Solbidyum Wars Saga 5: Desolation (30 page)

“First Citizens,” he nodded to both Kala and I, “I understand you would like a Lyonian wine.  I regret we have none.  It is most rare, and I understand the only bottles left are on Megelleon at the TEZU LAGONG.  However, we do have an excellent vintage of a Timnit wine that some believe is even finer than the Lyonian wine, it has much of the same bouquet and taste on the palate.”  I looked at Kala and could see a look of amusement on her face, as she knew I was totally out of my league talking about wine, and she was getting a small kick out of me trying to appear sophisticated.

“Very well,” I said, “we’ll give it a try.

“An excellent choice sir, I am sure you both will find it to your liking.”

Kala and I looked over the menu and while I am sure she knew what everything on it was, I recognized nothing, and it was all new to me.  I kept hoping to find a fubalo steak, or some Anabur Korsak legs, both dishes I had eaten and enjoyed before, but neither appeared on the menu.  Finally, I just closed my eyes and ran my finger down the page, stopped, opened my eyes and ordered what was next to my finger.  It was served with a soup with a rich brown broth and small crunchy items in it that reminded me of peanuts, but tasted more like pretzels back on Earth.  Odd as that sounds, it was actually rather good.  The entre looked more like a large plate of scrambled eggs with some sauce poured over it.  I wish I could describe the flavor of it to you, but it was totally unique, and while it wasn’t the best dish I have ever eaten, it was very good, and I did enjoy it.

I was nearly finished with my entre and was beginning to really relax and enjoy myself and to tell Kala just how brilliant she was for arranging this evening, when I saw a finely dressed man approaching our table with a clearly upset expression on his face.

“Admiral, I wish a word with you,” he exclaimed a bit louder than decorum would allow in such an establishment.  Immediately I saw both of our bodyguards react, and one took two steps forward at the ready while the other remained at the door.  I could see his lips moving, and I was sure he was using his helmet radio to alert the other two guards outside the door and probably calling for back-up as well.

“Excuse me?”  I said to the man who by now was standing beside our table.  “We are having a meal, if you need to speak to me, there are channels you can go through to make an appointment.”

“Bah! Do you know who I am?” he spat.  I glanced at Kala, and she raised her eyebrows and shrugged indicating she didn’t know.

“I would have to guess you are an extremely rude person,” I answered as I placed another portion of food in my mouth and chewed it.”

“I’m Rinncal Haf-joab.!” he said as he lifted his chin and crossed his arms over his chest in a comical posed position.

“Wrinkles Half Job? Never heard of you,” I replied deliberately messing with his name as I was now becoming quite irritated with this jerk.

“It’s Rinncal Haf-joab, from Bothex!  I’m a very important man!” he fumed.

“Well, Wrinkles Half Job from buttocks, now that you have rudely interrupted my meal, what’s so important you can’t go through proper channels to talk to me?” I said as I took another bite of food.

Wrinkles ignored my second slur on his name and began.  “It’s your Captain Wanoll; he’s diverted the ship from its course that would have taken us to Nigan.  I have very important business to conduct there, and I demand we go there at once!” He stomped his foot to exaggerate his statement.

“I see,” I said as I finished chewing my last bite of food and dabbed the corner of my mouth with a napkin, “and did Captain Wanoll explain to you just why we have changed course?”

“He muttered some nonsense about
needing
to go to some forsaken obscure planets, out on the rim that no one cares about, supposedly because the Brotherhood is attacking them.  I have important business to take care of on Nigan, billions of Federation credits are at stake.  You need to inform this captain to immediately take us to Nigan!”

“You do understand that the
DUSTEN
is a Federation military ship, don’t you?  And while the Federation does take on civilians, cargoes and passengers, at a discounted rate from what you would pay for the same services on a private ship, that you do so at the risk that the ship may be called to action at any moment and diverted to deal with a military situation.”

“Oh come now, Admiral, don’t give me that ridiculous prattle, your Captain Wanoll already gave me that tale.  There hasn’t been a starship diverted for military action in over 500 years.  Besides I told you BILLIONS of Federation credits are at stake.”

“And BILLIONS of Federations citizens’ lifes are at stake where we are headed.  In case you were asleep and missed it, the Senate officially declared war almost nine months ago when the Brotherhood attacked the Senate on Megelleon, killing thousands of them.  We ARE officially at war and we are acting under the War Powers Act.  If you like, there are some small private ships in the hangar, and for the right price I am sure you will be able to find someone willing to fly you from here to Nigan, if you feel you need to get there so quickly.  Otherwise, I suggest you return to your seat and finish your dinner.”

“Listen, I don’t care who you think you are, First Citizen, Admiral, or whatever,” Rinncal said as he moved forward.  “I’m an important man and I can make things difficult for you if I don’t get my wishes.”  He grabbed hold of the front of my uniform to pull me closer to him as he spoke, which was the wrong thing to do.  I raised both my hands grabbing his, and placed my thumbs inside his palm and forced his wrist to bend backwards causing him to scream out in pain and drop to his knees.  Behind him I saw two of his bodyguards start to reach into their jacket pockets, presumably for a weapon and then suddenly they raised their hands and froze as they saw my trooper guards with weapons trained on them.  A second later the doors flew open and Marranalis and about a dozen troopers burst into the dining room with weapons at the ready.

“Sorry about the delay in getting here, Admiral,” Marranalis said, “Though it appears you have everything under control as usual,” he added with a grin as he took Rinncal’s arms and pulled them behind his back and attached restraints to them.  By now all dining in the room had stopped as people stared while the troopers began to removed Rinncal and his two men from the room.  As they were about to leave, Rinncal shouted back at me, “You haven’t heard the last of this, Admiral.  I’m a very powerful man!”  To which Marranalis answered, “You may not realize it, sir, but Admiral Tibby is THE richest and THE most powerful man in the universe.  You have just bought a meal bigger than you can eat.”  As they passed out the door people in the dining room gave a small applause, and a man at the table next to ours turned to me and said.  “I’ve always hated that bastard Rinncal,” then he laughed and added, “
Wrinkles Half Job from buttocks!
Admiral, I hope you don’t mind but I will be quoting that line for a long time to come,” and then he laughed even harder.

“Tibby, I don’t know what I am going to do with you,” Kala said jokingly, “we can’t go anywhere nice without you making a scene.”

Unlike most ships in the Federation where the Captain is the law, judge and jury, on a starship, due to their size and the number of civilians aboard, judgements and punishments are carried out by judges in a court of law aboard the ship.  In the judicial system in my home country back on Earth, one judge presided over the court, and a jury determined the guilt or innocence of an individual.  However, in the Federation, there are three judges and a jury.  Lawyers may be hired by a defendant to advise the defendant, but the lawyers may not speak in court.  Dissimilar from Earth, it is the judges who question and determine the guilt or innocence of the accused.  It is the duty of the jury (consisting of nine citizens) to determine if they believe the judges have rendered a fair and unbiased verdict, and to decide upon the punishment as set forth under the Federation legal system.  The reason for this arrangement is that it was believed by the Federation that the average citizen would not be cognizant of all the laws or workings of the laws, to be able to reach a verdict under the Federation guidelines.  It was also believed that lawyers representing a client would be prone to try to manipulate the law in trying to free their client, and bypass justice if they conducted the questions.  The idea was that three judges could never be deadlocked in a verdict, and that they would keep each other in check as far as questions and procedures.

Any one judge could object to a question being asked by another judge if he or she felt it violated some law or the rights of the accused, if the third judge agreed with the objection, the questioning judge was over ruled and the question need not be answered.  Lawyers could advise their clients on questions and answers, and could tell their clients of their personal rights and explain any aspects of the laws not understood by their client.  The lawyer could, on behalf of his client, file an objection to a verdict reached by the court if there was sufficient evidence that such a violation had occurred.  Transcripts and vids of the trial, along with vids of the deliberation of the judges and the jury would then be sent to the Federation Legal Review Board (FLRB), the equivalent of the Supreme Court in America back on Earth.  If the FLRB found evidence supporting the objection, a new trial would be convened with different judges and jury; otherwise the judgement stood and the sentence carried out.  Because witness and defendants testimonies were all administered with the use of electronic truth or lie detecting equipment, verdicts rendered by the judges were seldom challenged or overturned.  Trials were usually short and rarely lasted more than a day and resulted in hearings taking place within days of the offense and not weeks or months.  In the case of Rinncal, the trial was held three days later.

Rinncal was charged with personal assault on a high-ranking Federation military official, and attempting to interfere with military actions taking place during a time of war.  The first offence could have received a sentence of a severe fine and short imprisonment of two to five years in prison based upon the severity of his assault if he was found guilty.  The second offence carried a sentence with a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment depending upon the severity of action taken.  Rinncal probably would have gotten off with the lightest sentences if he had not been so arrogant and self-absorbed; as it was, under testimony he said more than he should have and wound up compiling his charges and his sentences.

The trial had barely begun when the question was raised by one of the judges, as to why Rinncal believed the
DUSTEN
taking him to Nigan was more important than going to help defend two planets against a Brotherhood attack.  “The Brotherhood is no real threat,” Rinncal answered, “I have billions at risk.  All the planets need to do is pay the Brotherhood off with a few million credits, and they would have been left alone.”

“You believe the Brotherhood would not attack them if they were paid a few million credits?” another of the judges asked.

“Certainly,” Rinncal said smugly, “I pay them several million credits each year to leave me and my businesses alone, and I’ve never had any trouble with them.”

“You paid the Brotherhood several million credits!” the judge said in astonishment.  “Just when did you pay them last?”

“Why, just a few weeks ago,” Rinncal said smiling smugly, “I’ve been paying them off for years; it’s simply a cost of doing business.”

All three judges sat with looks of bewilderment on their faces before one said, “You do realize that with the implementation of the War Powers Act last year, that giving money to the Brotherhood for any reason is an act of treason and can result in life imprisonment or even death?”

Rinncal’s composure became a bit more sober, and the truth monitor over his head flickered between green and yellow as he contemplated his answer.

“I’m a very wealthy and powerful man,” he began, “surely those laws don’t apply to me.  Why, I would be out of business if I didn’t pay a tribute to the Brotherhood.”  The monitor over his head flickered green, then yellow and then red as he answered.

The judges spoke privately for a moment before one of them turned facing Rinncal and said, “Rinncal Haf-joab, as an officer of the court I charge you with treason by way of aiding the enemy.  Once this trial is completed, regardless of its verdict, you will be remanded into custody for trial on these charges.”

Rinncal’s face turned ghostly pale as he realized what was happening, and he wavered for a moment and nearly passed out as he started muttering, “but I’m Rinncal Haf-joab.  I'm a very rich and powerful man.  You, you can’t do this to me.”

The rest of the trial went by quickly with Rinncal being found guilty on both of the original charges.  On the first sentence, since his assault was of a minor nature, he received a fine of 1,000 Federation credits and two weeks imprisonment.  On the second charge of interfering with a military action, he received the minimum sentence of two years in prison.  The Federation laws did not allow for sentences to be served concurrently, so Rinncal was facing two years and two weeks in prison.  He could receive more if he was found guilty of treason, and supporting the enemy under provisions in the War Powers Act.

Of course, the entire event was covered by the Federation news and the story of me referring to Rinncal as
Wrinkles Half Job from buttocks
, was playing on the ship's news channel.  It would eventually reach Megelleon and the other planets, where I am sure it would also get a lot of air time.  Information about the Cantolla gates had not leaked out yet, and we were still trying to keep it secret, so the news media and private citizens were still dependent on GW message pods for long distant news and communication.  Everywhere I went on the ship, I noticed that as soon as people saw me, they would start to grin, and I knew it was the
Wrinkles Half Job from buttocks
statement they were thinking about. I didn’t think the man would ever outlive that name.