Court-Martial (Horatio Logan Chronicles Book 2)

by Chris Hechtl

  “Well, as your defense attorney, I started the bargaining process,” the commander replied. “You really want to start it this early with a case of this magnitude.”

  “Really. Without my knowledge or consent?” Horatio asked as he was escorted to a seat by a bailiff. The bailiff pushed him down by the bicep, then left without a word to stand outside the closed door. He noted they kept him in cuffs the entire time. For the entire trip from lockup, through the shuttle, and then through the complex no one had told him what was going on, where he was going, or why. It was just something he was going to have to get used to, he realized.

  Not that he liked it. But that was a part of their point, that he was no longer in control of the situation. They were only partially correct he thought darkly, not ready to give in a millimeter.

  “Here is the deal. You plead guilty. You resign and save face. We take the death penalty and a life sentence out of the equation,” the prosecutor offered.

  “No.”

  “It's a good deal …,” Commander Trent said in a wheedling tone of voice.

  “Second offer, we go lenient on you. I'm willing to deal you down to the lowest charge if we can make this go away today. We'll even throw in considering some time served since you've been in prison. I understand that housing in the main complex and the security situation has prevented you from being confined to quarters.”

  “No.”

  “Sir, it is a good deal, a great deal,” the defense attorney said. Horatio realized he was being pressured. “All you need to do is give them what they want. You'll be in minimum security, right,” Trent said, looking at the captain.

  “I'm sure we can look into that,” the high elf said.

  “You aren't hearing me. I said no,” Horatio stated.

  “Sir, we've got serious problems. The recording is sending shockwaves through the Republic. People … people are getting hurt. Careers are going down in flames. This isn't good for anyone.”

  “No,” Horatio said.

  “You need to think beyond yourself. For the good of the service and the population, you need to stand-down,” the captain said. He knew it was a lost cause though; just looking in the human's eyes confirmed that. He was a fighter.

  “Funny, I was going to say the same about your boss,” Horatio said mildly. He turned to the defense attorney. “You are supposed to be on my side.” He then turned to both JAGs. “You two are also supposed to be following the UCMJ. Obviously, that's been thrown out the door with this mutiny.”

  “The only one being charged with mutiny is you,” Commander Cord stated. Captain Rising Tide nodded.

  “Me so far. Give it time,” Horatio stated.

  Both JAGs scowled and looked at each other before they looked at him. They had been up to their ears in reports of people refusing to obey orders or even acknowledge them. A potential civil war was being brooded about on the media and in some of the brass. “Are you seriously trying to push it? Do you know what that will do?”

  “I only know my duty. I'm doing mine,” Horatio stated firmly.

  “So, I take it that's a no? This is what you want? I remind you, this conversation can and will be used as evidence of your guilt. You just admitted to wanting to spread this mutiny,” Captain Rising Tide rumbled.

  “Ah, so you mean with the recording devices you've got hidden in this room?” Horatio asked. The captain didn't blink, but the commander smirked ever so slightly. “And this is your warning that your informal conversation is actually a trap and an attempt to force a confession. No.”

  “You already confessed to plotting mutiny,” the captain stated.

  Horatio shook his head. “You are taking my comment out of context. To clarify, I meant Admiral Childress and his supporters are committing mutiny. And by not stopping them, you are complicit in that mutiny,” Horatio replied, knitting his fingers together calmly.

  “That isn't going to fly and you know it. Not here. Not now.”

  “I think you and I both know it will,” Horatio replied evenly. “Admiral Irons' orders were clear and on point. Admiral Childress has refused to obey orders that were sent on Caroline and now orders to stand-down and be relieved.”

  “That can be construed in a number of different ways since the transmission you made was highly irregular. There are also authentication problems with the transmission,” Captain Rising Tide pointed out.

  “Which is a load of bullshit and all three of us know that,” Horatio stated. He realized that was going to be the thrust of their attack, to undermine the credibility of the orders.

  “Okay, what will it take to get you to see reason?” Commander Cord asked.

  “Again, you aren't listening. I'm not the one having a problem with reason. If you wish for someone to stand-down for the good of the service,” he smiled as he quoted the JAG, “maybe you should talk to the man in the head office and his supporters.”

  “Commodore, be reasonable, people are going to get hurt if this continues …” his attorney pleaded.

  Horatio's eyes cut to his own defense attorney. “I see even you have problems following protocol. Interesting that this is the first time in this conversation you've addressed me by rank—the wrong rank but a rank. And even though I am a superior officer, I've been treated with contempt. But, I'm not going to call you on it yet. That is strike two however,” he stated flatly.

  “So, what, three strikes and I'm out? Is that how you are playing it?” the commander asked, eyes glittering. “Then you'll have no defense.”

  “Defense is required. If one cannot afford one, one will be provided freely,” the admiral stated. “That is in the constitution.”

  “You realize this is the best plea you are going to get? We've bent over backwards here. We've taken the death penalty off the table. You'll serve some time, yes, but not a life sentence …,” the captain stated.

  “No,” Horatio stated, making certain the conversation had been recorded on his side. “I'm done here,” he said, accessing the JAG Wi-Fi to dump his motion to sever his attorney from his case and apply for a new one into the system. While he was at it, he accessed a public cloud storage center and used its free one terabyte offer to store compressed files. He was going to throw more on the network but that transmission took up too much time he realized.

  “This isn't going to work. You have to save yourself,” the commander replied.

  “Sometimes things like duty and honor are bigger than one's life,” Horatio said mildly as he turned to his counselor. “Commander, since you are too busy and have shown you do not have my own interests in mind or in heart, I am filing a motion to sever you from my case. In short, you are fired.”

  “You can't do that,” the commander said, eyes wide.

  “I just did,” Horatio replied as he rose. “Guard, we're done here,” he said in a deep voice.

  “You'll regret this,” the captain warned.

  “No, I won't,” Horatio replied as the door opened and the bailiff escorted him out.

  @^@

  “He can't do that,” Trent said as the door closed behind the accused.

  “Apparently, he just did. Or he thinks he did at any rate,” the captain replied mildly. It was a mixed blessing for his side. It would give him more time to prepare, but the delay would mean the other side could file motions to prepare as well.

  Trent turned to the captain just as his phone beeped. He frowned and looked down to it. He noted the new mail from the JAG system in the sender box and in the header. He scowled, unconcerned at first about it. As he opened it with a flick of his fingers, intent on scanning it, the captain got his own similar email.

  “Son of a … he did it! He really fired me!” the commander said in wonder. “How the hell did he do that?” he demanded.

  “I don't know. It's been approved though. This means he'll need new counsel, and you are off the case,” the captain said with a shake of his head. “Next time, Trent.”

  “He can't … how …,” Trent sputter
ed as he left the office.

  The captain frowned, briefly wondering the same thing before he realized it was simple. Most likely a jail-house lawyer had helped him, or he'd filed before leaving the jail. He might have even filed the motion over the weekend. Since the brass wanted to hamper Logan, the judge had agreed without a hearing.

  Now he was going to have to build his case and figure out how to break the news to the brass that the plea had been rejected.

  @^@

  “So, he won't go out with a whimper? Ballsy bastard,” Admiral Childress snarled when he heard the report.

  “He probably recognized it as a trap. Had he accepted the offer of a resignation, it would have led to an admission of guilt charge in the court. That was the plan at any rate,” Admiral Shren stated. “And getting the door open would have allowed us to get him to plead to lesser charges to save his own skin and undermine his credibility. So, that's out.”

  “If he won't go down willingly and easily, we'll just do it the old-fashioned way. And we'll make sure to turn the screws an extra turn or two,” Admiral Childress growled.

  “That isn't going to be easy. This entire trial is going to be messy. You realize you are as much on trial as he is?” Admiral Shren asked.

  Admiral Childress eyed the elf coldly. “There is a difference here. I have all the cards. I control the judges and jury. He's done.”

  “Maybe,” the elf replied dubiously. It wasn't an ordinary trial case where there was one judge. A capital case followed T'clock and Veraxin traditions of having a three-judge panel, much like an appellate court.

  “No maybes about it. You make it a damn certainty,” the human admiral snarled.

  @^@

  Captain Prescott's naval public affairs department attacked the ansible report as well as everything Caroline had brought them. Since she was a visible member of the military, the media had to take her seriously despite what she was saying.

  Of course, they were two-faced about it. They took her word but asked hard questions. When the press conferences were finished, the talking heads back in the studio tore apart the statements like tissue paper.

  Still, the meme was sinking in to some according to the polls. We have no proof of any existence of a Federation. All of it is a possible sick hoax played on public cynicism, which ran deep in some areas. Many people were very skeptical of some things, hearing that it was all a hoax made some wonder or say that they always had problems with the goody goody version of events. The very idea that Irons was alive and was the president helped in that regard.

  Admiral Draken watched the broadcast as the talking heads picked the idea apart. “This isn't going to work,” he said simply.

  “Let it percolate enough, get picked up, and it will. It'll sink in,” Captain Prescott stated.

  “No, no, it won't.”

  “Give it time,” she pressed.

  “This … is bullshit.”

  “The bigger the lie, the more people believe the simple truth. And if we say it was all a lie, they have to think hard about reality.”

  “And they lose faith in us. What about when it comes out that we're lying to save our own skins?”

  “It won't. We control the star system. Nothing gets in now without clearance from me. I've left orders with Admiral Toronto to be sure of that. All of the ships that were salvaged are here with us. We control the supplies. Eventually that station will die on the vine,” Admiral Childress growled.

  “And if it doesn't? If they continue to get supplies from the outer Federation? Or Nuevo?”

  “Then, we'll deal with it. Don't bother me with trivial situations for the moment. Can't I just enjoy one moment of peace?” Admiral Childress said plaintively.

  The chimera admiral stared at him dubiously and then to Captain Prescott. She grimaced. He finally shook his head and looked away.

  @^@

  “We don't have any leverage with the man to speak of,” Reba said as she examined the report from her spies. They couldn't threaten his family; he had none in the star system. According to the report, his only daughter was a captain in the navy and on assignment as the leader of the Tau mission. He had no relationships with anyone except those in uniform, most of it as distant friends or subordinate to superior officer. Going after one or more of them would be dicey.

  The one and only person he'd had an intimate relationship with was Moira Sema. And as much as she'd like to put the screws to that woman, she was also out of reach.

  “We've got no leverage to speak of. Admiral Zekowitz was his only colleague he spoke with on a regular basis, but even he kept his distance,” Jules stated. “So, he's out.”

  “Leaning on any naval personnel is out. No, we'll have to abandon that plan of attack,” Reba said with an air of regret.

  “So, what next?” Ch'k'n'll asked, signaling first-degree interest.

  “I'm afraid we're going to have to be hands-off. It will have to be up to the courts to handle him. Not that I don't doubt my son has stacked it all in his favor. It is going to take time however.”

  “I see,” Jules said mildly.

  “In the meantime, we need to work on damage control. Soothe what ruffled feathers we can and keep a lid on some of the hotter tempers while shutting down those we can't bribe or threaten. And for that, we need a list.”

  “We'll need to work with ONI for that,” Ch'k'n'll warned. He didn't like working with the Naga; there was always the chance of the snake turning on them. It also allowed the snake to see into their black ops programs, not that he probably wasn't monitoring them anyway. And it wasn't like he had a choice. He was in too deep to back out. If he tried, well, it would most likely be fatal for him.

  “Exactly. We can do things they can't and vice versa,” Reba replied.

  Chapter 13

  Admiral Creator of Things resigned in protest when Admiral Draken and Admiral Shren refused to relieve Admiral Childress. The bug was accosted by the media when they found out. He didn't comment initially.

  Other officers who resigned in protest were also approached by the media. Some gave vague excuses like personality clashes in order to save face and keep their options open. Others came out with both barrels and let the media and watching public know that Admiral Irons did indeed give out orders to relieve the current command and that Admiral Childress had so far refused to stand-down.

  The media went to Captain Prescott, the navy's public affairs head, but she refused to comment. They then turned to the president's press secretary who also refused to comment and from there back to Admiral Creator of Things.

  The T'clock admiral discussed what had happened and what had led up to it in a series of interviews, getting comfortable and going deeper as time went on. That made Admiral Childress increasingly uncomfortable.

  The media started to pick apart the navy.

  In an effort to outdo each other, one of the reporters managed to corner Vice Admiral Georgi Pashenkov, Admiral Childress's predecessor. The Neocanine had been forced out of the navy by Admiral Childress. “I'm not happy about the situation no.”

  “How did you handle it?”

  “Well, when Admiral Childress managed to sneak back into uniform, his supporters shielded his return from me until it was too late.”

  “By sneak back into uniform, what do you mean?”

  “I mean precisely that. He and his supporters got their hands on the regen therapies Admiral Irons sent, and he used them to reverse his aging. Since there is no cap on age in the Federation Navy and the Bekian one was rescinded, he got in. And because his date of rank preceded mine and he had more time in grade, he forced me out.”

  “So, is that why Admiral Irons insisted he be relieved?”

  “Well, for an answer to that you'd have to ask Admiral Irons or go by the transmission he had broadcast.”

  “You believe it was Admiral Irons in that transmission?” the reporter asked.

  “I do.” The Neocanine leveled a gaze directly into the camera. �
�And Omar, if you are hearing this, I already finalized my retirement, so you can't come after me.”

  “You believe he would do that?”

  “Omar Childress is a vindictive son of a bitch. Ask anyone who knows, especially those who got on his bad side for even the mildest of reasons. Good day,” the Neocanine said as he tipped his cap to the woman and left.

  That interview was played for several hours, but it was one among many so it was drowned out as new interviews were made. Vice Admiral Soar and Strike, the Delquir judge advocate general recently forced into retirement, issued a simple statement during her interview. She refused to commit to the legalities of the order from Admiral Irons since she was no longer in uniform and therefore didn't have the full copy of the order or supporting orders. “However, his order being broadcast so publicly is irregular but might be legal given how some orders to the Bekian Admiralty have either been ignored or gone astray,” she added as a parting shot.

  Some officers and noncoms put in their retirement papers instead of resigning. They also took overdue liberty or called in sick. They were advised to not talk to the media if they wished to resign and keep their pension.

  @^@

  Admiral Childress fumed over the media reports once more. He watched with impotent rage, his skin darkening with his choler as his wife gave an impromptu interview outside a shop that she was ambushed at while shopping for new shoes. She had always liked the limelight, but she didn't like to be negatively viewed so she made one thing clear with one simple statement. She was also probably pissed about being on camera since she felt old and decrepit and had bitterly protested when he had informed her that he couldn't get her the regen therapies he'd promised. “My soon to be ex-husband shall get what he deserves soon enough. You can count on that,” she said as a parting shot as she walked away.

  He shook, fists clenched as he snarled in anger. She at least had the decency to avoid getting into any detail, no doubt because she knew he'd come down on her hard. The money he was paying her had a lot to do with it as well he thought cynically. She was living it up on his dime. He wasn't particularly happy about her parting shot.