Gosnell leaned forward, his jowly flesh lapping over his collar. "Major Killian, you didn't get along very well with Captain Chenzokov, did you?"
Jack's eyes narrowed. What did that have to do with the Saurians? "No, I did not. But I don't see--"
"In fact," Gosnell interrupted, "we have numerous accounts from technicians, colonists, even your own troops that you argued frequently with the captain. Is that correct?"
"We had differences of opinion, and we voiced them. Sir."
"Differences of opinion." Gosnell sat back in his chair, the wood creaking. "You were actually against the Envoy Project from the beginning, weren't you, Major?"
"I support the initiatives of the Terran Republic, Mister Gosnell."
"Well, that's good to know. Because you see, I was worried about that. I seem to remember you having gone on record as saying that, what was it?" He tapped his finger a few times on the slate in front of him, summoning up the quotation he was looking for. "Ah, here it is. You said, and I quote, 'Colony domes can still work. Using Envoy to search for habitable planets is a mistake.' End quote. That sounds to me like you were opposed to the Envoy Project."
Jack took a deep breath. "No sir, not at all."
"But in your own words--"
"I was against limiting our search to worlds that had no need of terraforming. I felt it was slow and inefficient."
"I'll thank you not to interrupt me, Major.
"You were against the Envoy, but somehow you convinced us all to let you on board. We knew you were dangerous after you nearly got the president killed on Mars, and still we gave you a second chance.
"And now, you'd have us believe that you just happened to fail again, even more spectacularly, and you just happened to be one of the few survivors despite being at the heart of the conflict and you just happened to make it home while the man you despised and the project you opposed are both dead?"
It took all of Jack's self control not to leap over the podium and kill Thomas Gosnell. It would be so easy, so satisfying, to snap the man's corpulent neck. But instead he centered himself and looked to the president.
Staten was focused on his slate. Jack didn't know what he could possibly be reading, but the president seemed oblivious to the proceedings.
"Major Killian? Is that what we are to believe?" Gosnell asked.
"No, sir," Jack said. "I stand by my report."
"Your report," Gosnell repeated. "You mean this fiction about aliens and starships? Please, Major. Don't insult us by making us discuss this further."
"It's not fiction, sir."
Gosnell sneered, making his face even less pleasing. "Then why did Captain Chenzokov never communicate any of this to us? Why is this the first we've heard of it? Doesn't it stand to reason that a man about to make first contact with an alien race would have called home for advice?"
Jack wondered if Gosnell had ever met Chenzokov. "It would, sir. But I'm not surprised Chenzokov never did. He had a flair for the dramatic, and I'm sure he wanted to wait until he could claim the glory for himself."
Gosnell shook his head. "Not very sporting, is it, Major, to speak ill of the dead? Captain Chenzokov isn't here to defend himself."
Finally Gosnell stood. "But that's the point, isn't it, Major. The dead tell no tales, right? So when you and your Marines tried a military coup and it went bad, you had to make sure there were no witnesses."
So that's what this is about, Jack thought. Gosnell wants to set me up as the fall guy. "There was no coup, Mister Gosnell. As much as I may have wanted to remove Chenzokov from power, I did my job as a Marine and as Envoy's head of security."
Gosnell snorted. "Don't try to hide behind the flag. We all know what happened out there."
"There was no coup. I was there. You were not."
"I know you were, Major. And I--"
"And with all due respect, sir," Jack continued. "Humanity has a new enemy. The Saurians are out there, they might be able to find their way here, and I think we all have more important things to do than cover our political asses while trying to throw some Marines under the bus."
"I warned you not to interrupt me, Major." Gosnell addressed the rest of the panel. "I move that Major Killian be placed under arrest, on charges of murder, attempted murder, mutiny and treason. This man has scuttled decades of work, wasted trillions of dollars and is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of good men and women that only wanted to serve the Terran Republic."
President Staten said nothing for a long moment. Gosnell turned to him, breathing hard from the exertion.
The president looked up from his slate. "I'm sorry, Jack, but charges have been made. We have to see this through. MPs, take Major Killian into custody, bearing validation of the charges against him."
)
