Dear Diary,

So apparently full formal Court Martials are a fucking ceremonial thing.

Every Cadet not locked in a box for Devotions stood in ranks in the Practice Yard, and every prof I knew and a couple I didn't sat at what looked like one of the Dining Hall tables brought up for this explicit purpose. The Maids and a few muscular guys in workman's coveralls stood around the perimeter. Three chairs sat spaced around in front of the table; one facing it about three yards to my right, the other two facing each other from about the table's length apart, maybe two yards in front of the table itself. I stood facing the table from about three yards away, just to the left of center from my perspective.

I'd been formally manacled before being brought out; one pair connecting my wrists behind my back, one connecting my ankles giving me just enough room to shuffle, and a single chain connecting the two. My entire left arm and shoulder gave me 'I'm being torn off' signals until I got to the spot they parked me at and I could slip into Parade Rest, holding the weight of the manacles and supporting my left arm at the wrist, all with my right hand. The burns on that hand weren't happy, but fuck it, as the Dread Pirate said, 'life is pain, anyone who tells you different is selling you something'. Trease argued for 'full rogue Hero protocols', but everyone else in the room, Headmaster Miles included, just stared at her until she shut up. Smarter than I gave her credit for, really.

So we all stood there for a bit under the sun. With two dozen people in the courtyard running around, the heat wasn't too bad. With the place packed with what looked like around two hundred Cadets? Little bit baking, lemme tell you, and not in a fun way. To their credit, the folks in charge had rolled out into the heat less than five minutes after they shuffled me out, and it took less than ten minutes of discussion and preparation before Headmaster Miles made a few passes with his hand before addressing the crowd.

"Cadets, Faculty, Staff, and Honored Guests, we are gathered here to judge the guilt or innocence of Cadet Tabitha Diaz regarding the events which occurred on Twenty Seventh Coll in this, the three hundred forty first year since the founding of Phileo City. In the interests of swift justice, we will also assign consequences and apply any such consequences as are appropriate today as well. As there has not yet been a formal Inquiry preceding this Court, we will also conduct such Inquisitional procedures as are necessary and appropriate." Whatever Spell or Skill he'd used carried his soft, authoritative voice to the entire Yard. He finished up with a simple, "This may take a while. Please, be seated."

At that the crowd behind me shuffled, and from the sounds of it they hit the pavers. I stayed in my Parade Rest. Getting my ass to the ground in shackles with one good arm sounded pretty painful, and no fuckin' way would I go to my knees. Guilty, innocent, let me go, kill me, I'm not gonna fucking beg.

Not like it does any damn good anyway.

Headmaster Miles looked directly at me and said, "You may be seated as well, Cadet Diaz."

I tried for as much volume as I could without shouting. "With all due respect, Headmaster, I'd rather remain standing."

He just nodded, but duBois smiled at me. Trease looked like she'd just sucked off a lemon elemental, but that's pretty much her face in neutral anyhow.

"Who will represent the Prosecution in these matters?" Trease shot to her feet like she had rocket propulsion. Well down the table from her, Doc DeLeon stood as well; I had all I could do keeping the hurt of betrayal from my face. The Headmaster looked down the table to Trease and asked "Sister Trease, why would you represent the Prosecution?"

She stared acid at me and replied, "The accused is guilty, and I fully intend to see her pay for her crimes in full."

Headmaster Miles nodded, then turned to Doc DeLeon. "Doctor DeLeon, why would you represent the Prosecution?"

He nodded to the Headmaster, then turned and nodded to me, "With all due respect to Sister Trease," I don't think I've ever heard someone so clearly imply that the due amount of respect was 'none' without ever breaking his formal tones, "while the events in question clearly warrant investigation, trial, and consequence, personal animus has no place in a Court, whether Martial or of Law."

"Well said, Doctor. Would any other represent the Prosecution in these matters?" Nobody stood, but Miles gave it at least a full ten count before continuing. "As loath as I am to say this, despite your good intentions, as your testimonies will be required by the court, so neither of you are eligible to represent the Prosecution in these matters. Hero Velazquez?" He turned to one of the guys seated at the table I didn't recognize specifically, although his face and hair practically screamed 'Puerto Rico'.

Then the guy stood up while rumbling out, "Yes, Headmaster Miles?" and I couldn't help but stare. The dude was like a mountain decided to get up and pretend to be human; well over six feet tall, and I guessed his shoulders might well be as big around as he was tall.

"Again, thank you for rescheduling your ride along for the Senior Cadets today. Will you represent the Prosecution?"

The big guy nodded, picked up a stack of papers from in front of him, ruffling through them quickly before saying, "Yes, of course. I will, Headmaster," before moving around the back of the table toward the chair to my left. With each stride, he scanned another page before carefully moving it to the bottom of the stack. I got the impression he wasn't skimming them, either.

"Let the record show that Hero David Velazquez will represent the Prosecution in these matters." David? This guy was named David? Irony hadn't missed a trick with this dude. Headmaster Miles continued, "Who will represent the Defendant in these matters?" Trease had dropped to her seat and folded her arms when Headmaster Miles dismissed the possibility of her prosecuting me, but Doc DeLeon had remained standing. He still did so after the Headmaster called for a representative for the Defense, and both Doc Roberts and Marshall duBois joined him. "Doctor DeLeon, why would you represent the Defendant?"

DeLeon nodded to the Headmaster, then to me. "In order to see Justice done, the Defendant requires one as capable and knowledgeable in matters of Law as the Prosecution."

Headmaster Miles smiled and replied, "or likely moreso, in your case, Doctor." He turned to duBois and formally asked, "Marshall duBois, why would you represent the Defendant?"

DuBois' voice filled the Yard as it was wont to do, "Losing a Cadet for any reason is a tragedy. Losing one because she did the right thing is not just a tragedy, but a perversion of what Justice ought to be."

Headmaster Miles nodded in acknowledgement of duBois' clear statement in support of me, then turned to Doc Roberts. "Doctor Roberts, why would you represent the Defendant?"

Doc turned to face me, specifically, before answering, "I've known Cadet Tabitha Diaz," they emphasized my first name, like they’d rather have just said that, "since her first week of classes here at Phileo City Heroic Academy. In that time, she has not only displayed at one time or another every quality any sane person could desire in a Hero, she has consistently shown one quality, the lack of which kept me personally from applying to a Heroic Academy. She has Courage such that I doubt she would ever let fear stop her. If she even let it give her pause I would be shocked." They smiled wryly and turned to the Headmaster before finishing up with, "How could I in good conscience not stand for a young woman who reminds me of what I could have been were I a better person?"

Headmaster Miles nodded, then scanned the head table, "Would any other represent the Defendant in these matters?" Nobody else stood for a ten count, so he continued, "As both Doctor DeLeon's and Marshall duBois' testimonies will be required by the court, I must regretfully disqualify both of you from representing the Defendant. Doctor Roberts, will you represent the Defendant?"

"I will, Headmaster." Doc picked up his stack of papers and strode purposefully around the back of the table to the chair to my right. As he settled into the chair, Headmaster Miles opened his mouth to speak. Before he got a word in, the pavers trembled slightly as a voice filled my head, and by the looks on their faces, the heads of everyone else in the Yard.

Objection.

Loki stood in front of Doc, his weight on his left leg, his left arm akimbo. What I could see of him reminded me of someone, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out who. Short blond hair. Short for a guy, maybe even shorter than me. Thin, but neither scrawny nor what I'd normally think of as athletic. That might just be the cut of his suit, one remarkably similar to Headmaster Miles', but in a deep, deep hunter green. When he spoke, the tenor voice that filled the Yard nearly as well as the Marshall's baritone grabbed at the back of my brain, screaming to me that I knew it, but despite everything I couldn't place it.

"You're in my seat."

To his credit, Doc didn't flinch. He looked up and said, "that's for the Headmaster to decide. Why would you represent the Defendant?"

Loki chuckled and quietly said, "Oh, I like you. Remind me to ask you if you're available later." He then turned to the high table, nodded, then turned to face me before answering Doc's question. "Despite the eloquent and deeply appreciated sentiment expressed by your most excellent Doctor of Arcane Shaping, Artificery, and Alchemy, I have far more invested in Cadet Diaz than Doctor Roberts possesses to invest. Should they not prove, in my estimation, to perform their duties as representative of the Defendant not only to my satisfaction, but as well as I could have done myself, I shall wax most wroth with them, even moreso should they fail to convince this Court Martial of her complete innocence of any and all charges brought against her."

Holy shit. I'd never heard someone obliquely threaten an entire court with divine fucking wrath before. Maybe Loki wasn't entirely pissed at me?

Tabitha, were I angry with you, you would be the first to know. Be at peace, your Patron has come for you.

He never blinked while saying that to me, and to his credit Headmaster Miles didn't either when he looked at Loki and said, his soft voice conveying disapproval, "Other than thinly veiled threats to this Court's chosen representative of the Defendant, what reasons or qualifications do you give for this replacement?"

Loki just smiled, not that he'd ever stopped, even when dropping flirtatious threats at Doc. "I am a Trickster God, and my Patriarch is God of Lawyers. Doctor Roberts, for all their qualifications and good intentions, has less qualifications to be a representative than any graduate of Phileo Heroic Academy."

The Headmaster nodded, "What of the Pact?"

"You mean the one of which I'm not a signatory?" Loki asked, laughter bubbling behind his response. "Still, it would not do for me to impugn the honor of Our Tabitha by calling into question the impartiality of the Court, or its ability to resist divine manipulation. As such, I do solemnly swear that I shall not influence the minds or perceptions of any within this Yard with anything save those gifts which might be given to even the least magically endowed mortals; my choice of words, the quality of my arguments, my knowledge of the Law."

At that point everyone heard duBois mutter, "your superhuman Personality."

Loki just took it in stride, even chuckling a bit before continuing, "In addition, as my Pact-bound fellows would normally be required to devote their Champion or a member of their High Clergy to the effort, as well as a divine messenger, I swear my Champion and High Priestess will attend to these deliberations until such time as this Court Martial is dismissed." Every trace of humor left Loki's face in that instant, and the entire Yard filled with so much Mana even I could feel it, see it wobble reality like jello. "I Swear this upon my own Divinity."

The haze snapped away, leaving me focused on the Court, breathlessly awaiting Miles' response. For the moment that focus even distracted me from the agony of my dead limb. Miles looked both ways, scanning the faces of the members of the Court, then returned his gaze to Loki. "You are right about your qualifications, and as Doctor DeLeon said, the Defendant deserves a representative at least as well versed as the Prosecution. So long as Doctor Roberts has no objections?"

Doc smiled, holding their papers out to Loki as he rose, "none at all, Headmaster. Frankly I'm even a touch relieved. Hero Velazquez' reputation in these matters is not one I'd care to test."

Loki took the papers, even giving Doc a half bow as he did. He then turned and dropped into the seat, slouching gracefully in marked contrast to the Prosecution's rigid military demeanor. Headmaster Miles waited for Doc to return to his seat, then addressed the assembly. "If there are no other objections," here he paused for a ten count, "Doctor Roberts, if you would be so kind as to read out the charges?"

Doc nodded, stood back up, swiped Marshall duBois' stack of papers, and waved one hand through a much abbreviated version of what I'd seen the Headmaster do earlier. He checked each page, cleared his throat, and then spoke. "All charges relate to a single series of events on Twenty Seventh Coll of this year. The Defendant is charged with eleven counts of Destruction of Property, three counts of Assault, one count of Assault on a Council Member, one count of Assault with intent to cause Grievous Harm, one count of Attempted Murder, two counts of Disrespect of a Council Member, three Jurisdictional counts of Disrespect of Faculty or Staff, eleven Jurisdictional counts of Destruction of School Property, twenty five Jurisdictional counts of Disrespect of Senior Cadets, and... one Jurisdictional count of Interfering with a Healer's Duties."

Fuckers decided to write a whole new goddamned book just to throw at me. If even half of that shit stuck, I suspected I'd be more fucked than if I'd got double teamed by Saffron and Marie.

Headmaster Miles glanced back and forth between the Prosecution and the Defense. "You both recognize that list of charges as complete?"

The Hero rumbled his agreement, and Loki nodded with a simple, "Yes."

"So be it. Any other charges against Cadet Tabitha Diaz related to the events of Twenty Seventh Coll of this year at Phileo City Heroic Academy are hereby dismissed. Do either of you object to any of the charges?"

The Prosecution's rumble filled the Yard, even as he calmly said, "the charges of Destruction of Property and Jurisdictional Destruction of School Property seem redundant. Prosecution moves to have the Jurisdictional charges dismissed."

"So noted. Any objections, Defense?"

"None at all, Headmaster."

"So be it. All charges of Jurisdictional Destruction of School Property are hereby dismissed. Any further objections?"

Velazquez once again spoke before the ten count ended, "The Assault charge regarding Headmaster Miles is also redundant with the charge of Assault on a Council Member. Prosecution moves to have the Assault charge dismissed."

"So noted. Any objections, Defense?"

"None, Headmaster."

"I have no objections on that score either. So be it. The charge of Assault against the person of Headmaster Miles is hereby dismissed."

"Objection!" shrieked Trease as she leapt from her seat.

Headmaster Miles, Hero Velazquez, and Loki all swiveled their gazes to glare at Trease. Headmaster Miles' soft voice carried untold depths of disapproval. "Sister Trease, your lack of knowledge of Court Martial procedure makes me ever more glad you were disqualified from representing the Prosecution. Return to your seat and remain silent until you are called upon for your testimony."

She dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, shock at the reprimand clear on her features. She muttered something, but far too low to be heard, even by those next to her.

"Any further objections?", Miles asked.

"The charges of Assault, Assault with Intent to cause Grevious Harm, and Attempted Murder, all upon the person of Sister Trease, are redundant. Prosecution moves to have the Assault and Attempted Murder charges dismissed."

"So noted. Any objections, Defense?"

"Yes, Headmaster. I would prefer all three charges remain."

I almost caught myself praying Loki knew what he was doing, then realized who I'd be talking to if I did. He quirked a lip up as he glanced at me, as if to say he'd heard me anyhow.

"Unusual, but so be it. Motion denied. Any further objections?"

Velazquez' bass rumbled out over the courtyard once more. "The charges of Disrespect of a Council Member are redundant with the charges of Jurisdictional Disrespect of Faculty or Staff as regards Hero Potami and Headmaster Miles. Motion to dismiss the charges of Disrespect of a Council Member."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Interesting. So noted. Any objections, Defense?"

Inside my own head, I asked, what the fuck? He's going to drop the big charges?

I heard Loki simultaneously say, "None, Headmaster." at the same time he replied, it's far easier to prove disrespect of Faculty or Staff. Lesser consequences in an objective sense though.

I thought back, Lesser consequences, like 'expulsion'? at the same time Headmaster Miles said, "So be it. The charges of Disrespect of a Council Member are hereby dismissed. Any further objections?"

Be at peace, my devotee. You have made your desire to remain enrolled clear to your Patron.

The Prosecutor rumbled out, "None, Headmaster", and a moment later Loki echoed, "None, Headmaster."

"So be it. The accused's guilt or innocence of all remaining charges will be determined by this Court Martial. As there has been no formal Inquiry as yet, we will begin with an account of the events of Twenty Seventh Coll by the accused. Cadet Diaz, please recount to us, as best as you remember them, the events that occurred on Twenty Seventh Coll of this year."

I tried to stand up a little straighter, and my fucking left arm forced a full body wince before I bore down and forced my spine to straighten properly. "You're referring to the events of Sunday of this past week?"

Headmaster Miles just raised one eyebrow, "Yes, Cadet."

With pain coursing through my hands and left arm, I couldn't think of another stalling tactic. I closed my eyes, literally praying, What do I do?

Tell the story as you remember it.

Won't they be able to use it against me then?

Technically yes, but if you do not speak these things aloud, I cannot use them in your defense. Speak clearly and plainly, and fear nothing so long as you speak truth.

I opened my eyes, took a deep breath, forced my left shoulder to square parallel to the right one, and spoke. "We were in the yard playing Squadball. I think it was the last match before Lunch." Guilt forced my next words out, burning worse than my arm. "I taunted Cadet Lancaster in an attempt to get him to make a poorly advised throw at me. He did so, and I dodged his throw, unaware that... unaware of Cadet Driver's position behind me. Because of my failure to stop Cadet Lancaster's throw, two Squadballs struck him simultaneously, one in each temple. He..." I stuttered to a stop, the pain of guilt merging with the pain from my arm to rob me of speech.

"Are you capable of continuing, Cadet?" Headmaster Miles' quiet, considerate voice pulled me from my pit of guilt, forcing me back to voicing it aloud.

"Yes, Headmaster. Sorry, Headmaster." I focused on my image of Bill in that moment. "He fell, bleeding from both ears, his nose, his eyes, and the perimeter of welts around the points of impact. I applied a Stabilize Spell, followed by an Assess Health Spell. The Assess Health Spell indicated," I stopped, took a deep breath, and plowed forward. "The Assess Health Spell indicated Cadet Driver was dead. I picked up a ball, intending to visit commensurate damage on Cadet Lancaster." A suspiciously Lancaster-sounding gasp came from the crowd behind me, but I kept talking. "Marshall duBois intercepted me and indicated that delivering Cadet Driver's corpse," here I paused for breath again, having forced the word from my mouth. I remembered Bill speaking after Sister Siobhan's spell, but my gut still didn't believe it. "delivering Cadet Driver's corpse to the Infirmary was the objectively superior course of action."

I paused, trying to pierce together what happened after that from my adrenaline clouded memories. I paused after every sentence, trying to put everything in order, trying to remember it right, trying to be honest about all of it, no matter how stupid or guilty it made me look. "I proceeded at my best pace to the Infirmary. I arrived at the Men's Infirmary, where Doctor DeLeon Assessed Cadet Driver's corpse and ordered me to deliver it to Sister Siobhan in the Girl's Infirmary. I proceeded, again at my best pace, to the Ladies' Infirmary. I arrived at the Ladies' Infirmary, where Sister Siobhan Assessed Cadet Driver's corpse and asked if I was willing to bear the cost, to which I answered in the affirmative. Sister Siobhan brought Cadet Driver back to life. I lost the use of my left arm. Sister Trease arrived at the Infirmary and informed me there would be further consequences for my actions. Headmaster Miles arrived at the Infirmary and ordered me to my room, Sister Siobhan overruled him and placed me in an Infirmary bed. Headmaster Miles indicated that there would be an Inquiry today. I indicated I had previous obligations to my Patron. Headmaster Miles indicated that his orders overruled my obligations. My Patron informed me that he chose to forgo overriding the Headmaster."

I stopped, thinking through everything, nodding my head as I thought through it, then finished with, "Then I went to sleep."

I'm not sure what I expected after that, but Headmaster Miles simply stated, amusement clear in his voice, "A very... concise summation of events, Cadet. Thank you." He glanced between the Prosecutor and Loki. "Any questions?"

The Prosecutor rose from his chair, looking at Loki and saying, "Unless you wanted first go?"

Loki smiled and shook his head, "That would most certainly be breaking with tradition. Go ahead."

The Mountain that walked like a Hero took a few steps toward me, until he stood just out of reach, but in easy conversational distance. "Cadet Diaz. Your testimony indicated you applied a Stabilize Spell before an Assess Health spell. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

He looked a little confused, and asked, "Why?"

"I can do Stabilize faster than I can do Assess Health, Sir."

His confusion didn't go away, but he simply said, "If you are capable of doing so, demonstrate both."

I nodded, sighed, then said, "I used to be better with my left, and my right is injured. My Stabilize might not be faster now, Sir." I raised my right hand, ignored my burns, ignored the pain as my fucking useless left arm took not only its own weight, but the weight of both of my shackles, and popped out a Stabilize as fast as I could, while extruding an Assess Health from my right cheekbone.

Hero Velazquez took one long step back, a steel glinting from his left hand, held low to his side. Loki just laughed. Doc cleared his throat, still amplified, and when Headmaster Miles nodded at him, said, "I assure you, as pyrotechnic as her Spells appear, they are no more dangerous than their more mundane counterparts. Well, her Stabilize might be a bit more intense than most, but not actually dangerous, due to the nature of the spell."

The Hero never took his eyes off of me. "Isn't she supposed to be shackled?"

Loki spoke up from the far side of the Court. "You specifically asked her to demonstrate a Spell normally requiring two hands. I find her removal of only one hand and neither foot to demonstrate exceptional restraint, given the circumstances."

"Fine, agreed, but aren't shackles normally supposed to, you know, restrict movement?"

"Divine intervention. A gift of her Patron. Something, something, something, not to be bound, constrained, etcetera."

The Hero just rolled his eyes. "So why is she even shackled in the first place?"

"Because there are forms to be followed, Hero Velazquez. Tabitha, your lack of shackle appears to be disturbing the Prosecution. Correct that."

I nodded, faced the Prosecutor, and said, "I'm sorry, Sir, I needed my hand free for the demonstration." I retracted my Assess Health, grounded my Stabilize in my useless fucking left arm, reached around behind myself, grit my teeth, closed my eyes, and forced my fucking useless left hand to latch the shackle around my right wrist. Water leaked from my eyes, blurring my vision when I opened them, but I looked at the Hero and said, "Is that better, Sir?"

"Yeah," he deadpanned. With a quick shake of his head, he reoriented and said, "let the record show that Cadet Tabitha's Stabilize Spell is, indeed, marginally faster than her Assess Health Spell." After a pause, he continued. "Could you restate your initial intentions upon realizing Cadet Driver was dead?"

I'd expected something like this, and I suspected that anything less than the truth would wind up biting me in the ass worse than the truth. "I intended to kill Cadet Lancaster by inserting Squadballs into his orifices. Sir."

That got more than one gasp from behind me, along with more than a few hastily choked off giggles. To his credit, the Hero didn't even blink. "You intended to Murder Cadet Lancaster?"

"Yes, Sir."

That got raised eyebrows. "And you changed your course of action because of Marshall duBois' convincing oratory?"

I paused, mouth working without words coming out for a moment, before settling on, "He might have ordered me to do something else. I don't really remember specifics. I wasn't thinking clearly, Sir."

"Not thinking clearly, but clearly enough to intend to Murder Cadet Lancaster?"

"He's got a very punchable face, Sir."

That got him. He choked down the laugh, but I saw him do it. I kept my own face as blank as the ongoing pain from my left arm let me. The audience and even a few of the staff seated at the table laughed out loud, and I heard a clear, "Hey!" from Lancaster. When the Prosecutor recovered and the audience went silent, he said, "Let's put a pin in that for the moment. You said you travelled from the Practice Yard to the Men's Infirmary. Why the Men's Infirmary."

I paused a moment, tilting my head in thought. "I suppose I could say it's the closest, but the truth is I got turned around. I wasn't thinking clearly, as I said. Sir."

"Fair enough. The layout is symmetrical, the signage archaic, an easy enough mistake to make, even when clearheaded." I thought he might be making some kind of point to the Headmaster with that, but so long as it didn't cost me anything, he could talk all day about whatever bullshit he wanted. Okay, it cost me more pain from my shackled left arm, but I wasn't sure that would ever go away, so I counted that as a wash. "Did you encounter any obstacles between the Practice Yard and the Men's Infirmary?"

I thought about it. "Um, a couple doors?" An echoing crunch sounded through my head and I remembered. "Oh, yeah. The gender net thing at the entrance to the Men's Dormitory. Sir."

"You didn't think to head for the Ladies' Infirmary at that point?"

"The Men's Infirmary was only a few dozen feet away at most, Sir."

He paused, looked at Loki, then back to me, "You remained clearheaded enough to think that through at the time?"

I shook my head. "No, Sir. But I was too angry to realize what the gender net catching me meant, Sir."

"So you were angry?"

"As I've said, Sir, murderously so. That would be why I wasn't thinking clearly." A bit of a lie; at the time everything was crystal clear; Bill was Dead, I needed to get him to the Infirmary, and something was In My Way. But the Prosecutor just nodded when I appended, "Sir."

"So, upon your arrival in the Men's Infirmary, Doctor DeLeon Assessed Cadet Driver and ordered you to take him to Sister Siobhan in the Ladies' Infirmary?"

"Yes, Sir." I really hoped he wouldn't do a blow-by-blow of every damn thing I'd already said, but it really would wind up being par for the course if he did.

"Did you encounter any obstacles between the Men's Infirmary and the Ladies' Infirmary?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Describe them, in order, Cadet."

I spent a moment thinking things through, then recited. "A crowd in front of the Entrance. The Ladies' Dormitory gender net. Sister Trease. The door to the Ladies' Infirmary. That's all, Sir."

"How did you bypass the crowd at the Entrance?"

"I shouted for them to clear a path. All but one did, and I drove through him, Sir."

"Did you recognize the one who didn't clear a path?"

I shrugged, "Not at the time, Sir."

"When did you recognize him, then?"

I sighed, the motion tearing at my left arm. "When he showed up in the Infirmary with my boot print on his shirt, Sir."

He smiled at that, glancing at the Headmaster without turning his head. "What obstacle did the Filtering Ward at the entrance to the Ladies' Infirmary pose to you?"

"It would not permit Cadet Driver's body passage, Sir."

He nodded, "But it would have permitted you to enter?"

"I believe so, Sir."

"So tell me, Cadet, why didn't you leave Cadet Driver's body behind and retrieve Sister Siobhan?"

I froze, my mouth open. I tried to say half a dozen different things, but none of them made any sense, even to me. I'd been criminally stupid at that point. It took me a minute of stuttering, during which the Prosecutor said, "Cadet?" once or twice, but I managed to sort it out in my head just as he turned away.

"Two reasons, Sir. I'm not sure which motivated my actions more."

He turned back and said, "Go on, Cadet."

"As I've stated before, I wasn't thinking clearly, Sir; I never even thought about bringing Sister Siobhan to Bi... to Cadet Driver's body. But also," I paused, realizing as I said it how corny it sounded, how much I'd arrived with it drilled into my head by ROTC. "You never leave one of your own behind, Sir."

The courtyard went completely silent at that, I have no idea why. The Prosecutor took a moment, then asked, "I'm almost afraid to ask, but how did you bypass the Filtering Ward?"

"Mana Blades, Sir."

He mouthed the words, then looked to Doc. "Mana Blades?"

Doc said, "a Spell of Cadet Diaz' own design, Prosecutor."

The Hero looked back to me, took another deliberate half-step back, and asked, "Can you demonstrate that Spell, Doctor?"

"No, Hero Velazquez, I cannot. I have a firm grasp of the theory, mind you, and am working on replicating it, but the Cadet first demonstrated it to me less than a week ago, and," here they paused, shrugged, and said, "I'm not certain I have the Mana to replicate it in the form she uses, so I'll likely have to refine it substantially to develop a version usable by others."

The Hero looked back at me, and the glint of metal from his left hand reappeared. "Cadet Diaz, can you demonstrate your 'Mana Blades' spell without removing your hands from your shackles?"

I thought about it for a moment. I didn't want to mess up yet another uniform, especially one that Marie had tailored as comfortable and flattering as this one. I shrugged, and forced a Mana blade out of my forehead, thinking, Look, I'm a unicorn! while saying, "Is that good enough, Sir?"

That got a spit-take out of Loki, but the crowd ignored it to stare at the sparking, shining wire of mana sticking out of my forehead. The Prosecutor shifted his left hand and said, "That will be fine, Cadet. Thank you." I pulled the Mana back into myself in time to hear him ask, "how did you use your Mana Blade to disrupt the Filtering Ward?"

"Mana blades, Sir. Many of them. I'm not sure how many. I'm also not sure how they disrupted the Filtering Ward. They tangled in something, and I pulled at it until the Filtering Ward let go of Bill's body. Sir."

"So, your Mana Blades can cut through spells? Can they cut through anything else?"

I shrugged, "I suppose they can, as I said I'm not sure how it worked. I haven't found anything they can't cut through, although I haven't tried them on much, Sir."

His left arm definitely tensed at that. He forced himself to stillness and said, "Out of curiosity, what have you tested them on?"

I just rattled things off as I thought of them. "Uh... Bread? Yeah, a couple loaves of bread, some wood. I kinda tried to cut my fingers off this morning. Didn't cut them, but they didn't stop the blades, either. Burned the fuck out of my fingers. Sir." As he opened his mouth to say something, I remembered and blurted out, "Oh! Right! I cut through a piece of Cold Iron with them. Took a shi," With a start, I remembered where I was. "Sorry, Sir. The Cold Iron took far more Mana than the blades normally do, Sir. And my fingers suffered, uh, second degree burns, I think. I didn't see any charring, but I lost a layer of skin to blistering. Sir."

He looked like he either wanted to apply some precautionary maiming to my person or run the fuck away, but he just shook his head and said, "Cold Iron. You're sure?"

I shrugged again. "I'm sure I cut through some metal. Headmaster Miles identified the metal as Cold Iron. The bits I cut off are on my personal shrine in my room, if you need them. Same with the wood. Sir."

"Right. That might be needed later, but for now, did you recognize Sister Trease upon seeing her in the hallway?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Did you ask her to move?"

"I'd been screaming 'Make a hole, coming through' all the way from the Entrance to the entry to the Dormitory, Sir. I figured at that point that she'd heard it."

"Did she move?"

"Sort of the opposite, Sir. She seemed to be deliberately obstructing my passage."

He nodded and said, "And how did you respond to her actions?"

"I followed orders and got Bill to the Infirmary, Sir."

"I see. Could you be more specific?"

"I treated her as a deliberately hostile force, disabled her to prevent further obstruction, and moved past her as quickly as possible, Sir."

"Disabled her how, exactly?"

I sighed, bowing my head, then raised my head and looked straight at Trease. "I kicked her in the gut, then used her shoulder as a springboard as she fell."

That nearly got her to say something, especially with me staring at her, but she managed to keep her swearing silent somehow. The Hero asked me, "One final question; you claim you lost use of your left arm, yet I saw you using it to reshackle yourself. Explain?"

"My left arm, from the shoulder down, is in constant pain. If I put any weight on it or attempt to use it in any way, the pain intensifies. Mana no longer flows naturally through my left arm, and forcing Mana through my left arm causes debilitating pain."

He just nodded. "Thank you, Cadet." He turned to Loki. "Your witness."

They traded positions, Hero Velazquez returning to his seat and Loki coming to stand within an arm's length of me.

Excellent work, Tabitha. Just a few more questions, and you'll be able to rest and observe for a while.

"Cadet Diaz, when you first realized Cadet Driver was dead, who did you blame for his death?"

"Cadet Lancaster."

No Sir for your Patron? sounded inside my head, while aloud he asked, "was that your motive when you intended to murder him?"

You're not an Officer, just a God, I snarked while saying, "Yes."

Ouch. "Do you still blame Cadet Lancaster for Cadet Driver's death?"

"No."

"Who do you now blame for Cadet Driver's Death."

"Myself."

He nodded, then asked, "At any point during your passage from Yard to Infirmary to Infirmary, did you intend disrespect toward anyone?"

"No."

"Even Sister Trease?"

I shrugged. He'd told me to tell the truth. "That's more habitual than intentional."

That nearly got her. Dammit. A couple snickers sounded behind me, Loki covering for them by asking, "Did you even think disrespectful thoughts toward anyone?"

I thought about it. Another shrug. "I thought the one guy out of twenty seven who didn't get the message when I screamed 'make a fucking hole' was really fucking dumb. Is that disrespectful?"

Hero Velazquez choked on his own spit trying not to laugh at that, but the audience went deathly silent. I risked a momentary glance away from Loki to Headmaster Miles. My gut clenched, not because he looked angry though. He just smiled that same serene smile I'd rarely seen him without. To hell with knives and money and magic. That kind of self-control scared the living crap out of me, and Headmaster Miles managed it without creepy sociopath Smith's creepy sociopath vibes.

Loki just let out a smooth chuckle, then asked, "Did you, at any point, intentionally waste either Doctor DeLeon or Sister Siobhan's time?"

"No."

He nodded, then said, "just a few more questions, I think. Did you understand the cost Sister Siobhan was asking of you before she Revived Cadet Driver?"

"No. Didn't fucking care, either."

He hummed at that. "Do you understand the cost she was asking of you now?"

I thought about it, and the image of a page I'd read a month or so ago popped out in front of my mind's eye, clear as day. "Yes."

"How?"

"I just remembered a passage from 'Law and Custom of Heroic, Phileo City Edition'. She used the ritual words asked of a human sacrifice before they're sacrificed."

"Would you have answered the same way had you understood what she was asking of you?"

"Objection!" Hero Velazquez' voice rolled across the Yard. "Speculation."

Loki turned to Headmaster Miles, inclining his torso just enough to be considered a bow, maybe, if you looked at it just right. "Headmaster, I ask you to allow Tabitha to answer this question, as it not only potentially speaks to her intent at the time, but also speaks to her general character."

Miles pondered a moment, then said, "With that stipulation, I'll allow it. Objection overruled."

"So, Tabitha, would you have given your life for Cadet Driver's?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

I struggled for an endless moment, trying to figure out why what I'd said was true. I knew it was, but it took me a bit to sort out why, because it wasn't why so much as 'whys'. "My fault. My friend." I paused, daring anyone in the Yard or any fucking where else to contradict the last reason as I spat it out. "You don't leave one of your own behind."

Loki didn't skip a beat. "Would you still give your life for his?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, probably."

"Even knowing your Patron objects to such a sacrifice, not in general, but from you specifically?"

I looked him straight in the eye. At that point in time, no one else, anywhere, mattered one fucking bit. "If you object to me taking responsibility for my actions, expect me to abandon my friends, or to leave one of my own behind? You can get fucked."

"You would renounce your Patron for your honor, for your friends, for your boon companions?"

I shook my head, smiling a lopsided grin at him. "Nah. No point. Wasted effort. If he's worth my time, I don't need to, and If he's not worth shit he'll disavow me."

Careful, Tabitha.

Why? You doubting whether you're worth shit?

He smiled at me, genuine humor masking something deeper, darker, and simultaneously far more and far less frightening. Of course not. I know my worth. But it's best if my wife doesn't catch you flirting with me.

"No further questions, Headmaster."

Headmaster Miles nodded, then his soft, serene, implacable voice filled the Yard once more. "Next, we will call additional witnesses to the events. Marshall duBois, Hero Potami, Doctor DeLeon, Sister Siobhan, Sister Trease, all Cadets involved in the events yesterday, make ready to give your dispositions.

I tried to stretch my shoulders, only for my entire left arm to explode into burning, tearing pain that left sparkles across my vision. I sighed and bullied myself back into an acceptable Parade Rest. This trial looked like it was gonna take fucking forever.