detailing the locations of the largest mineral deposits, Captain, but I’ll have to extrapolate their current locations from where they were in our time frame. A lot of it will be guesswork.”
“Guesswork is all we have right now.” Captain Lee began gathering his materials but as they rose, Colonel Drake remained seated, “One moment please, Captain. I’d like a word.
“Dr. Shieve, Lieutenant Anderson and I have been reviewing the ship’s datalog gathered during the Jupiter transit. Considering the measured levels of turbulence and radiation encountered during the passage, there was no good reason for a hull breach, yet one did occur. We believe there is evidence to suggest that sabotage was responsible for the damage and it originated at a source internal to the Argos.”
The captain registered complete surprise, “This makes no sense. Any sabotage attempt from inside the Argos would be a suicide mission. Are you suggesting my missing crewmen were responsible?”
“No, I don’t know who the saboteur might be, Adrian, or even if the perpetrator survived the incident. However, I do know there is evidence that a second, small gravitonic field appeared in the damaged section of the ship and its interaction with the main drive field resulted in the damage. As to what created it or why the damage wasn’t greater, you’d have to ask Lieutenant Anderson.
“Anyway, you see the reason for my caution. Someone started this with the intention of ending our mission. It’s only by the grace of God that we are still able to discuss the incident.
“Whoever is responsible for the sabotage may still be alive. At this point, the four of us are the only ones who know it was sabotage. If we hope to catch the saboteur, we must not let him know we suspect his existence or he will become extremely cautious. Yet, we need to be vigilant so I’d like you to quietly keep an open eye for anything suspicious.”
Lee sat back in his chair for a moment, “You mean we aren’t going to alert our people. Why? What can just the four of us do about this? We should all be watching for suspicious actions or he will certainly try and do something again.”
“No, for all we know, he may already be dead. We gain nothing but we have much to lose by alerting everyone. Our announcement would result in suspicions rising all around us. Work quality would suffer,” The colonel sat back a little in his chair and sighed. “We don’t need fear and suspicion running rampant. Morale is already a problem and we need to pull together as a team.”
The captain sat for a few moments staring at the table before responding, “Understood but please keep me informed. Thank you, I believe our course is set.”
*~~*~~*~~*
Drake sat back and stretched. His buttocks hurt, his eyes ached and there was a dull pain in his gut because he hadn’t been sitting properly. Too much paperwork and too many meetings. What I need is to get down to the gym and work out, but not yet.
He walked over to his walldisplay and gazed out at the planet without really seeing it. Whoever is responsible for the sabotage must have been very badly hurt if they managed to survive. I wonder if Thrumbold found anything unusual in the types of injuries sustained.
Ah, speak of the devil. “Go ahead, Lieutenant.”
“Colonel, we have seven people injured during transit. Three are military and four are part of Nolen’s group. No exceptional injuries, just the kinda thing you’d expect from getting knocked around after being unlucky enough to be caught off-guard.”
Colonel Drake sat back in his chair, “Guess that still leaves Sikes and Lieu as the most probable saboteurs. I’ve reviewed their files, they’ve no past association with any of the radical groups. Seems like a dead end for now. I really hate to leave this go. If we’re wrong and some crazy is still around, then the next chance we’ll have to get him will be when he tries something. We may not be so lucky next
“Guesswork is all we have right now.” Captain Lee began gathering his materials but as they rose, Colonel Drake remained seated, “One moment please, Captain. I’d like a word.
“Dr. Shieve, Lieutenant Anderson and I have been reviewing the ship’s datalog gathered during the Jupiter transit. Considering the measured levels of turbulence and radiation encountered during the passage, there was no good reason for a hull breach, yet one did occur. We believe there is evidence to suggest that sabotage was responsible for the damage and it originated at a source internal to the Argos.”
The captain registered complete surprise, “This makes no sense. Any sabotage attempt from inside the Argos would be a suicide mission. Are you suggesting my missing crewmen were responsible?”
“No, I don’t know who the saboteur might be, Adrian, or even if the perpetrator survived the incident. However, I do know there is evidence that a second, small gravitonic field appeared in the damaged section of the ship and its interaction with the main drive field resulted in the damage. As to what created it or why the damage wasn’t greater, you’d have to ask Lieutenant Anderson.
“Anyway, you see the reason for my caution. Someone started this with the intention of ending our mission. It’s only by the grace of God that we are still able to discuss the incident.
“Whoever is responsible for the sabotage may still be alive. At this point, the four of us are the only ones who know it was sabotage. If we hope to catch the saboteur, we must not let him know we suspect his existence or he will become extremely cautious. Yet, we need to be vigilant so I’d like you to quietly keep an open eye for anything suspicious.”
Lee sat back in his chair for a moment, “You mean we aren’t going to alert our people. Why? What can just the four of us do about this? We should all be watching for suspicious actions or he will certainly try and do something again.”
“No, for all we know, he may already be dead. We gain nothing but we have much to lose by alerting everyone. Our announcement would result in suspicions rising all around us. Work quality would suffer,” The colonel sat back a little in his chair and sighed. “We don’t need fear and suspicion running rampant. Morale is already a problem and we need to pull together as a team.”
The captain sat for a few moments staring at the table before responding, “Understood but please keep me informed. Thank you, I believe our course is set.”
*~~*~~*~~*
Drake sat back and stretched. His buttocks hurt, his eyes ached and there was a dull pain in his gut because he hadn’t been sitting properly. Too much paperwork and too many meetings. What I need is to get down to the gym and work out, but not yet.
He walked over to his walldisplay and gazed out at the planet without really seeing it. Whoever is responsible for the sabotage must have been very badly hurt if they managed to survive. I wonder if Thrumbold found anything unusual in the types of injuries sustained.
Ah, speak of the devil. “Go ahead, Lieutenant.”
“Colonel, we have seven people injured during transit. Three are military and four are part of Nolen’s group. No exceptional injuries, just the kinda thing you’d expect from getting knocked around after being unlucky enough to be caught off-guard.”
Colonel Drake sat back in his chair, “Guess that still leaves Sikes and Lieu as the most probable saboteurs. I’ve reviewed their files, they’ve no past association with any of the radical groups. Seems like a dead end for now. I really hate to leave this go. If we’re wrong and some crazy is still around, then the next chance we’ll have to get him will be when he tries something. We may not be so lucky next
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