"Thank you again, Commander," Danielle repeated her thanks.
"May the Creator aid you on your way," the Commander told her before signing off.
CHAPTER 20
The room was bathed in a soft glow as the sun crested over the horizon. Th'arn slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Where am I? It looked to be some kind of office. There was a table with chairs on both sides. Some kind of meeting room. He was laying on the floor and sat up to better orient himself to his surroundings. He head was pounding as though someone was beating on it with a hammer. He crawled over to the table and used it pull himself to a standing position. Upon standing, he saw that the table held a V'drellian long-range pulse rifle and several ammo clips. The table had been moved against the glass windows in the wall, and a hole had been precisely cut into the glass. The rifle was mounted on a motorized stand and the barrel was just poking into the hole in the glass. The blinds were closed. The only gap in them was where the rifle barrel was stuck through them. He recognized that this was a sniper setup, but he was the only person in the room at the moment. Is this the assassination we were planning? Who did they hire to be the assassin? The Triumvirate was still looking for candidates when last they met.
"Good morning, old friend," he heard the voice of No'tok in his head.
"No'tok, where are you?" he spoke into the empty room.
He heard laughing in his ear. "Dear Th'arn, I'm afraid I couldn't be there with you on your big day. Don't worry though, I've taken care of everything. See the control set on the table by the gun?" Th'arn saw a small box with a view screen, a joystick, and a red button."Go ahead get a feel for it. Use the joystick to maneuver the rifle. Much steadier than holding it yourself. There is a blast silencer attached to the rifle, so no one will hear the shot." Th'arn used a finger and nudged the stick. The rifle responded accordingly. "See? Everything is perfect. I'll contact you again when it is time." The comm device in his ear went quiet.
Th'arn walked to the window and pushed the blinds out of the way. Outside the window was a red world that was foreign to him, although he was fairly sure of where he was. He was on Mars, and the assassination was going ahead as scheduled, except now he was directly involved in it as the would-be assassin. I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a killer! I have to get out of here, but how? He staggered to the only door and tried the knob. It was locked, not that he was surprised. He knew from looking out the window previously that he was too high to escape that way. My only chance is going to be to surprise the next person that opens the door and overpower them.
***
Danielle had been on numerous Pathfinder-class ships over the years, but something was different about this one. As they approached it, she noticed its hull shape was slightly more pointed at the bow, and it looked narrower than the usual Pathfinder. She told K'oron to fly to the stern of the ship just below the engine assembly to enter the main hangar bay. As they approached the hanger bay Danielle noticed the engine assembly was at least fifty percent larger than what she was used to seeing. K'oron piloted the ship into the hanger bay slowly. A deckhand was directing him where to maneuver the ship to land. Upon landing, several Commonwealth soldiers in full bio-armor surrounded their ship. Well, this certainly feels familiar. Every time I land a ship, I'm met with a firing squad.
"I'm going to go out and talk to them," Danielle told K'oron. "You stay here unless I call you."
K'oron started laughing. "You want me to follow instructions like you did when I told you to stay put?"
"No," she said, "I want you to actually listen to me. If all goes well, I’ll call you in a bit. If not, then you can come rescue me." She pressed the button for the rear door release. When the door had opened completely, she walked out slowly with her hands in plain sight. None of the soldiers raised the weapons, as though they were waiting to see what she would do first. A delegation of what looked like bridge officers walked toward her. "My name is Lt. Danielle Hart, I believe you were expecting me."
"Lt. Hart," one of the officers stepped forward, "my name is Lt. Commander Whitley Paige, and I am the commanding officer of the Odyssey. Uncle Jason, I mean, Commander Rutledge told me that you need a lift to Mars."
"Yes," Danielle nodded, "and it is greatly appreciated, ma'am. I need to deliver a message to Queen Constance in person as soon as possible."
"Well, you've come to the right place," the Lt. Commander grinned. "This is in newest Pathfinder class ship in the fleet. The Odyssey will probably be reclassified as a new class in the future, but its initial design was based on the Pathfinder as a starting point. We are the fastest ship in the fleet. I can get you to Mars in an hour."
"An hour?" Danielle replied in disbelief. "The Expedition had the newest engine type available and it still took eight hours to get from Mars to Sentry Command."
"Well," Paige chuckled, "this isn't your normal Pathfinder. The specs of most of its systems are on a need to know basis. Frankly, I don't know most of them, but my job is the command the ship, not to repair and maintain it. You're welcome to come to the bridge if you want, or you can stay here on your ship."
"I will stay here with the ship, but I appreciate the gesture," Danielle said.
"I will leave two guards here in the hanger to escort you to the bridge if you change your mind," the commanding officer informed her. "If you need anything, just let one of them know." With that parting comment, Paige and the rest of her officers left, along with all of the soldiers but two.
Danielle returned to their ship. K'oron was standing inside waiting for her. "Well, that went far better than expected," she sighed. "I wasn't sure if they were going to help or apprehend me."
"How long before we get to your homeworld?" K'oron asked.
"According to the Lt. Commander, about an hour," Danielle answered.
"Astonishing," he responded. "We've nothing close to that in the Dominion."
"Yeah," she agreed, "I didn't think we had anything like that either."
The rest of the short trip to Mars was uneventful. Sixty-three minutes after her conversation with Lt. Commander Paige in the hanger they received a comms message from the bridge of the Odyssey. It was the Lt. Commander. "Odyssey to Lt. Hart, we are about to dock at Shipyard Four orbiting above Mars for maintenance. Time to go if you need to avoid questions."
Danielle pressed a button on the ship's control panel. "Understood Odyssey, thanks again for the lift."
K'oron started the engines and piloted the ship past the hangar doors of the Odyssey. Immediately, they were met with a view of the red planet. Danielle entered the coordinates of the capital into the navigation system. K'oron engaged the ship's camouflage system and started the ship towards the surface.
Danielle felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. Creator, please don't let us be too late.
***
Ridgeway was sitting at the Defendant's table waiting for the jury to return. His counsel had done as good of a job as could be expected under the circumstances. He knew the truth. He hadn't intentionally destroyed that ship and those people. He was being set up, and someone had gone to great lengths to make sure that he was convicted. Heck, if I was on the jury I'd probably convict me too. His fate was being decided by thirteen random people that didn't know anything about him except what they heard in this trial. He still didn't understand why anyone would want to blame him for such an atrocity. Something much larger must be happening, larger than anyone realized. At this point though, he would probably never know what. He heard the bailiff announce Justice Santiago's entry into the courtroom, and stood up.
Justice Santiago didn't waste any time getting started. He looked at Ridgeway. "The Defendant will rise for the pronouncement of the verdict." Ridgeway and his counsel stood up. Justice Santiago then turned toward the jury box. "Madam Foreperson, has the jury reached a verdict?"
A woman stood up. "Yes, Your Honor. On the two thousand five hundred seventeen counts of murder in the first degree of a foreign national, we the jury fin
d the Defendant guilty by a vote of thirteen to zero."
"This court wishes to thank the jury for their service," Justice Santiago told the jurors. He then looked at Ridgeway. "As per our agreement with the Rylan Protectorate, you will not be sentenced by this court, but will instead be remanded into their custody for sentencing. May the Creator have mercy on your soul. Court is adjourned." He tapped his gavel and ended the most notorious trial in Commonwealth history.
Ridgeway was frozen. He just stood there knowing that his life was over. His fate was now in the hands of the Protectorate, and they wanted revenge. He knew he would never see his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Julie, again. Tears began trickling down his cheeks as he was placed in handcuffs and escorted back to a holding cell.
Outside the courthouse, the media was operating at full speed. Each major new syndicate in both the Commonwealth and Protectorate had reporters on site waiting for the verdict. Now that a guilty verdict had come back, they were in front of cameras broadcasting it across the universe. Millions of people across two nations were staring at the view screens waiting for the verdict to be announced. Now that it had, some were watching in disbelief, others were celebrating.
***
Queen Constance sat in her private chambers watching the trial announcement. It was eating her alive. She actually believed that Ridgeway was innocent, but had no proof to back her claim. If only Danielle and that V'drellian with her could have found some proof! She was shaken from her thoughts by a knock on the door. "Enter," she instructed.
Admiral Hawthorne entered the room and closed the door behind him. "How are you doing, Connie? I know this wasn't the outcome you wanted."
"No, Uncle Dale, it isn't," she replied. "Ridgeway didn't mean to kill those people. Someone framed him. I know it. You know it. Now an innocent man is going to be killed, or worse. I wish Danielle had found something out to prove this conspiracy exists."
"So do I," he agreed, "but for now we can't do anything about it. Hopefully, she will return with something before the Rylans carry out whatever sentence they impose."
"I could just stop it," she said bluntly. "As Queen, I have final authority over all legal matters. I could just set aside the guilty verdict. Or maybe I should issue a royal pardon."
Hawthorne could see the pain in his young Queen's face. Her heart was truly aching over this matter. That was why she was such a good ruler. She truly cared about her people. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You could, but you won't," he told her. "You know that such an action would enrage the Protectorate, and lead us into war. You won't do it because the greater good is served by letting things stands as they are. You're a good person, Connie. The very fact that this situation hurts you so much is proof of that. Let's say for a moment that you did pardon Ridgeway. What then? The Protectorate declares war on us. We send thousands of troops on hundreds of ships off to fight. Many of them never return. We could even lose the war. Regardless, of that outcome, Ridgeway lives the rest of his life an outcast, hated by all who come in contact with him. The same could be said about you as well. You would go down in history as the queen that sacrificed the lives of thousands of good men and women to save a convicted murderer. The only thing that can save Ridgeway now, is the only thing that could have saved him during the trial. Definitive proof of his innocence, which we don't have."
The Queen offered a grimace. "You're right, as usual." She gave him a hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you by my side to offer me sound advice."
"That's my job, Your Majesty," he said with a smile and a slight bow. "You need to start getting ready for your joint statement with Prime Minister Hobarth. He arrived earlier this morning. I asked your protection detail to have the area near the palace gates swept for trouble, just as a precaution. We haven't heard anything, but times like this bring out the crazy in some people. I'll come get you when it is time." Hawthorne offered he a formal bow and then left the room.
CHAPTER 21
Th'arn had spent the past several hours waiting for someone to open the door, but no one ever showed up. His heart sank as he realized the truth. No one's going to show up because I am supposed to be the assassin. He had tried to find a way to open the door, and even try ramming it to break it, but he was still stuck in the room. He was sitting on the edge of the table trying to think of what to do when the comms device in his ear started crackling.
"Th'arn? Are you still there, old friend?" It was the voice of No'tok.
"Let me out of here, No'tok! I'm not an assassin! I won't be part of this!" Th'arn raged at the voice in his ear.
No'tok's voice laughed, and he replied in a sarcastic tone. "Oh my, whatever shall we do? Your stubbornness is going to ruin this long-planned attack. If only there was a way to make you pull the trigger. Oh, wait," No'tok's mocking tone immediately became serious, "there is. The entire system is completely remote controlled, so the assassination will take place even if you are pouting in a corner. I also took the liberty of placing your fingerprints on various gun parts and the control box. Congratulations, Th'arn you will be recorded in the histories of three nations for what happens today. However, I will give you a chance to save yourself. Once the gun fires, the door will automatically unlock allowing you to flee. What happens after that is up to you. The Legion's plan will have been fulfilled."
"No'tok! Please! Don't do this!" Th'arn begged. "I'll give you anything, do anything, just let me go now."
"My dear Th'arn," the voice sighed, "you have nothing to give me. I have it all. Think of this as our own little version of Tr'oka Zur. I won, you lost. Now all that is yours is mine, including your life. You're finished in the Dominion and the Legion. You have no one to run to. Still, I will grant you the chance to save your life if you can escape Mars after the gun fires. I told you I would provide you a quiet place to live out your days. The room you are in now is very quiet indeed. Goodbye, Th'arn." Then there was silence.
"No'tok!" Shouted Th'arn. "No'tok!" There was no answer. Then Th'arn heard the gun mount power up and the rifle began its targeting. A knot formed in his throat. I'm not going to get out of this alive.
***
K'oron circled over the capital city looking for somewhere close to the palace to land. The palace had its own landing pad, but it would be heavily guarded and they didn't have time to explain why they were landing a V'drellian ship in the Commonwealth palace.
"There!" Danielle pointed at a public park only a few blocks from the palace grounds. This time of day most people would be at work or school, so they should be able to find a large enough clearing without alerting anyone.
"That should work," K'oron replied as he directed the ship towards the park. He deftly landed in a grassy area and quickly killed the engines.
"Got that camo remote?" Danielle asked as she hit the button to open the rear door.
"Right here," he said, "but it should stay hidden unless someone has the misfortune to walk into it. I also brought a little something for myself. I doubt a V'drellian wandering the street would be very popular." He clicked a button and vanished in a flicker. They walked the three blocks from the park to the street in front of the palace. "So, How do you suggest getting close to your Queen?"
"I couldn't even if I wanted to," she answered. "So, I guess it's a good thing that isn't what I'm thinking. We know they plan on using a long range gun, so we need to figure out where they would be that would give them the best shot."
"If they use a pulse rifle like the one we saw back on Kr'atzic, it could be any of these buildings," K'oron thought aloud. "If I was planning this attack with that type of weapon, I think I would want a location that would give me a clear line of sight at the target's upper chest area. With a podium in use, that would mean I would need to be on the upper floor of a taller building. With that weapon, range isn't a problem, and law enforcement would start searching for the sniper in the closest buildings first, so I would want a taller building farther away. So we skip the closest buildings, and foc
us on buildings that are tall enough to allow line of sight over the first row of buildings." He turned his back toward the palace and started looking. He noticed two twin buildings that were twenty floors high. "It will be one of those twin buildings on at least the fourteenth floor. Probably the left one." Just then they could hear the crowd inside the palace grounds starting to cheer. "I would assume that the proceedings are starting, We should hurry."
"Since you are invisible, go protect the Queen," Danielle ordered. "I'll try to find Th'arn. If I can't, then you will be the last line of defense for her."
"Agreed," he replied. "Th'warzin aid you, Danielle." He took off running toward the palace outer gates.
I'll take all the help I can get right now, even the V'drellian god of death. She took off running toward the left building of the twins. She ran inside and took the lift to the fourteenth floor. This was an office building, and there were people everywhere. This isn't the right spot. Too many people to get away unnoticed. She got back in the lift and continued going up one floor at a time until she stopped at the nineteenth floor. It was closed for maintenance due to a broke pipe causing flood damage to the wallboard. The moldy smell was almost overpowering. This must be it! No is going to be disturbing you here. She started clearing each room, her own pistol drawn. In the distance she thought she heard a banging sound, so she began moving cautiously in that direction.
***
K'oron had easily slipped past every guard he encountered. The personal ionic camouflage was working better than he could have hoped for. He made it to the platform where the Queen and Prime Minister were giving their speech. If anything happens and someone detects me, getting out is going to be almost impossible. He carefully climbed a set of steps on the side of the platform to get closer. Okay, Danielle, I'm here. I'm not certain what you think I can do to stop a pulse blast, but I'm here. Stop a pulse blast... Of course! He could use the portable shield generator. It had performed quite well during testing. However, it hadn't been tested while the camouflage was also running. I guess the will be a good field test. I hope it passes. If not, I won't be around long enough to figure out why it failed.
Hart Of Honor: A Danielle Hart Novel Page 18
