Chương 78: Rear Admiral Townshend

Academy Hill, Vidako Imperium Stellarum March 2, 2848"This is a preliminary hearing," Lieutenant Courtenay explained, as he and Arc walked down the corridor together. The fact that he recognized the particular room in Montalban Hall that was used for court martials and the various lesser disciplinary proceedings was, he decided, not a good sign when he'd only been at the academy for seven months.

"That means there may not be any result today," the judge-advocate continued.

"If the commandant recommends a full court martial, for instance, that's the only thing that will happen. It's actually a good thing if she renders a judgement today, because that means she doesn't think there's grounds to empanel a group of officers." Arc nodded, realized that he was wringing his hands, and straightened his fingers out with an active effort. In the moment that they stood in front of the door, waiting for the MPs to let them enter, he wiped his clammy palms on his dress trousers.

"Take a deep breath," Courtenay murmured.

"You're not the one who screwed that patrol up. You did the best you could with the mess someone else handed you. Even if your decisions weren't perfect, you're a first-year cadet, and everyone knows the circumstances. You ready?"

"As ready as I can be," he said. Strange to think just how important this had become—the idea of graduating from the academy. Two years ago, he hadn't even thought about being on this path. When he'd arrived on Vidako, it had simply been the most direct route he could think of to get the means to go after the pirates who'd killed his sister. Now—now he had friends here, people he cared about and didn't want to disappoint.

And on top of all that, some intelligence office from Terra had told him that the emperor himself wanted Arc to win a duel. If he was expelled from the academy now, it wouldn't just disappoint Arc's parents, it wouldn't only mean there was never any justice for what had happened to Phoebe, or that he couldn't spend time with Cassie anymore—he'd be letting the head of the entire Imperium Stellarum down.

"They're ready for you," the MP on the left said. He reached out and pulled the door open, clearing the way for Arc and Lieutenant Courtenay to proceed. Arc lurched into motion a half-step after the judge-advocate, desperate not to fall behind him, as if he was a life preserver and Arc was adrift in the bay off the shores of San Teodoro. It was a frighteningly apt metaphor: at every step of the disciplinary process, he'd felt as if he would have drowned without the older officer.

There were not nearly as many people in the room as when Arc had testified at Sareth Khan's court martial. Commandant Marlowe was there, of course, along with Lieutenant Commander Libby, Doctor Nara Seung, and most terrifying of all, Rear Admiral Townshend, the superintendent of the academy. It was the first time that Arc had actually seen the man in person, rather than on a news cast.

"Have a seat, cadet," the admiral said, and motioned to the same wooden table with two empty chairs behind it that Khan and his judge-advocate had sat at. Arc told himself that didn't mean anything.

"Sir." Arc followed Courtenay to the table, pulled his chair out, and sat down next to him.

"This is a preliminary disciplinary hearing," Townshend began.

"Your judge advocate should have explained what that means, but the general thrust of it is this: based on the evidence that has been gathered over the last few weeks, Commandant Marlowe is going to make a recommendation to me as to whether this matter should proceed to a disciplinary hearing, or even a full court martial; whether some or all of the allegations should be dismissed; or whether some or all of them will be punished to a degree which does not require empaneling a group of officers to sit in judgement of your actions.

Do you understand what is happening, cadet?"

"Yes, sir," Arc replied. His mouth and throat felt so dry that he could barely talk.

"First," Commandant Marlowe began.

"Relieving a superior officer of duty is a measure of last resort, an action only to be taken in the utmost extremity, when there is no alternative and the lives of others are in immediate danger. Such a decision is always examined after the fact, to determine whether it was appropriate." Here, Lieutenant Libby spoke up.

"We've already concluded a preliminary hearing for Cadet Third Class Christina Fortin, with the recommendation that the allegations against her proceed to a full disciplinary panel. During that process, it has been determined that there is sufficient evidence Cadet Fortin knowingly endangered the lives of two cadets under her command during the patrol in question, by refusing to call for a medical evac, even after she had been urged by Cadet Sandhurst, the only uninjured cadet left under her command, to do so."

"Upon her refusal," Libby went on, "It is my estimation, as the officer in charge of pilot training, that he had no other choice but to relieve her from command."

"There was no way he could have called for evac himself?" Rear Admiral Townshend asked. Libby was already shaking his head.

"That chain of events would get messy very quickly. Would he sneak up into his cockpit? What might Cadet Fortin have done in that circumstance, when she realized that a subordinate was disobeying her orders? Sandhurst took the opportunity to act while Fortin was away from her weapon, and while one of the injured cadets was awake to support him. It was the cleanest thing he could have done, and we have multiple pieces of testimony to support our interpretation of these events."

"Upon the recommendation of the Lieutenant Commander, and as commandant, I hereby recommend that Cadet Sandhurst's action to remove Cadet Fortin from command of the patrol be recorded as justified," Marlowe said.

"Approved." Townshend nodded.

"We will next address the allegation regarding wrongful use and possession of a controlled substance," Marlowe said.

"Namely, unprocessed death root flower, a narcotic that is known on the street as Spike. Doctor Seung will speak to that charge." Seung cleared her throat, and Arc was overcome by the sudden certainty that she would use this to destroy him. He knew that she was sympathetic to Fletcher Radecki—she'd been his mentor at the infirmary for years. The right testimony from her now would send Arc directly to a court martial, and from there he could be drummed out of the academy before the duel ever happened.

Radecki could go in front of the cameras and talk about how his honor had been insulted by a man who was nothing but a disgrace. The stench of it would smear Cassie and her family for months, or even years, to come.

"I can testify that the field procedure undertaken by cadets Fortin and Sandhurst removed all but two zombie fly eggs from cadet Pika of Ringworld Stellar Abyss," Seung said.

"I can further testify that when I extracted those eggs, they had already been rendered inactive. Specifically, they were dead."

"Can you make a definite statement as to what killed those eggs?" Marlowe asked.

"I can." Seung nodded.

"When cadet Pika was placed under my care, a substantial quantity of death root flower was active in his bloodstream. The blood-content of the narcotic was sufficient to kill any zombie fly eggs in his system." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Townshend frowned.

"Is treating an egg injection with death root flowers an approved medical procedure, Doctor Seung?"

"No," she went on.

"But that isn't for lack of trying. There have been years of clinical trials and tests by various pharmaceutical companies attempting to separate the toxins that render the eggs inert, from the addictive properties of the narcotic. No one is ready to ship a product, or even submit for imperial licensing, but that doesn't mean the attempts have halted." Townshend leaned forward.

"Just where did the idea to use these flowers come from, Cadet Sandhurst?"

"Sir, during one of our Hard Burn lectures on indigenous life forms, Doctor Vogel explained to us how the local tree cats eat the flowers when they get stung," Arc said.

"Can we substantiate that?" Townshend asked.

"That Vogel said it, not that it works. Clearly it does."

"We have testimony to that effect," Judge-advocate Courtenay said, from his place at Arc's side.

"Half a dozen witnesses in the class, and a statement from Doctor Vogel herself."

"Here." Marlowe tilted her tablet so that the admiral could look at her screen.

"We can't very well fault one of our cadets for using a treatment our people explained during one of our courses," Townshend declared.

"But I want Vogel talked to. No more speculation about risky medical procedures in front of first year cadets."

"Yes, sir," Marlowe said.

"I take it you approve dropping that allegation entirely, then?"

"It's not as if they bought Spike off the street and were snorting it in their dorms," the admiral grumbled.

"It was dangerous, but it saved another cadet's life. I want this all written up, by the way. I think it needs to be addressed in one of the advanced survival courses, for upperclassmen." Marlowe nodded and tapped at her tablet.

"That leaves us with two allegations: absence without leave and leaving a post as sentinel before being properly relieved."

"No getting away from those two," Townshend declared.

"Whatever your reasons, you went off into the jungle, after having been placed on watch by your commanding officer at the time."

"We believe the extenuating circumstances should be taken into account," Courtenay argued.

"We've already established that Cadet Fortin's command was compromised at the time, and that Cadet Sandhurst's actions were taken to save another student's life."

"The circumstances are notes," Marlowe said.

"The commandant recommends discipline as follows: two hundred and fifty demerits for each charge, to be accompanied by restriction from all passes or leave for the remainder of the semester, and five hours of walking tours for each charge." Arc couldn't breathe. Does this mean they're going to let me stay? It would appear so, Iceni answered, the first time that she'd spoken since they'd entered the room.

"Approved," Townshend said, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Both he and Marlowe affixed their thumbs to the biometric sensor on her tablet in turn.

"Lieutenant Commander Libby, Doctor Seung, thank you for attending today. You're both dismissed. Sandhurst, stay a moment." Libby and Seung stood, and Arc listened to the sound of their steps receding, then the swing of the door on its hinges, and finally the click of the lock when it was closed. He exchanged a glance with Lieutenant Courtenay, and his eyes seemed to tell him: I don't have the slightest idea what this is about. Either that, or he'd completely failed to read his expression.

It would certainly have been convenient if he had neural lace of his own so that they could pass messages without need for a tablet.

"Cadet, I've heard a lot more than I ever would have cared to about a particular duel that's set to take place on Chel this May," Townshend began.

"Now, normally, I would tell Commandant Marlowe here to find a way to talk you and this Radecki fellow down, but this time I've got not only a senator up my ass, but also the imperial family itself. Both sides are insisting that the imperium's dueling laws be followed to the letter. You're causing me something of a headache."

"My apologies, sir," Arc said, because he didn't know what else he could do.

"You know that I got a visit from one Monica Yarborough, Imperial Intelligence, the other day?" Townshend said.

"Claimed that it was in the direct interests of the imperial family that you be allowed to fight this duel. That I could kick you out of the academy afterward, for all they cared, but that you needed to remain a cadet long enough to take a mech up to Chel."

"I knew she was in-system, sir," Arc said.

"But not that she'd talked to you. She's already met with Cassie and I."

"And by Cassie, you mean the Princess Imperial Cascada," Townshend broke in.

"The same one I have a note about setting a new record in her Tyro qualification trial. The same one Fletcher Radecki is giving interviews about every chance he gets. I haven't seen a cadet in front of a news camera so much in the entire time I've been stationed here, at least that I can recall. You, Amelia?"

"No, sir," Marlowe agreed.

"He seems to have a knack for finding a chance to give interviews, doesn't he?"

"Not since I've got him stationed on Chel," Townshend declared, with a grunt.

"He can talk to the moon-dust there, as far as I care, but it won't be getting on the planetary net. I don't appreciate being leaned on by anyone, cadet. Not imperial intelligence, not Senator Tarquin Radecki, and not even the imperial family."

"I can understand that sir," Arc said.

"I didn't ask any of them to go to you, sir."

"I suppose you didn't," Townshend admitted.

"No, you have the look of someone who thought they were going wading along the tide-pools and got swept right out to sea. You know I was born in Portsmouth, cadet?"

"I did not, sir."

"Been a navy town since before there was an imperium," Townshend said.

"They've still got the HMS Victory on display there. You know Nelson, cadet?"

"Yes, sir," Arc said.

"I've studied his victories at Trafalgar and the Nile."

"That's something, I suppose," Townshend went on.

"The only good thing I can see about this entire situation is that it's given the talking heads something to go on about that isn't the Na'xir front, and that isn't much." He sighed.

"I'm approving you and your repair crew, along with your second and the princess, to come up to Chel. You'll be given quarters and a hangar bay for your use. I'd prefer to cut the media out entirely, but there's too much interest for that, and, again, I'm being leaned on from above. I hope you're ready to fight this thing in front of a camera."

"I'll be accompanying the cadets to Chel," Marlowe stated.

"I'd appreciate it if you had a hangar bay for my use, as well."

"Shit, Amelia, you're not going to need a mech up there," Townshend exclaimed.

"I intend to supervise this duel from my own cockpit," Marlowe said.

"If it gets out of hand, I will step in. I want both of our cadets coming down from Chel in one piece. I've asked Doctor Seung to join us with a medical team, as well." Townshend reached up with one hand, pinched his brow between two fingers, and winced.

"You know they're going to plaster your mech all over the net," he warned the commandant.

"Let them," Marlowe said.

"Maybe the sight of it will help you calm down the populace a bit. Remind them just how ready we are to protect the planet, in the event the Na'xir do show up."

"Fine. Fine," Townshend grumbled, and lowered his hand.

"You, cadet, finish out the semester," he ordered, pointing a finger at Arc's face.

"No more incidents. I don't want to so much as hear a whisper of your name between now and May. Is that understood? And walk your damned punishment tours before the summer break. They turn into a real pain in the ass if you let them build up. Something your commandant knows from experience. We're done here."

"Dismissed, cadet." Marlowe stood.

"Thank you for your patience, Lieutenant Courtenay." Arc and the judge-advocate pushed their chairs back and stood at the same time, snapping salutes to the rear admiral and the commandant before turning and practically fleeing the room. Only once they were out in the hall, the door to the room shut behind them, did Arc feel like he could actually take a breath.

"Thank you," he said to Lieutenant Courtenay.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Sandhurst," the judge-advocate said, as they made their way to the foyer.

"But I don't ever want to see you in my office again." Arc couldn't help but laugh, as much in relief as from actual humor.

"I'd rather not ever need you again," he agreed.

"But if I do -""If you do, reach out," he agreed.

"And I'll see what I can do." They both paused in the foyer of the building.

"Congratulations. Don't get killed in your duel, cadet. Now, I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on—paperwork that you're responsible for, I might add."

"Of course." Arc snapped him a salute.

"Thank you again." With a wave, Lieutenant Courtenay turned on his heel and set off deeper into the building, toward the office they'd let him use for the duration of his stay. Arc, on the other hand, turned and opened the door, then stepped out into the bright afternoon light of Vidako's twin suns. Down the stairs and across the path, at the nearest patch of dark grass and beneath the boughs of a live oak tree, sat Cassie and his friends, talking quietly in a group. Even Pika was there.

"Is it done?" Cassie asked, the moment she spotted him. She sprang to her feet, and Arc could tell that she was a bundle of raw nerves and anxiety. You could have sent her a warning through Lyra, Arc told Iceni. I didn't want to take your moment away, his AI answered.

"It's done," Arc said, as he walked across the path to where they were all waiting.

"They're going to let me stay. No court martial." Vee let out a whoop, and then they were all rushing forward. Cassie got her arms around him first, but then Pika swept both of them up entirely off their feet and crushed them to his chest, while everyone else crowded around, talking at once. Arc, at the center of it, felt that he was right where he belonged.