They chained both his arms and legs to a metal table. His body ached all over. The stomping he'd received during his arrest, the concrete floor of his holding cell; and now the rough treatment by the guards escorting him to this interrogation room. They made sure he was reminded, every step of the way, of how much they loathed him. He didn’t get why they were even taking him here? Another flimsy interrogation? Like they needed evidence to convict him…

There was a young man waiting for him in the interrogation room. To his surprise, the man didn’t look like he thought of him as a slum rat. He looked rather.. friendly. The man’s voice sounded friendly too when he spoke. Something that made him suspicious. ‘Hi there, I am your court appointed lawyer. We’ve been given some time alone to prepare your defence.

He was surprised he was even given a lawyer. ‘Probably just a formality to uphold the illusion of an unprejudiced justice system.’ he thought to himself. He was under no illusion that this lawyer was going to make any difference to his situation. ‘You’re a bit late then. They already did the interrogation yesterday and they’re shipping me off to court later today.’

‘They what?’ The shock on his lawyer’s face seemed genuine. ‘They can’t interrogate you without my presence… that’s illegal. I hope you didn’t tell them anything that could be used against you?’

‘I didn’t have too. Haven’t you heard? I’m guilty of the crime of being a resident.’ He studied his lawyer's traits. He looked very young. Early twenties. Probably fresh out of college. He had blonde, unkempt hair and blue eyes. They gave his face a naive and optimistic look. Like he was the kind of kid who had chosen law out of a sense of idealism. Poor guy. He was about to get his first taste of cold hard reality. It was fitting that it would happen here. Rooms like these were built to crush a man’s spirit.

‘We have much to do then and only little time. Let’s work on your opening statement first and then..’

He interrupted his lawyer. ‘How about we introduce ourselves first?’

‘My apologies, where are my manners? My name is Cedric DeGork. I'm a defense attorney. I’ve read from your file that your first name is Voss, but could you help me on your last name? The documents didn’t state it anywhere.'

'That's because I don't have one.'

'You don't have a last name?' There was something apologetic about his voice. As if Voss had called him out on his obvious lack of worldly experience.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

'I'm a slum dweller, Cedric, we don't get one. We get four letters to form a name with and then they add a bunch of numbers to it and call it an identity.’

'Really? I didn't know that.'

'There's a lot about us they don't teach you in your schools, Cedric.’

Voss felt sorry for him. They had given him an absolute stinker of a case. He'd probably happily accepted it too, not knowing what he was getting himself into. They knew this case had the potential to ruin a lawyer's career, so they dumped it on an expendable asset. If there was one thing Voss had learned out in the slums, it was that for every naive kid, there were ten shrewd men and women ready to exploit them.

Cedric spoke optimistically: 'Well Voss, I studied your case and I'm certain you'll be out by tonight. Their evidence is flimsy at best. We'll destroy this case with ease.'. Voss knew he had to correct him fast.

'Let me stop you right there, Cedric. There is no way I'm walking from this one.'

'What are you talking about sir? This is every lawyer's dream. No direct evidence and even the circumstantial evidence is weak. There were at least thirty people around when the murder happened. They didn’t even interrogate any of them yet, other than you.'

Voss let out a chuckle. It felt refreshing to be in the presence of someone so pure as Cedric. Naivety was rare amongst citizens and even rarer in the slums. It did him good to know that someone on this forsaken planet had managed to make it into his twenties without losing it. Cedric’s presence was a nice reprieve from all the hardened criminals and hostile officers he’d been surrounded by in the days since his arrest.

'Listen Cedric, I like you, but you have no clue about what's going on here. They have no evidence because there is no evidence. They don't need evidence either. You walked into a show trial.

A class four citizen got murdered. That means societal upheaval. That means the government looks weak. The government has got to be seen acting fast and hard. They need a perp and they need to punish him brutally and publicly. They want to close this case as soon as possible, before it starts festering into societal upheaval.

I'm a resident. That means nobody within city limits cares about me. It also means I ain't got the same rights as you. I'm an easy sacrifice to make to restore order. I'm a dead man walking kid. Best you keep as far away from me as possible. I don’t want you to get dragged down with me.’

'That's ludicrous, sir. Our court system is independent and unbiased. Not beholden to the government or politics.'

'It's your funeral, Cedric. Just know that I'll be pleading guilty. I overheard in prison that they’ll give me a faster, less painful death if I do.'

Cedric looked like he was about to protest, but before he could, the steel door opened without warning. A woman dressed in black fatigues stood in the doorway. She wore no identifying insignias other than a symbol of a world with two wings on her black beret.

'Just what I needed' Voss thought. 'Fifth Branch'. He'd never seen one before, but he knew the rumors. Everyone did. Going by the mean look on her face, the rumors were true.