Blake's 7: Par's Court-martial
She's at it again! An account of Par's court-martial for 'letting' Travis escape.
Travis' courtroom
Just before Liberator attacks HQ
Samor grated, "Do I take it you have nothing to say?"
There was nothing but contempt in the voice of ex-Space Commander Travis as he answered, "The Federation is run by hypocrites and supported by fools. I'm glad to be rid of you all."
The Arbiter was about to order the troops present in the courtroom to remove him for execution when suddenly an alarm rang out. A voice called over the PA, "All personnel to battle stations. All personnel to battle stations. Unidentified ship on attack run in quadrant six."
Liberator, Flight Deck
Avon's anti-surveillance device having masked them for long enough, they were now within attack range. "Fire the main blasters!" Blake ordered almost savagely.
An outside observer would have seen a thin green beam lance from one of Liberator's weapon pods and strike the station. The section hit exploded.
Had Blake known which section of the station they were hitting, he would have thought again.
The courtroom
A crack appeared in one wall, and decompression alarms sounded. Not that this did the jurors any good, as they rapidly began to suffocate. But Travis, seizing his unexpected opportunity, attacked and overcame his guards, taking a V-911 para-handgun. The familiar weight was oddly comforting.
Not that he had any time to consider matters of comfort.
The computer said, "Automatic airlock will trigger in three seconds." As the airlock door started to close, Travis leapt through it - to find a guard on the other side. With nothing more to lose, Travis shot him. He passed through the main door - and found himself confronting Par, who was pointing a gun at him.
"Don't make me kill you, Par," Travis growled.
Though he could readily guess as a 20-year man, SOP required Par to ask, "What happened in there?"
"Outer wall cracked," Travis told him, "automatic airlock sealed the chamber. They'll all be dead by now. Drop the gun," he ordered.
But Travis, Par knew, had no authority any more to give orders - he'd known Travis was about to be stripped of rank, dishonourably discharged and, most likely, executed. So he managed, "I can't do that, sir."
"Don't be a fool. I've got nothing to lose anymore."
Par knew that was true. But he was a 20-year man, hadn't made it this far by ever questioning a superior officer. And while Travis was, technically, no longer an officer, the habits of 20 years of service were hard to relinquish. Thus he was reluctant to fire on the man who had been his CO for the last five years, a man he'd trusted with his life.
That was his mistake...a mistake Travis had counted upon.
Still, Par insisted, "I can't let you go, sir."
No, Travis thought, almost in admiration, you can't, can you?
He almost - almost - felt guilty as he struck Par, rendering him unconscious. He spared a moment to look down at the fallen trooper, and some vestige of professional respect made him hold his fire when the practical, logical thing to do was to shoot him. He said only, "Some of us weren't hypocrites, were we, Par?"
And that was how a crack squad of troopers, mobilised by the Supreme Commander, found him, just as he was coming to. One, very junior, said, "Easy, sir, that looks like a nasty bruise. What happened?"
Par winced; his jaw was indeed bruised. Travis had -
Travis!
"What - where's Travis?!"
"Escaped," a voice said silkily, as Supreme Commander Servalan approached. "I should like to find out how this occurred. Trooper Par, as of this moment you are under close arrest. The charge is aiding and abetting a fugitive. Guards, take him to the nearest cell, pending court-martial."
The junior trooper trained his V-911 on Par and said apologetically, "Come with us, sir."
As the 20-year man he was, Par did not protest or resist.
Supreme Commander Servalan's office
Shortly after
Major Thania sighed over the drink she felt she really needed. "Bit of a mess, isn't it? HQ damaged, Samor and the other jurors dead, Travis escaped, and one of our best troopers now facing a court-martial of his own. All in all, not a good day."
"That, Thania, depends upon your point of view," Servalan said mildly. "In a sense, I let Travis go."
"You -? After setting up his court-martial, which would have led to his execution, you let him go?! WHY?!"
"Blake," Servalan answered simply. "He is still at large. It is believed it was he who was responsible for the attack." She almost smiled. "The death of Gan does not appear to have given him a faint heart. To strike directly at Space Command HQ was a daring move unseen in decades, and may well re-inspire the dissident elements of the Federation - which doubtless was his intent. It is more vital than ever, therefore, that he be stopped. For all his faults, there is no-one more motivated to do that than Travis. So I let him go."
"In a Pursuit Ship," Thania noted grimly.
"Against the Liberator, no other ship would serve," Servalan pointed out.
"I suppose," Thania conceded.
"There is no 'suppose' about it. As Travis himself once pointed out, Liberator is the most highly-advanced space vessel we have ever seen. Only the Starburst-class Mark IX High-Range Pursuit Ship even comes close."
"That's how you intend to justify the expenditure to the President and the Joint Chiefs?" Servalan nodded. Thania shrugged. "Fair enough. If Travis manages to capture the Liberator - and even given his past failures, I won't say he can't - or, at worst, destroys her, that's a major problem solved for the Federation."
"I do not regard Blake as a major problem," Servalan said coldly.
"He'll become one soon, if he isn't stopped," Thania countered. She turned dry. "As I recall, that was what you assigned Travis for in the first place."
"Perhaps."
"And if, as is far more likely, Blake gets the better of Travis and kills him..." Thania smiled slowly. "You really are crafty, aren't you? That way, you get what you want even if Blake remains at large."
"A win-win, you might say," Servalan agreed with a smile.
Then Thania sighed again. "Which still leaves Par. Who's going to defend him?"
Servalan sipped from her own drink. "I should like you to handle his defence."
"May I question him first? Establish the particulars?"
The Supreme Commander smiled again. "I would be surprised if you did not." She pressed a key. "Retrieval. Full service record of Federation Trooper Grant Par."
It made interesting if unsurprising reading. Par had served for fully 20 years, following in the footsteps of his father, who had risen to Section Leader before his unfortunate death at the hands of a dissident (not Blake).
The personnel officer who had compiled the report mentioned Par's long-term ambition to become a Space Commander and serve aboard a Pursuit Ship. She also noted that both his education and his aptitudes qualified him for such duty should it become available, to say nothing of his long, uninterrupted service to the Federation.
And it was, Servalan saw, absolutely impossible to question his loyalty.
Travis knew of it...
"I think I know what happened," Servalan said slowly. "Despite his disgrace, Travis had served as a Federation officer all his adult life, as has Par. I believe that Par did, in fact, make an honest attempt to stop Travis, but the ingrained obedience to authority one might expect of a 20-year man slowed his reactions slightly - he was understandably reluctant to open fire on a fellow officer, even a disgraced one. Especially," she added, "as he had served under Travis for five years. One does not merely discard such service."
"I did make a remark to Par about Travis not wasting his troopers," Thania said thoughtfully. "I said, 'Well, that's something, I suppose', and he replied, 'Major, when you're up to your neck in slime and lasers, that's everything'. Could Travis have counted upon that?"
"Par's loyalty turned against him? Possible," Servalan nodded. "Probable, in fact." She looked brisk. "However, in the Federation, and particularly in Space Command, we deal in facts. Thus Par will still have the court-martial to which he, as a Federation officer, is entitled." She sipped again. "I believe it was once known as 'dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's'. We shall do just that."
Thania stood. "With your permission, Supreme Commander."
Servalan nodded once. "Go." But as Thania reached the door, which opened, she warned coldly, "You almost failed me with Travis. Do not make the same mistake twice."
The major hesitated briefly, then nodded and left.
Trooper Par's cell
A little later
"So you did try to stop him?"
Par nodded. "My duty, ma'am. Former officer or not, he was a prisoner, and given the charges I reckon he would've been stripped of rank, if he hadn't been already. The book says it doesn't matter who a prisoner is, you don't let him escape."
"And yet you apparently did just that," Thania observed neutrally.
He looked pained. "Five years' service under him, Major. Five years, in some of the worst trouble spots you can imagine. You don't just forget that."
"Which Travis counted on," she nodded.
"Yeah," Par sighed. "Should've shot him." He smiled briefly. "Earlier that day, I was talking with Trooper Lye, and he said he thought Senator Bercol was gonna run for it when we challenged him. Told Lye he could've shot Bercol if he had."
"You don't seem concerned about possibly dropping a fellow trooper into trouble," Thania noted.
But Par only shrugged. "It's the truth. We were under orders from the Supreme Commander herself to guard that room. Without voice check he could've been anybody, and our orders gave us the scope to shoot him if he tried to run. Lye would've been doing his duty. Can't get in trouble for that."
A tiny voice in her head said, Doubtless that was the same reasoning Travis used when he carried out the massacre on Serkasta.
"I see your point," she conceded. "The pattern of your defence, then, seems clear. A dedicated trooper, faced with an officer - even a disgraced one - is reluctant to shoot said officer owing to 20 years' ingrained loyalty. Said officer takes advantage of this to escape. Mmm. Are you willing to testify to this under truth scan?"
He nodded. "SOP, isn't it?"
"And what if the verdict is against you?" she asked carefully.
Again Par shrugged. "Then it's down to the bottom line, which as far as the powers that be are concerned is: I let Travis go."
Thania smiled. "I don't think we need to worry, then. Like Travis, the Supreme Commander despises waste."
The courtroom
Next day
In her opening statement, Thania said, "May it please the Court. I wish to establish the character of the accused. A trooper who has served continuously for 20 years, and who has shown absolute loyalty to the Federation during that time. Further, he comes from a long line of troopers, from his father almost back to the very birth of the Federation. There is not a single demerit on his record. Nor was there on his father's. In fact one must go back fully twelve generations to find even a minor misdemeanour.
"This officer held his post as ordered, even during an attack by the dissident Roj Blake. He was faced with the man to whom he had given his faithful service for fully five years: former Space Commander Travis. His duty was clear: to shoot. Yet," her voice changed from brisk to compassionate, "it was not so simple. Yes, Trooper Par did allow Travis to escape - 'allow' in this context meaning that Travis incapacitated him. This we do not contest, Your Honour.
"I ask only: how many of us would have hesitated, given our loyalty to the Federation and its officers? I put it to you that most of us, nearly all of us, might have hesitated. Even I might have. Such loyalty cannot be bought, only commanded. And it must be said that, prior to the massacre on Serkasta, Travis had been an excellent officer, regarded by his men as an effective leader who never wasted troopers. An officer who looks after his men, sacrificing them only when the tactical situation is such that he must, is by definition a good one.
"This, then, was the man whom Par was required to shoot. Ironically it was his very loyalty to the Federation which made him hesitate for just a fraction too long. If he is to be found guilty for that, then we, too, must be found guilty. Grant Par is an excellent trooper who made one, just one, entirely understandable mistake. I beg you, do not punish him unduly for that.
"Thank you." She sat.
Counsel for the Prosecution required Par to submit to truth scan; this he did without hesitation. It confirmed everything Thania had said. The jurors and the Arbiter discussed the case. It was deemed too important to leave to the computers...just as the case of Travis had not been left to them.
Finally the Arbiter, Fleet Warden General Edwin Kosad, who'd had almost as distinguished a career as the late Samor had had, spoke. "The prisoner will stand."
Immediately Par did so.
"Are you prepared to face the judgement of this tribunal?"
The trooper delivered a textbook salute. "I am, Your Honour."
"Our verdict is as follows:
"On the charge of aiding and abetting the escape of a prisoner on trial, this Court finds you not guilty. It is clear from your testimony and the eloquent statement by Counsel for the Defence that there were mitigating circumstances. While it is true that ex-Space Commander Travis did escape from custody, it is also true that you made a legitimate attempt to stop him, curtailed only by your loyalty. Such is not deemed to be a crime in the eyes of the Federation.
"All charges and specifications are summarily dismissed; this court-martial will appear on your record, but with a notation to the effect that you were entirely exonerated. You are ordered to report directly to the Supreme Commander for reassignment. This case is adjourned."
He banged his old-fashioned gavel.
Supreme Commander Servalan's office
Five minutes later
"At ease, Par," Servalan ordered. She regarded him, and smiled. "You've had a busy day."
Par looked wry. "To be honest, Supreme Commander, I've had better ones."
Servalan actually looked contrite. "As unusual as it is for a Supreme Commander to apologise to a trooper, I feel I should. The verdict was never really in doubt. Perhaps I should not have gone to the trouble and expense of a court-martial."
Matter-of-factly Par shrugged. "Gotta do everything properly, Supreme Commander. My Dad always used to say: Do it properly or don't do it at all. That was his philosophy on pretty much everything, especially me. He gave me a fair bit of training even before I signed up - the Academy just put a polish on. I already knew most of the SOPs."
"Which served you in good stead when you were recruited," she nodded.
"Saved my life on my very first tour," he recalled. "Our rations were destroyed on impact, clumsy pilot. He copped it, so I suppose that's justice of a sort. SOP said that before tryin' 'em as a food source, we should test the native plants. This was on Castor Two."
"Where all but a few of the native plants are deadly to us," she agreed. "Yes, I was stationed there for a short time whilst a cadet. I take it that other, less...knowledgeable...troopers did not run tests?"
Par nodded gravely. "One died, one nearly - saved herself by throwing up. It was only my scan which determined what we could eat and what we couldn't. Luckily a rescue mission arrived three days later. They homed in on the wreck."
"And you were commended," she noted. "Not for the last time, either. A virtually faultless career...until the escape of Travis."
He winced. "I did try to stop him."
"I am well aware of that. Your lapse was brief and, as Major Thania pointed out, understandable. I shall not hold your loyalty against you." She paused. "Far from it. With Travis gone, there is a gap in my command hierarchy. I have decided that you are ideally suited to fill it.
"Report to the Quartermaster immediately...and obtain the uniform of a Major, for it is that rank to which I am promoting you, effective immediately." She leaned forward, noting his pleased grin. "Now more than ever, the Federation needs loyal officers. I need loyal officers. In the unlikely event you refuse, I shall return you forthwith to the troopers - with the highest commendation, which will doubtless lead in due course to your promotion anyway." She smiled. "Of course, as a loyal trooper you will not refuse."
Chuckling, Par saluted. "Major Par reporting for duty, Supreme Commander!"
"Excellent," she approved. "I may require you for...unusual duties...from time to time."
"Whatever you need," Par nodded.
"Very well. Take a week's shore leave after you have seen the Quartermaster." As he began a token protest (as she had expected), she finished, "That is an order, Major Par."
"Not often an officer's ordered to take a break," he grinned, saluted again and left.
He wasn't to know there was a reason for her apparent generosity. It would serve to cement his loyalty still further.
She would need him...maybe soon.
THE END
"One almost has to admire that woman."
"What, Thania?"
"Servalan."
"Oh."
"We know that she's sending Travis to his death in order to keep his mouth shut, but she
is doing it with such an impeccably honest and painstaking tribunal that her real motives can't even be hinted at."
"Has, um, a date been set for the Blake inquiry?"
"Does it matter? Without Travis' evidence, the mishandling of the Blake affair
becomes a matter of conjecture. The inquiry becomes a formality."
"A Presidential stay of execution so that Travis can give evidence? After this, he should be more than willing."
"After this he'll be a convicted mass murderer."
"It could still damage Servalan. 'Slime sticks', as the old saying has it."
"Yes, but the President can't be seen to throw it."
"Servalan picked Travis."
"The President picked Servalan."
"So she's outmanoeuvered us once again."
"Let's say she's outmanoeuvering us, but it's not over yet. She could still make a mistake."
"Which is presumably why we came. I was beginning to wonder."
"We came, Bercol, because Servalan's ambitions threaten us all. And
the President particularly dislikes being threatened. Shall we dine?"
"I wish I'd known that this was going to drag on so. I'd have brought my own chef. As
I recall, Space Command's cuisine is appalling."
- Blake's 7, "Trial"