by Ian Miller
Later, her lawyer appeared. "You did well," he said. "It is hard for an alien to tell, but you almost looked bored. A magnificent result."
"It didn't seem very magnificent," Lucilla said quietly. "There was so much data."
"Yes," the lawyer said softly, "but almost all of it merely established that a crime was committed, which is not in dispute. You yourself agree there was a blast."
"Yes, but the statement that I was one of the few who could have got the explosives was hardly helpful."
"It was, actually," the lawyer smiled. "It was an opinion, and hence opens up the requirement that the assessing machines verify it. They will find out how many people could have been in contact with M'starn, and how many Ulsians have the access to Ulsian technology sufficient to manufacture such explosives, how many Ulsians had access to enemy explosives following the attacks on Ulse, and the probability of an enemy sabotage raid. The list should be very extensive, and if you were merely one of forty million, that will hardly be convincing."
"I suppose not," Lucilla said, a little more brightly.
She may have been more cheerful then, but as she tried to get to sleep the depression returned. She was so dependent on this lawyer. Then a horrid thought struck her. Suppose he was on Gerenthe's payroll? Was he the final nail in her coffin? So far he had provided no defence at all!
* * *
The next morning she arrived at the court feeling even more haggard. Her lawyer looked towards her, gave a cheerful smile, then indicated she must be seated, as the judges were entering.
The prosecution started procedures with a surveillance tape showing Lucilla running from the scene through the alleyway, which established that she had been at the site. Again, her lawyer seemed unconcerned. This was too much. She had to do something. Again the sign she must remain silent. She would not! She would not take this lying down. At least she would write a note to him on her desk screen.
The lawyer looked at the note on her screen, then nodded, and gestured furiously that she remain silent.
"What is going on down there?" a judge, who had noticed this, asked sourly. "Does your client not accept the rules of machine evidence?"
"Your honours," the young Ulsian said as he jumped to his feet. "You must excuse my client for not fully appreciating Ulsian decorum."
"Then see to it that she does! What specifically did she write? Is she trying to admit non-machine evidence?"
"No, your honour," the lawyer said.
"Then what was the message about?"
"A matter of protocol. I shall raise it later."
"You shall raise it now," the judge ruled, "or face contempt."
Lucilla suddenly realized that perhaps she had made her lawyer's task too difficult. If the fact that not all the tape was there could have ruled out the tape's admission, there may have been no evidence actually linking her to the site. With a feeling of total despair, she slumped back in her seat. She did not belong on this planet, she did not understand, and she was to pay for it now.
"Your honours, the law on machine evidence is quite clear," the young lawyer said emphatically. "If machine evidence is presented, it must be presented in total. My client wishes the court to see the preceding hours of each surveillance device."
"That's not possible," the prosecution lawyer said, in what Lucilla recognized was a hesitant tone.
"And why not?" one of the judges turned on him, far more sourly than Lucilla had been addressed.
"There's evidence of er . . ."
"Er what?"
"External tampering," the prosecutor finally got out.
"Strike out the entire tape!" the judge said angrily. "All evidence on that tape must be removed from machine assessment." The judge paused, then turned towards the prosecutor. "You will now provide an exemplary knowledge of the rules of evidence from here on in, or else. Any further prosecution evidence?"
A sequence of recordings were then shown where it was shown that Lucilla had been making enquiries which could only be interpreted as a prolonged effort to discredit Marshall Gerenthe. Then there was a surveillance tape where she was informing an Ulsian that she would get to the bottom of Gerenthe, even if it killed her. She stared bleakly at that. She had to admit she had said that, but that did not mean she was going to go out and kill him. Finally evidence was shown in which Lucilla was told that Gerenthe would be at that place at that time.
Lucilla was furious. This was simply not true! She was about to do something, when she felt a grip on her arm. Her lawyer again was insisting she remain silent. She shook her head as she slumped back to hear the prosecutor summarize by saying Lucilla clearly hated Gerenthe, she believed he was there, she was one of the very few Ulsians with access to the explosive, and she was recorded running from the site.
The case for the prosecution was closed, and by protocol, proceedings ended for the day, so that the defence could organize its response. Again Lucilla was returned to her cell, and again her lawyer visited.
"You realize," her lawyer said, "that if you had kept quiet we could have started tomorrow by ruling out the evidence that you were at the site?"
"I'm sorry," she said, "but I thought it was ruled out anyway."
"It was," he smiled. "You were lucky there, but we shouldn't rely on that."
"Why was it tampered with?" Lucilla asked. "Could the real guilty party be removed?"
"We have no idea," the lawyer smiled, "but it is a possibility to be raised." He paused, then added, "I know this has been tough for you, but don't worry. Everything will get much better soon."
"How can you be so sure?" she asked.
"Because they have the weakest case imaginable. Tomorrow, things will start to get better."
Lucilla was far from convinced, but perhaps it was sheer tiredness, or perhaps she had worried herself so thoroughly there was little more to worry about, or perhaps she was becoming accustomed to the court, but that night for the first time she slept properly.
* * *
The next day she managed a wan smile to her lawyer before the judges entered. Nevertheless her doubts returned as her own lawyer got to his feet. If he was in Gerenthe's pay, the next few hours could be disastrous.
"Your honours, the prosecution has no case," her lawyer beamed. "It is alleged that Claudia Lucilla attempted to kill Space Marshall Gerenthe while he was at this specific place. Let us consider the scene. The final preparations for war are being made, and where would you expect a Space Marshall to be? Let us put this into perspective, with a record of a conversation between the two Space Marshalls."
To Lucilla's complete surprise, a recording was played where Gaius clearly told Gerenthe that he had told Lucilla that Gerenthe would be on his ship, at a Council of War.
"Your honours, I submit it is not a great way to kill someone you don't like! If her brother, the one person she trusts above all others, tells her that the Space Marshall will be doing his duty aboard his ship, why does she plan to kill him by bombing somewhere where she knows he is not present? Remember, by the prosecution's own evidence, this was well planned, and required considerable preparation, including the getting of the explosive. Note the following transcript, which establishes that Claudia Lucilla was not carrying explosives several hours earlier."
The recording of the threats made against Lucilla in the cafeteria was played. The proprietors, having heard the cry for help, had recorded everything thereafter.
"We would find out more," the lawyer said, "if we could interview that threatener, so I call him!"
"Your client is relying on machine evidence," a judge pointed out.
"And that so-called officer spoke in Latin," the lawyer pointed out. "The number of Ulsians who have learned that language is on this short list. I submit that that so-called officer is a machine, and therefore callable."
There was a stunned silence, then the prosecutor had to admit that was not possible. The 'officer' was on Space Marshall Gerenthe's ship.
"Is this officer a companion
?" the lawyer asked.
"No. But . . ."
"Go on!" a judge ordered.
"There's no evidence he's a machine," the prosecutor said.
"Then you have evidence he is not?" the judge continued.
"Well, no. I never . . ."
"You did not do your job. Is that what you are trying to say?"
There was no response.
"Can you think of one reason why I should not strike this case out right now?" the judge asked. "This case is so procedurally flawed I see little alternative."
"Your honour!" the young lawyer pleaded. "Let me call my next witness."
Lucilla was appalled. The case was to be dismissed, and her lawyer wished to continue. She was about to stand up and protest when a message flashed across her screen: "We, from the reproductive sector below, wish this to continue. Please do not stop it. Remember, the request for the case to be struck out can be made later at any stage." She stared at it, and sat down, bemused.
"Who is sending you messages?" a judge called out. "This is unacceptable, and you should be found . . ." He stopped as a great screen across one wall of the court suddenly came to life: 'The message came from a member of the committee to whom you will be answerable if you do not follow correct procedure.'
There was a stunned silence, then one of the judges said, with a strangely nervous stutter, "You would rather call a witness than stop the case? So be it. Call your next witness."
"I call companion, class . . ." there followed specifications that went over Lucilla's head, but which clearly indicated a special machine, which was followed by a pause. The lawyer pointed to the sign insisting on silence, then showed another sign saying, 'Use self-control'. Lucilla stared at this, then nodded acceptance. "This is known to the accused as Antonia."
Lucilla almost jumped out of her seat. She managed not to say anything as she turned towards the door, where Antonia walked in. Antonia looked at her and winked, then walked towards the front of the court, then stopped as the opposition lawyer jumped to his feet and maintained that this was a fraud.
"What grounds do you have for that?" Lucilla's lawyer chirped.
"Antonia was blown to pieces in the blast."
"What makes you think that?" the lawyer persisted. "This was never entered in evidence?"
There was a strange pause, then a judge indicated that Antonia should proceed. She walked to the front of the court and interfaced with the court computers.
"Verification correct!" the wall seemed to say. "The companion is the original and authentic companion termed Antonia."
A deluge of information then began to flow, including the clear images of Lucilla proceeding towards the site, carrying nothing, the clear evidence she never got within thirty meters of the explosion, and the clear order to run from Antonia herself. There was an additional sequence of images of Ulsians connected with the case.
The next hour was one that Lucilla lost. Antonia effectively took over as an alternative prosecutor, bringing evidence from a myriad of sources, including intercepted messages from Gerenthe's ship. She eventually concluded with an analysis that there was little doubt that Gerenthe was behind this explosion since, as it was pointed out, only someone in contact with the M'starn could have had access to the materials. Lucilla was proven not to have carried the device, not to have known about the site, and never to have had the material, as it would be impossible for her to have brought it back without her ship and what she called her Tin Man knowing about it. Antonia had all of that Companion's memories, which were also on file at the following electronic address. The direct memories would now be entered into evidence.
That left Gerenthe, or one of his senior officers, as the only possible sources. Yes, Lucilla's innocence could have been proven earlier, but Lucilla had bravely endured this sequence of events for the good of Ulse. It had been correctly reported that Lucilla would do anything to determine what Gerenthe had really done. Now she had proven that statement with her actions. Fortunately, a number of Ulsians had been identified as having been in contact with the plotters. These should be questioned. More importantly, the reason for this plot should be elucidated, because there was the possibility that Ulse's very future depended on the actions taken by someone now strongly suspected of having no honour, and possibly of attaining command on fraudulent grounds.
"Each identified shall be questioned immediately," a judge ordered. He turned to Lucilla and dismissed the charges with honour, a strange classification that Lucilla later found out meant that not only was she found not guilty, she was proven innocent and the victim of a disgraceful accusation. He then added, "Ulse shall get to the bottom of this."
A now rather dazed Lucilla watched as the court formally dissolved itself, several judges went to congratulate her lawyer, and some came to offer apologies and their deepest thanks to Lucilla.
"I thought you were dead," Lucilla said to Antonia, "or whatever destroyed companions become."
"And I am sorry," Antonia said soothingly. "A companion's first duty is to her companion, but the next duty is to Ulse. The problem was, I became more convinced than you are that it was Gerenthe who had mounted this plot to get rid of you. When you thought I was dead, he thought I was dead, and that was his mistake. While you were in that cell, Gerenthe was convinced the outcome would be even better than if you had been killed in the blast. If he knew the truth, anything could have happened.
"In any case," Antonia smiled, "I knew you were safe in that cell, but if you got out, he would have found a way to kill you."
"So now we set off to follow Gaius?" Lucilla asked eagerly.
"Soon, but not yet," Antonia said. "We have to wait until we find out what part Gerenthe played in this, because when we get there we have to be able to arrest him. Anything less, and Gerenthe could still win."
"How long do we have to wait?" Lucilla asked.
"I'd say, about a week," Antonia said.
"The battle'll be over," Lucilla said wanly.
"Have you got the blood lust?"
"No," Lucilla said, "but if we've lost . . ."
"If we've lost," Antonia pointed out, "a fresh undamaged ship might be just the thing for rescuing Gaius and Vipsania."
"If they're still alive."
"If they're not, there's nothing we can do," Antonia said, "but don't get too depressed. Gaius is resourceful."
"Yes, but is Gerenthe?" Lucilla asked. "And if so, what at?"
"If that's your problem," Antonia said, "that's all the more reason to stay, so that when you next meet, you'll be able to do something about it."
"I suppose."
"In the meantime," Antonia said, "there're a number of Ulsians at a certain café you know who want to treat you, and make up to you for Ulse's behaviour. I think you might find the next few days enjoyable enough to take your mind off those problems."
"Antonia?" Lucilla asked. "Can I ask, what happened? I really thought you were destroyed."
"Hah! As I suspected, you were not always paying attention."
"On what?"
"Remember when you had teleportation explained, and you were informed you could control a double on the ground from the luxury of the ship?"
"That was a double?" Lucilla asked, as light began to dawn.
"A treble, actually," Antonia smiled a superior smile. "The other was on one of Gerenthe's ships."
"Doing what?" Lucilla asked curiously.
"Two things," Antonia said, with a tone of superiority. "Firstly, gathering information. I had one of the logs duplicated. At the time, I could not read it, but now I believe the Ulsian justice computers will analyse it, so we might find out what really happened. Secondly, remember the surveillance tape that was tampered with?"
"You did that?" Lucilla asked curiously.
"From one of Gerenthe's ships," Antonia said. "Eventually that will come out, and Gerenthe will get the blame. Of course, if everything had been on the level, the tape tampering would have been irrelevant. Nobody would have known th
at we went there to get the logs, had there ever been any."
"That's very sneaky!" Lucilla said.
"Thank you," Antonia said proudly. "I'm pleased you find me just like you."
"Thank you," Lucilla muttered back.
Chapter 40
For the next few days, a number of Ulsians lived up to Antonia's assertions that they would try to make life as pleasant as possible for Lucilla. At times Lucilla felt almost guilty; they were trying so hard, and she was not responding as well as she should. She explained many times that she was concerned for Gaius and Vipsania, to help, and even to warn them, although of what she was unsure.
"They could be in danger," she almost pleaded with Antonia.
"Anyone at war is in danger," Antonia pointed out.
"But not from your own side," Lucilla countered.
"Actually," Antonia said, "traditionally that's not true. Ineptness from their own commander has killed more soldiers than brilliance from the enemy's."
"This isn't ineptness," Lucilla pointed out.
"I agree," Antonia said, "but you can't go up to the commander and just push him aside because you claim something's not right. If everybody could do that, your army would collapse immediately. We have to wait until we know exactly what's going on."
"Gaius could be warned that something's not right," Lucilla pointed out.
"He knows something's not right," Antonia said. "His problem is, he doesn't know what, and unfortunately, neither do we. Be patient."
Unfortunately, patience was not one of Lucilla's better points. As she could not leave, the other half of her wanted to get to the bottom of whatever Gerenthe had been up to. As Antonia pointed out, she had no particular skill for this job, and no particular idea of what to do. She would be kept informed.
"Then why haven't you told me what was on the ship's log you copied?" Lucilla asked.
"Because there was nothing to tell."
"Nothing? Come off it. Perhaps you didn't appreciate the significance of −"
"I meant what I said," Antonia interrupted calmly. "There was nothing. No recording. The log was fresh, untouched, yet to be started. The original had obviously been replaced."
