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“Sylvia,” Vaan said. He stepped toward me and I stepped back. I rearranged the uniform with my fingers and held the fabric in place like a shield.
“I was just changing,” I said.
A smile toyed with Captain Swift’s lips. He pointed to the doors. “We’ll be right outside.” They turned around and left.
Well, that was just great. I turned my back to the door and stepped into the uniform, and then reached around the back to zip it up. The fabric was thick and impervious to both heat and cold. I ran my hand over the gold insignia, and a small sound came out of it.
“Neptune,” said a voice.
“You can hear me?” I asked.
“Stryker?”
“This uniform is bugged?”
“Security uniforms are fitted with radio chips so we can communicate in case of emergency,” he said. “New advancement after what happened to the Moon Unit 4.”
That meant it hadn’t been mentioned in the outdated BOP I’d memorized. “Can I turn it off?”
“No.”
“Not even at night when I’m alone in my room?”
“No.”
The initial luster of being given security clearance tarnished. “I have to finish changing,” I said.
“I’m not stopping you.”
“How do I end this conversation?”
“Say ‘Over and out.’”
“Over and out.”
“Yes.”
“No, I mean, I’m saying it to end the conversation.”
“Okay. Over and out.”
“Whatever.” I was pretty sure I heard him grunt before the insignia went silent.
I stuffed my old uniform into the laundry chute on the wall and then went outside to where Captain Swift and Vaan waited.
The captain spoke. “Lt. Stryker,” he said. “I came to your ward to introduce Commander Vaan Marshall to you, but I understand you two have already met.”
“Yes. Commander Marshall,” I said, holding out my hand.
Vaan glanced down at it, up at my face, and then back down at my hand. “Lt. Stryker,” he said. He shook my outstretched hand. Like me, Vaan was Plunian. His skin tone was darker than mine but in the same neighborhood. Regardless of how I felt about having a Federation Council officer on board Moon Unit 5, after morning’s encounter with the little Martians, it would be nice to not be the only purple person on the ship. Vaan’s professional standing might even lend me an air of respectability by affiliation.
Vaan’s hand was warm. He held onto mine a moment too long and, awkwardly, I pulled mine away. He smiled at my discomfort.
Captain Swift seemed not to notice. “Lt. Stryker, I wanted to thank you personally for your help in the engineering room last night. The two officers are recovering nicely and should be back to their posts by the end of the day. Commander Marshall will be assisting Neptune in the investigation. Give him whatever information he requires.”
“Of course,” I said.
“I’d like to start by interviewing you about what you saw in engineering,” Vaan said.
“I’m due in security section, but let’s make time to talk later today.” The insignia on my uniform buzzed against me, like a tiny electrical shock. I slapped my hand over it. “Um, hold on.” I lifted my hand. “Hello?” I asked.
“Give your report to the Federation Council representative. Come to Security after you’re done.”
“Roger that. Over and out.” I looked up at the men in front of me. “I’m still figuring out how this thing works.”
Captain Swift and Vaan both stifled grins. The captain spoke. “Lt. Stryker, when you and Commander Marshall finish, come join me on the bridge. I’d like to give you a tour as a thank you.”
I smiled back at the captain. Take that, eavesdropping Neptune! “I’d love that,” I said. I may have shifted my weight a little to make sure the insignia radio receiver on my uniform picked up my response.
Vaan followed me into the uniform ward. The soles of my boots were silent against the smooth floors. I sat on the bench along the far wall next to a locked case of gravity boots. Vaan pulled a chair up in front of me and sat down.
“Do you want me to just tell you what happened?”
“I thought we could sit and talk first. I haven’t seen you in years. Not since—”
I cut him off. “Not since you people convicted my dad.”
“I recused myself from the vote against him. Federation Council made the decision, not me.”
“That’s right, Vaan. You recused yourself. You didn’t defend him; you didn’t open an investigation into the allegations against him or encourage them to review their facts. You stepped aside because you were afraid of making a stink first thing after getting appointed to the council.”
“That’s not fair, Syl. I’d been in the position for less than a moon cycle. It would have had long-term implications on my role within the council going forward.”
“As long as you were thinking about your reputation long term, then, sure, that’s fine. I totally understand your reputation comes before my father.”
“I’m not here to talk about your father.”
“Then why are you here? The first thing you would have done after the request came through to Federation Council was to look at the ship roster and make sure there were no conflicts of interest. You would have seen my name. Why recuse yourself back then and not now?”
“I’m here because the council was alerted to some strange activity onboard Moon Unit 5. First murder, then sabotage. Questions surround the ship’s security team. I was sent to observe and make an arrest if necessary.” He glanced down at my black and gold uniform. “Moon Unit security,” he said. “That’s what you always wanted, wasn’t it? It’s what you studied and trained for at the academy. It’s good to see you sitting there in that uniform. It’s good to see you period.”
“We should get started,” I said. “The council will expect you to follow procedure with a post-critical event interview. Are you ready?”
“It’s been ten years, Syl. We don’t have to rush anything.”
“You’re here to do a job, so do it.” I reached forward and activated the recording device in his hand. “Preliminary interview with Lt. Sylvia Stryker aboard Moon Unit 5 as conducted by Commander Vaan Marshall. Space date: Two-twenty-three. Time: Zulu Eight.” I held the wand toward him to speak or take control of the interview.
He took it from me and held his hand over the wand. “This is how you want it to be?”
“Yes.”
He moved his hand from the recording device. “Lt. Stryker, why was your name only added to the security roster after the presence of Federation Council was requested aboard this ship?”