CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

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—from “The Private Journals of ZZ8461-3641 Theta”

THE NINE Rigel survivors were already waiting in the crew's mess hall when York arrived there. Tregaski had placed them at one of the long tables, facing the front of the compartment, and had taken his own place off to one side, standing next to Lieutenant Wexby. Both men wore their service stunners, but were not otherwise armed. Two ship's marines were present, but at her request, neither of them carried weapons either.

The pieces were arrayed and now it was time to see which party had more successfully anticipated the other's moves. She had one advantage. In the absence of the captain, she was the only person in the room who knew that the ship was no longer in hypertransit. At this point, she wanted every possible advantage, no matter how minute.

York proceeded to the front of the room and sat down, wondering what had detained Hull; it was not like the captain to be late. She ran her eyes over the men from the Rigel. Rested and recovered, the survivors appeared in considerably better shape than they had a few days before. Albert Barngate, the quartermaster chief, had a round, open face with friendly brown eyes and a way of holding his head that suggested canine-like alertness. He caught York's gaze and nodded pleasantly to her.

Jarrett Shumway sat next to Barngate with his body hunched forward and his huge hands knotted on the table in front of him. His face was set in a tight scowl. He, at least, was not happy to be there. He was the maintenance second, she recalled. She glanced briefly on Lee Chun, the maintenance first, and the young Dai Zhani who sat next to him. His name was Hing Poy, and he was another maintenance worker. Both men's faces were absolutely devoid of expression. Suspiciously devoid?

A brief stir ran through the group as Captain Hull entered, accompanied by two armed guardsmen. Some of the men started scrambling to their feet, but he waved them down as he proceeded to the head of the room.

Nodding firmly to all of them, Hull cleared his throat before addressing them. “The purpose of this gathering is to gather some information concerning what happened to cause the disaster aboard the Ascendancy Shiva-class cruiser Rigel. This interview is unofficial and purely preliminary. It is not being recorded.

He turned his head and gestured towards her. “Miss Daniela York, who is representing the High Admiral of the Galactic Seas concerning this matter, will conduct the questioning today.” He stepped aside and stood at parade rest with his hands behind his back, his eyes resting upon the survivors like a watchful hawk.

York rose and took the captain's place at the podium, conscious of several startled looks. But there was little in the way of surprise on the faces of Lee Chun or Hing Poy. And not on Jarrett Shumway's face either. His scowl deepened, giving him a menacing look. Albert Barngate was staring at her intensely, his eyes narrow with suspicion.

“I would first like to establish that our background information is correct and verify the basic facts of the matter,”she began. “I understand the Rigel was en route from Pelicide to the Gorman system when the emergency occurred. Is that correct?” She looked at Barngate, as the senior officer, first.

“Yes, sir,” the chief answered easily. “That's correct.”

“I'm a civilian, quartermaster,” she corrected him. “You may address me as 'ma'am' or Miss York, as you prefer. I understand that the emergency took place when the cruiser was in hypertransit?”

“That is correct, Miss York,” Barngate answered.

“Who brought the ship out of transit?” she asked.

“I did.”

“You?” York blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected him to freely admit any such thing.

“In the Navy, the quartermaster often serves as an assistant to the navigator,” explained Barngate. “I've spent many years on the bridge and I'm nearly as familiar with the controls as I am with navigation. Many quartermaster chiefs are,” he added.

“I wasn't aware of that.” She smiled pleasantly at him. “Was the situation so urgent that you had to take the Rigel out of hypertime? I'm wondering why you couldn't have simply proceeded to the Gorman system as scheduled.”

“You can't launch a lander in transit, Miss York.”

“The situation was that serious at the outset?” she asked.

“Definitely.”

“How did you happen to choose the Gelhart system, Chief?”

“It was the closest,” explained Barngate.

“And Bonoplane was the closest planet?”

“The closest planet that was reasonably Terra-form, yes.” Barngate nodded. “Skyro was on the opposite leg of its orbit. This is standard protocol, Miss York.”

“I understand from speaking with the Draco's navigator that it would have only been another six hours of transit time to reach your scheduled destination.”

“We didn't have six hours, Miss York.”

“Then it was quick?”

“Very quick.” Barngate nodded. “I had to make a decision, and I made it. Perhaps if there'd been more time….”

“I can appreciate that,” York said. “But what I can't understand is why the Quartermaster Chief was making those decisions. What are you, perhaps thirtieth in the normal change of command?”

Barngate shrugged. “More like fortieth, Miss York. But that's what happened.”

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