“On the contrary. I’m not going to do what Thorn did, and be an absolute bench judge. I’m going to want a jury, and the jury I want are my squadron captains. So when you call me to civilian service, you’ll be taking my whole squadron off the line.” He flinched, and I turned back to Tollin. “And I’m going to demand the court sits without any media review at all. I don’t even want it announced I’m doing any judge work. It’ll get out of course, but I expect Amy Adams to kill anything solid. I will not be news every time I open my mouth. Last review means last review. They can report the results of the final verdict as a last appeal failed or succeeded, but the how and why remains behind closed doors.”
Jedburgh swallowed visibly, and then went glazed over for a few moments.
“The Imperator agrees. He’ll make the Imperium pay their way for a permanent courtroom, and might even tell the station AI not to gouge you on the price. He’ll also make sure the sessions are closed, and downplayed.”
“If the Imperium is paying part of this,” said Tollin, “it better be rock bottom price. Although why we need to in effect pay a bribe to get what we decreed, I don’t understand.”
“It’s very easy, David,” I said, smiling at him. “If you don’t, I’ll simply be unavailable on the days you want me. I can make it so no-one can contact me, or know where I am. You want this, you pay to do it right.”
“Alright!”
He stalked off, not looking happy, knowing I could do what I said, and presumably needing to keep politicians happy across the Imperium. He needed his stress levels attended to again. I wouldn’t do his job for anything. Jedburgh gave me a speculative look.
“You wouldn’t actually do that, would you?”
“For the politicians and civilians pushing this behind the scenes, damned right I would. But as far as you’re concerned, sir, I’d merely be off the grid checking out a distress call. And we know how those tend to go.”
He chuckled again.
“I can see we need to not promote you any further, Commander. Otherwise you’ll be cutting your own orders to spite civilians.”
It wasn’t certain from his face if that was a joke or not. I suggested he get Doc Carter to check Tollin’s blood pressure, and he too walked off without saying anything more.
I stood there alone for a few moments, and it was Serena who found me, taking my arm quite possessively. But my eyes were on a woman approaching, who wasn’t quite Jane. She had an AI insignia on the shoulders of her business suit.
“Ah, Bud. I’m Janice, and I’ll be your real estate agent this evening.”
Her voice wasn’t Jane’s either, but I knew the name as one of Jane’s original clones, and more of a sister than a daughter. The voice had a lot of laughter in it. Serena’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline.
“I can show you three of the remaining penthouses, all identical.”
Serena’s mouth dropped open.
“Do they have the floor below free as well?”
“You want a buffer zone for the court?”
Which was something I hadn't considered.
“No. While I’m building accommodation, I want to provide it for a few other people.”
“How many?”
“Fifteen. Give or take.”
“How big will each apartment be?”
“I’m thinking more along the lines of family of six sized residences.”
“You’ll need three levels for that. Additional to the penthouse.”
A ping came in with a set of numbers. I did some rough math.
“You’re going to make David Tollin a very unhappy man, with price per square meter.”
She grinned.
“Everything is negotiable. Are we in the right ball park for you to be able to purchase this kind of real estate?”
“We are.”
“Then let’s haggle.”