If humans from Earth could use telepathy—they couldn't, and neither could AI, it irreparably damaged their logic circuits—then Chief Engineer Altoy Limpsherr would've known not to go toying around Starship Alpha's sensitive software. Being he had no way of knowing not to run his usual protection software, amplified by design structures he had implemented himself, he didn't know what he was going to find in the dozens of very lengthly, highly classified databanks on the many, very dense, solid-state drives the OS of Starship Alpha employed.
Limpsherr had a security clearance of three out a possible five, and therefore all but nine of the documents he could legally see, and had altered script programs running on those servers so that he could see for certain, key words and terminology structured that either were his duty to read or those that simply piqued his interest. The system itself was designed with long strings of numbers and letters instead of intelligible English, or any other language for that matter, an added protection feature.
It didn't stop Limpsherr from looking for what he was looking for, but he employed a very low tech approach, one he knew he would have to keep a secret. He had a notebook he kept that gave him the hints he needed to quickly navigate through the streams of number-letter combinations.
Those other nine he put to the side. One of these was the very document that the Commander had told Ensign Handsford about. All but one of the others were also meant for the Commander to read, but of a level four clearance, meant only for his cabinet to view. One final document was classified beyond a level five clearance until such time the other eight classified messages were unlocked by Commander John Altermann and his cabinet, the least of which included Sara Handsford who he knew to have a parallel security clearance to that of Limpsherr.
He knew how much clearance everybody had, also in his notebook. He did so because he liked to think himself a smooth sort of guy, one who could probably—with the addition of alcohols or other substances—get a person into a state where he would be able to make certain additions to notebook. Those additions would be passwords and command terms. Just in case. From the beginning he seen the hardware, and then the software connected to it, a sense of paranoia that was hard for him to squeeze his mind into. Thus the notebook and his craving to see what were in those files.
In due time, of course. He anticipated at least eight months in highest possible Warp travel before he needed to worry about that file. His mind bio-chemically altered to operate similar to that of an AI's except in an organic, not synthetic, process could multitask and store high amounts of information when it needed to and store it in parts of the brain non actively usable without the alterations to his brain structure.
Once the script engines were done processing what he was allowed to see, he would review the data and decide what needed more attention, and what could wait until they nearer reached their destination. That cycling process would take days, but Chief Engineer Altoy Limpsherr was mostly human, and wanted a tiny peek at what the script engines he modified were looking for.
As part of their programming, he had assigned the red flags that most needed his immediate attention. Of these were: Earth, in a variation of spellings; Colonies; Lunar Ring; Outlying Human Colonies--a very large and cumbersome set of values; and, finally Aenim.
All red-flags had scored dozens of hits in what Limpsherr could access. Only one of those was about Aenim, a topic he knew too little about. He opened the text extract.
It began: Aenim, planet, semisythetic. Project Aenim initiated 57 human years ago, sent then planet whose altered-age would be that of one century. Stasis initiated; 5 years ago Stasis broken by unknown source. Result==Loss of contact. End of extract.
If that's what I'm allowed to know, so far, what is hidden from me? The Chief Engineer pondered to himself. It wouldn't be the first time that subject would be pondered, and more information would of course be available in coming days, but Limpsherr already could feel that synthetic sedation would be required over the next few nights while the information continued to come in.
He felt he had more than enough time. After all, he was Altered.