Just then, when everyone was gone... Something on the front instrument panel started blinking in yellow, accompanied by a weak warning tone. Having the Basic Spaceflight certificate myself, I thought I could take a look at the issue myself before the pilots came back.
I switched to the co-pilot's seat and examined the alert panel. The light that read 'Life Support' was flashing, but since it wasn't red and it didn't trigger the master alarm; there was no immediate danger. However, this could mean something COULD go very wrong afterwards; and certainly, no one would like it.
"Mr. Braun!" I shouted. Apparently, he was still far away, so I got no reply. As the security officer here, I thought I could take some responsability for these kind of things... myself.
I switched one of the co-pilot's monitors to 'System Status' mode and started searching for the schema that would show the life support systems and their respective subsystems. But before I could do that, the yellow alert light stopped blinking. I completely ignored it and opened the life support graphs.
As the alert light now indicated... There was nothing wrong. The alert could simply be a sensor misalignment. But, what if it wasn't?
"Mr. Braun!"
Still, I got no response. Whatever he wanted to show me would better be important.
I watched the monitor for a little longer, then decided to move to the engineering section to get further information. The monitors in the cockpit were only designed for processing real-time information, but I could find the systems' history in the engineering/maintenance section computers.
I left the cockpit without waiting for either one of the pilots, and walked away. Interestingly, on my way, I encountered Tom.
"U-uhh..."
We both wanted to greet each other, but what would you say to a person who had just came out of a zero-g toilet?
"Hello!"
"H-hello!"
That was awkward.
"So, Mr. Tom, there might be something wrong with your life support." I said. "I am going to take a look."
His expression changed so quickly.
"L-life support? How so?" he asked.
"I got some yellow readings while you were gone, but the alert abruptly stopped before I could check what was failing. I will have a better look once I get to the engineering monitors." I said.
"That was probably a sensor misreading." said Tom. "Don't sweat over it."
"That's what I thought, but I am not going to take unnecessary risks." I replied.
"O-oh..." he said. "In that case, I might as well come with you."
"Of course." I said.
I took a deep breath and searched for some motivation in the air to change the subject.
"So..."
"Commander?"
"I wanted to ask something else." I was unnecessarily getting nervous.
"Y-yeah, of course."
"Is there a-"
I really didn't want to ask for an empty cabin, now that I had a small fight with Nuan. It would be hard, and even worse, embarrassing to explain. I quickly had to think of something else.
"Is there a what?" he asked me.
"There must be a list of passengers with you, right?" I asked.
"Yes, we do have a list of passengers."
"Can I have a copy of that list? Preferably one that shows which cabins people stay in." I said.
"Yeah, why not?" he said.
By that time, I have already arrived at the engineering section. I tried to open the door, but it was locked.
"Hold on a sec." Tom said, and unlocked the door by entering a rather complex password.
I got inside. He followed me in, and closed the door.
"Ah, there is the computer." I said and approached a computer output console near one of the walls. Tom got closer and started watching me.
"Main...tenance... Life support..." I started searching to find the right set of the internal sensor readings. "There. Now, if I can just roll back the time to where the alert started..."
"Commander..." Tom said.
"Wait a minute, I almost found it!" I answered.
I heard something familiar just behind me.
"Commander, you are under arrest."
The sound was that of a hand held gun.
I raised my hands and slowly turned around.
"Federal Intelligence." he identified himself. The situation was indeed grim, but not only for me. If the Federal agents could infiltrate so deep into the Republic's top government services such as VIP transports... We had no chance.
"Mr. Tom, drop your weapon, hands in the air."
Braun had came out of nowhere. With him, there were several other men dressed in casual clothes; which were previously among regular passengers.
Tom was smirking. He slowly lowered his gun, but didn't drop it.
"I must say I am impressed." he said. "You caught me when I least expected it."
"Why Tom?" Braun asked. "How could you betray the Republic with so much-"
"You wouldn't understand me, brother." Tom replied. "The Federation... offered to save me and my family from the tyranny of the Republic. There was a lot at stake."
"Traitor." Braun said. "Ungrateful bastard. The Republic provided you with one of the best jobs you could ever hope for, guaranteed the security of your family, and yet..."
"Brother." Tom interrupted. "The security, we didn't ask for. I just wanted them to live their lives. They picked me for the job completely in a random fashion, this so-called background check happens, my brother-in-law ends up in jail, and my mother is put under strict custody."
"There are some things you need to understand!" Braun said. "This is a time of war! We are at war, and this was for your security. And now, seeing what you did... Perhaps it really was necessary, yet still, it doesn't seem to have worked very well."
"The Federation is superior in every aspect." Tom said. "And when they come, I will be congratulated while you are asking for mercy."
"When the war ends, you will be grateful for being imprisoned in a Republic prison." Braun said, and turned to his men. "But I understand you. You must have been offered a hefty amount of money to sell your brothers."
Suddenly, an alarm started wailing, and red flashers started spinning.
"Life support! Life support!" the maintenance computer's speech synthesizer activated.
In the first moment of chaos, I heard a few gunshots just ahead of me. A few men dropped down instantly. Braun and one of his men ran back to take cover behind some large metal pipes, while Tom ran backwards towards me. Using that chance, I kicked him from behind, sending him directly down to the ground. He lost the grip of his gun, and it slided away. I got on him quickly and captured him.
Braun saw this and got out of his cover, holding his gun toward Tom.
"Let's see how the Federation saves you now." Braun said.
I heard another gunshot. Braun dropped down, with blood coming out of his arm. He was shot!
"Argh!" he slowly crawled next to the computer system behind me. One of 'his' men were shooting at our direction.
The men Braun brought to capture Tom... They had started shooting at each other! This secret-agent issue was far deeper than I had originally anticipated. There were Federation supporters among people Braun trusted as well.
Braun called me out.
"Take this, Commander." he threw his gun to me. I caught it, and the first thing I have done was getting Tom unconscious.
"Republic Intelligence." Braun revealed his real identity as well. "This got out of control really quickly." he added.
"I have to protect the VIP." I said. "I'm sorry, I-"
"Just GO!" Braun shouted at me. While the shooting was still going on, I made my way out of the engineering facility, towards the passenger cabins.