“That, I can say, because it’s kinda sorta in the news already,” Mercer said, “though it might not be obvious to you. See, the Imperial Navy stopped acquiring new ships about six or eight months ago, maybe longer; I’ve lost track…”
“Wait,” Ashton said, surprised. “You don’t just mean new designs, do you?”
“No, I mean all ships,” Mercer confirmed. “As in, they aren’t replacing what they’ve already got when it starts to wear out.”
“Damn,” Ashton said, shocked. “What are they up to?”
“That’s evidently what these guys,” Mercer waved at the handcuffed perp as two of his colleagues escorted him past, “want to know, too.” He paused, then added, “And no, before you ask, I don’t know, either, and couldn’t tell you if I did.”
“Where are they from?”
“We’re working on finding that out,” Mercer said, cryptic.
Subtraction
Ashton was returning from lunch with Cally; she was still working out of the ICPD headquarters precinct, but Colonel Peterson and the other members of The Team were being very protective of her. The baby bump was distinct and obvious now, and her ability to be on her feet a lot had been substantially reduced due to the baby’s weight. So currently she only went out on non-dangerous cases, and Peterson had gotten a little mobility scooter for the division, expressly so that she – and any other investigators who might turn up injured in future; Smith was still having a few issues after the lightning strike – did not have to walk far and risk her feet swelling and her back hurting. It was this scooter Cally had used to meet Nick at a little diner a couple of blocks away from her precinct – one which was favored by The Team for their delicious and relatively inexpensive plate lunches.
Lunch had been excellent, and the time spent with Cally as enjoyable as it always was – more, perhaps, because the baby was kicking, and Cally encouraged him to feel it, then declared little Paul kicked even harder at Nick’s touch. It was sunny and comfortable outside, he was happy, and he sauntered cheerfully down the street toward the front door of ‘Temporary New Headquarters.’
Abruptly he was nearly knocked over, and his arms were full of shapely female.
Female that was patently not his wife.
“NICK!” a vaguely familiar voice squealed.
“What the hell?!” Ashton exclaimed in surprise, trying to get hold of the woman pressed against him, her arms around, him, and push her away – at least far enough to see who had given him this overly-friendly greeting. When he did, he gaped in shock.
“Tabby Koch?!”
“YES!” she all but shouted. “I knew you’d remember me!”
And with that, she planted a deep, passionate kiss on Ashton. He managed to break the kiss, whereupon he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away.
“Tabby, stop that!” he declared. “I’m married now!”
“So?” she said with a grin. “That never stopped me before.” She took his arm in hers, and they headed for the front door. “So let’s go inside and get re-acquainted.”
She entered ‘Temporary New Headquarters’ with him, her arm still intimately entwined with his despite his best efforts, her body pressed far too close.
“I heard you’re a detective now! Where’s your office? I wanna see!” she said, eager, as she all but paraded them through the bullpen. Then she stretched up and planted a wet kiss on his cheek.
Ashton stopped dead.
“Stop. That,” he declared, loud enough for the gawking beat cops to hear; all of them knew Ashton was married and his wife was about to have a baby, and a few recognized the woman fawning on him as the doted-upon niece of former IPD Headquarters General William Kershaw. “I already told you, Tabby, I’m married. Happily, I might add.”
“Oh sure, sure, Nick,” Koch smirked. “But you look awesome! And I never knew a man that didn’t like a little on the side if he could get it. So believe me, honey, you can!”
“You do now. And I don’t want it.” He turned on his heel and stalked off.
Behind him, Koch blinked in surprise and a little bit of anger at the flat rejection. Then she looked around and saw the other cops watching; most were now smirking. Aha, she thought. Look good for the other cops. Riiiiight. I’ll get him later, then.
So she tagged along in Ashton’s wake.
When he went through the door marked “Investigations Lead,” and saw the office inside was empty, her eyebrow rose, and a knowing smirk crossed her own face.
She entered the office and closed the door.
Ashton, who was in the process of seating himself, glanced up at the sound of the door closing. He scowled, then moved back around the desk to the door, and opened it wide.
“This door stays open,” he declared, as she reached for it to close it again. “No. You touch it again, I won’t hesitate to throw you out.”
“Oh,” she said then. “Can, um, can’t we at least talk?”
“For a few minutes. I have a lot to deal with this afternoon.”
Ashton gestured at the visitor’s chair, as he moved behind the desk once more and sat. Koch took the indicated chair and stared at him for a long moment.
“So you really did it,” she said then.
“Did what?”
“Got the training. Are you really the head of the Investigations division?”
“I am, at least for the time being. And yes, I got training… but probably not what you think.”
“I… don’t understand.”
“Never mind. What are you doing here? I figured you for dead in the destruction of the original Headquarters building.”
“No, I wasn’t even on Sintar when that happened,” Koch said. “My uncle sent me off-world, back home to Hesse, so I could stay with my grandparents while I got my master’s
