Xavier Lake sat back against the seat in the temporary courtroom, put his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.
Floyd Herez sat next to him scowling at everyone in the room. Neither of them could understand why they’d been dragged back up here, after having been found guilty on all charges yesterday and summarily sentenced to death.
‘What else could there possibly be?’ said Lake, glaring around the courtroom.
‘Extra humiliation for the guilty patsies,’ said Herez.
Commander Cien’dra strolled in with a smile from ear to ear.
‘Just look at that piece of shit,’ growled Herez, nodding at Cien’dra. ‘I told you we shouldn’t have trusted him.’
Lake followed Herez’s gaze and locked eyes with Cien’dra, who winked at him and promptly sat in his regular seat at the end of their row.
‘Something’s happened,’ said Lake.
‘Perhaps we’re getting a choice of execution.’
‘No, I don’t think so. This has all been arranged in haste,’ said Lake as he watched the puzzled expressions on some of the court staff who were being ushered into position a lot quicker than any of the times before.
‘Whatever it is, it can’t be—’
Herez stopped and stared at the two new faces entering the courtroom. Both were suffering from the extra gravity and appeared to be glad to sit down at the side of the stage.
Lake looked over at him, surprised at his sudden stop mid-sentence.
‘Shit, that’s Edward Virr!’ exclaimed Herez. ‘And Andrew Faux.’
‘What the hell are those two doing here?’ said Lake, following Herez’s gaze over to where they had sat.
‘Perhaps it’s to give us a good reference,’ said Herez. ‘Or gloat when they kill us.’
A shout and a scream out in the corridor got everyone’s attention. Two soldiers appeared with a struggling, restrained prisoner between them. They entered the court, the soldiers almost dragging their charge through the door.
Both, Lake and Herez almost fell off their seats when the prisoner looked up and around the room.
‘That’s – that’s –’ stuttered Herez, pointing avidly, his eyes wide with shock.
‘Captain Utz,’ said Lake, finishing the sentence for him, and shaking his head in amazement. ‘A very much alive, Captain Fleoha Utz.’
Three hours later, the reconvened court had overturned Lake and Herez’s convictions, arraigned Captain Utz or Quixia and cancelled any action to be taken against Gaia in the Helios System.
Although Lake and Herez were now free of any GDA charges, the evidence Edward Virr had produced in the court demonstrated that they both had serious charges pending on their home planet. It was decided that they would be delivered back to Gaia, along with their disassembled ship.
Being kept in their cells until then didn’t really worry either of them as a large percentage of the station’s crew were still openly hostile. They did notice, however, that the quality of their food got a little better and they were given entertainment units.
A galaxy-wide arrest warrant was issued for Lieutenant Dric’is who had given false evidence about the fate of the Katadromiko 37 and had vanished after being awarded compassionate leave.
For brokering a peaceful conclusion to the Timoria-Theo problem on Paradeisos, uncovering the real culprit of the Katadromiko 37 murders and discovering a serious infiltration by previously-unknown Andromedan forces. Edward Virr was awarded the Chrysos Aspida Politis (Gold Shield Citizen) – or C.A.P – the highest civilian award in the GDA.
Andrew Faux, Linda Wisnewski and Phil Theo were all awarded the Megaleiodis Politis (Grand Citizen) – or M.P – for their bravery and assistance in the matter.
The terrorist status of the Timoria was rescinded and both the Timoria and the Exys were renamed Theo Genos. The GDA awarded them with Syndedemeni Idiotita Melous (Affiliated Membership) and the Katadromiko 22 was sent to oversee and keep the peace during the repopulation of the surface cities. After five weeks, almost one hundred and forty thousand people had braved the trip out of the caves. But there were a large number who considered it a trap and swore to never agree to any deal brokered, no matter how enticing. After living underground for several thousand years, it would be a long job.
Prota and President Klai had both been awarded the Eirini Metallio (Peace Medal) and were working tirelessly to convince the subterranean population that it was now safe to emerge and become part of the GDA.
Captain Fleoha Utz – or Quixia – was found guilty of mass murder and treason. The death sentence was mandatory, but not before every ounce of information was dragged out of her about the Andromedan threat.
Everyone and anyone who had knowledge of the potential problem was quickly reminded of its classified nature for two reasons: to avoid panic within the galaxy’s populated worlds; and to give the GDA time to purge its ranks of any other Andromedan agents or sleepers – this was carried out under the guise of regular health checks, after having identified the different DNA marker in Andromedans.
A month later, they had singled out one hundred and seventeen clandestines within the services and another seventy-four sudden absentees, of which nine were caught in various disguises trying to escape to the outer fringes of the galaxy. Over half were senior officers and another three were ship’s captains.
It had taken time to work their way up through the ranks, especially to the higher positions. It seemed that the treachery had been going on under the GDA’s nose for many years.
The rear drive section of the Andromedan ship, Krawth, which had been placed in high orbit around Paradeisos, was retrieved and studied, along with a large lump of the main section that had not completely disintegrated in the atmosphere. It was found in thirty metres of water near an island in the western ocean. Having cooled rapidly after impact, it contained a wealth of information regarding the Andromedans’ spacefaring capabilities and weapons technology.
Gaia, now officially renamed Earth, had also been offered affiliated membership of the GDA. Negotiations were ongoing regarding who the Earth's Ambassador to the GDA would be. James Dewey was high on the list, after having proposed a team of international delegates for his advisors and staff.
Xavier Lake was, after a five-week hearing, found guilty of a host of crimes around the globe, committed over several years. A specially convened international court in The Hague sentenced him to twenty-nine years and also banned him from ever being a director of a company again.
Floyd Herez was found guilty of multiple counts of murder, going back several years, along with a string of lesser crimes and received three life sentences.