The Seeds of Time Read Online Free PDF Page B

remote.”
    “Remote? It’s rotting near impossible!”
    Clio blurted out, “Well, we
were
aiming for it. Sir.” This seemed to her somewhat funny, so that she started to smile, then wiped it.
    “There’s another explanation, of course.” Meres started through his papers again.
    Clio waited, cocking her head slightly.
    He glanced up. “That
Starhawk
had been sitting in orbit around that moon for quite a while before you woke up.”
    “That’s not how it was, sir.”
    “Well, what else are you going to say?” Meres snorted, shaking his head.
    They don’t have anything
, Clio thought. He’s just trying to make me squirm. BTM hearings have a reputation to uphold, he’s gotta make that bitch squirm.
    Brisher now joined in. “Clio. Lieutenant Finn. Biotimewill support you if you’ve got a problem. Biotime stands by its own. You know that.”
    “Yes, Mr. Brisher. And I appreciate that. We all do.”
    Meres closed his files, keeping out one sheet of paper. “You took a blood or urine sample?” This to Russo.
    A trickle of acid eroded down Clio’s insides.
    “Yes. Standard procedure. That’s the lab report, that you have there.”
    Meres scowled. “Yes, it is, isn’t it? And everything looks in order on paper.”
    Clio kept her face under control with a supreme effort. Lab report?
In order
, did he say?
    “That being so, you might not object to drawing a confirming sample.” His eyes clicked up to meet Clio’s.
    Russo’s voice was quiet, gracious.
“I’d
object to that.”
    Meres swung on her. “I don’t think I understand what your objection might be, Captain Russo.”
    “It impugns the good-faith effort Lieutenant Finn has made in cooperating with this investigation. Until there’s reason to suspect her veracity, I’d object to the test as giving the appearance of wrongdoing.”
    “The only effort Lieutenant Finn has made to cooperate with this investigation is to give blood while she was unconscious and show up for this hearing.”
    “Which is all she’s required to do, under her contract,” Russo said.
    Brisher chimed in. “Technically, that’s true, Gerry.”
    Meres swung his head to look at this attack on his flank.
    Russo was busy taking notes, not looking up, most pointedly not looking up.
    Clio watched this tableau with astonishment. She was going to win. They were making a stink over the blood test, a simple blood test, that any innocent person would be happy to provide.
    Brisher heaved his shoulders up in a shrug. “That’s the way of things sometimes, Gerry. Accidents happen. Hard to blame the crew. Just doing their job, you know.” Brisher smiled as he said this, always a bad sign.
    Then she had it. Brisher was scared. He was so sweet and polite, seemed like his shit didn’t stink. Biotime wasn’t giving BTM any handholds on the Crippen mission. Everyone was going to stick together, so that nothing stuck to Biotime. Russo too, Russo was in it up to her tits.
    Meres tapped his pencil, looking from one to the other. “You may be right, Ellison.” He looked at his watch. Then began pulling his papers into a stack. “I’m going to close this file—for now—and I hope I don’t see any of you around this table again for a long time.” He looked at Russo. “Think you could arrange that, Captain?”
    Russo took time to stare blackly at Meres. “Could be arranged. Yes.”
    “Good.” Meres rose. “Time for dinner, I think.”
    Clio almost laughed out loud, in relief, in disgust. Her ass was saved. But three good men were dead, and nobody was going to own up. And meanwhile, Meres was standing there, shaking hands all the way around, accepting Bio-time’s gratitude with a smirk of pleasure.
    Clio stumbled to her feet. The last light of the day hovered for a moment in the elm tree. The room was so dark she could hardly see. Clio hurried to catch up with the others before they latched the door behind them.
    As they all filed out of the hearing room, Teeg jumped up, his face