Welcome Aboard Air Marineris
Chapter Twenty-Three: Legal Troubles

I had to report all the trouble to Klara, and she wasn’t pleased. It wasn’t too bad, though. She was expecting a boil up. She was getting as tired of Solomon as I was of Linus. She didn’t have a refuge from him the way I did from Linus, but technically, Solomon said he was there as a resource for Klara, and he acted that way. He gave pointless suggestions from time to time, though, and Klara had to stop to listen to him, even if it was just courtesy to listen to a voice that came all the way from Earth to talk to her.

She had heard of our brouhaha already from Solomon. Linus appeared to be complaining about his disloyal employees all over the planet. He had approached the legal section of Starward, and they had assigned a lawyer, no doubt as august a person as Linus himself, to be his counsel.

“Well, we’ve torn one this time, Mo. I can’t say I’m surprised. Considering how incompetent Linus is, I’m amazed at your forbearance. If Solomon, here, insisted that I do things I well know are counterproductive, I would probably do the same thing. Overall, I am happy every little thing is out in the open. I hate secrecy. It’s all a pointless waste of time.”

“Boris was very helpful. His legal education let him drive Linus around the bend. We need to do what we consider necessary. They can’t pull out now anyway. If they did, they would probably jeopardize the whole investment. That’s doubly stupid because we want to do what they should want to do. We need this line here, and we will need to live with it. Our authority will operate it. They will do the contracting and leave, even though they will still own an interest in the line.They also have a contractual obligation to finish it. Over the years, they stand to earn a lot of money from us. We won’t deprive them of that.”

“They’re still going to want to make trouble for you, Mo. These are important people. Proud people who don’t like being humiliated. We’ve done that to them. They won’t forget it. But, bottom line, you’re here. I’m not going to send you back. They need me to facilitate that. They can’t make us. We’re above the gravity well, and they are below it. I won’t stick my thumb in their eye, but I won’t stick it in my own just because they want it either.We need you. When do you think you will be able to run the test?”

“We’re finishing off the cars right now. We have enough rail space. I’m going to put a few of the people on that so we can go faster. The bags are finished, and the electronics still need to be installed. That’s manual work, but we can put people in light suits in the Quonsets. With their flexibility, you can work almost as fast as you can indoors. With the extra people, I would say three or four days. Then half a day to bring in the cars to assemble the train for the first time. Once I do that, I will run the train at low speed to the other end. The test will be done coming in. If something happens; when something happens, it’ll be close to us.

“I also want to ask you to appoint me to the board of the Transportation Authority. I told Linus today I was an officer of the corporation, and I think it’s reasonable that the Manager be that. I know it’s a conflict of interest, but, with so few people here there is bound to be some of that if we try to pull in as many people as we can. If it’s a done deal they will have a tough time pulling it back. And it clothes me with some authority for my tests. The more the better.”

“OK, Mo, I will book the paperwork right now. It’s the same day so you’re not a liar. I had meant to do that eventually anyway, but it didn’t seem important with all the other things on the go. I guess we need to observe the formalities. I see a fight coming and I want all the people on my side that I can get. I think I should put Chantelle and Lou on as well. Boris can be our counsel. Also, Hana would be a good person. She’s an engineer like you and it fits well with the transport. CV’s are even better if they are relevant. And move as fast as you can on the test. They can’t stop something that’s happened already.

“Another thing I’m going to do is call a few of my contacts down on Earth. Maybe I can talk some sense into somebody. I’m afraid, though, that they are already in battle mode. It’s stupid, because we are both essentially on the same side, but common sense rarely stops a fight.”

We didn’t make it, though. I still had several essential tasks to finish before the test, and they got back to us the next morning. They advised us that they were filing criminal conspiracy charges against us on Earth, and they petitioned Klara to extradite us to Earth to stand trial at once. They wanted to be heard immediately claiming that the railway was in imminent danger. It was on, and we couldn’t avoid it. No matter that it was them threatening the project that they had devoted billions of credits to. They had their blood up and they weren’t going to stop. There wasn’t enough time to get ready for the test. Two cars to finish and a little more rail to lay before were in the position for that.

We gathered in Klara’s office. Solomon was glaring above her magic radio. We ignored him. Klara had been sent the text of a petition for extradition and a form of indictment for conspiracy charges. She was the chief executive officer of the Authority, and she was the designated judicial arbiter for the initial disposition of the orders she would be obliged to make in her executive mode.

There was no mention of her role in the so-called conspiracy in the petitions. She was going to remain unindicted. When the table of organization is as sparse as it was at Lowell, you were going to get conflicts. Starward, the complainant, and sponsor of the settlement, strategically ignored that at this stage. If it got to Earth, that omission would be corrected. They would trumpet conflict of interest. Yet, they were blowing their bolt on this action. If they lost, they couldn’t do it again.

Klara, the director of the meeting, as she was Director of the MSA, started us off. Boris and I were sitting in front of her in our customary chairs. We could have brought my magic radio down from the office so that Linus could participate. We didn’t. If they wanted to include Linus, they would need to bridge the connections at the other end. We weren’t obliged to make it easy for them. They already had the advantage of listening to our discussions. That was enough.

“I have the complaint in front of me. I have also brought up the Charter of the MSA. It is surprisingly short because it has inclusion sections that take in standard UN codices of law. It references the Uniform Criminal Code, along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Because we started off as a small group using military protocols, many of the sections are militaristic in character. It is patterned after the Moon’s LSA authority, and we will get the benefit of any rulings they have made. Boris, you had some experience under our criminal code when I charged you with murder. My administrative law background has equipped me to handle Starward’s application as well. I do acknowledge some personal prejudices, but any judge has those. I will try to put them aside.

“There are two parts to their application, and they must succeed on them both to allow them to proceed as they have intended. First is the extradition application. To succeed on that, they must show that the offense the defendants, that’s you sorry pair, are accused of is a crime in both of the jurisdictions, and that it is appropriate to extradite you. I would point out that there is no extradition treaty between the MSA and Earth. Technically then, there would be no case for extradition under any circumstances. Notwithstanding that critical shortcoming, I am basing the hearing on cooperation with our friendly sister government on Earth. Considering our close attachment, I think that is reasonable. Our reference will be to generally applicable law from Earth. I am assuming that the criminal law inclusions cover this case. An example would be state to state extradition in the European Union on Earth. Then, they must convince me that there is a reasonable case for you two to be prosecuted. Further since all of the events occurred in our jurisdiction, and all the witnesses are here, the request for effective change of venue is at least questionable.

“This case is unprecedented in another way. The conversations that have formed the basis of the complaint were had over the magic radio in Mo’s office. I can tell you all, Mo and Boris, and Solomon here as the representative of Starward, that I will need them to validate their evidence before it is considered. Linus is the complainant. They must prove to me why he even knew in real time what was going on when Linus was on Earth. They will need to explain how that could be in spite of accepted laws of physics. It is common procedure to require that before recorded evidence is submitted. I am going to have Linh listening to that one. I will be calling her as an expert witness for the Court to help me understand that evidence. It would certainly be beneficial to us if they released that tech for our use too.

“Although this will be a preliminary hearing in respect of the criminal charge, I want everything to be in full public view. Everyone in the community will be invited to watch, and the proceedings will be uploaded as they unfold. I do not think it is wise to say any more. There may be some who would question my judicial independence already. I intend to do this by the book. The rulings I make will, to the best of my ability, comply with any precedents in the law that are relevant. Because of the unique elements of this hearing, I may be obliged to diverge from accepted jurisprudence. That will await the evidence that will be presented to me. I will take as my model for procedure that of the investigating magistrate in my home country, Sweden. Accordingly, I will be proactive in my hearing.

“Now, Mo, you should retire and consult with your counsel to prepare for your case tomorrow morning. I will convene the first hearing at nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Both my radio and that of Mo will be set up at the front of the cafeteria so that Starward representatives can attend the hearings, as they have declared themselves able to provide real time counsel to us.If that doesn’t prove feasible, I will be adjourning the hearings for two weeks to allow Starward time to prepare. They seem to have confidence that these units allow full communication, so that will likely not be necessary. Certainly, traditional communication, with its twenty-minute delay each way would not allow any workable hearing. The only alternative to that would be for Starward to send its representatives to appear in person to argue their case. I understand from them that this is impractical considering the physical limitations of the representatives they have chosen. Accordingly, they must put up with the restrictions they have imposed on themselves. I have not considered begging one of the principal questions and sending everyone to Earth. That is inappropriate and inadvisable before a hearing.”

Then Bee and I stood up to exit to the cafeteria. We couldn’t meet there, though. Linus had already acknowledged that Starward was conducting illegal surveillance there.

“Bee, we’d better find someplace else to meet. The only other places I can think of are private. Supposedly, private residences are inviolate, but I am not sure even of that now. Better to meet somewhere they haven’t had reason to bug yet. Like a random person. Got any ideas?”

“Yes, I do. I am calling him right now. I’m sure he would let us meet in his place. I can tell you that the necessity for this really maddens me. They promised us that we could live a private life here. I could hardly believe Linus. It’s certain they consider Mars to be their private property, and their word to be law. And I consider the imposition of minders on two outstanding fems to be insulting. We are going to need to change things here, Mo.”

We went to Jan Vries’ apartment. He was Bee’s canoeing partner. A lovely guy, even though he was somewhat peculiar. He had adapted to being an old bachelor and his apartment was fussy clean. His displayed personals were parts of his various sailboats and he had pictures from his ocean adventures on Earth covering his entrance wall. A sea scene with purple water was on his displayscreen. I later found out from Bee that it was the Oceanus Borealis, composed from his boat cam during their paddle. He sat at the end of his couch and grinned at us. But Bee hardly noticed it and just shook his head, as if to clear it from the distraction. He had more important things to do than reminisce with Jan.

As soon as we sat, I turned on Bee:

“All of a sudden you think I haven’t been just bitching all this time? Just an overreacting fem? You? I thought you understood me, Boris Levski. But it only hits home when it happens to you, huh? The old boys have been there all this time and you thought they were misread? Those guys are after us, Bee. Believe it!”

“Yeah, I’ve got to admit that sometimes at the beginning, I thought you were imagining general problems where there were just individual assholes. I know there are plenty of those. Don’t think that I am just humoring you. I believe all the troubles you have had. I have met a lot of nasty people in my life, but I had never believed any of those assholes were somehow linked to one another until I met you. After all, I am a man and I have never had anything but admiration for fems like you. But they are connected, in a way, aren’t they? How could you otherwise explain this idiotic prosecution? They just can’t believe that you have better judgment than them. They don’t believe you about the stress in spite of the evidence. Crazy! They are going to lose this time, Mo. They really shouldn’t have gone all in when Linus lost his cool. I have had experience with people like that too. They don’t like to admit they are wrong. They’ve started now, and they will depend on their authority to overawe us bumpkins. You know I love it when they try to do that.

“They compromised their position even contemplating this action. They haven’t been too eager to publicize these radios, and I wonder whether they want details of the provenance of their exotic tech to be released. You wonder why they risked that using them for evidence. I will be questioning that, Mo. They arose from nowhere in an environment of obligatory transparent research. The answer we will be entitled to elicit will be interesting. If they don’t give it, Klara will be obliged to exclude the evidence. That can deep six the prosecution.

“Klara also mentioned the question of the corroborating evidence from that recording in the cafeteria for our conspiracy. They will argue relevance should allow it, and I will oppose that. We have a specific law excluding that evidence. They can’t introduce it. It was gathered illegally.

“They are taking advantage of one of the nice things about a hearing before a judge. You can mount alternative arguments. That order Linus gave you is illegal, Mo. The criminal code here includes elements of the military code of justice for organization personnel. If you are obliged to follow it, you are also obliged to refuse any unlawful order. On the other hand, if you are considered a civilian, you can refuse any order without criminal consequences. They may be entitled to fire you, but that’s employment law, not criminal.

“The conspiracy, the second charge against us both, consists in agreeing with others, namely me, to cooperate in doing something criminal. They charged that the subject of the conspiracy, the staging of the stress test, is illegal. Leaving out the issue of whether you are entitled to do that as a member of the transportation authority’s board prior to assumption of the line, they are admitting that you can do damage to the line by conducting a standard test. If the new design is safe, what is the beef about the test? And if it’s not, they may be risking lives if the design isn’t safe. Similar problem they have with the illegal order. Catch twenty-two for them. That’s why I said they just didn’t think enough before they started this whole thing.

“There’s another big problem they have. The whole idea of extradition is that you are trying somebody who isn’t being tried locally. That it’s better to try that person in a more appropriate jurisdiction. If that’s the case, why prosecute here too? It is a contradiction to say the best venue is another one and then to try to start a case in the jurisdiction you are trying to avoid. One of the standards for extradition is that the crime is not being pursued in the place you want to take the defendants from. That’s two bites at the apple, and it isn’t considered fair. I will argue that against the extradition.”

This cheered me. I was starting to think I should have held my tongue and lied. That I could have avoided a world of trouble.

“So. you’re telling me we have a chance against them? Wow! If they lose this, they are really stymied aren’t they? They would need to swallow their pride and let us work. That would be doubly humiliating to them. Guys like that don’t take that well. We’d really need to watch our back after that.”

“What have you been doing your whole life?”

Jan was breaking his fixed grin to chuckle and cackle at all of this. He really liked making idiots mad. That’s why he was on Mars. Eventually, his daredevil tactics with very expensive equipment had deprived him of sponsors on Earth. Even the publicity he garnered was not enough. He was just too much trouble. It didn’t bother him, he loved it when he got the recognition of rebuke. It was a badge of honor for him. Nice to have a good asshole on our side.

“I’ll line up Leo and Chantelle to be witnesses. I don’t believe they will dispute the interchange that you had with Linus. They probably have a recording of it, and they will be obliged to tender it. That’s one of the few disadvantages of prosecution that has endured. You must submit all the evidence, or they throw you out. Klara will certainly do that if it appears they are concealing anything.

“Klara mentioned the construction records of the Borealis project, and we will be wanting all of those, including the references to the test you ran without the third rail. Those are there, right? I plan to ask you about that in support of the statement you made to Linus.”

“Yes, it should be in the corporate records I filed. If they somehow lose them, I did keep a project workbook. It’s in my personal directory. In addition is the requisition for the damaged rails and the note about sending them back for reprocessing. I didn’t think to keep the damaged rails at the time. The readings are filed though, including the readings on the stress gauges and the resistance readings. Do you think I can get rid of that annoying radio after the trial?”

“Not entirely. I’m going to suggest to Klara that she request that it be repurposed to get us an online psychiatrist. When the secret is out, I think it’s going to be very embarrassing to sequester such a valuable resource. I’d also like to suggest that the other one be given to the medical clinic so that we could get various other medical specialties hooked up to Syd and Dini. That would help them a lot and save lives. Those radios are too valuable to be wasted on ego. And they may be momentarily embarrassed enough to agree to that after the decision is handed down. Do you want me to go over the testimony with you?”

“Bee, all of this just happened yesterday. I remember every word. But, if you can tell me why you are asking the questions, and what you hope to prove from them, it would help me understand how to answer them.”

“Okay. There’s two elements to it, and they need them both to get us. Linus pushing them didn’t give them much time to think it out. Extradition is probably a lost cause. It would make it easier for them, but it’s thin. All the elements of the crime happened here, and the property they claim is endangered is here too. They have extraterritorial laws that apply here, but we are a separate jurisdiction with our own laws. It needs to be a crime in both jurisdictions for even the formal criteria to be met. Then there’s the problem of the simultaneous prosecution here. That makes no sense.

“They might make it a crime there, but here, employees have an obligation to refuse to follow illegal orders and are exempted from any liability. In view of the history I am going to enter into evidence, there is a likelihood that running that train constructed according to Linus’ directions would be a risk to the life of passengers at design speeds. You have proven that such a line will fail. Ergo, you are released from obligation from following an otherwise lawful order. If it’s not a crime here too, Klara can’t extradite.

“There needs to be a significant connection to the jurisdiction that requests extradition, and there isn’t much here. The legislation is no help. Lots of countries have attempted to impose their laws outside their own boundaries. Nobody listens. The other connections are the magic radio, that they might argue makes the events happen on Earth too, and the ownership of the property. That is also arguable, because they are a contractor building the road on land owned by the MSA and intended to be assumed by them after the construction is over. It’s a real question whether they own the railroad at all. It’s all very mucky, and I just don’t think Klara will be able to allow it if we lead the right evidence.

“The conspiracy charges are another thing. It’s well established that criminal conspiracy is a crime even though the intended crime is never committed. It’s a favorite of prosecutors because of the motive factor. You don’t establish motive, only agreement to commit the crime. And they have two bites at the apple because they brought two charges. One is criminal refusal to obey a lawful order under the military code, and the other is criminal conspiracy to damage their property. There is a definite Achilles heel to that one. As I have said, it’s obvious that they need to assume that stressing the system within design limits will necessarily damage it. If it won’t, what’s the crime in testing a system that you are perfectly entitled to test in your capacity as an official of the transportation authority? Awkward.

“And there’s something else very promising. They think we’re naïve techie dweebs who don’t know how it works in the real world. They brought these actions even though they must have known they have fatal flaws. I think we’re going to face some very good lawyers tomorrow. Lawyers they think are good enough to win on prestige alone. But no matter how well they fight, they haven’t got the case. They think little of us and little of Klara. She’s not going to say anything about that, but she’s not going to be pleased with their presumption. Not me, I’m happy to be underestimated. That’s always an advantage. I’m not going to remind them, are you, Mo?”

“Are you sure, Bee. Are they that stupid? What if you missed something?”

“Well, there’s one last advantage we have. They may be private prosecutors, but they are prosecutors, nonetheless. Even as a private party, they are stuck with that. Criminal cases put the prosecution case first. It’s basic fairness. You are entitled to know the case you are expected to meet. They need to lead all their evidence and make all their arguments. There is a limited right for us to rebut arguments on new issues. Still they get one shot only, and then it’s our turn. During the prosecution, I am allowed to cross-examine to test their evidence. If they raise something new, we are entitled to time to consider it. I could consult some lawyers on Earth I still know, but I am afraid to trust them. Starward is a big deal there and few people would defy them. We could wind up feeding useful information to them. We are better to keep it here. It’s been a long time since I’ve practiced law, and I was never prime legal material, but I still remember the basic concepts. I think I will be able to get along with those.

“And we have a little help in the offing from Klara. As examining magistrate she is going to keep things fair and make sure the enquiry is as thorough as possible. She can even examine the witnesses herself if she wants. The paradigm for her function is more European than English. I think that’s good for us here. Since Starward is an American-based corporation, they may not be fully familiar with the European procedure. They may have questions coming from two directions. They, and I, are still Americans. If it happens outside our borders, it’s still largely invisible to us. Any questions about the procedure?”

“No, Boris, that’s going to be mostly on you anyway. It’s helpful, though, to know what is likely going to happen and why. I’m more concerned about the crimes they say I have committed. I could lose this job, lose my ticket, and wind up in prison if they convict me. With all this coming on at once, I’m scared.

“I’m not sure I would have been as ballsy as you, Mo. I usually put such things off and hope to do an end run later. But I have done as you have a few times in my life where I had no choice. You didn’t have much of a choice either. We did try to go around them and hold the test in secret. I guess criminals like us never think the law will violate itself. They weren’t supposed to be listening. We won’t have another chance now if we lose. They will ask for some kind of injunction if they convict us. Notwithstanding, as you said, our cause is just. It is to avoid putting lives at risk.

“You don’t need to be so encouraging, brother. You could shade the truth for me a bit. I’m nervous enough already.”

“There’s the procedure, and there’s the crime. Our position is much stronger on the crimes. I’ll say it again, Mo. They have come to this battle unprepared. They don’t have the stuff. If they had been a little more patient, maybe they would have been able to get more. Our intentions before the fact are not as clear as if they had waited for us to do the test. The offenses they have stated are crimes, but they need to prove every element of them. And they want to fire both barrels. Mistake. They should have chosen.

“Insubordination can be serious, but in civilian life it’s not as clear cut as it is in a military situation where adherence to authority is essential. The obligation to follow orders as a civilian is more formal than obligatory. Where there is life immediately at stake, there is an urgency that does not attach here.

“There is also that Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Universal Code of Military Justice that make it a positive duty to refuse to obey an illegal order and excuses the recipient of such an order from punishment. Linus asked you to refrain from running a test that you had good reason to believe would prove there was a severe risk of injury or death to anyone riding that train at speed. I think that is an illegal order if you are under military jurisdiction. I think military jurisdiction is a real stretch. To refrain from taking protective measures that would involve you in the building of a line you knew from experience was defective would make you a criminal.”

I was feeling a bit better. They were primarily depending on their authority and position to carry their arguments. Unfortunately, they had chosen a coven of rebels for that. None of us were the compliant underlings they were depending on.

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