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Jade Fleet Headquarters, New Mornag, Jade Zone
DAKU NIGHTWYN STOOD alone in the middle of the utilitarian grey courtroom. A trickle of sweat ran down his back as the glaring lights beat down on him. Five of the highest-ranking officers of the Jade Fleet sat in a raised semicircle above him, with a stern-faced Admiral Laxarn presiding over the court-martial. Several administrative staff moved between the officers, their voices an indistinct murmur, and one sat off to the side transcribing the proceedings.
He shifted his clasped hands, running his finger over one of the mag-cuffs attached to his wrists. The metal was cold to the touch and disconcerting. But if it made them feel more comfortable, and if it meant they’d look favourably on him for not resisting and cooperating fully since going into custody, then so much the better. As Yan had said, he needed to keep his cool and stay calm.
Two of the senior officers had their heads together, murmuring while glancing at Daku. He straightened his spine and squared his shoulders. Even if dread rode him about the outcome of this trial, he wouldn’t let them see it.
His thoughts flicked to Kara Valkaith, as they so often had during the past few weeks. He wondered where she was. He hadn’t heard from her, and his chest tightened. The familiar constriction in his chest caught him off guard. It didn’t look like she was going to come for him any time soon. Maybe ever.
Admiral Laxarn tapped a finger against his section of the long desk that wrapped past him. The bright lights caught on the jade braiding on his sleeves, the only bright spot of colour in the otherwise drab, grey and muted-blue space. Vice Admiral Jeeka, who sat on the admiral’s left glanced at her screen on the desk. The light washed out the colour of her scales, making them a sallow yellow. Her antennae flicked back and forth, before she stilled them, and addressed Daku.
“Commander Nightwyn,” the Ghelpen Vice Admiral said. “You are here because you disobeyed a direct order from Admiral Laxarn. You put not only yourself in danger but also risked the lives of your crew, and the potential loss of the IMJS Agate to enemy hands. If what you claim is true.” She clicked her scales at him, a Ghelpen gesture of displeasure, before continuing. “These are not the actions that a commander of the Jade Fleet should take, and we cannot condone them, which is why you have been remanded into custody.”
The other officers made various gestures of agreement. Rear Admiral Huan, a human male, leant forward. “You claim Dark Raiders attacked Outpost 7JZ and kidnapped several of the settlers,” he stated, his lips thinned. “It is of the opinion of this court that this is implausible. They are outcasts and traitors from the Colony Wars, stealing our cargo ships and maiming those on board. Raiding our remote settlements in hit-and-run attacks. But they have never traded in people.”
Daku clenched his jaw, biting back the urge to lash out at them. He’d provided evidence. He’d made sure Yan had given them a copy of the security vids from the attack on Geejo and the Outpost, showing the Dark Raiders capturing people and taking them to their ship. How could they deny what was obvious? But both Yan and Kara’s warnings rang in his mind. He had to cooperate; yelling and alienating his superiors would not do his team any good or help protect the settlers.
Keeping that thought firmly in mind, he modulated his voice, keeping it calm. “I understand your disbelief at the Dark Raiders’ actions.”
Daku looked from one officer to the next, keeping his gaze steady. “I thought the same at first, as well. There’s never been a report of them taking Imperial citizens, but I couldn’t ignore the evidence on the security vids that played out in front of me. I couldn’t ignore that they had kidnapped our citizens. That’s why I took the Agate, and a small team, and set out in pursuit. As a commander of the Jade Fleet, I could not let Dark Raiders defy us and get away with taking our people.”
“That’s all very well and good,” Vice Admiral Jeeka interjected. “But you abandoned your post. You failed to contact HQ and report this supposed kidnapping. And when Admiral Laxarn did finally contact you, you then proceeded to ignore his directives.” None of the officers looked pleased.
Daku shifted, the urge to move, to act eating at him. “How could I risk their lives? The IMJS Pyrite was at least a day out, and I had a lead that was about to go cold. How could I risk losing the settlers?”
“Enough,” Admiral Laxarn cut in, his voice cold and firm. “You claim your primary concern was the lives and well-being of the settlers, and yet, if what you say is even true, you put them all in danger by pursuing this supposed Dark Raider ship.” He flicked his hand over his screen, clearly referring to information on it. “The Agate is only a small Doshee-class patrol ship, clearly ill-equipped for a rescue mission. Yet you supposedly defeated a much larger Dark Raider ship.”
Daku frowned, his muscles tightened. His stomach churned. Saliva pooled in his mouth as the sick feeling rose from his stomach, trying to choke him. “Sir, we’d tracked them down when they weren’t expecting us. We had the upper hand with a surprise attack and a swift boarding party. And shouldn’t the most important point be that we rescued the settlers and returned them safely to Geejo?”
The senior officers remained impassive. An icy worm of dread burrowed deeper into him.
Admiral Laxarn glared down at him from his position above Daku. “You disobeyed my direct order. We had sent the IMJS Pyrite to investigate your claims. Do you think you are above us, exempt from protocol and the chain of command?” Again, he tapped his finger against the metal desk, the sound ringing out hollowly.
He didn’t give Daku a chance to defend himself and instead continued to speak. “We have received a detailed report from the Pyrite, and they could find no evidence of a Dark Raider ship in that sector, nor any other evidence of civilians being kidnapped.”
Daku started but clenched his hands into fists to fight back the urge to scream at the admiral and Fleet HQ. Yan had told him to play the game, and he might have failed so often before, but he couldn’t afford to now. Cursing them and calling the captain of the IMJS Pyrite a liar or incompetent probably wouldn’t go down well. He dug his nails into his palms, but it wasn’t enough, the words still bubbled on the tip of his tongue. He bit the inside of his cheek. The copper tang of blood filling his mouth worked to suppress the urge to lash out at them.
“The Admiral is correct,” Vice Admiral Jeeka said. “No other report from anywhere in the Jade Zone indicates Dark Raiders are kidnapping citizens. As Huan said, Dark Raiders don’t kidnap people. They take our supplies and waste our resources chasing them down. Either this is an unfortunate and isolated event, or you have concocted this entire story under the belief it will get you out of suffering the consequences of disobeying orders.”
“Why would I make this up?” Daku snapped, blood roaring in his ears. “What other possible reason would I have to take the IMJS Agate out of my sector?” He stared them down. Silence befell the high-seated superiors, yet it felt like Daku was looking down on them. The aides had frozen in place, only their wide eyes darted back and forth as the room seemed to take a collective breath.
But his sense of disquiet was growing. Maybe he should have made a run for it when he had the chance.
“Your record is far from perfect Commander Nightwyn,” Rear Admiral Huan finally broke the silence, words pushed past his clenched jaw. “Your entire career is dotted with minor infractions, and not so minor ones.” He glanced down at his screen and tapped his finger on it a few times, before raising his head again. “In fact, you’ve been reprimanded and put on notice several times before, including, most tellingly, for having taken leave without approval. According to your previous superior officer, you have a wilful disregard for order and abiding by the correct procedures. We need to take this all into consideration, and all current evidence points to you having skipped out without leave to spend some time at a commercial spacestation. So far, it appears to us that you are attempting to cover up your infraction by inventing this scaremongering tale of Dark Raiders stealing people from their very homes,” Rear Admiral Huan concluded and his voice rose in anger and displeasure by the end.
Daku tried to swallow, but his mouth had gone dry. He stared up at them, from one person to the next, trying to find a glimmer of understanding, of support. But it looked like his days in the Fleet were seriously numbered. All because they couldn’t accept that Dark Raiders had changed their pattern of attacks. If only he’d listened to Yan sooner and cared more about his career. Anger boiled up inside him and before he could think twice, it spilled out.
“The Dark Raiders attacked Geejo and took my people! I gave you the vids that showed them being carted off like supplies. If you can’t see that—if you can’t accept that maybe, just maybe, you’re wrong—and that the Dark Raiders might be acting differently, then you could be putting even more citizens, especially settlers, at risk!” Daku yelled, his breathing fast and choppy. “Sure, slap me on the wrist, tell me off. Go ahead and discharge me. But that won’t change the fact that it happened. Ignoring it won’t change it, and it won’t protect anyone.”
His chest rose and fell in agitation, and he knew what he’d said wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but then, he’d always known his time in the Fleet could end abruptly.
The officers glared at him and Vice Admiral Jeeka rose from her seat, her antennae twitching madly from anger. “Be silent,” she snapped, slashing two of her four arms through the air. “You will say no more, unless we ask you a direct question.”
He opened his mouth to argue but snapped it shut again, a small part of his brain trying to salvage the situation. Instead, he nodded.
Vice Admiral Jeeka marginally relaxed and sank back into her chair. She flicked her gaze to the other officers, but her attention moved to an aide that was swiftly approaching the desk.
Daku observed the aide. The man quickly walked to Admiral Laxarn’s side and leant down to whisper into his ear, his brows pinched. The Admiral frowned at him, raising his hand to brush him off in annoyance. But the aide lent down again and continued urgently whispering. Admiral Laxarn suddenly stiffened, and for a split second, a tiny fraction of time, his control slipped, and a spurt of fear and shock flittered across his face. If Daku hadn’t been watching so closely, he might have missed it.
Laxarn’s hands clenched, and he nodded to the aide before abruptly rising to his feet. “This case is adjourned until further notice. Take Commander Nightwyn away,” he said, gesturing to two Fleet security personnel. The other senior officers looked at him in surprise and a little confusion. “Everyone is dismissed,” Laxarn said, already striding from the room, with the aide hurrying along behind him.
Daku’s wrists jerked together as the mag-cuffs activated. The two bands of metal were firmly attached to each other now, and short of chopping off his own hands, he wouldn’t be able to separate them. The security personnel flanked him and escorted him from the chamber. All the while, he wondered what had made the Admiral storm out of the court-martial so precipitously.
Maybe now he had a chance of stating his case again and having them believe him. He really needed to contact Yan. She’d know what to say, but then, he might already be beyond saving.