Titan's Plague: The Trial by Tom Briggs (story reading .txt) 📕

“Assholes,” Pati said. Robots were in charge of this jail, and they rolled around politely, telling her what to do. One took her breakfast tray, and then it thanked her as if it was serving her a royal meal. The kind demeanor was another form of cruel and unusual punishment the robots inflicted on Pati while she inhabited the white, four-by-four-meter cell.

She stepped from the door and sat down on the bed, which the bastards even made for her. She’d been stuck in this cell since yesterday when the doctor released her from the hospital. It wasn’t five minutes later that the constables had her cuffed and walking through the hallways of Karakorum. The people pointed and stared, wondering what Pati had done now. Maybe they all knew. Pati had no idea because the only people she’d talked to were doctors, nurses, and Nancy.

Nancy got a message to her through the robots that she would meet her this morning. She apologized for the incarceration but said the prosecutor had ordered it without telling her first. Then, conveniently, the notification arrived after business hours and Nancy hadn’t checked her account in that time.

So, Pati waited. She did not know what time it was, only that they’d just served her breakfast. She’d been able to clean up right before leaving the hospital, and she hoped she’d be released before she’d have to use that disgusting toilet against the far wall.

The thought must have had a telekinetic effect because her jail cell door opened. She watched as it mechanically slid to the right, exposing an actual person standing behind the expanding crack. In a second, she saw it was Nancy Tate, wearing her blue business suit.

Pati immediately thought of how much younger she looked, closer to Pati’s age than the thirty-five she knew her to be, a massive advantage to being born and raised in one-sixth gravity. An advantage Pati would willingly give up just to get back to Earth.

Nancy had her blonde hair tied back, and her blue eyes were highlighted against all the white. She stepped through as soon as she had enough door width.

“Pati, I’m so sorry all this happened,” she said, as she strode over to Pati.

Pati stood up, “Okay, then tell me what happened, and why?”

Nancy looked around, and then back to Pati, “The prosecutor decided yesterday to renege on the deal for what happened on your ship. He wants to try the case now.”

“Can he do that?” Pati asked.

“We only had a verbal agreement, and this is the first time I’ve had them renege on one. But yes, legally, prosecutors can do that.”

“How come?”

“I don’t know. I only know he wanted to meet this morning, which surprised me because this is Saturday and most of the prosecutors disappear until Monday. Anyway, I want you to come with me because I’ll need you to hear everything he says. The meeting is in a half-hour. Can you be ready?”

“First, tell me what time it is, and then define ready,” Pati said.

“It’s 8 a.m. standard right now.” She sized up Pati’s appearance. “I think you’ll be okay.” She looked around the cell. “And I see they didn’t give you equipment to fix your appearance.” Nancy pulled the satchel from behind her back and placed it on Pati’s bed. She pulled out a brush and mirror and sat them next to the satchel. “Were you at least able to brush your teeth?” she asked, pointing to the sink next to the toilet.

“The robots brought me in a toothbrush and paste. They took it back when I finished.”

“Okay, good. Take the brush and mirror and pull your hair back. I’ll find a tie for you in my bag.” Nancy scanned the clothes Pati wore, which were clean versions of a mining ship uniform. “Your clothes will be okay. The meeting room is just down the hall. After the meeting, we’ll see about different clothes.”

Pati stopped brushing her hair. “I’m getting out?” she asked.

“Maybe, we’ll have to see. You’re still technically serving your first sentence since your mining crew would not be released till the day after tomorrow. I’m pretty pissed at the prosecutor for throwing you in here last night, it was totally unnecessary.” Nancy frowned and shook her head, “He didn’t break any laws in doing so, though.” Nancy reached into her pack and pulled out a rubber piece for tying hair back. She handed it to Pati and waited for her to secure her dark hair. “You ready?”

“After you,” Pati said. The door remained open after Nancy entered, and Pati followed her out of the opening into the metallic hallway.

The hallway had whiter cell doors on each side. Pati counted nine, probably enough for a boring place with only twenty-five thousand people like Karakorum. They hit a T-intersection as a waist-high robot rolled past. Nancy turned left into a hallway that was still metal but had faux wood trim and windows into the offices. Constables wearing red uniforms came around the corner down the hall. They walked past Nancy and Pati, not paying attention and discussing a case Pati couldn't care less about. She followed Nancy around that corner into an open area with more constables. They sat at their desks, either working with the screens attached or in discussion with other officers.

Nancy ignored all of it and entered an open door straight ahead of them. Inside was a conference table with eight yellow chairs around it. Nancy took the head chair near the door and invited Pati to sit on her right, which she did. Then Nancy moved to the door, shut it, and returned to the table. There were no windows in this room, and the walls were as white as her jail cell.

Nancy pulled a tablet