Pledge Allegiance by Rider England

disoriented and dizzy.
    Everything had happened so fast that I’d barely had time to think. A few hours ago, I’d been sitting in a doorway with all my possessions in a plastic box. Now, I was in space, commanding a crew of expert fighters, pilots, and engineers. I could hardly believe the strange turn of events.
    Yet here I was. Back in space.
    I couldn’t deny that being in charge of a ship again felt good, despite my only order so far being to take-off and set a course for the nearest gate. And Morrow had already done that task. In truth, once the course was set, the Finch would fly herself to her destination without any human intervention at all.
    It was only if we flew into trouble that the bridge crew would be needed. If that happened, if we were attacked by pirates for example, the captain’s role became one of tactical decision making. The pilot was needed for evasive maneuvers.
    But as long as we avoided trouble, I could rest here and try to come to terms with my new position.
    A low beeping sound in the living area caught my attention. I got up and went in there to search for the source. It sounded again, near the door, and I realized that it was a doorbell. I went to the door and pressed the button to open it.
    Tegan Prime stood outside. She smiled when she saw me. “Captain, may I come in?”
    “Of course,” I said, stepping aside to let her enter. “Is there a problem?””
    A worried look flashed across her face but only for a second before it was replaced by a more relaxed expression. “I don’t think so. I…don’t know.”
    “Take a seat,” I offered. She sat on the sofa. The worried look reappeared on her face.
    “What is it?” I asked.
    “I’m sure it’s nothing but I was carrying out a diagnostic on the main engine after we were underway and I discovered some…irregularities.”
    I sat in the easy chair and leaned forward to face her. “What kind of irregularities?”
    She paused and I guessed she was trying to figure out a way to explain her problem in layman’s terms.
    “Because we set off at full power,” she said, “I decided to check on the main engine’s efficiency while it was running. I noticed something strange while I was making a visual scan of the pipes underneath one of the turbines. There’s a device there. It wasn’t there a few days ago when I did the same visual check just after the pipes were installed for the engine upgrade.”
    “A device?”
    She nodded. “I think it’s a tracking device.”
    A tracking device? Who would put a tracking device in the Finch, and why? It wasn’t as if we were flying to an unknown destination; we were headed for Savarea. The only reason to put a tracking device on the ship would be to know our exact location in space at all times.
    “Have you told anyone else about this?” I asked Tegan.
    She shook her head. “No. Not even Vess.”
    “And it isn’t something that he had installed for some reason?”
    “Definitely not. Vess knows nothing about engines. The entire upgrade was left in my hands. I was in charge of everything. Someone put that device there in the last couple of days and tried to hide it under the turbine.”
    “Show me,” I said.
    She nodded and we left my room. While Tegan called the transporter, I took a moment to change the passcode on the lock to my quarters. If someone had planted an unknown device in the engine room, that person could still be on board the ship. I wasn’t going to risk leaving my room open to intruders. I chose random digits and memorized them, repeating them over and over in my head until I was sure I would remember them.
    When I joined Tegan at the transporter, the door was already open and waiting. We stepped in and it took us to Engineering.
    “How many people are on your crew?” I asked her while we waited for the transporter to descend to the correct level.
    “Three.”
    “And none of them could have put the device on the engine?”
    She shrugged. “If you mean did they