The more Catherine Vargas thought about the conversation she had just had with Hina – the one in which she had disclosed some of the Computer’s intricacies – she figured that all of it had been a very bad idea. Not only because she had criticized the Captain who was also Hina’s friend, and learned that the woman was likely to get the positon she was after, but also because the Computer always listened. It was one of the reasons the crew had been so reluctant to speak up about anything weird happening. In Cat’s estimation, she and the computer were on good terms, but who knew how long that would last… “I think we are done here and can try starting up the warp core again.”, she said eventually and looked at her new department head – or anything head, really – for approval.

Hina looked at the console infront of her and nodded to Catherine. “Looks like it. Hopefully we’ll actually be able to.” she said, smiling. She shut her tricorder, rubbing the back of her neck a bit before looking back to Catherine. “Shall we then?” she asked.

“Yep.”, confirmed Catherine and followed as they made their way to their vantage point. “We’ve implemented the Computer’s suggestions – all of them very good suggestions, if I may so so – and I suggest we follow the same start-up sequence as last time.” She paused, then added. “At least now we know that we are unlikely to explode. More likely the Computer shuts us down again.”

Hina laughed nodded. “Definitely good to confirm such a thing.” she agreed. “Alright… lets bring the injectors back online and get up to 5% power… then we’ll hold it for a bit and follow the computer’s suggestion of increasing in 5% increments.” she suggested.

Catherine did as she was told, counting up to five percent, and then slowly increasing. So far, things looked good. “It’s… kind of useful.”, she mused, not sure if she was saying it because she really thought so, to Hina, or so the computer would hear it. “Having that kind of guidance, I mean. Human error is always a thing, or any error, really.”

Hina nodded monitoring the plasma flow. “Yea it is.” she agreed. “Certainly a nice thing to have when in situations like this.” she continued. She was happy to see the power increasing steadily. “But at the same time… its not immune from error either.” she pointed out. “As an engineer I think it would be a useful addition to most ships.” she added.

“Thirty percent. Looking good.”, Catherine commented. They made it up to fourty-five when the Computer gently suggested a delay. She looked at Hina for confirmation. “I suggest to keep it here for a few minutes.”

Hina looked at her console, scanning it. She didnt see anything wrong. She looked to Catherine, then back to her console, narrowing her eyes. This was certainly suspicious. She nodded to Catherine. “Ok. Let’s hold it here for now…” she stated, then looked to the room in general. “Computer, what is the reason for the suggested delay?” she asked. She wanted to see just what the computer would say for itself.

“Current plasma flow readings suggest an optimal testing environment at forty-five percent power. Holding at this level for three minutes will allow for thorough diagnostics of power distribution and injector efficiency. This precautionary measure is recommended to ensure overall system stability and to prevent any potential malfunctions.” Catherine glanced at Hina, noting the subtle tension in her posture. “Well,” she said, trying to sound upbeat, “that sounds reasonable enough. We wouldn’t want to skip any necessary checks, right?”

“Of course not.” she said, leaning against her console for a moment. She eye’d Vargas. She certainly seemed ready to let the computer decide how to run Engineering, and maybe the ship if it came down to it. “Catherine… are you an engineer?” she asked. She didnt wait for a response. “Look. At. Your. Readings.” she stated. “We followed every suggestion the computer made. Were they wrong?”

Catherine bit her lip and looked down to assay the readout. “It looks fine.”, she sighed eventually. “Look, I know its weird. But honestly, why argue? Not with you, but the computer. The thing can literally switch off life support if it wanted to, so why piss it off?” She was frustrated, and she had been for quite some time now. “Do you know about the B.L.A.D.E incident?”

“I read about it… an AI took over civilian vessels to help defend the colony that created it, right?” she asked.

Cat nodded. “Pretty much. And it did what it did in the most efficient way possible, without any care for the people aboard these civilian vessels. It flew one of them into one of the attacking ships. That’s why it was necessary to purge it from all systems – so as far as we know, this is the last… copy. Believe me, I would love for it to not be here, but right now? Its helping.”, her voice had risen to a higher pitch, and once more she found herself very quickly regretting what she had said. Because that was when the doors to Engineering locked.