This time the reply took a moment. “I am a citizen of the Syndicate Worlds.”
The chief at the interrogation panel chuckled softly. “Got you. Lieutenant,” he said into the comm link, “brain patterns and physiological reactions show surprise and worry. She’s wondering how we know about the reserve flotilla.”
“How long was your ship attached to the reserve flotilla?” Iger asked the commander.
“I am a citizen of the Syndicate Worlds.”
The chief frowned slightly at the readouts. “Lieutenant, I can’t get a good call from that. Emotional responses, but hard to tell what they mean. Try baiting her with a characterization of the reserve flotilla.”
Lieutenant Iger nodded again as if acknowledging the Syndic commander’s last statement, but also responding to the chief. “Is it true,” Iger stated, “that the reserve flotilla is made up of the most elite elements of the Syndicate fleet?”
Even Geary could see the emotional responses that statement evoked.
“She didn’t like hearing that,” the chief reported. “Looks like resentment and anger.”
Desjani snorted in derision. “That cruiser wasn’t part of the reserve flotilla, then. It looks like the reserve flotilla thinks highly of itself and didn’t hesitate to let others know that.”
Lieutenant Iger was speaking again. “What are the reserve flotilla’s plans once it reaches Varandal?”
“I am a citizen of the Syndicate Worlds.”
“Lieutenant,” the chief reported, “I didn’t see any deception centers light up.” He looked toward Geary.
“If she knew those plans, then she’d be thinking about how to lie about it, even if all she said was that ‘I’m a citizen’ junk.”
“Thanks, Chief.” Geary glanced at Desjani and Rione. “If her ship wasn’t part of the reserve flotilla, she probably wasn’t told the plan. Chief, have Lieutenant Iger ask her why no one in her crew objected to her surrendering her ship.”
A moment later, Iger did so. The Syndic commander’s jaw visibly tightened, and the chief at the interrogation panel whistled as the brain scan lit up. As the Syndic commander sat silent this time, Lieutenant Iger prodded her. “We know Syndicate Worlds regulations prohibit surrender. Weren’t you worried about what would happen to you?”
The chief nodded as more lights flared on the scan. “She was worried, but it doesn’t seem self-preservation-centered, Lieutenant.”
Lieutenant Iger pursed his mouth as if something had just occurred to him. “Weren’t you worried about what would happen to your family?”
“Direct hit, Lieutenant,” the chief reported. “Looks like she’s very worried about that.”
“Why did you surrender your ship?” Iger pressed, while the Syndic commander glared back at him, saying nothing.
Desjani’s mouth twisted as she looked at the image of the Syndic officer. “Chief, have the lieutenant ask her if she has any questions.”
The chief seemed startled but passed on the instructions.
The Syndic commander stayed silent a moment longer after Iger had asked, then spoke reluctantly. “Are my surviving crew members safe as agreed?”
Geary understood then, nodding to Desjani, who seemed grimly satisfied. “She wanted to save her surviving crew. The only way to do that was to agree to surrender, but she couldn’t let her crew know she’d done that. Even if none of her officers had objected, she still would have been worried about what the Syndic leaders would do to her family if it was known she’d surrendered her ship.”
He tapped the control to allow his voice to sound in the interrogation room. “Commander.” She and Lieutenant Iger looked toward the bulkhead from which Geary’s voice came. “Your crew is safe. Do you have any messages for them?”
A low whistle from the chief. “Major fear spike. Not self-focused, though.”
The Syndic commander took a deep breath. “No. I prefer that they believe I died on my ship.”
“Was that what you told them?” Geary asked. “That you were staying behind to die? Did you lie to your crew?”
The chief nodded. “Looks like it from here.”
The Syndic commander glared furiously at Lieutenant Iger. “Yes, I lied to my crew. I told them that I’d stay behind and trigger a core overload when the Alliance ships got close enough. But I knew if I really did that, then you’d kill the rest of my crew. I lied to them so they’d abandon ship, and so they’d report that I’d died in the line of duty.” Her angry gaze shifted, as if searching for the point from which Geary was watching her. “I would have fought my ship to the death if it would have made any difference, but we were helpless. Even then, I wouldn’t have reached an agreement with anyone but Captain Geary, because I’ve seen too many Syndicate Worlds’ escape pods destroyed for sport!”
Geary saw Desjani’s face redden. “Self-righteous bitch,” Desjani spat. “She’s probably shot up some of ours.”
Looking for something to change the topic, Geary triggered his mike. “Ask her how her ship sustained that damage to the bow.”
After the question was relayed, the Syndic officer just stared at Iger, her face as pale as death.
“Wow,” the chief commented. “Huge reaction. She’s very upset thinking about whatever caused that damage, Lieutenant.”
Iger repeated the question.
She glared back at him. “You know what caused it.”
“No,” Iger replied in a steady voice. “We don’t.”
“My ship came here from Kalixa! Does that give you the answer you want?”
Lieutenant Iger looked startled and puzzled, though Geary suspected he’d let those feelings show on purpose. “No, it doesn’t answer the question. Something happened at Kalixa?”
“Don’t play games with me! You must have caused what happened at Kalixa!”
Geary activated the comm circuit again. “What happened at Kalixa, Commander?”
The Syndic glared around her for a long moment, not speaking.
The chief whistled. “Markers all over the place. Like she’s real upset but can’t decide whether to lie or tell the truth or just start throwing things.”
But the Syndic officer must have made up her mind not to get violent. Instead, her glare deepened. “Fine. We’ll pretend you don’t know that the hypernet gate at Kalixa exploded, devastating the entire star system.”
Geary stopped breathing for a moment. Rione made a choking sound. Desjani just stared rigidly at the Syndic commander.
Lieutenant Iger spoke slowly. “This fleet was not responsible for that. We had no idea it had occurred. No unit from this fleet went to Kalixa.”
The Syndic stared back at him, her distress clear now.
“How does she know what happened at Kalixa?” Rione wondered. “This must have been fairly recent.”
“That’s obvious,” Desjani said. “The damage to her ship’s bow, as if from a single massive blow. Her heavy cruiser must have been far enough from the gate to survive, but took a lot of damage. That cruiser wasn’t shot up in Atalia fighting the Alliance ships from Varandal, it arrived here badly damaged.” She seemed to be thinking for a moment. “That amount of damage to a heavy cruiser. The energy discharge from the collapsing gate must have been significantly stronger at Kalixa than it was at Lakota.”
“But what made it collapse?” Geary demanded.
Lieutenant Iger was asking the same question at that moment. “Commander, were there Alliance warships in Kalixa Star System when its hypernet gate collapsed?”
“She’s considering a lie, Lieutenant,” the chief reported. “No. Going for truth.”
“No,” the Syndic officer said.
“Which warships were near the hypernet gate when it collapsed, then?”
“There weren’t any warships near it!” the Syndic screamed, her nerves suddenly breaking at the memories. “Nothing was near it! It just began collapsing, its tethers failing! A merchant ship elsewhere in the star system had seen images, from… from Lakota, and it sent out warnings. It asked for help. Everyone started asking for help! We were far out, near the jump point for Atalia. We went bow on and reinforced our shields and we barely survived! Kalixa…” She took a deep breath and shuddered. “It’s gone. Everything. Everybody. Dead. Gone.”