Lt.Cdr. Arturo Maxwell - To Court Pt2 (Courtroom)
Iain Turnbull
((Qo’nos – High Court Chamber))
Judge: Bring out the accused!
Max felt a good deal better than he had earlier, but he was far from being in prime running order.
He stood, supporting Sheila with one arm and holding up the boxy translator in his other. Apart from one or two naughty words he'd picked up in a bar, he couldn't speak a word of Klingon.
The courtroom started to chant, banging lit sticks on the ground in a terrifying rhythm as they slowly rose again and the three prisoners were placed to a cage inside. They were then lifted upwards in a pillar of blue-white light that hurt his still clamped eye.
Beside them, the hulking form of Janul was shackled like some sort of rabid animal. He was stripped to the waist and covered in marks and bruises.
Judge: Janul, House of Kravzo'ch. Treason to the Empire. Murder. Destruction of the Vr’Chok. Conspiracy with the Enemy.
Staves were hammered upon the ground and there were roars and chants of indignation and anger.
Judge: Lieutenant Commander Arturo Maxwell, Starfleet. Lieutenant Sheila Bailey, Starfleet. Conspiracy to act against the Empire. Aiding and abetting a known murderer and criminal. Attempting to free a prisoner of the empire.
Ok, so that was a new thing. Acting as Janul's Starfleet escort as he was taken to the Embassy constituted trying to help him escape? He would love to have seen the flow chart that got them to that decision.
Judge: How do you plead?
Janul raised himself up fully, and glared volcanic rage up at the judges pulpit.
Janul: To the charge of the Vr'Chok. Guilty. ::The courtroom echoed with hammering staves and roars of anger. Janul stood silently as the noise washed over them.:: To all other charges. Not guilty
Maxwell: What he said. ::He pointed at Janul.:: No guilty.
Bailey: ?
Judge: Very well. ::The gavel banged again.:: Clear the floor. Defense, prosecution. You will examine the accused and call witnesses.
And the prosecution launched straight into them as he prowled about the courtroom.
Xalmuz: You see before you prisoners of the Empire!
He stabbed a finger towards them.
Max bit his tongue, unwilling to rise to the opening comment.
Bailey/Lio’tha: ?
Xalmuz: Janul of of House Kravzo'ch stands before you a murderer. A traitor. An enemy of the empire. As you know, he was a member of the Klingon Defense Fleet, and assigned to Starbase 118, supposedly to serve as a loyal member of the Klingon Empire.
As he spoke, Xalmuz paced around the edge of the circle, his words rising and falling, the cadence of his baritone echoing through the cavern. He paused, turning his face to the giant of a Klingon that dangled above him, like a puppet on a string.
Xalmuz: Only to betray his own people.
Shouts of anger and calls for immediate death rained down upon them, until the judge regained silence with the hammering of his gavel.
Janul: You speak of betrayal, and yet you allow my House to be weakened. You speak of treason. And yet you stand beside the name Krala. ::He spat.:: There is your traitor. A traitor to House, to Empire. And to Kahless!
Bailey/Lio’tha/Maxwell: ?
He glared down at the woman with the bright hair, teeth bared. Slowly, he took a breath.
She was right, and he nodded slowly down at her.
Xalmuz: Never in his years of serving upon the base did he ever offer any proof of his loyalty. Then, when called back to serve the Empire, when set as a Captain of a vessel with the sole purpose of preserving the empire, to protect as a loyal member, as any truly honourable Klingon would do, he allowed a Starfleet vessel to enter Klingon territory without notification, without alerting the defense force, then fired upon the Vr'Chok and killing the Matriarch of House Kravzo'ch, his own Mother, without provocation and without reason. With malice aforethought, he betrayed General Krala, the High Council, the whole Klingon empire!
Xalmuz stopped suddenly and planted his feet as he faced the assembly.
Xalmuz: And the Federation was compliant!
Swerving now, Jioso glared up at the two officers by Janul’s side.
Xalmuz: Compliant and participants in this wretched villainy. The Klingon Empire had sovereignty over Janul, and when he was finally apprehended while on Starbase 118, taken into Empire Custody, and escorted to the Klingon Embassy, not one but two Starfleet officers strove to attempt to prevent a right and honourable course of action to bring this traitor to justice!
Maxwell: Commander Janul had the right to a Federation escort to the Embassy. I was that escort, nothing more.
Bailey/Lio’tha: ?
Xalmuz: You will hear witnesses, and they will testify, but be warned, they will lie and twist words to make it seem as if they are innocent, as if they were acting in the best interests of the empire. But we are Klingons! We know what is best for our own people. We do not need the meddling of outsiders who show no respect for our ways, who show no honour in their actions. Do not be swayed by their eloquence, their convincing arguments, for it will be seen that they are the ones acting in accordance with their own agenda, one that is not for, but as enemies against the Empire!
Turning to face Lio’tha, Xalmuz’ expression hardened, but rather than sneer, he simply nodded to the defense, then stepped to the side.
Max lowered the translator briefly as he glanced between his fellow defendants.
Now the games were truly afoot.
Maxwell: Well, here we go.
Janul: This will not be over quickly. ::He turned, shackles rattling.:: They want blood. And they shall have it one way or another.
Bailey/Lio’tha: ?
Janul: I shall not allow it to be either of yours.
Bailey/Lio'tha/Others: ?
~#~
Lieutenant-Commander Arturo Maxwell.
Chief Tactical Officer / Second Officer.
Starbase 118 Operations.
O239311AM0.