The next night, Diane visited and we spent some time together. She didn't stay and left before lights out. She did tell me that she had been called to testify at my trial in two more days. I thanked her for telling me and spent the next two days waiting. It was weird not doing anything for all that time, knowing that there was so much that I could be doing. It was also cutting into the revised plan's time, which I believed was what the Colonel was doing.
When it was time, I was escorted out of my cell by two guards and brought to the same large building that had been used during my last trial. It was the Colonel behind the main desk this time and not the same judge as last time. I wasn't sure if it was an improvement or not. The place was packed with soldiers and no civilians could be seen, not even Diane.
I was seated behind the same table as before and Alex was my defender again. He nodded to me as he sat and I nodded back.
“Now that the defendant is here, I'll read off the charges.” The Colonel said and she started to speak.
It went on for several minutes as she listed everything that I had done. The problem was, she didn't give any indication of the circumstances or conditions that the charges had occurred under, so everything sounded much worse than it really was.
“...and finally, dereliction of duty.” The Colonel said. “That is the full list of charges against the accused.” She looked at me. “How do you plead?”
I stood up and came to attention. “Innocent, with cause.”
Quite a few people murmured at my words, because a lot of them knew I was guilty of most of them.
The Colonel smiled. “You do realize that you are wearing proof around your neck, don't you?”
“This proves that the man who stole from me and got away with it, can no longer steal from me or anyone else.”
“He wasn't going to...”
“With increased hostilities with the enemy approaching, Marine Sgt. Russell declared, in front of witnesses, never being punished.” I said. “As the injured party, I retaliated to hinder any further attempts by him to continue to rob other soldiers and to defraud the army of even more resources.”
The Colonel gave me a stern look for a moment, then she took a breath and let it out. “Let's get the trial started.” She looked at a man that I didn't know as I sat down. “Please present the case to the best of your ability.”
“Yes, Ma'am.” The man said and stood, then he started to talk... and talk... and talked some more. For almost an hour, we all sat there and listened to him drone on and on about the charges and their implications, if they were left to go unpunished. After a short pause, he spoke again. “I would like to call the first witness.”
I leaned in to Alex and told him to object.
Alex gave me a strange look and stood. “I object.” He said and both the Colonel and the prosecutor looked surprised, then he bent down to whisper to me. “Why am I objecting?”
“He made that long opening statement and biased everyone against me. You need to counter it or let me counter it.” I whispered back.
“Please state your objection.” The Colonel prompted and didn't look happy about the pause in the proceedings.
Alex stood up straight and spoke. “The prosecutor's statements were both argumentative and biased against the defendant. He asked me to object and speak on his behalf.”
The Colonel sighed. “That can wait until...”
“No, he's right.” Someone in the audience said and I turned to see Gillis. “The prosecutor bashed David for an hour and I think he deserves a chance to defend himself.”
“There will be no comments from the gallery.” The Colonel said and glared at her cousin and Gillis only smiled back at her. “Very well. The defendant may speak.”
I stood up and did my best to project my voice. “I have already declared my innocence of the crimes for cause and now I will state it.” I said and the entire place went quiet to listen. “I'm the Marsh Man and I didn't know any better.”
A lot of people barked a laugh and a few laughed normally. A few people shouted in response and the Colonel banged the desk with her fist several times.
“I will have order in this court!” The Colonel said and half stood to make everyone quiet down. “The statement you have made is insufficient of a defense.” She said to me and sat back down.
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“When I swore the first oath to the acting CO Sandra Rivers, I had no idea what she was talking about and was told to just agree.” I said and a lot of gasps responded. “After I completed basic training and all of the learning lessons they had, the acting CO administered the oath again and I finally understood what everything meant and accepted the oath with the proper knowledge of the situation.”
Everyone quieted down and all eyes turned to the Colonel. She opened her mouth slightly and then closed it. We all waited for her to speak and it took several minutes before she could.
“Mage Lukas.” The Colonel said.
“He speaks the truth.” The Mage said.
“So, all of the things he did, he did without the knowledge of exactly what he was doing and without the knowledge of how it impacted his pledge of honor. Not to mention the normal legality of those acts in a civilian setting.” The prosecutor said and turned to the Colonel. “In light of his statement, nearly all charges against him are on shaky legal ground, since he was in no mental state to understand what he did was wrong.”
The Colonel grasped onto what he said immediately, as did I. “The last order I had given him, he refused with full knowledge.” She said and the prosecutor nodded. “Then proceed with that one.”
“I can't.” The prosecutor said.
“Excuse me?” The Colonel squinted her eyes at him.
“I've read the witness statements and even talked to several of the officers that were present, yourself included.” The prosecutor said. “If the details of it came out in open court, I cannot successfully convict him of disobeying an illegal order.”
“Ex-CUSE me?” The Colonel said loudly.
The prosecutor looked around and back to her. “We really should adjourn for a short time and...”
“Explain yourself right now.” The Colonel ordered and he sighed.
“You intentionally ordered him to ignore the bare safety minimums of his revised plan and told a newly minted private to send people to their untimely and unnecessary deaths, fully knowing that he has no authority to do so and can't legally shoulder the responsibility.” The prosecutor said and the entire room fell into complete silence.
The Colonel's face went slightly red and I couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.
“Since there is no higher authority present or within a reasonable contact distance, I cannot in good conscience continue to prosecute this man.” The prosecutor said and sat down. “I suggest you dismiss this case before anything else is revealed.”
The Colonel scowled and I could hear her grinding her teeth. “Because of his incompetence and delays, a member of the royal family, my younger brother Prince Matthew Rivers, is going to die in less than a month.”
“Did you tell him that?” The prosecutor asked.
The Colonel didn't say anything and looked guilty.
“Being angry at him for knowledge you didn't convey to him is as unreasonable as sending hundreds of completely unprepared soldiers to their deaths in a hostile environment.” The prosecutor said and her eyes flashed anger. “Transferring that anger to me isn't going to help, either.”
The Colonel closed her eyes for several moments and took several deep breaths to calm down. “I need this plan completed as soon as possible.”
“That is not the goal of this proceeding.” The prosecutor said. “It was the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Since he is innocent, this trial cannot continue.”
“He still committed the crimes.” The Colonel said.
“All under duress.” Alex chimed in. “He was taken out of his normal environment, had rules and regulations he had never heard of imposed on him, and he was given no time to adjust before being put into several very dangerous situations. Two of which he rescued Sgt. Sanders, Marine Sgt. Russell, Staff Sgt. Simms, and myself from.”
“I've read the reports and I also believe that he contributed to put you into those situations.” The Colonel said.
Alex let out a short sigh. “Actually, I did that. If I had been firmer in my command of the mission...”
“That is immaterial.” The Colonel said. “Private Drake's proven record of misconduct cannot be tolerated.”
“Then have your father dismiss me.” I said. “Don't ask him to consider it or try to plead for him to change the situation. You only have to tell him to dismiss me and I'm gone.”
“I cannot just tell my father to do it.” The Colonel said.
“Why not? Aren't you the princess?” I asked and she turned her head slightly away. “I don't belong here. My place is in the marsh where I grew up.”
“Then why haven't you left?” The Colonel asked as she looked back at me. “Nothing is stopping you.”
“Except for being declared an escaped conscript by the Gulf Kingdom and shot on sight.” I said and a lot of people took in sharp breaths.
“That can't be...” Gillis started to say as she looked over at Mage Lukas. He nodded and Gillis didn't continue her sentence.
“I'm glad that I stayed around for a while to learn everything I could from the army, because it sure was a surprise to learn the penalty for desertion in a time of war.”
The Colonel gave me a forlorn look and sighed, because she knew that she was stuck with me and couldn't do anything about it. “Case dismissed.”
There was no uproar, or cheering, or even shouts of surprise or disbelief like there had been the last time. Everyone just sat there and watched as the Colonel stood up and walked to the door at the side of the room. Even when she left, no one really reacted.
“Okay, what just happened?” Gillis asked into the silence.
The prosecutor stood up and gathered the papers he had on his desk. “I believe that Colonel Rivers just received a harsh dose of reality.” He said and left through the main door.
A few of the people in the audience seemed to catch on to the fact that they could leave as well, then most of them stood up and started to shuffle out. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Gillis.
“I'm going to talk to her.” Gillis said.
“Remind her of what's at stake.” I said.
“David, I'm sure that...”
“With her brother.” I clarified and her eyes widened. “With him gone, her younger sister will be in line for the throne instead.”
“Oh, no.” Gillis said and gripped my shoulder, then she dashed out the side door to run after her cousin.
“Are you sure that was wise?” Alex asked.
“I'd rather have her get angry at me and tell us to start our plan instead of reverting to her own.”
Alex blinked his eyes for a second, nodded to me, and we left the large building with the crowd. If we were lucky, she wouldn't wait too long to tell us to mobilize. If we weren't lucky, then it wouldn't really matter when we started.