a nod of her own, The High Admiral looked at them expectantly.

Unsure of where to begin, Logan recounted much of the last few days to his audience. He focused on the infected and his observations regarding their behavior. Logan made sure to emphasize that Effy and the other survivors were free of infection and that their location was secure. He also reported the power fluctuations.

The High Admiral and Chief Auditor listened intently and took notes while the Captain sat quietly with her eyes closed.

After he was finished speaking, Emily was asked to give her own account of the events leading up to her being on the Sparrow, followed by Captain Norn's report.

The Sparrow's executive officer and a few other crewmen were injured when the Sparrow crashed. They were in the Infirmary along with several wounded from outside. After hearing Logan explain how the infection spread, it made sense that a crewman must have become infected and turned.

"We lost just over thirty personnel between the infirmary and the incident outside. Most of my crew were planetside, given the ship was weeks from being retired. We are scraping the barrel now. I only have one officer left; frankly, he isn't worth much. " Despite her matter-of-fact report, it was clear Captain Norn was hurt and saddened by the loss of her crew.

"Seems like everyone has had a rough go of it." The High Admiral frowned and paused for a moment before continuing. "Despite the difficulties you've faced, I have a mission for you that needs to be completed."

Looking at the Chief Auditor, Logan gave him a confused look; it was totally unheard of for the military to give orders to an Auditor.

"I'm aware of the situation; however, given the circumstances, I'm ordering you to follow Samantha's instructions." Logan had never directly interacted with the Chief Auditor before, but he could tell how seriously they were taking this.

"Logan, I understand how highly unusual this is, but I'm temporarily making you the executive officer." High Admiral Gibson's tone was as blunt as a hammer.

Logan and Captain Norn spoke almost in unison. "What?"

"Elinor, given your condition and your own admission of the lack of capable line officers, I'm inclined to do what I must to ensure the ship, its remaining crew, and the information I want to get off the planet."

"Samantha... I don't think I've ever heard of an auditor being given command of Navy personnel." Like Logan, Captain Norn seemed uncomfortable.

"Save it. Logan, I need you to get to the administration building and recover the city data logs. There has to be something in there that can point us to the start of the mess on Skye. Beyond that, other information is stored in the log, but it's not for your eyes." The High Admiral looked at Logan expectantly.

It took a moment for the request to sink in. "Respectfully, what do you think I can accomplish that the Marines could not?" Logan was somewhat ready for the ask, but it still seemed outlandish.

"You have information and past experience. We have watched the footage you uploaded, and it's clear you can handle the infected." Samantha's eyes narrowed slightly; Logan thought her patience was running thin.