by C. R. Daems
"You ... we might be getting more cruiser time than you anticipated, because the WavComs have got to be involved," Kris said, and I knew she was right. We sat discussing what we might be looking for in the way of messages. We agreed we would know it when we saw it—or at least we hoped we would. Late the next day on first shift, we reached the Wave entrance and the WavCom.
"Comm, send the following message to Admiral Rawls:
Using the NIA coordinates for the arranged pickup meeting with smugglers at Fire Rock, we intercepted a merchant ship with military grade engines and weapons rendezvousing with the merchant ship Spinner. We crippled the spaceship, but were unable to board, as they subsequently destroyed their ship. We learned from the Spinner captain that the ship was called the Wind Witch and registered in the FPU. We are returning to Westar along with the Spinner to make repairs and have our dead returned home and the seriously wounded hospitalized for further treatment. Signed, Captain Sharat commanding the UAS cruiser Tityus.
"What do you think about the captain inviting us to dine with her this evening?" I asked when we got back to my room.
"Sounds like we are on good terms again, or she may be wanting the coordinates for the next smuggler's drop-off." Kris smirked. "I liked Rawls’ idea of parking the Spinner out of the travel lanes and sending a cruiser to pick them up. The longer we can keep the smugglers in the dark, the better chance we'll have of locating their communications network. Rawls probably gave orders to destroy the Spinner afterward."
"Or park it in some geocentric orbit around some uninhabitable planet," I said. "Seeing how Sharat doesn't like spooks and snakes, it should be interesting." We arrived at seventeen hundred hours and found Commander Tillman had also been invited.
"As you know, I don't like spooks, but you two have been a pleasant surprise. And it's nice to have the regular navy and the NIA working together. It makes you real people rather than spooks."
"Unlike my fellow agent, I'm not crazy about being on a cruiser, although it has been interesting," Kris said. The XO laughed.
"Based on our success, I'm afraid you may be on the Tityus for an extended period of time."
"It does appear that way."
"Admiral Rawls was quite pleased with us, not only for catching the smuggler ship, but for warning the Romulus and Scylla of the threat the smugglers' ships represent. So, where do you suggest we go now? Maybe you can find us another planet not in the others’ area of responsibility for us to explore." Sharat produced a devilish smile before taking a drink of her wine.
"Skipper, the crew could use some planet-side leave in Westar," Tillman said while watching Kris and me.
"No!" I said. "Sorry," I quickly added, since it had sounded like I was in charge. Tillman glared at me; Sharat's look was neutral.
"Why?" she finally asked, while appraising me against some unknown standard. Kris answered, which I thought a good idea. I still needed to be more thoughtful in my responses.
"We believe the smugglers have a communications network in the Alliance that allows them to make almost real-time decisions. The merchant captain more or less confirmed our suspicions. When agent Paulus reviewed the crew’s pending messages to Westar, she noticed a couple of messages that resembled the coded messages the smugglers use to inform the merchants of pickup and drop-off sites and times. She and I found one which we subsequently managed to decode."
"When were you planning to tell me?" Sharat asked, frowning.
"We didn't decode it until we were on our way to Fire Rock. We think it’s someone trading information for drugs, but we don't really have proof. The message in itself looks innocent. We felt we needed to do more digging before we accused anyone, and we decided it could wait until after the stakeout. But if you give the crew leave, everyone knows we destroyed a smuggler's ship and captured the Spinner. The smuggler network will know it within hours and could shut down their operations temporarily until they work out a new system."
"Who's the individual?" Tillman asked Kris, but he was still glaring at me.
"What are you suggesting, Sinclair? You're right whether that individual is guilty or not, and whether the smugglers have a network or not. Information like that will spread like a virus."
"Send the wounded to the hospital under guard with instructions to say it was a fluke accident—engine exploded or something. You'll know better than me what will sound plausible. Restrict the rest of the crew. I think the individual will try to send another message. That should be proof enough. If not, we can use the time to check out the individual and the recipient of his message." Kris worded her response so as not to give any clue that could lead the XO to the individual. I probably would have said something that could have led him to the message writer, and I'm not sure what he would have done with the information.
"And after that?" Sharat asked.
"Anna?" Kris looked to me. I know she would have liked to discuss it in private but thought that would unset the captain, which we didn't need if we wanted her cooperation.
"I'd like to review all the crew’s messages to planets they visited—"
"Snoop on the crew like we’re criminals!" Tillman shouted.
"Enough, Frank. She's not suggesting everyone's mail. Are you Paulus?"
"Only crew messages sent to the planet the ship is planning to visit. Based on Westar, it should only be a handful at each stop."
"Sounds reasonable. How are you planning on getting them?"
"That's the problem. I'm not sure the other agents would know how to search the backup files to obtain the information, and I’m not sure if we want the Comm officers in on what we are doing. I'd like to recall the other two ships to whatever system is closest so I can do the search."
"Don't trust the Comm officers?"
"Commander Tillman, it's not a matter of thinking them guilty of anything, but the more people that know what we are doing, the more chance someone will say something to alert the wrong people. We aren't discussing catching one person selling information. We are potentially talking about shutting down the entire smuggling operation." Kris said, and Tillman reluctantly nodded.
"Since you don't have any smugglers for me to chase immediately …" Sharat smiled and gave a bark of a laugh. "I like the idea of shutting down the smugglers’ operation. When we reach Westar, I'll send the seriously wounded under guard to the hospital there, and I'll contact Admiral Rawls and ask for a meeting with the task force."
* * *
When we reached Westar early the next day, Sharat arranged for guards to accompany the sick to Westar's main hospital on Egon, the capital city, and notified the crew there would be no planet leave since we were only staying long enough to drop off the seriously wounded—next stops Shadows Rest, Safe Harbor, and Truth Star. Then she held a surprise meeting in the shuttle to Westar, where she instructed the guards and sick on the story she had concocted—a test of some classified project had exploded, causing the injuries, and no one was allowed to talk about it. She also let everyone know they would spend the rest of their lives in prison if they mentioned the encounter with the smugglers. Then she sent the following message to Rawls:
My NIA agents are requesting a meeting of the Romulus, Scylla, and Tityus. I concur. Urgent. Suggest Holy Star as meeting system. Signed Captain Sharat, commanding the Tityus.
"Wow, I'm impressed," Kris said when I showed her the message after my shift. "She really went out on the limb by saying she concurred with us, and I like the way she left out the details but put urgent. Clever. I think she feels her actions on Fire Rock earned her credits she's using to force the meeting. Another gamble like going to Fire Rock she's hoping will pay off."
"I have the messages the crew members sent when they learned there would be no planet leave. Only three." I handed Kris a copy of each. She grinned.
"I'd be willing to wager this message has the words Shadow, Safe, and Truth in it."
"You're right. It was easy to decode. The idiot used the same key as the last one. I'm
not sure about the other two. Before I send them, I'd like us to have a good look at them."
Kris nodded, and we sat in silence for several hours, took a break for dinner, and returned to my cabin to continue.
"The one to Oasis. I think it says: giant broke." I said, and Kris laughed before sobering.
"We make a good team, Anna. I thought it said: Witch’s broom. Very clever, the writer used two keys, each producing a different result. The message reads: The giant broke the Witch’s broom or The Tityus destroyed the Wind Witch ship, if you substitute, Tityus for giant, destroyed for broke, Wind Witch for Witch, and cruiser for broom." She took a drink of her wine. "Damn, that was fun."
"Let's go to the Bridge. I'd like to verify these two individuals before we go to the captain."
"I thought you needed a valid account to send a message, so ..."
"True, however, I'd like to be sure. That was a very sophisticated encryption. Anyway, the captain makes me nervous, so I’d rather double check," I said, and Kris joined me as I made my way to the Bridge. On the Bridge, I nodded to Commander Pugh, the senior officer on duty, and walked over to the communications station, where Third Shift Comm Officer Second Lieutenant Fahey was sitting.
"Excuse me, Lieutenant Fahey. I need to use the Comm panel for a few minutes."
"Why?"
"As part of my duties, unless you have something urgent you're doing," I said, willing to wait if necessary. He stood but stayed standing over me. "Lieutenant, I need privacy. If you would move away, I'd appreciate it."
"Why, so you can poke your nose into people's private areas?" He sneered, radiating anger and hostility.
"Commander Pugh," I didn't have to get his attention since he had been looking toward us all along.
"Yes, Lieutenant Paulus."
"Lieutenant Fahey is refusing to grant me access to the Comm station without looking over my shoulder."
"Any reason he shouldn't?"
"Any reason he should?" Kris asked, freezing Pugh's amused look.
"... No, Fehey, give the lieutenants room to work." He wandered off with Fehey following.
I sat and began my search. Petty Officer Dotson worked in shuttle maintenance, and Rollins, a leading seaman, worked in the environmental unit. But ... something was nagging at me. I split the screen on my tablet and stared at the two side-by-side documents. I rose with Kris following.
"Thank you, Commander Pugh, Lieutenant Fehey," I said as we passed by them and exited the Bridge.
"What's up?"
"I don't know." I handed her my tablet when we entered my room. "What do you see?"
She studied it for a long time before shrugging. "Looks the same, everything except the message of course."
"I'm going to go see Leader Rollins."
"Why?"
"To see if she actually sent that message. I can't shake the feeling something is different about the message package: what identifies and directs the message to the right place."
"I'm coming with you. I know I'm not your chaperone, but ..."
"Kris, I don't mind you looking after me. I feel better when you're around. I'm still getting my sea legs, so to speak. Anyway, I like your company and we're a team. You may see something I don't." I still felt like a kid at times. I liked the security of living at home, and I felt safer with Kris around. Well I am still a teenager, I mused. The ship seemed quiet as I led us down several hallways to the steps to the lower level, which would bring us out near the shuttle and fighter bays and the environmental unit.
Kris slammed into me, and we tumbled down the stairs to the bottom. I lay with my head facing Kris, who wasn't moving or making any noises. All I could hear was someone coming down the stairs, humming softly.
"Guess I should call the medics. A clumsy NIA idiot tripped, causing her friend and her to fall and break their necks. What a tear-jerking shame." I heard a low evil whisper like in some horror video, and I felt hate so strong it made me shudder. I needed to do something, but I couldn't think clearly through my fogged mind. I saw a shadowy figure kneel next to Kris and put a hand on her neck. "Weak but alive, for now," he said, grabbing her chin and head.
Red slid out of my blouse and wrapped himself around my arm. Adrenaline flooded me, and I flung my arm at his, hoping to knock his hands away.
"Ow, what did you stick me with ..." The kick to my head snapped it around with an excruciating jolt. I struggled to move but felt as though I was in a vat of molasses. I tasted coppery blood running down my scalp.
He grabbed my chin and then the top of my head. He jerked, but his hands slipped. Then he let go and I heard him scrambling backward. "Ow, shit! A snake! Where the hell did that come from?"
I could feel Red wrap himself around my neck. The smell of vomit filled my nose as the man puked on me.
"Bitch!" He kicked me in the ribs and then the neck, and I felt Red uncoil, and I gagged as Red tightened around my neck. He must have had his fangs locked into the man's leg. Then the pressure eased and I could hear Red hissing near my ear. You've upset my lazy friend, I thought and wanted to laugh but pain suddenly surged through my body. It pulsed as wave after wave slammed into me. Then a tsunami hit me and I sank into darkness.
* * *
"How do you feel, Lieutenant?" a woman's voice said, warm and soothing.
I didn't answer while I concentrated, seeking the feel of Red. As if in answer, I felt his tongue against my ear and sighed in relief.
"Like I crashed my skimmer," I said, the pain still there but subdued.
"I've given you some pain medicine in your IV. Your snake has been relatively cooperative in letting me examine you, but I didn't want to use any machines on you while it was attached to you, so I've been waiting for you to gain consciousness."
"Thank you. I'd rather he didn't leave me. Tell me what you want me to do and Red will cooperate." I reached up to hold Red, hoping he had been lucky. "How is Lieutenant Sinclair?"
"She got a concussion from the fall, but she'll be fine. All she needs is rest. It's a good thing you gave me that antivenin. Your snake bit the man who tried to help you after your fall—"
"Arrest him. He pushed us down the stairs and attempted to break my neck when the fall didn't kill us. Tell the captain."
"Can you identify him?"
"Yes, Red bit him three times, once each in the hand, arm, and leg. In the hand when he grabbed Lieutenant Sinclair's head, once when he attempted to break my neck, and once when he kicked me in the head. And unless I'm wrong, his name is probably Dotson." I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping I was right and there weren't more than two on this ship doing business with the smugglers.
"It was Petty Officer Dotson. He had a much different story. He claimed he found you lying at the bottom of the stairs and when he tried to help you, your snake bit him."
"Tell the captain, Agent Paulus wants protection for her and Agent Sinclair until we are well enough to defend ourselves."
"That won't be necessary, Paulus," Sharat said, looking down at me. "Commander Pugh complained about your high-handed attitude toward Lieutenant Fehey, so when I heard about your injuries, I concluded you found something and were on your way to check it out and therefore it was unlikely an accident. I’ve appointed two marines to watch you and Sinclair, and I've put Petty Officer Dotson under arrest pending an inquiry. Satisfied?"
"Thank you, Captain." I felt too tired to even talk.
"Doctor Guzman, how long before she's fit to walk? She doesn't look good."
"Maybe three days. She has a concussion, at least one broken rib, a nasty cut on her head, and probably multiple bruises from falling down the steps."
"Good thing she's young. Sounds like a week or more for us folks over thirty." She gave a short laugh. "Paulus, I received communications from Admiral Rawls. We're heading for Holy Star, with an estimated arrival time of eighty-six hours. You're excused from duty until then."
"Captain Sharat, can you have Leading Mate Rollins visit me?"
"Tha
t's who you were on your way to visit?"
"Yes, ma'am. I believe someone sent a message to Oasis and made it look like it was from her. We were on our way to talk to her."
CHAPTER TWELVE
Meeting at Holy Star
"Ma'am," a thin woman in her early twenties stood at attention by the side of my bed. I had been dozing on and off and hadn't noticed her come in. "I'm Leading Rate Rollins. The captain said I should report to you."
"Relax, Rollins. You're not in any trouble. I just wanted to know if you sent a message to Oasis. We had computer problems, and I'm trying to straighten the mess out."
"No, ma'am. Don't know anyone there."
"I'm new at this Comm stuff. I wonder if you can help me. How would you send a message to another planet from the ship?"
She smiled. "I'd need a raise first. It's very expensive. I'd log on to my account, attach to the post office account, type my message, and authorize the charge."
"That's it!" I half shouted, and pain shot through every nerve in my body as a reward for my sudden exertion. Rollins jumped back in shock. "Sorry. Would you ask the doctor to use her computer? Tell her I want you to check your account. See if there is a charge there for a message to Oasis."
"Yes, ma'am," she said as she hurried out of the room past the two guards at the doorway. Several minutes later, she appeared again. "No, ma'am. There aren't any charges for any messages."
"Thank you, Rollins. You've been very helpful. If anyone asks you what I wanted, tell them the new Comm officer mixed your name with someone else's."
"Yes, ma'am." She saluted and ran out the door. Couldn’t blame her. A leading rate asked by the captain to report to someone—never a good thing.
I jerked awake when I felt someone grab my hand. My eyes flew open, then I relaxed.
"I came to see how my little sister is doing and to thank Red for saving my life." She squeezed my hand. "The doctor says the man worked you over."
"I'm fine now that I know you're all right. You may want to keep a distance from me. I'm a dangerous person to be around."