"That's not the answer...."

[Tabor Nansk 0]

Tabor had listened to Angel’s briefing in glum silence. Apparently the Reaent had been slung back in time after encountering some kind of anomaly. Part of him was screaming “I told you so”, the similarities to the Proxima events were too close to be a coincidence. Then, the Reaent was thrown forward until the two divergent lines merged, and now she was thrown back. How long until reconvergance this time was anyone’s guess. But Tabor had a theory, one that would have been tested had he not been caught and arrested. Even though he had been released and returned to duty on the Reaent – the visitor’s instructions still weighed heavy on his conscious – he didn’t have free reign to continue along that path. This time he’d have to take a different approach, and he held out a slim hope that he might have an open ear with the Captain, depending on what was actually in those sealed orders.

 

 

His first inclination was to go see Anna again. She had surprised him the first time by not being receptive to his ideas, but now since everyone knew a time shift had occurred, and indeed were under instructions to try to solve the dilemma, things might be different. But Angel’s order to report to the pilots’ alert room derailed that plan – at least temporarily. One bit of fortune, Will’s injury had put him in second position again. So as he watched the other pilots playing cards, he studied who he could bluff into divulging the information he needed. Ensign Enigma turned out to be the perfect candidate. When Angel left the room, Tabor made his move.

 

 

“That’s not the answer I want to hear, mister” said Tabor when Enigma tried to lie and said the modifications to his fighter were removed and destroyed. Actually it didn’t make any difference if they were, they all could be replicated. It would just take more time. “You heard Lt. Angelis,” he continued with menace in his lowered voice. “I’m second in command now. So unless you want to spend the next month scrubbing exhaust manifolds, tell me now. Where are those parts?”

 

 

Enigma folded like a cheap uniform. The modifications were still intact. Because of the recent circumstances, maintenance hadn’t the time to remove them. With Tabor in the brig on the Starbase, no one thought there was any rush. He was under no illusion that there was any way he was going to get near that fighter on his own. But if things worked out, this time he wouldn’t be on his own.