Firmament: Machiavellian

by J. Grace Pennington

  “I can make a brief visit,” I assured him. “Be right there.” I switched off the com, and August stared at me.

  “I asked McMillan to check on the life support in your room.”

  “You mean…”

  “I’m just going to run down and see what he has to say.” I leaned down impulsively and kissed his forehead, grateful for the ringing sound of his soft accent in my ears. His cheeks pinked, but he smiled at me.

  “I’m glad you’re alright,” I explained.

  “Me too,” was all he said, and I hurried out of sickbay, leaving Olive to watch him while I ran down to talk to McMillan.

  When I stepped out the elevator doors into engineering, a steady voice called out to me. “Over here, Miss Lloyd. Keep as far away from the reactor as you can, to be safe.”

  I looked across the room and saw the first engineer at a station on the far side. Other crewmen worked their stations, and one ensign unloaded tools from the small lift we’d used to find Unkrich. None of them spoke as they worked, and despite the consistent engine noise and charged atmosphere, the silent camaraderie had a peaceful effect.

  Obeying McMillan’s instructions, I gave the huge hexagonal reactor in the center of the room a wide berth, and trotted over to where he stood examining a panel against the far wall.

  “Miss Lloyd,” he said again, when I’d reached his side, “I checked the records, as you asked.”

  “Did you alert the Captain?” was my first question, as I bent over the panel.

  “Immediately. He’ll be right down.”

  “And what did you find?” I tried to interpret the readout.

  “You were spot on. The life control in that room was isolated about five hours ago, and adjusted to a near-critical level. Not enough to kill him, under normal conditions…”

  He paused there, and I finished for him. “But enough to seriously harm August.”

  He nodded.

  I looked at the panel again. “I thought you said that anyone who had the expertise to do that would be able to cover his tracks?”

  He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I assumed so. But it’s possible that he—or she—couldn’t. It probably wouldn’t have been noticed, if it weren’t for August’s condition. He would just have gotten a little sick.”

  “But how could anyone do it in the first place… I mean, wouldn’t it set off an alert or something?”

  “It would have, if whoever adjusted the system didn’t have clearance. But it wasn’t broken into. Whoever did it had the necessary access codes.”

  “But who…” I let my voice trail off without finishing the question.

  “I have no idea.”

  The subliminal electricity made the hairs on my arms stand on end, and I shivered.

  Something small and white near the wall caught my eye. I peered at it.

  “What’s this about, McMillan?” I heard an authoritative voice bark from behind me.

  In that instant, I recognized the item, and my heartbeat jumped. Without giving myself time to think, I knelt casually and rested my hand on the toe of my boot, as if it were too tight. Then I put my hand over the cold metal object, picked it up, and slipped it into my jacket pocket. I stood up just as the Captain drew near.

  I glanced from him to McMillan and back again. Neither of them looked at me.

  “I looked into Lieutenant Howitz’s injury,” McMillan explained, “and discovered that the life support system in his room was tampered with, sir.”

  The Captain frowned. “How?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know. But whoever it was had the access codes. No sign of hacking.”

  “You’re saying there’s a saboteur aboard, Commander?”

  McMillan spoke slowly. “I’m saying that whoever it was had the codes. One way or another.”

  Still frowning, the Captain rubbed his smooth chin. “I want you and Mr. Guilders in the briefing room.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Without a word to me, the two men turned and walked towards the elevator.

  I watched after them, breathing steadily. After they were several meters away, I dared touch the object in my pocket, running my fingertips over the cool, smooth surface, my heart still thumping.

  The Captain and McMillan stepped into the elevator, and the door closed safely behind them.

  My eyes still on the elevator doors, I pulled it out of my pocket. One glance clarified what I already knew.

  A standard ISA metal armband, shining white, but different from any other I’d ever seen. The emblem on this one was a small, raised, gold cross in the center.

  Lee’s armband.

  Chapter XV

  Why hadn’t I wanted the Captain to see the band? He needed to know about it. But—I’d seen how emotional he was towards Lee. How prejudiced. Didn’t that relationship affect his judgment? And wasn’t it the duty of an officer to perceive when a commander was irrational?

  Technically, though, I wasn’t an officer. And I certainly wasn’t qualified to make such a judgment myself.

  I plunged the band back into my pocket. I couldn’t just go hand it over to the Captain.

  And of course, I already knew who I was going to ask for help. Without further delay, I started towards the elevator to find him.

  I looked in sickbay and in his cabin before I found him, sitting alone at a table in mess hall, with his back towards me. It was mostly deserted, since dinner had officially been over two hours before.

  I slipped into a chair across from him, and smiled.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I couldn’t fool him. Fishing the band out of my pocket, I laid it in his open hand. “I found it next to the life support control panel.”

  He looked from it to me, frowning. He recognized it, of course. “Did anyone else…”

  “No sir. I picked it up before they did.”

  He nodded, then looked at the band more closely, turning it over in his hand.

  “Doctor, do you think we should talk to—”

  Standing up, he put the emblem in his lab-coat pocket. “It’s too late to do anything about it tonight. You get to bed; I’ll check on August. Meet me in my quarters before breakfast tomorrow.” He stepped towards me, laid a hand on top of my head, and kissed my forehead. “Goodnight, Andi.”

  The only reason I could think of that he’d want to see me in his quarters was the lack of security cameras in starship cabins. I raised my eyebrows a little, but said, “Okay. Goodnight, Doctor.”

  He shuffled out of the room.

  I sat for a moment, repeatedly clenching my hands into fists and then loosening them, feeling my nails bite into my palms with each squeeze.

  What motive could Lee possibly have?

  The question rang in my mind all evening, until I went to my quarters and fell into a restless, dreamless sleep.

  *****

  I was glad when morning came, and I threw on my uniform with less care than usual. I also rushed my breakfast, just gulping down a few mouthfuls of cereal and some milk before hurrying off to meet the Doctor.

  His door wasn’t locked, so I pressed a smooth, white button on the left wall, and it slid open.

  I had expected to see him standing under the light in the middle of the room, examining the arm band closely. Instead, he sat in one of the cushioned leather chairs to the far right, next to his heater. The room wasn’t illuminated by its overhead light; instead the soft orange glow of the heater, the silver gleam of starlight, and the faint yellow light from the open lavatory door combined to create a weird mix of shadows that made his face look even thinner than it was.

  “Dad?” I said, stepping forward.

  He turned and looked at me, and another head poked out from the other chair opposite him. My lips parted. Lee.

  He stood up when he saw me, and stepped away from the chair towards the heater, which left his face in shadow.

  I walked forward a few steps and looked back and forth between the two of them. As my eyes adjusted to the dimn
ess, my eyes registered the fact that Lee’s left sleeve was bare, uninterrupted navy.

  “I have to tell Trent,” the Doctor explained. “But I know he’s more likely to listen to me than Lee, so I’m asking him for his explanation.”

  The orange light caught at deep wrinkles that lined Lee’s forehead, and the corners of his mouth were turned down slightly. “I’ve told your father… I didn’t do anything.”

  “Can you prove it?” I asked.

  “I… don’t know. I did go to engineering night before last. Clinton—the Copernicus man working down there—he called for me.”

  “What did he want?” the Doctor asked.

  “Nothing. When I got down there, he said he’d changed his mind and didn’t want to see me.” The lines in his forehead deepened as his eyebrows raised. “Wait… there are security cameras, right? They should show that I didn’t do anything.”

  I shook my head. “The security system down there is malfunctioning. McMillan told me.”

  The Doctor gave a barely audible sigh. “I have to tell Trent. I’m sorry, Lee. He has to know.”

  Lee dropped his gaze to the floor, but nodded. “I understand. But… Gerard, you believe me, don’t you?”

  The Doctor put his hands on the arms of his chair, and looked at the chaplain. “Personally, yes. Professionally… everything’s against you.”

  Lee looked up. “Everything?”

  The Doctor looked at me, and his eyes directed me to speak. I licked my lips. “We found traces of a pre-warp serum in your blood, but you told us you didn’t know why you didn’t get warp stomach.”

  Lee’s eyes widened, catching the dim light so that they looked orange instead of blue. He opened his mouth, staring at me, then closed it and turned to the Doctor. “I don’t understand…”

  “I don’t know any way to interpret it except that you lied to us, Lee.” The Doctor’s words were clear, but quiet.

  “Gerard, honestly, I didn’t take it...”

  The Doctor stood up, pulling himself to his full height, and looked Lee straight in the eyes. “Like I said, I trust you personally, Lee. But you have to understand my position. I’ve been entrusted with a position of authority here. I have a duty to report anything with the slightest possibility to harm the crew.”

  Lee looked down again, and nodded.

  “But why would he…” I wasn’t sure how to finish the question. Why would he care where the ship went? He might want to get home faster, but was that really enough motivation?

  Neither of them answered. Instead, Lee asked, “What would be the penalty… if I were convicted of anything?”

  “I don’t know,” the Doctor answered. “I hope you won’t be.”

  The three of us stood in silence for a moment. Then the Doctor said, “Come on, Andi,” and started towards the door. With a glance back towards Lee, I followed.

  The Doctor didn’t say anything as we strode down the hall; his long, thin legs making steps that took me one and a half strides to keep up with.

  “But Dad,” I protested as if we had been conversing all the way down the corridor, “Why would Lee want to do that?”

  He shook his head as we halted in front of the elevator doors. “I don’t know. I don’t have any idea at all.”

  We rode up to A-Deck in silence.

  The Doctor started towards the bridge when we got there, but the Captain’s voice sounded from the small lounge just to the right of the elevator.

  “I don’t understand. He’s afraid? Whatever Lee may be—and is—I don’t think he’s a coward.”

  Napoleon’s voice spoke next. “I can’t tell you how displeased I am to have too bring my suspicions before you. I’m not at all pleased, I assure you. But it did come to my attention, shortly before we left, that… well…”

  The Doctor darted into the little room, and I hurried along behind.

  A mauve, plush couch and two matching chairs were crammed into the small white space, but neither the Captain nor Napoleon sat in them. The Captain stood upright behind the couch, his hands behind his back, his face set in a frown. Napoleon also stood up straight, opposite the Captain, looking somehow much taller than he was. The stance led me to envision a tri-corn hat atop his head and a sword hanging at his side. Doctor Pearson was also present, lounging in one of the overstuffed chairs, his knees so high and his elbows sticking so far out that he seemed to be all arms and legs.

  All three turned as we stepped into the doorway, Pearson and the Captain looking at the Doctor, and Napoleon’s eyes instantly meeting mine.

  “Gerry?” asked the Captain in a voice laced with irritation, but the tense tone was contradicted by the very slight relaxation of his shoulders when he saw his friend.

  “I have something to report to you.”

  “Can’t it wait?”

  “No.”

  The Captain breathed out. “Sit down, Gerry.”

  The Doctor strolled in and sat down on the mauve sofa facing Napoleon and Pearson. He leaned back and beckoned me with his head. I darted in and sat next to him, sinking just slightly into the plump cushions.

  “Go ahead, Captain Holloway,” the Captain sighed.

  “Just Holloway, please,” the little man smiled. “Doctor Lloyd, Miss Lloyd… I was just telling the Captain that I am most displeased to tell him that I am greatly inclined to suspect our chaplain of the recent—”

  The Doctor waved his hand. “Yes, yes. Carry on.”

  Napoleon blinked, as if surprised at being interrupted, but he started again. “Indeed… well, I am very much in agreement with Captain Trent’s assessment that his brother is no ordinary coward, and I applaud him for his caution in the matter. However…”

  “Get to the point, Holloway,” the Captain ordered, dropping the little man’s title for the first time.

  “Of course, my dear Captain. Your brother is indeed afraid of the danger that potentially awaits us—improbably as it may be, you understand—at the galactic center. But I do believe that were it not for certain… mitigating circumstances, he would be the most courageous of us all, indeed I do…”

  “Holloway…”

  The little Captain hastened on. “Yes, well… I happened to find out, before we left, that… well, this is a rather uncomfortable thing to have to tell…”

  Pearson grunted.

  Napoleon took a deep breath, and his chest expanded. “I must, yes. The fact of the matter is, Captain… your brother is expecting a child back on Earth.”

  Chapter XVI

  The little captain stopped talking, and his last words hung heavy in the air. I swallowed.

  After a moment, he spoke again, softly. “I don’t mean to judge anyone, Captain… it’s the most natural thing. Surely a man can be forgiven for wanting to live to see his child… especially when his conscience doesn’t naturally approve of our noble errand… surely he cannot be blamed. Don’t you agree, Miss Lloyd?”

  I just looked at the Doctor. He kept his eyes fixed on Napoleon, and said nothing.

  The next voice to speak was the Captain’s, in low, measured tones behind us. “Gerry, what did you have to tell me?”

  The Doctor reached out and took my hand in his, though whether for my comfort or his own, I wasn’t sure.

  “It was about Lee, Trent.”

  A pause. I glanced at Napoleon’s face, which didn’t change from its concerned frown.

  “I’m waiting.”

  The couch cushions shifted below me as the Doctor used his other hand to take the armband from his pocket and hand it to the Captain, still looking at Napoleon. “This was found near the life support panel.”

  Napoleon’s face didn’t change as he saw the object. I looked up at the Captain’s face behind me. He turned the object over in his hands.

  “It’s Lee’s,” he said, as though he were the first to make the discovery.

  Now Napoleon’s face changed. His mouth dropped open, and his innocent eyes stared past me. “Gracious… I say… well, I’m sure I
don’t know what to say. I am… not pleased, not pleased at all.”

  His mutterings trailed off, and we waited for the Captain to say something else. But he said nothing.

  “Trent…” the Doctor began.

  “You see for yourself how things stand, Gerry.”

  “Shouldn’t you look further into it, though?”

  “There’s no time.”

  I looked over my shoulder and saw him slip the armband into his pocket. His face was unreadable.

  “Why, what do you mean?” Napoleon asked, cocking his head.

  “If Lee is not guilty, a few days in the brig won’t hurt him,” he said slowly. “If he is, then we can’t have him loose to perform more sabotage. Thank you, gentlemen, that’s all.”

  Napoleon bowed, turned on his heel, and marched out of the room. Pearson unfolded himself from the chair a bit at a time and followed.

  The Doctor let go of my hand and stood up, making me sink a little further into the couch. I stood with him.

  “Wait, Gerry.”

  We both turned to face the Captain, who was holding out a restraining hand and looking at the Doctor with a haunted look in his eyes. “I need to speak with you for a moment.”

  “Certainly. Go check on August, Andi.”

  “Yes sir.” My heart sank a bit as I left the room and walked to the elevator. As I pushed the button and the door opened, I could hear their voices without discerning the words. I stepped in, feeling a tingly weight all over.

  Poor Napoleon, trying to help and caught in the middle of this. Poor Lee, fearing he’d never meet his own child. Poor Captain, having to arrest his brother, who I couldn’t tell if he loved or hated. Poor August, nearly dying.

  Poor Elasson, wasting away on Kainus Ge with his people.

  I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the elevator wall as I rode down.

  One question kept pulling at the back of my mind, seeming to demand attention. How had Lee gotten into the life support system? How had he known how to work it?

  He was just a chaplain. Surely he didn’t have that kind of knowledge.

  It was something that Doctor Pearson could probably have done.