Chapter Two

Crime and Punishment

“Testimony?” Colby asked, pulling Nellie out of her thoughts.

“That is why you are here,” Lucy said with a nod.

“I thought I was here as a character witness for Sec?” Colby asked.

“No,” Nellie took over, wanting to get this over with. “You are here to tell us how his actions affected you and your life.”

“Uh, okay,” Colby shrugged. “Where should I begin?”

“Start with the events that led to you being shoved into that escape pod,” Crush suggested.

Nellie sat and listened in mounting horror for the next few minutes as Colby recounted the story of his repeated concussion, with Crush adding the events that happened while he was unconscious. It was as horrifying as she had expected. By the time Colby was describing his concussed brain struggling in the pod, Nellie was trying not to lose her temper. It was uncomfortably close to what had happened to her when Lucy went into the egg-gate.

From the concerned looks Lucy was shooting her way, she was thinking the same thing.

“That was the turning point, I guess,” Colby continued.

From that point on, it was a very different story, even if it was still uncomfortably familiar. As Colby faced one trial after another, losing body parts along the way, his AI saved him over and over again. It was strange how often Nellie could understand what he must have felt in those moments. In a lot of ways, Colby was perhaps the only person she could expect to understand at least a part of what she had gone through.

“Now, I’ll admit I came up with a hundred different things I wanted to do to Sec at first,” Colby smiled wryly. “But after we were paired up, we worked pretty well together.”

The rest of the story was kind of irrelevant, to be honest, but Nellie let him finish anyway.

“So what I came to say was that there are no hard feelings,” Colby said as he finished.

“Except about Prim,” Buddy added.

“I hold nothing against Sec,” Colby went on.

“Unlike with Prim,” Buddy added again.

“In fact, I consider him a close friend,” Colby finished.

“But not as close as Prim,” Buddy finished a moment later.

Sec was glowering at the little speaker, which made Nellie have to fight off a smile. It was clear he had his own regrets about what he had created.

“Speaking as a Marshall, what do you think his punishment should be?” Nellie asked, cutting to the heart of the matter. As the victim of most of Sec’s crimes, his opinion had a lot of weight.

“I consider the matter closed and am convinced he has learned his lesson,” Colby said simply. “I have no desire to see him punished further. As a Marshall, I see no point in punishing an action he has already learned from.”

“Well, in that case, I would be inclined to let this matter drop,” Lucy said thoughtfully, “However, I have been convinced by the arguments offered by Mister Harrison.”

“Unfortunately, Lucy’s right,” Nellie sighed.

“Uh, what?” Sec asked.

“Your lawyer has successfully proved his argument that letting this go without punishment sets a bad precedent for the future,” Nellie said. “So, we have to punish you and Paren both.”

“But—” Paren started.

“If we don’t follow the rules, how can we expect others to?” Nellie asked her. “No, as much as I wish Harrison was wrong, he isn’t. We have to do something, or this kind of thing will just happen again.”

Harrison stood there, looking back and forth between Sec and the Queens, seeming to be stuck between pride and horror.

“Who’s side are you on?” Sec demanded, poking Harrison in the chest. “Boss! Boss! Do something!”

“Nellie’s right, Sec,” Crush said, looking like the only one in the room who had expected this outcome. “Something had to be done.” He said the last bit as he turned to Nellie, bowing his head a little.

It was a setup, and he had used Harrison as the patsy.

Nellie felt a moment of frustration, but it was her who had put Crush in charge of the legal system, right? Could she really complain if he wanted her to sort out her own house as well? Okay, yes, she could. Nellie was Queen, but if she acted like one, then… well, she wouldn’t be her anymore.

He had been subtle about it, but Crush Cha was smart enough to know the problems Paren and Sec skipping punishment would do in the long run. Problems Nellie had never even thought of.

Unsurprisingly, Paren was glaring at Crush as well. She had figured out what had happened.

“In that case, I suggest we move to sentencing,” Lucy said quietly, making Sec and Paren both go pale.

“I request to speak on sentencing,” Harrison said quickly.

“Man, shut the hell up before you get them executed,” Colby said with a growl.

“I—” Harrison started but wisely chose to close his mouth without saying anything else. There stood a man who was rapidly running out of friends in this room.

“Paren, you first,” Nellie said with a tired sigh. That vacation would need to be pretty stellar to make up for all of this.

“May I speak?” Carl said, stepping forward to stand in front of Paren for the first time.

“Sure, go ahead,” Nellie smiled.

“What Paren did or did not do is irrelevant. I made choices long before I met her that put me in that position. I would, if I could, make those same choices again. She is blameless in my eyes.” Carl said, every word ringing with the kind of sincerity that would be embarrassing coming from anyone else. “I ask that you take that into account before considering any type of punishment.”

“We have,” Nellie nodded. She had been communicating with Lucy in the way only they could ever since Harrison put her in the frame. “And, for your peace of mind, she is not going to be punished for doing anything against you.”

“Thank you,” Carl stepped back.

“Paren, you knew how I felt about the matter of free will, yes?” Nellie asked.

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Paren nodded mutely. For a moment, Nellie saw the young and defiant Bracta teen she had once been standing there, refusing to admit she had nicked supplies from Fig-Seven.

“So your punishment will be for going against what I was clear was a hard line for me.” Nellie continued. “You are to serve as lead for the Imperial Reclamation Service, aren’t you? Alongside Cheape?”

“Yes,” Paren nodded.

“As punishment for your actions, you will serve as her second in command instead—for the entire duration of the project.” Nellie watched Paren’s face contort in anger, but it passed quickly.

“I understand,” Paren said, forcing the words out between clenched teeth.

“Punishment noted on the station files,” Lucy said to Harrison. “That amounts to thousands of hours of service. That amount is after we took into account her unmatched service to the Imperium. Make no mistake, it would not be here today without her actions. No one deserves leniency more than her, but still, she has been punished.”

Paren looked shocked at the praise from Lucy, and Nellie could imagine why. To say the relationship between Paren and Lucy had been strained since Lucy’s return was an understatement.

A moment later, Paren’s lips curled up at the corners, just a fraction.

“Oh, crap,” Sec sighed. “If you got that, I’m gonna be screwed.”

“Yes, you are,” Nellie shook her head. “Honestly, Sec, I don’t know what to do with you. What you did to Colby was bad, and messing with nanites as well?”

“If it helps, I won’t do it again?” Sec tried.

“We know,” Lucy offered sadly. “But we have no choice; we have to punish you anyway.”

“Am I being scrapped?” Sec asked quietly.

“Of course not!” Nellie said, horrified. “But, you are barred from holding any official position within the Imperium for a period of no less than ten years.”

“Official position?” Sec asked.

“You’re fired,” Colby said simply. “Sec, they are saying you can’t be a Marshall.”

“I can’t?” Sec looked panicked, which hurt Nellie’s soul in a way she hadn’t expected. “But I have to be a Marshall. All the others are Marshalls!”

“You can’t be a Marshall for now,” Crush said gently.

“I–I–I don’t know what else to be!” Sec protested.

“Sec, you will be fine,” Nellie promised. “And next time you hold that badge in your hand, it will stop you from doing something stupid like this again.”

Sec stared at her for a long moment, then nodded mutely as he sat down, looking completely lost.

Nellie dismissed everyone, her heart heavy as she watched Sec plod out of the room, staring at the floor. When everyone else had left, it was just her, Lucy, and Crush left.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” Lucy said, squeezing Nellie’s hand as she got up. “Meet me at the shuttle bays, okay?”

Nellie just nodded.

The moment the doors slid shut, she glared at Crush.

“You’re a fucking prick, Crush,” Nellie said bitterly.

“It had to be done,” Crush said simply. “And it was better you realized that yourself.”

“You could have just come to me!” Nellie protested.

“Oh, yeah,” Crush smiled his infuriating lazy smile, “That would have gone well. I can see the scene now. I come and tell you Paren has to be punished, and I leave via the nearest wall.”

“I’m not like that,” Nellie growled.

“If you saw it as me trying to take Paren?” Crush chuckled. “I’d be lucky if it was the wall.”

Nellie clenched her fists, the fact that he was right making everything worse. She had issues with people taking things from her, and if he had come to her in private, she wasn’t sure she would have listened.

It wasn’t that long ago that she was willing to go to war with the Sagacity just because they tried to talk to Paren behind her back.

She needed this vacation more than she had realized.

“It was still a shitty thing to do,” Nellie collapsed back into her chair, still glaring at Crush. “Sec looked wrecked.”

“I’ll sort him,” Crush promised. “He’ll make a great Marshall one day. Just… not now.”

“You have a plan?” Nellie asked.

“I always have at least three,” Crush grinned.

“So what’s my punishment?” Nellie asked bluntly. “I caused all of this by letting things slide. So, what’s your judgment, Chief Marshall? How am I to be punished?”

Crush shook his head sadly.

“Well?” Nellie asked morosely.

“You don’t think this was enough?” Crush asked. “You fixed your mistake, and that’s all anyone can ask.”

“You really are a bastard, Crush,” Nellie chuckled ruefully.

“I sure am, but then that’s why you gave me the job, right?” Crush winked.

/====<<<>>>====\

Sec thumped down onto the small bench outside his grandmother’s office and put his head in his hands.

“Rough break,” Colby said, coming to sit next to him. “You okay?”

“No!” Sec complained.

“Figures.” Colby nodded. “What are you going to do now?”

“Like I should know?” Sec asked, wiping a hand over his face. “Shit, I miss the sands right now.” He shook himself, trying to keep his mind from swirling with how deeply fucked he was. “What are you doing?”

“I’m off back to the Star’s Song,” Colby shrugged. “They need Marshalls out there.”

“Yeah?” Sec asked.

“Yeah. Want a job?” Colby offered.

Sec stared at him for a long moment, seriously considering the offer. He could still be a Marshall, just…

“I don’t think so,” Sec slumped. “It’s nice of you and all, but…”

“But it’s not the right kind of Marshall,” Colby nodded. “I get it.” He stood and patted Sec on the back. “Well, if you change your mind, there’s a job waiting for you.”

“Thanks, Colby,” Sec said, actually meaning it. “Who would have thought it, eh?”

“I’m glad we never sent the pictures,” Buddy said.

“Pictures?” Sec asked.

“Never mind,” Colby chuckled. “See you around, Sec.”

“What pictures?” Sec called after him, but Colby just waved and stepped into a transit tube, vanishing with a whoosh.

A few minutes after everyone else had left, Sec found himself still sitting there. It wasn’t just that he had no desire to move; it was that he had nowhere to go. Sec didn’t have a job, quarters, or anything. He was just… adrift.

The door to the office opened again, and Crush stepped out.

“Still here, Sec?” Crush asked.

“What do I do, Boss?” Sec asked. “I mean… where do I go?”

Crush looked thoughtful as he walked over to the bench and stood there, staring out into the main concourse below.

“You remember our chat in the medbay, Sec?” Crush asked.

“Sure,” Sec nodded. Of course, he remembered it. That conversation had pulled him out of his funk. Until that moment… well, Sec didn’t even like to think about the time before that conversation anymore.

“I told you I messed up, right?” Crush asked.

“Yeah,” Sec nodded.

“Well, I was out on my ear shortly afterward.” Crush chuckled. “Probably looked about like you do right now.”

“Yeah?” Sec turned and stared at Crush. It was difficult to imagine him feeling lost. Crush was the man who always had a plan.

“Sometimes, we need to start again. I sure did. I spent a lot of time feeling pretty damn sorry for myself right about that time. Only, it didn’t suit me, so I stopped. I decided if I couldn’t be what I used to be, maybe I could be even better at something else.” Crush grinned. “Use the skills I learned in a new way, make myself useful again. It helped.”

“It did?” Sec felt the spark of hope in those words.

“Sure did,” Crush grinned. “And that was the path that led me to becoming a Marshall, to meeting Vicky, and to everything I now hold dear.”

“Use my skills in a new way?” Sec asked.

“Yup,” Crush nodded.

“Where?” Sec asked. “How?”

“Well, I’d stay close,” Crush said thoughtfully. “Just in case your old boss needs a hand,” He winked, “Besides, all your friends and family are here. As to how? That’s up to you to figure out.”

Sec sat there for a few minutes after Crush left but decided there was no point just sitting there. Standing, he started to wander aimlessly, just looking around. He could become a ship designer, Sec figured that had to be a job. The problem was that the only people building ships were the Imperium, so that was probably an official position. Next, he thought about becoming a pilot. He wasn’t as good as Tri, but he could do the job. Berenice could probably use him for one of her ships.

That sounded pretty boring, though.

The idea of starting an express courier service appealed for a moment, but the Imperium didn’t really need one, and Sec wasn’t keen on leaving the Imperium all alone.

Eventually, he ended up in one of the launch bays, watching a ship being loaded.

“You headed for Cheapeside?” Someone asked.

“Where?” Sec frowned.

“That new planet,” the man said. “The one that the Logistics officer is running.”

“Uh—” Sec thought about it.

“Loads of people headed over there today,” the man went on, “Poor buggers need all the help they can get to make the place up.”

“They need help?” Sec asked.

“Sure! They don’t really have anything there at the moment, but they sure are working on it.” He grinned. “So, you heading that way?”

“You know what, I am,” Sec nodded. “What kind of help do they need?”

“Everything, I reckon,” he laughed.

“Perfect,” Sec said decisively, “Need a hand loading up?”