by Chris Hechtl
Benny just shook his head. “Of course. Do they realize the number of perjury charges that they are opening those witnesses up to?”
“Do they even care?” Commander Steele asked. “Remember who you are talking about.”
“I am, which bothers me even more. They've also given us plenty of grounds for an appeal.”
“Which will go nowhere,” she replied with a shake of her head.
“I warned you,” Ginny said with a shake of her head.
“Yes, you did. But this doesn't change anything. We just keep attacking it.”
“Besides, I've got all the relevant files on hand anyway. I've already cleared them and given them copies,” Horatio stated.
She turned to him in surprise. “You gave civilians copies of classified material?”
“I cleared them. I read them in. Besides, everyone knows about the order to relieve Admiral Childress. I broadcast that one, remember? It is the main reason I'm in here, no matter what smoke screen they are trying to pull with the Xeno virus.”
“Well, there is that,” Ginny replied, still sounding unsure.
“Move on,” Horatio ordered. She looked at him dubiously but then nodded.
@
The prosecution continued on the attack of the ansible transmissions. Captain Rising Tide went so far as to double down and put in a motion for all material from Caroline and Ilmarinen to be excluded as a hoax.
That led to issues with the judges. Apparently, it was too much to swallow from Admiral Silvestri, who sided with Colonel Talia. Admiral Thurgrad apparently called in backup in the form of Admiral Shren. The following morning the JAG intervened and formed a compromise, cherry picking what information was relevant and independently provable. The definition of provable involved at least one or more witnesses, which sharply limited the data that could be used. They left the status of Horatio's new rank in limbo and the prosecution dropped any attacks on it.
But it limited the usable data for both sides. Basically, neither side was happy about the end result.
“We haven't even started the jury selection process and we're arguing evidence. Lovely,” Benny said with a shake of his head.
“That's coming up next,” Doctor Bullettine murmured.
@
While the lawyers had been duking it out over motions, Doctor Bullettine's team had begun the jury preparation process. The known jury pool was shrinking daily as some personnel took themselves out of the pool through resignation or retirement. The pool that was left was limited to serving officers who were in range of Command One or between assignments.
Still, they didn't have a finished pool to build profiles on each person. The pool changed daily. It was suspected by Doctor Bullettine's team that some of the personnel were being deliberately transferred or shunted aside by the powers that be to get the right jury mix they wanted.
Doctor Bullettine was also aware that they were being watched. He decided to use a bit of misdirection while discussing the process with Admiral Logan and Commander Steele. Leading them with the obvious, people who were on Horatio's side was easy, finding people that were borderline or who were undesirable to him and then listing them as possible candidates to focus on allowed him to test a hypothesis.
He was not surprised the following morning when the jury pool had changed once again. Each of the candidates he had listed during their meeting had suddenly gone on leave or had been transferred out of the area and where thus unavailable.
“Well!” his second in command, Doctor Theresa Morgana, grumbled.
“Oh, well, I think it worked in our favor,” Bull replied.
“Yes, you got a few questionable people out of the pool, but they won't fall for that again, Bull,” Theresa said with a shake of her head.
“Then we'll have to get cute. How are our other preparations going?”
“So far, we're swamped with the evidence. The prosecution is as well, but TJAG is pushing the pace of the trial beyond reason. They've denied our motions to stretch the preparation time out.”
“Okay,” he replied with a nod as he picked up his jacket. “I've got another test to perform.”
“Do you think that is wise?”
“I think it is making a point.”
“And what point is that?”
“That they shouldn't believe everything we say when we are in a meeting. And they really shouldn't be listening in anyway,” he replied as a parting shot.
He met Benny, and they took the shuttle to the prison station. Once they went through the hassle of all the security, they met with their client and Commander Steele.
They went over the basic preparation discussions. Bull mildly pointed out that some of the jury pool had suddenly and mysteriously been transferred, garnering a sharp look from the commander. She didn't ask him about it, which he filed away as suspicious.
“On another note, I've ordered my people to prep an audiovisual presentation of all of the acceptable material we have on the new Federation. It will take time to vet it all but it should neatly counter what the prosecution is planning.”
Benny gave him a dubious look.
“Preparation of it will take time as I mentioned. We can file a motion to get that time, and while we're working on that, we can process other material. We can easily stretch out the time period.”
“That's a two-edged blade,” Commander Steele warned. “The prosecution will have that time to prepare as well.”
“I know. I think our case is pretty solid. They know it, which is why they are pushing the pace. With the presentation, we can remind the jury and judges about the outer Federation and where their greater loyalties lie. It will give us a nice, solid foundation to base our arguments on. Everyone knows they are legal, but it doesn't hurt to get that foundation set in.”
“Okay, we'll try it your way,” the commander replied with a nod. “What else?”
@
The next day the prosecution moved to counter the video of the outer Federation as unnecessary before they got into proposing it.
“It is just a delaying tactic and will prejudice the jury,” Captain Rising Tide insisted.
“You opened the door by attacking the credibility and stating that the outer Federation is a hoax,” Commander Steele protested smoothly.
“But this too can be faked,” Captain Rising Tide stated, looking significantly at Admiral Thurgrad.
The chief jurist cocked his head and considered how best to handle the situation. Admiral Silvestri grimaced in distaste. The colonel cocked his head and flicked his ears.
Ginny shook her head at the seeming absurdity of that statement. “The accused is from there. So are others we can call to verify the contents. I can call into question all of your evidence, Counselor. I happen to know …”
“Enough, Counselor,” the chief jurist said, cutting the commander off before she could say anything further. “Address your concerns to this panel,” he said sternly, tapping the bench in front of him with his index finger.
The commander turned and nodded politely to the trio. “My apologies, Your Honor,” she said smoothly as she nodded to him and then to each of the other judges.
“I think we need to take this discussion in chambers,” Colonel Talia said pointedly to the other two members on the bench.
Admiral Thurgrad grimaced but nodded.
Horatio listened as each side argued about the evidence. He knew that a court was adversarial, but he couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated and put out over the process. Still, he kept quiet as instructed.
When they were finished, they were dismissed for lunch.
An hour later, the judges returned with a decision when court was back in session. The judges had agreed in a two to one ruling with the prosecution that the videos were unnecessary and prejudicial. When the news was announced, Benny leaned in to Ginny, Bull, and Horatio. “No surprise there. Funny how he cut us off at the knees there. Almost like he knew it was coming,” he said sarcastica
lly. “Now will you let me scramble the meetings?”
“No. It will just give them more reason to try to get in. I know that they know what was said. Let it play out and keep playing for what I want,” Horatio murmured. He did wish that they had implants so he could text them. But he still wasn't certain about where the commander's loyalties ultimately lied.
Benny stopped with a frown and looked at him intently. Horatio nodded once.
“Okay, you are the client. It is your neck on the line here,” Benny said, looking at Bull.
“Don't I know it,” Horatio murmured as he glanced at the commander and psychologist and then away.
@
A series of written motions for the defense were filed to get everything the prosecution had. Benny shook his head as they went over the paperwork. “Just processing all this will take weeks.”
“I know. But you need more than just what they intend to use. We're entitled to everything,” he said as Benny looked up. “Not just what they were using, but all of it, including the material that proves my innocence. Everything including ONI recordings, everything up to and including the kitchen sink,” Horatio pointed out.
“We're entitled to it to mount a proper defense,” Benny agreed with a nod.
“And we're not getting it,” Commander Steele said as she came into the conference room.
“Excuse me?” Benny asked, eyes wide. “Who says?”
“The judges just issued a written ruling. Admiral Shren agreed,” she said, waving a chip.
“The problem is, they will only give us small bits of evidence,” the commander growled, clearly incensed about the slap. Horatio wasn't certain if it was genuine or feigned; his read of her vital signs wasn't perfect.
“Why?” Benny demanded as he slowly took the chip.
“Classified. Even the reasons are classified,” Ginny replied.
“Lovely.”
“Most likely they decided that the means they used to record you would be jeopardized or something or it's because we're civilians,” Doctor Bullettine theorized mildly.
“Exactly,” Ginny said, shooting a surprised look to the doctor. He shrugged.
“I ran into a similar case not so long ago. A woman leaked a file to the press as a whistle blower. She wasn't allowed to use the leaked file in her own defense. It was a classic catch-22.”
“Oh.”
“Then we have grounds for appeal,” Benny stated, hitching his thumbs in his belt.
“You know that the appeal process runs to Admiral Shren, who, yes, is the Judge Advocate General, but is also in Admiral Childress's pocket, right?” Ginny asked, turning to him.
“And then beyond?” Benny asked. “To the president, right?”
“It doesn't go to the civilian courts anymore,” Ginny warned with a shake of her head as she played with a stylus. “It goes to Admiral Childress first since he's made the division of local and federal authority crystal clear. He is the senior military officer in command of the star system, for right or wrong. Admiral Irons was the one who let him do it too. From there?” She shook her head. “I don't know of anyone else.”
The group was quiet for a moment, as they digested that statement. Finally, Horatio shook his head.
“Don't bet on it. There are federal courts now. And there is a TJAG of the entire navy in Antigua. Whatever happens here, I'll appeal and keep appealing,” Horatio stated.
“You have that much faith it will ever get there?” Ginny asked carefully, eying him.
Horatio cocked his head. “Don't you?”
“Admiral,” she sighed and shook her head. “You do realize no ship is allowed to leave the star system, right? We're essentially a black hole. All of the starships have had their computer cores ripped out.”
“I'll cross that bridge if and when we get there,” Horatio stated.
“And when you include ONI recordings, make certain you specify these,” Horatio said, tapping the table top with his stiffened index finger. His chains rattled.
Ginny blinked, then her eyes narrowed. “You aren't serious …” Horatio nodded significantly. “You … you are trying to tell me they are recording this?” Her eyes were wide as she looked around. “This is against the constitution! It is against the law! It's …”
“Of course it is. They don't believe the law applies to them, so why stop now? Due process doesn't seem to enter into this. The constitution, they could care less about obviously. They are stacking the deck as much as possible. But yes, I can sense the recording devices with my implants,” he said as he looked around the room.
Ginny stared at him like he was crazy. After a long moment, she picked up her glass of water, took a sip, and then set it down. The light tap of the glass touching the desk was the only sound. “So, they are …”
“Right there,” Horatio said, pointing to a patch in the wall. “ODN cable fed to a microcamera,” he stated as his implants traced the lines for him. “There is an audio pickup under this table,” he said, tapping the table once more. “There is another behind you and one behind me. There are two other cameras as well, one in each corner facing the table so every nook and cranny of the room is covered. They go to a Wi-Fi node.”
Ginny shook her head as Benny whistled softly. Benny scowled as he went over to the indicated spot on the wall. His fingernails pried at something clear there. “Yeah, there is something there, like tape. That is in violation of ….”
“A couple dozen laws? Well, you are the legal expert. You might want to document it. They'll try to do better next time I bet,” Horatio said just as the guards came into the room. He turned and looked up, unsurprised by their appearance.
“I'm not done yet,” Ginny said, staring at them. Benny scowled blackly at them.
“We need the room,” a guard said. “Now.”
“Sure,” Horatio stated. He couldn't rise from the table; his hands were cuffed to the ring bolted to the tabletop. “I'm a bit attached to it right now. Do you mind?” he asked, holding up his cuffs.
“Get them out of here. And don't touch anything,” a guard said, glaring at Benny. Benny put his hands up to show he didn't have anything, then stuffed them into his pockets, and nonchalantly gathered up his stuff to follow the others out of the room.
@
Commander Onslo grimaced as a tech came to him with an urgent warning. “Cute,” he grumbled as he read the brief report. “Pull the recording devices. Find a better way of hiding them. Are they filing motions?”
“They are now.”
The commander grimaced. He didn't need the headache, not after his last ass searing from Admiral Hill over the NCIS strike. One more strike would end his career and potentially his life if he wasn't careful. He knew too much he thought. “Get the recording devices out. The same for his cell. They can't prove it with just his implants. He can't plug in and without physical evidence, it's just his word against ours and we've got the courts on our side anyway.”
“Understood.”
“Get on that now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Once we've pulled back, we'll wait for the dust to settle and see which way the court swings before we put them back in and do a better job next time,” he growled.
“Yes, sir. The implants though …”
“Figure it out,” the commander growled. The tech bobbed an earnest nod as he left.
Chapter 20
Bek B
Two weeks to the day since the transmission from Irons, Rear Admiral Sharp Reflexes was still feeling out the forces under his command. He was gratified that his command team was solid; everyone was behind him. He had made it clear through whisker broadcasts to the ship's captains and instillation commanders that they were for the Federation but not going to come out against Childress. Any officers that couldn't handle that could resign or request a transfer.
He had been relieved to see that few had taken up his offer. While Captain Houser sorted through that, they had set up a picket with destroyers he c
ould trust watching Bek A.
A check of the personnel behind him was a bit instructive. Every mustang officer was with him, some vehemently so. He was amused that the Marines were quietly behind them too.
Rear Admiral Nilsson had managed to ID and brig troublemakers and members of ONI who had been sent to spy on them. There were still some questionable people in their ranks. Undoubtedly, the smart ones were keeping a low profile but not all of them were. Several had gotten a copy of his message to the ship’s captains and had tried to broadcast a warning. They'd managed to block the transmission but only barely.
The buoys he'd had set up in-between Bek A and B scrambled all transmissions coming and going. But a series of buoys further out towards Bek A monitored the area for stray transmissions while also listening in to the broadcasts from Bek A. The civilian broadcasts were troubling. He was relieved to know that Governor Nibs had left for Bek B on sublight shipping. It was unfortunate that she'd been forced to fall back on it, but apparently, the starships had all been taken off line. He wasn't certain if he believed the story of a potential Xeno A.I. virus threat. It seemed all too convenient for Omar to suddenly shut down the ships that could get word back to Irons of his mutiny.
Well, that was a priority for him. He would need to find a way to reestablish contact with the Federation. By hook or by crook he needed one of those ships … if they couldn't figure out an alternative.
He glanced at the time and then chittered his mandibles. If they were to succeed in the next step, he needed to get his engineering started. He'd already delayed for far too long. Hopefully, the commander he was about to meet would be able to do something about that.
A lot was riding on this Commander Walengrad he thought as he received a report that Albacore had just launched a shuttle.
@
