(… continuing)

Marr and Mentor waited for Dukk and Luna to leave the med bay. When they were out of earshot, Marr activated her bracelet. Mentor noticed and did the same.
“You didn't show any emotion at the mention of the nano drone?” Marr asked.
“So?”
“You knew about it?”
“No, but it fits.”
“So you didn't know about it, but you were pretty quick to respond. Bazzer said you were already in the transport bay when he got there. You must have been close.”
“Yes, I was paying attention. After what you told me about what Joantyi said, I knew I had to be on hand.”
“You think it was her?”
“Either her or Larony.”
“Not the observers?”
Mentor looked over from his tidying up of the med lab and raised his eyebrows.
“Point taken. What about the two Mayfield soldiers?”
“No, not them. Best not ask any more about that. Or, look into it.”
“Okay. So, are Joantyi and Larony a bigger threat now? Does something need to be done?”
“No, Marr, I think they will lay low and watch their backs. The rescue response was too quick. I had no choice. They will now be on alert. They must know I was watching them and alert to the possibility of an attack. Which I was.”
“How do you mean too quick? Dukk is quite relaxed about it. I listened to the recordings. They were even making jokes before you got to them.”
“Dukk is making light of the risk they were in. I gather to protect Luna from further stress. Dukk would have known that they were in grave danger of breaking atmosphere. I barely got to them in time.”
“Oh,” Marr replied in a quiet tone. She paused for a moment then spoke up again.
“If you knew something might happen during the EVA, you deliberately put Luna, and me, for that matter, at risk!” Marr said angrily.
“No, Marr. I suspected something might happen. But I did not deliberately put anyone at risk. I also had to protect my cover. You are also forgetting your training. And, Luna’s. You two are very capable. I must trust in that too. Besides, did you see how quickly Dukk responded. He is more capable than one might expect for a haulier. He has skills too. Perhaps skills he isn’t even fully aware of.”
“Is that something I shouldn’t ask more about also?”
“Yes. We good?”
“Yes, Mentor. I apologise for questioning your judgement.”
“No problem, Marr. Remember your training. Remember your mission.”
“I will.”

With the crew gathered at the table, Dukk sat down. He activated his bracelet and started to speak.
“This morning’s incident was disturbing. Clearly someone on this rig is behind it. However, we are not going to investigate it further at this stage.”
Dukk looked around the table. Luna looked shocked. Marr looked curious. Annee sat back with a disappointed expression. Bazzer and Mentor looked on with blank expressions.
“For those of us who have been in this situation before, we know that if we investigate it further while out here, we put the perpetrator under pressure. Investigating may push them into a corner. There is no where for them to go. Feeling trapped they might escalate things and that puts us all at risk. Be on alert, but we go about normal activities. This rig is a powder keg. We don’t want to give the perpetrator the reason to light the fuse. Observe anything unusual, and bring it to me directly and immediately. I want no heroes. Clear?”
No one said anything.
“I want to hear it! Clear?” Dukk repeated.
“Clear,” came the response from all.

Dukk waited a moment for that to sink in. He then continued, “Okay then, lets get back to it. We have repairs to do and we now have a transport pod and equipment to fix.”
“Speaking of repairs. The survey of the rig didn’t find much. Just a couple of heat shield panels are misaligned. It won’t matter until Mayfield and it would be easier to repair them at the hub in Maple Tower. And, the damage to the transport pod is largely cosmetic. Mentor lowered the back seats and caught you two nearly perfectly in the space provided. And, in terms of equipment, I’ve done an inventory of broken components. I’ll get them printed and assembled over the course of the day. We will be back to a full complement of suits and packs by the time we traverse again tomorrow morning,” Bazzer said confidently.
“Well, looks like I am superfluous at this stage,” Dukk laughed.
“Some rest would be a good idea before you try to be less superfluous. And, Luna, I’d suggest the same for you. If you go and rest now, you’ll get a solid three hours before you are back on watch,” Mentor said in a commanding tone.
“I like your thinking, Mentor,” Dukk answered.
“Me too,” added Luna.

Dukk stood up, but didn’t leave the table. He nodded at Annee and Bazzer. They stood up, but didn’t move off immediately. The others took the hint, got up and left.
“Anything you want to say?” Dukk said to them both.
“Nope, other than I felt you handled it well. It is the right approach in my mind,” Bazzer stated immediately.
Dukk nodded and looked at Annee. She stared back at him.
“I am worried that we are in over our heads. A nano drone capable of that stunt, would be expensive. Not something you’d happily send off into space,” Annee said eventually.
“Agreed, even more the reason to be very cautious and not create any further waves.”
“How can you be sure it wasn’t the new crew?”
“Only Mentor was alone when it happened. It doesn’t add up that he then put his life at risk to rescue us. It wasn’t them. Besides, I already made it clear, we aren’t going to investigate this any further. We sit on it for now. Maple Tower will give us some more options.”
“Okay,” Annee concluded reluctantly.
“Good. By the way, how did you get on with letting Joantyi know we’d not be able to accommodate her or Larony onto Mayfield?” Dukk added.
“I called to her cabin after the incident. She was dismissive. She appeared to not care.”
“Interesting. Let’s stay alert.”
“Definitely.”

(to be continued...)

[Rule of Twelve, Double Take, Chapter 16 - Docking (Passage 2 of 5)]

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