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A4: Chapter 20

  I arrive at the Astorian Forum early and see two security guards watching me as I sit in a chair I brought and placed before the Gallery. They said nothing, I presume I had clearance before entering, preferring to watch me until the others arrive. Fifteen minutes later, three importantly dressed people walk in with six other people dressed in some sort of spacer uniform that matches between them.

  “Governors, thank you for accompanying your candidates. I apologize that I have not brought more than sandwich squares, juice and water, but I was only prepared for your candidates.”

  “And we are here to ensure that your limited authority is not used to strong-arm our cadets,” the rounder of the three Governors says.

  “It is not my intent to undue influence, however, I will not sugar coat for their benefit. I would ask, however, unless you perceive a breach in protocol or an offense to their person, that you all be silent parties to this . . . interview.”

  “Are you of any authority to judge this?” A man of . . . questionable genetics (cat ears) asks.

  “I have a Justicar track, so . . . yes. And also the Empress told me to be here, so also yes.” I let the room settle in silence before I speak again.

  “I want to offer two paths to the candidates. One, tell me why you are a good fit, knowing that I have a talent to see lies and the reason for said lies, or a bit of improvised judgement magic to get to the heart of things.”

  “I am Ysena Carmichael. Former Seargeant in the Astorian Marines. I performed Police-like work for ten years.” I look closely at her, I see some uncertainty, but only in the ambiguousness in the meaning behind police-like work. I wave her forward and she comes close. She’s not close enough for the privacy I want so I step forward until our noses touch.

  “Ysena,” I say in almost a sub-vocal tone. “Your uncertainty worries me, what about your police actions are you . . . uncertain of?” I don’t tell her not to lie, my gold-flaring eyes should tell her as much.

  “I, I accepted bribes and favors from officers that wanted me to look the other way on inspecting their vehicles.” I look and see the shame and the reason she resigned—weakness of character.

  “Ysena, do you understand why this will be absolutely intolerable behavior for a Justicar?” She nods. “Explain why this will be different.” I continue to speak lowly, then send her my chat ID. She nods.

  \I was in the chain of command of two of the officers at the time, and I had parents to support. Those parents have since betrayed my trust and as I understand, only the Imperial Court and Empress have sway over our lives, so even if I were tempted, there would be no moral pressure.\

  /I understand the pressure, but your duty will be tested in verity instead of oppression in the future. If you fail, fail toward the law./ I nod and waive Ysena off.

  “You would also take the path of admission?” I point at the man that was next to Ysena at the beginning.

  “I would. I am Nigel Rothguss. Former Mercenary and Private security.”

  I wave him forward for close talking. He comes forward and stops a step away. I nod and close the step. “Nigel, your confidence and pride worries me. You are comfortable in giving direction, but how are you at taking it?”

  He smirks at that, “I thought we were interviewing for Justicar, a position that had no boss save the Empress.”

  “And the Imperial Court. We are the first Imperial line of Justice, not the last.” I see his eyes flicker back and forth, and then he makes the mistake of looking back at the governor that brought him.

  “Clearly your stance on independence is not as clear as you claim. You may go.” His eyes widen, but my empathy is not present for this encounter.

  “But you only asked me one question!” He protests.

  “And you answered more than you wanted to. Good day Mr. Rothguss.” The same Governor sends another person up and I can’t help but lift an eyebrow at the gumption of skipping the line. I didn’t set the rules so I waive the man forward.

  “Adam Haupt reporting Ma’am” He stops in a sharp salute. I shrug, salute back and look the man over. Sharp, young, nervous by the damp band around his neck.

  “At ease Haupt.” He does so. “You have my permission to speak freely and honestly. So, why you?”

  “I am, sorry was, a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Navy, and am currently an Adjutant for the Vice Admiral of Navy Personnel. I would rather be in a legal profession, and from my various queries, there won’t be Naval Advocates for at least five to ten years.”

  Damn, a young man of experience. I say young, but he’s likely older than me. Legal experience and experience dealing with orders from people you might not agree with. Solid candidate this Adam. “Sailor Haupt, assuming that General Courts Martial would be the purview of the Imperial Courts, how do you feel about Summary and Special Courts Martial?”

  Since when do you know about Naval Law proceedings?

  I did some reading, so sue me. Why don’t you know that?

  No comment.

  “I feel that Summary should be used mostly in extremis or in wartime. I think that one person playing judge and jury is a stretch of justice where sentencing is concerned, but is perfectly viable for adjudication. As for Special, I prefer the three-officer format to ensure that multiple viewpoints are levied at the arguments.”

  Liking that, I nod and run through a couple of my judgements, questioning if other viewpoints would have changed the verdict or sentence. Good questions to be asking. “Alright, Adam, any questions for me?”

  He nods, “Have you ever judged a person before? And what were the sentences?”

  I see genuine interest in his eyes, instead of some malicious investigation. “Oof. I have a Talent called [Pass Judgement] where I get a summary of their crimes and good deed and weigh them against what I know of the local law. I have judged forfeiture of illicit funds, a system reset to track selection, and death, to name a few. Most of these were acting in the capacity of a Territory Deputy Sheriff. In every use of the Talent, the System has backed my play. Any more questions?” He shakes his head.

  “Well, Adam, stand beside me and stand easy while we assess your potential co-workers.” The light in his eyes shine as he literally hops next to me. I can tell he resists hugging me—a good call—and practically generates his own electricity as fast as he’s vibrating with excitement.

  I turn to look at the remaining three candidates, “Adam’s in. I have no question in my mind that if he makes it through training, that he’ll be a good fit. Anyone I have questions about will go home and wait for me to consider their file and responses.” I point and the next candidate in left to right order and waive her forward.

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  She walks briskly up and bows at the waist. Bows low, with an uncommon show of respect.

  “Marisol Abarca. Bastard Child of a merchant family in the Prospects. My background is more in financial investigation than adjudication.”

  I nod my head at Marisol and ask her to stand. “How do you feel about assessing wrong?”

  Her eye brightens and it worries me.

  “Oh! The entity that led to damages and or injury is in the wrong. If multiple entities cause this, there those entities are all in the wrong.”

  I nod, but smile in return. “Now what if two of those entities were contesting their share of the blame and levying fault against each other?”

  She cocks her head in thought and then accesses her menus as though she has an example to study. After five minutes I smile at how ridiculous this is.

  “Miss Abarca, as this is a hypothetical, and I value my time, lets answer with the information you have.”

  “Oh, yes, sorry. I was looking at similar actions in the past. In any case, I would get a warrant for each company’s internal documents for the matter at hand, review them and their impact to the wronged parties. If no citizens died, then I would assess damages to the companies, regardless of their protests in accordance with their documentation. If one or more death was involved, I would pursue imprisonment or other criminal penalties to the person responsible for the decision as well as a lesser charge for the CEO of the company.”

  That was more detailed than I expected, but well thought. “Have you ever had to defend your findings in front of people in power?”

  “Oh! Yes, I have. They tried to marry me to one of their sons after that, I escaped.” I looked up to the Governor that sent her my way, who I now know as the Governor of Astoria.

  “Governor, you do know that the Empress has expressly stated that Political refugees should be routed through the Consul of Foreign Relations, right?”

  “Is this a Political matter? I believed it to be a matter of emancipation of a Citizen.” His wide grin makes me think he’s trying to manipulate me.

  Ugh, and I liked Abarca. Stupid politics. I lean over to Adam and ask him what he thinks about the refugee status.

  “Well, she’s a Citizen, so she’s not a refugee. Protectorate inhabitants do not automatically become Citizens upon tier 1, so she had to petition and be awarded this.”

  I nod at that. “Good point. I’m not current on the Frontier Protectorates. Thanks Adam.” I stand up straight and motion my head to Marisol to stand on my other side. She bounces there, naturally. I point at the next man. To the right of the current Governor of Astoria.

  The man strides over, snaps to attention with a brief salute, and then moves to parade rest on his own. That’s a fucking statement if I’ve ever seen one. “Executive Officer Brian Stampf. I have sat for numerous Courts Martial and am comfortable with asserting my sense of law and justice.”

  Oof, starting off with a half truth? Former XO in fact? Sheesh. “Why were you dismissed from your XO position, Mr. Stampf?”

  “I was not dismissed, I chose to retire from a hostile work environment.”

  I can see the mis-truths, but they’re orange? He believes what he’s telling me but it’s not the whole truth? Jeebus. These new eyes are a trip and a bloody aether sink.

  “I am not interested in the half-truths and delusions that you’re presenting. Please see yourself out.” He opens his mouth to protest and I’m about to lay into the man, when Adam steps forward.

  “As a former Naval man, you should acknowledge and respect a senior’s opinion. The Empress’ appointed officer has told you to leave. Will you be disagreeing with the Empress?”

  That managed to stun mister Stampf. I look over to Adam, “Well stated, Adam.” I lightly push him aside. “Mr. Stampf, as I am the only appointed Legal authority in the Empire aside from the Empress herself, I suggest you leave and then file your grievance after you’ve had time to think about the potential consequences of lashing out.”

  “You would kill me over a dispute?” He whispers.

  I snort, “No,” and then laugh, “I would however check if you have been discharged from the Navy yet, and then perhaps see if I could alter the nature of your discharge due to disobeying a direct order and perhaps conduct unbecoming.”

  “You are not even in the Naval Chain of command!”

  “I have a Naval Equivalent Rank. Should I check what it is, and what authority the Empress has given me? I could ask for this to be an official dispute between you and the Empire. Wouldn’t that be fun? Adam, Marisol, you could be on my tribunal!” both of those ambitious goobers gasp with excitement.

  “I uh, no. No ma’am. By your leave.” He says, saluting and pausing.

  I salute and say “dismissed.” He walks right out of the courtroom like I told him to.

  “What an excellent demonstration! Oh man, makes me want to go on some kind of Justice Prowl.”

  “Legal Lion!” Says Marisol.

  “Prosecution Panther!” Adam rebuts.

  “Justice Jaguar!” I correct the both of them.

  “Sentencing Serval?” The next contestant adds.

  “Oof. That is a stretch sir. I’m just assuming a serval is a cat.” I waive the man up despite his weak addition to our law cat alliteration.

  “Cathal McLachlan, former Sheriff in Scotland, which would be a major crimes Judge in the US. I came here with the ASH dutchy, but was not popular for my stances on expansion by any means.”

  “Did Scotland have the death penalty?” I ask.

  “Not at the time. My stance on it now is mixed. Barring a clear case of treason or Slave-related dealings, I don’t think I would ever judge in favor of it.” I nod at that. An excellent answer, though my stance is much less firm against death as a penalty.

  “Last question, do you have longevity in your advancement plan? Aether or tech? I’m not positive, but I expect this to be a ten to twenty year commitment.”

  “Ahh, yes. I am looking into the benefits of tech medical or aether saturation treatments: I am only looking for another forty years or so.”

  “Seems a good idea. That said. Circle up you three and let us review before I continue.” Adam and Marisol get as close on my sides as I am with Cathal to the front. Excellent interpretation folks.

  “So,” I keep a soft voice, “We have Moiriax, Hades, Kepler, and Astoria for the Prospects. The assumption being that any dispute with Astoria System will be handled by the other party’s Justicar.”

  “Oh, smart. Jurisdiction solved. What about Astoria vs The Empire?” Cathal asks.

  “I’m impressed that you didn’t ask about on-Astoria dispites because the Governor issue is a bit odd, but in that case, it would be an Imperial Court issue. Anyone suing the government proper would be reviewed by and presented by us, but would be judged by the Imperial courts. But until the Empress stands up those courts, it’s her for now.”

  “What about Earth?” Adam asks.

  “I got Earth and Kepler. Empress stuck me with the Herrati and the Earthers as a pair.”

  “Excuse me!” I hear a voice in the stands and peak around Cathal to see a Governor raising his mitt. “What about my candidates?”

  “They’ll be on the review list if these three can’t pass their training. You all can go now.”

  “But that’s not fair!!”

  “You all had equal opportunities to press your candidates at me. You can file a grievance or you can tell me how fair a five-finger enema feels.” The man’s eyes widen before he turns, summons some windows and types furiously. I bet he’s filing a grievance. Good for him.

  I turn back to my trio, “So I was thinking that Cathal would get the Prospects, his experience as a Judge would give the pirates in the prospects no ‘new’ reason to fight his judgement. Adam, as a former JAG and a recent political stooge to an admiral, I think that Hades would be your best fit for the Empire. Marisol, no offense, but your number crunching acumen would be Aces for any disputes in our industrial system of Moiriax. Now, before you comment, know that I don’t have control over your placement or training. I’m just telling you what I liked you for when I selected you.”

  “Will we have to live in those systems?” Marisol asks.

  “Eh, not sure. I assume a ‘one-jump’ policy will be in place. Meaning that Marisol would probably have to live on Asphodel or one of the Moiriax moons. Though I can attest that Asphodel is a very nice place to live. The Empress may have other designs, but she’s not known for giving a full brief before a mission.”

  “Wait, you’re hiring us but we don’t work for you?” Adam asks.

  “Yes, things like that are what I mean. Nominally you will all be solos. Answering only to the Empress, with appeals of your rulings going to the Imperial Courts. Again, this is just based on a side convo based on what’s happening next Founder’s day.”

  “You have side conversations with the Empress of Humanity?!” Marisol beams.

  “Empress save me, I knew this was coming. You know what? I’m not answering personal questions until lunch. You all will meet me at Guiseppe’s at 11:30 Astorian, dress to fucking eat.”

  “But . . .”

  “I don’t care what you eat, the man will find a way to feed you.”

  “What if we don’t live nearby?” Cathal asks.

  “Well shit. You have a storage item?” he nods. The others nod as well. “You were all pulled here without lodging?” they all nod at me. Governor bastards deserve some lightning enemas.

  “Fuck it. You’re all coming to my condo to wash up, change, and relax for an hour or so. I can’t believe this shit. Aria! Configure four to the Garden.” I get a chirp and a ping that she’s already here. “Cool, follow me. Our ride is waiting.” They look at each other, shrug and walk behind me as I leave the Forum.

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