Fight or Flight (8 page)

“I didn’t do anything yet, pixie.” His eyes had grown hooded and dark.

“You believed me, Zeke.” She sank back against his shoulder, suddenly shy at the heat in his gaze. “That’s everything.”

“After tomorrow, everyone will believe you.”

He leaned over, brushed a kiss across her forehead, squeezing her hand. “I’m going to go now. Your guard is outside the door. Are you staying with Clau tonight?”

Clau. Yes, she’d decided she didn’t want to be alone tonight, and Josiah’s sister, her
other
best friend, would be staying with her, ready to bring the girl talk, and should that fail, boring engineer stories to lull her to sleep by any means necessary.

“Yeah.”

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, pixie.”

“G’night, Zeke.”

As she and Clau walked back to her quarters later, the guard trailing a few steps behind, she couldn’t help but wonder if she should have invited Zeke to stay with her instead. After tomorrow, there wouldn’t be a chance to talk to him alone, to be with him, just the two of them. The media scrutiny would multiply, and any hint of impropriety would be pounced upon. Too late now.

She glanced down the hall in the direction of his office, where they’d shared those two very steamy kisses. Those would have to be enough.

Chapter 14

Zeke felt Tirzah’s hands stroking along his body, teasing him awake. Her hands were small and cool, the freckles dark against her pale skin, translucent in the moonlight. She didn’t speak as she pinched his nipples, and then bent low to take him in her mouth. An avalanche of silken hair tumbled in copper waves across his belly as he groaned and bucked upward with his hips. It had been so long since he’d been with anyone other than his own hand; he was shocked he didn’t erupt immediately in her pretty mouth.

His brain tried to put the pieces together, to wonder how she’d gotten into his room—even the guards he’d assigned to her didn’t have access to his personal quarters.

The impossibility of
that
fiery hair in
this
place jogged something, and he realized with a gasp the caresses stirring his lust were a dream. He struggled to stay lost in the fog, reached for the hair, only to see it turn blonde under his fingers. The face that stared at him, smiling, as the dream faded into the sound of his ’com ringing, was not Tirzah’s but Elinor’s, and the smile faded to a scowl of accusation and disgust as wakefulness caught up with him.

He sat up with a start, reaching for the ’com.

“Hello?”

“Advocate Lucassen, this is the clerk of the Solomon Tribunal. I’m transmitting your docket assignment to your personal reader. Please do not be late.”

“Of course,” he murmured, though the clerk had already disconnected the call.

He flopped back against the bed. His cock was still half-hard and aching from the dream, so he grasped it, calling up the memory of Tirzah’s hair in his hands as she pushed him back against the desk in his office. He could practically feel the hard surface cold beneath his back, the heat of her kiss, and the way her hair felt as the pins flew across the floor. He imagined he held her head in his hands instead of his cock, imagined holding her in position as he rocked into her mouth. She had such beautiful full lips; he could practically see them wrapped around him. When he imagined her looking at him, meeting his eyes, the need to come rushed over him like a wave crashing. With a shout, his body spilled out its tribute to her, all electric heat and crushing need, pleasure sweeping fast and tight across his skin.

He didn’t know how he would see her in just a few hours and not think about the fact he’d just jerked off to the memory of kissing her in his office, the fantasy of taking that further. Christ, it had been five years since he’d made love to a woman, and now he was fantasizing about the most inappropriate woman on this side of the nebula.

This case couldn’t close fast enough.

* * * *

Over the next few days, Josiah and Zeke performed the steps of an elaborate dance before the panel. The prosecutor who had replaced Zeke was not as accomplished in the dance, stumbling over steps that should have been basic. Zeke was aggressive in his rebuttals, pouncing on those weaknesses, while Josiah presented their own arguments in a measured, reasonable fashion.

Josiah’s glowing account of Tirzah’s military service reminded her to hold her head high as they brought in members of her former squadron to testify she and Walter had had a contentious relationship both before and after she was removed from fight command status.

Several times Admiral Scott sat up taller in her seat, paying close attention to Josiah’s words as he explained the ways in which the system, particularly the bureaucracy in the police department, had compounded and amplified Tirzah’s abuse.

The media made a nuisance of itself, crowding into the courtroom. At the end of the first day, the Admiral ordered them out. Tirzah wondered whether their absence would help or hurt her case. Regardless, she was thankful they wouldn’t be there to see all her most private hell described.

The panel was split evenly between men and women, each more staid than the last. The row of matching dress uniforms with their shining buttons and colorful medals formed a wall in front of Tirzah. Occasionally, one would pause the proceedings and ask that bits of testimony be read back. When all were satisfied, folded back into their row of conformity, the trial continued.

Tirzah did not testify.

When the hospital photograph was introduced into evidence, her chin shook and her hands folded over her belly in a protective gesture, but she pulled herself together, determined not to show weakness before her accusers. Claudia, in the front row of the audience, reached over the barrier to squeeze her shoulder, the caress stiffening her spine and lifting her chin. Zeke caught her eye and gave her the barest nod.

Nick Guszak was curiously absent the first two days, but on the third day he blustered into the courtroom, red-faced, animated. Sweat beaded and ran down her back inside her uniform. When Zeke stood to cross-examine him, goose bumps rose on Tirzah’s flesh, a flutter of premonition and excitement. This was it. She lifted her chin as Zeke went to war
for her
.

*

Guszak testified that Tirzah had been insubordinate and had assaulted her superior officer. Zeke carefully led him through the original evidence Guszak had given him to convict Tirzah. When the other man seemed confident and assured, Zeke slowly changed course.

“Mr. Guszak, while the brig at Solomon Outpost is nominally a military facility, it falls under the jurisdiction of Solomon Territory Department of Corrections, and you offer administrative support, is that correct?”

“That is correct, Mr. Lucassen.”

“You may call me Advocate, or Advocate-Commander.” Zeke looked at his notes, allowing a moment for his correction to sink in. When he looked up, approval was in the Admiral’s face. Hiding a tight smile, he continued.

“In what ways might you offer administrative support?”

“Well, Advocate…” A sheen of perspiration covered Guszak’s face, and his collar darkened. “We would, uh, we would … that is, provide oversight as a third party should any imprisonment procedures be brought into question.”

“Mr. Guszak. Two years ago in June, Walter Simonian imprisoned his wife in the brig at Solomon Outpost, under charges of insubordination and assault. This was the captain’s first arrest.”

“That is correct, Advocate.”

“That is not in dispute, Mr. Guszak. On June 5, the day following her arrest, the brig warden’s office filed an official complaint with your office in regards to improper imprisonment procedures. This complaint was not logged into your system.” Zeke looked at the panel, gestured with his reader.

“Sirs, this complaint has been logged into evidence, and you can look at it on your readers at your leisure.” He held his breath for half a beat as they picked up the readers to examine the evidence. “Mr. Guszak, why was the complaint not logged properly?”

“It’s been two years,” Guszak protested.

“Speculate.”

“Either we determined there was no fault, or it was simply an oversight.”

“I see. Over the next year, Captain Simonian was imprisoned on six more occasions. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Advocate.”

“There were three more complaints of improper imprisonment procedures. None of these were logged into your system. Would you care to speculate why not?”

“I…”

“Might it have been an oversight? Perhaps someone in your office wasn’t getting the messages? Or are these messages so common, they’re ignored?”

“We may have simply determined the complaints were invalid.”

“I suppose you may have. It certainly would be nice to know for sure.” Zeke glanced over at Tirzah, who watched him wide-eyed as Josiah whispered in her ear. He gave her a tight nod, and then turned back to his quarry.

“Mr. Guszak, can you tell me why a complaint might be made in regards to illegal restraint?”

The commandant’s face grew sullen as he explained, “Once a prisoner is in a cell, there is no reason they would be restrained unless it was for their own protection.”

“For fear they would self-harm?”

“Correct, Advocate.”

“If a prisoner were restrained for fear he or she would self-harm, what would be the next step?”

“Transfer to a psychiatric facility.”

“I see. Over the seven distinct times Captain Simonian was imprisoned, the warden’s office filed five complaints of illegal restraint. Handcuffs were used in all five cases, and in one case, leg shackles. These were never logged into your system.”

“I-I—” the commandant stammered.

I’ve got you, you cocky motherfucker.

“If the Captain was at risk of self-harm, why was she not transferred to a psychiatric facility?”

“Again, Advocate, we may have determined those complaints were baseless.”

“I see.” Zeke turned to Tirzah. “Captain Simonian, please roll up your sleeves and show your wrists to the court.”

Eyes wide, she obeyed without a word, letting the ridges of scar tissue speak for themselves.

“Baseless. Right. Now, Mr. Guszak, twice over the course of the captain’s numerous imprisonments, medics were requisitioned by the warden and sent by your office. However, those reports were never completed. Can you tell me why?”

“A sick prisoner is an internal military affair, and we only facilitate.”

“Right. Now, both of these incidents correspond with a complaint of illegal restraint. One of the medic reports describes the captain as having a mild concussion, several abrasions, and a bruised kidney. She was urinating blood.”

“If that is what your internal reports say—”

“That is what the medic reports returned to your office and copied to the warden say. Are you familiar with what might be in the other report?”

“Zeke.” Tirzah’s voice was barely a whisper. He turned and saw the pleading look in her eyes, the flush in her cheeks.

I’m sorry, pixie.
He turned back to the commandant and gestured for him to proceed.

“No, I’m not familiar with the contents of the report.”

“This report detailed violent sexual abuse, and a rape kit was part of this report.” Zeke looked up, rage filling him as he continued.

“The medic described Captain Simonian as being in a stage of early pregnancy, suffering from a hyperemetic episode, what we would call morning sickness. She noted in her report the captain asked her pregnancy be kept a secret from Walter Simonian, that she feared he would hurt her or kill her. Did you know the Fleet has safe harbor laws for women who are in that position?”

“No, Advocate, I was not aware of those laws.”

“After Walter Simonian’s death, did your office investigate any of Tirzah Simonian’s imprisonments? Did you look into these complaints any closer?”

“Advocate, the gun was found on her person. She stole the transport.”

“Please, answer the question, Mr. Guszak.”

“No, I did not.”

The red-faced police officer who left the courtroom that day was not the same arrogant man who’d entered.

*

In the end, the panel deliberated only twenty minutes.

Admiral Scott read a carefully prepared statement before commanding Tirzah to rise.

At that moment, fear and adrenaline coursed through her, and her hands shook as she stood at attention. Josiah put a bracing hand behind her back as he stood to one side of her. On the other side, Zeke seemed detached, staring straight ahead, only the barest smile gracing his lips as her acquittal was announced.

Tirzah grinned as the admiral ordered the tracking cuff removed and reinstated her flight status. With the silver wings returned to her dress uniform, she was one step closer to the fighter fleet.

Josiah led her through the throng of reporters out of the tribunal, away through white-walled hallways, back to her quarters.

Once there, she waited long hours for Zeke to come, to call her ’com, to do something, say something. It was very late before she finally accepted he wouldn’t be coming to see her.

He was gone; his job was done.

Chapter 15

Five months later…

“Captain Simonian?” Tirzah stood at the window in her office when she heard the voice behind her.
So formal, Josiah?

“Come on in, Becky.”

He stood beside her, looking out at Solomon Nebula. Stars and gasses and debris painted a magnificent yet treacherous space scape. Its very beauty was deceptive, capturing the awe of the colony ship’s passengers, lined along every window in the common spaces to catch a glimpse of the prismatic lights shifting around them.

Tirzah had only weeks to guide her ungainly craft safely through the nebula, settle her passengers in their new home in one of the colonies outside Solomon City, and head back to Earth for the fight command test. Faster-than-light travel had opened this side of the nebula to humankind, and they’d be damned if they weren’t going to grab every bit of it. She’d been astounded to discover upon gaining her freedom that the territory boasted new settlements all around Solomon City, every return flight she made adding to their ranks. This colony ship was older, not really equipped for the passage through the nebula, and she’d had to recruit Claudia along for the ride to help prepare it for the voyage.