Uh oh. Looked like rumors of a leak of some kind had just graduated to something more solid. He didn’t envy Dr. Narang’s boss at that moment.

In fact, Laakkonen looked stunned. She obviously had not expected to have that particular narrative dumped on her. However, the rules hadn’t changed.

Laakkonen: Ms. Harrison, I don’t know where you get your information from, but what you are proposing is inflammatory and sensationalist. I will not be party to such a discussion.

With that, Dr. Laakkonen picked up her tablet and walked out of the press room.

Well, that was fun. Ivan shook his head in awe. But I don’t think she pulled off the save.

In fact, the press room was seething with yelled questions, threats, and promises of repercussions. Not all from reporters.

Things had definitely just hit the fan.

* * *

Dear Judy,

I’m sure you’ve seen the news. How could you miss it?

Love, this is exactly the kind of event I was worried about. Now, everyone is going to be looking for the names and addresses of the crew of the mystery ship. If they connect the dots, they’ll come after you and the children. Please, get away as soon as you can. Don’t give notice, just go. Find a new place and sign under your sister’s name. Pull the kids out of school. Hell, we can afford tutors in a year or so to bring them up to speed.

I’m concerned about calls from the base being traced. But I’ll talk to you soon, if I can.

Love, Ivan

41.Putting It in Perspective

41.Putting It in Perspective

“Hello Ivan. How are you holding up?”

Ivan turned to see Dr. Narang at the window. “Doing okay, Doc. I’ve been getting caught up on all the Vid programs that I’ve missed for the last, well, all my life.”

Dr. Narang chuckled. “Yes, a little bit of boredom sounds nice compared to everything that’s going on groundside.” She hesitated. “Ivan, you know that the media outed the situation here…”

“Yeah, I saw the session where Harrison sprang it on your boss. They haven’t gotten our names, have they?”

“No, although at this point we’re not discounting the possibility. Have you talked to your family about it? There are threats now. If personal details ever got out, they could be in danger.”

“We took steps early on, Doc. It always seemed like an inevitability, you know?”

Narang nodded. “That’s good. I’m going to talk to the crew next. I hope they’ve already done something as well. But if not, I think they’ll have to consider it a priority.”

“What’s going on, Doc? What have I missed?”