The Phoenix Conspiracy (4 page)

Calvin had never had a role in a
General Tribunal before, but he'd never wanted one either until
now. This time his excitement came from the hope that Raidan's true
motives would be uncovered. Why a decorated and distinguished
captain would suddenly and deliberately betray the Fleet was a
question that should be at the forefront of these
proceedings.

At a table opposite them, on another
platform, sat the senior staff of the ISS Phoenix. Most prominent
was Summers Presley who radiated beauty even through her tired
appearance. Calvin also recognized the officers at her sides from
his investigation of the Phoenix’s crew, they were the White Shift
bridge officers and the chief physician. Then, on a guarded
platform, sat Captain Raidan himself. He was tan and broad, and
looked very fit for a man almost fifty. He sported a sharp grey
suit instead of his uniform, and at his sides were royal marines
with navy emblems on their fatigues.

As Calvin watched Raidan, he got the
impression that the captain seemed a bit too confident. Instead of
looking anxious or indignant he seemed amused, almost smug. And
then, for seemingly no reason, Raidan looked right at Calvin and
made eye contact. Almost like he was studying him. Then he looked
away.

It made Calvin more confused
than uncomfortable. He instantly connected Raidan’s behavior to the
mysterious call he’d received earlier.
Were they related? Impossible. Raidan had neither access to a
terminal nor reason to be interested in Calvin.

The Judicator entered and all rose,
not taking their seats again until she'd taken her place at the
elevated podium. She wore the burgundy uniform of the Executer of
Justice Office, marking her as a local authority and not someone
dispatched by Capital World.

She ordered quiet in the chamber and
the doors shut. "This court acknowledges the presence of Vice
Admiral Aleksandra Harkov, the senior staff of the Imperial
Starship Phoenix, and the respective Commanding Officers: Captains
Jaromir Otto, Jason Harris, and Lieutenant Commander Calvin Cross.
This court also recognizes Consol Nau T'ahne of the Rotham Republic
along with his delegation."

Three aliens stood up briefly and then
sat down again on the only other platform. They were rotham,
humanoid in appearance except for their golden eyes, scaly-crimson
skin, and generally smaller physiques. They could also grow tails
but most had them removed right after birth. All three present were
male and wore the lavender uniforms of Rotham Military Command.
Their hair was as black as oil, common for rotham, but braided—a
style symbolizing status in their culture.

"And so commences the General Tribunal
held aboard Praxis One, an outpost of Praxis System, this on the
fifth day of the ninth standard-month of Standard Galaxy Year 1218,
by virtue of a warrant bearing the date the 9th instant, from His
Excellency Sir William Gregory, Knight of the King, Overseer and
Commander-in-Chief of all His Majesty's Forces within Sector
One-One-Six." The Judicator then listed the names and ranks of the
officers of the court who would decide the outcome. After this,
Captain Raidan was ordered to rise.

"Have you any objection to any of the
names just read to you?"

"No," he said and sat back
down.

"The Presiding Officer, Members and
Judge Advocate, being duly sworn, Captain Asari Raidan of His
Majesty's Fifth Fleet, came prisoner before the Court, and stands
accused of three counts of destruction of civilian property, four
counts of unauthorized assault on non-military starships—three of
which were destroyed, one count of violating Peaceful Traffic
Treaty 13-A with the Rotham Republic, seven counts of misuse of a
military starship, eighteen counts of failure to maintain regular
contact with Fleet Command, and one count of conspiracy against the
government. The senior staff of the accused have signed and
presented an affidavit to this court confirming the validity of the
charges, complete with a joint testimony that the Commanding
Officer was and is solely responsible for the Beotan Incident and
all listed charges. Now, Mister Asari," the Judicator said, looking
him straight in the eyes. "Do you stand by your request to use
clause 173-B of the Citizen's Defense Contract?"

"I do."

"Very well. The accused, as a full and
complete citizen of the Empire, has formally requested that no
defense counsel be appointed to him other than himself. The court
is hereby obligated to grant this request."

Calvin raised an eyebrow at this,
guessing that Raidan knew he had almost no chance of dismissing any
of the charges in the face of such voluminous evidence. Perhaps he
wished to expedite the hearing, though Calvin couldn’t think
why.

"Beginning with the first of the
charges, four counts of unauthorized assault on spacecraft
belonging to non-military non-combatants. The specification is
that, without provocation, you commanded your starship to open fire
on four commercial vessels which had entered Imperial Space
en-route to Capital System. Specifically the Ortahn, Guinn,
Qiun'ha, and Ursa freighters belonging to the Beotan Trade
Corporation. Your ship destroyed the first three without
provocation and inflicted serious damage to the fourth and only
surviving vessel, Ursa, before it managed to evade you. How do you
plead?"

Radian stood up and looked around the
room for a few seconds before speaking. "Guilty."

"And you understand that by such
conviction the only possible recourse for such a crime, as a full
citizen, is the death sentence as clearly stated under the
law?"

"Yes, I understand that. And
while we're at it, I plead guilty to all of the charges. I can see
the Commander of the Ursa freighter among the Consul's delegation
and I can't defeat a witness like that. And my own staff has come
together and condemned me, and in a just and honest way. I cannot
in good conscience, or with any hope, try to pretend I did not
attack those ships. Because I
did
attack them. And I fully accept the consequences
of my actions. But know one thing, I did it for the good of the
Empire. Everything I've ever done has been for the good of the
Empire. I want it on the record that these are my feelings and that
that is why I surrendered my vessel to the Andromeda without a
fight."

"So noted," the Judicator said, trying
not to look surprised. "This court gratefully accepts your
forthrightness, adding to the record that the accused surrendered
his vessel voluntarily and that he pled guilty to all charges.
Without further need for deliberation, this court is adjourned for
sentencing." The moment her gavel landed, the room flooded with
conversation and military police swarmed in to usher everyone
outside the chamber, other than those involved in the
sentencing.

"So that's it? Just like that and it's
over?" Calvin asked, following the Vice Admiral out the
door.

"What else did you expect? His guilt
was obvious, even Asari Raidan knew he was convicted before he
arrived. Seriously, Lieutenant Commander, did you honestly expect
this trial to go any other way?"

"Well no, I suppose not," said
Calvin.

"Even if the evidence
weren't as strong as it is, and it
is
strong, do you think the Rotham
people would accept anything less than death for what happened to
their ships? If Raidan were somehow acquitted of all charges it
would cause an international outcry." Calvin thought her view, one
of politics trumping investigation, was typical of a Fleet
officer.

"What's bothering me," Calvin paused,
searching for the right words. "Is that Raidan is in every way the
model captain. Perfect service record, great commission, he has
three Silver Stars, several merit medallions, and even the Medal of
Valor. Why would he throw all of that away to shoot down some
civilian starships for absolutely no reason whatsoever?"

"It might not have been
about
what
they
were but
who
they
were, have you thought about that?"

It took him a second to figure out
what she meant. "Yes, I'd considered the possibility that it was
some kind of hate crime, that he was attacking the rotham for being
rotham, but that's not consistent with his character and record.
He's worked alongside rotham before without a single note of
contempt. He even helped coordinate a joint action during the Great
War. So that superficial explanation doesn't answer why he’d
targeted these particular ships, and why now? Why, in his mind, was
it okay to open fire on Rotham traffic now when it wasn't before?
And what about all that 'good of the empire' talk? There are
details being missed here."

"Maybe he wanted to start a
war. Whatever it was, his reasoning was clearly unsound and, like
it or not, he
is
guilty."

This kind of obstinacy was why Calvin
hated discussing investigations with personnel outside of Intel
Wing. Regulars didn't think much past what could be seen
immediately and they tended to latch onto the first, shallowest
explanation that came down the line... but their theory felt wrong
to him, Raidan wasn't an alien-hating racist who wanted to start a
war. How could he possibly benefit from one? Certainly not enough
to die for. Calvin also wondered why Raidan made no effort to
explain his actions, except to say they were for the good of the
Empire. His failure to elaborate implied, to Calvin, that he wanted
the superficial explanations to stand. But why?

The next two hours were spent in the
company of Admiral Harkov and fellow command officers. They went to
an elegant restaurant and ordered an expensive meal, which the
government paid for. They ate as slowly as possible and discussed
everything from the trial to local politics. Calvin didn't know
much about Praxis System and let the others dominate the
conversation, he took it as a chance to learn about his
environment, since he was vacationing here for the next
month.

Not much distinguished it from a
typical colony outside of geography. The primary station orbited
the only habitable planet, a typical medium blue, and the economy
hinged on tech processing and mineral discoveries. It was smaller
than most Imperial systems with only five-billion people, but saw a
lot of traffic and kept in reserve a disproportionately large
defense force due to its proximity to the DMZ—the Rotham border.
The system, belonging to the Fifth Fleet's division, had
jurisdiction over dozens of sentry ships, a few frigates, and
eighteen fighter divisions, but the coup-de-grace was a dreadnought
called the Harbinger. The locals bragged about it like it was a
legend and a small debate broke out over whether or not it was a
match for the flagship Andromeda. Most believed it was
not.

Once the conversation drifted to local
elections and political parties, Calvin became bored and allowed
his mind to wander. Elections in the Empire were only for local
authorities and meant little more than popularity contests between
Houses for status and prestige. Much ado about nothing, a matter of
who ran the administration more than what the administration did.
All local leaders had to conform to the edicts of the King and his
Royal Magistrates, so, with a few exceptions like gambling and
marriage laws, the Empire was the same everywhere.

When the trial reconvened, Calvin
filed into the chamber between the Vice Admiral and the captain of
the ISS Bounty and they took their seats along with the rest of the
assembly. Once the chamber doors were sealed, the Judicator called
on the Head of Council to read the verdict and
sentencing.

"The Court, having weighed the
evidence against the accused, including his own confession, is of
the opinion that the accused, Captain Asari Raidan, is guilty of
all charges preferred against him." The Head of Court looked up
from his document.

"Captain Asari Raidan is hereby
stripped of his rank and officership in the Royal Imperial Navy and
is to be transported as a felon to Capital World,” said the
Judicator. “Where he will be put to death by Nitrogen
Asphyxiation."

The Consul of the Rotham Republic
stood up, raising a hand of objection. "The Republic demands the
accused be extradited to Rotham space for the execution of the
sentence, which must be performed according to Rotham laws and
customs." Their methods of capital punishment were famous for being
far more brutal than executions in the Empire. For instance, the
condemned might be slowly pressed to death inside a metal
vice.

The Judicator looked at them. "The
Extradition Treaty cannot be invoked because the incident occurred
within Imperial Space. And the condemned is a full citizen of the
Empire and is therefore immune."

The Consul looked disappointed but
bowed showing submission to the standing rule of law. "The Rotham
Republic withdraws its demand and instead requests that Rotham
representatives be present to certify the sentence is carried out
and, if possible, that a rotham agent be allowed to activate the
nitrogen machine."

"This Court is not authorized to grant
or deny those requests. I remind the respected Consul that the
accused, as a full citizen of the Empire, has the right to appeal
this verdict to the Royal Supreme Court on Capital World, though
they may not accept the case."