Chapter 10 #2
"Modified algorithm is ready," I announced twenty minutes later. "Sensitivity increased by thirty percent. Any power modulation that remotely resembles their command structure will trigger analysis."
"Deploy it. And Dana?" Er'dox's amber eyes were steady on mine. "Good work. Both on the detection and the analysis. You're thinking like a senior engineer."
"I'm thinking like someone who spent three weeks keeping broken systems functional through creative problem-solving. Same principles."
"Exactly. Which is why you're valuable here, you approach problems from directions our standardized training doesn't consider."
The compliment warmed something in my chest that I didn't have time to analyze. I focused on the displays instead, watching the enhanced algorithm activate across Mothership's power network.
"Trap implementation begins in four hours," Er'dox said. "We'll announce the countermeasures through official channels, make it look like we're confident we've solved the intrusion problem. Meanwhile, we monitor for any response."
"They'd be stupid to take the bait."
"Most saboteurs are arrogant enough to believe they're smarter than their opposition. We're counting on that arrogance."
The next four hours were standard monitoring work with variance checks, system adjustments, the routine maintenance that kept Mothership functional.
But underneath the routine, tension hummed like a live wire.
Every crew member in Engineering knew we were hunting a saboteur.
Every variance alert made hearts jump before analysis confirmed it was normal fluctuation.
I caught Er'dox watching me during the monitoring, his expression unreadable. When our eyes met, he didn't look away.
"Problem?" I asked.
"No problem. Just making sure you're maintaining focus despite exhaustion."
"I'm fine."
"You're functional. There's a difference." He moved closer to my station. "After this trap deployment, you're taking actual rest. Twelve hours off-duty. Non-negotiable."
"Twelve hours is—"
"Necessary for sustained performance. Dana, you've done field operations, algorithm development, and now active monitoring in less than twenty-four hours. Your work is exceptional, but your body has limits." His voice softened slightly. "I need you sharp, not running on determination and caffeine."
"You sound concerned."
"I'm always concerned when valuable engineers push themselves to break down." But something in his expression suggested it wasn't just professional concern. "Promise me. Twelve hours rest after this mission phase."
"Okay. I promise." The words came easier than expected.
At 1400 hours exactly, Captain Tor'van made the announcement through official channels. I listened to it broadcast across Engineering's comm system, noting the carefully crafted language designed to sound confident while revealing just enough detail to bait our saboteur.
"All crew, Command. We've identified the power network intrusion methodology and implemented countermeasures. The saboteur's access has been blocked through enhanced encryption protocols. Additional details are available through department security briefings. Tor'van out."
The announcement was deliberately vague about specifics. No mention of my algorithm. No details about detection capabilities. Just a confident assertion that the problem was solved, with implied vulnerabilities in how we'd solved it.
Now we waited for the saboteur to react.
Three hours of monitoring. Three hours of watching power distribution patterns with my enhanced algorithm scanning for any hint of command signal activity. My team rotated through shifts, but I stayed at my station, unable to walk away when we were this close.
Er'dox stayed too, monitoring from his central command station with the same focused intensity.
At 1647 hours, my algorithm triggered.
"Got something," I said, pulling up the correlation analysis. "Subsection nine, timing pattern consistent with command signal characteristics. But it's different from before, more distributed, trying to mask the sequential propagation."
Er'dox was beside me instantly. "They're probing the countermeasures. Testing to see if the encryption protocols we announced are real."
"Which confirms they're monitoring command channels and believed the announcement." I traced the signal origin. "Source is on deck seventy-three, junction eighteen. That's crew quarters section."
"Vaxon," Er'dox said into the comm. "Deck seventy-three, junction eighteen. They're testing our defenses."
"Moving teams now. Encrypted channels only."
I watched the timing pattern continue for another twenty seconds, then stop abruptly again. "They cut it. Same as before, detected the security approach and evacuated."
"How?" Vaxon's voice was tight with frustration. "We're using encrypted tactical channels. They shouldn't be able to monitor our movements."
Er'dox and I looked at each other, the same conclusion forming simultaneously.
"They're not monitoring communications," I said. "They're monitoring something else. Something that tells them when security teams are moving toward their location."
"Life sign scanners," Er'dox finished. "Standard internal sensors track all crew movement for safety protocols. If they've accessed that system—"
"They can see security teams approaching any location they're occupying." I pulled up sensor logs. "And the sensors are integrated into the power distribution network, which they've already proven they can manipulate."
"So they've given themselves eyes on every corridor, every junction, every section of Mothership," Vaxon said. "Making them effectively impossible to surprise."
Unless we used their own system against them.
"Wait." I was already working through the logistics. "If they're monitoring life sign sensors through power network access, that monitoring has to leave traces. Tiny power draws, timing correlations when they query sensor data. My algorithm should be able to detect that too."
I modified the detection parameters again, this time specifically scanning for the power signature of someone accessing internal sensor feeds without authorization. It took three minutes to configure, another two to verify the logic.
"Enhanced detection is live," I announced. "If they access sensor feeds again, we'll catch the correlation."
"And then?" Vaxon asked.
"Then we hit them before they can see us coming." Er'dox was already coordinating. "Vaxon, keep teams dispersed but ready for rapid deployment. Dana, the moment your algorithm detects sensor access—"
"I'll pinpoint their location and you can move before they realize they've been traced."
It was an elegant strategy. Using their own surveillance methodology to locate them, moving faster than their monitoring could detect. It should work.
Assuming they took the bait again.
Two more hours of waiting. Two more hours of watching data streams, searching for the pattern that would give us their location. Around me, Engineering continued its work, but I could feel the entire department holding its breath.
At 1823 hours, my algorithm detected sensor access.
"They're monitoring internal sensors," I said quietly. "Pulling crew location data from... decks forty through fifty, all sections. They're doing wide-area surveillance."
"Trying to track security team positions," Er'dox observed. "Which means they're planning another move."
I traced the sensor access back through the power network. "Source is deck forty-seven, junction nine. That's engineering storage, restricted area, and requires level-four clearance."
"Vaxon," Er'dox said. "Target location deck forty-seven, junction nine. They're actively monitoring sensors right now. Move fast."
"On it. Teams are converging from three directions, minimizing their advance warning window."
I watched the sensor access continue, watched the saboteur pull crew location data with the confidence of someone who believed they were invisible. Watched the timing pattern that meant they were too focused on monitoring to notice they'd been detected.
Then the pattern stuttered.
Not stopped, stuttered. Like someone had suddenly realized something was wrong but hadn't fully reacted yet.
"They know," I breathed. "Vaxon, they know you're coming—"
"Sixty seconds out. Keep monitoring."
The sensor access cut completely. But this time, something else triggered on my displays as a massive power surge in the target location, followed by emergency alarms screaming across Engineering's systems.
"What the—" Er'dox was pulling up the data. "They've triggered a cascade overload in the junction's power distribution. That entire section is going critical."
"That's where Vaxon's teams are converging," I said, ice flooding my veins.
Er'dox opened the comm. "Vaxon, abort! They've sabotaged the power systems in your approach vector. Evacuate immediately!"
Static. Three seconds of horrible static.
Then Vaxon's voice strained: "Copy. Teams are falling back. We've got injured. The power surge took out deck plating when it overloaded. Two crew members fell through to the lower deck."
"Medical is responding," Zorn's voice cut in. "How bad?"
"Bad enough. Get teams to deck forty-six, section nine. And someone shut down that power surge before it spreads to adjacent systems."
I was already working on it, rerouting power away from the cascading failure, isolating the affected junction before the overload could propagate. Er'dox worked beside me, our hands moving across different interfaces in synchronized response.
"Cascade contained," Er'dox announced ninety seconds later. "But the saboteur used the chaos to escape. Again."
I pulled up internal sensor data from the target location, watching the recorded movement patterns. "They went through maintenance access. Dropped down two decks using emergency evacuation routes, then disappeared into crew circulation areas where tracking individual movement becomes impossible."