Accord of Honor (17 page)

T
he second day
was more of the first. I’d already been called as a witness for the defense yesterday, and then cross-examined by Shaunesey’s people. So I was free to sit in the balcony above the court room today and watch the proceedings from a distance.

Today, the prosecution unleashed their case. They had a simple and narrow focus of attack. Where the defense had spent hours proving the good my father had accomplished and the lives he saved, the prosecution stuck to the facts. They dug through records and found out when he first built the R&D station, how he had intended from the moment he started its construction to use it as a base to build armed ships, and how he had then proceeded to build such ships.

Their data piled up as the day went on and they deposed witness after witness. It wasn’t hard. My father never denied any of it, which made their job simple. They just proved that he had broken the law. Clinically, one block at a time, they built a case that was so airtight, my father’s confession was completely irrelevant.

I got a good look at Shaunesey’s face at one point during the day. He sat, watching the proceedings. He managed a pretty good poker face. But I could see the traces of a smile.

The bottom line was simple: Dad was guilty. He’d admitted it. The prosecution had proved it today. The prosecution began wrapping up their case around four in the afternoon. Soon Thorne would adjourn court for the day to return the following day for sentencing, I had a bad feeling nothing had changed, despite all our efforts.

I was frustrated, worried, and scared. The last thing I wanted to do was run into a mass of people on their way out the door so I exited the courtroom early. The prosecution was still making their closing remarks when I silently made my way clear of the room. I wanted nothing so much as to get out ahead of the crush. The hall outside was empty, and I made for the front doors of the building.

As soon as I opened the door, it felt like a thousand flashes were going off in front of me.

The press was there in force. They might have been waiting for Shaunesey or someone else – but they ended up with me. I groaned inwardly.

“Mr. Stein, are you taking over as head if SSI now?”

“Thomas, over here – how are you feeling about your father’s chances?”

I took a deep breath. I could either close the door or step out. What would Dad have done? I didn’t really have to think long for the answer to that. He was never one to hide. I walked outside and faced the cameras.

“Yes, I’m acting CEO of SSI until my father can return to those duties,” I said. “As for his chances – I’m worried. Who wouldn’t be, what with the United Nations president having an axe to grind? But I have faith that people will do what’s right.”

“What do you think is right, Thomas?” one reporter asked.

“The law calls for execution. Some would say that was right,” another one added.

“If my father had followed the law, you’d all be dead,” I said, anger giving my voice strength. “All of you. The judge would be dead. Those people out there,” I waved at the protesters holding candles in the streets. “They’d all be dead.”

“And the rest of you would be slaves to whoever funded those ships my father and I blew to hell out there,” I said.

I shifted my feet, sweeping my gaze across the men and women in front of me. All their cameras and microphones were tracking my face, recording my words. I was never going to have a better moment to do something than right now.

“If a man saves your life, and you turn around and stab him in the back, then you’re an evil person. If a government kills the man that saves a billion lives, then that government is corrupt and evil. The only thing evil men – and evil governments – need to succeed is for good men and women to do nothing.” I paused for a moment, trying to think of something else to say.

“What do you think they should do instead of execution? Prison?” a reporter asked me.

I shrugged. “Guys, I’m not a lawyer. Why prison? What about exile? If Earth doesn’t want him here, send him someplace else.” Actually, that sounded like it had potential. I wondered if there was some way I could run with that, but before I could say anything else, a voice I knew too well interrupted from behind me. Shaunesey had arrived. I looked over my shoulder and there he was – with George beside him.

“Ah, but where would he go, Thomas?” Shaunesey asked. He stepped up next to me. He was just a touch taller than I was, so his eyes looked down on me a little. I glared up at him.

“Out there?” he waved his hand at the sky. “The colony on Luna, the one on Mars, the permanent habitats out in the asteroids – those are all U.N. colonies. Where could he go into exile that was outside of the United Nations?”

And even if they allowed my father exile on one of the colonies, Shaunesey had far too much power over them. He could order Dad harassed. Hell, he wouldn’t even need to order it: cronies looking for advancement would mess with Dad just to get in good with Shaunesey.

George looked grim. He was hearing the same thing I was. He had a tablet in his hand and pressed a button on it. I cocked my head a little at him, but he ignored me. What was he up to now?

“President Shaunesey, what do you see happening here tomorrow?” George asked.

“Sadly, I see only one end tomorrow. Justice,” Shaunesey said. “Admiral Stein has pled guilty to a charge that has only one penalty: execution.”

George nodded. His face grew cold. The hand holding his tablet snapped up, and planted the device squarely in front of Shaunesey’s face.

“Then I have no choice,” George said, “but to present you with this resolution from the Mars Congress.”

Shaunesey took the device and started reading. His face went white, then quickly turned red again. I could hear the reporters buzzing with curiosity as the U.N. president’s face grew a deep mottled red. He threw the tablet to the steps, smashing it.

“You’re mad!” Shaunesey said to George.

“No, sir. Just determined.”

“You have no right to do this. I’ll have you thrown out of office. Arrested. Imprisoned!”

“You can try, sir,” George said. “But we’re on U.S. soil here, and they’re the ones sponsoring our membership.”

I was gaping, trying to keep up with the conversation and failing. “George, what the hell?” I asked.

He turned to face the reporters and I.

“I have just handed President Shaunesey a declaration of independence from the Mars Congress. We are appealing for membership in the United Nations as a nation-state, with the United States of America as our sponsor. And we formally protest the execution of one of our citizens. I have been authorized to initiate trade sanctions against Earth if the U.N. insists upon committing the terrible crime of executing Admiral Nicholas Stein.”

The reporters all but combusted in a frenzy of questions.

I
had
to hand it to him: it was brilliant. Earth needed Mars. Sanctions from Mars could, quite literally, turn out the lights all around Earth in a very short time. Yanking Mars away from U.N. control gave George some very powerful bargaining chips to play with. Mars would welcome Dad – which gave the courts a possible alternative to execution. No U.N. colony had declared independence yet. There was no precedent for this. But there technically wasn’t any rule against it yet, either. Shaunesey could rail against George for pulling this rabbit out of his hat, but at the end of the day, Mars was where Earth got its uranium from. And for now at least, Mars had most of the available fighting ships – barring the two enemy ones which had limped away, the only ones. It wasn’t like Earth could take the fuel it needed by force.

“So how did you get the United States to sponsor Mars?” I asked George. We were in my aircar. I’d offered George a ride back to the Mars embassy, and he’d taken me up on it. I was glad – both because I enjoyed his company and because we needed to talk.

“Wasn’t hard. Energy, remember?” he replied. “I promised them some preferential treatment. And a little security should it come to sanctions.”

“It was a gutsy move.”

“It seemed the right time.”

“You seriously had that document sitting in your pocket this whole time?” I asked.

“Yes. But the Congress only gave me power to act if your father’s life was actually in immediate danger. Which it seemed to me it was, talking to Shaunesey tonight.”

“Any more tricks up your sleeve?” I asked.

He shook his head. “That was pretty much it, I’m afraid.”

I thought for a moment. It was a bold play. But it was our last powerful move. How would Shaunesey react? What would he do? He couldn’t let Mars break away. It was the cornerstone of his power. While the United Nations controlled Mars, it controlled the flow of energy to Earth, which gave Shaunesey a leash to wield against the nations of the planet. If Mars were to gain independence, it would become humanity’s most powerful political entity overnight. The United Nations couldn’t control Mars the way it could every other nation.

He had to stop the independence movement cold. But how?

There was only one reliable way to do the job. He’d have to cut the head from the snake. Shaunesey would have to eliminate Governor Clarke, one way or another.

“George, you’re in danger,” I said.

“I’ve been in danger since I arrived on Earth,” he replied.

“No, I mean it. Shaunesey can’t let you do this.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“He’s going to attack,” I said. I grabbed my phone and called Sam. “I want another platoon of security men brought to our base. Yes, I’m expecting trouble.” I hung up.

George shook his head. “No, Thom. He wouldn’t dare.”

“He has to. He has no other choice.” The more I thought about it, the more certain I was.

I had another call to make – into space. I dialed a number, which routed my call to the Defender orbiting above us. “James, get the ships ready to move. Things are getting dicey down here.”

“I watched the news,” he replied, his voice a bit fuzzy, a bad connection.

“Stay alert,” I said. “You still have two enemy ships out there.”

“Will do,” he said. “Something else you should know. They’re moving your father to another prison – a max security facility outside of the city.”

“Thanks. Keep eyes on the place. Let me know if anything changes.” From space, James could keep a very close eye on things on the ground.

I cut the connection and tapped my leg, thinking fast. Why move Dad? It was a more secure facility – which made it harder to get him out. Maybe Shaunesey thought we were planning a rescue operation. Which was worth considering, if things went badly enough. But the new prison was outside the city, which meant it was further from prying eyes. Less witnesses around. If Shaunesey wanted to get rid of my father, that was a good first step.

Nothing I could do about that right now, which frustrated me.

“George, I think you ought to come stay with us tonight,” I said.

He thought about it a moment before replying with a smile. “All that extra security? I’d be delighted to accept your hospitality, Thomas.”

I ordered the aircar pilot to change his destination. The sooner we were back at our secure compound, the better I would feel.

A
larms blasted
me from a sound sleep. A siren was going off pretty much right above my bed. Flashing red lights lit the room poorly, casting grim shadows everywhere. I tried to roll to my feet, got my legs tangled in the covers, and almost crashed to the floor.

Kel was moving, too. She rolled off the other side of the bed and went to the door. She had something in her hand – a small firearm.

"Where were you keeping the pistol?" I asked incredulously. I tossed her a t-shirt.

She caught it. "What?" she asked. We could barely hear each other over the alarms.

And then, just like that, the noise stopped. The silence was deafening. The red flashing light was still going so I assumed whatever was up hadn't gone away. I slipped on my pants and shoes. I'd lost my shirt somewhere in the tangled mess of sheets. But my phone was still in my pants pocket. I yanked it out, about to dial the number for building security but it was already ringing.

"Thomas, stay put. I've got men on their way down to your room." It was Sam's voice.

"OK," I replied. "What the hell is going on?"

"Someone blew up the Mars Embassy, Thom. It's gone."

I turned that over a few times in my head. OK, so the United Nations had been pissed at Clarke. I doubt they would have gone so far as to officially put out a hit on him. But his official itinerary said he went back to the embassy after leaving the courthouse. As far as the public knew, he had stayed there. If we hadn't suggested he join us here, he'd be dead right now.

"Where's Clarke?" I asked over the phone.

"Men are on their way to his room now."

I had a bad feeling about all this. SSI security was too good to let anyone in with a bomb in tow. We had excellent countermeasures for anyone trying to hit the place with short range missiles, and a spaceship parked overhead that would take out anything longer range. But if the embassy had been hit, we were the next logical target. And there was really only one way they could get to us.

"Expect company, Sam. Arm up. I'd be willing to bet they're already here."

"A raid?"

"They can't afford to hit the embassy and not hit us too. They need to make this a clean sweep, take out all Dad’s allies at once."

Somewhere in the building, an explosion went off. A little one, as such things go – a grenade or something like it.

"That was close," Kel said, still standing by the door

I hung up the phone. "We need to get to the weapons locker, suit up."

“Didn’t Sam say to stay put?”

“Yes,” I said. “But if they’re planting a bomb here like they did at the embassy, staying in our room isn’t going to help much.”

“Point taken,” she said.

She cracked the door and peeked out. "Clear." She rounded the door, leading with her pistol.

The weapons locker had armor and automatic rifles, and my thumbprint would open the door. We had to get there first though - one floor up, which I figured was probably the wrong direction. We'd have seen any ground force coming on the cameras. The best way to sneak up on the base was to come in by air. Probably parachute or gliders of some sort. Which meant the enemy was working their way down through the building, looking for us. The governor especially, and I was probably a priority target too.