Wal wondered if they would stand should things go an unpopular route during the trial. He looked at Cissy, seemingly safe and secure with the rest of her family. She smiled and gave a little wave. He offered back the slightest of nods and hoped no one noticed. Then he glanced at the Royal Council gallery and saw that Diltan sat next to his friend Oiteil. Rolat was nowhere in sight, so he’d not been able or had decided not to come. Wal tried not to worry.
The court official today was a different one than yesterday. Wal knew this man, a Nobek named Emro. He announced the beginning of the session and the quiet hum of conversation died out. The case got under way in quick order.
At Onziv’s nod, Emro said, “The prosecutor calls Imperial Father Nobek Yuder to stand for investigation.”
Matara Nivere gave Yuder an encouraging smile. Flanked by his Royal Guards, the wiry Nobek rose to his feet and stalked to the blindingly lit testimony stand between the defense and prosecution podiums. He climbed the two steps to the circular platform. He blinked up at the panel in the strong beam of light that washed his sleek steel-colored hair silver.
Prosecutor Chamar rose from his seat next to Maf’s. He walked forward, standing at the foot of the testimony stand where Yuder waited to be questioned, facing the sharp-featured Nobek. Wal didn’t miss the quick glance Chamar exchanged with Maf, or how Maf nodded to him. It made Wal wonder who was in control of the prosecution.
Before Chamar could ask his first question, Nivere stood and mounted the defense platform. In a polite but strong tone, she said, “Honorable panel of judges, the defense has a request before examination begins.”
Chamar jerked at the unexpected delay. His surprise was further demonstrated when he addressed Nivere rather than the panel. “Defense will get its chance to clarify after examination.”
Nivere gave him a respectful nod before continuing. “The defendant is willing to submit to examination should our motion be refused. Honorable judges, I would like to change my client’s plea. Imperial Father Nobek Yuder submits an admission of guilt for the crimes he is charged with.”
The gallery erupted in shocked exclamations. Wal noted no one in the Imperial Gallery seemed startled.
Chamar yelled, “He admitted guilt before and withdrew that plea! Now he’s guilty again? What are you playing at, Counselor?”
Nivere stayed quiet, her face patient as she waited for Onziv’s ruling. Meanwhile, Nobek Emro shouted for order and threatened to clear the courtroom. The onlookers quieted and Onziv resumed the session.
His brow furrowed with concern, the high judge asked Nivere, “Are you sure of this motion for your client, Counselor? Admitting his guilt removes the burden of proving his complicity from the prosecution. It will mean his conviction and we would proceed straight to the sentencing hearings.”
Nivere bowed. “We are aware of that, Honorable Onziv. With your approval of this change of plea, we wish to proceed.”
“What says the prosecution?”
Chamar glanced at Maf. The councilman scowled, his features turning as twisted as his body. He looked furious by this turn of events. Chamar shook his head at him, his gaze warning.
Wal watched the exchange with confusion. Why did Maf look so angry? Holding someone accountable for the abductions and war had been his focus for years. With Yuder’s admission of guilt, he should be pleased. Especially since it would probably save Kalquor for any further division and short-circuit the threat of civil unrest.
Chamar turned to the panel. “The prosecution, speaking for the people of the Kalquorian Empire, accepts Imperial Father Yuder’s guilty plea in the matter of willfully arranging the abduction of 1,873 Earther Mataras and triggering the war that led to Earth’s demise.”
Subdued whispers eddied through the air and silenced again before Emro could call for quiet. Onziv nodded to Yuder. “Noted and accepted by this court. Proceed with your confession, Imperial Father Yuder.”
Yuder bowed. “Thank you, Honorable Onziv. I wish to state that as Emperors of Kalquor, Dramok Zarl and I did order the abductions of the Earther Mataras that were on planets and stations we had access to. I affirm it was done without the knowledge of our Imdiko, then-Emperor Tidro. We acted without his knowledge in the hope of protecting him from future consequences.
“Zarl and I orchestrated the kidnappings knowing our actions could offend Earth and lead to trouble ... perhaps even war ... between the two planets. In the wake of Imperial Father Dramok Zarl’s death, I assume full responsibility for that act ... an act which ultimately led to the destruction of Earth. However, I plead the court’s mercy in light of the extraordinary reasons involved. Zarl and I felt we had compelling cause to commit the horrific crime of which I am accused.”
Wal frowned along with the rest of the panel. Onziv prodded Yuder. “Compelling cause, Imperial Father?”
“Yes, Honorable Onziv. We acted for two reasons. First, the desperate need to salvage the Kalquorian Empire’s culture. As everyone is well aware, we were but a generation away from extinction.”
Wal knew Yuder would not be spared a severe penalty for that. Saving one world at the expense of another would never mitigate his crime.
Perhaps that was why Onziv’s tone was so forbidding when he said, “And the second reason?”
“The humanitarian mission to save nearly two thousand innocent Earther women from torture and execution.”
The public and Royal Council galleries filled with shouts once more. Wal again noted the lack of surprise from the Imperial Family. A look at the Royal Council told him Diltan was not shocked either. In fact, the Dramok had a hint of his familiar smug look.
So that’s what you and Empress Jessica have been up to. By the ancestors, Diltan, don’t you know you’re playing with fire here? How is this going to keep the Empire peaceful?
As Emro shouted for order, Maf rose unsteadily to his feet. His face was purple with fury. “What farce is this?” he raged.
Chamar marched right up to the panel’s stage. “I object, Honorable Onziv. There has never been any mention of a humanitarian mission to do with the kidnappings!”
As the furor quieted, Onziv reminded him, “Prosecution relinquished all rights to objections when it accepted the guilty plea from Nobek Yuder. The details and reasons he has stated are a matter for the sentencing hearings, however, which defense counsel needs to remind her client of.”
Nivere nodded. “Noted, Honorable Onziv.” She wore the twin of Diltan’s almost-hidden smirk.
Ignoring the emotions of everyone in the courtroom, Onziv kept the proceedings on track with a doggedness that Wal admired. “Imperial Father Yuder, have you anything further to add that has direct bearing on the case itself?”
“I do, honorable panel. With my support, Zarl ordered my co-defendant Dramok Ospar to send clans to take the Mataras in question. You have seen that communication, which deals exclusively with the issue of our extinction concerns. Ospar expressed hesitation, not wanting to be a party to kidnappings just to save our culture. Then I sent a separate order myself, advising him that these were in fact rescue parties. I convinced him the women’s lives were in danger, which they were.”
“Rescue parties, Imperial Father?”
“This is absurd!” Maf shouted, overcome. Chamar shushed him.
Yuder continued, as if he hadn’t noted the interruption. “That is how I presented the order to our then-ambassador. I told him the Mataras were in imminent danger from their own government. I also told him that they were probably not fully aware of their peril; that if they were, they may be in denial of it. There was little time to convince them to flee. Ospar was to see to it that as many of those women as possible were brought to Kalquor for their safety, even over their protests. This was the assumption he operated under. Since time was of the essence, he executed those orders without hesitation and without consulting anyone else.
“As for my other co-defendant, Councilman Rajhir just happened to be in the vicinity of such a woman. He was on Pl
asius at the time, negotiating trade agreements.”
Nivere cut in. “You can check the records on that. The Plasian leader Saucin Israla has agreed to share her documentation of those negotiations with this honorable panel.”
Yuder nodded and took up his story again. “Dramok Rajhir happened to be the first to carry out the emergency orders. I believe this is the reason he was unjustly singled out among all the councilmen who aided the rescue effort. In the course of following his duty, Rajhir and his clanmates discovered Matara Amelia was compatible to breed with our species.”
Onziv was silent for a moment while mulling Yuder’s confession. His expression tense, he asked, “It is your testimony that Dramok Ospar and Dramok Rajhir acted without consulting the Royal Council on the matter because they believed these women were in immediate danger?”
“It is.”
Onziv considered again. Wal could imagine he was examining the assertions from every angle of Kalquorian law, just as he himself was. The grim concentration of everyone on the panel told him they were giving the matter their utmost attention.
There was only one decision in the end, and Onziv delivered it to the hushed courtroom. “Let the record show a plea of guilty by Imperial Father Nobek Yuder in the matter of the Earther Matara abductions that ultimately led to the war with Earth and that planet’s destruction. Let it also be recorded that he assumes sole responsibility for the crime. This panel will deliberate if Dramok Ospar and Dramok Rajhir need to testify further to the matter before proceeding with their cases. In the meantime, we will adjourn until this afternoon, at which time the sentencing hearing for Nobek Yuder will commence. Nobek Yuder is hereby confined under Empire custody until court reconvenes.”
In the quiet following the incomplete verdict, a Nobek in the public gallery shouted out. “Let them all be taken away! The whole Imperial Family and Royal Council should be on trial for their lies! Follow the Basma! Free Kalquor from the tyranny of the entitled!”
More shouting rose in the wake of the cry. Within seconds, fists were swinging in the public gallery.
As the fighting heated up and members of Global Security waded in to restore order and empty the room, Wal found a small sense of relief. The only women in the courtroom were those in the enclosed and guarded Imperial gallery and Nivere, who stood next to Yuder. Under the Imperial Father’s watchful group of Royal Guards, other members of Global Security led him and Nivere away. More guards took up positions between the panel of judges and the public gallery.
Secure from the violence, Wal checked on Cissy. She peeked at him through a wall of Royal Guards, her worried face appearing between armored bodies as she checked on him. The Imdiko mustered a smile for her to let her know he was okay. For his part, he was glad she was in the midst of armored sentries.
Only after he was assured of Cissy’s safety did Wal look to see how Diltan fared. All the councilmen appeared to be behaving themselves for a change as they filed out of the gallery. Diltan lagged behind his grave-expressioned colleagues, giving both Wal and Cissy winks and waves to let them know things were all right on his end.
Real trouble had been averted for the moment. Yet Wal was all too aware how much depended on proceeding carefully, even with Yuder’s sacrifice.
* * * *
During lunch, the panel couldn’t help but talk about what ramifications would result from Yuder’s confession. Now that a guilty verdict was in, they were free to discuss the matter as it related to the Imperial Father.
“He’s protecting those he can,” Dramok Nai said. “Along with his own ass. His assertion of rescue is without merit. He’s hoping to exonerate the other two and stay out of prison.”
“I know Yuder from back when we both served Global Security,” Dorl answered. “He ignores the rules when they don’t serve him, but always in the line with what he feels is best for Kalquor. I think he’s giving himself up to preserve the Empire. The intent is noble, though I’m not sold on the method.”
“He’s going beyond that,” Wal said. He had a flash of insight as to what his Dramok and the empress had been about these last few weeks. “If Yuder pled innocent, was tried, declared guilty and sentenced, then we would still have a problem on our hands. It would cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Earther Mataras’ clanships. By casting them in a sympathetic light, by insisting on their victimhood, the current wave of anti-interbreeding might lose traction.”
“You have a point, Wal,” Onziv said. “However, those who were convinced before will still be opposed to integration. Perhaps even more violently so since they’ll fight to preserve the stance.”
“All the easier to identify those people,” Wal said. He felt a sense of pride for his Dramok in that moment. It was a brilliant maneuver ... if it worked. “If Yuder can present real evidence that the kidnappings did save lives and it turns the mood of the people, even the Basma might be compelled to come out of the shadows in protest.”
“If not him, his most ardent followers at the least,” Dorl added, his eyes lighting at the prospect. “By the ancestors, I’ve wanted to get my hands on those who made some of the women disappear when this ‘let Kalquor die pure’ insanity started.”
Wal thought of those few dozen Earther Mataras who had been abducted by the Basma, never to be heard from again. Even the empress had once been targeted by the revolt’s followers. She had been rescued from vanishing in barely the nick of time.
He swallowed, thinking about how awful it would be if Cissy was targeted by the Basma. If she was to disappear, never to be heard from again—
It would kill me. Two months not seeing her while knowing she was perfectly fine was hardship enough. To lose her for good with no idea if she was still alive ... I couldn’t bear it.
With such daunting thoughts, he headed out with his colleagues for the afternoon session of court. Wal was so worried over the threat hanging over their heads that he almost shouted in relief to see Cissy sitting in the Imperial gallery.
The hearing they hadn’t anticipated began. Onziv said, “We will now move on to the sentencing hearings for Imperial Father Yuder. Does his attorney have any witnesses to call?”
Nivere already stood at her podium. She exchanged bows with the judges and said, “I do, your honor. I call for the testimony of Amelia Ryan, Matara to Clan Rajhir.”
Prosecutor Chamar stood as Maf glowered. “If you hear such testimony, then this court has reduced itself to a joke, honorable panel.”
Onziv crooked an eyebrow at him. “The prosecution has won its case against one of the defendants, who we are now in the process of determining the disposition of. You are excused from any further proceedings except to observe.”
Chamar continued a dogged argument. “I will be lodging a formal protest against this. Bringing in one of these Earther women to testify on Nobek Yuder’s behalf, one who in fact is clanned to his co-defendant, is not a valid witness. What’s more, her Dramok is blood related to Yuder! Her testimony is tainted.”
Nivere never lost her composure. “Matara Amelia was the first of the women to be rescued—” Maf’s growl tried to interrupt her at the use of that word, but she ignored him. “—by our people. Her circumstances are representative of the threat Earth had on her and the other women. However, if it will make the prosecution feel better, I have 1,341 more Earther Mataras brought here before the war. I assure Counselor Chamar that all of those women are also ready – excuse me – eager to testify as to their being rescued, not abducted. I would be happy to bring every last one of them in to satisfy my concerned opponent.”
Silence hung over the chamber. Wal and the rest of the panel looked to the prosecutor’s side of the room and waited. Chamar exchanged a look with the obviously furious Maf and sat back down.
Onziv turned back to Nivere. “I am sure bringing so many witnesses will not be necessary, Counselor. Please bring forth the first witness called.”
Court officer Emro escorted Matara Amelia into the room and hovered uncertainly as
she mounted the testimony platform. The light beaming down on her had been dimmed. She was not on trial and not a hostile witness as far as the court was concerned, so concessions were made for her comfort.
Wal had to admit the sight of the redheaded Matara was a lovely one. Tall for an Earther female, Amelia possessed a beautifully curved form. The small bump of her abdomen that demonstrated her pregnancy only made her more inspiring to the Imdiko’s eyes. He thought of how Cissy might look when she someday carried a child ... his clan’s child. A lump formed in his throat at the idea. He couldn’t help but glance up at her, his heart beating too fast.
Onziv’s voice brought him back to the task at hand. “Matara Amelia, in deference to your condition of pregnancy, we will endeavor to keep this examination short.”
Amelia bowed her head. Her flaming waves of red hair tumbled forward to brush golden-skinned shoulders, left bare by her long white gown. “Thank you for the kindness, Honorable Onziv.”
“Please start the examination, Counselor Nivere.”
Nivere stood at the foot of the testimony platform and smiled up at her son’s clanmate. “Tell us how it was that you met Clan Rajhir.”
In a strong, carrying voice, Amelia said, “Nearly six years ago, I left Earth to take an exchange artist opening on Plasius. The official reason was for a cultural sharing between my planet and theirs. However, I had far more personal reasons for leaving Earth. I had been raped repeatedly by two men on my home planet, and I feared for my life should it be discovered.”
Nivere interjected, “Because women who had been raped were, by your government’s definition, guilty of tempting men into doing so.”
Amelia nodded, her expression turning grim. “Yes.”
Alien Indiscretions Page 39
