Read Battlecruiser Alamo - 7 - Battlecruiser Alamo: Sacred Honor for Free Online

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     “What is it, Gabe?” Orlowski said as he continued stripping down his plasma rifle, another fistful of components scattering across the table in the barracks.
     “It’s getting to me a little,” Cooper replied, trying to think of something plausible. Waving his hand around, he said, “Look at all this empty space. There should be twenty-four people in these bunks, not four. It wasn’t as bad when we had some of the crew bunking in here, but now…”
     “I know what you mean,” Duggan said from across the room. “I keep looking up, waiting for the Sergeant to yell at me for something, or for one of my squad buddies to...ah, it’s silly, isn’t it. I wish they’d left those crewmen here.”
     “No,” Cooper said, shaking his head. “We’re going to need the space when we get our people back.”
     “Gabe,” Orlowski said, quietly, “That isn’t going to happen. If they aren’t dead, the Cabal has them, and I don’t see them giving them up. Short of being captured by them ourselves, we aren’t ever going to see them again.” He glanced across at Duggan, who looked down at the deck, “You’re going to have to get used to that idea.”
     Cooper jumped off the bunk and looked at his friend, “I don’t think I can.” Sighing, he continued, “I’m going for a walk. I think I need to be alone for a little while.”
     Orlowski grabbed his sleeve as he walked past. “If you need anything, call.”
     “Thanks, buddy.” He walked out of the empty barracks, hearing muttered conversations – no doubt relating to his current mental equilibrium – behind him, and out into the corridor. A part of him longed to enlist his friends, to get their help in his investigation, but he knew the risk he was running. For all the Captain had said, there was only so much he could do to protect him. For all he knew, an assassin already had a bullet with his name on it.
     He turned around a corner, his feet taking him in a random direction. At this point, he might as well; he didn’t have any idea where to start looking. The suspect had to be someone with engineering experience, but that didn’t narrow it down enough. Almost certainly it was one of the crewmen from Hercules, but even that wasn’t necessarily so; before leaving Mariner Station, they’d taken a lot of new crewmen on board. Himself included, he mused. Perhaps he was the assassin.
     Explosives were the key. As he had left, Quinn had slipped him an inventory check, and it had revealed that nothing was missing from the ship’s stores. Not that Alamo routinely carried that sort of equipment on board, anyway. Which meant it had to have been manufactured. With a smile, he turned to the nearest elevator and stabbed a button for Fabricator Control.
     Next to the reactor, the ship’s fabricators were the heart of Alamo. Without them to provide spares and replacement, the ship would be a tumbling ruin in a matter of weeks. Much of the interior of the ship was devoted to the material tanks used to feed them. The elevator doors slid open, and he stepped out onto the deck, almost walking into a red-faced Petty Officer.
     “Can I help you?” the man sneered, and Cooper took a step to the side, allowing the elevator to close.
     “I was wondering if there is any spare capacity in the fabricators. There are a few bits of equipment I could do with.”
     “Ha,” the man snorted. “You’ve got to be joking. We’re running the machines around the clock to keep up with Quinn’s repair schedule. I haven’t even had a chance to service these babies in a week.”
     “No capacity at all?”
     “I told you, Corporal, not a thing. If you have something you need that badly, you’re going to have to push it in through channels. Though the waiting list is pretty damn long, so I would prepare to be disappointed.”
     “I see. Sorry to bother you.” It was a nice theory, even if it went nowhere.
     “That’s fine, I’ve got