Part 6 (2/2)
”I know about that. That's got nothing to do with this, has it?”
Cavery wasn't sure how far to go, yet. ”I don't know, sir: I was just starting at the beginning.” He took a breath, waited for Fargeon's nod, and went on. ”Today she reported that someone had used her initiation code to attempt access to a restricted file - ”
”Ensign Sa.s.sinak? When?”
”Apparently it happened about five minutes before she came on duty. She reported it to me when I arrived - ” Cavery went on to explain what had happened up until the drill alarm went. Fargeon listened without further comment, his face expressionless. Then he turned to another officer.
”Well, Captain Palise: what did you see in E-bay.”
”Sir, we logged Ensign Sa.s.sinak into E-bay at 1826.40; she logged off the bridge on evac at 1824.10, and that's just time to go directly to E-bay. As you know, sir, in an evac drill we have personnel constantly s.h.i.+fting about; once someone's logged into the bay, there's no way to keep watch on them until they're into their a.s.signed shuttle or pod. When the hatches are dogged, then they're logged as...o...b..ard evac craft, and they're supposed to return to duty as quickly as possible. Within two minutes of Ensign Sa.s.sinak's bay log-in, we show fifty-three individuals logging into the same bay - about what you'd expect. Eight of them were in the wrong bay - and that's about average, too. We had two recording officers in E-bay, but they didn't notice anything until Pod 40-A fired.”
”Very well. Captain Palise. Now, Engineering - ”
”The pod was live, sir, as they always are for drill. We can't be shutting down the whole system just because somebody might make a mistake - ”
”I know that.” It had been Fargeon's own policy, in fact, and the Engineering Section had warned more than once that having evac drills with live pods and shuttles while in FTL travel was just asking for trouble. Fargeon glared at his senior engineer, and Erling glared back. Everyone knew that Erling had taken to Sa.s.sinak in her first a.s.signment. Whatever had happened, Erling was going to pick Sa.s.sinak's side, if he knew which it was.
”Well, sir, activation would be the same as always. If the hatch is properly dogged, inside and out, and the sequence keyed in - ”
”From inside?”
”Either. The shuttles have to be operated from inside, but the whole reason behind the pods was safe evacuation of wounded or disabled individuals. Someone in the bay can close it up and send it off just as easy as the occupant.”
”I don't think we need to worry about that,” said Fargeon repressively. ”My interest now is in determining if Ensign Sa.s.sinak hit the wrong b.u.t.ton out of stupidity, or did she intend to desert the s.h.i.+p?”
Into the silence that followed this remark. Lieutenant Achael's words fell with the precision of an artisan's hammer.
”Perhaps I can shed some light on that, sir. But I would prefer to do so in private.”
”On the contrary. You will tell me now.”
”Sir, it is a matter of some delicacy ...”
”It is a matter of some urgency. Lieutenant, and I expect a complete report at once.”
Achael bowed slightly, a thin smile tightening his lips. ”Sir, as you know I have a cousin in the Inspector General's office. As weapons officer, I have particular interest in cla.s.sified doc.u.ment control, and when that directive came out two months ago, I decided to set up such a test on this s.h.i.+p. You remember that you gave your permission - ?” He waited for Commander Fargeon's nod before going on. ”Well, I had three hard copies of apparently cla.s.sified doc.u.mentation on the new Witherspoon s.h.i.+p-to-s.h.i.+p beam, and - as the directive suggested - I made an opportunity to let all the newly a.s.signed officers know that they existed and where they were.”
”Get to the point. Lieutenant.”
”The point, sir, is that one of them disappeared, then reappeared one s.h.i.+ft later. I determined that three of the ensigns, and two Jigs, had the opportunity to take the copy. I handled the copy with tongs, and put it in the protective sleeve the directive had included, for examination later at a forensic lab. And I reported this, in code, to my cousin, in case anything - ah - happened to me.”
”And you have reason to believe that Ensign Sa.s.sinak was the person who took the doc.u.ment?”
”She had the opportunity, along with several others. Forensic examination should show whether she handled it. Or rather, it would have.”
”Would have?”
”Yes, sir. The doc.u.ment in question, in its protective sleeve, is missing from my personal safe. We have not only a missing pod, and a missing ensign, but a missing doc.u.ment which might have identified someone who had broken security regulations. And a non-functioning beacon on the pod. I scarcely think this can be coincidence.”
”Not Sa.s.sinak!” That was Cavery, furious suddenly. He had had his doubts, but not after the pod ejected. If Sa.s.sinak had wanted to escape, she wouldn't have called herself to his attention that very morning.
”As for the outgoing message with her initiation code, I believe she may have been reporting to whomever she - er - worked with.”
”The destination code was in the IG's office,” said Cavery. ”The same code as your incoming message.”
”You're sure? Of course, she might have done that to incriminate me - ”
”NO!” Erling and Cavery shouted it together.
”Gentlemen.” Fargeon's voice was icy, his expression forbidding. ”This is a matter too serious for personalities. Ensign Sa.s.sinak may have been ejected accidentally. Or, despite her high ratings in the Academy, she may have been less than loyal. There is her background to consider. Of course. Lieutenant Achael, it's one you share.”
Achael stiffened. ”Sir, I was a prisoner. She was a slave. The difference - ”
”Is immaterial. She didn't volunteer for slavery, I'm sure. However, her captors would have had ample time to implant deep conditioning - not really her responsibility. At any rate. Lieutenant, your information only adds to the urgency and confusion of this situation.” He took a long breath, but before he could begin the long speech they all knew was coming, Makin, the Weft Jig, spoke up.
”Begging the captain's pardon, but what about retrieval?”
Fargeon became even stiffer, if possible. ”Retrieval? Mr. Makin, the pod was ejected during FTL flight, and we are en route to a scheduled rendezvous with an EEC vessel. Either of those conditions alone would make retrieval impossible - ”
”Sir, not impossible. Difficult, but - ”
”Impossible. The pod was ejected into a probability flux - recall your elementary physics cla.s.s, Mr. Makin - and would have dropped into sublight velocity at a location describable in cubic light-minutes. With a vector of motion impossible to calculate. Now if the beacon had functioned - which Engineering a.s.sures me it did not - we would be getting some sort of distorted signal from it. We might spend the next few weeks tracking it down, if we didn't have this rendezvous to make. But we have no beacon to trace, and we have a rendezvous to make. My question now is what report to make to Fleet Headquarters, and what we should recommend be done about that ensign.”
When Fargeon dismissed them, he announced no decision; outside his office, the buzzing conversations began.
”I don't care what that sneak says.” Cavery was beyond caution. ”I will not believe Sa.s.sinak took anything - so much as a leftover m.u.f.fin - and if she did she'd be standing here saying so.”
”I don't know, Cavery.” Bullis, of Admin, might not have cared: he argued for the sheer joy of it. ”She was intelligent and hardworking, I'll grant you that, but too sharp for her own good. If you follow me.”
”Not into that, I won't. I - ” He paused, and looked around at Makin, the Weft Jig, who had tapped his arm.
”If I could speak to you a moment, sir?”
Cavery looked at Bullis and shrugged, then followed Makin down the corridor. ”Well?”
”Sir, is there any way to convince the captain that we can locate that pod, even without a beacon on it?”
”You can? Who? And how?”
”We can because Ensign Sa.s.sinak is on it - Wefts, I mean, sir. With Ssli help.”
Cavery c.o.c.ked his head. ”Ssli help? Wait a minute - you mean the Ssli could locate that little pod, even in normal s.p.a.ce, while we're - ”
”Together, we could, sir.” Cavery had the feeling that the Weft meant something more than he'd said, but excitement overrode his curiosity for the moment.
”But I don't know what I can do about the captain,” he murmured, lowering his voice as Achael strolled nearer. ”I'm not going to get anywhere arguing.”
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