Trial
The trial between the Hellworlders and the Aunviry took place in a massive octagonal room. The walls were made of fine gilded marble, and the ceiling was capped with a massive crystal dome that reflected the light of the nearby white dwarf in impressive rainbows of color across the whole room, lighting every dark corner without a single wat of electricity. Centered on each of the eight colossal walls was a mural made of fine woven gold, silver, platinum, and copper, wires depicting important events in the Confederacy’s long history. Scenes of epic space battles and the signing of very important looking documents. And one wall was completely taken up with the stylized profile of a Zxx’thi male dressed in fine looking clothes.
Alwen watched as the massive galleries filled with strange and monstrous looking aliens. Some were species she recognized and had grown used to seeing on Union stations, others were of species she didn’t recognize at all. They were all so many different colors, shapes, sizes, that she couldn’t even place all the species present. The aliens who took to wearing clothes were dressed as finely as they could afford, those with the most expensive looking clothes and jewelry were seated closest to the bottom and had the best view of the trial floor.
Alwen had been surprised to learn that a bunch of thieving and murderous pirates had come together to form a sovereign government in the depths of space, one with a codified set of laws, a national defense force, and a thriving economy that actively influenced the rest of the galaxy. She was even more surprised by how seriously they took their laws and trials. The rest of the station was run down and shabby, but here in the political center of the Confederacy she saw all the wealth a millennia of piracy and smuggling had earned. Her own home worlds capital felt poor when compared to what she saw before her.
The Hellworlders were seated on the left side of the courtrooms main floor, with all the Archdevil captains and their host of ghoulish looking lawyers seated in appropriately sized chairs. The fully armored marines and Alwen sat behind them in the bottom rows of the elevated viewing galleries, all nervously shuffling about as the tension in the room amped up by the minute. Neither the Aunviry nor the Councilmen had arrived yet.
Alwen leaned over to Gato “Is it just me, or is this place way too fancy when compared to the rest of the station?”
“The capitals core is where the King and the council men spend most of their time, of course its nicer. Rumor has it though that the rest of the station used to be much cleaner than now. Supposedly the early kings had tried to make this place into a proper capital, with apartments, shops, and manufacturing. But after several hundred years of corruption and greed there isn’t any evidence of those brighter days left, none besides this place at least.” He grumbled absentmindedly. He seemed nervous about the upcoming trial.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked in whisper so that the others wouldn’t hear her.
“Nothing, I’m fine” He growled back under his breath.
“You have your tail is straight as a pipe, and you haven’t lifted your hand off your gun once. Do you really expect me to believe you’re not nervous about something?” Alwen chided.
Gato glared toward her “Sometimes I wish you weren’t so danm perceptive.” He huffed out a large sigh “this room brings back bad memories. I used to fight for peoples amusement in arena’s much like this.”
“In this room?”
“No, not here. Though I heard a rumor that this place used to be a sort of gladiatorial arena. Back before I joined the ship I was a pit fighter, doing what I had to survive. I don’t like thinking about those days, and this room is bringing back bad memories.
That explained a thing or two, over the months they had been working with each other he had hinted that life on Earth wasn’t very kind to him. And now she understood why. Torwen used to have an issue with illegal fighting rings popping up in poorer neighborhoods, pit boss’s would lure in poor and desperate men with the promise of big payouts if they won. They would lure in strong and healthy men and spit them out as broken scarred husks of who they once were, all for a pittance worth of money.
It had been a widespread issue until the temple of Ashendra launched extensive social welfare programs that brought aid to those impoverished neighborhoods and deprived those pit bosses of willing fighters.
If Gato had been another poor soul who had to fight in a ring on a daily basis just to put food on the table then that would explain a great deal about his gruff personality. Compared to what he was doing before piracy must be a whole lot easier.
“Ah, I see what you mean. This room does look a lot like a colosseum” she said in understanding.
He glanced at her side long before his gaze softened a bit. “Yeah, and this place is about to become packed with all our worst enemies, and we don’t even know how the trial might go-“
“-And it’s a perfect cocktail for stress” She finished for him.
“Yeah, I’ll be better once we get actually start fighting. Combat always calms my nerves and clears my head”
“Funny, usually it’s the other way around” she chuckled.
“Maybe with some, but fighting is the one thing I know how to do best. When I’m in the heat of it I feel like I’m sinking into my own skin, like I’m fully present and disconnected at the same time.” He said softly.
Alwen nodded “I get the same feeling whenever I have to operate. The ship could be I the middle of combat, being shook with enemy fire, with a man bleeding out on the table, and I feel nothing but serenity. Like this is what I was made to do.”
They both passed the rest of the time in silent contemplation until the Aunviry marauders arrived. Gato had temporarily relaxed his stance and was starting to look comfortable until they arrived, the moment a horde of Egh’ahds had waddled through the massive doorway on the other side of the rotunda he tensed up again and fixed his deadly glare on the leader of the Egh’ahds, Ah’ared.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Alwen also fixed her gaze on the crowned Egh’ahd and gritted her teeth as she thought about Wraith and Sean. If this creature hadn’t attacked them, then they would still be alive. And Alwen would have never had to kill.
“Where’s the big one” Gato muttered darkly.
She had heard the Terrans describe the leader of the Aunviry as an eldritch monster born of nightmares and darkness. 8-9 meters tall, with dark slimy green skin, a bulbous head with hundreds of writhing tentacles, and three different mouths filled with jagged broken glass like teeth. She had been looking forward to seeing if they lived up to all the horror stories Alwen had heard.
“Maybe he didn’t think this was worth his time?” she said hopefully. They would have enough trouble dealing with the horde of Egh’ahds, she didn’t want to contend with a massive alien monster as well.
Gato growled in the back of his throat, a unique Feliniod form of assent “You might be right. But our plan depends on him showing up here, otherwise my men and I are in the wrong place.”
Alwen nodded, the archdevil captains didn’t share the exact details of what they had planned, but Astarte had promised that they would have Kazlum’s head. That was enough for Alwen to know that they had something devastating up there sleeve.
The whole gallery had filled with murmurs and chatter as the forces of the Aunviry entered the room. Alwen did a quick head count and gasped in shock when she reached three hundred and had lost count of all the reptilian aliens pouring in.
“They brought an army!” she gasped.
“Yeah, still wont be enough to challenge us. They got the jump on us the last time around, they won’t be so lucky this time.”
She felt her pulse begin to quicken, and her vision started to go dim, as she began to feel anxious But them she let her hand dip to the Bora at her hip, and felt reassured by its presence.
Gato watched her cautiously and gave her a small smile, it looked like he wanted to say something, but he was cut off by the cataclysmic thudding of enormous feet as five massive figures entered the room. They had to stoop down low avoid bashing their massive heads on the ceiling, but as they exited the tunnel they stood straight, and the crowds of pirates went quiet.
Alwen gasped at the horrendous monstrosity before her. The Terrans hadn’t been lying when they descried how awful the Aunviry were; if anything they had dangerously undersold the monsters before her. She felt her pulse quicken again, and knew that no amount of charms or casual banter with Gato would calm her down.
~~~*~~~
Astarte had to tilt her head up to look Kazlum in the eye across the courtroom floor and bit back her revulsion at his form. He was much larger and more muscled than the other four Aunviry standing behind him. He in turn, tilted his head down to fix his bowling ball sized eyes down on her.
“Astarte” he rasped; his voice was like the scrape of metal blades against glass. The aliens gathered in the galleries of the supreme courtroom shudder and tried to cover their ears in pain. She knew that the Aunviry could mimic a much less disturbing from of speech with those three vertical maws of their, Kazlum however aways chose to use a voice that was the most disturbing and painful to everyone around him as a form of dominance. Aster held her back ramrod straight and refused to let any reaction other than cold contempt show on her face. “Must we continue with this farce, you have no hope of winning this fight.” he said, ignoring the cowering throngs of non-deathworlder pirates around him.
There were other captains around her who had also fixed their hateful glares on Kazlum, but for some reason she was the only person Kazlum seemed to care about. “Your little pet Ah’ared has insulted me gravely; I will settle for nothing less than your complete destruction.”
“What if I offer you his head as recompense, what if I exterminate every Egh’ahd on this station? Would that appease you?”
Aster was confused by his line of questioning, was he trying to buy peace by throwing Ah’ared to the wolves? What would that get him? Kazlum despite his fierce appearance was a cunning and tricky manipulator, why would he try so hard to make peace with her? “What are you getting at?” she growled.
Kazlum chuckled, each of his mouths laughing at a different cadence making it seem like many people were laughing at once “I had thought the Egh’ahds would prove more useful, but they have disappointed me. One way or another I plan to eliminate them from my clan. But once they are gone I will need to fill their place with far more capable fodder” he said leadingly.
“So you wish to make me and my crew your new pets?” Aster said icily, her voice dripping with disdain.
“Would it be so bad? With your skill and my armadas you could make entire planets bow before you. I know you are ambitious; I know you are greedy, and I know you are too prideful to ever bow before the Union.”
“So you would have me bow to you instead?”
“We all must play servants to higher powers little girl, at least with me you will be strong. Otherwise I will have no choice but to crush you” he growled.
Aster laughed “All is not lost, the unconquerable will, and study of revenge, immortal hate, and the courage never to submit or yield.” She said quoting Milton like it was holy scripture. “We will never yield, not to you, not to the Union, and not even to the gods.”
The writhing tentacles dangling from Kazlum’s head twitched. “So be it” he rasped before turning his back on her.
She exchanged glances with her fellow captains, they conveyed their approval silently while also picking up on her suspicions. Kazlum wouldn’t extend an olive branch like this unless he had something devastating up his sleeve.
A massive bell began its brassy call, each time it rang a council man emerged from their chambers and sat on their upraised throne that overlooked the stadium like courtroom. But even from the height of their thrones they were dwarfed by Kazlum and his fellow Aunviry. The bell pealed nine times as nine councilors entered the room.
Everyone had focused on the nine councilors when the bell pealed for a tenth time and the massive doors that sat in the center of the room swung inward and the Grand Chancellor walked through with a procession of guards and advisors following behind him.
“ALL RISE!” a human man standing on X’thars left roared. Astarte and her comrades had already been standing, but the rest of the massive octagonal room filled with the sounds of hundreds of creatures rising from their seats in honor of the King’s arrival.
“Bow!” the same man roared.
Thousands of feared and wicked pirates performed whatever version of a bow that best fit their species physiology. Astarte’s fellow captains hesitated and glanced towards her; Aster felt disgust roil within her as she bowed stiffly towards King X’thar. She didn’t feel like paying any respect to a lazy and corrupt tyrant like him, but they needed his support for now. When this whole stupid trial was over she would have figure out a way to either eliminate or subvert the King’s power. She had no desire to be the Queen of the pirates, stealing his position would wrap her and her crew to tightly to the politics of the Confederacy and that would only hinder her goals. But at the same time she refused to ever submit to anyone like X’thar.
“Rise” King X’thar ordered to the subjugated pirates before her. As Aster rose she noted that Kazlum had not even bothered to incline his head, she also noticed that X’thar had also seen Kazlum’s disrespect. The elderly King pulled back his lips in an aggressive snarl “Kazlum, do you dare disrespect me!” he growled.
“Why should I bow before something lesser than me?” Kazlum asked boredly as if the creature before him was just an ant, rather than the outrageously wealthy king of the pirates.
Aster watched as the thick veins along X’thar’s neck began to beat faster as his anger grew. “I see, how fitting.” He said softly, he eyes slowly drifted over to Astarte and then back to Kazlum. “The trial regarding the dispute between the Hellworlder fleet and the Aunviry Marauders has been canceled in the light of a greater concern. The Hellworlders are hereby dismissed and will return to the viewing galleries.” The King ordered imperiously. The Archdevil captains and their lawyers rose and exited the court through the same door they had entered through.
As they entered the hall a marine promptly stepped forward and handed Tenken and a rifle over to Astarte while the other captains began to rush through to station back to their ships. They would command their ships when shit hit the fan while Aster would remain here to hunt and kill Kazlum. Modius shot her one last glance, and Aster nodded firmly to assuage his fear.
Aster and the Marine promptly entered the viewing gallery and rushed to the place where her other Marines were stationed, some had already formed a defensive front, facing were the Egh’ahds had seated themselves. Aster worked her way through the ranks of armored Terrans until she emerged next to Gato and Alwen.
Gato glanced to her and inclined his head respectfully before returning his attention to the trial before them.
The murmurs and scattered chatter silenced as the king held up his arms to reign in the court. All eyes were on the elderly and flail looking king as he began to speak once more “It has come to my attention that Kazlum and his marauders have been planning treason against the Confederacy and have been conspiring with the Kruhur to overthrow the Confederacy.”