Colonyside

by Michael Mammay

  “That’s something, I guess. Anything that tells you when the woman . . . what’s her name? Eddleston? Anything that tells you when they last saw each other?” It was probably nothing, but we were locked in a room and didn’t have any other work.

  “They texted on the day of the disappearance,” said Fader. “I can’t say for sure from the texts, but I think that Eddleston went on the same mission.”

  I pulled up the official report on my device and flipped through until I found the right information. “She did. She was a passenger on one of the other vehicles.” It still didn’t mean much, but it at least rose to a level where I wanted to check it out, so I made a note of it. “Did you get anything about her living quarters?”

  “They were emptied out and inventoried months ago. There’s nothing of interest in the inventory,” said Fader.

  “Well, that’s not surprising,” I said. “Even if there was a clue, if nobody approached the scene looking for it, of course they wouldn’t find it.” I really needed to get out of my room. It was too easy to get seduced by details that didn’t matter, especially when you were left with nothing else to do but dig. The simplest solution hadn’t changed: She went on a dangerous mission and died along with the rest of her team.

  They cleared us a day later, after a major showed up to give me a briefing on the results of the investigation. They had some biometric data from the bomb. People leave traces everywhere, and an explosion doesn’t necessarily get rid of everything of value, especially if it’s not made by a pro. They didn’t tell me the specifics, but they probably had a fingerprint, since the bomb would have destroyed most of the DNA. They had a chemical signature from the bomb as well and were tracking down the source of the explosives. The major thought they’d have that in a day or two, given the limited avenues available in a small colony like Eccasis.

  One thing that didn’t fit was the cameras. The governor’s residence had cameras that monitored the entire area, but they’d been shut down for eighteen minutes around the time of the bombing. That kind of coordination, paired with a somewhat amateur bomb attempt, presented a bit of a dichotomy, but I could see how it happened. Oxendine had mentioned the lax security of the governor’s office and that his staff was filled with partisan interests. Farric himself had even admitted it. I marked the cameras as an inside job.

  A few minutes after the major left, Ganos arrived, which added tension to an already difficult situation. Being locked in her room the previous day hadn’t helped her mood, and she practically stomped in and glared first at Fader and then at me. I couldn’t put it off any longer. I had to talk to her and get to the bottom of her attitude before we could move forward.

  I’d have rather faced another assassination attempt.

  I asked Mac and Fader to take a walk, and Ganos and I stood in awkward silence while they left. When the door closed, I waited a few seconds to give her a chance to break the silence, and when she didn’t, I spoke. “Clearly you’re angry about something.”

  “You think?”

  “I assume I’m part of the problem, but I don’t—”

  “You didn’t fucking call me.”

  “Excuse me?” I wasn’t offended. I really didn’t understand.

  “For this mission. I didn’t hear from you. I got contacted by some random colonel who said you wanted me for a job. You want me for a job, but you can’t even send me a message yourself? The level of asshole required for that is off the asshole chart.”

  I looked at the floor. She was right about that. I’d wanted her for the job and thought that was enough, but clearly I owed her more than that. “I’m sorry. You’re right. That was poorly done.”

  She stared at me, seeming to want more.

  “I should have messaged you myself. I got focused on my own stuff, and I didn’t think about it. I’m an asshole.”

  “You know . . . it’s . . .” She paused.

  I felt like shit. I deserved to feel like shit. “It’s okay. You can say whatever you want. I have it coming.”

  She shook her head. “I’m trying. It’s hard, okay?”

  “Sorry.”

  She took a deep breath and let it out. “Not all of us got to disappear from the galaxy and go hide out on a farm planet in the middle of nowhere. You know?”

  I hadn’t thought about that, either. I hadn’t thought at all, and that was clearly the key to her hostility. “I’m sorry. I think I just assumed that you wanted to be in a more civilized place. For your work.”

  “Yeah. My work.”

  “You’re not working?”

  “Oh, I’m working. You want to know what I’m doing, though? Freelance. Bug hunting, odd jobs, low-level black-market stuff. Nothing assignments.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s the question, isn’t it? Corporations should have been lining up to hire me. That’s how it works in my world. You get famous for doing something bad and everyone wants to pay you to make sure nobody can do it to them. But every call I made, they hung up.”

  “I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t know. You should have told me . . . I could have pulled some strings.”

  “You really don’t get it. I don’t know if I really even want a job. I don’t want to mess with corporate networks. I still wonder who might be out there watching me. Tracking me. I wonder who put me on the blacklist and what else they might be doing. I think about it every day. How could I work like that? So I stopped looking.”

  “You want to sit? I want to sit.” I pulled a chair from the table and turned it around. Ganos slumped down onto the sofa. She was right. I didn’t get it. She was mad because she didn’t get work, but she didn’t want work. I’d messed her up in a big way. She always seemed so cool, and I didn’t realize that some of it was a front. “So . . . why did you come? You could have said no.”

  “The guy didn’t seem like the type of person who was going to take no for an answer.”

  I nodded. I could see it. They wouldn’t have forced her to come, but whoever had the job to convince her wouldn’t have let her know that. I really was above the top of the asshole chart. “Again, I’m sorry. For everything. If you want to leave, I’ll make arrangements for it immediately.”

  “Can’t,” she said. “They offered me a bunch of money, and I took it. I couldn’t afford not to. Parker and I are trying to buy a house. Like it or not, I’m on the job.”

  “I’m still sorry. But I’m really glad you’re here.”

  “Of course you are. You’d be lost without me.” Ganos smiled, and for a second it was as if nothing had happened. But, of course, it had. “And hey, it could be worse. There could be people trying to kill us.”

  I laughed. “Yeah. That would suck.”

  “Now that I’m here, where do I start? What information do we need, and who do we think has it?”

  “Let me get the others back in here, and we’ll dig into it.”

  The four of us gathered around the table. I looked at Fader first. “Think big. If we could have anything—information-wise—what would you want to know?”

  Fader hesitated for a moment, glanced at Ganos. I didn’t know if she was thinking about my question, or worried about the younger woman’s mood. “I’d like to see Xyla Redstone’s work emails. And I’d like to know more about the governor’s cameras. We got the military report, but I’d like to see what the outage actually looked like and the film from before the outage. The military probably checked it, but it would help me visualize things to see it.”

  “Yeah it would,” Mac agreed. “Someone messed with our vehicle, and it should be on record. I checked everything on that cart when we first got it, so it had to have happened while we were inside.”

  “I can probably crack the system that controls the cameras,” said Ganos.

  “Do it,” I said. “Fader, you go about it the straightforward way. Go over to the governor’s place and find out what they know. See if someone will talk about why the cameras didn’t see anything. Even if you don’t find anythi
ng specific, establish some contacts.” I turned to Ganos. “What about the emails?”

  “Caliber has them?” Ganos was frowning, like something was wrong.

  “Yes,” I said. “Is that a problem?”

  “I’d rather not tangle with them unless it’s really important. They’re going to have much better security than the governor, sir.” She left unsaid what she and I had discussed about corporate networks.

  “It’s not that important,” I said. “I can request them from Caliber.”

  Fader continued, “I’d also like to see the details of the military’s investigation into the bomb. They briefed us, but if I had the report, I’d know what they checked . . . More important, I’d know what they didn’t check.”

  “I might be able to pry that loose from the commander. That’s probably smarter than trying to hack the military.” It bothered me that Oxendine might have information on the cameras and not shared it.

  Ganos shrugged and kept tapping notes into her device. “Got it. Anything and everything pertaining to the bombing. What else?”

  “I think that’s a good priority for now,” I said.

  “Understood, but that’s not how what I do works. I’ll find what I can, but no promises it’s the stuff you want. If you give me other targets, I might trip on them while I’m digging around.”

  “In that case, I’ll take anything you can find on Dante Farric or anything that gives information on what the Eco-Protection Volunteers are up to here on Eccasis. They’re the chief suspects in the bombing, in my eyes.” At the last minute, I worried that Ganos might want to avoid them, too, so I added, “If the EPV looks dangerous when you start, back off them and let me know.”

  Ganos stashed her device in the pocket of her hoodie. “I’ll be in touch.”

  “Do you want our contact information?” asked Fader.

  “Really? Please. Who are you talking to? I’ve already got it.” Ganos winked, which broke the tension. “I’m off. They’re paying me an awful lot to be here, and I’d hate for whoever is shelling out for this shindig to not get their money’s worth.”

  She left a silence in the wake of her departure, and it took a few seconds before Fader filled it. “Is what she’s doing safe?”

  I couldn’t get rid of that thought either, especially given my private conversation with Ganos. The last time she had poked around the net on my behalf, it had almost gotten both of us killed. But she seemed to have a better handle on the risks this time. Last time she’d gone in full bore.

  “The worst thing that happens is we get caught. We’d probably get in trouble, but given that someone tried to kill us the night before last, I don’t think we can make it worse. What are they going to do, try to kill us harder?”

  “They could succeed,” suggested Mac.

  “Well, sure. There’s that.”

  “If you’re heading over to army headquarters, we’re going to need to take the security detail with us,” said Mac. “Give me a minute to arrange something for you, ma’am.”

  “I’ll be okay on my own.” Fader pulled a pistol out from where she’d had it secured at the small of her back. “I’m not going to be caught unarmed again.”

  Mac looked at me with the look that non-coms give officers when they want help.

  “I’d feel better if you took someone along for now,” I said. “If you get into some sensitive stuff and need the freedom to move on your own, we can revisit it later.”

  “Yes, sir.” Her face didn’t register any complaint. I appreciated people who put the mission before their personal feelings. Serata had picked well.

  Chapter Six

  Mac and I made it to headquarters amid what felt like a battalion of soldiers. In truth we only had five escorts, but they’d be a problem for my investigation going forward. I needed to talk to people, and that meant making them comfortable. An armed militia hanging around had a somewhat dampening effect on comfort. Thankfully, they let us go once we got inside the headquarters.

  I should have gone straight to see Oxendine, but I decided to try another route first. I might have been subconsciously butthurt that she hadn’t shared everything with me on her own. I scanned the soldiers that passed me in the hallway until I found the right target: a young sergeant with a perfect crew cut. “Excuse me, Sergeant . . .” I glanced at his name tag. “Curreris. I’m Colonel Butler and I was wondering if you could help me.”

  He stumbled over himself for a second before regaining his bearing. “Yes, sir! Of course!”

  “I’m looking for a captain named Yolin. She had some questions for me about last night’s attack.” Technically it wasn’t a lie, since she had questioned me the previous night, but I’m not trying to fool myself—I made up a story because I knew the sergeant wouldn’t challenge it. “I’m not sure where she works. It might be Intel.”

  “Yes, sir. She’s part of the Two Shop. I’ll take you there.” He led me through three turns until we came to a heavy door secured with a biometric pad. “This is as far as I go, sir. I don’t have clearance to get in.” He pressed a buzzer and a voice came across almost immediately.

  “What can I do for you, Sergeant?”

  “Colonel Butler is here to see Captain Yolin.”

  The speaker went quiet for a few seconds. “Roger. She’ll be right out to escort him.”

  “Roger,” said Sergeant Curreris. He turned to me. “You’re good to go, sir.”

  “Thanks, Sergeant. Much appreciated.” I offered him my hand, which he took, beaming. I didn’t like using soldiers like that, but I had limited tools at my disposal, so I used what I had. Besides, I was only a little out of line in coming to find Yolin. Oxendine had told me to go through Ops, but I could notify them on my way out. When Curreris departed, I pulled Mac over close so I could talk without the speaker picking me up. “Head over to Ops. See if you know anybody. I’ll come find you when I’m done here. I promise I won’t leave the building without you.”

  “Roger that, sir.”

  A moment later Yolin came to the door. “Come in, sir. I’ll lead you back to my office. Zero level on the floor!” she announced, letting everyone know that she had an uncleared person with her. Monitors snapped off and soldiers covered maps along our path.

  Her office had two chairs, a desk, and a shelf bolted to the wall. Even with those sparse accoutrements, the tiny room was packed. I took the guest chair as she worked her way around the desk. “What can I do for you, sir?” Her tone was neutral, and I couldn’t read whether it bothered her that I’d showed up at her front door or not.

  “I wanted to get an update on what happened last night.”

  “My boss told me you were briefed.” Still no read on her.

  “The briefer didn’t have much beyond the basics. He told me you had biometrics on the bomb and nothing on the cameras.”

  “That’s true,” said Yolin.

  “It’s what he didn’t say that had me wondering. Why didn’t the cameras pick anything up, for example?”

  She blew out a breath. I couldn’t tell if she was frustrated with the question or that the major hadn’t fully informed me. “We’re still working on that, sir.”

  “What’s to work on?” As I’d been doing a lot the last few days, I kept my voice even so that it wouldn’t come across like an accusation. It seemed like a simple issue and it had me legitimately curious.

  Her eyes flicked down to her hands, folded on her desk. I took it for her trying to decide what she could and couldn’t tell me. I’d put her into a tricky situation. By the book, she probably shouldn’t read me in, but it’s tough for a captain to tell a retired colonel no. It’s only a small breach. I had clearance from the highest levels for my mission, so she could extrapolate some leeway into the current situation. She met my eyes, apparently decided. “We still don’t know what . . . or who . . . cut the cameras off.”

  “Do you think it was an inside job?”

  “That’s the question, sir . . . right? If we knew that, we’d
have a lot better idea on the rest of the incident.”

  “Why didn’t anybody notice at the time?”

  “That part seems legit . . . well, somewhat legit, anyway. The person who monitors the cameras has other responsibilities and only occasionally watches the feeds in real time. They’re more for use after the fact.”

  “Surely a missing feed or two would be noticeable.”

  She grunted. “Sir, it’s the governor’s residence. Security is . . . less than ideal.”

  “Ah.” I could believe that. “I’m assuming you looked into how they could be switched off?”

  “Of course, sir. They’re controlled from a small room inside the governor’s mansion. The same person who watches them controls them. He said that he didn’t touch them, and there’s no reason to suspect that he’s lying. As far as we could tell, nobody ever touches them.”

  Well, shit. I took a moment to think about my next question. I could only ask so many obvious ones before Yolin would take it as me doubting her competence. “So, what’s the theory? The guard was distracted, and someone snuck in and shut them down?”

  “No, sir, that doesn’t seem likely. Because the same person would have had to sneak back in to turn them back on.”

  “That’s not possible?”

  “I mean, anything is possible, sir.” But her tone said she didn’t believe it.

  “So you think someone did it remotely.” Something that Oxendine had told me came to mind—the scientist who had been murdered. Someone had hacked the cameras then, too.

  “I do, sir. The problem is, we haven’t proven it yet.”

  I considered following up on that, asking why not, but decided against it. Yolin’s patience was wearing thin and I had Ganos, who could probably give me a better answer. “Last question. Have you got a match on the biometric data yet?”

  “We do, sir. That turned out to be easy. The man came colonyside legally, so his data was on file.”

  “So you’ve got him in custody?”

  “Not yet, sir. Ops has the mission to detain the person. It should be anytime, but that’s not really my lane.”