Chapter 28 #2
The moment I was finished with his crest, I stood and offered him my hand, which he took, and we trekked through the empty ship and down to the cargo hold.
Araxis tapped his wristband against the panel on the inside of the cargo doors, which would be connected to the other side as well.
He flicked through several layers of security as I stood, hovering uselessly by his side.
"I should have thought," Araxis muttered, his subvocals tight. "And instead I –"
I reached up and curled my palm around the back of his neck, in the way that he did that I particularly liked. "Stop," I said. "You were in shock."
His fingers stilled on the panel. "I –"
"It's not helpful to berate yourself," I said. "Let's focus on figuring out what happened."
Beneath my palm, I could feel a quick, suppressed rumble, although I couldn't hear the subvocal. "Yes, Sashen," Araxis breathed.
When he finally made it through the layers of encryption to the entry log, a string of numerical identifiers hovered in front of us that didn't make much sense, until he sifted through the dataset on his wristband.
"This one belongs to Egnax and these," he tapped a long series, "are the ones that have been assigned to each worker temporarily, so that we can track who comes and goes on the ship.
" He flicked forward. "You can see, here, when we entered the ship using my biosignature.
This one –" he tapped another string of numbers, "is yours. "
"I have one?" I stared at those numbers, hovering above his wrist.
"Of course," said Araxis. "The ship recognizes you. It knows you belong."
I blinked, my throat tightening, which was a little embarrassing.
But it had been a hall of a day, so I cut myself some slack; I was allowed to have weird emotional reactions to stupid things like security systems if I wanted to.
"So if they're all assigned, how the fuck did a Naival get in with her mercs? Val said codes can be stolen?"
"It's not easy and requires a certain technical skill, to lift and then covertly assign a designation without triggering the fail-safe," said Araxis.
"I would imagine it easiest to get a worker inside of the ship and go about it in that way...
Ah, yes, you see: this is the one that corresponds to the time when Creche Naival gained access to the ship.
Let me check the registration." He skimmed through a seemingly endless chain of numbers, frowning. "There it is. But… it is unassigned."
Which meant that someone with technical skill had gotten into our system and lifted a code for their own purpose.
"Can you tell when it was activated or assigned or whatever?
" I asked, stepping in close to the panel, memorizing the last five digits and flicking through the logs.
Maybe someone had come in before to test it out.
"We could look at the security footage and – See, there it is.
" I tapped at the entry from a couple days back.
"Hm, yes," said Araxis, frown deepening. "It was used to open the small door out of the ship, although the cargo doors would have been open then – they were bringing in another container, so why –"
"I don't know, if I'd just done some extremely sneaky shit, like stealing an access code from a fancy security system to give to some assassins, I'd want to be sure it worked.
You don't, as a rule of thumb, want to piss off assassins by fucking it up.
" I stared at the numbers, before turning to look at Araxis again.
"Is there vid footage? We have a time and a location. So long as we have eyes on the door..."
A strange, faraway look settled across Araxis's features.
"The cameras are dynamic," he said distantly.
"We may not have that precise footage, but we should be able to see who was in the hold in that general time.
" He pulled up the creche calendar and frowned, before tugging at a connector jack at the bottom of the panel, pulling the wire free and attaching it to his wristband so that he could more easily connect with the ship's systems. At once, a series of video icons flared to life above his wrist, and I wrapped one hand around his bicep as I slid in close so that we could squint at the videos together.
"It was a busy day," Araxis murmured as he sorted through the files.
"You see – there were a number of workers coming and going then.
" He tapped the video interface to a faster speed, and a slice of the cargo hold hummed with activity above his forearm: it didn't show the exterior access door, instead tracking workers as they came in and out, moving in a massive container and working to leverage it into place and secure it through a series of hooks and clasps.
Egnax appeared several times in the video, flashing up in the corner, her prosthetic arm glinting in the lights overhead as she supervised and appeared to bark orders at the malat who was overseeing the delivery.
The timestamp when we knew the unauthorized code had been used came and went, the camera trained on an animated argument that Egnax was having with the supervisor. "Shit," I said. "Okay, play it again. And slow it down"
Araxis tapped it back about a minute. This time, I didn't let my attention get hooked on the tense body language at the centre of the screen.
This time, I started scanning the edges and corners.
The main thoroughfare through the hold was in the top-right of the projection; anyone who left would have to go through that area, although stars knew if I'd see more than a pair of fucking shoes.
I leaned in closer, staring. And then a flash of light in the corner, glinting off a pale boot. "Stop," I said, and Araxis froze on the frame. I reached out, pinching the video larger. My stomach dropped to my feet as I glanced at the time stamp. It lined up.
I knew those fucking boots. "Well," I said slowly, "I have bad news.
" My chest was tight and I felt, for a moment, almost dizzy, but the feeling resolved quickly enough.
I'd been betrayed before and this instance cut a lot less deeply; I blinked once, twice, and calmly shifted the place Rodil occupied in my mind from friend to traitor.
"I think our doctor has a few things to answer for. "
* * *
When we hastily checked the med bay on our way up to our room to arm ourselves, the evidence became a bit more significant than a pair of fancy pale boots.
Araxis hissed, a sharp and furious sound, as he found a loose panel on the security system in the med bay, the wires falling out in an unsecured bundle as he pried it off.
"They said they needed to check the equipment," he snarled, slamming the panel down and pacing off across the room, furious.
"Maybe I'm wrong and someone else got in here –" I started.
But Araxis shook his head, jaw working. "The med bay and the lab are locked when workers are on the ship.
The equipment is too sensitive, so only our creche-mates can access – That absolute –" and then he proceeded to spit out a series of abayan words that were familiar only because Celravi had taught me how to swear, and even so, I still missed a half-dozen of them.
We left the ship as quickly as we could, which was pretty fucking fast: we only dashed upstairs again to grab our guns before heading out. "Maybe someone threatened Rodil," I tried as we clattered down the stairs.
"If someone is threatened, they come to me. That is my role within the creche. And no physician would need this level of technical skill. This is the work of someone accustomed to infiltration." His subvocals were practically a growl.
As we hurried from the ship, Araxis hastily locked it tight behind us and dashed off a frantic message to Egnax to tell her to cancel all work for the time being until he gave the clear and to stay in the quarters she was renting at the dock.
"The other problem," I said once we left our ship behind, "is Elethenn. "
The look Araxis shot me was startled, edging on panicked. "How so?"
The walkway to our shuttle was still empty, but I had my arc lance in hand anyway, the weight strangely comforting.
I flexed my hands around the glittering gun, stomach cramping at the very thought.
God, I hoped I was wrong. "Elethenn introduced me to Rodil.
I mean, I hate to even think it, Araxis, because I like Elethenn but –"
"We must assume the worst, you're correct," said Araxis, grim, the expression on his features resigned and edging toward devastated.
"If he is loyal, time will reveal that to be the case.
Just as if we are somehow mistaken about Rodil, we will learn the truth in our own investigation.
If neither of them have done wrong, they will come to no harm. "
But if they had fucked us over, I knew what would happen. I'd do it myself if I got the chance.
We stepped into our shuttle, clipping in as Araxis hastily disengaged from the dock and sent the shuttle rocketing across the space between Basilla and Sozamia at a speed I might generously describe as breakneck.
I swallowed once, throat thick, and then willed myself not to get sidetracked by a little thing like motion sickness.
I only spoke when I was certain I could open my mouth without vomiting.
"Even if Rodil is with Creche Naival, whether by choice or by force, they wouldn't do anything at home, right?
You said a writ is only for the head of house.
I mean, they would know that the attack failed, but they wouldn't... You don't think... "
"If Rodil has been spying from inside of the creche, then all the rules for acceptable action may as well be cosmic dust for all they matter in the end.
No honourable creche would require one of its members to – to falsify a declaration.
It is deplorable." His fingers flexed against the controls, tight.