Ace Of Terrans

Shi Lang said, “They should maintain the meeting log for anyone who came in contact with Captain Louis Lampard prior to her apprehension. Take a look at that as well, the doctor is fishy but it is very much possible that he is not the only one involved in this.”

The people nodded and they began to take action. After an hour of search, Carole said, “The doctor looks clean, follows his daily routine religiously. Nobody came to meet the adjutant during her time in the infirmary.”

Shi Lang held his masked chin in his palm and said, “Tell me something, was this news of Captian Louis Lampard being apprehended under the charges of war crimes leaked to anyone?”

Carole shook her head. Shi Lang tilted his head and asked, “How bad must your reputation be to have everyone ignore you when you lie in a hospital bed?”

Gamma cast him a deep gaze. She found it within the range of reason, and said, “Indeed, until this news was leaked, there must be someone who must have come to meet Captian Louis Lampard. This means there are moles inside this base, who leaked this news on purpose.”

Shi Lang said, “Can you check a few people who had a good relation with Captain Louis Lampard before this incident?”

Carole said, “Hmmm, I can check her file. But no hopes.”

Sharpnel who was sitting at the side silently said, “Should I bring in the doctor?”

Gamma said, “It might arouse the snakes. For the time being let them think that they are safe, take hunk with you, and search for clues around the base. You can use your abilities better that way.”

The man nodded and stood up, then he cast a gaze on Hunk and after a salute two of them left the control room. Shi Lang asked, “Ma’am, I suggest, we take statements around the base. We need to appease the soldiers and rectify the moles inside the base at the same time.”

Gamma sat down on the commander’s chair and leaned back slightly, she said, “You are right about that but make sure to not let out any hints about what we intend to do and we have already noted the presence of a mole. Tian will go with you, her ability is very handy for this.”

Shi Lang looked at the calm lady in black and nodded. He stood up and took a vacant tablet with him. The boy then said, “Carole, can you pull out the comm-IDs of all the personnel on this base and in this brigade? I will use them later.”

Carole glanced at Gamma, who nodded. The latter was aware that this boy was not as simple as he looked. Shi Lang and Tian left the control room and they began to ask a few questions to the soldiers on duty around the base. Tian was responsible for recording the answers on the tablet while Shi Lang was responsible for asking the questions.

The questions were, “Did you notice anything weird around the base, anyone acting out of the normal?

What is your impression of Adjutant Captain Louis Lampard?

How was Brigadier Jun with the others on the brigade?”

It took them six hours to complete this set of random questions across the base. The soldiers did not find anything out of the normal, but a few of them asked why were they being integrated. Shi Lang said, “This was to keep up the pretense, we are looking for the main reason behind this assault from the Brigadier. I hope that you co-operate with us or if the Brigadier is convicted of these charges, it will leave a stain on the image of this brigade itself.

I will not lie to you brother, but the higher-ups might disband the brigade if things became a bit too much, so just hold on and do not go on fighting with the natives. You all are the honor of The Federal Military, if you all gave in and took such drastic steps, like fighting the natives, our civilization will be looked down upon and those people who are against the Terrans moving ahead will raise a big storm over this.”

His words were like cold water over the hot-blooded people. They all had been together for a long time now, and if they were disbanded, they will all be re-assigned to new units and nobody wanted to lose their friends. The last part about them is the honor of the civilization, which was the carrot after he stuck them on their heads.

The two returned to the control room with Shi Lang a little dazed. Tian spoke, “Three of them lied.”

Shi Lang nodded and said, “I know, actually it is four who lied. That guy, who explained things in a detail where even his dates were included in the testimony, was a lier.”

Tian opened her eyes wide and asked, “What is your ability?”

The boy shook his head and said, “I judged them based upon their actions and body language when they were being interrogated. Only those who lie have such actions.”

They reached the control room and found Sharpnel and Hunk had already returned. Shi Lang and Tian saluted Gamma and the former reported the matters. In the end, he said, “We have four people who lied. The doctor has not been interrogated yet.”

Carole asked, “Why do you say these four were liars?”

The boy said, “Three were confirmed by Tian, the fourth one was too extensive on details. One more thing, despite using different bowls they all served me the same soup.”

The people were confused and Gamma said, “He means, despite different words they all said the same thing.”

Hunk asked, “What are those things, Ace?”

Shi Lang replied, “They said, that Brigadier Jun acted by himself which was weird and unusual. The others did not even point this out. This is called respect and trust for the leader. They did not trust their leader and their statement can have the brigadier convicted. You tell me if they lied or not.”

Sharpnel nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. Gamma said, “You have a nice train of thoughts, so what shall we do now?”

Shi Lang said, “Isolate them all but do not let them find out. Then get me the doctor and next, we play a game of rectification.”

Hunk said, “There goes the sadist again.”

Shi Lang chuckled. Gamma shook her head and said, “Ace has the lowest strength among us so he will not take action this time. Carole, Hunk, Sharpnel, Tian. We have some big things to do.”

Hunk asked, “Boss, what is the plan?”

Gamma said, “Your task is to keep the four people inside their cabins, at no condition are they allowed to leave. Do you understand?”

The four people stood up crisply and saluted her to show that they understood. They moved quickly. The reason stated for this isolation was that someone among the stationed troops did not like their statements and might try to harm them, thus they were silently guarding them before they can be transported at the dawn.

The four people showed no resistance and they all stayed inside their rooms. As for the doctor, Gamma took action herself. She went over to the infirmary and stunned the man down. Then she used her ability, to merge with the shadows and brought the guy to the control room and tied him up.

Shi Lang in the meantime sat in front of a holo-computer and his fingers were flying over the keyboard. Behind him, Carole stood with a dazed set of eyes. She asked, “Are you sure you are going to do this?”

Shi Lang chuckled and said, “What do you mean to do this? I already did it.”

Gamma asked, “What is going on?”

Carole turned around and said, “This guy is hacking into the communicators and bypassing the firewalls to initiate a conversation with the other four. Boss, if the firewalls were triggered by his invasion, this thing will blow.”

Gamma was surprised after all this was illegal. Shi Lang said, “Do not worry, have trust in my skill. It will not blow up. Relax. Now, time to play the game.”

…

Inside the cabin, a man was gazing at the ceiling when his communicator vibrated. The man checked the message and said, “I am fleeing the base right away, they know that something was wrong with Louis and the others. You all too, get out quickly.”

The man sat up straight in the bed and replied, “What do you mean? How did they find out? Who snitched?”

As the conversation continued, it became clear that the five of them were accomplices. Now only the doctor was left to deal with.