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spectraspecs-writes · 2 months

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Manaan - Chapter 127

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 126. Chapter 128.

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A thin layer of dust rests on the bench in my holding cell. It probably hasn’t been used in some time. I dust it off with my sleeve before sitting down and watching court officers catalog the contents of my pack and pockets. “One wrap of tools,” one says, picking up my droid toolkit and holding it for a camera to see.

“Please take good care of that,” I say, “It means a lot to me.”

“All cataloged evidence will be held in stasis until trial, and if it is deemed non-relevant it will be released to next of kin upon verdict.”

“Or… to the accused upon acquittal,” I say, “Right?” They both look at me, not answering, before turning back to their work. How reassuring.

“Two long swords,” the other says, unsheathing my swords gently, “With blood.”

“Hold for analysis,” says the first, before reaching to the next item, “Ten medpacs.”

“One length of rope, approximately three meters.”

“One datapad, mild damage, retrieved from the back pocket.”

“Assorted droid parts.”

“Encoded access pass, keyed for the Sith Embassy.”

“Hold or analysis. Two Jedi-type lightsabers.”

“Be careful with those,” I interrupt, but I’m not acknowledged.

One of them reaches for the final item. “One metal…” He stops. Scrutinizes it. “…something.”

“It’s an encrypted data core,” I say.

They turn back to me. “What’s on it?”

“I don’t know,” I say honestly, “I don’t know the encryption sequence. I could probably figure it out, if I had a week. But for all I know, it could be just environmental data. Or nothing at all.”

“Not relevant to this case,” the other says, and it gets placed in the bin with the other, I assume, non-relevant items. At least if the worth happens, Carth can return it to the Republic. Even though it for sure is relevant, but even if I did tell them that, experience tells me they wouldn’t listen.

“I suppose it would be a waste of my time to ask what my rights are?” I ask.

“As an off-worlder, your rights are the same as those of any native,” one of them says, “You are entitled to a fair trial, carried out in a timely manner. You are entitled to visitors. You are entitled to a competent defense. An arbiter has been summoned for you.”

I nod. “Cool.”

A haggard-looking Selkath, juggling datapads, comes into the holding area and walks to the desk. “I have been summoned as arbiter for a human?” The desk attendant points at me. I wave. “Ah, Min Rena. Or Min Visz? I have little experience with off-worlders, I am uncertain which is correct.”

“Uh, either is- is fine,” I say, “But what is ‘Min?’”

“I - forgive me, I am unfamiliar with human genders as well, so I opted for a neutral title. If you would prefer a different —“

“No,” I interrupt, “no, ‘min’ is fine.”

He looks relieved. “Good. Good. I am called Bwa’lass, and I have been selected as your Arbiter for the duration of your trial. I will endeavor to prove to them that you are not guilty of the heinous crimes that you are accused of, namely…” He searches through his collection of datapads, and drops several before he finds the one he’s looking for. “Ah, here it is. Namely, initiating violence within the Sith Embassy, murdering members of the Ambassadorial Commission of the Sith Empire, and disregarding our own laws regarding violence in Ahto City, as well as numerous counts of property damage.”

This does not bode well. “Cool,” I say nervously, “Cool. Uh, Bwa’lass, I don’t mean to be rude, but, uh… I understood I had the right to a competent defense… and you seem…”

He sighs. “I know.” That definitely doesn’t bode well! “but I assure you, my lack of understanding of off-worlders does not impact my understanding of Selkath law!”

“I’m not doubting you there,” I say, “You know definitely more about Selkath law than I do. but sitting here, watching you juggle datapads… I won’t lie, I feel doomed.” He doesn’t say anything. “I have to wonder if I wouldn’t be better off defending myself.”

“While it is true that you do have that right,” Bwa’lass says, “I would recommend against it. Due to your confinement, you will not have much of a chance to build up evidence to pursue your case. Also, I do not believe you off-worlders truly understand the minds of us Selkath. It would be best if you left your defense up to me.”

The door opens again, and Carth walks in, flanked by a Selkath officer on either side. “Rena, this is unbelievable,” he says animatedly, “You haven’t done anything wrong. I can’t believe the Republic embassy hasn’t sent someone to defend you.”

“And admit they know me?” I say with a scoff, “Open themselves up to scrutiny, questions they don’t want asked?” He opens his mouth to say something else, but I stop him by speaking again. “Carth, this is my arbiter, Bwa’lass.” The haggard Selkath gives a small wave, dropping two more datapads in the process.

Carth looks from Bwa’lass, to me, back to Bwa’lass, and to me again. “You’re not serious.”

“Court appointed,” I confirm.

He shakes his head, looking petrified. “I’m going to the embassy -- Roland Wann has to assign someone to your defense.”

“Carth, don’t,” I say, “Don’t involve yourself in this any more than you have to be. The Star Map is more important than me.”

I can see the words on the edge of his tongue - “No, it’s not” - but he doesn’t say it. “We can’t get that without the data core. Which you had.”

“Non-relevant evidence will be released to next of kin upon verdict,” I say, repeating the Selkath officer.

He nods a bit, thinking. Then stops. “Or…released to you when they find you not guilty, right?”

“They wouldn’t tell me.”

The door opens again, and Jolee comes in. By himself. “What are you doing here?” Carth asks, “And how did you get here without any guards?”

“Well, I certainly didn’t use a Jedi mind trick,” Jolee says sarcastically, “That would be unethical.”

One of the guards with Carth scoffs. “A Jedi mind trick would not work on one of my officers,” he says confidently.

“Of course it wouldn’t,” Jolee says, then he raises his hand, “But the old man doesn’t need guards, does he?”

The officer’s eyes glaze over for a moment. “Uh…” he says, “no… the old man doesn’t need guards.” Unbelievable.

“I think you’ll both agree Rena’s defense is the more important matter at hand than my being here,” Jolee says.

“That’s an even better idea,” Carth says, “Contact the Jedi, they’ll send someone to defend Rena.”

“No, they won’t,” Jolee and I say at the same time. “This us all Master Vrook needs to have to be convinced of my ‘evil core,’” I say, “Not to mention the fact that they don’t have enough Jedi to spare. You know, the war? The destruction of Dantooine?”

“The Council also wouldn’t interfere in the legal system of a non-Republic world,” Jolee says, “Sending anyone here to Rena’s defense would draw unnecessary attention to the matter.”

“Malak already knows more about this mission than they’d like,” I say.

“We can’t just stand around and do nothing,” Carth says, “We have to do something!”

“No, you don’t,” I say firmly, “Neither of you have to do anything except testify if you’re asked. And in fact it’s better if you don’t do anything. If anything happens to me, it’s up to all of you to find the last Star Map and stop Malak.”

“Indeed,” Bwa’lass says, finally saying something, “It would be in all of your best interests to let me do my job as arbiter. To that end, I would like to interview my client alone so that we may adequately prepare for the trial tomorrow.”

“We have to do this right, guys,” I say, “Please trust me, I don’t want to spend time in a Selkath jail anymore than you do.”

“In fact,” Bwa’lass chimes again, “the punishment for the crime is death, by immediate execution.”

“DEATH?” Carth exclaims, causing his escorts to tense up. Bad time to say that, Bwa’lass.

Jolee holds Carth back. “Calm down, lad, before you get yourself arrested,” he says, “If Rena says to trust her, that’s exactly what we must do.”

“Jolee, I can’t just --” he shouts. But as he looks Jolee in the eyes… I don’t know what level they’re communicating on, what they say, but Carth relaxes. He looks back at me, like he’s trying to take me in. “Okay,” he says finally, “... Okay.” And nothing more.

“Please escort them back to their vessel,” Bwa’lass says to the officers, who nod and turn to leave with Jolee and Carth. But Carth doesn’t stop looking at me. His eyes are set on mine until they round the corner, out of sight. “Now,” Bwa’lass says, taking a deep breath, “I would first like to ask you a few questions regarding the events that led up to your arrest. I have already been given all relevant data on you and your companions, so that can be disregarded. For what reason did you enter the Sith Embassy?”

“I had been hired as a mercenary,” I say, “The court officers found a pass card with my belongings, I heard them catalog it.”

“Yes, I have record of that,” he says, “I find it unlikely that you are a mercenary, but perhaps the judges will be more sympathetic to your view.” Good to know my lawyer has no faith in me. “What is your prior association with the Sith?”

I scoff. “How much time do you have?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Actually… best not. At best, I’ll be told I’m making a mockery of the court if I say I was Revan. At worst I’ll be believed and executed for war crimes. “Forget it,” I say, “Before I joined the Jedi Order, I was a scout. I’d encounter other scout patrols who were hired by the Sith, and I was amicable with them, but beyond that my interactions have been nearly non-existent.”

“I am skeptical of that,” Bwa’lass says, “as will be the judges. You off-worlders tend to congregate much amongst yourself. I see no inherent differences between your two groups.”

“They’re philosophical differences, for the most part,” I say, “Political views, moral stances.”

“I see,” Bwa’lass says neutrally, “There is no need to elaborate further. That should be all the information I require of you, for now.”

Wait, that’s it? “Um… don’t you need to ask more questions?”

“I have all the information I need.”

“How can you expect to defend me without getting more information?”

“I think this trial is relatively straightforward,” he says with a shrug, “It should be obvious to the judges what has transpired.”

Obvious? “Uh… why don’t you tell me what you plan on telling them? Just… so we’re both on the same page.”

He looks a tad insulted, but with a small sigh, he says, “Very well. You were there by circumstance, not involved in the disturbance. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time on legitimate business, the business of the Jedi Order. The Jedi are above reproach, and none of their Order would have murdered so many out of spite.”

Oh, boy. “You don’t know much about the Jedi, do you?”

“I have no first-hand knowledge, but the reputation of the Order is well-known. Jedi are peacekeepers, not killers.” Yeah, this little war thing is just an effort to keep the peace, not a major struggle between good and evil.

Evil. That’s… oh, that’s good. “I tell you what, Bwa’lass. There was a Selkath present when I was arrested, her name is Shasa.”

“Yes, I know the name. Her father, Shaelas, has been before the judges numerous times, demanding action against the Sith for kidnapping Selkath youth. However, he has never been able to produce evidence to his claims, and has been summarily dismissed each time.”

“Could it be managed for Shasa to give testimony? She’s a part of the story the judges will want to hear,” I say.

“As a youth, her father must be consulted on the matter. I will make the necessary inquiries prior to the start of the trial tomorrow.” I get the feeling he’s just humoring me, but he doesn’t have to believe me. He just has to do it.

“Thank you. After that your services are no longer needed. I think it’s best if I defend myself.”

He sighs again. ‘While that is your right, I strongly recommend against that,” he says again, “I am versed in all the necessary particulars of this case and Selkath law, off-worlder. You would do well to heed my advice.”

“Bwa’lass, I respect you and your knowledge,” I say, “But to put it bluntly, I think that if I rely on you for my entire defense, I’m not going to survive the trial. You’ve been a huge help, but once you’ve arranged for Shasa to testify, I can take it from there.”

“And if her father refuses?”

“I will cross that bridge when I get there.” The Sith master’s datapad should still be with my belongings. I know I heard the court officers record mine, but they were going through stuff before I got brought to this cell.

“Very well,” Bwa’lass says reluctantly, “You off-worlders are not known for your mental prowess. I shall leave your demise up to you.” He bows his head slightly and leaves.

Well. Nothing more to do now but wait.

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