Deadly Betrayal Read Free Page B

disliked me at first sight and I could never figure out why. Of course she had to be on the bridge the second time I visited it in my life.
    I glanced at the damage reports still coming in from all over the ship. A miracle we were still alive.
    Adam turned to a young man. “Try to locate the captain. If he’s on that ship, we need to know where.”
    He fixed his eyes on the rank insignia Blake gave me and frowned. “Lieutenant, over here.”
    I got to my feet and obeyed, but muttered, “It wasn’t my idea. I did not intend to be recruited when I woke up this morning.”
    Adam stood by the far wall with his arms crossed. “We have enemies out there and enemies in here. Suggestions?”
    I shook my head. We would have had a chance in a fair fight, but not with the ship being destroyed from the inside.
    “I think it’s reasonable to assume other ships are being sabotaged as well.” His voice was quiet. These words were not meant for the crew.
    “Which means there won’t be any help coming.”
    He nodded.
    As much as I thought, I still didn’t have any ideas. “Can we sabotage them back? Send something over?”
    “No, their shields are still up, but that gives me an idea.” He took one of the symbols from his uniform and attached it to me. “Field promotion. Lieutenant Commander, you have the ship.”
    He said the last words in a loud voice, so everyone would hear.
    I hissed, “No. Stop doing that.”
    No use objecting; he was already heading for the door.
    I understood the point: right now anyone could be a traitor and he needed someone who wouldn’t give the ship away with a big red bow on it, but I was not a good choice.
    Many pairs of eyes stared at me. These people were terrified.
    I was afraid too, but that didn’t matter.
    “He’ll be back. Resume whatever you were doing.”
    It took less than a minute before a woman approached me. “Ma’am… Sir… I have intercepted messages from other ships. The Amazon had an explosion in the engine room. The Kentucky reports problems with the Tokamak field. The Durango intercepted saboteurs before they could cause any major damage. She is on her way, but won’t arrive for another fourteen hours.”
    “Thank you. Good job.”
    Fourteen hours. It could just as well be a lifetime. We would need a miracle to last one hour.
    Where had Adam gone off to, and why wasn’t he coming back? It hadn’t been that long, but roaming off in a crisis wasn’t his style. And why didn’t we hear anything back from engineering?
    Adam’s voice rang on the bridge. “Lieutenant Commander Smith, I need you on deck four, section seven A.”
    I shook my head. He clearly got a kick out of calling me a rank.
    Not funny.
    I headed for the door but paused when I sensed them all stare at me.
    Who was next in the chain of command? It didn’t really matter since we weren’t going anywhere and the situation was grim enough to use me, but I could at least try. Having someone in charge would make them feel better.
    When I made a real effort I did recognize the rank insignia. “You.” I pointed to a woman with red hair. “Your turn. Call me, or even better Adam if something happens.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    They were uncertain of what to call me. Good thing, because I didn’t have a clue. Proper military protocol had not been a part of my upbringing.

Chapter Three
     
    Adam stood staring into space through a force field. The Grendl loomed in the distance, probably many miles away, but still much too close.
    I took his insignia off my shirt and put it back where it belonged.
    He said, “You need those.”
    “No I don’t. You do.”
    My words brought a small smile to his lips, but he didn’t look happy.
    “This is the plan. I’m putting up another force field right here. I will be on that side, and you will be on this side. When I run in that direction, you turn the outer field off.”
    “What?”
    He held up a small, black box. “Their shields deflect energy and objects moving at