by Chris Hechtl
“The mission I leave up to them. But I ran into more snags with both ships. Dreamer of Ships is a talker. He talks a good game but he is not a troubleshooter and he definitely can't handle the civilian design worth a damn, especially since we don't have blueprints this time around.”
“Ah. He did okay with Ilmarinen though. Give him more time, and he'll sort it out.”
“I've extended the deadline five times already.” Helen winced. “And that's just it; he didn't get Ilmarinen sorted out. Zek did,” Jean admitted. Helen blinked and then her face made a silent, oh, of understanding. “Yeah.”
“So? Can he do it again?” Helen asked as she digested that admission.
Jean squirmed a bit. “I sort of … promised to get him sprung from the academy. I know,” she said, one hand up. “I shouldn't have. I didn't know he was that deep in the doghouse with the powers that be and to be honest I needed him. But the moment I didn't, I dumped him.”
“And let me guess, he's busy?”
“Yeah,” Jean sighed. “I could probably get Draken or N'r'm'll to order him for detached duty assignment again. But I won't get his best.”
'If he still does it, so what?”
“I just don't know if I can do that to him. I did it once already,” Jean admitted.
“Guilt is for small souls, Jean,” Helen replied.
“Yeah well … not for me. The ships aren't a priority anyway.”
“So, you'll leave Dreamer to fumble along at his own pace?”
Jean nodded. “I guess so,” she said as Helen rose from her chair. “Lunch?”
“Yeah. The usual?”
“Yeah,” Jean replied as she rose from her chair too. “We can work on the logistics requirement of this frigate build program I suppose,” Jean said in a disgusted tone of voice.
“Works,” Helen replied as she showed her guest out.
@
The government received the news from a series of trusted confidential sources within the military. They had to agree to keep the news quiet so as to not burn their source. President K'k'R'll was fairly confident he knew who was ultimately behind the screen of cutouts pulling the strings. The Naga admiral loved information and loved to broker it.
He had no worry about keeping the secret long however; within days it had become public on the social media forums and sites and then picked up by the media. Captain Prescott stonewalled the best she could.
That turned the media on the government. “Look, I know Captain Prescott said it was classified. You know as much as we do. Obviously, Admiral Childress's control of the navy is breaking down,” Alika Zing, said. “I don't know where they went other than a wild guess to Bek B.”
“Can you tell us if they are on an attack? Could they be going there with secret orders to attack Third Fleet?” a reporter demanded.
“I just said I don't know. Sorry, the navy isn't telling us much these days.”
“So, you are saying the navy is out of control?”
“I'd say that's been obvious for some time. Unfortunately, due to the separation of the Republic and the Federation, no one can do much about it at this time.”
“Do you have a timetable when?” another reporter asked.
The press secretary just shook her head. “Not at this time.”
@
“You heard?” Commander Chedwiggen asked Horatio as he came into the room. He set his briefcase down next to his chair.
“Heard?” Horatio asked coolly.
“Sorry, sir. About Fourth Fleet?”
“No. What about it?”
“They defected. Most of Fourth Fleet went over to Bek B. They just abandoned their post and left. Those that refused to go with them came back here.”
“That is … not good. Order and discipline are breaking down,” Horatio said, looking expectantly at the door.
The commander followed his gaze. “They may be delayed, sir,” he warned.
“Oh?” Horatio asked, turning back to the commander.
“Security is tight because of what happened with Fourth Fleet and the firing incident. People are jumpy.”
“Lovely,” Horatio sighed as Benny and Doctor Bullettine and the rest of the doctor's team arrived. “Shall we begin?” Benny asked as he came in swinging his briefcase.
“Yes.”
“Did you fill him in about Fourth Fleet?”
“Yes,” the commander replied. “I gave him the highlights.”
“It means the fleets are about even, right? I mean, there are fortresses in Bek B but not as many. Both sides are low on ships …,” Benny stopped when he saw Horatio shaking his head. “Sir?”
“It's not good. There are other variables. What bothers me is that Childress is just hanging in there.”
“I think he missed his calling. He should have been born a pitbull or something,” Theresa replied. “Or one of those lizards that bites and won't let go unless the prey is dead.”
“I think there is a snake like that. I'm not sure about a lizard,” Doctor Bullettine said, adjusting his glasses. “I think we need to focus now though,” he said.
“Right,” Theresa replied with a nod. “Okay, we can't do a mirror jury, and we can't do as good a job monitoring the jury's reaction as we'd like. But we've made some interesting observations. We're pretty sure we're getting to some of them. How much I'm not at all certain.”
“I'd hate to play poker with some of them,” Benny muttered.
“Exactly,” Theresa replied.
“The members take their oaths seriously. They'll do everything they can to remain impartial. At least, the good ones will,” Commander Chedwiggen stated.
“I know. It is an interesting experience to see that,” Benny replied.
“They are sticklers for following protocol too. Many post little information on social media now, so we can't get a read there. We're trying to build psychological models from their interactions with friends and family. Such secondhand information has a lot of variables, so it is not as reliable as we'd like to see,” Theresa stated.
“Which is why we're combining it with my log and our observations,” Doctor Bullettine stated.
“We need at least one member for a hung jury. We need five for a full acquittal. You think we're going to get the five?” the commander asked.
“That is the big question, isn't it? I think what happened with Fourth Fleet might influence a few of the members. How is a big question? We're trying to suss that out now,” Theresa stated.
“Ah,” Horatio murmured.
“It comes down to who they know in Fourth Fleet I think. We're trying to work our contacts to find that out. Obviously, the families are going insane. The social media impact is big. The family impact …,” Theresa shook her head.
“Yeah,” Horatio said, closing his eyes in pain as his own ample imagination kicked in. “I get the picture,” he murmured.
@
Admiral Toronto set his empty cup down and stared out into the void. He had to admit, the view sucked. It was appropriate given his mood though—black, soul sucking void. He snorted softly at himself.
He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he knew it. The crack he was in was like a vice, or hell, someone squeezing a pimple. He was not happy that he was still stuck out at the jump point. Some reward for his loyalty he thought acidly. He wondered over and over again if he'd chosen the right side.
He looked down at the tablet in front of him and grimaced. He definitely didn't like the fresh highly-classified orders direct from Childress. He wondered if Sherman and the rest of the Admiralty board knew about them and had signed off on them. Most likely not, he thought.
He could understand not wanting another Federation ship to arrive, but arranging an “accident” bothered the holy hell out of him immensely. The sailors on that ship didn't deserve to get blown away for following orders and doing their duty. Besides, they were supposed to be on the same side, right?
He wasn't sure anymore he thought as his arti
ficial fingers flicked over the screen gently. He wasn't sure of a lot of things these days.
@
Childress decided he had to do something about Logan, once and for all. There had to be a way to rid himself of the man. He didn't care about making the man a martyr. He'd still be dead, and that was the important thing. Once the man was dead, people would eventually forget, especially if he handled it properly.
Or, better yet, didn't do anything at all himself. After some thought about the problem, he settled on putting an anonymous hit out on his target. Just the idea of credits to a family member once the deed was done would make someone greedy and stupid enough to do it, and who said he had to pay up? He also had the prison transfer Horatio to a new cellblock and lift his restrictions.
Let the prisoners do his work for him he thought as he turned his attention to other things.
@
Lieutenant Drapper saw the order to move Horatio three days later. It didn't come from Warden Tribeau but from the brass. He also intercepted the hit notice in the morning briefing. Yet the brass was ordering him to put Horatio back into general population, which told him exactly who was behind the hit.
He decided to take it one step further, putting in an order to have Horatio put in the sex crimes category by “mistake.” Sex criminals were brutally harassed in prison. Some didn't live long; it was open season on them by everyone in the prison due to their disgusting actions. No one had sympathy for them either. Serial killers were almost as bad but were treated like rock stars or feared. Normally the sex criminals occupied their own block for their own protection, but he “forgot” to segregate Horatio in the paperwork. He'd catch hell over the oversights, but he knew Childress would love it and make certain the warden only gave him a slap on the wrist.
Chapter 42
To his surprise, Horatio was transferred without warning to a new cellblock when he returned to the prison after a long week of court. Lieutenant Drapper informed him of the change and gave him thirty minutes to pack. He was even allowed to carry his own things and walk without being in handcuffs.
It was a long walk through the prison. He found out as they walked that it would be in general population, and he was expected to participate in exercise time in the yard but not PT. He wasn't certain about that but filed the order away.
Horatio was surprised that the lieutenant had his status changed in the paperwork as well. A new ID bracelet was issued to him once he was settled into the new cell. He held out his wrist patiently as the lieutenant used a special tool to remove the old bracelet and then replace it with the new one.
“This one doesn't give you any privileges, but it marks you as on the protected status with the staff,” the lieutenant said as he finished fiddling with the yellow band.
Horatio frowned. Something about the yellow band tugged at his memory, but at the time, he was too tired to think about it.
The following morning Horatio noted people cooling to him in the mess and yard instantly. It wasn't until his implants picked up an overheard conversation that the new band meant he was identified as a sex offender that he realized something was amiss. He started to head to the gate and the dubious safety of the guards, but he was cut off.
“Now look, folks,” he said, hands up in both supplication and defense. “I don't want any trouble. This isn't what you think it is. I've been set up. I'm not a sex offender …”
That was as far as he got before all hell broke loose. He felt his implants kick in and rode with it.
@
Sergeant Copper was making her rounds on the catwalks above the yard modules when she saw what was going on, and her professionalism got the better of her. “We've got a major fight, possible riot, lock it down!” she barked into the radio microphone clipped to her shoulder. When no one reacted or even acknowledged her radio report, she raced to put a stop to what was about to go down, setting off alarms along the way.
She knew the admiral was most likely going to die. There was an ape in the crowd and a brown bear. They were both nasty customers.
Which was why she was surprised when the admiral backed himself into a tight area. But she was even more surprised when bodies began to go down and fly away from him.
@
Horatio had to admit he was glad he had his security implants; he'd never been a big follower of martial arts like Admiral Irons. He took some hits from the group, but the security system built into his body moved through martial art moves to disable his opponents fast and furiously.
Disable, which was also surprising to him. Usually when the security system kicked in, it didn't discriminate and would take an opponent down hard and fast. With this number, he expected it to kill, but it didn't.
His body twisted to avoid a shiv. His right arm chopped down, slamming the blade of his hand into the man's elbow joint, hitting a nerve there and forcing his arm down and away. His body twisted to avoid claws from a bear. The claws caught him on his left cheek, but he moved in to the bear's embrace, contrary to layman experience. A rapid-fire stomp on the bear's foot and then a knee pile driving upwards into the bear's genitals temporarily disabled his opponent. The bear toppled slowly, hands going to his privates in eye-tearing pain.
Horatio turned back and grabbed the guy with the shiv and threw him into the pair of other attackers, then took a punch in the eye. He turned with it, absorbing some of the hit, but then twisted in a circle and grabbed the guy's left armpit and threw him. The guy flew over Horatio's head.
That act momentarily stunned his other attackers. Some backed away, noting the carnage around him. There were seven people down, some of them big bruisers. The bear growled and started to get up, but Horatio just looked at him. “I am not a sex offender. You were set up. I was set up,” he growled.
“So? There is a hit on you,” a chimp snarled as he cracked his knuckles.
Horatio's eyes narrowed as the guy moved in. A bang behind them made the chimp eep in surprise and turn around just in time to see the guards arrive. Hands went up,
and prisoners either dropped or moved to face the walls as guards dressed in riot gear came in behind the first responders.
Horatio heaved as he caught his breath and moved to a wall. It was over.
For the moment.
@
He realized he had been set up and set upon, but his training and implants had somehow allowed him to take down his opponents before he had been seriously injured. Still, he knew he was in some pain. He did a quick assessment and grunted at the news on his HUD. He had cuts on his cheek, a bruised eye, some contusions on his body, and some cuts from claws on his torso, back, legs, and left bicep.
As they sat in processing, all handcuffed, he realized something had changed from the prisoners. There was a sense of grudging respect from the other convicts and a little fear from the guards.
“Sucks, man,” one of the human prisoners said.
Horatio looked over to him. He was bald but covered in tattoos. He vaguely remembered managing to stop the guy from shoving a shiv into his stomach.
“You lost.”
“Yeah. Sucks to be you though, man. Damn, you can fight though,” the guy said with a shake of his head. “Where'd you learn those moves? And how the hell did you get that strong? You don't work out!”
“I was never into fighting. I'm different,” Horatio said.
“I'll say,” the guy said as he stretched out and crossed his ankles in front of him. “Look, man, I know who you are,” he said.
Horatio quirked an eyebrow up.
“Who he is? He's a damn pedophile,” the Neochimp growled, barring his teeth at Horatio.
“Naw, man, that's just something some sick bastard did to get everyone after him. That's Logan man, Admiral Logan. The guy who's been on the news pissing Childress off.”
The chimp wasn't the only one to turn and stare at Horatio.
Horatio shrugged. “Yeah. Childress or one of his supporters must have put th
e hit out on me.”
“Frack,” the ape said looking away in pain.
“But you knew and tried anyway?” Horatio asked, eyeing the guy with the tattoos.
The guy shrugged. “Sorry, man, my kid's in the joint too. I was told if I do this he'll go to minimum security. I'm just trying to protect my kid, you dig?”
“I'm a father too, I understand that. You looked after your own.”
“Yeah, man. No hard feelings?”
“Yeah, right,” Horatio muttered as he looked away.
@
Sergeant Copper was not surprised to be reprimanded verbally by Lieutenant Drapper for putting a stop to the fight. He was smart enough to keep the reprimand verbal only so there was no written record of it, and it would be her word against his.
She realized that the lieutenant was pissed for the wrong reasons. That made her wonder why. It didn't take long to realize who was behind the mess and that the lieutenant had set the admiral up deliberately.
The lieutenant's reprimand was cut off when the warden came around to see what all the fuss was about. He glared at the sergeant and then took off.
She just shook her head as Warden Tribeau came over. “What happened?” he asked.
“Do you want the official report or what really happened?” she asked.
He gave her a long look and then crossed his arms. He studied her and then turned his torso to look around the room. A nurse was going around cleaning the wounded up.
“Officially?” the warden finally asked.
“Officially, Prisoner …,” she glanced at her tablet and then read the ID off out loud, “THHL16533391 was relocated to a new cellblock and general population. For some reason, he was issued a sex offender ID instead of the one he had been wearing,” she said in a painfully neutral voice.
The warden's nostrils flared once. That was the only sign of anything from him though.
“He was attempting to extract himself when things went south.
“His statement?”
She nodded. “And my own observation. I called an alert. For some reason, it took a few tries to get through.”
