BORN OF HEROES

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 25
 

  Repairs took less than the fourteen hours that Elias had informed his superior of. The Guiding Angel was back in hard vacuum and speeding towards Dennier in seven, and Elias had already informed the crew of the reason for the return. Apart from Cerise and Elias, the only other one that it seemed would really need to testify to the seriousness of the vixen’s condition before treatment was Lemuel Anders. He had already transmitted copies of his records on the sorry event to Sander Brees office, and the findings by the doctors on Pomen.

  It was unlikely that the crew would need to testify, but they would also attend as one never knew who the quorum would call upon to serve witness. Everyone stood around the front antechamber of the courtroom, each one dressed in semiprofessional attire. Uniforms were out of the question as Elias, Cerise and the others were still under strict orders to maintain a low profile and the section of the Citadel, the Dennieran court in the heart of Grandstorm, was off limits to the public and justice officials alike just in case. They stood with Rovi and Sharan just to the left of the heavy wooden door with the rest of the crew a short distance from them, save Pala. It was almost impossible for the two foxes to get any real distance from their self-appointed guardian, fortunately her nature was concealed with a tasteful hooded cloak in a muted slate-blue that, while not common, wasn’t too out of place in a city that saw so much interstellar traffic.

  While their initial reunion had been brief and tense due to the circumstances, the small family group took comfort and strength in each other’s presence. Elias was able to steal a moment with Rovi as Cerise and Sharan conversed quietly for a few moments.

  “How sure is Sandy about this?” the fox asked his father-in-law.

  The black male shook his head. “Very. He compared the poison that was in Cerise’s blood with the samples that were retrieved from Marin’s fur. It’s a complete match. One hundred percent. Once he was confronted with the evidence, Marin confessed. All of this is merely a formality. What worries me is if he did this on his own or if Keena had anything to do with it.”

  “No. I don’t think so. Keena might be a player, but I don’t think this is something that she would condone. Attempted murder is just a little extreme for a case of sibling rivalry,” Elias said with a low growl to his voice.

  “That may be so. I don’t have a very good feeling about any of this, though.” The other fox had aged visibly since Elias had last seen him, and the fox could tell that the situation with Keena was causing his wife’s father no end of sorrow and pain. “Do you hate Keena for any of the things she did, Elias?”

  The white furred fox was silent for several moments and adjusted the uncomfortably tight collar on his shirt. “No. I don’t hate her. I’m still a bit miffed, but I don’t hate her.”

  Before Rovi could respond a large mastiff in Spatial Police Force dress regalia opened the door to the courtroom. While the uniform was dressy and the creases sharp enough that Elias was sure he could slice meat with them, there was no mistaking the fact that his vest was top of the line body armor, or that the gleaming sidearm wasn’t merely for show. The mastiff looked at the assembled individuals and spoke with a deep voice. “You may now enter the court.”

  They all filed in and took their seats on hard, heavily polished wood pews that were made for individuals to sit and had little in the way of further comfort. Elias and Cerise sat with her parents, Pala taking a seat behind them. The rest of the crew found places around their Captain and Cerise and waited for what seemed an hour before the Judges Quorum filed in. There were five in all, each one wearing full dress uniforms with enough ribbons and service decorations that little of the gray fabric showed. Each also wore a cape with cowl that hid their faces. The only way to tell that three of the judges were furkind with two humans was by their exposed hands.

  “All rise!” the mastiff commanded, with everyone in attendance standing in unison.

  The Judges took seats behind a large wall that sat on a raised dais so that they had to look down to see the individuals in the court room. Once they were seated the mastiff gave the instruction to sit in the same unyielding tone. Once they had all settled down, a pair of SPF officers, one wolverine and the other a serval, led Marin Pizer in from a side chamber.

  The rangy male fox looked subdued wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit with large ‘P’ on the front and back and the word ‘Prisoner’ in several languages on the sleeves and legs. His hands were bound with alloy manacles and there was a collar around his neck that held a battery that would deliver a stunning jolt if he tried to escape. Marin looked up once and saw Cerise, his expression flat and soulless. When he saw Elias, though, there was nothing there but insane hatred.

  The shackled fox was led to the table where his Defense counselor waited, a brown furred mouse in an SPF dress uniform. Elias noted some of the commendation ribbons that the Counselor wore on his uniform and nodded slightly to himself. He might be a lawyer now, but the mouse had seen some fairly serious action at some time in the past.

  The trial then got underway without preamble. Everyone knew why they were here and there was no reason for the Judges to repeat the cause.

  “Marin Fel Pizer, you stand before this Quorum with the charge of attempted murder directed at a citizen of Dennier, poisoning an officer of the Spatial Police Force, malicious wounding and conspiracy to commit murder. By your own words on record you have confessed to this crime. Do you have anything to say on your behalf before we hear the recording of your confession and review the evidence?” a Judge asked, one of the two humans present.

  Marin looked at the Judges with dead eyes, keeping silent. Then he turned around and looked at Cerise, his lips curling up in a baring of teeth. “I loved you! You should have been mine!” He spat towards Elias and the SPF guards rushed in and subdued him with a couple of jolts from high power stun batons.

  One of the Judges rapped a white baton on the top of the stand. “Order! Guards! Restrain the accused!” The judge waited until the guards had the mad fox bolted to his chair before pointing at Marin. “You will refrain from addressing the rest of individuals in attendance in this room.” The cowled head turned slightly. “Prosecution will now provide the material and recorded evidence with provision for cross examination by the Defense. Once that has been dealt with, we shall hear the statements of witnesses if it is deemed necessary.”

  The prosecuting officer that entered was Major Talia Paris, Sander Brees’ chief aide. Her uniform was crisp and pressed and the cheetah was immaculately groomed. She carried a rich brown leather clad briefcase and DataPak, which seemed incongruous with the well-worn pistol that she wore in a holster on her hip. She set her belongings down, activated her DataPak and looked at it for a few moments before typing in a command. Several vidscreens throughout the courtroom flared to life. On each one was a copy of the medical reports from Pomen, each with the signature of Cerise’s attending physician.

  “As you can see by these reports,” Major Paris began without preamble, “the toxicity levels that Ensign Cerise Tambor…excuse me, Ensign Cerise Tivnan suffered from were more than hazardous. They were very much life threatening. In his write up of the case, Doctor Paul Halstead, a member of the Pomen University’s Medical College, and eighteen year practitioner, states that the levels of seditarol found in Ensign Tivnan’s blood and body were above what is considered dangerous and lethal, and the situation was salvaged only because of Doctor Lemuel Ander’s quick reaction and the proximity of Ensign Tivnan to proper medical facilities.

  “ Seditarol is a toxin normally used to control vermin on Dennier and one or two other worlds. In small doses it causes sterility in said vermin. Small doses in sentient beings normally causes general fatigue, minor headaches and some discomfort.” The cheetah brought up pictures of pathological records, grisly images of what the poison did along with images of Cerise’s internal damage. “Larger concentrations are lethal and cause death by destroying the tissues of internal organs, targeting the digestive, reproductive systems and destroying liver and kidney functions. While normally not toxic to touch, ingesting the substance can have detrimental or hazardous results, up to and including death.

  “Furthermore, the tests run by Major Lemuel Anders, an accredited SPF doctor and trauma specialist, confirm these findings and support the report from Pomen. It was only through sheer luck that the poison was detected in time and that adequate medical facilities were within reach.” Major Paris changed the picture on the vidscreens from picture evidence of seditarol poisoning to Marin’s arrest photos before continuing.

  “As per orders from Colonel Sander Brees, Commander of the Special Investigations Division, Spatial Police Force Headquarters on Joplin, an investigation was headed up and eventually led to the discovery of Marin Pizer as the poisoner.” The cheetah replaced the picture of Marin’s arrest with one of him standing in the nude under an ultraviolet lamp with his hands and upper arms glowing brightly under the ultraviolet light and other areas of his fur showing lower levels of contamination. “Upon testing, chemical analysis proved that the substance found in Ensign Cerise Tivnan’s blood was a match with the seditarol found on the fur and under the nails of Marin Pizer. When confronted with this information, Mister Pizer readily confessed to the crime.”

  A recording of Marin sitting in a blank walled interrogation room appeared with a timestamp from sixteen days previous and the arresting officer’s name and serial number. He sat in a chair with his head down, but his voice was clear and she responded to the questions of an unseen SPF officer. “I slipped the powder into Cerise’s food and drink whenever I could,” Marin’s recorded self-stated.” Some went into her toiletries, toothpaste, things like that. It was at her wedding that I was able to give her the most, though. It wasn’t right that he married her. It wasn’t his place. She was mine!”

  “Who are you referring to?” the interrogator asked in a flat voice.

  “That white fox she married. He was so arrogant, so perfect seeming.  Everyone just accepted him and I h-hated them both for it. A perfect stranger. He is nothing! NOTHING! I was the one that was always there for her, not him. I should have been the one she married!”

  “So you sought to poison them? Both of them? Don’t you think that was a little rash? Maybe a bit irrational?”

  Marin looked up and his expression was haunted and full of pain. “Do you know what it’s like to be in love? Not just infatuation, but so much in love that it hurts? I used to watch her. Whenever she left her house. Then when she was finished with the University I would follow her to the starport. I love her! She should be with me!”  The fox rubbed his eyes and wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. “Y-yes. It was imm-mature. B-b-but I didn’t care! If I couldn’t have her, he wouldn’t either. See, that’s the beauty of seditarol. It makes you sterile, then it kills. No, there won’t be any children for them. Then she’ll die. And he won’t have her.”

  The voice of the questioning officer spoke again, and there was a hint of pity, but that was overshadowed by the level of contempt he had for the fox. “So that was the reasoning for the seditarol? What did you hope to gain? You wanted to kill them both?”

  “No! Just her! I wanted him to have to live without her. Just like I had to!” Marin screamed, flecks of foam spraying from his mouth as he yelled and snarled, fighting against his restraints.

  The court watched as Marin finally collapsed onto the table he sat at and cried with heart rending grief interrupted by howls of frustration and hatred. Major Paris stopped the recording on an image of a tortured Marin. Elias stole a glance at Cerise and saw that the fur under her eyes was soaked and she was trembling.

  “Does the defense wish to cross examine the evidence just given?” one of the Judges asked.

  The mouse that had been sitting at the end of the table stood. He straightened his uniform tunic before speaking. “Against my advisement, the Defendant has waived his right to have evidence and witnesses cross examined and maintains his plea of guilty, you Honors.”

  “So be it. This court is in recess while we deliberate the sentence,” another of the female Judges said.

  Before the Judge could rap the table with her baton, Cerise stood up, with Elias following suit as soon as he detected his wife’s intention.

  “Your honor? If I may address the court?” the ebony vixen asked.

  “Ensign Tambor,” one of the male judges, a human, said, leaning forward slightly. “Do you have something to add to the evidence?”

  Cerise shook her head. “No, your Honors. I would like to plead with you on Marin’s behalf, though.”

  “Oh?” another of the Judges asked with some surprise. “You have our leave. Please continue, Ensign.”

  Looking at her former friend for a long moment, Cerise gave the red fox a long look before turning to the assembled Quorum. “What he did is despicable and vile. But it’s also obvious that he is profoundly disturbed as well. I ask for leniency in regards to your judgment.”

  “Ensign Tambor, you almost died at the defendant’s hands, and he has admitted this much. Under the laws of Dennier, not to mention those of the Planetary Alignment regarding attacks on PA representatives, as you yourself are, there must be accountability,” the Judge on the far left end  said. “Would you have us allow an individual that is dangerous back amongst the population?”

  Cerise drew herself up and looked at the Judge that had just spoken, her eyes hardening slightly. “No! Of course not, your Honors. I agree that there must be accountability. There was once a time when Marin Pizer was a good friend. And while he has feelings for me that I can’t reciprocate, I feel I do owe it to him for the sake of the friendship we once had to ask for consideration on his behalf.”

  “While we admire your dedication to your…friend, think about what you are asking,” the middlemost Judge said, her voice firm and calm. “Marin Pizer has committed a vile crime with ill intent and there must be punishment. Attacks on the citizenry of members of the Planetary Alignment, nor representatives of the Planetary Alignment Council or affiliated agencies will not be tolerated.”

  The rap of the baton was as sudden and loud as a gunshot.

 *** 

  “All rise,” the mastiff barked out as the Judges filed back in.

  Everyone stood, and waited. The tension in the courtroom was an almost palpable thing, and only grew as the mastiff instructed everyone to take their seats. The Judges sat impassively for several moments before the one in the center spoke.

  “It has been the duty of judges throughout history to mete out justice to those that stood against the laws of society, to review the evidence and make an impartial choice based on knowledge of facts. While the facts in this case are evident, there are factors that have nothing to do with impartiality, nor facts.

  “Marin Pizer,” the judge said, gesturing to the still restrained fox whose citrine eyes burned with a livid hatred, “you willingly committed a crime, a heinous attack via subterfuge in a manner that bespeaks cowardice and loathsome intent, an act that you readily admit to. That would be the poisoning of one that even now pleads for your life. Had things happened differently, this would be a trial for murder. Regardless of your reasons, what you did was reprehensible. You endangered an Officer of the Spatial Police Force, the life of someone that even now uses a past friendship to try and help you. Were it up to me alone, I would have you sent to the executioner this very moment. As it stands, our conclusion and ruling is that you will be sent to a prison world as far from the Planetary Alignment as possible for the rest of your natural life, to an existence where basic survival alone is a constant labor.

  “I have no doubt that Ensign Tivnan, indeed, cares for your welfare, as undeserving as you might be. Despite precedents of the accused normally being executed for such crimes on this world, it is this Quorum’s decision to commute a sentence of death. Your punishment has been meticulously discussed and decided upon. Tomorrow you will be placed on an SPF ship and deposited on the lunar prison of Kharthan in the RBB-694 star system to serve a sentence of no less than life.

  “Do you understand what I have just told you?”

  Marin Pizer looked at the judges before he spat in their direction, though restrained in his sitting position the gesture was futile.

  One of the other Judges rapped the table with a baton. “Then let the records show the ruling of this Quorum and its decision. Court dismissed.”

  “All rise!” the mastiff bellowed.

  The Judges filed out as somberly and silent as they had entered.

  Cerise stood and looked at the male fox with a hint of sadness. She was answered with a glare of purest malice.

  “You bitch! I curse you and the bastard kits you have with him! If you still can! I hate you! I hate you all!”

   The guards moved in quickly and silenced Marin with a muzzle before unbolting him from the chair that he’d been sitting in and started to drag him off. The look in his eyes as he was dragged off convinced the others that there was little in the way of sanity in Marin Pizer’s eyes.

  Elias slid his arm over his wife’s shoulders, feeling the tremble that wracked her small frame and pulled her close. She clung to his arm almost frantically.

  “Come. Let’s go home,” Rovi said, starting to lead the way from the bench and towards the doors.

  Elias passed Cerise off to her mother. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

  Rovi gave him a quizzical look. “Where are you going?”

  “I want to let my crew know that they’re on leave until I call them. This will only take a second.”

  The older fox snorted. “Have them stay at the house! We have more than enough room. It’s as good a place for them as any hotel, and less expensive. They’re more than welcome, my boy.”

  “I don’t want to be disagreeable, but that would be a little much at once, don’t you think?” Elias agreed that it would be more economical for him at least, but the strain on an already frazzled Sharan might be a bit much.

  “Dear, if I could handle over fifty guests for your wedding at the last moment, I can certainly handle a dozen.” Sharan’s voice indicated that she would accept no other answer besides ‘yes’. “Besides, I want to meet the crew my children are serving with.”

  “I really wouldn’t argue with her,” Rovi sagely advised.

  Elias shrugged and went to tell his crew of the change in plans.

— NEXT CHAPTER —

Unless otherwise noted, all material © Ted R. Blasingame. All rights reserved.