Last Chapter Recap: "Hahahahahahahahaha!" Adam laughed.
Now nothing can stop me… all I need is a little patience! This play will be over in a few weeks…!
NOW
Deck
"Good morning, Goliath!" Adam said, in a happy mood.
I do not bother hiding my good mood humor (and boner) from the rest of the crew as I walk in on the deck. However, to my disappointment, the big-tittied communications officer is not here, while the other two barely acknowledge my entrance.
"What a happy-go-lucky guy," Selana said, raising an eyebrow.
"Apologies, Captain," Adam said with a grin.
I composed myself immediately. If the situation is serious, my good humor might work to my disadvantage.
"Is something wrong?" Adam asked.
"Last night we deviated from the course by 0.11 degrees," Brody said, his tone serious. "Do you understand what that means, Ensign?"
"That's—" Adam asked, his tone serious. "Don't tell me... sabotage?!"
"We can't rule it out," Selana said, her voice sharp. "And you're one of the suspects, Ensign."
"Surely you jest, Captain!" Adam exclaimed, his voice a mix of disbelief and frustration. "This was the first night in ages that I finally got some sleep! If you don't believe me, ask Doctor Ivanna!"
"Relax, Ensign," Brody said, his tone calm. "Captain is merely testing you."
"Are you suspecting the shadow?" Adam asked. "But it's impossible to attack our system from such a range! We'd have spotted them!"
"If our mainframe was in perfect condition," Selana said, her tone serious, "but someone has been fiddling with it for the past few days. Do you have a clue, Ensign?"
'Damn, so she really suspects me. I did indeed make some changes to the mainframe in order to power-up the machine, but there's no way it was the backdoor used by the shadow ship'
"My latest run on diagnostics found no—" Adam began, then stopped, shocked. "Ah!"
"What is it, Ensign?" Selana asked.
"Since I've been fixated on this shadow yesterday," Adam explained, "I didn't run comprehensive tests... It can't be—"
'If someone exploited my carelessness… but who could it be?'
"Then run one right away," Selana urged.
"Y-Yes, Ma'am," Adam stammered.
'According to guidelines, I should run such test only once per week, so I didn't violate any protocols… does she have a grudge against me, goddammit?!'
'I'd rather think about my new slave's boobs, but now, I have to focus on technical details.'
"Huh?" Adam muttered, eyes widening. "Someone accessed the mainframe from the private quarters?"
'I can only think of one person who has both such access and can be treated as suspicious.'
"Did you find something, Ensign?" Selana asked, leaning in slightly.
"Actually..." Adam began, then started explaining everything he'd discovered along with his suspicions about Lt. Chand. Judging by Selana's reaction, she was already aware of some of it. She nodded periodically, her expression unreadable, but attentive to every word.
"I see," Selana said quietly, her eyes narrowing. "And Major Aurora... she shares our suspicions?"
"She asked me to investigate this and that..." Adam said with a sigh. "If I had more time, maybe I could've found out more."
"Lieutenant Chand has been with Goliath for over a year," Selana said, frowning slightly. "It's hard to believe he'd choose this moment to go rogue."
"He was always on the unsociable side, Captain," Brody said, arms crossed.
"Because of his time as a Neo-Terran slave, yes," Selana said. "However, if even Aurora-" Before she could finish, the comms crackled to life.
"Captain, do you copy? I found that... whatever it is."
Our conversation is interrupted by the voice of ensign Natasha on the communicator.
"As I thought. Good work, Ensign," Selana said, her voice filled with a mix of approval.
"Can I ask, what did Ensign find?" Adam asked.
"Prove that this shadow ship is still there," Selana said, her tone firm.
"But—wait... radar?" Adam exclaimed, his eyes widening. "You've sent the PCC drone to detect their wings?"
"Now that's surprising," Brody said, raising an eyebrow. "You can tell?"
"Of course he can, he's a member of my crew," Selana said with a smile.
"That's right, Lt. Laura has equipped the drone with all the necessary equipment."
"What do we do now, Captain?" Brody asked, his tone serious. "Their persistence... If we didn't shake them off, I doubt any other moves would work."
"Well, focus on returning to our course," Selana said, her tone decisive. "We've already lost too much time on those small fries."
"Yes, you're right, Captain," Brody said. "We've already delayed time for our mission."
"I'll leave Lt. Chand to you and Major Ensign," Selana said, her tone serious. "But I expect results. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" Adam saluted.