Warrior: En Garde

  Courtney glared down at Redburn from the bench. "Answer the question, Leftenant."

  "Yes, sir." Redburn held up his head. "The cadet was dismissed for his addiction to opium. We felt the problem would lapse once he left Kittery, and we did not want the charge of opium substance abuse to haunt him for the rest of his life."

  Vitios almost smiled. "Commendable, Leftenant, but the fact remains that Major Allard regularly met with Shang Dao in violation of the CID directives, didn't he?"

  Redburn hung his head. "Yes, sir."

  Vitios turned back to the prosecution desk and picked up a file. "I have here, and have entered into the record, a transcript of your 'Mech's battle-recorder. In reviewing your transcript, and the transcripts from the other 'Mechs in the battalion, I must congratulate you on your quick thinking and calm under fire. You saved your command from a savage ambush."

  Redburn nodded. He shot a glance toward the defense table, and died inside. Leftenant Lofton, Justin's lawyer, was urgently whispering something into his client's ear, but the Major gave no sign of hearing him. He just stared straight ahead, as though trying to burn a hole through the courtroom's gray marble walls by force of will.

  When Vitios smiled, he might have been a python spotting a fat pig. "We know the Capellan 'Mechs were waiting for you. Why was that?"

  "We are required to file forms with the civilian government in Shaoshan detailing where we plan to travel."

  Vitios nodded. "Shang Dao is a member of the civilian government, isn't he?"

  Redburn shrugged. "That information is not very secret, your Lordship. When we stopped at noon that day, food peddlers from Shaoshan came out and sold us lunch."

  Vitios frowned, but Redburn cut off any comment. "Sir, we MechWarriors bake inside our machines. None of us want to eat anything that's been cooked in the same oven if we can avoid it. Remember, sir, that government contracts go to the lowest bidder, which says a lot about the quality of rations, especially out on the frontier."

  Courtney gaveled the courtroom's laughing spectators back to order, and Redburn took heart when even Justin's distant and harsh expression had lightened a bit.

  Vitios swallowed Redburn's good feeling in one gulp. "What did Major Allard say to you when Private William Sonnac, whose Stinger was positioned above the Cicadas that would kill him, reported strange magscan readings?"

  Redburn frowned. "He asked me to check Sonnac's readings. That's standard procedure."

  "But that's not all he said to you, is it, Leftenant?"

  "Sir?"

  Vitios flipped through the transcript. "Let me refresh your memory, Leftenant. Major Allard said to you, 'Andy, check Sonnac's readings. I've got something over the hill I want to see.' " Vitios turned and stared at Justin. "Doesn't that strike you as a little odd, Leftenant? Here you are, trapped in a bowl-shaped valley and your commanding officer leaves a junior officer in charge of green troops in a hostile area while he goes over a hill to check something whose existence no one else can verify?"

  Vitios gave Redburn no chance to reply before he waded in like a boxer to hammer home his points. "You acknowledged his command, then shouted, 'Major Allard! Cicadas, sir! All over the place!' His reply to you is, 'Withdraw south, Leftenant.' " Vitios turned a page and began to drift over toward the defense table. "A private, Robert Craon, burst in there. 'Negative, negative,' he says. 'I've got magscan readings off the scale south, east, and north. You're clean, sir. We've got to head out west.' " Vitios looked up and half-turned to face Redburn. "Is that how you remember it, Leftenant?"

  Redburn nodded. "Yes."

  Vitios's eyes glowed fiercely, and Redburn felt as though he were suddenly plunging through deep, dark space. "A senior officer, the graduate of a superior military academy, and a Diamond Sunburst winner for his actions on Spica, has just learned that his command is surrounded. What would we expect from this sort of man? Wouldn't such a commander return to rally his troops? He's only half a klick over a hill. Didn't you expect him to return, Leftenant?"

  Redburn swallowed hard and drew in a deep breath. "Yes, sir."

  "Of course you would, Leftenant." Vitios opened his arms to include all the officers in the gallery and the three men on the tribunal. "Anyone with military experience knows a commanding officer does not abandon his men. But what is Justin Xiang Allard's reply to this urgent appeal by his troops? 'No way out here, either. Do what you can, Andy. The cadre is yours.' He abandons his command, then adds, 'It's a trap. All a trap. Don't run west . . .' " Vitios shook his head. "He abandons them and dashes their hopes for any sort of escape."

  Vitios smiled conspiratorially at Redburn, and dropped his voice to a malicious whisper. "You did feel betrayed, didn't you?"

  Redburn hesitated, then nodded his head with resignation. "Yes."

  "And so you were." Vitios looked to Courtney. "I am finished with this witness."

  The Major General looked at his watch. "Given the hour, this court will adjourn."

  Lofton shot to his feet. "Objection, Your Honor! It's only three-thirty! We cannot adjourn before I have a chance to cross-examine the witness."

  "Leftenant Lofton, need I remind you that Prince Davion is holding a reception for Leftenant Redburn tonight. I will not have this man too badgered and exhausted to fully participate in this great honor."

  Lofton removed his glasses and narrowed his dark eyes. "No, but you'll retire and a whole evening will pass before I can purge your mind of the prejudicial testimony that Count Vitios has wrung from this valuable witness."

  Redburn looked up at Courtney. "I can go on, sir."

  Courtney's gavel slammed into the bench. "Enough. Court is adjourned until nine-thirty tomorrow morning. As for you, Leftenant Lofton, one more statement like that and you'll spend the night in a cell with your client because I'll hold you in contempt."

  13

  New Avalon

  Cruris March, Federated Suns

  22 January 3027

  No, Major, I won't put you on the stand!" Leftenant David Lofton glared at his client. "Your story of what happened in the field that day is utterly unsubstantiated."

  Justin stared into the mirror as his right hand labored to button his dress jacket shut. "Leftenant, you must allow me to testify on my own behalf. I read the text of General Courtney's speech at Andy Redburn's reception two nights ago. He already believes I'm guilty."

  Lofton snarled in frustration. "What could you say? What could you add that would justify your giving Vitios a direct shot at you?"

  Justin spun about. "Courtney is a commander of men. He's made battle decisions before. I served under him. I can convince him of my innocence. I can touch that chord deep inside every soldier who's ever had to make a decision that sent men out to die."

  Lofton shook his head violently. "Are you mad? Recall, Major, that it was your unorthodox action on Spica that saved Courtney's command. If you and Colonel William Dobson hadn't flanked Liao's Blackwind Lancers, Courtney would have died without having to face the shame of being trapped by those Capellan units." Lofton cursed under his breath. "I wish Dobson hadn't died on Galtor. We could have used his testimony to your bravery."

  Justin nodded slowly. "And I could have used his friendship."

  Lofton shook his head. "Redburn was . . . is . . . your friend, and Vitios made mincemeat of him. He'll do the same with you, Major, and that's the reason I won't put you on the stand."

  Justin tugged at the black glove on his left hand. "Absolutely?"

  Lofton shrugged and picked up his briefcase from the table. "I think I made some headway with Redburn's cross-examination yesterday. He got a chance to use his wit, and it worked in our favor to delay until after Prince Davion awarded him the Silver Sunburst. I don't want to give Vitios a shot at you, Justin, because he'll hurt you badly."

  Justin pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "This is your battlefield, David. Just remember I'm ready if you need reinforcements."

  Leftenant David Lofton forced a smile and led his
client out into the maelstrom. I hope, for your sake, Major, that this trial doesn't get to the point where I need your help.

  * * *

  "Objection, Your Honor!"

  Courtney shrugged and looked toward Lofton. "Yes, Leftenant?"

  Lofton adjusted his glasses. "If it please the court, the prosecution cannot use the holovid tapes of investigators on Kittery as testimony. To do so would violate my client's right to face his accusers. Because I cannot cross-examine those witnesses, their testimony cannot be allowed."

  Vitios placed the tapes back on the desk. "Your Honor, though I would never think of denying Leftenant Lofton the chance to crush my witnesses—as he has so ably done thus far—I would hasten to point out that tapes have been allowed in court before." The titters that sprang up at Vitios's sarcastic reference to Lofton's inability to break witnesses died as the prosecutor's aide typed furiously on a keyboard.

  Vitios turned to face the large viewscreen to the right of the witness stand. "As you can see, in the case of Muije versus Nebula Foods, the court allowed the plaintiff to present holovid tapes because of the prohibitive cost in time and money of bringing witnesses to the site of the trial."

  Lofton's laugh startled the court. "Your honor, this is ridiculous. Muije versus Nebula Foods is a civil case over two hundred years old, and this is a military trial! The plaintiff, in this case, is a member of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns." Lofton turned to face his adversary. "It strikes me that if Duke Hasek-Davion can afford to send his own hatchetman to persecute my client, he can damn well afford to send witnesses."

  Courtney's gavel thundercracked silence throughout the courtroom. "That will be enough Leftenant! You, yourself, have reminded the Court that this is a military trial. Now the Court will remind you of the same and demands that you conduct yourself in a military manner!"

  Lofton bowed his head, "Yes, sir."

  Courtney drew his bushy gray eyebrows together in a way that filled Lofton with cold dread. "While your objection might have some merit in another case, or even at another point in this proceeding, it has no bearing here. The witnesses on these tapes are experts in their fields, and it would be well beyond your ability to impeach their testimony. The tapes contain information needed to adjudicate this case. Proceed, Count Vitios."

  "No!" Lofton stalked forward. "Am I to believe, based on what you have just said, Your Honor, that you have already reviewed the tapes?"

  Courtney nodded his silver-maned head. "I have, Leftenant Lofton, and I see no reason to let your objection stand. Overruled."

  * * *

  The courtroom lights came back up as the image of the last Hasek-Davion expert faded from the viewscreen. Vitios, poised perfectly in the center of the courtroom, opened his hands to include the whole audience. "In short, Your Honor, the witnesses have confirmed that Major Allard's Valkyrie was damaged by autocannon and laser fire, as he has maintained. They found enough chemical residue and spent projectiles from an autocannon to suggest, as Major Allard reported, that he tried to evade the 'Mech shooting at him. But, because of their inability to recover data from Major Allard's damaged battle-recorder, they have no way of verifying this claim to have fought off a Rifleman. In fact, given the evidence in the field, they have concluded that he faced an UrbanMech—the lightest 'Mech known to carry an autocannon."

  "Objection! The prosecution is making a statement, not asking a question. This is neither the time nor the place." Wearily, Lofton stood and leaned over the defense table, supporting himself on his two hands. No one in the courtroom could fail to read the exhaustion in his slumping frame or the nervous tic tugging at the corner of one eye.

  "Sustained." Courtney looked over at the Corporal acting as court stenographer. "Strike those comments. Count Vitios, please call your next witness."

  The Count graced Lofton with a sly nod of the head, then smiled cruelly. "The prosecution calls Quintus Allard to the stand."

  Justin's father marched stiffly down the aisle from the gallery, anger flashing like lightning from his blue eyes. He allowed himself to be sworn in as though it were the most onerous task he'd ever been asked to perform. He glared at the prosecutor.

  Vitios smiled almost graciously. "State your name for the record, please, and your position."

  Quintus's nostrils flared. "Enough games, Vitios. I'm here. I'm your Judas, so just get it over with."

  Vitios nodded curtly, then looked to Courtney. "Your Honor, you can see that this will be a hostile witness." With the judge's nodded acknowledgement, Vitios started in. "You are the head of the Davion Counter-intelligence Division, are you not?"

  "Among other things, yes." Quintus spat out the words as though they were poison.

  Vitios smiled without compassion or sympathy. "In your capacity as Acting Minister of Intelligence Information and Operations, did you attend the interrogation of a captured Capellan MechWarrior by the name of Lo Ching-wei?"

  "Yes."

  "In this interrogation, did you identify him as a member of the Yizhi tong of Shaoshan? And did you identify him as one of the people who claimed some knowledge of the ambush in which your son was injured?"

  Quintus tightened his grip on the witness box railing to white-knuckled intensity. "Yes, to both counts."

  "What did he identify as the type of 'Mech that destroyed your son's Valkyrie?"

  Pain creased Quintus Allard's face as the answer came reluctantly from his lips. "An UrbanMech."

  Justin quickly whispered something to his lawyer, and Lofton stood. "Objection, your Honor. This is hearsay evidence."

  Vitios wheeled and stabbed a finger at Lofton. "Are you doubting Quintus Allard's sworn word? Obviously, this man is fighting me as hard as he can, and yet you object?"

  Lofton removed his glasses and leaned toward Vitios. "Need I remind you, my Lord, that it is not the veracity or credibility of a witness that makes his testimony admissible or not."

  Courtney's gavel slammed into the bench and broke the tension much like the bell ending a round of a prize fight. "Leftenant Lofton, return to your place. Overruled!"

  "Overruled!" Lofton grabbed for a stack of law disks and would have thrown them at the judge except that Justin restrained his arm. Lofton snapped around and stared at his client as though he'd stabbed him in the back. Justin merely shook his head resignedly. Lofton sank mutely back into his seat.

  Vitios turned again on Quintus Allard. "Lo Ching-wei also surrendered the identity of an agent within the Federated Suns forces in Shaoshan, did he not? What was the designation the tong gave to this agent?"

  Muscles bunched at Quintus's jaws. "They called him Ivory."

  Vitios closed his eyes and clasped his hands before him like a man in prayer. "And what is that designation in Capellan, Minister Allard?"

  "Xiangya."

  Vitios smiled. "Louder, please. I did not hear it."

  "Xiangya!" Quintus raked his fingernails over the oak railing. "There, I've said it. Is that enough?"

  Vitios's dark eyes snapped open. "No, that is not enough. In the interrogation, Lo identified the agent, didn't he? He identified him as your son, Justin Xiang Allard, didn't he?"

  Quintus bit back angry tears. "Yes, he identified him as my son."

  "But you were not satisfied with this identification. You directed a full-scale investigation that included a sweep of the Kittery base computer for security codes. What was your son Justin's activation code for his 'Mech?"

  Quintus stared up at the ceiling. "Zhe jian fang tai xiao."

  Vitios closed on him. "In English, Minister."

  Quintus lowered his head and stared bitterly at Vitios. "This room is too small."

  Vitios smiled. "This room is too small. This phrase has another meaning among the Yizhi tong, doesn't it?"

  "Yes. It signifies that the speaker fears that someone is listening in on the conversation, and the phrase is a warning to be careful."

  Vitios turned to point at Justin Allard. "And this phrase—of all the
possible codes he could have used—in either Capellan or English, is the one he chose. Ironic, isn't it, that he chooses an enemy expression for caution as the password to his 'Mech."

  "Do you expect me to respond to that?"

  Vitios shook his head. "No, I suppose not. I withdraw the question. I am finished with this witness."

  Leftenant Lofton leaped to his feet. "I have only one question for this witness." As he started to phrase it, Quintus slowly shook his head. Justin clutched at his lawyer's sleeve, but Lofton marched straight into the trap, heedless of the warning signs. "Mr. Allard, do you believe your son is a traitor?

  Quintus looked down at his shoes. "I don't know. I just don't know."

  14

  New Avalon

  Cruris March, Federated Suns

  30 January 3027

  David, you must put me on the stand!" Though speaking in a low tone, Justin's voice seethed with anger and filled the prisoners' holding room. "I need my chance to speak."

  Lofton shook his head. "It will do no good."

  Justin smiled coldly, but his brown eyes had become dark slivers of fury. "Oh, it will do some good, David."

  Lofton's nostrils flared. "Since when have you become a lawyer? Do you think I'm oblivious to what's going on out there? They might as well have strapped you to a K-F drive and jumped you straight into the grave. I look at you and see an officer who cared for his men and who tried to normalize relations with a conquered people. I see a man proud of his mixed heritage, and I see a man who's been decorated for bravery .. ."

  Justin thrust his right hand at the Lieutenant. "You see that, perhaps, but you stand alone. To them, out there, I'm the rogue. They gave me everything: a name, a place to live, a career, and their trust. The problem is that they're so used to hiding the skeletons in their own closets that they imagine everyone else is, too. My case gives them a chance to direct their fears and hatred at a living target. Well, I'm ready to shoot back, David, and you have to give me the chance."