Chapter 60: The Tensions Grow even Higher

"I'm still trying to figure out what just happened," the admiral replied. "It sounds like there was a battle down there."

"You might call it that," Yvette replied with a sniff. "Heck, if you want we could provide video of most of it."

"That would prove nothing!" Colonel Johanes snapped. "It would be doctored before you sent it."

"How?" Tamara asked. "You know, you are frighteningly inconsistent. First you claim we are untrained and have no rank but now we are supposedly able to create faked video of what happened in our entry hallway. Who do we have who even has that kind of training?"

"That Brad character could do it. And he still should be under arrest for assaulting my marine!" Colonel Johanes growled.

"What's this about an assault?" Admiral Timmons asked.

"Meiko," Yvette broke into the conversation. "Use the teleport to bring Brad back from the laser pods. He'll cover for you for a short time. I'm sure you want to check on Janice and James."

"Yes Ma'am," I replied. The AI released the controls of the console and I was quickly able to summon Brad from the laser ready room. He popped his helmet off as he stepped from the pad and walked towards me.

"Hell of a day," he said with a smile. "Now go and give that noble lug who orchestrates this chaos a huge hug and kiss for us. And remind him to keep his head down."

I giggled. "He got hit in his lower leg. Maybe he should have been doing jumping jacks."

Brad snorted. He stepped around the console and hip checked me so he could center himself at the controls. I stumbled a step to my right. As I was regaining my balance, his armor covered hand whipped out to slap my ass. It was surprisingly gentle, but propelled me forward three steps.

"Begone wench!" Brad thundered. "Yonr knight, Sir James, needeth thy gentle fingers and cheerful countenance. Go forth and assist him to the apothecary post haste!"

"Bad old English grammar," I said with a giggle as I turned to head to the door. "Just what Ishtar needs."

Brad merely waved his hand and concentrated on the controls, leaving me to dash through the door. Once I was in the hallway, I ran towards the main entrance of the enclave.

I arrived at the entrance to find Craig, Nathan and Robert working to clear bodies from the open doorway. They were dragging them into the enclave and laying them on the floor. I paused to watch and then started looking around for James and Janice.

"They all headed to the medical bay," Craig said when he noticed me watching. 'You can find them there."

I took off towards the medical bay. Part of me was terribly worried. I knew that Janice's injuries meant that getting here there quickly was a priority, but James only had reported a minor wound. The thought that something might be wrong gave speed to my feet as I tried to catch up to my master.

The halls were dimly lit. My path led around one corner and I jumped as I noticed two flechette rifles pointed towards me. In the dim light, I could not recognize who was guarding the hallway, but they waved me past. The rest of the run, I paid closer attention but saw no one.

Overhead, the speakers were silent as I continued through the halls. It seemed like the last flurry of gunfire had shocked everyone. The extended quiet worried me, but I was afraid to speak up to ask what was happening. Unfortunately, this only meant my unease kept increasing as I made my way to our medical bay.

I did not slow down when I entered the room. This meant that I was charging directly at Shawna when I finished my turn. I tried to stop, but was stumbling into a collision when two arms flashed out, hands grabbed my arms and brought me to a halt.

"Slow down," Brittany said as she gripped my right arm. "If you get hurt, James will really get upset."

"Is he... ?" I asked.

Kitty was holding my left arm. She reached out and pointed to my right. "He'll be fine. Lindsay is bandaging his leg right now. We had to get him out of his armor."

I looked over and could see James sitting on a raised examination table. Someone, I guessed it was Lindsay by her long blond hair, was wrapping a bandage around his right leg.

I took a step toward him. He had his eyes closed and was leaning back as I approached. When I arrived, I put my hands on his right hand. His eyes popped open and he looked at me.

"Brad has the controls?" he asked.

I nodded, too nervous to actually speak. He pulled his hand from under mine and used it to tease my hair. "I'll be fine," he told me.

"But your leg, and Janice," I said. Tears were now pouring from my eyes and I felt my whole body shake.

James put his arm around me. "I'll be fine, little one," he told me. "And Janice will recover. She is already in a medical pod."

I gazed up at James and noticed he had a tired smile on his face. I reached up to touch it, only for Lindsay to grab my hand. "Not quite yet," she told me. "James needs to lie down and rest."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because that leg is broken in two places and we don't have an available medical pod," Shawna said as she walked over. "That jackass Colonel Johanes and his suicide squad managed to do some damage to the power grid. I only have enough power to operate four pods and they all have more serious cases."

"But will he... ?" I asked. I could not finish the thought.

"He will be fine," Shawna said. "But he's not going for any walks until after we get him in a pod."

I nodded. Just then, the speakers crackled back to life. "Is James available?" the voice of Admiral Timmons growled.

"I'm not leaving the medical bay for several hours," James replied. "And I refuse to leave this planet without proper orders from General Montgomery."

"Who?" the admiral asked.

"He's the commandant for all marine units in this military district," James replied. "We probably talk more often to Admiral Himmel, since our main duty is to maintain and operate Ishtar as a repair station for visiting ships, but technically we are all marines."

"That's stupid," the admiral growled. "Almost as stupid as Colonel Johanes' excuses for why he started that fight. Seems the guy got some idea that he should use his marines like some tactical police squad serving a warrant on a drug dealer."

"Who knows," James said quietly. "The man has been a problem since the day he arrived and tried to take over as governor."

"About that," Admiral Timmons said. "I've seen the signoffs on the orders appointing him governor. They include the Naval Chief of Research and Development."

"Wonderful," James said with a groan as he swung his body around. He put the injured leg on a pillow and then leaned back again. "How about you explain to me how someone who is responsible for research and development can appoint a governor to a planet that is already under the administration of a military district? I would imagine that Admiral Himmel is the only one supposed to be making such an appointment."

"I've analyzed the situation," Admiral Timmons replied. "I'm not sure I agree with you. Central Command must have some ability to suggest changes."

"Suggest," James snapped back. "I'll agree with the idea that Central Command would under some circumstance need to be able to make personnel suggestions. Central Command would most likely have a better understanding of the big picture. However, while Central Command most likely has more information about the big picture, with communication lags and distance, the local commanders definitely know what their units and people need. What happened here is as if the Pentagon back on Earth decided that a company commander in an army division needed to be changed."

"I don't agree," Admiral Timmons replied. "Central Command must have the authority to remove an underperforming governor or commander."

Everyone in the medical bay sighed at the same time. "Admiral," James replied icily. "Do you care to ask the AI if it believes I've underperformed? How about any of the ship commanders in the district? That statement from you sounds like someone looking for an excuse to back up Colonel Johanes."

"I report to Central Command. I have to consider all the angles," Admiral Timmons replied. "Right now I'm willing to accept that no matter what orders Colonel Johanes had, he exceeded them."

"I did not!" Colonel Johanes screamed. "My orders were given to me personally by General Holdsclaw. He told me that Ishtar was populated by renegades who were in a state of insurrection against the Confederacy. I am supposed to arrest everyone and take them to Rathlinat for trial."

"Make a decision!" James said. "First you were here to be acting governor, but you didn't try to learn anything. Then you wanted to try Brad after he forcibly removed one of your marines that was interfering with our rescue operations. Then you said you had a warrant for my arrest. Now you have orders to arrest everyone."

"You have no right to question me," Colonel Johanes screamed.

"He doesn't, but I need to do that," Admiral Timmons cut in. "Your actions here have left a mess. We have marines who are likely going to require retraining. And that's before we consider what to do with James and his people."

"You will not remove them from the planet," a new voice cut in.

"I'll do what I need to do," Admiral Timmons snapped. "Who are you to contradict me."

"Captain Monique de Wynter, commander of Athena," the voice replied again. "If you try to remove James and his people, we will stop you."

"You do not have the rank to countermand my order," Admiral Timmons said with a hiss.

"Who cares about rank," another voice called out. "If it wasn't for James and the others, half the ships in this district would have been destroyed fighting the Sa'arm. The only reason we've been able to start to push them back has been having the refuge here where we can go for repairs."

"That cannot be a consideration," Admiral Timmons replied. "If James and his people are renegades and not supporting Central Command, they need to be tried."

"And can we expect that to be a fair trial?" Yvette asked. 'More importantly who will be taking care of the duties we have here if you take us all so you can have your show trial?"

"It would not be a show trial," Admiral Timmons growled. "I may not be the best informed admiral in the fleet, but I can assure you that the human command adapted the Code of Military Justice used by the United States. You'll all receive a fair trial."

"In front of generals and admirals who might be part of whatever group seems to have decided we are involved in an insurrection," Tiffany replied. "I want to ask who the fuck filed charges? I know it wasn't anyone from the district."