Innes in Command
Copyright© 2026 by Lumpy
Chapter 23
“Sir, did you see the message about the town hall today?” Chief Baker asked from his console.
Innes took a second to register his question, as his mind was still on the insane orders banning all inspections, basically neutering most of the point of the detachment, and what it meant.
“What?”
“The town hall.”
“What town hall?”
“It was on the schedule for the station. The MP for Shiro Station and the Outer Systems in the House of Commons that showed up a few days ago put up a notice about it. They’re holding it in the Promenade Amphitheater.”
Innes knew about the MP’s arrival, but he hadn’t realized she was holding a town hall. Admittedly, between the multiple messages from the captain and the visit from his father, he hadn’t been paying as much attention to station affairs as he had been.
“When is it?”
“In about an hour.”
Innes thought for a moment. While the detachment didn’t have much to do with local politics, especially since this was just a temporary posting, this kind of thing would allow the people of the station to voice concerns, and if she was coming out here, it’s because she saw a political need for doing it right now.
Of course, that need could just be the removal of the task force, since that was less than a month old, but considering how many people in the upper sections of the government were involved in the complaints against him, Innes couldn’t help but wonder if it would also involve that.
“Do you think you could hold down the fort, Chief? I’d like to attend.”
“I thought you might. And considering we’ve been ordered to sit on our hands and do nothing, there isn’t much for us to do here, so we should be okay.”
“Thanks, Chief,” Innes said.
The Chief had a point. Now that they couldn’t do inspections, a monkey could sit at the console and just log ships and scan readings.
The amphitheater occupied a wide, terraced section of Ring D’s central park, a sunken bowl of reinforced composite seating that could accommodate three thousand people beneath a transparent ceiling. Innes arrived twenty minutes before the scheduled start and found the space already nearing capacity.
Innes positioned himself near an exit column halfway up the seating bowl, where he would have a clear view without being easily spotted. He had no desire to draw attention to himself or to become part of the political theater more than he already was.
Commander Jun stood on the stage at the bottom of the amphitheater. Beside him was a woman who had to be Madam Lin Qiao. She was perhaps sixty years old and wore the traditional high-collared tunic of Dongbei formal dress.
Two microphone stands waited in the aisles, open to anyone bold enough to step forward.
When the clock hit the appropriate time, Madam Qiao stepped to the center of the stage and raised her hands for silence.
“Thank you all for coming. I am happy to see so many people here today. Normally, when I make my visits to the station, we only get a few dozen participants, so it’s good to see so many of you showing interest. Now, I have no doubt all this extra interest has to do with the removal of the task force and everything that has followed, and I understand there is a lot of concern about what that means for all of us. While it has little effect on the people on Hokkaido and Miyako, I grew up on this station, just like most of you, and know what the task force actually did for us and why their removal would be so concerning to you. I will warn you, I am not here with solutions, or really even answers beyond what most of you have already heard. This is a fact-finding mission for me, so I can find out what the removal of the task force has really done to all of you. I intend to take this back to the Legislature and use what you tell me here today to try to get things back on the right track. I also have a meeting with Administrator Feng after I leave here to push for more voices, not just of the other MPs from Kump, but in the House of Lords, and I want to take what you tell me today to that meeting as well. So please, come up to the microphone and tell me what your concerns are and what you need from us.”
For a moment, no one moved, everyone looking to their neighbors, not wanting to be the person who went first. Finally, a fairly well-dressed man got up and moved to a microphone.
“Three months ago, I lost twelve thousand tons of refined titanium to raiders near the outer belt. It took me five years to build that route and five years of negotiations with belt miners and refinery contracts. All of that work was gone in ninety minutes because there was no patrol within three hours burn time. I want to know what protection exists for people trying to make an honest living running freight in this system, or if we’re expected to hire private security and pretend we’re still living in the collapse era.”
“Yours is not the first story like that I’ve heard,” the MP said. “I’ve been pressing the Defense Ministry for the return of the naval task force for exactly that reason, as I know the attacks began shortly after they were removed from the system.”
Another person in a station jumpsuit asked, “But what does the Republic plan to do now that they’ve pulled out? Are we supposed to fend for ourselves? Is Kumo being written off as too expensive to keep safe?”
“The task force withdrawal was a fleet-level redeployment decision, not policy abandonment. The CDF still has a responsibility to maintain security in the system, and that stance has not changed. While I know it is woefully inadequate to the situation, they did send a ship to replace the task force and put a detachment here on the station. It is more of a question of available resources than it is policy.”
“One ship isn’t enough,” someone yelled from the crowd, not waiting to go to a microphone.
“That’s true, and I am fighting to get a new task force set up in system for exactly that reason, but we need to put enough pressure on the rest of the legislature for them to make this a political necessity.”
“They don’t care about us,” another person yelled out.
“Every system is trying to get access to the limited resources the Republic has to offer, which is precisely why I am here. Your voice needs to be heard loud enough so that we get considered for those resources. I’m tired of watching my colleagues treat this system like it’s only good for pulling resources out of rather than home to more than ten billion citizens. You deserve the same protection afforded to Nord or Procyon and I intend to make sure you receive it.”
“There are rumors that a Concordian ship was found carrying weapons intended for the pirates,” another man said. “I want to know if this is true, and if so, what it means for those of us who fly Concordian registry. Are we being hunted by our own people?”
“The rumor is accurate,” Jun said, stepping up to join the MP. “A Concordian-flagged vessel was discovered transporting weapons, and evidence does suggest they were intended for pirate elements operating in the asteroid belt. The CDF naval detachment stationed here identified the contraband, seized the weapons, and detained the crew. Those individuals are being prosecuted for conspiracy to commit piracy and violations of the anti-piracy laws.”
“Which should be proof,” the MP added, “that the CDF is actively working to help make this system safe, but that they have been given a limited amount of resources to do so. I say again, this is not a matter of overall policy, but rather prioritization of available resources.”
“If one Concordian ship was running supplies to pirates, how many more are there that we haven’t seen?” the man asked.
“The investigation is ongoing and we have not stopped our inspections,” Jun said. “Anyone with information regarding suspicious cargo movements or unauthorized contacts should report it immediately to station security or the naval detachment.”
Innes thought that was a bit disingenuous, since the detachment HAD stopped its inspections, which meant any of the really large ships that couldn’t dock weren’t getting inspected.
Of course, this was a fairly recent directive and it was unclear to him if Jun or anyone on the station had been notified of the rule change yet.
Madam Qiao added, “And if that investigation reveals broader involvement by Concordian citizens or corporate entities, I’ll demand answers on the floor of the House. No one who arms pirates against their own people will be allowed to go without facing justice, I guarantee you that.”
“But what specifically are you going to do to help us?” A woman asked. “Bringing our concerns back to the Commons is all well and good, but it’s just another speech that means nothing.”
“I don’t just plan on giving speeches. I will be bringing these specific concerns to the Defense Committee and demand they justify the withdrawal of protective assets from a system under active pirate pressure,” Madam Qiao said. “I’m planning on introducing legislation requiring minimum naval presence for systems experiencing elevated raiding activity, with penalties for commanders who leave posts understaffed. I’ll subpoena the trade records of any house found to be supplying military matériel to unauthorized parties, and I won’t stop until those responsible face trial. I expect to face significant resistance from colleagues who consider Kumo a low priority and I expect to lose votes, but I won’t stop speaking, and I won’t stop pushing until we get action.”
There was applause, which was more underwhelming than the MP had clearly hoped for from the expression on her face, but since she was from here, she should have expected it. Innes had already figured out that these were a people who demanded proof and action before they threw in behind someone, and didn’t put much credence in lip service, and he’d only been here for a short while.