|
Post by Amy81 on Feb 14, 2006 11:24:35 GMT -6
Amy nodded, not sure if she was buying the explanation. She realized that Brie was convincing in whatever it was she was speaking about. She sold a nervous breakdown for how many yahrens? And selling a story about her being Amy's real mother must have sounded very convincing for all those farmers to stop trying to kill her. And how about now...? Was this another story? She shook her head to clear the doubt.
"Of course" Amy said, "it's absolutely none of my business." She sighed. "Yet..."
"What?" Brie asked.
"I almost wish what you told the farmers was true. Not the rape part of course. But if it were true, my life would make so much more sense." She sighed again, looking Brie in the eye. "Of course, then I'd have to kill you and mom, for living such a lie all these yarhens, so maybe it's just as well that it's not true, right?" She smiled, but her eyes held an uncertain, pleading look.
|
|
|
Post by Brie on Feb 14, 2006 14:12:35 GMT -6
“Can we change the subject?” Brie ran a hand across the bottom of her ribs. “Just thinking about your agro-friends is painful, and you know, I kind of miss my spleen. Besides, there’s something else that we really need to talk about.”
“What?” Amy asked.
“The tribunal,” Brie replied.
“Oh...that.”
“What have you been told?” Brie wanted to know. “Because I’d really like to tell you what really happened.”
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Feb 15, 2006 12:56:37 GMT -6
Changing the subject... Amy thought. Well, maybe there's nothing to it. But I could always ask mom. Or do some digging. Or maybe I should just let it drop. It's none of my business. It has nothing to do with me. Unless it has everything to do with me... She decided to drop it for now, although something about it all just didn't seem right to her.
She got up, intending to get a glass of water, but then she remembered her mom hadn't come back yet. She was going to ask for some when she got back. She sat back down, wondering what was keeping her.
"Well" Amy said, thinking back to the bits and pieces she'd been told, "My mom said there had been a tribunal. That you'd been accused of causing my death." She grew agitated. "Which was a complete load of felgercarb cause none of it was your fault. Deke, Lazant, and I all knew you did what you had to do..."
"Relax" Brie interrupted. "Just tell me what you've heard." She put a hand on Amy's shoulder to calm her down.
"My mom also said I'd come out of it looking pretty bad." She grew agitated again. "Which also is a complete load of felgercarb. I did the best I could out there. And none of what happened between Charybdis and me had anything to do with anything except people sticking their noses where they don't belong."
"I know" Brie replied.
"I feel like he and I are some sort of celebrity couple. I've seen the history tapes, the thirst people had for pop culture and rumors and scandal about famous people."
"Well, he is the colonel" Brie replied. "And you were quite young at the time. And people are still nosy I guess. Do you know anything else about the tribunal?"
"Aside from that it was a fracking crock of..."
"Amy."
"Only that my dad testified. I guess that's it."
|
|
|
Post by Brie on Feb 16, 2006 11:02:59 GMT -6
"Okay," Brie started, "what you need to remember is that the tribunal was fixed. I was supposed to be convicted, because Commander Apollo knew that Pierce was up to something and was going to use the adverse reaction to my conviction to cover his true intentions. So I was supposed to look bad. Pierce decided to go after me through you because you were supposed to be dead and dead people can't defend themselves or correct the lies being told. Pierce ended up calling five witnesses, six if you count Charybdis."
"Charybdis was called to testify against you?" Amy asked.
"Yeah," Brie replied with a sigh. "Boleman, my protector, was originally going to have him testify for me but decided against it at the last centon. I’m still not sure why. So Pierce reopened his case and called Charybdis himself. But anyway, besides your dad the other witnesses against me were Lt. Kiwi, Corporal Straves, Sergeant Kale, and Corporal Caere. All four of them, as I’m sure you remember, were in the group I assigned to you back on the moon. What isn’t common knowledge is that both Straves and Kale were a part of Pierce’s group. They’re both dead, committed suicide when Pierce ‘made the call to go home.’ It’s really a shame, we bust our you-know-whats to keep as many members of the team alive and then they go and just throw their lives away like that.”
“Why would members of Pierce’s group volunteer for the mission?” Amy wondered.
“Good question,” Brie replied. “We’ll never know for sure. My guess is that Pierce told them to volunteer. He had people everywhere, involved in almost every aspect of the fleet. But when they returned, their loyalty was to him, they would have testified that you were picking you nose in public if that’s what he wanted. And that’s another reason he went after you.”
“Because I was picking my nose in public?” Amy asked with half a grin.
Brie laughed. “No, because his people were in your group.”
“So that leaves Caere and Kiwi,” Amy commented. “Neither of them were following Pierce.”
“They had Corporal Caere’s brother,” Brie said solemnly. “I remember thinking during the tribunal that her testimony sounded so rehearsed. Her brother was eventually released, but not until after the start of the mutiny. Pierce didn’t want to chance that Caere would tell the Commander why she had testified. So see, none of the tribunal was to be believed.”
“What about Kiwi?” Amy asked.
Brie rolled her eyes. “Kiwi never even tried to hide the fact that he was upset with me for leaving the moon when we did. He thought he was testifying about that. I’ll have to admit that it was fun watching him avoid me at Astraea’s party.”
“Why doesn’t my mom know about this?” Amy asked.
“Hardly anyone does,” Brie replied. “The information was released to the IFB, but for some reason they haven’t done anything with it. They were more than happy to report that I had escaped from the brig and was the one trying to take over the fleet, but they’re a little bit slower about setting the record straight and actually reporting the truth.”
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Feb 17, 2006 6:32:36 GMT -6
"I just don't understand. Did they have to go after this Pierce by ruining you, ruining me...? My mom said I didn't come out of it looking too good" Amy observed. "Exactly how bad was it? Do I have a shred of respect left from anybody anymore?"
|
|
|
Post by Brie on Feb 17, 2006 10:42:19 GMT -6
"Blame the IFB," Brie told Amy. "Commander Apollo did an interview, trying to set the record straight, but the IFB somehow found out about my little lie on the Agro Ship and that's all they wanted to talk about instead. Blindsiding the commander of the fleet is just about the most shameful thing I've ever heard of. I had a message from Zerra, requesting an interview with me but I’m not sure if I really want to after what she did to the Commander. I guess that’s another reason I wanted to arrange for the genetic tests, I could take the results and on camera shove them up her...”
“Brie...”
“Sorry,” Brie said with a grin. “You didn’t see the interview. It was an absolute disgrace. But the entire fleet knows that Pierce was insane. Nothing that he said was to be believed. And the fleet does know that the tribunal was faked so they shouldn‘t believe any information that came out of it because it was all a bunch of felgercarb. I haven’t been out and about too much but I announced at the party that you were awake. You should have heard the cheers from Gold Squadron! You still have their respect. And everyone else? As you said, it’s the whole celebrity thing. I think they’re more interested in how you and Charybdis said goodbye than your leadership skills. And even that has pretty much blown over since it was so many sectars ago. It‘s not like there hasn’t been anything interesting happening since then.”
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Feb 18, 2006 0:13:42 GMT -6
"Nothing interesting? Well I'll sure change that" Amy said. "The royal sealing of The Colonel and The Captain, anyone?" She shook her head. "Are you really happy for us, Brie? Cause if this does come off, I'll be needing a maid of honor..."
|
|
|
Post by Brie on Feb 18, 2006 20:28:11 GMT -6
Brie shook her head. "I'm sorry, Amy, I can't do that."
"Why?" Amy asked, surprised.
Brie grinned. "Because as a widow, I'd have to be your 'matron' of honor, not 'maid.' And I would be absolutely thrilled to stand there beside you. Charybdis was Turner's best man, so I guess we'll have come full circle. And yes, I am happy for you. But why wouldn't it come off? It's too early to be having cold feet."
|
|
|
Post by Amy81 on Feb 20, 2006 7:16:37 GMT -6
"Well" Amy replied, "There's the whole thing about my dad being found in Charybdis's turboflush. He didn't say one thing about that, or even offer any condolences. I don't know what to make of that." She sighed. "Then, he did offer to take the seal with me, but only after I practically argued him into it. He said it was sort of a test, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if he wished he'd never proposed before I went on the mission."
"Why?" Brie asked.
Amy shrugged. "It's almost like I got him on a technicality. That he had to propose or look like a daggit otherwise. It's like he did the right thing because of the baby and all that, but Brie, I think he still has feelings for this Astraea person."
|
|
|
Post by Brie on Feb 21, 2006 10:56:43 GMT -6
"Amy, of course he still has feelings for Astraea," Brie said. "It's not like they broke up, Astraea was supposedly dead. When someone that you love dies the love doesn't go away, but it also had nowhere to go. Charybdis grieved for her and eventually moved on, then suddenly she was back, alive once again. I can't even imagine the mixed emotions he must have felt."
"What would you do," Amy started, "if you were involved with someone else and then Turner turned up alive?"
Brie looked far away for several microns. "Thank the Lords of Kobol and then...but then again it’s not a fair comparison. Turner and I were sealed for several yahrens. Charybdis and Astraea weren’t even officially engaged. And I can’t tell you why he didn’t say anything about your dad, but this you probably don’t know. He came to visit me after Commander Apollo’s interview. Couldn’t be bothered to stop by until he wanted to know if the lie that I told was true. Anyway, while he was there he mentioned some information that I hadn’t yet been told and I had a heart attack. Turns out it was drug induced by my doctor who was trying to kill me, but the look on Charybdis’ face showed that he thought that maybe it was his fault. So maybe he’s trying to protect you in some weird male-protector-type way. He might want to keep things happy and upbeat for your sake and the baby’s sake. Then again I’m the last person in the fleet who will pretend to understand Charybdis or his motives these days.”
|
|