Page 32 of Neverwylde 6
Chapter 15
Sanctuary
Colonel Pfeiffer ran his fingers over his closely-cropped hair and stared again at the readouts on his display. Swiping a hand over the screen, he checked each set of answered questions. More importantly, his eyes kept dropping to the final evaluations inserted by the computer after each interrogation.
ALL RESPONSES TRUTHFUL.
NO DEVIATION OR DECEPTION NOTED.
NO MENTAL OR PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS NOTED.
The door to his office chimed. “Enter,” he snapped, and the portal slid to the side.
Lieutenant Colonel Williamsburg strode in without pausing to salute. When one worked side-by-side for months on end, such formalities were often excused on a daily basis and only brought back into use for formal occasions. Williamsburg stopped by the side of the colonel’s desk and glanced at the screen. “I take it you’ve seen the reports,” the man quipped.
Pfeiffer rolled his eyes up at the man. After a moment, he sighed and leaned back in his chair, motioning for the man to also take a seat. “Talk to me.”
Williamsburg spread his hands. “What can I say? The reports speak for themselves. And frankly, Colonel, I was blown away by their story.”
“Did anything in particular stick out?”
“You want a list?” Williamsburg held up a finger. “One, and this is the biggie. These people all told the same story, and it is one hundred percent true. Two, the isotope named Dox allowed us to examine and scan the little creature named Five. There is no record anywhere,anywhere,of such a species. On top of that, Five is highly intelligent. Dr. Smallwood even noted Five may have an equivalent IQ of one hundred four. Tad, I personally know people I’ve served under who don’t have that high an IQ.”
“Same here. Go on.”
A third finger went up. “Physical scans show their bodies contain elements we can’t identify. Where else would they have gotten those elements if they didn’t consume native plants and animals from that so-called nonexistent world? In addition, the woman has traces of a poison in her bloodstream we can’t isolate. She was questioned about it, and she claims she was attacked by creatures called clickers.”
Pfeiffer waved a hand. “Forget four and five. You’ve made your point. So what’s your opinion?”
Williamsburg snorted. “You’re joking, right?”
“I want your thoughts. Like the guy said, the ball’s in our court. If you were in my shoes, what would you do?”
The lieutenant colonel leaned forward, propping his elbows on his thighs and lacing his fingers together. “First off, I’d grant these people clemency. I’d open this outpost to provide them sanctuary.”
“What about the Seneecians?”
“When they contact us again, tell them we’d refused to allow the escapees on board, and they left the sector.”
“You do realize their shuttle is still sitting in Bay Nine,” Pfeiffer reminded him. “They could have a tracer on it. In fact, I’m betting they do. If we tell them we sent that crew on their way, they’d know we were lying.”
“Then we tell them the Seneecians are our prisoners, and are being dealt with under Terran law.”
“Again, we’re walking a very fine diplomatic line. Why not give them the Seneecians?”
“Because you know as well as I do that they won’t be satisfied with just getting back their own people. They’re going to want the Terrans as well.” Williamsburg grinned. “Checkmate in three moves.”
The door chimed again. At Pfeiffer’s response, Major Baffrey strode in and took the only other empty chair at Pfeiffer’s silent motion.
“Let me guess. You’re here to discuss the results of the reports,” the colonel remarked.
“In part. I’m here because of a new development.”
The other two officers gave him surprised looks. “Oh?” Williamsburg said.
“I just got the message. It should be on your screen,” the major noted.
Pfeiffer checked his terminal, found the unread message, and opened it. What he read made the hairs on his head stand on end. “Holy shit.”
