Dryker's Folly: Book 1 in Void Wraith Origins by Chris Fox

Author:Chris Fox [Fox, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chris Fox Writes LLC
Published: 2020-09-29T16:00:00+00:00

27

Einstein. Hawking. Reid

Reid took slow, shallow breaths as he crossed the courtroom and sat before the tribunal. Three equally hard-eyed admirals, two men and one woman, stared at him like refuse that had just been tracked across their carpet.

The judge in the center rested both elbows on the table, and speared him with her gaze. “Dr. Galen Reid, you’ve come before this court today because you’ve been charged with aiding and abetting the enemy. That’s treason, son. If found guilty you will be summarily executed, right here.”

Reid looked around for a place to sit, but there were no other chairs. “From the look of things you’ve already decided my guilt.”

“The facts are quite clear. A half-dozen witnesses described your actions in grave detail.” The woman narrowed her eyes. Reid could probably find her name on his comm, but he didn’t care enough to search. She was insignificant.

“Then what’s the question, exactly?” he asked mildly.

“We want to know why, son,” snapped the judge on the right. He had a thick, dark beard, and dark skin to match. His accent placed him from Brazil. “Why would you so readily betray your world?”

“Is that what you think I did?” He moved to the back wall, and sat with his back against it. It was much more comfortable, and relieved the growing pressure in his legs. “Admirals, if you believe that, it only confirms how shortsighted and inept you are. Do you know who I am?”

“Of course we do,” the insignificant woman snapped. “You’re one of the most brilliant minds ever drafted into service, and the court acknowledges your numerous scientific contributions. But that doesn’t excuse what happened here, even given your age. Surely you could have used that vast intellect to overcome the cats who attacked engineering during the invasion.”

“Definitely.” Reid nodded. “It would have been risky, but I believe I could have led them into a trap.”

“Then why didn’t you?” the Brazilian demanded.

“Because I have a vested interest in the survival of our species.” Reid gave them a contemptuous look. Insects. “These Tigris are raiders. I quickly deduced the state of their society. They came to acquire weapons, and seem to lack manufacturing capabilities. Their weapons and armor are all of advanced age and disrepair, and, as you’ve no doubt concluded, they do not carry conventional small arms into combat.”

“What does any of that have to do with your actions?” The Brazilian glared daggers at Reid, and Reid glared right back.

“Let’s ignore for the moment that I gathered countless data. That I learned how these aliens are able to speak English, and have already identified the affected genetic markers their Fox P2 virus targets.” Reid smiled, and rose to his feet. He produced a small blinking transponder from his pocket. He held it up so they could see it. “I’ve attached a nano-recorder to the warrior I released. Every twelve hours the recorder will data dump the footage it records. We’ll be able to see what system these Tigris go to, and what this warrior does there.

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