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from the other
side.
    “Hold your fire, friendlies coming in from there,”
she pointed to the doorway leading to the port stairwell.
    The door opened and two Marines each one carrying an
M4 carbine entered, both of them looking for signs of the enemy.
Sergeant Fernanda gave them a thumbs up signal which they then
passed on to those waiting on the staircase. They moved up to
Fernanda, Captain Black came up next and the rest followed. The
unit was now reassembled in the open area at the luxury suites.
    “According to my plans the bridge is directly above
us,” said Captain Black. “You, you and you, check the rooms.”
    The three men moved off to examine the suites whilst
Captain Black and Sergeant Fernanda discussed the next move.
    “This area leads off in three directions and it’s a
critical hub for this part of the ship. It is essential that we
maintain control of this. I don’t want us trapped in the bridge
with no way to get out. I want you and your Marines to cover the
open lobby here, the corridor leading to both stairwells. We’ll
proceed to the bridge, I’ll update you when we get there.”
    “Understood. Do you think you’ll be able to get the
security systems online?” she asked.
    “I doubt it. This ship is state of the art and
according to Dr Garcia, contains the latest networked security
systems. Why do you think she’s coming aboard?”
    “Let’s hope she can get the system online then.”
    Captain Black nodded and then headed for the
stairwell.
    “First Squad with me, Second Squad stay with
Sergeant Fernanda,” he ordered.
    Without pausing the Captain left the open area and
started working his way up the staircase, the rest of his squad
followed. Sergeant Fernanda then turned to her own squad and
organised her Marines into defensive positions. Their first job was
to cover each key point, but once these were secured they then
pulled out furniture from the suites to form a series of
rudimentary barricades. In less than three minutes the lobby had
been turned into a small fort with cover facing the corridor,
suites and entrances to both stairwells. With that kind of cover
the dozen Marines should have no trouble defending the area.
    With half of the squad in the centre guarding the
lobby the rest split into three groups of two so that they could
patrol the immediate area for intruders. After facing many similar
situations though, none of them ventured so far as to be out of
sight of the rest of the group.
    Captain Black was the first to reach the entrance to
the bridge. Like most of the rest of the ship the doors were ajar,
but unlike previous locations there were no bodies to be seen. He
entered the section and moved inside. All along the one side were a
dozen screens. There were a substantial number of windows providing
an excellent view of the forecastle, bow and both sides of the
ship. In front of the computer screens were lots of chairs, each of
them facing the displays and the windows. The Captain moved to what
looked like the most important position and pressed a few keys on
the system. Though there were a few lights on, none of the
computers appeared to turn on and the screens remained dark and
lifeless.
    “Dr Garcia, the forward section of the ship is
secured. We could do with you and your technicians to get this ship
active. What is your ETA?” he spoke into his radio.
    There was a short pause before the familiar voice of
the Doctor replied.
    “Captain Black, we are in the stairwell and on our
way up, I estimate two minutes before we arrive. Please don’t touch
anything till we get there,” she said in a serious tone.
    One of the Marines dumped a large pack onto the
floor in the middle of the bridge and proceeded to unload various
communications and surveillance equipment. The first item out was a
rugged looking laptop. He placed it on top of the first box and
flicked the switch. As it started up a serious of small windows
popped up, each showing a view from the cameras the Marines