"As you stated in your previous response, you were associated with Vice Admiral Fletcher. What sort of association was that?" the speaker asked.

"That is not what I said," Alexander responded.

"W-what? You just said so a few minutes ago," the speaker stated.

Alexander sighed. "No. What you asked was if I had dealings with him. And I said I did."

"That implies an association, Mr. Kane."

"Not to me. I had dealings with the Vice Admiral for services; they were cold, impersonal transactions, and that was all. The way you are implying an association makes me think that you believe there was a deeper connection between me and Fletcher. There wasn't."

The speaker frowned, but continued. "We will circle back around to that later. What was the nature of your dealings with the Vice Admiral?"

"You can circle back around to that original question all you want, my answer won't change. As for your follow-up question, I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to disclose that information."

"And why not?" the speaker asked indignantly.

"Contractual obligations," Alexander responded.

Before the speaker could continue, the group of four Admirals motioned for him, and the man walked over. The group had a quiet discussion that even Alexander couldn't overhear.

The discussion broke up, and Admiral Dufresne spoke. "Anyone without level seven security clearance, vacate the room."

Alexander watched the room clear of almost everyone, apart from a few individuals in attendance, the Admirals, and the speaker.

Once the doors shut, Dufresne gestured for the speaker to continue.

"Were you granted security clearance by the Vice Admiral?" the man asked.

"No," Alexander stated truthfully, making the man glance back toward the group of Admirals.

"You were aware of the top secret projects that took place in Varlen, though, weren't you?" Dufresne asked.

The speaker bristled slightly at Dufresne taking over the conversation, but the man quickly got control of himself.

"If you are referring to project Erebus and project Nyx, then yes," Alexander replied, seeing no need to hide the fact.

"I suppose it should have been obvious, especially with Krieger joining BSE, but you were the party that returned the Epsilon's Dawn to Varlen."

Alexander nodded his avatar at Dufresne's follow-up question. "I returned the ship and the surviving crew."

Seeing a new direction to take, the speaker took control of the inquiry once more. "By your own admission, you had access to classified STO tech. What did you do while that technology was in your possession?"

"I don't see how that's relevant to the inquiry," Alexander responded, squashing the speaker's obvious desire to pin him into a corner.

"I assu-"

Before the man could even get a few words out, he was cut off by Admiral Util. "Mr. Kane is correct. There may need to be an investigation into the leak of classified information later, but that is neither here nor now. Stay on topic."

"As you wish, Admiral," the speaker stated calmly. "Mr. Kane, did your dealings with Fletcher revolve around either the Erebus or Nyx projects?"

"Yes," came Alexander's one-word response.

"Can you elaborate?" the man asked in annoyance.

"No. Like I stated before, I cannot discuss that because I am under contractual obligations."

The speaker huffed. "The STO is willing to go on record that they will nullify any contractual obligations you might have had with Vice Admiral Fletcher. Will that satisfy you?"

"While that is appreciated, my contract with the Vice Admiral was concluded long before his death, and the STO doesn't have the authority to nullify my existing contract that prevents me from discussing what you wish to know."

When Alexander was negotiating with Omni over the pulsed fusion issue, he had added certain stipulations to the contract that neither side would be allowed to discuss any of the sales or purchases of those thrusters. Omni probably thought it was a mistake on his end because it highly favored them, but Alexander had added the wording specifically to block any discussion around his work with Fletcher.

Undeterred, the speaker pushed for more information. "And who would have that power?"

"I'm not at liberty to disclose that information," Alexander said with a smile.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Alwaysreadatthesource—MV@LEMP@YR.

Hitting a brick wall, the inquiry broke for recess. Before Alexander could get up to leave, Admiral Dufresne approached him. "Could I have a moment of your time, Mr. Kane?"

Alexander nodded his avatar and followed the man to an adjacent office. The room was bare of any decoration besides an STO logo on the wall behind the desk.

"I would offer you a seat, but the chair would not survive. Stand or sit on the floor if you wish; this won't take long," the man said as he sat behind the desk.

Alexander chose to stand.

The pair simply stared at each other for an awkward few seconds before Dufresne broke the silence. "I heard a rumor that you are starting up an FTL communication assembly plant on Earth."

"Straight to the point, then," Alexander remarked.

He wondered who had spilled the beans; there were only two possibilities. In the end, it didn't matter if it was Young or Coronado; it made approaching the STO about the issue easier.

"I believe cutting through the bullshit is important, and I have a feeling you feel the same way."

"I do. What else have you heard about it?" Alexander asked.

"That it is far cheaper than the Qcomm and far smaller, but those are just rumors. I wish to hear the truth from you."

As much as Alexander would have loved to have a model to show the man, he would have to rely on the holo. He reached into one of his pouches and pulled out the tiny holo display and the data chip that held the same image he had shown the NAA representatives.

The Admiral studied the slowly rotating image for a moment before motioning Alexander to put it away once more. Then he leaned back in the chair to ponder something for a few minutes before speaking once more. "You understand how disruptive that will be."

It was a statement more than a question, but Alexander nodded anyway. "Qcomm had ample opportunity to innovate, but they chose not to. Now I am."

"That is true," Dufresne stated flatly, "but it doesn't change my previous statement. You are a disruptive influence, Mr. Kane."

Alexander shrugged. "I do what I feel like I need to. Why should I bow to outside interests?"

"I never said you should. In fact, I asked you in here to talk about purchasing some of your Kcomms if the rumors turned out to be true."

"Isn't that a conflict of interest, considering my involvement in the ongoing inquiry?"

"The Admirals… most of them, agreed to overlook that issue. We would have preferred to close out the investigation into Fletcher's death and move on to more pressing matters months ago, but certain interested parties are pushing for your inclusion in the matter."

Alexander let out an amused snort at the Admiral's roundabout way of saying someone wanted to see him become the scapegoat.

"I don't suppose you could share who those parties might be?" Alexander asked.

"I'm afraid not. Even if I could, it would only be speculation on my part as to who was pushing this agenda."

"Thank you for the heads up, and thank you for curtailing Willard's actions. You probably saved the moron's life."

Dufresne didn't seem surprised by the first statement, but the second certainly caught his attention. "What do you mean?"

Alexander told the man about the attempts on Willard's life. He could have kept that information to himself, but Dufresne seemed like a decent enough person, and someone within the STO should know what happened.

"I see," the Admiral said darkly. "I knew there was an agenda behind sending Willard out there, but I figured that ended with his failure to make you kill him. To think they would go so far as to murder a Vice Admiral."

"Why wouldn't they?" Alexander asked. "They murdered Fletcher, unless you think I had something to do with that?"

Dufresne shook his head slowly. "It's different with Willard."

"Because he's nobility? What a crock of shit."

"You may not like it, Kane, but powerful people enjoy certain advantages. That's just the way things are, but enough about Willard." Dufresne pulled a tablet out from a drawer in the desk and handed it over. "A contract for Kcomms. Take it with you and read it over. You don't need to sign it today, or even before the inquiry ends, but we would prefer an answer before you leave Earth."

"What about Util's declaration that an investigation be launched into my access to classified information?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about Util. His territory is currently under attack by Xin's forces, and he will likely have to go before the STO Chairman to explain why he wasn't doing a better job at monitoring his section of the border."

"That doesn't answer my question," Alexander added.

Dufresne sighed. "As far as I am concerned, your access to the Epsilon's Dawn's wreck is no different than a scavenger discovering a derelict ship. It's less than ideal, but that's what happens when weapons are used."

"That's a more reasoned response than I anticipated from someone in the STO," Alexander replied. "Can you speak for the other Admirals on that matter?"

"You would do well to not think of everyone in power within the STO as idiots or corporate shills, Mr. Kane. That sort of thinking will cause you to underestimate an opponent, and some would gladly take advantage of that blind spot. I can't speak for the other admirals, but none of us want conflict, except maybe Util."

"Why him?" Alexander asked. His few interactions with Util hadn't been terrible, all things considered.

Dufresne looked at him a moment before replying. "Util was the one who initially pushed for the inquiry; he also issued the orders to send Willard out to Unokane."

"I see," Alexander stated in annoyance. If what Dufresne said was true, that meant Util was a pawn of Omni. "Why are you helping me anyway? Does it have anything to do with Chairman Rush's visit?"

"Rush did mention you, but that has nothing to do with how I'm treating you."

Now that was a surprise. Alexander expected a similar response to how the UEC reacted.

"Thank you for the advice, I will keep that in mind," Alexander responded.

The man nodded and gestured to the door. Alexander understood a dismissal when he saw one. He returned the nod and walked out of the room to wait for the inquiry to begin again. At least he had some reading material to go over. The contract was much more involved than the one he signed with Fletcher, so he was going to take his time going over it in detail.

The rest of the inquiry dragged out for another six hours with multiple breaks in between hour-long sessions. The speaker kept trying to pin Alexander into a corner, but the longer the meeting went on, the more Alexander realized they had absolutely nothing to connect him with Fletcher's death, which was pretty much what he expected going into the meeting. Still, he thought they would have at least tried to fabricate some evidence against him after going through so much trouble to get him here.

With an annoyed glare, the speaker thanked him for attending.

Alexander had expected the inquiry to drag on for days or weeks, but it seemed like the STO was in a hurry, which suited him just fine. He got up from the table and nodded toward the Admirals.

He would have sent a message to Galloway to return and pick him up, but the man had already reached out to let him know they were on their way back and should arrive in a few minutes.

He made his way to the front of the building and rejoined his guards. They waited inside until he heard the unmistakable sound of a shuttle coming in for a landing, then they made their way outside.

Now, all he had left to do on Earth was wait until the manufacturing centers were up and running, then they could finally head home.