Slipspace: Harbinger

by P. C. Haring

  “Unacceptable.”

  “Do not test me, General,” he growled. When he was sure she would remain quiet, he continued. “The investigation will take place aboard my ship. I will allow you and two aides to remain on board. Your men currently incarcerated will be escorted off the ship. Their confiscated weapons will be packed into cargo crates and loaded on board your transport by my people. Your escort destroyers will disengage and withdraw and you will be allowed to come and go from your ship as you please. If I find there is sufficient substantiated evidence supporting your claim, I will work with my government to allow you to extradite her. If you fail to prove your claim to me, you will drop this matter at once. Take it or leave it.”

  Rashar considered the proposal for a moment before responding. “I do not like these terms, but I will abide by them. I have the truth on my side.”

  “Fair enough.” Amado responded. “Though, be advised, General: I don’t know how things work in your government, but aboard this ship, those accused of crimes are presumed innocent until they are proven to be guilty. To that end, as the accuser, it is your responsibility to prove to me she is guilty. You will not treat Lieutenant Melor as a criminal until that standard has been met. Understood?”

  “I understand what you are saying, but I am not sure I fully comprehend your legal code. I would request access to your database for my reference.”

  “You will have it.” He paused but received no response from the General. He then turned his attention to his officer. “Lieutenant Vivine Melor.” He paused while she stood. “Under Article five of the Interstellar Planetary Alliance Code of Justice, I hereby relieve you of your duties and confine you to your quarters pending this investigation. To be clear, you have not been formally charged by this command with any wrongdoing, but you are under suspicion. You retain the right of rank and freedom, your confinement notwithstanding. Should these rights be revoked, or you become formally charged, you will be so notified immediately and allowed to defend yourself in an open forum. Do you understand?”

  “I do, Captain.”

  “Very well, then. I must ask that you surrender your sidearm and your identification card. A temporary card will be re-issued to you that will allow you access to all non-restricted sections of the ship and computer. Any requests to leave your quarters will require approval from the command authority, and if so approved, will be allowed with security escort.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  October 17, 2832

  19:15

  Mjöllnir – Officers’ Mess

  CASSIE PICKED at her food and watched in silence as her brother rubbed the bridge of his nose and pressed his palms into his eyes as if trying to push his stress from the surface to within. His dinner sat on the table in front of him, but the provided utensils remained clean.

  “Why does it seem that every time we fall into a crisis, Lieutenant Melor is either the catalyst, or the reason for peaceful resolution?”

  She smiled. “Lieutenant Aler is with her now, should I have him ask her?”

  Cody shot a mock glare in her direction.

  “Hey, you asked.”

  Cody frowned. “You don’t agree with the way I’m handling this, do you?”

  Her face scrunched up, “What I believe is irrelevant at this point. I will admit that your approach gives us the avenue we need for our investigation, while at the same time keeps the peace with the Remali. It’s hard to argue that.”

  “But you still don’t like this hearing?”

  Cassie sighed. “I admit I don’t have a better option at the moment, but I’m not entirely comfortable leaving Melor dangling like this. She’s been an asset to this ship and has more than proven herself. I can’t say I’d have done the same in your place. But it is what it is.”

  Cody smiled. “You’re in an awfully forgiving mood.”

  She sighed. “I think the fight left me back at Artez”

  “Any forgiveness in there for your younger brother?” he asked.

  There was a warmth to his voice, and for the first time in as long as she could remember it felt comforting and welcoming, not patronizing. Perhaps working with him had softened her. Perhaps the circumstances of their mission. But for whatever reason, she appreciated his seeking her absolution.

  “Cody, there’s nothing to forgive. You made your choices, and I made mine. Now we live with the consequences.”

  “That we do.” For the first time since they had sat down, Cody picked at his dinner. The galley had prepared a stroganoff for the senior officers. When they were kids he always devoured at least two or three plates whenever Mom had served it. But watching him pick at it now and force himself to eat, she might have thought it’d been made with engine sludge. “Where are we?”

  She checked the tablet she had brought with her. “The Remali and their weapons are off the ship. Rashar is still here with two aides, as we agreed. We’ve given them access to office space on deck twenty and we’ve linked them to our legal and historical databases.”

  Cody nodded. “Good. Rashar’s request for computer access caught me off-guard. But given the circumstances I forced her into, it only makes sense to grant the request.”

  This time, Cassie nodded before moving on. “Repairs to the ship are going well, most of the internal damage from the firefight was superficial. With Melor off duty, her second-in-command, Piper, has taken over. Her teams are reporting that the port side airlock should be rebuilt by day’s end tomorrow.”

  “Excellent. How is she handling command down there?”

  Cassie took a bite of her dinner, savoring the stroganoff flavor. Cody wasn’t the only Amado who enjoyed this as a kid. “Everyone’s on edge,” she said, after swallowing her food. “But they’re performing well enough.”

  “Good. Send them my compliments. Is there anything else?”

  “Actually, there is,” Cassie responded. “After we settled her in, Rashar requested that you appoint one of our crew to assist her investigation. Apparently, she feels that such a person would make a good intermediary.”

  Cody sighed. “As much as I might agree in theory, I can hardly order one of my own to aid in the investigation of an officer suspected of charges which may have no merit at all.”

  Cassie swallowed, unsure of how to proceed next. If Cody wasn’t a fan of the idea in general, then he would not like the rest of what she had to say.

  “What if someone volunteered to act as liaison?”

  “You have anyone in mind for the job?”

  “Actually, she requested me.”

  October 17, 2832

  19:30

  Mjöllnir

  SITTING down to the computer terminal at his desk, Aler sighed, resigning himself to the task before him. The whole idea of indulging this investigation was little more than a diversion, an indulgence for no other purpose but to placate the Remali. Had the Verasai started a firefight and alleged such a thing against someone on board the ship, Amado would have thrown their green asses of the ship without a second thought.

  But not the Remali. No. To them, he would bow. For them, he would placate. Damn double standard.

  He sighed and calmed himself. Perhaps the Captain saw no other choice. After all, it had been Aler’s own report of the tactical analysis that encouraged Amado to stand down in the first place, and while the theater had changed from three enemy vessels with fighter support, to just the one ship, the Battlefield Valor, the analysis did not change in outcome. To fight would be foolhardy at best.

  “Damn.”

  Another sigh escaped his lips as he logged on to the terminal. The general had accused Melor of participating in an act of sabotage in the middle of a war. The first natural step was to ensure that the event in question did occur. If it did not, then Rashar would have to prove both the event’s existence and Melor’s participation in it. Years ago, when the Alliance had a formal presence on the Verasai home world, they had been privy to the Verasai’s historical database. When the Cadres expelled
the Alliance from the surface, those who had been assigned there had managed to bring copies of a significant portion of that database with them. Between this data and the Alliance’s own records, there stood a solid chance that the event would have a record even if the narration and angle differed from reality.

  Rashar had been good enough to provide the specific date of the alleged attack, and had even converted it to the Alliance standard calendar for him. That date window was the first filter. The second—reports of ship destruction while in orbit of the Verasai home world—soon followed. Nearly one hundred separate reports between the two databases appeared. Another rapid succession of keys and the system cross referenced the results between the two lists and combined overlapping reports. This reduced his results down to forty.

  Given the situation at the time, the Ralgon in complete control of the planet, all open resistance quelled via orbital strikes, the majority of the population used as either slave labor or food for the Ralgon, the chances of an open attack on the supposed Remali ship were minimal. More likely the attack had been something covert, something subtle. Another permeation went into place filtering out ships destroyed in open combat, leaving just six. These losses were listed as ‘internal malfunctions’, ‘suspicious activities’, or ‘unknown causes’. A quick review of the remaining results indicated that all six ships had been destroyed within minutes of each other. Damn good timing given the circumstances and certainly not a coincidence. Of those six, five ships had been clearly identified as Ralgon and had been parked at their orbital berths for several days before their destruction. But according to an Alliance report, the sixth ship had entered the system only that morning and was never confirmed as a Ralgon vessel. Various sensor matches correlated with a 90% probability of a previously unknown Ralgon vessel.

  Now that he had confirmed the event, he needed to confirm motive. The incident had not been in open combat, but intentional destruction was also not necessarily the truth either. He would need to see if the Verasai resistance had orchestrated the attack, and if Melor had been involved.

  Again, the Verasai database came into play. At first glance, he could not fathom why terrorists would keep records of their deeds. But to the Verasai, these people were not the enemy. They were fighting and resisting, using any method they could to survive and push the Ralgon off their world. Given the respect the Verasai would demand based on their deeds, the rationale fell into place.

  As did the results.

  He deflated as the argument that the general had the wrong person flew out the window. The Verasai’s logs, incomplete though they were, held a clear record of the incident complete with a roster of those who had been assigned to it.

  Vivine Melor’s name was third down.

  October 17, 2832

  22:30

  Mjöllnir

  CASSANDRA GROWLED as the Remali computer beeped its incessant error message at her. She keyed the sequence Rashar had shown her, but again it came back as an error.

  “Damn it.”

  If she failed to clear this error, it would be the fifth time she’d have to ask the General to do it. She tried again, and this time the problem cleared. She paged forward on her handheld, reviewing the General’s notes and key strokes. Confident that she was where she needed to be, she started the second step. Like the first one, however, this ended in failure.

  “Son of a...”

  The opening of the door cut off her curse in mid sentence. She did not need to turn to know that General Rashar had returned.

  “Problems, Commander Amado?” the Remali asked, as she set down her equipment on the side table.

  Cassie glared before responding. “Just trying to navigate around an interface designed in a language I’ve never seen before, by a people I didn’t even know existed.” She paused. “Honestly, General, I still don’t understand why you won’t allow us to load a translation matrix onto the Mjöllnir computers. It would make this a lot easier.”

  This time, the General glared. “To allow a potentially hostile alien race the knowledge of our written language is to give them an advantage over us. I cannot allow it.”

  “In such a circumstance, Captain Amado would offer you the same for your systems. That strikes me as a fair trade.”

  “I’m sure that’s what you’d like me to believe. But we believe that to have knowledge of one’s enemy is to have power over them. I choose not to deny you that power at this time.”

  Cassie shook her head in frustration. How could she get through to her? How could this General operate in such a vacuum so as to miss the larger picture? This was a translation matrix they were debating over, not a ship, or a planet. Hell, Cody would give her a dozen just for asking.

  “General, what if I were to ask the Captain to give you one of ours to put onto your systems? That would be us freely giving you knowledge, and the advantage, as you see it.”

  “I cannot allow that either.”

  Cassie’s head slumped. “Do I even want to know why?”

  “For the simple reason that I cannot verify the validity of your so-called matrix. For all I know, it could be a program designed to attack and sabotage my computers.”

  Ever the executive officer, Cassie closed her eyes and shook her head. This was going from bad to worse. “But here’s what I don’t understand. I thought my role on your team was as a facilitator to help you understand our database better and aid your investigation. Was I wrong?”

  “No.”

  “Then how does my wasting time flailing about your computers, written in your code and your language, help aid your investigation?”

  “And what exactly do you think I’m investigating, Commander?” Rashar said, her emphasis on the word ‘commander.’

  Her eyes closed as the epiphany of comprehension dawned upon her. “I thought we were investigating your allegations against Lieutenant Melor, General.”

  “And do you really think I would allow you to have access to my case against your officer?” Rashar responded with a laugh. “No, my case is being assembled by my staff aboard my ship. But I’m investigating your crew, much like I’m sure you’re investigating me.”

  Cassie held her silence.

  “Come now, Commander. No need to be embarrassed by it. After all, it’s only prudent to gather as much information about your opponent as possible.”

  Cassie turned to Rashar. “Dare I ask what you’ve discovered so far?”

  Despite the presence of the mask, Cassie swore she could see the General smile. “That you are a race of quitters. You are quick to surrender and negotiate. You blame others for problems that are yours to bear. Take this little research project I’ve given you.”

  Cassie grit her teeth and forced down a growl. “You wanted me to pull information regarding the day of the attack and develop a list of facts. What about it?”

  “I did. But I did not specify in which form I wanted it. Had you used one of your own terminals, you could have had the information hours ago.”

  “But you gave me this terminal as my work station.”

  “To use at your discretion. I did not specify that it had to be used exclusively.”

  “And you would have trusted information from my ship’s library on the incident?”

  The general nodded. “Objective fact is objective fact. Your interpretation of the facts may differ from mine, but the facts themselves are unchanged.”

  “Assuming those facts exist in the first place.”

  Rashar’s eyes narrowed, clearly not liking being challenged in such a manner. “The event took place, Commander. It is only prudent that you would have had intelligence resources keeping tabs on the Verasai system. You’ll find it in your records.”

  Cassie’s jaw clenched tighter. As if Cody weren’t bad enough, now she had an alien General on her ass, too.

  “If you’ll excuse me, General,” she said, in a measured tone. “I have legitimate ship’s business to which I must attend.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE
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br />   October 18, 2832

  10:30

  Mjöllnir

  CODY FORCED himself to breathe as he took the seat at the desk. He had always known that as a commanding officer, the duty and obligation to preside over these proceedings was his. Despite this whole thing having been his plan, the idea of sitting here in judgment of one of his officers based on such flimsy accusations sent a cold shiver down his spine. Melor and Aler sat together behind one desk, Rashar sitting alone behind another next to them. The whole thing felt uncomfortably formal. At least he could leave the dress uniform in his closet.

  He activated the bell and allowed it to make its ‘ding ding’, calling this hearing to order.

  “Before we begin,” he started. “I would like to remind everyone here that this is an inquiry only, the purpose of which is to determine whether sufficient cause exists to warrant the extradition of Lieutenant Vivine Melor into the custody of General Rashar and the Remali Confederate Defense. For the purposes of this inquiry, the burden of proof is based on preponderance of the evidence.” There was no formal need to go into the definition. Under other circumstances, he might have. But given that he had no intention of letting Melor go with them, it didn’t really matter. “General, you may begin.”

  Rashar stood. “Captain Amado, it is my understanding that at this inquiry, I am permitted to solicit information from witnesses, yes?”

  Amado nodded. “We use the term ‘testimony’, General. But yes. Your understanding is correct.”

  “Then I request testimony from Lieutenant Melor, herself.”

  Amado nodded to Melor. “Lieutenant.”

  The engineer rose to her feet and moved to a chair that had been set out for witnesses. Sitting gingerly, she shifted in place. Amado swore her in and then nodded to the General.

  “Lieutenant,” Rashar started. “I will not insult your intelligence by asking if you recall the war against the Ralgon, during which time your historical records indicate your home planet was subjugated. I trust that everyone in this room remembers that conflict, if it was as intense as your records indicate.”