The crowd began hissing again. K'oron again silenced the crowds. "Then Tr'oka Zur shall commence! Sound the horn!"
A large stone horn bellowed, and Zr'ika leaped at Danielle with a knife outstretched in her hand! How does she have a weapon already? We were only supposed to use what was in the arena! Danielle grabbed the arm with the knife and used Zr'ika's momentum to propel her past. Remember what K'oron said, get to the shadowed wall of the arena! Danielle took off running in the direction of the shadows. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Zr'ika was regaining her balance and turning to chase after her. Danielle made it to the wall and saw some kind of sword laying on the ground. Zr'ika had caught up and was closing in for another attack. Danielle dove for the sword wrapped her fingers around the hilt and brought the blade up just in time to deflect Zr'ika's second lunge with her knife. Zr'ika kicked the blade out of Danielle's hand and brought her knife down hard at Danielle's chest. Danielle rolled to dodge the blade but didn't move faster enough. Zr'ika's blade caught Danielle's right arm, cutting almost to the bone. The pain was excruciating, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. She heard the crowd roar in applause. She scrambled along to wall trying to find another weapon and get further away from Zr'ika.
The V'drellian woman laughed. "Run little girl!" She took the knife in her hand drew it back over her shoulder and launched it at Danielle's back. Danielle felt the impact of the knife just below her right shoulder blade and fell to the ground. She could hear Zr'ika laughing. So this is how it ends. I always thought I'd die in space, not in a gladiatorial arena. Life's just full of surprises. She heard the sound of Zr'ika's boots crunching in the gravel and dirt of the arena floor. She was flat on her chest waiting for the death blow to come. Her head was up against the arena wall. She was staring at the ground in front of her. Wait. Is that? Just within arm's reach, and half-buried in the dirt was a what looked like a Commonwealth pulse blaster! Where did that come from? She stretched out her left arm. Her fingers rubbing against the familiar grip of the weapon. If I can just reach a bit further.
Zr'ika was now standing over her. "Turn over. I want you to see Th'warzin coming for you, and I want to watch the life fade from your eyes." The crowd was cheering and screaming with anticipation of the kill.
Danielle slowly started to turn over, then quickly extended her left arm at Zr'ika, the pulse blaster in her hand. Before Zr'ika even realized what had happened, Danielle fired. The pulse shot stuck the V'drellian in the left eye and exited out of the back of her head. Danielle saw the surprise on the face of Zr'ika for a brief moment, before her would-be executioner fell on top of her. The crowd was going insane screaming and hissing at what had just happened.
K'oron stood and shouted. "Silence! I demand silence!" The crowd's shouting began to die down. Everyone in the arena had their eyes focused on the two forms lying on the ground of the arena. Slowly Danielle managed to push Zr'ika's body to the side. She placed her good arm against the wall, and carefully stood up. She staggered to the center of the arena and faced K'oron. The crowd was silent in disbelief.
Legate Th'arn, who had been sitting just a few seats away from K'oron stood and spoke to the crowd. "Citizens of V'drell Prime. This is one of the Terrans who attacked our brave men and women. Now she has killed a member of one of the oldest orders of faith in the entire Dominion. Zr'ika was trying to defend our people by eliminating this evil creature. She should be executed for her crimes!" The crowd burst into cheering.
"Lt. Hart has killed Zr'ika in Tr'oka Zur, and as such is guilty of no crime. As far as your other accusations, there will be no execution without a trial," K'oron spoke over the noise of the crowd.
"She has no right to a trial," Th'arn countered. "She is not a citizen of the Dominion."
"Yes, I am!" A hush went over the crowd. Both K'oron and Th'arn turned toward the source of the voice. It was Danielle. She was standing as tall as she could manage with her wounds. "I fought Zr'ika in Tr'oka Zur, and I defeated her. By law, all that she has is now mine. Since she was a citizen of the Dominion, that would now make me a citizen of the Dominion. As such, I claim all rights of a Dominion citizen." Danielle hoped her argument didn't fall on deaf ears. Oh well, at this point anything is worth a shot.
"You are not a citizen of the Dominion," Th'arn argued. "The rights of Tr'oka Zur do not apply."
"On the contrary," K'oron interrupted smiling. "I spoke with the Emperor himself concerning her being challenged to Tr'oka Zur. I was against her being forced into this for the very reason you just mentioned. His response was that the law of Tr'oka Zur overrules all other laws. Therefore, she was bound by Zr'ika's challenge to fight, and by extension, she does have the right to claim all that Zr'ika had as the victor." He then addressed the crowd. "Danielle Hart has defeated Zr'ika in Tr'oka Zur. Th'warzin has taken the life of the guilty. This is our oldest law. By the right of Tr'oka Zur, Danielle Hart now has all that was once belonging to Zr'ika." The crowd sat dumbfounded. No one moved. They had come expecting to see what should have amounted to the execution of a Terran prisoner but now they were faced with a different outcome.
"This is an outrage, K'oron!" Th'arn exploded.
"This is our law," replied K'oron. "Help her out of the arena! Bandage her wounds! Th'warzin has accepted her. Who are we to dispute his divine judgment?" The crowd began filing out of the arena. Some would go home angry, others with a deeper understanding of their laws and beliefs.
For Th'arn, nothing was going the way he had planned. "I will not forget this, K'oron," he threatened.
"I don't expect you will," acknowledged the Commandant. K'oron left the stands and went back to the Citadel. He went to his room to check on Danielle but didn't find her. He asked one of the members who walked by where they had taken her.
"To her room, of course," the young man replied.
"Her room?" K'oron asked somewhat puzzled.
"Yes," the man answered, "it's the last door on the left at the end of the hall."
K'oron chuckled. "Of course, I should have known." He walked to the end of the hall, to the room that earlier that day had belonged to Zr'ika. He entered the room and found Danielle lying on the bed. "This is becoming a habit," he smiled. "You getting injured, and me having to put you back together."
"Your speech was good," she said as a young man bandaged her arm.
"Yours was better," he replied. "How did you learn so much about our laws?"
She gave a weak laugh. "I paid attention when you were explaining why No'tok had such an old ship. He hadn't challenged people to get their stuff. I won the challenge, so I get her stuff."
"Indeed," he agreed. "This room is yours now, and everything in it. We've never had a recorded instance where anyone other than two V'drellians has participated in Tr'oka Zur. You've set a new precedent. As far as our laws are concerned, you are now a Dominion citizen, and also a ranked member of the V'drellz Stragizi. It is my honor to welcome you to our Order. You have much to learn about our customs, but you can begin your training as soon as you are healed."
"I want to go home, K'oron," she said. "You told me that after you spoke with the Emperor you would take me anywhere I wanted to go, and I want to go back to Mars."
"Very well," he sighed, "as soon as your wounds are healed enough to travel, you and I will depart for the Terran homeworld."
***
The three sat in silence contemplating their next move. The recent events involving the escape of K’oron and the Terran female had created a few complications to address. The female of the group finally broke the silence. “Brothers, we now know where the prisoners are. The question before us now is how much can they hurt our cause?”
“Neither prisoner saw any of us, so our plans should still be functional,” answered one of the hooded men. “Fortunately, my follower saw K’oron spying and we were able to stop him before he heard enough to harm us.” He looked directly at the other male. “It’s really too bad that your follower led him here, and then allowed them to e
scape.” He stared at the hooded V'drellian across from him. Your incompetence was only kept in check by Haardath. You're becoming a loose end.
“Agreed, my follower failed miserably,” the second male concurred. “After escaping they traveled to V’drell Prime. I attempted to have the female Terran killed in a ritual duel, to incite K’oron to violate the law as vengeance for her death. However, the Terran managed to survive and even attempted to plead her victory as just. She is claiming Dominion citizenship since she killed a citizen during Tr’oka Zur.”
“I’ve never heard of such nonsense,” snorted the first male. “One cannot become a citizen by merely killing someone.”
“Perhaps in the Protectorate where hands never get dirty, but things in the Dominion are much different. Laws are more based on faith and tradition,” the second male shot back at the first. “Still, I fully intend on making certain the Emperor will not uphold her claim.”
“No,” the female countered, “let her become a citizen of the Dominion. We can use that to our advantage when the time comes to initiate the second step of our plan.”
“Oh, how is that?” The first male asked. “How will letting the Terran be a citizen of the Dominion or not have any bearing on the assassination?”
The female chuckled. “In order to bring about the change we want, we must feed the public a narrative to make them go in the right the direction. Every good story needs a villain that the audience can truly hate. We can make her ours. Someone will have to take the blame for the assassination. Who better than a disgruntled Terran officer that has newly pledged her loyalty to the enemy of both the Commonwealth and the Protectorate?”
"I disagree," the second male argued. "We can find a disgruntled Terran or Rylan anywhere that is willing to actually commit the crime, not just someone to frame. Allowing the Terran woman to legitimize her ridiculous claim will only bolster their position in the Dominion. I need her to be seen as a villain to the V'drellian people. I need the people to rally to me, not to them."
"You need?" The female asked him with a tone that had a venomous note. "The only needs we are discussing are the needs to fulfill our destinies as the prophets of Kamseth! Your personal agendas are irrelevant!"
"Sounds like you are confusing your needs with the needs of Kamseth," scolded the first male. So foolish. You've allowed your personal agenda to get in the way of our plans. I think we are going to have to make plans to take care of you as well.
The second male realized that he not going to win this argument. "I know what our destiny is, I just believe that I will be in a better position to destabilize the Dominion if the people are polarized against K'oron and the Terran. If we remove K'oron, the Emperor loses one of his close friends and trusted allies."
"This discussion is over," the female said flatly. "We know what we must do. K'oron and Danielle Hart will be the most hated individuals in the universe when we are done."
CHAPTER 15
The trial of Zachary Ridgeway had begun promptly at nine o’clock. The prosecution consisted of Zorgash, representing the Protectorate, and Nathan Rosser, Sr. Legal Advisor to the Crown. The defendant was being represented by Cmdr. Walter Bridger, as military counsel. A select handful of reporters were in the gallery. Some were Terran, some were from the Protectorate. Admiral Hawthorne was also sitting in the gallery, representing the Queen. He gave Ridgeway a look of contempt.
This case was unprecedented in many ways. First was jurisdiction. Normally active duty officers were tried by military tribunal. However, the victims, in this case, were civilian citizens of the Protectorate, which made it fall under the Crown’s legal system for involving civilians, and a special investigation for crimes against foreign nationals. Secondly, this was the first case in Commonwealth history where the Crown was allowing a foreign national to actively participate in the proceedings. Zorgash had been personally appointed by the Queen as a special prosecutor for this case. Most notably though was the media coverage. The trial was being publicized throughout the Commonwealth and the Protectorate. Every major media outlet in both nations wanted access to the courtroom during the trial. In order to limit the disruptions, the Honorable Justice Carlos Santiago had ordered that no spectators would be allowed in, and a lottery would be held for twenty-four media representatives to attend the proceedings, but without cameras. The only allowed video was the official court camera mounted on the back wall of the courtroom. This feed was being made available on a thirty-minute time-delay to any news agency that requested it.
Ridgeway was scared. He never imagined that his career would end like this, being on trial for intergalactic hate crimes and mass murder. His counsel had subpoenaed every digital record and file from the Dauntless that might even remotely prove the audio recording altered. He knew this line of thought was futile. His counsel had already discussed it with him and had run down every possible lead without success. The prosecution had called several witnesses regarding the events of that day. They had played the audio clip into evidence, despite his counsel’s repeated objections. So here he sat, watching his world crumble down around him.
Zorgash turned toward the Defendant’s table. “The Prosecution calls Captain Zachary Ridgeway to the stand.” Ridgeway got up from his chair and walked to the witness box. The bailiff swore him in, and then he sat down.
“Captain,” Zorgash began, “according to ship’s logs, the Dauntless was participating in a war game exercise, correct?”
“Yes,” replied Ridgeway.
“What was the nature of this exercise?” Zorgash asked.
“Objection!” Ridgeway’s military counsel interrupted. “Answering would require revealing classified information.”
“Overruled,” Justice Santiago responded, then addressed Ridgeway, “Captain, you will answer the question concerning the overall mission. You are not required to give specific information that would be considered as classified.”
Ridgeway nodded. “Our exercise was to defend against a simulated invasion.”
“An invasion? By what nation’s fleet?” Zorgash pressed the matter.
“Objection, Your Honor,” Bridger argued. “The mission parameters are classified.”
“Sustained,” agreed Justice Santiago. “Move on, Mr. Zorgash.”
"Question of motive, Your Honor," Zorgash countered. "If the Protectorate was the simulated target, it might be that Captain Ridgeway's actions will make more sense. Perhaps he merely overextended his orders from a simulated target to a real one?"
Justice Santiago contemplated the idea. “Captain Ridgeway,” Santiago spoke to the Defendant, “Answer yes or no only. Was the Protectorate your simulated target?”
“No,” confirmed Ridgeway.
“Thank you, Captain,” Zorgash said smiling. “I know I’ll sleep better tonight knowing the Commonwealth isn’t preparing to fight us. Now, walk us all through the events that occurred on the Dauntless bridge that day, without divulging classified information, of course.”
Ridgeway cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “We had been ordered to participate in a simulated invasion. The invading force consisted of drones controlled by Fleet Command. Our task was to destroy any drones we encountered. The drones were programmed to emit a simulated enemy engine signal for our sensors to pick up. We launched some probes to expand our search area.” He shifted his weight in the chair. “At six and a half hours into the exercise, our sensors picked up the energy signature of what our computer identified as the simulated enemy craft. We locked weapons and fired. Only then did our computer suddenly change its identification from an enemy to a passenger ship.”
Only then.” Zorgash latched onto those words. “Only after destroying a ship containing thousands of innocent civilians did your sensors correct their error. How very tragic. Or perhaps convenient? Which was it, Captain?”
“Tragic, of course,” replied Ridgeway. “If I had any idea that was a civilian ship, I never would have given the order to fire.”
“So
,” Zorgash continued, “if something had seemed odd, you would have held your fire?”
“Definitely,” agreed Ridgeway.
Zorgash’s face took on a look of confusion. “You must forgive me, Captain. I sometimes struggle with the nuances of the Terran language. By ‘definitely’, you mean that you would not have fired had there been anything strange? That perplexes me seeing how you were warned by your Sensor Officer, a Lt. Darrin Comstock.” Zorgash retrieved a binder of papers from the prosecutor’s table. “I have here a sworn testimony by Lt. Comstock, that he did, in fact, tell you that something was abnormal about the ‘enemy’ ship. After his protests, you had him relieved of duty and removed from the bridge.” Turning to Justice Santiago, “Your Honor, we offer this testimony into evidence as Crown’s Exhibit #21.”
“So accepted,” Santiago replied.
“Now maybe you can see my confusion, Captain,” Zorgash refocused on Ridgeway. “You were warned repeatedly by Lt. Comstock, but chose to ignore him. You even had him thrown off the bridge for not telling you what you wanted to hear.” The
“He was just being paranoid,” snapped Ridgeway. “Command Officers have to weigh out the facts at hand and make decisions. Lt. Comstock wasn’t satisfied that the sensor reading was valid because it was not going the direction he thought it should. I took the facts that the sensors were showing the very reading we were scanning for, and it was in the area we were expecting it to be, as signs of a valid target.”
Zorgash shrugged. “But it wasn’t a valid target, was it? Perhaps your Sensor Officer was better at weighing the facts than you were?”
“Objection!” Ridgeway’s counsel stood and challenged. “Prosecution isn’t an expert on command qualifications.”
“Withdrawn,” Zorgash smiled.
***
Hart Of Honor: A Danielle Hart Novel Page 13