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The shuttle had seen better days. Indeed it was fortunate that it had been able to make the long trip back to Earth at all considering the lack of spare parts that plagued William Boone's off world Resistance movement. Duct tape, it seemed, did not work well on Taelon technology. The shuttle wobbled precariously as it entered the upper atmosphere, several systems threatening to shut down too soon. The pilot, however, was skilled enough to control the crash.
It might have been possible to restore the shuttle to the condition that the Taelons had kept it in, but that was not to be. After grabbing his jacket and a scratched lightweight silver painted suitcase, the pilot armed a hidden cache of explosives that had been kept for this purpose in special crates in the rear of the shuttle.
Five minutes later he was gone, having melted effortlessly into the woods, and the shuttle exploded into a spectacular fireball.
* * *
Ronald Sandoval blinked at what the Volunteer showed him and felt a growing sense of dread that he was careful to camouflage. He knew that he must not show any particular recognition, much less apprehension, at the shuttle's markings. The implants provided to Volunteers gave them exceptional recall.
"This shuttle was reported as being destroyed after failing rudimentary maintenance checks on its primary systems in such a way that it was deemed a dangerous vessel." Volunteer Alyssa Briand informed him confidently. At one time he might have demoted Volunteer Briand for the incident in Peru, but he had found himself impressed with her forbearance and tenacity. He almost smiled at the memory of how she glared at the camera crew with such intensity that they actually took a step back. After he returned to the Mothership he decided that she would become his new assistant. He had put off searching for another after the public revelation of Lili Marquette's true loyalties, but Volunteer Briand quickly proved herself more than capable of filling the former Marine Captain's shoes.
This time his assistant was his assistant, not a carry over from another implant. Unlike Marquette, Briand knew exactly who had elevated her to her current position and repaid her appreciation with her most valuable coin - loyalty.
"Who reported it destroyed?" Sandoval asked for form, though he already knew what the maintenance records would read. After the crackdown he'd ordered one of his hackers to make a few careful alterations to some of the older records that would lay the blame in other directions should anything of this nature happen. He had yet to introduce Briand to his agenda - with both Zo'or and T'than constantly hovering over his shoulder he'd been forced to back off from much of his direct involvement. This shuttle could either expose his plans, or handled correctly, it could provide a needed distraction and draw attention away from his plans.
"Volunteer Amanda Haynes," Briand said in a voice that was almost a sneer, "the traitor." Marquette's loyalty to the Resistance had been a blow, but not quite as much as Haynes, she had been one of the Volunteers' own.
Sandoval nodded, making a mental note to commend his hacker. This was perfect, if he could tie this into the Resistance then any future appearances by shuttles used in his agenda would be attributed to Doors' group by default. "Very good, Ms. Briand, keep me informed." He said and started to walk away.
"There is one more thing, sir," Briand said. "We have yet to find any trace of remains, so it is likely whoever was aboard the shuttle is still alive. The explosion destroyed any trace DNA evidence, but an eyewitness saw a tall man running from the shuttle and into the woods just prior to the explosion."
"A tall man?" Sandoval said with just a trace of condensation. "Could your eyewitness be more specific?"
Briand shook her head. "It was dark and the witness only saw him from a distance."
"Thank you, Ms. Briand."
A tall man? Sandoval had sent thousands to the hospital via the portals and a handful on shuttles, a convenient way to keep their small fleet up, and many would match that description. Those included William Boone and Liam Kincaid.
If Boone or my son show up and are seen, everything might be lost, Sandoval thought. He glanced down at his new skrill, Peregrine, and swallowed hard. Boone he could kill, but Liam? He hoped it was not a situation that he would ever have to face.
He walked to the embassy shuttle and ordered the pilot to take him to the Mothership, unaware that he had been watched the entire time.
* * *
"He is up to something." Augur said, folding his arms over his chest and nodding slightly at the screen which was currently depicting a Taelon shuttle entering ID space.
"Ronald Sandoval is always up to something, the question is what," Doors said as he paced the room. "I have a feeling that this is part of whatever agenda he has been running behind his Taelon master's backs."
"If it does tie into his agenda, then Sandoval will do everything in his power to throw suspicion on someone else and let's face it: the Resistance is the only real target for that suspicion." Lili pointed out. "But we may have a way of finding out before Sandoval."
"How so?" Doors asked.
"That explosion came after the crash, by several minutes, and Briand's eyewitness saw someone walking away. From my read on his face, and I worked with the man for years so I know how to read him fairly well, this was a rather unwelcome surprise. He also did not seem that surprised when Briand mentioned Amanda." Lili said.
"He probably had the records fixed." Augur commented. "I do it all the time, but Amanda doesn't deserve to have her death used like this by the likes of Ronald Sandoval."
"Like it or not, using her is exactly what he has done and if the Taelons dig deep enough they might learn of our shuttle operations. We cannot afford to have exposed." Doors stated bluntly. "I've got more than just the person who planted this camera watching that site. We will be kept informed of recent developments and use them to find the pilot before Sandoval. I contacted Renee just as soon as Solomon told me about the crash. We'll find him."
* * *
"How is it that the shuttle was reported destroyed only to reappear as a wreck on Earth over a year later?" Zo'or demanded of his implant.
Sandoval had an answer ready. An advantage of a CVI's enhanced memory was the ability to recall lies and to step accordingly. "It was reported destroyed by Volunteer Amanda Haynes. During the Regulus campaign we discovered that Haynes was a Resistance agent, indeed it was she who sabotaged the portals used to move troops to the front."
"So," Zo'or considered his protector's words, "the Resistance has once again demonstrated their incompetence. This marks the second time they have absconded with one of our shuttles only to destroy it through their own stupidity. And what of the pilot?"
"We have a witness who saw someone leaving the crash site to the explosion."
"Find him. T'than seeks to use this incident to discredit me."
Sandoval was perplexed. "But the shuttle was reported destroyed when Quo'on was still the leader of the Synod."
"Yes, but I did not rectify or even notice his lapses in security," Zo'or said. "Use every resource available to you to find the pilot; suspend all over activities not directly related to my security until he is brought before me."
Damn, Sandoval thought, but he nodded and left the bridge to order the Volunteers to scour the area for the pilot.
* * *
He had been walking for quite some time before he reached civilization and could call a cab to take him to a car rental place.
The manager studied the tall man with the muscular build and startled at his bedraggled look before smiling sympathetically. "Did your car break down?"
The man shook his head in the negative, his green eyes sparkled with reluctant humor at his situation. "Girlfriend and I had a fight...and it was her car. I was just glad she was willing to drop me off relatively close to town."
The manager chuckled sympathetically. "Where you heading?"
"Well, we were on vacation, but right now I've had enough of the sites and want to get home. I live in Washington."
"Let's see about fixing you up with something."
* * *
Da'an was tired.
Zo'or and T'than seemed to have no qualms about pulling him into the middle of their powers struggles, things looked ever more grim for Earth each day, and Agent Sandoval had been not at all forthcoming whenever he broached the subject of Liam. Had he not felt his protector's continued presence in the Commonality, Da'an would have been forced to believe the implant.
He stared out the window at Washington, DC, and thus did not see the intruder slip into the office until he turned away from the view. When he at last saw his uninvited visitor he blushed and immediately clamped down on his connection to the Commonality lest the other Taelons wonder about his sudden shock and decide to investigate. Fortunately they were too engrossed in the delicate building and crumbling of alliances around Zo'or and T'than to pay much heed to his mood.
"You are believed to be dead," Da'an said.
His visitor smiled. "I know."
"How did you gain entrance to the embassy?" Da'an asked, genuinely curious.
"The underground tunnels. I did spend over a year as your protector and know all the over ride codes for the security system," Liam Kincaid reminded him pleasantly.
"I believe that we have much to discuss," the Taelon said.
"Indeed," laughed Liam. "Very much."