Titan's Plague: The Trial by Tom Briggs (story reading .txt) đź“•
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- Author: Tom Briggs
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“That’s a lie!” Pati screamed.
“The state requests the Defense refrain from comment until the presentation is complete,” Jack Reagan said.
Pati complied. Next, she watched how she pulled the plug on the twins without her attempting to deal with them or showing how her own life-support had been disconnected. It was too much.
She stood and looked at Jack Reagan and his minion and screamed, “This-is-not-what-happened!” She then forced herself to hold her emotions in check, although it felt like covering a volcano.
Jack Reagan, however, did not look like a victorious conqueror. He looked slightly to the side as if in thought, reviewing the situation. Obviously, something was not right with him.
“Ms. Lynch,” Harry Meldrom said, “the evidence has been recovered and certified by a professional engineer. And it demonstrates quite well what happened on the mining ship. Now, your counsel has completed testimony, and it’s time for you to receive your just sentence.”
“I already served a sentence. After this, I’m getting on the first ship out of this hellhole.” She left her chair and walked to the prosecutor’s table.
Harry Meldrom stood up, too, and stepped closer to Jack Reagan. “Ms. Lynch, I agree that you’ll be on the next ship. But you’ll be back in Earth orbit thirty years later.”
Pati continued to close in on Harry Meldrom. She had her guard up as she got close—and she fell to the floor.
“Bailiffs, please return Ms. Lynch to her chair,” Jack Reagan said.
Pati couldn’t move. She heard everything people were saying, and she could see and move her eyes, but that was it. In a second, she felt hands on her arms, and they lifted her to her feet without putting weight on them. She could see the two female bailiffs carrying her back to her chair. They sat her down and put straps over her arms that secured them to the chair.
She felt Nancy lean close to her. “I’ll take it from here and see what I can salvage,” Nancy said.
Pati could look at the JJ screen and see about sixty degrees in each direction. Her ability to move her head was gone. She just listened and prayed.
Nancy stood. “The Defense objects to the introduction of the recently displayed evidence,” she said. “We strongly suggest the court remove the data from any records used to tabulate the final decision.”
Pati saw text appear on the screen. “Objection respectfully overruled,” the text said.
“In that case,” Nancy continued, “The Defense requires a recess to review. The defendant hastily overruled her counsel in this matter, and we feel such a course would be granted upon appeal should the recess of at least thirty days not be granted.”
Pati saw displayed on the JJ screen: “Defendant’s overrule of counsel has happened before in this jurisdiction and has not been appealed. Previous case law does not exist to predict outcome of appeal. Recess will not be granted.” Her arms grew cold when she sensed Nancy had sat back down.
“It’s the best I can do for now,” Nancy whispered. “We’ll have to see what happens.”
Pati cried. With the paralysis wearing off, she could only shed a few tears. It made her stomach hurt. She could only hope.
The screen displayed: “Does the State and Defense have further information?”
“No,” Jack Reagan said first. Nancy also replied in the negative.
The screen went blank and then displayed “76.”
“Yes!” a man behind Pati screamed, and applause broke out.
“The Defense appeals this decision,” Nancy yelled above the crowd.
“The state notes the request,” Jack Reagan replied, in a voice that also carried above the crowd.
Pati needed to break down, cover her face, and sob like she never had. The score she received meant she was being repatriated back to Earth. However long she didn’t remember, she just knew she was in for hell, or even worse.
“Come on,” Nancy said, from behind her.
The paralyzing drug had mostly worn off, and Pati sobbed without making much noise. She felt her chair move forward. There must have been wheels somewhere in the legs, and Nancy rolled her toward the JJ screen. Before they went through the door that led to the docks, Nancy walked to her front and leaned over to get close.
“You’ll be in orbit around Saturn during the appeal, instead of the long trip back to Earth. Even in the best case, you’re not getting back to Earth for a few years, but I think we can still get you there with all the complexities of this JJ decision.”
Pati still cried, making more noise as they approached the door. It opened on their approach, and Nancy wheeled her through. They entered a brightly lit, white hallway alone, and Pati heard the door shut behind her.
“Of course, things would have gone better for you had you listened to Temujin, and joined us,” Nancy said.
* * *
The drug’s effect dissipated enough so Pati’s jaw could open. She tried to ask how Nancy knew about Temujin, because that was not a name she gave to Connie to report. She only told Connie she had met with the leader of the extraterrestrials.
“He wanted that name after we learned more about your history on Earth,” Nancy said. “It seemed appropriate since you labeled our land, Xanadu, and then this settlement, Karakorum.” She pushed Pati’s chair down the white hallway, with white, windowed doors on the left side.
Pati couldn’t ask questions, first, because the drug still slightly affected her, second, because she still tried to wrap her brain around what she heard from Nancy’s mouth. Finally, she was a condemned woman, and the life she’d been sentenced to seemed as dark as this hallway was white.
Nancy stopped the chair and stepped around to look Pati in the eyes. She stood there, different. Even wearing the same business suit, the same hairstyle, and the same makeup: she wasn’t Nancy Tate.
“While you were on the mining ship, Nancy made the right decision and joined with us. She’s with me now, and she’s never been happier. Just like we promised you.”
Pati understood what the alien believed, and she couldn’t believe a person would agree to that deal. Pati wanted to strike out and snap her neck, possibly relieve Nancy of the possession as she did for Richard. It also would give her the chance to escape. With the drug wearing off, would she have a chance?
“I don’t have to worry about anyone hearing us. This hallway is blocked for the condemned and their attorneys. The state goes the extra effort to see that our conversations remain private.”
There were six doors total. When Nancy brought her here yesterday, she pointed out doors three and six as the likely ships for the next repatriate. One through three were for the shorter trips, lasting less than two decades. While four through six were for the longer ones, lasting up to half a lifetime. Each door had a window that allowed a person to ensure a ship was on the other side before opening. The ship’s hatch also contained windows for the same reason.
“You could have avoided this,” Nancy said. “The engineer was ready to make the records look like whatever we wanted them to look like. Make it look like Bruno and the twins died by accident—simple—and if you’d joined us, that would have happened, and you’d be free.”
The drug had worn off, but Pati remained silent. She tested the straps securing her wrists. Simple velcro held them in place, which is what she expected.
“And you going to the media didn’t make our mission easier. Luckily, with your temper, we could use the youth who had joined us to unnerve you. That worked well in the trial when you overruled Nancy Tate. I couldn’t look like I was throwing you to the wolves and still have people believe I was your defense counsel. Fortunately, you did your part admirably, and now I can put you on the boat to Earth, which will orbit Saturn during your appeal. I might even get you acquitted, but you will never see Earth again. In fact, the ship will have technical difficulties soon after you lift off. I won’t tell you what they’ll be because you should have the excitement of finding out for yourself.”
She walked back behind Pati and pushed her forward again. “I think the airlock to your ship is behind the fifth door,” Nancy said.
Pati saw the door approaching fast. The straps on her wrists and ankles were well placed. Jumping up, breaking free of the restraints, and attacking Nancy wasn’t going to happen.
“Yes, here we are,” Nancy said when she stopped at the airlock. She walked to the door and pushed the enter button on the right side of the airlock door. The doors opened, and Pati could see the interior of the ship the state expected her to live much of the rest of her life in.
“Now, as your attorney, I need to explain to you that you’ll board this ship, and after liftoff, you’ll orbit Saturn until your appeal is complete. If you’re acquitted, you’ll return here immediately. If your sentence is upheld, the ship will then travel to Earth and arrive approximately thirty years from today.” She smiled. “Although you needn’t worry, you’ll not have to suffer that long.”
Pati remained silent. Nancy went behind her and pushed the chair through the hatch. Pati spent hours
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