by Terry Mixon
He found Zia in one of the rooms at the end of the hall with Veronica, Kelsey, and Doctor Parker. He walked right up to her and fixed her with a scowl.
“Have you gone insane? Offering bribes to an official? She could’ve turned us in. Second, how the hell do you know how to bribe anyone?”
The flag officer smiled a little and inclined her head toward Veronica. “I have to admit that I was just as skeptical as you were, until I saw Veronica bribe security to leave us alone. Apparently, that’s a thing here. If you want to get anything done, you have to be a little free with the cash.
“Thankfully, the behavior is so prevalent that no one bats an eye when you offer them money to bend the rules. In fact, it seems to be expected.”
She turned to fully face Veronica. “Is my understanding correct? Even for things that are supposed to be perfectly legal, adding cash to the equation is expected?”
The Rebel Empire Fleet commander nodded. “It’s part of the cost of doing business. People along the chain of whatever you’re doing expect to get a gratuity for doing their work. If you want them to step outside the bounds of what’s normal, the required gratuity gets larger.
“From what I understand, Zia did exactly the right thing. That person wanted money in order to allow a violation to occur. You gave her what she wanted and she went on her way with no one being the wiser. Excellent work.”
Kelsey shook her head. “I don’t think I’m ever going to understand the Rebel Empire. Some of this behavior makes my head spin. Still, I have to say I’m glad you were able to think on your feet, Zia. Allow me to second Veronica. Excellent work.”
Talbot wasn’t sure about that, but what was done was done. He checked the chronometer set into the desk. “It looks like it’s fairly late here on the station. We should probably take the opportunity to get something to eat before we get down to really planning out what we need to do tomorrow.
“I’m sure this place is busy during the evenings and night, but we have a better chance going unnoticed if we do what we need to do during normal business hours. Frankly, it’s been a stressful couple of days. We need to make sure we stay rested.”
Kelsey nodded. “And as usual, I’m starving. Let’s see if we can find a place to eat and bring something back for those of us that are staying here to guard the equipment.”
Talbot was in favor of food and sleep. The stress of sneaking to Archibald Station and getting aboard had exhausted him. He needed to have his head about him tomorrow. That’s when the real fun started.
22
By the time Kelsey led the majority of the team out to find a local eatery, it was what she’d have called deep evening back on Avalon. In fact, most working people they’d seen earlier were probably at home now.
That didn’t mean there were no restaurants open. The station had people working in shifts at all hours and they needed to eat. Finding something interesting was as simple as walking a few hundred meters down the main corridor.
Carmona’s purported to be something called Italian food. Kelsey checked her implants and found a reference to a region of old Terra. Apparently, it used to be quite favored in dining. Somehow, it had died off on Avalon and thus the New Terran Empire had no record of it.
That wasn’t to say that things like spaghetti and meatballs were unknown. They just weren’t attached to the name ‘Italian food.’ Or to the other dishes on the menu, most of which meant nothing to her. Thankfully, there were pictures and short descriptions that allowed the diner to determine what they wanted to try.
She settled on something called lasagna. The server suggested fried mozzarella sticks as an appetizer, so Kelsey ordered enough for the entire group.
While they couldn’t exactly discuss business out in public, they nibbled around the edges of what their plans would be during the next day.
Zia and Veronica would probe how difficult it was going to be to get over to the shipyard. Talbot, Doctor Parker, and she would scope out the research facility. Carl would be working remotely to see if he could get into the less secure sections of the computer network here on the station.
The fried mozzarella was good, but the lasagna was divine. The meat sauce gave it a spicy flavor that she immediately adored and who didn’t love cheese? Each table had breadsticks with some type of garlic flavoring that perfectly complemented the meal, particularly when dipped into something called alfredo sauce.
Once she’d finished devouring her main dish, she picked up a dessert menu and scanned it. So many options. There was one consisting of some squares of dough fried like donuts that could be dipped into chocolate sauce. It looked as if one order were meant to feed three or four people, but she selfishly ordered one just for herself.
Completely stuffed when she polished off the last square, Kelsey leaned back in her chair. “Somebody make sure Carl gets recipes for all of this stuff. The people back home have no idea what they’re missing. We owe it to them to correct that great injustice.”
Her husband laughed. “Be truthful. You just want all of this for yourself.”
“Hell yes, but don’t be petty. Everyone can revel in my victory.”
“So in the most general sense, what are we expecting to accomplish tomorrow?” Talbot asked, his smile fading somewhat. “Do we think we’ll get access to the medical facility? Will we get aboard the shipyard? How quickly are we expecting to execute?”
Kelsey double checked to make sure no one was close enough to hear their murmured conversation. She also had her implants tag the locations of all the servers and started keeping a close eye on any coming toward them.
Veronica shook her head. “I don’t imagine it’s going to be easy to get onto the shipyard, but it’s not solely a Fleet installation. It shouldn’t be impossible.”
“Getting into the computer system on the station shouldn’t prove difficult,” Carl said, dabbing his napkin at his lips. “The firewalls at the research facility will be another story. Until we get established in the general network, I’m not going to be able to guess at how long it will take to get in, if I can get in at all.”
“And we don’t dare try to physically enter the medical facility until we know we have to,” Talbot said firmly. “A place like that is going to take a very dim view of people just wandering in.”
Kelsey didn’t disagree, but they were on a relatively tight schedule. With the arrival of the Rebel Empire warships, she really wanted to be gone by the time they finished whatever they were doing.
No matter how well they executed their raid on the shipyard, word was going to get out before their freighter could leave the system. That was an almost certainty. The same was true of an incursion at the medical research facility.
The best they could hope for was to sow enough confusion once they’d completed their initial moves that the locals didn’t know what exactly had happened or who was responsible. They’d eventually figure it out, but the more time that took, the better.
Once the locals started going through the records on the battle station, they’d realize the freighter that Kelsey had brought had never actually entered the system. It had simply appeared there and it was going to vanish in the same way. There was no way they’d miss that but there was nothing she could do to fix that.
“Tomorrow is scouting day,” Kelsey said. “Everyone is going to have to be careful how they approach anyone. Until we’re ready to act, I’d rather not raise any suspicions.
“Until then, let’s just focus on the pleasant evening ahead of us. We can rest a little easier tonight. Well done, people. And we can even order desserts to take back with us.”
That made everyone laugh.
She was still smiling at her own joke—which really wasn’t a joke—when a large group of men and women came through the front door to the restaurant and were seated nearby. They looked like a gaggle of low-to-mid ranking Fleet officers, ranging from a single lieutenant commander down to a trio of ensigns.
Kelsey was about to call for the check
when she realized the lieutenant commander was staring at them with a puzzled expression on his face. That’s when she saw Veronica Giguere stiffen slightly out of the corner of her eye.
Oh crap. Something was going sideways. That man knew Veronica. Kelsey was certain of it. He hadn’t placed her yet, but they’d met.
Things were about to get ugly.
Veronica only barely stopped herself from flinching when she recognized Lieutenant Commander Don Summerville. It was far too late for her to conceal her presence. He was staring right at her.
She considered trying to bluff her way out of the situation but instantly rejected the idea. He’d known her for years. There was absolutely no way she was going to fool him. If she tried pretending to be someone else, he’d see through her act and his suspicions would be raised even higher.
Since she couldn’t avoid the impending meeting, she decided to embrace it. With a brief prayer to the gods, she deactivated the stealth mode on her implants. If he checked her, she didn’t dare turn up blank. That would raise questions they couldn’t afford.
With that thought in mind, she sent a message to Princess Kelsey and Zia Anderson.
Activate your implants with your cover identities. Our first test is upon us.
Summerville was already heading their way, so she rose and came out to meet him.
“Don,” she said warmly. “I never expected to see you here. How have you been?”
He took her hand and shook it with a friendly grin. “I could say the same. I’ve been good. Just transferred in. What brings you to Archibald?”
Veronica smiled but shook her head slightly. “I’m not allowed to get into the details because of operational security. This is a stopping point on the way to where the Lords have tasked us with accomplishing something, so even though I’m not actively on that mission right now, I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
A convenient lie. Very convenient.
She turned to face her new friends, pleased to see that no one had stricken looks on their faces. Of course, a few of them looked a little strained, but the main players seemed unruffled.
“Everyone, allow me to introduce Don Summerville. He was the tactical officer on the heavy cruiser where I was first posted as an executive officer.”
Once everyone had murmured their greetings, Veronica gestured toward Princess Kelsey. “Don, this is Captain Diane Delatorre. She’s actually in charge of the excursion I was referring to.”
They’d decided to give Princess Kelsey’s cover identity a promotion. One step in rank would raise no eyebrows if someone checked. People often got promoted and it took a while for the news to work its way through the system.
Kelsey extended her hand and rose to her feet. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Commander.”
“The pleasure’s all mine, ma’am,” Don responded politely.
“And this is Commander Cordia Kellett, her exec,” Veronica finished. “I’m number three this time around.”
“Commander,” Don said, shaking Zia’s hand. “I didn’t intend to disrupt your meal, but I was so shocked to see someone I knew. It’s always hard when you’re posted to a new sector. You never know anyone, so running into a familiar face was unexpected.”
“I understand completely,” Kelsey said. “It’s happened to me, too. I wish we had time to stay and talk longer, but even though we aren’t in the mission’s operation area, we still have a lot of planning to do.
“That said, we’ll be here on the station for at least a few days more. You and Veronica could catch up. If, of course, your ship is going to be here for a bit.”
Don laughed a little. “My ship isn’t going anywhere. I’ve been assigned to the shipyard to work in the Fleet section. While the yard does mostly civilian work, it has a few of our ships under construction there and others undergoing refit.”
He gave Veronica a wide grin. “If you’re going to be around for a bit, I’d love to have dinner. Also, if any of you would like a tour of the yard, I’d be happy to act as your guide.”
Kelsey smiled even more widely. “We have a little bit of discretion in scheduling and I’m sure a couple of us would absolutely love to see the yard. In fact, we were talking earlier today about how we could arrange to get over there, so meeting you is a godsend.
“One thing, though. While what we’re doing isn’t precisely a secret mission, we are keeping a low profile. You’ve noticed that none of us are in uniform and that our associates are civilians. We’re working on board a freighter and it would be a favor to both me and the Lords if you would be discreet about who you mentioned us to.”
“Absolutely,” Don said. “My lips are sealed. Veronica, if you’ll give me a call sometime tomorrow, we can work out the details for both dinner and the tour. Everyone, it’s been a pleasure meeting you.”
With that, her old friend excused himself and returned to his table. His associates immediately started peppering him with questions and Veronica could tell from their body language that he wasn’t explaining things to their liking.
Kelsey gestured and everyone rose to their feet. “I’m stuffed,” she said perhaps a tad louder than she needed to. “Let’s get back to our rooms and call it a night.”
Veronica made a point of waving at Don as she exited the restaurant with the rest of her team. Only when she was outside did she feel her hands starting to shake.
“Oh God. That was so close. Are we screwed?”
Zia put her arm around Veronica’s shoulders as they walked toward the hotel. “You did great. No one could possibly anticipate randomly running into someone they knew like that. Your reaction was perfect. No way he saw anything wrong. We’re still good.”
The other woman’s arm steadied her. Veronica took a deep breath and tried not to sag.
“I’ve been in combat. That was worse in some ways. I don’t know if I’m cut out to be a spy.”
“You did better than I did the first time,” Kelsey said with a laugh. “Not that I’ve been a spy, but I have done things I’d never expected to do. You were fabulous. I didn’t see a hint of tension in you and neither did your friend.
“You also just solved our problem of getting into the shipyard. We don’t have to sneak aboard or steal a cutter now. Obviously, we can’t carry out the operation during the middle of the tour, but I’ll bet we can make arrangements that will make getting back aboard a second time a lot easier while we’re there.
“That’s a huge stroke of luck. An opportunity that we can’t afford to squander. Come tomorrow morning, I want you to contact him and make arrangements for Carl and me to accompany you on that tour. Zia can help Talbot.”
Kelsey held up a finger toward the scientist. “I understand that you still have a lot of work to do regarding the research facility, but if there’s a way to gain access to the shipyard’s computer system, we need to take it. And to do that, we need you there in person.
“We’re going to have to be fast on our feet to give you the time alone to get into their systems and do what you need to do, but we’re not going to get another opportunity like this again. We have to seize it with both hands.”
Veronica sighed. “I’m going to have to go out to dinner with him, aren’t I? That’s going to be a minefield. Probably a couple of hours of conversation where anything I say might trip me up. I feel a headache coming on.”
“You’ll do fine” Kelsey said. “In fact, you don’t have to conceal a single thing. Other than the mission we’re currently on, you can tell him the truth, though I’d leave out the mission to Erorsi. He can’t check any of the facts in time to do him any good. Don’t over complicate this. Like I said, you’ll do great.”
“You can say that all you want, but it’s not going to make me feel any better.”
She felt awful at playing on Don’s friendship. Once they finished, they could leave. He’d face the wrath of the Lords with nowhere to hide. She truly was a traitor now.
Zia gave her shoulder another squeeze. “Don’t let
this eat at you. Come on. Let’s get back to the hotel. Tomorrow is going to come early.”
23
Zia awoke to find herself alone in the room. A check of her internal chronometer told her that it was still a bit early. She’d set an internal alarm to wake her in about twenty minutes, so she cancelled it.
There was no sound from the darkened bathroom and its door was slightly ajar, so she didn’t think Veronica was taking a shower. Perhaps she was taking care of other business.
She slipped a robe on before knocking lightly on the bathroom door. When no one answered, she peered inside. Finding it empty, she turned on the main lights and made certain that Veronica was indeed gone. She was.
Dressing quickly, Zia let herself out of the room and went downstairs to see if she could figure out where the other woman had gone. In spite of Fiona having vetted Veronica’s loyalty, Zia started to worry.
Her concerns dissipated when the lift doors opened and Veronica stepped inside with two cups of coffee.
The other woman blinked in surprise. “Did I wake you? I’m sorry. I just wanted to slip out and get us some coffee.”
Zia took one of the cups and nodded her thanks as Veronica sent the lift back up to their floor. “Did running into your friend keep you up last night?”
The other woman nodded slowly. “I kept tossing and turning, running scenarios through my head. Seeing Don really threw me.”
They traveled the rest of the way back to their floor in silence. Only once they were back in their room with the door closed did Zia speak.
“Let’s sit over here and talk about it.” She gestured toward the two straight-backed chairs. They wouldn’t be comfortable, but it was what they had.
As Veronica sat, Zia sipped her coffee, finding the other woman had sweetened it and added creamer. Surprisingly, she’d gotten the mixture right. The woman was observant.
