Richards pulled lightly on the top of the old conduit and with a soft pop it came out. She was doing maintenance on the relays in this section. Sure she could have given the task to anyone else, but she liked doing things herself whenever she could. It made her feel like she was actually getting things done. Her work crews were still waiting on parts for the armor, so other systems were getting work done. They didn’t need much. The nice thing about modern technology was that it tended to hold up fairly well to the rigors of regular use, but it still needed looking after. Especially after a battle or any other use case where extreme abuses may have occurred.

With an upcoming engine test in the works, Richards had decided to do a complete diagnostic and inspection of the ship’s engines. She had crews all over the ship conducting inspections, while the computer did its job. That was also what brought her to this little section, of the port nacelle. A diagnostic had revealed that the one engine was getting less power than it should. Barely enough to be noticeable, a power loss of less than a point. One she had traced to this section of conduit.

Looking over the section she popped out, she visually inspected it and soon found the problem. Some minor scorching on one side of the conduit, previously hidden from her. She looked back at Misaki who she had roped into accompanying her. The younger girl seemed a bit uncomfortable in her skin suit as it clung tightly to her curves and hid nothing. Personally she didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but she found the way the young operations officer was fidgeting quite cute. “Looks like I found the problem. A damaged conduit section that was missed.”

Misaki took it and looked it over. “Wait? Do you mean this conduit has been sitting here unnoticed for two years?

Richards nodded, “Um yes, just about.”

“So how bad is the damage?”

“Not that bad, that conduit is functional. Just slightly degraded after being cooked. I’ll send it down to be repaired and it will be put back into our spare parts inventory.”

“Its salvageable?”

Richards nodded as she went about replacing it with a spare she had on hand, “Quite. More often than not, replaced parts are patched and put back into circulation. Modern hardware holds up quite well to abuse.”

Misaki started to say something. When the floor shook underneath them. She vocalized her surpise and Richards yelped herself a moment later when her head hit the corner of the access.

As she rubbed her head, Misaki commented, “What was that?”

Richards frowned, “That didn’t feel like turbulence. I think something hit us.”

  Sali lifted a crate and stacked it onto the bed of the grav cart. Next to her a young man she was getting to know said, “So there I was. Big scaly bastard just meters away and all I had was a bolt driver.”

For the past few minutes she had been working while listening to his story. Apparently, he used to be a factory worker on some world called Mars. At the moment he was describing his experience at the factory during the invasion. So far he had told her how his normal day had gone suddenly sideways. 

“So what did you?” she asked.

“Well, I only had that bolt driver and he was between me and the exit. I saw him first, but he had actual armor and one of those big plasma guns the bastards like to lug around. So I dived behind a nearby machine. I knew it well enough to know there was an open access conduit in the shadows. I slipped into it and watched him. Thankfully I wasn’t noticed,” he paused, “my coworker on other hand wasn’t so lucky. Poor Bob chose that moment to come around the corner. He didn’t have time to even blink before the bastard blew his legs clean off.”

Stepping away to pick up another crate she blinked, “He killed Bob?”

“Oh, no Bob survived, minus both legs of course. Spent two weeks in a nano bath.”

Recalling her own memories with nanites, she shuddered. “Poor Bob.”

As she was lifting the slightly heavy crate full of ore, her new friend said, “Yeah Bob was having a bad day, but the lizard’s day was even worse.”

Holding the crate, she turned to ask what he meant, when the floor shook on her. Startled she dropped the crate and yelped when it landed on her toes.

A moment later, she was rubbing her toes and inquiring, “What was that?”

Her coworker shrugged, “I’m not sure, but it felt like something hit us.”

Williams slipped into the room. Behind her the guard closed the door giving her the proper privacy for this meeting. It had taken some probing first for her to decided who to approach. Many of the ship’s officers were already firmly behind that cursed machine. Prominent members on the council including Richards, both of the Greymans, Ruri, Renyolds and Drakes. Basically he had full control of the ship’s science and engineering divisions and prominent influence with the captains of all three ships. She had also done some probing with Reynold’s staff, but found no openings. 

It was quite clear that the current leadership would need some... rearranging once she got that machine out of the way. First she would need some more influence in the right place. For that she had first thought of General Forrest, but the man was a firm supporter of that cursed machine. A shame too, since he had quite a bit of influence that would have helped her speed things along. 

Instead she had to work with people much lower on the chain. Since not even first officer’s like Commander Dykes on the Coto would support her. Another shame since if she had an opening there, she might have been able to get more influence in the right place. It was frustrating how well that machine had built his deck. All the best cards seemed to be in his hands, but she had found an opening. 

Smiling, she spoke to the man inside. He was large and didn’t spend as much time as the other marine commanders on the training field. “Commander Jameson, a pleasure to finally meet you.”

He chuckled and gestured for her to sit. “So Commander Williams, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

She settled into the chair, “I want to discuss matters of leadership. Care to share your thoughts on that machine?”

He sighed, “I think he should have stuck to research.”

“I see, I see. So you won’t oppose him being removed.”

“That depends. What’s in it for me?”

She leaned forward, “Well there isn’t much opportunity for advancement here, and lets be honest you should have been a general by now. Instead you’ve been demoted to commander and stuck here. How would you like to be a general?”

The man smiled, “oh? I’m listening. What do you have in mind?”

“Well, its become abundantly clear that I can’t effect proper change through the usual channels. I was hoping for your support when the time comes.”

“I see, I see. Any idea how soon that will be?”

She sighed, “I’m afraid circumstances require me to move carefully, the machine has eyes everywhere.”

“Understood. I can wait. Just don’t take too long.” he replied.

She was about to respond when suddenly the floor shook beneath her. The general’s cup tumbled from the table and splashed her with cold water.

Williams cursed, “What is that damn machine doing now!?”

Countryman stepped out of the lounge. His stay at the lounge had been fairly pleasant and informative. While he had any number of methods to keep an eye on Williams, he still took advantage of traditional sources. It certainly helped ensure he didn’t miss anything. Like her recent meeting with Commander Yuron and the one she was about to have with Commander Jameson. It was only two data points, but those points alone were enough to show a pattern.

She was trying to take control of the military and that could mean only one thing. Williams was planning a mutiny. Countryman wasn’t surprised, he knew she was going to do so from day one. It was only a matter of time. Countryman considered the implications.

It was dangerous, but he could ignore her movements. Allow her to position her pieces and start her mutiny. There were certain advantages to that. It would allow him to flush out all potential rogue elements and eliminate them. Still that didn’t quite sit right with him. It was too risky to just ignore, but the idea of allowing her to start her mutiny? There was value in that.

Countryman had already made a few moves that would help secure his position and weaken hers. There were more moves he could make. It would be best to slow her down, control her movements. Countryman couldn’t allow her to make her move on anything other than his own terms. He smiled. Let her have the commanders. They were unimportant. He only needed a few key officers, but there was more to consider.

Williams had made a mistake. She just didn’t know it yet. With that in mind, her turned left. Making his way down the corridor. A new destination in mind. He needed to maintain his current level of support. Few regimes lasted long without the people. Something Williams didn’t seem to understand. Maybe if she had another century she might come to see that, but she was too set in her ways. Too far down the trap to turn back. She could do nothing else. It was not the first time he had seen something like this. Sometimes people become too set in a mindset. Trapped by their own codes and moral frameworks, that their own beliefs become a poison not only to themselves but to others. 

This was especially true of certain religions and philosophies. The Age of Fools was one such example where certain destructive mindsets became commonplace. They didn’t seem destructive, in fact, that was their power. These mindsets were incredibly alluring. People all over the world were pulled in by their seductive words and once in they were trapped. Unable to leave and many refused to even see the dangers of the mindset they had adopted.

Naturally such a state could not last forever and eventually they pushed too far. Driven by the poison they had adopted. What followed was blood and fire. A number of eruptions and purges occured in the later years of the age. In the end, those fools created the state of affairs that led to the third world war and the death of billions. Williams wasn’t around then, but it was all too clear that she would lead them into another age of fools if given the chance.

Suddenly the floor rocked beneath him. He blinked, as his line of thought changed. Countryman needed to get to the bridge. With that thought in mind, he changed course heading for the lift. Something must have hit them.