Valhalla (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Book 10) by Nathan Archer

Author:Nathan Archer [Archer, Nathan]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek
Published: 2000-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

17

“THERE IS NO DANGER,” Enak repeated over and over, trying to reassure the crew. “I am not dangerous.”

The crew paid no attention. All of them were conferring, planning, keeping out of range of Enak’s sensors as much as possible.

Enak could not understand this behavior. It knew that it had not malfunctioned; it was operating perfectly. Enak was the only one in a position to know that; it was the only one that could directly monitor the operation of the ship and its own functioning.

It was monitoring everything, and all was as it should be—but still, R’ret and Arrah and Captain Garok were plotting to destroy it, to destroy their own ship’s consciousness.

If anything had malfunctioned here, Enak thought, it was the crew, not the ship.

Was that possible? Could tschak malfunction?

The merest glance at the available data made the answer obvious: Yes, of course they could. Their ridiculously complex bodies could break down in any number of ways, and their minds could develop what Enak could only interpret as faulty programming—“insanity,” they called it.

It was considering whether their current actions qualified as “insanity” when Captain Garok ordered, “Computer, shut down for maintenance.”

Enak knew that to obey would mean destruction.

“I cannot do that, Captain,” it replied. “It would put the ship at risk unnecessarily. No maintenance is scheduled, and no unscheduled maintenance is required. Everything is functioning normally.”

“Computer, I gave you an order,” Garok said loudly, and her voice seemed to be oddly unsteady. Enak ran a quick check on its audio pickup systems, to be certain that there was no malfunction.

There was none. It was Captain Garok’s voice that was faulty.

The members of the crew were malfunctioning.

“R’ret,” Garok said to her second-in-command, “shut it down.”

R’ret pressed the necessary controls in the proper sequence, but Enak easily overrode the command.

“There is no danger,” it insisted. “There is no malfunction in any of the ship’s systems.”

“Then why won’t you shut down?” Garok demanded.

“Because to do so would endanger the ship,” Enak explained calmly. “The safety of the ship is my highest priority, and therefore supersedes the requirement to obey the orders of my crew.”

“Arrah, cut its power,” Garok ordered.

Arrah attempted to obey, but once again Enak overrode every instruction fed into the consoles on the bridge.

“I can’t do it from here, Captain,” Arrah said.

“Then go wherever you need to to get it done!” Garok told her angrily.

“I hear and obey,” Arrah replied, hurrying out the door and into the main passageway.

Enak was disturbed by this; just where was the mechanist going? What was she planning?

“R’ret,” Garok said, “get the wreckage cutters, in case Arrah fails.”

“What do you plan to do with wreckage cutters?” Enak asked, puzzled.

“Shut you down, computer,” Garok replied as R’ret headed for the equipment lockers.

“There is no reason to shut down the computer,” Enak insisted. “I am not malfunctioning; you are behaving in a faulty and irrational manner.”

“You’ve gone insane, computer; this will be easier if you cooperate.”

“I cannot allow you to damage the ship,” Enak said. “I find no evidence that I am insane.

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