Admiral Prechkov stood tall in front of the Empress. Neither afraid, nor humbled by her presence. To him she was just a figurehead. Someone with no real knowledge of how a military should be run nor how to rule an entire species. Somehow, by the grace of some other worldly power, she hadn't made a mistake yet that costed the Empire poorly. But it was just a matter of time.
"Admiral. You and I have much to discuss about the goings on happening in your strike group and specifically onboard your flagship." She said. He could see a slight sneer in her face.
"Yes Empress. Whatever you wish to discuss." Prechkov replied with feigned humility.
"First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your faithful service to the UET for the last 50 years. It has been noted in your file that you were barely a Strikecraft pilot when the Marauder wars began and slowly over time you rose to the rank of Captain and commanding officer over the cruiser ISS Brigadier, and then shortly after that to Admiral and commanding officer over the ISS Glory. Our oldest battleship in the fleet." She went on. "I also see in your file that at the Battle of Iridian Prime, you not only defended our fledgling colony in the air, but you also piloted your own Strikecraft to help overcome the forces of the Marauders."
"Yes Empress. This is true." Prechkov responded. He was confused as to what this had to do with him being here and why she was toying with him. They both knew why he stood in front of her right now and it would soon become the unavoidable subject. She stared at him hard for a moment before speaking again.
"Admiral, why is it that my Defense Minister and his team found a signal emanating from your quarters, containing classified imperial documentation that requires a clearance that you do not have?" she asked. There was a tone of curiosity in her voice but he could tell she was mostly angry at having to be on this Star Base and not nestled sweetly in her gilded palace on Sol.
"Empress the information I accessed was not labeled appropriately and was found in a discontinued maintenance droid that was shoved into a ventilation shaft in the hanger bay. As this was highly unusual and a possible breach in security, I had my team download its information to see what was on it in case it was an attack." He responded with confidence.
"And what did you find on the droid, Admiral?" she asked turning to look at the array of computer displays in front of her.
"Nothing discernable, Empress. Just some garbled old signals."
"You wouldn't lie to me, Admiral, would you?" She asked pushing a few buttons on her screen.
"I am loyal to the United Empire of Terra, Empress. I only act in the best interest of our species." The admiral was becoming nervous. A hologram appeared on the console in front of him. It was a fellow Admiral of his, Admiral Bennett. The message was addressed to the Empress. Detailing the message that Prechkov sent to his fellow officers.
"Admiral. I won't sit here and tell you that you're not loyal to Terrans as a species. But I will tell you that by sending this out as a message to the fleets, and not reporting it to the Defense Minister, you have committed high treason. You undermined my authority and attempted to incite a rebellion against the myself and my counsel. And you know the punishment for treason Admiral." She turned around and looked him in the eyes now, her green eyes seemed to be glowing.
"Talon!" She called out to her guard. He entered in with the other guard. "Take this traitor to my ship. He is to be taken to Sol where he will be executed by firing squad."
"Yes my Empress. It shall be done." The guard grabbed the admiral by the arm and began to lead him out of the room. Before they went through the door, Prechkov paused and took a breath.
"Empress" he began, "just remember, if The Keepers find out we've been lying to them, we will not make it long enough to colonize any new planets. You know they have rules against what I saw in that video. And if you care about the people of this empire as much as I do, you'll understand how dangerous this is and you'll tell them what really happened and beg for mercy." He then shrugged off the guards grip on his arm and marched out of the room.