47. Naivete

It wasn’t a single night of research for John. He spent the next week balancing daytime leading the team on their alternatives proving the maintenance issues were the main contributing factor with his night time covert, shadily sourced paper reading.

His new found hobby of Alcubierre ring mechanics and the state of dark matter research took a toll on him. Long nights with short or no sleep inhibited his creativity. Team noticed by the second week his reclusive behaviour.

Stand-ups took longer as he had to ask back clarifying already clear or done points. Hanah pulled him over and tried to point out to him. Knowing each other for years, she offered help with anything going on behind, even if it’s personal.

John wanted them to keep out of this. At least until he made up his mind what to do about it. The list of equipment on the manifest file burned into his memories by this point. Knowing now the potential destruction power, estimated on a dozen planets these torpedoes are able to wipe out, he could not sleep properly.

Even if he wanted to.

One night, Victoria showed up. Uninvited, she just sat down next to John while he was reading on the air-gapped machine. He was so focused in, didn’t even notice her at first.

• “How the hell you got in?”
• “Imagine, this is my ship. Can unlock anything.”
• “Isn’t this invasion of privacy?”
• “Still a military ship. And a workplace, with highest security clearances necessary. There is no privacy here.”
• “So I suppose…”
• “Yeah, I ordered a few of my trusted officials to keep you and this machine safe and out of other peeping eyes.”
• “Like…”
• “Our dear diplomat, Mr. Coldman. And his bunch of informants…”
• “Informants?”
• “You really up in your investigation bubble. Out here, diplomat is just a synonym for spy leader.”
• “Oh.” — John started to realise he is not thinking straight. The exhaustion and his focus on the research in front of him narrowed his view. Lost track of the bigger picture.
• “John, we have to get this to the public. But I can’t do it.”
• “That is why you need me. To be an authoritative source.”
• “As a career investigator, being clean and fair all the time, the public would trust you way more than a career soldier.”
• “I won’t do it. Don’t you think what would be the consequences? The colonies would want retribution, fear takes over. Earth or central would crack down even harder.”
• “And do you think not telling has better consequences? Those weapons will be used at one point. A false flag operation. Or just a terror attack, then central will crack down hard anyway. Colonies suffer in the end.”
• “Wait, you are the captain of a Federation carrier.”
• “But I am not blind. The Federation is not the same institution I signed up to protect. The powerful playing their games for their own gains. Nobody gives a shit about the people anymore.”
• “The law will find and weed them out.”
• “Had the same naive thoughts. Seen how much the Federation helped when the need was there? How many died on the Giant. And how they bickered over the rescue operation looking good instead of doing something. The law only helps those who write it.”

John took a deep breath. He felt the anger building up in her as Victoria talked. As she pumped up herself over the matter. It came to his mind in a flash, early reports he read, Victoria took out the Irondome before the admiral gave the order. She actually overruled command to get here earlier. And her crew didn’t bat an eye supporting her.

• “I hope you are wrong. For all our sakes.” — the only words he could whisper.
• “Me too. The manifest unfortunately proves otherwise. If we could know why those weapons were on the Giant and where they are now.” — she continued slowly, her determination filling in the room grabbing John — “Then we could track down who is responsible for this and maybe stop them.”
• “Something tells me you already have the next step in mind.”
• “Indeed. I got some rumours, let’s say it like that, from a contact on New Geneva. The stolen transport used by Swordfish docked there for repairs.”
• “Interesting. You still didn’t say what’s next.” — her look betrayed to John, she was still thinking how much to reveal to him.
• “Two of us and Michael, we take a tour there in civilian. Verify it was the transport, find the weapons or at least observe the hand-over of them.”
• “Why not go with the whole ship, seize it with an army?”
• “And start a civil war with the colonies. Just the sight of the Irondome would trigger that without an in advance clearance. And the moment I put in the notice with the colony that we would arrive, they will alert Swordfish. And the ship will be gone before we could clear the bureaucracy.”
• “Why should I join at all?”
• “Stop playing the hard to get. Same reason you stated before. Need the independent investigator to confirm whatever we would find.”

John silently got up and started walking around the tables and chairs. Victoria stayed sitting. Leaned back even a bit. She knew the power is with the sitting person in every negotiation.

After a few runs, John spun around, looked deeply in her eyes. Wanted to see for himself if she is trustable.

• “Okey, I am not convinced to publish whatever we find, but we need to know. I join you.”
• “Great, we leave by the morning. After you set your team on path, report to docking bay F8.”

She got up and turned her back to John. Paused at the door for a moment with head hanging downward. She whispered a thanks John may not even heard.

John knew he needed some sleep before another excursion. Especially a taxing one, he never did such a covert operation. But Michael saved his life more than once, even he had some doubts in Victoria standing, he could trust him.

Just one more paper to be finished, he sat back down and touched the screen. Opened another folder. Lost interest. Reattached the manifest file’s data chip. Looked for something he didn’t notice before. The chip held enormous amount of information.

He ordered the files by creation date. A bunch of virtual logs popped up as the youngest ones. As he scrolled, skipping those virtual logs needing a VR googles to properly watch them, he found a video recording.

Who makes only two dimensional recordings nowadays? Clicked on it. A young woman appeared on the screen. He thought she looks nice, even fixed to a weird contraption he didn’t recognise at first.

• “To anyone who watches this. My name is Francis. I am the real human behind Steelgopher. Now I know, there is no way out. I hoped for a long time, months that someone actually can get to me before it is too late. But I see what happened outside. And we will soon fall to the surface. I don’t think my rig can save me this time.”

The girl sobbing between sentences. Looking away from the camera most of the time.

• “My closest friends and family already dead around me from the first deceleration. I tried to survive and live on, partly for them. As you can see and probably know, I am limited in movements. Genetics. Shitty gambling of life before even it starts.”

Her sobbing stopped as a rage built up, John seen same process just with Victoria.

• “I always wanted to be a dancer. I know, stupid naive in my condition. Yet, I made it, sort of. At least my avatar. Well, I was working on a ballet. A broken toy, a ballet dancer in a music box finds new meaning in life. Attached the script. Hope someone can finish it. Please use my avatar once more to perform this. Please…”

Recording ended abruptly. Based on the time stamps, it was minutes before the fall. But her room was not even near the chip’s location. John checked the blueprints and last passenger manifests. Another thing to publish.

Read the story leading up to now:

Giant of the Stars

Fictional story of a luxury starliner’s catastrophy