Kat snorted. “I believeyouwere the one who was cool on him. I’ve always liked Jed.”
“Fair.” Lee eyed her sidelong with a fresh appreciation, his eyes betraying him despite the urgency of their latest escapades as they honed in on her lips and the slip of her tongue, before her mouth bowed into a coy smile. The titillating spark of danger dancing between them. He’d always loved getting tangled into these scenarios with her.
He tabled that last thought. Something he could see to later…
They kept silent, the grates churning overhead as they took the stairways up past the PARC and over to the Command Wing.
Jed had confirmed the cameras would be off. But that wouldn’t stop any staff or cadets or loitering commanding secretaries who happened to be passing beyond these doors from physically spotting them…
“If anyone sees us, we act like she sent for us,” Lee said, more to himself than to Kat as he raised his hyperband to scan his upgraded security clearance at the doors.
“Here goes,” she breathed.
The doors split open.
They knew this next sequence of hallways that made up the beginning labyrinth of the Command wing well enough, thanks to all their trips to see Nolan. Lee could probably locate his office blindfolded. But as to locating the Commander’s suites…
A sea of unmarked doorways greeted them, with hallways branching off to either side, along with a central hallway that continued straight ahead. Thanks to the schematics they had a general sense of direction; he was just grateful there were no actual figures present to witness their hesitancy as they continued onward.
On padded steps they passed the door Lee thought he recalled as being Command’s Assignment and Briefing, although his memory mucked about some of that.
The hallway opened up even wider as they continued on, the doors fewer and more spaced out. As they reached these larger rooms, Lee slowed his steps. They had to be close.
They drew up alongside the nearest doorway and Lee stopped and listened. He could hear the faint pulls of the air circulation draft, which made this one a staircase. “I’m guessing staff living quarters are up this way?”
“Which makes Commander Blanche’s suites one of these,” Kat breathed.
They studied the two doors up ahead. The suite where she kept her mainframe would be larger than most, the office of the current reigning Commander of the Academy. Lee stopped outside the door with the largest gap of space on either side of it. “I think it’s this one.”
Beside him, Kat sucked in a breath, her face a shade or two paler than usual. “Here goes,” she chirped, her words staccato in Lee’s eardrums.
When she didn’t make a move to scan her own hyperband, Lee lifted his to the plate, taking the half-step back to stand beside her.
This would work. Jed knew what he was doing. Still, he counted the milliseconds.
And then the door sprang open.
He ushered Kat forward, then they both slipped through the door, letting it close behind them.
CHAPTER 39: KAT
COMMANDER YVETTE Blanche’s office was not eggshell.
Not on first appearances, anyway. One of the side walls was made up entirely of thick-paneled glass, from grated floor to concealed overhead lighting. It cast the rest of the office in a midnight shadow. The other did include the celebrated eggshell-colored panels, but they were softened by the sizable zen-garden that spanned a good portion of the length, and a half dozen sculpted metal vases of overflowing greenery in breeds Kat had never seen before. The far wall was almost entirely obscured by gilded plaques from what Kat guessed were from her Commander’s raider days. Her heart stole peeks at the pretty glass, even as her feet carried her across the room. She’d probably read about a lot of their contents in her search the other day.
So this was what becoming the Commander afforded you. A pretty office and a ship-full of cadets who would worship your shadow. Despite the racing clock, she took a few steps closer to that far wall to see what these plaques boasted. A single logo drew her focus. “The Bureau of Planetary Land Management… Lee, several of these were awarded directly from the BPLM. I wonder what she makes of the General’s activity there…”
She may have stolen a second—more appreciative glance—at that back wall as she followed Lee towards the broad deskthat dominated its own fair share of space in the large room. A holoblock sat neatly atop it. And facing them, a plump ivory chair, positioned perfectly beneath the spotlights overhead.
Kat didn’t hesitate before plopping down atop its plush cushions. It seemed they’d picked the right suite.
Shooting her a dubious look, Lee took up a spot behind her, looking on over her shoulder as she drew up the mainframe on the Commander’s perma-standing holoblock. They had the coding loaded and ready to initiate their entry within a matter of seconds.
Her breathing shuddered as they waited for the token blips to be accepted onto the hub.
And then they were in.
They already had their list of priorities and courses of action plotted. As anticipated, the Commander was a very detailed and organized leader. And in the work of mere seconds, they were sorting through mission statuses. They grabbed everything dark radiation-related, dropping it into a temporary shared folder Jed had set-up to coordinate with their access.
