Despatche #004

Day 4,323, 11:27 • Published in Ireland Ireland • by Kaitlinn

2.1 Commander Claire Holly “White Fox” O’Malley, Rasa Blank

Ratel looked up from the papers on his desk as I walked past, his eyes full of the grief that I recognised in Mick’s eyes, after our brother Liam was killed and was probably often in my own. His right arm was just resting on the desk, bandaged up and his left hand clumsily gripped a pen. Dr Allison, who was now waiting in our holding cells had been quite happy with the results. She had been able to save most of the arm, although a quarter of it had to be amputated due to the severe damage. He hadn’t even tried using it yet.. “That time already?” he asked in a dead voice. “Yeah, keep an eye on things while I’m gone.” He just nodded absently and went back to writing. At least he was focusing on something instead of just staring blankly into space.

I entered the Tribunal room at 13:30 on the dot and took a walk around before settling in my seat to wait on the others. Seán and Quigley both showed up at 13:50 and took their seats. Seán leaned over to look in my face. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked with a panged expression. “Of course.” I snapped leaning back in my chair and straightening the papers in front of me. Dr Stephen Macallistar-Payne walked in at 13:55 and took a seat to the right of us. At 14:00 Private Winters came in leading the cuffed prisoner. She looked frightened but was trying hard not to show it. Dr Stephen started to stand up but I shot him a look and he sat down again. Winters led her to front and center of us and walked to our left then stood at attention, eyes facing forward.

I leant forward and looked her directly in the eye. “You are here due to allegations of collusion. The Goshawk spy Gráinne Sweeney has escaped. An individual you brought into our midst.” Turning my head I nodded at Winters. He stepped forward and faced her stiffly at attention. “Dr Allison Lisa Macallistar-Payne you are hereby accused of knowingly bringing a Goshawk spy into Rasa Blank.The result of this was an attack on our base by Goshawk and the deaths of many soldiers, volunteers and staff, including one of our Commanders Captain Jan Peter van Staden. He died defending you! All of these charges as well as the charge of collusion with one Astrid Halverson, another Goshawk spy. How do you plead in the face of these charges?”

Dr Stephen started to stand to say something but Ali turned and looked at him, shaking her head. He sat down again looking pale and worried. She looked down at her hands for a few seconds then raised her head to look me in the eye. She seemed resolute but tears still pooled in her eyes. “Not guilty, of all charges. I didn’t know Gráinne was a spy. I had last seen her five years ago before we bumped into each other in the street in Dublin. I know now she used our prior friendship to get into Rasa Blank.” She looked down at her hands again and took a deep breath. “I cannot prove that I didn’t know but I give you my word on my child’s life that I didn’t and if I did, I'd have told staff immediately.” Tears rolled down her cheeks but her face remained defiant. “JP was a good friend to myself and my husband and would often visit us and our son Tadgh who he loved like he was his own. We will miss him dearly.” She looked up at us with a fierce look in her eyes. “I have suffered under Goshawk, seen their malice and cruelty firsthand and have helped others who suffered at their hands, I would never knowingly help them in an attack on the people who took me and my husband in when we had nowhere else to go.” She glanced at Stevie with a sad, faint smile and then back to us. “Goshawk has control of their soldiers through the Type 4’s, I am close to finding a viable treatment that will help end the scourge of their effects on those who I’d call my comrades and innocent Civs who are suffering with their lethal addiction to them. JP’s sacrifice saved all of the work we have done up until now. Type 4’s were created from a formula I was working on, under duress as you all well know and the cure will come quicker with me working on it. Killing or exiling me will only hurt Rasa Blank and curtail our research. The research JP died to save..” she finished and looked at Dr Stephen again before looking at the floor.

“Have you anything to add Winters?” I asked. “Yes Commander, I do. Gráinne only came to have access to us due to her friendship to the accused. We have lost so much due to this.” he stated flatly. “Yes we need doctors working on the Type 4 cure, but at a cost of having a traitor in our midst? Is their meeting really so coincidental? I ask you, who would gain the most by betraying us? A new family, looking for a way out? Commander, the Doctors story may sound convincing but the fact remains. She lead a Goshawk agent into our midsts. As a result of that idiocy if innocent or out and out treachery if guilty, ask yourself. Who is Allison Lisa Payne? Ignoring even the smallest of details would insult the memory of the soldiers who died defending our cause.” His eyes didn’t move from staring straight ahead. He gave his speech with a certain coldness, like he was rhyming off a sheet he’d memorized. “I have said all I can say in my defense Commanders, my life is in your hands.” Dr Ali said. I leant back and looked at my other two judges, they nodded their heads. “Private Winters if you will take the prisoner and Dr Stephen into the other room, we will retire to discuss these damning allegations. I will call you back for our decision.” I said, banging the gavel down. I watched him march over to the prisoner before leading her and Stevie through the door and onto the small holding cell.

This was a tough one, I had seen her work herself to exhaustion on the wounded after the attack, only stopping to feed her son and to eat, in the five days since the attack on our base. But I had also seen the effect of JP’s death on his Unit mates. Ratel, our top Commander was almost paralysed by grief and cried out for him in his sleep. It was hard to take on board while I was still trying to cope with my own grief for my brother Liam. Muis had went insane. He killed a lot of the Goshawk attackers who were retreating. He even managed to find the two Commanders in the Dublin Hills, climbing into their helicopter and hacking them to bits. The Helicopter crashed mid take off and he was found beside it suffering Type 4 withdrawals. Once back at Liberty Hall, all covered in blood he had to be restrained from killing one’s who had surrendered. He snarled like a wolf at them. G*d even the mention of Goshawk brought out the devil in him, such was his grief over losing his blood brother JP. I snapped out of that day-nightmare and leant towards Seán and Quigley. “Your opinions?” I asked. There was movement in the shadows by the door. We all instinctively drew our pistols as someone stepped out into the middle of the room from the shadows.


2.2 Commander Prof Johannes Hannes “Ratel” le Roux, Rasa Blank

Claire left my office with a pained expression on her face. She tries but dealing with her own grief makes it hard for her to help me with my own. I tried to get on with my paperwork but something JP had said to me just a few weeks ago, kept coming back to me. “I don’t trust daai flerrie Gráinne, Hannes.” he said out of the blue, in his calm measured way, while we were relaxing on leave on the windy Isle of Man, near Peel Castle. I had been a bit startled. He never used my first name unless it was something serious, it was always Prof or Ratel. “Why not Jan? Did she say something?” I had queried softly. His calm blue eyes looked into the distance “Nah, nothing like that. She uses people. I can tell. She was stringing Murphy along before he got murked. She hardly batted an eye nevermind cried when he turned up dead.” he said after a while, and refused to say anything more on it. I felt a white hot fury rise up in me and looking at the clock, I got up from my desk and hurried to the Tribunal room. I arrived just as Private Winters was taking the prisoner in. I slipped in behind him and leaned against the wall in the shadows, they didn’t notice me do so.

Looking at Claire, Seán and Quigley, I could see in their eyes they had already decided before proceedings even began. This wasn’t a trial, it was a hunt for a scapegoat. Dr Ali had spoken with an honesty I felt deep in my bones. Once the others had left I stepped out of the shadows, and almost got myself shot. Three pistols were aimed at me. “You’re not supposed to be here Hannes.” Claire said angrily, while they holstered their pistols “Should any of you be here? You decided the outcome of this trial before it began.” Claire gave me her meanest look but she knew it never worked on me. I found it cute. “Don’t look at me like that Claire, I can see it in all your eyes.” I glared up at all of them. “I have lost someone who was like a brother to me.” I drew a deep breath, the hurt was deep but I couldn’t allow them to continue this charade. “But I will not allow that fact to affect my judgement. Dr Ali stood here and told the truth, and you know something JP picked up there was something off about Gráinne weeks ago, I should have listened to what he said then and I should have spoken up before all of this. I wrote it off as insignificant but it wasn’t. Nothing JP said was idle, you all know that. He spoke when he had something to say and that was that.” I glanced up at the three of them. “We have all lost good people, friends, family… but we can not allow that to affect our judgement and punish someone who is innocent of flimsy accusations. Punishing Dr Ali won’t bring anyone back.. We have enough enemies out there without creating more in here.” I looked Claire dead in the eye.. “Decide with your minds, not your hearts.” I turned and took a seat to the right and waited, testing out the flexibility of my new bionic hand, it was quite amazing really, although I would have to get used to the weight and feel of it..

The three of them went into deep discussion, hushed so none could overhear. Finally they came to a decision and Claire took her seat and spoke into her Comm-link. “Private Winters bring her back in.” They came back in, I could see Dr Ali was a bit pale looking but calm and prepared for whatever judgement came. Claire leaned back in her chair. “Dr Allison Lisa Macallistar-Payne we have come to a decision. We are not entirely convinced that you did not know Gráinne was a Goshawk spy. But we have no evidence to the contrary. We are putting you on a six month probation, with someone watching over you. You are not to leave Ireland without permission. If anything like this comes back to you, it will be the firing squad. No further trial. Understood?” Dr Ali stood up straight and looked her directly in the eye. “Understood, I will be in my lab once I leave here. You can send them there directly.” Winters removed her handcuffs. “Right, case closed, gentlemen will you please escort Dr. Ali to her lab?” Claire banged the gavel lightly. Dr Stevie hugged his wife and they both left the room escorted by Seán and Quigley. I waited for the others to leave the room. Claire was looking at me with a surprised expression on her face. “Didn’t know you had that in you honey.” she said quietly. “Punishing an innocent person won’t bring Jan back or help with the grief.“ I whispered, taking the photo out of my pocket and looking at it. She glanced down at it. “He’s with his family now.” she said gently, pulling me close. I smiled looking down at the image, rubbing Claire’s hand with my left hand and holding the photo gingerly with my new right one. Yeah, he was. Es muss sein.

2.X The Trial of Doctor Allison Lisa Macallistar-Payne, Day 4,323

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