At Council by Julie Steimle (books to read in your 20s female txt) 📕

“Her record?” the Kevin huffed indignantly. “You haven’t proven anything except that Aver Zormna has a terrible record with the Council. Most of which were nothing more than childish pranks—of which even Alea Tenngar here had been guilty of in some instances.”

“Her infractions were more frequent.”

Which was true. Zormna colored, realizing it was simply too late. They had already made up their minds. The Kevin was merely delaying the declaration of punishment.

“But she has an exceptional record with the Patrol. I’ve never had a better officer. She is the most dutiful, able, and precise Surface Patrol cadet that I have met in many years,” he said. “She obeys commands to the letter. She goes above and beyond duty for her superiors. There may have been a few personality clashes—”

“Personality clashes are not acceptable reasons for insubordination within the Arrassian military,” the Council Head bit out.

The Kevin sighed, nodding. He had to concede that it was childish for her to act in such a petty way.

“All I am saying is if she disobeyed Alea Tenngar,” casting a glare at the Alea of the Zeta District, “then she had a good reason.”

Alea Tenngar stiffened only a little, refusing to react to the accusation that he had done something that deserved such disobedience.

The Council started to whisper amongst themselves.

The Council Head paused before he spoke for them. “We all know you favor this soldier and therefore your judgment is biased. Your defense is disregarded. We have come to a verdict.”

“I didn’t even get to speak!” Zormna said, stepping back towards them in protest one final time. She had to try. She knew where they minds were going.

The head of the Council ignored her. “She will be discharged from the Surface Patrol and sent to ISIC where she will do time for a month.”

A number of reactions occurred from those in the council room.

Zormna felt sick. Her—out of the Patrol. And in the Internal Security Incarceration Compound? The soldiers running that compound would not just leave her alone in her cell. Some of them were nasty pieces of work. They hated the Surface Patrol orphans and were known to strip and beat them. And what if they found out if she was a Tarrn? They would kill her.

But the face of Alea Tenngar was smug—if only briefly.

“Unacceptable!” the Kevin shouted back, his voice filling the room with a defiant boom. “This council had no authority to discharge any one of my officers! I alone have that right. Furthermore, no officer of mine will go to ISIC for any sort of punishment. We have our own brig, and I will not mix our military discipline with that of the P.M.s!”

Zormna gazed up at the head of the Surface Patrol with the utmost gratitude, feeling her tears form behind her eyes.

Alea Tenngar stepped back from the Kevin with a shudder of horror, his smugness evaporating as he abruptly realized how furious his commanding officer really was going to be with him once they were alone. His shoulders stiffened. His hands grew clammy. He looked anxiously to the Council, hoping…he didn’t know what for exactly.

The Council whispered among themselves again, eyeing the fuming Kevin whom they knew would not stand down, even if it meant escorting them out of the Patrol by force and shutting the entire place down. Of course he was also correct. They did not have the ability to give final sentencing without the Kevin’s permission. All punishment had to be approved by him to maintain respect between the different militaries and government. If they were too heavy handed, they could lose the support of a large and powerful military force. Loyalty to the central government was not as solid in the Surface Patrol as there was a lot of anger among the orphans who had been sent there due to the actions of the People’s Military.

 The Council Head at last sat up straight. His smile had vaporized and a determined look took its place.

“Noting your objections, we have changed the punishment,” he said.

The Kevin shook his head. “She needs another hearing. You have not seen all the evidence.”

One councilman replied, “So, you think that she is not guilty? That girl?”

The Kevin glanced down at Zormna and a glimmer of a smile passed through his eyes. “Yes. I believe her.”

Zormna gazed gratefully at him.

“You would.” Alea Tenngar grumbled.

The councilman shook his head. “Irrelevant. We have found her guilty and she must receive punishment.”

Straightening up his suit with a jerk, the Kevin growled under his breath. “This is a load of—”

“It is beyond your jurisdiction to overrule our decision,” the Council Head said. “You may control the method of punishment, but we decide if one is guilty.” His gaze darkened on them, as the Kevin clenched his teeth.

Glancing over, Alea Tenngar relaxed again. He even revealed a smirk as he looked at Zormna’s increasingly sweaty brow, her lips as white as the rest of her face now, knowing she would still be punished for a crime she did not commit.

She stared ahead, feeling her hands go clammy. It was too late. She lost. Yet she took a breath and stepped forward to receive her punishment with dignity.

They approved of this.

Rising from his seat, the Council Head lifted the vis-pad in his hands to read off their verdict, peering down over her with echoing judgment that seemed to boom in her ears like a hammer. “We find the defendant guilty of disobeying a commanding officer and reckless endangerment.”

Zormna closed her eyes, swallowing down the screams of anger. Everything had just gotten so twisted. She had saved lives. People would have gotten hurt. She had to do what she had done.

“She will be sentenced to a military suspension for a month.” The Head gave the Kevin a piercing look that declared his right to do this—because it was. “Since her value in the Surface Patrol is so high we will give her a trial period where she must perform hard labor in the uppercity.”

The Kevin’s cast a pale look at Zormna, though she hardly opened her eyes to see his shudder of fear on her behalf. At least it wasn’t ISIC. But not since her entry in the Patrol had she spent a day outside his protection. A thousand scenarios ran through his mind of what might happen to her without the walls of the Patrol, most of them ending in disaster. As a Tarrn, she had to be extra careful in the uppercity.

“And if she performs dutifully within that month, she may return to the Surface Patrol on probation. If not, we will take actions to have her discharged, according to code one hundred eight-three of the Judicial Criminal Law regarding military officers, which states that in the case of a violent crime and repeat offenders unsuccessfully corrected by their military leaders, military officers may be removed from active duty with a written request to the Great Head by the Military Council. And we will do this, Kevin.” The Council Head peered at Zormna with no shortage of pleasure at the prospect of ruining her career. He hated ‘smug upstarts’. “Now, I know you don’t want that to happen. This is why we are giving her a grace period. But, if she violates any more codes we will have her discharged. Is that clear?”

Zormna and the Kevin nodded, bowing gravely to the Council Head.

Straightening up, Alea Tenngar sighed to himself.

The Council Head sat down and the Council bailiff stood up.

“You are now dismissed,” the bailiff declared.

The Kevin bowed once more to the Council. His eyes turned toward Alea Tenngar, fixing on him with all the fury that swelled in his chest. He straightened up, turned sharply and marched to Zormna Clendar with a brisk nod. “Aver, return to your quarters and change into your civilian attire at once.”

Zormna opened her eyes, blinking up at him with a weak nod. She pivoted on her heel, her shoulders squared but weak, and marched directly to the now-open door.

Alea Tenngar followed her out, giving his own orders. “Aver Zormna, when you return from suspension you will be confined to your quarters until I can find you a fit position inside the district compound that can restrain your beastly temper.”

Stiffening, Zormna halted in the hallway. She kept her eyes ahead, trying to maintain an expression clear of insubordination, though it was hard keeping the look of hate out of her eyes. This was the worst. She knew he was just goading her. It was clear he wanted her kicked out of the Patrol. She turned away from her commander.

“Are you ignoring me? Are you showing disrespect to your commanding officer?” Tenngar said, his tone thick with warning.

Looking up at the Alea, Zormna halted once more and said, “No, sir. I simply had nothing to say—sir.”

Alea Tenngar resisted the urge to slap her. After all, they were not alone. But he did enjoy humiliating his inferior officers. Zormna had been right about that. It was like he was playing king of the mountain, kicking everyone else down to be at the top. Yet the Kevin had just stepped out of the Council room, walking right behind him close enough that the Alea could hear him breathing.

Laying his hand on Zormna’s shoulder, the Kevin said, “Go, Aver Zormna. Go and do as I ordered.”

Zormna nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the hallway ahead as she marched back to the Zeta barracks. It was best to get this done quickly, as far as Alea Tenngar as possible.

Alea Tenngar took a step in that direction also, but the Kevin stopped his march with one word. “Tenngar.”

Lacking the respect of rank, Alea Tenngar stopped immediately with a shudder.

“She won’t be returning to Zeta after the suspension,” the Kevin said slowly and clearly so that he was not mistaken.

The head of Zeta paled, refraining from turning around to face his superior.

The Kevin continued. “If you think I’m going to let you ruin the career of one of the most promising Surface Patrol officers I have been privileged to train, you have another thing coming. I’m sending her to the Alpha District, as of today. She will report to Alea Arden tonight, and you won’t have any more to do with Aver Zormna Clendar.”

Alea Tenngar turned around. His chin was high, his eyes cold on the head of the Surface Patrol, though his expression remained perfectly polite. Even his tone was without emotion. “You are doing this just to spite me. Fine. Take that Aver. She is a nuisance, and much too cocky for Zeta. Go—give her back to the cadets. That is where she belongs anyway.”

The weight of the Kevin’s stare rested on him as the Kevin shook his head only once. A cool smile spread on the Kevin’s lips. He leaned back to see the head of Zeta better. “She really frightened you, didn’t she?”

Alea Tenngar tried to reveal any feeling one way or the other, maintaining his eye contact with the Kevin. 

“Well, Tenngar, that’s the breaks when leading Zeta isn’t it?” The Kevin started to walk away down the hall, but then he stopped, turned, and said with a light laugh, “It was indeed exactly as she had said, wasn’t it?”

Alea Tenngar said nothing. But his cheeks colored