Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [137]
“I’ll consider it,” Lanyan said gruffly without getting up from his seat.
“So, is there anything salvageable?” the Chairman asked.
Preoccupied, Swendsen wandered over to look out the broad windows of the penthouse office. “Well, all the systems are fully functional, mechanically speaking, but we’d have to reinstall a basic instruction set to make it work again.”
The Chairman turned to Lanyan. “And the compy actually belonged to one of our EDF officers. That raises even more suspicions.”
The General sat up rigidly, shoving the various documents aside. “Yes, Mr. Chairman—EA was technically owned by Commander Tasia Tamblyn. She doesn’t know what happened to her compy, and apparently assumes EA was lost. She filed one or two search requests, but kept the matter quiet. Probably afraid she’d face disciplinary action. Technically, Tamblyn wasn’t allowed to dispatch her compy anywhere without authorization.”
Lanyan pursed his thick lips, as if reluctant to reveal what he knew. “For what it’s worth, sir, I’m familiar with Tamblyn, and I’ve spoken with her commanding officer. Admiral Willis characterizes her performance as impeccable. In fact, Commander Tamblyn was the one chosen to drop the first new Klikiss Torch on Ptoro. Apparently, her brother’s skymine was destroyed by hydrogues, all hands lost, and she holds a grudge. A good soldier, even if she is a Roamer.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s not a mole in our midst,” the Chairman said, “and I don’t want to miss a potential opportunity. There’s too much at stake, too much we still don’t know, especially now that we plan to take a hard-line stance against the Roamers. I’m not sure we should rely too much on this Commander Tamblyn’s loyalty. Isolate her from all matters relating to the new offensive—and find a way to keep a quiet eye on her.”
“If I install surveillance technology on her Manta, she may discover it,” Lanyan said. “And we can’t allow her crew to pick up even a hint of our suspicions. That would affect the chain of command.”
“We’ll be more subtle than that.” Basil turned, clearing his throat to get Swendsen’s attention again. “Reboot that compy, restore all basic functions, and then return it to Tamblyn. Make up some story that explains where it’s been all this time. And then…we’ll see what happens.”
“If the compy’s sudden reappearance looks too convenient, Tamblyn might be suspicious,” Lanyan pointed out.
“We are all suspicious, General. These days there’s no way around it.”
Lanyan remained puzzled. “But what does all that accomplish, sir?”
The Chairman just smiled. “Engineer Swendsen can also install a passive surveillance program that will let us record everything that EA sees when she’s with our Roamer friend. The compy will become our spy without even realizing it.”
Chapter 69 — TASIA TAMBLYN
Admiral Willis came aboard the Manta when it docked for resupply after finishing the EDF survey of the old Klikiss Torch stars. The rare smile on the old woman’s face was a puzzling but pleasant surprise. “Commander Tamblyn, I have a dandy little gift for you.”
As her bridge crew snapped to attention at the arrival of the Grid 7 commander, Tasia stood from her chair. “What is it, Admiral? Have we been granted permission to kick some more hydrogue butt? I wouldn’t mind deploying another Klikiss Torch, since the result of the last one was so gratifying.”
Willis turned to the bridge doorway and spoke to someone out in the corridor. “Go ahead, send her in.” Accompanied by an EDF desk clerk, a compy strutted dutifully onto the bridge. The skin polymer was polished and cleaned, the blue highlights refreshed.
Tasia immediately recognized the mechanical friend she’d had for most