Chapter Ten

Evan took another reading of the crate in front of him. He knew it wouldn’t show anything different from the other eight readings he’d already taken, but he didn’t want to believe there really wasn’t anything to find. Someone had smuggled themselves onboard in this crate, then employed a cleaning agent that removed or scrambled any and all evidence of their existence. Even the trace DNA he found was unreadable.

“Well, I think we can say for certain we won’t find anything here.” Doctor Gorman straightened up and glanced at his scanner, then at Evan. “My technicians have been at this almost as long as you have, and there’s nothing here.”

Evan nodded but said nothing. The doctor was right, but that didn’t solve the problem staring them in the face.

“The DNA is inconclusive, and I’d love to know what cleaning agent they used here to scramble it. But I can still put this on file, if you find some suspects.” He turned off the hand held unit and motioned for his lab technicians to pack it in. “I can’t make a complete match, but there’s enough here to narrow the field.”

“That will have to do then.”

Evan stayed where he was while the others left the storage bay. It made no sense. The sabotage that damaged the Ascalon’s engines, the complete destruction of the Vision, even the moving of stored equipment for no reason. Now this. The crate had obviously been used by someone stowing aboard illegally and left for anyone who finally did a physical inventory of the rarely-used lower bay storage to discover. No attempt had been made to hide the fact that someone, or several some ones, had lived inside the crate, and yet all evidence of exactly who they were had been meticulously destroyed. Now that they were out, on a ship this large, finding one or two or even three unidentified passengers would be impossible.

By late tomorrow the Ascalon would achieve orbit around the planet Alex had aimed for upon entering the nebula. If anything was going to happen, it stood to reason that would be the time for it. But what? Mutiny? Destruction? What could be gained by either? Evan knew the laws well enough to know any claim made by an exploration ship that had any hint of mutiny onboard would be disputed and denied to any and all parties involved. Destroying the ship would be suicide, or at the very least, strand any survivors forever in the gas giant.

With Spencer, it was easier. He was a thief of physical and intellectual property, so anyone plotting against him simply wanted him dead. But this – this was different. Evan couldn’t fathom what anyone wanted here, other than the claim of turbidium and the wealth that would come with it. But unless it was legally carried out, the claim would be denied. That wouldn’t stop Spencer,. Evan leaned against the open crate, absently rubbing his palm. If he wanted to steal this claim, how would he go about it? When Alex transmitted the proof, providing this planet truly was a good source of the mineral, the owner would be Paulson Carpenter and his corporation back on Scotian. Anyone wanting to steal it would have to start there, not here.

It made no sense.

Evan gave up wondering and left the cargo bay after one final glance around. Even at this late hour the corridors were filled with crewmen and women rushing around completing last minute projects, hurrying to various windows providing particularly interesting views of the nebula or simply trying to work off the excitement of being so near their goal at such an early date. He had to admit he was a bit surprised that they’d found what they were looking for so soon. But now Alex would be free to explore on his own, and whether he was curious about the rest of the Pendulum Nebula, or just the section they’d both pondered over for months didn’t really matter. Evan’s journeys with his new Keeper were anything but over. After he logged this claim, ownership of the Ascalon would be settled, and Alex would have no real financial need to sell him any time soon. Surprisingly, Evan found himself feeling quite comfortable with the son of Spencer Marcase. Granted, Alex was still too reluctant to use his Sha’erah to his full potential and balked at giving him direct orders, but he had his qualities. Evan could admit – now – that he liked the guy. He didn’t know if any other Sha’erah could say that about their Keeper.

Alex wasn’t back yet, presumably still with Jeff since he’d decided to take dinner with his old partner, so Evan got comfortable on the couch with the scanner and went over that day’s data yet again. He found it easier to sit well back, deep in the cushions, with his left palm resting on the machine, eyes closed, and let the information float through his mind. Images of the storage bays, crates and shipping labels hovered in front of his mind’s eye as he tried not to see any one thing in particular. There had to be a pattern somewhere. It was time to stop trying so hard, and see if he’d missed something obvious.

“Hey, how’s it going?”

Evan blinked himself back to reality and sat up as Alex sauntered to the couch. “Nothing new, if that’s what you mean.” He tossed the scanner to the table and rubbed tired eyes. “I’m beginning to think it’s all a ruse.”

“A what?”

He looked at Alex, squinting in the dim room light. “Are you drunk?”

“Yep.” Alex nodded and flopped down on the couch. “What ruse?”

“I’m starting to think all this moving around, maybe even the crate of stowaways, has all been put in place to keep us occupied.”

“Oh, that ruse.” Alex leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “So do you think we have stowaways at all?”

Evan shrugged. “I can’t tell.” He looked at his Keeper and noticed the slight smell of alcohol. From what he knew, it didn’t take all that much to get Alex drunk. “Do you want to bring Jeff in on this, see what he thinks?”

“No.” Alex straightened up. Instantly he seemed much more sober than he appeared. “I want you to have a look at this first.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out what looked like his own personal computing device, but when he handed it over, Evan could see it wasn’t his.

“Jeff’s?”

Alex nodded. He began twisting the ring around his finger, a habit he’d taken to.

“How’d you get it?”

“I used to be able to drink him under the table.” Alex reached into another pocket and pulled out a small vial of clear liquid, nearly empty. “After a few shots I knew I was in trouble, so I slipped him this. He’ll be out another hour or so.” He set the bottle on the table and nodded at the PDA in Evan’s hand. “Can you just download everything and examine it later?”

Evan picked up the scanner he’d been using and set it to a sharing frequency, then set the borrowed PDA to the same one. The information passed in a blur, easily transferring a copy he could study more closely at his leisure. When he finished with the readily available data, he started in with the passwords and encryptions. Getting past them would take time, but moving copies of what they were hiding took just a few minutes.

“Done.” He handed the PDA back to Alex. “It’ll take me about an hour to get into what he had protected, but I have it.”

“Good.” Alex shoved the machine back into his pocket and pushed himself off the couch, wavering slightly when he got to his feet. “I’d better get this back before he wakes up. He won’t know you looked, right?”

“Right.” Evan stood, eyeing his Keeper. “Let me take it back, you’re not too steady.”

Alex shook his head. “I’m fine.” He turned to leave and hit his knee on the corner of the couch, swearing as he hopped around the edge of the furniture. “Okay, come with me.”

“If you had the sedative with you, why did you try out drinking him?” Evan put a hand on Alex’s elbow to steer him down the corridor.

“That’s a good question.”

“Yes, it is.” He reached out and punched the call button for a lift to take them down the required three levels. The door opened almost immediately and they were awarded with an empty car.

Once inside, Alex leaned heavily against the wall. “I wanted to believe I wouldn’t have to.” He looked at Evan and shrugged. “I know he’s a part of this, somehow. I hope he isn’t, but I think he is.”

The pain in his expression was obvious. Evan knew Alex and Jeff had once been very close friends as well as business partners. And he knew Alex was feeling pain for that loss on a deep level. But there was nothing he could do or say that would fix this. He wasn’t used to being helpless, and he hated it. “We don’t even know what this is yet. We could be imagining his involvement all together.” God knew, he was beginning to imagine a lot of things based on the mess of evidence dramatically pointing nowhere.

Alex looked at him for a long while without speaking as the car sped downward, then traveled the length of the ship to deposit them closer to their destination. “Thanks.” When the car stopped, he pushed himself away from the wall. “Who knows, maybe Jeff’s the same as he was. Maybe I’ve changed and that’s why he seems different.”

“No,” Evan had to take Alex by the elbow again when he started down the wrong corridor. “You haven’t changed, I’ve just gotten used to you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We’re here.” Evan glanced down the corridor, confirming it was empty. He turned and looked back the way they had come, but there was no one to be seen. “Let me do this.”

Alex leaned against the wall and handed Evan the PDA without argument. “It was on his chair, under a set of diagrams.”

Evan glanced down the hall again, then palmed open the door to Jeff’s quarters. “Just stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Jeff’s room was dark, eerily lit by the purple gasses swirling around outside the small window. The crew’s quarters weren’t significantly smaller, but they were singles, affording more privacy as a trade off for the few large windows on the upper levels. Evan found Jeff snoring loudly on the couch that had been turned to face the room instead of the view. The large desk was situated in a corner beside a door leading into a large bathroom which in turn opened up to the spacious bedroom. Jeff was the only occupant, so Evan quickly replaced the PDA under the diagrams he found on the chair, then backed out of the room, keeping an eye on the sleeping figure on the couch until he reached the door. It occurred to him to ask which direction the computer had been facing, and in what exact position, just in case its owner was more paranoid than they gave him credit for, but he didn’t think he could trust his Keeper to know in his state of mind.

Back out in the hall, Alex was leaning forward, his head in his hands.

“Done.”

“Let’s get out of here.” Alex straightened up instantly and ran his hands through his hair. “Was he still asleep?”

“Yes.” They made it back to the lift and into their own quarters without passing anyone else. Alex maneuvered well enough as long as he stayed away from corners and furniture. “You should get some sleep.” Evan let go of his elbow long enough to turn and lock their door. “You’re going to be hung over in the morning.”

“I’ll be hung over in the morning no matter what time I go to sleep.” Alex’s momentum took him halfway into the room, but there he stopped. He was facing the large window, staring out at the nebula. “Do you think we’ll make it?”

Evan finished dialing up an order for enough coffee to get him through the night and looked at Alex. He was still staring out into space, but Evan didn’t think he was talking about the planet growing larger outside. In fact, he wasn’t at all sure what Alex was talking about, but this seemed to go deeper than a bit too much tequila. He walked quietly around the counter to stand closer, offering a silent support. “To the planet?”

“No, beyond it.” Alex waved a hand toward the window. “Do you know how tempting it is to pass that thing up altogether, and just keep going?” He glanced at Evan for a moment, then looked back out at space. “If we didn’t go there, we wouldn’t have to deal with this. Whoever destroyed the Vision wants what we’re going after, don’t they?”

Evan knew the question was rhetorical, so he waited quietly for Alex to continue.

“I’d give anything to keep going. Not even have to deal with it.”

“It wouldn’t go away.” Evan kept his voice low in deference to his Keeper’s condition. “Whoever’s doing this will strike again, whether we stop at this planet or the next one.”

Alex nodded slowly. “I know. And the sooner we get this over with, the sooner this ship will be mine.” He turned and looked at Evan again, almost pleadingly. “I just want to get there.”

This was when he was supposed to assure his Keeper that nothing would get in the way of his success. When he should be able to promise no one would keep him from his goal. But he couldn’t. As badly as he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t. This entire situation was beyond his ability to control. Working for Spencer was a walk in the park next to this. Six months ago he never would have believed it.

"You should go to bed. We'll be in orbit by tomorrow evening."

Alex shook his head, then nodded. "I suppose you're right."

After making sure his Keeper managed that, Evan gathered up the scanner and a large mug of strong coffee and got comfortable on the couch, ready to examine the secrets from Jeff’s PDA.

The first level of data was as basic as it got. Simple notes to himself, reminders and schedules regarding the Vision’s routine and personnel. Evan skimmed over everything until he was satisfied there was nothing of interest there. The next level was password-protected and relatively easy to maneuver through. Sitting back on the couch with both eyes closed, the data appeared before him much like a complex puzzle. He simply had to find attributes that matched, no matter how well disguised, and piece them all together until he gained access. Here he found personal information, credit lines and birth records, the usual data most people tried to protect from prying eyes.

Below that was where it got interesting. The passwords became harder the deeper Evan probed, and when he managed to get through, the data was encrypted for added security.

Someone’s paranoid about something..

He knew from past experience the only reason for such measures of privacy were to hide illegal activities. Those activities could be anything, but the chances that they had nothing to do with what was happening to the Ascalon and the Vision were slim at this point. Evan almost wished Jeff could be found completely innocent, if only for Alex’s sake, but judging by the number and depth of encryptions he was finding, that wasn’t very likely.

It took an hour to locate all of the coded messages and single them out from the unimportant information. Once that was done, Evan checked the destinations of each outbound transmission and found every one of them earmarked for other personal devices identified only by code in the address book. There was no way to tell where the receiver was at the time of the message, but nearly every one was followed by a reply from the same PDA.

“So you’re not working alone. I figured as much.”

No matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find a way to trace the source of the incoming messages, or identify the receiver of outgoing mail, except by the coded name in the address. The challenge only served to deepen Evan’s resolve to find the answers, but by the time he realized Alex was waking up, he’d only gotten as far as decoding the outbound messages. And they made no sense.

“Dammit.” Evan set the machine down and flexed the fingers of his stiff left hand. That motion made him realize how stiff the rest of his body was, having stayed in one position on the couch the entire night. “Spencer should have trained me as a spy, not a thief.” He forced himself to his feet with much effort, stretching back, arms, and legs until it felt as if every joint in his body had popped and groaned. He wasn’t getting anywhere and the time for another likely strike was coming closer. If indeed whoever was sabotaging this mission had their goal in mind.

After making his way to the galley, Evan sent in a request to the medical lab for a hangover remedy for Alex and a stimulant for himself. There was a delay in the response time, probably due to excessive requests on the eve of their arrival, but finally Dr. Zane sent his approval, as well as a request for a noon meeting with Alex. Evan accepted the two steaming cups the dispenser put out, each labeled accordingly, and approved the meeting for the bridge office later that day.

“Please tell me this was worth it?” Alex was walking slowly, rubbing one eyebrow as he headed toward the galley. He was dressed but still barefoot with his shirt only halfway buttoned.

“Drink this.” Evan handed him the cup after making sure he had the right one, then leaned against the counter facing him. “I still don’t understand why you tried out drinking him in the first place.”

“I dunno.” Alex sipped at the hot liquid, then took another swallow and walked back out to the couch. “Pride, maybe.”

“Or punishment.” Evan followed him but continued on to the window, not wanting to sit down again so soon. “At least you’re a better drunk than your father.”

“That’s something.” Alex sat down gingerly as if afraid to jostle his head, then carefully settled himself in the cushions and looked at Evan through squinted eyes. “Were you up all night?”

Evan nodded over his cup then swallowed the mouthful preventing him from replying. The hot liquid was rapidly waking him up and he hoped Alex’s cure was working as well. His Keeper looked as exhausted as he felt. “I found more than I expected, but not much that makes sense. Not yet.” He motioned to the scanner on the table and waited until Alex picked it up. “He’s made several calls to other PDAs, untraceable. Messages that were not only encrypted, but then he seems to have used a code on top of it. I got through the encryption so far, but not the code.”

Alex looked at the small display while he finished his drink. “Nine seven point twelve, noon, station one.” He shook his head. “What the hell does that mean? That was encrypted?”

“Has to be code. I don’t know why someone would bother to encrypt something that vague, if they’re using code anyway.”

“Paranoia?”

“There’s certainly enough of that to go around.” Evan set his cup down and walked around the table so he could see the display Alex was holding. “His addresses are normal until you get to this third layer, hidden behind his frequent contacts,” he pointed to the small screen. “Then there’s a list of codes, just numbers, that correspond to each of the coded messages he’s sent to unknown PDAs.”

“No way to tell where they are when they receive?”

Evan shook his head. “They’d have to be either on this ship or the Vision. PDAs don’t have the power to transmit as far back as the nearest planet or ship without some boosting along the way. But, now that I have his signal frequency, we’ll be informed the next time he sends to any of these contacts.”

Alex handed the scanner to Evan, who pocketed the unit. “So there’s probably no point in deciphering the other messages.”

“I’m going to try anyway. Even codes have to have logic in them. If we can figure it out.”

“I think if we can figure any of this mess out, we deserve something.” Alex sighed deeply, then got up with considerably more grace than minutes before. “Some peace of mind, maybe.”

I’d settle for some peace and quiet. “Dr. Zane is meeting with you at noon, in your office.”

“Dr. Zane? Oh, right.” Alex finished buttoning his shirt while he walked around looking for his shoes. “I forgot about him. He wanted to talk earlier, when they first came onboard, but I couldn’t get to it.”

“Will Jeff be staying behind?”

Alex found one shoe and stopped to put it on. “What? Oh, you mean here, on the planet?” The second shoe was under the chair he was using as a footrest. “I was going to give them all a choice, but I’m starting to rethink that one.”

“I want to find out how deep this goes.” Evan followed his Keeper out of their quarters on the way to the bridge. “If you find what you’re looking for here, and we can leave anyone behind . . .”

“We should leave everyone involved behind.” Alex nodded. “I agree. But can we be sure we get them all?”

“Yes.” Evan didn’t really feel as sure as he sounded, but he knew before this was over, he would be.

Alex looked at him for a long moment, then nodded, smiling in quiet gratitude. “Good. And thanks, by the way.” They came out onto the bridge into a mass of organized bustling as the crew prepared for the impending orbit.

“For what?”

“Whatever that was that cured my headache this morning.”

“That wasn’t me, that was Doctor . . . You’re welcome.”

Alex grinned, then slapped Evan on the shoulder and continued on to his office.

He’ll never understand what a Sha’erah is. Evan walked down to the bridge level and received the morning’s report, then checked readings, confirming the Ascalon’s easy course to the large planet now much more visible to the naked eye even through the purple fog of the nebula. No one had bothered naming the planet past the simple designation C-4. Her moons had been labeled C-1 thru C-6 as they were discovered, and the geologists still insisted each one could in its own right be a workable source of turbidium. Evan just hoped they were right, so Alex could stake his claim, win his ship, and leave the tragedy of this trip behind him. The sooner the better. But first and foremost was his Keeper’s safety and that was dependent on finding out what Jeff was hiding.

Evan took the bridge report to Alex, then settled in on the couch in the office to continue his work. He quickly lost track of everything but the encryptions and strange codes swirling around in his mind. There had to be some pattern, some way of cracking whatever code this was. It looked so simple, just numbers, obviously they stood for words, or letters, in some way. Unless they pointed to certain pre-written files in the receiver’s computer. Just how deep could this possibly go?

“Hey, come on.”

The hands on his shoulders startled Evan. Even then, he realized they’d been massaging his shoulders for several seconds before he felt it. Blinking, he pulled himself back to reality and tried to focus on the office. “What?”

“You’ve been in there like a zombie for hours. Dr. Zane will be here in a few minutes. I ordered lunch for all of us.” Alex continued rubbing Evan’s shoulders for a minute, then looked him in the eyes, apparently checking for something. “Are you with me?”

“Yeah.” Evan swallowed, trying to moisten a dry throat. He still couldn’t focus properly, an after-effect of such intense study from inside the small computer. It always felt more like he’d crawled inside the machines, instead of having pulled the information into his mind. “I’m fine.”

“You were pretty intense. Find anything?”

“Yes and no.” His vision finally cleared, as did the vague need to be sick. “More of the same code. It just doesn’t seem to have any real order.”

“Well, take a break.” Alex answered the polite chime at the door and accepted the lunch delivery. Before he could close the door, Doctor Zane’s smiling face appeared. “Perfect timing, Doctor, come in.”

“I do hope I’m not bothering the two of you. I realize this is a hectic time and all.”

“Not at all. Please.” Alex set lunch on the small conference table and motioned for their visitor to join him as Evan pulled out an extra chair. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you, but there hasn’t been much time with everything that’s been going on.”

“Yes, yes I can imagine. I’ve been occupied myself, filling out death certificates and such. Nasty bit of business.”

Doctor Zane seemed kindly and harmless enough. He’d certainly been no problem since his rescue, and seemed to pose no threat now. Evan started around Alex to leave the two of them alone, but his Keeper stopped him, grabbing his arm and pointing to the table.

“Eat.”

“Oh, yes, please do stay.” Doctor Zane smiled at Evan, then Alex. “Actually, I’ll get right to the point, Captain. I understand this planet we’re approaching could be the one everyone’s been after all along?”

“We’re hoping it has enough turbidium to do the trick, yes.”

“So, providing that is the case, as I understand, my fellow survivors have decided to stay here and wait for a ride home.”

“Really? I hadn’t heard officially yet.” Alex glanced at Evan. “There’s plenty of supplies to easily take care of them while they wait.”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll be fine. But what I was wondering, and this is entirely at your discretion of course, but I was hoping to stay on with this ship, if I may?”

Alex and Evan exchanged glances again.

“To be frank, and I don’t wish to insult either of you, but as I mentioned before, I’ve done quite a study on Sha’erah, albeit many years ago, and I would consider it an honor to be allowed to remain here.” He looked from Alex to Evan and back again, smiling hopefully. “With the pair of you.” His smile widened slightly. “I admit to selfish reasons. Curiosity, mainly. I realize I’m bordering on rudeness here, but I hope you can see I mean this in only the most sincere way.”

With his case fully spoken, the doctor sat looking at both men, expectant and only slightly humbled by his plea.

Evan looked at Alex, waiting for him to say something.

“Oh, I’m not trying to replace your own ship’s physician.” Doctor Zane quickly added. “Frankly, I don’t even need the money. I’ve never been in this profession for money. It’s the science that fascinates me.”

Alex chuckled lightly, shaking his head. “I’ll have to get back to you on this, doctor. It’s a little crazy around here right now.”

“Certainly, yes.”

He glanced at Evan. “I don’t think we’re likely to hear an opinion from him.”

“Not while I’m here, I wager.” Doctor Zane smiled knowingly at Alex.

Evan just looked at them both, completely unsure if his Keeper was expecting him to say something and to come up with it himself or not. He decided not to even try and sat quietly watching them. There was nothing about the doctor that set any of his mental alarms off. Though he’d certainly never heard of anyone having done a study on his people before. But then again, he’d never even met many of his own people before, so what did he know? If it were true, it might do Alex some good to hear – from someone other than himself – how one was supposed to use a Sha’erah.

They were afforded thirty minutes for lunch and casual conversation before Alex’s presence was needed on the bridge. He promised to strongly consider Doctor Zane’s request.

“You didn’t seem too upset about him.” Alex glanced at Evan as they walked to the front of the bridge on the upper deck.

“I haven’t found any evidence suggesting anyone in the medical team is connected to what’s going on.” Evan didn’t think he had to add the yet. “But I’ll let you know immediately if I do.”

“Captain, we’re hitting a clear section surrounding the planet. The magnetic fields at either pole are attracting the nebula’s charges.”

Alex nodded at his bridge chief. “Status.”

“Orbit in six hours.”

“Good.” He turned to face the large window, exposed now that the view screen had been retracted. “Look at that.”

Evan glanced at the large planet and nodded. “I’d like to get back to those codes.”

“Don’t you want to see this?”

He looked at the planet again. It wasn’t remarkable to the naked eye, no large bodies of water or massive forested sections shining up from its surface. The majority of the planet was a dull orange, marked here and there by thick rivers of green and chunks of brown capped mountains. “We’re getting too close to that and no closer to solving our mystery.”

“I know.” Alex’s tone darkened, contrasting the sparkle in his green eyes. “I feel it.”

Evan looked around the bridge but found no prying eyes or suspicious gazes. “We could question him directly.” He was beginning to think that would be the only way to get any answers and hoped Alex would see it soon.

“Tomorrow.” Alex turned to look at Evan. “Before we transmit the claim, if it’s valid. Until then, see if you can get anywhere with the code.”

Evan nodded once and returned to the office. Five more hours gave him nothing more than another headache and a deep desire to look inside Jeff’s brain for the answers. Literally. The most he’d been able to determine was the fact that two of the coded transmissions coincided with both the Ascalon’s probe attack and the one that destroyed the Vision, within an hour of each incident. It was closer, but it wasn’t enough. Years he’d spent cracking encryptions and passwords to find the most sensitive of information and tightly guarded secrets, but he’d never had occasion to wade through someone’s private language before. He wasn’t a spy; he was a thief. And whoever was behind this charade had to be one too. Why else would anyone be doing this? Revenge? He didn’t have time to delve into the late Captain Franklin’s background, but that wouldn’t explain the continued subterfuge or the original attack on the Ascalon. And it wouldn’t explain the apparent stowaways or elaborate ruse designed to give them that impression.

He took one break to stand on the bridge with Alex while orbit was secured and the first of several pods launched to retrieve samples. They both settled for high protein supplements for the evening meal while the results came in, then Alex set about assigning landing crews and destinations for sampling.

“You’re not going down there, are you?” Evan hadn’t even considered that kind of interruption, and was fully prepared to prevent such risk.

“No, I usually don’t.” Alex shook his head, still staring at the planet filling the bridge’s window as he had been for the past hour. “Planets don’t thrill me so much. Just finding them. I leave the detail work to the people who love that sort of thing.”

Evan sighed quietly in relief.

“Listen, I’m going to be up here all night. Why don’t you go get some sleep?”

“This isn’t a good time, if something’s going to happen, it’ll be soon.” He looked at Alex and saw the argument forming in his eyes. He stopped him before either of them could get into it in front of the bridge crew. “I’ll get some rest in the office. How’s that?”

“This isn’t one of those times I could give you an order?”

“No.”

“Fine.” Alex shook his head in resignation. “You win this one.”

Evan left before he could be tempted to comment, and returned to the codes that were now burned into his mind. Before he sat down to them again, he ordered up some strong coffee and pulled the main terminal around closer to him so he could monitor the bridge activity without having to get up. Now that he had the coded messages so completely memorized, he no longer needed to enter the scanner and could avoid falling into such a deep state of concentration.

Or at least, he thought so. When the alarm pierced the air from the small unit now on the floor, it startled Evan out of a deep thought. He grabbed the scanner and stared at it, trying to remember what the alarm was for. It didn’t take long.

“He’s sending again.” Evan showed Alex the source of his sudden charge from the office. “The receiver is somewhere on the seventh level, maintenance bay it looks like.”

“Can you identify it?”

“When it answers, I’ll get the signature. Then it’s a matter of elimination.” He watched the screen, waiting for the other PDA to pick up the message. “The only trouble with that is time. I’ll have to search the entire ship, level by level, sending out a signal and hoping to get a reverb.” Moments later, the small screen blinked and a binary code scrolled by. “There!”

“You got it?”

“I have the signature, now I have to locate the owner.” Evan looked up, blinking. “This could take some time.”

“I’ll send a team with you.”

Alex turned to give an order, but Evan stopped him.

“No, that might send our suspect running.” He didn’t want to mention the fact that he didn’t feel he could trust anyone at this point, even the bridge crew. This wasn’t the only PDA receiving calls from Jeff during his stay, it was just the first one they’d identified. “Let me do it alone, level by level.” He looked around, suddenly aware of the day shift crew mixing with the night shift. “What time is it?”

“Almost six.” Alex laughed shortly. “Time flies, eh? And it’s almost all out.” He nodded to a team at the other end of the bridge, excitedly talking amongst themselves. “I’m getting ready to make it official. They say the turbidium levels in the planet down there exceed anything we’ve seen before.” He turned back to Evan. “This is it.”

__________

The lifts weren’t fast enough. Evan ran down the service corridors, avoiding the crowded main hallways so he could keep his mind on the scanner in his left hand. The signal it was emitting covered several square yards at a time, but the Ascalon was huge and he hadn’t wanted anyone else to help, in case they inadvertently recruited one of the suspects. Alex had ordered a complete review of all findings, not unusual in these circumstances, before sending the transmission that would claim C-4 for Paulson Carpenter and complete the contract. Since he still didn’t know just how many were involved, he’d armed himself with two pistols. The feel of the guns pressing against his legs as he ran was comforting.

At the seventh level, Evan was exhausted. He leaned against a service door to catch his breath and stared at the scanner in his hand, still sending out the sequence that would bring an automatic and undetected response from the PDA he was searching for. He was just pushing himself away from the door to start down another level when he heard the ping.

“Gotcha.”

With the scanner in his left hand and a moment to adjust his equilibrium, Evan managed a delicate mix of input that gave him the illusion of a virtual display hovering before his eyes. With the signal blinking in red seemingly three feet in front of him, he was able to continue down the corridor as if following the dot itself. It was a dizzying maneuver, and not one he used often. It required all of his concentration to keep focused on both the red dot and the physical world directly in his path, but it was the best way to follow a signal through a crowd. And crowded it was. Evan had abandoned the service corridors for the main walkways and found himself occasionally pushing through excited crewmen buzzing about the latest findings.

It didn’t take long for the other occupants of each new hallway to quickly part when they saw him coming, chasing something only he could see. The blip began moving vertically, so Evan took the nearest lift, making it stop at each level until he could confirm where his prey got off. He was getting closer, but they were moving, heading up in a stair-step pattern. Whoever he was chasing almost seemed to be leading him somewhere. Up one level, down three corridors, up another level, left three corridors then up one more level again.

“Dammit!” He was being led. Just like he’d been occupied with a crate seemingly void of hard evidence and stored equipment moved around for no logical reason. He was being led around by someone who knew exactly what they were doing and why! It was time to stop chasing his tail.

He ended the visual display and blinked through the wave of nausea until it passed, then stopped the next lift and boarded. Immediately, he found what he was looking for.

“Alex wants to talk to you.”

Jeff looked up, startled by Evan’s sudden appearance in the elevator. “Oh? I was just on my way to the bridge.”

“I’ll take you to him.” Evan closed the door before anyone else could get in the car with them, then hit the bridge level indicator. He stayed where he was, physically blocking the closed door during their short ride to the bridge and staring unblinking at the only other occupant.

Jeff was just beginning to look uncomfortable when they arrived.

“Alex, heard the good news.” Jeff spotted Alex on the bridge the instant the doors opened and pushed his way out of the lift.

Alex looked up, seeing first Jeff then Evan right behind him. He turned back to the technician he’d been talking to and said something, finishing his conversation before he acknowledged the new arrivals. “My office.”

If Jeff was put off by Alex’s short command, Evan took it as a promising sign. He followed close enough to keep the man aware of his presence, then once inside the office, took up position behind Alex. From there, he could focus his attention on his quarry and best protect his Keeper should anything go wrong. The intimidation factor was an added bonus.

“What’s up, Alex? This is happy news.” Jeff made a point not to glance at Evan as he spoke. “I understand C-4 is everything we hoped for and more.”

“It is.” Alex was behind his desk, but standing. His posture was tense, and his fingers fidgeted with the ring as he looked at Jeff. “As a matter of fact, the moons look like strong sources, too.”

Jeff shrugged. “Stands to reason. Congratulations, by the way. This is quite a find. Should keep Carpenter’s people busy for generations to come.” He was smiling now, looking as conciliatory as he could. “And this ship is yours.”

“I meant to thank you for that,” Alex replied calmly. “That clause in the contract you brokered takes effect after I transmit the claim.”

“Yes, it does.” Jeff glanced toward the door and motioned with one hand, questioningly. “Shouldn’t you be sending it? The sooner you claim this system, the sooner you can deploy the mining company and be on your way.”

Alex paused, shooting a glance at Evan. “I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Jeff laughed shortly. “What does that mean?” He looked at Evan for the first time but quickly changed focus back to Alex. “What’s going on here?”

“You tell me.” Alex stopped twisting his ring and leaned forward, pressing his knuckles into the desk top. “Someone’s been sabotaging this trip from the start. First our engines, then the Vision, which you just happened to survive by some strange coincidence.”

Evan tensed slightly, readying himself for anything Jeff might try. Both weapons were still in his thigh pockets, but easily reached. He knew Alex kept a gun in the top drawer of his desk, but he wasn’t sure how willing Alex would be to kill his old friend and partner.

“And you think I had something to do with it? Is that it?” Jeff’s eyebrows knit tightly, but his posture remained calm. “Is this his idea?”

The two of them exchanged heated glares, but where Evan was willing to continue the stare-down, Jeff almost instantly quit.

“Answer me, Jeff. Did you have anything to do with either attack?” Alex kept his voice calm but the tension was building.

“Alex, listen to yourself for a minute. Remember what we talked about when I got back on board? All those years together, as partners and friends, nearly ruined because of a rash of bad judgment and timing?”

Evan couldn’t see Alex’s face from where he stood, but his posture didn’t suggest he was going to back down. If need be, he could finish this himself, without his Keeper having to upset himself or risk being tricked.

“Bad judgment and timing?” Alex shook his head slowly. “What about the timing that put you in sick bay in time to be saved? What about the judgment that put you on the Vision in the first place? And the first attack on our engines that came from your ship?” With each statement Alex made, Jeff swallowed compulsively. “What about the odd happenings in our storage bays? The conveniently found evidence of stowaways? Just in time to keep us from looking where we should.”

“Alex, do you hear yourself? You sound paranoid,” Jeff tried to laugh. “We found the man who attacked your engines with that probe, and arrested him. Who destroyed the Vision is still a mystery, but the food poisoning that put me in the right place at thankfully the right time is a matter of medical record.”

Evan was beginning to wish Alex would leave the room, for just a few minutes.

“As for the rest of what’s going on, I couldn’t tell you.” Jeff shrugged, but then turned and took a few steps farther back.

“Who did you page on my ship an hour ago?”

That question stopped Jeff in his tracks.

Evan moved then, stepping out from behind Alex to stand beside him.

“You’re bugging my messages now?”

“Who was it? Do you have partners?”

“Alex, do you hear yourself? Can’t you see how he’s poisoned you with his ideas?” Jeff pointed at Evan but made no move to approach. “This is ridiculous! Just transmit that claim and get it over with. You have the mined evidence, you have all the proof you need for a valid claim. Just send the transmission, get your ship transferred to your name and this will all be over!”

“Not until you answer my question!” Alex’s calm vanished. “Who did you call?”

“Stop this!” Jeff tried to march out the door, but Evan was there in a flash, physically blocking the exit with one hand hovering close to a thigh pocket. Jeff stopped, swallowed hard, then turned to glare at Alex. “Just get out there, transmit your claim, and have done with it. If you don’t, Franklin and everyone else onboard the Vision will have died for nothing! Is that what you want?”

“What do you want?”

Evan made his move without a sound, slipping out from behind Jeff before he could notice. Alex noticed, and took a half-step sideways to allow Evan to stand next to him in the cramped area. As one they looked at Jeff and waited for an answer.

“What do I want?” Jeff nearly laughed, but there was nothing that spoke of humor in his expression. “You know, that’s one of the things I always loved about you, Alex. Not only are you trusting and ethical, but you’re always looking out for your friends.”

There was danger in the man’s voice now. A madness Evan recognized. He was ready to physically drag the information out of him, and prayed his Keeper would give him permission.

“I want you to win, dammit! I want to see you finally free of these companies and groups who pay your way so you can do their bidding! I want to see this ship finally yours, free and clear, so we can get out there –” he waved widely with one arm in the general direction of the bridge “– and explore this universe the way we should!”

Evan blinked.

“What are you talking about?” Alex’s voice was a strangely calm contrast to the angry frustration facing him. “What have you done?”

“You wouldn’t understand.” Jeff’s expression altered to one of utter exasperation.

“Try me!”

Something beeped quietly, muffled by fabric. The sound nearly startled Evan into a grab for Jeff’s throat, but he quickly identified the source. “He’s getting a call.”

Jeff pulled the PDA from his pocket and glanced at it. “It’s him.”

“Who?”

Alex didn’t seem to care that his Sha’erah had just spoken up without permission, but Evan didn’t imagine he’d mind in these circumstances. If he was wrong . . . well, he could be reprimanded later.

“I took . . . I took a job.” Jeff looked at Alex, pointedly trying to avoid seeing Evan right beside him. “It wasn’t the first time, either.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I was tired of seeing you come this close to paying for this ship and not making it! I was tired of working for whoever could fund our trips.”

Evan started to move forward, he was going to beat the truth out of the man, but Alex grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

“It’s complicated.”

“Try me.”

Jeff looked away. “I wasn’t alone. It wasn’t my idea to destroy the Vision.” He looked at Alex again, pleadingly. “That’s why I was there, to make sure that wouldn’t be necessary.”

Beside him, Evan saw Alex begin to shake ever so slightly. There was no quiver in his tone, only tragic resignation.

“Who are you working for?”

“You have to understand, I did this ultimately to help you. We were going to be paid, and free to explore, like we’d always talked about.”

Alex shook his head slowly. “Not like this. Not by murdering eighty-six people.”

Jeff ran both hands through his hair. “He put me on the Vision to keep an eye on things. I had no idea there were others there, and here, with plans of their own. I didn’t know he had other plans. Just find turbidium and make the claim before Franklin could, that was all. He had information about the nebula, data I’d never seen before. He knew what a huge find this would be, how valuable it was.” Jeff swallowed convulsively. “He had other sources. I don’t know what, he never explained much more than I needed to hear. All I know is, this was too important for him to leave to chance. His plans are so elaborate, so far reaching, it’s . . . Believe me, Alex, it’s better not to know. Just file that claim and let us be done with it! He’ll stay here, him and all his people. He’ll stay here and we’ll have what we want!”

Evan watched from the corner of his eye as Alex turned to pace the short distance to the front of his desk. He was twisting the ring around with fervor. Finally he stopped, facing the wall but speaking to Jeff.

“Who is he?”

Jeff shot a look at Evan before answering. “Does it matter?”

“Who, Jeff?” Alex repeated.

“He has connections, Alex. More than you realize.”

Alex turned suddenly, facing them. Before he could shout his question again, Evan launched at the man. He had Jeff pinned against the wall in seconds, his face inches away. One of the guns was in his hand, even though he didn’t consciously remember drawing it.

“Answer him!”

Jeff looked terrified, but not of the dangerous, dark man pressing a gun into his neck. “Spencer!” The word came out in a rush, cutting through the air in the small office like a laser-edged knife. “Spencer Marcase!”

Next Chapter

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