Chapter Text
No Rest
August 5th, 2029 11:45 a.m. High Court of Khura’in.
There was so much to do: cases to try, and retry, lawyers to release, on top of the that many changes to Khura’in legal system, all happening in the span of a few short months.
One of the latest new procedures was that neither the defense nor the prosecution saw the Divination Seance until the day of trial.
This was branded as a means to build trust and heal the gap between the prosecution and defense in Khura’in, giving them an even playing field.
In reality it was more of a means to save time and energy. They had a limited supply of legal professionals, one Rayfa, and a seemingly unending backload of cases.
They had cut down some by forming an office of people whose entire job was to go through all DC act cases and essentially rubber stamp the releases of anyone involved who was not also accused of a major crime. This office was primarily made up of monks, nuns, and volunteers with little legal training.
It had been either that or leaving these people in prison, which was unacceptable.
There was, and continued to be, a heated discussion about what did and did not constitute a "Major Crime."
Apollo had seen a case of a fourteen-year-old boy and his father: the boy was tried for treason for throwing rocks at guards. The Prosecution accused him of assault and attempted murder, all for a handful of pebbles. His father had tried to defend him and both were sentenced under the DC act.
He had also seen a case where a defendant, after being convicted under the DC act, grabbed a gun from a guard and proceeded to open fire on the prosecution. Their corpse had been charged with treason, murder, and attempted murder.
The man they had been defending, their brother, was given life.
His original charge: lèse-majesté and disorderly conduct.
He had got drunk and insulted the Queen.
Today, however, they were not reviewing cold cases but instead working through the other source of injustice in Khura’in beyond its Queen and laws: the previous administration.
Governors, ministers, prosecutors, mayors, police chiefs, and local judges. Ga’ran might have believed herself the embodiment of the law, but these were the people who enforced it. Khura’in was not a large country, but there were still hundreds of government employees and officials, over half of which were appointed by, or had very vocally supported the Ga’ran administration.
These things in and of themselves did not condemn them, as vocal support for the False Queen was the price of living under the Ga’ran administration. They still needed to be looked into, some more than others.
“Captain Biyut Li-Kahr, you were part of the Ga’ran Royal Guard before being appointed chief of police in your home province, is that correct?” Nahyuta asked, their voice utterly calm.
“I was,” The Captain said.
On his side of the hall, Apollo reviewed the Captain's file, looking for something that might help the man.
Captain Biyut Li-Kahr had served ten years in the Ga’ran’s Royal Guard, a position he earned for his ‘exceptional service in the line of duty.’
He had been part of the search effort to find Dhurke and Amara. He had not been part of the team that captured them, but his interrogation of everyday citizens had been instrumental in hunting them down.
After his time in the Ga’ran Royal Guard, Captain Biyut Li-Kahr brought those same interrogation tactics to his work as police chief. He was known in his province to be able to make anyone confess to anything.
Even so, Apollo was going to try to defend him.
Nahyuta would have this man nailed to the side of mount Mt. Poniponi and watch him freeze. It was Apollo’s job to try to bring that sentence down to freezing in a cell above Mt. Poniponi instead.
Nahyuta, being intelligent, was quick to bring up the Captain's involvement in the Queen’s capture, horrifying Her Benevolence, the judge, and the gallery.
Apollo objected.
“Simply being involved in that investigation in and of itself is not a crime. We must remember these men and women were told they were hunting a dangerous criminal who burned the Queen alive. Further, they were explicitly ordered to use any means necessary. They were led to believe the Defiant Dragons were gathering weapons and planning to mobilize on the populace. Further, Captain Li-Kahr may have been a part of the investigation but he was not part of the team that brought them back. He had no way of knowing the true reason for their search, even after the fact.”
The actual team that brought them in was long gone. Ga'ran had ensured their silence with death.
“And for this, you would argue he be pardoned for his abuses on the Khura’in people?” Nahyuta shot back.
“No,” Apollo shook his head, “You are correct, that is not an excuse for the innocents he tortured. I do argue that the court remembers that those who took part in the 2013 Dragon Hunt Investigation were given full sanction by the crown to take whatever actions they felt necessary to stop what they believed to be a real and imminent threat. I do not argue a full pardon for my client, only that we remember that he was, as far as he knew, acting under the lawful orders of a rightful Queen to save lives. His actions came from a place of desperation and urgency, fueled by his superiors.”
“And do you also argue those mitigating circumstances extend to his further abuses while part of the Ga’ran Royal Guard, and as chief of police?”
“In his capacity as guardsmen? Yes. The man did as his Queen commanded, as was his duty. He had no reason to believe her to be anything other than the true and rightful Queen of Khura’in,” Apollo said, firm and confident.
He had to believe the best in this man. That was his job, and he gave arguments where he had room for argument. There was a pause as he let that stand in the air, then:
“As for his documented uses of torture while serving as chief of police? In that matter, the defense makes no argument of mitigating circumstances.”
Former Police Chief Biyut Li-Kahr was given a life sentence in Royal Penitentiary No. 3, without chance of parole.
Royal Penitentiary No. 3, as opposed to Royal Penitentiary No. 4, was accessible by car. He could have visitors, and be slightly less freezing.
It was the best he could hope for.
As the case wrapped up, Apollo and Nahyuta shared a brief acknowledging nod.
We make a good team , Apollo thought.
Nahyuta knew many of these people, either personally or by reputation, and had little sympathy. Apollo by contrast hardly knew any of them and therefore lacked any previous bias.
After the Captain was sentenced there were about ten minutes for the defense, prosecution, and others to reset between trials. Enough time for Apollo to crack his neck, use the restroom, and glance over his papers.
For all that some people claimed that Apollo– along with his colleagues at the Wright Anything Agency– never came prepared, he had, in fact, had time to look over the cases for today.
They were depressing. All of them.
The one about to go forward was no exception.
He looked over the photos he had: the first was of two lovely old Khura’inese buildings next to each other.
One was a House of Justice– a Khura’inese Court House– rising in tall elegant tiers. Its walls were decorated by the scales of justice, with a Mitamah as their fulcrum.
The other building was short but wide: a town hall. It was brightly decorated with no less than three distinct murals.
The two buildings stood on a leveled part of a mountainside, with green earth rising on the left side of the town hall. Behind them was a stunning view of the mountains against a beautiful blue sky. The picture also showed people, rural Khura’inese coming and going over the packed earth. They seemed happy.
Next was a series of pictures of the same two buildings taken in the gray hours of the morning. Where before they were bright and vibrant, these showed them ravaged by the fires that had eaten them from the inside out.
The Town Hall had caved at the center, as well as a whole section of wall, revealing its blackened and broken insides.
The House of Justice looked better on the outside, though the scales of justice above the door had been blackened out. Further pictures showed that while the outside didn’t look so bad, the insides were gutted by the blaze.
These images primarily showed the damage to the buildings, but there were people scattered throughout. Regular locals acting as the fire department. The exterior shots couldn’t hide the crowd that had gathered in the immediate aftermath of the blaze.
Grief doesn’t seem strong enough a word, Apollo thought. The glimpses of faces he saw were a mix of heartbreak and paralyzed horror.
Next were the pictures of the victims, and Apollo’s stomach turned.
Who would do this?
The tapping of the gavel brought his attention back to the courtroom.
“Next, on the docket: The State of Khura’in vs Madam Kil-har, Magistrate of Yak’ome Province.”
Here we go.