From Bad to Worse

Posted on Sat Jun 12th, 2021 @ 9:24pm by Plexie El Plexuco & Security Johannah "Mack" Shepard

Mission: This Week's Special
Location: Deck 6 Brig
Timeline: Following Artist in Residence

The security office was a mass of confusion as the limited number of purple bellies took control from station security.

"Get those civilians out of here!" Major Black shouted. Guards began moving the mothers and children gathered for questioning out the main doors. There were protests, but most were happy to leave.

"We have a suspect in bound for attempting to assassinate the Minister. I want this corridor locked down. All Station security to the back room for quesitoning." Purple Bellies started moving uniformed station security into the briefing room and closed the double doors to the jail section.

Trish quickly tapped out a message to Mack on her cortex. "Something is going down here. Allaince troops are taking over the center." she cc'd the administrator on the message.

"Step away from your station ma'am." a purple belly demanded as she hit send.

Raising her hands she tried to look as innocent as possible. "No problem sir, just trying to lock up my work station."

"Communicaitons are restricted until further notice." The soldier stated as he nudged Trish away from her desk.

"We should inform Chief Shepard." she suggested.

"Negative, Chief Shepard is an unauthorized individual. Move along to the briefing room." The soldier said giving her a good shove toward the back of the office.

----------

The tangle of purple bellies covered Mack as they got off the lift on Deck Six and marched her toward her own offices.

Mack said nothing as the Feds escorted her to Security. The guards were irrelevant. This was absolute nonsense.

Mack could see things had changed since she was last down at the office. The growing shade of purple throughout her security center was certainly the most unnerving. In place of Trish at the reception desk, a rather serious faced alliance soldier starred at the approaching cluster before triggering the doors to open so they could drag their prisoner in.

At the booking desk, two more soldiers stood, rifles in hand. The familiar face of Major Black appear promptly. "I want this prisoner searched thoroughly, she's been known for carrying knives. Get her processed and in the system. Crime of attempted assassination of an Alliance Minister." she sneered.

"I surrendered all of the weapons I was carrying," Mack said. "You can search me, but if you or any of your people try anything hinky, you'll wish I'd cut you."

"Catalouge the prisoner's personal effects, and move them to interrogation. I've been stuck with crying mothers all day, I look forward to a challenge." Major Black replied.

The Purple Belly soldiers moved Mack along through what had been her office earlier in the day. Most of her staff were missing, the few she saw had a look of horror on their faces at their boss being perp walked into the station. Mack knew the way, but the soldiers still guided her along. The interrogation room was empty besides a chair and a light weight chair. They sat her down in the chair and cuffed her hands to the body of the chair. "Don't get too comfortable, the Major will be along to question you shortly." the attending soldier stated before turning and exiting the room.

The wait wasn't quick. Apparently they wanted Mack to sweat a bit. IT has been at least an hour and a half with no one coming in the room. While not able to see what was going on, Mack made out a familiar voice. "You will let me in to see Mack Shepard now!" the voice of the Administrator demanded.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, no one is permitted to see the prisoner without authorization by Major Black or the Minister." the voice of a guard shot back.

"This is entirely improper. I am the administrator of this station. This is my jail. You will let me in now! I want all your names and service numbers." the young voice said growing more annoyed.

"Move along Ma'am. This is out of my hands." the soldier replied.

"This is a violation of alliance commerce code 21892.34. If you want to be brought up on criminal charges keep standing in the way with your gorram rifle." Scarlett's voice stated with a heavy amount of venom.

"This is a federal emergency situation. The Minister has proclaimed this station to be under martial law. You will stand down and leave." The voice stated.

"The Hell it is! Cào nǐ zǔzōng shíbā dài!" the administrator stated letting the soldier what he could do with his great great grandmother. "I have received no authorization of martial law, nor is this situation relevant or within the jurisdiction of the military. Where is Major Black?!"

"Ma'am if you continue to threaten me, I will be forced to shoot you." The soldier's voice growing more aggravated.

"Shoot me and you will rue the day you walked into a recruiter's office. I am the civilian authority on this station. If you plan on taking over here, you are gonna have a hard time doing it without my access codes. Get me Major Black now."

"I will shoot if you come any closer." the soldier shouted.

The crash of combat boots sounded in the hall. "What's the problem here corporal?" a voice called out.

"A civilian not complying with orders. Claims to want Major Black, sir." the first soldier replied sternly.

"What? Its gonna take seven of you to take a girl down for asking legitimate questions?" Scarlett called back.

"Ma'am this is a secure area, you need to leave now." the new officer replied.

"I am the administrator of this station. You are holding my security chief and apparently taking control of my station. I need answers now." She demanded.

"Administrator Wilson, this is a dynamic situation. You will be completely briefed when we have the situation stabilized. I will have to ask you to leave the area for your own safety." the officer ordered.

"Get your hands off me! This is assault you know. I am the civilian authority of this station!" Scarlett shouted.

"We know who you are. Now you will leave this area on your feet or on a gurney." the officer shouted. The sounds of a brief struggle ensued.

"I'll be back Mack. We will get you out of this!" the administrator's voice trailed off as she was apparently drug away.

Mack sat quietly, a cold hard expression on her face. Someone was going to pay for this, and pay dearly, if she had anything to say about it.

Time ticked by slowly. Then suddenly the lights dimmed. Mack could hear the door open and the rush of slightly fresher air flow into the room.

A pair of lights came on focused directly on Mack's face. He could make out the silhouette standing across the small table in front of him. "Alright. Let's begin." said the clear voice of Minister Carnahan.

"State your name and position." he stated reading through the list of reset questions.

"Johannah Mackensie Shepard," Mack replied. "Chief of Security. I also hold a federal license as a Security Contractor and as a Courier. The security license also allows me to pick up federal bounties." Then Mack smiled. It was not a pleasant expression. "Nǐ shì méidú dàhēng húndàn zhōng de nóng pào," she added, calmly and matter-of-factly calling her interrogator a festering pustule in the anus of a syphilitic mongrel... using a much less polite term for 'anus'.

"Tell me about your military record." he continued on, his voice drawing out the mundaneness of the questions.

"That's a matter of public record," Mack said. "Any third idiot and his cousin Larry could access the Cortex and put in a request for access to my military jacket. But since there's more words than pictures and I don't think you can read, I'll save you the trouble. I graduated from Sandhurst a few years before the war. I served for a bit as a lieutenant in the army. When the war broke out, I resigned my commission and joined the Browncoats. Only you people don't seem to have accepted my resignation. You said I deserted and joined the enemy. So after you won, I was arrested. My father, then Colonel, now General Jonathan Shepard of Alliance Military Intelligence, AKA the man who is going to arrange for every one of you bastards to die, called in a favor and I got pardoned on the condition that I would go to the colonies and come back to the Core only infrequently. I've honored that arrangement. It's worked out well for me. Met some good people, and dad even throws me some work here and there. Though he never directly interacts with me when he does that, it's his way showing me he still loves me." She smiled again, and again it was not a pleasant expression. "Nín de fùqīn shì shǒuxiān gěi nín dài lái shàngshù mò wò er méidú dí rén," added, positing that her interrogator's father was the person who gave the aforementioned mongrel syphilis in the first place.

The Minister leaned over onto the table. "You think your daddy is gonna come save you now? I have you for attempted murder of an Alliance official and gravely wounding a registered companion, that I was getting quite fond of. But like your pathetic little war, you worthless revolutionaries can't aim and you've lost... again. I have all the proof I need to carry out a death sentence right here on the station, no chance or time for appeal. As this was an orchestrated attack, certainly worthy of your career as an enemy combatant, you were not the only one involved. Your only hope is you turn over your confedrates." He slid a blank writing slate across the table. "I want names. As complete in details as possible. If you can give us a lead on insurgents working out of this station, your father may yet be able to visit you in prison."


Mack looked Carnahan in the eyes. "If you've got evidence that says I was in someway involved with this," she said, calmly. "Then show it to me. Otherwise, I assume you have fuck all. That what you've got, right? Fuck all? But I bet I could find video footage of you pulling that Companion in front of you so she could take the bullet for you. In fact, I don't think I have to bother with that. I think one of the Plexies will find it and leak it just for the chaos it'll cause. And there's not a thing either of us can do to stop it. So, now I want two things. If you've got evidence, lay it out for me, and before I'm going to have any kind of a conversation with you people, I want legal representation. I've been arrested and you're questioning me about a crime you think I've committed. That get's me an attorney. And make it quick. I don't want to have to look at your cowardly, ugly face one minute more than I have to."

The Minister was unphased by Mack's insults. As she spoke a wicked crack came across his lips that vaguely resembled a twisted smile. "I do not think you understand the gravity of your situation." A holoprojector against the wall began a sequence of the crowd surrounding the Tenzing momo. A group of unidentified youth, their faces lost in the deep shadows of their hoodies milled about the elevator lift, cutting customers and guest off from the lift. A young woman with a camera approached the lift door only to have the lift open and a phalanx of purple bellies issued forth, shoving the woman out of the way. The minister and his entourage emerged. The crowd being pushed back in front of his group. The 3D audio registered the sound of a shot. The Companion traveling with the Minister fell back into his arms. With great concern on his face he wrapped her in his arms. The holo rotated 180 degrees, the crowd had fallen to the deck, and in the center of the crowd stood Mack, her pistol drawn pointing it toward the Minister and his party. The playback froze on Mack, her browncoat whirling about her and a look of cold enjoyment on her face."

The minister stepped through the projection. "As you can see, we have the entire incident captured. Your guilt is assured. Because of the coordinated effort put into this botched assassination attempt, I have placed this station under emergency military jurisdiction according to Articles of Alliance section 10 part five: Special powers during insurrection. It calls for a military tribunal with the highest ranking officer presiding. That of course would be me." he said with a sneer. "Of course I am a loyal officer of the Alliance, and an impartial jurist should preside, being the victim, I relinquish my authority over this case to the honorable Major Black. There will be no appeals, and justice will be carried out swiftly to keep insurrection from spreading. An officer will be appointed to inform you of your rights, what few those might be under emergency authority." he wandered the table as he spoke, completely confident in his claims.

"Enjoy your night in the cell. It will be your last."

"That's a fake, Carnahan!" Mack said, a scowl on her face. "I'd be pissed at you about it, but you're not smart enough to set that kind of thing up yourself. But you are definitely stupid enough to believe that it's real. I'll beat this Carnahan. And I'll beat you." No one but the Songs and her own father could have seen through Mack's bravado, but she was worried. Who the Hell was setting her up?!? She'd just have to hope that Xiulan was planning on hacking into the system to save her. Xiulan would find the evidence and prove it was a fake! She just had to get it done quickly...

The door on the room slammed shut as Carnahan left the room with a satisfied smile on his face. Moments later three purple bellies came through the door to escort Mack to her cell.

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