"Er'dox." I pulled up the correlation data. "Got something in subsection seventeen. Timing pattern matches command signal characteristics, microsecond delays propagating through the network in sequential order."
He was at my station within seconds, his large frame leaning over to study my displays. "Verify it's not normal system traffic."
I ran the analysis, comparing the pattern against known operational signatures. "Negative. This is discrete. Someone's sending instructions through the power network right now."
"Can you trace it?"
"Working on it." My fingers moved across the interface, following the timing pattern backward through the network topology. "Command signal is originating from deck forty-two, junction seven. That's?—"
"Lower engineering spaces," Er'dox finished. "Maintenance area, rarely accessed during active shifts." He opened a comm channel. "Vaxon. Engineering. We've got a trace on the saboteur's location. Deck forty-two, junction seven."
Vaxon's response was immediate. "The security team is moving. Keep monitoring in case they relocate."
I watched the timing pattern continue its propagation, whoever was controlling it seemingly unaware they'd been detected. The command signal was elegant with sophisticatedpower modulation that would have been invisible without my algorithm specifically looking for timing correlations.
"They're good," I murmured. "Really good. This level of system integration takes expertise and time to develop."
"Which means they've been planning this for a while." Er'dox was monitoring his own displays. "Vaxon's team is approaching the location. They should have visual contact in ninety seconds."
Ninety seconds felt like ninety minutes. I watched the timing pattern, watched the propagation continue uninterrupted, watched the data streams that told me someone was actively manipulating Mothership's power network for purposes I still didn't understand.
Then the pattern stopped.
Not gradually. Not with the slow wind-down of a completed transmission. Just stopped, like someone had severed the connection mid-instruction.
"They knew," I said. "They detected the security approach and cut the signal."
Er'dox's expression darkened. "Vaxon, report."
Static for three seconds. Then Vaxon's voice, tight with frustration: "Location is empty. No personnel, no equipment. But there are access panels that show recent use. Someone was here."
"Can you determine who?"
"Running analysis now. This junction requires level-three engineering clearance. That's forty-seven personnel shipwide who could access this location without triggering security alerts."
Forty-seven suspects. Better than our previous pool, but still too many.
"Check for bio-signatures," Er'dox ordered. "Skin cells, hair, anything they might have left behind."
"Already on it. But Er'dox, they were careful. This area's been scrubbed clean—no obvious biological evidence."
I studied the timing pattern's abrupt termination, trying to reconstruct what had happened. "They have monitoring capability. Had to—there's no other way they'd know security was approaching in time to evacuate."
"Which means they're watching security channels, monitoring team movements, staying one step ahead." Er'dox pulled up internal security protocols. "Vaxon, assume all communications are compromised. Switch to encrypted tactical channels for coordination."
"Already done. I'm posting teams at critical junctions, but without knowing who we're looking for..."
"We narrow it down. Dana's algorithm proved the command signal exists. We just need to bait them into using it again."
I was already thinking through the logistics. "The trap you mentioned on the bridge. The one where we announce countermeasures with obvious flaws. If we implement that, they'll have to respond, either to adjust their approach or to exploit the weaknesses we're 'accidentally' revealing."
"Risky," Vaxon said through the comm. "If they realize it's a trap?—"
"Then we've confirmed they have deep enough system access to monitor command-level planning," I finished. "Which is valuable intelligence. Er'dox is right, we use their methodology against them."
Silence on the channel while they processed. Then Vaxon: "Your call, Chief Engineer. But if this goes wrong?—"
"It won't. Dana's algorithm caught them once. It'll catch them again." Er'dox looked at me directly. "Can you modify the detection parameters? Make it more sensitive to any power network activity that matches their signature?"
