The interrogation room was poorly ventilated, boiling hot and slowly eroding whatever little patience Khalid had left. Still, the Major kept a neutral expression as Mahdi and Karim dragged the prisoner away. It was unthinkable that such a poor excuse of a common thug had even been admitted as an Academy cadet in the first place. However, there was no denying reality, and not just this last one, but the four people before him as well. Connections with cartels, gangs and pirates were apparently the theme of the day, and to make matters worse, all those wretches were handpicked by the late Overseer Oliver Tharks. Even if he tried to, Khalid could not ignore the extreme level of corruption on Lost Hope. It was reaching a point where he wasn’t sure if storming Sentinel Hill and hanging the Council members would be considered treason. The fact that the Major could consider such thoughts was proof enough that his strict indoctrination found no issue with his logic.
“Major,” Lieutenant Aram’s voice broke the depressing thoughts through the feed, “comms operator King and Second Officer Kurtz are here regarding the detained scientists.”
“Understood. Delay the next interview and let them in,” Khalid droned flatly, suppressing a deep sigh. “You may join us as well, Aram.”
“Is that an order, sir?” There was a short pause before Aram’s burst through like a torrential rain. “Oh! I thought you were going to tell me to wait outside!”
“I could always change my mind.” The Major remained composed as he interrupted her.
Aram was quite good at predicting his orders for the most part. A valuable quality for a squad lead that had fast-tracked her promotion to lieutenant. Khalid was also aware that her current behaviour was a result of the woman trying to get him to notice her, most likely hopping for a field promotion. However, no matter how much she tried, he knew that Aram would never advance further within the Innari. The sad truth was that she was already sixty-five, and the Major was supposed to send her back to Thufan with the Neuronic as soon as Knight Protector was installed as the new Overseer of the mining complex. Like it or not, the reason to have such a low age limit for the UR’s elite troopers was a justified one. The human body simply could not keep up with the demanding training regime of the Innari without significant cybernetic modification. However, the last was a far too expensive and time-consuming option when a retired shock trooper could just be rotated into a regular army unit or serve as an instructor at the Academy.
Well, thinking about it wasn’t going to change anything. Instead, Khalid had to focus on the conversation awaiting him. He knew it was only a matter of time before the tech King showed up after the Innari detained the scientists. Even a child could tell that Professor Kruger and Dr Werner were acting under orders from Helix regardless of how much they denied it. It was the only reasonable explanation for why they would have wandered away from their quarters without permission when the entire complex was still under the Emergency Authority Directive. The fact that Second Officer Kurtz was here also furthered his suspicions that Helix was up to something behind his back.
A few seconds after Aram’s message, the sliding door to the interrogation room opened, and a giant of a man passed through it. If the Major didn’t know better, he would have assumed that the comms operator Felix King was some strange mutation that had never before been seen within the borders of the United Republics. To say that the man was large was an understatement. He was huge. Years of abusing muscle growth substances had made him into a monster of a man who was well over two hundred kilograms and close to two-hundred-and-thirty centimetres tall. Even if Khalid wanted to reprimand the technician for wearing civilian clothing, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. There was simply no way that Felix would fit in any uniform, and the Acadamy wasn’t going to issue a custom-fit one for a lowly communication tech. But more surprising than his size was the man’s skill, which was wasted in a place like this. The Major couldn’t believe that the Brass would have allowed for a valuable tech to rot away in a remote mining complex. Whatever infraction had resulted in such a harsh punishment had to be severe indeed; however, nothing Khalid could see in the man’s file merited permanent assignment on Lost Hope.
Next to Felix, Officer Kurtz and Aram appeared almost petite despite each of them being well above the average height of female military personnel. However, what the Major didn’t expect to see was the large bruise in the middle of the investigator woman’s face. Even from afar, he could tell that her nose had been broken and reset. Khalid could only hope that his interruption during Kurtz and Helix’s training session wasn’t the reason for her injury. Nevertheless, he knew that such thinking was naïve. Sadly, he knew plenty of commanders who remained calm in the presence of outsiders, only to vent their abusive anger on their subordinates. He didn’t want to believe Helix was such a man, but the evidence in front of his eyes wasn’t in the investigator’s favour. However, without Kurtz submitting a formal complaint or asking for help, there was little Khalid could do save for observing and possibly collecting further evidence of physical abuse.
“Officer Kurtz, Officer King,” the Major nodded politely without standing up from behind the blank interrogation table. “I wish I could say I didn’t know the reason for your visit.”
For a moment, he considered removing his helmet out of courtesy but reconsidered. After all, the Innari were supposed to remain anonymous during deployments. Of course, there were always exceptions, and this could hardly be classified as a standard situation, but it was quite a stretch to think of a justifiable excuse to do so. Not to mention that it would only set a bad example in front of Lieutenant Aram.
“Before that, SO Kurtz, I understand Helix has begun the procedure we discussed?” Khalid asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
“Yeh… It’s his top priority,” the girl answered in a manner that suggested she was being evasive.
He could try to press her for more information but thought better of it. For now, he had to play nice, and besides, he was sure that she wouldn’t tell him anything without Helix’s express permission. The Innari had worked alongside infiltrators before, and despite the fancy title, the two of them were exactly that. Their kind were as tight-lipped as they were paranoid. Khalid would have a better chance of extracting info from a corpse than prying anything from the Second Officer.
“I understand. Please inform Helix that if there is any way I can assist, I’m at his disposal.” Khalid added after a moment, trying to hide his frustration. With that settled, he moved to the current matter regarding the scientists. “Now, Mr King, you do understand why I had to detain Professor Kruger and Doctor Werner?”
“Yes, boss… sir. I mean, Major, sir.” Felix stuttered in a deep baritone. “I can’t argue with you on that point, sir, boss, sir…”
The giant of a man shifted unsteadily from one foot to the other, opening and closing his mouth without saying anything else. Khalid didn’t need to be psionic to know that the tech was struggling to form a response that would sound professional. From the few interactions he had with King, the Innari knew that the comms operator had a psychological issue speaking to anyone who outranked him. Or at least anyone he perceived as holding more authority than him. It was as much curious to observe this kind of behaviour as it was annoying.
“Technician King, you are a soldier, and I expect you to act as such.” Khalid’s voice resonated like a gunshot in the small room, thanks to the amplifiers built into his helmet. “And under the current circumstances, I am in charge of all Academy assets and personnel here on Last Hope. Is that clear, King?”
“Yes… sir.”
Felix spat through clenched teeth. It was clear that something in Khalid’s statement had struck a nerve. Most likely, the tech thought that Helix was in charge, a sentiment that was shared by all of the handful of active Security members. Well, this was going to stop now. One way or another, Khalid was assuming control, something he should have done from the beginning. However, the Major had been careful to step on Helix’s toes, but if the infiltrator was going to use civilians to do his dirty work, that moral objection was out.
“Ah, Major, sir, if I may—”
“No, you may not,” Khalid cut her off, glad that Kurtz tried to intervene. “SO Kurtz, you and Helix fall outside of the normal chain of command. As such, I will tolerate your presence on this station within the limitations of your orders. However, that is all.”
He knew he was overstepping, but Khalid wished to learn how much the girl was going to fight him on this. Depending on her response to his hostile behaviour, he would have a better idea of how important the infiltrators’ mission really was. It was also a good way to test the boundaries of what they were allowed and weren’t allowed to do during this deployment. In addition, it would make it far more easy for him to play nice with Helix in the foreseeable future.
“So do the Innari—”
Khalid cut her off again before she could finish the argument. He knew exactly what she was going to say, and normally, Zoë would have a valid point reminding him that the Innari also operated outside of the standard chain of command. That was more than an expected opening move for their verbal duel.
“Yes. However, according to Academy regulation 11C-01, Knight Protector Alexandra von Eisstahl is the ranking officer on Last Hope. According to regulation 11C-01A1, as her second in command, her duties fall onto me. Until she can return to active duty or a new ranking officer is appointed by Academy High Command.”
Khalid finished his tirade with a sense of satisfaction as he saw anger flare up in the girl’s eyes. However, the feeling was short-lived, and a second later, Kurtz countered in a surprisingly steady voice.
“Major, 01A1, refers only to command of your own people. Furthermore, the entire regulation group 11C is applied only for active combat zones.” A hint of a smile appeared on Zoë’s bruised face as she crossed her arms over her chest and continued. “As outlined by protocol and regulations interpretation and definition guide 44/1A-D13.”
He shifted his head to look at Aram. No doubt, the lieutenant was checking the validity of Kurtz’s statement. A few seconds later, his subordinate nodded. Khalid hated to admit it, but the fact that Zoë was so deeply familiar with Academy doctrine spoke volumes about her training. Few, if any, commanders knew more than what applied to them, and for anything else, they had to consult the data-stores, as Aram had just demonstrated. Still, Khalid had more than thirty years of experience with the Innari, the last two decades of which spent as an officer. Because of this, he had to regularly navigate the quagmire, which was the Academy’s regulations. Nevertheless, he wasn’t ready to give up.
“Fair enough, SO Kurtz. However, this station is operating under Emergency Authority Directive, which makes it an active combat zone.”
For a moment, Zoë’s eyebrows furled before speaking with the same confidence as before.
“That’s a stretch, Major, and you know it. Mining complex Last Hope is a civilian facility located within Zone 1 – risk-free area. In this case, the application of EAD is limited. It grants authority over any present military personnel and restricts civilians' access to critical sections of the station, as long as this does not interfere with the safety or production output of the mining complex.”
“Civilian or not, it is considered critical infrastructure according to UR law.” Khalid protested, realising that he was on the defence. “Which makes it a critical Academy asset.”
“With all due respect, Major, you are wrong.” Kurtz closed her eyes and lowered her head. “Council resolution T12-NQ1, ratified by the UR Senate in two-eighty-eight, removes Last Hope from the list of strategic infrastructure and re-classifies it as under development.”
Her answers were too perfect, almost as if she had practised them beforehand. The Major couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being guided towards a conclusion he wouldn’t like. But how? He shot a glare towards Aram, only to see her stiffen. After almost an entire minute, the woman nodded stiffly.
“She’s right, sir. The new status of the mining complex is valid for another sixty-one years.” The lieutenant sounded almost as angry as Khalid felt. “The Academy has placed an active gag order. Shakhur just confirmed it. There is a copy of the order in the private data-stores recovered from former Overseer Tharks’ yacht.”
“Why wasn’t Last Hope’s status updated in the mainframe?” Khalid demanded as he slammed his fist on the bland table.
“I didn’t know! No one told me!” King quickly blurted, raising his hands in a submissive gesture, his face going pale.
It took Khakid a few moments to calm himself down. “The level of incompetence in this damned place is simply absurd. I don’t think your previous commanders could have made a bigger mess if they actually tried, Mr King.”
“Now,” he took a deep breath before continuing. What he had to say wasn’t easy, but it was a matter of principle. “As much as I want to place all the blame on you, as the senior most tech, I cannot. It will be petty of me and serve no other purpose than to satisfy my anger.
“Thank you… sir,” King stuttered as relief spread through his large face.
“However, the same cannot be said about you, Second Officer Kurtz,” Khalid focused his attention on the girl, regretting that he didn’t remove his helmet earlier so that she could see his scorching glare. “If you knew this, why didn’t you inform me sooner?”
“Because I thought you knew!” Zoë suddenly snapped at him in complete contrast to her previously level behaviour.
It was as if a switch was flicked in her head, although in reality, it was more likely that she was simply lying to him. However, Khalid couldn’t call her bluff while Aram and King were present. To do so would mean that he would have to expose her identity, which would be a severe breach of secrecy on his part. This news, however, put the Innari in a precarious position. Every action and order given by the Major had no legal backing and could be interpreted as usurpation of power. Of course, the same could be said for Helix. Actually, now that Khalid had a moment to think about it, this explained the infiltrator’s passive behaviour. Everything the damned bastard did was done either as a suggestion or through a proxy such as the scientists.
“No wonder,” Khalid thought to himself, “he’s preparing to pin any potential fallout on me.” The Major didn’t know if he should be impressed or furious with Helix. On one hand, the man was doing his job in an exemplary fashion, but on the other, Khalid wasn’t happy that it was being done at his expense.
“This isn’t over, Second Officer Kurtz. I’ll have a word with Helix regarding this issue later, mark my words.”
“Yeh. You know what? I agree with you a hundred percent, Major,” Zoë blurted out without any concern about how her words made her sound like a fresh recruit. “I’m sure you two will be able to sort out this whole pile of sh... I mean misunderstanding.”
“Shit, indeed,” he scoffed inside his helmet. “With Oliver Tharks breathing vacuum, Commodore Neverok assumed dead, and Donovan Rex missing, there is no one actually in charge of Last Hope.”
“Technically, that would be Knight Protector—”
“I do not take kindly to insults, Kurtz!” Khalid snapped at her. If that was even remotely possible, they wouldn’t be in this mess.
“Wait a moment! Neverok assumed dead?” King interjected himself in the conversation. “You’ve got to be kidding me, sir, Major, sir!”
“The same goes for you, tech!” Khalid growled as he jumped from his seat in preparation for a fight before realising how foolish that looked. “The Innari were never given proof that the Commodore was killed, and we cannot locate a body matching his DNA profile among the ones in storage.”
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“Ah… Have you been to the boss’ room?”
“What is he talking about, Kurtz?” Khalid demanded, folding his arms over his chest to stop himself from lunging at the girl.
“I don’t ficking know! What are you on about, Felix?”
“Ah… That is… Oh, boy… How do I explain this?” The fact that the tech intentionally avoided looking at either him or Zoë wasn’t a good sign.
“Out with it!”
“See, the thing is, I’m not familiar with all the details.” King scratched the back of his head as he spoke quietly. “Apparently, there’s been bad blood between the Commodore and the boss… I mean Helix. Like, really bad.”
“Okay. So, Helix killed Neverok. That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Well… You see, Major… Right. So, uhm, he didn’t just kill the Commodore.” The comms operator exhaled slowly before finally looking at him. There was genuine fear in his eyes as he continued. “I honestly don’t know what he did with the body, and I don’t want to know. All I know is that Neverok’s skin is hanging as decoration inside Helix’s quarters. He plans to turn it into a personal banner or something.”
“That’s…”
“… sickening!” Aram finished for him while Khalid was searching for a suitable word.
“Not the word I was going to use, but I have to agree with my Lieutenant.” He tried to push away the grisly image forming in his mind before speaking again. “Second Officer Kurtz, you understand I can’t overlook this. I will have to report it to the Academy.”
“I’d rather you didn’t, but I can’t stop you.” Based on her expression, he could tell that the girl was kept in the dark regarding this little detail.
However, it was hard to ignore the warning in her statement. There was no telling how Helix would react if he learned about this conversation. From what he had learned, Khalid could surmise that the man’s cerebral implant wasn’t just shorting out; it was going haywire. It was strange how many times his opinion of the infiltrator had changed in a handful of minutes. Nevertheless, the Major’s hands were tied.
“Sir, should we detain Major Helix?” Aram asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“No, Lieutenant,” he shook his head. “We haven’t seen any evidence of the alleged barbaric act.”
“I could send a couple of men to check—”
“I said no, Lieutenant!” He cut her off, feeling frustrated that he had to spell it out for her. “Until the no-void relay is fixed, we haven’t seen any evidence. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Aram nodded and took a step back.
“This puts us all back at the start, Officer Kurtz.” Khalid sat back down and began to drum his fingers on the table. “Actually, this new information puts us in the middle of a bloody paradox. As it stands, no one has the legal right to command the mining complex.”
“Uhm, not exactly, Major,” Zoë offered sheepishly. All of the confidence was gone from her voice. “In our case, it would be best to follow Academy regulation 0Z-TC. The Chief of Security is temporarily assigned the role of Overseer.”
“However, Chief Rex is gone and charged with treason.” Khalid was quick to remind her.
“In that case, the role of Chief of Security is passed down the mining complex’s chain of command.”
The Major narrowed his eyes as a dangerous thought occurred to him. “Considering that ninety percent of Last Hope’s Security is facing similar charges, that would make you the new Chief of Security, wouldn’t it, Second Officer Kurtz?”
“No! No, no, no.” The girl waved her hands in denial. “Technically, I haven’t finished the mandatory training hours and am considered still a recruit.”
This caught Khalid by surprise. He was certain that installing Kurtz as the next Chief of Security had been Helix’s plan from the start. It fit perfectly; otherwise, why would her cover be that of a potential replacement for Donovan Rex? Unless he was missing something obvious. Something that was entirely possible. After all, an infiltrator’s mind and way of thinking were a mystery by design.
“I mean, officially, Felix, here, is the new Chief of Security,” the girl pointed at the giant next to her with a thumb.
“What?!”
“LT?”
“Screw me sideways! She’s right!”
“What’s the problem?” Zoë shrugged, visibly perplexed by their reactions. “He’s already acting as such. All that needs to be done is to use the authorisation codes in the console in the Overseer’s office to make it official.”
“You make it sound really simple,” Khalid sighed. “The console is locked while EAD is active.”
“So?” She was looking at him as if he was speaking in a different language.
“I’m talking about a S.E.K. military encryption.” The Major tried really hard to remove the vitriol from his voice. “Tech King is good, I’ll admit that, but he isn’t that good. Or are you?”
“I mean… It’s not impossible,” Felix mulled while rubbing the side of his chin. “But the Major is right, Zo. To do it, I’ll need an AI cyber-bore, a decryption console, a specialised cracking AI and three days. That’s seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes short. EAD will begin a full system wipe the moment I connect.” King finished with a grunt.
“Mhm. Right. Felix, buddy, what does S.E.K. stand for?” The Second Officer asked with an insufferable smug smile forming on her face.
“Scoligni-Everet-Kruger, what about it?” The giant looked at her with an expression that said she was testing the limits of his patience with such trivial questions.
Something that Khalid was willing to agree with when the name suddenly registered in his brain. He could feel his jaw dislocate at the speed at which it dropped. From where he stood, he saw Aram smack her helmet with her hand in a manner that was unbefitting of an Innari, just as something unintelligible came from the comms operator’s mouth.
“As in Professor Anton Kruger…” Khalid managed to mutter as he felt the sudden urge to walk out of an airlock without his helmet on.
“Yeh. Pretty much all the people in charge of the science expedition here on Last Hope are the eggheads of the eggheads.” Kurtz’s smile grew wider and somehow turned more insufferable than before. “Seriously? Am I the only one who reads people’s files around here?”
“Wipe that smile off your face, SO,” Khalid growled at her, furious that he had missed such a valuable piece of information, before turning to his lieutenant. “Aram, get the egghe… the detained scientists here! On the double!”
“Wait!” He stopped the woman before she could bolt out of the room. “A few more minutes won’t change anything. Let’s drop the act, Kurtz. What were they doing out there? They can’t be that stupid to break regulations.”
“Major, I have no idea. That said, Dr Werner has been harping about her schedules from day one. If Chief Rex kept proper records of all her complaints, Security would need to dedicate an entire server to her.” Kurtz chuckled, but her expression quickly turned serious when the tech next to her cleared his throat.
“And I’m supposed to believe that after you just pointed out that all the scientists are the best of the best.” Khalid rumbled, seeing that she was telling the truth. That or the girl should be awarded the Rec-Feed Actress of the Decade award.
“With all due respect… sir, Virginia… I mean, Dr Werner and Professor Kruger can be pretty stupid for smart people.” King chimed in, making it clear that there was something going on between him and the lead archaeologist.
Not that it was any of Khalid’s business, but it was available information to have just in case. But more important than that was the knowledge that Helix was keeping secrets from his people. A part of him felt vindicated for his suspicion of the infiltrator, but a larger part was angry because the Major was once more seeing proof that the UR was rotting from the inside.
“Chief King,” Khalid addressed the giant of a man after a moment, “for now, I will abide by Academy regulations. Keep in mind that your new position doesn’t give you authority over myself or the members of Innari Platoon six-six-three, and we will remain an independent party. However, due to the irregularity of our situation, we will support the Security detachment of mining station Last Hope.”
He let out a frustrated grunt. Considering the influence Helix had over King, it was more than likely that the infiltrator would be the one giving the orders. Regardless, Khalid didn’t have much of a choice until communications with the rest of the UR were restored.
“Thank you… uhm… sir?”
“As of this moment, I’m no longer part of your chain of command.” He silenced the tech with a wave of his hand. “Now. Your opinion, Chief. Will Professor Kruger be able to solve the EAD issue?”
“Sure… Since he’s been involved in creating the encryption, he should know a backdoor or two or, at the very least, know of any vulnerabilities I could exploit.” The longer the tech spoke, the more confident his voice became.
Khalid made a mental note of this, certain now that the comms operator wasn’t going to handle the sudden promotion well. It was more than likely that the giant would crack under the pressure. Sadly, some people weren’t fit for command. The only question which remained was how he could use this info to the advantage of the Innari.
“Lieutenant, escort the Chief of Security to the detainees and surrender them into his care. Also, inform Shakur to provide Chief King with allied-command access codes to our feed.”
“Yes, sir,” Aram's heels clicked together before she turned around and exited the room.
“One more thing, Chief, SO Kurtz,” Khalid stopped the pair before they could leave. “If they wander into a restricted area without permission again, I’m charging them with Category III Sedition. Clear?”
“Crystal.”
----------------------------------------
Zoë leaned against the call wall the moment the Innari woman was out of sight. Her nerves were shot, and her heart was making desperate attempts to escape through her throat. This was the first time she dared to mouth off to a superior, and it had to be an Innari officer of all things. If there was a chance in Hell that she could avoid a court marshal followed by a summary execution, it was gone now. On top of that, she wasn’t sure what insanity possessed her to agree to this plan. All she had to do was tell Helix no, but she couldn’t do it despite him breaking her nose. Which, in hindsight, was entirely intentional. So, she lost her cool during the training session, but she was only human.
Still, Zoë was also elated by the fact that she pulled it off. Sure, she stumbled a couple of times, and Felix’s improvisation didn’t help, but in the end, both Dr Werner and Professor Kruger were free with just a slap on the hands.
“This was something else…” she muttered to herself while Felix was lecturing the pair of eggheads.
“Seriously! If you want to step in front of a firing squad, go for it! Just don’t drag me along.”
Or perhaps the conversation had gone past the point of being a lecture. From just a glance, she could see that the big guy was angry while Professor Kruger was lost in thought, and of course, Dr Werner was acting like a spoiled child again. Something about her behaviour rubbed Zoë the wrong way. Still, no one had to hear Felix stuck repeating the same thing over and over again.
“Come on, big guy,” she said with a sigh and pulled on the tech’s arm, “you can tear them a new one when we get back to HQ.”
“Yeh… Yeh.” The giant grunted after a moment, daring Dr Werner to disagree. “Fuck, Zo, I knew you were a stickler for regulation, but what you did back there was on another level!” Felix exclaimed once it was clear the archaeologist had nothing to say.
“What? You thought I was just sitting on my ass while in Medical?” Zoë chuckled as their little merry band began the short trek to HQ. “Bah! Zeti fed me most of the answers.” She added quietly.
“In other words, it fabricated an official Council order,” Felix sighed, his shoulders dropping. “I didn’t think that was possible without a template or something…”
“What? No,” Zoë corrected him, a little confused by his response. “The Chief told me about resolution T12-NQ1 when I got here.”
“You for real?” Felix stopped and looked at her without noticing that Virginia bumped into him.
“Hey!”
“Why would I lie to you? All Second Class guards were informed in case of an emergency.” She shrugged. “I thought you knew as well since you are the head of the techs.”
“No,” he shook his head as he pulled Dr Werner back before she could insert herself into the conversation. “But it makes sense why Rex would have kept info like this to himself.”
“Ha!” Zoë laughed. “He didn’t keep it to himself. The bastard didn’t give a fuck. Only told me what it was about to shut me up.”
“You do have that effect on people, Kurtz.” Virginia hissed from behind Felix, but there was also something else in her voice Zoë couldn’t exactly place.
“You ready for round two, Doctor?” She grunted back at her, tightening her fist. “Zeti might have asked us to get you out of that cell, but that doesn’t mean I won’t put you in Medical.”
“Spoken like a true brute! Violence is the only solution, you know!” The scientist barked from behind Felix, who stepped between them.
“Just let it go, Zo,” he spoke in a level tone, clearly worried that Zoë was going to hurt the archaeologist.
Not entirely untrue. Even with her implants offline, she could floor Dr Werner, and right now, she was itching to do exactly that. For some reason, Zoë thought that the hostility Virginia exhibited towards her was just a one-time thing caused by Helix. However, by the looks of it, there was something else fueling it.
“Why should I? She’s the one who started it.”
“I know, I know.” Felix carefully placed his hands on her shoulder.
“Sure, take her side!”
“For fuck’s sake, Virginia!” Felix roared as he turned around. “Can it, or I’m putting you back in that cell!”
“He’s right, Virginia,” Professor Kruger said calmly as he walked next to the tech. “We have more pressing issues.”
Zoë was surprised to see how haggard the man appeared. It was as if he had aged decades in the week since she last saw him. Now that she noticed it, Dr Werner also showed signs of losing weight and exhaustion. There was also faint bruising around her neck and right wrist. Quickly, she stepped around the furious tech and grabbed the woman’s arm. In one swift motion, Zoë pulled the sleeve of the lab coat back to get a better look at the limb. Sure enough, there was a light bruise on her forearm. Normally, that wouldn’t be much of a concern; the only problem was that the only way Dr Werner could have it was if it had been inflicted by another person. After all, Zoë had received similar bruising before breaking Sevlin Proctor’s spine.
“Did the Innari do this?” She asked the momentarily stunned Virginia.
“What?! No! It’s nothing.” The woman pulled away her arm and hid it behind her back. However, the sudden change in her attitude only served to confirm her suspicions.
“It’s not nothing! Academy regulations strictly forbid the abuse of detained civilians.” Zoë demanded, stepping closer.
“Seriously, Zo, it’s nothing…” Felix sighed as he stepped between them, although this time, he oddly avoided looking her in the eyes.
“You for real?! If they’re responsible for this, we have to report them to Major Khalid—”
“Zo, it was me,” the tech’s whisper barely registered in her ears on account of how quietly it was spoken.
“This is no time to joke around, mate,” she shook her head, trying her best not to slap him for saying something so stupid. “I know you, Felix. You’re not that kind of a guy. So tell me who you’re trying to cover for, and I’ll sort it out.”
“Zoë,” he pinned her on the spot by placing both of his massive hands on her shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes this time. She could see a lot of different emotions on his face, but the most dominant one was embarrassment. “It was me, and it wasn’t intentional.”
“It doesn’t make sense. For you to cause such bruises, you’d need to be behind her with one arm like this and the other…” Zoë semi-outstretched her right arm when it dawned on her. “Oh. Oh!”
“I don’t understand.” Professor Kruger looked confusedly at the three of them.
“One word, and I swear, I will murder you in your sleep,” Virginia hissed at her, a wild look in her eyes that pretty much told the same.
“Please,” Felix pleaded, looking at her like a wounded puppy.
“Hey! It’s none of my business,” Zoë made a show of looking Dr Werner over, raising one eyebrow as she did. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”
“Kurtz!” Virginia growled, bearing her teeth, and the Second Officer almost expected to see foam begin to drop from her mouth.
“Zo-zo!” Felix, on the other hand, appeared drained and ready to surrender - either that or he was contemplating unorthodox memory eraser methods.
“Okay, okay. I’ll drop it.” Zoë said, fully aware that they could see the mischievous smile plastered on her face. “Honestly, I don’t see what the big problem is… For the record, it was consensual, right?”
“You are pushing it, Second Officer Kurtz.” Felix’s voice made it clear that she had crossed the line with that last remark, while Virginia produced a sound that was better fitting for an animal than a person.
“Right. Sorry. I just had to get it out of my system, Chief.”
With that, Zoë took a deep breath, placed her hand inside the knotted sleeves of the fatigue top dangling from her waist and activated the jammer Helix had given her. Almost immediately, Felix shook his head as if he had suffered a glancing blow from stun knuckles gloves. Turning her back to the camera observing the corridor, she spoke quickly.
“I’ve got a few seconds before Zeti gets suspicious. We need to talk somewhere private, where it will not be able to observe us.”
“Rust Town, Jolly’s Pub,” Felix said without hesitation. “No coverage by the cameras, and plenty of reasons to explain prolonged feed connection loss.”
Nodding, Zoë turned off the jammer, clapped her hands and continued to speak as if nothing had happened. “Right, it settled then. The Chief and Professor Kruger head to the Overseer’s office while I get a change of clothes. Dr Werner, you will be coming with me so that I can keep an eye on you. We don’t want you wandering into trouble again, now do we?”
“The Chief? I’m sorry, Miss Kurtz, I’m completely lost,” Anton shook his head, worry written on his face.
“Don’t sweat it, professor. Chief King will fill you in on your way there.” Zoë forced a cheerful smile on her face and slapped Felix’s shoulder. “You know what, Major Khalid can wait an hour or two. Beers on me... Well, gut rot, fermented tar or whatever they’re serving today in Rust Town. I think we all need a few to catch our breaths.”
With that, Zoë grabbed Dr Werner’s hand and practically dragged her away. “Now, why don’t you fill me in on all the juicy details?”
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