Planet Crete is by no means an easy place to live. Its soil is weak and every scrap of arable land is needed to feed the people that cling to their lives here. The planets great mineral deposits, bolstered by stolen supplies and materials, are boon to its industries, but are rendered useless if the people are too weak with hunger to work. This harsh life, living in the rocky mountains to save farmland has given rise to a proud and strong people, with little patience or tolerance for outsiders, or those too weak-willed to stand for themselves. Political strife, while not as common as their Maltese brethren, is not unheard of and even is accounted for as Elders struggle for political power and influence among themselves. Yet on occasion, some individuals and groups rise that threaten the Corsair way of life, and the Council of elders is called together to put asude theur dufferences, for the good of the Empire.
The High Court of the Council of Elders is a plain room, not designed with its occupants comfort in mind, as the decisions made here are often far from comfortable. Its walls are bare, the seats are hard and the windows are little more than empty gaps in the hardened clay, their mountainous veiw showing the barren fields that brought the Corsairs such strife for centuries, reminding all present of the struggles they face in day to day life. At the head of the room sits the Council of Elders, who will be overseeing the trial. Leading the Elders present today is Luciano Vasquez- Consul of The Brotherhood. Along the sides of the room sit various minor Elders, and leaders of the Corsair people - both militarily and culturally, who will bear witness to the decision of the Council of Elders. Included here is Justicar Κάγια of the Custodi, who will be presenting the evidence, and leading the prosecution, as well as Oberster Arbeiter Mary Dross, of The Alster Union , called forth as a character witness. Yet there is no true jury here- judgement is passed down by the Council after hearing the case presented to them. Some may say this is unfair but the life of a Corsair is hardly fair to begin with.
As they wait for the defendent to arrive, the spectators are engaged in idle chitchat and speculation over the outcome of this unprecedented trial. Without any warning, the solid wood doors- a rare luxury on Crete- burst open. Standing before the court is El Comissario Pepe Ladron , Chief of the Imperial Police. Following behind him is a squad of his trusty Carabineros , guarding the trials accused- General Cordoba of the Apostatas. The attendees go quiet, as they wait see who will see speak first..
"I'm glad you could finally make it, Senor Cordoba, I hope the trip from Antikyhera wasn't too much of an ask. And as you can see -" Starts Luciano, as he points out to the cameras throughout the room. "- the eyes and ears of Crete are with us today to see what you have to say for yourself. Now, Justicar Κάγια, please start the trial when you are ready, por favor".
Kaya rose up from her seat. She hesitated for a moment, calmly reviewing her mental notes on the situation. The Dorian court was much different from what she had been used to in Heraklion. There was little semblance of justice here, little benevolence and assumption of innocence. Everyone knew who was in power and Cordoba’s guilt was almost beyond doubt.
What was different as well, is that in one of the very rare occasions, she was not the one making the judgment. Prepared by Chryseis, she’d understood the weight of court rulings and sentences. Yet, here, it all seemed lift away from her conscience.
She took a deep breath.
“Alexander Cordoba, you are standing before the Cretan High Court, accused of treason and collaboration with foreign and hostile elements, acting against the best interest of the Corsair nation. You’ve unlawfully attempted to cause damage to other Corsair pilots by enlisting the services of a mercenary organisation against your own kind. The evidence of your crimes has been presented and reviewed by the Court.”
She paused for a second and looked directly at Cordoba. “You now have the opportunity to present your defence.”
Cordoba stares at everyone in the room with a very serious look. He makes eye contact with each and everyone almost as if he is trying to memorize who are those that stand against him. He looks across the court room staring at Consul Vasquez as he is shown the cameras. With clearly no interest to look at the cameras he maintains his stare at Vasquez without saying a word. As Justicar Kaya stands up, Cordoba sways his eyes to her without moving. Alexander is clearly not happy with where is. He listens to Kaya finish her sentence and a frown falls to his face as if she just insulted him.
"Defense? You are asking me to deliver a defense? This court room is a joke and a insult to any justice system. Any justice delivered by this pirate state or any of you is a joke. This Empire in it's current state is laughable and the fact that I am put on trial by you all truly reflects it. Pirates attempting to deliver justice..." Cordoba starts laughing as he shakes his head.
"I will not defend my actions on that day. What I did was for my people...Which you all are.
I and all of Apostatas stand together for one thing. We stand for a true legitimate Government, one that will advance this Empire into something beyond piracy and smuggling. YOU will be the reason this Empire will fall. I for one cannot stand idly by while this happens. We need trade for Food, technology and other goods. Piracy only supplies this by meager amounts and you all know this. Our people have spend centuries struggling to survive. They did what they had to in order to survive." As Cordoba is talking he is becoming more tense and upset "But we...WE! are in a age where more is possible. But to do that we have to move forward and leave our past behind....I see a proud Hispanic House in our future and you all hinder this future. So I did what should have been done by this so called "Government". I started a chain of events that would lead us towards a better future, a future without piracy. Apostatas has done it's fair share in providing for the people of Crete. We have seen in all extend what is needed, so we decided it was time to act. I decided enough was enough. Our people deserve more! We all deserve more! This trial is a mockery of what could be. A society of people working to a better future. One where we thrive as a House and one nation....But YOU stand in our way and I will not defend my actions for moving against this weak Government or so called Council of Elders...."By the time Cordoba stops his face is red with rage and his eyes look as if he was high on drugs.
Kaya nodded, keeping cold blood throughout Cordoba’s speech. It was clear to her the man did not understand his situation. She could have perhaps agreed with him to an extent in different circumstances, but here he even admitted his guilt. It was no use. A means of delivering justice did not matter if the result was evident.
And perhaps he may have even had a point. But ultimately, treason was treason. In this case, ends couldn’t justify the means, despite the motivation. She was convinced regardless of the trial’s outcome, Cordoba wouldn’t see the problem with his behaviour.
She turned to the court. “Your Honour, the accused pleads guilty and has nothing in his defence,” she spoke laconically.
Being at this court so many times, Pepe Ladron thought he saw it all. And indeed, it was not the first time this room was echoing by patriotic words, followed by silence of bodies hanged at backyard gallows - very next day. He was looking throw the window, thinking about what could he have for a lunch after this charade.
That's interesting... there was a bit more people on the street than usual. Much more. And they were just staying there, watching at the court. You can never see happy faces at Cretan streets, but those faces were even less happy. They were silent. Some of them were carrying ropes.
Oh...
Ladron swiftly gave a sign to his carabineros guard and they moved towards the gate with him. He said something to door guards and they opened the gate in front of him. Carabineros went out. Ladron said something to the guard again and he opened the second half of the gate too. Ladron went out as well. Carabineros had their hands on their side arms holsters already. Ladron showed them to chill down a bit and tried to figure who might be leading people with ropes across the street.
Gate got closed again and there was nothing to be seen except the trial itself.
"You think this- " Luciano replies angrily, waving his hand towards the windows of the court room, and the Empire at large. " is a joke? The trials we go through on Crete make us stronger than anyone else in Sirius. And it is by that very strength that we have carved a space for ourselves among the stars. Si, times have been hard. Since the very first of us made it to Crete, all those generations ago, after the Hispania was sabotaged, it has be a hard life. But it has been worth it. Our ancestors were given a challenge, with this barren planet, one that made them, and us, their descendants, all the better for their overcoming it. Si, we take whatever we need from the houses, and the artifacts this planet has provided to us, while worthless for centuries, have funded whatever food and supplies we can't take ."
"And now, you think it makes us weak? You want us to live like they do in the houses? Become as lazy and lax as the traders we prey on, and easy targets for all our enemies? We fight back scores of enemies on every front, and make conquest after conquest. Any enemies that stand in our way will be crushed, and we don't need the help of any outsiders to do it. Outsiders you tried to use against the very people you claim to fight for. The Council of Elders cannot stand by to watch you stab them, and claim it's for their own good. You may have cojones, senor Cordoba, but you don't have the brains to match." He sighs, before speaking once more. "Senorita Mary, it is not often that outsiders are invited to our courts, but I believe you had something to share on this trial, por favor, speak to us what it is you came all this way to say. Let us get this so called 'joke' over with, before it drags on any longer than it needs."
Planet Crete is by no means an easy place to live.
*Mary stands up and waits for a moment, she is nervous but she knows that she has to speak now.*
"Highly respected Elder and Custodi,
I am honored to speak here today, even if I had wished for other circumstances.*She looks around and fixates Cordoba with her eyes.* Senior Cordoba and the Apostatas acted always a little suspicious, but we tried to meet them politely. But it quickly turned out that they had something in mind, something that could have damaged the brotherhood. Often it was said that we have to choose a side, I was not sure what it meant until recently. But now I understand the whole picture. The Apostates had been trying to turn us against the Brotherhood since the first contact. A mistake, instead of working against the Corsair People they should have worked with the Corsair People. Although I can understand that they want to help but it sounds very contradictory to me to denounce the Brotherhood for their methods just to do the same thing. We were insulted and, in the eyes of the apostates, were just a tool that, if their plan would have worked, wanted to use them against the Brotherhood and Custodi. Not us, no matter how this trial ends, the Apostatas have nothing to expect from us except the words of our weapons.
Deception and betrayal are not tollerated." *She stops and sits down*
"I'm glad we can count on The Alster Union in this matter. I can see that the General had no small plans in this... attempted coup. Be it through lies or trickery, turning our friends against us would have been a harsh blow, should your treason gone un-found any longer than it had already gone. I can see that to let you go free after this would be a mistake that the Empire cannot bear to make. " Speaks Luciano, standing up from his seat the head of the Elder's tableau. He looks to the rest of the Elder's, who all nod in agreement. "And not one it will make. In the light of the evidence presented to us, the Elders of the Corsair Empire, we find you Guilty, on the charges of treason, and attempting a coup through the use of enemies of the Empire. The sentence will be death, carried out at tomorrow dawn, and exile for any and all of your followers that refuse to surrender to the Imperial Police, for questioning and judgement. Pepe! Take him- " Luciano starts, before seeing that Pepe has left the room. Whispering to himself; "He better not have snuck off for another siesta... *coughs* Guards, take him back to the Villa Sol de Montaña, and keep him under constant guard. We'll send for him in the morning, to meet the fate he, and all such traitors, deserves. To all our other guests, including those that come for near and far," Finishes Luciano, looking around the courtroom to see the rest of the guests. "Let us hope that no-one else tries to topple our Empire from the inside, and that we have many more years of prosperity, working together as one people, to crush our enemies and see Crete grow ever richer. Hasta la vista, hermanos y amigos. Till we meet again."