Badger (6 page)

The words completely silenced Upshaw. His face seemed to go from rage to confusion and back again. When he finally responded, his disbelief was clear. “Do you seriously believe we could have spies on board?”

A glimmer of humor penetrated Jacob’s focus. He smiled. “Their last attempt was a bit too successful for my liking, Captain Upshaw. Or did you forget how I managed to gain this rank?” There was a sudden, blissful silence, and Jacob continued. “During their attack on the
Wolfhound
, the Telosians and the separatists were sloppy. Their setup left a few clues. The officers failed to pick up on them—I failed to pick up on them. A lot of people ended up dying as a result.” He felt his face grow hard, and his innards felt frozen with ice. “I do not intend to let that happen again. Not while I’m alive.”

Jacob knocked on Isaac’s door, hoping his friend would open it soon. It had been a long day, and it only promised to get longer every time Jacob thought about what he’d already done.

His inspection of Captain Upshaw’s cabin had been a near disaster all its own. The cabin had been obviously ransacked. His belongings were strewn across the narrow bunk, and the drawers of his closet had been left open. The computer set into the single personal desk remained on, and the screen showed a few of the unsecured files there, waiting. It was obvious that the intruder had made a quick but thorough search of everything and just as clearly decided against trying to conceal their work.

The Marines attempted to gather evidence that would help lead to the intruder, but their efforts were stymied from the start. However sloppy and carefree the intruder had been, he had been careful enough to wear gloves and avoid leaving tissue or hairs that could be screened. No unexpected objects were discovered, and no fingerprints had been left in either the keyboard for the computer or the hatchway. Captain Upshaw was correct in assuming the door had been forced, but it hadn’t been done mechanically. The intruder had managed to gain access by hacking the electronic locking system on the hatch.

The hacking skills necessary to accomplish the intrusion narowed the list of suspects rather dramatically. For Jacob, it meant the following few minutes were likely going to be rather painful personally, especially given his promise to Laurie, but there was little he could do about that.

Isaac finally answered his door. He looked a little bleary eyed, which was understandable. The Gunnery section had led various drills the previous day, and as the section officer, Isaac had supervised and coordinated the practice session for ten hours straight. Jacob felt a pang of guilt when his friend blinked at him, bloodshot eyes still struggling to adjust to the light of the corridor. “Jacob? That you?”

Upshaw probably would have thrown fits over proper procedure and dignity, but Jacob could not imagine standing on procedure that way at the moment. He relented a bit and nodded. “Yeah, Isaac. It’s me. Can I come in for a minute?”

For a moment Isaac looked like he wanted to ask what was going on, but then he grunted and backed away from the door. Jacob pushed it open enough so that he could join his friend inside the small quarters he had been assigned in the Lieutenant section of the ship.

Inside he was greeted with the usual disorganized mess that typified Isaac’s habitation. While he managed to be clean enough to pass inspections when they were given, the Gunnery officer tended to let things lie where they may. Clothing was piled near the foot of the bed, and a stack of computer storage devices sat on the personal desk. The computer set into the desk glowed, though no files were pulled up on the small screen. Isaac’s sheets were still tangled from when he had sprawled in the bed only a moment before, and Isaac himself looked only a little less rumpled and disorganized than his room did.

Jacob waited until Isaac fell into his chair, still sorry for intruding on him. He pulled the second chair up for himself and sat, waiting until his friend settled in and woke up a bit more. Isaac gave him a curious glance as he reached over and tapped a button to bring up the lights.

“So, Captain, what brings you to my humble abode?” He yawned and rubbed at an eye. “I hope it’s not something about the discipline in the Gunnery crews, because if their antics have managed to get you down here at this time of night to bother me, I’m going to make them wish they had never been born.”

Jacob smiled despite himself. “No, Isaac. Your crews are doing fine. Their record keeps improving every day, and your drills are definitely helping them put rounds on target.” He paused, his smile fading along with his momentary good humor. “Isaac, I have to ask you something.”

Isaac stretched, straining his lanky arms slightly as he worked the kinks out of his limbs. “Go ahead, shoot. I’ll help out if I can.”

“In the past few hours, somebody broke into Captain Upshaw’s quarters.”

The Gunnery officer stopped mid stretch, his mouth falling open in surprise.

Before Isaac could comment, Jacob continued. “Nothing was stolen, but it seems like the intruder was looking for something. His belongings were ransacked, his computer was accessed, and his files examined.” Jacob hesitated. “Isaac, the hatch was hacked to give the intruder access. I need to know you weren’t involved in that.”

“You’re kidding right? Tell me this is some kind of joke.” His friend’s eyes were wide with shock and betrayal. “Jacob, you know I wouldn’t—”

“Of course I do, Isaac.” Jacob shifted uncomfortably on his seat. “But I can’t just ignore the fact that you could have done it. You are one of the few skilled hackers we have aboard, and you haven’t exactly been shy about pulling the occasional prank with your knowledge of our security systems.”

Isaac spitted him with a glare. “Jacob, there’s a world of difference between posting an embarrassing message or programming a hatch to stay shut and breaking into the quarters of some random superior officer. Especially when it looks like espionage.” Isaac shook his head. “Laurie said you were acting weird, but this is crazy. You could get me court martialed for something I didn’t do.”

Jacob felt his temper flare. “Isaac, I have my hands tied here. The entire ship knows we’re friends and knows just as well about your computer skills. If I try to exempt you, Espinoza, Kenning, and Upshaw will pin me to the wall for showing you favoritism. They might even put me in a court martial right along with you.”

A knowing smirk settled on Isaac’s lips. “And we wouldn’t want to risk that command rank, would we, Captain Hull? Not that you would have gotten it without help from people like me, but who cares about the details. You weren’t exactly complaining about my hacking skills then, now were you?”

The conversation so far had gone just as badly as Jacob had predicted it would. He shook his head. “Look, Isaac, if you didn’t do anything then you should have nothing to worry about. The investigation will be done by neutral Support personnel and the Marines. They’ll come up with a blank, and we can move on to the rest of the possible suspects.”

“Yeah, unless any of those people doing the investigation happen to be feeling a bit uncharitable toward me because of a prank. Or are connected to somebody that I’ve done something to in the past.” Isaac threw his hands up. “Jacob, you’re giving them the prime opportunity to set me up here.”

The plaintive words only stoked Jacob’s temper higher. “No Isaac, I’m not. And if you’re really that worried about your pranks coming back to haunt you, maybe you should have thought about that possibility before you pissed off some of your previous commanding officers with your antics. You’re going to cooperate with the investigation, be cleared as a suspect, and move on with your duties.” He paused, feeling as if he were a hairsbreadth from the edge of a precipice, and then soldiered on. “You can consider that an order if you like.”

Isaac’s face closed down with each sentence. By the end, there was only a blank expression staring back at Jacob, with a steady undercurrent of anger underneath. Slowly, with an elaborate stiffness, Isaac stood and came to attention. He saluted, and his voice was void of any inflection or emotion. “As ordered, Captain Hull. Do you have any further instructions for me, sir?”

Jacob came to his feet. Isaac was avoiding his eyes, staring at some point beyond and to the side of him. He shook his head. “Damn it, Isaac, I’m doing this because I have to. Do you really have to make it harder for me?”

“I would not want to provide any difficulties for my commanding officer, sir.” Isaac’s expression turned even more wooden. “If you do not have any further orders, sir, I would like to get some sleep. Would that be permitted, sir?”

For a moment, Jacob considered whether he should stay and have it out with Isaac right then. As he studied his friend, a kind of terrible weariness crashed in on him, and he made a different choice. “Yes, Lieutenant Bellsworth, that would be fine.” A flicker of anger swept across Isaac’s face, but it was buried all too quickly beneath that formal expression again. Jacob continued, his words fueled by his own frustration and rage. “The investigation team will be at your quarters in four hours to collect any evidence they might need. I expect full cooperation. Once you are done with them, I want you to get back to work with the Gunnery crews. Is that understood, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, sir.” The short response seemed strained, as if Isaac was now so angry he was having difficulty keeping himself restrained. He said nothing more, and Jacob simply nodded slowly.

“Good. Thank you for your time.” Jacob turned and walked to the door. He pretended not to hear the muttered cursing as he stepped through the hatch and closed it behind him. Just outside, he bent his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to wipe away a sudden headache. The pain did not fade, and Jacob knew that it likely had more to do with frustration and anger than anything else.

He lowered his hand and started down the corridor again, trying to ignore both the headache and the empty feeling of loss in his gut. There were three other crew members he needed to speak with, and he hoped they wouldn’t give him as much trouble—or as much remorse—as Isaac had. It promised to be a long, long night.

Chapter Four

A knock sounded on Jacob’s office door. He looked up and blinked. Reports on the supplies available to both his destroyers had consumed his attention for the past hour. They had passed by a local Naval station in Jennison on their way back from the border, and both ships had loaded some food and other needed material, but it hadn’t quite been enough. Both
Terrier
and
Beagle
were still running on the last of their rations, and the base commander at Jennison hadn’t wanted to empty his stores for ships that were heading deeper into Celostian space. His decision had been easy to understand—outbound ships would probably need supplies more urgently—but that didn’t make stale rations any fresher. Noodles had been his crews’ constant meal for the past three weeks, and if Jacob suffered through another dinner of limp spaghetti he was likely going to break down.

The visitor knocked again, bringing Jacob’s mind firmly back to the present. With a firm effort not to sigh, he called out. “Come in.”

Commander Flint opened the door and stepped in. He took a moment to shut the door before he saluted. “Captain Hull. We’ve just made the riftjump to Ducennes.”

“Good.” Jacob stood and returned the salute. “Thank you for the report.” Flint nodded briefly, and he turned to leave. As much as Jacob would have preferred Flint’s absence, he spoke up again. “Commander, how is the investigation going?”

Flint paused before he turned back around. “As well as can be expected, sir. There is no evidence available to determine who the culprit was. Our Security personnel are doing their best, but we may not be able to find the person—or persons—responsible before we rendezvous with the rest of the fleet.”

The commander’s cold, professional tone did not quite hide the displeasure in his voice. His demeanor was a perfect reflection of the attitude the other command rank officers had displayed during the journey. Upshaw was still enraged at the invasion of his personal privacy as well as the indignity of being exposed to the rumors and speculations of the whole ship. His anger had heated into something one step short of a volcano, and Jacob could sense it simmering every time they crossed paths.

The others were not much more helpful. Captain Espinoza, while initially neutral toward Jacob, was now repeatedly finding excuses to avoid speaking with him, as if the stain of the situation would rub off on her. Commander Kenning said nothing in particular, but the social calls from the Navy’s next rising star abruptly ceased; Jacob occasionally stumbled upon him as he spoke quietly with knots of officers and crewmen. He couldn’t help noticing that Kenning spoke the most with the crew members who felt disgruntled about the conflict. If they were on a regular merchant ship or a pirate vessel, he would have started to suspect a mutiny.

As if he had read Jacob’s mind, Flint spoke again. “Sir, I must again tell you that I feel this investigation is having a disastrous effect on morale. We have no clear clues, and the speculation among the crew is causing severe disciplinary problems. I again recommend we put the situation to the side until we have more resources available to us.”

Jacob gritted his teeth. Flint was right; while the Marines had cleared each of the four crewmen with the computer skills needed for the intrusion into Captain Upshaw’s quarters, the rest of the crew had debated and argued and accused for nearly a full day. The ship’s crew had quickly settled into a pattern of paranoia and combative behavior that left half a dozen disciplinary actions on Jacob’s desk before the end of the first day.

Isaac’s gun crews were the hardest hit by the unrest. It was well known that he had a tendency to play pranks; several officers and enlisted personnel had already fallen victim to his sense of humor. While the investigators had turned up no evidence of foul play on Isaac’s computer and personal reader, there were already several rumors that Jacob had stepped in to cover up his friend’s involvement. Other rumors quickly sprang up that Isaac had been acting on orders to scout out Upshaw’s quarters for possible blackmail, while others whispered that Isaac had managed to hide the evidence and that a second search by the Marines might turn up something new.