Chapter Five
Michael looked at Katy and said, “You will keep your mouth shut until I tell you to open it!! Nod if you understand!!” Katy nodded. Michael raised his wrist unit, “Stop the black out and send the recording I’m about to play in Admiral Greenwall’s office to every monitor on this base.”
Audrey walked around to stand beside Katy and inserted a data-cube in her desk reader. Katy looked at her with her eyebrows raised and Audrey shook her head. Audrey pressed the play button and a recording began with Admiral Jekins narrating it.
Katy looked at the monitor and heard Jekins say that the recording followed the two of them from the start of the battle to the conclusion. Katy watched and, after a few moments, was stunned by what she was seeing. The two ships flew through the enemy’s formations destroying black battleships in incredible numbers. They deliberately flew into the thickest enemy formations and blasted their way out. Katy looked at Bartolo and saw her looking at Jan shaking her head. She didn’t want what happened known and it appeared neither did Keller.
The recording finally ended with Josey destroying the four battleships blocking the heavy from getting off a shot. The recording then moved from the four destroyed battleships, past the heavy, to six black battleships moving in behind the heavy and preparing to fire. Jekins said, “The heavy would have been destroyed except for Lt. Janice Keller’s attack. She attacked and destroyed all six enemy ships before they could open fire on the heavy. Fleet Intelligence has confirmed twenty thousand enemy battleships destroyed by our ships participating in the attack. Lieutenants Bartolo and Keller accounted for three thousand of those. The next closest number killed by another pilot in the rest of our fleets was four ships. It was their actions that won this battle.”
Michael looked at Katy and she saw he was close to rage. “I’ve watched you abuse your authority over the years and I’ve refrained from taking action because you’ve done a good job building Fifth Fleet into a good fighting force. But now I find out that you went to another fleet and told a medal recipient how to act when she received her medal. You threatened her with cleaning latrines if she didn’t follow your instructions.
“I saved her from your insane behavior and then I learn that you have a warrior that killed more than a thousand enemy ships cleaning bathrooms in Bartolo’s place.” Michael leaned across the desk and snarled into Katy’s face, “Admiral Greenwall, you are under arrest for abusing your authority and behavior unbecoming of an Alliance Officer. You will be put in the brig in Fleet Operations until a Court-marshal can be convened to remove you from your position and imprison you for your actions!” Michael reached across the desk and ripped Katy’s two stars off her collar. He looked at two of the armored warriors, “Get this piece of crap out of my sight!”
Katy was scared speechless. She was frozen and couldn’t move. All she had ever worked to accomplish was gone. The two warriors lifted her out of her chair and walked her out of her office. Josey saw Katy’s shock and fear. Josey looked at Jan and she shook her head. This is not what they wanted. Then they were shocked into silence. “Guards, take these two and put them in the brig beside the Admiral.”
Josey started shaking her head, “What have we done to deserve this?”
Michaels face was still red from his anger, “It is what you didn’t do! Get them out of here!” Josey and Jan were taken by the arm and escorted out of the Admiral’s office. Michael looked at Audrey, “Find a replacement!” He turned and walked out of the office.
Audrey sighed and shook her head. She went behind the desk and scrolled through Katy’s contact list. She pressed a button and said, “Commodore Moony, you will be in command until a replacement for Admiral Greenwall is chosen.”
“What’s going on, Admiral?”
“That’s not your concern now. You will be notified of the charges facing Greenwall at the time of her court-marshal.” Audrey ended the call and looked around before she left the office. So much damage, so much harm, so much pain in such a short time. She walked out and knew Katy had gone too far. She expected her to eventually do it but it still bothered her that she was that stupid.
Katy arrived at Fleet Operations first and was taken to a room where she was ordered to remove her uniform and don the lime green one-piece coveralls that prisoners wore. She was led to a cell and locked in. She moved to a corner and sat against the wall holding her knees and rocking back and forth. She had lost everything! She was so stupid! She put her head down on her knees and felt her tears. Thirty minutes later, she looked up and saw Josey and Jan wearing prisoner uniforms as they walked into cells across from her. She looked at them and saw Josey yell at the guard as he walked out, “We haven’t done anything!!”
Jan looked at Josey and shook her head, “Yes we have and you know it!” Josey looked at her and threw herself on her cot. Katy walked up to the bars and said, “If it’s my fault you are arrested, I am sorry. I never intended to do anything to harm your careers.”
Josey looked up at her and snarled, “Just what did you think would happen to our so called careers with your treatment of us? What did either of us ever do to you!?”
Katy blew out a breath and looked at the floor as she shook her head. Jan looked at her, “Why did you do it?”
Katy looked at them and said, “I’ve been in love with the First Commander since our primary grades. I’ve done everything to try and get him to notice me and show me some attention but he’s rejected me at every turn.” Katy looked at Josey, “When I saw your picture and knew he was going to present your medal, I guess my paranoia about his finding someone else took me. I had to make sure no connection was made when he saw you.”
“Why would there be a connection?”
“Because, if you haven’t noticed, you are drop dead beautiful. I just let my insecurities get the better of me. When you ignored my instructions, my anger got the better of me. Now I’ve lost everything and I really have no one to blame but myself. I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you and I will testify in your defense.”
Josey fell back on her cot and Jan said, “I don’t think you’ll be able to help us.”
“Why? Why are you here?”
“Jan, don’t tell her!”
Jan looked at Josey and shook her head, “They have figured it out.” Jan looked at Katy and said, “Once the Admiral gets her legs back under her, she’ll see it as well.”
Katy’s eyebrows came together and she tilted her head, “Figure what out?”
Jan sighed, “You did watch that video?”
Katy looked at her and then started nodding, “What the two of you did isn’t possible.”
Jan looked at Josey, “See! I told you.”
“How could the two of you do those things? You’ve never done well in any of the Fleet Competitions.”
Jan sighed, “That was intentional.”
“What?”
“We made a pact that we would only do enough to not be noticed.”
“Why would you do that?”
“We did not want to be promoted to command other pilots. We agreed to do what was needed to simply remain pilots. Our efforts worked and we haven’t been noticed until Josey was caught clearing the way for that heavy.”
Katy stared at them and laughed. She fell back on her cot and had to hold her ribs. Josey looked at Jan and they shook their heads. Josey said, “What’s so funny!”