> > "We should speak with Admiral Renaud
> about this. Find out just why he
> > thought it unnecessary to inform either of
> us, and what if anything the
> > Ambassador said regarding her departure."
> > >
> > > "Under the circumstances, I am certain you
> > > understand the necessity of formalizing my
> investigation."
> > >
> > "I am certain that I do not." he said not
> liking where the conversation has
> > turned, and not really caring if he showed it
> or not.
> >
> > "We have no idea why she has departed,
> and we have done nothing to
> > determine just why she left. At the moment
> we are operating on supposition
> > alone, and that is not enough. Add to that
> the fact that there is absolutely
> > evidence that her departure has effected me
> in any way. I would think that it
> > is a bit premature." he answered.
>
> "I must disagree, Sir," t'Llhweiir replied.
> "There was apparently an
> incident that affected both you and the
> ambassador. Then, abruptly the
> ambassador leaves Spacedock without notice to
> senior flag staff.
> Coincidentally or not, her departure also
> occurred shortly after I
> informed you of my informal investigation.
>
> "If you are being influenced, the level of that
> influence could extend to
> controlling your activities. This makes you a
> flight risk, whether you
> would consciously desire to do that or not.
>
> "Under a formal investigation, you can be
> compelled to remain on the
> station until the full effects of the bond have
> been ascertained."
>
> For a moment, she relented. "Samuel, even your
> opinions on this matter have to be questioned. Can you truly expect me to
allow this situaion to
> go unchallenged?"
>
Lasiter was becoming angry. She was telling him, essentially, that she was
going to relieve him. If that happened, all of his work, all of his iniatives
would go from being possible to kept alive by live support at best. He could
not let that happen without a fight. It had come to this.......
However, before he could answer the door chime rang, and the voice of a
security officer came in through the Comm.
"Admirals, Excuse me, but Admiral Renaud is here to see you both."
Lasiter replies, trying to calm himself, "Send him in, please."
"I am sorry sir, but I have specific orders from Admiral t'Llhweiir not to
allow anyone in or out without her expressed authorization."
Lasiter gave her a hard look, saying, "Ask him to wait a moment. Stand
by!"
The computer muted the comm.
"So, you are here to relieve me of command..." Lasiter said seeing the work
of the past several months being flushed. "You are here to relieve me of
command, and effectively kill me professionally. This is wonderful." His
feelings of betrayal and dissapointment were clear in his voice and his
bodylanguage. However, what was not evident was a nagging feeling. A strange
feeling of distance. For some reason, most likely the bond to Celana, Samuel
was feeling a distance between himself and the Venasian Ambassador. This
feeling was nothing that was detectable to an observer. Not even one that
knew him like Carrhae did, but one that lived in the back of his mind.
{response}
