May 23, 2361 AIA
Supremacy Station 0528
“Colonel.”
The two men were alone in the long hall. The one being addressed stopped and turned to look at who had been calling him. He waited as the other finished approaching.
“You lost her.”
Major Tennama pressed his lips together.
“You always smirk when you have good news to report.” Colonel Harlan raised a hand with one finger extended to point at the major’s face. “That’s a grimace.”
“I am afraid she did manage to escape,” Tennama admitted.
“How, Major? She had no ship to run with. The reports indicate even an old man like you could outrun her in her current condition. She had no weapons—”
“She had constructed her own weapons, and she had help.”
“From whom?”
“I don’t know. A man showed up.”
“Can you identify him?”
“He had dark hair and dark eyes. I’d be able to recognize him again if I saw him, but I don’t know him.”
The two men continued down the corridor, shoulder to shoulder.
“Did they have an informant?” the colonel asked.
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“The Uprising? For this project? No. It would have had to have been either you or me. Her discovery was reported directly to us.”
“You see my point.”
Tennama’s jaw hardened. He stopped walking and stared at the colonel’s back until Harlan turned and saw the silent rebuke.
The colonel raised his hand. “I apologize, Major. It’s possible she found a way to get word to the Rising. That’s easier to imagine than you betraying me. But we must find her—before anyone else.”
“I’m aware of that, sir,” Tennama said, once again coming up to Harlan’s side. “That’s why I’m here. I wanted to talk to you. I have all our resources working to find her, but we’re spread thin, and the nature of our mission is making it more difficult. If we could narrow down where we’re looking, we might have better success.”
Harlan waited.
“I wanted to ask you if you had any idea where she might be heading.”
There was a long silence.
“No,” the colonel said at last. “It’s possible she’s going back to the Rising, but I’m certain she wouldn’t stay for long. It would be hard for her to find a welcome there. Even the general would see the danger.”
“Would she, sir?”
“She knows we’re looking for Reyer.”
“How?”
“It’s the kind of thing the Rising makes sure to know. Our best bet would be figuring out who helped her and tracking him down. If I were you, Major, I would spend some time looking through all the information we have on any known Rising pilots.”
“You think the man who came to help her was a pilot?”
“They got off the planet somehow.”
“I can’t argue with that, but it’s hardly a forgone conclusion. The pilot could have been waiting back on the ship.”
Tennama saw Harlan’s face grow cold. They both stopped walking.
“If you don’t want my advice, I hope you don’t feel obliged to use it, Major. My orders are all I care about. You asked for my opinion—”
“I did, Colonel. I asked because you’re the one who knows the most about her.”
“Yes. I’m aware.”
“Colonel, everyone has somewhere they can go.”
“She doesn’t. She had the Rising. Now she has nothing and no one. It would be easier for you to find the name and connections of her unknown ally than try to find a connection to her.” Harlan turned away. “If left to her own devices, she’ll use a random number generator to pick a new hiding place.”
“What?”
“She’s done it before. There’s a reason she’s so hard to find.”
Major Tennama sighed. “I see. I’m sorry that there wasn’t more I could learn, but I’m grateful you took the time to talk to me. Rest assured, she will be found.”
“Good. I have work to do.” The colonel continued on while the major stayed where he was. “Send me word if you find anything. You know where I’ll be.”