"What can I do for you, uh, Captain?"

"I was just attacked in my rooms. You can tell me how he got in here."

"Attacked…In your rooms…Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." Susan glared at the young man's image. "Look-" she began, almost telling him what had happened. But she decided against it. The corporal would only kick it up his chain of command, and she would have to tell her story all over again. Instead, she said simply, "Get me your watch captain."

"Yes, ma'am." Again he reached out to the controls set in the top of his desk, and his image was replaced by the date-time display.

While she waited, she ran through in her mind what she would tell the corporal's supervisor. That a man had tried to kill her, then vanished into thin air? That sounded too improbable.

And yet, it was exactly what had happened.

Suddenly, she wondered if perhaps she might be making a mistake. The man who had attacked her had been wearing a Base Security uniform. Could there be a conspiracy of some sort to kill her-something in which Security was involved?

That was impossible! The thought was strictly paranoiac.

Still…

The image of a large man of about sixty appeared, scattering those thoughts. He wore a gray flat-top haircut and Base Security uniform, and sat behind a desk identical to the corporal's. He smiled out at Susan in an almost fatherly fashion. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke.

"I'm Staff Sergeant Evans, Captain. How can I help you?" His voice was deep and pleasant, and without thought Susan returned his smile.

"An attempt has just been made on my life," Susan responded, "here, in my quarters."

"So I've been told." He looked down and to his left, obviously watching a display set in the desk top. His face wrinkled in a frown. "We haven't received record of the occurrence from the Fleet computer yet."

"I wasn't wearing my LIN/C."

The staff sergeant's gaze snapped back to Susan and his frown intensified, further creasing his features. "Why not?"