Kovacs sat at his workstation, the faint glow of the monitors reflecting in his tired eyes. The Pershing’s stabilizer failure still gnawed at him, a shadow of doubt that wouldn’t let go. He had poured over his original designs countless times and had found nothing that would have caused the micro-fractures in the housing. Yet, the printed stabilizer had been flawed.
He pulled up the manufacturing files—the final versions of his designs that had been sent to the 3D printers. Comparing them to his originals, he methodically checked every line of code, every material specification. At first glance, everything seemed fine. But as he dug deeper, something caught his eye.
“Wait…” he muttered, leaning closer to the screen. A subtle discrepancy in the stress dispersion patterns of the stabilizer housing stood out. It was almost imperceptible—a minor alteration to the material properties that would weaken the component under heavy load.
He frowned, his mind racing. This wasn’t a simple mistake. The change was too specific, too precise, to be accidental.
Pulling up the design logs, he traced the file’s history. Every edit, every modification, left a timestamp and a signature. His stomach sank as he found the source of the change: it wasn’t in his original design. The modification had been introduced after his submission, during the final preparations for manufacturing.
Kovacs gritted his teeth, anger simmering beneath his calm exterior. Someone had tampered with the designs—deliberately introducing a flaw that could have destroyed the Pershing and derailed the entire project.
***
He dove deeper into the logs, cross-referencing timestamps with personnel records. The alteration had been made during a late-night shift when only a skeleton crew had access to the manufacturing systems. Narrowing the list of potential culprits took time, but eventually, one name kept appearing: Engineer Martin Jacek.
Jacek was a junior engineer, one of the dozens assigned to assist with last-minute adjustments and file preparations. He wasn’t a standout by any means—quiet, unassuming, and diligent in his work. But now, his name stood out like a beacon.
Kovacs accessed Jacek’s workstation logs, his heart pounding as he scrolled through the records. It didn’t take long to find the smoking gun: a series of unauthorized edits to the stabilizer schematic flagged under Jacek’s credentials. The timestamps matched the exact moment the flaw had been introduced.
“This wasn’t a mistake,” Kovacs muttered, his anger flaring. “This was sabotage.”
He leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. Why would Jacek do this? Was it personal? A grudge? Or something larger—an attempt to undermine the project itself? Kovacs needed answers, but confronting Jacek directly wasn’t an option. Not yet.
***
Kovacs decided to test Jacek’s intentions. He made minor edits to another active design—a Goblin variant being prepped for production—and inserted a harmless but obvious anomaly into the schematic. It was a change anyone with knowledge of the system would notice, and it would only affect the file if someone tampered with it.
He submitted the design and waited.
Over the next 24 hours, Kovacs monitored the file’s activity. Sure enough, Jacek accessed the schematic during his shift. When Kovacs pulled the revised file, he found that the minor anomaly had been altered—another deliberate, subtle, but unmistakable change.
“That’s twice,” Kovacs muttered, his suspicions solidified. It wasn’t just sabotage; it was systematic. And Jacek wasn’t being careful, likely assuming no one would check the files against the originals.
Kovacs gathered his evidence—file logs, timestamps, and a detailed report of the tampered designs—and prepared to escalate the matter. If Jacek was acting alone, this was an isolated act of malice. But if he wasn’t, Kovacs needed to uncover who else might be involved.
***
Before taking the issue to General Patton, Kovacs observed Jacek during his shift. Discreetly, he watched the younger engineer from a nearby workstation, noting his demeanor and interactions. Jacek was quiet and methodical, avoiding eye contact with his colleagues. Nothing about his behavior screamed saboteur, but the evidence was undeniable.
When the shift ended, Kovacs intercepted Jacek near the exit. “Martin,” he called, his tone even but firm. “We need to talk.”
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Jacek froze, his expression flickering with unease. “About what?”
Kovacs held up a datapad, the tampered files displayed prominently on the screen. “About this. And why you’ve been sabotaging my designs.”
For a moment, Jacek looked ready to deny everything. But then his shoulders slumped, and he exhaled shakily. “You don’t understand,” he said quietly. “It’s not what you think.”
“Then explain,” Kovacs said, his voice steely. “Because right now, it looks like you’ve been trying to sabotage the entire program.”
Jacek hesitated, his eyes darting around the empty hall. Finally, he muttered, “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Who’s pulling your strings?” Kovacs pressed, stepping closer. “Is someone paying you? Threatening you?”
Jacek didn’t answer immediately, his silence confirming Kovacs’ worst fears. The sabotage wasn’t an isolated act but part of something larger.
“You’ll need to tell me everything,” Kovacs said, his voice low but insistent. “Because if you don’t, I’ll ensure General Patton gets involved. And trust me, you don’t want him asking the questions.”
Jacek swallowed hard, his face pale. “Okay,” he whispered. “But you’re not going to like it.”
Kovacs narrowed his eyes. Whatever Jacek was about to reveal, he knew it would lead to a much larger storm than the one they’d just weathered.
Kovacs kept his expression neutral though his mind churned with possibilities. Sabotage wasn’t something to take lightly; if Jacek’s hesitation was any indication, this wasn’t a simple grudge. He gestured toward a quieter corner of the hangar, away from prying ears.
“Talk,” Kovacs said firmly, crossing his arms as Jacek shifted uncomfortably.
Jacek glanced around, his voice barely above a whisper. “It wasn’t my idea. Someone… someone higher up pressured me into it.”
“Names,” Kovacs said, his tone like steel.
Jacek hesitated, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know who they were exactly. It was all through encrypted messages. They knew things about me—my family, my past. They said they'd ruin me if I didn’t make the changes.”
Kovacs leaned in, his piercing gaze fixed on Jacek. “And you didn’t think to report this? To anyone?”
“They said they’d know,” Jacek stammered. “They had access to the system logs. If I tried to warn anyone, they’d make it look like I was working for the enemy. No one would believe me.”
Kovacs studied him for a long moment. Jacek’s fear seemed genuine, but fear alone wasn’t enough to excuse what he’d done. “You sabotaged critical systems on a project meant to save lives,” Kovacs said coldly. “Do you know what could have happened if those flaws went unnoticed? People could have died.”
“I know!” Jacek snapped, his voice breaking. “I didn’t want to do it, but I didn’t see another way out.”
Kovacs sighed, running a hand down his face. The pieces were starting to fit together, but the picture they painted was troubling. If someone had infiltrated the manufacturing process, they deeply understood the system—and potentially, a much larger agenda.
“Do you still have the messages?” Kovacs asked.
Jacek nodded shakily. “Yes, they’re encrypted, but I didn’t delete them. I was scared that if I did, they’d think I wasn’t cooperating.”
“Good,” Kovacs said. “You’re going to forward them to me. Every single one. And don’t even think about deleting or altering anything. I’ll know.”
Jacek nodded quickly, fumbling with his datapad. He glanced at the young engineer as the files transferred to Kovacs’ system. “You’ve made a mess, Jacek, but I’m going to get to the bottom of this. You’re coming with me to Command.”
Jacek’s face paled. “Command? No. I can’t—”
“You don’t have a choice,” Kovacs interrupted. “You’re either part of the solution now or part of the problem. And trust me, you don’t want to be the problem.”
***
Kovacs escorted Jacek to the security office, his mind racing as he prepared to present this to General Patton. Sabotage wasn’t just a breach of protocol but a direct threat to their war effort. If Jacek was telling the truth about external pressure, it meant their enemy had found a way to infiltrate their systems.
Once inside the secured office, Kovacs linked his datapad to the encrypted network, sharing the files Jacek had provided. The messages were terse but clear: specific instructions to modify designs, warnings about consequences for failure, and veiled threats that left little doubt about the saboteur’s desperation.
General Patton arrived shortly after, his face a mask of calm that only made his presence more imposing. He glanced between Kovacs and Jacek, then crossed his arms. “Explain.”
Kovacs laid it out succinctly, highlighting the tampered designs and the evidence of external manipulation. He didn’t pull punches about Jacek’s role, but he also emphasized the threats that had forced his hand.
Patton’s expression darkened as he reviewed the messages. “This isn’t just sabotage. This is espionage.”
“Yes, sir,” Kovacs said. “And it’s systematic. Whoever is behind this knows our process well. They’re not just targeting random projects but undermining key designs at critical moments.”
Patton turned his sharp gaze to Jacek. “You’re lucky Kovacs caught this before it cost lives. Do you understand that?”
Jacek nodded frantically. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry—”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it,” Patton said, cutting him off. “But you’ve cooperated, and that counts for something. You’re being taken into custody for now. We’ll decide your fate later.”
Jacek sagged in relief, nodding silently as military police escorted him from the room.
***
When the room was clear, Patton turned back to Kovacs. “This goes deeper than one engineer. I’ll have Intelligence look into the messages, but we must act now to protect our systems.”
Kovacs nodded. “We need tighter controls on file access and a more robust review process for final designs. I also need a dedicated team to cross-check every component currently in production. If this has happened once, it could happen again.”
“You’ll have it,” Patton said. “And Kovacs—good work catching this. You just saved the entire project.”
As Patton left, Kovacs stood alone in the quiet office, his thoughts swirling. His designs were meant to give humanity an edge in the war, not to be used as weapons against their own. The revelation of sabotage had shaken him, but it also steeled his resolve.
It was no longer just about fixing designs. It was about rooting out external and internal threats to ensure that nothing stood in the way of their fight for survival.