Red Angel (24 page)

"Well, that reprimand certainly won't hurt your
career. It reads more like a recommendation for promotion than a censure. The
board had to make their verbal verdict sound like a censure, although
unofficially they approved of your actions. So no one will see the written
reprimand except someone reviewing your records for an assignment or promotion.
But everyone else will think you were punished for talking back to an officer—quite
clever. You have obviously thought about it. Which way are you leaning?"

"I'm not. This thinking about my future stuff is
new to me. I've learned to get out of each day what enjoyment I can. I don't
think it's morbid thinking."

"No, during combat, people tend to think much the
same, and your life has been much like combat. What would give you the most
satisfaction on a day-to-day basis?" Alexa asked.

"Being an officer, I think. I'm in naval
intelligence, and the people I work with are navy, so I think I would feel more
like one of the team, even though they have never made me feel like an
outsider. I'd have to learn adult-speak though." I laughed at the thought.

"Well there is your answer. A few more reprimands
like this one will put you on a fast track for admiral. The Red admiral."
She laughed.

.

"Adrian!" I screamed when I entered the
office and saw him sitting at his desk. I ran up to him, but fortunately
stopped my impulse to grab him in a hug. "It's great to see you up and on
your feet. How are you feeling?"

"Hi, Anna. I'll consider myself hugged. I'm
feeling better each day. That shard gun caused multiple problems, but everything
seems to be healing. You look good considering you've had two murder attempts
that almost succeeded. And Red looks in top form." His head nodded upward,
and I realized Red was resting on my forehead.

"I think he's happy to see you as well." I
laughed. "I don't think the smugglers much like us. I think they are
taking it personally."

"I'd like to tell them it's you and Kris that are
the real troublemakers, but it's one for all and all for one." He lapsed
into silence, and I could feel his deep sadness. "We need to shut them
down for Wilber."

"I agree!" Kris shouted from across the
room. "Give them a taste of their own vengeance. How are you doing,
Adrian?"

"I was telling Anna, I'm recovering well. Still
in a bit of pain and have to be careful not to put pressure on certain parts,
but almost back to functional." He smiled weakly.

Kris gave me a hug.

"Wow, was your vacation that bad, or do you just
have a death wish?" Adrian's eyes were wide and his mouth open in
surprise.

"No, the vacation was great. I'm Red's nanny when
Anna is in a really bad mood," Kris said while maintaining a serious
expression. "When we told Captain Sharat about the message we apparently
intercepted, she..." Kris related the incident at Shadows Rest in all its
gory details."

"You two are certifiably insane, but since we're
teammates, my lips are sealed." He gave Kris a hug, which from the look on
his face caused him some considerable pain. We sat in the conference room
recounting our experiences until Stauffer appeared sometime later.

"Admiral Rawls has received permission from
Admiral Lulltrel to conduct Operation Oasis. Captain Maclin is recalling his
crew from shore-leave and will be ready to depart in two days. Adrian, the NIA
doctor has declared you fit for light duty. I'll leave it up to you whether you
feel up to accompanying these two to Oasis. Trouble tends to follow them."
He gave a snort. "You again have Priority One Access. They want the
smuggler organization crushed, and they are giving you the authority to do
it."

"Maybe I can watch their backs. I'd like to go so
long as Kris and Anna don't believe I'll be a burden," Adrian said with a
wry smile.

"I'd welcome you, Adrian. Keeping Anna out of
trouble is a two-person job." She looked serious, except for the twitch of
her lip.

"I protest. I'm young and inexperienced, and Red
and Kris encourage my bad behavior." I raised my bottom lip into a pout.
That caused everyone to start laughing.

"I'll authorize you to go. You obviously make a
good team. Anna, have you made a decision yet?"

"Yes, sir. I've decided to remain on active duty.
It feels right."

"I'm glad. I should have your P1A identification
badges tomorrow. Captain Maclin is expecting you on or before noon the
following day."

* * *

Saying goodbye to Alexa again so soon was difficult.
Being home had been wonderful, but I was looking forward to going to Oasis as
part of the project team. I drove Alexa to work, then continued on to the Oxax
ground terminal for a shuttle to the space station. The shuttle was crowded
with crew from the Vulcan, including Commander Dowell, who I sat next to, as I
was the second ranking officer on board—actually my P1A gave me priority,
had I wanted to exercise it.

"Good morning, Commander Dowell. Have a good
vacation?"

"Yes, Eteos is an interesting city with plenty to
do. How about you?"

"Yes, Oxax is my home."

"Since you are joining us, I assume we will be
chasing smugglers."

"Yes, we will continue to harass them." I
had gotten paranoid over the year and was afraid to say too much. I didn't know
who might be listening, and they had managed to corrupt Alliance officers. I
thought it best to confine the telling of our real intent to the captain. When
we docked, I followed Dowell and the others to the Vulcan, where a long line
waited to board.

"Come, Paulus," she said, and went to the
head of the line, where Lieutenant Jimenez was verifying identities. Dowell
showed her ID, which he scanned and then my NIA ID.

"Permission to board, Commander, Lieutenant,"
he said, and we proceeded onto the Vulcan. On my way to my cabin, my CPC buzzed
and
Captain's office
appeared on the
screen. When I arrived, I found Adrian and Kris already there with drinks in
their hands. Maclin waved me to a seat.

"Now that you are all here, why are we going to
Oasis, and why does it require P1A authority? I was assuming we were going to
continue pursuing smugglers from the FPU. Is the P1A authority a response to
the situation on the Tityus?" He frowned, and I could feel his concern.

"Captain Maclin." I spoke before anyone
could reply, since the confrontation had been between Sharat and me. "Even
if I had P1A authority at the time, I wouldn't have overruled Captain Sharat. I
don't have the experience necessary to make those kinds of decisions and
wouldn't want the responsibility. But the request for support wouldn't have
been optional."

Maclin relaxed visually. "Yes, that was my
concern. So, why the P1A?"

"We believe that the smugglers' link to the
Alliance is in Oasis. If we can cut that link, we will essentially cripple the
smugglers' organization. The Alliance has given us the authority to look where
we want and do what it takes to break that link. Without it, they could refuse
us access to files, logs, and people."

"That makes sense. Unless you object, I think I
should provide you each with a security detail. It appears the smugglers have a
Wanted Dead
reward on each of
you."

"That would be appreciated. Although Sinclair and
Paulus appear to be able to take care of themselves, I worry about them."
Adrian produced an amused grin, but I could feel his concern was real.

"Good. They have already been assigned. I've
appointed Major Pannell to ensure each of you has adequate security, on and off
the Vulcan. And you are welcome on the Bridge if you need the WavCom equipment
or to review our message logs
—
and
to use my conference room if you need someplace quiet to meet." He clicked
on his CPC, and a minute later a tall muscular marine major entered. Although
he smiled pleasantly, I felt his silent appraisal of each of us as we were
introduced. I was surprised when I only felt a mild curiosity when my turn
came. At Adrian's suggestion, we decided to meet in the captain's conference
room.

"Any suggestions?" Adrian asked, assuming
his normal role as team leader.

"I think we should check the WavCom and review
the Vulcan's message log after we are in the Wave," I said. Kris nodded.

"Can't say I blame you. Both your attackers were
crew. And it would certainly be important news that NIA agents were headed to
Oasis. Any ideas on how to proceed on Oasis?"

"We need to examine the WavCom. It might have a
clue and, of course, every facility and person with access to it." Kris
paused, looking toward Adrian then me. "We could stick together or split
up, although I'd like to stay with Anna. She's a good shot." She quipped,
but I could feel her concern for me.

"Thank you, Kris. Yes, I'm still nervous, but
I'll have security. I hate to say it, but better we are all together in case
... We may be the Alliance’s best chance to break the smugglers'
organization."

* * *

The three of us entered the Bridge two hours before we
were scheduled to enter the Wave. I pulled the recent messages to and from the
crew since we arrived and Kris searched the WavCom for messages to and from
Oasis. After we entered the Wave, we retired to the conference room to review
what we had retrieved.

"What if we split the crew’s messages between us
and work on them after we review the WavCom messages? It will give us something
to do, and we might get lucky," Kris said.

"Why don't I take the crew’s messages and you and
Adrian work on the WavCom messages?" I asked. Kris looked to Adrian, who
nodded. Kris sent me the crew’s messages and split the WavCom messages between
her and Adrian.

After eight hours of reviewing them, I had reduced the
pile to five, based on intuition or something ... Red appeared to have taken an
interest and had lain on my forehead during the entire time. I shook my head in
wonder. Red had become much more than a poisonous snake that fed off me.
Somehow over the years
it
had become
a
he
, and he had become something
more—intelligent. It sounded crazy, and I couldn't prove it, but I knew
it was true. Kris was already in bed asleep when I crawled into bed.

After breakfast the next morning with Adrian and Kris,
I went back to the room and began reviewing the five messages. Adrian and Kris
had stayed to discuss the WavCom messages. Sometime that afternoon, I found
what I was looking for and raced down the hallway, with my guards following, to
Adrian's room, where he and Kris had been working.

"Do you have a message from a Miss Arroyo?"
I asked, still out of breath. After a minute, Adrian looked up.

"Yes, but it's to Westar, so we ignored it."

"Very clever. From crew to Oxax to Westar to
Oasis," I said, and without another word, we all began working on the
message. An hour later, Adrian smiled.

"Message reads:
Wanted team on way to Oasis in two days.
"

"So much for a surprise visit," Kris said,
frowning.

"I think the captain needs to know.
Wanted team
not
NIA team
could suggest an opportunity to ambush us and slow or
prevent further investigation," I said. Adrian and Kris turned a bit pale.
"They know what ship we're on, where we're going, and when we'll
arrive." I typed an urgent message to Maclin. He responded immediately for
us to meet him in his office.

"What is so urgent, agents?" he asked, but
his eyes were on me. Adrian looked to me, but I shook my head.

"We have decoded a message sent to a Miss Arroyo
from a Leading Rate Yanez:
Wanted team on
way to Oasis.
She in turn sent a WavCom message to Westar:
Wanted team on way to Oasis in two days.
We believe that message will be rerouted to Oasis and that it presents an
opportunity to ambush the Vulcan, get revenge, and stop the investigation, at
least until a new team can be assembled and brought up to speed, which could be
months or longer." Adrian said, and sat back.

"And you want me to?"

"Be aware," I said, since he kept glancing
in my direction. He smiled.

"Thank you. I'll be prepared."

* * *

We had gathered in Kris and my room, because it was
bigger than Adrian's. We had been there for more than an hour when our CPCs
buzzed.

You are welcome
to join me on the Bridge, if you are interested
. Maclin.

"Better than sitting here like blind mice.
Remember the medical ward?" I said, remembering how it felt hearing and
feeling the explosions and not knowing what was happening.

"Anna's right. At least on the Bridge we'll know
whether we are winning or losing," Kris said, already on her feet. Adrian
and I followed Kris as she made her way to the Bridge. Our collective security
remained outside as we entered.

"Strap in, just in case," Maclin said as we
entered.

"Sixty minutes to Wave exit," Dowell said,
and Jimenez announced it over the loud speakers. The Bridge was quiet as the
minutes ticked away.

"Battle Stations," Maclin said with thirty
minutes remaining. Jimenez announced the change in status, and I knew lights
would be flashing throughout the ship. "Bridge, I want all systems
passive. If there is a surprise party out there, we don't want to spoil it for
them. Load all tubes and stand ready."

We exited the Wave, and nothing happened as the
minutes ticked by. Kris went to work on the WavCom and gave a thumbs up after
fifteen minutes.

"Looks like the message from Westar. So they knew
yesterday we were coming," Kris said for the captain's benefit. Silence
descended, and each minute seemed like an eternity. Ironically, the emotions on
the Bridge were subdued—professionals at work.

"Four missiles, no, eight missiles incoming.
Impact in sixty eight seconds. Two unknown cruisers," ECM Officer Higgs
said as he watched his monitor.

"Helm, vector nine, zero, zero, by zero, zero,
zero, for two seconds. Execute." Maclin said in a conversational voice,
but I could feel his euphoria—the game was on. The Bridge and its
occupants faded to ghosts
—
and
two seconds later materialized again.

"Helm: cut power to minimum. Tac: prepare to fire
at whichever one appears. Helm: prepare to go to vector: two, seven, zero, by
zero, zero, zero for two seconds."

"Unknown cruiser on vector: two, one, two, by
zero, one, one," the radar operator shouted.

"Fired. Four missiles away, time to impact
forty-three seconds," said Tac officer O’Toole in a normal voice.

Thirty seconds later.

"Four incoming, time to impact sixty-five seconds,"
Higgs shouted. Maclin smiled.

"Three hits on bogey one," Childs said.

Seconds later.

"Four missiles away," O’Toole said.

"Helm, execute vector," Maclin said, and we
faded in and out again. "Comm, message to all Alliance ships in Oasis: ‘Vulcan
under attack by two unknown cruisers.’"

"Sent,"
Jimenz
said.

"Five hits on bogey one," Childs said.