by D. J. Holmes
“The truth doesn’t matter here Admiral,” Fairfax said. “What matters is the law. Reynolds wants to make a spectacle of your nephew and by connection, you, me, and our plans to help Haven. The question is; if a court martial is convened, what do you think it will find?”
Somerville went to respond and then paused to think. His talk with his nephew from the day before still fresh in his mind. “I don’t know,” he conceded. “James’ orders were to scout out the Haven system and get accurate information on the disposition of the Indian forces. He has been given the stealthiest warship in our navy. He should have been able to complete his mission without any combat. Yet, he did seek out the Indian warships and he fired the first shots in almost all the encounters he had. What’s worse, when he had the intel he needed, instead of coming straight home, he attacked an Indian convoy.
“Heck, he did so well in evading the Indians, even though they knew he was there, they may pull more ships back to Haven to beef up the patrols there. That could actually make an invasion harder. If it’s true that your executive order doesn’t amount to a formal declaration of war, then a court martial may find James guilty of abandoning his orders and unlawfully engaging peaceful warships,” Somerville said.
“And if that were to happen, our plans for Haven would stall,” Fairfax said.
“Then what do we do?” King Edward asked. “We can’t just abandon James to his fate, not now that he is married to Suzanna. And of course, he is your nephew,” Edward added when he saw the look on Somerville’s face.
“I won’t abandon him,” Somerville said. “He may be too gung ho, but he is one of the best officers I have. If James loses his command because of political maneuvering in Parliament, it will send a very bad message throughout the fleet.”
“I know,” Fairfax said, “but you can’t get involved. It will look too much like favoritism.”
“Then what do we do?” Somerville interrupted, repeating Edward’s question.
“If you would let me finish,” Fairfax said. “I have a plan.”
“Go on then,” Somerville said, “don’t keep us all in suspense.”
“I can’t tell you all of it now,” Fairfax answered. “But suffice to say. It will further our war plans. Reynolds made a mistake not keeping this quieter. He has given me a couple of days to prepare. My propaganda machine can do a lot in two days.
“What I need you to do, is to expedite the court martial. We want it to be convened as soon as the Admirals bring it up. And, I need you to speak to your nephew. We all know he can be a bit hot headed. You need to convince him that we have everything under control. I already have the best corporate lawyer picked out for his defense.
“A corporate lawyer,” Somerville said. “Wouldn’t a military lawyer be better suited? One who is familiar with our laws and how a court martial works.”
“Not this time,” Fairfax said. “This isn’t just going to be a military trial. This will be a trial in front of the British public. I have just the woman for such an occasion. In fact, I have already spoken to her and we are of one mind about how to approach the trial. Your nephew will be keeping his answers simple. Here,” Fairfax said as he slipped a piece of paper into Somerville’s hands. “You are to give this to James.”
“I wish to make no further comment. I have been advised by my counsel that my record and my actions will speak for themselves,” Somerville said, reading the note out loud.
“What does this mean?” he asked Fairfax.
“It means that we have other ideas about how to defend James,” Fairfax explained.
“I see,” Somerville said.
“Ha,” Fairfax laughed. “I don’t think you do. But you will.”
“Ok,” Somerville said. “Then what am I to do now?”
“Just speak to James,” Fairfax said. “Then, when whoever is in Reynold’s pocket brings up the court martial, you are to expedite it.”
“Very well,” Somerville said. “The Admirals are meeting this afternoon, am I to assume that this matter will be brought up then?”
“I would expect so,” Fairfax answered.
“May I take my leave,” Somerville said. “I will have to speak to my nephew before the COBRA meeting.”
“We will see you later,” Fairfax said, shaking Somerville’s hand. “If this escalates into a court martial it will be hard to keep quiet, but you and your nephew will have to be on your best behavior.”
“We will,” Somerville promised as he stood.
“Hold on Edward, I have a role for you in all this too,” Fairfax said as King Edward stood with Somerville.
“We will speak later then Admiral,” Edward said as he shook Somerville’s hand.
“Aye,” Somerville said before he turned and walked out.
*
“Uncle,” James said as he sat down in the same seat he had been in the day before. He had received his uncle’s summons barely twenty minutes ago and rushed over. Not sure what his uncle wanted, he knew he needed to get something off his chest. “I want to say you were right,” he continued. “I hadn’t seen it before. But I have been letting my past successes get the better of me. Attacking that convoy was a mistake. I understand now. I’m not saying I am a changed man. But you have given me perspective. If I had the situation again to do over, I wouldn’t risk the intel I had gathered.”
“That makes what I am about to say a lot easier,” Somerville said, smiling. “I didn’t say you weren’t a fast learner. Just that you are too hard headed.”
“Thank you uncle,” James said. “I think.”
“Don’t thank me yet boy,” Somerville said. “You still have a lot to learn. And what I am about to tell you may just be the beginning of your learning process.”
“Ok,” James said, even more unsure why he had been called into his uncle’s office.
“There is going to be a court martial,” Somerville said, getting right to the point. “Yours I’m afraid.”
“I understand,” James said, devastated. “I let the fleet down.”
“You did boy,” Somerville agreed. “But this court martial is not coming from me and it is not about letting the fleet down. There is a movement among the opposition party in the Commons to prevent the fleet intervening in Haven. They are trying to embarrass me, the Prime Minister and our plans for Haven through you. You will be charged with disobeying orders and attacking neutral shipping. They want to make it look like the Prime Minister and I have been trying to start a fight with the Indians, that the whole Haven thing is just an excuse for a war we have been trying to orchestrate.
“Here,” Somerville said, slipping the piece of paper he had received from Fairfax to James, “this is your defense.”
“I don’t understand Sir,” James said after he read the paper.
“Neither do I,” Somerville answered. “But Fairfax assures me that he has everything under control.”
“So I can’t defend myself?” James said. “I may have risked my mission in attacking the fleet. But I didn’t disobey my orders, and I engaged the Indian warships because Fairfax’s executive order identified them as hostiles.”
“I know you did, even if firing first was not strictly what your orders mandated,” Somerville said, reminding James of the fine line he had skirted while in Haven. “Any neutral court martial would find your actions acceptable, if just barely,” he went on. “But this won’t be a neutral court martial. There are enough Admirals who aren’t enamored with how I run the Admiralty that Reynolds may be able to stack the deck against you.”
“I see,” James said.
“But look on the bright side,” Somerville said in a more cheerful tone. “You have Fairfax on your side. I dare say if he was really concerned about the court martial, he would have had it quashed before it could begin. He obviously has a trick or two up his sleeve.”
“And how is this to be a learning process for me?” James asked. He trusted Fairfax, but he knew the Prime Minister wasn’t infallible. “My care
er is going to be on the line.”
“I won’t let it come to that,” Somerville said. “And as for Fairfax. He has a plan in all this. One that is meant to help our war effort and the people of Haven. But it is one of his demands that you put the good of our plans above your own reputation. Your character, your command ability and your actions are going to be torn apart during the court martial and you are going to have to keep quiet.
“Worse, it may even be that what a lot of what they are saying is true. Yet, you are not going to be able to agree. For Fairfax’s plan to work, you will need to stick to your script. I don’t know what exactly he is up to, but I know that much. Do you think you can do that?” Somerville asked.
“I’m not sure,” James said. “How can I lie? I know why I chose to attack that convoy. My motives weren’t pure, and people died because of it.”
“No one is asking you to lie,” Somerville said. “For the last three years you have led a very distinguished naval career. Do you really think one mistake means you should be thrown out of the navy?”
“I was thinking that after our conversation yesterday,” James said reluctantly. “But Suzanna talked me out of it.”
“Just one more way the two of you are a good match,” Somerville said. “Now look at that piece of paper. Is anything on there a lie?”
“I guess not,” James said. “But how will appealing to my past protect me from the charges you say are going to be brought against me?”
“To be honest, I don’t know,” Somerville said. “But Fairfax does, and we both need to trust him. Can you do that? Can you put your career on the line for him?”
“Yes,” James replied, picking up the piece of paper and putting it into one of his pockets. “If this is what needs to be done.”
“Good,” Somerville said, smiling. “In that case, I will let you go tell your lovely wife the latest developments. She will need to be on her best behavior too. She has become a public figure now. She needs to make sure she doesn’t turn on Reynolds or his associates. She can defend you, but if she goes on the offensive, we will lose the moral high ground.”
“I see,” James said. “Well I will tell her, but I can’t make any promises. She doesn’t do everything I say.”
“And she’s not supposed to,” Somerville replied with a chuckle. “At least there is one positive thing that has come out of this court martial,” he added becoming slightly more serious.
“What is that?” James asked.
“We now have an excuse to keep your crew confined on board Endeavour,” Admiral Somerville replied. “The official story will be that your crew may be called as witnesses in the court martial and so are not allowed contact with any outside news agencies. Though my real concern is that the Indians will get wind of the Gift. Our future military strategy depends on keeping it a surprise.
“You are to instruct your officers that they are to screen all outgoing communications. Your people will be allowed to send out recorded messages to their loved ones, but your officers will need to make sure there is no mention of details sensitive to the court martial or the Gift.”
“My crew isn’t going to be very happy,” James replied carefully. “They didn’t get to step off the ship even once the last time we were in Earth orbit. They are going to get very restless.”
“I’ll see what I can do about arranging some time on one of Vulcan’s recreation decks,” Admiral Somerville replied. “They will have to be supervised by RSNI personnel of course, but they will at least be able to stretch their legs. That is the best I can do. We are on the brink of war with the Indians. Your crew are just going to have to do their duty.”
“I will make sure they understand,” James replied.
“Good. Now get going. I have a COBRA meeting to attend and then the meeting of the Admiralty Board,” Somerville said to dismiss his nephew.
*
When the British Navy morphed into the British Space Navy and once again became the focal point of British colonial expansion, the Admiralty Board was reinstituted to oversee the running of the Navy. Made up of Admirals who were selected by the fleet to serve as Lord Commissioners on the Board, their primary job was accept or reject the Prime Minister and King’s appointment of a First Space Lord. They also held the right to dismiss said appointee with a two thirds majority vote. After a First Space Lord was appointed, the day to day running of the navy fell on him or her.
With the day to day running of the navy in the hands of the First Space Lord, the Admiralty Board played an oversight role. Ensuring that the appointee of the Prime Minister and King did not steer the navy in a direction away from the traditions and values of its Captains and Admirals.
As he sat in the Admiralty Board meeting room looking at the sixteen Lord Commissioners, Somerville couldn’t help feel that maybe his last eight years as First Space Lord had been easier than he deserved. There were a number of Admirals seated around him who he knew didn’t see eye to eye with everything he did. Others were rivals who he had butted heads with on more than one occasion as he had risen through the ranks of the navy. Yet, to date the Board had rarely hampered the changes he had been effecting. Something in his gut told him that was about to change.
As the last Admiral sat down Somerville rose to his feet. “Now that we are all here, I call this meeting of the Admiralty Board to session.” Raising his hand Somerville brought the ornate gavel down with a bang.
“To the first order of business then,” Somerville said.
For almost an hour he got lost in the drudgery of Admiralty Board meetings. Whilst he had complete control of day to day naval affairs. There were countless minor things that he had to get Board approval for in order to make long term plans. Finally, the last thing on the agenda was discussed and voted on.
“Now, is there any other business for us to discuss before I bring this meeting to a close?” Somerville asked.
“Yes,” Admiral Blackwood said. “There is one more matter.”
Somerville inwardly groaned, of all the Admirals who were likely to have joined their cause to Reynolds’, Blackwood was the last one he wanted to see. Not many people knew, but the Blackwood and Somerville families had a long running feud that went back generations. Somerville had long ago put any past grievances aside. He wasn’t interested in the ancient past. Yet he knew his brother hadn’t been of the same mind. On more than one occasion he knew that his brother, James’ father, had gone out of his way to make life difficult for Admiral Blackwood.
Somerville had thought that Blackwood hadn’t held it against him. Certainly, he hadn’t caused any problems in the past. It seemed however, that he had been biding his time. Now he had a golden opportunity to get back at the son of the man who had crossed him.
“By now all of us have had a chance to read the report Captain Somerville brought back from Haven,” Blackwood continued. “I for one found it severely lacking. Worse, I believe Somerville directly disobeyed his orders when he attacked the Indian cruiser in orbit around Independence and when he attacked the Indian convoy. He was supposed to be on a reconnaissance mission, not a raiding mission. There is no state of war between India and the British Star Kingdom, and yet he attacked numerous Indian ships. All were acts of war. I believe he has been trying to provoke a war between our two nations and as such, should be court martialed for disobeying a direct order and treason against the crown.”
More than one gasp escaped the lips of the gathered Admirals. Treason was a very serious crime. Even Somerville, who had been expecting the call for a court martial, was shocked at the mention of treason. Reynolds and Blackwood were going for the jugular.
“This is an outrage,” Admiral Russell said. “Captain Somerville is one of the best Captains we have. He has shown courage under fire and a willingness to risk his life in service to his country. This is no way to treat a war hero.”
In desperation Russel looked to Somerville, seeking help in arguing his case. Slowly and deliberately Somerville shook his head. Th
is is not your fight friend, Somerville said to himself. Russell was his closest friend and head of RSNI, the intelligence division of the RSN. He would be bitterly upset that his contacts hadn’t seen this coming.
“Very well,” Somerville said. “As Captain Somerville is my nephew I am forced to remove myself from the vote. Can I see a show of hands of those willing to bring these charges to a court martial?”
Somerville was depressed when he saw the hands that went up. His enemies he knew, but some of the hands belonged to friends, others he had thought were allies. He knew himself that his nephew’s actions were reckless, but those who were voting against him now knew what they were doing. They weren’t just voting to court martial a reckless Captain, they were trying to undermine their First Space Lord.
In the end, the vote passed by ten to six. Before Somerville could go forward with the formal procedures to ratify a court martial Admiral Blackwood spoke again, “I would like to try the case.”