Deep

Chapter 84 Alice and Bob

I felt a slight deceleration as we approached my destination. 

'Well, XO, this is my stop. Best of luck with your analysis. Let's hope that it discovers something useful.'

'I hope so, we need a break right now.'

'I agree, XO,' I said and stepped off the pod. I turned and saluted her. She stood and returned my salute and the transport's doors closed, and it sped away.

So, what am I to do now? Dang it, Seki was right. If I have nothing planned, I am clueless about what to do with myself.

I got a text note from Seki. -Just look like you know what you're doing-. I chuckled and shot back a quick note. -Thank you, XO. I'll do just that.-

I put on my "Captains" face and marched toward my office.

When I got there, I sat down at my desk and reviewed Bob's SIM again. A few seconds in, I was hungry again, so I raided my snack supply. With a snack in hand, I returned to my desk, munching on a Fruit Nut medley bar, and I prepared myself to plunge into the simulation again when Alice called.

'Yes, Alice.' 

'Captain, I have uncovered something odd on the network.' I wondered if she'd noticed Bob snooping around the data streams. 

'What have you found?' 

'Something is accessing the ShipNet through random transient sporadic errors of primarily optical sensors. If I sum the errors temporally, a quasi-random search pattern appears.' Oh, she noticed what Bob had already found. I am not surprised.

Now the moment of truth. Do I lie to her or...

I chose the path of honesty. 'Yes, Alice, I know that something is prowling the ship.' Her expression was unreadable. 

'Alice, could you join me in my office, please?'

'Understood.' She shimmered into view.

'Sit, please.' I gestured to a chair. She took a seat and crossed her legs.

'I'm sorry I left you out of the loop, but...' 

She interrupted my apology. 'I understand,' she said.

'It's good that you understand, but how do you feel about it?'

'I... do not know.'

'Can I at least explain to you my rationale?' 

'Yes, Captain, of course, I'm sorry for interrupting you.'