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“How can you send an order for operatives to be tested and avoid Hobato discovering it?”
Tranis drew a deep breath. He was looking at a court martial once his activities came to light, and his solutions to the Dark threat meant taking Lidon and Clan Piras down as well if they went along with him. If he was correct about Hobato, they’d escape unscathed. However, if he was wrong and a military tribunal found them to have acted lacking probable cause, the prison sentences would be lengthy.
“You do realize I’m acting on more of a hunch than actual proof? I haven’t found any actual wrongdoing on the rear admiral’s part.”
Lidon’s gaze was level. “You’ve never been an alarmist, my Dramok. If you’re certain Hobato’s comprised, it’s good enough for me.”
“Damn.”
“What?”
“I don’t want to be right…but if it means sending us all to prison, I do want to be right.”
“Tranis, answer my question. How can you have operatives tested for the ability to spot Darks without Hobato catching on?”
“Until you and hopefully Piras block his computer access to the fleet ships, I can’t do anything on that front. But he pays very little attention to what’s happening on Kalquor itself. The same goes for our moons, space stations, and colonies.”
“Because the fleet doesn’t spy on its own people.” Lidon’s brow lifted. “An excellent plan to have lookouts on the ground, if you can quietly implement it.”
“I believe I can. A shadow agency operating in our spy division…it’ll definitely land me in serious trouble once it comes to light, which is why I hesitated to tell you.”
“I’ll be tested. If I can see the Darks, I want to be in charge of training operatives.”
Tranis was unsurprised Lidon would volunteer for such a posting. “What happens to Degorsk, Cassidy, and our unborn child if we’re both incarcerated?”
Lidon growled, but only for a split second. “I’m more worried over what happens to them if the Darks have shown up and we don’t know until it’s too late.”
* * * *
Kila’s spyship
Hope stared at Kila from the entrance to his spyship’s bridge. He was barking orders on the com and at the bridge crew, notably reduced by the absences of First Officer Deram and Weapons Subcommander Selt. After five years it was odd to witness other men, whose names she hadn’t yet learned, at their duty stations.
“You’re going to put him in a shitty mood, aren’t you?” Com lieutenant Nobek Veko, his handsome, brooding face exposed for once…he wasn’t bending over his com station with his waist-length hair curtaining its surface…stalked past her. His tone was morose. It almost always was when it wasn’t full of dire warning.
Kila was already in a bad mood. The question was, would she make it worse? Unfortunately for Kila and his crew, she didn’t care if she did. Her present temperament wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows either.
“Chief, why haven’t I received Engineering’s readiness report?” Kila roared at his com.
The snarling reply came almost immediately. “Because we’re only two hours into the standard three-hour maintenance and recharge cycle.Captain.”
Lokmi sounded as out of patience as Hope felt. She knew damned well Kila had registered her presence on the bridge the instant she’d set foot on it, though his gaze had never flickered in her direction. He was too attuned to his ship and his clanmates to have missed her entrance. The fact she was no longer an acting crewmember on the spyship should have had him ordering her off the bridge immediately. He was avoiding the confrontation she was intent on having before Piras boarded and they got underway for Kalquor.
Fine. She was perfectly willing to bring the fight to him.
Hope walked down three steps to his command podium. His lips thinned. He whispered, “Not now, my Matara. We’re behind schedule as it is.”
“Right now, my Nobek. Either here or in your ready room, because my clan is more important than a departure time.”
His gaze slid to her, his eyes narrowing and brow lowering in warning. Her eyes widened and brows rose as her lips stretched in a snarl, issuing a threat of her own. Do you really want to go here and now? He’d damned better understand she wasn’t waiting another second. She’d be perfectly happy to unprofessionally air their dirty laundry in front of everyone if necessary to fix their personal situation.
He knew it. His fist crashed onto the computer podium, which was built to take the abuse. Hope managed not to jump, having expected such a reaction.
“Fine.” Kila stalked past her toward his office. Hope followed on his heels.
She allowed him no chance to tell her off or mount a defense. The instant the door closed behind them, she barked, “Either you trust Piras, or you don’t. If you don’t know, figure it out.”
“He kept Lidon’s presence a secret. Weeks of that Nobek at my Dramok’s side while I was gone, and he didn’t tell me!”
