Of Bravery and Bluster

by Scott Kelemen

  Brenna’s mouth worked with frustration. Of course, there was nothing. He had told her nothing. Had he really been planning for her to take the fall for him for so long? Lied to her for that long? “His nature! He’s a snake!”

  Weathers responded with chill dismissal that dripped icicles from every word, “There isn’t a scrap of evidence that he was involved. Not one mistake, in hundreds of transactions, to show he was involved other than as your target. You are the snake to stand here and levy baseless accusations when you stand accused of plotting to destroy the reputations of other cadets.

  “But it’s my reputation being threatened!”

  The Commandant Superior challenged her, “I’ve watched you for four years, Miz Styles. Watched you be a willing part of games and ploys to advance the cause of your friends. Admittedly, those were guided by Mister Mathem. We know he is no innocent. But you got restless, didn’t you?”

  In desperation, Brenna flung her arms out wide as if to unveil her body to their eyes. After all, she figured they had all seen the video of her naked in Sam’s arms by now. “I nearly died out there! What sort of mastermind would I be if I planned to be cooked alive as part of it?”

  Commodore Baker interjected, “Not a compelling argument, Miz Styles. You heard Miz Phann as clearly as we did. We’ve delved into Cadet Lanyen’s personal files, and his loyalty to Cadet Mathem was stronger than you anticipated. You ordered him to eliminate Pierce from the Academy competition, and he figured you were planning supersede Cadet Mathem as the pre-eminent Trinitian cadet within the form. Lanyen did more than you asked. His loyalty led him into a misguided attempt to kill you alongside Cadet Pierce for whom he had a known hatred.”

  Brenna took a step toward the JAG, the only one who seemed even partly on her side, if only for making sure no-one trampled her rights. “Sir, I admit that I have been party to some less than reputable actions in the last years. I will glad give you full access to my entire system. I’ve been Tanner’s lieutenant for years. I’ve been nothing but loyal, and would not have done this.”

  Commodore Spahar held up a hand to stall her. “Enough. This is not the courtroom. We hoped that seeing the evidence laid out in front of you would provoke a confession. But I hear your plea. If you want to protest your innocence, you’ll have your chance in front of a military tribunal. You all will.”

  “You’re going to charge me for all of it? For my two classmates dying?”

  Spahar shook his head. “No, Cadet. As I said, we have your directions to your so-called team. You talked about actions to discredit, not to kill. Cadet Lanyen has already paid his price for taking matters into his own hands. The others will be dealt with as the Academy honor code and the civilian criminal authorities decide best. I would think expulsion and jail time likely for most of the. Your attempt at defrauding the Academy standings led to your minions being reckless enough to endanger life, and that is what you will be charged with. If found guilty, you will all be sent to Fort Zallenberg, the Navy’s prison asteroid in the Dacosi home system. I won’t speculate on the exact sentence, but none of you should make any plans for the next decade. Guilty or innocent, your conduct has been far beyond what we consider acceptable for the Academy. Your time here is over.”

  Brenna looked ready for collapse. The bold blonde had always prided herself on poise and grace, looking and acting the part of the indestructible femme fatale. Now, she was trapped inside a nightmare she had never seen creeping up on her. “This can’t be the way it ends. Not with a lie.”

  She turned in a slow circle. The worst moment of her life was the realization that not even one of the senior officers around her had an ounce of sympathy in their eyes. With her history, none of them even looked that interested in doing any more than making sure the legal system was obeyed to the letter.

  She was – quite simply – fucked.

  ***

  Makaio ignored how the lounge chair groaned under his weight. The sun was setting over the lake on a clear night, but his attention was not on the view from their dorm’s rooftop patio. He was devouring the notifications coming in over his datapad. “Can you believe this?”

  Garam was lined up on their makeshift golf tee, shaking himself loose for his next shot. “Which feed? The one announcing we’ll be the first class in Academy history not to be ranked because of the flawed scoring and prejudiced observations? Or the multiple criminal charges and expulsion of Brenna and all her flunkies?” He laughed and gave a shake of his head. “Oh, or maybe you mean how we all have to vote on the temporary re-naming of the transport which takes us out to the Gate and to Proxima so we can graduate in space as we cross out of the star system? That’s important, too, right? Personally, I’m hoping for the Alliance transport Bittersweet Irony. Has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it? What about you?”

  He chopped at the innocent white ball sitting on the fake grass with a low iron, scooping it up and sending it soaring out into the lake with a splash.

  Sam gave an approving humph. “You’re getting better. I mean, you’re still a bean-pole lumberjack hacking at a tree, but at least it’s flying in the right direction.” He grinned as Garam replied with single upturned finger. “She couldn’t have done it.”

  Dianne released an exasperated sigh. “Sam, I swear by the ever-burning stars, you would defend a raving psychopath with a hot-coil MAAC if she slept with you the night before.”

  Sam took a swig of his beer to drown the sharp retort that leapt for his tongue. That threat quenched, he sounded more reasonable when he finally answered, “Think about it. You damn well know I have! We nearly died together twice. Once from the heat, then again from embarrassment. And if you laugh, Garam, I swear by those same stars I’m gonna snap that golf club over your head.”

  Garam tried to stifle his snicker, but failed miserably. “Leave it to you to find a much more efficient way of hitting on women the galaxy over. Just film yourself naked doing wicked and naughty things that prove your prowess. I mean, I was impressed. How did you two manage to get up on -”

  “Enough! I’m happy to say I haven’t seen it!” Makaio objected.

  “Oh, but you should! How else can you help me make sure he doesn’t live it down? I have a pirated copy on my drive somewhere -”

  Dianne gave him a smack. “You’re as incorrigible as him! What’s gotten into you, digging into files like that so soon after being investigated?”

  Sam found his voice again, ignoring Garam’s teasing, “Think about it. She was still trying to recruit me, trying to get me to fall in like a good little Trinitian. She thought she could bring Tanner and me together. I went in with my eyes open with my own motives! I wanted to stop her from being such a puppet. If she was out from under Tanner’s thumb for a while, I thought she’d start to see things differently.”

  Makaio tried to look sympathetic. “Did you ever think she was just a really, really good liar?”

  That gave Sam pause. He closed his eyes, trying to picture every moment with her. Every honest, perfect moment. “No one is that good a liar.”

  Dianne rolled her eyes. “Get over yourself. I’m sure plenty of spies out there are great at lying with their whole bodies.”

  “She isn’t a spy.”

  “Not a trained one. Some people are just naturally good at certain things.”

  A flicker of annoyance crossed Sam’s face again. “So, we’re just going to dismiss her? Forget about what might have happened?”

  Garam was busy teeing up another ball. “Who cares? She wasn’t a friend or anything like it, Sam. We’ve spent the last four years listening to you talk about what a disappointment she is, for how she picked the wrong side in the game of galactic cooperation. We were on your side the whole way. Everyone who was playing games out there got caught and punished, including her. It’s done. I’m moving on.”

  Sam finally turned to Johanna, who was folded into a lotus position on the edge of the roof, totally unconcerned about the multiple story drop she perched above. �
�You’ve never let truth pass you by, Jo. What about you?”

  Johanna emerged from whatever fraction of a meditative state she had been in. Her eyes never opened. “Assuming your assertions are correct, I see no way to solidify the facts without breaking laws and regulations ourselves. The JAG would not have proceeded with charges unless their case was robust. Whatever lies exist to condemn her would have to be extensive and rather complete.”

  She was right, and Sam’s frustration grew because of it. “So, an innocent woman gets punished because we can’t prove otherwise?”

  Johanna replied, her mind half-drifting on the wind that played with her hair. “If there is a solution, it is beyond our talents, Sam.”

  Garam added, “And that is one big hell of an ‘if’ in the first place.”

  Sam opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. He dropped his face into his hands. “Damn.”

  Dianne reached up to pat him on the back. “Truth’s a bitch.”

  Makaio waved at the air, dismissing the whole subject. “No one is going to shed any tears over her. Not even the other Trinitians. We’ve made it, Sam. That was the last hurdle between us and graduation. Know what that means? We’re passing through the Gate in four days. A few weeks in hyperspace and we’ll be showing up to Alliance Navy headquarters as Midshipman. Years of effort, and this is what we’ve been aiming at. We should be looking at the list of ships? They’ll be head-hunting the best of us soon! We’ll be putting in our requests. Anyone who didn’t make the cut will be dumped on corvettes running mail duty off in the backwaters of Nocturne’s outer planets…no offense, Garam.”

  “You don’t normally sound like a Dacosan snob, Mak. But that was a good impression.”

  Makaio carried on, “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for! Don’t spoil it over someone who isn’t even worth your sympathy.”

  Sam shook his head. “You really don’t know what you’re talking about.” He let out a long exhale. “But I forgive you. No one else does. No one else could. And you’re right. This isn’t a time for mourning. Four days, and we’re in space. Five days, and we turn in our Academy uniforms to get Navy ones. This is it.”

  Dianne jumped in, equally firm, “Absolutely. Oh, and did you see the scores?”

  Sam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I saw them. Without Trip-E counting, you topped the list. You got your wish, Miz Valedictorian.”

  Garam bowed in her general direction. “What is your first decree, your majesty?”

  Dianne giggled. “You are going to tell us what happened between you and Miz Monlier.”

  Garam fumbled the ball he was bending over to place on the tee. “What?”

  “You heard me. I nearly jumped Tegue trying to get him to tell me, but he was a fortress. He drove me crazy!”

  Makaio chuckled, “I tried to get Harric to tell me, but he was a vault. He kept saying that he owed Garam a secret, whatever that means.”

  Garam’s eyebrows drew in. “I have absolutely no idea what you two are talking about.”

  Dianne pointed his way, “I’m going to find out what happened, Anton. No one hides away in dark rooms with holovid stars without spilling the truth eventually.”

  Garam lifted his nose. “Some things, you take to your grave.”

  Sam snorted, “So much for Dianne’s power trip. Probably for the better. If you had caved in, she would have been insufferable even longer.” He rose to his feet. “Time to call it a night. Don’t any of you fall of the roof celebrating.” He gave a last wave, then cracked the door and vanished back into the dorm.

  Makaio waited until the door closed. “We probably didn’t help very much.”

  Dianne asked, “Is Brenna still free tonight?”

  Uncertainty filled the air until Johanna supplied into the pause. “She was placed in cells. He won’t be able to be with her.”

  Dianne passed her a thankful smile, then said, “That is probably for the best. He’ll go and visit, but if she’s in cells they’ll be supervised. I am worried about him. He sees something different in her. He doesn’t see what she is capable of. He needs to get over it. Maybe talking to her will help.”

  The door onto the patio swung open on its ancient hinge set with a soft squeal of protest. A meticulously groomed lieutenant gave it an annoyed glance, then switched his attention to Johanna on her ledge. “Captain Kard requests your presence, Cadet Summer.”

  Johanna had been in the process of settling back into her repose. Realizing her relaxation was at an end, she unfolded her legs and slipped from the edge. “Was a reason given, Sir?”

  The lieutenant shook his head. “Not to me. But we should not keep him waiting.”

  Johanna offered a quick bow of apology to her friends and followed him off the roof.

  Makaio sat up from his lounge chair. “Well, guess the real world has found us again. Shall we join the other cadets in the Gunroom?”

  Garam took a last stroke, his crisp swing chipping the last ball out into the lake. He flipped his club into the nearby bag and shuffled it back into the nearby locker. “Don’t have to twist my arm.”

  Dianne readied herself to go, but didn’t commit. “I’ll be along later.”

  Both Makaio and Garam wondered if it was Shawn, Tegue, Lind or finally Greg’s door she was going to knock on. Both didn’t say a word. Instead, they walked off the rooftop patio, leaving the sun to set on the planet that had been their home for four years.

  ***

  Captain of the List Darius Kard was the Liaison Officer of the Loyalist Lauran Navy to the Alliance Navy Academy and its Commandant Superior. He rarely had reason to interact with cadets on a day to day basis. The normal job of all the liaison officers from each of the populated worlds was more to advise the Commandant and his staff on what policies would damage or improve the life of the cadets from each of the member worlds.

  Very infrequently, they got involved when they needed to act as links back home for the cadets themselves. Such as today.

  He gathered his thoughts in front of his office’s floor to ceiling windows, taking the pensive moment in front of the spectacular view that looked out over Whitebeach Bay. The crashing surf, vividly green foliage and pristine white sand certainly offered a fine backdrop for peaceful contemplation.

  He turned in place and finally confronted Cadet Johanna Summer, who stood in a respectful posture in the center of the room’s open space. “Please, relax Miz Summer. This is a social call. A message arrived with my diplomatic FTL package. I was asked to share it with you and discuss some of the key items it mentions.” He toggled the viewscreen on.

  The friendly face of Dreia Yager, her lead Tutor and the closest person she had had to a friend in the first years of her life appeared. Immediately, Johanna felt her heart grow lighter. She received a couple of communications a year from her Lauran guidance team, and they never failed to buoy her spirits.

  “Congratulations, Johanna. The only way to view your time at the Academy is to qualify it as a success. Hearing about your affinity with the Adonlaeydians came as little surprise, considering how well you responded to the sojourn to Aradei to see the remains of the centauroids and your year studying with the Se’Krin. I recall with strange pride the video of you reef diving for pearls with Tse-vassiss. We had been unsure about the impact it would have, and were delighted to see how well it affected your life.”

  Pleasant memories glowed inside as Dreia mentioned Johanna’s Se’Krin tutor. Her fifteenth year was a highlight on her life, filled with crystal white beaches and sun-drenched stretches of ocean as the local alien race helped her explore a new world.

  “When we sent you to the Academy, we were equally uncertain what the outcome would be. Watching you finish this difficult journey is amazing, and we are as proud of you now as we have ever been.”

  Johanna felt a small spike of emotion, similar to what she had felt after Sanders tried to kidnap her and ended up being killed. Was she being ordered home? She chewed at her lip as internal conflict rose. Was
she excited at the idea? Fearful?

  Dreia went on, “We promised ourselves that we would not dictate your life. We were setting you on a path that would demand investment and commitment. We felt it would be unfair to decide for you when this adventure is over. You are important to us, and I would be lying to you if I said there will not be a time when you will be directed to return. But it does not have to be now.”

  Johanna was a little surprise by how much relief she felt.

  “As much as we will not order you back, I want to offer my heartfelt invitation to come back to us. You have succeeded at your time there. No one could argue differently. Right now, you are at the top of that world. When you transition to the fleet, you’ll once more be the smallest fish in a much larger pond. Consider what we can teach you. We know you have questions about yourself, and about the skills you possess. We may not have all the answers, but you won’t find a more dedicated group devoted to uncovering them.”

  Johanna could feel the love dripping around every syllable. She might miss being home, but the sentiment was clearly returned even stronger. Dreia had always been more of an adopted aunt than merely a teacher.

  “Whatever you decide, we will understand. Talk to Captain Kard, for if anyone knows the burden of being away from home in a heavy world so different from our own, it is him. Keep writing, and we will do the same. We will never abandon you to do this on your own, and we will certainly never forget about you.”

  The video message ended.

  Kard had retreated behind his desk while the message played. As Johanna finished absorbing the content, he invited her to take one of the visitor seats. “Of course, I could have saved time by answering for you. But formalities must be maintained when dealing with someone like Dreia Yager. She’s a formidable woman.”