Chapter 23

Despite how I may have made it sound, I was happy to help Vish figure out and correct the issue in the targeting room. There was a misalignment within the targeting array that was giving back incorrect telemetry to the aiming systems. Once that was figured out, it didn’t take us long to make the needed adjustments and test the systems out again. Vish wouldn’t be happy until it was working to her expectations, and I was good with that. She wanted to make sure that we were as ready as we could be to protect ourselves and the others that would be coming with us on our next journey. With that problem finished, we checked in with Ev to see if she needed any assistance. She was ready to call it a day when we arrived, so she gave out the tasks to her work crews coming in and left with us to return to our quarters. We had a quick meal and went to bed, exhausted from the day’s events. I wasn’t sure how tomorrow would turn out, but I knew that it would be a test of all we had accomplished so far.

I wasn’t plagued with any bad dreams or anything, but I woke up feeling drained and dreading what I had to do today. I was confident that having the Triumvirate deal with the sentencing and punishment of the perpetrator would be the best route, there was no telling how the people on the station would react. Though I was certain that the people I have worked alongside with would be okay with a negative result for the attacker, I wasn’t so confident how the crew of the ship might handle it. They were new, didn’t know how we did things with me in command of the station and could see it as a slight against them. I was sure I was worrying and overthinking things, but with the stakes slowly growing ever higher, I couldn’t risk being wrong. Too many people were counting on me, and I couldn’t let them down.

I took a quick shower as I waited for my ladies to awaken. I had breakfast sitting on the table when they finally got out of bed. I was feeling like an earth feast this morning, so I had all the fixings I loved. Scrambled eggs, potato hash, thick cut bacon, breakfast sausages and some wagyu steak. I know it was a facsimile, but their fabricators were able to make it taste so similar I wondered if I was in a Matrix.

“Don’t worry so much, Hugh,” Vish’ala said, taking a bite of bacon. “You have no need to worry about what will happen today. You were right to leave it to the council to sentence her and she will be punished accordingly.”

“I know,” I replied with a frustrated sigh. “I just don’t have to like it. I am trying to build trust with our people, and I don’t see a lot of trust being built if I am executing members of it. That is why I chose them to handle things. It further legitimizes them and, I hope, limits any animosity if it were me making the call.”

Ev just shook her head and said, “You are cute when you’re being a dummy. They will pass judgment and they will execute her if the charges call for it. You did the smart thing by creating a council to oversee the needs of the station. It has allowed you to focus on the bigger picture. If this were about anyone else, you wouldn’t be so high strung.”

I took a big bite of one of the sausages and said, “That is why I made this food for our breakfast today. It helps comfort and calm me, reminding me of breakfasts with my family when I was younger.”

Ev gave a teary nod, “Mom did go a bit all out with the food, didn’t she? When I woke up and saw the spread, it felt like home. The smells of the food triggered all the good memories of growing up. Mind you, you have better steaks than mom and dad could ever hope to afford, but it still feels like home.”

I shrugged and took a big bite of bacon, enjoying the familiar tastes of home. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the Mac’skarian food that Vish had introduced us to, but tastes can trigger memories and feelings from the past that can affect you in several ways. I knew that eating this, as well as the memories that would be triggered, would help me to calm down about what was happening today. There were the feelings of loss, towards my parents death and leaving my life behind, but they were faded, in a way. As if I was aware of them, but the impact those thoughts and memories I used to have on me were now marginal. We didn’t talk much for the rest of the meal, instead enjoying the company and the food. Once our meal was over, we dressed in our formal uniforms. This was a first for Ev, but I had to say that the uniform looked good on her. She seemed to have the same thoughts about me, thinking that I looked both dashing and regal.

We had plenty of time to get to the council chamber where the hearing would be held. It was a point of pride to everyone here to have worked together to repair the section and use their newly learned skills to craft such a chamber to be used in the governance of the station. Nearly every Mac’skarian on the station had a hand in some part of the creation of this area and that helped pull them all together while they were still learning to work with one another. The only Trial we ever had was when we had to deal with Tor’nak’s attempt to circumvent me with a poor attempt at trying to turn his community against me. Unfortunately, my actions belied his words and only served to undermine what he tried to do. Still, that was all done without my direct involvement, as the appointed leaders had decided to take it upon themselves to deal with him. This time, I would have a direct involvement, not only due to being the one attacked, but the one who called for this trial.

Everyone we passed was as warm and pleasant as they had always been, only confirming what Vish had said. Still, my nerves were rattled and would likely stay that way until the trial was over and we saw the reaction of our newest visitors. When we entered the council chambers, we saw the three elected officials, along with a few other Mac’skarians. I recognized all but one, so I assumed that they had come from Hertal’s crew. She stood about Vish’s height, though she seemed to be a bit stalkier. Her coat reminded me of a Siberian tiger, as did her piercing blue eyes. Her expression I was unable to read. She neither looked happy to see us, nor did she seem to be angry about her crewmate. It was just a blank stare, sizing me up, I would imagine, and that only served to ramp up my nervousness of the situation.

The room wasn’t too large, with a long table at the far side of the room for the council to sit at. There were sitting areas on either side of the room that were most likely used when there were spectators. Near the door were two tables with a handful of chairs. This was no doubt for the two parties to sit at during arbitration. There was a door near the long table for the council members to enter along with the one that we had used to enter. Once the introductions were out of the way, we took our seats. Ev and Vish sat beside me, while my attacker and her shipmate sat at the table to my right. Before us at a large, curved table sat the council. Ith’ran grabbed an onyx cube and banged it against what looked like a metal coaster. It let out a dreadful noise, pulling our focus to him.

Rising from his chair he began, “Good morning, all, I hope that you are all well. We are here today to discuss the matter of a serious charge placed on one Rihs’tal Vorgr. She is charged with attempted murder of a ranking official of the Mac’skarian Empire. She knowingly used stealth technology, which was found on her person, to approach and stab Captain Stargazer. Had it not been for someone coming down the corridor, it would be likely that she would have finished her attack.”

Her eyes narrowed as she spat, “Yes I would have killed the filthy creature! You may have been tricked into following some alien, but I will not follow blindly!”

Ith’ran turned to look at her compatriot who stood, “I apologize for her outburst and beg the council’s forgiveness for her brash words. Her defense is as follows. That she was merely trying to deal with a threat to our empire. He is an alien, yet he is in charge of such an advanced ship and has an entire station of Mac’skarian people working for him. She felt that with his influence gone, you could be free to reconnect with your people and be free of his oppression.”

Ith’ran laughed in response and said, “What oppression do you speak of? Before Hugh arrived here in the scout ship that we now call the Obsidian, this was a wreck of an outpost. We three are the leaders of the communities that had survived in various parts of the still habitable areas. The station’s AI was on lockdown and, due to that, we had limited access to fabricators. When he came, he helped reactivate the AI and then worked alongside us to repair and even upgrade this place to the station that it has become. The space dock was his idea, as were the many defenses that this station now has. The White Claw is the latest in his ideas that have proven fruitful and now he has even gone as far as to start upgrading your ship. He has even unlocked your ship’s AI, allowing for faster progress with both ships.”

It looked as if both of them were surprised by this, though my attacker still shot daggers as she looked my way.

“Is there anything that you wish to say, Captain Stargazer?” Ith’ran asked, turning his focus to me.

I stood up and replied, “Only that I wish that the circumstances were different. There has been a lot that your people have had to endure and are still enduring on other worlds. Perhaps there wouldn’t be distrust and hatred for someone who wasn’t Mac’skarian, as your people once had allies of other species. I never asked for the circumstances to occur that have brought me here, but I am ready to do what I can to help your people, who are now also my people. That was the oath I made when I went through the Protocol, and I don’t take it lightly.”

As I sat down, the Siberian looking Mac’skarian rose and asked, “What exactly is this protocol he speaks of.”

Alta and Tali appeared in the middle of the room simultaneously in a flash of yellow and orange light.

In unison they said, “The Omega Protocol was enacted by the Liger council in the event that there was a catastrophic attack on the empire that resulted in its destruction. It could be activated by any member of the council and, once activated a signal would be sent to every AI within reach of our communications network. The Protocol was activated during the surprise attack that had nearly obliterated, the Mac’skarian people. The protocol has ship AI looking for people with specific temperament and ways of thinking that matched with the council’s ideals. People who would work to restore the empire regardless of species. Once a candidate has been chosen, they have supreme authority save for the liger council. That authority can only be removed by an active member of the council on the home world, with the assistance of the home world AI unit. As it stands, Rihs’tal Vorgr has attempted to murder the current highest-ranking member of the Empire, which is punishable by death.”

There was a collective gasp from everyone in the room and I noticed that the tension in the room had risen quite a few levels. Tali and Alta then bowed towards me and disappeared in another flash of light.

Ith’ran sighed and said, “So now the question is what are we going to do with you young lady? You heard the AI units, and the law is clear as to what your punishment should be.”

“Kill me and you will be made to regret it,” She growled, causing her table mate to look at her oddly.