Chapter X
Howard rubbed his eyes, turning to see Gavis still hard at work. Glancing at the clock, he remembered today would be the day they pulled out of this system. "Hey why don't you relax; we're soon going to be long out of here," he said looking at Gavis. "Unlike you, I am going to use every last second we have for work," Gavis answered, still focused on the display. "Hurray and rapture; I'll be in my quarters until you're ready, your worship," Howard said, standing up. "Sit down, navigator," Felth's voice said as he entered the room. "Aw, what for?" Howard said to him as he neared Gavis. "Because we pull out of here now. Those Imperials could be here at any second, you know," Felth said sternly. "You know I need more time! There still is a possibility of sabotage. We can't leave yet!" Gavis pleaded. "It's out of your hands now. You did the best you could," Felth said, shaking his head. "Those Imperials may not be coming at all if I find out they were framed," Gavis persisted, standing up. "If we stay here and they do come, we'd be sitting ducks," Felth said. "Give me one more hour then, that's all I ask!" Gavis said. "I've made my decision. Howard, take us into hyperspace," Felth said, heading to his seat. "Sir, come on..." Howard began. "That's an order! To both of you," he said glaring at Gavis. "Yes, sir," Howard said, sighing and reaching for the lever. "All stations stand by," Felth voiced over the intercom.
The stars stretched into lines as the ship went into hyperspace. "It'll be two hours before we reach the rendezvous with the team," Felth said, standing. "Until then, we need a plan on what we do once we get to Despayre," Gavis suggested. "Thank you, but I'll leave that up to the superior officers of the force. I'll be in my quarters," Felth said, leaving.
"What's with him?" Howard asked. "I challenged his orders, it's that simple," Gavis replied. "Yeah, but your request wasn't an inappropriate one. We still would've left before the Imperials came," Howard said. "Unless he was afraid I would find sabotage..." Gavis said thoughtfully. "What do you mean?" the other asked. "Let's put the pieces together, shall we?" Gavis said, turning to him. "Felth accepts my accusations on Davis with little question. He then imprisons Cracken for little or no reason and is reluctant to promote me. Now he rejects all possibility that Davis could be innocent, commanding us to leave well before any Imperial could arrive. What would this imply to you?" Gavis asked. "You mean Felth's the saboteur?" Howard gasped. "Yes, it all adds up. He wanted me to stop my work, perhaps because I was getting too close to the truth for comfort," Gavis said, rubbing his chin. "That would mean Davis is innocent!" Howard said. "I doubt that highly. Perhaps this is all a charade, and Felth imprisoned Davis hoping we'd back off from their plan," Ideji said, turning to his display. "What're you going to do?" Howard asked, standing up from his seat. "Finish my work; if Felth and Davis really are spies then that means this sabotage idea was only a ploy to get us off track..." Gavis said, pausing. "But there's no way we can prove that!" Howard said. "Yes there is... remember how were to meet the team in a few hours?" Gavis asked. "Yeah," Howard answered.
"Felth might have made a transmission to the Imperials during our jump to hyperspace, something that could not be traced unless..." Gavis said, turning back to his display again. "Unless what?" the other said, leaning over his shoulder. "Unless Felth's transmission for all stations to standby was not only broadcast on our ship, but also to the Imperials and was encrypted," Gavis said, typing away. "That's a wild guess, though!" Howard said. "It's better than nothing. Do you have anything better?" Gavis asked. "Nope, but how can we find anything on an coded message?" Howard asked, standing back. "I'm a mercenary; if there's sabotage, I will find it," Gavis answered. "Right. Too close for comfort... you keep at that. I need some rest," Howard yawned. "Howard, make sure Felth is not aware of what we've learned. Can I count on you to do this?" Gavis asked. "Sure thing, major. See you in a few hours with your results," he said, turning to the exit. "If there are any, I will be the one to uncover them. You can be sure of that," Ideji said off in the distance as Howard left the bridge.