he adventures of the Star Traveler Andromeda that started in Among the Stars, Beyond the Farthest Planet, and So Far From Home, continues in the final chapter The Voyage Home.
With the latest crises behind them, Andromeda's crew settled down. For the first time in five days, Kate was able to return to the Bridge. She walked to the command chair with Liam next to her. He smiled as she sat down.
"Welcome back, Katie."
"Thank you dad. Report."
"We are on course for Eternus and will be there in three months." Anya reported.
"Shields and weapons are at maximum." Rhea continued.
"Engines are running at peak capacity. Engine two's problem seems to have been finally taken care of." Bella stated from the auxiliary Engineering station."
"Rich anything to report?" Kate asked.
"This lady is handling like a dream, Captain." Rich reported.
"Communications is quiet. We did receive a few weather reports from home earlier. They were a couple days old." The Communications officer stated. "It was eighty five degrees with bright sunshine."
"That is really good to hear. Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to ask you all for a big favor. After all we have been through, especially this past week, I ask you to cross your fingers that the remainder of our journey is dull and boring."
"I believe we can all grant that favor Captain." Rich stated. The Bridge crew readily agreed. "How is Colonel O'Malley?"
"She is greatly improved, Rich. Thank you for asking."
"Katie has Jessup said anything?"
"Not a word. Both Kacey and Natalia has asked to be allowed to talk to him."
"Will ye allow them to do that?"
"I have not decided yet. I have to admit, I have no reason to deny their request. They could wait until he is in the Brig and go on their own. When I spoke to him earlier, I played dirty and hinted at the possibility of the cameras going down in the Brig after he is transferred there."
"Are ye trying to scare him into talking?"
"That was my plan. I told him to think it over and let me know. He had until his release from Sick Bay to talk. After that all bets are off." Kate stated.
"Does Kacey still have the Security detail?"
"The whole family does, until Jessup is safely behind bars."
"Then it would be better to approve their request while they still have Security with them."
"If I thought I could get away with it, she would have a shadow until we landed on Earth."
"Are ye trying to get back at her for making ye have security following ye around when we land?"
Kate laughed. "Kacey asked me the same question."
"What is your answer?"
"Honestly, I am not sure what that answer is. The adult part of me says no, but there is that little part of me that says who am I trying to kid?
"I suggest that ye do not tell her that."
Kate laughed again. "You have that right, dad." She became serious. "Are the flyers out?"
"Yes Mike has," he paused and pulled up the flight roster, "twelve stingers out."
"Captain, I have a feeling that they do not trust my flying." Rich stated.
"Why is that Rich?"
"The only one who ever flies in front of us is the Colonel. All the others stay off to the side."
"She knows the Captain would hang you lifeless hide on the bulk head if you rammed her. The others can not make that claim." Bella stated.
"Would you do that Captain?"
"Chances are you will never have to find out." Kate stated with a smile.
"Tis nice to hear joking again on the Bridge." Liam stated.
"Are there any reports that need my immediate attention?"
"Just the one dealing with this last crises."
"Unless Kacey is able to tell me what happened, it would have a lot of holes. I hope to talk to her later to see what she remembers."
"Ye also need to reschedule the conference with the bosses."
"I will send a message today. Hopefully I can put it off until Kacey returns to duty."
"They might not want to wait."
"Then all they would get would be a partial report."
"They also want to start planning the ceremony for when we land."
"Damn, they did mention that on the last call. I had better take care of that now then go talk to Kacey." Kate stood up. "You have the Bridge." She went into her Ready Room and sent the message to schedule the conference call, before she headed to Sick Bay with her computer tucked under her arm.
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"Captain, Jessup has asked to see you." One of the guards said as she walked into Sick Bay.
"It is about damn time." Kate stated. The guard opened the door for Kate. Jessup was seated on the bed. Kate took the chair and opened the computer. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yeah, but before I say anything I want to make a deal."
"Tell me what you know and we will see about a deal." Kate started the computer recording.
"No way, Captain. We settle the terms first."
"You are allowed to have an advocate here with you."
"A lawyer? No they only get in the way."
"What are your demands?"
"First, the firing squad is off the table. Second, I am allowed to resign my commission instead of a dishonorable discharge. Third, I accept that I will do jail time, but no where near Devoe. Fourth The charge of attempted murder is dropped."
"Anything else Jessup?"
"That is all."
"Let's hear what you have to say and I will talk to Admiral Tacher."
"Ahh Captain, we all know you are the ultimate authority on this ship."
Kate looked at him. "All right the firing squad is off the table. Where you serve your sentence is out of my control. As for allowing you to resign your commission, I will accept that. Although Admiral Tacher can override my decisions. Now that leaves attempted murder. Let's hear what you have to say first. You need to convince me that you had no malice towards Colonel "O'Malley and that you would have produced the serum on your own."
It was Jessup's turn to stare. Kate returned his stare. "It started two years ago on Verna. Al caught me fooling around with one of the Vernan women."
"Fooling around? That is against regulations."
"Hell Captain this woman was... That is not important. I figured Al would turn me in, but he said he would keep quiet if I would do him a favor. I asked what the favor was and he said he would let me know when the time came. Time went by and I figured he had forgotten. But no, after he was put in the Brig, he told me it was time to pay up."
"What was the plan?" Kate asked.
"It was my rotation to cover the Brig Gamma shift duty. Al's idea was to find a way to put both you and Colonel O'Malley into a situation where we as, in him and I would rescue you."
"When was this rotation?"
"Not this past rotation, but the one while we were on Athena and helped the Vidag. I became friendly with one of them. I gave him a bull shit story about loving this woman who did not know I existed. I asked him how he would handle a situation like that. He told me the best way was to save her life, then she would notice me. He told me how he faced the same situation and what he did. He gave me the virus that they were using to test serums on and the serum that worked the best. He told me ten drops in a bottle of water would be enough to make her sick. Then after a few days tell the Doctors about the serum. " He stopped to take a drink of water. "Al's plan was to incapacitate both of you. After you had been sick for a day or so to produce the serum with another bull shit story. That way he would be the hero and save the day. What we did not take into account was the difference in the body types of humans and the Vidag and that the virus would react so strongly."
"Why?"
"Colonel O'Malley because of her testimony and digging into his background and you because you stripped him of his rank and confined him to the Brig until we reached Earth where he would face a court martial and lengthy prison term. He figured that you both would be grateful enough to drop the charges against him and tell the Military Tribunal to cancel the court martial."
"So during this rotation what did you do?"
"Every night for an hour we did a dry run. I would shut the cameras off and let him out of his cell. The original plan was to contact Colonel O'Malley and tell her there was a problem in the Hanger. We knew from the last few years that she would not call for back up and take care of the problem herself. Then after she was hidden away, we would contact you. Being that you are sisters, we were sure you would come to her aid." He stopped again. "That morning we were doing out practice run when Colonel O'Malley came down the corridor alone. Al hit her hard enough to send her into the bulk head on the other side of the corridor. I was afraid he had killed her. He used flex cuffs to bind her hands and feet. I checked to make sure she was still alive because as I said, Al hit her really hard. I was afraid he broke her neck. A little dalliance with an alien is not worth facing a firing squad for murder."
"What did you do after you stuffed her into the access tube?" Kate had a hard time keeping the anger out of her voice.
"I managed to get Al back into his cell and restarted the cameras. I finished my shift and found that she had aleady been reported as missing. There was no way to get both of you. Al wanted to try, but I lost my nerve. I continued with the plan for the Colonel, but with the heightened security, we could not go after you. I managed to talk Commander Torino in letting me help with the search for a few hours to keep everyone away from that area, and get the drugged water to her. I returned to the tube and found that she had woke up and managed to change positions. I gave he a little of the water while she was unconscious. Then I checked to make sure her hands were still bound. Al put the cuffs on too tight and cut off the circulation to her hands. I cut those cuffs off and repositioned her hands, with new cuffs that were not as tight and left the water where she could see it when she woke up again. I did not plan of leaving her in there that long, but the Marines were crawling all over that deck. I changed the code on the locks on that tube's hatches so no one would stumble over her until I was ready."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah, except for, well, would you tell Colonel O'Malley that I am sorry for my part in all this. I did not want to kill her, just put her out of commission."
"Was there anyone else involved?"
"No Captain, it was just Al and I"
"Jessup we will be going over every word recorded. If I find just one single untruth or half truth, the deal is off."
"I understand."
"She and Natalia have asked to see you."
"Will you allow that?"
"I have not decided. It is their right to face you. If I allow that, it will be under the watchful eye of your guards."
"I accept that Captain. I know the Marines are after my blood."
"If it were acceptable, I would let them." Kate stated angrily. "Unfortunately, I am bound to protect you from vigilante justice. No matter how it is deserved. I wish I could just hand you over to the Marines. You attacked not only a valued member of this crew, but my sister. Fortunately for you, the Captain in me has to override the sister."
"Thank you Captain."
"Do not thank me." Kate snapped. "I am bound by the law." Kate shut off the computer and stood up. "You will be escorted to the Brig today as soon as the doctor discharges you. You will be allowed five minutes to see her. If you so much as blink funny, the Marines will be allowed to use deadly force to protect her." The guards at the door snapped to attention as she passed.
Kate headed directly to Kacey's room where she found her sitting up in bed with Patricia by her side.
"You are looking a lot better little sister." Kate stated.
"I am feeling a lot better also. I cannot wait to get out of here."
"The Doctor said you would not be discharged until the fever has been gone for at least a day."
"One lousy point and they will not let me go."
"Are you still getting antibiotics?"
"Yeah. Hopefully the next dose will be the last one I will need."
"Do you need to be reminded that it has only been two days since you were on life support and one day since you woke up? Patricia scolded.
"I do not need to be reminded mom. I still have the sore throat from the tube." Kacey complained. "So there is no need to remind me."
"All right, you are both sounding a little testy here." Kate joked. "Time to take a deep breath."
"Have you thought about my request?"
"What request?" Patricia demanded.
"Natalia and I want to talk to Jessup."
"No, absolutely not. Kate I forbid this."
"Kacey, you will be allowed five minutes before he is escorted to the Brig. He will be under full Marine guard." Kate stated with authority.
"You cannot be serious Kate." Patricia protested. "After he almost killed your sister?"
"Mom, it is my decision as Captain. Every safety precaution will be in place. He will be shackled and under guard. He has also been told that any overt actions and I will give the Marines permission to have at him."
"Has he said why he attacked me?"
"Yes, I have his recorded his confession for you to listen to."
"I will leave you two alone, then." Patricia stated as she stood up. She leaned over to kiss Kacey's cheek, then Kate's before she left the room.
"Before you hear this is there any thing else you remember from that morning?"
"There is one thing. I remember smelling a very rancid odor and wondered when the filters in the trash recycler had been changed last. Then I heard a noise but before I could turn to see what it was I was hit. That is all I remember until I woke up in that tube the first time."
"You said that you remembered waking up three times."
"Yeah not counting when you found me."
Kate opened her computer. "One other thing you need to know before you listen to this. I have to tell you that I had to make some compromises on a few points in order to get his confession."
"How bad are the compromises?"
"One was not even a compromise, but he did not realize it." Kate stated. "Listen for yourself." She pushed the play button. They listened to the recorded confession. Twenty minutes later, Kate turned off the computer. Kacey laid her head against the pillow. "What are you thinking?"
"All this because he could not keep his pants on?"
"That is it."
"Christ, I cannot believe this."
"How do you feel about the concessions I made?"
"Is there anything that needs to be said?"
"I would like to hear your thoughts." Kate stated.
"You were right to pull the firing squad. No one died. As for stopping the court martial, that is out of your hands. You can recommend a course of action, but it is ultimately up to Admiral Tacher. Right?"
"Right. As is his choice of prison. That is also out of my hands."
"I do not agree with taking attempted murder off, but I understand why you agreed. When will he be released?"
"Some time today."
"Kate was there any one else involved?"
"According to Jessup, it was only the two of them. Do you think he was lying?" If he did, then the deal is off and all the charges are put back in."
"Will you be here when Jessup visits?"
"Of course I will. Not that I do not trust your people, but..."
"They are not you."
"True, but also if he steps out of line they will need to get their orders to tear him apart from me."
"I get the feeling you are hoping he does step out of line."
Kate shrugged. "I have rescheduled the video conference for tomorrow. We can take it right here."
"Kate, I would rather not have them see me here." Kacey protested.
"They know all about the attack, and this will give General Millhouse peace of mind."
"Fine, but I will not be laying in bed."
"That my dear sister is between you and your doctor."
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Natalia brought the children to Sick Bay accompanied by her Marine guard. Rhea had not taken off the order for a security guard. She felt sorry for the men and women who were assigned to her security detail as she felt their jobs must be a boring one. They stood watch outside their quarters except when escorting them back and forth to Sick Bay. There were similar escorts for Kate's family and her in-laws.
Once Jessup was securely behind bars in the Brig, Natalia hoped for the guard's sake the orders would be rescinded. The guards assured her many times that their duty to their commander was to keep her family safe. That was their number one priority. A duty they would gladly do. The cookies and other treats that Patricia supplied them with helped make their jobs a coveted one. They joked that they would have to put in extra gym time to make up for all the extra calories they consumed.
The guard held open the door for them as Natalia and the children walked into Sick Bay. The door to Kacey's room was closed when they arrived. They waited for the door to open. A few minutes later Kate opened the door. Both children ran to their Aunt.
"Kaykay," Patrick yelled. Kate crouched down and opened her arms for them.
"Whoa there you two." Kate stated as they knocked her on her butt. She heard Kacey laugh behind her. "What have you been teaching them?" Kate asked.
"Do not blame me because you put yourself into positions to get knocked down." Kacey responded.
The guard reached down to help Kate off the floor.
"Are you all right, Kate?" Natalia asked.
"Yes nothing hurt but my pride." She rubbed her backside.
"It is called pride now? I always thought it was your butt."
"Laugh it up." Kate stated as she lifted Patrick to then bed then lifted Caitlyn.
"Hey buddy, did you knock Auntie Kate down?"
"No."
"Was it Caitlyn?"
"No."
"His new favorite word is no now." Natalia told her.
"Is that right buddy?"
"No."
Kacey laughed. "What about you my sweet girl is no your favorite word too?"
"Mommy cookie."
"A girl who knows what she wants." Kate said.
"Kate said we will have five minutes with Jessup before he is taken to the Brig today."
"Really? Thank you Kate."
"You're welcome. He asked to talk to you so I am allowing him five minutes. As I told Kacey, he will be shackled and under armed Marine guard. I will be here as well."
"So he has talked."
"He has." Kate responded.
"And? Did he say why they did it?"
"Yes he did. Kacey it is up to you. Can Natalia listen to his confession?"
"Of course she can, Kate. Especially if you are planning to hold a trial on Andromeda. She is the prosecutor with an impressive one hundred percent conviction rate." Kacey said with pride in her voice.
"I will stop by your quarters later and let you watch his confession."
"If he has confessed, why would there need to be a trial?"
"There are two conspirators. Only one confessed."
"I understand. Once they are both in the Brig, does that mean the security guards will be dropped?"
"As far as I am concerned, yes, but that decision is out of my hands."
"You are the Captain."
"Talia, at times like these the head of security can override the Captain." Kacey stated. "Especially when the safety of the Captain is in jeopardy."
"Not only the Captain's safety, but any of the top commanders." Rhea stated from the doorway. "We are about to transfer, Jessup to the Brig. I am told he is allowed five minutes with you."
"Yes with full armed guard." Kate stated.
"Bring him in." Rhea ordered. Two Marines manhandled Jessup into the room. His arms and feet were shackled with the chains running through the belt around his waist. The Marines kept a tight grip on his arms. "Talk, you have five minutes."
A defeated Jessup looked at Kacey. "Colonel, Mrs. O'Malley, Captain, I just wanted to apologize for my part in the attack on you. I let Devoe talk me into the attack to save my own skin and I regret my actions. I am sorry." Jessup stated. That is all I have to say." He was man handled out of the room.