Empire's Legacy

Chapter 5: Welcome to the ERV Waratah

Fifty feet into the ship, the passageway split in three and the party came to a halt as Amy consulted her notes.

"We entered the Waratah at her stern, on the central deck," she said. Pointing left without looking up, she continued, "Crew quarters are portside—all five decks, more or less. Straight on and down one deck is the engine room. The flight deck is below the engine room. Two decks above us is the bridge deck." She squinted through her visor at the rough map of the ship, trying to read through a smudge. "Looks like the medical bay and the labs are starboard. On this deck is medical, the mess, the gym..." She lowered the notepad and looked at Grey. "Where do you fancy starting?"

"I want to take a crack at those engines," Taz said, rubbing his hands together. "This beaut's got streamlined engines and I want to see how they've run the leaders from the engine room up to her nacelles. They're half the size of our engines and she's twice the size of the Waratah. Either this ship was a slow-ass tugboat, or those babes packed some serious punch." He looked pleadingly at his captain.

"Get out of here," Grey said. "Benji, go with him."

Taz grinned. "Straight on and down one deck, Doc? Great. Call you if we need anything." He clapped Amy on the shoulder so hard she was knocked off balance and strode off down the corridor, Benji trotting behind.

"Don't turn anything on!" Grey shouted, muttering as he turned back to Amy, "You might blow us all up."

She gave him an impish smile. "Got the spooks, Grey?"

"Hate empty ships," he replied. "This one's about as empty as I've ever seen."

"Odd attitude for someone in the salvage business."

"Yeah, well, we all have our quirks."

Amy shrugged. "She's just a ship. She can't help it if her crew left."

"About that..." Grey frowned. "What did happen to the crew of the Waratah?"

"The records aren't very clear about that," Amy said, brushing past him. "Did you want to go to the bridge deck, medical, the flight deck...?"

Grey stood at the cross-section, hands on his hips, and turned in a circle. "Eh," he said at last. "I'm itching to get my hands on whatever's down on the flight deck, but it'll wait."

"Straight on and up, then," Amy said, tucking her notepad back into its pocket.

Blue and orange plaques on the bulkheads pointed them down a passageway that dead-ended at a pair of doors labeled 'Bridge Access'. Grey stabbed the glowing blue button beside the doors and visibly jumped when they hissed to the side. Amy snorted.

"This is nice," she said, stepping inside.

"What is it?" Grey asked suspiciously, still standing in the corridor.

"It's a lift," she replied, giving him a look. "Get in. It won't bite."

He stepped gingerly over the threshold, moving quickly inside as Amy pushed another button to close the doors. "It might fall."

"Yes, and you might fall off a ladder." She frowned at him, pressed flat against the bulkhead opposite. "I'd have thought you'd be fascinated. No one's been able to duplicate this kind of lift technology since the Empire fell. All we've got are those damned pulley-system rattle-boxes, and you won't see me getting in one of those." She turned her attention to the panel by the door, adding over her shoulder, "I'd rather hitch a ride in a hopper to the top floor of the Commissionate than risk a rattle-box." She flicked a switch and stumbled backwards as the lift hummed to life, the bulkheads glowing blue.

"Welcome to the ERV Waratah," said a pleasant, disembodied male voice.

"What the hell is that?" Grey demanded.

"This is Welcome Program November One. We regret a personal representative of the crew was unable to greet you upon your arrival. We hope that this does not inconvenience your stay aboard the Waratah. Upon arrival at the bridge, your party will be greeted by Captain Alexander. Should you require assistance before this time or later during this stay, this program may be reactivated by keying WPN1 at any of the access panels located conveniently throughout the ship. We welcome you again to the ERV Waratah and hope that your stay is both an informative and a restful one."

The bulkheads dimmed, though they continued to glow, and the lift was silent for several minutes before Amy at last said,

"Well, that was interesting." She peered overhead and then ran her fingers along the bulkheads. "No obvious evidence of speakers, so they must be built into the bulkheads themselves."

"Odd sort of welcome for a science ship," Grey commented.

"Mmm. Sounded like the kind of welcome you'd get on a pleasure planet."

"You have a lot of experience with pleasure planets?"

The comm crackled with static and then, through the hissing, came Taz's voice. "Yo, you two there? Just had a strange encounter with a Welcome Program."

Grey glanced at Amy. "November?"

"Great month," Taz replied. "It has Thanksgiving. What's not to like? But no, this was Welcome Program Tango Two. Took a real shine to Benji-boy."

"Hah," Benji chimed in. "Dam thing would've dragged me to the medical bay if it'd had arms."

"What's the point of having two Welcome Programs?" Grey said. "Why not use the same one in both places at once?"

Amy bit the inside of her cheek. "Taz, what did yours say? Was it specific to your destination? Benji, you said something about medical?"

"Super polite," Taz said. "Welcome to the ship, sorry no one greeted you, when you get to the engine room you'll be welcomed by Chief Roberts. Benji—"

"That thing was not happy about me," Benji said. "Polite as you like, but it wanted me in medical. Think it thought I was about to drop down dead. Fair enough. Wouldn't be the first time someone's thought that."

"Ship must've run medical passes on us when we came aboard," Amy said. "I guess. I've read about that but not actually experienced it. I guess there's multiple Welcome Programs for different destinations?" She lifted her hand to run her fingers through her hair and bumped up against her helmet. Grimacing, she let it drop back to her side. "You're not ill, are you, Benji?"

"Fit enough, thanks."

She shrugged. "I dunno, I guess we can keep going. I'm surprised the programs triggered at all, to be honest." She caught Grey's raised eyebrows as she turned to fiddle with the panel and said, "Look, I don't know everything. There was a lot of data lost in the '21 Riots, and there's only so much you can recover from half-destroyed ships." Poking at the innards of the panel, she added, "That's why this is such an exciting find. Welcome Programs are only the beginning."

The lift came to a smooth halt, the blue light around them brightening as the Welcome Program came back online.

"Welcome to the Waratah bridge," said the Welcome Program. "You are advised to refrain from touching instrument panels without permission and to abide at all times by any instructions given by any member of the crew. Please ensure you are not actively blocking any member of the crew at any time. Thank you, and please enjoy your stay."

The glow from the bulkheads faded away entirely and the doors hissed apart. The man who had been propped against the other side fell inwards, his torso angling across Amy's boots.