That thought sent a shiver of both fear and excitement coursing up her spine. She had consciously suppressed all thought of shipboard command since Aldebaran. And yet, before each assignment her hope was renewed. Might this be it? This time, would Renford offer her a ship and a crew? And could she actually take such an assignment?

She couldn't think about that; she couldn't permit herself to think about it. Pushing the line of thought from her mind, she allowed the events of the past few hours to rush in to fill the void. Those events still seemed all too improbable. Why had the dark man attacked her? Who was he and how had he disappeared?

So many questions, yet not one answer. Nothing substantial to which she might cling.

The Base Security investigation team had arrived at Susan's quarters shortly after she got off the phone with Staff Sergeant Evans. The petty officer in charge had been a tall, thin girl who hadn't looked old enough to be in Fleet, let alone in a position of responsibility. The girl called Evans, and he talked to Susan again, telling her she could leave. He said his people would let themselves out when they were finished.

Evans hadn't really been all that much help. He had wanted to help, but he simply did not have the answers to her questions. He couldn't even say for certain that the man who had attacked her was not a member of Base Security. But he had promised to keep her advised of anything he might uncover during his investigation, saying he would call if he discovered something significant.

Susan knew Evans was simply humoring her. Without actually saying so, he had given her the impression he didn't believe her story.