"Are the guards not going to escort them to the trial as a group?" The Giant envoy asked as the assembled officers watched the camera feed of the hallway from the holding cells to the courtroom.
"No, it is a Reaver tradition. The accused is allowed to dress in their own clothes and walk themselves with dignity to the trial." Nico explained quietly.
"Still, there are no guards in that hallway, the accused appears to have a weapon, and there are two open side passages. Isn't this tradition too reckless for such a serious crime?" He continued.
"Just watch. This is a very important tradition; you will see why soon."
The first man walked with measured strides to the courtroom and took his seat with his chin up, not speaking a word. Once he was seated, his sidearm was taken by the security officers, who then returned to their positions along the wall.
The second man did not walk down the entire hallway. Instead, he turned into the first open side hallway and disappeared from view. A minute later, two guards entered behind him and left with a body bag.
The third defendant chose the second hallway, which led to an airlock and walked straight out, much to the horror of the assembled Alliance envoys.
"What in the name of all that is scientific are you allowing them to do?" The Giant asked.
"You see, if they are convicted of mutiny, it reflects badly on their family, and the Reavers will not soon forget that a traitor was convicted from among their direct ancestors. But if they should happen to meet with an unfortunate accident before the trial, they were never convicted of any crime, now were they?
Think of it kind of like a guilty plea and a posthumous pardon all in one." Nico explained.
"Well, that's just gruesome. Efficient but gruesome." The Valkia envoy interjected while the Dryad looked unconcerned.
"Did you know that many species willingly self-terminate if they are excluded from the group? I think it's a beautiful tradition, allowing them the choice to avoid humiliation and atone for their mistakes." The nature-loving tree man informed them.
That wasn't the response that Max had been expecting from him, but the logic was solid.
The group on trial was whittled down to nine members by the time everyone arrived at the courtroom. All of the suspected organizers were still there, including the four Company Commanders.
That was unfortunate for them, as they had tried to use their Mecha to send private messages to each other since they weren't connected to the ship's systems. They might be separate from the ship, but they also had an internal duplicate of all messages sent, a black box that the average user didn't bother to learn about.
The full message logs had been pulled from their Mecha, and it was enough to personally identify and damn all of them.
"Court is now in session. The accused here are charged with conspiracy to commit Mutiny without Cause. The assembled evidence will now be presented, and the accused may request a representative to organize their defence before they enter a plea." Max announced, his voice booming through the silent room.
The four Company Commanders stood as one, and the man on Max's right spoke on their behalf.
"We choose to self-represent and officially charge Commander Keres Max with dereliction of duty and treason against the Reavers."
"Understood. A third-party judge will be brought in." Max announced, then turned to Nico.
"Please open a portal to Rae 5 for a judge to be sent through to oversee the trial."
With an accusation against him, he couldn't oversee the trial, but he could have chosen either Nico or one of the ship Captains to hold the trial on his behalf. Instead, he would bring in someone unrelated and prove that he was an upright leader in the eyes of the Alliance.
Nico opened a small precision portal with a smile on her face and a song playing in her head that was preventing Max from looking in on her thoughts. He should have been paying more attention earlier, as he was sure this was all planned on her part, but the face that appeared through the portal shocked his brain back into momentary paralysis.
"Lord General Tennant of the Reavers, reporting for duty as Judge overseeing the Mutiny trial among the Terminus Trading Company.
My ship will be here soon. Please don't shoot at it. It's a bit antiquated and not at all up to taking a direct orbital lance."
Max couldn't believe his eyes. It really was General Tennant, and he was here claiming to be a Reaver with his own ship.
Seconds after he arrived, a portal from Rae 5 opened, and Abraham Kepler floated through in all her battle-scarred glory. The ship looked much worse for wear, with multiple patches on her hull, hasty repairs visible to her engines, and half her drop pod bays empty and open to the void.
The sight brought Max a nostalgic smile, and he rose from his seat to offer the position of Judge to his mentor.
"Lord General, seeing you alive after all this time is a pleasure. Please, review the evidence at your leisure, and take your seat." He greeted the old Pilot.
"The pleasure is all mine. I have been a bit busy of late, up near the Vampire border, but the Reaver Council brought me back a few weeks back to honour me with a new Mecha to replace my retired friend. Titan Class, can you believe it? But I digress. We have a trial to run, and your leadership seems to be in some question. Please take your seat in the boxes, and we will begin with the accused mutineers."
None of the defendants looked pleased to see the General here since his reputation as the incorruptible Phalanx Class Pilot from Kepler preceded him. Pretty words wouldn't sway him, and it would be very hard to convince him that their case that their Captain was incompetent was a valid one.
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