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23:56
The circular device spun in a wide arc when the engineer tossed it across Kate’s desk. She didn’t let it finish its current revolution before picking it up. “What is this?”
Imari shrugged as she took a seat across the desk. “I have no idea. It isn’t supposed to be in the computer. As far as I can tell, its sole job is to send out a fake radiation spike.”
Kate turned it from side to side, eyeing the small piece. It wasn’t bigger than a hazelnut, but it could have caused them to shut down the primary engines and plot a course back to Earth if Imari hadn’t gone to shut the main door. “Can you tell me anything about it?”
“It has a receiver, so whoever planted it could activate it at their leisure via remote.” Imari sat forward slowly, a hint of anticipation in her eyes. “According to the schematics I pulled from the device using a reader, this little piece is manufactured by AdvanTech.”
Kate gasped, and the device seemed to burn her hand when she clenched her fist around it. “A subsidiary of GeneTech.”
Imari nodded.
With a deep breath, Kate harnessed her anger. “Is the engine functional again?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Please let Preston know she can begin using the primary engines once more.” As the engineer rose, she added, “And have Meadows check our navigational system, just to make certain we’re still on course.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Once Imari had gone, Kate spun her chair around to face the bank of computers behind her. “Computer, identify all parties who have accessed the main computer in the engine room in the past two months. Authorization Daniels, two-two-one.”
The impersonal male voice said, “Lt. Joseph Douglass, Chief Engineer Imari Beshiio, and Commander Kate Daniels.”
Pressure squeezed her chest like a vice. “Specify when Commander Daniels accessed the computer and her purpose.”
“July Twenty-ninth, 2253. The commander installed a new component to track radiation levels.”
Literally seeing red in her rage, Kate somehow kept her voice almost pleasant. “That information is false. The commander did not access the computer in the engine room. Run a self-diagnostic.”
Seconds later, the computer said, “All systems nominal.”
“Who has accessed the main computer in the engine room in the past two months?”
“Lt. Joseph Douglass, Chief Engineer Imari Beshiio, and Commander Kate Daniels.”
Through gritted teeth, she said, “Call up video footage of the time when the commander accessed the computer.”
The screen flickered before bringing up an image of the engine room. Kate leaned forward, waiting to pounce on the person who had used her authorization code to sabotage the ship. The image remained unwavering for several seconds, and then the screen went black. After a pause, the screens once again showed the engine room.
“What happened, computer?”
“That section of video has been deleted.”
“Restore it.”
“Negative.”
Taking a deep breath, Kate said, “Access your backup drive. You must have a copy there.”
“Unable to comply.”
“Why not?”
“You are not authorized to access that data.”
With a sharp curse, Kate reeled away from the screens to avoid the temptation of smashing her fist through one. A headache was forming behind her eyes, and she stabbed blindly at the console. When the eager young face of the communications officer appeared on her screen, she said, “Send Beck Randall to see me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Alex Parks, and the screen went dark.
Kate leaned back in the chair to massage her temples. Her mind whirled with confusion, but one thing was crystal-clear. GeneTech was hiding something. Just how avidly were they protecting their secret? Were they desperate enough to sabotage the ship? Surely, they would realize even if the Remmick was damaged and forced to abort the mission to Primos, it wouldn’t save them. Another ship would be sent in the Remmick’s stead.
Or was she on the wrong track? Her hackles had raised the one and only time she’d met Lt. Ford. The man was off, though she didn’t have a shred of proof to back that up. She followed her gut, and it told her not to trust the man an inch. Anyone clever enough to work the devices so far found on the ship to sabotage it would probably have little trouble framing GeneTech or its representatives.
A sole beep announced Beck Randall before he entered. Kate bit back a grimace. The smooth, suave manner in which Randall conducted himself was enough to turn her stomach. His pretty-boy looks—all pale skin, that was somehow sexy instead of sickly, and California sunshine-blond hair—rubbed her the wrong way. His hands were unmarred from hard work, and the nails had been perfectly manicured. He looked like what he was—a useless bureaucrat.
Randall nodded respectfully, not taking the chair automatically. “You sent for me, Commander?”
She hesitated to offer him a seat, torn between wanting him to know he was unwelcome, and not wanting to have him standing over her, in a pseudo-position of power. “Sit.” She waited until he dropped into the chair with boneless grace before pouncing. In the blink of an eye, she tossed the device at him. To her disgust, he didn’t flinch as he reached out a hand to catch it.
With a bland expression, Randall examined the object. “What is this?”
“I was hoping you could tell me. Your company manufactures it.”
Randall looked up, his forehead furrowing. “That’s impossible, ma’am. GeneTech produces biological and chemical agents for terraforming. We don’t do electronic manufacturing.”
“Hmm.” She leaned back slightly, trying to release the tension from her shoulders. “I should have said AdvanTech made the device.”
With a nod, he set it on her desk. “If you don’t know what it is, why do you have it?”
“The engineer found it in the engine’s main computer. It shouldn’t have been there.”
His eyes widened at her cold tone. “What are you saying? Sabotage?”
She didn’t reply, allowing the silence to lengthen.
After a moment, Randall cleared his throat. “Why are you telling me this?”
Again, she didn’t speak. Instead, Kate skewered him with dark eyes that didn’t miss a single flaw. Yes, he was handsome and intelligent, but his chin was weak. The tailored shirt almost disguised the beginnings of his paunch, but not quite to her discerning eye. He was a man who reeked of weakness, and her eyes reflected her disgust.
“You think I had something to do with this?” Randall shook his head. “Why?”
“It makes sense. GeneTech didn’t respond with enthusiasm when they learned we were dispatched to check your progress on Primos. Everyone knows they’re hiding something. That gives you good incentive to disable the ship, send us back to Earth.”
He laughed, and it was a cultured, polite sound that held a world of mockery. “’Everyone knows.’ Indeed. There will always be rumors, and everyone always knows everything, Commander. I’m surprised an intelligent woman like you would listen to everyone.”
His derision bit into her, but she forced herself to project an unruffled façade. “So you’re telling me we’ll find everything hunky-dory on Primos?”
Randall shrugged, infuriatingly retaining his cool. “Maybe. As far as I know, yes, but they might not be where they claim. Government contractors sometimes fudge the numbers, just like any other business.” He shook his head. “Is that worth disabling a multibillion dollar ship and endangering lives? Of course not.”
Try as she might, Kate couldn’t get a sense of truth or deception from Randall. Her ability to read people was one of her greatest strengths, so his mystique infuriated her. It took every ounce of self-control to dismiss him. He ambled out, acting as though he hadn’t a care in the world.
Seconds after he was gone, Kate slammed her fist onto the desk. The sound alleviated some of her anger, but the subsequent throbbing did nothing to soothe her. She remained in the chair, glaring at the door, and seething over the encounter with Randall. Futile. That’s what it had been. She hadn’t learned a thing, except he was the smug prick she had pegged him to be.