thoughts and set
his mind to the matter at hand. He thought he knew with ninety
percent certainty, what the saboteurs were about now. Until this
meeting of the minds, he had only a fractured picture of the
action. A lot of these guys were living and working in other parts
of the station where things had happened or been witnessed that
Chip hadn’t known about until now. Not everything was put in
station records or recorded. Human reconnaissance was still a vital
asset.
“I believe they want to take over the
station.” Hard looks from all around met Chip’s statement.
“I thought it was just sabotage,” Lila spoke
for the first time. “I mean,” she seemed to backpedal when all eyes
turned to her, “I thought they were trying to blow up the station
or something.”
“So did I, but to what purpose?” Chip
softened his words, speaking to the woman who had changed so much
about his life in so short a time. “That’s what I couldn’t get a
handle on until just now. Some of the things some of you just
reported seeing in the outer rings of the station lead me to
believe that destruction of the station is not their ultimate
goal.”
“Hostile takeover? You think they’re working
for the jits?” Julian asked, his face darkening with concern.
“We’re out near the Rim, but I can’t be sure
if they’re working for the jit’suku or merely their own ends. A
station on the Rim would be a great staging area for jit’suku or
pirates alike. Either way, they’ve managed to put people in key
positions within the mech section to be able to force station
management into doing whatever they want. They’ve been
demonstrating their ability to make small things go wrong for a
while now. The valve explosion earlier today was a more overt
action. I would predict an escalation in events until they finally
step forward to claim responsibility and try to gain C&C access
to the station itself.”
Command and Control access meant the station
would be theirs to do with as they pleased. They could kill
everyone, lockdown whole sectors, gas the population or even
deprive them of oxygen or water. Nobody would be safe if the
saboteurs got into C&C.
The men all looked grimly resigned to Chip’s
conclusions. Nobody wanted to argue, which reinforced Chip’s
assessments that first, his men were steadfast, and second, that
they’d been able to put two and two together as he had. It made
sense, given all the intel they’d just revealed to each other. Each
of this dirty dozen of retirees had seen different things that,
when added together with what Chip and Lila knew from their
observations in the bar, led to his conclusion. The saboteurs were
after the station, not to destroy it, but to control it.
Thankfully, Chip had a plan.
“All right. It’s time we discussed the
players.” Chip stood and flicked a control that raised a projection
station from the floor of the bar. Lila raised one eyebrow in
surprise and Chip had to smile at her. He still had a few tricks up
his sleeve. The bar was fully equipped to act as a troop staging
area, complete with armory and briefing capabilities.
Chip brought up images of the group Lila had
begun observing almost from the first day she’d taken over the bar.
He had a series of short clips he played for the vets, along with a
corresponding data stream that correlated the conspirators’
conversations with events on the station. Seen in this fashion, it
was pretty damning.
Chip was betraying a lot about the bar’s real
function to several men who were not part of the intelligence
service, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He was
also pretty sure these particular vets would be drafted into intel
work as soon as this situation was dealt with. If nothing else,
they could serve as sleeper agents. They’d already proved their
willingness to pitch in and help, and they’d been very
observant.
After the clips finished, Chip stood and
faced the men. He left several holographic
his mind to the matter at hand. He thought he knew with ninety
percent certainty, what the saboteurs were about now. Until this
meeting of the minds, he had only a fractured picture of the
action. A lot of these guys were living and working in other parts
of the station where things had happened or been witnessed that
Chip hadn’t known about until now. Not everything was put in
station records or recorded. Human reconnaissance was still a vital
asset.
“I believe they want to take over the
station.” Hard looks from all around met Chip’s statement.
“I thought it was just sabotage,” Lila spoke
for the first time. “I mean,” she seemed to backpedal when all eyes
turned to her, “I thought they were trying to blow up the station
or something.”
“So did I, but to what purpose?” Chip
softened his words, speaking to the woman who had changed so much
about his life in so short a time. “That’s what I couldn’t get a
handle on until just now. Some of the things some of you just
reported seeing in the outer rings of the station lead me to
believe that destruction of the station is not their ultimate
goal.”
“Hostile takeover? You think they’re working
for the jits?” Julian asked, his face darkening with concern.
“We’re out near the Rim, but I can’t be sure
if they’re working for the jit’suku or merely their own ends. A
station on the Rim would be a great staging area for jit’suku or
pirates alike. Either way, they’ve managed to put people in key
positions within the mech section to be able to force station
management into doing whatever they want. They’ve been
demonstrating their ability to make small things go wrong for a
while now. The valve explosion earlier today was a more overt
action. I would predict an escalation in events until they finally
step forward to claim responsibility and try to gain C&C access
to the station itself.”
Command and Control access meant the station
would be theirs to do with as they pleased. They could kill
everyone, lockdown whole sectors, gas the population or even
deprive them of oxygen or water. Nobody would be safe if the
saboteurs got into C&C.
The men all looked grimly resigned to Chip’s
conclusions. Nobody wanted to argue, which reinforced Chip’s
assessments that first, his men were steadfast, and second, that
they’d been able to put two and two together as he had. It made
sense, given all the intel they’d just revealed to each other. Each
of this dirty dozen of retirees had seen different things that,
when added together with what Chip and Lila knew from their
observations in the bar, led to his conclusion. The saboteurs were
after the station, not to destroy it, but to control it.
Thankfully, Chip had a plan.
“All right. It’s time we discussed the
players.” Chip stood and flicked a control that raised a projection
station from the floor of the bar. Lila raised one eyebrow in
surprise and Chip had to smile at her. He still had a few tricks up
his sleeve. The bar was fully equipped to act as a troop staging
area, complete with armory and briefing capabilities.
Chip brought up images of the group Lila had
begun observing almost from the first day she’d taken over the bar.
He had a series of short clips he played for the vets, along with a
corresponding data stream that correlated the conspirators’
conversations with events on the station. Seen in this fashion, it
was pretty damning.
Chip was betraying a lot about the bar’s real
function to several men who were not part of the intelligence
service, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He was
also pretty sure these particular vets would be drafted into intel
work as soon as this situation was dealt with. If nothing else,
they could serve as sleeper agents. They’d already proved their
willingness to pitch in and help, and they’d been very
observant.
After the clips finished, Chip stood and
faced the men. He left several holographic
Similar Books
