Relentless (25 page)

Daring
’s commanding officer shook his head. “It’s all speculation. We need hard data. We need evidence!”

“Do we?” Cresida asked. “The truth would come out in an interrogation room. I hereby volunteer to be questioned in an interrogation room about my knowledge of the worms that have been used against this fleet, and I urge all of my fellow commanding officers to do so as well.”

Captain Armus of
Colossus
frowned. “That’s a very big step to take. You’re indirectly questioning the honor of every officer in the fleet. If we agree to being interrogated, we move the line of what’s permissible against our fellow officers, even those who aren’t even remotely suspected of a crime. We move that line very, very far.”

A lot of the officers present nodded in agreement. Even Geary found himself reflexively rejecting Cresida’s idea. By establishing a precedent for broad interrogations of any officer, whether that individual was suspected of crimes or not, the cure might be worse than the illness represented by someone like Captain Kila.

But if he hadn’t received that message from
Lorica
, would he feel the same way? Or, driven by anger and frustration, would he have reluctantly agreed with Cresida and perhaps fatally undermined a critical component of the fleet? He’d been appalled by the compromises made in the principles of the Alliance over the hundred years of war, but moments like this helped Geary see how easy it was to make such compromises, to abandon important principles “just this once because it was important.”

“Co-President Rione volunteered to be interrogated when she was under suspicion,” one of the Callas Republic captains reminded everyone.

“A politician can scarcely be considered to have a conception of honor equal to that of a fleet officer.” Armus blurted out the statement, then reddened as he realized he’d said it in Rione’s presence.

“Given her position as an Alliance senator,” Duellos pointed out, “it was a comparable act.”

“And,” Captain Desjani stated in a deceptively dispassionate tone, “since many here believe politicians have much more to fear in the way of wrongdoing being revealed in such interrogations, Co-President Rione’s offer was arguably of even greater significance than if a fleet officer made such an agreement.”

“Thank you, Captain Desjani,” Rione replied in a voice that could have cut through hull armor.

Geary had been stalling while Kila was occupied with the meeting, letting the debate ramble to kill time. Now Colonel Carabali looked aside at something visible to her, then nodded again to Geary. The trap was set.

Geary rapped his knuckles on the table to get everyone’s attention. “We need not question the honor of every officer in this fleet, nor do we need to subject officers to blanket questioning in ways that would harm the structure and discipline of the fleet.” He had their attention, all of the other officers watching him and clearly wondering what he would say next. Even Desjani managed to do a decent job of looking puzzled. “Instead, we’ll let the dead speak.”

Varying expressions of shock and surprise appeared on every face as Geary tapped the table with one fingertip. “
Lorica
’s commanding officer was able to transmit something important just before her ship’s destruction, something she’d found. Her ship was probably targeted because the plotters suspected that Commander Gaes had learned too much, just as Captain Cresida speculated.” He couldn’t be certain of that, couldn’t know for how long Gaes had been aware of the identity of the ship from which the original worm came. Gaes had known about the original worm, she’d warned Geary of it, but if she’d known who was behind it, she hadn’t told him then. Gaes had died in the line of duty, though, and had given him the information he desperately needed, so in Geary’s eyes she deserved to be given every benefit of the doubt.

Geary entered a command. The message from
Lorica
appeared, floating above the table, the meeting software making it appear to face everyone. “You’ll recall the first worm placed in this fleet’s operating systems, the one that would have disabled most of the jump drives, except for a few ships like
Dauntless
, which would have been doomed to remain in jump space forever.” He indicated the message. “This identifies the one thing we lacked, the information revealing from which ship that worm originated.” Everyone was staring at him as Geary shifted his gaze and focused on Kila. “Captain Kila, that worm originated from
Inspire
.”

Kila appeared taken aback at the news. “Are you certain?”

“Yes, Captain Kila. Would you care to explain how your ship is the source of treasonous and malicious software aimed at your comrades in this fleet?”

“I don’t care for what you’re implying, Captain Geary!” Kila snapped back at him.

“We should immediately send orders to
Inspire
to arrest those who could have been involved,” Badaya urged. “Do it now, before they hear about this.”

Kila turned on Badaya. “This message hasn’t even been authenticated yet. Did it actually come from
Lorica
? If it did, is it real or fabricated? I assure every officer here that if I had known anything about such a thing, I would have personally ensured that those responsible were brought to justice! As for your suggestion, Captain Badaya, I am fully capable of ordering the arrest of those officers and ensuring that anything they know is revealed.”

If he hadn’t been tipped off by Rione to watch for it, Geary wouldn’t have noticed how one of Kila’s hands slipped out of sight during her impassioned denial. That hand could easily be manipulating controls outside the view of the conferencing software. “The message can be examined by anyone seeking to establish its authenticity,” he replied, trying to keep his voice calm even though he wanted to yell back at Kila. “Every communications and security officer who has looked at it thus far has identified its original source as
Inspire
. You were unaware that the worm originated from
Inspire
?”

“Of course I was!” Kila glared around, her gaze fixing on Duellos. “You set this up, didn’t you? The long-ago-scorned lover finally finding his revenge!”

Duellos had no trouble looking innocent as he shook his head, since he hadn’t been advised beforehand of the message, but his dislike of Kila was still apparent. “I would think that a commanding officer would be less concerned about herself and more concerned about discovering the source of that worm aboard her ship.”

“Whoever is responsible will be brought to account!” Kila stood. “I need to be supervising the search on
Inspire
for whoever did this, before they learn about this information, assuming,” she added quickly, “that the message supposedly from
Lorica
is authentic.”

Geary looked at Colonel Carabali again as the Marine listened to something not audible to the meeting, then the Marine commander nodded a final time, and Geary smiled grimly at Kila. “We should start with your ship’s systems-security officer, don’t you think, Captain Kila? And the communications officer and the executive officer?”

“Of course!” Kila said. “If you let me start my investigation, I will ensure they aren’t alerted about this possible evidence in time for them to—”

“The investigation has already started.” Geary broke in. “Colonel Carabali, can you bring everyone up to date?”

Carabali avoided looking at Kila, her own face set in rigidly professional lines as she spoke in a flat voice. “On instructions from Captain Geary, my Marines assigned to
Inspire
waited until this meeting began, then covertly took into protective custody the executive officer, communications officer, and systems-security officer on
Inspire
.”

The images of the fleet’s commanding officers were now staring either at Carabali or Geary or Kila. Geary hoped he wasn’t looking triumphant. Kila’s face revealed nothing but seemed to have become unnaturally stiff.

“The officers taken into custody,” Carabali continued, “were placed inside a maximum-isolation security cell while they were checked for anything dangerous to themselves or
Inspire
. Maximum-isolation cells include complete coverage based on an ancient device called a Faraday cage, which blocks any incoming or outgoing radiation. Communication is maintained using physical messages passed through a series of shielded locks.” Colonel Carabali paused for a moment, then looked straight at Kila. “Approximately three minutes ago, examinations of the systems-security officer and the communications officer on
Inspire
revealed the presence of INBNDs. As of one minute ago, sensors on the outside of the security cells detected and grounded out a series of signals used for high-security, coded transmissions. The signals must have been generated inside
Inspire
’s hull.”

Captain Tulev spoke into the momentary silence that followed. “INBNDs?”

“Injected nano-based neural disruptors,” Carabali explained, “which are commonly known as ‘brain barbecues’ for their effect on the nervous system once triggered. They can be injected into an individual without that person’s knowledge if the individual is distracted. The intercepted signals appear to have been intended to trigger the brain barbecues.”

This time the silence was longer. “Someone just tried to kill those three officers?” Captain Badaya finally asked incredulously.

“The systems-security officer and the communications officer, definitely. We’re still examining
Inspire
’s executive officer to see if INBNDs are present in his body.” Carabali’s eyes didn’t leave Kila. “As I said, the intercepted signals originated on
Inspire
.”

Desjani had her own gaze locked on Kila as if she were a hell-lance battery ready to fire. “How strange that someone tried to kill those officers right after those in this meeting were told of the worm that originated from
Inspire
. Who on
Inspire
would have known that those officers were going to be questioned?”

Duellos nodded, his own expression as hard as the armor on a battleship. “It will certainly be interesting to see whom those officers implicate once they are informed that someone tried to kill them. To keep them silent? To make it appear that they were the only guilty ones? We would have been left with two or three dead officers and perhaps some convincing evidence that they committed suicide after learning they were suspects.”

Kila’s single-minded devotion to promotion had left her few friends and admirers among her peers or juniors, and Geary could see every other commanding officer in the fleet watching Kila with an appalled or angry expression. Even Caligo seemed stunned.

“Captain Kila,” Geary stated with what he felt was admirable restraint, “in light of recent events and the evidence available to the fleet, you are hereby relieved of command while the situation on
Inspire
is investigated. Colonel Carabali, please send some of your Marines to escort Captain Kila to a shuttle for transfer to
Illustrious
.”

Kila looked around the table contemptuously, then raised one arm in a dramatic gesture before lowering it to tap something on the control panel before her on
Inspire
. “Never mind, Colonel. Your Marines won’t be able to enter my stateroom. The Alliance is going to lose this war because it’s weak, because its fleet officers are
weak
. None of you are fit to command this fleet, especially you,
Captain
Geary. You care more for the lives of Syndics than you do for the lives of Alliance citizens!”

Badaya spoke in a voice so deep he seemed to be speaking from his gut. “You murderous bitch. How dare you claim to care for the lives of Alliance citizens when you murdered the crew of
Lorica
and tried to murder the crews of
Illustrious
,
Dauntless
, and
Furious
!”

Kila bared her teeth at Badaya. “We are all sworn to die for the sake of the Alliance, and the unfortunate sacrifice of those crews would have been for the highest cause. It would have been no different than if they died in combat against those who would weaken and destroy the Alliance. If we want to swap accusations of treason, I’m ready. What has Geary promised you after he takes over the Alliance? You call yourselves loyal? You’re pathetic and corrupt, selling yourselves out for someone who wants power but won’t do what’s necessary to save the Alliance.”

Duellos answered, his voice as cold as Geary had ever heard it. “The Alliance has been doing what some people claimed to be ‘necessary’ for the last hundred years and is no closer to winning the war.”

“Because of half measures and hesitation!” Kila declared. “Always pulling back from what necessity demanded. The enemy deserves no mercy. None. They deserve death, and only when they realized that we were willing to kill every one of them would they have given in.”

“And if the enemy didn’t give in?”

Kila swept one hand in a dismissive gesture. “Then they’d all be killed, and the war would end that way.”

Tulev spoke, his voice flat. “I have as much right as any to comment on that. I don’t know what the Syndics deserve, but their killing of the Alliance’s people has never served to persuade us to surrender. Even if your proposal weren’t physically beyond the capabilities of even the Alliance, it would be fundamentally flawed in its belief that humans would bow before mass murder of their own.”

“Your spirit died at Elyzia,” Kila replied, causing a rare display of emotion by Tulev as his face reddened. “I don’t fear to speak the truth about such things. But none of you want the truth, none of you want to face your own shortcomings. You could have had a leader who would have done what needed to be done, but you’d rather die by stages, pathetic shadows of what fleet officers used to be.”

Geary shook his head. “Fleet officers never believed in killing their own to satisfy their ambitions.”

Kila’s snarl turned smug. “My ambitions? Do you think I was delusional enough to think a herd of sheep like this would accept me in command? Your pitiful egos couldn’t have accepted that. I had someone who would listen, who’d be accepted by all of you, even though he now lacks the courage to stand beside me.” She turned and looked directly at Captain Caligo, who stared back. “Weren’t you going to tell them? Staying in the background isn’t going to work this time. I have no intention of falling on my sword to protect you while you try to hide your own involvement.”