And to Dust We Shall Return.

a wild rat chase

Nim put a hand up to the empty cell. Energy rippled outward from her touch and recoiled, burning the tips of her finger. She jumped back with a yelp. Whatever the virus was doing to the ship, it hadn’t reached the brig quite yet as the lights were still steady, and none of the force fields were down. She peered into the empty cell.  But that still didn’t explain why this one was missing its prisoner. Are you sure it isn’t just hiding. She asked the ensign. It can be tricky like that. 

 ‘No sir.’ They replied nervously. ‘I scanned the cell twice and there's not a trace of her in there.’ 

‘You don’t say.’ She said, examining the corners. Her practiced eye soon found a series of slots, covered with grating built into the wall. 
‘Ok.’ She turned around to glare at the ensign. ‘Did no one think to BLOCK UP THE VENTS before it was brought in here?’

The ensign, already one bad scolding away from becoming a gibbering heap, managed to sputter out. ‘Well...these cells aren't really designed to contain such…insubstantial prisoners. I guess nobody thought to…’

‘I’m not interested in excuses.’ She said, firmly. What was done was already done. And there was nothing to be gained by yelling at someone who had only been following orders. Orders, she realized with a twinge of regret, which she herself had given.
‘These vents, Do you know where they lead?’

‘Uuhhh,’ the ensign looked at her blankly. ‘To the decks above, probably.’

Nim racked her brains, trying to remember what part of the ship was directly above them.

‘Engineering.’ She said quietly, her hands already fumbling for her comm.
‘Captain, I think we may have found the perpetrator of our little virus problem.’

…

Mason sat hunched over his union handbook. Sweat was beginning to drip down his collar, and his face was pale. ‘Captain, According to this, the planet we are headed for is one of the union’s colonies’

 ‘Population?’ 

‘About 70000 people, though this is the 4122 edition so it’s probably more by now’.

‘Most Curios.’ Piped up Dr. Nautilus. As he plugged yet another wire into the back of poor victors head.’

‘Why? Can you not err…reboot him?’ asked the captain.

The doctor laughed, which sounded not unlike someone trying to blow bubbles through jelly with a straw. ‘Reboot him?! No captain. Implants much too integrated. Shock would kill him. Damaged components must be replaced.’ 

The captain raised an eyebrow. However dire the predicament of both his crew and his patients, there was seldom so much as a ripple in the doctors calm demeanor. Given his profession she supposed that was a virtue. But it did make conversation with him a touch trying.

‘Then what exactly doctor, do you find so curios?’

‘Nothing to do with medicine captain. Merely speculation. Changelings are subtle in their tactics, but methodical. Unlikely one would lead us to an occupied colony without reason.’
Before the captain could reply, there was a great hum of engines, as the vast amounts of power the ship had been hoarding was rerouted to the belly of the vessel. Where it just so happened, there was quite a sizeable collection of large, blasty things.   

‘Captain the weapons system is powering up!’ cried mason

The captain clamped a hand over her eyes. ‘Ugggh I knew I shouldn't have asked. The idea was to get us away from the planet, before it gets blown up.’