Jericho set his jaw but remained silent.
After a few seconds, Mr. Newman nodded approvingly and stood from his stool, “We shall review this situation in private. Feel free to avail yourselves of our host’s generosity while we deliberate.”
With that, Lady Jessica and Mr. Newman moved to the tiny passageway leading to the kitchen, and a blast door slammed shut behind him just as Russo withdrew from his customary position leaning over the counter.
Jericho closed his eyes and drew several loud, deep breaths and Masozi asked, “Where is Shu?”
Jericho gave her a short, stern look before shaking his head, “She didn’t make it back.”
“Did Afolabi…” Masozi began, but an even sterner look from Jericho—on which made clear that such questions should be kept for later—stopped her mid-sentence. “You look like hell,” she said, gesturing to the quartet of sweat lines running down his face before looking pointedly at his slowly flexing and extending fingers.
“I’ve been better,” he admitted before turning to Ms. Schmidt. “I hope you didn’t make the trip for nothing, Ms. Schmidt.”
“Please,” the older woman said irritably, “just ‘Schmidt’ will do.”
“Fine,” Jericho nodded as he gritted his teeth in what Masozi took to be extreme pain. She had never seen him like this before, and much as she disliked him on a personal level she was starting to feel concerned. “I think it would be best if we observed silence until they’re done.”
So they stood, and sat, in silence for eleven minutes and forty six seconds—Eve had silently initiated a stopwatch on the monocle, so Masozi knew precisely how long they had been speaking privately in the kitchen—and then the blast door slid back to reveal the portly Russo, who leaned across the short counter just as he had done previously.
Lady Jessica emerged from the kitchen first, seeming to glide rather than walk as she moved to the door of the bistro. Newman was behind her, and after he resumed his seat he said with a broad, duplicitous smile, “The tribunal finds your explanation of events to be satisfactory, and will overlook your disregard for local Virgin law on the condition that you surrender yourselves for prosecution after you have completed the Blanco Adjustment.”
Masozi’s eyebrows rose as she replayed his words in her mind. She allowed herself to wonder for a moment whether or not their second tribunal was actually finished.
Then Newman’s eyes took on a vicious gleam as he added, “Another condition on which the tribunal has agreed, however, is the demonstration that the assets you will utilize in said Adjustment have been legally acquired, in accordance with the Timent Electorum’s financing guidelines for an Adjustment-related arsenal.” His smile turned serpentine as he turned to Lady Jessica, “Seeing as Lady Jessica has nearly a century of experience dealing with such matters, she will examine your case while our host and I will grant her decision our total support.” Newman stroked his upper lip as he leaned back against the short counter and finished, “I will be most interested to see how you justify the inclusion of a warship in that panoply, as my own meager understanding of Sector law expressly prohibits Adjusters from utilizing such assets—especially when they are flagged under, and crewed by, Corporate Security Officers.”
“Firstly,” Schmidt said, stepping forward and putting a fist-sized holo-projector on an empty stool, whereupon it generated a series of large, holographic representations of the original Sector law documents—several of which had originally been proposed here, in the Manticore System, “there is no warship under my clients’ jurisdiction; the Zhuge Liang, while flying Corporate Security flags and operating under the attached limitations, is a repurposed pleasure craft which has undergone significant modifications over the past hundred and eighty four years since Hadden Enterprises acquired it. However,” she tapped her fingers together lightly, and Masozi noticed she was wearing sleek, improbably thin glove over her hand which contained several miniature electronic appliances the purposes of which she could not hope to guess, “the craft’s original power plant, superstructure, and Phase Drive have undergone no modifications during that time, as affirmed and attested by the attached seventy four V-SDF inspections, the last of which was conducted four years and nine months ago and therefore remains valid for the next three months.”
The ease with which Schmidt was able to speak in such a high-pressure situation—where each of their lives literally hung in the balance—forced Masozi to reconsider the woman. Without breaking cadence, Schmidt clicked her fingers together and the holographic inspection documents were replaced by another series of official documents pertaining to the craft’s armaments.
“Furthermore,” the white-haired legal expert continued, while Lady Jessica looked on impassively, “the weapons systems which have been added to this pleasure craft’s arsenal were each legally salvaged. Export duties were paid on each of them in turn when they were removed from the sovereign territories where they were discovered and claimed by the then-named Hadden Industries, which eventually merged with several other entities to become Hadden Enterprises.”
At this, Schmidt waited while Lady Jessica moved with inhuman grace to stand before the virtual projection. The Lady reached up into the projection to manipulate a handful of the documents, which responded by rearranging and magnifying themselves in accordance with her deft, practiced motions. She pulled up a series of serial numbers and scanned each of them in turn before cocking her head, “You can provide the Central Authority’s notarized and affirmed supporting documents for these case numbers?”
Schmidt clicked her fingers again, and a handful of documents bearing the same serial numbers sprang into being beside those which Lady Jessica had arranged in the air before herself. “I can also provide video recorded testimony from each of the seven co-signees whose signatures are on these documents,” she said mildly before adding, “if you think it prudent, Lady Jessica.”
Lady Jessica flicked her eyes from one document to another, going through the series three times in silence before shaking her head, “This is satisfactory.”
“Good,” Schmidt said neutrally, clicking her fingers and dismissing all of the documents before summoning a new set of laws and statute excerpts. “Now, in accordance with the Chimera Sector’s many statutes governing the acquisition and regulation of such ordnance, I have demonstrated to the highest possible standard that, given the original nature of the Zhuge Liang and the unbroken chain of registration inspections conducted by duly-commissioned inspectors, the vessel in question is in fact a pleasure craft and is therefore unrestricted by the normal limitations imposed on Corporate Security Vessels. Do you agree?”
Lady Jessica’s eyes moved over a series of documents and she began to rearrange them in what looked to be an incomprehensible fashion—at least, it seemed incomprehensible to Masozi.
“The Salvaged Ordnance Code,” Lady Jessica said coolly, gesturing to one of the documents, “expressly disallows the installation of several of these weapons—specifically those of Imperial manufacture—onto a pleasure craft without SDF oversight.”
“That is a common misconception, and one I am only too glad to address,” Schmidt said easily, clicking her fingers and summoning a whole host of legal case files to surround the other documents. “In the fiftieth year of the Chimera Sector’s existence, the Salvaged Ordnance Code, or SOC, was amended to permit the installation of Imperial tech systems onto Imperial tech vessels so long as these installations were recorded in the vessel’s maintenance log in accordance with Sector guidelines governing the chain of custody for such controlled weapon systems.”
Lady Jessica’s eyes narrowed, but she nodded fractionally as she gestured to another set of documents, “And what of the restrictions placed on Corporate transfer of assets to private citizens?”
“Transfer taxes have been paid in accordance with Sector law,” Schmidt said easily, dismissing the settled documents with another click of her fingers and summoning a set of tax receipts—most of which had
date stamps from just a few weeks earlier. “Additionally, the vessel was duly logged as an asset transfer from Director Stephen Hadden’s private holdings to Jericho Winchester Bronson three years, six months and four days ago, which transfer was to be executed upon Director Hadden’s death.”
“There is no concrete evidence that Stephen Hadden is dead,” Newman said pointedly, and Masozi thought she detected a note of concern in his voice.
Schmidt turned to face him, pausing momentarily before clicking her fingers and summoning a death certificate to the air before Newman, “President Blanco was only too eager to endorse the reports verifying Director Hadden’s death at H.E. One, making Stephen Hadden’s death a matter of public record. If you dispute these reports, your dispute is with the issuer of this death certificate and has no bearing on these proceedings.”
“True,” Lady Jessica interrupted before Newman could retort, pulling up the transfer deed for the Zhuge Liang, “but what of Ms. Blanco’s inclusion in the last will and testament?”
“Ms. Blanco represented a significant emotional investment for Director Hadden, and as such he included her in an executive capacity with override authority over the deployment of the vessel and its assets, with that authority to be exercised in conjunction with the pleasure craft’s new owner,” Schmidt explained smoothly, summoning another series of Sector statutes governing the transfer of assets. Those statutes were accompanied by a series of case files, some of which Masozi recognized as the more infamous examples of spouses labeled ‘gold diggers’ by popular media, and how they had gained huge sums of money which went well beyond those afforded them in prenuptial agreements by centering their arguments around the idea of ‘emotional investment.’
Masozi was going to have to speak with Schmidt about the woman having labeled her as a gold digger in order to advance the legal case. Not only was the idea preposterous, it was offensive! The fact that she saw her own signature affixed to several of the documents confirming her assent to the argument only served to make her blood boil, though she knew she had signed several hundred similar documents in Schmidt’s presence.
“An intriguing—if dangerously thin—approach to the issue,” Lady Jessica said skeptically, and for the first time Masozi saw genuine interest on the woman’s perfectly-sculpted features. The Lady flipped from one case file to another, reading the highlighted portions of text which Schmidt had apparently prepared prior to the tribunal. She continued to do so for nearly ten minutes of uninterrupted silence—during which Masozi’s blood pressure must have risen at least thirty percent—before finally nodding and making a dismissive gesture, “Thin…but acceptable. What of the crew which has been continuously assigned to the craft?”
Clicking her fingers, Schmidt dismissed the previous documents and summoned another set. As she scanned it, Masozi recognized that each one was a crew dossier from the Zhuge Liang’s current—and, in some cases, deceased—crew. “The vessel’s crew is composed entirely of volunteers, working pro bono, who were collectively released from their service contracts with Hadden Enterprises six months ago. Each has previously filed for, and been granted, dispensation to have any labor contributed aboard the Zhuge Liang be logged as charitable contributions toward the Sector’s greater good, under the Selflessness For Societal Cohesion Act of Year 32. This manner of contribution was initially recognized as valid by the Sector Supreme Court’s decision in case I340-B of Year 43, and was later supported and clarified in decisions J631-D of Year 76 and R4432-A of Year 112.”
Lady Jessica perused the statues and case files in question for nearly fifteen minutes of total silence before nodding, “Satisfactory.”
“Good,” Schmidt said with no small measure of self-assurance as she sliced a brief look at Mr. Newman—whose composed façade was crumbling with each passing second, “then let us continue to the matter of secondary support assets heretofore unnamed and unrecognized, as well as the right of Mr. Bronson and Ms. Blanco to request Corporate aid before, during, and after the discharging of their duties as legally-recognized and duly-commissioned Adjusters operating in the Chimera Sector’s best interest. In accordance with the First Right…”
Masozi leaned back against the nearby table and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes as Schmidt did what Schmidt did best.
The only solace Masozi took in the next four hours of uninterrupted back-and-forth between Schmidt and Lady Jessica was that, for the first time since meeting Schmidt, the woman’s razor-sharp wit and legal expertise were being directed at someone who was almost certainly their enemy.
“I find no further cause to dispute your stipulations,” Lady Jessica said after Schmidt had finished going over what seemed to Masozi like absurdly abstract legal definitions regarding the transmission and reception of data streams on public wavelengths. “Your documents are in good order; you have my compliments, Ms. Schmidt. Aside from the stipulations previously agreed to, I cannot find cause to inhibit your clients’ undertaking of this important Adjustment, nor can I find cause to deny them access to the material assets discussed here.”
“Thank you, Lady Jessica,” Schmidt inclined her head as she deactivated and collected the projector.
Newman, who had apparently accepted defeat several hours earlier, rose from his stool. “Then I suppose all that remains is to wish you all good hunting,” he said amicably, but the coldness in his eyes betrayed his jolly affect. “I have pressing matters to attend in my home system.”
“A moment, Adjuster,” Jericho said as Newman began to turn toward the door, stopping the other man in his tracks and causing him to turn and face Jericho.
“Yes?” Newman asked with what could only be forced patience.
“When we departed the Virgin System,” Jericho said levelly, “over a hundred Adjusters had been confirmed dead in a wave of what the media is calling public reprisals against them. From what little I was able to gather from the inhabitants of this station, it seems that every Star System endured a similar uprising at the same time.”
“Indeed, my home System suffered a similar fate…only a handful of us survived what the public is calling the greatest purge since the ousting of the Old Nobility,” Newman said solemnly, and Masozi was unable to tell if the affect was genuine or forced. His unreadable façade appeared to have been fully repaired following the unexpected display by Schmidt, and he shook his head gravely as he added, “I suppose there is no greater evidence supporting the justification of the Adjustment you have been assigned to carry out.”
“Lady Jessica?” Jericho asked of the statuesque woman.
She cocked her head fractionally, “New Britain’s Adjusters were fortunate compared to those of Virgin and other Systems. Our losses were only a small fraction of your own.”
The silence hung for a moment before Masozi belatedly realized that Jericho was handing her an opportunity. So she stepped forward and asked, “Does anyone know the System-by-System breakdown of how the local Adjusters fared?”
“I don’t see how—“ Newman began, only to have Russo interrupted him.
“I’ve got it,” the portly, brown-skinned man said, waving a data pad in his left hand—and only then did Masozi notice that his right hand sported several fresh, pink scars that looked to have been surgically repaired recently.
“May I see it?” Lady Jessica asked with narrowed eyes. Russo wordlessly tossed it through the air, and Lady Jessica deftly caught it before perusing its contents. “I see…” she said slowly, giving Jericho a brief but meaningful look.
“What is it?” Masozi asked, uncertain where Jericho was going with this but intrigued by the late maneuver nonetheless.
“It seems,” Lady Jessica said, turning to hand the slate to Newman—who studiously ignored it for a moment before accepting it and scanning its contents while she continued, “that the Adjusters in Star Systems that have already aligned themselves with President Blanco’s Union—which, as it is currently defined, is unlawful according to our Sector’s founding Rights—su
ffered the greatest casualties, while those in Systems which have yet to declare their affinity and support for the Union suffered only a tiny fraction of their losses.”
“Captain Mike Kotcher,” Masozi said, finally catching on to what Jericho was getting at, “recorded a conversation he had with President Blanco prior to the Union Fleet’s attack on Rationem, and disseminated that conversation—along with several key pieces of information which had come into my possession—via courier ship to each of the Sector’s sovereign Star Systems. I’m guessing that Virgin’s populace never heard of the decree—and neither did the Systems which have already declared their support for Blanco’s so-called Union,” she concluded confidently. “Did your home Star System, Kirin, show that conversation on the news feeds, Mr. Newman?”
Newman handed the pad back to Lady Jessica, “Until now, I was unaware of its existence. So no,” he said, clearly hiding behind his unreadable expression, “I do not think it was shown on my home world.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Jericho said grimly, and silence hung over the room for several long seconds.
“You still never answered my question, Mr. Bronson,” Newman said as he turned to open the door. The bells hanging from the door jingled as he pushed it open, and when he turned to face Jericho there was unmasked suspicion in his visage, “Whatever became of your companion?”
Jericho set his jaw but said nothing, and Newman decided to leave it at that as he exited the bistro.
Several moments passed before Masozi turned to Russo and gestured to his repaired arm, “Did Manticore not get the message?”
“Us? Of course we got it,” he scoffed before looking down at his arm and grinning. “Oh, you mean that…whether it’s running a kitchen or serving in my other capacity, my life is never dull.”
Sic Semper Tyrannis: The Chimera Adjustment, Book Two (Imperium Cicernus 5) Page 33