"You don't have to worry. I'll keep an eye on him," Maverick said, walking up to them from the other side of the deck.
Raider relaxed at his arrival, knowing he could count on the other man to keep this hot head in check.
Part of the new blood like Nova, Maverick had a steadying presence that helped balance out his friend's recklessness. The two actually made a pretty good pair despite the drastic differences in their personalities. One of the reasons Raider had chosen them for his unit.
"Alright then." Raider started past them. "You coming, Blue?"
Blue rolled her eyes as she dropped the fist she was bumping against Maverick’s. "Yes. Yes. You don't have to shout."
"Later, little genius," Nova called.
Blue twisted, walking backwards for several steps. "Later, dumbass."
Nova's chuckle followed them as they disappeared into the corridor leading into the rest of the ship. A few minutes later Raider thrust open the door to Jace's ready room, stalking inside without bothering to knock first.
"Excuse me!" A woman rose from the chair where she'd been seated, an outraged look on her face. "You can't just barge in here."
Raider acted like she hadn't spoken, focusing on Jace. "We need to talk."
Jace took in Raider and Blue's entrance with a neutral expression from his chair. A second later, he signaled for the woman to leave.
"Grace, give us the room."
Grace's lips flattened as she sent Raider a nasty glare before sliding past him. "I'll be outside if you need me."
"Hey, Gracie," Blue called with a sugar sweet smirk.
"Once again, it's Grace, Ensign Yuki Ikeda."
Blue's smirk widened. "Whatever you say, Gracie."
Jace steepled his fingers in front of him as the door shut behind Grace. "I must say that was quite the entrance. If you were anyone else, you'd be in a lot of trouble right about now."
"Good thing I'm not anyone else," Raider shot back.
Jace studied him. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't have you counseled for insubordination."
Raider's smile was sharp. "I didn't have the time for niceties."
"Oh?" Jace dropped his hands. "That's funny. I wasn't aware you had anywhere to be."
Raider planted his hands on the desk and leaned over it. "You need to let us and the Tuann go."
Jace's face hardened. "I can't do that."
"Raider—" Blue started.
He cut her off with a look.
She closed her mouth, chastised.
Raider faced Jace again. "I know I'm asking a lot, but I need you trust me."
The intercom on Jace's desk beeped. He held up a finger to signal them to wait before activating the channel. "What is it?"
"We're ready."
"Alright, let them in."
Jace rose, smoothing out his uniform jacket as the door to the ready room opened, allowing one officer and three lower enlisted dressed in the uniform of the ship's military police into the room. Grace followed at the rear, the look of victory on her face sitting ill with Raider.
"What's going on?" Raider asked.
No one answered as the military police surrounded Blue. Grace moved to the side, giving them room.
Jace walked around the desk. "I completed my investigation into the matter Kira shared regarding Rothchild."
Raider's gaze finally moved from Blue. "You don't mean—"
Jace nodded at Raider's questioning look. "This is one of the reasons I recalled you. I traced several unauthorized transmissions to the planet where Blue was attending military academy in the weeks directly prior to Rothchild."
Raider flinched, shaking his head once. "That could mean anything. A planet that size would have a population in the billions. Anyone could have been responsible."
Raider was reaching for straws and he knew it, but he couldn't bring himself to believe what Jace was telling him.
Blue wasn't just some person. She was Raider's honorary little sister. A girl he'd watched grow from an abandoned waif they'd picked up from a dumpster into a brilliant woman.
She couldn't be the one responsible. She'd loved the Curs more than anyone else.
This had to be a misdirect. The Tsavitee had done it before. They, or more likely their allies, had framed Blue to sow dissent or take her off the game board.
"Tell them, Blue," Raider instructed.
Her silence made Raider go still.
"Blue?"
She looked up at him, the guilt in her face making ice slide through his veins.
No.
"I can't," Blue whispered.
Raider stumbled back, feeling like he'd taken a physical blow. "You betrayed the Curs?"
She was why Elise was taken?
"Our family?" Raider asked, a fine trembling invading his limbs.
The moment felt surreal. Like something out of a nightmare. Of all the people Jace could have named as the traitor responsible for giving away their position on Rothchild, Blue wasn't on the list.
She knows about Elena, a part of him whispered.
Raider shut that voice down. The thought of what Blue could do with that information if she really was the traitor too awful to contemplate.
"What age would she have been then? Twelve?" Raider asked. "Do you really think a child would have the resources to be the Tsavitee's ally?"
Jace's face held sympathy. "Only if she was fully human."
Raider froze.
"What do we really know about her past?" Jace continued. "Kira discovered her hiding out in a dumpster."
"I know. I was there, remember?" Raider spat.
"A normal child couldn't have survived that invasion. It's not outside the realm of possibility that they planted her for you to find."
"That's not true," Blue shouted.
"Settle down," Grace ordered. "Or the MPs will use force."
The unfriendly faces of the men and women around Blue made it clear they wouldn't have a problem with that.
"Raider, I didn't betray anyone," Blue pleaded urgently.
"The guilt on your face earlier says otherwise," Grace taunted.
Blue acted like the other woman hadn't spoken. "Yes, the transmissions might have been mine."
Grace let out an amazed laugh, sending the other woman a look like she thought Blue was stupid.
Blue was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them.
"Walker knew about them," Blue continued. "He helped me set them up. There's no way the Tsavitee cracked them. We were careful to disguise their source. The only information they sent out was a handshake. To let me know you were safe and alive. That's it."
"Convenient, isn't it? That the only person who could confirm your story is also dead," Grace drawled.
"I'm not lying," Blue shouted, losing her temper.
Her eyes pleaded with Raider to believe her.
The problem was he couldn’t. Not entirely. Jace had made too good a case.
"Raider, come on," Blue whispered brokenly.
Raider's silence made her face fall. She offered no resistance as Jace's people stepped up to escort her away.
"How sure are you of this?" Raider asked, watching her go.
"About the transmissions? Very." Jace lifted a shoulder. "Whether they were the reason behind Rothchild? We won't know until we interrogate her."
Raider lowered himself into the closest seat, feeling like his whole worldview had just been reorganized. If Blue was their traitor, it meant no one was trustworthy.