An Unwanted Inheritance

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The third judge took his seat at the bench which looked down over the courtroom and the order was given for everyone to be seated.

Aside from the panel of three judges there was an usher and two security officers, who remained standing, the prosecutor, who sat ramrod straight at his table, and the defendant and his legal counsel - they were in quiet conversation while they waited for proceedings to get underway.

The last person in the courtroom, the only witness to proceedings who wasn’t involved in them, was Casimir Dragunov, private second class in the Armed Forces of the Federation of Planets - AFFP being the acronym used by those who didn’t want to waste breath or time on the full title - and recent graduate of the basic training course for new recruits on Miravane, second planet and primary colony of the Seeburg System.

Casimir - Cas to the small circle of friends he had acquired since arriving at Tolbrio Base - looked neither left nor right as he waited for proceedings to begin, instead his gaze remained directed forward. For the most part it was focused on the defendant, but every now and then it would flick to the trio of senior officers who made up the panel.

He had done all his looking around that morning when he attended the trial, taking in the wood panelling and tables, as well as the other anachronisms the courtroom held, too many for someone of his less than affluent upbringing to really appreciate.

He knew the courtroom was designed as it was to convey tradition, and to remind those present that the laws it and its officials represented had been handed down from generation to generation, and were not to be taken lightly.

The only impression he had been left with, however, was one of waste; the cost of the wood used to furnish the courtroom would have, he was sure, cost more than he could earn in a lifetime, short of him attaining command rank, which seemed far from likely given present circumstances.

At a signal from the major, who was the senior officer of the tribunal’s panel, the corporal acting as usher stepped forward, opened his mouth, and all but bellowed, “Corporal First-Class Nikolai Dragunov, attention!”

Cas’ eyes had drifted to the usher when he began moving, but now they snapped back to the defendant, his brother, his older brother, the reason he was there in that courtroom, the reason he was on Tolbrio base and a newly graduated recruit in fact.

It was a cruel irony that he joined the AFFP, because that was what the brother he had grown up idolising had done, just in time for his brother’s career with the AFFP to come to an end. All through the six years that had passed since his brother signed up to see the universe and make something of himself, Cas had told anyone who would listen that once he was done with school he was going to sign up and be a hero like his brother, Nikolai.

It was only when he had done so, and there was no turning back, that he had discovered the truth about his brother. Far from flying around the universe, seeing action in this combat zone or that, getting promotion after promotion, and being in line for officer training, not to mention receiving numerous citations for bravery; Nikolai had never seen action, had struggled from promotion to demotion, and spent most of his service time at Tolbrio base.

Worse than the deceit, which had hit Cas like a shot to the stomach, was the discovery that his beloved brother was a debt-ridden gambler; even that was not the last, nor the most difficult to accept, truth he discovered about his brother, after he had signed on for a three-year hitch. To pay off his gambling debts Nikolai had begun selling military supplies from the stores he was assigned to; he did so with the same skill he had shown in everything he tried his hand at, with the result that he was about to be sentenced for his crimes.

The love Cas had felt for his brother, the love which had been slowly but steadily eroded since he arrived at the base to begin training and first learned of the lies he had been told, was now on the verge of becoming hate. Such was the change in his feelings he wasn’t sure why he had requested permission to attend his brother’s trial.

The only reason he could think of was to put an end to that chapter of his life; that was going to be far from easy, however, for no matter what happened to Nikolai once his court-martial was over, Cas knew that he would be reminded of everything each time he looked in the mirror.

He was an inch shorter than his brother, and about half a stone lighter, but other than that the similarities between the two of them were such that they were often mistaken for one another. They both had jet black hair, though Cas’ was currently at the half-inch length required of all recruits going through basic training, while Nikolai’s needed a trim, and matching, pale green eyes. The rest of their features were almost identical as well, the similarities more obvious now that the age gap had less meaning.

Major Stevens, along with the captains seated to either side of him, stared down at Nikolai Dragunov disapprovingly. The look filled Cas with a sudden urge to call out to his brother, to tell him to straighten up and stand to attention properly, to remind him that if he couldn’t show the court the right level of respect he had very little chance of them being lenient in sentencing him.

He said nothing, however, for there was nothing he could say; Nikolai wouldn’t listen to him no matter how sensible his advice, and speaking would only see him hit with a contempt charge, a black mark he didn’t need on his record right at the start of his career.

“Corporal Dragunov, you have been found guilty by this tribunal on multiple counts of theft of military property, sale of military property, bribery, corruption, and participating in a gambling operation in contravention of military regulations,” Major Stevens said, listing the crimes precisely so there could be no confusion. “This tribunal was recessed following delivery of the verdict to consider options regarding sentencing - we have now done so. There are two options available to us: firstly, you can accept demotion in rank to private second class and transfer to a front-line unit, where you may, in time, regain your rank and honour through meritorious service; the second option is that you be sentenced to three years imprisonment at the stockade here on Tolbrio Base, at the end of which time you will be dishonourably discharged with loss of accrued pension and other benefits.

“We are prepared to give you fifteen minutes in which to discuss these options with your advocate; at the end of that time, if you have not made a decision, one will be made for you.”

“I don’t need time,” Nikolai said. “Send me to the stockade. You can go to hell if you think I’m going to beg to stay in this Kem Da. I’ll take the stockade, and then I’ll take my freedom.”

Cas would have taken his head in his hands and groaned in despair, if the discipline instilled in him over the last four months had let him. The trial of his brother had not lasted long, less than two days, but Nikolai had not spoken at any time during it, not even to confirm his identity, he had simply glared sullenly at the panel. Cas couldn’t believe that when his brother finally did speak it was to insult the AFFP, and the court.

Cas couldn’t help but wonder if his brother had always been as stupid as a Skryet and he just hadn’t been aware of it. His outburst certainly made him sound like one of those unfortunate survivors from the last major Tar Leksa attack, an attack in which experimental weaponry had been trialled by the enemy, with devastating results.

Major Stevens frowned at the brief outburst but didn’t react beyond that. “Very well,” he said. “Corporal, take the defendant away for processing.”

From his seat at the rear of the courtroom Cas watched as his brother was led away. Nikolai didn’t so much as glance in his direction. As much as he wanted to be upset or dismayed by being so completely ignored, he couldn’t; he had been all but ignored by his brother, who preferred to spend time with the petty, and not so petty, criminals that were his friends, from the moment he discovered they were both on the same base.

With their parents dead, and no close relatives, the two of them had no family but themselves, not that Nikolai seemed to care about that; when the door closed behind his brother Cas was left with the thought that though Nikolai was still alive, he had no family at all.

With a sigh that was equal parts sadness for the loss of his brother and relief that the matter was settled, Cas got to his feet, saluted the panel, as was required of him, and left the courtroom. It was time to do what he had been putting off since his graduation from basic training, it was time to accept his posting.

His intelligence and aptitude scores, compiled from the numerous tests and examinations he had taken during training had left him with many possible postings. Most of those offered postings had been withdrawn, though, following his brother’s arrest, leaving him with just two options: a posting to a front-line unit where he was guaranteed to see combat, a posting his brother had just declined, and which Nikolai had avoided since his first tour of duty, or he could enter the Armed Forces Fleet Exploration Arm.

If he chose the latter option he could either become part of a scout crew, they flew three to a ship and sought out any weaknesses in the fleets and bases operated by the Federation’s enemies, or a crew member on an exploratory vessel searching for planets to colonise or harvest for resources. Whichever route he took, a posting to the AFFEA would involve at least twelve months of extended and intensive training.

“Daciro!” There was no hiding the surprise in Captain Aspani’s voice, which was reflected in his face, as he addressed Private Second-Class Casimir Dragunov. “I can understand why you chose not to take the posting to the AFFEA, that was nothing more than an attempt to get you out of the way in case you were somehow involved with the activities of your brother and his associates, but Daciro! That’s practically a suicide posting.”

Cas stood stiffly to attention in front of his superior, the officer in charge of basic training at Tolbrio base, and said nothing. He had no desire to explain his reasons for picking Daciro as his duty station, there had been enough discussion with his friends, without his superior debating the issue as well.

“Why?” Captain Aspani wanted to know. “Why Daciro? With your ratings you could have picked just about any front-line duty station, and six months, a year from now, all those opportunities that were withdrawn would be open to you again. Officer training, a transfer to intelligence or operations, even flight training if you decide you want to go to fleet and become a pilot. That’s just a few possibilities; bide your time, wait for the fuss to die down, and you can go wherever you want.” He stared at the young recruit in front of him, searching for some reaction to his words, some indication, no matter how slight, that he was going to see sense and change his mind. There was nothing, though, and finally he said resignedly, “As long as you’re sure. I’ll process your request; ship-out for the AFFV Hanter, where you’ll be transferred on to Daciro, leaves at oh seven hundred. I suggest you get packed and make whatever goodbyes you need to.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Cas saluted sharply, made an abrupt about-face, and left the office. He was already packed, and only had a few goodbyes to make, which meant he had almost thirteen hours to kill before his shuttle left.