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teeth. Didn t I just ask you to
Put a sock in it? Yes, sir. Robbins assumed a sort of seated parade rest
stance, her eyes fixed on a point straight ahead.
Boy, you don t do anything by halves do you, Cindy? When you re annoying,
you re as annoying as hell; when you re being a jerk, you re the mold they
make them from.
I can t do it, Givens said, his voice plainly despairing. It won t give.
It will, Raeder insisted. It s got to, he grimly reminded the young pilot.
Oh, yeah. That s right, Givens said, and brought his feet back up.
He was almost shocked when the pounding finally broke the recalcitrant latch.
He stared out at the stars in astonishment.
Hoo-ah! he cried, and dove. He tumbled, stars whirling by his faceplate; the
Speed whirled by as well, maintaining its relative position, then disappeared
in a flare of drive gasses as the rogue AI made a vector change to dodge its
opponents.
I m out! he shouted.
Understood, Sutton s voice said in his ear.
And far off, a sudden brightness blossomed and died. He put on his homing
beacon, and while he waited he had time to feel regret, sorrow, and fear, as
well as a growing anger.
A tiny red dot sparked on Raeder s monitor and Robbins leapt happily out of
her chair.
He s safe! the young engineer cried.
Peter was astonished by the genuine delight in her smile.
I thought you didn t like him, he said.
Cynthia stopped her little victory hop and stared at him with her mouth open.
Well, we re not friends, she said, but I wouldn t want him to die or
anything.
Raeder just stared at her.
Not friends. I see understatement is one of your many gifts, he thought. He
couldn t help but feel that she made a good suspect in what was obviously
sabotage.
And when Givens gets back, I think you d better be somewhere he can t find
you.
What I want you to do now, Lieutenant Robbins, is go to your office and write
up a report on this incident. Then I want you to finish writing your report on
this morning s activities. Then I want you to diligently clear your desk of
any paperwork you may have outstanding. I want you to lock your office door
and to not come out until I come for you. Do you understand?
Her face had screwed itself up in to a puzzled, narrow-eyed, frown.
Nnno, sir. I don t. We re going to have wounded Speeds coming in here in the
next twelve minutes. I m needed on Main Deck, not in my cubby, she objected.
Well, I think that when Lieutenant Givens gets back he s going to be looking
for someone to blame. And since you don t seem to like him, he s very likely
to focus on you.
Cynthia stiffened and slowly brought herself to attention.
Is that what you think, sir? That did this? Her brown eyes were
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wide with disbelief.
Raeder thought that, for just a moment, real pain had flickered across her
face.
But then, if she s guilty she d want me to think she s innocent.
Maybe she s a really good actress.
Lieutenant, it isn t what believe, it s what Givens and the others will
I
believe, he said. There s going to be an investigation of this incident.
And they will find that you had access, knowledge, opportunity, and possibly a
motive to
Motive! What possible motive could I have for wanting to murder
Givens? You don t murder people just because they re macho jerks! You avoid
them. She looked at the commander for a moment, breathing hard. You heard
me, sir. I begged him not to take that Speed. I ve nursed that craft like an
ailing child and everyone in the squadron knows
it. How could you possibly turn my concern into guilt?
Good question, he admitted. I don t know, but He paused. I think it
would be best if the whole crew for that Speed were spoken to and cleared by
Security before we do anything else.
If possible Cynthia stiffened even more. Am I being accused, sir?
No, Raeder said patiently. But you and the flight crew are going to have to
be questioned. Given what happened, that s both necessary and inevitable. Bear
in mind, Lieutenant, that I cleared that Speed, and therefore I m going to
have to answer some hard questions, too. The sooner we get them asked, the
sooner we can get back to work. He looked her in the eye as she, apparently,
fought her way through a conflicting morass of emotions.
Yes, sir, she said finally, through her teeth. Then she pivoted and marched
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