by Jim Rudnick
"You do, Sir," the conda said as one of his colonels slapped cuffs onto Bram's wrists and then took his upper arm and stood rock still.
Still might go any way at all, Tanner thought.
"Sir, I'll be fine in the Militia custody. Come see me tomorrow, please, and then let's get to the bottom of this whole mistake. Colonel, let's go," he said.
They slowly moved through the ranks of the Militia soldiers behind them, toward the Enkian shuttle. Moments later, they stepped up the landing ramp and went inside.
Tanner looked at the conda in front of him. He didn't bother shaking a finger in the Enkian's face, but his tone said it. "Conda Qem—I wanted to go on record. You are charged with the duty of care and control of our officer. No harm, not a single thing, is to happen to our lieutenant. You have the duty to provide just that—you and all of Enki whom we also will hold responsible. Do you understand me, Conda?" he said, and there was no way anyone could have misunderstood.
The conda nodded and saluted, which Tanner replied to in kind.
Battle lines drawn, Tanner thought and turned to his colonel as the last of the Enki Militia soldiers finally got on their shuttle and the doors closed.
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"I have called this meeting to discuss what the current status of Lieutenant Sander is—and what our plans will be at his trial, which I've just been told will begin tomorrow. Captain?" Ambassador Harmon said, picking up his tablet and holding it so he could make notes.
Like there will be any, Tanner thought, as he looked around at all the people present in the conference room on the Atlas. Members of the diplomatic team were there: a representative from the Duchy ship, the DN Triumph; another from the Caliphate ship, the CN Roc; one from the UrPoPo ship, the UN Andiya; and another from the Faraway ship, the FN Kamloops. All were seated at the table including Tanner and Kondo from the Atlas. Twelve members from the RIM would plan Bram's defense. All had a voice today, but Tanner knew that the major spokesperson at the table was the ambassador. And me, which he felt was even more true.
"Cards on the table, Ambassador?" Tanner queried first.
The ambassador nodded back as permission to speak freely in front of all in the room.
It took quite a bit of time to explain what the background of the current situation was, but he spared not a single item.
He talked first about the value to the RIM Confederacy of the probe metal—Xithricite as it was called here on Enki and how it was the most important major consideration of all. All other things were in third place, he said—except that now Bram had been arrested by the Militia here on Enki.
He went on to show the assembled defense team about the pressure that he and the ambassador had received from the Fine Arts Muse leader, Eecesoe Qig, and how they had threatened to halt the diplomatic talks no matter how they were going by filing case after case with the jurors here on Enki. Tanner shared how Qig had said that threat would be waived by one simple task—to somehow get the Words Muse leader, Uigoeri Qor, to lose the election for the new head juror position. While it had not been used, the murder of the Words Muse leader had been a consideration. Some of the team at the table squirmed in their seats at that comment. The diplomatic aides and the navy men knew about murder, as it was a part of their daily life in space, squirmed the most. “But we chose to not countenance murder,” Tanner added, “so we—Bram and Kondo and I, tried to find another way to help Qig win the election.”
Tanner continued with the planning process he, Bram, and Kondo had gone through and the solution they arrived at. The only way to avoid murder had been to somehow put Qor, the Words Muse leader, in such a light that his reputation would be damaged. And what better way to do that, they found, than to use Bram's Issian skills to rig the chemical treatment of the food pellets that were supposed to turn a youngling's feathers to their muse colors. That had been even easier than they'd imagined, as Bram had found after testing that an Enkian could be controlled quite easily if one was close enough to them.
Some representatives made a data entry on their tablets, and the Faraway representative made notes on a pad of paper. Wish I could have kept that one quiet, but no way now, he thought.
Tanner sighed and continued with the last piece of the plan. “When the food was to be processed, just last week, Bram made his way to the Resources pyramid, gained entry, and used his skills as an Adept Officer to force the tech to think that he'd properly processed the food items. He did not, but he thought that he did, and the carts were then handled as always by the Resources section, delivered to the Words Muse pyramid, and administered at the big graduation night event last week.”
Tanner took a sip of his tea, wishing for the days when a shot of his favorite Scotch would help. “And the next day, as we all knew,” Tanner added, “the crap hit the fan, and at the big meeting in the Words Muse rotunda the next day, the jurors informed us all about the investigation that they would be starting.”
Everyone sat still, not a word was said. Some were still punching information into their tablets.
Tanner finished off by recapping the election just last night. ”Our subterfuge must have worked as the Fine Arts Muse leader, Qig, was elected to the head juror position over the Words Muse leader, Qor. Everyone was happy,” he said, “and that included us—until right after the election results were made public and fifty Militia soldiers invaded the Atlas with a warrant for Bram's arrest.”
Tanner raised his hand to stop the questions and added that it was Bram who had stepped forward to accept the warrant and submit to the arrest, which had prevented Tanner from ordering that the Militia forces would be engaged by his Atlas marines. “That would have been a firefight in very close quarters, and while I had no doubt as to who would have won, there would have been casualties on our side.”
Again, everyone tried to speak at once, and the ambassador knocked on the table to get everyone's attention. The ambassador waited for quiet before speaking.
"What we need to do here is to try to come up with a plan—a way to help Captain Scott to defend his lieutenant. And before you ask, you should all know that we have already supplied the captain, as the official from the defense side, to act as the counsel for Sander. So, ideas, please?" he said and then once again poised his finger above his tablet, ready to enter items.
There was quiet for a moment, and then the captain of the Triumph, the Duchy ship, started off.
"Do we get any kind of upfront proffer of evidence?" he asked.
Good question, Tanner thought.
Ambassador Harmon replied, "Asked and answered. They do not. The whole trial takes place in real time in front of the full five jurors. It will be prosecuted by the Words Muse leaders, we assume. But no, we get no upfront offer of the evidence that they have," he said.
None of the RIM representatives said a word.
"What is the burden of proof," one of the ambassador's aides asked.
"The prosecution must produce the evidence that will shift the conclusion of guilt away from the default position of innocence. Same as everywhere else, I'd imagine," the ambassador said.
That too was digested, and then Tanner spoke. "As I see it, here's what happens tomorrow. We go to the Words Muse pyramid for Bram's trial. At same, all evidence is presented as the prosecution sees fit. We get, we've been told, the ability to question witnesses, present our own too if we have any. No character witnesses allowed though, we are told. Simple, factual, and should be over in an hour, we were told. Fat chance," he said, his voice almost strident.
That got a few nods from around the table.
"Further, it is not 'til the trial actually starts that we even find out what Bram has been charged with, indictment-wise. Nor for that matter have they said any more than that, as that is Enkian justice, it appears," the ambassador said.
The ambassador ended the conference, and after a few nods and some keystrokes and tablet entries later, they all left.
Tanner sat with Kondo for a few minutes more.
&
nbsp; "So, worst case, Sir?" Kondo said, "and how far will we go to ensure that Bram is found innocent? Or, do we also have a contingency plan in case the jurors find against us?" As he said that, he placed his tablet in front of Tanner.
On it, Tanner saw a simple list of all the Atlas combat troops on this mission to Enki. Listed were marines, Provost guards, EliteGuards, Air Force pilots, and more. The number was large, more than a thousand, but against a full planet of Militia soldiers, it wasn't enough. Tanner was about to mention that when Kondo slid the screen down a bit, and Tanner now noted that when one added in the Caliphate, UrPoPo, Duchy, and Faraway combat ready troops, the numbers hit almost ten thousand.
"That would be enough," Kondo said, "as we'd also take down AI robo-weapons too. I would think that at verdict time, if it went against us, we could fight our way out into the shuttles and up to the Atlas et al. with only minor casualties."
He sat back then, and they both stared at the tablet screen for quite a few minutes.
Tanner shook his head. "That, I'm afraid, we cannot do. Much as I'd like to just use our own forces to ensure that Bram goes free, we can't do that—yet. Note I said yet, Kondo, and I meant it. Instead, we will do our damnedest to defend our Adept Officer, and that should be enough," he said.
"Let's hope so," Kondo said as he swept the screen to blank, and they sat there lost in thought for the moment.
CHAPTER NINE
In the huge rotunda of the Words Muse pyramid, there was an issue with the seating. With every seat in the bleachers, the extra rollouts, and the huge floor taken, it was as if there wasn't an Enkian anywhere else but here. Here for the trial of the century, Tanner thought, as he and Kondo strode in the grade-level doors and stopped cold. Enkians. Several thousand, maybe even ten thousand, sets of eyes turned to stare at them. While he couldn't feel a thing other than anxiety, he knew disgust when he saw it. And it looked like the RIM, and more specifically, he and Kondo, had earned those stares of disgust.
He smiled broadly and clapped an arm around his XO's shoulder, and they walked together through the single aisle that was even narrower than usual due to the huge numbers of extra seats. All filled. All filled with Enkians of all muses, judging by the various feathered crest, each still staring at the two humans from the RIM. There were seats, he noted, for RIM parties too. There were some RIM members there from the Pollux, the Caliphate ship. The captain and a few others from the UrPoPo ship, the Andiya, more RIM members from the Triumph from the Duchy, and still more. They were seated on the floor, close to one side of the stage behind the table that would seat the defense team.
Finally reaching the stage, Tanner and Kondo climbed the short stairs, moved to the only empty side of the three tables set up in a triangular layout, and took two of the empty seats there. At the table to their left sat three Enkians—Words Muse citizens if one could count on the usual fact that a red and white feathered crest signified. One was the leader of the muse, Uigoeri Qor, the Enkian who had been the favorite in the election but who had lost to the Fine Arts Muse leader. Qor had lost the election on the strength of the loss of reputation after the feathered crest coloration failure. He nodded to Qor, the leader of the Words Muse, and the three of them stared at Tanner and Kondo. Again, the word disgust came to mind. They were going to be the prosecutors of the trial today, so Tanner just smiled back and imagined them on the Atlas down on Deck Ten with wash buckets and mops. That made his smile even bigger, and he nodded to the Enkian in the middle.
He looked up at the huge view-screens that once again had been lowered from the ceiling, and he loved how big—really big—his smile looked on the screen. Everyone will be able to see us with minute details—good to remember, he thought.
“Game on,” he said to himself as he looked at the other table. The other table was empty and awaiting the jurors. But more importantly, where is my lieutenant?
From the far side of the rotunda, near where the stairs were that went down to the access tunnels, a line of Militia soldiers appeared, marching in single file toward the stage. A conda led the men to completely circle the stage. As they took up picket duty, Tanner revisited his decision to come here today with Kondo only. No marines. No EliteGuards. No Provost guards. Just the defense team who had to win. That's all.
As the Militia was set a moment later, again from behind the same far wall, a small procession of the five jurors came out in single file, and they moved across the space, down the aisle, and then up onto the stage to take their seats at the empty table.
“Other than Bram, the stage is set,” Tanner whispered to Kondo, and they both sat and waited for whatever was to come next.
The newly elected head juror, Eecesoe Qig, rose, and his feathered crest, still proudly blue and red as he'd come from the Fine Arts Muse, fluttered broadly. That, as usual, quieted the whole rotunda, and he tapped the microphone to get their complete attention. Like he didn't already have it, Tanner thought.
"We, the jurors, declare this trial open. Please bring in the accused," he said loudly.
From across the rotunda, a Militia soldier came toward them, leading a small group behind him in single file. As they came closer, Bram could now be seen, as he too walked in the group. Upon reaching the stage, only the lead guard came up the stairs and then escorted Bram around to take his seat, the only empty one between Tanner and Kondo. The Militia officer then stepped back to remain on the stage but directly behind Bram.
"Bram, good to see you—you all right?" Tanner said as he shook the lieutenant's hand.
Bram nodded and said, "Fine, just a bit hungry is all. They don't have human food, and those dang pellets are awful." He grinned.
Tanner inspected him—not a mark he could see—his uniform was a bit wrinkled but still fine. No abuse from what he could see, but maybe the food thing was a cruelty that he'd not yet considered. That almost made him smile, but he realized this was not the time for levity; he'd share that with Bram later after they'd won.
From the microphone, the head juror thanked the Militia for their attention to detail and then sat down at his seat.
The leader of the prosecution, Qor, rose to address the jurors. "We come before you today, jurors, to prosecute the defendant here," he said as he pointed at Bram, "with the charge of terrorism."
The rotunda exploded with caws, beak clicking, and calls of “string him up” and “guilty, guilty, the human is guilty ...” All were signs, Tanner thought, that were not good for the defense.
"Terrorism—Clerk, please enter the charges and note the trial has now begun," Qig said.
At the side of the stage but off and on the floor at a small table Tanner had not yet noticed, one of the seated Enkians responded, "Noted and continue, please."
Up on the stage, Qor held up his hand, and the talking in the rotunda slowly stopped. "As an opening statement, we—the Words Muse—on behalf of all of Enki, would like to say the following. That this charge of terrorism is the proper charge for what we know has happened here in the capital city. This human—Lieutenant Bram Sander—has used his powers to somehow cancel our chemical treatment of the food pellets we use to indoctrinate our younglings. The first-ever massive dose of the coloration chemicals that changes the virgin white feathers of a youngling to their chosen muse colors. This was done with no regard to our Enkian customs and society. This was done, we know, to prevent our younglings from fully joining their chosen muse and becoming full citizens overnight. And this was accomplished by a human, who used his special skills, we will show, to further their human cause, the RIM Confederacy cause. We have witnesses that will tell all. There can be no doubt that this defendant is guilty and that we will ask for that guilty verdict," he finished off and sat at his place.
Qig, the head juror, nodded and then turned to Tanner. "Normally, this is where the defense—either the counsel or the defendant themselves—offers up an opening statement. Or, I might add as you do not really know our Enkian case procedures, this is where you can simply plead guilty t
oo," he said as he looked right at Bram.
"Not guilty would be my plea," Bram said forcefully, and he slapped the table in front of him.
Everyone in the rotunda flinched as he did that, but one thing was for sure, everyone knew he meant it.
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Tanner moved the microphone closer to his face, and he thought for a moment before he began.
"It is my job, I understand, to help defend the lieutenant here, from charges that have been brought against him—that are false. And that is what I will do. So let's get started, shall we?" he said and then leaned back.
Out in the crowds in the rotunda, there were some very faint beak clicks and some shout-outs but too few to really make out what was being yelled.
Rising, Qor, the prosecutor, called his first witness. "Would Ambassador Harmon please come to the stage to give testimony," he said.
Tanner was on his feet immediately. "Wait," he said, "wait a minute here—that is a human RIM person—it's our ambassador. This should not be allowed," he stated forcefully to the jurors at the table facing him.
The head juror, Qig, nodded to him to indicate he'd heard Tanner, but then he held out a hand, palm facing him.
"You are not allowed, at least here on Enki, to protest about who is called as a witness. You too may call anyone you like," he said, and the beak clicking in the huge room was loud.
Ambassador Harmon slowly rose from his seat in the audience and took the stage. He stopped though at their table and patted Bram on the arm as he stared at him, and then he moved to sit in the one seat off to one side of the tables and looked at the prosecutor with what Tanner thought was cautious concern.
"Ambassador Harmon, you have been in the RIM Confederacy Diplomatic Corps for how long?" Qor asked.
"For over forty years now, starting as a fresh graduate of the Juno University and rising now to be in the top echelon of the corps. My most recent posting was here, to Enki, to negotiate their entry in the RIM Confederacy," he said quietly.