The Wess'har Wars 6 - Judge by Karen Traviss

Author:Karen Traviss
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction - Fantasy
Published: 2011-04-30T07:00:35+00:00

* * * *

PM’s office, Kamberra: two hours to deadline.

“Okay, this is the agreement, or at least what’s in place so far,” said Storley. “We have a location for any handover that’s yet to be agreed. The FEU Mitterand Air Base.”

Bari lined up the coffee in anticipation of a long night. Shukry looked in need of it too. “Why there?”

“Access for Eqbas ships as well as the Canadians.”

“Talk me through the timeline.”

“First critical thing is the response from Canada,” said Storley. “Because the Eqbas want Canada to agree to a death sentence, and they’re still kicking that around. Expectations will not match. The Eqbas assume that a trial will convict, because they don’t factor in motive. We have to prove specific intent in genocide cases, or else it’s just a list of murder charges, which won’t get the death penalty in Canada anyway. Either the Eqbas are blind to that, or they’re nodding and smiling with the intention of lynching her anyway.”

“I’m not sure what Canada is playing at.” Bari got up for a walk around the office to keep his circulation going. The whole ADF was on standby now, because Bari could see this going off like a chain of firecrackers. “Once they have Prachy, and the Eqbas work out she won’t die, they’ve got a ticking bomb in their lap.”

“They’re mindful of the risk. They’re looking at bringing a general war crimes charge based on the cobalt bombs, and seeing if a death penalty option can be attached to that. Cobalt is only there to wipe out life indiscriminately, no other use. Let’s not even get into the legal status of the assault. No war declared, obviously. It’s a mire.”

Eqbas didn’t like mires. They wouldn’t wait through a year of legal pretrial argument. Bari had no intention of saying it explicitly, but he knew Storley and Andreaou thought it too: the cleanest option would be for the Eqbas to kill Prachy there and then, leaving the FEU to decide if it was up for a shooting match with a massively advanced alien navy. It was going to be ugly, but not quite as ugly as the same scene happening on the soil of an ally.

“Who do we have at the location now?”

“Just a diplomatic service observer. No visible involvement to drag us in—the Eqbas are sending the private military contractors and a few Skavu to ride security.”

“By contractors, you mean the former marines.”

“And Frankland. No, she won’t be on the ground. No risk or hint that we might hand her over, accidentally or otherwise.”

“Okay, so this is only a question of the size of the turd entering the turbine, not if the turd will hit it.”

“I’m afraid so. But we’re within the law, and observing.”

“Niall, your precision is laudable, but the Eqbas are the law from now on. And if they do have a legal system, I’m too scared to look at it.”

“The air force is on alert five, anyway,” said Andreaou. “But I would still like to see the trial, and let the Eqbas loose later.

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