by C. R. Daems
"Lieutenant," I whispered back, "not a word to anyone about what you find. I'll want a report from you with all the details. Send it to Lieutenant ... Commander Anna Paulus on the Vulcan." I turned back to the group who stood watching Gannon and me. "Who has the password for this machine?"
"Me obviously, and the team working on the new Blaster chips," Hubbard said.
"Can you get them here for a small conference?" I asked as Red wound himself around my neck with his head on my shoulder pointing in Hubbard and Coleman's direction.
Both men involuntarily leaned backward under his scrutiny.
Hubbard looked at Adrian, who nodded. "I think they’re all in the building." Hubbard typed something on his tablet and waited. Several minutes later he nodded. "They're assembling in the second floor conference room."
"Thank you, Mister Hubbard. I appreciate your cooperation. What I want shouldn't take long and maybe we can get the individual interviews out of the way and save time?" I looked to Adrian and Kris, who nodded after a few moments of silence. I felt my cheeks flush as I realized I had made a lot of decisions without consulting Adrian or Kris. We might all have the same rank, but I was definitely the junior member on the team.
Kris smiled and stood in front of me, blocking everyone's view. "Red made you do it?" she quipped and my cheeks felt on fire. "That's alright, he's a full member of the team and entitled to a say."
Hubbard led us to the elevator and took us to the second floor, which was exclusively administration: sales, marketing, planning, and data collection. Inside the conference room, two women and two men sat.
I pulled Adrian and Kris aside. "I would like to confiscate their tablets," I whispered.
"All right, but why?" Adrian asked, feeling amused.
"From what Gannon found, it was an inside job. Maybe whoever provided the raiders with the information was dumb enough to leave a message or ..." I didn't know what I was looking for and felt my cheeks heat again and reached up to touch Red, who was still on my shoulder.
"If you think it's worth doing, then we do it. I was just curious as to what you were after," Adrian said and then walked back to the table with Kris and I following.
I noticed Coleman watching Red and me.
"Mister Hubbard, introductions please," Adrian said nodding toward the four sitting at the conference room table.
"Of course. Miss Brewer's the design team leader." He nodded in the direction of a thin, middle-aged woman with a narrow face, who didn't look friendly. "Mister Abreu's the team's senior designer." The man was small with a round face that looked pale, and his hands were fidgeting. "And Misses Hoyle and Mister McCure are the other two designers." Both looked younger than Brewer and Abreu. Emotions were mixed and most negative. "These are the NIA agents from Oxax. They have P1A access and this company's full cooperation," he added before anyone could speak.
"Thank you, Mister Hubbard. Our intent is the same as yours—to catch the robbers and to return your property. We're not interested in investigating the company or you. That being said, we would like to borrow your tablets. Hopefully, what we're looking for won't take long."
"No!" Brewer shouted and rose from her chair as she slammed her hand on the table. "You've no right—"
"Unless I'm wrong, your tablets are company tablets, not yours, and Mister Hubbard has already consented by pledging his full support. Not that it would matter. We've UAS authority to confiscate anything we deem relevant to our investigation. But let me emphasize again, we're looking for information related to this robbery—nothing else."
Reluctantly, each person handed his or her tablet to Kris or me, after having logged on.
Adrian then conducted a group interview, since none of them had been in the building when the robbery occurred. He inquired as to each person's whereabouts at the time of the robbery—all claimed to have been sleeping—and possible ways the thieves could have gained information about the new chips, which was a closely held company secret.
We learned little and returned to the NIA building just after normal quitting time.
"Well Anna, what now?" Adrian asked.
"I would like Lieutenant Gannon to examine each tablet, looking for things that were deleted and attempting to recover them. While he's doing that, we could review the emails for anything that looks strange ..." Of course I didn't know what we were looking for. I was just hoping the inside man wasn't a mastermind and had left something incriminating. "He or she had to communicate somehow with the raiders."
"That's good enough for me," Adrian said.
Kris nodded as she grabbed one of the tablets. "Gannon, do you understand what Commander Paulus wants?"
"Yes, ma’am." He smiled and grabbed a tablet and began typing.
Adrian had dinner brought in to the conference room so we wouldn't have to stop. It was near dawn when we each had finished inspecting all of the tablets.
"Gannon, what did you find if anything?" Adrian asked, sipping on a cup of hot coffee he had just brewed.
"McCure deleted one electronic message, but I couldn't retrieve it. What I found strange was that he had cleared his Internet search history. But again, there’s no way to retrieve the history."
"What about the cookies? Don't sites generally leave information on your tablet when you visit them?"
"Yes!" he yelped. He opened McCure's tablet and began typing. "They appear to be all here—more than two hundred."
"Print off a list of them, Gannon," Adrian said. "I found nothing of interest, well, not of interest to this case." He smiled. "Anna?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing," Kris said without being asked.
"Alright Gannon, once you have the list, send a copy to the Vulcan addressed to Lieutenant Commander Paulus. I'll return the tablets to Hubbard and let's meet back here tomorrow at eight hundred hours."
We stayed while Gannon sent the list to the Vulcan, then logged each tablet off and took them to NTI, where we gave them to Hubbard, and finally returned to the Vulcan around noon. I went straight to bed, rose for a late dinner from the fugenie, the ship’s automatic food dispenser, and returned to bed.
* * *
I woke several hours before the normal breakfast meal and sat reading a historical account of the early years of PRS colonization, printed in their language. I found that reading out loud helped to keep me fluent. Feeling Red lying on my head reminded me of the days when I used to point at the words and say them out loud for him. Even I thought it silly at the time, but since then, I'm no longer sure. I can't help but feel he understands—even more than I give him credit for.
When my tablet chimed to let me know the dining hall was open, I made my way there and found Adrian and Kris in the serving line. I retrieved scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, and milk and joined them at their table.
"Good morning," I said as I sat.
Adrian and Kris smiled but only nodded as they were chewing.
"What do you think of Gannon?" Adrian asked after a sip of his orange juice.
"Eager, smart, and inquisitive," I said without giving it much thought.
"He sent me a message early this morning. He spent the night reviewing McCure's list of cookies and identified two from sites on the Dark Web."
"Dark Web?" I asked, not really sure what he meant.
"A network of sites that's the exclusive domain of criminals. There, you can purchase anything—from assassins to drugs to stolen art, anything illegal."
"Adrian and I think he may be someone we could use on the taskforce," Kris said. "We're computer users, but we aren’t familiar with how the system works. And it appears we’re going to need someone who is."
"Gannon's undergraduate major was Computer Science, so he qualifies. And as you say, he's eager and inquisitive based on what we've seen so far," Adrian added, looking at his tablet. When Kris and I nodded, he continued. "I'll talk to him to see if he’s interested. If he is, we'll take him along to the next two planets on the list. If he works out, we can assign him to the taskforce." H
e looked to me. "You were right, Anna, when you suggested we take it one day at a time. Better to add people as we find we need them rather than try to guess who we'll need—or worse, just add bodies hoping that'll help."
"Adrian, Alexa suggests we keep everyone informed. She says that’ll keep them happy and out of our hair."
"Good suggestion. I'll send Stauffer an update of what we've found and explain we’re adding Gannon to the team temporarily and why."
* * *
"I don't like you using my people without consulting me, Shrader. I'm in charge of the NIA's Stone Ring office, not you." Perry stood with his arms crossed as we entered the office later that morning.
Adrian spoke in a normal conversational voice, but I could feel his growing frustration. "I'm confused, Commander Perry. You sent Lieutenant Gannon with us yesterday, and I'm grateful you did. He turned out to be very helpful."
"Well, now I have other priority work for him." Perry's voice was loud and angry.
"I'm afraid that work will have to wait. I need Lieutenant Gannon to continue on the work he's doing for me." Adrian was trying to keep his voice normal, but I could feel it wasn't easy.
"Stone Ring personnel are my responsibility, and I'll decide what my people work on—"
"Commander Perry, you're now actively interfering with a P1A investigation, which is a court martial offense. If you do not cease immediately, I'll have you relieved of your command and have Major Pannell arrest you pending Admiral Lultrel’s decision as to your disposition." Adrian pulled out his P1A badge, which was on a cord around his neck inside his shirt, and let it dangle in plain sight.
Perry stood there with his mouth open, shaking in rage while Pannell moved closer, indicating his intention to act if necessary. Perry's rage turned to fear as he realized he was on the verge of destroying not only his career but his life. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed and took a deep breath. "You're right, Commander Shrader. I'm afraid I've been thinking of this incident as a local matter. I apologize. You'll have my full cooperation." Although he hid it well, the anger had returned and simmered like burning embers.
"It may well turn out to be a local police matter, Commander Perry, but for now it's a P1A investigation." Adrian waved to Gannon as he headed to the conference room with us following. "Gannon, how would you like to accompany us to Holy Star and Eastar?" Adrian asked as soon as the conference room door had closed. "We could use your knowledge of computer systems."
"You bet." Gannon beamed with excitement. "Sir," he added quickly.
"Good, I'll clear it with Commander Perry. You're free to indicate that it wasn't your idea and you had no choice in the matter, if you feel it's necessary," Adrian said.
Gannon nodded but said nothing, although I could feel his relief.
"What can you tell us about those Dark Web sites?"
"Not much, sir. They're very closely guarded, and usually the only way you can find them is through an intermediary. I made no attempt to access the site until after I talked to you, as I can't be sure what kind of site it is."
"You can drop the sir or ma'am when we’re alone, Gannon. I'm glad you didn't access them. If it's a link to the raiders, we don't want them to know we found it, but I would like to find a way to determine whether it's a link to the raiders or just some illegal activity McCure was involved in, like drugs."
"If it's alright with you, I'll contact a few of my school friends and see if they can help," Gannon said while penning something on his tablet.
"Yes, but don't mention raiders. Just say it's a classified NIA project." Adrian looked to Kris and me. "Are you through on Stone Ring or do either of you want more time?"
"Not me. I've been and I've seen and I'm ready to leave." Kris laughed.
"Red and I are ready to go." As if agreeing, Red disappeared inside my jacket.
"Gannon, I'll expect you on the Vulcan in eight hours."
"Yes, sir." He saluted and hustled out of the room.
"He's like having a new puppy," Kris said to good-natured laughs.
CHAPTER FOUR
Visit to Holy Star
Commander Perry wasn't happy about Gannon when we left for the Vulcan, but he couldn't stop the assignment, although I wouldn't be surprised to hear he had complained to Stauffer and copied Rawls while lobbying to be put on the taskforce.
We reported to MacLin's office when we arrived back on the Vulcan.
"On to Holy Star?" MacLin asked after we gave him a condensed summary of our activities to date.
"Yes. We've added another member temporarily to the team, a Junior Lieutenant Gannon. I've given him eight hours, six now, to report to the Vulcan, but I would wager he'll be here several hours sooner." Adrian grinned and MacLin gave a snort.
"Junior Lieutenants do tend to be eager to please. All right, I'll prepare to depart as soon as possible after his six hours are up. Travel time should be just under three days. I assume you've notified the duty officer of his arrival?"
Adrian nodded.
We left MacLin's office and assembled in his conference room. True to Adrian's observation, Gannon reported to the Vulcan two hours later and was directed to the conference room.
"That was quick, Gannon. Any problems with Commander Perry?" Adrian asked when Gannon got settled with a cup of coffee.
"He wasn't happy ... I used your suggestion and claimed I had no choice."
"Good. What do you go by among friends?" Kris asked.
"Rich," Gannon said hesitantly.
"Well Rich, when we’re alone like now, I'm Kris, Commander Shrader is Adrian, Commander Paulus is Anna, and her red-headed companion is Red. Welcome aboard."
"Thank you ... Kris. I've talked with two of my school friends about the Dark Web. They say the best way would be to see if I could get connected to one of their bulletin boards. They gave me a few suggestions on how I might go about doing that. With your permission, I'll try when we get to Holy Star."
"Very good. Work with Kris and Anna," Adrian said as he rose. "Come, Rich. Let's get you a room assigned. It's a three day trip to Holy Star."
* * *
The second night out, MacLin invited us to dine with him, Commander Jordan his XO, and Major Pannell, which provided us a much needed break from having little to do except speculate how the raiders got their information.
"Well, Lieutenant Gannon. Is your home on Stone Ring?" MacLin asked when he was formally introduced to him.
"No, sir. I grew up on Sutan, but they have only three colleges and none of them offered much of a curriculum in Computer Science, so I applied to the Stone Ring Institute of Technology and was accepted. During my final year, I was recruited by the navy and accepted a position with NIA on Stone Ring. Chasing criminals sounded interesting and worthwhile." He felt excited as he talked. I couldn't blame him—he was on a war cruiser, dining with a captain, and on an important taskforce.
"You think these robberies are actually foreign raiders?" MacLin asked Adrian, who looked to Kris and me. As he did, Red appeared as if invited to participate and wound around my neck.
"I think they're military or ex-military," I blurted, then blushed. I was beginning to think Red was responsible and Red made me do it wasn't too far from the truth.
MacLin looked to Adrian and Kris for their reactions.
"Anna could be right. The raids were well planned and executed with military precision," Kris said, her eyes downcast in thought.
Adrian nodded. "We've no proof, but I agree."
MacLin laughed. "If I were the raiders, I would definitely target this group of bloodhounds." MacLin looked directly at Pannell, who acknowledged the implied warning with a nod.
"And their taxi, the Vulcan," Jordan added almost to himself.
"Do you do that often, Paulus?"
"You mean blurt things out without discussing it with my senior team members?" I asked, feeling the heat in my cheeks and seeing Kris nod.
"Actually, I meant having those leaps of intuition," MacLin said, but
I felt no amusement.
"She does, and it's what makes her a valuable member of the team." Adrian gave a short laugh. "But unfortunately, not everyone likes her leaps of intuition."
"Yes, someone so young is easy to dismiss. Captain Sharat did so at her peril," MacLin said, referring—as was Adrian—to Sharat's refusal to take my warning that the smugglers were setting a trap for her on Shadows Rest. "Paulus, neither you nor your team have anything to prove on the Vulcan."
* * *
MacLin had his shuttle deliver us planet-side when we arrived at Holy Star spaceport. We landed at the Star City Airport, as the NIA office was in a populated area with no landing facilities close.
When we entered the airport terminal, a Lieutenant approached. He gave a brisk salute. "Good morning. I'm Lieutenant Palmer, the acting head of the Holy Star NIA office. Any of my resources are at your disposal."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Let me introduce the team ... " Adrian went on to introduce each of us and to arrange to meet with the police captain in charge of the initial investigation, along with the executives of the Star Reserve Trust, SRT, where the robbery had taken place. We spent an hour at the small three-man office while Palmer set up the meeting.
At the SRT building, a young woman met us and took us to the third floor conference room, where three people waited.
"Mr. Gordon, this is the NIA team from Oxax," Palmer said, mentioning each of us by name, then stepped to the side.
"I've heard of you," Gordon said, rubbing his chin. He was a big man in height and girth and had a smile to match. He signaled an aide for drinks, and continued once we were settled. "You're the team that destroyed the smuggler's ring operating within the UAS. I'm Frank Gordon, the chairperson of the SRT. The gentleman seated across the table is Mr. Hilman, who's in charge of security, and the woman is Captain Talbart, who was in charge of the investigation. So what can we do for you, Commander Shrader?"
"I would like to hear what you know about the robbery and then to be walked through the route the thieves took and to see the actual rooms." Adrian looked from Gordon to Hilman, who nodded.