INTERVENTION (14 page)

  
“And?”

  
“Bloody hell, Miles, you are one warped bastard. Anyway, who controls Duarte when she’s released from hiber? You? Me? Where something like this is concerned I’d sooner put my trust in an Agent like Andretta.”

  
“Don’t worry about it, you heard the Commander, she won’t release her until we’re back at mission control.”

Rachmel was going over the story that Miles had told them; she was trying to discover some reason for the man’s discomfort, but could find nothing. 

  
There had been something that had tugged also at her mind at the beginning of the mission and she had intended to question it later, but the point had been lost in the many conversations since then. After all this time they had only just figured out that Duarte was the alien influence, and even now there was still that one per cent of doubt because the damned Agent would neither confirm nor deny their findings; the woman was a veritable smokescreen; but she supposed that was the nature of the beast.

  
Miles had been led to believe that the target could be her, and she had thought the target could be Miles or perhaps even Hidson, or even both; why had Andretta done this? She had certainly affected a ‘divide and rule’ policy, thus denying them the opportunity to get their heads together and work out just who was her intended target.

Perhaps the Agent had made it all up and was playing mind games with them just to amuse herself;
this however didn’t ring true, as Agents were not known for their humour; nor did she really want to think along these lines, because if it was all just an entertaining tale then she was certain to face a death sentence once they had returned to Earth; abduction in space without just cause was a capital offence.

  
At that moment another thought occurred to her; herself, Miles, Hidson, Kamul and Duarte had all been suspected by one or other; the only person on board who had not been suspected was Coles. Was this a clever manipulation by Andretta to keep the good doctor in the background? To have the rest chasing each others shadows leaving her free to silently observe Coles, a female with a female child? Rachmel thought back to the moment when she had informed Coles of her concerns about Duarte and how easily the Doctor had accepted her proposed action; being the medical officer she was in a prime position to kill everyone on board. Had she made a fatal error in abducting Duarte?

  
Andretta’s reaction when hearing the news of the abduction, however, had convinced her that she had been right; the woman’s cage had clearly been rattled; her toy had been taken away and they had seen a side of her that was far from pleasant; or had this merely been yet another bluff in an attempt to protect Coles’s true nature?

  
She, Rachmel, had killed people in the heat of battle during the wars, and even though they were considered enemies at the time she had felt a responsibility for the taking of human life; but what they had witnessed yesterday in the galley when confronting Andretta was an ice-cold disassociation of passion and consideration for life; she had the distinct impression that the Agent could kill another human being with no more concern than she would have swatting a fly.

  
She wondered what series of events could cause a person to become that way, a fault in the gene pattern? An accumulation of negative experiences throughout childhood? Or was there some kind of brain washing activity going on during Bureau training? She suspected the latter as no one outside the Bureau was aware of the training procedures within; not that these procedures were considered secret, it was simply a basic Bureau principle of a ‘need to know’ policy that ran throughout the whole of Agency doctrine, ‘If you are not directly involved then it is of no concern to you’.

  
Her thoughts were interrupted by the doorcom, “Entry is requested.”

 
“Who?” asked Rachmel.

   “Agent Andretta.”

  
Think of the Devil,
sprang to mind. What the hell did she want now? More threats?

  
“Permission granted”

  
As the door opened Andretta stepped into the room. “My apologies for the intrusion Commander, but I have concerns about Engineer Miles and pilot Hidson.”

  
“What about them?”

  
“They are both in the Engineers’ quarters and appear to be hatching a plot to subdue me before closedown or, failing that, once we are through the wormhole. I empathise with the fact that they are attempting to protect you, but if they go through with this attempt I shall have no other option than to terminate their lives, which action shall automatically abort this mission. We are approaching the most crucial stage of this venture and nothing must be allowed to interfere with it; this mission must be accomplished at all cost.”

  
“How do you know they are plotting against you?”

  
Andretta held out her left arm to reveal her personal interface. “As you are well aware, my remote interface conceals a life-form detector which tells me that there are two people in the Engineers’ quarters and none in the Pilots’ quarters. What MAC failed to recognise was the inbuilt audio device which has a range on this vessel of fifty metres; I strongly recommend that you take immediate charge of your crew Commander.”

  
Rachmel stood and glared at the Agent who was standing there in the centre of
her quarters, lecturing her on the importance of this, her mission; but she knew the woman was right, that this was the a critical time and nothing must be allowed to stand in the way; she couldn’t believe that Miles was planning something so stupid. 

  
Walking to the door, she said “Excuse me.” And left the Agent alone in the room.

   The moment
she had left Andretta spoke, softly, “MAC.”

   “
Agent Andretta request please.”

  
“Code one nine four five.”

   “
Internal Administrator Andretta voice recognition, Bureau facility override, verified. Request please.”

  
“All personnel interactions and conversations on this mission - no log; all remote interfaces when in the Biohibernation section - no log.”

   “Complied.”

   “Bureau voice recognition facility code one nine four five, discontinue - no log.”

   “Complied.”

   The door to the Commanders’ quarters closed silently as Agent Andretta stepped out into the corridor.

Rachmel entered Miles’s quarters and found the two men as Andretta had said, and obviously feeling some discomfort at being found together when everyone should have been resting  prior to being called forward for hibernation process; it was important that all were  relaxed when entering the units.

  
“I know what you are doing and I am ordering you to stop. The success of this mission is more important than any individual on board; should anything happen to Agent Andretta I shall not hesitate to have you both charged.”

  
Miles attempted to bluff it out, “Commander, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

   “Andretta is in possession of location and audio devices; she reported to
me where you both were and what you were saying. This is a Bureau Agent; the Bureau that acquires intelligence data from god knows what sources and you two are living with her in an enclosed environment and plotting her downfall: each of you should be giving serious consideration to your own intelligence, and to your own mortality. This ends now, is that understood?”

  
The two men glanced at each other.

  
“IS THAT UNDERSTOOD GENTLEMEN?”

  
As one, they both answered “Yes Commander.”

  
While in the corridor on return to her quarters Rachmels remote interface flashed.

  
“Rachmel.” She responded.

   “
Commander, we are approaching our rendezvous point; bio-hibernation must be initiated in not more than one hour.’

  
“Very well, give the order.”

   “Complied.”

   Now all departments were hearing the order. “All personnel report to bio-hibernation section; process must be initiated in not more than fifty-nine minutes.”

  
Once everyone was assembled Coles handed each a capsule, this to be taken upon entering the unit; one of the functions of the capsule was to ensure that the person would be sleeping well before the gases were released into the pod which would both create an internal pressure and reduce the occupant’s metabolism and temperature. The seal on the cover would keep the temperature and pressure at a constant until MAC resolved to restate the people inside.

  
Rachmel’s earlier suspicion of Coles came back to her as she gazed down at the capsule in her hand. The unfamiliar sensation of indecision was beginning to cloud her judgement; would the abduction of Duarte prove to be the downfall of her crew? Or was Andretta still in charge of her own mission?

  
Like it or not it was too late to do anything about it now; their safety rested in the capable hands of a Bureau Agent and her unconventional methods.

   First to enter the pods was Hidson;
once inside he took his capsule and then touched the pad that operated the internal clamps and he felt the re-assuring pressure against his body: next, he drew up the fibro-metallic shield until it covered him completely and automatically locked into place. By this time he could already feel the effects of the capsule and he knew that in less than two minutes he would be sleeping. 

  
He called out from beneath the shield, “Internal completed.”

  
Andretta responded “Thank you, sleep well.”

  
With that, the Agent touched the pad on the side of the unit and the cover slid silently into position, completely sealing the structure. 

  
Moving down to the management system that was situated at the foot of the pod she entered the code that would hand over control to MAC; once this was done Andretta went across to Kamul’s unit. “Ready, Leading Officer?”

   Kamul glared at her with deep distrust. “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”

   “I am going to close you down for the duration of our journey through the wormhole. If I had intended to execute you, be advised that I could have done so at any time.”

   The rest of the crew watched in silence, aware that
should Kamul refuse to comply then they would have to restrain him and force him into the pod.

   As th
ough sensing this, Andretta spoke up again, almost as an order, “Please enter the pod and take your capsule.”

   Sullenly, but still obviously distrusting, Kamul stepped across to the pod and climbed in
. Andretta completed the close-down and then turned to Coles’s unit. “Ready, Doctor?”

  
“As ready as I’ll ever be, considering the circumstances.”

  
For a moment Rachmel thought she saw a flash of humour in Andretta’s eyes.

  
“Tell me Agent Andretta, do you believe we shall all return home and live to a ripe old age?” Asked Coles.

  
“Who knows, Doctor; we could enjoy a thrilling adventure out here, experiencing life and death situations; escape by the skin of our teeth and return home heroes as in all the best storyline traditions, only to be knocked down by some foolish youth on a hover bike. Who knows, Doctor?”

  
Coles regarded the woman for a moment and then said “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a barrel of laughs, Agent Andretta?”

  
The Agents’ face remained impassive, “Many times Doctor, many times. Shall we proceed?”

  
Once the Medical Officers’ unit had been processed Andretta turned to Rachmel who had been closely observing the tete-a-tete between Andretta and Coles.

  
“Commander, I am going to offer you a proposition that is not included in Bureau regulations. I recommend you think clearly and responsibly before replying; I shall make this offer once only, and you, Leading Engineer Miles shall never reveal to anyone the content of what I am about to say, regardless of the outcome.”

  
Miles guessed that Andretta was about to throw the Commander a life line. “Agreed” he responded.

  
Speaking into her remote interface, Andretta requested “MAC, time remaining.”

  
The reply was instant. “Thirty two minutes remaining.”

  
To Rachmel she said, “Duartes’ situation is and always has been in my control; I was aware of what was happening to her in the Medical centre when she was drugged by the good Doctor and then conveyed here by the three of you while the Engineer was keeping me occupied after awaiting my exit from the good Doctors’ domain.

“
I allowed this action to continue because the alternative would have been death to you all; make no mistake, I possess the authority and the means to fulfil such sentences. But the mission is one of such importance that I must do whatever is necessary to keep everything on schedule.