Enigma Ship by J. York (small books to read .TXT) 📕

Gomez nodded grimly.

Pattie looked up at them. “Then we have all reached the same conclusion.”

“Enigma is not a ship,” said Gomez.

“A ship, perhaps,” said P8, “but not as we know it.”

“More of a self-sustaining holographic construct,” said Duffy, “pretending to be a ship. If the da Vinci actually has found a way to shut it down, everyone on board not protected from space by a ship, suit, or,” he nodded towards Pattie, “their own physiology, will be killed. We could be talking about millions of sentient beings.”

The guards all looked concerned and confused, but nobody was insisting they continue towards the brig. The crewman holding the tricorder shook his head in confusion. “What are you all talking about?”

“What I’ve been trying to tell you all along,” said Wayne Omthon, stepping out from an alcove where he’d evidently been hiding. “None of this is real. It’s some kind of illusion, and we’re all trapped inside.”

Duffy nodded. “You weren’t dumped directly into this simulation either, were you? You saw enough of the rest of Enigma to suspect this wasn’t real.”

“And to suspect that the S.S. Vulpecula that came to pick me up wasn’t real either. This ship, this crew, are the only things I know for sure are real, so I picked a fight with my captain, or her simulation, to contrive a way to stay here. Fortunately, Newport and I have become chess buddies.”

He grinned, and somehow Gomez felt compelled to grin back, despite the dire situation they were facing.

“Being good enough at chess to be a convincing loser has its value,” he continued. “He hasn’t been in a huge hurry to get me off the ship, and I’ve managed to build a level of trust.”

The security guard reached a decision. He glanced at his fellows, to confirm they were in agreement, then handed Gomez her tricorder. “We’ve got to get out of sight. In here,” he said, leading them into a service area, and pulling the cover off a Jefferies tube.

They all climbed inside, crawling through the low tube. “I’m Lieutenant Roth,” said the guard with the tricorders. “These,” he gestured at the other security officers, “are Chen and Vaches.”

“Okay, my turn to ask what the heck is going on,” said Duffy.

They reached a service junction where there was room for them all to stop and talk in secret.

“I never though I’d be saying this,” said Roth, as he handed Duffy and Pattie back their gear, “but this is mutiny. We’ve all known the captain was acting strangely, and Mr. Omthon has been trying to tell us we’re trapped in some kind of simulation that’s somehow affecting the captain’s mind.”

“It’s not his fault,” said Gomez. “The simulation is being created from telepathic scans of his subconscious, and it’s much more realistic than any holodeck. It’s almost like he’s intoxicated, or hypnotized. He isn’t responsible for his actions.”

Roth sighed. “None of us could dismiss it, but we weren’t reluctant to embrace it, either. Then Mr. Omthon here showed up, and the pieces started fitting together.”

“The first officer is with us,” said Omthon, “but he’s under too much scrutiny to act directly. I think we’ve got maybe a third of the security force, several of the senior staff, and I’ve managed to convince most of engineering, but this could get ugly.”

The youngest of the security officers wiped his mouth with an unsteady hand. “That message. It sounds like we could just sit tight. In a few hours we’d know. For sure. The captain would see too.”

“We do that,” said Duffy, “and millions could die, starting with—” He blinked. “The away team from the Chinook, where are they?”

Roth looked surprised. “They beamed back to the Chinook. Last I knew they were headed into Starbase 12 for resupply.”

“I’m afraid the Chinook is on its way to Salem II,” said Gomez, “without those two crew members. The ship they beamed aboard is a holographic simulation, one that’s going to blink out of existence at 2100 hours and leave them floating in space. It’s barely possible that the Lincoln or the da Vinci can find them and transport them aboard before they die, but there will be too many to save.”

“Other ships,” explained Pattie, “have become trapped here. This may have been happening for centuries.”

“Mutiny,” said Roth, seemingly just trying out the word, but every time he said it, he made a face as though he’d tasted something sour.

“Wait,” said Gomez, grinning, then laughing. “Maybe we don’t need to mutiny. You saw what happened when we challenged Captain Newport’s vision of reality? What if, instead, we give him exactly what he wants?”

Duffy looked skeptical. “We’ve got just a few hours to pull a con on the captain, and find a way to get a message to da Vinci.”

“We can do it, and try to pick up the Chinook away team while we’re at it.” Gomez felt a surge of adrenaline. It was a risk, a huge one. But it was their only chance.

Duffy shrugged. “You’re insane, but I’m game. What choice have we got?”

“None,” replied Gomez.

“One problem,” said Pattie, “can we get to Starbase 12 before 2100 hours?”

Omthon shook his head. “This is a fast ship, but not even at maximum warp.”

“If this were real distance, in real space,” said Gomez. “It isn’t, so we’re just going to have to change the laws of physics.” She looked at Duffy. “You ever hear of something called ‘Section 31’?”

“Never.”

“Me either, which is funny considering we’re about to join.”

Chapter10

Gold stood in the shuttlebay, hands clenched behind his back, gazing out into the unmoving stars. Here, in the darkness of deep space, he could clearly see the colors, a red giant here, a yellow dwarf there, a glowing stellar nursery looking like luminous cotton candy.

It was beautiful.

It was false.

He knew he was looking at Enigma, that it filled a sweep of sky that encompassed his entire view, but his eyes told him otherwise. He could just make out the flashing