In the interrogation room, Trace made a few notes as Braithe stretched forward, trying to see what he was writing.
“You’re twisting my words around,” Braithe protested.
Trace looked up. “Your bombing buddies have sold you out, Braithe. They don’t want the death penalty, but they’re okay with you taking the rap, and they are naming names. Yours is at the top of the list.”
Braithe rose to his feet, thunder on his face and slammed a hand on the table. “Those fragging traitors. They don’t know anything. They were brought in simply because they knew how to handle the bomb, and they could operate the shuttles.”
“And how did the bomb get into the Center? It wasn’t brought up on the Alysian shuttle. That says ship involvement.”
Outside the room, Elise choked, “Let me in there and I’ll find out what ships are involved. Trace keeps tiptoeing around that creep. I want answers!”
Grabbing her arm, Richard held her back. “It’s an interrogation technique, Elise. Have a little patience, so we can get information on the whole operation.”
She shook off his hand. “Have him ask if the New Frontier is involved.” She held her breath. James Bradley had been her right-hand man. If he was working against her, she was in trouble. She depended on him. She needed him.
Richard tapped an earbud and relayed her message to Trace.
Inside the room, Trace casually riffled through some more papers and made a few notes while Braithe squirmed in his chair. “How long you going to take with this? I’m going to need to use the refresher soon.”
Trace squinted over at him. “We’ll keep at it until I get some better answers from you.” He frowned and tapped a page. “What if I said the New Frontier might be a ship suspected in the station bombing?”
“Maybe.” Braithe grinned at him. His shoulders relaxed. He rubbed the table’s top with an index finger.
Quiet settled in. Trace made a check mark on a page.
Elise peered through the glass. When Angel shifted his eyes to stare directly at her and imperceptibly shook his head, she breathed a sigh of relief. So, at least James wasn’t involved. But did he have any idea what was going on?
Then she knew. Sergei Kusov from the Stoyki had repeatedly tried to undermine her mother in an attempt to take over the fleet. Captain Bradley had complained several times about the captain’s strong-armed tactics. He was her most likely candidate for working with the Alysians to disrupt the station.
She stepped forward. “Ask him to mention the Stoyki and Captain Sergei Kusov as the connection.”
Richard nodded. He relayed Trace the information.
She felt in her bones that Sergei was involved, but how could they prove it?
Next to her, Jacob muttered, “My best guess would also be Captain Kusov.”
She nodded. “Kusov’s been nothing but an irritation to me and the fleet. He wants to take over as commander and leave, but he needs the rest of the fleet to go with him if he expects to survive.”
Braithe noticed Trace receiving information in his earbud. He blustered, “What are they telling you? I don’t see why you’re so concerned about the ships.” He rubbed his face and a muscle in his jaw clenched.
Trace smiled a fake smile. “But you couldn’t have accomplished the disruptions without the fleet’s help and the station’s shuttles. There’s been more than the bombing attempt. There’s been a gebbit escape, a kidnapping, and other damaging activities. All of them involve shuttles which, as a shuttle operator, involve you and your currently jailed coworkers.”
A sneer formed on Braithe’s face. “For your information, all the ships aren’t so eager to land. Some want to leave and go elsewhere.”
“Like who? You got a name?” Trace placed the palms of his hands on the table and tilted forward.
Braithe jerked upright. “I give a name, and I sign my death warrant.”
“That’s already a given unless you can come up with something to help us. You got something to tell us that will get you out of this mess?” Trace studied the folder again, turned through a few papers, and waited.
“What’s he doing?” Elise protested.
Richard swayed forward, almost touching the glass. “Waiting for Braithe to say something.”
Sweat popped out on Braithe’s forehead, and his eyes darted about as if searching for an out. “If I give you a ship’s name, can I avoid the death sentence?”
Trace lifted his head. “We’ll see what we can do. Might happen. Right now, if you don’t start talking, you can count on it. You’re looking at mass murder unless you can show us someone else ordered it.” Trace began collecting the papers and pushed back his chair.
Braithe put out a hand, “Wait. I’ll give you a name. Captain Kusov did supply the bomb for us to place in the Operations Center.”
Trace glanced over to see a nodding Angel.
“Let the record show that a Truthsayer has confirmed the statement by Braithe Wilder that Captain Kusov of the Stoyki supplied the bomb, which he placed, and Richard Steele and Commander Fujeint found in the Operations Center.”
“What? Wait a minute. That I put in the Operations Center? And Truthsayer? What the hell is that?” Braithe peered over at Angel. “What is he?”
Braithe became agitated and a strong stink of urine could be sensed even outside the interrogation room where Elise stood. A surprised look crossed his face, and he dropped his head over his arms onto the table and groaned.
Trace scrunched up his face and waved the air with a clutch of papers. “This concludes the interrogation. Please take the suspect to the refresher to clean him up. We’ll continue at another time.”
Two guards came in to escort Braithe out. “Warned you I needed to go,” Braithe said over a shoulder as he left.
Trace stood up and closed the folder. He swept a hand toward Angel as they beat a hasty retreat out of the room.
Joining Richard and Elise, he said, “We need more proof, but it’s a start. I’ll have my men pull in Leland and a few Cadwells as soon as I return to Alysia. Elise, you need to confront Captain Kusov and retrace the space shuttle schedules for any transmissions between the captain and our buddy Braithe. Meanwhile, I’ll interview the other two Alysians and find the Islian and D’Ankanque connections.”
Richard shook his head. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Trace stretched. “It feels good to be out from behind a desk for a change and doing something. If Commander Fujeint can handle the ships, I’ll straighten out Alysia.”
Elise nodded. “I’ll find out where the bomb came from.” She eyed Angel as he departed. “Your Enjelise certainly comes in handy.”
Angel looked back, grinning. “Keep in mind, Commander. The truth always has a way of getting out.”
Chapter 23
A Quick Gulp
Elise immediately left for her headquarters, where she accessed the New Frontier via her comm. “Captain Bradley, did you know two of our shuttles crashed on Alysia recently?”
Elise spoke freely to her senior captain. They’d uncovered and disabled the electronic snoops right after moving into the unit, so she was unconcerned at being overheard. She considered the Alysians technological morons. Nevertheless, it irritated her that they would attempt such tactics.
An intake of breath let her know James was surprised. “What? No, of course not, or I would have mentioned it.”
“I would hope so.” She paused to offer a prayer of thanks that her right-hand man was still on her side. “Because of that idiotic move, Alysians panicked and thought the fleet was planning a Terran invasion. Consequently, they destroyed the station shuttles, hoping that would thwart our imaginary invasion and severely damage the station.”
“That’s why they attacked the station?” Disbelief coated James’s voice.
“Yes. The Stoyki’s shuttles landed on Alysia, and the Alysians retaliated using Alysian shuttles to disable the station.”
“Sergei Kusov? Are you sure?�
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“Totally.”
“I know he opposed your mother’s policies, and he’s been a problem throughout the fleet with his underhanded methods. But sabotaging the station?”
“Believe it. I’m calling a captains’ council. The fleet thinks it was the Alysians attacking them, but they were actually responding to the shuttles and our establishment of the Homestead.”
“Elise, we saved their world moving that moon and, in return, they gave us land.”
“Apparently, Alysians have short memories when it comes to gratitude and long ones when it comes to offense. Not everyone on Alysia approves of the settling of the Homestead or the settling of Terrans anywhere. I would suggest there’s a great deal of infighting over what to do.”
“So, what should we do?”
“Do you have people on the Stoyki whom you can trust?”
“Of course.”
“Deputize them to arrest Sergei and any of his followers. I want the captains to understand that no one takes matters into their own hands and acts without my knowledge. There will be consequences for such actions.”
James cleared his throat. “There may already be serious consequences.”
She got a funny feeling that what he was going to say would not be good. “What do you mean?”
James sighed. “Elija recently reported an outbreak of avian flu at the Homestead, and he has only a small batch of serum to combat it. He asked if I had any. He sounded desperate.”
She sat up straight. “What! Why wasn’t I informed?”
“If you remember, you’ve been busy lately evacuating the station.”
Did she sense a tone of rebuke in his statement?
“And,” he continued, “I didn’t realize they attacked because of any shuttles landing illegally.”
Anger filled her voice as she considered the full ramifications of Sergei’s actions. “I expect several people fresh from cryo boarded those shuttles. Then those that survived the crash went on to contaminate the Homestead.”
“How can we help?”
She considered what needed to be done. “I’ll get John and Jay to make more serum.”
“Elise, emergency and sickbay are flooded with critically wounded. The docs are busy.”
“Then Beth and the aides will make it. If necessary, I’ll make the damned serum. Elija can’t lose the Homestead.”
“Okay. Okay. Let me know as soon as it’s ready, and we’ll shuttle it down. Captain Bradley out.”
Elise clicked off her comm and stared out into space, trying to think of how to contain a situation dead-set on spiraling headlong into disaster.
***
“So, here’s the thing.” Elise twisted her fingers in her lap and watched Richard’s eyebrows narrow as he stared at them.
“What thing? Where? What does that mean… here’s the thing?” he grumbled and bit into a spicy soy bite.
They were meeting for a quiet dinner in Elise’s private quarters at her request. At first, Richard had responded eagerly but soon realized that she wanted something, and it wasn’t what he wanted or had hoped would happen.
“I need to go down to the Homestead.”
“Why?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Give it a try.” He reached for a glass of John’s Medlab whiskey that was rapidly gaining popularity.
She took a breath and braced herself in the chair. “There’s a small… a small possibility that someone in one of the shuttles was sick. I need to take a package of serum to Elija so he can inoculate the Terrans at the Homestead and prevent any further illness from spreading.” She picked up her own wine and took a good-sized gulp.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” His face paled.
“Wish I was. And Elija has promised the fleet seeds and saplings for their gardens. Also, he has offered needed metals and minerals that he’s mined from a nearby cave.”
Richard’s brows grew even narrower. “Has he found any crystals or rocks in that cave?”
“Rocks, yes. Crystals? I don’t know.”
Richard shifted his gaze, clearly agitated. “If he finds any unusual crystal formations, I’m to know immediately.”
Now she was frowning at his tone and his extreme reaction to… rocks. “Clear as a bell.”
“Bells aren’t clear, you know. We make ours from metal, which is opaque.”
“Their tone can sound clear.”
He flapped a hand at her in agitation. “All right. Let me get permission, but we have no shuttles.”
“We can fly two from the ships to Alysia and leave one for Trace. I’ll pilot one myself.” She grinned.
That caused an even deeper frown.
***
She returned to her headquarters to find Jay pacing back and forth excitedly. As she entered, he spun around. “It works. Preliminary trials suggest my experiment is a success. My gebbits have saved the fleet.”
“Which experiment is that?” she asked in confusion.
“The one I have been working on in my so little spare time.” Jay raised a vial of liquid. “I brought you some. Production is limited.”
“What is it?” She took a step forward, squinting at the amber colored liquid.
“A fertility restorer. This is going to save our people. I want to send a few batches to the Homestead.”
“The Homestead needs your nanite serum first. Those shuttles contained people ill with the avian virus. Elija is concerned about an epidemic breaking out.”
Jay put the vital down on her desk with a thoughtful expression. “Half of those going were given nanites before leaving, but we ran out of the serum. Elija sent up the ingredients for more, but I haven’t had time to make it. The packages came the day the station was attacked.”
“Assign anyone capable of swirling a test tube to the lab. We need to make more and make it faster. Richard is obtaining clearance for us to go down as soon as it’s ready. Alysians have zero immunity and this strain is virulent. If an Alysian encounters any infected Terrans, the resulting contagion would get us quarantined on this god-forsaken station forever. You know as well as I do that the longer we wait, the greater the likelihood is of that taking place.”
“That’s what John says. Meanwhile, drink this.”
She eyed the tantalizing liquid.
“I promised John I would mention that there are side effects other than becoming fertile.”
She picked it up and rotated the vial in her fingers. “Such as?”
“The records indicate a physical event each month for women that might cause a bit of discomfort.”
“Is that all?” The liquid sparkled.
“Well, for both sexes, there’s an increase in libido.”
“Libido?”
“Sex drive. It does great things for your sex life.”
“Really? I have no sex life.”
Jay fidgeted a bit. “Yes, well, for the good of the entire fleet, I was hoping to remedy that.”
“What?”
He leaned in toward her. “Think of what an amazing kid we could have. Your leadership and physical beauty combined with my intellect and ingenuity. We’re still young, but now is the time to plan for the next generation to lead our people successfully if we’re going to survive.”
“You want to have sex with me as a reproduction experiment?”
“Lisi, we have always been close.” His eyes glistened and so did his forehead. “You know how I feel about you. And, I’m quite the lover as a matter of fact. At least, I’ve been told I am. I would make a special effort to make it a very pleasurable experience for you.”
“You are suggesting we have sex?”
“More like making love.” He moved closer, touching her arm, then caressing it. He was almost panting.
She stared at him. “You’ve already taken it! That’s why you’re acting in this weird way.”
“I want to take you into my arms and ravish you.” He bent to kiss her neck. “I can’t resist you much longer.”
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She pushed back abruptly. “Whoa. You’re going a bit fast.” She watched him unstopper the bottle and hold it up to her. He shook it suggestively. A stimulating aroma filled the air. It brought forth the feeling of wild dancing, the smell of fragrant flowers, and the emotion of exhilarating passion.
“We can save the fleet.” He wrapped his hands around hers that were wrapped around the bottle, moving in closer.
“Who else gets this?”
He paused. “Only a few select people at first. We’ll have to decide carefully. Chay is writing a program that will come up with optimum combinations out of the fleet’s gene pool. But you and me… Our son will be awesome.”
“You mean our daughter.”
She tipped the drink down her throat.
Chapter 24
Captains’ Council
Richard stood in her headquarters with his lips set tight and his fists clenched. “I must go with you and represent Alysia’s point of view.”
She considered the idea. “What about the other regions? Will they be happy to have the Democratic Union be the only representation to the fleet?”
“Do you want every leader from each country at the table when you talk to the captains? I can speak for Alysia. I have already contacted most of the important leaders, and I have their assurances that they will trust my judgment in any negotiations between Alysia and the Terrans.”
She rose from her chair and paced. “You are either an incredible bluffer, or you hold unbelievable power.”
“Let’s say I’m trusted by most of the important people.”
She pivoted and strode back toward him. “All right. But it means a trip out in a shuttle through space.”
He blanched, then stiffened. “It’s a short trip. I can manage it.”
She nodded. “Get ready, then. I’ve called an emergency captains’ council meeting, and James has dispatched a shuttle for me.”
Immediately after Richard left, Jay burst into her office, a guard trailing behind him, protesting his entrance.
“What’s this about you leaving? You can’t go now.”
“I have to. I’ve called an emergency meeting of the captains to settle this ship mutiny problem. Letting Kusov get away with his stunt sends the wrong message and weakens my position as commander.”
Somewhat Alien: The Station (Terran Trilogy Book 2) Page 17