December 05, 2361 AIA
P5
The evening lights were on, and the station was all but empty. Jun Fenn didn’t mind. He’d said goodnight to the cleaning staff so many times, he knew their names. He wasn’t sure they knew his. They primarily called him, “Haven’t you gone home yet?!”
He liked the dim, calm atmosphere after the chaos of the day. He liked being alone—
“Lieutenant, what are you doing?”
Jun turned away from his monitor and looked up at his boss. Gordan Norwood was a large man, imposing, with clumsy features that seemed to have solidified into a perpetual frown. His eyes weren’t spared from the petrification process; when he stared at you, it felt like a stone weight.
“Porn,” Fenn said.
Norwood turned his flinty gaze over to the monitor. It was filled with text. “Try again.”
“It could be one of those erotic fan fictions.”
“And the data table?”
“It’s a really bad fan fiction.”
Norwood glared at Fenn, but the lieutenant’s face didn’t so much as twitch. The captain sighed as he dragged a nearby chair over and sat down. “I thought I told you to stay off those sites. Do you have any idea how long it took to resurrect the system after last time?”
Jun moved his chair out of the way so they could both see the screen. “It’s not the original site, sir. I found another niche where some of the information was secluded and protected—”
“Fenn, if you want to waste your life on some ridiculous conspiracy, fine. But do it on your own time. I can’t let you put our whole system at risk again because you don’t know when to let go of something.”
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“Sir, we have bloodstains that don’t fit anyone on our records.”
“Nobodies are a thing, and we know the Rising was involved in the attack. This isn’t unexpected, Lieutenant.”
“It fits the pattern!”
Norwood rubbed his eyes. “Yes. It fits some random pattern that you found lurking on an unauthorized site. Anyone could’ve made that up.”
“There was more than just the pattern, sir.”
“I know, Jun. I know.”
“You looked?”
“I got a brief look at it before my computer was completely fried.”
The captain felt Jun’s eyes on him and knew the lieutenant was waiting for his reaction.
They were both peacekeepers; they didn’t have time for real friends. But every now and then, they’d go out for a beer or two after a bad shift. He liked Fenn, but the kid was too credulous for his own good.
Norwood shook his head.
Fenn looked away, one edge of his mouth lifting to hint at a wry smile.
The captain motioned to the lieutenant’s desk. “What are you doing with those files anyway? We passed that problem up to MI ages ago.”
Fenn reached out to close down his computer and shut the open file. “Devi Kumar’s killers haven’t even been identified. Until we find them, it’s everyone’s problem.”
A large arm reached past him and lifted away the stacks of paper. “Sorry, Fenn. It’s not your problem. Not anymore. I got word today—your transfer came through.”
Fenn almost pointed out that he hadn’t asked for a transfer, but then he saw the captain’s face. His stomach churned.
The captain was still talking: “It comes with a long-overdue promotion. Congratulations! You’ll be a sheriff.”
That couldn’t be good.
“And I don’t begrudge you the rank,” Norwood added.
No sane man would.
“Which planet?” Fenn whispered.
“Ionu.”
Jun turned away and nodded. The news hit like a punch, but it fit in with everything he’d learned to expect. “You’re sending me to Tombstone because I got caught in some malware?”
“If that’s what you want to tell yourself. But you’re no Earp, Sheriff. Too slanty-eyed.”
“HR can’t seem to tell the difference between Asian eyes and a cowboy squint. All I need is the hat.”
Norwood’s chuckle shook his whole body. When he looked up at Fenn, he expected to see the lieutenant’s usual deadpan expression, but Jun was leaning on his desk, rubbing his temples with his thumbs. His face showed how bone-weary he was.
The captain stood up. “Come on, Sheriff—”
“Don’t call me that.” Fenn regretted the bite in his tone and mollified it. “I don’t have the hat yet, Captain.”
“Jun, come get a beer with me.”
The lieutenant stood up. “I have to pack.”
“You can pack later.” Norwood paused. “I’ll buy.”
Fenn glanced at his phone. The storm was over them now. As he put on his rain-jacket, he said, “You’ll buy?”
“Yeah.”
“One beer.”
“Done.”