Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega: Part 13: Deck 3: Cargo Deck

Deck three may be the most hostile of Warden's decks. A darkened vacuum, mostly empty, this deck was set aside to store the vast terraforming machinery and fabrication facilities necessary to provide a livable environment for the colonists. That task was completed many long years ago, on two Earth-sized planets and a number of smaller outposts scattered among the other celestial bodies of the Xi Ursae Majoris system. Before the ship's systems could begin the task of building more such equipment, the Warden was overcome by chaos, its preprogrammed tasks put on hold. Further, an asteroid that made it past Warden's point defense managed to punch a hole into the ships thick armor, venting the atmosphere into space. Disabled and confused to begin with, the ship's AI set aside the task of repairing deck three. With no inhabitants or ecosystem of its own, the deck took low priority. So now it lays silent and mostly empty.

Any who try to access deck three must pass three security checks, each entailing increasingly loud, bright, urgent alarms. If intruders do manage to open the hatches, either by security scan or by force, the atmosphere of the accessway will rush to fill the vast void. Unprepared beings may well be swept along into the vacuum, and must find their way back to the hatch before it shuts.

While the deck is, indeed, mostly empty, "empty" is a relative term in such a large open area. The equipment left is surprisingly voluminous. Much of it is shipboard fabrication units, intended to build more terraforming equipment and factories. But even Warden's AI and its attendant robots and androids wouldn't recognize a mysterious collection of machinery scattered unobtrusively throughout the equipment logged on Warden's manifest. What this equipment is and where it came from - and why it does not register on Warden's sensors - are all mysteries awaiting a time when the deck is again accessible.

Next: Part 14: Deck 2: Wilderness Deck