Chapter 27: Charges Set

That night, after the children were in bed, Charles was still pacing the living room of their new apartment. Bethany, concerned, tried for a light hearted approach as she tatted a doily. "Keep that up and you should wear out the carpet."

"If I do, then there are still the floorboards left to go through," he replied, cognisant of his wife's attempt at levity. "You have noticed, though, I DO have rather a lot on my mind."

Bethany cocked her head bird-like. "A burden shared is a burden halved," she suggested.

He sat down on the couch beside her, interlaced his fingers, and brought her up to speed on the Bucyrus incident.

"What will happen to Brother Joshua?"

"Well, there are two scenarios as I see it. Either he is extradited to Deneb Algenib or he is extradited to Arcturus. He DID kill two Deneb Algenib engineers, and the Space Guild there demands its pound of flesh. I asked Miss Williamson and Mrs. Templeton, the diplomat representing Deneb Algenib, and she advised me that their laws call for 35 years' incarceration for each murder charge, to be served consecutively, followed by 15 years' incarceration for each attempted murder charge, also to be served consecutively. If he is still alive after that, he would have to remain on Deneb Algenib for the rest of his life, reporting every week to a probation officer." He looked up into her eyes. "That works out to 775 years' worth of incarceration."

"He would never survive long enough to leave prison!" a shocked Bethany exclaimed.

"It is unlikely, my love. He has committed serious offences against innocent humans who intended him no harm; he cannot escape punishment for that. But wait, it does get worse."

"Is that possible?"

"If I am successful in my task, I am sending him home to die. On Arcturus, the punishment for first degree murder is death." He sighed and added, "And I have my suspicions that Brother Joshua was never intended to survive. He is single, he has no dependents, he has no siblings, and his parents are deceased. There is literally no individual who would miss him if he passed on during his attack. He states that he was to be picked up by a Families-owned private yacht, after he'd accomplished his mission, but before that could happen the Solaria Federation Ship Firespike showed up."

"That was indeed fortunate, my dear."

"Yes, my love, but there has been no report that any other vessel was anywhere near the SS Bucyrus, and I have found no evidence that any member of the Six Founding Families owns such a craft. I fear that the yacht that was to rescue him will turn out to be a figment of his imagination, a figment created by those who sent him. How do I prove that?"

Bethany stopped her tatting for a moment and considered. "Do not Solaria Federation military vessels have comprehensive computer records of their sensors? Perhaps they could take a look?"

Charles broke into a great grin. "My love, you are a priceless jewel to me! I shall check, first thing in the morning!" He reached for his wife. "I shall sleep well tonight."

The next morning found Charles eagerly bounding up the steps. He greeted his Solarian assistant happily, and asked to see Mike as soon as possible.

Mike was still sipping his morning coffee, but he'd at least managed to go through his daily mail and prioritize his schedule. He heard the request with amazement.

"You know, that never did come out during the Board of Inquiry." As he called Communications, he added, "The Firespike is still on availability, her crew are still on Spica. Yes, can you get me Captain DiPaulo?" He paused. "Captain, how are you doing? Bored? Well, we have a task for you and at least one member of your crew. We need you to review your sensor logs, and find out if there was any yacht-sized mass in the vicinity of Bucyrus that clearly wasn't Bucyrus."

Captain DiPaulo sat in the board room at the Embassy, calmly sipping orange pekoe tea and nibbling on an excellent spiced ginger cookie as his sensor tech Petty Officer David Andrews was grilled in the presence of more talent than he was used to. Not only were Mike, Carole, Mandy, Yuki and Charles all present, so were Kurt Meier, Shinichi Yamamoto, Professor Theresa Baumgartner, Shirley Templeton and the Spican judge who would be holding the extradition hearing. At the far end of the table, flanked by two beefy prison guards, sat Joshua Lawson, his birth name newly restored.

"As requested by Captain DiPaulo, I accessed the sensor logs for both Firespike and for Bucyrus." He explained, "the Board of Inquiry downloaded the Bucyrus' data logs, and I had access to them."

"And?" asked Mike.