Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Dorsett strode along the outer corridor of Fleet Station Allegheny with cool purpose. He carried with him a metal briefcase that signaled to other Skywatch personnel he was either a civilian liason or assigned to some form of moderately important desk duty. Upon further inspection, the silver Judge Advocate’s insignia on his collar would have answered all their questions.
At Dorsett’s side was an equally impressive-looking marine master sergeant. She was outfitted in a unique uniform with the distinctive crimson and gold colors of the non-com class ‘A,’ but used as reversed trim on a smooth black base fabric. Her insignia would have taken even experienced line commanders a moment to identify. She wore the rare red and white winged star of the Skywatch Criminal Investigation Command and carried a gold badge identifying her as a military police section chief. Unlike the attorney she accompanied, she wore a conspicuous sidearm on a white belt. The black utility cover completed the ensemble. The look on her face was all-business. Between the two marines, they carried considerable legal clout. One was there to serve the law. The other was there to enforce it.
Their destination was operations conference two seven on Core Three Headquarters’ second-highest deck. The two marines were carrying orders from none other than General Julius Xavier Ross, the Skywatch Judge Advocate himself. Though the majority of cases taken up by attorneys assigned to the JAG corps were handled admirably by officers with considerable legal talent and an uncommon dedication to justice, when admirals, task force commanders and fleet captains were found to be at odds, and decorated line officers were being accused in public, it drew high-powered attention. Colonel Dorsett had orders to gather the necessary information about the incidents, deliver the Judge Advocate’s legal interpretation and retrieve his client from custody.
The two passed numerous personnel from every conceivable branch of service. More than a few crew members and officers assigned to the Orbital Defense Guard and Orbital Defense Auxiliary were present on the base, as most of ODG’s ships had been ordered inspected and repaired or refitted as necessary in case they were needed to patrol Core systems. News of the conflict over Bayone Three and rumors of unidentified warships armed with never-before-seen weapons had triggered readiness protocols fleet-wide. This was one among many reasons dust-ups in the command ranks had to be dealt with swiftly and decisively. The last thing fleet needed were intramural wars interfering with the chain of command in crucial situations.
Visible through the continuous bay window on the outer wall of the corridor were two of the more notable vessels from Strike Fleet Perseus. Both were docked for load deck access. Nearer to the station was Defender Starship Minstrel. Her escort frigate designation FFG 840 was proudly visible on her port quarter, while her identification was emblazoned on her sleek forward bow. Her recently upgraded energy batteries gleamed ominously at the outer tip of each wing.
Behind her, hovering in space as if waiting silently for prey, was Minstrel’s larger squadron-mate DSS Rhode Island. Unlike Minstrel’s utilitarian gray outer hull, Rhode Island’s color scheme was as black and feature-less as the space she occupied. The way the two ships were situated, the sleek and dangerous-looking destroyer appeared as if she were daring an observer to approach the smaller vessel.
Further in the distance hovered the eerie outline of the battleship Argent. By the way her hull was situated, she appeared to be looking back in the direction of the Bayone system, towards a time and a place where the inexplicable and the unthinkable had happened. Virtually her entire space wing was gone, vanished through a doorway in space that had been ordered classified the moment it was reported to Skywatch Command.
Strike Fleet Perseus had been urgently ordered to return to base. Scout vessels and then survey teams dispatched to the Blackburn jump gate had completed their first evaluation of the battlefield and the casualties. Search and Rescue had managed to recover Revenge and stragglers from the assault formation that had engaged enemy forces over Bayone Three. Survivors had been extracted from the starship Dunkerque as well. Both cruisers had been successfully recovered and delivered to the Gale River shipyards, where they were hidden from all but a few high-ranking investigators. Also parked at Gale River was the starship Saratoga which had been ordered off-limits by Skywatch Intelligence.
The sense of loss hanging in space over Core Three was almost overwhelming.
The two marines turned down a narrow passage towards the deck two access lobby. They were three minutes early, but they still had the desk officer to contend with. Nobody was ever happy to see SJAG.
“Oscar Dorsett. I have orders to report to operations conference two seven.” The JAG officer flipped open his ID. The sergeant did the same. Her badge gleamed under the stark white lights.
“Very well, colonel. Sign for authorization,” the desk officer said casually. “You’ll have to check your weapon, sergeant.”
“Negative, ensign,” the marine MP replied calmly.
“Sidearms are not authorized on deck two.”
“For everyone except posted watch and military police,” Colonel Dorsett replied as he handed the MP the pen. “We’re late as it is. I’m under orders. The sergeant is here to make sure I can carry them out.”
The desk officer didn’t look convinced, but he certainly wasn’t willing to pick a fight over interpretation of 800 pages of regulations with a JAG attorney as an opponent. “Very well. Your authorization expires in two hours.”
“Here’s hoping it doesn’t take that long,” Dorsett replied as he put on his cover. The watch marine at the lift snapped to attention. The sergeant activated the controls and held the automatic door for the colonel.
“Mahogany row,” Dorsett said quietly as he emerged from the magneto-lift. He returned another watch marine’s salute and led the sergeant down the finely-appointed corridor towards the operations complex. The gold appointments, carpeting and wood-paneled walls were reminiscent of white-shoe law firms.
They were now squarely in the realm of admirals and rooms full of brass. Everyone on this deck outranked thousands of other officers and crew. The Skywatch attorney mused with an appropriately healthy sense of irony his only defense was his potential role as a prosecutor, and that his only chance at successfully completing his investigation was his authority as a defense attorney.
This also happened to be one of his major weaknesses, as potential antagonists or defendants could turn out to be distinguished fleet and marine officers with all the juice necessary to fold up a mere silver leaf colonel like a camera tripod and store him in a footlocker. Nevertheless, the Judge Advocate’s advance delegation had made it this far. It remained to be seen if they would actually accomplish their mission, unique uniform insignia nothwithstanding.
“Oscar Dorsett here to see Vice Admiral Jackson.”
“Aye, sir.”
The guard posted at this last of the gates was a sergeant major, indicating the JAG corps had now advanced to a point only a few feet below the summit of the highest of Skywatch peaks. The guard opened the opulent wooden door and ushered the marines into the room. Dorsett immediately recognized he wore one of the lowest rank insignia among the officers present. Every other person seated at the table seemed a senior command officer, including his new client, Commander Jayce Hunter.
Across from the commander sat Admiral Bartholomew James, CINC Northern Banner. His four stars made him not only the ranking officer in the room, but likely one of if not the senior command officer on the station. Northern Banner controlled a dizzying roster of warships. There were at least five major battle groups, including Task Force Ares anchored by the heavy battleship Aquila. Admiral James was one of perhaps a half-dozen Skywatch officers capable of both starting and finishing a war on his own authority. Sitting at the head of the table was Vice Admiral Dexter Jackson. One rear admiral, a commodore and a female captain were also present, although both Dupree and Dorsett would have to admit they had never met any of them.
Dorsett stood at attention and saluted. The sergeant did the same. “Oscar Dorsett, sir. This is SCIC Master Sergeant Alicia Dupree. I have orders from the Judge Advocate to represent the commander during these proceedings.”
By the book. Vice Admiral Dexter Jackson was the only person in the room who looked like he belonged. Behind him on the wall was an enormous hand-carved plaque depicting the eagle and compass emblem of Task Force Hecate. “Very well, colonel. Be seated.”
“Thank you sir.”
Dorsett placed his briefcase on the table and took the seat provided for him next to his client. The military police sergeant stood at rest behind them.
Everyone in the room was outfitted in their most impressive and intimidating dress uniforms. Jayce Hunter looked like she was ready to take a bite out of her chair. Though her medals weren’t as numerous as the flag officers’, she made up for it with her no-nonsense bearing and a fire in her eyes that had to be seen to be believed. She proudly wore her task force insignia and Perseus emblem. Some might have interpreted the optional insignia as a young woman’s attempt to measure up to her elders, but with the Hunters, few would have taken such an interpretation seriously. Even fewer would dream of challenging the commander with her brother missing and presumed dead. Based on what had reportedly transpired over, on and under the surface of Bayone Three, this was going to be hard enough without picking a fight.
Before her on the table was her sword. Like all commanding officers, Jayce Hunter had a silver-appointed sword that was more or less a physical representation of her office and authority. By both tradition and code, in official inquiries, commanding officers were required to relinquish their blades until their superiors issued their decisions. Once cleared, the weapons were handed back. If not, they were withheld, a gesture meant to indicate their authority had diminished.
“Let the record indicate Commander Jayce Hunter is now being represented by Special Warfare Division Judge Advocate Oscar Dorsett. Inquiry date as previously indicated with all appropriate prior records attached. See to whatever else is necessary, yeoman,” Admiral Jackson spoke with a deep basso that was strangely comforting, as if powerful forces had finally arrived to enforce some level of stability and calm after what everyone had agreed by now was a rather harrowing series of incidents. The young woman nodded and worked quietly on a mechanical keyboard. “Let the record also indicate this meeting is being recorded and is classified per Skywatch regulations section 4002-A and 5106-C inclusive. Do you wish to make any statements before we proceed, commander?”
Before Jayce had an opportunity, Dorsett intervened. “The commander will be making no statements at this time, sir.”
“So we leave the house in flames and then lawyer up when the fire department arrives,” Admiral James said in a hostile tone. “Or should I say several houses?”
“There is no evidence the commander is responsible for what may or may not have happened in the Bayone system, sir. We are not here to engage in recriminations. We are here to determine what happened as part of a preliminary inquiry. Fury’s crew hasn’t even been fully debriefed yet.”
“Well, seeing as the commander has lawyered up and is not prepared to make a statement, how do you propose we inquire, counselor? None of us were there. The only ships we have access to that were in Bayone when this incident took place are Argent and the members of her space wing that survived. Now we’re hearing stories about her malfunctioning battle computer and the fact she was apparently under the command of a girl young enough to be my granddaughter when her captain was blown out of space by a previously undetected and unidentified pirate!”
“I’ll ask that you kindly refer to my officers by their proper name and rank, admiral,” Jayce snapped.
“You speak when spoken to, commander. Is that clear?”
“With all due respect, you’re not here to give orders, Admiral.” Dorsett countered. “This isn’t a midshipman review.”
“Watch yourself, colonel,” James replied with a squint. “I will be very happy to bring the full weight of my authority down on this little circus with or without provocation. The more you and your client mouth off, the easier it gets.”
“Admiral, I am here to represent Commander Hunter by authority of the Judge Advocate himself. If you object to my presence or my representation of this officer, you may feel free to take the matter up with General Ross. In the meantime, I don’t work for you and I don’t take orders from you. I’m also constrained to remind you interfering with my investigation and interfering in my relationship with my client are both prohibited under Skywatch regulations.”
“How dare you quote regulations to me, you little–”
“Alright,” Admiral Jackson interrupted. “It’s clear we have some intense opinions on these matters. Let’s stick to the facts.”
Hunter glared across the table. Sergeant Dupree was pretty sure Jayce could take the admiral if it came to that. Commander Hunter’s fiery personality was well known, especially given all the attention her brother had attracted during his rapid rise to command.
Admiral James nodded to the captain on his side of the table. “The facts are these,” she began. “The starship Dunkerque is a complete loss. What’s left of her had to be tractored back to base. 71 dead, including Commander Toby DeMay. 110 injured, 26 missing. The starship Revenge is a complete loss. 215 dead. 16 injured. 11 missing. Commander Enright’s injuries have ended his career. The starships Constellation and Exeter, both missing, presumed lost with their captains and crews. Assault Squadron 808, all ships missing, presumed lost. More than 1600 Skywatch marines, pilots and crew missing over Bayone Three, including Lieutenant Colonel Lucas Moody, the crew of paladin six-four, Strike Sergeant Roy Alexander and his K-9.”
Hunter leaned forward to respond, but Dorsett put his hand on her arm to gently remind her to remain silent.
“Fleet Captain Jason Hunter lost piloting an unarmed and unescorted fighter during an ongoing firefight between two starships burning in space. At the time, an acting commander with less than a week’s experience as executive officer was at least nominally in command of a Skywatch ship of the line. DSS Argent survived the engagement, but lost more than 85% of her space wing, which was either destroyed or lost when, according to those members of Argent’s crew we’ve interviewed so far, an entire planet vanished in space.” The captain let the tablet clatter on the table, which caused the yeoman to flinch. “That’s all we were able to gather from statements made by Argent’s bridge crew and by the presence or absence of the listed personnel. Do you have anything to add, commander?”
“Not at this time, captain,” Dorsett replied as he made a few notes.
“Perhaps we should just close down Skywatch entirely until circumstances are convenient for the commander and her lawyers?”
“I don’t have the full story yet myself, admiral,” Hunter growled. “Fury was not in the Bayone system when the battle took place.”
“Well, then where was Argent’s heaviest escort when she was engaging four enemy cruisers?”
“We were in the Manassas system trying to keep the forward station crew alive–!” Dorsett again calmed Jayce and let her settle back into her chair.
“Admiral, the starship Fury was deployed elsewhere per Captain Hunter’s orders, as his log indicates. The commander could not have forseen what took place over Bayone Three and even if she could have, it would have been her place to recommend an escort, not order it.”
“Apparently it was her place to recommend a green lieutenant to a command role aboard a ship of the line.”
“Sabrina Mallory was my second officer and had been at the top of the promotion list for–”
“She was in line for a cruiser command! Ten years from now! Not second chair aboard a five-million-ton battleship while barely old enough to order a drink!” James roared.
Jayce Hunter exerted every ounce of self control she had.
“Admiral Powers gave Captain Hunter his choice of officers,” Dorsett said calmly.
“And now we see the results,” James replied with a poisonous tone.
“It wasn’t my idea to bust half the captain’s corps, admiral,” Jayce said coldly. “It wasn’t my idea to put junior lieutenants into senior roles. Those ideas came from the admiralty, and we were left to make do. Now I’m not a legal expert by any stretch, but that sounds like dereliction to me. Perhaps I’ll start my own investigation.”
“If I have my way, commander, you’ll conduct that investigation from the brig.”
“You think you scare me, admiral?” The look on Hunter’s face could have split iron.
“If you’re not smart enough to know how deep you’re in it, commander, then I think we’ve arrived at the reason two thousand of your fellow servicemen and women are dead, including your brother and your captain.”
“You’re out of line, sir,” Dorsett snapped.
“Speak to me like that again counselor and I’ll have you in the brig right next to your client. This inquiry is over.” The admiral rose from his chair, and several of his surprised officers did the same. In moments the Northern Banner delegation was gone.
“I have business on the surface, admiral,” Jayce said calmly. “My mother is due here tomorrow.”
“You haven’t been charged with anything, Jayce,” Jackson replied. “But I do recommend you stay away from Fury and your crew for the time being.”
“Am I relieved of duty?” Hunter held the admiral’s gaze. Everything she had planned the night before rested on Jackson’s answer.
“Negative, commander.” the admiral replied. “But I suggest you take some time for yourself.”
Jayce was about to reply when her attorney distracted her for a third time. “Thank you for your patience, admiral,” Dorsett said as he packed a few items in his briefcase. Jackson nodded towards the commander’s sword, which Hunter retrieved and reattached to her belt. The SCIC sergeant followed the two officers out.
Commander Hunter took a breath to protest as her attorney ushered her towards a side conference. The group went inside and Dorsett closed the door.
“What the hell was–!”
The colonel politely gestured for Jayce to take a seat. He placed his folio on the table and sat at the table’s head. Dorsett took a deep breath.
“Fighting with a flag officer on the record is not going to help us resolve this situation, Jayce. General Ross is watching this one very closely. You already know we lost a lot of personnel and several warships in the Bayone Three engagement, not to mention the disruption from such a large scale energy discharge when the scattering field activated. These officers are just now dealing with the shock. Anger always follows. We have to expect it and be prepared for it.”
Hunter calmed herself. The man was right, whatever her personal feelings. She reset and met his gaze squarely. “Are we going to trial?”
“Like Admiral Jackson said, you haven’t been charged with anything yet. Until we know what happened, we can’t proceed wtih any kind of formal preparations, but I do have some investigators looking in to a few things. In the meantime, I want you to stay off the record until I can evaluate your report. Let the admirals rattle and bang in their kitchens. James is old-school and he thinks the truth responds to volume. What happened over Bayone Three is far too complex for that. The fact Northern Banner rushed us into a preliminary hearing and then abruptly canceled it means our adversaries are up to something. Could be big.”
“I want Sabrina, Tom and Annora kept out of this, Oscar. I’m taking the heat.”
“I expected as much. I’d advise against volunteering to fall on your sword.”
“Your recommendation is noted and I appreciate your concern, but that’s not the Perseus way. I’m the ranking survivor. If there’s any blame to be laid, it will be at my feet, clear? The rest of my officers stay out of it.”
“General Ross isn’t going to like that strategy.”
“I took an oath, colonel. My command. My responsibility.”