by Garon Whited
“That will be all, Tang Wu.” The Captain’s voice was as cold as steel and just as hard. “Remain standing.” Tang Wu looked like he was going to pieces right there, but he stayed on his feet. Sweat beaded on his brow and his breath was shallow and rapid.
“Does anyone,” the Captain said, “have anything to add to these proceedings?”
The lady loudmouth stood up in the audience.
“I object!”
Captain Carl nodded, unsurprised. She continued.
“I demand to speak! Your kangaroo court is a mockery of justice and the entire court system! The accused has been given no formal legal counsel. The evidence has not been verified by certified legal authorities. The defense has not been given opportunity to examine the evidence in order to refute it. In short, you have presented a case for the prosecution, but nothing for the defense. You haven’t even asked for a plea. Moreover, Mister Wu is mentally unhinged by the stresses of the situation and is not himself. Any fool can see a period of psychiatric evaluation is in order.”
“I’m certain you can see that,” the Captain noted, dryly. “The accused has also admitted to the murder.”
“He never actually said he performed this alleged murder,” she replied, “just that she deserved to die. Moreover, I feel certain he was not read his rights upon arrest and anything he has said is not admissible as evidence in any court of law! This is a mistrial, a farce of the most laughable kind, perpetrated by a power-mad lunatic with delusions of grandeur, seeking to layer a thin veneer of apparent legitimacy over his dictatorship over all humanity!”
Captain Carl ran a hand over his brow and sighed. That’s a reliable sign that his patience is wearing thin.
“Ms. Wainright,” he said, “has it occurred to you that you are now in contempt of court?”
“Ha!” she snapped. I can’t call that noise a laugh. “This is no court, this is—”
“This is a military court in a time of emergency,” Captain Carl thundered, bouncing to his feet. “If you were half the lawyer you think you are, you would recognize that! Furthermore, as the highest-ranking officer of a military force, I have the authority to summarily order the execution of any man or woman under my command, subject only to my own judgment. I don’t need to call a court to try, convict, and execute a suspected murderer; I can decide his fate much more informally. It is my intent that such a court be convened so that we may discover the truth, rather than rely solely on my own judgment in the matter. But you don’t seem to appreciate that.
“Look here,” he said, waving a hand. “This room is full of people. Do any of them have anything to add to the court? Can any of them refute the evidence? A man’s life is as stake. They’ve heard where and when—does anyone have anything to say in his defense? Perhaps if you weren’t running your mouth irresponsibly, citing some irrelevancy of former legal code, someone might have something pertinent to say. Was he seen playing handball at the time? Or pool? Anyone? No? I don’t hear anything in his own defense, either. He hasn’t even tried to give a significant defense beyond ‘she had it coming’.”
Captain Carl leaned forward and put his fists on the table. His gaze swept over everyone.
“Now understand me very clearly. I do not enjoy having the responsibility for the survival of the human race resting on my shoulders. By and large, I would like to allow you to do whatever you want, as long as it does not interfere with the health and safety of others; I have other things to worry me.” His eyes came to rest on the lawyer. “But you, Ms. Wainright, are inciting to riot, sowing dissension, advocating treason, and verbally encouraging others to overthrow what little government we have.
“I don’t want to put down a riot; it’s messy. I don’t want to deal with an insurrection; those are messier. I don’t want to turn the operation of this lifeboat for humanity over to people who have no idea how to drive it! So shut up, sit down, and keep out of the way of people who are trying to keep you alive. You and anyone else who isn’t happy here will be back on the Liwei habitat just as soon as I can possibly arrange it. There you can run your own affairs in any manner you see fit!
“In the meantime, I don’t want to hear one more word out of you. You are a guest on a military post. See that you remember it or you will discover first-hand that military justice may be rough-and-ready, but it is also prompt and inflexible.
“Do I make my position perfectly clear?”
She sniffed at him!
“Captain. Hmf! Your authority is sharply limited by the international code and Outer Space Treaty of—”
Captain Carl drew his sidearm. Julie and I were also armed, just in case; we weren’t sure if Tang was going to be troublesome or not. Now Captain Carl sighted down the length of his arm at Ms. Wainright.
“Approach the bench. Right now.”
People swarmed away from her like someone blew a bubble of empty space around her. Ms. Wainright stared at him, openmouthed and amazed. I don’t think she grasped the level of trouble she was in until that precise instant. Suddenly, it wasn’t a quiet, safe little argument with words, words, and more words—it was a man with a gun giving her an order.
She approached slowly, while Tang sat down in his chair and stared.
“Ms. Wainright, in a lifeboat, do you know how to tell who the boat’s officer is?”
She shook her head mutely.
“The boat’s officer is the one with the gun. Not because he may require it for defense of his authority, but because it may be necessary for the restoration of order by force. Under certain circumstances, the boat’s officer may not only be required to shoot a passenger, but be actively commended for doing so.
“If you continue to be a fool, such circumstances will pertain.” He holstered his sidearm. “Now, it is presently my intent to return you and your fellows to the Liwei habitat as soon as it can support life. In the meantime, you are guests of the facility. Behave as such. But also be aware that this is your final warning. You’re rocking the boat and endangering this facility with your foolishness. I won’t have that. Consider yourself lucky that you are merely being confined to your quarters for the remainder of your stay, however long that may be.”
He turned his attention to Tang. “Tang Wu, it is the finding of this court that you are guilty as charged. Given the lack of facilities and resources for incarceration, the only penalty left available to this court is your execution. Commander Hardy, Petty Officer Chang, remove both the convict and the prisoner. If the female prisoner attempts to speak, silence her by force. That is an order.”
“Aye aye, Sir.” I got up and saluted, as did Chang. We took the prisoners into custody.
I wish the Captain hadn’t gone into that explanation. It gave her a chance to recover some of her nerve—and boy, she had plenty of that. Ms. Wainright opened her mouth to say something. She just plain didn’t know when to shut up. In that moment, I hated her; she was going to make me hit her, and I hate hitting a woman—most especially an old woman.
“Captain Carl!” she began. “This is an outr—”
Chang beat me to it. He didn’t hit her full-on, just clipped her on the point of her chin and spun her around. Her dentures, however, made good an escape. I couldn’t have done it deliberately if I’d had a week to practice it, and I doubt Chang meant that to happen, either. They sailed in a flat arc over the heads of the spectators and spun gently as they flew; the low gravity made them seem to go faster than they actually did. They landed on a tabletop, bounced, and clattered to a halt on the deck. Ms. Wainright staggered and I grabbed her to keep her from collapsing. I don’t think anyone noticed; all eyes were on the flying teeth.
Chang already had Tang on his feet again. I hustled the stunned-looking Ms. Wainright out the door and Chang followed with Tang Wu.
As we left, I heard, “This court is now adjourned,” and a gavel stroke.
The door closed behind us and shut out the pandemonium.
* * *
“Chang’s got a good backhand
, wouldn’t you say?”
I pulled myself out from under a grinder. It wasn’t the usual wheel-grinder in a garage shop; this was a metallic grinder designed to take metal slugs in at one end and spit out fine sand at the other. It was going to be part of the fuel processing system that supplied the Luna, eventually.
Julie looked down at me as I slid out on the rollerboard.
“Yes?” I asked, perhaps a trifle testily. “Planning on starting a racquetball league?”
“No, no. Not at all. It’s just, not many people can knock out all of a person’s teeth with just a fist.” She was smiling. No, I take that back. She was grinning.
“Ha ha.” I still felt lousy about having to slug the old harridan. I mean, I didn’t have to actually hit her, what with Chang being quicker than a nervous cat. But I had been ordered to use force, and I would have hit her. I guessed I owed Chang something for doing it for me.
Then again, he might have enjoyed it. I gathered that the staff wasn’t especially well-treated by the rich old people. I know they tried my patience.
“He’s a little scary, but also cute. Not as cute as you, of course,” she added. “Think Kathy will let me borrow you, later?”
I sighed up at her. “I’m not a piece of meat, you know.”
She crouched down next to me, her grin undiminished. “Sure you are. You’re a piece of very handsome meat, and you’re also more than that. Trust me; if what Kathy says is true, I’ll respect you even more in the morning. But I’m just trying to distract you. Did you finish the wedding rings?”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I took the distraction for what it was worth.
“Sure.” I dug into a pocket and handed her the ring. She accepted it and whistled while I slid back under the grinder.
“Very nice! You have a profession as a jeweler ahead of you. Is the band steel?”
“Titanium.”
“Heh. Kathy’ll love that. It’s like wearing a piece of her ship. Good thinking.” She breathed on the sapphire and buffed it on a sleeve. “You do good work, Max. I’ll have to get you to make mine, someday. May I see the others?”
I slid back out to look at her. “Others?”
“Yours, of course. And her wedding band. This is the engagement ring, isn’t it? Did you engrave them?”
An acute sense of having forgotten something important is more unpleasant than the sound of a dentist’s drill.
“All right, you’ve successfully distracted me. I need three rings for two people in one wedding?”
“Yes. Where do you expect her to get a ring, Max? And you have to have another ring for a wedding ring, remember?”
I sighed. I hadn’t thought ahead. “No. I’ve had other things to think about. I’ll get on it.”
Julie shook her head, amused. “All right. New subject! How’s your space cannon coming along?”
“Ahead of schedule. I’m a little behind on the fuel processing for the Luna, though,” I added, and glanced meaningfully at the grinder.
“Good to hear. At least about the cannon, anyway.” She sat down on the deck near my head. “Max, what do you think of Chang?”
“He seems to be a stand-up guy. Why?”
“Well…” she seemed embarrassed. “You know that I like… um… you remember how you picked me up? Back when I tried to distract you before, in your room?”
I nodded. I wasn’t proud of that. “Yes, I remember.”
“I like that sort of thing, within limits. And I was wondering… well… Chang doesn’t talk a whole lot…”
“You want to know if he likes to be a little rough in the bedroom?” I guessed.
My, but her ears turned a nice shade of scarlet. About time someone else got embarrassed about something around here! I confess to a bit of amusement at her expense. Nice to see that she could be embarrassed. Ha! I could feel myself grinning.
“Um. Yeah.”
“Ask him.”
“Oh! No, no, no! I couldn’t just ask him!”
I chuckled. “Trust me on this one. I’ve worked with Chang for a while. If he answers—and he probably will—he’ll tell you exactly the answer to your question. There’ll be no beating around the bush, no hemming and hawing, no pretending he doesn’t understand. Chang’s like that. But you’ll only get the answer to your question; he won’t elaborate.”
“You know him so well, Max. I was sort of hoping…”
“No way,” I said, still grinning. “Ask him yourself. Or ask Peng.”
“Peng?” she asked, surprised.
“Yep. He thinks you’re beautiful. I’m sure you could talk him into asking Chang for you.”
Julie sat there for a long minute. I left her to think and slid back under the grinder. It was a while later that she looked under the thing.
“Max?”
I paused in my work and looked at her. “Yeah?”
“Did he actually say…?”
“Yep. You want I should pass him a note in study hall for you?”
“Um. No. Thanks.” Julie vanished. I chuckled to myself. I could see this turning into a soap opera really quick.
Chapter Fourteen
“You cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if your conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man's actions are, such must be his spirit.”
—Demosthenes (384 BC - 322 BC)
I missed the execution of Tang Wu. I’m not even sure how it was carried out, and frankly, I don’t really want to know. I didn’t have to be there for it and I knew I wouldn’t get any joy out of watching it. Tang Wu wound up dead; that’s the end result. That’s all I care to know. I’m sure the padre said a few words over him before his remains were fed to Julie’s recycling monster.
I showed up for the funerals of Ms. Jefferson and Mr. Brondike, though. I was curious how things were going to go. I mean, there couldn’t be a graveside service—I could just picture a hundred people in space suits standing around in the sunlight while a coffin was lowered. No way.
It worked out much slicker than I thought.
Ms. Jefferson was dressed in white scrubs and a scarf. I guess there wasn’t much to be done about the throat. She looked fairly natural, if older than dirt. Mr. Brondike was in white scrubs without the scarf. Both were laid out in a conference room, each on a table, and people got to come by and pay their respects. Everyone who wanted to could wander in, say a few words, and either stick around for the padre’s sermon or not. There was a holographic film recorder by each table; a permanent record, a kind of memorial, got made of the event. The recorders made glassite chips about the size of a quarter that had the likeness of the deceased in it, and you could listen to everything everyone said about him or her by using a laser reader on it.
The thing that I really appreciated was the good reverend getting up and saying a few words. Like I said, I’m not much of a praying man, but he picked a good passage out of the Bible.
O Lord, you have searched me
And you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue,
You know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in—behind and before;
You have laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
Too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your Presence?
If I go into the heavens, You are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, You are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there Your hand will hold me fast.
I admit he had a point when he picked that one. We’d gone into the heavens, down into the depths of the Moon, and were definitely across a wide, wide sea from home.
; Once that was done, the two of them got to lay there in state for a while. About three in the morning, while everyone else was asleep, Julie and a couple of her new assistants took them down to the converter. The Captain mounted the memorial chips on a wall and that was pretty much that.
It might have been different if they had any family on hand. As it was, nobody seemed too interested in where the graves really were. Sometimes people don’t want to be reminded that there may be only a little time left. And this bunch of self-centered nitwits probably didn’t care. With a little luck, they’d keep not caring until they were off our planet.
* * *
“Lieutenant-Commander Hardy, report to the Captain’s cabin.” The announcement was in a strange voice—I think her name was Lin; I know she was a life-support tech on the habitat and was assigned to Julie. I don’t keep good track of other people’s departments; I have enough to do in mine. Another reason to not envy the Captain!
The message repeated and I wrapped things up with Peng. We were planning to fire a few no-loads in the coilgun for timing and circuit checks; it would wait. I hustled to see what the Captain wanted.
It looked like a staff meeting. All the officers were present, as well as one non-com, Svetlana. She smiled at me and blew me a kiss.
“Why aren’t you wearing your earpiece?” asked the Captain.
“I was supposed to, sir? I hadn’t heard.” I looked at Anne. “Nobody tells me anything.”
“He was in the infirmary during that meeting, Captain,” Anne supplied, unruffled. “It’s my fault; I didn’t tell him.”
“I see. Very well. Commander Hardy, all officers are required to wear secure communicators and earpieces at all times.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll put one on as soon as this meeting is over.”
“Good. Now, Petty Officer Armanova will brief us.”
Svetlana stood up and said, “We have a situation on the ell-four construction station. I was monitoring the station for radio traffic, using the radio telescope; we are expecting—or were expecting—to hear from them again shortly.” She turned the lights down and started a computer projection on one wall. It was Heinlein Station with the Luna docked to one of the habitat pods.