ShipCore

Book 3: Chapter 81: Informal Inquiries

Book 3: Chapter 81: Informal Inquiries

USD: 53 days after the battle of Dedia IV

Location: Gamma Virginis, IND Iron Horse, en route to 63 Hydrae

Alex followed Commander Talbot, feeling a mix of confusion and anxiety as to why the XO had come to fetch her. He led her to the officers berthing section and to the board room where a small meeting was being help. She spotted Lieutenant Ferguson first, and then the marine that had accosted her on the observation deck.

Another high-ranking officer was at the table, she didnt recognize him but did recognize the golden bars on his collar and uniform as belonging to the ships Head Engineer.

She really wished she had access to her main HUD and could have displayed the crew roster and ranking hierarchy. She knew the Captain was at the top of course, followed by the XO, and then things branched out, but she couldnt remember how senior the Head Engineer was. Pretty high, she thought.

She almost expected to see Thraker, but he was missing, which added to her confusion.

Commander Talbot sat at the table and gestured for her to follow suite, which she did without hesitating.

Whats going on? She asked.

Talbot looked angered by her speaking out of turn but cleared his throat. Ms. Myers, this is an informal hearing about a serious matter, accusations of sabotage have been leveled against you. Depending on our findings here you might be punished, remanded to the brig pending formal charges.

Alex looked towards the marine quietly, suppressing her first surge of things she wanted to say as she decided to go along with it.

Okay, what am I accused of exactly?

Talbot looked at the marine, Sergeant Sinclair, will you please repeat the story you relayed to me?

Sir. I noticed crewman Myers creeping about on the day in question. She was acting suspicious and checking the corridors when she enters the port engineering washroom. I followed her in, but she seemed to just be taking a shower, so I left.

Alexs brow furrowed and the skin behind her ears tightened, she didnt remember hearing anyone follow her her that day, and felt a mild discomfort that anyone would have been following her like that.

I didnt think much of it, but when she finished the shower, I went in to check the space. Thats when I found the sabotage.

Alex couldnt help herself, Sabotage?Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

Commander Talbot looked at her harshly, Ms. Myers please remain quiet.

Sinclair continued, The space had been polished, Sir. At first, I didnt understand, but then I realized that the space was adjacent to the aft reactor cooling line. Polishing the rust off might have weakened the lines, and when I investigated, I found multiple coolant leaks. I reported them immediately to the H-E and then to you.

Talbot nodded then looked to Alex, Ms. Myers would you like to respond? Note that while this is an informal hearing anything you say will be considered on the record.

Alex shook her head, I did clean the washroom, but I didnt cause any sabotage or create any leaks.

Sinclair scoffed, Liar, that polish is so clean you obviously had to reduce a lot of material to get that kind of shine, obviously you werent careful and created holes in the coolant line then hid the fact!

Talbot thumped the table, clearly pissed off, Mr. Sinclair, if you dont remain silent, I will have you up for insubordination. You are not to speak unless permitted.

Alex felt slightly confused, shed felt that Talbot had been on Sinclairs side the entire time, and she didnt understand why hed silence the man.

The XO turned back to look at her, Ms. Myers, please continue.

I didnt damage anything, the rust is a specific reaction that isnt actually iron oxide, its a result from the ships time submerged in an ocean. I dont exactly know anything about that, but I do know what the result on the metal was and reversed the process with nanites. The process isnt reductive, its restorative. It couldnt have caused any leaks because the metal wasnt weakened in the process, or I wouldnt have cleaned up so much.

Sinclairs face was beet red and the man looked like he was going to burst, but he remained silent.

The Sergeant turned and pointed the gun toward Talbot, but Alex acted immediately, raising her leg up and slamming her boot into the metal table. Steel groaned as the force of her kick bent the metal and the table slammed into all of the men with enough force to knock the me sitting out of their chairs.

Sinclair and the marine flew several feet and slammed into the floor from the impact, but it had less affect on the Sergeant, and he recovered turning to aim at her.

She grabbed the nearest heavy metal thing, her chair, and threw it at him. More gunshots rang out, heavy thuds slamming into the seat and ricocheting dangerously through the room. Alarms began to wail across the ship.

Alex jumped on the table and started forward, but she realized it was over. Blood painted a huge swath of the wall behind where Sinclair had been, and a growing pool was soaking the floor, filling one line of the grates before overflowing and filling the next.

Her aim had been dead on; the chair had hit Sinclair with enough force to decapitate the man.

Marines flooded into the room with firearms raised and pointed at her.

Freeze!

Hands up!

Dont move!

Alex raised her hands above her head slowly, unsure what to do about the conflicting orders.

Coughing, Commander Talbot was the first to pull himself up and raised a hand, Stand down! Not her! Threat neutralized! Get a fucking medic!

Ferguson pushed himself free of the heap, moving toward the marine that was shot. Hes still alive, trauma kit!

Guns no longer pointed at her Alex felt like she was in a daze at the sight of all the blood, memory of her time in the escape pod coming back to her. Fear washed over her as she relived those horrifying moments with Elis bleeding out on her.

She pushed it away, realizing she could help the man. She pushed her way forward, jumping down off the table and coming over to Ferguson who was pressing down on the wells of blood pouring out of the mans chest.

The lieutenant looked at her grimly, Man needs a medic, not an angel.

A kit flew through the air and Ferguson unzipped it with one hand, grabbing a pack of clotting powder. Alex held up a hand.

No, this will be easier without it. Let me do it. She said calmly.

He looked at her confused, then pulled back as she reached forward to put her hands over the two bullet holes.

It wasnt exactly the same as the damage that Elis had received. Elis had been hit in a much less important place and had bleed out slowly. Alex had stopped it but hadnt been able to rebuild her blood supply quickly. Being in shock for too long and lack of blood to the brain had caused the coma.

The marine had the opposite problem, he still had is blood supply, he was just losing it rapidly and instead of going to the right places it was pouring out as fast as his heart could pump.

Alex forced her nanites to emerge and soak into the bloody wounds, the machines immediately beginning to clot the injury and dig deeper. The little machines had her signature blue glow to them, but she closed her eyes and focused.

She quickly found the debris, the bullets had been hollow points and mushroomed as they punctured tissue, the robots quickly went to work fetching the metal that didnt belong and pulled it out while forming a net to repair the damaged tissue.

The most disastrous was damage to the mans aorta, which was also the main reason hed already lost a quarter of his blood supply. Alex guided the nanites to reform the vessel and then sealed the injury, the small bots having to fight hard against the massive pressure as the mans heart pounded in an attempt to restore blood flow.

Flesh gave way to the force of billions of microscopic machines working in unison. Alex let out a breath of relief. The hemorrhaging ceased and slowed and there was enough of a repair that she began to draw the machines out so they wouldnt end up embedded in the injury.

Opening her eyes, everyone was staring at her.

What? He still needs to go to medbay and get a doctor! Its just hes not going to bleed out in the next thirty seconds!