Starship Armstrong - Season 2

Part 77 - The Trial Of Dr. Kang (XIII)

Misha beamed. She was beside herself. She couldn't remember the last time she had all her siblings together for dinner and nobody even had to die this time.

Well she supposed whoever Dr. Kang murdered had to die, but nobody she knew at least.

Misha just didn't know what to do with herself. She still had an hour to kill before her brothers arrived. Knowing them neither would be there a minute earlier or later.

Her husband Dishi had locked himself in the kitchen because Misha kept bothering him while he was trying to make dinner. Misha was pretty confident she could unscrew the hinges and get in that way but she decided to respect the boundary.

"You know," she yelled through the door "I could just unscrew the hinges on the door. But I won't! But I could!"

There. Now she would get credit for her meritorious deed.

"Stay. Out. Of the kitchen!" Dishi yelled back.

"I said I won't," Misha yelled back, but she wandered off to another part of the townhouse to find and harass their cat.

The cat, possessing the same sixth sense as all of its kind, had deduced this long ago and was hiding too cunningly for Misha to find it.

Finally her brothers arrived. Exactly as Misha had predicted, although they left from different locations at different times they arrived at the door together.

"Sammy! Xeno!" she exclaimed, grabbing them both for a one-armed hug.

"Come in! Come in! Take off your coats!" Misha ushered the two inside "Dishi is in the kitchen making dinner but he's locked the door because he's being antisocial."

* * *

After the siblings had a moment to catch up the four sat down to dinner. Thanks to Dishi having the foresight to lock his wife out of the kitchen so she couldn't distract him, the food was lovely. Martians were masters of hydroponics, and their produce virtually peerless. It had been a long time since Commander Gibson had eaten this well.

"This has been so wonderful having you both over," said Misha "Sammy, how long is your ship going to be in Mars orbit? Maybe we could do this again before you leave."

"I would guess not until the trial is over," said Samarth "Even if upgrades on the Armstrong are complete the Captain's probably going to want to wait for the verdict."

"The wheels of justice turn slow," said Xenophon, trying to affect an air of sagely wisdom that fell completely flat in front of his younger siblings "It takes time to prosecute a murderer. This is the case even when guilt is self-evident."

"Except he is innocent," said Samarth, swallowing his mouthful prematurely in order to make the point.

"Ha!" laughed Xenophon, drinking from his wine glass "He's a monster and he's a guilty monster at that."

"Look, Xenophon, I dislike him more than you. You read a file on him and didn't care for it? I have to work with the man. Day in and day out dealing with his preening arrogance and his insubordination. If I was Dictator of the Galaxy I'd have him spaced. But I'm not. We are a society of laws. And by our laws Dr. Kang is innocent, at least of what he stands accused of."

"So you're saying I'm prosecuting an innocent man," said Xenophon, darkening "That's what you're really trying to get at. That's where this road inevitably leads, isn't it?"

"Guys, no, stop it," said Misha "We were having such a nice night don't spoil it."

"You're just doing your job," said Samarth "I'm not calling into question your integrity."

"So I'm 'just following orders'? The gall you have! The absolute gall that just because you work in proximity with someone you would defend a murderer, an admitted murderer, by besmirching your own brother's honor-"

"Oh give it a rest," interrupted Samarth "I'm not 'dishonoring' you, what do you think this is ancient Earth? I'm telling you the truth. If you let me explain-"

"Enough!" shouted Misha "This is now a forbidden topic in my home. I don't want to hear another word."

Xenophon and Samarth still had a lot to say, Misha stared them both down.

"Not. One. Word."

The two brothers stopped fighting, but there was tension in the air for the rest of the night. The jovial atmosphere was ruined.