“Ahem.” The judge cleared his throat as he stood at the edge of the iron village held up by massive wooden platforms, glancing behind him the elderly man saw the drop that awaited the accused. ”Before the court of Masters, bring forth the next accused.” It had been quite the slow day for the monthly court, only three accused and the last two were both cleared with minimal punishment.

(“But this next one…”) the Judge thought as he brought up the holographic screen, glancing through it he saw the young child being forced to kneel by two guards before the iron platform. Up above them four Masters stared down at him in disgust, the higher ups of society, the leaders of their people.

They looked down upon the dirty, rag wearing servant that was Jayce. Tall at the age of fourteen Jayce was a lanky child with black dyed hair hiding his crimson, light brown eyes and a long scar across his right cheek. He seemed terrified whilst staring down at his own handcuffed hands, shaking even as he lay there surrounded by dark glares.

“Judge Rodgers, continue.” One Master called down from their pedestal, an old fat woman with greying short brown hair and green eyes.

“Y-Yes Master Evans…” the Judge glanced up at the Masters then settled to staring down the child (“So young…how…”) he thought before reading out loud what he had just read on the child’s accusation document “On the count of thievery…” he began slowly before quickly raising his voice “Soliciting illegal parts, Illegal manufacturing of weaponry,…On the black-mark count of first degree murder of a commanding Officer and hiding said count for several years. Cleaner servant Jayce, how do you plea?”

The Judge, Masters and hundreds of citizens crowding around the platform at the village’s edge all stared down at the child, as he trembled, as he poured sweat and paled.

Jayce was innocent, he knew as much at least…”I-In-Innoc-” he tried to say.

But was cut off as a young man wearing full guard exo-armour stepped out from the crowd “Innocent? Are you kidding me? Pardon my intrusion Masters but I wish to speak.” The man was tall with short blonde hair and silver eyes.

The Judge glanced up at the four Masters “If the Masters allow, Commander Henry Troy has previously expressed his wish to give his count on the accused’s story.”

The four Masters didn’t even speak to one another as a different one spoke “He may.” Said a short man with dyed blue hair and beard, a green visor covering his eyes.

Judge Rodgers turned to speak but Henry cut him off too as he began his telling, stepping to stand next to Jayce “As many of you know three years ago my predecessor Commander Jean Teller was found dead presumably through an unauthorized raycast weapon discharge. The weapon was never found, the ray’s output was not on legal level so it was deduced that the weapon used was home-made or black-market acquired.”

Henry pointed down his armoured finger at Jayce “This…’Child’ has been working at the barracks for years. True one would think he’d grow loyal but it seems that growing bitter is not so an impossible chance. He knows the barracks and surrounding local in and out, he knows the shifts, he knows the patrol positions, he knows the servant paths and he also knows the Commander’s timetable.”

(“Like I had a choice…”) Jayce thought.

As Henry spoke Jayce’s shoulders slumped lower with each word, his expression darkening further “To add upon that…” Henry continued to speak “The accused is a known petty thief within the kitchens”

(“A guy’s gotta eat…)

“a trash rummager”

(“…I have no excuses for that…I needed those parts!”)

“and as a trusted servant has had his hands about cleaning guard equipment. That includes weaponry, alone, with no supervision other than the first few months.” Henry glanced around the crowd, seeing their glares, hearing their murmuring “The accused recently has approached Tinkerer Kylin with a home-made invention. This is when he was caught.”

Jayce’s shaking doubled in intensity (“But…I…”)

Henry turned to the Judge “Might you call Kylin over?” he politely asked.

(“Well fuck.”)

Rodgers nodded then glanced down at the thin pen like object in his hand through which the holographic screen was being produced. He pushed a couple buttons and off one end another ray of light was produced, forming the hologram of a tall elderly man wearing a labcoat.

Henry turned to the hologram “Tinkerer, what is your say of the…’invention’ ?”

Kylin seemed anxious, his hands fidgeting with something as he sat behind a desk full of parts and tools “Ah..Y-yes.” He reached off screen and pulled back a small pistol with a short metal barrel and long leather bound handle “T-this…” he began staring down at the weapon.

“Tinkerer?” Henry prodded.

“Ah! T-This is the weapon in q-question!” Kylin exclaimed, his eyes rising to stare at Henry wide open.

Henry coughed “And?...”

“Hm? Oh, right.” Kylin raised the weapon forward “I-It has been definitely made with make-shift part replacements, the energy unit was made to be one-use and the chipset is a tad too close to the barrel…supposing it was fired…the shot would burn away the chip destroying any recorded history of…well all recorded information would be physically wiped.”

(“That’s just how I found it!”) Jayce wanted to shout but couldn’t find the courage to (“I-I…I just replaced what was broken!”)

Henry made a gesture for him to continue.

Kylin had begun staring down at the pistol again but noticing Henry’s hand movements he snapped back to reality “A-and from m-my deductions…the output ray would not only not be on legal levels but also similar if not the same as the ray levels of the supposed weapon used in C-Commander Jean’s murder…” he cleared his throat, ending his statement.

At this point Jayce looked up and stared at Kylin’s projection dumbfounded (“It is?...”)

“All I hear is supposedly, theoretically and similarity.” Sighed one Master, a young bald man with a long blonde moustache and brown eyes “Where are the facts? What do we know for sure? You bring me a fucking child and tell me he hand-built a deadly high-tech weapon with trash and close to zero-income then tell me he used it to murder the late Commander Jean?”.

Jayce glanced over at the Master, brief relief coming to him before quickly being taken away.

“But the facts are clear, Master Jonathon.” responded Henry “He was found with the weapon, which he states he made.”

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(“I lied! I didn’t make it! I…Fuck!”) Jayce continued his inner monologue, his emotions a chaotic mix of frustration, confusion and fear.

”He has the background to make it happen, he had the weapon…All that is missing is the why.” He gestured down at the now still Jayce “Bitterness takes a long way, Masters. Commander Jean had constantly shut down the child’s wishful thinking and blatant disrespect. Suggesting he could be of better use as a Tinkerer at the age of eleven…Although thinking back.”

Henry smirked as he glanced at Kylin’s projection “Maybe he could have been, as morbid a thought as it might be.” Quickly turning back to the Masters he continued “But what is done is done, can we forgive murder with potential?”

Jayce’s mind went blank, could they?

The fourth Master now spoke, directly to Kylin “Tinkerer, has the weapon been proven to be built by the accused? The child simply stating so cannot possibly be enough.” She was young, within her early twenties and an incredible beauty with short wrinkly black hair and bright green eyes.

“We’ve t-tested the weapon in many ways Master Zyra…” Kylin immediately responded “DNA, finger printing, replacement parts’ market codes…they all come out as positive and point directly at either the barracks or specifically the ch-accused. His was the only DNA found on the weapon, h-his were the only finger prints…the market codes found on a small amount of the parts also point at scavenging from trashed weaponry within the barracks.”

Jayce lowered his gaze down to the dirty wooden ground, he didn’t know if to have hope on the holes within their evidence or give up. As he knew they were trying very hard to accuse him of something he himself knew he didn’t do.

But as he glanced up, all the sound was blocked out. Jayce looked around, at the disgusted faces of the Masters, the anxious face of the head Tinkerer. He glanced about, seeing the relieved face of the current guard Commander.

He also saw many of the citizens around them. Servants he worked and lived with, wolfish grins plastered on their face. Guards he attended to, disappointment pointed directly at him. And others, the storekeepers he would procure things from, the workers he would pass by every morning, the miners he’d salute off every month’s change of shift.

He knew then, no matter what he said that they’d all already bought into it. No matter what he said, who would believe a lowly servant over the Guard Commander backed by a head Tinkerer?

“Accused, stand.” Said Judge Rodgers but seeing that the child was staring off in shock he signalled the guards around him, the two men roughly forced Jayce to his feet.

He stared off at the edge, his vision seemingly blurring from the sweat and panic.

“How do you respond?” Rodgers asked.

Jayce looked up and at the Judge, it was only procedure to ask the accused for a response before a decision was made. It was only procedure, as Jayce saw in all their faces, everything was already said and done.

He was innocent.

But to them? He was already guilty.

This brought him relief somewhat, it was a strange feeling though. The weight of the moment seemed to drain away from his body, the shock dissipating entirely alongside the anxiousness. It was all already said and done, he couldn’t think of any rebuttal and the decision might as well have already been made.

It didn’t matter anymore, so what possibly could he say?

“Jayce?” Rodgers asked once more with a raised bushy brow, feeling awkward as the child stared at him with hollow eyes.

But he wouldn’t go out like this (“Hah…Well that’s just proper ain’t it?”) no Jayce wouldn’t go down quietly.

“It seems the accused has nothing to s-” Henry began to say but was cut off…as Jayce’s laughter washed over all of them.

It was a cold dreadful laugh, almost a cackle as his teeth clattered. With his body bent forward, held up by the two guards he rocked back and forth along with the laughter. “Oh I’ve got something to say.” Jayce said in a low tone yet sounding like a hiss. It was heard by everyone through the silence that had befallen the area.

Jayce giggled madly as he looked up and briefly stared at the Masters with a grimace “Screw you.” He said with as much malevolence as he could muster into his voice before turning to Henry “Screw you too.” Then to the crowd “Screw you all!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Jayce pulled away from the guards, getting out of their grip as he shocked them with his outburst. And he ran, not at the Masters, not at Henry or at the crowd. Jayce ran towards the edge, as his feet stomped down on the ledge he leaned forward “You can all go to hell!” he shouted, before leaping off.

“He’s gone mad!” Jayce heard one guard say as gravity did what gravity did, but alas Jayce was far from mad.

He had just accepted the situation, and decided to make the best of it. For if they had thrown him off themselves…well he couldn’t have gotten enough forward thrust. Jayce was a lanky boy, tall but very thin.

He had been kept in a cell for days, all alone. With little food and drink per day, given at least a change of clothing to survive the cold. Jayce was just a servant, but a damn smart one. As he opened his arms wide, the handcuffs coming off as if they hadn’t even been locked in the first place. Jayce didn’t fall, he glided.

Using what leather and cloth his old clothes had to offer, he used the utensils given to him to eat with to knit them into his new pair and hide it all under the ragged coat they had also given him. Between his arms and torso, feet and legs then lastly between both legs Jayce had given himself wings of sorts.

He made himself a glide suit.

They all watched dumbfounded, as the young boy glided off into the distance and further away from the village built high up over the oasis below. As he chuckled, which then slowly turned into horror as he realised one small mistake of his.

(“How do I…turn?”) Jayce thought and his laughter ended, glancing back he noticed he was getting further and further away. He’d planned to land at the village’s bottom then sneak into an elevator…but now the wooden exo-skeleton hidden beneath his clothing was set and solid. He couldn’t move his arms or legs, barely his feet either.

If he broke it, he’d fall. All he could do, was stare off at the large platforms of wood and iron as they got further and further behind him. Then look downwards, as the tall trees beneath him got closer and closer. And lastly forwards, to see the seemingly infinite barren desert that lay before him.

(“What…now?”) he thought, trying to figure a way out of his predicament before it got even worse. Seeing his angle of descent Jayce figured he’d crash into a tree before long, which brought him slight relief. (“As long as it’s not the sand…This is salvageable!”) he told himself.

“No! No! Fuck! No!” He then swore, as a gust of wind blew beneath him. Jayce ascended with the winds, gliding forward further than he thought possible…right over the oasis’s edge and over the desert.

His entire complexion paled severely as he stared down at the sand flowing below him, as he flew even further off. Further than anybody known to him had ever gotten from the village. Jayce’s breathing was panicked as he glided over the barren land below him, as it quickly turned to deep sand and then to dunes.

(“This…can’t be happening.”)  Jayce thought in disbelief, as the sand below him shifted.

He acted quickly, putting all his weight on one side to turn ever so slightly just as the dunes beneath him exploded upwards “Fuuucccckkk!!” Jayce swore, as the massive machine of blades burst out of the sand and up towards him.

The thing was massive, like a gigantic worm made of iron with spinning blades covering its entire body. And its maw…blazing crimson as flames gushed through the razor fangs that spun around and out towards Jayce.

Jayce’s eyes widened to their fullest, as the goliath of metal ascended towards him. Breathing fire into his path. His slight turn gave him a different momentum than before though, and the flame’s heat along with the beast’s release of air pushed Jayce away.

He flew out of control, one wing on fire as he spun and spun. The world spun before him, causing Jayce to grow queasy. Until it abruptly stopped spinning as he crashed into the dunes, stumbling down one’s side in a cloud of sand and smoke.

Jayce coughed out sand as he pulled himself together and tried to stand, having finally come to a stop at the dune’s bottom. He hurriedly broke off the wooden exo-skeleton he’d made out of his cell bed’s parts, tore off the cloth and leather wings…Then ran, Jayce ran for his dear life as the goliath of metal screeched then turned down towards him.

Flames gushing out of its circular maw, blades slashing the air itself as they spun around its body. The giant worm of iron blacked out the sky above Jayce as he ran, stumbled and climbed up the dune. Glancing up he watched as it fell down towards him. In that brief moment Jayce saw his entire life flash before him, his short, full of shit, horrible life.

He stared death straight in the face, as it ever so slowly yet inescapably fell towards him…then he felt it. Jayce felt the sand turn beneath him. He didn’t know what it was, he couldn’t explain it fully but something inside him screamed. A part of Jayce roared out as he shouted as well “I don’t wanna die!”

Jayce threw himself down the dune with every bit of strength his scrawny body had. As he stumbled down, the sand beneath him rose and parted. From beneath Jayce a second worm burst out, throwing him aside.

As the sand flew over him, the last thing Jayce saw was the two goliaths clash mid-air. One’s bladed side colliding with the other’s maw, the maw being shredded as it melted through the other’s body.

Then the sand covered him, burying him beneath who knows how many inches of desert. Jayce then felt a shudder go through his entire body, as the sand all around him quaked once…then twice…and then fell silent.