The Captain's Heart CH 83

The Saladin provided a narration as they guided him and Jeremy through the general area of the station and toward the temporary housing

The Saladin provided a narration as they guided him and Jeremy through the general area of the station and toward the temporary housing section. Gralgiran expected it would all make everything impressive to those who care for how much material had to be excavated to produce the metals needed for its construction, or the amount of work put in by the Reoseph Architect to make it look just right.

He knew the narration had been crafted for Kelsirians with how they used the Kelsirian word for Architect, even if there was one in Federalize.

While he didn’t care for such thing, Jeremy’s questions about structural stability, density rating of materials and other things he hadn’t known his Heart had knowledge or an interest about seemed to indicate he, at least, was impressed.

The narration switched to which important people had visited the station when they entered the housing section. Many of the names were Kelsirians, a handful had the feel of familiarity to his ears, but none he recognized.

“This is the housing assigned to you.” The Saladin tapped the panel by the door and it opened.

Gralgiran looked in, reflexively looking for threats among the large bowl bed, the Kelsirian designed seating in the common area, with a screen, and the seating around the table. He found none; the reflex was ingrained, but not often needed. The one door at the back did indicate a problem with it.

He stopped Jeremy from stepping in, letting out an impressed whistle.

“Where will Jeremy stay?” he asked the Saladin.

His Heart gave him a confused look.

“The instructions are that all Earthers are to be housed at the edge of the Taournian lodging since their needs in habitations are closest.”

“I’m not going with them,” Jeremy protested.

“Jeremy is Kelsirian.”

The Saladin looked at his Heart, and their skin shifted in color. The speed at which the splotches changed indicated they were flustered by the situation—an easy state for them to achieve—but it slowed by the time they spoke.

“The person you identify as Jeremy meets all the criteria provided for Earthers, not Kelsirian. The instructions are that Earthers are to—”

“He is my Heart.” He did his best not to voice his anger. This Saladin was only doing the work as best as they knew it. But it was one of the reason he didn’t like dealing with them, or bureaucracies in general.

The shift in color was slower, and might mean something to those who studied the species. “I don’t understand how that can be. A heart is—”

“My Heart,” he snapped. “No heart.”

Did they even understand the difference? Was there anyway he could explain it so—

“Is there a problem?” The female Kelsirian who stopped a few paces from them wore a vest with an official cut to it, rather than a leisurely one, and had a banner with a claw on it over her right breast, indicating she dealt in the law, his namesake’s domain.

“The respected captain is demanding I break the rule for his Earther.”

“What Earther?” she asked before Gralgiran snapped again.

The Saladin’s skin rapidly shifted in colors. “That one.” They pointed to his Heart. “The one he identifies as Jeremy.”

“That person is Kelsirian,” she said. Her ears tilted in amusement as the Saladin’s became outright multicolored. “Tell me—” the clicks and whistled she made were incomprehensible to Gralgiran, but sounded like Saladins native language. “—are you familiar with the Law of Hearts?”

“I welcome respected guests.” Their colors were settling back into mostly grays. “The knowledge of Kelsirian laws is not required.”

“The Law of Heart is recognized by the Federation, therefor has to be respected by those working for it. Technician Jeremy Bradshaw is Hunter Captain Gralgiran sel Helrarvnir’s Heart. By the Law of Hearts, that makes him Kelsirian. Therefore they need lodging that will accommodate two Kelsirians, not one.”

“That was not accounted for. Earthers are to—”

“There are no Earthers here. If there was a mistake in your instructions, you need to have that resolved and see to it the respected guests have proper lodging if they are to be present for adjudication.”

“I need to contact my superior.” The Saladin took out their tablet and stepped away.

“I apologize for how you’ve been treated, Captain, Technician. In the Welcomer’s defense, you represent a unique situation, and was never covered among the possibilities they are trained to handle.”

“And how should we address you?” he asked, working at keeping his irritation out of his tone. She had helped, but the timing smelled of Meddling, and he didn’t like it.

“I am Adjudicator Friltoramik Vikseam sel Lagiran. I have been assigned to your Heart to prepare him for his turn in the Adjudicating chamber. I was coming to introduce myself before you were requested there, so he wouldn’t be alone with a stranger when I presented myself.”

Not Meddling then, just timing. “I was going to take him with me. There’s no point in leaving him alone since he will have to testify.”

Her ears canted in worry, and she consulted her tablet. He thought she was letting him see how she felt since any adjudicator he’d had to deal with before mastered their bodies as part of learning their crafts.

She looked up. “You are to be questioned separately. There is a concern that he will be forced to agree to anything you say.”

“Wouldn’t he already have coached me?” Jeremy asked. “Sorry for speaking Federalize. I can’t vocalize Kelsirian.”

“I understand. And no matter how skilled your Heart is as a Hunter Captain, he can’t have foreseen all the possible directions the questions might take, and a lie can be found that way.”

“I didn’t tell instruct him on any of this,” Gralgiran said, annoyed.

“I know. But that is how the adjudicators who sit in judgment look at any situation where more than one person is involved. Surely you do the same when interrogating suspects as part of your hunts.”

“I have a beta with that training,” he replied, annoyed. He didn’t like the idea of Jeremy being alone with someone he didn’t know. He took out his tablet, putting the earpiece in. “You don’t mind?” He tapped the name and spoke before the Adjudicator could reply. “Beta, I need a basic rundown of one Adjudicator Friltoramik Vikseam sel Lagiran, just what you can seen on the surface for now.”

She nodded her approval.

“One Adjudicator Friltoramik Vikseam sel Lagiran,” Batrix sel Gezbil responded. “Female, Brindled fur tinted toward copper, with more black around the eyes and lower back. Her chest has a trailed of paler fur going down to her stomach. She’s with the on site Kelsirian Legal Protection group. They are tapped when someone falls under our law who might not have known they needed representation. If you need more, I’ll have to get the pack clawing.”

“That is enough. Thank you beta.”

“I’m glad I am acceptable.”

“Mentalist?” he asked.

“No. But my work requires I be able to read others’ body language, even when they are trained not to show it.”

He nodded.

“So,” Jeremy said. “What exactly are you going to need me to learn?”

“Less learn and more prepare for eventualities. The Earthers who are representing their government will—”

“Wait a minute, Earth Government? I thought this was the Einstein Commander carrying through with his threat of making me pay for not going along with what he wanted.”

She consulted her tablet. “There’s no mention of a Commander of Einstein Station. This is all from the Earther government. They are the ones accusing your Heart of kidnapping you and they will try to—”

“It has been resolved,” the Saladin said without care they were interrupting.

“I can explain once we are in the apartment,” she said, and accompanied them.

    *

Gralgiran checked the time and barely kept from growling. He’d expected to be called an hour ago, but just as the case before his was ending, a group of Taournians had burst in and made enough of a nuisance of themselves they Adjudicators had agreed to see them. He’d been tempted to leave with the others whose cases would be delayed, but if he wasn’t there when called, the admiral would use that against him.

If he’d realized they would bicker for this long, he’d have gone to get something to eat. He couldn’t read enough of the Earther’s body language, with them seated on the opposite side of the chamber’s viewing area, but they seemed to be taking the delay better than he was. Was there restriction against hunt-lenses in this chamber? If he was called again, he needed to wear them so he could get a better look at his enemies and get an advantage.

 Finally, the Taournians left. He had no idea if the resolution had satisfied either party. Were Taournians ever satisfied when they didn’t get everything?

He was called, along with the Earthers, and he walked to the table.

It was divided into three, with five Adjudicators in the center third, and either party on each side, and enough space to sit six. Normally, there would be two Adjudicators from each of the party species, and the fifth from another species to break any impasse. This time, it was two Kersosteran, one Reoseph, one Ridoshi, and one Shimbarian. He didn’t know enough to work out if it was in response to there being no Earther Adjudicators within the Federation or some other clause that affected cases like this.

“The Earthers are claiming theft of personnel by one Kelsirian Captain Gralgiran Helrarvnir,” the Shimbarian announced.

“Kidnapped,” the Earther, seated at the center of the five, said in Earther.

There was a hurried discussion between the Adjudicators. “Theft of personnel is enough of an equivalent,” the Shimbarian said. “Does the Captain have an opening comment?”

“I claim the Law of Hearts.” That should deal with the situation.

“The law of Heart has been claimed. As per Federation—”

“Where’s the proof?” the Earther asked, this time in Federalize.

“The Law of Hearts,” the Ridoshi said from the speak box around their upper torso; the voice not approaching something that sounded organic. “Is a matter for the gods, and is accepted that they will—”

“We don’t accept that,” the Earther declared. He pointed. “That man, that calls himself a hunter, entered our territory under false pretense, then assaulted one of our research stations and kidnapped one of our best anti-matter researchers. That isn’t a crime we are ready to just wave away because you claim some mythical power made it happen.”

Gralgiran kept his muzzle shut by force of will. Unlike the Earther, he knew the protocols for these. He waited for the Shimbarian Adjudicator to indicate he could speak.

“Jeremy is my Heart. My love.”

“You’re a man!”

“The Gender of the accused party is not in question,” the Kersosteran female said.

“He’s not even human!” the Earther declared before being given permission to speak.

“We don’t care what species each other is,” Gralgiran said, breaking protocol too. “Helrarvnir declared we would find our Hearts wherever Gezbiliam sent them. I found mine, and you imprisoned him for that. I rescued him.”

“You boarded a Terran station without permission and armed. That’s an act of war.”

“Holding a Kelsirian citizens against his will is an act of aggression that my people will not leave unresponded.”

“You took him against his will.”

Gralgiran forced his breathing to slow. His anger would not help him. Their accusation were baseless, and as soon as their witnesses were questioned it would be…. He looked around the chambers. The fact there were no other Earther didn’t mean they weren’t there to be called on, but Jeremy was the one that had to be protected from manipulation, not the Earthers.

He looked at the Adjudicators and waited to be acknowledged.

The male Kersosteran did so.

“Where are the Earther witnesses?”

That the Earther needed to be prodded told him something.

“They’re safe from your threats.”

“So there’s on the station?”

“Of course.”

“Then I call on the Adjudicators to submit all parties involved to be scanned by Mentalists.”

“What?” The Earther spoke with those with him and they all looked confused.

“The motion is approved,” the Reoseph said. “Mentalist will be assembled and—”

“You can’t do that.” The Earther was on his feet. “We came here to get justice, not get some side show about mind reading. I thought you people were evolved.”

“Mentalists are a recognized category of people among all species that have ongoing interactions within the Federation,” the Kersosteran female said. “And an accepted method of resolving conflicts where both sides have witnesses to the event being questioned.”

“What witnesses?” the Earther demanded.

“Myself,” Gralgiran answered. “My Heart, as well as the pack involved in rescuing him from the Earther holding him captive.”

“Of course they’re going to say what you tell them to.”

“That is enough,” the Shimbarian Adjudicator said. “We represent the authority of the Federation. We decide how this conflict will be resolved. We accept that Mentalist will provide the answers sought. Both parties are dismissed to return to their lodging. Contact those needed to—”

“No! I demand this be resolved now, and here. He’s not going anywhere until we’re satisfied he will return our researcher to us!”

“Representative Johanson,” the Shimbarian said, the voice still the same even tone, although they had to be tired of the behavior. “You are not in a position to demand anything from this body of judgment. You will return to the assigned lodging and you will wait there; to return with the witnesses when called. Captain Gralgiran Helrarvnir, you will do the same. Ensure that any to be before the mentalists are ready, for it will be your one chance to support your claim. You may go.”

“You’re not going anywhere!”

“You will go.” This time, the impatience came through clearly in the growl that accompanied the Shimbarian’s words.

Gralgiran left, ignoring the Earther’s protests. As the Adjudicator had expressed, they didn’t have authority here.

He put the earpiece in as soon as he was outside the chamber. “Beta, put on alert the hunters who were involved in Jeremy’s rescue. They are going off-shift until further notice. They are to rest and make themselves ready to be called.”

“Any special instructions?”

“No. They will be providing their testimony to what took place to counter that of the Earthers.” He didn’t mention the mentalists. There were ways to make a mentalists work harder. To block the weaker ones completely, and he expected many of the hunters under his command had that training. It was something common among those who risk capture by the enemy. He couldn’t control what they’d do once they realized mentalists were involved, but he didn’t want any to read that he had instructed them to hide their thoughts.

The unplanned advantage of this was that Jeremy wouldn’t have to confront the Earthers alone. He’d have full packs at his back to protect him on top of his Heart.

He spent the walk to the lodging going over what he’d tell Jeremy. As with the hunters, he didn’t want him to go in knowing about the Mentalists, but he wanted him ready for the unexpected. Aware that Gralgiran wasn’t telling him everything. He’d explain the reasons afterward, but that should keep his Heart’s from being overly angry at the subterfuge.

His claws were out as the door opened, and before the smell of blood fully registered. His teeth bared, he looked over the room. He found the Adjudicator’s body against the wall, cut, broken, shot, and dead. He was next to her, scanning the room. Not finding Jeremy, he put the earpiece in.

“Beta Zorfiel, I don’t fucking care if the gods block your way. Get someone on scans and tell me where the fucking Earthers have taken my Heart.”

“How many packs?” she asked, and he smiled at the beta’s efficiency. He was tempted to order all of them to go active, but this was a Federation station, not enemy territory.

“Contact the on duty Beta, she will have the list of the hunters already preparing to be called to the station. They will do. Have them go battle-ready, no weapons.” His hunters would be enough, no matter now many guards the Earthers put between him and his Heart.

Outline section 

Gral is spitting nails at whatever kelsirian councilman who was unfortunate enough to be the one to take his call. How DARE they spring this on him at the last minute like he’s some cub that would run from his responsibilities. An accused’s right to defend themselves must by its nature include the right to mount a defense.

The councilman will raise the point that this isn’t just about Gral’s honor, it is about his Heart. As such they thought there would be a large chance that he’d choose not to react rationally. Besides, it should mostly be a formality; any evidence the humans should be fabricated, while Gral himself has Jeremy’s own word. Even if they can’t prove how bloodless the defection was, the fact Jeremy came willingly will disprove actual kidnapping.

Gral isn’t reassured. Given what the human’s were doing to their own citizens without the kelsirian’s knowing for years, the idea that they’d play fair seems a fools assumption. Even here on Multitude, as close to the heart of the Federation as one can get, they will try to spin something.

###

A few hours later on the station itself, Gral and Jeremy are being escorted to Gral’s quarters while awaiting the hearing. There is some confusion from their guide as it was expected Jeremy to house himself down in the human section, but that is quickly shot down and soon the two of them are settled in.

Jeremy is rightfully impressed by the grandeur of the quarters. He always thought the resident quarters on the Viper’s Banes were spacious for a space ship, but this is this is spacious for groundside living. Gral waves it off, it’s a very nice gilded cage for them to wait in, but it’s only a salve to the otherwise bureaucratic grinding wheel.

Jeremy eventually has to take a page from Thuruk’s book and get Gral to relax. The court won’t hold session until the morning, and as the councilman said they have Jeremy’s word. The biggest win the human government could pull off is a violent defection, which unless they produce the names of bodies as well will only get them a fine. Jeremy will still be with Gral no matter what, so everything will be fine.

###

In the morning, Gral and Jeremy are met in their room by their kelsirian legal aide. How things are going to proceed is presented to them, with Gral meeting with the court in the morning and Jeremy in the evening. This is a hearing of grievances from a non-federation world, so even she won’t be with them when they give their testimonies. There is a kelsirian representative on the court, and in practice that should be enough.

Gral needs to leave to his hearing rather soon, but he’s used to these types of legalities. The aide will stay with Jeremy to cover the necessary parts of federation law and what will be expected of him and what his rights are.

###

Even when he arrives at the court, Gral has to wait. These proceedings are never as short as they can be, and the minutes of cases running over time adds up. Still, there is more than enough room, as some cases are both more popular with the media or more complex with the involved parties than others. Today appears to be a light day, though Gral wonders if there is a representative of the human pirate radio up there.

The wait time would be a good moment to review the judges and their respective species.

Eventually, it’s his turn at bat. He and the human delegation take their places and present their caes. The humans, that Gral stormed a human station and kidnapped one of their top researchers. Gral, that he rescued his heart from incarceration.

Gral’s evidence is not only his word but his mind as he’s fully willing to submit to mentalist scans to confirm he’s telling the truth, and has all the Alphas involved in the rescue willing to submit as well should the court decide to call them from their bunks on the station.

The human evidence is a recording, that certainly shows their version of event, but Gral counters that while that might sound like him to human hearing it is obviously faked. While the court might deem his own techs too bias to pick it apart, he’s sure they can assemble their own team to do so in short order.

Gral will push the offensive by asking where the human witteness are? If they claim their recording is true, they should at least have the commander of the station. The humans claim all witnesses are too terrified to Gral to be in the same sector as him.

Before Gral can strawman that argument, they humans will raise an issue of Jeremy’s illness and which will spark a very violent outburst from Gral. The judges will call for order at that point, and shelve any talk of Jeremy until the human himself is present later this evening. If that will be all, then both parties are dismissed. A summons for Gral to give his testimony to a court assigned mentalist will be made within the next twenty four hours.

Gral gets out of there, anxious to get back to Jeremy.

###

When Gral arrives at his and Jeremy’s assigned room, he’s shocked to find it broken into, the aide isn’t there. She was taken along with Jeremy to ensure there were no witnesses, and Jeremy gone. He immediately calls the ship. They need a medical team here stat for the aide, and to start scanning the station immediately for Jeremy. There might be some worry of federation procedure from the bridge crew, but this is Gral’s heart. He is not going to risk Jeremy’s life on procedure.

Addition 

No Addition

Other than the setup for how this comes to be, which is dealt with in previous chapters, This went mostly as the outline called for. The one change is that the adjudicator preparing Jeremy doesn’t survive. I needed to demonstrate how serious Earthers are about repatriating Jeremy, and it was the only way I could think of doing that