“Meanwhile Dekker is unavailable.”
“He is unavailable.”
“And you have no proof of this sabotage.”
“Their access. Dekker’s testimony. The washer. Circumstantial evidence placing them in the area.”
“You know what that’s worth.”
“A good reason not to let out what we know or make charges we can’t substantiate. We’re gathering evidence.”
“Meanwhile these purported saboteurs arc at work on this station.”
“Yes, sir. Of necessity, they are.”
“And Paul Dekker’s out there on that carrier. —Is he in any way involved in the upcoming test?”
“Certainly he’ll be in observation and advisement. All crews have that assignment during a run. Whether he’ll be assigned the run or not—that’s dependent on evaluations.”
“He can’t be the one to take the controls. That name can’t be prominent in this program. —Have you no comprehension?”
“Senator, political decisions in crew choice caused the last disaster to this program. And I can’t believe I’m hearing this all over again.”
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing from the junior command officer on this base. I can’t believe your persistence in putting this man into the glare of publicity. Let me make it clear to you, lieutenant, careers are going down in flames if there’s a second disaster. We’ve backed you, we’ve delivered votes in the JLC, we’ve patched together the coalition that gives you what you asked for and damn you, you serve us up Dekker for a witness to sabotage and Dekker for the representative of your program, and leak to the press, while you’re ‘developing a case’ you daren’t bring to court. Are you aware what’s happening on Earth? Are you aware of the fire-bombing at the EC headquarters? Are you aware of the bill pending in committee?”
“The extradition bill? Yes, I’m aware of it. And both acts of sabotage were aimed at him—by people who didn’t even know him. This is no personal grudge on the part of the saboteurs, senator, it’s politically motivated murder, the same as the substitution mat killed his crew was politically motivated, by people who may not have known where their orders came from. Now we have another coalition, as I understand it, part of which is working for this bill, but somebody else clearly doesn’t want him in court—somebody in a position to obtain security clearances wants him dead, and if we break the Lendler case into the open right now, it’s going to be a string that reels more and more information into the spotlight—it’s as explosive as the Dekker case and for identical reasons. That’s why we haven’t expelled these individuals. We know where they are. We suspect who they work for.”
Temper. Saito had warned him. He got it under control. He faced the senators and the busily note-taking aides with a cold stare, and saw anger and consternation on both senatorial faces.
“I also want to know,” he said, “how this exact information about Dekker’s being pulled from the sim got to the Joint Committee. Was it out of Stockholm?”
Silence for a moment. The other senator said, harshly, “Through the media, lieutenant. Not the way we prefer our briefings.”
“Haven’t you the power to find out those sources?”
“No. We haven’t. There are laws.”
“To cover illegal activity? I find mat incredible.”
“We want to know who made this decision to test. Is mere a test? Or is this whole maneuver a cover for this Dekker person?”
“There assuredly will be a test.”
“With Dekker’s crew?”
“Possibly.”
“Let me tell you what this looks like to us. It looks like a do or the proposition, a harebrained go-for-broke damned stupid risk, on your senior captain’s perception that the Fleet’s losing prestige in Europe and your facility here is shut down! We can’t get you another ship to wreck, lieutenant, we can’t continue our support in the face of this stupid risk of lives and equipment!”
Senior captain? Mazian? “The program is not shut down, sir. If you perceive that, you’ve been misled.”
“The simulators are wrecked, you’re vulnerable to sabotage, you’re sending out crews who aren’t ready—“
“No, sir. I’m delighted to report that all necessary equipment is functioning. There’s been no hiatus in the program. All our crews are at work, including the UDC teams, integrated with ours.”