Star Force 12 Demon Star (8 page)

Hoon scuttled half to the left, and then back half to the right. He was like a sheep looking for escape from wolves. “The first attempt on your life occurred long before we met, Captain Riggs.”

“Depends on what you mean by ‘first.’ I had some very odd and rather deadly things happen to me long before I graduated from the Academy, things that wouldn’t be that hard for a lobster with brains and money to arrange.”

“Grim bigotry!” Hoon declared. “Is your dislike for aliens so great you’ve lost your mind?”

“No, Hoon, I’m seeing things very clearly today.”

“I insist upon a formal court,” he said. “I must say at this juncture that the situation appears clear to me.
You’re
the one holding a grudge. Following the treaty between our peoples, I’ll presume this visit constitutes notice that I’m under investigation. I therefore invoke my right to counsel and refuse to say any more.”

I took a step forward, with Kwon following suit. I wanted to find the culprit who had killed Olivia and who had tried more than once to kill me. If it had just been me that would be one thing, but the fact that Olivia and others were considered collateral damage was beyond irrational. It had to be the work of someone not wholly human. Alien in fact as far as I was concerned. I could feel the rage I’d kept in check for so long boiling to the surface.

“Laws and regs are pretty thin out here, Hoon,” I said. “If you come clean right now about anything you’re involved in, I promise not to invoke the death penalty. If we end up proving your guilt, though, we might have to manufacture a whole bunch of butter-flavored sauce for your funeral.”

Yeah, I was that mad. I admit it.

Hoon’s tone finally began to take on some humility. Perhaps it was starting to sink in how close he was to becoming a crew-sized pot of lobster bisque. “Your disgusting threats to consume my flesh have no additional power to frighten me as I don’t believe in an afterlife. Nor do I respond emotionally to your taboos. However, as I do not wish to be unlawfully tortured or executed, let me assure you that you’re completely mistaken. I am innocent of all crimes. Consider the source, Riggs. If there is evidence, it has been falsified or manufactured.”

I blinked at him thoughtfully. “Why would Marvin lie?”

“Why does the robot do anything? He has his own purposes. Perhaps he is mistaken. In any case, as I said, you’re free to examine all my records and correspondences in detail.”

“Of course I’m free to do that. I don’t need your permission,” I growled.

Despite my anger, Hoon’s steadfast denials were starting to cool me off. He was right about due process, too. If I turned into a tyrant in this instance, I’d end up paying for it later. A captain didn’t have the luxury of being a hypocrite in front of his crew. They might start to ask themselves what would keep me from chucking the regs if one of them became a suspect, and why they should follow the rules when I didn’t bother to do the same.

“I stand ready to assist in any way I can,” Hoon said. “I will provide all codes for my encrypted files, but I insist that Warrant Officer Cornelius be assigned to monitor the investigation.”

Hoon’s request made me wonder if the hooch-swilling chief of the gun deck, whom I’d recently promoted from senior noncom to warrant officer, was somehow part of the conspiracy. Then it occurred to me that Hoon would want to keep any co-conspirators as far from himself as possible. Maybe he thought that Cornelius’ alcoholic tendencies would make her ineffective.

Then I decided to quit wondering and ask him. “Cornelius? Why her?”

“Because she debunked the false mating videos. To me, that proves she is either impartial or on your side. You will not suspect her of shielding me. And because I have nothing to hide, she will make an excellent witness in my defense when the time comes for the formal hearing.”

He had me there. I couldn’t see any reason to deny his request, unless I was missing something. But I wasn’t about to be out-foxed by a lobster, or by anyone else for that matter. “Fine. Cornelius it is. Valiant, lock down all of the computer systems Hoon has access to and don’t let him make any alterations. Hoon, provide the AI with your access codes right now so she can make complete copies of your files.”

“Of course, Captain Riggs. I will do so immediately.”

Fear seemed to have made him compliant, which was a sensible response for any highly intelligent species, but now that I was calming down, I wondered what it was going to cost me later.

“I’ll leave you to it, then. Come on, Kwon.” I stomped out of Hoon’s watery quarters, dissatisfied. I’d hoped to find something out by confronting the lobster in his lair, so to speak, but he hadn’t fallen apart. Did that mean he was telling the truth, or simply that he had long prepared for this day?

My gut had begun to doubt Hoon was guilty—at least, guilty of trying to kill me. Maybe whatever Marvin had found was evidence of some lesser meddling, or maybe it really had been faked the way the lobster claimed.

Once the water had drained away and left me in a dripping battlesuit, I opened my faceplate to rub my eyes. I wished that for once things would become clear.

With a flash of insight, I realized that this was why I often felt eager for battle. It was the clarity and simplicity of combat that I was drawn to. Distances, speeds, weaponry, tactics, winning and losing. None of this murkiness, the guessing of motivations, looking for traitors among my crew.

I imagined my sentiment went double for Kwon.

Military service wasn’t supposed to be like this, dammit. I’d gobbled up life at the Academy like a ravenous tiger, digesting everything I’d been taught in order to turn myself into the model officer. I thought I’d done a decent job until now, especially thrust into the role as captain so soon, but sometimes I felt as if I was drowning in a situation that simply didn’t fit the way things ought to.

My usual response to self-doubt was to knock back a few cold beers and talk things out with one of my closest confidantes—Adrienne or Kwon, depending on the subject matter. Both had their insights, and I really needed someone to bounce my thoughts off of right now.

As Kwon was handy and informed, I decided it was time for a chat with my most trusted subordinate and, dare I say it, friend.

“Come on,” I said as we got out of our suits in the armory. “Let’s grab a couple of brewskis in your quarters.”

“Always a great idea, boss,” Kwon replied eagerly.

-7-

I wanted to hang out in his cabin because the marines were used to seeing me come by and talk to him. Going anywhere else might get people wondering. Hell, they were probably already wondering why we’d visited Hoon in full armor, but there wasn’t much I could do about that.

Once the door was shut, I guzzled two bottles out of a six-pack of the mediocre factory beer Kwon had set in front of me.

“Not knowing who tried to kill us is driving me crazy. I’m starting to suspect everyone. I told Marvin to look for evidence, and he told me he found some, but…” I rubbed my forehead. “What do you think?”

“We talkin’ about Hoon?”

“Yes.”

“I’d sooner trust the lobster than Marvin.”

He’d already drained the first two of his own six-pack and then slammed down another.

“But Marvin has no reason to finger Hoon, and Hoon has every reason to lie.”

“Unless Marvin has been lying all along and he’s the one trying to kill you.”

I shook my head. “I’ve considered that possibility several times from every direction and it doesn’t hold up. Marvin maneuvered the original captain and officers into being killed by the Pandas so that I would end up in charge. If he wanted to kill me all along, that makes no sense. No, he’s saved us many times over. It’s not Marvin.”

Kwon finished his fourth bottle, belched, tossed the plastic empty into a corner for the smart metal floor to recycle and reached for another. “Even though you’re sure it’s not Marvin, that doesn’t mean he’s right. He’s been wrong before, especially about biotics. He’s not human, so he doesn’t really know what humans think.”

I raised a finger and then paused with it in the air. “Damn, Kwon, that’s true. I thought he’d make a good investigator because he was objective…but maybe I need someone else.”

“But who else can you trust that’s brainy enough? And don’t look at me.” He said this with an utter lack of self-consciousness. Kwon was a man who knew his place in life, and that was a rare thing.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Kwon. You’re not stupid, but I get what you’re saying. It’s not your thing. I need to find a biotic with the free time, the brainpower and the motivation to keep digging until he finds the truth.”

Kwon laughed. “That sounds like Hoon. Maybe you could have him investigate himself!” He slapped his knee and finished off his fifth bottle.

I gave up even trying to match him drink for drink, but I drained my third and opened a fourth.

“Who else could I get?” I asked. “I’m pretty sure I could trust Cornelius, but she’s overworked as it is, and she’s not really a technician. She’d have to get help from one of her people, which would undercut any chance of confidentiality.”

Kwon leaned forward, putting his massive arms on the small table that held our beer, making it creak. “Take it from an old chief who’s been leading grunts for thirty years. You don’t have to trust everyone. You only have to know what makes them tick. Like, if I got a guy who can’t stay away from whores, I don’t try to make him.”

I looked at him thoughtfully. “What do you do?”

“I just make him tell his squad leader which cathouse he’s in, so we can find him if he doesn’t answer his com-link. I also tell him to report back to me if there’s any funny business, like if our people get robbed there. You gotta give guys like that a job that lines up with their flaws, so they stay on your good side. Like you did with Hansen.”

I sat back, crossing my arms while holding onto my bottle with the tips of my fingers. “See? You’re wise, Kwon. But how do I apply that to the current situation?”

“Boss, you gotta use someone that wants to find out the truth just as bad as you do. Someone who has the skills and the time.”

I sighed, exasperated. “There’s no one left.”

Kwon shrugged. “What about Kalu?”

I choked. “Are you crazy? She hates my guts.”

“Only ‘cause you blew her off when she tried to hook up with you, but not as a captain. Everybody in the crew hates her for the way she acted with Sokolov. The only place she can go without catching shit is the science lab and her quarters—or Ensign Achmed’s. That guy’s getting himself some good squeeze every night.” Kwon leered and made lewd motions with his hands. “But what if you were her? You’d want to get everyone mad at someone else for a change.”

I thought about what Kwon said. “That actually makes a lot of sense. She has the technical skills, and I’m as sure as I can be that she wasn’t behind the attempts to kill us.” I clapped the big man on the shoulder. “I knew this was a good idea.”

“Beer’s always a good idea, boss.” He finished off the rest of his six-pack and glanced at mine.

I pushed the two I had left over to him. “All yours. Thanks. I need to go see Kalu.”

“Better put your battlesuit back on first!” Kwon guffawed and belched.

“Thanks for the advice,” I said, throwing Kwon a mock salute. “Later.”

My first stop was on the gun deck, where I gave Cornelius the outline of the situation. I assigned her to work with Hoon and ordered her to focus on the lobster and his possible role in anything nefarious. I didn’t tell her about Marvin’s parallel investigation or the possibility of Kalu joining in. I figured the more hounds I had independently sniffing at this trail, the better.

My second stop was the logistics chamber, where I found out Adrienne was on her lunch break. I checked my chrono and realized I’d missed our usual appointment. Cursing myself, I checked my appearance in the nearest head mirror, took a leak and hurried to the wardroom.

The glance I got from Adrienne could have flash-chilled a bottle of champagne, so I put on my best contrite expression and stepped over to her to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Sorry,” I said. “I got held up.”

“Yes, and you smell like you were ambushed by a beer lorry,” she said.

“I was brainstorming with Kwon. Seriously. Thanks to him, I have an idea.”

“Kwon? An idea?” Her British sneer was extreme.

“Hey, he might not be the sharpest tool, but he knows a lot about people. Talking to him helps me think.”

“And it conveniently provides you an excuse to drink at lunch.”

“I only had three beers,” I said. Then I frowned and squinted. “Maybe it was five…I forget. Anyway, now I need your help.”

Adrienne softened somewhat. “Oh, now you need my help? All right then, but it’s going to cost you. The price will be named later. So, what service can I render my esteemed Captain?”

“Besides the obvious?” I grinned.

She looked annoyed, but she was flattered. “Yes, besides that. I’m not just a pretty face, you know.”

“There is the gorgeous body. And, you’re a great conversationalist. Not everyone knows about that part. Let’s not even mention—”

“Oh, do shut up.” She laughed, and I knew I’d slipped out of the minefield.

As I broached the next topic, I realized I was entering a new danger zone, but I felt I had no choice…

“I have to give Kalu a task,” I said, holding up a hand as I saw her face turn sour at the mention of that name. “That’s why I came to you, so you’d be sure nothing funny was going on. Not that I’d want there to be…”

The look on her face told me I was failing. I pressed on, not knowing what else to do.

“Anyway, look,” I said. “Kwon pointed out that we don’t really need someone we like or trust to help find out who’s been doing us dirty. We only need someone with the right motivation—and Kalu is in a big deep hole with the crew. She has the skills and the desire to point the finger at the real culprit. If she finds something…”

“The heat comes off of her,” Adrienne finished. “I see.”

Her eyes narrowed in thought, not in anger.

“All right,” she said after thinking it over. “What do you want me to do?”