Episode 56

The Empty Chamber

While Hull stood riveted to the spot, she walked to the door and examined it closely. It was blown off almost cleanly; the explosive had been some sort of paste applied to the locking mechanisms rather than a anti-missile torpedo or powerpack adapted to the purpose. That told her this was the work of Li-Hu's operatives, of men who were prepared for the task. It was no ad hoc operation.

She turned around to face the captain. “I think you've earned the right to see for yourself.”

Hull hesitated before he stepped forward to flash the beam of light through the opening. Then he froze.

“Empty!” The word sprang savagely to his lips.

York approached his side and was able to confirm that the compartment contained nothing. There was no missile, no launch system, there was nothing at all. The chamber was little more than a tube with a port at the opposite end, which, when opened, would look out into space. It was obvious to anyone with a trained eye that the compartment not only didn't contain a missile launcher now, it was entirely apparent that it never had.

“It's empty,” Hull repeated. He stared perplexedly into the empty chamber. “There's nothing there. I mean, there was nothing there before they broke in.”

York found his confusion mildly amusing. She watched as he looked back and forth across the vacant room, open-mouthed with astonishment. Finally, she took pity on him. “They wouldn't steal the entire launch system, Captain. It would make no sense. There aren't even any power connections here. And even if the thieves were so perverse as to remove everything, they wouldn't have been able to do it without leaving some sign that they had been there.”

She gestured towards the floor. There were no wires, no pieces of broken metal except for some that clearly belonged to the shattered door, and no sign that any weapon, much less a Shiva sunbuster, had ever been there.

Hull pursed his lips. “No, of course not.” Relief suddenly flooded his face as he broke into a smile. Then he laughed out loud. “Dammit, York! By whatever gods favored us, Rigel was traveling unarmed! It wasn't carrying the Shiva! They chose an unarmed ship to sabotage!”

York looked around the small compartment, contemplating the captain's assertion. Sailors knew when a ship was armed or unarmed. Despite the secrecy shrouding the Shiva, it could not have been removed without sparking rumors among the crew, not from the putative size of the weapon if one were to judge by the cylindrical compartment which supposedly housed it. By the same token, it couldn't have been removed since the emergency. So, where did that leave them?

She looked back at Hull. “The Rigel's mission was operational, wasn't it?”

“Be that as it may, she wasn't carrying the sunbuster,” Hull answered. He gestured toward the compartment. “The evidence is right there. Or, rather, the lack of evidence.”

“Would she be on an operational mission without the sunbuster?”

“I couldn't possibly say. I'm a mere destroyer captain, I don't sit on the Admiralty Board.”

“How about the ship's log? Would it clarify whether the mission was a conventional one? Whether it was operational?”

“Certainly.”

“Then we'd better check that out,” she said abruptly. Feeling a surge of impatience, she returned to the ladder and climbed up without waiting for him to precede her.

While Hull went to the logbook, York sat in the captain's chair and rested her head in her hands, an enormous suspicion growing in her mind. It seemed so unbelievable that she wanted to reject it, and yet, the more she thought about it, the less incredible it appeared. There was nothing that was beyond belief, not in this universe, or the next, or the one after that. She let the thought grow and flower, turning it around methodically in her mind, examining every aspect of it.

Hull's voice came over from the log desk. “The mission was fully operational. That's settled.”

“I thought as much,” she said.

“I don't understand what you're driving at,” Hull persisted. “As far as I'm concerned, the sunbusting technology is safe. They murdered the entire crew for nothing, York! They didn't get what they were after!”

“Would the admiral have rushed you here if Rigel were unarmed?” she asked him quietly.

Hull's eyes narrowed. He started to say something, then stopped himself.

“Would they divert the Cetus to the Terentulus system and send half the Navy to blockade the Dai Zhani worlds for fear of losing a single unarmed cruiser?”

“I don't know. I don't understand.” Hull shook his head, bewildered. “Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you think for once, York! What are you getting at?”

“I'm not sure, but if it means what I think it means, you've just made rear admiral.”

“What sort of damned nonsense is that?” Hull's face flushed red and he threw his hands up in the air. “You bloody coverts can't give a straight answer to anything!”

“Nonsense?” She gazed thoughtfully at the frustrated man. “Oh, it's anything but that, Captain.”

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