Her Commanders

by M. K. Eidem

  "What?!"

  "The general ordered the controller not to register it or notify anyone of his arrival."

  Taarig turned to look at Jamis, who had just walked over, "How long has he been on base?"

  "Approximately half a standard-hour, Sub Commander," Naveen told him.

  "Lock the coupling mechanism on that ship, Deck Officer. That ship doesn't get off this base unless the Base Commander or I authorize it. Is that understood?"

  "Yes, Sub Commander."

  "If it does, you will be held personally accountable."

  ''Yes, Sub Commander."

  "What's going on?" Jamis demanded.

  "General Masala's transport is on this Star Base, and he ordered the controller not to register his arrival or report it to us."

  "What?! What the ruk is he up to?"

  "I don't know, but I'm sure it has something to do with his datter."

  "There has to be more to it than that, or he wouldn't have hidden his arrival." Jamis looked to the security station. "Wafai!" The Security Specialist immediately turned to face him. "Find General Masala!"

  "Yes, Commander," he responded, then spun back around to his station, his fingers flying over the screen. Every member in the Coalition received a location thread implant when they joined. "Found him. The general is just entering The Brink, Commander. Six members of his security detail are also with him."

  "Why the ruk is he going there?!" Taarig questioned.

  "Let's go find out. Talla, I want a direct comm with High Navarch Pergram. Wafai, you're in charge."

  "Yes, Commander," they said simultaneously.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Cali said nothing when one of the general's guards shoved her in the back because she was lagging behind the group in front of them. She could have kept up if she'd wanted to, but why give them the satisfaction. Vaine had gone too far this time, so had her tad, and Cali's dad was going to go supernova on both their asses when he found out about it.

  "General Masala."

  Cali came to an abrupt halt when she heard Jamis’s voice even though she couldn't see him.

  "Commander Dexxirs," Masala responded.

  "That's Star Base Commander, General. Of this Star Base. So, you can imagine my surprise when I learned you had arrived on it without the courtesy of notifying me, as is standard protocol."

  "My apologies, Star Base Commander," Masala almost sneered the first two ranks. "I was anxious to get to my datter. She was injured while on your Star Base, as you can see."

  From what Cali could see, the front guards had parted so Masala could talk to Jamis.

  "And you did nothing!" Vaine accused.

  "I knew nothing about it," Jamis denied.

  "He did." Vaine pointed her finger at Taarig. "He was in The Brink when she," Vaine spun around to point at Cali, "attacked me."

  Nothing showed on Jamis’s face when he saw Cali standing there, her wrists restrained in front of her. "I see, then follow me to my conference room, and we'll settle this."

  "We will settle this once we're back on Vavis Prime," Masala told him.

  "The Coalition has no jurisdiction over things that occur on a Star Base unless it concerns a Coalition member, General, as you well know. Khatun Baker is not a member of the Coalition, nor is your datter. Therefore, we will settle this dispute here." With that, Jamis spun on his heel and walked toward the lift, clearly expecting the general to follow.

  Cali avidly watched the general, wondering what he would do. Technically he outranked Jamis, but if he'd landed on the Star Base without notifying its Commander, he'd broken all kinds of protocol, not to mention that Masala had forcibly taken her from The Brink.

  Finally, as the lift doors opened, the general followed Jamis.

  "Tad," Vaine hissed.

  "Quiet," Masala ordered, and Cali was surprised to see Vaine listened.

  "Clear the lift," Jamis ordered, and those inside quickly exited. He then gestured for the general and his group to enter. Once everyone was in, Jamis pressed his palm to the control panel, his bio-chip signaling the lift to go directly to the Command Level.

  Chapter Eleven

  Cali ignored the stares they were getting as they walked through the Command Center. She knew they had to be quite a sight. A Coalition general and his datter, his security detail, the Base Commander, Sub Commander, and her; the Earthan wearing serpe-skin pants, a loose top, and over-the-knee boots… in restraints.

  "Talla?" Jamis growled his question at his communications specialist, knowing he understood Jamis was asking about High Navarch Pergram's transmission.

  "Not yet, Commander," the communications specialist replied.

  "Transfer it to my conference room immediately."

  "Yes, Commander."

  Cali stopped as she entered what she knew was the Commander's Conference Room taking it all in. It wasn't that different from others she'd been in, except that you could destroy a small planet from this one.

  "Move."

  Cali stumbled forward when one of the guards shoved her in the back, and she would have fallen if Taarig hadn't instantly been at her side, steadying her. Once she was, he turned and gripped the guard by his throat, slamming him against the wall.

  "Sub Commander!" Jamis’s harsh voice filled the room.

  Instead of immediately releasing the guard, Taarig leaned forward and whispered in the male's ear. "Do that again, and I'll float you out an airlock." He then stepped away and took his place next to Jamis on the other side of the large, round table.

  Jamis wanted to ream Taarig for what he'd just done, even though he'd wanted to do it himself, but they couldn't show any favoritism here. So instead of commenting further, he gestured to the chairs across from them. "General, if you'd sit, we'll get to the bottom of this."

  "I'll remind you, Commander, I outrank you," General Masala said even as he pulled out a chair for his datter.

  Jamis nodded his head slightly in acknowledgment. "And I'll remind you, General, that you broke protocol by not contacting me before arriving on my Star Base. You even went as far as to order the flight controller not to inform me or record your arrival." The general said nothing, just sat down.

  Cali wanted to roll her eyes at all the male posturing. Instead, she pulled out a chair and sat down on the other side of the general, resting her still-restrained hands on the table.

  Jamis glanced at the restraints for a moment before looking back to Masala. "Now explain to me why I shouldn't file a formal complaint against you with the High Navarch, General Masala."

  "How dare you! My datter linked me and said she was attacked by her!!" The general's arm flung out and would have smacked Cali in the face if she hadn't quickly jerked out of the way. "And you did nothing about it!"

  "General," Jamis growled warningly, but before Masala could respond, a pulse sounded in the room. Looking down at the interactive table, Jamis touched a lit icon, wondering why his communication specialist hadn't just used the link. "What is it, Talla?"

  "Commander, I have an incoming transmission from Wik Corp," Talla told him stiffly.

  "Tell them I'll comm them back."

  "I already did, Commander," the specialist quickly replied, knowing Jamis was about to disconnect him. "It's the Supreme Chairman himself, Commander."

  A shocked silence filled the room. Besides the Paramount, there was no one more powerful in the universe than the Supreme Chairman, not even a general in the Coalition.

  "Commander?"

  "Send the transmission through." In the time it took for Jamis to touch the table again, the Supreme Chairman, sitting behind a massive desk, appeared on the angled wall to the right of him and Taarig.

  Cali leaned back in her chair and took in how aged her dad looked. Apparently, this version of the Supreme Chairman was nearing the end of his existence. Every four or five hundred years, the Supreme Chairman of Wik Corp 'retired' and his 'son' took his place. It was always her dad's favorite time to be Supreme Chairman. People
openly challenged him, and he didn't have to alter his appearance. His brown gaze quickly scanned the room, taking in everything and everyone at once, including the visible restraints on Cali's wrists. Cali knew she was the only one who caught the anger that flashed through his gaze before settling on Jamis.

  "I was notified The Brink’s owner was removed from it by the Coalition under armed guard, Commander Dexxirs. Why?"

  "I was just beginning to investigate that, Supreme Chairman," Jamis replied.

  "Beginning to…" the Supreme Chairman cut himself off, his brows drawing together. "You weren't the one who arrested my owner?"

  "No, Supreme Chairman."

  "Then who the ruk did?!"

  "I did, Supreme Chairman," Masala spoke up smugly, pulling the Supreme Chairman's gaze.

  "Who the ruk are you?" the Supreme Chairman demanded.

  Everyone saw the general bristle that the Supreme Chairman didn't know who he was.

  "I'm General Lalan Masala," Masala told him, puffing his chest out.

  "Really? I contact the generals in the Coalition regularly but never you. What are you claiming to be the general of?"

  "I'm not claiming anything," Masala spat out. "I'm the General of the Coalition's Supply and Distribution System."

  "Supply and Distribution…" the Supreme Chairman trailed off, his disbelief and derision easily heard for the position Masala thought so necessary. "And you think that gives you the power to enter one of my establishments and arrest one of my ch…Corporation Owners?"

  Cali’s eyes widened at her dad's near slip, and she quickly glanced around the room, grateful to see no one else had caught it. No one threatened one of Paul Baker-Wik'ax's children. Especially not Cali, who was not only his youngest but his only female.

  "When it affects a member of my family? Yes," Masala fired back.

  "Explain," the Supreme Chairman demanded.

  "This…," one corner of Masala's upper lip curled up as he looked at Cali, "being attacked my datter for no reason."

  "Lie," Cali spoke up for the first time, looking straight at her dad.

  "How dare you! My datter has told me how you harassed her because a male found her more attractive than you. As if any being would be attracted to an Earthan." Masala missed the way both Commanders stiffened, but the Supreme Chairman didn't and ran a more assessing eye over the pair.

  "I never harassed your datter, General Masala," Cali ignored the derision in Masala's voice and refused to let herself blush even though Masala was discussing her sex life in front of her dad. "She was treated the same way as everyone who accompanied Nox as he ran up debt at The Brink. Now they are required to pay for any drink or food before served, personally. Your datter is the only one who continually tries to find a way around that."

  "You banned her from your establishment." The general slammed his fist down on the table.

  "Only after she attacked me," Cali calmly replied.

  "How dare you!" Vaine could no longer contain herself. This meeting was supposed to be about her and what had happened to her. People were supposed to be looking at and focusing on her, not some stupid Earthan. Flipping her fur back, she revealed her bruised face. "There's no way I could have done this to myself?"

  "And yet you did," Cali needled.

  "Liar!" Vaine instantly fired back, leaning forward to glare at Cali.

  "Silence! Both of you!" Cali immediately obeyed the Supreme Chairman's order, but not Vaine. She didn't seem to realize who she was dealing with or just didn't care.

  "Tad!" Vaine's eyes shot to her father. "He can't speak to me that way!"

  "Vaine," Masala hissed.

  "What? You're a general in the Coalition. A powerful general. Make him," she flung an arm out, pointing the finger at the screen, "apologize to me."

  Shocked silence filled the room, and Cali watched General Masala turn a sickly shade of green. Something she hadn't thought possible for an orange-skinned Phoc. Cautiously, she looked toward her dad and saw that while his expression remained impassive, his eyes had begun to glow. That was never a good sign because her dad zealously controlled his Zagreus traits. She straightened when his gaze locked with hers.

  "This is one of the females from your report banning the pilot?"

  "Yes, Supreme Chairman."

  "You reported my datter to the Supreme Chairman?!" Masala's indignation quickly returned as he glared at her.

  Cali looked at the general unfazed by his outburst. After all, she'd grown up around males that indeed were powerful, unlike this general. "Every being, involved with Nox's attempt to defraud Wik Corp, was reported."

  "I did no such thing," Vaine immediately denied.

  "There are visual recordings of all the food and drink you ordered while with Nox." Cali looked back at the Supreme Chairman. "I included it with my report on the incident."

  "Nox paid for that!" Vaine exclaimed.

  "With a worker's chip that wasn't his," Cali stated what Vaine already knew.

  "Which has nothing to do with me."

  "Did you receive benefit from the use of those ill-gotten credits or not?" the Supreme Chairman asked in a deceptively neutral tone.

  "I…" Vaine glanced at her tad, seemingly for guidance, yet when he subtly shook his head, telling her to remain silent, she ignored him and continued. "While I did eat and drink what he provided, I was unaware of his deceit; therefore, I shouldn't be held responsible for it. Which is what she is doing!" Vaine swung her arm out toward Cali, striking her tad in the chest.

  "Ruk!" Masala cursed.

  "Are you saying that when a member of the Coalition runs up a debt in a Wik Corp establishment that the Coalition shouldn't be held responsible?"

  "I'm not a member of the Coalition," Vaine replied smugly.

  "Neither is my owner. And yet, a Coalition general removed her from our establishment under restraint and armed guard, because of you."

  "She is my datter," Masala responded defensively. "As such, I will do whatever's necessary to ensure her safety. Even if that means opposing Wik Corp."

  "Thank you, Tad." Vaine looked up at her tad adoringly. "I always knew I could count on you."

  "I see."

  Cali didn't like the way her dad said that. Something in his tone told her something significant had just occurred, but she couldn't figure out what. She quickly found out.

  "So you are invoking Article 89 of the Coalition's agreement with Wik Corp."

  The defense agreement was between the Coalition and Wik Corp, and only those who held the highest and most powerful positions in the Coalition and at Wik Corp knew what was in it. Because of her dad's position in Wik Corp, Cali had read it growing up. Now she searched her memory to figure out exactly what her dad was referencing. When she did, her eyes widened, and she couldn't help exclaiming.

  "No!"

  "What's Article 89?" Jamis asked at the same time.

  "If that's what it takes…," Masala began only to trail off when High Navarch Pergram's image suddenly appeared on the wall opposite the Supreme Chairman.

  "Star Base Commander Dexxirs, what's the meaning of this!?!" The High Navarch took in everyone in the room then stiffened when he noticed the Supreme Chairman on the opposite wall. "Supreme Chairman, I wasn't informed you would be involved in this meeting." He shot an accusatory gaze at Jamis.

  "With everything that's happening on Star Base Twelve, someone had to be involved," the Supreme Chairman informed him.

  "What do you mean?" the High Navarch demanded.

  "One of your generals decided to enter a Wik Corp establishment, with armed security, and remove one of our owners." He gestured to where Cali sat.

  "What?!" Pergram's gaze instantly shot to Masala. "What have you done?"

  "I was enforcing Coalition law. Something the Commanders of this Star Base failed to do," Masala responded, although his voice didn't hold the same assurance it had a moment ago.

  "Explain!" the High Navarch ordered.

  "High Navarch Pergram,
if I may?" Jamis spoke and, when the High Navarch nodded, continued. "The reason I sent you an urgent comm is that General Masala arrived on Star Base Twelve shortly before the dark shift ended. He ordered the flight controller not to register his ship or notify me of his arrival. He then entered The Brink, the Wik Corp establishment in question, with armed security, and removed Khatun Baker, its owner. When we discovered this, Sub Commander Ynn and I intercepted General Masala on his way back to his ship."

  "You were abducting her?!" Pergram's disbelieving gaze shot back to Masala.

  "I was bringing her to Vavis Prime to answer for her crimes!" Masala denied. "She has been harassing my datter, then attacked her without cause, and these Commanders did nothing about it!"

  "I did none of those things," Cali stated in a quiet but firm voice, "and I can prove it."

  The High Navarch's gaze centered on her, "What?"

  "I have visual proof that I didn't attack Khatun Masala. As for harassing her," Cali just shrugged her shoulders. "I have no clue why she thinks differently. I treated her the same as anyone else on The Brink's restricted list."

  "Restricted because?" the High Navarch inquired.

  "One of your pilots used a worker’s chip that wasn't his in The Brink. Khatun Masala, along with several others, benefited from this. Star Base Commander Dexxirs chose to side with your pilot when I brought the matter before them, as the Coalition always does." Cali's tone told the High Navarch precisely what she thought of that. "So, I banned the pilot until he repaid the credits, and those that were with him were restricted to personally paying for their food and drink before receiving it."

  "That sounds reasonable," the High Navarch said, nodding his agreement.

  "Reasonable?!" Vaine shrieked at the High Navarch then gestured to her face. "Does this look reasonable? I'm a general's datter! I'm entitled to justice!"

  The High Navarch looked to Vaine, silently taking in the bruise on her face, then looked back to Cali. "You said you have proof you didn't do that?" He gestured to Vaine's face.

  "Yes, there's a visual recording."