Aeris - Guardian Force - 9. Interlude 4: Doctor Shane Thomas

He spent the remainder of the shuttle flight back to the Prometheus in silence. Having just seen Aeris teleported without warning, and Admiral Franks’ admonishment of a serious discussion once on board, he wasn’t looking forward to docking. He wasn’t scared. He knew what he had done was all sanctioned by FleetCom, and he had his trump card as well. What he was, was pissed off. Pissed that Aeris screwed him out of this discovery. Pissed that Aeris was so overly cautious, he jeopardized Shane’s real mission. He knew the crew of the Prometheus was all expendable, and now his prize jewel was pulling away from him by kilometers.

No. Doctor Shane Thomas is not about to be brought down by some fleet lackey. He thought to himself. This too will pass.

The shuttle docked, and as he left the docking pylon he was quickly swept up by a Marine detachment. Shane did not resist, and was escorted to the Deck Two conference room. At least it’s not interrogation down in the brig, he thought. They wouldn’t dare try that. With his arms folded across his chest, he sat waiting for the Admiral to arrive. Growing impatient, he stood up and began to pace the room off, looking out the observation window, and at the world below him. “Fucking idiots.”

“What was that Doctor Thomas?” Admiral Franks had just walked in when Shane uttered the comment. She took her seat, and motioned for him to do so as well. “So, tell me Doctor. When were you going to let us in on what exactly was down there?”

Shane remained standing next to the window, but turned to face her, with contempt oozing from him. “I wasn’t. You know how this compartmental classification works Admiral, and frankly, you didn’t need to know.”

“Three members of MY CREW are now missing, and you have the gall to stand there smugly and insult me.” Jules stood up, and walked around the conference table. “Now, before I order the marines to throw you out the nearest airlock, what in the fucking hell are we dealing with down there? I heard the conversation between you and Aeris. He keyed me in on it, so I know you have a lot more knowledge about this than you are letting on.”

“I do not have the patience, nor do you have the clearance, for me to explain myself to you, child. I would rather you just let me take a shuttle… OAFFF!” Shane was cut off by a swift right hook to the nuts from Jules. Being over a foot shorter than the good doctor gave her a perfect shot. Doubling over in pain, the marine guards moved to grab him.

“Confine him to his quarters until further notice. Get that piece of shit out of my sight.” Seething, Jules waited for them to leave before activating the coms unit. “Linda, monitor all activity surrounding Doctor Thomas. If he tries to leave his room, or activate any electronics, notify me immediately.”

“Yes, Admiral Franks. It will be done as requested.” The A.I. responded to her.

Well that escalated quickly, Jules thought as she sat back down, rubbing her temples. I was pissed coming in here, but not to that extent. She sat a few more moments thinking. “Linda, check Doctor Thomas’ file, and let me know if any Psychic studies were done on him.”

“As you command Admiral Franks, but I need to let you know, most of his file is restricted, even to me, and what I do have access to is redacted.”

“What parts are redacted?”

“Mainly his medical file is restricted. Also, his entire time period working with Fleet Command on the Planet Vargus is redacted. If I hadn’t already known via Commander Aeris he was there, I couldn’t tell you, since it is unlisted.”

“The file copy I got from FleetCom?”

“It was heavily edited Admiral Franks. I’m comparing it now to the one in Commander Aeris’ Guardian Force database. Commander Aeris gave me permission to use it on a limited basis. This qualifies.”

“Son-of-a-Bitch… FleetCom was playing games with us.” Jules stood up and made her way to the exit. “Thank you, Linda. Continue the monitoring of Doctor Thomas, and report anything unusual.”

***

For three weeks, his only contact with the outside world was the was the steward that brought him his meals and the (wo)man’s marine escort three times a day. Shane was allowed to access the Ship’s entertainment net, but no other computer functions worked for him. For that he had to use his own devices, and those were cut off from the ship’s onboard database servers. Shane knew the ship had gone into battle, he felt impacts from the missiles. Aeris and one of the missing Marines were recovered. He overheard the marines talking outside on one occasion, about an alien being brought onboard as well. Saying Shane was mad was a pale comparison to how he really felt.

He was starting to pace the floor thinking, planning on how he was going to get to that alien once they got back to the Sol system, when the door chime announced someone was there. Shane thought it was odd, seeing as it was not time for lunch and even more surprised when it opened, and Aeris strode forward. He’s here. I can plead my case, and get out of this prison, Shane thought. “Aeris, so good to see you! I’ve been wondering when you might come by.” As an Empathic Psychic, he tried to use his powers on Aeris (as he had done in the past several times), to instill a feeling of calm, and seduction.

“Sit down, Doctor Thomas. This isn’t a social call. I’m here to discuss your fate.”

Shane became worried, as he saw his power wasn’t working this time. He complied with the order. “It was classified. I couldn’t tell you, and I’m not supposed to be discussing it now.”

“I’m not here for your omissions on our orders. What I am here for is to inform you Corporal Sullivan was killed in action. For that, I find you guilty of gross negligence in a time of war, resulting in the capture of three members of this crew, and the death of a Marine enlisted man. Summary judgment is execution, however, it is being stayed. You’re lucky. Admiral Franks persuaded me to take you back to Sol, to stand a full trial.

“She also, mentioned I should use a Psychic dampening field when I’m around you. I couldn’t understand why, until she told me about her little altercation with you in the conference room, and then the redacted files. It didn’t take long to add up all the times we’ve been together, how I let my guard down around you so easily. You’re an Empath, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.”

Aeris nodded, and quickly drew his sidearm, pointing it at Shane. “I should kill you right now, for all those times we fucked. I was under your influence, wasn’t I?”

“Not fully. I only nudged you a couple of times in the direction you already wanted to go. You were a willing partner each time. I wouldn’t rape someone under the influence.”

Aeris was furious at the confirmation. He could have shot Shane right there. He would be legally justified in doing so; for both the gross negligence and the suspected rapes. Aeris didn’t fire. “You will be dealt with when we reach Sol. Consider yourself under full arrest, pending trial and investigation of your Psychic crimes.” He holstered his sidearm and proceeded to leave Shane sitting there in silence.

***

Doctor Thomas sat in Fleet Admiral Toews’ office, sipping on an old Earth whiskey, listening to the Fleet Admiral.

“So, your immunity extends to all actions while in the Gilese system and all charges are dropped. However, the Federation Psychic Service will be investigating your use of empathy, and possible crimes committed with it. I can’t stop that.” Fleet Admiral Toews stated while reading from his datapad. “That’s a shitstorm I wouldn’t want to be a part of.”

“As long as they get the information that it was you all who gave me the powers to begin with, I should be good.” Shane sipped his drink and motioned to the Admiral. “Military use should grant immunity as well. At least now you know how much influence empaths can have on Guardian Force. Until they use those dampening fields to block the influence, that is.”

“Federation Fleet Command thanks you for your service. Guardian Force has too much power as it is.”

The two moved on to other topics, sipping their drinks, and conspiring about the War to come.