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"ANY WORD FROM THE AZRAEL’S Tear?" said Radko.
Back on the command deck, he was going over the plans once more with Rhekarr. The icaran was shorter than average for his species, but still stood taller than Radko. His skin was such a deep green it appeared almost black in most lighting, broken only by an uneven pattern of pale yellow striping.
"Nothing yet, Commander," said a communications technician.
Radko sighed and rubbed at his eyes. He knew Sigurdsson was more than capable of taking care of herself, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t worry about her, and the desire to simply redirect the Vimy Ridge and go find her was strong.
"Are you all right, Commander?" said Rhekarr.
"Just worried about a friend."
"As are we all, to some extent, I believe," said the icaran. "And that is why we do what we do. Is it not?"
"Yes. Yes it is, Admiral."
He looked up as el Bahari joined them at the sand table. She looked uncomfortable, but the fact she was there gave Radko hope.
"Commander," she said.
"El Bahari. How are you feeling?"
"I still have reservations," she said carefully. "But – and not to sound egotistical – your plan stands a greater chance of success if I’m part of it than it does otherwise."
Rhekarr made a chuffing sound that Radko had long ago, during the time he’d spent with Brigadier General Locaris, discovered was the icaran equivalent of a chuckle.
"I enjoy your bluntness, Commander el Bahari," said Rhekarr.
"I’m glad someone does."
"I’m glad you’re with us," said Radko. "We’re en route to the rendezvous now and should be arriving in about twelve hours."
She nodded, but before she could otherwise respond, a communications technician spoke up.
"Commander Radko, incoming transmission from Thor’s Hammer. Admiral Mahoney, sir."
Immediately, Rhekarr withdrew, so as not to intrude upon Commonwealth military discussion.
"Put him through."
A second later, a floating window appeared over the sand table, framing the Commonwealth Naval seal. Too far from any sizeable communications hub, the Vimy Ridge was on audio-only long distance transmissions once more.
Radko already knew what he’d be telling the Admiral if any questions were asked about progress or what they’d seen on patrol. Some would even be true, like the encounter with the ‘ghost ship.’
"Admiral. I just finished compiling a report for you," said Radko. "It will be on its way shortly, but you need to be aware that the ril-galas are using the empty hulks of lost vessels to conceal attack forces."
The only response from Mahoney was a small grunt. It concerned Radko, given how sharp he usually found the old man.
"Trojan Horses, sir. We encountered an icaran warship that had been converted that way."
"Understood," said the Admiral, sounding surprisingly disinterested. "I’ll pass along the details of your report to the rest of the fleet."
"This won’t be popular Admiral, but it should go to everyone. Commonwealth, Soviet, icaran, krellin, udukiin..."
"Yes, yes, agreed," said Mahoney, causing Radko even more concern. The old man was being unusually agreeable.
"Radko, I have information you need to hear about an associate of yours."
"The transmission from Earth?"
"It’s not that," said Mahoney. "It’s about Cortez."
Owens and the handful of others who knew about Cortez’s illness fell completely silent, looking to Radko. And Radko simply stared at the sigil that represented Mahoney, feeling his heart sinking into his stomach.
"Sir?" he managed to say.
"She’s... she’s been taken into custody. Arrested," said the Admiral.
For a moment, Radko simply stared, waiting for his mind to process the statement. He'd been prepared—almost prepared—to hear that Cortez's health had taken a serious turn, but...
"Arrested?"
"It seems ATC Castle found evidence she helped a group of pirates raid one of their facilities."
"I see," said Radko, clenching his jaw and feeling immense satisfaction in imagining himself punching Bianca Upshaw right in her perfectly made-up face. "What’s the charge, sir? Or do we just arrest people on ATC Castle whims these days?"
"I don’t like this either, Commander," snapped Mahoney. "She was charged with treason."
"Treason?! How the living fuck does an act of piracy against a PMC constitute treason?"
Mahoney cleared his throat and, based on his very precise and clipped diction, Radko assumed he was reading from the official arrest report.
"Given the current status of the Commonwealth Armed Forces and the new symbiotic relationship between the Commonwealth and ATC Castle, it is determined that an attack on one constitutes an attack on the other," he said.
A brief silence was followed with a disgusted sigh.
"Radko, you’ve known me long enough to know that I don’t swear. But even I will admit that this is utter horseshit," said Mahoney, sounding more weary than Radko had ever heard him. "I’m sorry, Radko, I really am. I spoke on her behalf at the court martial, but it was less court martial than witch trial."
Radko staggered slightly and el Bahari quickly stepped to his side to support him.
"The court martial has already happened?" she said. "What about due process? What about time for her advocate to examine the evidence against her?"
"The evidence was considered iron-clad and she was not appointed an advocate."
A rage was building in his chest, and taking a deep breath, Radko forced it down.
"The sentence," said Radko. "When is it to be carried out?"
"Twenty-four hours. Upshaw can be very persuasive."
Radko bowed his head and smashed his tablet over the sand table console. El Bahari’s eyes went wide.
"Admiral," she said. "That charge carries the death penalty."
"Yes, it does."
She stared, open-mouthed for a moment. Owens had stepped up beside Radko and had a comforting hand on the man’s shoulder as he slumped against the bulkhead, staring at the deckplates.
"By firing squad," said Mahoney, sounding entirely drained. "In twenty-four hours."
"And this... this arrest and court martial," said el Bahari. "This was pushed through by ATC Castle?"
"Yes."
"Why didn’t you tell me earlier," said Radko. "I could have testified, I could have been her advocate."
"No, Radko. That was the game, you see? Upshaw knows you and Cortez are close. It’s all games now, here. All games."
"Explain, Admiral," said el Bahari.
Despite using the man’s rank as a form of address, the phrasing and tone made clear that el Bahari had given her superior office an order. Mahoney didn’t show any signs of noticing, answering as if she’d asked nicely.
"ATC Castle wants Radko. They know he protects his own, so they’re using Cortez."
"Prosecute Cortez because they can’t reach Radko," said Owens.
"Cortez is bait, Commander Radko," said Mahoney.
"What if I agree to surrender myself for prosecution once the war is over?" said Radko.
"When do you think that will be, Commander?" said Mahoney with a sigh. "Upshaw is trumpeting this treason nonsense like a zealot. I argued several different ways, proposed punishment ranging from a suspended sentence to a prison term. DeFreitas and Upshaw would have none of it."
"They want to make a point," said el Bahari, nodding to Radko. "To you, and to everyone else."
Standing again, Radko approached the sand table. His jaw was clenched, his eyes burning.
"Admiral. Would you be so kind as to relay a message to Ms. Upshaw?"
"Of course, Commander."
"Please tell her that I would strongly recommend that the death sentence of Anna Cortez be commuted."
"I don’t think she’ll-."
"Advise Ms. Upshaw that if Cortez is executed, once I’m finished with the ril-galas I will be coming after ATC Castle."
The command deck, already having seen a significant reduction in noise during the call, became deathly silent.
"I’ll relay the message," said Mahoney after a long silence.
The connection closed.
It was Rhekarr who broke the silence.
"My condolences, Commander."
"Thank you, Rhekarr," said Radko. "El Bahari, you’re in charge. I’ll be in my quarters."
El Bahari nodded and watched Radko go. She’d disagreed with a great many of his decisions, but it was still difficult to see him as he was, facing the death of a close friend with no power to do anything about it. At the same time, both Radko and Cortez were authors of their fate. Both had circumvented the chain of command and circumvented laws and even engaged in outright piracy.
Still, executing a girl of twenty-one for treason?
"Lieutenant Commander Owens, would you please take over command for a few minutes?" said el Bahari. "I... have contacts on Thor’s Hammer. It’s a long shot, but they may be able to help the Cortez situation."
As expected, Owens nodded and el Bahari headed into the XO’s office, just off the command deck.
Pulling out her tablet, she keyed in her ATC Castle encryption passcode. It took much longer than usual to connect and when it finally did, el Bahari was somewhat surprised to hear a voice other than Vossek’s.
"Yes?" said Bianca Upshaw.
"Uh... I’m sorry Ms. Upshaw, I was expecting Edward Vossek."
"He’s currently on assignment and unreachable. Do you have information?"
"Nothing beyond my last report to-."
"Then why are you contacting us?"
El Bahari stared at the tablet for a moment.
"Radko just received word that one of his former crewmates, a woman named Cortez, has been brought up on charges," she said.
"Yes."
"And that she’s been convicted. Of treason."
"Yes."
"That must have been difficult to arrange. I can’t imagine the legal footwork that must have gone into getting a conviction for treason given the target of her actions was ATC Castle and not the Commonwealth," said el Bahari. "Quite a master stroke."
"Yes, it was a beautifully executed move – if you’ll pardon the pun. But is there a point to this, Amira?"
"Yes there is, Bianca. Radko may be many things, but stupid is not among them. You need to tread very carefully right now – he will be out for blood."
"I appreciate your concern, but we can handle Radko."
"If that were true, Bianca," said el Bahari. "He’d have already been dealt with."
There was silence on the other end of the line, but the connection was still open.
"The rendezvous is taking place at the same location where the stolen fighters are being kept," said el Bahari. "I will have the exact location for you shortly."
Tapping the tablet, she closed the transmission without waiting for a reply.