“What we need is a lure that will keep the Leviathan’s attention,” Brooks said.
Cutter clicked his mandibles. “May need to keep up this level of interest for long – we can likely weaken our lure’s strength over time, once we’re far from space lanes.”
Brooks looked to Kell. “Do you think that would work?”
“Yes,” the Shoggoth replied. “It will be most interested in the thing nearest it, I believe. If we can weaken our effect as we go, all the better. We may even be able to get it to go back to sleep.”
“How can we lull it to sleep? Just through lowering our Krahteon emissions?” Urle asked.
“It must become unpredictable – your scans and engines are very noticeable, due to how . . . orderly they are. It is much more apparent.”
“Like how a voice stands out from natural sounds,” the Captain said. “I think I can understand that.”
Kell shook his head. “I assure you, you do not. But you understand enough.”
“Can we scramble our emissions enough to do that?” he asked Cutter, ignoring Kell’s last words.
“Difficult,” Cutter replied. “Don’t know how we can control order of particles that we’re just dumping through engine shunt. We’d have to start actively modulating our signal.” His head twitched side to side as he thought. “That much power would burn out almost any system we have . . .”
“The nature of its interest is not in power. It is in alterations that your engines make in what you call zerospace. They are like tracks that can be felt.”
“So that means we can narrow our output just into the bands that will feel . . . track-like to the Leviathan.”
“You only need a shadow,” Kell said.
The engineer made a hiss. “A shadow! Like how a ship exhibits shadow of mass into mundane space as it travels in zerospace?”
Kell only regarded him curiously, as if he had not understood a lot of the words. Finally, he gave the tiniest nod of his chin. “Yes.”
“That makes sense! Captain, I have idea.”
“Go ahead.”
“I want to take a shuttle and equip it to broadcast on channels that might create the shadow Kell was talking about – if we’re limited to just some frequencies, Krahteon loss will be sustainable for months, even with a shuttle’s engine.”
Brooks nodded. “Get a team started on it immediately.”
“Yes sir. We don’t have much time – we have to maintain enough pressure internally to keep the system from collapsing.”
The Captain’s words were heavy as he spoke. “We have to consider leading it away to be of higher importance than the survival of this ship.”
No one could argue.
“In case this does not go well, we need to prepare for an emergency transmission and get as many of the civilians off the ship as possible.”
“Aye, sir,” Urle said. “I will inform Response and Administration to begin preparing to jettison life sections and prepping the escape pods.”
Brooks said nothing, only nodding.
Cutter the engineer lingered, staring at the captain. Brooks looked back at his reddish-black round eyes.
“Is there something else, Chief Engineer?” he asked.
“Captain,” he said. “An emergency transmission will burn out engine.”
“I am aware,” Brooks said. “But since we cannot stop to build a proper charge to open an FTL communication channel, it would be our only option – jettisoning the civilian sections will do them no good if they’re light years from an inhabited system.”
“I understand need, Captain. It is just . . . I have worked on the Craton‘s engine my entire life.”
Brooks nodded. “And you’ve done very well, Cutter. I understand the thought must be hard for you.”
“Captain, I request permission to stay with the ship should the situation get dire.”
The Captain stared at the Beetle-Slug. “Permission denied, Chief Engineer. Even if the Craton does not survive, I fully intend for us to. There will be other ships, and other engines.”
“I do not want another ship or engine, Captain.”
Brooks leveled his gaze on the Beetle-Slug. “My order stands.”
The insectoid hesitated, but then snapped a salute. “Very well, Captain. I have already sent a team to begin work on shuttle, but I will go supervise it personally.”
Other Terrestrial 