"Assuming she's our culprit, she also probably had no idea this terminal was rigged for sound and video," Jackson said. "Thanks for the info. Let me know when you get Jillian and the kids off Arcadia, and we'll try to think of some destination."

"Most likely, I'll head for Celesta's Prowler. With Pitt aboard, they won't be taking any unnecessary risks. Her ship is loaded with enough com gear he could run the entire war from there, and they'd never know where the hell he was. I'll let you know. Pike out."

"Barton! Get in here!"

"Sir?" Barton asked as he rounded the corner into the office.

"I'm calling Trapp up to the bridge for a few hours," Jackson said. "This is your chance to search her quarters. You need to get me something solid, otherwise the best I can do is just have her reassigned to someplace else on the ship. Unfortunately, with her rating, that will be in CIC or Intel, a place we can least afford to have a traitor."

"Pike gave me everything I should need to ferret her out," Barton said. "If she's dirty, I'm confident we'll find out."

"You're having doubts?"

"I want to be fair," Barton corrected. "This is the most serious accusation you can levy against an officer so I want to make sure it's done by the book, no personal biases interfering."

"Good man." Jackson nodded. "When you see her go onto the bridge, that's your cue to get started. I'll give you three hours."

"More than we'll need if there's anything actually there to find."

19

"I'm getting the feed from the drone now. Looks like it has a solid lock on the device…inhibitor is engaged."

"Strike One, you're go. Execute!" Colonel Beck watched the composite video feed intently as her Marines breached the final barriers, creating a distraction while the NOVA team she'd deployed to the outside of the hab came in through an emergency escape hatch. The moon Exeter Base was on had a technically breathable atmosphere, but the current outside temperature was around negative fifty-two degrees Celsius. Without their specialized gear, the NOVAs would be dead from exposure on the short hike from the maintenance airlock they'd exited to the top of the C&C hab.

As hoped, most of the defending force moved in to prepare to repel the Marines while the woman holding the controls to the Shrike warhead screamed over the public address that she'd blow it if they didn't stop. Once the first sparks from the plasma cutters started spitting into the control center, the woman hit the detonator. Even knowing it was inhibited, Beck flinched as she did, almost admiring the woman's determination to not be taken alive.

Within an instant, it was pure bedlam. The mercenaries opened fire on the breach just as the emergence hatch was overridden and opened from the outside, letting in a blast of frigid air that stunned everyone in the room long enough for the first two NOVAs to enter and engage. Inter-service rivalries aside, Beck could only be impressed by how thoroughly ruthless the NOVAs were. In less than half a minute, there were nineteen dead mercs and two stunned and subdued for questioning.