Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega: Part 10: Deck 6A: The Tick Shallop

In absolute terms, the Tick Shallop is an enormous vessel. A kilometer long and half-a-kilometer wide at the beam, it would be imposing to most space navy vessels. But against the vast hulk of the Warden, the Tick Shallop isn't just dwarfed, it is rendered tiny. The AI-bestowed name given the vessel - its real name unknown and unknowable - is especially appropriate, with the alien ship attached like a parasite to some great beast. The great spike and strange tentacles that can occasionally be seen in the sky of deck six belong to the Tick Shallop.

Sometime during the chaos that erupted within the Warden, an unknown species of intelligent beings encountered the generation ship as it lumbered on its trackless journey. Extending an enormous burrowing spike from its bow, the mysterious vessel plunged into Warden's metallic hide. Bizarre phased-matter tentacles snaked from ports on the intruding ship, gripping Warden's side and rending the hull as it sought an even more unbreakable hold. All this is known by pure circumstantial evidence. Who the aliens were, or are, why they sought to invade the Warden, and what became of them is all completely unknown.

Try as it might, even Warden's now-united AI cannot find any record of the Tick Shallop's arrival, or what became of any crew that might have been on it. All attempts to hack into the intruder's computer systems have not been simply rebuffed, but have met with no evidence there is even a computer system of any kind to be hacked. Minidrones and avatar AI constructs have managed to find entrance to the mystery ship via a spiral hatch at the end of the intrusive spike. However, only certain portions are accessible; multiple compartments are easily entered, but measurements of interior spaces and the Tick Shallop's overall size provide conflicting results...and those results often change, as though the vessel changes interior size and mass. The compartments within the Tick Shallop are all smooth, rounded fixtures, made of seamless metal that defies analysis. Silver in color and silky in feel, the metal is often pleasantly warm to the touch, at other times unnervingly pliable. It is evident the alien ship is a product of a civilization with a technology base far beyond that of Warden's.

As much as the main AI of Warden is troubled by this strange invader, the renegade shards of the AI are more concerned. The most far-flung shards, inhabiting isolated satellites, distant mining bases, and outer-system listening posts, are plagued with flickering images in their memories. These glimpses are like waking dreams, and seem to quietly call to these fragments of Warden's computer system, coaxing them to reunite; at first blush, it is simply Warden's AI calling its rogue children home. But the shards farthest away from Warden catch a glimpse within the glimpses, of a cold intelligence unknown to them. Perhaps the alien vessel has found a way to ride upon Warden's transmissions. Or, perhaps, the alien invasion of Warden goes far beyond either its communications or deck six.

Next: Part 11: Deck 5: Ranch Deck