I can't link into the station, so I take the time to bring Cartwright up to speed. He's a lot more skeptical of the whole situation than Brent was; particularly, he doesn't seem to believe Rabi is playing him. Well, after breaking down the entire chain of events in granular detail, I've at least sold him on the idea that Communion is a nasty new piece of highly infectious malware, and it has to die in a fire.

Still dressed in his sturdier model voidsuit, with a plasma rifle slung over his back, the captain actually cuts an impressive figure. It's a shame he's being as thick as a plank. "I still fail to see why Captain Gupta would become involved in this. You're alleging that she transferred to this station in advance specifically to fight this malware, whether it's human or xenos-created," he says, lifting a finger to forestall my protest, "but she's also deliberately spreading the malware?"

I growl, leaning forward. "She's vaccinating. As far as I can tell, it's a controlled infection. She's trying to get us to develop a resistance and 'antibodies' and ways to fight Communion. In her twisted head, she probably thinks she's helping humanity, but she's playing with fire. Or bubonic plague, maybe," I say, motioning with my hands.

Cartwrights frown only deepens. "I have trouble believing she'd be studying code while malware that she is vulnerable to consumes the station around her. Or that synths are being eaten alive on my station, and she would actively avoid drawing attention to it," he points out. I scoff, but he continues. "Regardless of her motives or actions, I'm forced to point out to you that, from what you're describing, Sergeant Rockchaser intends to blow up a lot of AIs with the relay. Some of them likely don’t have backups. If any are sapient or supersapient..." Ashton's face is unreadable as he trails off.

I take a deep breath, trying not to shout. "There's no way to save them, sir."

The captain looks me in the eye. "You have no idea if that's true."

A long, silent moment passes. Could it be classified as murder? Or manslaughter? If framed the right way... or the wrong way. Yeah. What a vacuum-sucking mess. "So, are you going to arrest me for that?"

"No, because you aren't the one making the call. If Sergeant Rockchaser uses his CE Key to blow the relay, I'll wait for his report and evaluate based on a review of the facts. It's called protocol, Lieutenant; I don't jump the gun and assume an officer I’ve worked with for years has gone rogue just because there's some inconsistencies in the information I'm getting," he says with a heavy tone.

I grit my teeth. "How'd that work out with Rusteater?"

Carwright actually appears to ponder that for a moment, chewing his tongue. "Considering I'm alive and they aren't, pretty well. And yes, that's partially due to your intervention," he adds when I open my mouth. "But my point is, I knew that Rusteater had sabotaged the mining station and skyhook. I was giving them a chance to come clean. I brought the plasma rifle in case they played it the other way. I would have heard them out and given them a fair shake. Like I’ll hear Captain Gupta out and give her a fair shake," he says with a shrug.

My lips part in disbelief. "Yeah? Like you gave Sparrow a fair shake?"

Cartwright does grimace at that. "She's not one of my officers. She made her own choices. And she's getting as fair a shake as she can expect; it's rare that I offer to testify on behalf of a suspect."

There's a moment of silence as I think that over. Actually, that's a bit of an olive branch. I sigh. "Well... thanks for partnering me with Sergeant Rockchaser, by the way. Why'd you pair us, out of curiosity?"

The captain blinks. "Because he's a good officer. He's competent, plus he's jovial and reads people well. He would be a good partner for any new transfer. I was giving you a chance."

I let that sit for a moment, looking down. I honestly didn’t expect that. "So, what fucked things up?"

Cartwright gives me a look of pity. "Are you joking? You were sarcastic and insufferable from the moment you stepped into my precinct. You believed you were better than every officer on this station because you came from Luna, and the Jovian is 'the sticks'. It was obvious that you transferred here because you're running from your demons. But you brought your demons with you. You didn't really want a new beginning. You wanted to hide." His frown eases. "I don't care about your past… much,” he corrects. “But I legitimately don't trust an officer who isn't self-aware enough to know their own flaws. If you can’t see your mistakes, you won't learn from them."

There's silence for a dozen heartbeats. "I know my flaws."

"Then fix them," he adds blandly.

I lift my head. "I am. I'm working on them all the time. My way. The hard way, day by day. I'm not going to a neuron-jockey to slice and splice my problems away."

"I respect that." I snort. "No, Cruz, on a personal level, I do respect that choice. But you won't be serving as a scouting officer on my station while you're on this 'journey of healing'. That’s a fine answer for a civilian, but not for a cop. Case closed."

I huff. "What about Brent? And Rabi?"

"I'll wait for the Sergeant's report. Until then, I back his play, unless I find reason not to. As for Captain Gupta, you've made a lot of accusations, but you've given me no evidence at all." I open my mouth, but he sticks a palm up. "No. I'll take your accusations seriously, but I'm not tossing her into the brig on your word. I'll look into it, but in the meantime, you're not going to do anything to her, that's an order."

I swallow hard. "Captain, if I'm right, she's an active threat to the lives of everyone on this station!"

Cartwright lifts a hand again. "Lieutenant, if you're right, she could rig a bomb in the dock to blow us all to hell the moment we step aboard the station. I'm going to proceed with the assumption that, whatever is going on, I can approach this as her colleague."

Stolen novel; please report.

My mouth falls open. "That's insane."

"I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt," he says, shrugging.

"She's going to eat you for breakfast."

He frowns, nudging the rifle slung behind his shoulder. "I'm not a child, Lieutenant. I don't need your protection, but thank you for the concern." He turns to Sparrow. "By the way... may I use your restroom?"

----------------------------------------

While Cartwright discovers the joy of Sparrow's bathroom, Sparrow fills me in on what I missed while I was unconscious.

"He was a gentleman about the arrest, but what was I really gonna do? If I locked him out, I locked you out. Anyway, his shuttle's engine wouldn't start; the computer is all screwed up. He thinks Rusteater sabotaged that too."

My eyes widen at that, ice filling my veins. "Is it-"

"It's not Communion," Sparrow assures me. "The computer on that shuttle is nearly as simple as the Chimera's. The captain thinks a pre-programmed macro. In any event, he ‘let me’ give him a ride. I hope that helps at my hearing."

I kick the chair. "Fuck him! He'd be dead and frozen down on the ice without you."

Sparrow sighs. "He wouldn't have been in danger at all if I had told you from the start. I thought about telling you a couple of times, you know."

I blow a sigh. "Well, that's dust in the engine's trail. What now?" I ask, putting a hand to my cheek.

She shrugs. "Now? Now we dock, and see what happens."

----------------------------------------

Rabi isn't there to meet us at the dock, but Brent is. I'm relieved to see his cross-slitted pupils and those broad shoulders. He salutes Cartwright, who returns it, before leading a handcuffed Sparrow out behind him. "Sergeant, I would like you to arrange a cell for Ms. Sparrow. She's-

"Just Sparrow, if you don’t mind," she chirps with an embarrassed wave.

"A cell for Sparrow," Cartwright says smoothly. "She's likely to be facing a number of felonies, but for now, I'm going to hold her on charges of smuggling, destruction of public property, and aiding and abetting terrorist activities. She is allowed visitors and amenities," the captain says, gently pushing her forward.

Brent gives Sparrow a sad smile and puts his thick hand on her shoulder. "Yes Captain."

"I would also like your full report on the new emergent malware threat, dubbed 'Communion', your use of your CE Key, and the involvement of Captain Gupta and Lieutenant Cruz. Ideally, within the hour," Cartwright adds as he turns towards the main ring.

"Yes sir," Brent says smoothly, as his eyes slide over me, giving me a sympathetic glance.

“In the meantime, I’m going to see what I can do about contacting this naval vessel via analogue means and figuring out the nature and extent of this quarantine,” Cartwright says, tilting his head.

I can't stay silent. "Captain Cartwright-"

His hand snaps up. "Lieutenant, don't press your luck today. I'm feeling generous given what happened, but let the system work as it's intended. Stop fighting it. Now, I have an enormous amount of paperwork to do and reports to write; I'm heading to my office. I would also like you to put out a red-lined alert for Officer Wintz. Locate her ASAP. She may need emergency medical or programming attention. Assume hazardous malware contamination protocols are warranted," he orders.

I see Brent subvocalizing, clearly pinging out some commands as he leads Sparrow towards the faraday-caged brig in the station core. I fume silently as Cartwright pulls himself along the dock, heading the opposite direction to the ring, seemingly unruffled. Rabi was right about one thing. A titanium pole where most people have a stick.

Brent gently leads Sparrow down, giving her a push and letting her float ahead as I follow them. "Brent, what about Rabi? And Officer Wintz?"

He shakes his head. "Rabi has been locked in the forensics lab since we started. I tried making some excuse to snoop around, but it's sealed tighter than the Captain's sphincter." Hah, alright, everyone I work with is pretty funny.

I brush a hand through my hair, thoughts running in circles. What's the mad scientist creating in her lab, and how do we kill it? "And Wintz?"

"Haven't seen her. We're not tight; why? She Gaian League too?" He asks softly.

"No, but she might be carrying a seed of Communion around inside her," I whisper.

Brent stumbles, which is impressive considering both his dexterity mods and the low gravity. "Are... is that a joke?"

I shake my head. "No joke. She was Cartwright's spy. She was snooping on Officer Rusteater and me. Sadly, she snooped the node in my quarters when I was reviewing the chip with the Andromeda Signal recorded within. The one with the data from the Tachi array."

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuck me. Well, I firewalled and physically disconnected the array, and it's floating a good distance out now. But the comms are down. I can't blow it without a transmitter. She's not going to be able to... Commune with the rest, right?" He gulps nervously.

I shake my head quickly. "I don’t think so, but who knows what she'll do instead? Maybe start a secondary infection. By the way, when did you call in the military quarantine?"

The Sergeant starts. "What? I didn't call them in! Didn't you?"

"What? When would I have time to do that?" I demand.

"Actually, I was the one who called the naval station at Io," Rabi says. I turn. She's standing at the intersection to the thoroughfare, dressed in a green sari today. Her hair is tied up in a braid that's thrown over one shoulder. The asymmetry with the augmentation on the other side draws the eye. And she's barefoot again, standing in the grassy strip. "Hi Melody!" She says, smiling.

My heart leaps in my chest, belly tightening. Brent steps casually in front of me. "Hello, Captain Gupta," he says, giving her a thin smile. "You've been shut in your lab for a while."

"Oh yes, Sergeant. I was doing some intense coding on Communion," she says amiably.

We're all frozen for a moment. That could mean a lot of things, none of them good. I unfreeze first. "And you called in the frigate? Why, because of Wintz?"

Her head shakes quickly. "No, silly. I sent a tightbeam communication informing the intelligence officer at Io about the nature and extent of a serious threat on Ursa Miner station. I knew their immediate reaction would be to blow the comms and isolate the station, containing everything until a strike-force arrives," she says with a giggle.

My heart hammers in my chest. "What have you been coding in the lab?" I ask, terrified of the answer.

She meets my eye with an eager grin. "I was comparing Communions 'seed' in the Datachip with the mature code I pulled from your implant."

My pulse thunders in my ears. "And... what did you find?"

She practically hops on the balls of her feet. "You should accompany me to the forensics lab to see! Plus, it's where Wintz will be going."

The Sergeant jerks at that. "She will?" Brent asks, eyes narrowing.

"Of course, Sergeant," Rabi says with a smile. She turns to me. "It's where your previous node is hooked up and running. Once I blow the array, it will be the only other sample of Communion she can access." Rabi turns around to walk away. "She'll come to us."

It can't be that simple. "The hell? You can blow the array right now? And what makes you think I'm going to follow you?" I call after her.

"I can, and I will shortly. And of course you'll follow me, Melody. Because Communion left its mark on you. And you need to see how it ends," she calls back over her shoulder.

I put a hand on Brent’s arm, leaning close. “Get Sparrow squared safely, then come to forensics. Bring a weapon,” I whisper, as Rabi turns and walks away.

I follow. I know it's stupid, I know I should wait for backup. I do see my flaws, Cartwright. But this time? I'm walking into hell eyes open. Because I have to know.