CHANCERIAN GAMBIT: TWO TALES FROM THE CHANCERIAN UNIVERSE by Drew Avera

Author:Drew Avera [Avera, Drew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-01-04T22:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

“Guilty.”

The word hung in the air around her, lacing its way around her neck and choking the life out of her. She knew before taking her first step that morning that she would be found guilty, that she was guilty, but the sting of it almost brought her to tears. She fought them away, swallowing the knot in her throat, and stood as tall as her weak knees would allow her. Calibri felt a small amount of relief as the ship came out from under thrust and the gravitational forces on the ship were at a minimum. If not for the mag-boots, she thought she might float away.

“Do you understand the sentencing against you?” Captain Tyrone asked.

“Yes, sir,” she said through her teeth, barely capable of opening her mouth fully because fear made her keep her jaw clenched.

“Very well. Master at Arms, will you place the EVA helmet onto her head?”

“Yes, sir,” the man barked behind her. Calibri couldn’t help but feel there was a sense of satisfaction in the man’s voice as he slapped the helmet into the place, the loud popping sound hurting her ears as it locked into place. Her first response was to ask the man who he thought he was dealing with, but her sentencing effectively demoted her from having any authority in the Navy. She was no one at all anymore. “Done, sir.”

“Thank you,” the captain replied, a grim look etched on his face as Calibri looked at him. “Take her to the airlock.”

Calibri felt the man tug at her upper arm, dragging her backwards. She stumbled at first, before falling into step next to him. She could hear her mag-boots clacking against the deck with each step as the sound reverberated through her EVA suit, echoing in the small space between her ears and the liner of the helmet. The sound distracted her as she walked, giving her something to focus on other than the airlock looming ahead. When she finally looked up, she noticed the gaping opening was large enough for small vessels to be transferred from ship to ship. As she recalled, it wasn’t the same airlock used when she first boarded the Krylex. The captain could have put me in the maintenance airlock, she thought, but this is the only space large enough to have the crew watch. I’m assuming that was his plan.

The Master at Arms shoved her across the blue-painted line of the deck that correlated with where the airlock doors would cycle closed. The paint was fresh and easily identifiable. She wondered if it was a coincidence, or if it was freshly painted for her sentencing. She doubted any of the crew would want to clean up the remains of a human body crushed by two-tons of steel clamping shut. On her side of the line she watched the crew close in on her position. The captain stood in the center of the semicircle, his dour face showing nothing more than the sense that he wanted to get this over with and move on with life.

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