"I had just stepped from the shower."

He nodded. "That is unfortunate. So, the Fleet computer doesn't contain a record of the incident." He was silent for a few seconds, then said, "But my locator readout shows you are wearing it now. Tell me what happened. Meanwhile, I'll send an investigation team out to inspect the area for physical evidence." He nodded to someone outside the transmitting holo-phone's field of view.

Susan told Evans about the attack, and the smart-card in the pouch at her waist transmitted to the Fleet computer not only everything she said, felt, remembered, and thought about the experience, but also her pulse and respiration rate, pupil dilation, galvanic response, and several other physiological indicators. That transmission would constitute her legal statement, colored by her perceptions and emotions, in lieu of a record of the actual occurrence. It would be forwarded almost instantaneously to the Base Security computer.

"Could it have been a case of mistaken identity?" Evans asked when she had finished her story.

Susan shook her head. "Like I said, he used my name."

"You confirmed it to him?"

"I had no choice. He used the Voice."

"Then it's lucky you crushed his larynx when you did. And you say he simply disappeared?"

She nodded.

Evans frowned and his gaze narrowed. He was silent for a few seconds. Finally he asked, "How long have you been on Luna, Captain?"

"Nearly eight hours. I arrived on the shuttle just before midnight."

"And what brings you here?"

"Fleet Admiral James Renford sent for me from Earth-side. I have an appointment with him this morning."

"You are on the Admiral's staff?"

"That's right."

"Here on official Fleet business?"

"Yes."

Evans nodded. Even if Susan knew more, she couldn't tell him, and he knew it. "You just sit tight until my people arrive," he said. He punched a button before him and his image vanished.