Free Dyson's Drop by Paul Collins

on the bunk beside her.
    ‘How’s Deema?’
    ‘She’s going great. Well, as great as a kid can be who’s locked away out of harm’s way. She sends her love.’
    Anneke smiled. ‘Tell her I’ll see her soon.’
    Jake looked about the cell. They both knew that was a white lie. ‘How are you doing?’
    Anneke shrugged. The arrest still stung, but she didn’t want to talk about that. ‘I’m okay. At least I’m safe from Brown’s fatwa in here.’
    ‘Glad you’re looking on the bright side of things.’
    ‘Why? Because everything else is so dark?’ WhenJake said nothing, Anneke sighed. ‘Okay, let me have it. What are they planning?’
    ‘They intend charging you with sedition, consorting with known criminals, withholding vital information, and sundry other charges.’
    ‘Great. Is there an upside to this?’
    ‘They dropped the treason charges.’
    She stared at him. Treason? Were they crazy?
    ‘Guess I don’t have many friends left at RIM.’
    Jake shook his head. ‘You have friends, Anneke. Powerful ones, too. But right now everybody is keeping their head down. People have been pensioned off left, right and centre - including me.’ Anneke started, butJake shushed her. ‘We knew that was coming. That’s why I needed to be your counsel to get in here. I’m on borrowed time. Two more weeks and I start clearing out my desk.’ Bitterness had crept into Jake’s voice. Anneke put a hand on his arm.
    ‘I’m sorry, Jake. You gave them a century of your life and they’ve turned on you.’
    ‘Right now, I’m more worried about you than me. I’ll get by. But Rench intends throwing the book at you. Indeed, you’ve become something of a cause celebre - but not for good. You represent the old way of doing things, RIM as it once was. By lambasting you, Rench is making the boldest statement possible that things are changing.’
    Anneke blinked back tears. ‘He’s using me to destroy RIM.’
    ‘A court martial has been convened for tomorrow morning.’
    ‘He’s not wasting any time.’
    ‘He doesn’t want sympathy for you to grow. But you’re not alone, Anneke. Your supporters will be there. You’ll have proper counsel, too. I’ll be co-counsel.’
    Anneke shook her head. ‘No.’
    ‘Pardon?’
    ‘I don’t want you there, Jake.’ Jake stared at her, dumbfounded.
    ‘I need you to remain a free agent,’ said Anneke.
    ‘Rench will take note of any who champion my case and hit back at them. If I read him correctly, he’s a vindictive little tyrant who now has a chance to strike back at everybody he imagines has slighted him over the years.’
    Jake sighed. ‘That’s pretty accurate, I’d say.’
    The court martial began on a positive note. Anneke’s holo record was displayed before the closed court, although certain sections were suppressed for galactic security. Anneke could see that the jury of RIM agents and officers was suitably impressed. But as the day wore on, the prosecutor systematically twisted every praiseworthy action on her record, highlighting Anneke’s tendency to ignore standing orders, to work outside the RIM command structure, and to take matters into her own hands.
    Her defence counsel, a clumsy second-rate lawyer named Henkle, tried to point out that RIM was built on the initiative of field agents, but his soft voice and barely perceptible stammer came across as indecisive and unconvincing.
    But he had a trump card and he played it towards the end, more in desperation than triumph, Anneke thought. ‘Does anyone here dispute that Anneke Longshadow, by her own courageous actions, prevented the destruction of the cloud city known as Arcadia, which at that time contained over one million souls? In doing so, she nearly brought about her own death.’
    The prosecutor, an oily, sneering woman in her forties, stood up. ‘Well spoken, counsellor, well spoken indeed. But you seem to have left out a few details. With the court’s indulgence, I would like to illuminate