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“Captain Brooks, what a pleasant surprise.”
Trevod Waites-Kosson did not sound surprised at all, his voice smug.
“What brings this call, is it social or perhaps something more important, hm?”
“You will drop all charges against Sem Kassa, Ozgu Uzun, and Lizicy Mae immediately and clear their records completely,” Brooks said. “You will end the smear campaign against them, have your propagandists change the topic of the hour to the blight of crimes against prostitutes.”
“Captain,” Trevod said with a laugh. “Have you begun taking drugs? What in the galaxy do you think will make me-“
“Shut up. After you have done these things, then in two days I will agree that Jan Holdur should be transferred back to your custody to stand trial for the attempted murder of Peony Vale. We will provide you all data we have for his trial.
“You will find Holdur guilty of being criminally insane. He will receive psychiatric help, with his doctors jointly appointed by the Sapient Union and his family, due to the location of his crime. He will serve his entire time and be released only upon the doctor’s belief that he has actually changed.”
“I see you are trying to direct justice just like you direct the life of humanity itself,” Trevod said. His voice was notably less friendly. “The Holdurs will never accept this, it is a gross violation-“
“I am not done,” Brooks said. “All of his augments will be permanently inactivated and he will be legally banned from ever having another dangerous enhancement. I want to make sure this man can never realistically try to kill anyone ever again.”
“I still object to this blatant disregard for our criminal justice system,” Trevod sniffed.
“Stop it. Drop your mask for one minute, Trevod, and act like you understand how the universe works. We both know you own the courts and whatever judgment is found will be what you want. You will want what I am telling you.”
“Why, though?” Trevod demanded. “Why should I want any of this? I happen to care about the three women-“
“Then you’ll want them with us. You’ll want this forgotten. You’ll make the move to protect other prostitutes and pretend it is a victory for your way of life. Spin it – you spin everything. It’s the only thing you people are truly good at.”
“You still have not given me a reason why I should want this.”
It was time to gamble. “Because I have learned things,” Brooks said.
A long, long silence met his words.
He could only hope that they’d guessed right, that Holdur knew something, or many somethings that were so terrible that even the Lord Executives feared them finding the light of day. That they believed he had spilled some of them to him.
And that their fear was their strongest emotion.
“I understand,” Trevod finally said. His words were ice cold.
Brooks’s heart felt like it began to beat again.
“I will keep everything I have learned a secret, Trevod,” he said. “I am willing to sacrifice it – and the evidence in Jan Holdur’s head – for this.”
“Why are you offering all this for three worthless women?” Trevod asked.
Danger reared again. Brooks had expected this, though.
“Right now I have the word of an attempted murderer, dangling a double-edged sword. Do you really think it is good for anyone for that blade to come down?”
“Are there records?” Trevod asked.
“No,” Brooks told him.
“I need proof of that.”
“You can’t get proof that something doesn’t exist. But I am giving you the primary source evidence in the form of the witness. That is enough.”
He heard a sigh. “I see. Well, you wish for a lot, Captain. For all you’re asking, I’m not sure what you’re offering is enough. The Holdur family wants a win they can flaunt. What do they get out of this?”
“Jan Holdur’s life,” Brooks said bluntly.
“I’m not sure that’s enough to convince them to accept all of these conditions. They will balk at some of your demands for him.”
“You can tell them that if he stays here, he could face the death penalty-“
“You wouldn’t dare!” Trevod spat.
“-unless he gives up something more valuable. Once he gets turned over to our legal system, a deal like what I’m offering is out of the question. What do you think he will do in that situation, Trevod?”
A long silence came again. Brooks checked if the line was still open and saw that it was.
Trevod finally spoke. “You will release Holdur tomorrow.”
“I will send you the paperwork that shows he will be released to your custody tomorrow, but it will be private. He will be kept incommunicado with all personnel except his current doctors who are sworn to secrecy. We want to wait a few days to keep this from looking too much like an exchange. That would draw too much attention to it all.”
“I am not concerned about that,” Trevod said quickly.
Brooks wondered if that meant that there was external pressure upon him from his class.
He could concede this.
“All right. We’ll transfer him in four hours.”
“Very well, Captain. I will send a representative then.” There was another pause, then a bitter laugh. “You know, you are surprisingly good at this, Captain. I suspect that if you had the right spirit you could have done well here.”
Brooks ended the call.
Other Terrestrial 
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