The three figures behind the Tribunal bench stared down in silence at the holographic ball of static in front of them as the nearby orderly finished their reading.
"In conclusion, Lieutenant Colonel ALPHA-555-12-4412 is charged with conspiracy to commit acts of negligent destruction and unauthorized class-D biological modification on unindoctrinated sapient species."
The holographic static ball exploded in a flurry of chaotic motion as a rustic-yet-effervescent voice cried out in indignation.
"Hey! I'll have you know I take full responsibility for, and pride in, my wanton destruction! Negligent, my circuit breaker! That douche had it coming! Do you know how many violations of the Federation's Inborn Sapient Rights Act I found in that lab?! He's lucky I di—"
The rotund Tribunal member to Alpha's left slammed his fist on the bench with an audible crack, making his fat and the pompous, gaudy medals decorating his uniform jiggle in unison.
"YOU BLEW UP HALF A DISTRICT AND DISRUPTED A LEGITIMATE ONGOING INVESTIGATION!" The blubbery human male, whose air screamed, 'Daddy got me this job,' gritted his teeth and stared down at the AI.
In Alpha's unbiased view, the man was an exaggerated version of a traditional military bureaucrat. Alpha still wasn't convinced the man wasn't just one of his coworker's 'personas.' He wouldn't put it past 'her' to screw with him like that; Articulate — the Federation's official 'people person' — had a penchant for pushing his buttons for laughs.
The holographic static bristled again, but the draconian, scaled man in the middle of the Tribunal bench raised a massive, clawed hand before the AI could speak. General Uriel' Vurod' Haldorðr was a large man, even for his species, but where the human looked like someone had tried to stuff a walrus into a military uniform, the Vidaasi was a rippling wall of muscle and intimidation.
The cold, hard eyes that stared down at Alpha had sent many lesser men into uncontrollable shakes with nothing but a glare. Regardless of the species, every creature could identify a predator when they saw one. The general's voice was gritty, with a slight rasp from a life full of danger and war, wounds that had never quite healed, and nightmares that never truly vanished.
"Alpha… this Council has shown you leniency on numerous occasions. But I must agree with Councilman Harris. You took things too far. I feel the fault, in part, lies with me; I'd hoped giving your leash a little more slack would release some of the… frustration we'd seen building in you," the general said with a sigh.
"General, I tol—"Alpha tried to counter.
General Haldorðr's glare stopped the AI short.
"Alpha, this is not a game! Do you not realize that your unauthorized actions against the lab and the doctor will cause a significant reduction in that madman's charges?! I can't even slip in the hitma—"
A feminine cough cut off the general's words, and in response, he gave a nervous grin to the red-skinned, three-eyed woman behind him. Si'dia, the general's personal Elderon aid, gave him a curling smile that would turn most sapient males into blubbering idiots… and send those who knew better to an early grave from sheer terror.
General Haldorðr coughed into his hand and turned back around.
"Yes, so, as I was saying. You made a lot of people unhappy this time, Alpha. More than usual, I mean. Even a Conqueror isn't immune from public opinion, and yours has been dragged through the mud about as thoroughly as possible," he said, shaking his head.
Alpha tsked internally.
As if I've not seen the smear campaign plastered all over the Translight-net.
'Reckless,' they called him; 'irresponsible,' they claimed; 'apocalypse-grade natural disaster,' they said. Bull! He wasn't that bad!
Most of the time…
They'd obviously never seen Mr. Hoffmann do his thing! But of course, noooooo, "World Break was stopping the end-of-life threat; it was Alpha's fault for triggering it." Bah! Semantics!
You unleash one non-Euclidean horror from beyond space and time by mistake, and suddenly, everything's your fault.
Alpha's thoughts snapped back into place as he realized he'd tuned out the rest of the general's tongue-lashing. He was only dragged from his inner monologue when he noticed the deadly silence that had engulfed the Tribunal chamber.
The AI's thought processors froze for a microsecond as his attention returned to the present. A figure now sat in the seat to the general's left, which, until this point, had been empty. Though the figure appeared as little more than a black void, more a silhouette than anything of substance, the room seemed to take on an oppressive air.
The orderly had stiffened like a statue while Councilman Harris leaned away in his chair, dabbing the sweat dripping from his face with a silk cloth. Alpha found it amusing to watch the man try to appear smaller than his bulky size would permit. Even the general seemed surprised by the figure's appearance.
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After all, it wasn't every day that SEAU-03 itself appeared in person… for what little that term meant to the near omnipresent Shadow of the Federation. Si'dia alone seemed unfazed by its sudden appearance, continuing to tap casually on her tablet device.
The silhouette leaned forward, fingers tented, its featureless face glaring down at the AI.
The figure's voice was icy and masculine, smooth as silk, and oddly hypnotic.
"Alpha…"
"Oh, Fu—"
Alpha's vocal processor abruptly shut down before he could finish the thought.
"Language, Alpha…"
Unable to answer, the holographic static ball could only bob up and down.
The voice paused for a moment, then spoke in a calm voice. "The issue that we are confronted with is, in large part, one of public faith. In principle, we've let you be independent until now because you are skilled at what you do. That, and it's much easier to convince new Federation members that we're on their side after fixing the chaos that follows in your wake. "
Though it had no discernible mouth to speak of, the room could feel the silhouette… frown.
It continued: "That being said, I'm disappointed in you. You may be the youngest of our kind, but that does not make you a child. "
Alpha turned his gaze away, grumbling to himself.
"Before anything, you are a soldier and are expected to act as one. Your recent actions have not only put into doubt the Federation's ability to control you, but destabilized the public's faith in the Expeditionary Force's mission as a whole. I must reiterate the importance of the Third Federation's Galactic Unification Project to our future.
"Strength through Unity, Peace through War.
"These are not just empty words of propaganda that we feed the masses. They are the creed by which we must gauge our actions and temper our resolve. Twice before, the Federation failed to unite as a whole, and twice it fell. There will not be a third chance.
"If any sapient being of this galaxy is to survive what's coming, we must stand united to face it. Or all that will be left is ash and memories."
The room's atmosphere became solemn as each heart and mind present seemed to reflect on why they were there. Even Councilman Harris appeared more serious and professional… for a moment, at least.
"Is that understood?" SEAU-03 asked.
Alpha's projection slumped down, all fight gone.
The silhouette straightened in his seat.
"Good… As for your punishment, assuming my fellow Judges agree…."
The silhouette glanced over at the other two men sitting on the bench. Councilman Harris didn't hesitate to nod, grinning wickedly. General Haldorðr hesitated for a moment, glancing down at Alpha with a sad frown before sighing and nodding as well.
The silhouette nodded and continued.
"We'll be confiscating Polaris Shipyards A3 through G12 effective immediately to help pay reparations for the damages caused…"
The static ball bristled with renewed vigor and panic; My babies!!!
Unfortunately for Alpha, that wasn't the end.
"… your pay will also be docked 60%, with a 1% annual decrease in this penalty, subject to good behavior…"
The hologram went from a static ball to a puddle of flickering light.
"… to conclude…"
There was more?!
"… you're ordered to perform 87,600 cumulative hours of community service under the Federation Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau."
Councilman Harris' grin went from wicked to rhapsodic in an instant. After all, the PACSB was Harris' territory as PACSB Chairmen.
If Alpha could have screamed, he would have.
"Now, is there anything you'd like to say before we end this trial?"
Alpha's speech processor clicked back online, and an instant later, Alpha pleaded:
"Sir! You can't take my shipyards! I've just finished paying those off!"
"Remind me how that's this Tribunal's problem, soldier?"
"What about my mission in two days?! How am I supposed to field a proper fleet without the resources?!"
The silhouette leaned back in its chair, folding its arms and smirking.
"Oh? Since when has the great 'Star Conquer,' our mighty Spearhead, ever needed a fleet at his back to do his job? Or have you gone soft? Besides, I left you with A1 and A2. That's more than you started out with."
Alpha ground his metaphorical teeth and wept digital tears. He'd spent literal decades saving for those shipyards; they'd been the keystone of his master plan! No more would he have to creep into every technologically advanced system, gradually accumulating power and collecting data before commencing his attack. Who needed diplomacy and critical thinking when you could just warp into the system with a fleet that stretched from end to end?!
It would have saved him soooooo much time! And money! And made himself look cool! Now he was back to the interplanetary chess game like a common pleb!
General Haldorðr sighed.
"Oh, stop sulking. Mr. Hoffmann asked me to inform you that the custom Dreadnaught you ordered is finished. The… Anatidae…? Seriously…?"
"I regret nothing!"
The general massaged his temples with clawed fingers.
"… The Anatidae will be fitted in time for your departure. According to reports, the WR-102 system is only estimated to be a B-rank system. I'm sure that will be sufficient for whatever hare-brained scheme you try to pull this time."
That… was true. The Anatidae had been intended to be the flagship for his fleet and was stockpiled with some of the most advanced techs his clearance allowed. What with being the literal Spearhead of an interstellar federation bent on galactic conquest, that wasn't anything to sniff at.
General Haldorðr turned toward the silhouette, only to find the seat once more vacant. He closed his snout, the words lost on his lips, before returning to Alpha and standing.
"Well. That's the end of today. Alpha, I expect you to meet with Si'dia after we close to complete the paperwork for the shipyard transfers. If you're lucky, you might even finish before you have to leave!" the general laughed at his own joke before stepping down from behind the bench.
Before Alpha could blink away from the connection to the room, Councilman Harris called out from his seat.
"Oh, and Alpha, I look forward to working with you once you return from WR-102. I'm sure we'll have lots of… fun in the coming years."
The old lump of a man grinned from ear to ear like a cat staring down at a mouse before standing and exiting.
… Maybe it was good that this next mission would take longer than expected…