“Only mine?”
“Every male member of this team is outfitted with the same footgear,” the other chimed in. “So all the boot treads are identical, except for yours.”
She nodded. “Boots issued to females aren’t standard.”
“Yes. The other prints indicate a man weighing between one sixty to one ninety, wearing size ten boots. That applies to about three quarters of the security team. But the evidence does support that whoever assaulted you is most likely a member of our team. The science people don’t wear tactical boots. And neither does Telon.”
So Sno had been vindicated. At least based on that evidence. “How long until you get results from the environmental DNA samples?”
“They’ll take a few weeks to process.”
“Can they be expedited?”
“They have been, A-Com.”
Gigadam.
With the grim outcome of the Purmian Offensive, Commander Tapp could be back any time. A matter of days. Maybe less. And she’d have hell to pay when he learned of the incident that had occurred on her watch, and that she’d failed to resolve it.
At least she could release Sno now—minus his wristcom.
“I’ll check back tomorrow.”
The two men mumbled an acknowledgement and returned to their work.
Before Dek reached the door, her wristcom lit up with a special alert.
7
Members of the security team assembled near the site entrance to greet their returning commander. Dek watched, her mood sullen, as the small hovershuttle swept in from the south, flying low and using the lava ridges as cover. They seldom received flights at Site D to avoid raising the curiosity of the locals, but Commander Tapp’s return was an exception.
Dek angled the brim of her hat and covered her eyes when the hovercraft kicked up a torrent of sand. She wiped the grains from her face once the pilot had landed his vessel and let the engines wind down.
The shuttle’s hatch popped, and the flight crew swung it back, extending the gangway. Commander Tapp appeared in the exit and surveyed Site D with a scrutinizing sweep of his eyes.
Dek stepped forward to intercept him, along with Major Remm.
“Lieutenant Commander Garr,” he addressed her gruffly, “everything in order?”
“Everything’s under control, sir,” she responded.
The annoyance in his expression sharpened, and he motioned the flight crew where to place his bags. He turned back to her. “From the tone of your response, I’m guessing an immediate briefing is in order.”
Dek managed to hide her exasperation. Of course a briefing was in order. Did he think she’d forgotten basic procedures? “At your earliest convenience, sir.”
“Now would be good.”
She stepped into place before him, blocking his path, tucking her hands smartly behind her back. “Sir, do you intend to inform the men about the Purmian Offensive, now that you’re back?” she asked in a low voice.
His brow furrowed in a deep V. “How do you know about that?”
“I got word, Commander, but I felt you should be the one to inform the men.”
“Now is not the time or the place,” he countered.
“Yes, sir. But they deserve to know what’s happening out there. And if it’s going to impact Site D or their assignment here.”
A low buzz arose as the team began to whisper among themselves, no doubt wondering what her face-off with Commander Tapp was all about.
Dek continued to hold eye contact with her superior, not flinching. Not blinking.
“Let’s take this to the SecCom,” he snapped, his face reddening.
“Yes, sir.”
Dek motioned Major Remm to accompany them. Her decision to confront Tapp about the Purmian situation the moment he stepped off the shuttle was probably not going to play out in her favor. But that didn’t mean she had no right to address it. As the commander’s second, she should’ve been in the loop about his mysterious errand, and the entire team needed to know how this incident was going to affect their future.
She had a difficult time keeping pace with the commander as he strode directly for the command office. Once inside, he made a point of seating himself behind the desk—in the chair that up until a few moments ago had been hers—leaving her to take the facing bench. Major Remm got settled on her right.
“Let’s hear it,” Tapp demanded, folding his arms. “Where did you get your intel?”
“From Telon, sir.”
His expression shifted to surprise, and he eased back in his seat. “I see.”
“It came up in conversation. When I pressed him on it, he explained the situation. He said he saw no reason I shouldn’t know.”
“Are you questioning my decision not to fill you in?”
“No, sir. I didn’t ask a question.”
He leaned forward, planting the knuckles of both hands on the desktop. “Let me be clear about this. When it comes to this team, I make the calls.” Tapp pushed off the desk, his lips peeled back over clenched teeth. “Get on with your brief, Lieutenant Commander.”
“We’ve had an incident,” she informed him, tapping at her wristcom. “I’m sending the full brief to you now. Long story short, I was scouting some unusual activity in Lower Cave during the graveyard shift three nights ago, and I was attacked.”
Tapp’s eyes narrowed. “You were scouting?”
“Yes, sir.”
His attention zeroed in on her face. “Is that a bruise on your jaw?”
“I was struck by an assailant in his bid to escape.”
“And as acting commander, you thought it was your place to creep about in the dark—alone—chasing boogeymen? What you should’ve done is alert the task team.”
“I did when the situation allowed. But in the moments it took them to respond, the person I was tracking had disappeared.”
The man’s mouth gaped in incredulity. He snapped it shut. “Disappeared?”
“The team never saw him. I’m the only one who did. Or at least, I detected a faint shadow.”
The commander’s already dour face darkened a full shade. “And how do you explain that?”
“I believe he was wearing shadowskins, Commander.” She mentally thanked Sno for endorsing her musings on that subject. “Forensics is currently doing an environmental DNA analysis, so I believe we’ll be able to determine who the assailant is, given more time.”
The man’s face went chalk white. “So you’re reporting we had an entity using stealth technology poking about in the highly secure location we’re here to protect, and who then assaulted you, the acting commander?”
“That’s the gist, sir.”
“And you were the only one who saw him there?”
“That’s correct.”
Tapp shook his head. “What, in your assessment, was he doing there when you happened on him?”
“He may have been scouting the excavations, sir.”
The man jolted forward in his chair, both feet thudding down hard on the floor before him. “Doing what?”
“Possibly gathering intel.”
The commander looked genuinely apoplectic. He pushed back in his chair, his glinting gaze cutting right through her. “And you have no suspects?”