Cryptikon Far Freedom Part 2

have dressed her down with loud angry words. It could be a sign of weakness in the admiral or in her situation. Neither thought sat well with Jamie. She was probably older than the admiral, not that age had any bearing on matters, but Jamie was too old to accept some kind of personal patronage from an admiral desperate to retain what miserable crew she had.

  "The ship has no armaments," Jamie commented, searching for some way to prolong the agony - and probably ruin whatever relationship she might have with this strange admiral. It was Jamie's way: ruin everything.

  /

  "Correct," Zakiya agreed. "If we must fight, we will lose."

  /

  "Fight whom?" Jamie asked. "We've never known why ships were lost." She stared at Demba for a long moment waiting for a response. Why did she say nothing? The admiral seemed only interested in looking at her, as though she was some form of entertainment. No, that wasn't correct. Admiral Demba didn't look at her as an entertainment. She couldn't decipher how Demba viewed her and that unnerved her - and Jamie never lost her nerve. She tried another approach. She was now hoping for some reason to accept this woman as her commanding officer, and she wondered why she would hope for that. Perhaps her softness and her patience meant she was powerful, not weak. Perhaps it was the mystery of the pair of them.

  "You should wear your medals, sir," Jamie said carefully. "You were in the War." It was against regulations not to wear them, but an admiral could do anything she pleased.

  /

  "Why should I wear someone else's medals?" Zakiya replied, regretting the emotional response immediately. She hated that war. She hated all war.

  /

  The strange reply almost stopped Jamie. She was never smart enough to stop before she maximized damage. "How can you inspire the crew with confidence about your abilities, if your uniform looks like you've spent your entire career doing nothing important or dangerous?"

  She looked again at the list of awards bestowed on Demba, finding the ones missing from the admiral's uniform. The medal at the end of the list scrolled into Jamie's view in her ocular shiplink. "My God! You've received the highest award!"

  /

  "I did nothing but kill people." Zakiya knew she had not died in combat, knew it was all falsified. Perhaps Commodore Keshona deserved that honor. She surely risked her life to kill the Rhyan Empire. But she must also have had a choice to do it or not, and from Zakiya's current perspective, it was the wrong choice. "I'm not that person." She actually meant she was not Keshona. "They're not my medals."

  /

  Jamie thought it was an incredible thing for an admiral to say! If admirals were not warriors, they were nothing! It was their business to be able to kill. Demba had died in action and seemed to consider that person as permanently dead, with no connection to her.

  A message reached Jamie through shiplink, which relieved her. The confrontation had reached an intensity for her that she could neither understand nor tolerate any longer. "A crime was committed against one of the crew," Jamie explained. "I need to go to the hospital, Admiral."

  = = =

  "You shouldn't have reported it! It was just an accident!"

  The woman was impossible! Mai couldn't reason with her. It was understandable that she was upset and not thinking clearly - she was a victim of terrible brutality. Mai had seen the bruises, abrasions, and blood on her face and bare arms. There must be other wounds she was hiding or else there would not be cut and torn pieces of an admiral's uniform on the floor. It had to be reported!

  "You were assaulted!" Mai shouted. She was losing what little composure she had regained after finding Aylis Mnro trying to medicate herself in the emergency clinic.

  "Just go away and let me clean up!" Mnro tried to be forceful but her voice carried the strained tones of vulnerability.

  "You may have serious injuries!" Mai argued. "Please, let me help you!"

  "Not serious! You shouldn't have been so curious! Why did you have to find me?"

  Jon arrived. Mai rushed to meet him in front of the privacy screen. Jon saw how upset she was and put an arm around her shoulders. Mai twisted away from him. Jon was someone else she couldn't help! Mai put her hand on a tubular package she just now noticed that seemed out of place in the emergency room. It elicited Aylis's angry "Don't touch that!" How did she even know she touched it?

  "It's her," Jon said, sounding properly concerned.

  "Yes!" Mai shouted, exasperated.

  "You called Security," he stated, as though blaming her for something!

  "Of course! This was just so unexpected! My first day in the ship's hospital! I wondered why Doctor Mnro wasn't here. I looked for her. I found her! She won't let me help her! She won't tell me what happened! She won't tell me anything!"

  "You shouldn't have called Security," Jon said, a little more kindly.

  "I did tell her that!" Aylis called from behind the screen.

  "Why not? I don't understand!"

  "Is she badly hurt?" Jon asked.

  Mai could tell Jon was more upset than he wanted to show, yet he seemed reluctant to take charge of the situation and do the right thing. What was wrong with him?

  "She could barely speak when I found her!" Mai declared.

  "We can hear her very well now," Jon remarked with weak and misused humor.

  "She's trying to deny what happened to her. I think it's serious!"

  "Don't tell me you haven't seen worse on Earth," Aylis argued through the privacy screen. Mai could hear her voice quaver even more.

  "This isn't Earth! And this is you!"

  "Captain, perhaps you can make her obey," Aylis strained to speak more calmly. "I can't."

  "Unlikely," Jon said. "Been there, done that. She's one of yours, not one of mine."

  "Why shouldn't I have called Security?" Mai asked again.

  "It isn't something we should discuss now," Jon replied.

  "But this is a serious crime!" Mai wanted to hit Jon for being so derelict in duty! "We may have the evidence to convict her attacker. If I can collect it."

  Admiral Demba arrived, followed closely by a tall, striking woman wearing gym clothes and a towel draped around her neck. Mai hoped the woman was Security - she looked fierce. She saw Sammy follow them into the hospital room on his crutches. Mai didn't want Sammy here! She wanted to protect him from knowing what happened to Aylis. She looked from Demba to Sammy to Horss, hoping someone else would share her concern, but gave up. How she hated the Navy, and how justified she was!

  "Admiral," Jon greeted Demba, casting an odd look at the woman in gym clothes.

  "Captain." The woman saluted. "I'm Lieutenant Jones, Chief of Security."

  "I know who you are. We don't need you here. There'll be no charges filed."

  "There will! You can't stop it, sir!"

  "Assault must be prosecuted, Jon," Demba agreed.

  "I wish we could! Go see who it is, Admiral. Stay here, Sammy. You, too, Lieutenant."

  "Sir, you are interfering with a mandatory investigation!" The big woman's voice was hard and she showed no concern for Jon's rank. Mai almost enjoyed it.

  "Just be patient, Jones," Jon said. "I know that isn't your best trait, so there are two of us who will restrain you, if we must."

  "How do you know me, sir?" The sweaty woman moved from one side of Jon to the other as he blocked her way in front of the privacy screen.

  "Many years ago we served on the same ship," Jon replied. "Everybody on the ship knew who you were. Very few knew who I was."

  Demba went behind the screen. Mai caught Sammy by the shoulder before he could follow her. She watched the big woman and Jon stare at each other, until they heard Demba say, "Oh, God!"

  "Do you want us to leave?" Jon called to Demba.

  "No," Demba replied. "Come here."

  "All of us?"

  "Yes. Lieutenant Jones, can you record this?"

  She was a Marine, Mai thought, seeing an insignia on her tee-shirt. The big woman came around the screen first, pushing past Mai
without apology. Good! Now something would get done!

  "Admiral, I've prosecuted many assault cases," the Marine announced. "I'm recording."

  "Admiral, don't!" Jon warned.

  Demba looked at Jon, appraised his seriousness, and heeded his advice. Mai was shocked by this inexplicable event.

  "Stop recording!" Demba ordered the Marine, blocking her view of Aylis.

  "That is an illegal order!" the Marine argued.

  "There are special circumstances. Stop or I'll put you off the ship right now."

  "Yes, sir. I've stopped."

  Mai had hoped the Marine Security officer would prevail. Now she was just a big smelly obstacle in the crowded examination room. But she could sense the woman was at least as provoked as Mai was. It wasn't over yet. The victim could not stop the prosecution of assault, Mai was sure of that.

  Demba moved aside to allow the Marine to see Aylis. Why bother now? Mai thought. The big woman inspected the bruises on Aylis's face and arms. She saw the torn clothing. She started to lift the edge of the drape over the lower part of Aylis's body and the admiral stopped her.

  "You're recording, aren't you?" Demba asked.

  "I might be," the Marine admitted. "She could change her mind later. Who is she? What happened? Who did it?" She asked the questions with severity, demanding answers.

  "I told you about her, Admiral," Jon said, meaning the lieutenant. "Want me to take her away?"

  "You were raped, weren't you?" the Marine asked Aylis almost accusingly, ignoring her superior officers.

  Mai was shocked by what the woman asked, and was further shocked when Aylis didn't deny it. She had suspected rape, she had fervently hoped it didn't occur, and now she was devastated that it did. She was