Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

activation."

The ship's primitive artificial intelligence replied without wavering. "Walker, Samuel L., Captain commanding: recognized. Defense system will be deployed on receipt of final authorization code."

Walker rubbed his eyes, momentarily worried that he might not be able to recall the necessary sequence.

It had not been a priority, because no one had really expected it would ever need to be utilized. Then it came to him. "Authorization code zero, nine, eleven, two, Delta, Whiskey, Bravo."

"Command authorization code accepted," the AI responded evenly. "Crew prepare for weapons system deployment."

Walker turned, scanned the cabin. "Is everyone okay back there?"

"Yeah, where are we?" Clarkson's voice was a soporific mush, as if he were trying to talk with a sock stuffed in his mouth. "What's going on?" He sat forward slowly. "Are we headed back to Earth?"

"Not exactly," Walker told him. "Jake, get back up here. I want you at control while we're undergoing this systems adjustment, or whatever the hell is going to happen. We might have to operate on full manual."

"You got it," Thompson told him as he resumed his seat. "But I sure wish I knew what I was going to have to operate."

"You've got a minute or two to figure everything out," Walker informed his copilot. "Just get us the hell away from that!"

From behind he heard the others gasp as they saw the massive alien artifact. Maria Gonzalez swore quietly in Spanish. Walker would ask for a translation later. Any lingering vestiges of sleepiness had vanished from his brain.

"Look at the structure, the general outlines, the overall configuration." Avery's analysis of the oncoming object might have been quick, but it was well considered. "It lookslike our Ice Man has relatives."

"Big ones." Thompson checked his readouts. "Weapons systems are online."

"Everyone be ready," Walker admonished them. "I don't know where we are and I don't know what's going on, but we need to be prepared to talk or fight however the situation dictates." His tone was solemn. "The Ice Man wouldn't have been equipped with weapons if he hadn't had a need for them. The implication was that he was at least occasionally expected to fight. Fight what, the tech folks were never able to establish. "He indicated the enormous object that now dominated the view forward. "Maybe that's full of his friends. Or maybe it's packed with his enemies. Not knowing if we qualify as the first or the second, we have to be ready to be seen as one or the other."

"There's a third choice," Clarkson pointed out. "We could run for it. Running is always an option."

"Got beat up a lot in high school, did you?" Thompson commented. "Where would we run to? If we just take off wildly we may never get back to where we are now. And while we don't know where we are now, we do know that it's at the end of a vector that one way or another leads back to Earth. Run from it now and we might never find it again." He turned to Walker. "Weapons systems are yours, Captain."

"Understood." Walker's tone was grim. Of all the unique apparatuses on the ship, a combination of human- and alien-based weaponry was the last he thought he would ever actually be expected to activate and operate. "I hope we're not going to need them."