Starship Desolation Read Free Page A

aware of my rights,” Slade said. “So you can fuck off and get me a lawyer.” She jerked away as a guard clutched her arm. “Get your hands off of me, Petty Officer.”
    “Do you want to add resisting arrest to the charge?”
    Slade scowled at the Master at Arms. “I want Lieutenant Commander Catherine Kent as my council.”
    “You’ll get who’s assigned to you.”
    Slade’s eyes narrowed as she looked over his name tag. “Chief Petty Officer Thorne, I’m the senior ranking officer in the fleet. When these ridiculous charges are dismissed—and they will be dismissed—do you really want to be on my bad side?”
    Thorne grimaced.
    “Catherine Kent. She’s aboard the Scorpion .”
    “The Scorpion is getting put into dry dock for repairs.”
    “Then she has to be somewhere on New Earth,” Slade growled.
    “I’ll see what I can do, sir.”
    “Cameron, keep your mouth shut,” Slade said. “Don’t talk to anybody without an attorney. Bo, the same goes for you.”
    “I am not, in any way, familiar with your legal customs,” Bo said.
    “Just keep quiet. You have my word, I will get you out of this.”
    Slade followed Thorne to the detention center. She was separated from the others and put into a solitary holding cell. A guard was posted outside.
    They were going to treat her like they treated all terrorists. She knew the drill. They were going to keep her locked up in this cell and delay access to her attorney for as long as possible. They would feed her as little as possible and bring her to the brink of starvation and dehydration. When she fell asleep, they’d wake her every 15 minutes to keep her sleep deprived. Then, when she was frazzled enough, they’d begin the interrogation and dangle a cheeseburger in front of her face to get her to talk.
    Article 31 stated that it was mandatory the accused have an attorney present during all questioning. In the first era, before New Earth, you had to specifically request an attorney. The law had been changed shortly after the second era of mankind began. But there were ways around it. If someone was foolish enough to sign away their rights to counsel, they would lose that protection. When someone hasn’t eaten for a week, you’d be surprised at what they’re willing to give up, in exchange for a little food.
    Slade suffered through it, and didn’t cave. She could only hope that Cameron and Bo were getting treated better than she was. After a week, she was able to meet with her attorney.
    She was brought into an interrogation room. Cameras were recording everything, and there was a two-way surveillance mirror.
    Catherine Kent entered and motioned to the people on the other side of the mirror. “Cut the cameras. Now!” She wasn’t putting up with any bullshit. “This is a privileged conversation.”
    Kent took a seat across the table from Slade. “How have they been treating you?”
    Slade laughed.
    “Figures.” Catherine was frustrated. “You haven’t talked to anyone, have you?”
    Slade shook her head. “How’s Cameron?”
    “Let’s focus on your case. I can’t discuss my other clients.”
    Slade gave her a look that begged for more information.
    “He’s okay. But he’s got an uphill battle.”
    It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but any news was better than nothing.
    “You’ve got an uphill battle as well. Rourke’s been given command of the Scorpion .”
    “At least she’s in good hands.”
    “Rourke is the one who pressed Command to bring charges.”
    Slade’s eyes grew wide. “What?”
    “He contends that your defiance of Command, and your forays into the DMZ, instigated the Verge attack.”
    “They had clearly been planning this attack for some time. It was blind luck we stumbled across their fleet and were able to destroy them.” Slade hung her head, thinking of the sacrifice Walker had made. As far as she knew, he died in the blast.
    “I understand. And if you want my personal opinion, Rourke saw an opportunity and