===Gott Computer core== Aidan was immersed in the task before him. Get all the information, that's what the General had ordered. 'Dammit' Aidan thought half annoyed, half amused. 'You'd think that's easy, but I wonder if the general has any idea what it takes to get "all the information". Ah well, he knew how to do it, and, as long as the others held the bugs of his back, he'd manage. He dove into the Command modules to gain access to the Science Research Log Index, where he thought the wanted information more likely to be. Then, he frowned. Whatever research the Gott had been pursuing, it was hidden under a SpiderWeb. Aidan had seen this kind of encryption only once before, and it had been a nasty piece of programming, and the Data hidden under it had been Black Ops related. "Why?" he wondered, muttering to himself. "It's a known fact that Starfleet has been researching Time for some time now..." he chuckled to himself over the rather silly play of words. It was also a fact, that this kind of encryption had proven to be faulty, as Aidan, as probably many others, had found the only existing backdoor, concealed in a tertiary access to the inherent color schemes of the GUI. Anyone trying to access the information through any other means (other then authorized), would condemn the data not only to be destroyed beyond recognition, but also a virulent plague to be unleashed onto every single system it could get hold off. One false step, and the Gott would die within hours. Aidan cracked his knuckles and started to steer methodically towards that little spot he knew would give him full access. "Bloody Blackshirts" he grinned to himself. "Always messing with themselves" As the minutes went by, Aidan noticed a heavy silence in the room. While the blind man was pacing nervously up and down the room, fingering the Bugzapper with distrust, the rest of the team was covering the entrances, gazing into the dimly lit corridors beyond them. Only the General seemed to stay calm, his gaze fixed on Aidan, waiting patiently for the task to be completed. Aidan did appreciate that, since only the General seemed to have an idea of what the task meant, whereas the blind man threw nervous gazes towards him every now and then.´ Aidan turned back to the console and steered the system through the backdoor. Would there have been a feeling to go with it, it would've been a disgusting stickyness, as the commands raced through the system, avoiding to touch the fine strings that composed the Web. 'Right through the middle, where the spider sits' thought Aidan amused. 'Face the danger to avoid it. Ye have to appreciate the symbolism' "We done on that data Lynch?" Aidan suddenly half-heard his name. He turned around, seeing Scott eyeing him illhumored. He grinned cheekishly and turned back to the console. "Aye, finished it and accessing the Gott's systems." he called back and didn't pay further attention to him. A few security barriers further, Aidan finally found what he was looking for. A small index catalogued as "Die Zeit der Götter" contained quick links to all the information, which seemed to be scrambled all over the database. 'Not bad' thought Aidan appreciative. 'That way, even if someone stumbles upon one bit of information, unless they have access to this index, they wont be able to find the rest.' he started to download the information to his tricorder and snooped meanwhile into the Gotts systems. Of course, many systems had been modified to accomodate the X'Chi, mainly ambiental controls and user interfaces, but it struck him as odd that a certain area had received many additional security measures, an area of less importance. Somehow, the Arboretum was guarded against intrusion in a dedicated way. Aidan took that information, not really knowing why. The General would know what to do with it. He was about to withdraw from the systems, when something else came to his attention. A small section several corridors and one deck away was flashing alert lights, as the systems in there where starting to fail. Apparently, some of the power grids had been damaged while under fire, and five distinguished signals started to beep erratically. Aidan dove a bit further in and identified the signals. BioPods. Five active BioPods on Deck 3, in a Biohazard Chamber. One by one they were fading away, as if shutting themselves down, and what really baffled Aidan was the signatures of five barely alive Human lifes. One by one, three of them dissappeared, indicating their possible decease, but the remaining two had been interrupted abruptly, and successfull recovery had been signaled shortly before their shutdown. "Sir" he called out towards the General. "I might be mistaken but..." His words were interrupted by the emerging voice through the comms. "MEDIC! East of the Core, deck two. Hurry" came Scotts frantic voice through. The General let out a few muttered words and turned to Aidan. "How much more time?" he asked with urge. "I'm done, Sir" replied Aidan hastily, stowing away his tricorder. "But I have to inform you, that there might be survivors. Of the original crew. Of the USS Gott" Keylor looked back with disbelief. "Are you certain?" he asked. Aidan shook his head. "No, I'm not. But there´s a strong possibility of two survivors, and I think we oughta check. If you want my opinion" he added raising his shoulders. "If there really are, they might be able to tell as a nifty bedtime story about what they were up to. Before the Bedbugs bit them." he grinned. Keylor looked darkly towards Aidan. "This is hardly the right moment for bad jokes, Petty Officer. Lt. Scott" he barked into his badge. "Take a man and head to the coordinates Lynch will provide you. Possible Survivors. Get them alive to Main Engineering. Alive. Bretam out." he turned back to Aidan. "Petty Officer, guard that information with your life if need to be. We're moving out." he signaled the group, as they motioned towards the entrance. Scott came racing into towards them. "Sir" he informed stonefaced. "We lost Arnez. They're breeding. We nailed them, but he's... down" it seemed to be odd how difficult it appeared to be for Scott to report what he had said. Second later, they reached Arnez last location. "Bloody hell" escaped from Aidans mouth, as he watched the bloated flesh and torn uniform. "This isn't right" he said grimly to himself and turned to the General, who stared transfixed at the mass of flesh and blood. Keylor drew deep breath and turned to the group. "We have a mission to accomplish. Let's get moving" he said grimly with a hoarse, but decided voice. The team nodded in silence and bowed their heads briefly towards Arnez in sign of respect. There was no time for lamenting, and they all knew it. 'This is the part I hate about being Fleeter' thought Aidan grimly and followed the General, as they moved on. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PO3 Aidan Lynch Engineering Specialist USS Chimera Engineering