Chapter 3 - Seventeen Complaints
Eleanor reached into the pocket of her coveralls and removed a thin black notebook.
Vance stared at it.
“For three weeks,” she said, “I have worked maintenance shifts aboard this vessel.”
“This is highly irregular,” Vance replied.
“You were not supposed to know.”
“You entered restricted areas under a false identity.”
“I entered them under authorization from fleet command.”
His jaw flexed.
“This entire interaction was staged to embarrass me.”
“No. It was staged to protect your crew.”
The words settled over the bridge.
Vance looked toward the sailors around him.
Most lowered their eyes.
A few reacted too slowly.
Eleanor opened the notebook.
“Seventeen formal complaints prevented from reaching fleet review.”
Vance crossed his arms.
“Unverified accusations.”
“Nine sailors transferred after reporting misconduct.”
“Operational necessity.”
“Four medical visits recorded as training stress after public humiliation.”
“That is a medical determination.”
“Two officers pressured to alter evaluations.”
Vance’s expression tightened.
“One engineer threatened with discharge after refusing to approve an unsafe repair.”
His eyes moved toward the open machinery panel.
The mechanic’s work suddenly looked different to him.
Eleanor turned another page.
“Those are only the headings.”
She raised her eyes.
“These are the recordings.”
A ripple moved across the bridge.
For weeks, Eleanor had carried a maintenance tablet modified to record audio whenever command conversations exceeded a certain volume.
Vance’s voice appeared again and again.
Threatening sailors.
Mocking medical concerns.
Demanding that failures be removed from reports.
Ordering officers to protect the ship’s readiness rating before protecting the people operating it.
He had treated every outburst as temporary.
The recorder had made them permanent.
Vance stepped toward her.
“Careful,” Eleanor said.
May you like
He stopped.
It was the first direct order he had obeyed all morning.
