When McGinnis’s eyes blinked open, he exhaled suddenly, as though a great tension had been released from his body. His voice sounded husky. “Why, may I ask, are you interested in this… ship?” His gaze shifted from one to the other, and came to rest on Legroeder. “You weren’t thinking of looking for her, or something…”
“As a matter of fact,” Legroeder answered softly, “I’ve already seen her.”
“You—” McGinnis said with a start, and then cut himself off. “Please continue.”
Legroeder nodded, feeling a band of tension in his forehead. “I’ve seen it. And I’ve heard lies about it. And I need to know the truth—to prove the truth. This has great personal importance to me. So if you—” He paused, realizing that McGinnis’s hand was trembling.
McGinnis placed his half-empty glass on the table and stared at it, as if it held answers to his questions. His gaze caught Legroeder’s. “Tell me,” he whispered.
“If you’ve seen the news reports, you must know—”
McGinnis shook his head. “Tell me.”
Legroeder glanced at Harriet. What nerve had they struck here? Drawing a deep breath, he told McGinnis the story. The Impris sighting. The pirate attack. His years of captivity and servitude. His escape. And finally, his framing by the RiggerGuild inquest panel. Even in brief, it was a tortuous tale. When he finished, he sat back with a sigh, trying to push the reawakened memories back into their bottle.
McGinnis rotated his glass in his hands, contemplating. “Well.” He gazed up at the ceiling. “You’re right about my having information about Impris. Nobody’s looked at it in years. I probably have the closest thing there is to a complete record. As complete as there can be, considering that we never learned what happened to her. Except—” he paused, looking down “—you’ve just confirmed reports I’ve heard over the years, that she’s being used by present day pirates as a lure for unsuspecting ships.” He shot a piercing glance at Legroeder. “You might want to think about what that means, in terms of your being framed.”
Legroeder opened his mouth wordlessly.
Harriet spoke sharply. “Would you be willing to share the information you have with us?”
McGinnis pressed three fingertips to his forehead, scowling. “Yes,” he hissed… but as though he were speaking to someone else.
“Mr. McGinnis? Are you all right?”
Pain flickered across the man’s face. “I’m… fine.”
Harriet exchanged alarmed glances with Legroeder. “Is there anything we should—?”
McGinnis blinked his eyes open. “No. I’m fine now. Really.” He grimaced. “I don’t… know much more than you about the present state of Impris, I suspect. But if you’re interested in knowing the truth of her past… I’ll show you what I have.” He seemed to have difficulty getting the words out. He pressed his hands to the tabletop, as if steadying himself. His chin jutted, eyes challenging them. “Not many people are interested in the truth, you know.”
“The truth is what we’re here for,” said Harriet.
“Then I have what you need. The whole reason I’ve kept these documents here… is to keep the truth alive. Truths. Not just about one ship, but about a larger historical matter—” he paused, as though gathering strength “—that for over a hundred years has been nothing but a lie.”
Legroeder shook his head in confusion. “What—?”
“You came here to ask about a ship. But what you really need to know about is dishonor and betrayal between worlds—in wartime and in peace.” McGinnis’s voice hardened to a knife edge. “A betrayal that continues to this day—unrecognized, and written right into our history books.” He sighed. “The disappearance of Impris was one of a great many mysteries left at the end of the War of a Thousand Suns. Most of them remain unsolved, and forgotten. But for some—like Impris—answers were fabricated, and perpetuated, for reasons that have nothing to do with the facts. But there are real answers… if you want to know them.” He glared in the direction of the crackling fire, his black eyebrows knitted together. “If you want to read them for yourselves.”
Harriet seemed taken aback by his ferocity. “Yes, we do—very much. But may I ask something first? Why was this information removed from the public record? Was it deliberately suppressed? Is there some raider influence here?”
McGinnis barked a laugh. He slapped a fist into his open palm and sat trembling. His lips barely moved as he whispered, “Get… out of my… you little shit!” With a shiver, he said a little too loudly, “Sorry—yes—it was suppressed.”
McGinnis looked to Legroeder as if he were about to explode. “Who suppressed it?” Legroeder asked.
McGinnis spoke in halting words, as if against some resistance. “I cannot—tell you that—now. But I can tell you why—the lies were told—a hundred years ago, and still are, today.”
“Yes?”
McGinnis’s breath rasped. “Blame the enemies of the Narseil.”
“Excuse me?”
McGinnis seemed to gain strength, and his voice became almost normal. “Back then, there were those who wanted the Narseil blamed for the loss of a prized ship. It could have been any ship. But when Impris disappeared, the perfect excuse presented itself. Look at the Narseil and the Centrist Worlds. They were allies against the Kyber in the War of a Thousand Suns—until the end of the war, when suddenly they weren’t, anymore.”
Legroeder frowned. “That’s what the RiggerGuild library says. That it was suspicion that they’d destroyed Impris that ruined relations with the Narseil. But Impris wasn’t destroyed—I’ve seen it! It’s out there!” His pulse was racing now, with hope that he might finally learn what was behind the RiggerGuild lies. But why would anyone have betrayed the Narseil, and what could it possibly mean now, one hundred years later? What connection did it have to pirates using Impris as bait?
“Perhaps,” said McGinnis, “this would be a good time to show you what was known, until it was buried under the lies. Would you like to see the report of the inspector who investigated the ship before it disappeared?”
It took a second for the words to register. “Before—?”
“That’s right. Impris’s troubles started well before the time of her disappearance. Excuse me one moment.” McGinnis returned to the control console near the bar. He worked for a moment, muttering under his breath. Rejoining his guests, he said, “The materials will arrive shortly.”
When the library robot rolled into the room, bearing a large carton, McGinnis quickly cleared the table. “Some of this used to be on the public library systems, but it was purged long before the originals came into my possession. I was given these materials for safekeeping—”
“Why you?” asked Harriet.
“That,” McGinnis said sharply, “is something I’m not at liberty to speak about. Let’s just say they were safer with me.” He lifted a set of folders from the carton. “I’ve reloaded all of it on my own system, but these are the originals. Or as close as one can get. These are certified copies of the original investigation by the Space Commission—they were the forerunners of the present Spacing Authority—into the disappearance of Impris. And along with it, the old RiggerGuild investigation. They don’t entirely agree with each other—but neither one ascribes any blame to the Narseil.” McGinnis opened the top folder and took out several sheaves of mylar paper. “In fact, they don’t even mention the Narseil.”