[What a pointless rule. Yori winces at the idea and hopes it's not a sample of directives aboard ship. Maybe not; this terminal looks different and is talking to her, after all.]

Sorry. Whatever you can do to protect your programs, then.

[At her first slow wave, the glowing things do scatter, two drifting down the hall while the other one flies up to the ceiling and heads in the direction of the group she'd been retreating from. Yori lets out a relieved hiss. That's something.]

If I have to retreat or they knock me to standby levels, I'll send someone when I can and check on you when it's safe.

[She moves several steps after the third glow to get an idea where the others are, blue toy raised. The thing takes offense, zipping abruptly down to latch on to the blue surface.]

[The power drain in its vicinity is painful. Yori drops the disk and jerks backward, her hand numb. The glowing thing appears to take this as a victory and zooms away, leaving a patch of darkness in the corridor lit by the glowing mark of a bite.]

[Could have been worse. Yori rubs her hand to check for unfelt damage, then prods the disk with her foot to check for power drain effects. None. That seems limited to the creatures themselves. She scoops the disk up in her left hand and backs up to the terminal, glancing both ways warily.]

There are likely to be more.