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“Not the animals. Not everyone comes into contact with them,” Sloane said.
Rexx’s top lip curled. “Or somehow, the Siblet snuck onto the ship and planted a poison bomb. It’s just the kind of sneaky thing those bastards would do.”
“The only time the ship has been empty was when we had that stop at the waystation in Sector Q a week ago,” Cleo said. “Everyone was ordered off because I needed to run a ship wide scan.”
Rexx growled again. “That’s when they did it.”
More muttered curses and protests ran around the room as the group blasted out their anger over the Siblet infiltration.
Dallin rubbed the bridge of his nose. The noise was making his head pound. It was only when Sloane slid her hand down his back that the pain faded. He looked at her and nodded his thanks. She always knew how to ease his discomfort.
He lifted a hand and waited for silence. “I don’t think the Siblet got on the ship. They didn’t plant a poison bomb. ELVIS would have picked up on something like that.”
“We can’t know that for sure,” Blaze said. “We weren’t scanning for a poison bomb. And the ship was empty. Someone could have snuck on board.”
“Maybe the Siblet bypassed the security system,” Georgia said.
“I’ll have ELVIS check the records,” Cleo said. “He’ll detect any anomaly.”
“You’re wasting your time.” Dallin looked around the group, his pulse racing faster than it should. “I’m not infected with the Siblet poison.”
Sloane gasped. “You never said.”
He didn’t meet her gaze. “I’m the only one who isn’t, and I didn’t leave the ship. When we docked at the waystation and were ordered to leave, I remained on board.”
Cleo’s eyes narrowed. “Why do that? You knew I was planning that scan.”
He glanced at Sloane and saw shock on her face. “I found a workaround with ELVIS. It made sure my signature didn’t impact on the scan.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question. You disobeyed my order. Everyone was given twenty-four hours R&R. Why didn’t you take it?”
Sloane sucked in a breath as if she wanted to defend Dallin, but he shook his head at her. He was in the wrong, so needed to take the flak. “I thought I could use my time more productively without any distractions from the crew. I work better in the lab when I’m on my own, and I had the bio-molecular results from the latest batch of animals to examine. I didn’t want anyone getting in my way.”
He didn’t miss the flash of hurt that crossed Sloane’s face and instantly felt like an asshole. She’d think he didn’t want her around when the opposite was true.
Cleo frowned. “We’ll talk about this at a later date.”
“I suppose this is a good thing.” Sloane’s voice was quiet. “If you were on board, the Siblet couldn’t have gotten in without being noticed.”
“Err, not wanting to sound like a dick, but Dallin can get distracted with all the bio-molecular thingies,” Striker said. “Sometimes, I have to yell at him when he’s focused on one of his tests to get his attention. He disappears off into science geek land.”
“I wouldn’t miss Siblet getting on the ship. And as I said, I’m not poisoned. That proves nothing was snuck onto the ship.”
Sloane touched his back again. “You could have been... deep in thought. You block everything out when you need to concentrate.”
She was being subtle, but Dallin knew what she meant. There were times when his brain shut down everything but his essential functions, like he was some damn freaking cyborg, so he could process and filter information. If that had happened, and the Siblet snuck on board, he’d have missed their infiltration.
“It’s still unlikely they breached the ship,” Dallin said. “And ELVIS would have alerted me to any intruders.”
“ELVIS, check the data for the day we docked at the waystation,” Cleo said. “Are there any anomalies to suggest the ship was breached by the Siblet?”
“No. Dallin was the only crew member on board,” ELVIS said.
“So this is something we were exposed to outside the ship?” Cleo leaned against the table.
“Most of us went to that restaurant for dinner,” Wren said.
“But not everyone,” Daisy said. “A few people were missing.”
