Battlecruiser Alamo: Final Testament by Richard Tongue

Author:Richard Tongue
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Space Fleet, Space Exploration, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Space Marine, Science Fiction, Exploration, Adventure, Military
Publisher: Publisher
Published: 2016-05-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

 The Neander cells were no different in design than any others Cooper had ever seen, though in far worse condition than most. Four cold, gray walls, the rungs of a ladder leading up to a ceiling hatch, and a dank, musty bed in the corner next to a stinking bucket. He'd spent hours going through every inch of his cage, trying to find a way out, but the designers had done their job well. Now all he could do was sit and wait.

 Over and over in his mind, he ran through his list of suspects, trying to attack the problem. It had to be one of the senior command figures, there was no question about that. Morigna was certainly involved, one way or another, but didn't have the technical skills required to hack the systems. She could have rigged the search in an attempt to conceal the true culprit, but that didn't seem likely either. Knowledge in this culture, especially critical information like that, was tightly concentrated in the hands of a few. Security access certainly was.

 Above him, the hatch rattled open, a bright beam of light shining down, designed to disconcert him. A figure dropped down the ladder, clattering down onto the deck, and the hatch closed again, locking the two of them inside.

 “Aussketi?” he asked. “What are you doing here?”

 “I thought we might both benefit from a quick conversation. What's going on, Ensign?”

 “Morigna is working with the traitors, and is attempting to keep both sides off-balance. Framing my wife and I for the murder of two people ruins your relationship with Captain Orlova on Alamo, as well as playing to the mob.”

 Nodding, she said, “Someone is feeding biased information to the people. The latest idea is that you are planning to lead an army of conquest to the Collective, though I believe a significant minority thinks that all of this is some sort of Xandari trick.” She paused, then ask, “Understand that I must ask this question.”

 “I didn't do it, and neither did my wife, and neither did Segna.”

 “That was my belief, but I wanted to hear it from you.” Gesturing at the ladder, she continued, “Do you want to go for a walk?”

 “You're freeing me?” he asked.

 “Under the circumstances, it seems a logical next step. I'll take you to Ghewon, and between the two of us we might be able to convince him that you are telling the truth. I've arranged for a lie detector test to be readied, if you're willing to subject yourself to it.”

 “Will he believe the results?”

 Aussketi sighed, and said, “I can understand why you might be reluctant to trust me, Ensign, but as it stands I'm not sure you have much of a choice. I don't think any of us do. We've still got a Xandari fleet on the way, and our ship is stranded here without the help of your engineers.”

 “They've been recalled?” Cooper asked.

 “At Ghewon's insistence, though the mob had more than a little to do with it as well.

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