Court-Martial snippet 3

Sitrep: I'm up to 100 pages in TGS, I've got 3 chapters done. There is a lot of blocking in the second and third act, but so far so good. The heat is starting to sink in, (as are the ants dang it!) so it is getting harder to write. After 2pm I pretty much have to shut down. That stinks.

Anyway, on to the snippet!

Chapter 2

President K'k'R'll, the Veraxin President of the Bekian Republic and governor of the Bek A component of the binary star system, read the report of the broadcast and then swiveled an eyestalk to his chief of staff. “Any activity on the naval brass front?” he asked carefully.

“Nothing at all, sir,” L'r'kk, his chief of staff replied.

“Yes, something told me you would have informed me if there had been any changes,” the president said dryly. He turned to vid screens of the major media outlets covering the event. Some had talking heads spinning the event this way or that into a Terran pretzel while others showed a video of people cheering or protesting; he wasn't certain which.

“Yes, sir. There haven’t been any changes in leadership. There has been a lot of activity, none of it I'd consider good,” L'r'kk stated. Twelve hours had passed since the announcement had hit the star system like a lightning bolt.

"So, obviously Childress isn't backing down and going away quietly," the president sighed.

"No. That'd make it too easy."

The Veraxin signaled first-degree disgust as his lobster claws rested on either side of his blotter. "Lovely.”

“The fun thing is, we're caught in the middle of what is turning into a potential civil war. And we're the side without the guns and ships,” Nibs, the Neocat Vice President and Governor of the Bek B component, stated from her seat on the couch as she sipped her morning drink. The cabinet was still on its way in for the emergency meeting, but she'd been right next door when the news of the broadcast had come in. She'd been initially cheered like everyone else, but the sobering news of no changes in the naval administration had ended that. She'd cleared her schedule right off and had decided to drop in on her bug counterpart for breakfast to plan their next move.

“Frack,” the president buzzed. “Who would ever want this damn job? I should have my head examined.”

“We do that daily, sir,” his chief of staff joked.

The president swiveled all of his eyes to him. “Maybe we should do it twice a day. Or better yet, have Childress committed.”

“I wish,” his chief of staff growled softly, indicating first-degree agreement.

Nibs nodded.  “Me too. So, where do we go from here? And what about the navy?”

“Unfortunately, the ball is in the admiral's court or at least in the hands of his supporters. He's got too many powerful patrons on the civilian side too. I'm wondering if they'll stay the course behind him, knowing it will inevitably mean a break with the Federation and a confrontation with us and Irons, or if they'll desert him to save their own exoskeletons,” the president said thoughtfully.

“I think a lot of people including Childress are wondering that right now. Or at least, they are if they are smart.”

“Smart, I'm not sure if that qualifies for Admiral Childress. Cunning, yes. A mouthpiece for others, maybe. We'll see.”

“The cabinet will be here in another hour, sir. Until then …,” the chief of staff said reluctantly.

“Yes, I suppose we can get some other work done. Damage control?”

“We don't even know where to start,” Nibs said with an ear flick. “I'm going to have to go back to Bek B to keep a lid on things there. I know if it is crazy here, it'll be even worse there. Childress is not someone we're fans of.”

“I know. I think we'll have to wait until the cabinet is assembled, but I want your opinion now. Where do you stand?” President K'kR'll asked her directly.

Her ears flicked. “Where else? Behind the victor,” she said simply as she crossed her legs.

“Yeah, I thought as much. Ever the politician,” the president replied.

She wiggled her whiskers at him. “And you?”

“Do you even have to ask?” he asked. She snorted in reply.

@<o>^<o>@

Mrs. Reba Childress, head of Childress shipyard industries, shook her head as she finished reading the latest report. It was the reason for the hastily-arranged conference she knew. “Now my bumbling son has well and truly done it,” she sighed as she put the tablet down with the report of the broadcast. “Do we know what Omar is going to do?”

“He's your son. You don't know?” Jules Fabian, head of Fabian CNC fabricators asked very carefully. He and others like him had thrown in behind Childress to keep the status quo and their own piece of the pie. Now that was even more threatened and he didn't like it. Not that he could voice such misgivings out loud.

“He's not taking my calls,” she replied in a suffering tone of voice. Her people had tried all night to get her son to respond to her. Short of taking out an ad in the media, they were being ignored. That was not sitting well with her.

“Oh, um … then no.”

“I thought not.”

“I assume you'll keep trying?” Jules asked carefully. She shot him a withering look for even daring to ask such a stupid question. He put his hands up in defense. “You can turn down the voltage, Reba; I was just asking.”

“Don't ask stupid questions you already know the answer to. You just make yourself look foolish,” she replied with a bite to her tone of voice. He flushed slightly at the rebuke but nodded.

“So, what do we do?” Ch'k'n'll the Veraxin CEO of Snipclick Enterprises asked. “Do we continue to support him?”

“The move is his. I doubt he'll back down considering I haven't gotten any calls. He isn't whining to me, so I'll give him that much credit. Whatever happens we're stuck with him and the path he's put us on,” Mrs. Childress drawled. “Heaven help us all if it really does go to civil war.”

“Well, from our perspective that can only be considered a good thing. War is …,” Ch'k'n'll cut himself off as Reba leveled a cold look his way.

Heads around the table grimaced in acknowledgment. She rose slowly from her seat. “If you'll excuse me, I've got a date with my doctor.”

“Found a path forward?” Jules asked as he rose from his seat in polite company.

Reba gave him a smile. She appreciated his attempt at being a gentleman. “You know it. He's taken some of the medical knowledge that Caroline graciously gifted us, and it has given me a new lease on life. One I'll be willing to show you later,” she said wickedly. He sputtered as she patted him on the cheek and then left the room. He looked around the room for support but found everyone looked the other way.

“Right,” he drawled. “Someone please tell me she's joking,” he muttered under his breath. There was a soft chuckle from one of the retired admirals but no denials. “Frack.”

“No matter what she and her son say, we need to make contingency plans,” Admiral Open Eyes stated. The T'clock admiral had retired from the navy over a decade prior to take on a manager's position with one of the subcontractors of the major suppliers to the navy like Snipclick and Fabian. His antenna bobbed as he turned his heart-shaped head to Vice Admiral Fohad Amir, his counterpart.

“Agreed,” the other retired admiral said. “Obviously, we didn't count on Irons’ resolve and decision to meddle in our affairs so deeply. We need a series of GOTH plans now and a way to distance ourselves from Childress when this blows up in his face. The cleaner the better in my opinion, so we don't get splattered with the mess.”

“When not if,” Jules pointed out.

“Exactly,” the T'clock stated.

“Agreed,” Vice Admiral Latiff Revere murmured in agreement. Jules surveyed the room and noted others nodding. “Obviously, we need to stop this headlong plunge and reassess the situation.”

“I'd love to. Unfortunately, I don't think it is up to us,” Jules murmured.

@<o>^<o>@