He swallowed hard, stared at me until he was sure I was looking—or mesmerized. “I vow to you, bonded one, I did no such thing. If I were going to cheat the system, do you really think I would be stupid enough, or sloppy enough, to leave that obvious a trail?”
I took a moment to consider that. I’d hacked into that program in less than an hour. I’d found the data I was looking for within minutes once I was in. I could have just as easily deleted the mission modifications and erased my digital footprint. It would have been simple to complete. I could have erased everything, cleared Kass’s name, and Sponder would have nothing to go on. Kass would have been proven innocent. Guaranteed.
If I could make him look innocent in less than ten minutes, it made sense that someone else could make him look guilty just as easily.
Why hadn’t I thought of that while I’d been in there?
Because I was being emotional, not logical. I’d doubted myself from the start. All Captain Sponder had to do was wave a red flag in front of me and I’d charged like the proverbial bull. Hurt. Angry. Betrayed.
Poor little Mia, lied to again.
Not good enough.
Bad judgment.
Shit. I’d let that asshole Sponder lead me around by the nose like a naive first-year recruit. All because my heart was involved. Because when it came to Kass, there was no logic for me. Because I’d believed in Sponder over Kass. God, I loved him. I wanted him. And I wanted him to believe in me so much it terrified me. The first chance to jump ship and I’d taken it.
No more.
“Mia?”
I looked at Kass with new eyes. “You are telling the truth.”
He sighed. His shoulders relaxed. All the tension left his body.
“Yes.” The unspoken DUH wasn’t said aloud, but I could see it in his eyes. Along with the hurt I’d caused by doubting him. And myself.
“Why does Sponder hate you so much?” I asked finally.
Kass sighed and turned away from me to check the ship’s controls. “He’s an ass. He’s always been an ass. Once, he harassed a female shuttle pilot. A friend of mine. He physically assaulted her. She fought him off, reported the incident. Nothing happened. Commissioner Gaius is his uncle.”
“Uncle Gaius saved him?” So Sponder was a silver spoon who hadn’t earned his rank or his pilots’ respect.
“He got a slap on the wrist, and she got written up for disobeying a senior officer. He was making her life a living hell after that, so I hacked into the system, downloaded the video files of his attack from the top-level security feed, stashed them away, and transferred her to another base, as far away from him as I could get her.”
I widened my eyes at all he’d done for a friend. “And he knew you did it?”
He shrugged. “Well, the transfer order was in his name, but he knew it was me. I told him. He wanted her back under his control. He was totally obsessed. When he tried to have her returned to Eos Station, I went to his office, told him I had video of his attack, and that if he went near her again, I’d ruin his career.”
“Why are you still under his command? When was this?”
Kass chuckled. “Right before he denied my application and I had to hack into the Starfighter Training Academy program. About a year ago.”
“Why didn’t you leave? Ask for a transfer? Or transfer yourself out like you did your friend?”
“He hates me, but he couldn’t touch me, not when I had the video evidence to ruin him and his uncle since he was the one who made it go away. There were too many other vulnerable new recruits under his command that might have been next.”
“So, you watched over the sheep.”
“What is a sheep?” He frowned.
“Never mind. I believe you. But that’s not enough. Not for this. He’s hated you for a year but never tried to have you locked up before. He somehow hacked into the system and modified our training data. What do you think set him off?”
Kass stared into the dark emptiness of space for long minutes. “I don’t know. Maybe the audit we brought down on him? Maybe he’s afraid that if the tech and security teams go digging into his records, they’ll find out what an ass he is.”
“Maybe.” I casually monitored the data streams coming from Xenon Alpha as I allowed my mind to wander. With his uncle a Velerion commissioner, I doubted Sponder was too worried about Kass taking him down. So, was he worried about the audit General Jennix had threatened him with? Was he hoping that by framing Kass, the audit would be canceled? Or maybe that his uncle would be able to pull some strings, have the audit canceled, and the general would have no reason to protest?
Something didn’t add up. Just like I’d thought earlier in our quarters.