The Girl in the Tank: Galactic Consortium, Season 1

Episode Six: Are there Closets in Space? ch.2

Dan slept fitfully in the security office. They hadn't placed him in the brig but he was nominally in custody. He was glad. He wasn't ready to go back to his own room and have to explain to his bunkmates what had happened, he was still too shook up.

Fox and Nara brought him breakfast in the morning. They ate silently. When they were done they led him to the main conference room.

Klempke and Green were already there. They looked pale, less hostile in the cold light of day. Both captains were there as well, along with most of the security department. Three more people were there, with glowing outlines showing they weren't really there. An elderly woman in a dark robe sat toward the back of the room. A heavy set man in blue civil service attire was talking to the Klempke and Green. The third was a woman in a dark green dress uniform, a representative of the Military Justice Department.

She came over and he snapped a salute. "At ease," she said. "My name is Cheryl Brandford. I am here, if you can call it being here," she smirked, "to represent the military's legal system. Once we've seen the evidence, my counter part among the others," she gestured at the man, "and myself will each give you our legal counsel. You can then decide to be tried by their judge or wait until you are released and be tried in our system."

"And if I were tried by the military?" Dan asked.

She shrugged. "Command recommends you be put on leave without pay pending further investigation. There would be a disciplinary hearing when you get home. Given the extenuating circumstances, likely there will be a note made in your permanent record, but no real punishment."

Dan nodded, a lump in his throat. She might consider a note in his permanent record as no punishment, but Dan wasn't so sure. If Madsen was right, they were likely to lose their security clearance over being bio-idented by the Consortium. That and a disciplinary note? Dan had considered making the navy his career, see how far he could rise in the ranks. Now he was looking at a dead end job until he retired.

"What about them?" he asked, nodding towards the other two.

"I am not at liberty to say," Cheryl told him.

"Is everyone here?" the elderly woman asked. "We will begin in five minutes."

The civil servant from the consortium came over and introduced himself to Dan and Cheryl made for the other two men.

Everyone found seats. The first step in the trial was to view the evidence. Dan paled and his gut churned. He closed his eyes, wishing to be anywhere else.

I don't want to see this, I don't want to see this, he said over and over in his mind. A view of the two men's room appeared in the center of the conference room. Dan watched as they led Kavi in. She was smiling and playful.

"It's a game," Klempke told her, holding up a gag. "Just bite down on this." He had the gagged tied and Green had her arms behind her before she realized this was not a game. She shook her head no, her eyes widening in fear.

The projection stopped. "You," the elderly woman barked. Dan followed her gaze to Green, who had his face down. "You were willing to do these actions last night. Now you are not willing to see them?" Green steeled himself and looked up.

The video played on. They stripped Kavi, heedless of her struggle and laid her out on the bed, Green at her head. Then the door slid open and Klempke was turning to address Dan.

Dan sighed, relief flowing through him. Thank god, I got there before... A tear of relief formed at the corner of his eye as he watched the remaining video.