Clidepp Requital (37 page)

"How could you know, Syd? Nobody gets into this base unless their identity is confirmed and reconfirmed. Just the fact that he got into this dock proves that a lot of people were fooled before he even got to this ship."

"It may not matter. I was the one who actually let him take what could have been one of the greatest advances in the speed of our ships since Admiral Carver's double-envelope voyage. And it wouldn't just be for DS ships. Even the old
Perry
could have realized a twenty-five percent increase by just swapping out it's old induction coil for a newly designed one."

"That assumes the R&D scientists could have figured out what made it possible."

"They would have. And might have even improved on it. What if it's possible to double the speed? Can you imagine being able to travel to the furthest points in the GA in half the time? And I gave it all away."

"Now that they know it's possible, they'll keep working it until they figure it out, and nobody is going to hold you responsible for giving the generator to a phony Commander from R&D. If he was able to get past all the security checkpoints, his credentials had to be impeccable. And if they were impeccable, you wouldn't have been able to see anything that everyone else missed."

"I wouldn't be so sure about the assignment of blame. Look at Captain Lidden's history. He was sent to the
Perry
because members of an interdiction team aboard a freighter were killed, and he wasn't even aboard the freighter at the time. Milty once told me his motto is, 'Don't Never Do No Wrong.'

"Was this the same Milty who just violated Clidepp space to rescue us?"

"Um, yeah."

* * *

"I was notified just before the regular meeting began that the generator which allowed the CPS-14 to attain a record-breaking speed of Light-12241 has been stolen from the Mars shipyard," Admiral Moore said to the other admirals seated around the enormous horseshoe-shaped table in the Admiralty Hall. When all regular business had been concluded, the hall had been cleared of everyone except the admirals and their aides for a special session.

"What?" Admiral Platt said. "How?

"Roger?" Admiral Moore said, looking towards Admiral Bradlee, the director of SCI.

"A man dressed in an SC uniform, claiming to be Commander Cardona from Weapons R&D, showed up at the
Justice
with two yard workmen and asked for it. Lieutenant Marcola gave it to them."

"She just turned it over?" Admiral Platt said.

"Yes."

"Without requiring any credentials?" Admiral Woo asked.

"The
Justice
is inside a pressurized dock at the Mars shipyard while workmen replace the repository hatch cover. She assumed the officer was legitimate. He had to have excellent credentials to even get near that area."

"I don't recall having a Commander Cardona on my staff," Admiral Plimley said.

"You don't," Admiral Bradlee said. "The only Commander named Cardona is on Admiral Carver's staff. And he's aboard the
Pholus
out in Region Two."

"So that's it?" Admiral Yuthkotl said. "We've lost the chance to increase the speed of all ships by twenty-five percent?"

"Not necessarily," Admiral Bradlee said. "It's true we've lost the generator, and it was very important for research purposes, but the
Justice's
logs are still intact and Lieutenant Marcola has provided new copies to replace those given to the phony commander. The logs contain images of the work being performed on the induction coil, so I'm sure our scientists will attempt to duplicate that effort and hopefully can learn exactly why the used generator was able to produce the envelopes so much faster. It's up to Loretta's people now."

"We're assembling the teams that will begin the work," Admiral Plimley said. "It would have been wonderful to have the actual induction coil for testing, but I think we'll be able to duplicate the process. After the
Justice
left Simmons, we contacted them and requested the image logs of the work showing the induction coil repair. Upon receiving those we contacted the manufacturer of the freighter generator, a small firm on Eulosi, requesting all manufacturing specifications for induction coils from twenty years before the date on the generator to twenty years after."

"Wait a minute," Admiral Burke said. "I thought the generator was stolen. How can we know when it was manufactured?"

"The image logs showed high-resolution, close-up images of the induction coil as it was being repaired," Admiral Bradlee said. "The part number of the unit was clearly visible, and the images of the induction coil are so detailed that we've even been able to identify the manufacturing run of that part."

"I thought the increased security measures put into place after the Raiders stole the two battleships in 2266 guaranteed nothing like this could ever happen again," Admiral Hillaire said.

"The security measures
have
prevented the theft of ships," Admiral Bradlee said, "and we've caught numerous petty criminals trying to gain access to the yard in order to steal parts and supplies, but— someone was able to beat all of our security procedures. We haven't determined exactly how he secured his credentials yet, but we will. It's simply a matter of following the trail backward, just as we did with the Freight-One bombers."

"I'd say we have an extremely serious problem if someone was able to get past security so easily," Admiral Moore said. "And how did anyone even know about the generator or that the CPS was coming to Mars to deliver it?"

"This has to be the most serious security issue we've faced in years," Admiral Bradlee said. "I shouldn't be surprised to learn that the same people responsible for this were also responsible for the security breach on Freight-One that allowed four terrorists to gain access to the station
with
their explosive devices."

"Then Lieutenant Marcola wasn't derelict?" Admiral Hillaire asked.

"The masquerade of the person posing as a Space Command officer was perfect. He could never have gotten into the yard and into the dock if it hadn't been. I'll refrain from pointing any fingers or giving exemption from prosecution until we know the entire story."

* * *

"Where's my money, Zenno?"

"Relax, Garcia, you'll get it," the man on the other end of the phone said.

"You promised I'd have it as soon as I returned from Mars."

"I'm waiting for it to be delivered by my banker."

"I risked my freedom to get that generator. Impersonating a Space Command officer in a high-security area means a life sentence without chance for parole on Saquer Major. I need to get away from this planet before the Spaccs track me down. You can fool them a little at first, but once they turn their attention towards you, your only chance is to get somewhere they can't find you."

"And where is that?"

"You don't need to know. All you need to do is get me my money. I'm broke, so if you don't pay me now, I'll still be here when the Spaccs find me. And how long do you think it will be before I give up the man who didn't pay me as promised? If I'm going to be stuck on that prison colony for the rest of my days, I'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're in a nearby cell."

"I told you, the money is coming."

"If it doesn't come real soon I may not need it, and then neither will you."

Garcia heard a click that indicated the connection had been broken and then a computer message that the encryption routine was terminating.

It had been three days since Garcia had infiltrated the Mars shipyard and absconded with the generator he'd been sent to grab. Zenno had provided the officer's uniform and all of the identification that got him onto the base, plus a shuttle for his trip to Mars and return. Garcia was familiar with military protocols because he'd been a Marine until being dishonorably discharged for having sex with another Marine while on sentry duty. Now he had to get off the planet with the promised one million GA credits before SCI matched the security camera vid images with images in his Marine discharge file. He estimated that he had less than another day at most before that happened, and then perhaps a few more days before they caught up with him. But once they identified him, it would become impossible to get off the planet. The freighter was in orbit and would leave on schedule whether he was aboard or not. Zenno had already paid the Captain two thousand GA credits. Garcia had confirmed that before he left for the Mars shipyard. But there had been a promise of ten thousand more when he came on board. Without the million credits owed him, Garcia couldn't begin to pay the outstanding balance.

He tossed the phone bud on the table and plopped onto the couch. He was afraid to even leave the apartment Zenno had arranged for him lest one of the millions of vid cameras located along the streets of the city or inside public buildings and private businesses report his likeness to SCI.

~ Aug 18
^th
, 2286 ~

Garcia spent the next morning pacing back and forth like a caged animal, then almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock at the door. He grabbed his pistol and hurried to check the vid monitor. The hallway cameras showed that his visitor was Zenno. He was alone and carrying a small case. Garcia took a deep breath and put his pistol down on the kitchen counter before moving towards the door. He stepped up to the security device and said, "Open code 54, Juan." The door clicked and slid open. "About time," Garcia said. "I'm about to go out of my mind. I have to get to the freighter by nine p.m. or I'm stuck here."

"Relax, you have plenty of time," Zenno said as he stepped inside and the door closed behind him. "Here's your money."

Garcia took the case and stood staring at Zenno.

"What?" Zenno said.

"I'm waiting for you to leave."

"I want you to count the money before I go."

"I trust you."

"Good. Now count the money. I don't want you coming back at me a year from now saying I cheated you. I'll leave when you state that every credit is in there."

Garcia scowled and groaned slightly, then turned and put the case on the kitchen counter. He was watching Zenno in the mirror for any sign of treachery, but when he opened the case and saw the stacks of thousand- and five-thousand-credit notes, his eyes dropped to the case and lingered there. Picking up one of the bundles, he riffled the edges. Only then did he realize that just the top bill was real. As he raised his eye, he saw Zenno smile. But before he had a chance to turn around, Zenno shot him in the back. Garcia was dead before he hit the floor.

Zenno smiled widely as he stepped over Garcia's body to retrieve the case and check the hall security monitor to determine the corridor was empty before playing the recording he'd made on a previous visit when Garcia had opened the door. When the door slid open, he stepped out.

* * *

"I just received a message from SHQ," Captain Lidden said to Commander Bryant when Bryant entered Lidden's bridge office.

"New assignment?"

"No, it's about the
Justice
. Sydnee turned over the generator that gave them the twenty-five percent speed improvement, but— she gave it to an impostor wearing the uniform of a Space Command Lt. Commander."

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yeah."

"Are they charging her?"

"It doesn't appear so. The imposter had impeccable ID and credentials. The transfer took place in the Mars shipyard inside a space dock. He had to have been cleared at three different points to get in there. There was no way Sydnee could have known he wasn't legitimate."

"How could an impostor even get to the Mars shipyard, and how did he transport the generator?"

"He used a private shuttle service. Perfectly legal, as long as you have proper ID. When he got to the yard, he even got an assistant yard manager to assign two workmen to move the generator to the shuttle. The yard manager checked first and verified that the generator was to be picked up that day. The impostor had timed it perfectly. He was in and gone by the time the real Commander from Weapons R&D showed up to collect the unit."

"So what about Sydnee and the
Justice
?"

"The
Justice
is having her repository hatch replaced and sensors installed to warn if water ever seeps in again. Then they'll return here."

* * *

"Tell me you have news," Commander Severson said to the SCI undercover operative who had just entered his office.

Nyers looked at him, then flopped into the chair facing Severson's desk. "I have news."

"Give."

"The local cops in Chicago got a call about a dead body. It was a Terran in his mid-fifties. They investigated and matched up his image with the image we've been circulating of our impostor. They called us, and I went to investigate. It's him."

"But he's dead?"

"As a stone statue in a cemetery."

"Any idea who killed him?"

"It was probably whoever hired him to do the deed. Clearing the back trail and all that. The perp was shot in the back, so it had to be someone he knew and trusted. We found a Space Command officer's uniform in the bedroom closet. The body and the uniform matched the images on the logs from Mars."

"Who found the body?"

"Landlord. The perp was supposed to have vacated the apartment, and the landlord went to check on the condition of the place so he could re-rent it. He used his override code to open the door and found the body just inside the living room."

"Any leads on the generator?"

"Not yet."

"So we're at a dead end?"

"Not yet. The perp didn't rent the place himself, and we're trying to track down the person who did. The security cameras recorded someone in the elevator around the time of death, and the landlord positively ID'd him as the Terran who'd rented the place. He doesn't rent any other apartments in the building, so we're pretty sure he did the deed."

"That all?"

"That's all so far."

"Then get out of here and find that bastard. SHQ is pounding on my head to produce results."

"Yes, sir," Nyers said as he stood up and turned to leave without bracing to attention first. Undercover SCI operatives were trained to forget the military deportment taught at the Academy lest it give them away, so Severson didn't complain that Nyers always acted like a irreverent civilian.