“Could you comment as to whether or not the non-active time now available to the individual is having an adverse effect on the Empire?”
The Scientist cocked her head, her tail twitched minutely.
“Could you clarify your question, Commander?”
I began to pace restlessly. I was unaccustomed to expressing my thoughts to Scientists.
“Since returning from my last mission, I have become increasingly aware of certain changes in the Empire. For the most part, I ignored them, as they had no direct bearing on me or the performance of my duties. Recently, however, an incident occurred which I could not ignore for its potential implications.”
“What incident was that?” she asked.
“The details are unimportant. It involved a deliberate deception.”
“A deception? That doesn’t seem logical.”
“My staff discovered it in my presence,” I reiterated. “A premeditated falsification of training progress. My question is is this a widespread problem throughout the Empire or was it an isolated case?’
I waited as the Scientist pondered my question.
“No other such incidents have been reported to the Scientists, Commander,” she said at last, “though I cannot say whether this is because no similar incidents have occurred or if they were simply deemed unimportant.”
“Unimportant?” Despite my self-pledged control, I felt my head begin to lower. “Such a falsification can only be interpreted as a direct threat to the Empire.”
“I find your logic unclear, Commander.”
“If I had believed the deception, I might have committed my force prematurely.”