A/N: This chapter deals with one of the things I am leaving largely unsaid, namely, racial insults. I have purposely confined insulting terms to Xiùlán (Chinese) and Samantha (mixed Indian and British), as they are my main characters. Joesiar's racism and misogyny knows no bounds; if someone is not a 'white' North American male, assume the worst about him, then double that for good measure. Representatives from every human 'race' and both genders are in Xiùlán's class; I only mention them in passing (like Heather Gonzales) as they interact with my two protagonists. Thanks for reading!
Stupidity isn't punishable by death. If it was, there would be a hell of a population drop — Laurell K. Hamilton, The Laughing Corpse
• BASE DINING HALL — 01 OCTOBER 2179 · 1835 •
Xiùlán carried her tray to the table, set it down and took a seat next to Traynor after setting her shoulder bag on the bench beside her. "How you doing, Sēn měi. What happened in McKenzie's office?" She unwrapped and separated the included disposable chop sticks and began eating as she used her left hand to hold her bowl under her chin.
"She's going to call for a hearing … ask for an adjudicator from Earth so we have a chance to get Joesiar kicked out of the program, maybe Hobe too," Sam responded before sipping her iced tea. "What do you have on your tray? Smells kinda spicy."
"Just some Shanghainese stir-fried vegetables," Xiùlán replied between bites. "It's really good, and my stomach thinks my throat's been cut." She took a couple more bites before continuing, "I think you're smelling the ginger and garlic – maybe the red onion. You ought to try it … it's really nicely done, considering it came out of an institutional kitchen." She paused to drink some of her own iced tea before continuing, "Does McKenzie think we even have a chance?"
Sam ignored her friend's question. "Just so you know," Traynor complained, "any time you have food cooked with garlic, I get to experience it as well. You do know you sweat the stuff, right?"
"Okay, Sam, just so I know for my own information, are we having a disagreement here?" Xiùlán asked. "Because if we are, I need to know if that means our honeymoon is over."
"What!? No! Where in 'ell did that come from!? I was just making an observation, and I …" Traynor paused as she saw the suppressed grin and the twinkle in Xiùlán's eyes.
"Got you!" Xiùlán triumphed. "I swear, sometimes you are just so damned easy! I mean, well, you're 'easy' every night of the week, but that's another thing altogether; right now, it's like …"
"Dammit, Xiùlán, you are going to be really sorry when I have a seizure or a stroke or a heart attack from all your jokin' around," Traynor said in mock exasperation. "I never know when to take you seriously anymore."
Xiùlán took another bite of her veggies and said in a solemn voice, "I am being serious right now, Samantha. I. Love. You. Don't ever think for a moment that that will ever change." Xiùlán wanted to kiss her, but couldn't do so here. "Now, what about McKenzie?"
Samantha fixed Xiùlán with a cold stare that quickly warmed. "Dammit, Xiùlán. You are so impossible sometimes." Traynor chuckled. "I love you, too. And McKenzie believes we do have a good chance of getting the results we want." Sam paused before continuing. "She did start to ask me about us. She thinks if it becomes known you and I are in a relationship, it could lessen our chances of getting Joesiar kicked out of the Alliance."
"Hhhhmmm …" Xiùlán made a sound around her chop sticks as she took another mouthful of veggies. "Just how did you take them down, wo de ài?" she asked. "I didn't receive a copy of the video you purloined from security."
"I'm so sorry; here …" Traynor activated her omnitool and sent a copy of the audio and video to Yuán's omni. "McKenzie said she'd never seen any moves like what I used to take those two idiots down today. She did thank me for not killing Joesiar, by the way." Traynor chuckled as Xiùlán took a look at the footage without the audio. "Not sure that was an intentional error on my part, of if Joesiar's concrete skull saved him." She paused as she examined her hands. "I'm going to need some more first-aid on these knuckles, in any event."
"Let me see them …" Yuán set her bowl on the table and gently took Traynor's hands, looking intently at the injured knuckles on each. "Looks like those on the left are in worse shape than those on the right … understandable, since you hit 'im in the mouth with your left. We'll treat them again tonight … should heal without any problems. Keep flexing your fingers so they don't stiffen up." Xiùlán returned her attention to Sam's story as she picked up her bowl to finish eating. "You tell her who your trainer is?"
"She asked, since she's sure nothing she saw me do is part of the 'official' core curriculum taught here. She said she now understands how I learned to fight so viciously … said no one wants to go toe-to-toe with you." Traynor paused for a moment to finish her tea. "That asari you tossed around? She's still having trouble breathing through her nose. McKenzie says you fight on 'auto-pilot' … that you enter into some sort of detached state, a trance, like you're outside your body. 'Totally merciless', she called you." Sam paused, then added, "I told her you hadn't actually killed anyone …"
Xiùlán looked thoughtful. "There may be a bit of truth to what she said, Sēn měi." She finished off her meal, using a bit of bread to sop up the last bit of soy sauce. "Looking at this video? It appears to me you're learning to fight as I do … look at this."
Xiùlán brought her arm around in front of Sam and replayed the video from the point where Sam had put Hobe on the deck. "Watch your face and body as you jump straight up … you're focused … form nearly perfect … no distractions. The kick occurs at the perfect time to have the maximum effect on Joesiar." Xiùlán 'stepped' through the video footage a frame at a time. "When Joesiar came at you, your reaction was automatic, wasn't it? You didn't have to think about it, didn't have to analyze it, did you? I haven't had a chance to see you in action against a live opponent … but … see here? You look to be in a trance-like state, and you've developed some real speed! All your punches 'snapped', just like you've been instructed; the second and third punch each connect with such precision!" Pointing to several frames of video after Joesiar was down, Xiùlán gloated, "See this? Look! Fists together in front of your chest, a deep breath, then lowering your arms? That's you breaking out of your trance, Sà mǐ. That cannot be taught, by me … by anyone! It's something you have to be born with!"
Traynor blushed furiously and looked down at the table. To be the recipient of such praise from this woman meant more to her than she could say, particularly after all the slights and put-downs she'd endured from other people in the recent past.
Xiùlán studied her protégée closely. "You keep improving your skills and gaining strength like you have these past months, you'll never be the one leaving a fight injured, of that I'm sure! You have a natural ability, Chong'ér! Zuò dé hao!" [宠儿！做得好！– Darling! Well done!]
"Thanks, Xiùlán. Means a lot to hear you say that. Don't know what I'd have done today without your training," she said modestly.
Xiùlán's smile turned grim. "I expect it would have been you being taught a lesson, just like Joesiar wanted." Shutting down her omnitool, she continued, "Come on, let's shove off. Need to get back to our quarters … generate a list of complainants for the hearing."
• 05 OCTOBER 2187 •
Yuán Xiùlán had been learning the intricacies of communication at the quantum level, a science still in its infancy among humans. The asari and turians were somewhat further along in manufacturing parts and building the equipment needed to transmit and receive messages in this nascent technology, but humankind was rapidly gaining ground after several significant breakthroughs. Installations of all new quantum entanglement communicators (QEC's) at the military headquarters of each Alliance colony were being completed as rapidly as possible; Alliance Navy flagships were being retrofitted as well, and new hulls would have QEC's as standard equipment. All the installed pairs would be located at a central facility within Arcturus Station; during an attack, a facility or fleet would signal Arcturus to transmit its information to every other fleet and colony. Unfortunately, destruction of the comm center at Arcturus would collapse the entire network.
Yuán's introduction to this technology would have been extremely difficult without the extra tutoring she received each evening from Samantha Traynor. As for Sam, she had three fingertips—one on her right hand, two on her left—healing from a procedure to implant sub-miniature cybernetic accelerometers; not knowing how fast she'd heal from the procedures, she had chosen to have only three fingers implanted. Once all her fingertips were so augmented, she'd no longer need to wear the special gloves otherwise needed to interact with Haptic interfaces. Xiùlán's comments about this had been generally positive, since Sam would no longer need to swap sparring gloves for 'Haptic' gloves in order to operate an interface.
Sam's workouts on the heavy bag had been curtailed to facilitate her healing, so time she would have spent punching the bag was being used in strength training to build muscle and mass, particularly in her arms, shoulders and legs. Traynor hadn't told Xiùlán, but she hoped to have her body on par with her lover's by the time they deployed to Mars. Having nightly intimate contact with Xiùlán's arms—particularly her forearms—and legs were a constant progress gauge for Sam.
Unknown to Xiùlán, Sam had a secret weapon … she'd begun hacking the base environmental computers in early May, granting her the ability to quickly modify the artificial gravity generators for any area she happened to be working in. In order to shorten the time it would take for her to develop her muscle mass to a point equal to or in excess of Xiùlán's, Sam had been gradually increasing the gravity correction over time in whatever area she was using, from Earth normal to 1.85 to 1.95 that of Earth. Working out in a higher-G environment had been quite tiring until she got used to it, at which point she would increase the setting another tenth. She'd almost been caught by McKenzie once recently. The lieutenant had made an unannounced entry into the exercise area she shared with Xiùlán; fortunately, Sam had been able to quickly dial the gravity back to its normal setting.
She had just finished taking a relaxing shower after her late afternoon workout; dialing the artificial gravity up to 2.1 times that of Earth had left her totally drained. She'd have to get Xiùlán to massage her neck and shoulders once back in her quarters.
Traynor was towel-drying her newly short-cropped hair when Heather Gonzales entered the room, accompanied by several of the other recruits Sam and Xiùlán had been helping with their harassment complaints; with a smiling "Hi, Traynor!", she selected a locker and began removing her sweaty exercise clothes. "Any more news on a hearing against Joesiar?"
Sam walked over to stand beside her, leaned against a bank of lockers and replied, "Hearing's scheduled nine days from today—mid-morning, 14 October. Alliance is flying an adjudicator here from Vancouver. Don't know any more than that. You ready to help us get the miserable little húndàn dropped from the program?"
"Whatever you need us to do, Samantha," Gonzales enthusiastically replied as she looked around at her companions. "His removal from the program has taken too long … it'll be nice to get on with our training without being distracted by his constant insults, innuendo and abuse."
"Wait, what?" Sam answered in a pissed-off tone as she unconsciously balled up her fists. "He actually abused you? Physically?"
Heather, her cheeks flushing pink as she thought back on the many times she'd been the subject of Joesiar's verbal assaults, responded quickly, "Oh, no … nothing like that. I didn't tell you about anything much after you helped me file my report in January … thought that was all I needed to do. It was all verbal, but it still cut just as bad as anything he could have done to me or the rest of us physically."
Sam placed a hand on Heather's shoulder. "Did you record any of it?"
"Much as I could. Do you think it will help?"
"Send me the files, Heather … copy Yuán when you do." Looking up at the rest of the women that had entered with Heather, she added, "Rest of you, if you have anything we haven't previously reported, please send it to us! Anything you have on the 'effing little ass will be a welcome addition to our arsenal."
"Will do, Sam … thanks." Heather removed her sweatpants and socks, then stood to pull her sweatshirt over her head. Turning towards the bank of full-length mirrors, she noticed their reflections as she started to remove her sports bra and gasped as what she was seeing dawned on her. "¡Maldita Sea! Traynor! What have you been doing to yourself?"
"What do you mean?" Sam queried as she studied their side-by-side reflections.
"Your … body! Your arms and legs, your abs! I don't remember you looking so … so physically intimidating!" Heather made a show of looking at her own arms in comparison to Sam's. "I didn't realize massive muscles were needed for being a computer and communications tech. Is there something else about you the rest of us should know?"
Sam sighed. Looking at her reflection … comparing herself to Heather, to the other women in the room, provided visual proof she now looked more like a bulked up marine instead of a navy computer tech. She brought her arms up together in front of her chest, hands at neck level. "Xiùlán's been training me in hand-to-hand combat … I felt I needed a bit more muscle for what she was asking me to do." She moved to stand beside Heather as she dropped her arms to her side. Her arms were larger, the muscles well defined; her forearms actually appeared to be larger than Heather's upper arms.
"Truth be known, I haven't paid that much attention. Been seriously working out since February or so … she's teaching me so I don't have to worry about the likes of Joesiar and his minions."
"You hit Joesiar with the benefit of those arms?" Heather asked in disbelief. "Traynor, you're lucky he survived; good thing for him as well, I guess!"
"I suppose so," Sam mused as she pulled on her duty uniform and gathered her supplies. "Miserable little troll wants to bring charges against me … claims I hit him and Hobe for no reason." Traynor grinned as she turned to leave. "He's in for one 'elluva surprise at the hearing."
• LATER THAT EVENING •
As far as Xiùlán was concerned, Sam had grown tremendously as a person, physically and mentally, since they'd met less than a year ago—there was now a toughness to her demeanor that had not been apparent when they first met, and her self-confidence had increased hand-in-hand with her developing physique. Xiùlán noted with quiet pride how well defined the muscles in her legs and arms had become; indeed, her entire body was most impressively sculpted. Xiùlán had just finished working the kinks out of Sam's shoulders and neck when she innocently asked, "Have you looked at yourself in a full-length mirror lately, Sēn měi?"
"Just an occasional glance in the shower area … why do you ask?" Sam knew full-well the reason for Xiùlán's inquiry—she had taken a good long look at herself in comparison to Heather and some of the other women while talking to Gonzales after her shower earlier.
Xiùlán fixed Sam with an intent look … something that usually made her uncomfortable. "You're hiding something from me, Qíngrén," she said in an accusatory voice as she pulled Sam towards her and hugged her tightly. "Tell me what you've been doing," she added quietly as she dropped her hands with fingers spread to Sam's butt and pressed. "Jíshi shì jīròu zài zhèli, qīn'ài de." [即使是肌肉在這裡，親愛的。– Even the muscles are here, dear.]
Sam returned her lover's hug, kissed her cheek and replied in a low whisper, "If it's computer controlled …" Sam nibbled on Xiùlán's earlobe, "I can hack it, Luv. Gravity generators …" Sam nuzzled Xiùlán's neck at her jaw line, "can be programmed past 1-G. I've been working out …" pulling back slightly to gaze into Xiùlán's eyes, "at 1.8 to 1.9 G's these past two months." She finished in an innocent schoolgirl voice, "Does it show?"
Xiùlán's look of surprise gave way to understanding and approval. "I would have never thought of that, Sēn měi! I just accepted that gravity inside these structures was 'Earth normal'; never gave a second thought to us being on the moon. So, anyone else know about this?"
Sam giggled as she recalled nearly getting caught by the lieutenant. "Walked right in on me. Fortunately, I had the gravity field set to 'ramp up' from the door … gave me a chance to dial the room down to normal. She never said a word about it … I think she was more focused on updating our request for a hearing."
" … And?"
"Oh! Nearly forgot. Hearing's scheduled for 14 October, mid-morning. Adjudicator's being flown up from Earth. Hope he … or she, is a real hard-ass."
"That's only nine days away, Sammy … you think we're ready?"
Traynor pulled away from her friend, answering, "Ready as we'll ever be, Luv. We've filed more than enough complaints, starting with yours back in January. We just have to make sure we stick to the facts … getting emotional will only work against us. Women in the Marines and Navy are always being criticized for being too emotional; personally, I think our willingness to wear our feelings on our sleeves makes us better humans." Sam paused, then added, "Gonzales and her friends are sending us a bunch of recordings; all are proof that Joesiar places a high value on being an equal opportunity misogynistic racist and xenophobe."
"Let's get back to you … let me see your arms." Xiùlán grabbed Sam's right forearm and gently stroked the skin from elbow to wrist. After exploring her left forearm in a similar fashion, she said, "You have done well, qíngrén. I almost feel sorry for anyone that attempts to lay a hand on you." Dark eyes looked at Sam intently. "Do you believe me when I say what happened to you in college would be an impossibility today?"
Sam gazed back into caring brown eyes. "There were five of them, Luv … I don't …"
"I do know, Sammy. You have a gift! Today, you could easily handle twice their number, and I would not be surprised to learn that one or two had died of their injuries. You have learned your lessons well, but there is still much for you to learn. You need to learn how to permanently stop batarians, turians, krogan, asari and salarians, to name the major races. Of those, knowledge of batarian and turian physiology will be most useful. Some krogan and all asari possess biotic ability … chances of getting close enough to either one would be slight, but any knowledge about them is better than none."
• MONDAY AFTERNOON, 11 OCTOBER 2179 •
Samantha Traynor closed her eyes and massaged her temples between thumb and fingers of her left hand. She had been compiling evidence of Joesiar's unrelentingly hurtful put-downs and abuse, all directed towards at least ten other students in her class. It appeared that virtually all of the abuse was directed at the female recruits – Joesiar was careful in choosing targets for his malicious brand of verbal cruelty; it appeared he, like most bullies, was a coward through and through, so wouldn't criticize any of the heavily built men taking this course out of fear for his own physical safety.
Sam returned her attention to the glowing screen of the monitor in front of her. The litany of insults Joesiar had levied at classmates was difficult to believe. Most centered on peoples' racial heritage; the relative darkness of each woman's skin compared to his own (pasty-faced white) increased the likelihood of being targeted. Bi-racial women (such as Heather Gonzales and herself) merited a special brand of insults. Joesiar seemed to particularly enjoy referring to Sam as a 'kuthi', [female dog – a bitch – in Punjabi and Hindi] or a 'half-caste'—generally pronounced by Joesiar as 'half-assed'. These were mild in comparison to some of the slurs he had used to describe Gonzales and a few other women in the group. Joesiar apparently didn't care for any woman being in the program, regardless of their racial makeup … a blonde might be referred to as a 'ditz'; he variously referred to others as 'WAP', 'maggots', 'hicks', 'snakes', 'Whiskey Tango', 'rubes', and other, coarser names.
She carefully arranged the audio tracks by time and date, alphabetized by last name, then copied the entire file to several data pads for the upcoming hearing. It was entirely possible they wouldn't need to be used, but Traynor and Xiùlán wanted to be sure they had covered everything.
• ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING ROOM, 14 OCTOBER 2179 · 0930 •
"All rise," the guard snapped to attention as a door opened behind the long desk. "General RaeLee Park presiding."
Yuán Xiùlán was sitting three rows from the rear of the chamber. It appeared their reports—their complaints of Joesiar's actions since her training mission—had apparently reached the right person. Xiùlán had done a background check on this general as soon as she learned her name; General Park was Vancouver BC born of Korean ancestry and seriously disliked ethnic and racially biased people, believing the Alliance had more than enough problems dealing with turian dislike and batarian hatred of humanity. She set several data pads on the table in front of her chair, looked around the room once, then sat down.
"You may be seated," she said in a quiet voice; she waited until everyone had taken their seats and the room was quiet before continuing. "We are holding this hearing as a result of a number of disturbing allegations received during the previous ten months regarding Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar; we are here to determine if the serviceman was incorrectly chosen for training in this Tactical Stealth Infiltration program."
Park addressed Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar's advocate. "Staff Lieutenant Brandon Steele. SC2 Joesiar has been accused by a number of female recruits of making sexist comments, calling fellow recruits hateful, mean-spirited names, and of particular interest to this hearing, racism. You have read the particulars in the reports outlining the accusations. Do you, or SC2 Joesiar, have anything to say regarding these allegations?"
Lieutenant Steele stood and placed both hands on the table. "Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar categorically denies all allegations, characterizing them as vicious lies, fabricated from a desire to see him removed from this program, and ultimately discharged from the Alliance Navy. Further, he wishes to bring charges of his own against Serviceman 3rd class Samantha Traynor, service number 8256-DH-7968, for initiating an unprovoked assault on his person and that of a companion on the early afternoon of 01 October, resulting in severe facial injuries to Mister Joesiar and said companion."
"First things first, Lieutenant." She held a hand up as the lieutenant started to interrupt. "At this time, Lieutenant, motion to bring charges against Serviceman Traynor will be deferred until later." General Park motioned to the guard behind her, who stepped forward and requested Serviceman Yuán Xiùlán come forward; Xiùlán walked to the empty table on the right side of the hearing room and came to attention.
Park looked at Yuán and said, "For the record, Serviceman, please state your name, rank, and service number."
"Yuán Xiùlán, Serviceman First Class, 8257-PVG-09186, Ma'am."
"Have a seat, Yuán." The general selected one of the tablets in front of her and entered several commands on the interface. "This is a recording from a training exercise completed 277 days ago on live-fire course Charlie-seven, made by SC1 Yuán's hardsuit computer." Looking at Steel and Joesiar, she added, "I am sure you will recognize the voice of SC2 Joesiar."
Park played the recording from the time Xiùlán had jumped into the space previously occupied by the sniper VI until after Xiùlán had made the repair to Joesiar's suit and they were headed back to base. Drilling the Serviceman with her eyes, she addressed Lieutenant Steel, "Sounds to me SC2 Joesiar doesn't like Chinese people, or did I mistakenly hear him call SC1 Yuán a 'chink', use the derogatory term 'Chop stick' in place of her name, refer to her native tongue as 'chinee' and the color of her skin, not once, but twice?"
Lieutenant Steele promptly stood and replied, "SC2 Joesiar was joking in all the instances you heard, Ma'am."
General Park shifted her steely gaze to the lieutenant, who slowly sat down as she responded in a voice that sounded as if could freeze water, and sublimate CO2, "If he was joking, Lieutenant, why did I not hear any laughter from the complainant?"
"Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar is not a racist, General. He could not have remained in the Alliance Marines this long if he …"
"Didn't have an uncle in the upper echelons of Alliance Command?" General Park finished for him. "Major General Bradley Joesiar has been covering for his nephew ever since he enlisted, Lieutenant. I can cite several instances of SC2 Joesiar escaping punishment for his racism and misogyny. As for this hearing, there are a number of recruits in attendance today that will testify to similarly insulting behavior towards them."
Lieutenant Steele leaned over to whisper something to Joesiar, then returned his attention to the General. "We request a ten-minute recess to confer, General."
"Denied, Lieutenant. We just got started … why interrupt the continuity of this proceeding, unless SC2 Joesiar is willing to concede and have me render judgment?" Hearing no objection from Steele, Park looked back over to Yuán as she asked a question of Steele. "Looking at Yuán's face, Lieutenant, do you detect any yellow in her skin tone?"
There was a short, uncomfortable pause as Steele studied Yuán's face; she, in turn, had turned to face him and coolly gazed back at him, causing him to drop his eyes in embarrassment before turning back to Park and answering, "Impossible to say, as she appears to be wearing makeup, Ma'am."
"Seriously, Lieutenant?" Park was outraged. "I'm the product of a bi-racial marriage myself, something to which your client seems to strongly object, if all the complaints I've read about him are even half true." Park took the unusual step of directly addressing Joesiar. "Serviceman, my facial features are not too dissimilar from Yuán's, and I am not wearing makeup of any kind. Would you say my skin tone appears yellow?"
Joesiar looked up from the table he'd been staring at for the past thirty minutes; Yuán was not surprised that his usually pasty complexion was partially colored by a large area of bluish-to-purple bruises, particularly on his mouth and chin and around both eyes, which were swollen. There was a large bandage affixed across the bridge of his nose, also bruised; Traynor had really nailed him! He fixed a look of utter contempt on the general as he grunted something through his teeth.
"The serviceman's jaw is wired closed as a result of the unprovoked assault I mentioned at the beginning of this hearing, Ma'am," Steel answered for Joesiar.
"Off the record, Lieutenant, the fact he is unable to speak will probably work in his favor today. Looks as if he may have insulted the wrong person," Park replied.
Steel glanced at Joesiar, then returned his attention to General Park. "As I said, we wish to file charges against SC2 Traynor."
"All in good time, Lieutenant. Now, as to skin color, I will answer my own question. I believe SC1 Yuán's skin color is no different than my own. I also see virtually no difference, with the exception of three or four people, …" she looked at the people in attendance, "who may have their ancestry tied to parts of the African continent, the islands in the Pacific Ocean, maybe even Central or South America. I am unable to discern from anyone's facial features their level of intelligence, capacity to learn or their ability to serve in the Systems Alliance."
Park returned her attention to Xiùlán. "SC1 Yuán. Of all the complaints the AG's office received on this matter, yours was the first one filed, and is the only one you have filed. Do you have anything else to add to this report?"
Yuán stood and said, "I believe the recording says it all, Ma'am. As for complaints, that was the only time I was paired up with Serviceman Joesiar."
"Thank you, Serviceman. You are excused," Park said with a kind smile, then motioned to the guard standing behind her, who requested Heather Gonzales to come forward.
Once sworn in, Heather took the chair vacated by Xiùlán. General Park played several excerpts of exchanges between Gonzales and Joesiar, then turned to Heather and asked, "Why would you record these conversations, Ms Gonzales?"
Heather looked straight at General Park and responded without hesitation, "Advice from a friend, Ma'am."
"Was Mister Joesiar aware the recordings were taking place?"
"No, Ma'am. There would have been no point in recording what was being said if he knew about it."
"Very well. I noticed that a number of these were not submitted through the AG's office prior to this hearing. Reasons?"
"I filed my first complaint in January, shortly after Serviceman Yuán and Serviceman Traynor filed their reports." Heather glanced at Steele, then returned her gaze to General Park. "Honestly, I truly believed Alliance brass would simply ignore my complaints. I continued to record the verbal abuse, thinking that someone, somewhere up the chain would eventually listen to me."
Park replied, "The Alliance can be a bit slow in these matters, Serviceman, but the AG's office takes every allegation of this kind most seriously. Is there anything else you would like to add for the record?"
"Ma'am, I have been a member of the Alliance Navy for just over a year, encountered a lot of people from all over the world plus colonies. My right to belong in the Navy was never questioned, my performance capabilities as a woman, my parentage? Never an issue with anyone until I came to this base. I believe Serviceman Joesiar's education to be the product of late nineteenth and early twentieth century thinking, Ma'am, and totally out of place within this organization."
"Thank you, Ms Gonzales. You are excused."
General Park had the guard call the next complainant …
• 1330 •
After a break for lunch, General RaeLee Park returned to her desk, spent a few moments shuffling through the datapads in front of her before finding and extracting the one she needed. Without bothering to talk to the guard, she looked into the group of people sitting before her and said, "Serviceman Third Class Samantha Traynor, please come forward."
Sam jumped when her name was called, then looked at Xiùlán, who simply smiled and nodded; Traynor hadn't expected to be called today, as there were other women that came ahead of her alphabetically. She got up and walked to the table where Xiùlán and Heather had given their testimony, stood by the empty chair and came to attention.
Park said, "For the record, Serviceman, please state your name, rank, and service number."
"Traynor, Samantha, Serviceman Third Class, 8256-DH-7968, Ma'am."
"Thank you, Ms Traynor. Have a seat." Park activated her datapad and studied the information slowly scrolling up the screen. "It appears you have a singular aptitude for electronic intrusion, including the ability to hack secure databases without leaving a trace. Did you use this ability on the afternoon of 01 October?"
"I did, Ma'am," Sam replied quietly.
"To what purpose, Ms Traynor?" Park wanted to know.
"In order to provide visual proof, along with the audio recording from my omnitool, of the event that transpired on that afternoon," Traynor responded.
"This event to which you refer … it is the reason I'm sitting here today, is it not?"
"Yes Ma'am, it is," Traynor answered.
"Before we view the video from the security system you hacked," Park replied, "can you explain why you have been training in the art of Jing Quan Dao?"
"I was sexually assaulted during my freshman year in college and lacked the knowledge needed to defend myself," Traynor answered. "Serviceman Yuán offered to train me in hand-to-hand combat in exchange for my instructing her in computer server intrusion and quantum communications, subjects that were even difficult for me to master."
Park looked at her datapad intently for a moment before observing, "Your record shows you have a BSc in Physics, specializing in Astrophysics; you also studied Math and Computer Science, and took a minor in applied Mathematics and Statistics with an emphasis on analysis." Park looked up from the readouts and fixed Traynor with a piercing gaze. "Ms Traynor, you graduated from Oxford University near the top of your class. With that kind of background, I would be surprised if you couldn't fly from here to Charon to Arcturus and back using nothing but dead reckoning." Park looked for and found the datapad with Yuán's information from the morning session. "It would appear that Ms Yuán began receiving higher scores in the applied sciences around March of this year. Is that when you began her tutoring?"
"Yes Ma'am."
" … and that would also be when you started your physical training, correct?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"I have seen this video footage, Ms Traynor; Yuán's personnel record from her time here shows that no one wishes to meet her on the mat … I believe the expression is 'toe-to-toe'? In the eight to nine months she has been training you, it appears she has transformed you into an image of herself. I still have a difficult time believing you have learned to be so … I don't know … ," she waved a hand in the air, "brutally efficient." Park turned to the guard and told him to play the video.
As the recording began, Lieutenant Steele's mouth dropped open for a moment before he stood and loudly said, "Objection! We were not made aware a record of this incident existed. Serviceman Joesiar is the injured party here … I mean, look at his face!"
"Your objection is duly noted, Lieutenant, and it is overruled! Sit down, watch and learn," Park replied.
With an air of resignation, Lieutenant Steele retook his seat and leaned back, whispering to Joesiar as he did so. They both watched and listened as the confrontation between Joesiar and Traynor unfolded, beginning with Traynor's apology to Joesiar, his reply concerning 'his' air, his instructions for Hobe to grab her so he could 'teach dis bitch a lesson in manners!' and Hobe's misguided attempt to grab Traynor's breasts, all viewed from over Joesiar's shoulder; the vantage point then shifted to a view from over Traynor's shoulder, showing her efficiently dropping Hobe to the floor, Joesiar's subsequent attempt to grapple with her, the impact of her boot in his chest and the triple snap-punch that knocked him to the deck.
General Park had the guard 'step' through the footage a frame at a time so everyone could see her individual punches land on Joesiar's face—Traynor's arms were a blur of motion within each frame of video; it looked as if the third punch she landed was quite possibly superfluous, as Joesiar appeared to be unconscious after being hit by Traynor's second punch.
There was quiet murmuring among the women sitting around Xiùlán and Heather, which quickly disappeared with a look from General Park. "Ms Traynor, I have never seen two people taken down in such a precise manner. Your instructor should be proud of you."
Park shifted her attention to Steele and Joesiar. "So Lieutenant, in light of this audio and video evidence, does Serviceman Joesiar still wish to bring charges against Serviceman Traynor?"
Steele leaned over to whisper something to Joesiar; returning his attention to General Park, he said, "We request a fifteen-minute recess to confer, General."
"Take twenty, Lieutenant. Just make sure you're ready for the hammer to drop when we reconvene." The guard said, "All rise," as General Park rose from her chair, picked up her data pads and left by the door behind her.
Traynor rose from her table and turned to look for Xiùlán. As she did, Joesiar made a point of walking up to her and muttering through his wired shut jaws, "Ya 'uckin' 'rown-skin 'itch! Ya jus' cos' 'e uh c'reer in da 'liance." [You just cost me a career in the Alliance.]
Sam cocked her head and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, much as she had on the day she'd busted his chops. "No, Joesiar, the only person to blame for all this is you." Addressing Lieutenant Steele, she said in a voice literally dripping with acid, "Lieutenant, I suggest you get this goddamned miserable chídùn de húndàn … [遲鈍的混蛋 – dull (literally, retarded) bastard] the hell out of my face before I hit' 'im again! We all may just get lucky this time … I might rid the gene pool of his stupidity!"
To his credit, Steele immediately grabbed Joesiar's arm without a word and steered him away from Traynor and Yuán, guiding him out a side door away from the crowd of women gradually surrounding the pair.
Heather grabbed Sam in a hug and kissed her cheek. "Damn, Traynor. I didn't realize you'd put those bastards down so convincingly! That was totally amazing." The rest of the women voiced their agreement, patting her back and shoulders as they crowded around her.
Traynor gently returned the hug. "Glad you approve. We haven't won yet, but …" she paused to look around at the rest of the women in attendance, then continued, "I have to say that things do look promising."
Releasing Heather, she looked around and located Xiùlán. "What do you think? Next shuttle for Earth?"
"Bùyào zhiwàng ni de xiao jī zhídào tāmen fūhuà," she said softly, as if afraid she'd jinx the proceedings by speculating prematurely. "Sorry, Sam … means 'don't count on your chicks until they hatch'. [不要指望你的小雞直到他們孵化] I want to believe we've got things going our way, but a slick lawyer like Steele? Anything's possible." Xiùlán shrugged her shoulders. "We'll see how General Park feels when she returns. But Sammy, …" Xiùlán smiled as she took both of Traynor's hands in her own, "whatever happens, you did great. I am so very proud of you!"
• 1430 •
"Please be seated." General Park waited while everyone sat down and the room quieted before clearing her throat. She looked at Joesiar and Lieutenant Steele as she said, "Serviceman Second Class Jason Joesiar, please rise and come to attention." Joesiar looked at Steele nervously as he obeyed the general.
"In all my years in the Alliance Marines, I have never met an individual, from either branch, that has done more to tarnish the reputations of every man and woman that serves the Systems Alliance with honor and integrity." General Park continued with, "You, Sir, are a disgrace to the uniform, and honestly, I cannot imagine how in the name of all that's good and holy you managed to get through basic training without someone murdering you in your sleep."
Lieutenant Steele shoved his chair back in order to stand next to Joesiar. He tentatively raised a hand to interrupt the general, only to receive a stern look as she ignored his motion and continued speaking. "The Systems Alliance has enough problems in our contacts with batarians and turians without having to deal with xenophobes within our midst. I cannot imagine what would happen to our fragile peace with these two races if a member of either one were to personally encounter your narrow-minded view of the galaxy. Before I announce my decision, do you have anything to say to me that can in any way excuse your extremely offensive behavior during your time here? In light of your facial injuries, I will allow Lieutenant Steele to answer for you."
Steele glanced at Joesiar before responding. "The serviceman stands by his earlier assertion that he is in no way racist or misogynistic; he believes all of his attempts at humor have been misconstrued as insults or harassment. Further, he believes the security video as presented proves he was an innocent victim of an unprovoked physical attack by Serviceman Traynor, thus feels he is the aggrieved party, and wishes at this time to file an assault charge against Serviceman Traynor."
Traynor literally couldn't believe her ears; neither could the women seated with her, if their unhappy murmuring was any indication. Heather and Xiùlán, seated on either side of her, each gave Traynor a hand to hold as they waited for General Park to respond.
The general closed her eyes for a few moments as she massaged her temples between the fingertips of each hand; she opened her eyes and used them to skewer the Lieutenant. "You are sadly mistaken, Lieutenant, if you think for one nanosecond I would entertain the possibility of charging Ms Traynor with assault. She defended herself from not one, but two attackers, both men, at least outwardly. That Mr Joesiar felt he was going to teach Ms Traynor a lesson while he had a friend hold her? … and just what sort of lesson did you intend to teach Ms Traynor, Serviceman?"
Steele started to speak, only to be cut off by Park. "Stow it, Lieutenant! Not another word. I have made my decision, it is irrevocable, and there will be no appeal, do you understand me?"
Steele opened his mouth, closed it, then replied with only thinly veiled contempt, "Yes, Ma'am."
"In the matter of Serviceman First Class Yuán Xiùlán, Serviceman Second Class Heather Gonzales, Serviceman Third Class Samantha Traynor, et al, complainants, against Serviceman Second Class Joesiar, I find the reported complaints to be verifiable, backed up by certified recordings, both audio and video; I therefore find the person accused in all these complaints to be guilty of conduct unbecoming a member of the Systems Alliance." Park looked at Joesiar as he stood behind the table with Lieutenant Steele. "Mister Joesiar, your actions have earned you a less than honorable discharge from your position in the Systems Alliance. You are ordered to turn over any and all property and equipment issued to you by the Systems Alliance, including your omnitool, data pads and uniforms. Upon receipt of said property, you will be issued credits in the amount owed to you for enlistment through the end of the current year. If you wish to remain on base until the 31st of this month, you will be relocated to civilian guest quarters outside of normal base operations. On or before the end of this month you will be provided shuttle transportation to Alliance HQ Vancouver; from there you will be escorted off base. Do you have any questions?"
Joesiar mumbled something to Lieutenant Steele, who answered for him. "Mister Joesiar wants the general to be expecting a call from Major General Bradley Joesiar."
"Duly noted, Lieutenant. If there's nothing else? …" Park gathered up her data pads; as the guard came to attention and shouted "All rise!" The general stood and left the hearing room through the door behind her desk.
Xiùlán, Heather and Sam hugged one another as the thoroughly defeated Joesiar and Steele slunk towards the side door like a pair of whipped dogs, tails between their legs.
Everyone was talking all at once about this turn of events when first Traynor's, then Xiùlán's, then Heather's omnitools activated, showing incoming messages. Traynor opened hers first, read the message and looked at her two companions. "It's from the general … General Park. She wants to meet with me in her quarters at 1930."
Heather looked at her message; it was the same invitation, as was the message on Xiùlán's omnitool. "Appears to be genuine. Should we be worried?"
By now, Traynor could find a conspiracy anywhere she looked. "I doubt the general's personal messaging system has been hacked, but let me do some digging, see what I can uncover."
Heather had been ready to accept the invitation at face value. "Why do either of you think it's anything but a simple request to meet with General Park?"
Xiùlán replied, "Because Park was here only long enough to hear our complaints and render an opinion. She most certainly would have shuttled back to BC … why stay here overnight?"
"Exactly! She's on a tight schedule," Traynor agreed with Xiùlán. "The shuttle would have waited for her if her business here wasn't going to take more than a day. Like I said, let me do some digging. Shouldn't take long for me to learn if the general has left for BC. I'll message both of you later. In the meantime, check with your friends, Heather … see if any of them received this exact same message. I'm smelling a rat."
A/N: Those of you that have been following Transformation, Part II: Going Home [actually, my very first book before being re-titled]) know that Joesiar and Xiùlán tangle once again near the end of chapter 40. I wouldn't expect Joesiar to receive any pity from Traynor once the Normandy makes port at the Citadel Naval Yard. Thanks to all for reading!