Blood Impulse

Part 16.2 - COURT MARTIALED

Homebound Sector, Haven System, Battleship Singularity

The bridge wasn't far, it took just a minute to walk there, Zarrey smoothing down his hair and buttoning his jacket on the way. Walking in, it seemed the usual staff had been summoned as well, with the notable absence of Lieutenant Gaffigan. They all looked uneasy, filling the semicircular room with a strange tension.

The officer that headed the night watch had a sheen of nervous sweat on his dark skin, "I offered to take the call, sir, but they insisted on your presence, General." This was clearly more than a miscellaneous public announcement.

"Understood," the ship commander replied, brushing off the strangeness of having a new, unfamiliar title. "Lieutenant Robinson, put it up."

"Yes, sir," she replied, pulling the correct transmission out of the system buffer.

The screen mounted at the front of the room clicked on, an image of Base Oceana's largest conference room appearing. Four people sat at the long, crystalline table. "I'm glad you could finally join us, General Gives," General Hommer said, his round face pudgy with impatience.

"Forgive the delay, General. I am still running a ship at the moment."

"Yes, about that," Hommer said, laying his massive arms onto the table, "Command has reviewed the inspection report and reached a conclusion. We see no longer fit to continue operations aboard the Singularity. The Constancy-class build has been outdated for many years, though her continuous reliability and history made her a valuable member of the fleet-"

"In short," the man beside Hommer piped in, "the Battleship Singularity is hereby decommissioned from the UCSC fleet." A smirk tugged at Reeter's lips, "We ask that you oversee the ship's disarmament and minor dismantlement. Her final mission is to dock at Base Oceana at 1200 hours, where she will be turned over to the scrapping crews."

General Gives noted the panic on the crew's faces as he carefully controlled his own frustration, "That is unacceptable." Nobody was scrapping his ship. "I have more command experience than both Generals Hommer and Quentin. That makes me the senior officer, and using that authority, I rescind those orders."

"I am afraid you no longer have that authority, General." Reeter smiled, victory gleaming in his emerald eyes. "I am sure you have noticed the unusual composition of this call." He gestured to the three men beside him, "This would be a tribunal board." The majority of the Generals, a member of the Admiralty, and a representative of the civilian government in the form of Vince Ramseyer, this board had the power to remove the authority of any officer in the fleet.

"In light of recently acquired information, General, Command has no choice but to court martial you and strip you of your rank, effective immediately. This tribunal board has found sufficient evidence of disorderly conduct, identity fraud, kidnapping, refusal of court-decreed rights and high treason."

Zarrey's mouth dropped open, "You've got to be kidding."

Beside him, Admiral Gives gave no reaction, simply contemplating the situation. So this was your plan. The Erans had planned to take his ship and his rank by publicly declaring him a criminal. His appointment to Clarke's position had meant effectively nothing, so it was no wonder they hadn't tried to stop it. "I believe I can ask those charges be further specified?"

Reeter nodded, "Of course. To the charge of disorderly conduct: regulations decree one must announce themselves before boarding Base Oceana and seeking audience with a General. It is also highly against standard operating procedure to carry non-refugee civilians aboard an active military ship. You have been guilty in the last forty-eight hours of all those things." Reeter had only needed to set up half of them. "Additionally, you have kidnapped my wife, Amelia, her son, and two others, who are now being held against their will aboard your ship. By holding Harrison, you deny me my court-granted right to visit my stepson."