“Aye sir,” I said, feeling more than a little confused.
Syrinx waved for me to follow her, and the three of us left.
“What’s this about?” I asked, after we’d left Jedburgh’s titan, and were walking towards a travel car on Haven station.
“We’ve been asked to attend a trial on the Democratic Union capital planet,” she said.
“We’ve what?”
Neither of them looked any happier than I was.
“They don’t have any mages,” said Tanith. “But apparently the defense is claiming magic has been used. They wanted us as impartial observers to the description of what they claim has happened, and they wanted you as Thorn’s heir, in case they need lie detection to sort out the truth.”
I stopped dead, and it took them a moment to realize I wasn’t with them. They stopped, turned, and waited for me. The frown on my face seemed to have a life of its own, and it caused them both to smile. I sighed, and resumed walking.
Someone was not going to be happy about where this went, that much I was certain about.
Fifteen
Two stations later, we joined a line of people, and walked through a rift down to a planet. Syrinx led us to a spot with no people movement, opened another rift, and we stepped into a building which had ‘court house’ written all over its decoration style. The nearest doors had people going in through them, and we entered as well, and sat at the back.
We rose with everyone else when the judge entered, and sat when bidden. I knew the drill. Thorn had dragged me along to a number of trials he’d presided over back when I was younger, and before I’d decided on space. I guess he’d wanted to find out if I was interested in being the next judge in the family. I hadn't been then, and I still wasn’t now.
The judge looked at the three of us specifically, but did nothing to acknowledge our presence. But someone had obviously warned her we were coming, or she’d recognized us.
I was expecting the trial itself to bore me, and be exciting for everyone else. The only two witnesses were the accused, and the accuser. So it proceeded fairly rapidly to start with, with the accuser being taken through her story of being drugged and raped. It sounded particularly horrible for her, and the jury and gallery ate it up, along with evidence not being disputed by the defense, which proved semen from the accused being found inside the accuser’s body. She was also now pregnant, and the child was confirmed to be his.
Slam dunk for the prosecution. Or so you’d think.
Which brought the accused to the stand. He told a story which was identical to hers, up to the point where, in her home, he’d passed out on the couch. He’d woken with a major headache the following morning, and had left without seeing the woman at all. He admitted he knew her from previous encounters, found her attractive in a sisterly kind of way, and had gone to her home without any intention of sleeping with her. He had in fact been walking her home as a gentleman would, and she’d invited him in. He had no recollection of anything between sitting on the couch, and when he’d woken on it and left.
Also undisputed evidence was introduced which showed her dna was not found anywhere on his person or clothes, although by the time he’d been arrested, he’d had ample time to shower. He insisted he hadn't showered at all, and hadn’t needed to.
Still a slam dunk for the prosecution. Everyone thought he was obviously lying.
With a look in our direction first, the defense lawyer then asked what had happened before he’d been arrested. He claimed he’d had to take a major pain killer, so had missed work that day, and had slept for a while before being woken by the phone.
A male voice had accused him of raping his daughter, and demanded he marry her that day, or face the consequences. He refused, thinking it was some sort of sick joke which would turn into a money scam. He’d never heard the voice before or since, and both defense and prosecution lawyers stipulated to the woman’s father being in fact, dead.
At this point you had to wonder what the defense lawyer was doing, as it wasn’t so much of a slam dunk now, as why hadn't he just pleaded guilty and saved the court’s time. All the evidence was against him.
And then it entered the realm of farce.
When asked what he thought had happened, he told the court a mage had drugged him, removed the sperm from his body, and placed it inside the woman’s body in such a way as she was guaranteed to become pregnant.
The whole court laughed really hard, with the exception of the defense lawyer, the judge, and the three of us mages. The judge had to do the gavel banging thing a lot to get the court back under control.
He was asked why he believed this, and said he’d subsequently hired a private detective to find out more about the woman who’d accused him, and during the investigation, another five cases over the previous month on different planets had turned up, all with the exact same events. Three of the men involved had married the woman, and the other two were in jail. One of the men had been encouraged to have too much to drink one night, and he’d spilled the story of his wife using a mage to entrap him.
The court wasn’t laughing now, but no-one I looked at was in any doubt he was making it up.
Both lawyers did their summing up, the jury left, and deliberations took minutes. They returned, and the man was pronounced guilty.
Which was when I stood up.
All eyes turned to me.
Sixteen
“The court recognizes Mage Master Bud.”
I could feel anger inside me, but I kept it off my face, as I walked to the front of the public area, and pushed through the short swing doors into the actual court space.
The judge was looking at me with an expectant expression on her face, but I stopped inside the doors, and said nothing. There was complete silence now.
“Who is this?” demanded the prosecution lawyer.
“Are you here in the capacity of judge,” the judge asked me.
“I’m not a judge. My uncle Thorn was,” which drew a reaction from the prosecution lawyer, “but I’m Imperium military. I am however a master mage, and since I’m here, and have at least had some training in court room procedures from my uncle, I cannot let this travesty of justice continue.”
“What are you talking about?” said prosecution.
I ignored him, still looking at the judge.
“Do you possess the ability to ensure truth,” asked the judge.
“I do.”
Prosecution, who had been standing, now sat abruptly.
“You may proceed, mage master. The court grants you leave to determine the truth.”
“Thank you, your honour.”
I turned to face the full gallery.
“You will not make a sound until I say you can.”
The words were said with the appropriate magic, and people suddenly found they could open their mouths, but no sound came out. I turned back to the court, walked up to below the bench, and turned so I could see both sides.
“Only truth can be said now. Any attempt to say a falsehood will result in nothing being said at all.”
Again, I put the magic intent into the words. The prosecutor rose, and worked his jaw for a few moments without any sound coming out, and abruptly sat again. I approached the defendant.