The Battlestar Glory Ch. 08

(This is not a sexy story. It is a space war thriller.)

Chapter 8: Gifts and Traps

From the Log of War Admiral Norman North, 7 years after Vitalics:

As our supplies continue to dwindle, so does fleet morale. We've managed to be reasonably self-sustaining with our food and air supplies (although we've been on short rations at times too). Fuel or power hasn't been an acute problem, since we've mounted hydrogen collectors on several of the ships,. The problem is dedicated equipment--engineering components for the ships of the fleet, especially the Wildcats. It's gotten so bad that two full squadrons have been deactivated, as their ships have been cannibalized for spare parts to keep the other squadrons running. Needless to say, this hasn't done much for the morale of the Wildcat pilots.

And they're not the only ones. More and more, I hear voices of dissent, from those who have lost faith in our quest. They say we should stop our fruitless search for Monumental technology, and find a habitable planet to settle on. They ignore the fact that the Insects will hunt us wherever we go, preferring to believe that it's only the fleet they're after. This "homesteader" faction has been around for some time, but their voices have grown stronger, especially when we approach a habitable planet, as our scouts are doing now. I am concerned that sooner or later this split will become more than words and manifest itself in actions, or even mutiny. It might be easier to let those who want to settle to do just that.

But those who left the fleet would be signing their own death warrants. I won't allow that to happen because of my inaction. Not again.

"There, I picked it up on my scanner!" said Took, checking the readout on his 150-B.

"Where?" said Obe.

"Relaying the coordinates now," said Took. He pressed a button. "Got it?"

"Yeah," said Obe. "Let's check it out."

They angled down into the atmosphere.

"Isn't it nice that these monuments always seem to be on habitable worlds?" said Took. "Clear, fresh air, mountains, trees, fields...."

"Yeah, but that really stokes the homesteader movement," said Obe.

"Those guys are idiots," said Took dismissively. "I mean, it's nice to get some fresh air, but who wants to spend the rest of their lives being a farmer?"

"I'm getting a fix," said Obe. "It's in that forest, down there."

"In the forest?" Took looked down at the countryside.

"I don't see any good place to land," said Obe.

"What about there," said Took.

"Where?"

"Two o'clock."

"You couldn't land a microchip there," said Obe. "We'll have to let the marines make first contact on this one." Transports and shuttles, with their vertical landing ability, could land in tighter spaces than starfighters.

"They get all the fun!" said Took. He activated the fleet comm. "Glory, this is Took; how are you?"

*******

Another pair of fighters, led by Captain Ben Hunter of Wildcat-B and wingman Jane Tiegs, were simultaneously on long distance patrol in a completely different direction.

"It's just empty space out here," said Tiegs. "The nearest solar system is several light years away."

"We've still got to be on watch," said Hunter. "You never know what you'll find."

Hunter was entirely correct. Suddenly, a blip appeared on their scanners.

"Where did that come from?" said Tiegs, wondering why it didn't show up before.

"It's very small," said Hunter, flipping a switch. "It looks like it just came alive when we entered into its range. We're being scanned."

"It's too small even to be an enemy fighter," said Tiegs. "My scanner can't identify it. What is it, some sort of Insect spy probe?"

"If so, they've got a lock on our position," said Hunter. "Switching to weapons-" Suddenly, his comm signaled. "Wait a minute, I'm getting something on the comm-"

Just as suddenly, there was a small flash ahead, and the blip disappeared.

"What happened?" Tiegs asked.

"It self destructed," said Hunter. "But not before sending a message to us."

*******

"Expeditionary Force Alpha, you're cleared for launch," said Captain Dulin. He watched the holoscreen as first the transport carrying the marines and then the shuttle carrying the research scientists launched. Two Wildcats from Bay Two launched seconds later, to provide an escort to the planet.

"Another monument," said the War Admiral.

"I hope we get more out of it than the last one," said Wren ruefully. They had spent days studying the last one, the "Whistler Monument", to no avail; Stevenson's people couldn't even figure out why it whistled.

"Sir, we're getting a signal from Captain Hunter's patrol," said Lieutenant Shishman. With a nod from North he put it on speakers.

Ben Hunter relayed the story of the probe they had encountered. "it self destructed after relaying the message," said Hunter. "A set of coordinates, five light years distant in a neighboring solar system."

"An invitation?" said the War Admiral, his eyebrows raised.

"This could very well be an Insect trap," said Dulin.

"Very possibly," said the War Admiral. But he stood very still for a moment, as if weighing the alternatives. "Are there any signs of other ships in the area?"

"None sir; we're surrounded by empty space," said Hunter.

"Very well," said the War Admiral. "Do you know where the sensor device exploded?"

"Yes sir, we have the coordinates marked in. But there's nothing there now."

"Hmm," said North. "Stand by."

"Sir?"

"Remain at your current position," said the War Admiral, closing the comm. He turned to Dulin. "Captain, launch a recovery team in a shuttle."

"Yes sir," said Dulin. Then, looking confused, he said, "What are they going to recover?"

"Fragments from that self-destructing probe ship," said the War Admiral.

*******

While this effort was ongoing, the other task force was landing on the planet with the monument.

The marines were out of the transport even before the engines had cooled, forming a sweeping perimeter as they moved to secure the monument. They had only a short distance to go when they reached it, a tall black obelisk in a clearing by the trees.

"Area secure," said Lieutenant Kirby, the duty officer.

Several minutes later they could hear the whine of the shuttle dropping down and tucking in behind the transport. When the scientists landed, they found an escort of two marines waiting to take them to the monument. The War Admiral had ordered the scientists to be well protected.

Professor Stevenson and his colleagues slowly made the short walk to the monument. Their faces brightened when they saw it, and they immediately started scanning it with complex equipment.

Meanwhile, bits of the probe that had self-destructed had been recovered by a salvage team. A pilot from Wildcat "C" put them in an experiment box and handed them to one of the Glory's mechanical engineers, who started scanning the bits and pieces curiously.

After a few minutes he nodded and said, "Get me the Glory."

"Of human manufacture?" said the War Admiral, his eyebrows raised.

"Yes sir," said the holoimage of the officer on the shuttle. "There aren't enough pieces to tell me what it was supposed to do, but the bearing and type of the metal--it's pure Alliance, sir. Manufactured recently, too."

"Really? How recent?"

"Spectral dating suggests this is eight, maybe nine months old," said the officer. "If this device was sent here immediately after manufacture, it hasn't been here that long."

"Interesting," said the War Admiral. "A human-manufactured device deposited here only several months ago, in an area where we can confidently say that no human has ever been before."

"It must be part of a trap on the part of the Insects," said Dulin.

"Really, Captain? And why did they use a device of human manufacture?"

"They anticipated that we would analyze the remains," said Dulin. The War Admiral arched an eyebrow at him, frowning. Dulin felt uncomfortable. "What other possible explanation could there be?"

"The device was destroyed in an attempt to prevent us from learning of its origin," said the War Admiral. "If they had wanted us to know it was of human origin, they wouldn't have ordered it to destroy itself."

"I... I didn't consider that," said Dulin.

"Sir, no humans have ever been out this far," said Wren, coming to Dulin's defense.

"That we know of," said the War Admiral.

"Even if an explorer had been here, this device wasn't left by an errant adventurer."

"Agreed," said the War Admiral. "This was left specifically for us."

"But who, besides the Insects, knows we're out here?" said Wren.

"Who indeed?" said the War Admiral. He stood frowning a minute more, and then said, "I'll be in my office if I'm needed."

"Orders, sir?" said Dulin.

"Recall the shuttle," said the War Admiral.

"And the pilots?"

"Tell them to hold position," said the War Admiral.

"Sir?"

"Until further notice," said the War Admiral, as the door hissed behind him.

*******

The marines were spaced out in the woods, in a rough circle around the monument and the landing area. That meant that each marine was only barely within eyesight of the other marines in their cordon. But Lieutenant Kirby only had two squads of men available and had deployed them as best he could. He ordered each trooper to report in every ten minutes and personally inspected each guard station every hour. He wondered how long the scientists would be this time. He hoped it wouldn't be as long as the last time, when they were at the whistler monument. It had been very annoying, camping there for days, listening to that thing whistle idiotically.

One of the guards, a Corporal Qaye, stared into the forest around him. It seemed nice and peaceful. A soft wind blew in the distance, causing the leaves of the trees to rattle a bit. And then Qaye heard a twig snap.

He was instantly alert, looking into the direction of the sound. It was behind some bushes. But he could see nothing.

He waited again, and heard another snapping sound, as if something was slowly walking towards him.

"Post eight," he said into his comm. "I hear something in the bushes. I'm going to check it out."

*******

"You sent for me, sir?" said the Ken Pilot.

"Come in, Daniel," said the War Admiral. "We have a situation I need a volunteer for."

The War Admiral explained about the mysterious signal, and the reference to the new set of spatial coordinates. "My command crew believe it's almost certainly a trap, set by the Insects."

"A logical conclusion," said the Ken Pilot. And then, "But you don't believe it."

"Let's just say I'm not sure what to believe," said the War Admiral. "The Insects have set traps for us before, but rarely anything this subtle. I think the odds are that it is a trap. But it could also be something else."

"What else could it be?"

"That's what I want you to find out," said the War Admiral. "I want you to go to the set of coordinates given to us by that probe."

"With what kind of support?"

"None," said the War Admiral, figuring that if anyone could survive a trap, it would be the Ken Pilot. "Unless you want support-"

"No," said the Ken Pilot, "They'll just slow me down."

*******

"Incredible," said Professor Stevenson, murmuring with the other scientists as they looked at an indicator on their scanning device. The bulk of the black obelisk loomed above them.

"What, Professor?" said Lieutenant Kirby.

"This monument is six months old," said Stevenson.

"What?"

"It's made of simple titanium," said Stevenson. "It's a fraud."

"Just a moment," said Kirby, listening to one of his marines report something. "Qaye, come in."

There was silence on the other end.

"Corporal Qaye, report," said Kirby.

"Qaye here," came his voice. "False alarm. It was just a small animal."

"Very well," said Kirby. He turned to Stevenson. "I think we'd better get out of here."

"I quite agree," said Stevenson, shivering as he looked at the forest around him. Suddenly, it didn't look so tranquil.

Kirby switched to his command circuit. "Platoon, we're clearing out!"

*******

The thing that spoke with Corporal Qaye's voice looked down at the mangled and bloody body of the marine. The thing turned the body over, studying the face and uniform. Its features, vaguely humanoid, shimmered, and then became an identical copy of Qaye's. The thing grabbed Qaye's equipment, and then started back for the shuttle.

*******

"The team from the planet is returning," said Captain Dulin, turning away from the image of the Ken Pilot's starfighter, streaking away from the Glory.

"So soon?" the War Admiral said.

"Sir, the monument is a fake," said Dulin. "Stevenson reported that the monument was build several months ago, much like the pieces of the sensor we recovered."

"What?" said the War Admiral. He got on the line and spoke to Stevenson himself for several minutes. When he closed the comm, he shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Sir?"

"If the Insects are trying to lure us somewhere else, what was the purpose of the monument?" said the War Admiral. "On the one hand, we have a monument luring us here, and on the other hand, we have a relayed message telling us to go several light years in another direction."

"They could have placed the monument to bring us here, and the sensor device to send us to the final ambush zone," said Dulin.

"No," said the War Admiral. "They already had us here. Why do they want us to go somewhere else?"

"Sir, I think we should recall the Ken Pilot," said Dulin.

The War Admiral made no answer, just walking slowly to his office.

"Sir?"

The War Admiral disappeared into his office.

"I've never seen him quite like this," said Dulin, turning to Wren.

"Puzzled, you mean?" said Wren.

*******

The Ken Pilot's battered W-5 reached the position where Ben Hunter and Jan Tiegs were holding position.

"Where are you going?" said Hunter.

"I'm going to the coordinates you were sent," said the Ken Pilot.

Hunter and Tiegs, parallel to each other, exchanged glances. "Alone?"

"Yes. The War Admiral says you're relieved," said the Ken Pilot.

Hunter watched the Ken Pilot fly past him. "We can't let you go in alone."

"No," agreed the Ken Pilot. "Only the War Admiral can do that."

"We'll remain here on point, in case you need cover for a quick retreat."

"Fine," said the Ken Pilot. "Just don't get in the way or expect me to save you."

*******

The transport and the shuttle docked with the Glory. The troopers casually filed out of the transport, and the scientists disembarked from the shuttle. An officer was waiting at the exit hatch, to escort Professor Stevenson to the War Admiral.

No one paid any attention to Corporal Qaye as he filed out with the rest of the marine detachment. When they reached the barracks, the very first thing he did was go to a public terminal and punch up a list of the officers in the chain of command.

"Are you certain?" said the War Admiral. "Perhaps it was simply a new monument created recently."

Stevenson looked disgusted. "The Monumental have been dead for hundreds of thousands of years."

"But suppose one of them were still alive," said the War Admiral.

"The date of manufacture is only one piece of the puzzle," said Stevenson. "This monument doesn't match the composition of any of the other monuments. It's simple titanium, something that we could have manufactured, or-"

"The Insects," said the War Admiral.

Stevenson nodded.

"Lieutenant, were there any incidents on the planet?" the War Admiral asked.

"None, sir," said Kirby. "The scientists were safely escorted to and from the ship."

"No contacts of any kind?"

Kirby thought about Qaye's non-contact with the local animal life. "Nothing of substance, sir."

"Substance?"

"One of my men encountered a small wild animal. The animal ran off without incident."

"Hm," said the War Admiral.

"If the Insects created this as a lure, then they know we're here," said Stevenson. "We should leave this system."

"Hm," said the War Admiral again.

"Sir?" said Dulin. "I agree."

"There's only one problem" said the War Admiral. "If this were a trap, the Insects would have sprung it by now."

*******

The Ken Pilot streaked into the solar system indicated by the coordinates, ready for anything. The system had no planets, only a bright type C star. It was as if whoever picked the coordinates choose a location where there would be no place to hide, no place to spring an ambush.

The Ken Pilot detected a blip on the sensors. Now that was interesting.

There was a very large cargo ship in the system. And, although the Ken Pilot didn't know the configuration, it was clearly a ship of human design.

The Ken Pilot briefly considered calling the War Admiral for instructions. But if it were a trap, and the Insects homed in on the signal, he would be giving away the fleet's location.

No, the safest thing to do was to take a roundabout way back, make sure he wasn't followed, and rendezvous with the other fighters, head back to the Glory and report his findings.

Without hesitation, the Ken Pilot accelerated towards the large cargo ship.

*******

"AA five on blue four," said Wren.

The War Admiral didn't move, but only continued to stare at the holographic puzzle. They were slowly assembling a three dimensional image bit by bit. Lately, that had been how they had been spending their off-duty time together.

"Sir?" she said, wondering if he had heard her.

"It won't work," said the War Admiral.

"Sir?" she said again.

"AA five fits too easily on blue four," said the War Admiral. He gestured to another piece of the puzzle. "We're not even ready for green five yet. I think it will fit into brown sector, when we get to that part of the puzzle." But he seemed distracted, even as he said it.

Wren walked over to the War Admiral. "You're not really thinking about the puzzle, are you?"

"It's the first time they've been able to confuse me, Stacy," said the War Admiral. "Usually, I can see in an instant what they're up to, but this time... I don't know, I just don't know."

"I still think it's a trap," said Wren.

"We've been in this solar system for nearly two days now, and there is still no sign of attack," said the War Admiral. "When is the trap going to be sprung? No," he said, shaking his head. "If it's a trap, it's a new kind of trap, one with a kind of danger that we won't recognize, not until it's too late."

*******

The Ken Pilot landed in the giant cargo ship's docking bay. His scanners had indicated no lifesigns, but he took nothing for granted. If it were a trap, most likely the ship would blow up the instant he landed.

And yet, he landed. Something, instinct, perhaps, told him that this wasn't a trap, or at least, not a conventional trap.

He landed, and got out of his fighter. The silence was deafening.

But the bay was well lighted. And packed with supplies.

The Ken Pilot walked over to one. Studying a box with a hand scanner, he flipped it open.

It didn't explode. The box contained a familiar looking mechanical part. A Wildcat engine motivator.

The Ken Pilot inspected a few more boxes. Then he went to the door separating the bay from the rest of the ship. After checking with his scanner, he operated the door.

The ship still didn't explode.

The rest of the ships were filled with containers. The Ken Pilot checked some of the others. They contained spare parts too.

He went back to his ship and prepared to begin the long trip home.

*******

The next morning the War Admiral sat back in his chair in the war room, looking expectantly at his senior officers. Captain Dulin had just finished delivering the shipwide status report, and now all eyes were on the Chief Engineer.

"Everything the same as last week," said Yurgi Arkasian. "Those parts we adapted from the Marist's secondary processors are holding up, but when they're gone, we're going to have to figure out something else or deal with a 50% reduction in our top speed."

"You'll have to figure out something else, then," said the War Admiral. "Commander?"

"The ship is functioning reasonably well," said Wren. "Though I echo the Chief's concern about a lack of spare parts. We've shut down some non-essential systems, but if this problem goes on much longer, we're going to have to seriously begin cannibalizing some of the other ships to keep ours operational."

"Colonel?"

"The same," said Colonel Dey. "Two squadrons of Wildcats are already down. We're only going to lose more over time."

"Have we tried manufacturing the parts we need?" said the War Admiral, turning back to Arkasian.

"We've been able to modify some parts, and manufacture some basic things we need, but these are really complex parts we're talking about," said Arkasian. "We'd need a complex electronics production facility, and that we simply do not have."

"I see," said North, weighing the alternatives. Suddenly, the comm chimed. "Sir, we have a signal from the Ken Pilot, on final approach."

North checked his watch. It was almost time for the fleetwide briefing. But he really wanted to hear what the Ken Pilot had to say. "Patch the audio in here." And then, "Daniel. We're listening."

"It's a giant cargo ship, War Admiral," said the Ken Pilot.

"Really," said the War Admiral. "Did you scan it?"

"I went on board."

The War Admiral blinked, as if the move were either very brave or very foolhardy. "And what did you see?"

"Spare parts."

"What?" said the War Admiral, looking very, very surprised.

"All kinds of spare parts--engineering components, and the like. I even recognized some Wildcat parts."

"And there was no one or nothing else on board to tell you where this generous gift came from?"

"No," said the Ken Pilot. "All I found were another set of coordinates, but they're lightyears away from here."

"Hm..." said the War Admiral, looking out the window for a moment. "Daniel, land in Bay 4. I want you and your ship to go through decontam, to see if there was anything in the atmosphere of that ship. When you're done, report to me in my office." He closed the comm line.

"How fortuitous," said Dulin.

"Yes, how fortuitous indeed," said the War Admiral.

"I still think it's a trap," said Wren. "At least, it's much more likely to be a trap than the gift of some anonymous donor."

"I agree," said the War Admiral. "But given our situation, the possibility that it's not a trap is one that we can no longer afford not to investigate." He checked his chrono. "It's almost time for my fleet meeting. You're dismissed."

Everyone except for Captain Dulin started to file out. On the way out Major Fortran caught the War Admiral's eye. "Major? I'm sorry, we didn't hear from you. Did you have anything to report?"

Major Fortran, being in charge of the marines who were seldom in action, usually had nothing to report, and was often overlooked. "Nothing substantial, sir," said Fortran.

Substantial. That was the same word that Lieutenant Kirby had used when reporting to him. "Wait," said the War Admiral. "What's unsubstantial to report?"

Fortran looked embarrassed. "One of my men has disappeared, sir."

"Disappeared?"

"It looks like he's gone AWOL; at least, he didn't report for morning muster," said Fortran. "It's Corporal Qaye."

The name didn't ring a bell. "So? Have you initiated a search?"

Fortran reddened. "I was investigating the matter myself, first. Sometimes the men party a little too much and lose track of time-"

"I see," said the War Admiral. "Begin your search, Major. Let me know what you discover."

"Aye, sir," said Fortran, eager to leave in a hurry.

Wren looked curiously at the War Admiral. "You didn't come down very hard on him, sir."

The War Admiral gave a barely perceptible glance at Dulin before saying, "We all need to occasionally blow off some steam, Commander."

*******

Corporal Qaye, or the thing that looked like Corporal Qaye, was hunched in a maintenance tube just below the main bridge. He opened a panel containing comm conduits and took out some wires of his own....

*******

The holographic images of the other fleet captains shimmered and appeared in the war room. North welcomed them, going over routine matters. He didn't mention the ship that the Ken Pilot had found. But he did mention the planet where the false monument had been found.

"We don't know who put it there or why," said the War Admiral. "The Insects are a very obvious possibility."

"Then what are we still doing here?" asked Captain Michael Bennett of the Amory Til.

"Investigating other possibilities," said the War Admiral generally.

"Sir, we're overlooking the obvious," said one of the fleet captains. It was Captain Shang of the Battlecruiser Renown, and one of Bennett's Directorate officers.

The War Admiral raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten us, Captain."

"Who cares what kind of monument we found or didn't find? The point is there's a habitable planet down there--hospitable atmosphere, water, vegetation, animal life."

Not again. "Your point, Captain?"

"We should think about settling there," said Shang. "I don't know about you, War Admiral, but my crew been inside a ship for seven years, and we're tired of chasing elusive monuments that lead nowhere."

"What would you have us do, Captain? Abandon our ships and become farmers for the rest of our lives?"

Shang reddened. "Some of us will have to farm, yes, just as some of us are farming now. We'll be building a new community, a new life away from the empty wanderings we have now."

"And what happens when the Insects come looking for us?" North inquired.

"They won't be looking for us on a planet," said Shang. "They're only looking for our ships."

"And you know that because...." North let his voice trail off.

"They're only interested in our ships because only our ships can threaten them."

"I see," said North. "And all our worlds without ships that they conquered, they conquered because...."

"Our planets had manufacturing facilities that could build weapons, ships," said Shang. "I hardly think they'll even be interested in a small out of the way agricultural settlement. Since they're looking for ships, they may never even find us."

"I see," said North. "If an Insect fleets comes into this system, they'll only scan the space around the planets for our ships. They won't come closer and scan the planets for lifesigns."

"Correct," said Shang.

"Your argument makes perfect sense," said North. "Perfect sense, if you are really naive enough to believe that's how the Insects will act. I remind you, gentlemen, that we are already many years beyond even the farthest edge of Alliance space, and still they come after us. They will not stop until all of us are dead or enslaved."

"There are those of us who don't share that assessment, War Admiral," said Shang.

"Yes, I know," said the War Admiral. "Fortunately, I am in command. Now, what is the next item of business?"

*******

The thing that had been Corporal Qaye slithered out of the maintenance tube, removing the earpiece as it did so. As the thing walked down the corridor it saw two marines walking around with a photopad. Undoubtedly, they were looking for him. He ducked into one of the rooms on the corridor, a technical workshop. A short scream could be heard, than nothing else.

The two marines entered the room a few moments later. They saw a naval tech working on some components on a table.

"Hi," said one of the marines. "Have you seen this man?" they said, showing the photopad.

The tech looked at the photopad closely. "No," he said. "Haven't seen him."

"If you do, contact security," said the marines, leaving.

"I will," the tech promised as they left.

The tech looked down. Below the waist, he was still Corporal Qaye. He opened a supply cabinet, staring at the body of the tech. The lower part of his body shimmered....

*******

"War Admiral," said the Ken Pilot.

"Did you go through decontam?" said the War Admiral.

The Ken Pilot nodded. "At your request, Doctor Farb checked me and my ship out personally. He found nothing out of the ordinary."

"So it's not some kind of bio warfare trap," said the War Admiral. "What do your instincts tell you?"

"If it is a trap, it's not of the obvious 'ship will blow up when you get too close' kind," said the Ken Pilot. "The ship was placed in open space, which would make an ambush difficult."

"Yes," said the War Admiral. "At least, a conventional ambush." He nodded, deciding. "I want you to go back there with a destroyer and a scanning crew. Tow that thing over here, and have the crew go over the ship from stem to stern enroute. I want to know everything that's onboard, and I want every inch of that ship, including the walls and electronics, fully checked out."

The Ken Pilot nodded and left.

*******

At the end of his shift, the War Admiral left his office and walked across the bridge to the exit.

"Good evening, sir," said Dulin, as North left, nodding in return.

North went directly to his quarters, where the marine soldier on guard snapped to attention. "As you were," said North. "You're relieved for the next four hours."

"Sir," said the marine, saluting as he departed.

*******

A few minutes later the War Admiral reentered the bridge.

"Sir?" said Captain Dulin. "Did you forget something?"

"Yes," said the War Admiral, heading to his office. Once inside, he activated the comm.

About thirty minutes later, the War Admiral came out of his office. "Clear bay four, Captain."

"Sir?" said Captain Dulin.

"I need bay four cleared for a few minutes," said the War Admiral. "For security reasons."

Dulin opened the comm and gave the orders. "Sir, do you want me to order security-"

"No," said the War Admiral. "I'll handle this myself," he said, leaving the bridge.

Dulin turned to Shishman. "Do we have anything coming into bay 4?"

Shishman checked the sensors. "Just a shuttle from the Renown. Not on our daily schedule, but it's been cleared."

"By whom?"

Shishman checked the logs. "The War Admiral."

What kind of secret meeting was the War Admiral going to, and why was he holding this meeting in a landing bay?

"So I'm telling you, Obe, I think it would be a great idea to reinstate the fleet olympics," said Took. Took and Obe were taking a walking along the lower decks on their way back to their crew quarters. When they were off duty they took frequent walks to exercise and to relieve the tedium. Sometimes they would walk the perimeter of each landing bay, just for variety's sake.

"Uh-huh," said Obe.

Suddenly they saw the War Admiral, walking towards them in a hurry.

"Hello sir," said Took.

The War Admiral ignored them, just walking past them rapidly without saying a word.

"What's gotten into him?" Took said. He looked back at the fleeing form of the Admiral. "And why is he wearing a blaster today?"

*******

Captain Shang of the Renown exited the shuttle. He found himself in a deserted landing bay, deserted, that is, except for the War Admiral, who was standing there waiting for him.

"All right, War Admiral, I came alone, as you requested," he said wearily. "Would you mind telling me what this is all about?"

"I'm no longer willing to tolerate your interference with my command," said the War Admiral.

"What are you going to do, demote me to bay worker?" said Shang.

"No," said the War Admiral. "I am going to kill you." Before Shang could react, he pulled his blaster, and fired.

*******

"What was that?" said Took. "Sounded like blaster fire."

They raced into the bay, and saw the crumpled body in front of the shuttle. Took reached down to feel for a pulse. "Call the medics!" he yelled.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. He turned to face it directly and saw the back of the War Admiral, fleeing through another exit.

*******

Captain Dulin couldn't believe his ears. The War Admiral, shooting a fellow officer in cold blood? There must be some other explanation. He summoned Major Fortran, and went below decks.

When he got to the War Admiral's quarters, he was surprised not to find any sign of the marine guard posted outside his quarters. Major Fortran showed up moments later with two of his men.

"Where's the marine guard, Major?" Dulin asked.

"I don't know, Captain," said Fortran. "We'd better see if the War Admiral is all right." He pressed the buzzer.

For a long moment there was no answer. He pressed the buzzer again. They prepared to forcibly enter his quarters when-

"Yes?" came the voice over the filtered comm.

"Sir, it's Captain Dulin," said Dulin.

"Yes Captain?"

"Sir, I need to see you," said Dulin.

"Captain, I'm off duty. Is this urgent?"

Dulin frowned. That didn't sound like the War Admiral.

"Yes, sir."

"One moment."

They waited outside the War Admiral's door for considerably longer than one moment before the door opened. The War Admiral was there, buttoning his shirt as he stood in the doorway, blocking their entry or further view into his quarters. "This better be good, Captain-" he started to say, and then he saw Major Fortran and his men. "What's going on here?"

"Sir, there's been an incident in hanger bay 4," said Dulin. "Captain Shang has been shot."

"Shot? What was he even doing on the Glory?" said the War Admiral. "Did any of the tech crews see anything?"

"You ordered the tech crews out of the bay, sir," said Dulin. "But Lieutenant Took saw you leaving the scene-"

"What?" said the War Admiral. "Back up, Captain. I've been in my quarters for the past two hours. I didn't order the bay crews to do anything-"

"Respectfully, sir, I saw you do it, on the bridge," said Dulin.

"You saw me, on the bridge?" said the War Admiral.

"Right after you went off-duty, you came back," said Dulin. "Don't you remember?"

"No, I most certainly do not," said the War Admiral.

"Admiral, where's your marine guard?" Dulin asked.

"I sent him away," said the War Admiral. "Let's get some answers." He moved forward, letting the door to his quarters close behind him, and ordered everyone to accompany him to sickbay, leaving no one behind at the entrance to his quarters.

*******

"How is he, Doctor Farb?" The War Admiral asked, staring at Shang, lying on a medbed in sickbay.

"He'll live," said Farb. "He was shot at point blank range, but luckily for him the shooter wasn't a very good shoot--the blast hit him in the side. He's lost a lot of blood, but he'll make it."

"Can we speak to him?" said the War Admiral.

"He's conscious, War Admiral," said Farb. "But he may not want to speak to you."

The War Admiral walked over to his bed, followed by Dulin and Fortran. Shang's eyes widened when he saw the War Admiral. "Coming to finish the job?" he rasped.

"I didn't shoot you," said the War Admiral.

Shang just glared at him bitterly.

"What were you even doing on the Glory in the first place?" the War Admiral asked.

"You summoned me," said Shang. "You said I had to come alone. The reason why is obvious now."

"I never summoned you," said the War Admiral.

"I just checked the comm logs," said Dulin. "You did send a transmission from your office after you returned to the bridge."

"I never returned to the bridge!" said the War Admiral. "It wasn't me. Were there any witnesses to this shooting, besides Shang?"

"I saw you," said Took, entering the medbay. "I saw you entering the bay. You were armed. And I saw you fleeing the scene, right after Shang was shot."

"It wasn't me, Captain," said the War Admiral. "How often do I walk around armed? You can go to my quarters and check my gun, if you like; it hasn't been fired in days."

"You were clearly reluctant to let us into your quarters before, sir," said Dulin.

"Well, I'm not reluctant now," the War Admiral snapped.

*******

The impromptu fleet meeting the following morning was as tumultuous as one might have expected.

"Is this what we've come to, War Admiral?" said Captain Bennett. "Executing those who disagree with you?"

"I didn't shoot Captain Shang," said the War Admiral.

"Shang says you did! Your own Captain Took saw you fleeing the scene!"

"That wasn't me," said the War Admiral.

"Then who is this?" said Bennett. He projected a image from the security vid from Bay 4. It showed the War Admiral walking up to Shang and shooting him at point blank range. How had Bennett secured the Glory's security video? An interesting question.

"War Admiral, I demand that you step down pending an investigation and trial," said Bennett.

"Demand?" said the War Admiral, his eyes narrowing.

"War Admiral," said Captain Harkness of the Blue Luna, "This is a very charged situation. Whether you're guilty, or innocent, you have to agree this raises a lot of questions. I think it prudent for you to take a temporary leave of absence while you get this sorted out."

The War Admiral tried to hold in his anger, to maintain an outward calm. Biting his lips, he slowly nodded. He waited a moment, trying to regain control of his emotions so he could speak calmly. Then he said, "Very well. Captain Dulin."

"Sir?"

"You are in operational command of the fleet until further notice," said the War Admiral, glaring at Bennett. There was no way he was going to put Bennett in charge. "Major Fortran!"

"Sir!"

"Conduct your investigation."

"I demand that the War Admiral be placed under arrest pending the outcome of this investigation," said Bennett.

"You demand?" said Dulin, his eyes narrowing. "We may make an arrest, but not the one you're thinking of."

"I request, then," said Bennett. He wasn't ready to take on Dulin, not yet at least.

"I will stay in my quarters, and only exit with a marine escort. Will that satisfy you, Captain?" said the War Admiral acidly.

"For now," said Bennett.

The War Admiral slammed his fist down on the disconnect button, and the images of the fleet captains faded. "You realize what we've got here, don't you?" he said, turning to Dulin. "There's an imposter onboard."

*******

"No, of course I don't think the War Admiral would do such a thing," said Took. "At least, I didn't think he would, before I saw him do it."

"We didn't actually see him do it," Obe reminded him.

"They caught it on the security vid," said Took.

"Vids can be altered," said Obe.

They reached the War Admiral's quarters. The two marines on guard were expecting them and let them pass. The War Admiral buzzed them in.

"Well, gentlemen, we do have a situation," said the War Admiral. "It's obvious we have an imposter aboard."

"An imposter?" said Took.

"Yes," said the War Admiral. "Something, or someone, who can change shape and appearance at will."

"And voice," said Took. "Don't forget the voice."

"Yes," said the War Admiral. "That wasn't me you saw in the corridor, Took."

"Sir," said Took, looking unsure.

"You told the investigators that I didn't respond when you greeted me. How many times have you seen me in the corridors, Captain?"

Took shrugged. "Hundreds."

"How many times have I failed to respond to your greeting?"

"None," said Took. He started to look thoughtful. "If it was an imposter, why wouldn't he respond?"

"I have a theory," said the War Admiral. "This imposter may be able to look and sound like us, but he doesn't have our memories. This imposter couldn't greet you, because he didn't know who you were, and was afraid of getting caught in a conversation."

"That's possible," said Took.

"Furthermore, have a look at Shang's injury. Shot at point blank range--but the aim was miserable, and he's still alive. Shang was left alive on purpose, to testify that I attacked him."

"But what kind of being could change its appearance at will?" said Took.

"Ask Corporal Qaye," said the War Admiral grimly.

"Who?"

"A marine soldier missing since he apparently returned from the expedition to the planet."

"Apparently returned?"

"I think someone or something murdered Corporal Qaye and took his place. And that someone or something is aboard this ship."

"And this thing could be masquerading as anyone, then" said Took.

"Yes," said the War Admiral. "Anyone."

"What do you want from me?" said Took.

"I want you to investigate and find out who this imposter is," said the War Admiral.

"Major Fortran is investigating-"

"I'd prefer an investigation through unofficial channels as well," said the War Admiral. He didn't explain further, and they didn't press him.

*******

"So how do I know that you are really Obe?" said Took, as he launched the shuttle he was piloting from the Glory's landing bay.

"Oh, please don't start with that," said Obe, sitting in the copilot's seat..

"If you're the real Obe, tell me what we had for dinner last Friday," said Took.

"The same thing we've had all week--30 day potato rations."

"Oh," said Took. "You're right, that's too easy. Ok, when we were on patrol last week, why did you fire your lasers?"

"I didn't," said Obe. "You did, accidentally. So you claimed."

"You're Obe, I guess," said Took. Another thought occurred to him. "At least you are, until you leave my sight again."

Obe sighed. It was going to be one of those weeks.

*******

They landed in the original zone where the first expeditionary force had landed. When they got out of the ship, they both drew their weapons. The forest around them looked dark and sinister.

"I told you we should've brought K," said Took.

"Which way shall we go?" said Obe.

"Let's start with the monument."

They walked uneasily towards the monument.

"Lovely place," said Took uneasily, listening to the distant howling sound of the wind blowing through the trees.

They reached the monument in the clearing, where it cast a shadow over the afternoon sun.

"So that's a fake monument," said Took. He tapped the outer shell. "Looks real enough to me."

"Let's start looking for signs of Corporal Qaye," said Obe.

They started a standard military search--a slowly outward spiral from the monument. Obe and Took moved in parallel fifteen feet apart, each within constant eye contact of the other. On the third loop they came across the bushes that Qaye had investigated. Obe saw a leg sticking out of one of them.

"Took!" he yelled.

Gingerly, his hand on his weapon, he pulled on the leg, revealing the mangled body of Corporal Qaye.

"The War Admiral was right," said Took, stunned. "We do have an imposter on board."

"And now we have proof," said Obe. He opened a pouch he was carrying, and started to unroll a body bag. "Let's get him back to the Glory."

*******

Captain Dulin nodded at the marine guards as he entered the War Admiral's quarters. "You sent for me, sir?"

"Yes," said the War Admiral. "Did you see both of the reports I sent you?"

"Yes," said Dulin. "I just finished reading Captain Took's interim report."

"It would seem that we brought back something from the surface that wasn't Corporal Qaye," said the War Admiral. "I think it's reasonable to assume that if it could assume Qaye's appearance on the spot, that it could look like anyone else, including me."

"I accept that implicitly, Admiral," said Dulin. "But I'm not sure that Captain Bennett will."

"Well, then we'll just have to be convincing," said the War Admiral. "Because as of this moment I am returning to active duty. Time is too precious to waste sitting around here."

He waited to see what Dulin's reaction would be. Would Dulin try to prevent him from returning to duty?

But Dulin only stiffened, and saluted. "Sir, yes sir."

The War Admiral nodded. "Now, have you looked at the other report from the tech team?"

"Yes, and it's incredible," said Dulin.

"Isn't it?" said the War Admiral. "Not only does that large cargo ship have parts we can use, it has the exact parts we need. Not just any Wildcat parts, but the critical Wildcat motivators that we're short on and have had to cannibalize engines for. Most of the parts on the Chief Engineer's wish list are also there as well."

"How is that possible?" said Dulin.

"You mean, if it's an Insect trap, how could they know exactly what we need?" said the War Admiral. "Odd as it may sound, I don't believe it is an Insect trap. Did you see the analysis of the ship? Like the equipment, it was manufactured in the past two months. The ship was never built to carry a crew or go very far--in fact, it's practically peeling at the seams. It seems the ship was meant to fly only a short distance--Captain Hunter traced its trajectory to just outside the system where it was found."

"Just outside the system?" said Dulin. "What does that mean?"

"Either it was manufactured just outside the system, in the emptiness of space, or something else we can't detect carried it there," said the War Admiral. "It would be a technology that's beyond us, and yet our analysis shows that the equipment on that ship was produced using current Alliance technology."

"Current Alliance technology?" said Dulin. "It only gets more and more confusing. How does this tie in with the false monument and the imposter?"

"I don't believe it does," said the War Admiral. "I think they are two separate and unrelated events. The purpose of the false monument is now clear--to get us down there and to plant this assassin in the fleet. The purpose of this cargo ship is different. It is to resupply us."

"What does it mean?"

"We can only find out if we follow the coordinates left for us on that ship," said the War Admiral. "But my guess is that we've got allies out there, allies we didn't know about."

"If we have allies, why don't they reveal themselves?" said Dulin.

"Another very interesting question," said the War Admiral.

*******

"And so you see, gentlemen, Corporal Qaye was killed on the planet. And yet someone looking like the Corporal came back on the transport. Obviously, we are dealing with an enemy who can change appearance at will," said the War Admiral, addressing the holographic representations of the fleet captains.

The fleet officers looked shocked and surprised.

"And your officer confirms that he saw this Qaye return on the transport?" said one of the captains.

"Yes," said Lieutenant Kirby, at ramrod attention.

"Then it seems we owe you an apology," said Captain Harkness. "I never believed you would do such a dumb fool thing, War Admiral, but you understand why we had to do what we did."

The War Admiral nodded. "There are no hard feelings. Our duty now is to locate this being. We are acting on the assumption that it is still on the Glory; and we are also acting on the assumption that there is only one creature. A second crewmember, a technician George Gage, has been reported missing, and his body was discovered only minutes ago. We think one of the imposter's weaknesses is memory--it can look and sound like whomever it chooses, but it doesn't have the memory of its victim."

"What do you suggest?"

"Everyone pair up in two's," said the War Admiral. "As of now, the Glory is under embargo--all flights in and out are canceled. Security will go around, person by person, and ask each crewman questions from his personal bio."

Some of the fleet captains rolled their eyes. They knew the Glory had a crew of nearly 3,000.

"I sense skepticism," said the War Admiral. "Does anyone have any better suggestions?"

"So you were born... where, exactly?" said Took.

"On Zalto," said Zetho Arkasian.

Obe checked his pad. "That checks out."

"Give me another question," Took instructed Obe.

"Not another," said Zetho, working on a Wildcat engine with a coworker. "I too busy to play these games."

"We've already asked him four questions," said Obe. "I think he's who he says he is."

"You can never be too sure," said Took.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Obe asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you like it," said Obe. "It's just like being a journalist, going around, bugging people with your questions. Only this time, you have a real excuse for doing it."

"Obe," said Took, opening his mouth to give a rebuttal. Then he closed it. "Let's get on to the next suspect."

Captain Dulin entered the bay and approached them. "Status report," he said crisply.

"Sir, we've covered nearly a dozen bay workers, but there is no sign of the intruder," said Took. "We have no way of knowing if this memory trick will work."

"Elaborate," said Dulin.

"Well, we're asking people things about their personal bios," said Took. "But if the imposter had taken the time to look up his own bio, it won't do any good."

"I see," said Dulin. "Carry on," he said, marching away.

"He's pretty chatty today, isn't he?" Took remarked.

They moved on to the next bay worker, and then the one after that. While they were interrogating him, Captain Dulin and Commander Wren entered the bay.

"Status report, Captain," said Dulin.

"Not much has changed in the past five minutes," said Took, looking quizzically at him.

"Five minutes?" said Dulin.

A worried look crossed Took's face. "Oh oh. Tell me I just spoke to you five minutes ago."

"Was I alone?" said Dulin.

"Uhhh..."

"Yes, you were," said Obe.

"Fools! You know that none of us travel alone," said Dulin. He spoke into his wrist comm. "The intruder is currently masquerading as myself, Captain Dulin. If you see me unaccompanied by Commander Wren, detain me immediately!"

He turned to go, but caught something in Took's expression. "Was there something else?"

"I, ah, may have mentioned something about-"

*******

"Fool!" said the War Admiral. "You surprise and disappoint me, Idaho Took."

"Yes sir," said Took, standing stiffly at attention.

"Well, now we've lost the advantage of surprise, I suppose," said the War Admiral.

"We've locked down the personnel database, War Admiral," said Dulin. "The creature can only use what it's already accessed."

The War Admiral nodded. "Continue the search. You still may turn up something. Dismissed."

Took, his head hung, headed for the exit. He opened his mouth to say something as he walked by the War Admiral, but, seeing his expression, thought better of it and simply left.

As they filed out of the War Admiral's office, Half Commander Wren came in. "Things not going well?"

"I don't think this search is going to work," said the War Admiral.

"So what will work?" Wren asked.

"We have to figure out what this creature's goals are," said the War Admiral. "We can only apprehend it if we understand what its purpose is."

"Knowing you, you've already figured that out," said Wren.

"Hm," said the War Admiral non-commentally, abruptly heading for the door.

"Hey," she said, touching him on the shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"To my quarters," said the War Admiral. "It's been a long day, I'd like to get some rest."

*******

"All right, we have something to follow now!" said Took, listening to the report that just came over the wrist comm. He started running, and Obe followed.

"Where?"

"Marine country," said Took. "One of our men reported a navy crewman tapping into the database near the barracks. He called in, and said he was going to investigate."

"And what happened?" said Obe, starting to gasp for breath.

"He never reported back."

When they reached the marine barracks, Major Fortran and his men were already there, bending over a body dressed in marine greens. "What happened?"

"Private Koshori didn't wait for backup," said Fortran grimly. "Now this thing could be posing as a marine."

"Or as anyone," said Obe. "If this bugger can change shape at will, there's no way we're going to catch him."

Fortran's search teams started to disperse. Took, however, stood very still, frowning.

"Iday?"

"Why would he come back here?" Took asked.

"I don't know, maybe he was just moving around to avoid being caught," said Obe.

"The marine said he was accessing a terminal," said Took. "Why?"

"To try and get some personal bio info, maybe," said Obe.

"No, the intruder would've found out by now that that information was locked down," said Took. "And he made a point of coming here to look it up."

"He?"

"It, he, whatever, we'll establish gender at the dissection," said Took, distracted. "What would he need here that he couldn't get anywhere else?"

"Nothing," said Took. "If he wanted to access a terminal, he could try and do that anywhere."

"You're wrong," said Took, snapping his fingers. "There's one thing here that can't be found in any other specific place."

"Come on, Took, if you have the answer, don't keep me waiting," said Obe.

"Marines, buddy, marines."

"But there are marines all over the ship right now, on patrol," said Obe.

"Yeah, but what if you're looking for a specific marine?"

"Why would he want a particular marine?" said Obe blankly.

"Just think about it, buddy. This alien's been discovered. His primary job, to sow dissension in the ranks, won't work. What's left for him to do?"

"Sabotage?"

"Maybe. What else?"

Obe concentrated. "I don't know."

"Think, Obe. Not all the marines are on patrol," said Took, suddenly making a decision, as he lit up and sprang down the hall.

"Oh no," said Obe, suddenly understanding. "The War Admiral's personal guard."

*******

Corporal Zelas approached the door to the War Admiral's quarters. "I relieve you, sir," he said to the marine on duty.

The other marine, a private, saluted and departed for the barracks. Zelas waited a good, long moment for the other marine to disappear. Then he used his access code to enter the War Admiral's quarters.

It was dark inside, the only illumination provided by a dim reading light in the War Admiral's bed. The War Admiral was in bed, reading.

"Yes, who is it?" he said, peering out into the dark.

The door slid closed behind Zelas. "We've never met," said Zelas, stepping into the edge of the light. His hand tightly gripped his blaster. "But I must say it's a real honor to meet you. My employers think quite highly of you."

"That's very flattering, even though you've probably come to kill me," said the War Admiral calmly, slowly putting down his book.

Zelas, or the thing that was Zelas, nodded.

"What will be gained by killing me?" said the War Admiral. "The fleet will still go on."

"You underestimate your importance," said Zelas. "Your elimination or neutralization was always a strong secondary goal. Unfortunately, when you saw through my ruse, I was forced to act more directly."

"I see," said the War Admiral. "And what do you plan to do once I'm dead? You can't destroy the whole fleet by yourself."

"Can't I?" said Zelas "You presume that you're going to disappear. You're not. You're simply going to be replaced."

"You're going to become me," said the War Admiral.

"I've done it before," said Zelas.

"How do you intend to destroy the fleet when you take over?"

"Not that it really concerns you, but there's a binary star some 20 lights years distant. We will go there and then take our weapon systems off-line for a very, very thorough overhaul."

"And that's when the attack will occur."

"Yes," said Zelas, gripping the blaster slightly.

"Before you kill me, would you mind if I asked how you got here?" said the War Admiral. "After all, we're a long way from Insect space."

"Your petty Insects didn't send me," said Zelas. "Their masters did. But you're right, I did come a long way. They used the particle cannon to send me here."

"Particle cannon?"

"The same cannon they've been using to send massive fleets after you. There have always been three or four fleets searching for you. Each time you fight one, another is sent in its place," said Zelas. "The particle cannon can send ships thousands of lightyears in mere hours."

"I didn't know the Insects had developed such advanced technology," said the War Admiral.

"They haven't," said Zelas. "I'm afraid our time is running short."

"Wait, just one more question," said the War Admiral. "Who or what are you?"

"Let's just say I'm a special hire," said Zelas. "My employers spared no expense to send me here. And now, I'm afraid you've run out of time for questions-"

"Very well," said the War Admiral, sitting up slowly in bed. That was the signal. The smell of fresh sea air, always faintly in the room, grew stronger. "Are you prepared to surrender?"

Zelas laughed, momentarily lowering its blaster slightly. "War Admiral, I must admit, you have quite a reputation, but I can see nothing that will save you this time."

"What will save me is your fatal flaw," said the War Admiral.

"My fatal flaw?" said Zelas, its human face looking curious.

"You can look like us, and sound like us, but you don't have our memory. You don't even know a very common fact about me that every single crewmember on this ship knows." As the War Admiral talked, a cloud started to form behind Zelas.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to read all your personal logs before I assume my next role," said Zelas.

The foggy cloud became almost solid, assuming a familiar canine form.

"It's a bit too late for that," said the War Admiral.

For the first time a look of hesitation formed on Zelas's face, and he moved to steady his blaster arm.

"Sick'm!" The War Admiral barked a command and jumped to the side, but he was in no danger, as his assailant was already screaming, his gun dropped to the ground as Ripper burned the creature's arms and neck.

The War Admiral pulled a blaster out from under his blanket and yelled "Lights!"

The assassin was on the ground, trying to wrestle with Ripper, but there was no way he could push away a semi-gaseous cloud.

"Off, boy, off!" said the War Admiral, just as Took and Obe burst in.

The creature, now looking like a generic humanoid with bloody burns on its skin, lay unmoving on the ground.

"Call Doctor Farb!" said the War Admiral. He turned to Ripper, who was whining and sticking out his tongue. He reached out to pet the animal; the gas that had so recently burned, felt mildly cool to his touch. "Good doggie!"

*******

"The hardest part was training Ripper not to attack until I called him," said the War Admiral.

"You were taking a terrible risk," said Wren. "What if that thing was immune to Ripper's attacks?"

The War Admiral shrugged. "Would it have been better to let this thing pick off the crew one by one? Not only was it killing people, but it was preventing us from working together coherently as a team. That would have been devastating in an attack."

"Why didn't you tell Ripper to attack immediately?" Dulin asked.

"I wanted some answers," said the War Admiral. "There's a lot that's going on that we don't know about. It's a pity this creature isn't still alive. We'll have to have Doctor Farb do an autopsy."

"Well, it was a major gamble, but it paid off," said Dulin. "A particle cannon? That's how they've been launching their fleets at us?"

"It seems that way," said the War Admiral. "Even more interesting is the fact that this being wasn't hired by the Insects. I think someone is manipulating them. But who, and why? The next time we capture one of these beings, we'll have to get more answers."

"I hope that won't be soon," said Dulin. "One was quite enough."

"What about the spare parts shipment?" said Wren. "I guess that was part of the trap."

"How do you mean?" said the War Admiral.

"Well, it seems obvious they used this particle cannon to send the cargo ship to us. Our own scans showed a drive trail that only extended to the edge of the system," said Wren.

"If it was part of the trap, then what was its purpose?" said the War Admiral slowly. "We all agree that the false monument was a lure to get the imposter onboard, correct?"

Wren and Dulin nodded.

"If so, then what need was there for the Insects to provide this cargo ship full of supplies?"

Wren was silent for a moment. Then she said, "Maybe the imposter would have ordered us there to-"

"You forget," said the War Admiral gently. "The imposter told me he was going to direct us to a binary star system 20 light years away. Lieutenant Shishman has tentatively identified it for us." He touched a button, and a holomap appeared, showing their location and a flashing star system some distance away. "Furthermore, there were different coordinates in the cargo ship." He touched another button, showing a path leading away from the system. "To follow these coordinates, we'd have to go away from the binary system, not to it."

"That doesn't make sense," said Dulin. "It's almost as if two different plans are at work here."

"Precisely," said the War Admiral. "I believe that whoever sent us those supplies means us no harm. We've already started integrating and testing the components and I'm told they're working fine. We should have all our disabled Wildcats up and running within a week; and all the critical components we need for engineering purposes should be installed even sooner than that."

"If we do have allies, who are they?" said Dulin. "The Alliance didn't have particle cannon technology."

"An interesting issue, isn't it?" said the War Admiral. "These parts were either manufactured by humans, or by aliens having intimate knowledge of our manufacturing techniques. In fact, whoever sent these items to us must have had intimate knowledge of our needs, because in nearly all cases they sent us exactly what we most required."

"But how could they have known? And why don't they show themselves?" said Dulin.

"These are questions we must consider. But I have decided to follow the coordinates provided to us from the cargo ship," said the War Admiral. He illuminated them on the flashing map.

"That must be several thousand light years away... that will take us about two years to get there!" said Dulin.

"Two years and four days, to be precise," said the War Admiral. "And that's assuming we don't stop along the way except for an occasional refueling. But isn't that what we're looking for? A source of advanced technology that can help us defeat the Insects? Anyone that can develop particle cannon technology may be able to help us develop weapons to defeat the Insects. And whoever else is guiding them."

There was a buzz from the comm.

"Enter," said the War Admiral loudly. Idaho Took entered. "You sent for me, War Admiral?"

"So I did," said the War Admiral. He looked at Dulin and Wren. "If you two will excuse us please?"

Wren and Dulin filed out, giving Took an odd stare. Since when did the War Admiral have private conferences with Idaho Took?

Took gave the War Admiral a so-what's-it-all-about look.

"I just wanted to thank you for uncovering the imposter's ruse so quickly. Your timely action helped limit the disruption in unit morale and cohesion."

"You're welcome, sir," said Took. He gave a broad smile. "Do I get a medal for that?"

"Do you want a medal?" said the War Admiral. Whether he was irritated, serious, or secretly amused, Took couldn't tell.

"Well, no, sir, that's not necessary, I have enough of those already. There is only one thing I would really like-"

"An interview," said the War Admiral. "It's not as if you haven't been asking me for what, years?"

"Just a short interview, War Admiral. I promise you'll come across as very dignified-"

"I'll consider it," said the War Admiral curtly.

Took shrugged. Well, that was the best he had ever gotten out of the War Admiral. The War Admiral nodded informally, indicating he was dismissed.

Took turned to go, and turned back. "There's just one last mystery remaining, War Admiral."

"Yes?" said North.

"Why you picked me for this investigation?"

"Well, you did a quite capable job in the investigation of the farm corruption several years ago, as I recall," said the War Admiral.

"So I did," said Took. "But I initiated that investigation; this was different. You made a point to put me in charge of this one, even though this was a purely military matter, properly a job for internal security, which was also investigating it."

"I knew you could come to a solution more quickly," said the War Admiral, still appearing calm.

"Perhaps you also knew that I of all people would believe in your innocence," said Took. "And perhaps you also knew that in investigating this matter, not only would I be more likely to clear it up more quickly, but that would preempt a more thorough investigation into the possibility of your guilt."

"Are you saying that I shot Captain Shang?" said the War Admiral.

"No, but by cutting the investigation short, we did leave a number of smaller mysteries unsolved."

"Such as?" said the War Admiral.

"Why you ordered the marine guard away from your quarters. I think some of the others assumed that your duplicate gave the order; but I think you did," said Took.

"What if I did?" said the War Admiral.

"I did some discrete checking around," said Took. "In my capacity as a discrete investigator. It's not the first time you've ordered guards away from their post outside your door, especially late at night."

The War Admiral said nothing.

"Furthermore, when the Captain and the Major came to your door, you came out, but refused to let them in, as if there was something, or someone you didn't want them to see," said Took. "That would also explain why you ordered your marine guard away at certain times, to prevent them from seeing what they shouldn't."

The War Admiral remained silent.

"If Major Fortran had continued his investigation, he would've focused more on this. Oh, he probably knows that you've ordered the guards away before, but he's never focused on the why of it. Or, to be more precise, the who of it," said Took.

"And your conclusion?" said the War Admiral.

"My conclusion?" said Took. "It doesn't matter. The case is closed, sir. We found the imposter. What else is there to know?" He gave the War Admiral a meaningful look, and turned to leave.

"Took."

Took turned around.

"After everything has settled down again, maybe the middle of next week, come and see me. I'll give you your interview," said the War Admiral.

"Thank you, sir," said Took.

But they both knew whom was really thanking whom.