Ethan threw back his head and laughed. “Wren Thorakis is not delicate.”
Pamela Ingot frowned at him. “Is this whole thing based on the word of one artifacts consultant?”
Ethan sobered up. “Do you honestly think the Planetary Head of Defense would send me to shake up a hornet’s nest in Nanganya on nothing but someone’s word?”
Pamela Ingot gave a slow shake of her head. She looked over at Harden. “So, why did you lie?”
Ethan could see Ferris Harden’s mind racing as he sifted through the possible explanations he could give. He was pretty sure none of them would be the truth.
“I was told the ancestral wreck was top secret. And that I should appease Wren Thorakis with an explanation she would accept.” Harden lifted his shoulders. “Why didn’t she believe me?”
“Because she saw the wreck, you idiot. Do you honestly think an artifacts consultant, a specialist in these things, would mistake an ancestral wreck with a research runner from twenty years ago?” Ethan held his gaze until Harden cut his eyes to the left.
“She never said she thought it was an ancestral wreck,” Demilla Garret said. “I’d have remembered that.”
“No, but she knew it was. She felt it was her duty to report the find, but she wasn’t willing to give her assessment of what it was to Nanganya Special Forces when she didn’t trust them further than she could throw them, especially after they abandoned her in the hands of the cult for nearly a week.” Ethan tilted his head. “And I have to say, Harden, shame on your teams for that. I have never heard anything like it.”
“They couldn’t rescue her, there was a massive storm raging.” Demilla Garret seemed to like parroting what she had obviously been told by Harden.
“We’re Special Forces,” Ethan said. “We eat storms for breakfast. Or at least, Demeter Special Forces does. And we would never leave one of our own in enemy hands because of a little rain.”
“Lieutenant Trent was sanctioned for that,” Harden said, and Demilla Garret gave him some side-eye, as if this was the first she was hearing of it.
“Not according to his file.” Ethan twisted, leaning back, and picked up a file. Flicked it with a finger.
Harden shifted. “It was verbal.”
“Convenient. You’re happy with that level of capability? Because we run very different departments, if that’s so.” Ethan tossed the file back on the desk, and crossed his arms.
“So you’re saying they deliberately left Wren Thorakis with the cult, because someone in the government is supporting the Har Met Vent and needed to get them supplies. And they used Wren’s kidnapping as an excuse to give the Har Met Vent what they needed under the cover of ransom?” Pamela Ingot spoke slowly.
“I’m not only saying that, I’m saying that Harden’s team on Ytla set Wren Thorakis up to be kidnapped to begin with. So Harden couldn’t sanction Lieutenant Trent for his behavior, because he’d ordered his actions.” It still made Ethan furiousjust thinking about it. The corruption of Special Forces was anathema to him.
“I wasn’t told any of this.” Demilla Garret stood, and physically distanced herself from Harden. “Has Wren put in formal complaints?”
“She has.” Ethan had asked her to do it before she and Ed Zeneri had left for the observatory station in nearspace. Having it in writing added a layer to his investigation.
“You’re saying Harden here was being bribed or blackmailed to do this. Are you being serious?” Pamela Ingot had been watching her colleague as they spoke, and Ed guessed she’d seen the same thing he had. The closing up of his expression, the stiffness in his posture.
“Deadly. The old Core Companies, in league with the Caruso, are behind this.” Ethan noticed a muscle twitch under Harden’s eye at that.
“What?” Demilla Garret took another step away from Harden. “Commander?” She was staring at him, eyes wide.
“You can leave,” Ethan said, turning to her. “Some investigators from Commander Ingot’s department are waiting for you outside. You can give your account to them.”
Demilla closed her eyes for a moment, straightened up, and then gave a curt nod. “I see. Thank you.” She walked out, back stiff and straight.
“Where is Lieutenant Trent?” Harden tried to look nonchalant as he asked, leaning back in his chair.
“Some of my officers took him in for questioning as soon as this conversation started,” Pamela Ingot said. “I thought Commander Hyt was all kinds of wrong about this, but that’s a lesson to me. Velda Shanïha doesn’t rattle cages without good reason.”
Mention of Velda had the effect it usually did on Ethan. It shot some adrenalin through him, made his chest tight. Hehoped like hell it didn’t show on the outside. Not to her, and not to anyone else, either.
Her tenure as Head of Defense for Aponi was ending next year, and he’d told himself he’d wait until she was no longer his boss before he made any kind of move on her.
“Now that Garret is out of the room, care to share who told you the wreck was top secret?” Pamela Ingot asked, gaze steady on Harden.
Ethan was impressed that she was circling back to it. It was his next question, too. Not that he believed Harden had been telling the truth about that, but it would be interesting to see what name he threw out.
