Shadow of the Blue Ring

by Jerome Kelly

  “Ana, trust me, I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine at all, James, not by a long shot,” Markova said sternly, “you’re overtired, your suffering emotionally and you need medical attention for these injuries. I need to file a full medical report on the condition of each of you and your team too.”

  “Ana, no offence, but to hell with the official reports,” James said with a tone of disgust, “after everything we’ve been through today, I could not give a shit about filling in forms for the admirals. Let my team rest, they’ve earned it.”

  “Well… I guess I can give it a miss this once,” Markova agreed, “but I’m still going to give everyone a thorough check-up. It’s no good me sending you off to your quarters when you’re still carrying injuries. Once you’re all given the all-clear, you can go and get some sleep.”

  “Thanks,” was all James was able to say. He winced slightly as Markova applied the burn medication but he soon felt the soothing relief as the painkillers kicked in. James was also given some muscle soothers to deal with the aches and pains in his legs. One by one, Markova went through each of the crew, patching them up and tending to their ailments. After an hour or two, James was finally given leave to return to his quarters. He was going to need some very long hours of sleep to recover from everything that he had been through in the past day. All he wanted was to lay his head down and drift off, forgetting everything else going on in the galaxy around him. Walking hand in hand with Isha, they made their way back to their room for the night.

  The damage to the interior of the ship had crept through into the captain’s cabin. Their room was a little bit shaken up, the furniture out of place and James’s desk ornaments covering the floor. It was comforting enough for him for the night though. As long as he had a place to sleep, he was fine with that. It was more than other members of his crew would have during this night. He sat himself down on the end of his bed, Isha sat next to him. Neither of them said anything, James simply put his arm around her and held her as she lay her head on his shoulder. If he could, he would have stayed in this moment with her forever. Eventually he let her slide backwards and lay her head down on the pillow. It had been a trying day for her too, she had captained the ship into a very stressful battle and emerged on the other side with the ship intact and the crew all safe from harm. She had earned her rest, as had the rest of them.

  James sat there in thought for a while. As he scanned the room, he noticed a small glass frame laying there on the floor before him. Picking it up, he saw that it was the award that had been given to him by Ravenn, back at his retirement party in Lahara. The frame was all cracked and broken but he could see through it to read the words written within, ‘for outstanding contributions to the future of the Freedom Alliance, for heroism beyond the call of duty and for bravery at a level of which we shall never see twice in one lifetime. This award is granted to James Antonio Tavarez for his part in the greatest undertaking of our time. We thank him for overthrowing the oppressors, giving our people back their freedom and for saving the Freedom Alliance from destruction.’

  “Saving the alliance from destruction huh?” he though to himself out loud, “funny how things all tend to work out in the end.”

  It was now going to go down as the second time that he had saved the whole alliance from a potential catastrophe. Quite how people would react to him when he returned was a mystery though. There was still a great number of issues to be resolved when the fleets returned to Tolis and James had no idea what to expect from Artennes when they inevitably met face to face for the first time since James had given him the fake Shadow Bringer. James put down the glass frame on his desk and returned to his bed, removing his shoes before laying down next to Isha. It felt like so long since James had just been able to put his head down on the pillow and rest, without having to worry about some galaxy-ending threat rearing it’s head at every turn. It was nice just to not have to worry about anything at all, even if it was only to be for a few short hours.

  Chapter Twenty

  A Favour Repaid

  James had not felt like leaving his quarters in the hours since leaving the Al’cari base. He simply did not feel like raising his head from his pillow, he just wanted to lay there without a care in the world. The peace and quiet was not going to last though, a day had passed since the destruction of the Shadow Bringer and they would be arriving back at Tolis very soon to face the council and to face Jovan Artennes. James had been slightly apprehensive over what would become of him when he returned. No matter his standing with the alliance, the other races and his own superiors, the rules that applied to everyone else applied to him too and he had broken a great many of them in the past weeks. Was he about to see his career come to an end? Was this his final act as a captain? Did none of his actions matter except those that were done in breach of alliance regulations? He would be finding out soon enough.

  “Is this a bad time?” the voice of Iyacs broke the silence in James’s quarters.

  “No, not at all,” James said groggily, lifting himself to a sitting position, “what’s up?”

  “Your crew on the bridge have asked me to inform you that we have arrived at Tolis,” said Iyacs, “it appears that you have received a summon from a Lord Jovan Artennes.”

  “Yeah, I expected as much,” said James, “I’m on my way up.”

  It was time for him to face the music for what he had done. Defying the council was considered to be a very serious offence among those higher up in alliance hierarchies and there were some very severe penalties. While no council representative had the sovereign power to punish someone not of their own race individually, the council had the power to act in cases where a person’s actions affected the alliance as a whole, just as James’s actions had done over the past two weeks.

  Everyone was gathered on the bridge, all except Kosare who was still in the medical bay although she was now awake and happily insulting Julio at every chance she could get. The general look among the crew suggested that they all knew exactly what was about to happen.

  “How bad is it?” James asked, “is it as we feared it might be?”

  “Well, it’s yet to be seen,” said Lucy, “the council has ordered a meeting with every one of us who took part in the attack on the Al’cari base. He’s called in general Juarez and the other admirals as well as his own son. I think the correct saying right now would be, ‘the shit is about to hit the fan’.”

  “Well we shouldn’t keep him waiting,” said James, “I guess it’s time we all face up to the consequences of what we have done. I’m not going to say what I probably should say right now, all I’m going to say is, lets just get this over with and whatever happens, we’ll deal with it as it happens.”

  “We’re right with you, James,” said Saavoy, “every one of us here knows that what you did was right and that the council would be mad to punish you. They should be on their knees thanking you for saving their sorry backsides.”

  “We can all hope,” said James, “come on, lets all get going. We’ll stop by the medical bay on the way, I want to check in on Jaiden first.”

  Everyone began to filter away from the bridge and in the direction of the hangar bay, all except Kalmar. He looked reluctant to move, he was just stood there staring out into space. It was clear to see what he was looking at too, the senate battlecruiser had followed them all the way out from the Blue Ring sector and was now up alongside the council ship.

  “You feeling Ok?” James asked him, “you look very troubled.”

  “It’s nothing, don’t worry,” said Kalmar, “I just… no, don’t worry about it.”

  “If you have something to say, please say it,” said James, “best to get everything out in the open now, it’s all about to go backside-up in a few minutes anyway.”

  “I betrayed my people, James,” Kalmar finally said, “I swore an oath to the senate and to chairman Gera. When I deserted the flee
t to help you find the Shadow Bringer, I broke every law that our people have held so dearly these past decades. Maybe we never truly understood the Al’cari, maybe it was never going to be possible but I just feel that things could have turned out so differently. Maybe we did not need to spend so many years as guardians of the Blue Ring, locked in a costly war with an unknown alien race that all along, only wanted to be free from oppression, rather than being the mindless hunters and killers that we perceived them to be.”

  “You could never have known any differently, it’s not your fault, not at all,” James reassured him, “the only people to blame here are the ones who sent the Al’cari on this quest. The Adeans are the victims in this, you were attacked by an unknown enemy and took steps to defend yourself.”

  “It all just seems like such a waste now though,” Kalmar sighed, “and now we all have to face up to what we have done. Lets just get it over with…”

  He left the bridge, still looking as if he was greatly troubled by something else in the back of his mind. It was as if he was expecting the very worst from this meeting with the council.

  “Let the council know we’re on our way,” James said to Elena at the communications post before making his way off the bridge. Following behind the rest of his crew, he joined them down in the medical bay which was now much calmer than it had been twenty-four hours ago. Kosare was awake and sharing a joke with the rest of the crew, as usual it seemed that Julio was on the receiving end of her wicked sense of humour but he seemed to be enjoying it enough. James wondered if Kosare knew what had been taking place while she had been out cold.

  “Hey! Look who it is,” Kosare said excitedly as she saw him approaching, although she still looked to be in some considerable discomfort, “ready to go and kick the council’s ass?”

  “Can’t wait,” James said with a hint of sarcasm, “I’m sure it’ll be a riveting meeting. You got pretty badly hurt down there, Jaiden, are you going to be Ok?”

  “Yeah, I’m gonna be fine,” Kosare smiled, “I’ll be up in a day or two, back to work at the archives. There is gonna be so much work to get through when I get back. They’ll be wanting to go to Sharstrom, to Alatennia, to just about everywhere they can find an excuse to take a trip to. I can’t wait!”

  “I bet,” said James, “so… have the others mentioned anything at all to you about what happened while you were out cold?”

  “Oh, I’ve heard a thing or two,” Kosare said, giving Julio a rather dirty look, “still, I guess I should be thankful, I would have been blown up in that supernova had it not been for him so I can be grateful for that at least.”

  “And she really knows how to show it too,” Julio laughed, “I think I’ve been the punch-line of every joke she’s made since she woke up.”

  “You’ve been the punch-line of every joke since you came aboard,” Kosare retorted, “and before you ask, the answer is still no.”

  “Come on, Jaiden, it’s obvious what you two think about each other,” James said to her, “not even one date?”

  “Nope, not even one date.”

  “Not even with sunsets, beaches, romantic meals and walks along the sea-front… ? You said that was what you wanted.”

  “Oh… I don’t know… I’ll think about it,” Kosare went slightly red in the face as she said it. It could not have been more clear for them to see that Kosare was at least slightly interested in Julio and had been all along, she was just far too stubborn and hot-headed to admit it.

  “It’s a start,” Julio chuckled, “I think I can make it all worth your while.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see,” Kosare was trying to sound dismissive but she was doing a very bad job of it. All she was doing was digging herself a bigger hole.

  “I’m afraid the dating will have to wait a while though,” James had to put a dampener on the mood, “we had better get going to this meeting with the council. The longer we keep them waiting, the less patient they are likely to be with us.”

  “Yeah, Ok you all go and have fun,” said Kosare, “I’ll just be laying here, watching events as they happen. I’ll be rooting for you all the way though.”

  “Its appreciated,” James laughed, “come on guys, lets get over there.”

  Kosare always had a habit of lightening the mood in the room. It was likely to be a very depressing trip over the the council ship and her sense of humour could have made the trip a little more bearable for them. As had been the case throughout the journey, Melina took up the controls of the flyer and piloted them out of the Evening Star’s hangar bay and over to the council ship once more. Landing in the bay that had been prepared for them, a delegation of the ship’s security officers were on standby to escort them to the council chambers and their meeting with the Artennes and the council. It was a less friendly welcome than they had received from the last time they had been aboard. The atmosphere was very tense, especially so with both James and Kalmar who faced the majority of the blame and the backlash for what had happened. It was also unclear quite what would happen to Kyrakian for his part in the events too, although James did not suspect that Darien would look too unkindly on his actions.

  As they arrived at the council chamber and were escorted inside, the council was already seated around their table with Artennes sat at the head in his usual position. Darien was again present in the room, stood to the left of Artennes while chairman Gera of the Adeans was stood to his right. In front of the council table stood the three appointed leaders of the alliance fleet, Juarez, Raviano and Valentina, as well as Tasos, who was looking particularly nervous, most likely due to the backlash he was about to face for the damage to his father’s reputation. There was complete silence in the room as James and his crew lined up alongside the other alliance leaders, ready to face their judgement for their actions. It was an uncomfortable wait for them as Artennes seemed to be searching for the words to say. Finally, he spoke up.

  “This is a situation I did not expect to find myself in,” he said, “the reports that I have read concerning the events over the past week… well they are simply unlike anything I have had to deal with in my years as head of the council.”

  “Lord Artennes, let me explain…” James spoke up but he was immediately silenced by Artennes.

  “Captain Tavarez, please be silent! You will have your chance to speak when you are called upon. We have a number of issues to be resolved here and not all of them revolve around you. Now… where are we to begin… ah yes, we will start with a serious act of deception against the council. George Connolly, Loca Morelli and Lucy Maguire, you are all charged with attempting to deceive the council by switching an important artefact with a fake which you then knowingly delivered into council possession. How do you all plead?”

  “By keeping it out of council hands, we were able to avoid a potential catastrophe, Lord Artennes,” Morelli spoke before the council, “on behalf of all three of us, if it is a crime to stand alongside my friends and my comrades and do what is right, even when it goes against the ill-wishes of the Freedom Alliance council, then I am forced to plead guilty, Lord Artennes.”

  Her answer turned a lot of heads among councillors but Artennes raised a hand to silence them. James could tell by the murmuring that there were some among the council that may not have supported his course of action but it was yet to be revealed what Artennes actual motive was for all of this.

  “Very well,” said Artennes, “next up… Marek Juarez, Artiem Raviano and Ceres Valentina, you are charged with disobeying two direct orders from the head of the council and the desertion of duty during a time of war. How do the three of you plead?”

  “We would all plead guilty, lord Artennes,” Raviano spoke on their behalf, “we plead guilty and we own up to our decisions on the condition that it is to be understood that mitigating circumstances surrounding the nature of our offences are to be considered when you make your final judgement.”

 
“So be it,” said Artennes, “now… James Tavarez, the list of charges against you for your part in these events is fairly extensive to say the least. I could read them all out but I would likely be here all day. Can I assume that you, along with all of the other members of your crew who aided you, would like to plead guilty to all charges filed against you?”

  “This is not about who is or is not guilty, Lord Artennes,” James spoke up, “this is about doing what was right, regardless of the cost and regardless of whoever wants to tell you that what you have done is right or wrong. Let us not forget, you and the council intentionally chose me to originally undertake this mission, knowing all about my history, my tendencies and, of course, for my absolute love of alliance regulations. You sent me out there into the Blue Ring sector under false pretences on a mission more dangerous than any I have ever undertaken to face off against an unknown enemy, the scale of which we could not have imagined beforehand. You then tried to take the Shadow Bringer from us, a decision that could have spelled disaster for the people of Tolis had the Al’cari and the Lataka decided to come looking for it.”

  “Captain Tavarez… please…” “No! I’m not done,” James refused to let Artennes interrupt him, “you said I would have my chance to speak so let me speak. We also need to remember here that after we returned from Raylia, it was you who elected to send the fleet into the Blue Ring, a choice which needlessly cost thousands of lives, all of which could have been saved had you actually listened to me in the first place and not chosen to ignore my warnings. You ordered your own people to bring me in for questioning while we were out on Alatennia, recovering the final piece of the weapon and looking for a way to end this war without major casualties to the alliance. This whole situation, right from when you pulled us out of Lahara to when we were fighting for our lives in the Blue Ring, was all of your own creation. Thousands of people died in this battle of yours, admiral Kaldun Ansare died trying to end this war and Jaiden Kosare damn near got killed too, she is very lucky to be alive. So, Lord Artennes, you want to put me on trial? You want to put my crew and all the crews of the alliance fleets on trial? I think that the person who should really be on trial here is you. You want me to answer for my ‘crimes’? Well I think that until you own up to what you have done and everything that you allowed to happen, all of these charges against us can go to hell!”