Sparrow lets me use her shuttle to clean up. Oh, did I mention she has an actual bathroom in that thing? There are only four compartments in a standard Luna shuttle, really. The front of the shuttle is all one compartment: half-cockpit and half electronics and fabbing suite. The back half divided; one half is bedroom and living space, with the engine room as the third room. The last is usually storage, barely a closet compared to the others. But bless her heart, Sparrow has somehow turned the storage room into a working bathroom, with a sink and fixed toilet. I mean, I knew she had done modifications to the shuttle, but it's downright comfy, even in microgravity. I'm not jealous. Really.

After washing up and scrubbing my face, I look almost presentable. The glossy white walls of the shuttle are interspersed with prints and laser-etched patterns, mostly space-scapes and nature-scapes. I look around as I dry my hands. I'm still impressed by how she personalized this old vessel. It feels like Sparrow.

I shake my head. Well, I'm suspended. I suppose that will give me plenty of time to prep for the deposition for the use of my Registry Key. And for the appeal of my suspension to the Board. As I emerge from the bathroom, rubbing my hair dry with a cloth, I'm smiling. Sparrow notices and raises an eyebrow. "You're looking in a better mood already. Should I be concerned?"

I snort at that. "Just putting a task-list together. I feel better when I've got an idea of what to do," I say, sitting down on one of the two fixed polymer chairs. I tap my foot slowly. "So, I'm thinking, if I haven't burned all my bridges with Brent, and if Rabi feels perhaps a little grateful for my implant, I might have a few people on the inside willing to testify on my behalf, or at least give me some info," I say, looking over at her.

Sparrow's nose scrunches. "The implant that was removed? The bricked one? You gave it to Rabi?" She tilts her head at that.

I shrug. "It was kind of weird, yeah. She asked me for it. She even offered to pay for my new one in exchange," I say, tapping the dermal patch on my temple.

She blinks at that. "That's... wow. Pricey. Why did she want the old one?" Sparrow asks, frowning.

I throw my hands up. "No clue. But unless I'm mistaken, she's a little sweet on me," I say, chuckling.

Sparrow laughs outright at that. "Oh wow, I'm not sure you could keep up with her. Better you than me, Melody."

***

I feel better. Nothing's really changed, but I feel less... lost. Like there's a way out. Maybe a little unburdened.

I watch the station through my overlay, seeing the threads of silver along the walls as I emerge from the dock. Heading back to the habitation level, I ponder my next step. I owe Brent an apology. A real one. And if Rabi is willing-

I'm surprised to get an alert titled 'Lemming'. What? Huh... it looks like it was one of auto-alerts I set for contact from Lemming's profile. Guess he's alive. And it's coming from the Astronomy division? Wait, shit, I can't access any Code Enforcement icons or case files; I'm a civilian. Well, fantastic. I'll have to ping Brent to follow up on that instead.

Before I get the chance, I get a ping from Rabi. Oooh, I'm popular today. It's text only, to report to the Precinct... ASAP?

What? Back to the precinct? I was just suspended like three hours ago! I shake my head. Maybe she hasn't heard about that yet. Or maybe she wants to keep me in the loop about something that forensics found? I did send her a lot of code to dissect in a short time. I turn down the thoroughfare, heading back to the precinct. Jupiter's angry eye stares down at me through the transparent roof.

I'm not super eager to apologize to Brent, and since I'm already out...

***

There's a pall over the entire building. Arriving at the precinct, something feels deeply wrong. It's too quiet. I haven't seen this place completely empty before. Is it between shifts? I'd still expect a few officers. I go to check the schedule, but the red denial reminds me that I'm suspended. Ok, maybe it's the unofficial work from home day?

Stepping inside, the desks are empty. The liminal space makes it seem more than a little eerie; goosebumps rise on my skin. Orbital data and exonet analyses scroll on the wall screens, and the systems are all running, but there's no sound of activity. I see Cartwright's door is open, the light spilling out into the hallway.

My skin prickles. The gift of fear; somethings wrong, and my lizard brain doesn't like it at all.

"Please, Lieutenant, come in, come in!" I hear Rabi call from the captain's office.

Right then, at that very moment, I'm absolutely certain I'm about to see Cartwright's corpse laying on the floor of his office.

I step in the office to find...

Nothing of the sort. I look around. There's nobody, and no body. Well, even nervous, I'm pretty funny. Rabi is wearing a red sari and sitting in Cartwright's chair. Her bare feet are up on his desk, and she's fiddling with a small device. One I recognize. Ugh, my implant. I really hope this isn't some fetish-thing.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Hello, Captain Gupta," I say carefully.

She smiles widely. "Hello Hello! Thanks for coming so quickly. I hope I didn't disturb you and Sparrow."

My hackles rise at that. So... you knew where I was? "Where's Captain Cartwright... sir?"

"He's out for the moment. Technically it's case related, but you won't find anything about it in the logs," she says with a grin, tossing and catching the implant.

I don't see any weapons on her, but she could be hiding one in that sari. "And you decided to set up in his office while he's gone?"

She gives me a quick grin. "He won't be back for at least a day, possibly significantly longer."

I immediately try sending out a ping to the Captain. His profile is locked down, but I should be able to-

I get an error code. Host Unreachable. "Er..." I pause, uncertain.

"He left me in command of the precinct while he's gone," she adds. Ok, that's awfully convenient.

I swallow hard, gulping. I feel like I'm three steps behind. "I would like to speak with Captain Cartwright and hear that from his own lips."

Rabi's dark eyes meet mine. "Captain Ashton Cartwright and Officer Rusteater have left the station."

The hair rises on the back of my neck. "...Of their own volition?"

Rabi sighs and rubs her neck for a moment. It's the most normal thing I've seen her do. "Yes, yes, please," she says, waving a hand at the seat.

I swallow and step towards the chair, lowering myself slowly. "May I ask why they aren't answering my pings?"

She tilts her head. "They are currently unavailable. The interference at the surface will prevent communications."

The surface? "I'm sorry, as in the lunar surface? They're on the moon? As in, the frozen surface of Europa?" How the hell? Did they take a shuttle?

Rabi steeples her fingers. "As of around twenty-eight minutes ago. Since the skyhook is down, and communications with the surface difficult, they took the station shuttle down in-person." She taps her fingers together. "Several agendas dovetailed here, and the window of opportunity was small. You were a casualty of the timing," she explains with a shrug.

What? I'm a casualty of... as in... I try to parse that statement several times. Wait... wait!

Beads of sweat form, one rolling down my neck. "You're... saying... you knew I was going to be suspended? You wanted that?"

She scrunches her nose and sighs. "I'm saying I needed Cartwright to feel comfortable leaving the station with Officer Rusteater. The social dynamics were complex, and I was forced to manipulate the circumstances to prevent open communication from being established between the principal actors," she says without pausing for breath. "If Cartwright had come to trust you, probability modeling established that he would have sent you down in his place and remained on the station. If he hadn't trusted you, he never would have left the station with you actively serving as an officer, as he would not have been at ease with you in a position of authority in his absence. The other permutations were all less desirable," she says quickly and smoothly.

Are you playing chess with people's lives? "You wanted me gone so that he would leave... so you're the one that told him about Sparrow!" I clench both hands and grit my teeth. Oh, you two-faced, oxide-huffing-

"Yes." She says simply. "And made your medical file available to him. It also engendered a degree of trust from him that's been difficult for me to earn without committing to his agenda. Thus ensuring he would leave me in charge in his place and stabilize my control."

Sounds like he was right not to trust you!

"What's his agenda? And for that matter, what's yours?" I snarl. You treacherous, slimy, double-dealing-

She tilts her head. "What's your agenda, Lieutenant?"

My thought process slides to a halt. "What?"

"Do you know why you're on this station?" She drums her fingers on the desk.

I pause. Why I'm on... well, she couldn't... ah, shit, of course she knows, she has access to my medical file. She has- fuck! My implant...

I lick my lips. It occurs to me that, right now, I'm a civilian in a police station with very few friends around. "I- I chose to transfer-"

"As far away from the traumatic event you endured as you could possibly get. There were no open positions in the Kuiper, and only four stations accepting transfers in the Jovian. You picked Ursa Miner station due to your fondness for wordplay. Your behavior is within 97.3% fidelity of the modeling," Rabi answers, splaying her fingers.

My head rings like a struck gong. My heart hammers in my chest. You can read me like a book, Captain. Please stop that. My mouth is dry, and my breathing is irregular. My mind races; she knew I was coming here. It can't be. "Captain... when did you begin working on this station?"

"Six-Thousand-Four-Hundred-Ninety-Three hours ago," she says without pausing.

It takes me a moment to do the math. "Almost nine months. Before I requested a transfer out here. Before I even came back from medical. Just after Alex... and you were waiting here for me..."

She gives me a quick nod. "Human behavior is fairly predictable. Until it isn't. In any event, you're here."

"I don't... understand..." I murmur, reaching for the stun-stick on my belt before remembering that Cartwright took it. And my taser.

"I said, many agendas dovetailing. You were a discrete courier," she says, holding up my old implant. She wanted it. Something left over in my implant? And she wants me. "And now-"

"And now you can suck hard vacuum. I'm done," I stand and turn, marching away. Get out, get away.

Rabi doesn't miss a beat, standing and stepping around the desk to follow me. In fact, she's pulling even with me despite her shorter legs. "Lieutenant, I'm afraid I can't indulge your indignation," she murmurs.

"Frankly, Captain, I don't answer to you now. I'm suspended, remember?" I snap.

She steps between me and the door. It's either push her aside or stop. Well, I don't want to give her cause for an arrest. She lifts her chin, eye to eye with me. "Link with me. You need to know what you're missing."

Excuse me? "Captain, this...if you're making some kind of pass at me, I can assure you-"

She snorts. "No no! Not 'what you're missing out on'. I mean, you need to know what you lost."

"What... I lost? What, the implant?" I take a half-step back.

She shakes her head and scoffs. "Woe is me, to have seen what I have seen."

I blink at that. "Is that... Shakespear?"

I'm caught off guard when she pings my new implant. I instinctively reject the request. But my blood runs colds when my malware filters drop and my implant accepts the unfiltered connection anyway!

"See what I see..." she mewls.

She's overriding my augments. She's using her Registry Key!

"No! Please-"

Please. I don't want to go back.