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“The conduit from the drive to the engine wasn’t damaged from wear and tear. Look.” He showed Kuran and Stacy the transparent tube through which power streams would normally flash when the shuttle was running. “See these gouges? Those cuts came from a sharp instrument. Not natural deterioration. Not abrasion from any parts coming in contact with it. Not corrosion from leaking plasma.”
Stacy looked from the shuttle’s engine to Kuran, her expression a carefully composed mask. “It looks as if yesterday’s protest wasn’t an isolated incident.”
“Sabotage,” he concurred. His fists clenched, and he forced them open. He asked the technician, “Could it have been dangerous?”
“No. The gouges don’t go all the way through, which would have kept the governor from making it from the planet to the space station. The conduit heated to a normal operational temperature on the journey, then cooled once the shuttle powered down and was left in dock. As it expanded and contracted, it furthered the damage, which rendered it inoperable when she attempted to start it.”
“What if it had remained capable of flight long enough to leave the station, but the damage reached critical in space? Or during her entry into the planet’s atmosphere?”
“Out in space, she’d have had cabin power to com for a tow. In an atmospheric entry scenario, backup power boosters would have switched on, allowing a safe emergency landing. None of the failsafe circuitry was affected.” The mechanic nodded to Stacy. “I’d say someone wanted to throw you a scare rather than harm you. The backup boosters are an easy target, but they weren’t touched.”
“Nice. A compassionate adversary, my favorite kind.” Her eyes rolled.
She was playing it off as no big deal, but Kuran knew better. As for himself, he would have happily ripped some heads off shoulders if he’d been pointed in the right direction. Whether the saboteur had meant to simply frighten her or hurt her, the Nobek’s reaction was to find the bastard and make him pay.
“I contacted Supply and Requisitions for a replacement conduit. It showed up minutes before you arrived. I don’t mind staying late to get you home tonight if you’ll give me an hour to install it and run safety tests.” The tech addressed Kuran next. “As head of Earth’s security, I assume you want the damaged piece for your investigation. I only touched it when my hands were gloved. I’ll hold off on the swap if you need a team to take it for tests, but it’ll delay the governor’s reclaiming it.”
“That’s fine,” Stacy assured them. “Do whatever is necessary.”
Kuran’s ire calmed a hair at the tech’s carefulness. “I’ll call in my forensics team. It’ll only mean a couple of hours. Thank you for your diligence, Dramok. You’re absolutely certain the conduit was damaged on the planet?”
“I have no doubt your investigative team will back me up on my assessment.”
“I already know what you’re going to say,” Stacy sighed. “This attack shows I’m at risk if I return home tonight.”
“Obviously.”
“We need to talk, Kuran. Your whole clan included.”
His stomach lurched at her grim expression. He hoped she wasn’t going to tell them their growing relationship was over.
Chapter Fourteen
Stacy and Clan Rihep sat around the small dining table in the clan’s quarters. The food they’d ordered was cooling, but no one ate. Even Etnil wasn’t finding much to joke about.
“Am I mistaken in thinking we’re building a relationship? Are we in pursuit of a possible permanent future?” Stacy decided to dive right in.
Rihep met her gaze. “Potential clanship with you is a definite hope of ours.”
“Despite my insistence it’s probably a goal we won’t realize until thedistantfuture?”
“You’ve made your position clear. We respect your wishes where your political aspirations on Earth are concerned. We’re content to take it slow.”
She smiled, though bitterness at the current situation filled her. “How slow?”
He pushed aside his barely touched dinner and folded his hands on the table. “You fear for your life after the damage to your shuttle.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Kuran snarled.
“I realize you’d do all in your power to keep me safe,” she told the Nobek. “My safety isn’t at the top of the list anyway.”
“You sound like a Nobek. No wonder Kuran calls your name in his sleep.” Etnil’s light joke deepened her smile.
“I’m not cavalier about the dangers my position pose. I simply trust him to the point where it barely crosses my radar.” She reached and twined her fingers in Kuran’s.
“What are your greater concerns?” Rihep asked.
“Our affair…our growing relationship, rather, is compromising me in the eyes of fellow Earthers. It could undermine my position as governor, and I need to focus on getting the planet on what we’d call ‘a paying basis.’ I can’t be arguing about my private life instead of debating legislation. I have plenty of fighting ahead of me without it being added to simply because the legislators don’t approve of my choice in men. People are petty enough to refuse to work together over such issues.”
