Chapter 9 - COMMANDER VENNCommander Lucas Venn locked the bridge door.
Briggs raised his weapon.
“Don't.”
Venn looked at him.
“You don't have enough ammunition.”
Briggs didn't lower the gun.
Venn turned toward me.
“You're the one they wanted.”
“Who?”
He sighed.
“Everyone.”
I stared.
“Explain.”
Venn walked to the navigation console.
“The Meridian Program didn't survive by hiding.”
He activated a secure channel.
Hundreds of documents filled the screens.
Military contracts.
Private logistics agreements.
Classified intelligence reports.
Federal procurement records.
Then names.
Dozens.
Officials.
Executives.
Officers.
Civilian contractors.
Some had retired years ago.
Others were still serving.
“This is impossible.”
“No.”
Venn shook his head.
“It's bureaucracy.”
He showed me a document.
The shortages had been approved through multiple agencies.
Each department had signed off on different pieces.
Nobody saw the entire structure.
Except a small group at the center.
“Black Meridian wasn't stealing supplies.”
Venn pointed to a diagram.
“They were redirecting them into emergency reserve markets.”
“Creating artificial scarcity.”
“Yes.”
“So governments paid more.”
“Yes.”
“And people died.”
Venn's expression hardened.
“That wasn't always intentional.”
I looked at him.
“But Kane made it intentional.”
Venn nodded.
“Kane was one of the first officers willing to cross that line.”
“Who recruited him?”
Venn didn't answer.
Instead he looked at Ward.
“Captain.”
Ward stepped forward.
“How long?”
Venn smiled sadly.
“Since before you took command.”
Ward's face went pale.
“You reported directly to me.”
“I reported around you.”
Briggs stepped closer.
“What about Thomas Mercer?”
“He tried to expose everything.”
“And failed.”
“No.”
Venn looked at me.
“He succeeded.”
I frowned.
“The evidence.”
“Thomas copied the original records before they could destroy them.”
“Where?”
Venn nodded toward me.
“In you.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“He knew you'd eventually be recruited.”
“No.”
“Not knowingly.”
Venn tapped the NCIS packet.
“The evidence wasn't in that packet when NCIS sent it aboard.”
I felt my stomach drop.
“Then what was?”
“A device.”
“What device?”
“The one you inserted into the Mercer panel.”
I understood.
The packet had been built to activate the hidden system.
It hadn't been carrying evidence.
It had been carrying a decryption key.
Venn leaned toward me.
“Your father didn't send you to Deck Four.”
“Then who did?”
“NCIS.”
I froze.
“NCIS wanted you to find the records.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the records can only be opened with a Mercer biometric signature.”
I stared at my hands.
“What records?”
“Every Meridian transaction.”
“Where are they?”
Venn pointed to the bridge server.
“Here.”
I looked.
A file folder had appeared.
MERCER ARCHIVE.
It required my fingerprint.
I pressed my thumb against the scanner.
The file opened.
Thousands of documents appeared.
Then one folder.
PROJECT ORIGIN.
I opened it.
A video began playing.
Thomas Mercer sat at a desk twelve years younger.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Hannah, if you're seeing this, I failed.”
My chest tightened.
He continued.
“Meridian cannot be destroyed by arresting Kane.”
The video paused.
A second message appeared.
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS IS STILL ACTIVE.
Then another.
IDENTITY: CLASSIFIED.
The screen went black.
A timer appeared.
TRANSFER IN 00:30:00
Venn spoke.
“That's the problem.”
“What transfer?”
“The entire archive is being copied to a remote server.”
“Can we stop it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Venn looked toward the bridge window.
“Anchor Nine.”
Briggs stared.
“You're saying the transfer point is there?”
“Yes.”
“And Kane?”
Venn nodded.
“He's already there.”
Ward stepped forward.
“What about the ship?”
Venn pointed toward the flooding indicator.
“Someone must remain aboard.”
I knew before he spoke.
“No.”
Venn met my eyes.
“The Resolute needs a captain.”
Ward stepped closer.
“You're not putting her on that island alone.”
“I don't have a choice.”
I looked at the countdown.
Twenty-nine minutes.
Then the entire ship shook.
A massive explosion thundered from below.
The navigation screen flashed red.
ENGINE ROOM FIRE.
Briggs swore.
“The flooding was a distraction.”
Venn looked at me.
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“The real attack.”
A second alarm sounded.
WEAPON STORAGE COMPROMISED.
Every person on the bridge went still.
Venn whispered:
May you like
“They're not sinking the Resolute.”
“They're turning it into a bomb.”
Related Stories
