ALL NOVEL 52. Navigating Trials
It didn’t take long for the entire crew to get back in gear. As casual as they could be, Captain Erickson ran a tight ship. By the time I was seated back at the helm console, basically everyone else on the bridge crew was in place and beginning to give status reports on the systems they were in charge of. When a moment opened up for me, I was right in line with the rest, reporting thrusters and main engines at the ready.
Casey was right next to me again, but seemed to be keeping a bit more distance this time. After going through a full flight with assistance, and after the reassurances I’d gotten from Echo and her mother, I was feeling a lot more relaxed. My nerves weren’t entirely gone, but I was having to put significantly less effort into holding them at bay. I was a damn fine pilot and I wasn’t about to let myself get in my own way of showing that.
As soon as we were cleared from protected space, the Ratatosk shook with power as the FTL engines kicked in and took us from low sub-light speeds past the barriers of relativity. We had a short cruise to the gate complex and then an hour’s wait before we were allowed to depart the Sol system, bound for the Cassini Star Hub.
The Cassini hub was one of the earliest major ports humanity had built after inventing slipspace travel. It sat at a favorable junction between a number of the more productive early colonies and grew into one of the largest trade systems in the Bubble. We weren’t there to take in the sights though. Immediately after arriving, I pointed us into the vast sea of stars and cranked the stardrive back up.
Once the course was laid in though, there was very little to actively do for me other than monitoring the sensors for any major obstacles. It wasn’t the most engaging work, and for most people, boredom was a problem. I had at least partial immunity to that, though. Stargazing had long been a hobby of mine and doing so from the bridge of a ship was a treat I’d not been able to indulge in for quite some time. Not since the Forge had I been on any larger ships during a trip.
The view from the spaceports and stations were one thing. D’reth had a decent view of the planet below, but any view into deep space was interrupted by traffic and debris. Illume didn’t have the debris problem, but the traffic was significantly heavier as well. Out here in interstellar space though? There was nothing between me and the stars except the viewscreen. Nothing else could give me such feelings of insignificance while also paradoxically making me feel so powerful and singular. A few centuries ago, humanity could only dream of views like this, and now here I was embracing everything that the wings of Icarus could never show them. It was humbling and breathtaking and many other words of wonder that I couldn’t really be bothered to think of in the light of the sea of stars spread out before me.
As with all things though, my shift ended before long and my stargazing with it. It set a good pace for the next several days, however. With the first day done and gone and more still to come while we traversed the expanse, the excitement and nerves both faded to the background as the ship settled into business as usual. The crew had relaxed into their routine, including Echo.
After the first day, Casey left me alone at the helm. With some more time to adjust the controls to be comfortable for me, I settled in nicely. Ratatosk was the biggest ship I’d ever flown before and I’d been nervous about it, but once I was used to the way it felt in handling, it wasn’t much different than anything else. I would still have my nerves after me in any tight quarters situation, but I was okay for the time being.
My off-shift time was spent hanging out with my girlfriend largely, though I also was introduced to the gaming simulator in the crew lounge. I’d never been much for games, mostly due to my limited budget, but I’d found a specific program that dropped me into the cockpit of a fighter craft during a fictional war. The accuracy of the simulation wasn’t complete, but I still enjoyed throwing myself through increasingly complex maneuvers under the tutelage of none other than Casey. They were an excellent pilot, I’d known that before, but I was suddenly beginning to suspect that they were wasted on a starship like this. The mastery with which the enby could make their nimble fighter dance was impressive.
Of course, I had my pride. Within two days I allowed myself to be goaded into a challenge that brought most every crewmate not on shift into the lounge to watch Casey and I engage in a dogfight. Never before had my skills as a pilot been put to such an intense test and I loved every second of it. I had zero wish to put myself in any real danger, but part of me thrilled in the sheer adrenaline of the simulated g-forces as I slammed the controls to one side, dodging yet another flurry of electromagnetically propelled tungsten fired at me. Unfortunately for my pride, I finally lost, though it was closer than I probably should have had any right to hope for. Casey’s experience in this simulator was just too much for me to conquer. I swore that I’d beat the enby someday, but we were all still in good spirits.
Day four of our cruise, though, held more in store for me than games and work. I’d been looking forward to it ever since my conversation with the enforcers in the hospital on Telemachus IV.
It was finally time for the trial of Harvey Kruger.
The entirety of the Erickson family along with Jay and I gathered in the conference room to watch the affair live on the holo, streaming directly from the courtroom. Although, as happy as I was to see justice done, there was little celebration to be had in the conference room. All of us were stone faced as we watched the accused enter the courtroom.
I could barely recognize Kruger when he walked in. The man I’d known was well-groomed and refused to be seen in anything other than his sharply cut business suits. But this wasn’t that man anymore. The Kruger that walked in looked half broken, with unkempt hair, rumpled clothes and a terrifyingly unhinged glint in his eyes. It was disconcerting to see the snake I’d once feared and respected reduced to… this.
Beverly Yates, on the other hand, was the picture of professionalism when he stepped forward as a member of the prosecution. All of us watched on as Mister Yates outlined the terrible things the accused had done, participated in, and masterminded during his tenure as head of the Torgal Telemachus branch. I’d known he was bad, but to hear all of the crimes laid out in such a clear and concise manner was almost scary. And all of that was just lead-up to the blatant acts of sabotage leading up to this trial. Even in his utmost professionalism, Yates read Kruger for the filth he was.
For his part, Harvey Kruger had a team of lawyers that did their best to rebut the accusations, but it was clear that they really didn’t have much ground to stand on. The evidence against him was immense and seemed airtight, almost absurdly so.
Something told me that there had been interference from the Torgal Corporation. The corporate world was a cut-throat one, and it wouldn’t have surprised me at all if some of the evidence had been embellished by the company in order to further distance themselves from any liability. I couldn’t really care less though. Kruger was a diseased rat as far as they were concerned now and I wasn’t exactly inclined to give him any mercy. If the facial expressions of the jury were anything to go by, they weren’t likely to be so inclined either.
In the end, I watched the man who had come millimeters away from ending my life be hauled out of the courtroom in handcuffs. The sentence was life in prison, with no chance of parole, and the seizure of any and all assets. He was angry, that much was clear, his expression more resembling that of a rabid dog than the businessman I’d once called boss. For the full distance between the stand and the back door of the court, Kruger screamed obscenities at everyone in the room.
“I made that shithole!” Kruger yelled, spittle flying. “There wouldn’t be anything there if not for me! That wretch should have stayed dead! You’ll see! Telemachus will fail without me! You need-~!”
His rant was cut off by a guard that shoved a stun baton into Kruger’s gut. His body locked into rigid agony and the light faded from his eyes as he slumped into unconsciousness. I’d seen wild animals in the junkyard with more decorum than Kruger was showing in the projection.
I couldn’t pity Kruger, not after what he’d done for me. Instead, my feelings were more of disappointment. Even in his ruthlessness, I had once respected Kruger. The man wielded power like a scalpel in the hands of a surgeon and his normally cold, calculating demeanor was reliable to a fault. He wasn’t lying when he said that he’d made Telemachus into what it was today. From all the stories I’d heard, D’reth station was barely holding together when the Torgal crews had moved in. Call his methods what you will, but Kruger had brought money into a system that everyone else was ready to abandon. The Torgals would undoubtedly install a new tool to run that branch, but without Kruger, it might not turn the profit it once had.
I’d never expected good from him, but I expected better than the wild animal he had been reduced to. It was disgusting in a way. Hatred would have been the easy thing to feel, and I did feel it, but not the way I thought I would. I didn’t even cry in relief as I listened to the judgment be handed down. No, the only thing I could think of was the stark difference between the man on screen and the one I’d known.
Capitalism was a monster that bred monsters. Kruger had played the game and drank the poison. Now that same system had turned its back on him and Kruger was left with nothing.
Echo pulled me into a hug and the others expressed their support as well, but I was left feeling numb. An anger burned deep within me, but it no longer flowed through my veins like fire.
“You know,” I said quietly. “I think all I really want is to forget him.” A breath. “But I know that I never will.”
Callisto’s only response was to hug me tighter.
Conrad Erickson pulled out a fresh decanter and poured me a glass. The rest of the room was celebrating justice being served, and I did eventually join them. I knew, though, that I hadn’t seen the end of these feelings. I hadn’t seen the last of the nightmares he had caused.
It was all I could do to just keep moving forward with my life, knowing that Kruger could never hurt me again.