Fall of the Terran Empire - Traci Ganner series book 1

FTE - Ch 21

 “Admiral, you need to see this, sir,” Pirelli said.

Admiral Pearson walked over to the intelligence console. Commodore Santos and Lieutenant Commander Fox were already looking over the data displayed on the terminal.

“We think we have found how Captain Ganner is able to covertly communicate with the Orions, sir,” Pirelli said. “I had Commander Fox study all of her movements for the past two weeks, since you placed her under watch. She varies her pattern slightly, to the gym on this day or to the observation deck on that day, but she has one distinct place she always goes. Commander?”

“Yes, sir,” Fox said. “As you can see here, sir, she always goes to the galley, followed by a visit to the hydroponics lab or library for reading. Innocent enough in itself, but if you look closer at the data, you will note two anomalies.”

Pearson grunted, indicating that he had bitten and was ready to see the facts.

“First, she always checks this portion of the galley menu. It seems innocent enough, until you take note that the menu items are part of the food shipments. Petty Officer McGrew just takes them as they come in and posts them. So I requisitioned the originals from Izar station and compared them. There is a subtle difference, here.”

Fox opened both menu sections and displayed them side by side. He then ran his finger over the text and highlighted a very subtle difference in wording. Under the peanut-free section of the menu, some of the wording was slightly out of order and different by several letters.

“One the surface, there appears to be no difference, but Captain Ganner seems to find this very interesting.”

“Do you know what the message is?”

“No, sir, we haven’t been able to crack the code yet. Lieutenant Ferguson and I are working on some algorithms that look promising, sir.”

“Alright, keep working on it. Don’t disrupt the flow of information, but let me know the minute you crack this thing. And keep it quiet.”

* * *

As Ganner went to read the menu in the galley, she scanned down the page, looking for the encrypted pass code. Unscrambling the code in her mind, she decoded two words: “Compromised. Extraction.”

She frowned in concentration and then stole a glance at her marine shadow. It would have been nice if the message had included an extraction plan or timetable, but her brain was already in motion. Making up her mind, she continued on her route to the hydroponics bay. Picking up some gardening gloves, she walked over and inspected the Lupid bushes. Feeling in the soft earth with her gloved hands, she carefully extracted four worms, placing them into a clear glass tube. The worms were a natural defense for the plant, with stingers capable of injecting a dangerous neurotoxin to deter predators. Not normally fatal to humans, the worm’s venom could be used as a tranquilizer if distilled properly. There wasn’t time for that, so she would have to improvise.

On the next row, she extracted the berries from a few of the mistletoe plants she had grown. After crushing the berries into the glass jar, she placed the jar into her pocket. She then pretended to examine a number of plants and trees, and bypassed her normal routine of reading.

Back in her quarters, the young marine corporal was being relieved by Private Jimmy Savannah for third watch. Over the past week she had carefully noted the habits of the different marine escorts. For example, Private Savannah always came in and helped himself to a cup of coffee from Ganner’s cabin dispenser. Somehow it was his way of making her feel uncomfortable without breaking the rules. To make his task easier, she kept cups washed and ready on the rack.