Orion Gambit - Traci Ganner series book 2

Orion Gambit - Ch 5

Chapter 5

The Trials

The ceremony was elegant, but as the Vice Chancellor had said, it was also brief. In just under a day, Fleet Admiral Pearson had risen to the top of the military chain of command. And although he lacked direct contact with Earth, he was also the de facto Imperial leader. Fortunately, the vice chancellor had a solution for that as well. By taking over authority for various civil and trade services, the vice chancellor would act as the primary legate and coordinate those services on behalf of the late emperor until such time as the new emperor took the oath of office. Precisely who would be sovereign would be decided after the war was concluded—a very tidy way of giving Scott more time to decide if he was ready to assume the chief role. Chancellor Torip seemed to feel confident in his ability to rule, but Scott was reluctant. It had never occurred to him that the position would be offered to him in his lifetime.

But Torip was right. If Scott didn’t take the role by both right of conquest and the last will of Emperor Eglon, then the remaining nobles, if any still survived on Earth, would begin legal battles of succession, and the Empire would be thrown into chaos. Perhaps one man should take the role temporarily until order could be restored.

Then there was the other matter to attend, one that he felt personally responsible for: the arraignment of Captain Traci Ganner. Since she was now in the service of the Orion Navy, the arraignment would mean very little. But if she were to once again be within his power to seize, he wanted the seizure to be legal. Vice Chancellor Torip had taken the liberty of arranging a meeting with the sector governor and the presiding judge of the regional circuit. After taking testimony and securing the appropriate consular approvals, the court had issued an arrest warrant for Traci. The warrant would be published to all sector commands—all nice and legal. Extradition would be requested from the Orions, and if they refused, it would become another reason to list them in the “Enemies” column instead of as an ally. Scott was beginning to think the Empire might once again return to a state of order and predictability. That was a system he could live with.

* * *

Captain Zuarit woke again with a strange pain behind his eyes, like he had been drugged or struck with a blunt object to the back of his head. He carefully felt along his cranial carapace, but found no indication of trauma. He blinked to clear the clouds from his vision.

He was lying face up, staring at a ceiling about twenty meters above him. As he glanced around, he saw that he was lying on strange, flexible mats in a large arena of sorts. There were no guards at the perimeter of the arena, and he could see doors. Doors to where?

He sat up and looked around. He was in an enclosure. Metal tubes formed a crude cube around him. The tubes made a soft hissing sound, as though they were emitting gas.

Getting to his feet, Zuarit padded over to the edges of the framework and reached out to touch one of the facets. The fuzzy, brunswick green foliage on his arms twinkled with puzzlement as he found only the sensation of air blowing downward at the edges of the enclosure. As he stepped off the mat, he found immediately that he could not breathe. Gasping, he stepped back into the enclosure and caught his breath.

So it was a cage, that somehow kept carbon dioxide inside and oxygen and nitrogen outside. Clever.

Looking around the perimeter again, he saw her—the woman that had appeared at the door of his cell. She was kneeling on the mats outside of his enclosure, sitting back on her heels. She was staring at him with those tiny, human eyes, but they were locked on his with complete focus.

Between them was a sword.

Captain Traci Ganner was wearing a martial uniform consisting of a white gi jacket, white pants, and a black belt tied tightly around her midsection. Her legs were covered by a black hakama skirt, which prevented her opponent from seeing the exact position of her feet.