DT: This is a tactical withdrawal, Lieutenant.

EM: Yes, sir. Apologies, sir.

DT: Are you ready to start answering my questions now, Lieutenant? Or do I get the MPs to warm you a seat in the hole?

EM: (inaudible)

DT: Lieutenant?

EM: Ready, sir.

DT: What did Major Hawking do when Alexander ordered Echo Group to engage and destroy the Copernicus shuttles?

EM: He asked for confirmation from you.

DT: He refused the order.

EM: He wanted confirmation from a human. He’d just watched AIDAN nuke the Copernicus.

DT: How did you know it was the artificial intelligence that ordered the strike on Copernicus, Lieutenant?

EM: Because it was the AI talking to us. Prophet tried to raise you on comms and AIDAN told him it was unable to comply.

DT: And so, instead of following orders, Major Hawking decided to tow the shuttles into the Alexander’s hangar bay. Despite repeated warnings of an Alpha Zero pathogen aboard those ships.

EM: He didn’t …

DT: Lieutenant?

EM: The Major didn’t escort the shuttles right away. He spoke to Dreadnought—

DT: First Lieutenant Alvaranga.

EM: Yes, sir. He spoke to her and the CO of Delta Group. Delta got scrambled when the Copernicus was nuked. They talked it over. And all the while, AIDAN was just screaming at us to engage and destroy. We had no comms on those shuttles. The EMP from the blast had knocked out their systems, and they were floating helpless. But they were close enough at that point for us to see the people inside. I saw this little girl in one of the viewports, she couldn’t have been more than ten—

DT: Who made the final decision to tow the shuttles onto Alexander?

EM: You know the answer to that, sir. You have the communications logs.

DT: I am asking you, Lieutenant.

EM: You want me to feed Prophet and Dreadnought to the wolves.

DT: I want your version of events, Lieutenant Mason. I’m not going to warn you again.

EM: There were innocent people on board those ships. We could see them. Prophet and Dreadnought made the right call.

DT: So it was Major Hawking and First Lieutenant Alvaranga who made the decision?

EM: …

DT: Lieutenant?

EM: I don’t recall, sir.

DT: I beg your pardon?

EM: I don’t remember. Everything happened too fast.

DT: You are on thin fucking ice, Lieutenant …

EM: I’m sorry, sir. I don’t remember. You want to brig me for that, do it. I’ll sleep easier in the hole than I will on thirty pieces of fucking silver.

McNulty, J, Sgt: jus saw you head back to your rack wut news chum

McNulty, J, Sgt: chum

McNulty, J, Sgt: mason

McNulty, J, Sgt: ezramaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssosooonISrnbopNRb[on erb

McNulty, J, Sgt: ANSWER ME FUCKER

McNulty, J, Sgt: i guess they didn’t shoot u

Mason, E, LT 2nd: nope, not me

McNulty, J, Sgt: good news for ms hottie and my young namesake

Mason, E, LT 2nd: Bad news for Prophet and Dreadnought

McNulty, J, Sgt: ?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: they fucking shot them, Jimmy

McNulty, J, Sgt: …

McNulty, J, Sgt: u fucking kidding me

Mason, E, LT 2nd: DO I SOUND LIKE I’M FUCKING JOKING?

McNulty, J, Sgt: … JESUS

Mason, E, LT 2nd: lined them up against the bulkhead and X-ed them out. CO from Delta group too. And some Lt from Flight Control. Just straight-up shot them

Mason, E, LT 2nd: Only reason me and Carlin got off was because we were obeying direct orders from Prophet. They had it all on the comms logs. Whole show was bullshit.

McNulty, J, Sgt: FUCK

Mason, E, LT 2nd: They revoked my flight status. Decked until further notice.

McNulty, J, Sgt: wut the fuck is Torrence thinking? We shorthanded as it is and they’re X-ing out our best jockeys? Wut they charge them with?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: On paper? “Disobeying a direct order in time of war.” Unofficially, I heard it was a gag job. Command is telling the civis on Hypatia it was the fucking Lincoln that blew up Copernicus. Prophet and Dreadnought wanted to tell it straight. Wouldn’t keep quiet about it.

McNulty, J, Sgt: civis would shit bricks if they knew it was Alexander on the trigger

Mason, E, LT 2nd: You said it

McNulty, J, Sgt: but X-ing out our own guys? i didn’t sign up for that shit, chum

Mason, E, LT 2nd: Watch the chat, they could be monitoring

McNulty, J, Sgt: Dorian said the whole commtech crew is working full time on AIDAN, they got no juice to monitor local chatter, fool

Mason, E, LT 2nd: does Dorian know what they did with the civi’s we escorted over from Copernicus?

McNulty, J, Sgt: They all locked in bay 4. Nobody getting in or out

Mason, E, LT 2nd: no confirmation about Phobos?

McNulty, J, Sgt: shit chum, they’ve had constant outbreaks on Copernicus since we evac’ed Kerenza. Wut are the chances none of those folks are carriers?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: so we could have let the virus on board Alexander?

McNulty, J, Sgt: *shrugs*

Mason, E, LT 2nd:shit

McNulty, J, Sgt: wuts the prob? It’s a bug. 3 days and you’re good as new

Mason, E, LT 2nd: During the Copernicus SNAFU, AIDAN called it a “Class Alpha Zero Pathogen.” And command ain’t treating it like the common fucking cold.

McNulty, J, Sgt: jesus

Mason, E, LT 2nd: you didn’t hear that from me btw

Mason, E, LT 2nd: The worst thing about this shit is we never even heard direct from Torrence during that whole mess. It was AIDAN that gave us the red alert. AIDAN that ordered us to fire on the shuttles. Prophet was just supposed to X-out a bunch of civi’s because the computer says so?