章 32: Jahve's council of war

The old great admiral was calm; it was not the first time that he faced the Hellenic military leadership; he already did it with Uranus, his successor after his return from Athair, and later with Kronos himself; facing Zeus and his people did not. It worried him a lot, and even less so now that he had data to offer and had been sober for more than a week.

The General Command building on Elysium had not changed much since his time as Grand Admiral; it retained its marble walls and large columns; only the electronic equipment and security had been updated, but otherwise it remained the same as Vipers of always.

The door to the courtroom opened, and Jahve entered with his uniform immaculate and his step as firm as his many years would allow him. He approached the bench where the defense lawyer was supposed to stand, but in this case he had given up; who better than him to explain himself?

In the prosecutor's area was the old prosecutor, Mephistopheles. He was an old rat with no capacity for command but who had reached the rank of colonel by plotting political plots and his intervention in trials in defense of the army, or as an accuser in court-martial.

The court was made up of the three great Admirals of that era: Grand Admiral Zeus, Grand Admiral Poseidon, and Grand Admiral Hephaestus. Of the last of them, Jahve had not heard any references, neither good nor bad, few notable successes, a long career, much longer than the other two; however, the promotion had only come towards the end of the career, a prize of consolation in times of peace for a gray soldier.

Zeus and Poseidon came from the same powerful family with a military tradition; both were heroes of different battles, and reached their positions when they were very young, although from their careful appearance, Jahve could deduce that they had enough time.

"Good morning Grand Admiral Jahve, do you understand why you are here?"

"Of course I understand; I am here because you are still as blind as you were twenty years ago, and although you would prefer that I had died along the way, here I am still alive, and well, I also understand that either the interpretation of military regulations has changed a lot or you are committing an excess of which, beyond its personal ridiculousness, it is also possible to clarify responsibilities..."

Mephistopheles's face burned with anger at the old man's calm mockery and his veiled threat.

"Rephrase the question, colonel, think of me as a Grand Admiral who in his time presided over more than 46 war councils, and not as an old man to whom you have to talk like a fool so that he understands you; focus on the formal part and usual procedure.

The old man was not only crazy, but he had the rare ability to get on anyone's nerves; he had a brilliant mind, and to the rest of the people in the room, it seemed that his dialectical ability had not aged as much as his body.

"I mean, are you aware of the seriousness of the charges against you?"

"Let's see from the summons that they sent me the charges are "disgrace to the good name of the navy" "Conduct unbecoming of an officer" "Incapacity to exercise command", what I cannot understand is what those charges have to do with with my person or my behavior.

Hephaestus, Zeus and Poseidon looked at the old man with a surprised face. It was clear that he had appeared in the media a few days ago, not only returning with his old story of when he disappeared in space for two years, but also adding strange predictions or prophecies. About the future, even in his list of things that would happen, he spoke of the beginning of a war that would lead humanity to complete annihilation.

"So you deny that it was you who appeared with a reporter from the Spectrum channel spouting crazy nonsense on the news?"

"As I am going to deny something that has been seen through the communication channels and social networks, I am very old but I still have my memory in perfect condition, don't worry Colonel Mephistopheles, what I deny is that this has anything to do with the type of criminal offense that you state in your writing, you already know that formality that to convict someone the act must be typically illegal and guilty, and by the way before I forget, since this is a military trial, I ask you to address To me as Grand Admiral, as long as you continue to have the stripes, you behave as discipline dictates."

The colonel was about to have a fit; however, Zeus's laughter cut the tension that was growing. He had to admit that the reputation of being crazy was as deserved as that of being curmudgeonly, impertinent and arrogant.

Zeus asked directly after finishing his spontaneous fit of laughter at Jahve's reprimand and call for military discipline to a simple colonel.

"Wouldn't it be preferable for you, Grand Admiral Jahve, to appoint a defense lawyer? Although your military rank supports you, perhaps the time away from active service may make this procedure more difficult than necessary, and I am not telling you this because I doubt your capacity, but because even in this room and for these issues, practice makes the wiser, as they normally say."

"I thank you for the offer, but I have never needed anyone to defend me in these 50 years, and I will not need it now either, Grand Admiral Zeus. As you say, my time away from active service has made me focus my gaze more on the rules and reading issues that are not in the practice of modern warfare; I don't see myself as you learning to pilot a Mech Warrior"

Old Jahve was right, and this time the small blow to Zeus's condescending attitude made Poseidon laugh a little this time.

"Well, if that is your will, so be it, Colonel Mephistopheles, you can continue."

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