Two more major incidents had happened after the first major incident that was reported about burrowers and dwellers being violent. Something needed to be changed. It was almost a bitter day when the council gathered for another serious meeting in the late morning. Back at the round table. Councilor Aureline gestured her hand to start off the meeting, speaking in a somewhat stretched tone, “That has been three major incidents reported within a month. With these earthquakes, we lost access to the farming tunnels, wild beasts seem to be moving around and in the city more than every, and now those humanoids are causing issues in Dominion,” the annoyance was apparent and heavy in her voice.

There had barely been attacks from wildlife, burrowers, or dwellers inside of the walls of Dominion and in recent times that has doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled compared to the historical occurrences of violence. “The people cannot bear the burden of dwellers with all of the things that are happening to Dominion, they cannot keep coming to ration queues,” she huffed out in emphasis before leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.

Thorne roughly began, “Burrowers are barely a problem when they are outlawed. We can put a kill on sight initiative if everyone is so worried about them. It’s like killing rats,” he was casual with his words as if it was barely a thought about should or not but when. Gesturing to the table, “Dwellers and scavengers are a major issue within the walls of Dominion, putting their grubby hands in the waterways instead of using a faucet, they are uncivilized,” he explained a point of how these individuals were filthy in his eyes and others — problems themselves.

“They all look like Burrowers more and more every season. And some are against the city! Slia officials have arrested twenty-five individuals that snuck in through the cracks of the city walls to taint our water supply and our humanity.”

Elira watched her peers silently while they came forward with their problems and she was having problems of her own when it came to the business district, “The law is clear: Burrowers are criminalized by birthright, branded and marked — but — Dwellers... exist in a gap. Mixed bloodline, no oath, no anchor — They are in an area of grey legal presence. PErhaps it’s time to clarify and update the laws,” she suggested, which received approving looks from Aureline and Thorne almost too quickly.

This caused Council Member Geode to shake his head in disagreement, disappointment, and his voice deeply and slowly began, “In Qona, we archive what others forget. Dominion was not always so rigid, the first stones were laid by many hands — some not even from our line — if we name dwellers criminals like we have burrowers, we do so not out of justice… We do it out of fear. And fear never helps anything,” he looked to the others to find the majority had disapproving looks and possibly a mixture of disgust. Thorne had the biggest look of disgust on his face as if Geode was suggesting that they commit immoral acts.

Vei looked around with defiant eyes and sharply interjected, “When survival becomes questionable, people become fearful, but we need to focus on how we can stop the fear and panic of our people. Most children of Dominion eat Tokut milk and root scraps. Dwellers are a big part of our society — intermarried, born here, and raised in all areas of Dominion — and most of you are referring to them like they are dogs and could simply adjust to living outside of the walls if they were criminalized. They have never lived anywhere else. Dominion has privilege when it comes to life outside compared to people living outside of the walls. We share walls, we share beds, homes, and even blood with our brothers and sisters,” Vei was young and her emotions were not as controlled as the older counterparts of the council. She had tears welling in her angry eyes and emotion cracking her words.

This caused a huff out dismissiveness to come from Aureline and she flatly responded as if she was speaking to a young child that didn’t know any better, “They live within the walls and barley contribute, they are not registered citizens, and they are not bound by the regulations like our own citizens. They do not answer when called to labor like our citizens are,” she explained while glaring at Vei. A good argument from the woman that oversees the working district — dwellers were not fully registered citizens but they were allowed to work and be in society with no question, at least in the lower rankings of society — and the Khia district always has had more dwellers be trouble markers than the regular citizen.

Thorne grumbled, “Then this should be easy for all of us, let’s restrict them, make boundaries, and take away access to rations. If they do not want to register as citizens and be productive citizens of society, they can find a home or fate out beyond the walls, and if they have a record of criminality – even if it’s lesser issues — we should continue by kicking them out of the city,” Thorne spoke of this so casually that one might think he was talking about rats instead of humans.

Elira nodded, fully agreeing with a pleased smile, “If we define them, we control them, and if they resist the regulations, then we have cause to do what is needed. Law must act before people react. Dwellers have been undocumented long enough. They need to start contributing to society and that might come with the hard decision of them leaving it for the better good.”

Rubbing his brow, Geode seemed to not believe what he was hearing from his peers, and how quickly this meeting was going against burrowers, dwellers, and scavengers, it was hard to digest, “And when Dominion stood in its founding? Weren’t the first families not called Dwellers too? Before they earned names and foundations in a blossoming society. Who gets to decide when someone stops belonging?” he gestured for some hope as if this would give the others a different perspective. “All of us worked to build Dominion and continue to improve it and keep it moving forward. We should have never exiled burrowers. Let’s not make a second grave mistake by outlawing dwellers.”

The young red headed woman stood up, her voice rising slightly with pained emotions, “So we cage them? Strip them of their rights? And what happens when that cage breaks? I will not be the voice that pretends to represent the people while watching another Reaping unfold. I wasn’t born when Burrowers were exiled from Dominion though I am in a position now where I will not stand here and agree to exile Dwellers,” her cheeks were becoming flushed and her face felt hot with anger.

A scoff came out of Thorne, “What a childish and dreamful stance, Vei, be ready to pick a side when the time comes,” his voice was as cold as ice and threatening without a veil. Vei was about to respond though she was luckily cut off by Aureline speaking up — Vei would have said something she might regret out of emotions.

“We need a motion. We cannot have people and society in limbo any longer. Dominion is crumbling at this rate with the food shortage and the threats of wildlife and earthquakes, so we need to do something,” he voice sounded so logical that most people, if not thinking deeply of her words would have agreed, and people that would think — they might possibly agree out of fear of society failing and collapsing.

Elira looked around, landing her eyes on Vei until the younger woman sat back down, and Geode seemed to whisper something to the youngest member of the council — possibly trying to settle her down and make her feel better. “Then let it be brought forward. We vote on the next convergence. Let it be known: the Dwellers will be named,” she looked around the room again before smiling a little. “And possibly scavengers because of all the crimes they commit daily,” she added.

The room was silent for what felt like a painful eternity before Geode broke the silence, “Stone remembers. So will the people,” his tone sounded defeated and he somewhat was. This caused Vei to get up and leave the room and all the other council members watched her go. “We already have punishments and laws that encourage people to be productive citizens. Not everyone has the capacity or ability to because of financial means or mental health problems. We need to be careful about what we do,” he explained while looking at the disapproving looks of his peers.

“And we allow too much slack which is why our society is failing, we are being careful, councilor Geode, and I believe this is the right thing to do for the people that deserve to be in the walls of Dominion,” Thorne did not miss a beat when challenging Geode’s views or dismissing them. This caused Geode to stand, dip his head out of respect, and leave the room without another word. The rest of the council members stayed and spoke about what this new law should entail.

Watching Kara go into the city, the man waited until she was encased by the light, and he waited until he couldn’t see her silhouette anymore before leaving. The woman was back in the city where it was safe so he didn’t have to worry — he headed home — but before he could enter the main area he stayed, abundant chirping and chattering could be heard coming closer. A large creature swooped down from the ceiling and hooked onto his clothing with ease and continued to make so many different noises in an attempt to communicate. “Gava du trak-ta-ka?” the man chirped with pleasantries towards the pink-ish white flying mammal while gently scratching its head and neck. This creature was about three feet long from tip of nose to tip of tail and is roughly seven pounds in weight.

Where have you been?

She continued to chirp and squeak happily, her smaller head and larger ears rubbing up against his silver hair and rough gray skin. “Nu traksh ul denas vi sevet. Ra velsha, ul nu drel-ka ra vek nu zul. Du kethal vren-ka nu traka-zan?” he explained while opening up the entrance of his house, entering, and shutting the door behind him before locking it so no one could intrude. He had a few things that he needed to do though his first thing would be making something for Kara so she knew he was okay before taking the long trek to Sevet ul Krav.

I met someone from the city today. They were nice and I promised to make sure they knew I was okay. Do you have any idea what I should do to communicate that?

The man didn’t do anything for awhile except feed himself and Talunel which his friend loved the gave fruit and bugs the most. After eating chunks of fruit and vegetables, she went around the area to find wandering bugs to eat while Pilka took a nap.

After a handful of days working on the piece that he was going to give to Kara to communicate that he was okay, he realized that it was such an excessive gift, and probably a waste of his time but he honestly loved soldering so much that he found the whole thing relaxing. Once he made a handful of the items, he soldered them together, and created a cute metal holder that’s foundation circled and spiraled. Currently, the metal flowers were in a state where they looked like they have not bloomed. He moved the vase around and looked around the area of his home until he found something that was suitable and turned it on. That thing started creating heat without issue and he placed the unique vase of flowers beside the heat source and the petals unraveled and bloomed. He used a heat reactive metal to make these and felt like that was as good as he was going to get such a project.

Deciding for a last step, he wrote a note, and put it into the unique vase so it could stick out. The note read:

I hope your black eye and any pain that was caused has been healing. As I promised, I am fine, and this is how I am showing you that. Put these by a heat source or under any type of light source.

At the end of the small note, his name was signed in a very mystically pretty way, and showed that he had gone through education — not the best — but one of the main things that the orphanage education enforced into him and other children was beautiful and very eligible cursive.

Going into Dominion during a later time when it was not as busy and barely anyone was wandering in the streets, he found where Kara’s address was, and it was definitely not because he had stalked her throughout the week to figure out where she lived. Placing the item at the foot of her door, it had a bag over it to make it look like it wasn’t anything special, and he knocked a few times though he didn’t wait around for an answer.

Pilka wandered off into the darkness and waited around out of sight and out of mind for a while to see if the item would be grabbed or not. After a while of nothing, he left, and he hoped that no one would steal it but he doubted anyone would. She seemed to live in a slightly nicer area and guards seemed to patrol in this area more than they did in Khia or lesser areas of Dominion.

Talunel was bothering him nonstop and with enthusiasm as they moved through the caverns and made it to a certain chut a good distance away from the outside of Dominion. It took him a few hours from his house to get here though it was worth it because he wanted to check on Opa and Oce and the locals of this chut like Sabira. “Oce! Opa!” he let out while he was entering the chut and saw the children with Sabira and three other locals.

The little boy, Oce, quickly jumped off the bench and made his way over to him. He had gills on his neck, a fishy appearance to his face with slightly blue-ish skin, and big black eyes, “You said you would be here DAYS AGO!!!” Oce pointed a finger at Pilka with such an accusation in his tone as if the older man had betrayed him by lying.

Pilka couldn’t help but chuckle while putting up his hands in defeat, “I know, I know…” before he waved his hand to encourage the little boy to lower his voice and Oce gasped while covering his mouth and what sounded like a muffled apology.

“Did you bring me something good?” Oce seemed curious and leaned to the side to check out the overly stuffed backpack that Pilka had on. The young boy was speaking cavern-ish, it sounded the same as the common language to Pilka, but he had been speaking it for years at this point.

Pilka began to take off the backpack and he looked over to Oce with such a look that made the boy come closer to him with so much interest in his young eyes and posture. The older man set the bag down and began to rummage in it, Oce barely reacted, and Pilka continued to rummage. Once this felt like it went on for too long, Oce let out his emotions, “That bag isn’ that big!” he almost shouted again though it was more controlled this time while he took a step forward while huffing a breath. Possibly an indication that he was beginning to believe that Pilka forgot about him completely.

“Here you go,” Pilka chuckled while taking out two items — a candy bar from Dominion and a small toy of one of the creatures of the caverns — and he let the boy take them with excitement and a sparkle in his eyes.

Oce bowed to Pilka, “Thank you, Elder Pilka,” then he ran away to go show the other kids the presents that he got. The little boy was generous and built on community and he would most definitely share the candy bar with his friends.

The older man was honestly baffled by what he just had heard and he turned to look at Sabira, “Have you been telling them I am old?” he laughingly accused the woman of doing such a thing. Sabira was a younger woman in her late twenties and a hybrid between a regular human and a burrower that had a lot of quirks — she had insect-like eyes, a bug-like face, and she was very petite, frail, and lengthy in posture but she wasn’t ugly. She was unique and intrinsic with beauty.

She gasped with such an accusation as she placed her hand on her chest, “Me!? Oh, no! I would never disrespect one of my peers in such a way, especially you, elder Pilka,” she teased him with a smile. This behavior and teasing brought a playful smile to his face, an even more playful roll of his eyes, and a shake to his head. He then pulled out a doll and handed it to Opa, she seemed surprised to receive something, and began to curiously check the doll out before playing with it.

Standing up, Pilka looked over to Sabira when she approached him, she had a reassuring smile, “You know you are one of the older ones, Pilka. Most people do not live towards your age because of the beasts, illness, or plenty of other reasons but that isn’t my point. Take it as a compliment that others are willing to use such a title and bow to you. It means they respect you and you are seen as a knower,” she had a seriousness in her voice as she patted his cheek and walked away after he gave her a bunch of items for the community.

Opa was sitting on the ground, only old enough to talk in simple terms, and babble vocally while moving around the doll and trying to figure out what it was. He crouched back down to the little girl, “How are you doing?” he let his hand slide over her forehead before petting her hair in one motion. She didn’t feel like she was having a fever anymore but she still looked clammy.

“Hurt,” Opa responded while pointing at her neck.

Pilka sighed, “Your neck still hurts?” he gently used both of his hands to feel her neck. Surely enough, she had inflamed lymph nodes, and he was glad that he went back into Dominion when he delivered that gift to Kara — he picked up medicine from a reliable source — and he brought it to give to Opa. When he saved her and her older brother Oce from the Cult of Darkness, they were sickly, but Oce seemed to get over it once he was in a stable environment. His immune system was stronger though Opa was struggling. She worsened. A stuffy nose, swollen lymph nodes, a tender throat, and she continuously cried because of the discomfort. He couldn't imagine how exhausted Sabira was from it all.

“I have something that you can take,” he picked up the little girl and his backpack so he could carry her into one of the living areas, specifically Sabira’s area, and set her down somewhere comfortable. “Can you put on a kettle?” he called out while opening up the medicine. Soon enough the hot water was brought to him and he poured the contents into a cup before stirring it together. Everything dissolved pretty quickly and the water turned from translucent to an orange-ish color. He let it cool before giving it to Opa and when she was able to drink it, she didn’t like the smell or taste, so he had to sit there and force her to take it all. Reminding her it was going to help her feel better.

It was after dinner time while Pilka sat around and did a few things that Sabira needed done before she approached him, “You need to take them to Sevet ul Krav,” she broke the silence that had infected the house for the past three hours. It started when the kids needed to go to bed but he found himself silently thinking about her words.

“I know,” he didn’t seem enthusiastic about it.

“Pilka, I am being serious. Opa will die down here. We do not have the proper medicine or protection for her. Plus, the cult is still searching. They are angry that you saved kids from their awful doings, Heli and Filk ran into them yesterday, and we should be glad they were not hurt because of it or worse.” Sabira felt like she had to convince him though he had already made up his mind before he came here.

Pilka stopped when he was doing and looked at her, “Sabira, I know. I will make sure Opa and Oce get to Sevet ul Krav but you have to understand. I am old. That trip takes about twelve hours when I do it alone. You have to climb up a straight drop off with little-to-no cliffs to rest on and I’m going to have two kids strapped to me when I do it this time,” he held eye contact with Sabira, the room fell heavily silent, and he went back to doing what Sabira needed done. “I’ll make sure they get there. Just let me rest for tonight and I’ll leave the first thing at wake,” Pilka explained.

“Thank you,” Sabira wanted to console him but she knew better. Pilka could be difficult and he had already made up his mind before they talked. What else was there to say other than appreciation? She knew that climb was rough on anyone which is why barely anyone did it. One slip or mess up and you were dead. There was no easy way to get to Sevet ul Krav.

At first wake, like he said, Pilka made sure he had the resources in his bag that he needed to make the trip. Opa was wrapped to his chest while Oce stood beside him. Oce having his own little bag with a make-shift clip in the front and a body harness attached to it. A rope led from Pilka to him — Pilka had a harness on as well. They were secured to each other by ten feet of rope. They all said their farewells and allowed Sabira to pray over them before they began their journey.

Oce talked the whole way and Pilka swore that the little boy didn’t even take a breath when speaking and they finally arrived at the area to climb which was roughly an hour and half walk from where the chut was. “I can’t see the top,” Oce stated.

Pilka looked over to him and chuckled, “We won’t’ see it for awhile,” he stated which caused a groan from Oce. He did not sound enthused about not being able to see the top for hours and he gave Pilka such a dirty look — not one of judgement but one that asked if he was truly serious. “I am not pulling your rope, Oce,” he jokingly tugged the rope that connected them.

“How much do we have to climb?” Oce asked with defeat.

Glancing down to check on Opa, she was completely out of it. He crouched down, carefully, and looked at Oce, “This is for your little sister, Oce. She is sick and she is going to need you. I would tell you that you could stay down here but it is not safe to do so and your sister would be terribly sad. Do you think you can be strong enough to climb and make it? I will help you.”

Oce seemed to have to think about it, he looked up into the darkness, and how steep and bare the wall was. He then looked at Pilka as if he was determining if he could trust him or not before nodding his head in agreement. “I’ll do my best.” he said as confidently as he possibly could for a boy his age.

Pilka ruffled his dark hair, “Good. Let’s get to it then,” They went up to the wall and Pilka helped Oce up and gave the young boy a head start before he started climbing after him.

It was a long time and longer than Pilka thought before Oce started vocalizing his exhaustion. Tears were rolling down the young boy's face and the older man would be lying if he said he didn’t notice them half an hour ago. It was better to ignore it in such situations until it couldn’t be ignored. An almost dreadful breath of air was taken by the little boy as his breathing started to shake with emotion, “Elder Pilka, I am tired,” he began to whine and sniffle.

Pilka stopped climbing and looked down at him. “What do you want me to do?” He wasn’t going to give Oce easy answers or solutions because he wanted the boy to think. What if he wasn’t with them and he had to do this himself?

“I…” Oce’s face twisted as he began and he looked at the stone in front of him and slightly down as if he needed to find the right words because there had to be a correct answer. “I would find somewhere to rest.” Was his honest area.

“Then look around. What do you see?” he asked the young boy.

Oce looked around to see the bare wall since they were nowhere near a cliff that they could rest on. This caused the young boy to look utterly defeated and overwhelmed. Then he began to climb again. Pilka watched him for a few seconds before sighing, “Come here,” he gestured.

The young boy stopped and glanced at him. “Why?”

“You can most likely fit in between me and the backpack so you can hang on and rest. Come one,” Pilka encouraged. This seemed to be such a relief to Oce, he hurried up, and listened to what Pilka ordered him to do. After getting Oce situated, Pilka climbed for a few more hours before getting to a cliff and feeling exhausted.

Getting Opa and Oce off from him, he made a bed with the wrap and backpack for the both of them, and created a fire. The children might have woken up for a few seconds but they quickly fell asleep in the nest of fabric and items without an issue. Pilka laid there for a while before falling asleep himself, making sure he was in between the cliff and the kids.

Plenty of tears, conversation, and exhaustion later. Pilka found himself pulling up the rope to help Oce get to the top of the cliff they had been climbing for the past day. When approaching Sevet ul Krav, it was a beautiful limestone city with golden accents, and he wandered the outskirts of the city until he got to Ta’nini’s house. She was coming out onto the steps as he approached, she was excited, “You brought children this time!?” she seemed so excited. Her whole presence beamed brightly as she approached.

Pilka gently stroked his fingers along Opa’s head and hair as she slept against his chest, “I have, this little one strapped to me is Opa, and this is her older brother Oce. I brought them here because they are being hunted by the Cult and Opa is sick,” he explained.

Ta’nini gestured for him to hand over Opa which he did after unwrapping her from him. She took the little girl and sniffed her, specifically her nose, “She smells like she has an infection,” she went over to the little boy who seemed nervous, she grabbed his chin, and sniffed his nose too. “You do not smell as strongly as her. You should be fine but I will keep an eye on both of you,” she explained with a smile. “I am Ta’nini,” She introduced herself.

Oce seemed to flush a bit and was uncertain of how he should interact. He looked to Pilka, Pilka raised his brows a little, and Oce looked back at Ta’nini. “I’m Oce, brother of Opa, and son of Jun and Epa,” he introduced himself formally and he got a validating nod from Pilka which seemed to cheer the little boy up.

“Are you sick too?” Ta’nini came over and grabbed Pilka’s chin before he could do anything about it and sniffed his face. “No, you just smell dirty,” she waved him off before gesturing for Oce to follow. “Come. I’ll show you to your new home,” she held out a hand so she and Oce could hold hands on their way.

Pilka followed. After the children were bathed and fed — Opa was put to sleep and Oce was introduced to a group of kids in the community. Ta’nini came back around, “They are safe now. Go rest or take a bath,” her words were teasing but caring. The people of Sevet ul Krav could bathe daily because of the natural springs that ran through the city. They had bath houses that were made of limestone and other types of stone that were kept in pristine condition.

The older man did just that, he enjoyed the luxuries of Sevet ul Krav, and spent a few hours in the steaming hot waters of the natural springs. Washing up and relaxing. And he would end up spending about two weeks in Sevet ul Krav before departing because he knew he needed to go back down. Packing his bag and making sure he had everything. He told everyone farewell, he encouraged Oce to stay strong and look after his little sister, and he wished Opa to recover before leaving.

The burrowers all called the level and area where Dominion sat as ‘Droval ul vash’ which translated to ‘depths of darkness’ and some even referred to it as ‘ul’shal droval ul vash’ which meant ‘within the sacred depths of darkness,’ and he found himself about a day later landing on the floor and being greeted by darkness and silence. That was until he took a few steps and stopped because he heard something in the distance. This caused his breathing to quiet and his senses to feel heightened as he carefully listened and looked around. That was when he stopped individuals. “Who is there!?” his voice demanded for whoever to show themselves. Sadly, he had an idea who was hiding in front of him.

That was when their cloaks began to appear as they got closer. There were five of them. “I’ve been waiting for you to return, Pilka. I almost thought you weren’t going to,” her voice cheekily came out as she readied her weapon — she was angry.

Pilka sighed, “I’m not fighting you, Mother Teresa,” his voice was level along with disinterest.

“It’s sister Tallullah! You plague,” she snapped at him.

He put up his hands, “I’m sorry. I’m old. I forget myself and forget people that don’t matter to me,” Pilka had a tone that made this sound more like a game though it was serious. The Cult of Darkness members were angry that he swooped Oce and Opa away from them. One of the angriest cult members was Sister Tallullah because he was constantly stopping her and her group from taking children.

She growled in annoyance, “I am here to inform you, by the mother and the father, you are considered a plague to our community and cause and you will suffer!” This was when she began to charge him. By this time, Pilka didn’t notice, but the four other members had lit torches so they could see better. It wasn’t a bother because he wasn’t very close to it when it lit up so he stepped back when they began to try making a ring of light around them.

The items that Pilka had on him was the grappling hook like weapon, two twin swords that he actually got from a Cult of Darkness member that he killed, and a hunting knife. Tallullah was charging him with a sword that was similar to the ones he had on his back, under his backpack, and he grabbed both of them.

Tallullah’s Attack = 4 (Failure)

Pilka quickly blocked her sword from hitting him and he almost felt bad because there was no force with her swing. “You might want to practice your swordsmanship, Sister Tallullah,” his words sounded encouraging and in a different situation, they would be, but at the moment they were an insult. Then one of the men came around behind him with a torch. He did no hesitation to take one of the swords and swing it at the cult member while pushing Tallullah backwards.

Pilka’s attack = 14 (Success)

The cult member stumbled backwards as his white and black robes began to fill with a red coloring. His breathing instantly became shaky from the adrenaline and Pilka stepped forward, towards Tallullah, and swung one of the swords at her almost teasingly.

Tallullah jumped back to block it, “Attacking members of darkness will put a bigger bounty on your head! I hope mother Feul or father Linin deal with you!” she hissed out those words before lunging at him again.

Tallullah’s attack = 2 (Failure)

Once again, Pilka blocked her and her face flushed, “You really do need to work on your swordsmanship. I thought the cult put all of their people through extensive training but you are father Kepelin’s daughter, so you got a pass didn’t you?” He continued to rub salt into the wound and Tallullah’s face flushed with fire.

“I was not given a pass! I had to work ten times harder than the rest of the children of Adam and Eve to become a sister! You are an abomination that has plagued us for decades and you shall not speak to me or others like that!” Sister Tallullah demanded respect.

Two more individuals were approaching him and the other one went to help the comrade that he cut, stepping back from Tallullah, he swung at the two individuals.

Sword 1 = 3 (Failure)

Sword 2 = 7 (Failure)

Pilka failed to hit them though it was hard because they both had long torches. He didn’t want to get burned with fire.

Torch attack by cult member = 4 (Failure)

One of them swung a torch at him, the ashes, flames, and embers going everywhere with the attempted strike and Pilka was able to move away and stay out of range of all three members who were ganging up on him. “This fight is appearing more unfair by the second,” he joked. “At least three of you against an older man like me. Didn’t your parents ever teach you manners? Respect your elders?” It was ironic that he joked about this but he knew the answer — cult members only respected each other.

Tallullah lunged after him again with her sword in both hands.

Tallullah attacking Pilka = 7 (Failure)

Once again he was able to out maneuver the attack and he swirled his weapons in his hands before locking them in a grab and preparing to fight with them. Pilka wasn’t planning on killing Tallullah because he wanted her to run back to the others and cry about what happened just like when he cut down three of the members to get Oce and Opa. Tallullah let out a grunt of frustration and she swung again in a sloppy manner that showed she was emotional.

Disadvantage attack = 6 (Failure)

Pilka blocked that one before pushing Tallullah over onto the ground with ease. He walked away from her and he went to attack one of the guys who swung a torch at him. Taking both swords and attempting to cut him down. The sword whistled when he slashed at the cult member.

Pilka sword 1 = 20 (success)

His second swing was a miss because of the first attack, blood splattered everywhere in between him and the cult member, and he could feel the wetness on his clothes and exposed parts of his body. The cult member fell with a thud against the ground and while he was just turning to check on the other cult members and Tallullah. The other man wielding a torch was coming at him.

Cult member attack with torch = 18
Yet it was too late for Pilka to jump away and he could feel the burning sensation on his shoulder, upper arm, and left side of his chest. The man jabbed him with the head of the torch while embers and ashes fell to the ground before the torch's light became extremely dim. Pilka let out a scream before clenching his teeth and stepping to separate himself from the torch and attacking the man.

Sword 1 = 6 (Failure)

Sword 2 = 5 (Failure)

Swinging did nothing except send electrocuting pain through his body from the left side and Pilka backed up quickly away from the cult member, making sure the other one with the hurt man was distracted, and Tallullah was away from him. His body was shaking from the rush of adrenaline and the mixture of pain he was feeling. The cult member that just got him with the torch was trying to reignite it.

Tallullah was getting up and death glaring at him with her brown eyes, she was furious, and for good reason. Pilka was making a fool out of her once again. Then she charged him again and swung.

Tallullah’s attack = 11 (success)

It wasn’t a powerful hit but she sliced open the arm that was just burned, getting some of the seared flesh with her cut, and smiling proudly that she finally got him. Pilka reached around to touch the slash but he stopped himself as he backed up a few feet. His brows furrowed as he was trying to manage the pain and focus on the two attacking him.

The man was distracted with the torch and was trying to reignite it when he looked up to see a sword coming down at him.

Pilka sword 1 = 21 (Success)

Pilka sword 2 = 6 (Failure)

A thud of a body echoed out into the cavity they were in and a head rolled away. Using his left arm was proving to be painful and exhausting. Every time he moved, it hurt, but when he moved that part of his body it hurt even worse. Tallullah gasped in horror, “You are a monster! You kill without hesitation!” she almost screamed these words in agony while tears rolled down her face.

“Do not refer to me as the monster or attempt to guilt trip me. You and your people lure children to their deaths and others that don’t know any better!” Pilka was angry and there was an underlying pain in his voice. Exhaustion was well from climbing down from Sevet ul Krav.

That was when their feud died. A laughter rang out in the darkness of the cavern and Pilka tensed up – Duskhounds… — the thought caused him to lock eyes into the darkness to try and see them.

“See, they are coming for you! They will give justice to what happened here today and what has happened in the past because of you!” Tallullah began to run away and disappeared into the darkness. She left the wounded cult member and the other that was trying to help.

Pilka let out a shaky breath as he could hear the echoing laughter of the creature getting closer. “Please. I don’t want to die!” The unhurt cult member begged while trying to stop the bleeding of the other, his hands and arms were dreadfully soaked, and Pilka knew there was no saving the man that was bleeding out.

He glanced over to the cult member, “Why should I?” his words were plainly asked since he didn’t see any reason to help the member at all.

“I had no choice in joining the cult! It was either being sacrificed to a demogorgon or becoming a son of Adam. Please! I’ll do anything if you help me,” The person continued to beg. Pilka didn’t know if he should trust the words of the man begging for help but he wanted to.

An irritated noise could be heard from Pilka as he thought and argued internally about it, “I never want to see you associating with the cult again. If I do, I will not hesitate to kill you. Do you understand?” he continued to back up and get closer to the man that finally realized there was no saving his friend.

“I do. I promise, I will never help or associate with them again,” he cried out, not because he was scared of dying, but clearly he liked the guy that Pilka cut down.

That was when a single Duskhound appeared, cackling, and trying to sense the movements and electromagnetic pulses of the things he was hunting — Pilka and a soon-to-be-ex-cult-member. This one was smaller and looked to possibly be freshly pushed out of the familia pack — a natural occurrence to encourage young male Duskhounds to find their own breeding partner and start a familia group.

Pilka got in between the Duskhound and the man who was emotionally distraught. Putting his swords away, he saw no use, since if a Duskhound got that close to him. It was going to be a tragedy. This was when he brought out his grappling hook weapon and prepared it. “Do not move quickly or make too much sound,” Pilka whispered and even that whisper got the Duskhound turning its head to show that it heard him.

Then it seemed to know exactly where Pilka and the other man were and lunged at them.

Arriving at the chut a while later, the man was helping Pilka walk, and apologizing profusely for not being of any help with the Duskhound. The older man was somewhat annoyed about the constant chatter that this ex-member had pent up but he didn’t tell him to shut up or stop talking. The man must have needed to get it out. However, Pilka was relieved to see Sabira coming out hastily with worried eyes. Two others came out as well with worry. They began to ask a ton of questions about what had happened to him.

Pilka explained everything and the man that was with him awkwardly waved and tried to explain that he was no longer a part of the cult but he was wearing the cloaks and symbols of a fresh cult member — one of the lowest rank. A child of Adam and Eve.

Sabira took Pilka to the medicine hut to check out all the wounds and things. The massive burn that was welting, blistering, and skin was folded like wrinkled clothes caused her face to twist with disgust. The slash would need stitches. Then he had a nasty bite on his thigh from fighting the duskhound.

Lying there on the bed, he was only in boxers while Sabira stared at his wounds with disgust, “Didn’t you listen to anything I said before you left? You are old! You can’t be fighting like some young buck, Pilka!” Once she had her thoughts together, she was berating him like an angry and disappointed mother. The healer of this chut, an older man and about fifteen years Pilka’s senior, was making pastes and different things to help decrease the chances of infection and increase the ability to heal. “Yelling at a man that is as stubborn as Pilka will do nothing, Sabira. We have our ways. He has his. Now if you are going to continue to yell, you can leave, a patient doesn’t need more stress while they are in this condition,” the raspy voice of the older man echoed out in the hut while he walked over to Pilka and began to work on the burn mark, the slash, and the bite mark to make sure they were disinfected before he did anything else.

Sabira gasped to hold her breath at such words and she nodded before letting that breath out, “Yes, I am sorry Elder Guin. I will not yell at him anymore,” but she let her eyes glare at Pilka instead which said everything as well.

Pilka was focusing on what elder Guin was doing and his face kept twisting and turning each time he showed something into his wounds. “You know… that hurts right?” After a bit, Pilka couldn’t help it.

Elder Guin looked at him with hooded eyes that were wrinkled to show his age, “Do you enjoy pain or do you enjoy not having limbs?” he asked casually as he did a few more things before preparing the needle and thread to stitch up Pilka’s arm.

“I rather have my limbs,” Pilka huffed out in relief because of the small break with no sudden jabs of pain from Elder Guin’s fingers.

“Then I don’t know why you are complaining,” Elder Guin spoke softly before he handed Pilka a rolled up wad of cloth around a stick. “Keep that in your mouth so you don’t bite your tongue,” he commanded and he started working on the stitches before Pilka could even get the thing into his mouth and Pilka quickly put it in between his teeth with a growl from the needle stabbing his flesh.

After a few days of staying in the chut and keeping an eye on the ex-cult member, he was satisfied, and he made his way back to his home. That was where he slept for probably a few days with waking up in between to check on the wounds, put the pastes and take the medicine that elder Guin gave him, and to make sure the stitches were fine. Everything seemed to check out so he was happy for the most part.

Then he grabbed a few weapons and his bag to set out for Dominion. He snuck into the city during a late time and placed a bag on Kara’s door handle. It had that fruit he let her try but this time there was a different variation. There was the regular purple-black with the red flesh inside but there was also orange-yellow with green insides.

Going into Esille, he spotted a handful of people. There were too many people at that busy market, and he was trying to get a few things but he couldn’t encourage himself enough to go into a crowded place with so many wounds. There was a girl with purple in her hair walking somewhere like she was on a mission. She probably was and he stayed up in the higher parts of the stone and watched. She was soon out of sight.

Then a man, quite a bit later, was walking through with someone that appeared to be a dweller - then he recognized them. It was Gator and Kit. A part of him wanted to say hi but he knew that Kit was probably on the way to work. Pilka laid there on the edge for a while out of exhaustion. The man didn’t even realize he was falling asleep before he woke up to screaming. Someone yelled the words he hated to hear, “DUSK HOUNDS!!!”

Safety officers were dedicated to figuring out what happened between Pilka and Roach Vexler during the Duskhound attack — two officers were already at the girls house — These two patrol officers noticed Jonathan at the right moment which got them locked onto him. After careful consideration, they started heading towards them. One was a middle aged man, average height and build, and the other was a smaller woman that looked to be older. “Hey you!” the woman called out while approaching. Since the area was darker, she took out a flashlight, and turned it on. Pointing it directly at Jonathan to see him better.

“We need to ask you a few questions,” she proceeded politely though she didn’t come anywhere at arms length from the man with the nickname.
The middle aged man, he seemed indifferent, but he had a job to do. “It’ll only be a few minutes,” it was as if he was trying to talk Jonathan into staying or easing his consciousness that this was not an arrest — it wasn’t. However, they could make it an arrest if they wanted to because of the report and footage that the safety officers wrote about the whole incident earlier that day. Jonathan assaulted a licensed contractor with a broken can.

Each officer seemed to have a different grasp on how they would handle the situation, the woman standing farther away from Jonathan while the man approached him to get close. “You are Jonathan or “The Ratman” are you not?” the man asked for Jonathan to identify himself because they had rules to follow — messing up on rules meant even if they arrested Jonathan, he could get out, and they honestly wanted full control over this chaotic situation.

Everyone was filtering in to see this day of judgement and they were wondering what would come of it. Last night, there was a broadcast that informed all the citizens of Dominion what would be happening today. A judgement like this hasn’t taken place in a while and people found it more exciting than anything. How the hall was set up was odd, it had a circle in the center where the defendant stood or sat. A small trench of stone was around this platform and raised up is where the council and other prominent figures sat in a circle. About a ten foot gap was in between the next raise and where the council sat, upon the raise was where the general public sat. It almost looked like a theater.

On one side of the circle, was a platform in the ten foot raised area where people sat and testified against the defendants. It was theatrical. Everyone filtering in to listen and watch what would happen while council members began to take their seats and discuss their already hardened opinions. Thorne said something along the lines of, “We should be able to kill them already and get it over with. Why does it have to be a public matter?” While Elira laughed at it and made a joke in his ear that others couldn’t hear. It was a game to them that they honestly thought was wasting their time while council member Aureline looked hardened and unreadable. Staring at the center in wait for the defendant to stand there and beg or plead. To give up a fight or something.

Council member Geode sat down a seat away from each of them because they knew his standing. It was uncomfortable to be here for him and he looked at all the people rushing in to gape at what was happening like fools. How civilized could they be if they were acting like animals while men were put to death? It was disgusting.

A prominent man around his age sat by him, “You look as happy as a chipper,” the man joked while glancing at him.

“I don’t think I can sit here and watch this. It’s law abiding injustice,” Geode almost spat out those words.

The man laughed, “Everything will be alright or are you that scared justice will take away your attack dog?” his voice was low. “Didn’t you hire Detective Vexler to get rid of it? Or was that someone else?” his words were at a whisper now.

Geode glanced at the man, “I have no idea what you are talking about and I think you should hold your tongue before rumors start,” their eyes held an intense gaze, the man was deciding if it was worth it to push or not. Then Geode continued, “Someone else can have that chair. You can go sit in the back because nothing close is opened anymore,” it was a threat.

“Fine. Fine. I’ll stop pressing. However, what do you hope happens?” he seemed curious.

“Justice.”

The man seemed to look at him oddly, “What do you mean?”

“I hope the jury does the proper thing and the council as well. However, I do not trust Thorne or Elira with good judgement.” He continued to speak slowly back to the man before they both started to find comfort in their seats.

Lady Isolde strode into the chamber with an air of cool steel. Her demeanor neither suggested she wanted to be here nor that she wanted to leave. Truth be told, she was looking forward to this process. Not because she wanted to decide the fate of the accused, a matter of life or death, but because it was a ritual of sorts, one that council members had not done for a while. Being one of the new council members, she knew she had much to prove, to herself, to the other council members, to the people watching her ever closely.

She was dressed in a dark gray gown with black velvet gloves. Her hair was worn down with a tiara atop her head. Her light gray eyes flicked from one person to another, gauging if there was someone she should be paying more attention to. Once she was satisfied, she took her seat.

She overheard some of the conversation. The council appeared split. Would that mean she would need to break a tie? She was positively radiating from the possibility.

”It is a good day for justice to be dispensed. I wonder what the gods are thinking right now as we prepare to judge another for their crimes while so many get away with theirs.” Isolde’s eyes gazed to her fellow council members, but held no obvious intent. She knew she was a queen of information.

Thorne rolled his eyes in almost a dismissive way, “What gods are there?” his voice was snarky as if he was almost mocking Isolde. There was no patience in his body language as if she had ruined coming in and disturbing him and Elira’s banter. Elira seemed to quiet down now that the younger woman was there.

However, Aureline glanced over, “May the gods have mercy on our souls…” she finally leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms. It was hard to tell what the Council member of Khia was thinking but she was handsome and neutral. She hated burrowers coming in and messing up things but she hated how the law was enforced in Dominion yet she couldn’t do anything about it. She tried before, when she had a little more faith and hope, but she couldn’t find any of that anymore. Everything was work… work… work.

“What are you hoping for Isolde?” Elira finally decided to say something with a somewhat pleasant smile. Trying to be warm and cause small talk. It wasn’t like she was stuck up but Thorne’s initial reaction put her off guard and Aureline’s helped ease her into saying something since those two were brooding and she didn’t care for it.

”I hope for what you all hope for, I am sure. That we hear what we need to, listen to the people’s voices, see the evidence before us. To see justice done. Is that not what we are here for?” Her eyes hit Thorne and his tone. She ignored Aureline. Isolde had her opinions of the other council members and she held that close to her chest.

”If one is worried for what the gods will judge us for, perhaps things need to change. Perhaps the whole ordeal is a penance for the sins of the past and who among us holds the right to decide the fate of another? And yet, here we sit on our gilded thrones. History repeats and repeats, it seems.”

A sudden shift in the chamber’s atmosphere marked the arrival of the Speaker of the Court.

The ambient murmur dulled, as if the hall itself had drawn breath in anticipation. Corvina Syn entered through the high archway, her silhouette distinct against the chamber’s light. She wore layers of charcoal and ash, the obsidian threads of her tailored robe catching the glare of overhead panels in fractured glimmers. Beneath it, the Council’s sigil, a faint imprint on her underdress, served as a quiet rebuke to those who mistook opulence for authority. Every stitch, every angle of her attire mirrored Dominion’s unforgiving architecture, an intended alignment of self and state. She had chosen the ensemble not to dazzle, but to send a clear message: her power here lay in the absence of excess, hesitation, and doubt.

She advanced without haste, her presence carving silence in her wake, prompting even a few seasoned concillors to stiffen as she passed. The coiled twist of her black hair bared the severity of her features, impeccably still, save for the glint in her steel-gray eyes. No jewelry adorned her, save the Speaker’s pin: a flat disc of pale metal. Its presence at her throat reminded others of her allegiance to law, not lineage. She spared no glance for the galleries; their rapt attention was a foregone conclusion, a reflex she’d honed over decades.

When she reached the dais at the edge of the council’s ring, she placed a gloved hand upon the encoded panel embedded in the podium. The light flared blue, then settled. Then her voice rang out, amplified, unshaken, and utterly free of adornment.

"Let it be known to the people of Dominion that the Council now convenes to weigh judgment upon the accused." Her gaze passed slowly over the empty platform where the defendant would soon stand. "Detective Roach Vexler, formerly of the Internal Security Division, is hereby called before this chamber under charges ranging from misconduct to high treason, and more gravely still, terrorism, and first-degree murder."

A murmur rose like static from the upper galleries. Corvina’s jaw tightened imperceptibly. She always found public trials to be performative, yet she also understood that they were necessary to pacify the masses.

"The severity of these allegations demands transparency, scrutiny, and decisive action. The people of Dominion have the right to witness this process, and the Council has the duty to uphold it."

Her chin lifted, a fractional motion that sharpened her profile against the chamber’s pale light. Her steel-gray eyes swept the ring, pausing on each council member, a few averting their eyes. But when her gaze landed on her daughter’s vacant witness platform, she allowed herself a single controlled exhale.

"Let no personal history, no unspoken loyalty, no familial bond interfere with the law. Let the truth, however inconvenient, prevail."

She stepped back, gloved hands clasped behind her, a posture drilled into her during her first year in her role.

"Call the accused."

The man was in the back area for holding with Pilka and was staring at the gray-toned man, “Worst, case scenario is we both die,” he joked while listening to such a familiar and sickening voice announce the introduction of today's court events — he was first. Letting out a sigh, he stood up when guards opened up the door, and he was removed from the safety of the cell. He ignored the snickering whispered comments of the guards until they were pushing him out the door.

“With an attitude like that, I hope you both break your ankles from simply walking,” Roach then walked out onto the podium, the center, and was somewhat blinded by how bright the light shone over him. Raising his cuffed hands to block the light while he took a glance at the crowd, he didn’t see Selene at the moment, but his eyes landed on Corvina.

What an absolute bitch… she probably volunteered for this, Roach thought to himself while staring at her before letting his hands fall down in front of him and standing there in wait.

---

The latch unlocked with a loud click which echoed in the already silent holding unit. Kara looked up, hearing footsteps approaching from down the hall. She watched as a few officers walked past her cell to stop at the next one. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment, up until she saw Roach being led away. The young woman waited, sitting as still as a statue on the bench. The latch was locked once more and she rushed to that same corner closer to Pilka's cell.

"The trial has started..."

She didn't have a lot to say, not even a few words of consolation for her friend. Her handcuffed hands gripped one of the bars, that feeling of helplessness slowly building up within her. "There's nothing more I can do now, is there?"

---

A shift rippled through the chamber, subtler than Corvina’s earlier entrance but no less consequential, as Selene Syn ascended the witness platform. She did not enter from the same archway as her mother. No, they had long stopped arriving through the same doors. The soft click of her boots was nearly swallowed by the murmuring gallery above, but to those watching closely, it was enough. The faint hiss of the platform’s mechanical lift as it adjusted to her presence gave her nowhere to hide. Spotlights cut a pale swath across her form, rendering every movement obvious to any that took notice of her. The violet strands of her hair were swept back in an uncharacteristically formal braid, exposing the tense lines of her jaw. A deep charcoal coat fell open at her sides, revealing a more conservative silhouette than she was known for:a matte-black, high-necked compression tunic tucked into fitted slacks, high collar, reinforced cuffs, no adornment. No statement pieces. Nothing to catch the eye.

Just as she’d been taught.

The outfit was custom-tailored years ago, commissioned by Corvina under the guise of “proper presentation training.”: dark tones to absorb attention, symmetry to convey order, and hair pulled back to bare one’s face to show the world you had nothing to fear and nothing to conceal. Selene had, of course, rejected those lessons the moment she was old enough to choose her own reflection. She had worn asymmetry like a rebuttal—threadbare jackets, metallic rings on every other finger, and hair dyed in tones that clashed with tradition.

Now though, she looked like a replica of Corvina's design. But she had to. It was important to appear this way. To show that whatever she said today, it was coming from the mouth of someone that others recognized and could trust. Her mother was an important figure, and the resemblance that they’d always shared was sure to serve her well today. Or so she told herself.

Selene wasn’t testifying yet. But they all knew why she was here. Her gaze didn’t go to her mother. Instead, her eyes scanned the ring and found him.

Roach.

She almost didn’t recognize him under the overhead lights. Not because he looked different but because he looked the same, and something about that….felt wrong. Despite the same old coat, the same unimpressed slouch, the same expression like he was about to insult someone for fun. Because now his hands were bound like he was something dangerous. And she’d never truly viewed him that way before, regardless of the role he often occupied.

He still hadn’t seen her. And maybe that was mercy.

Selene’s posture didn’t falter, but her hands tensed slightly where they gripped the rail of the witness platform. No one else would notice, but the flex of her fingers against the metal betrayed her restraint. She remembered what her father had told her: Testify with facts. Not feeling. But right now, she wasn’t sure where one ended and the other began.

Her eyes lingered on Roach for a moment longer, then dropped. Because if she looked any longer, and if he looked back, she wasn’t sure she’d survive it.

Jonathan was sitting on the bench, waiting for his turn to be questioned. Humming softly while looking around the room. The law jargon was boring, and he didn’t understand most. He was wearing what he wore a couple of days ago. Consisting of a black suit and fedora. Watching everyone giving their account of the story. He was scared that his part in the story would mess everything up. And put him behind bars.

Aureline stayed back in her chair as if she was unimpressed and this was a waste of time to her but her eyes heavily watched the speaker, the accused, and the witness. Being the council member of the mines, she participated in that work, so this was taking her out of her never ending nine-to-five. There were no glances to Elira and Thorne who seemed to sit up and a bit forward in anticipation as if they were watching a game show or it was centuries upon centuries ago in the Roman theater. They were amused and their attention was absorbed by the accused. Elira kept whispering in Thorne’s ear even though his responses were nods and possibly little whispers to assure her of his approval or disagreement on what she said.

Council member Geode looked around the theatrical setup with a sickness in his expression. It was not very apparent though if someone stared, they might notice it, but he honestly thought the whole setup was barbaric. Everyone whispered amongst themselves in the higher levels of the court while they sat lowly and waited to hear all the information that Corvina Syn, the speaker of the court would say, and what the man would say in defending himself — if anything at all. “This is awful…” he barely said it above his breath as the man sitting by him chuckled. Probably didn’t even know what Geode said but felt the need to respond.

However, the council members seemed to be in their own rights of reaction to hearing all of the possible charges this man might get — Roach Vexler sounded like an issue — except one of the council members knew of this man too well.

Isolde paid little mind to her fellow council members, instead preferring to pay careful attention to the accused as well as the witnesses. If she were to be judge, jury, and, by the looks and sounds of things, executioner, she wanted to have all the information. Information was power. She had been told that since she took her very first breath. It was a thing people took for granted often. They never learned. If one wanted secrets to be kept, they needed to shut their mouths.

Isolde did glance at Elira and Thorne in the throes of conversation and amusement. ”If you two are quite finished, I believe we are getting underway. Unless neither of you care about the outcome or have already made up your minds, in which case I suggest leaving and letting us get on with it.” She did not care if this ruffled feathers. That was how change happened.

“Or you could leave,” Thorne glanced at Isolde as if she was nothing more than speck. “You’ll learn in time that it is all a game and we might have final say, but we do listen to the people’s jury and their final decision,” he was about to continue before Elira raised her hand.

She smiled at Isolde, “You might be a council member, but you are people’s choice, Isolde. Your position gets voted out sometimes yearly if the people choose it. Ours does not,” her voice sounded pleasant… in a sickening way. She was probably trying to hint at a threat. The people’s choice might be on the same platform but being people’s choice was a difficult matter when they had no direct say in districts but they had a direct stay for the people.

Geode sighed, “Can you all be quiet? You are going to make this take longer than it should if you act like children,” He was the oldest council member and the one that was repeatedly voted in. This was nothing new to him — he had watched the council rip each other to shreds before. “Let Corvina question the witnesses without disruption or all three of you can stand in the back by the exits for all I care.” Large events like this always put Council member Geode into a bad mood because it was never a deal of justice but a deal of law even if the law was unfair. And, sadly, the people continued to not vote for change on laws like this and when they did — they voted for them to have a heavier hand.

Isolde merely smiled. She nodded towards Geode, recognizing the need for silence in this moment. It was true her position was one that required the votes whereas the others would hold theirs no matter what.

But was that really true?
Everyone liked to think their positions were ironclad. Steeled and immovable. But in her experience that led to many forgetting that steel could still be destroyed. Penetrated if someone had the right tools at their disposal.

So Isolde returned her attention to the center, preparing to hear the words. But she made a mental note for later. And that knowledge tickled her.

The hall had scarcely resettled from Roach’s arrival when the Speaker of the Court stepped forward once again. Corvina's posture was immaculate, her voice unshaken.

“The Council now calls Selene Syn to the stand as a witness in this tribunal.”

A shift rippled through the chamber as Selene stepped forward. The platform adjusted with a mechanical hum as the girl took her place, shoulders squared, hands steady at her sides. The spotlight angled down across her braid and matte-black tunic, making her every line deliberate and visible. She didn’t glance at her mother, though. Instead, she spoke clearly and calmly. Just as she’d been trained to do, what felt like a long time ago.

“The first time I encountered the accused in the timeline relevant to this case was during an incident involving a wild duskhound in the shopping district of Esille. Detective Vexler intercepted me initially because he was concerned, and while his intervention was abrupt, it came from a position of protection rather than aggression.”

Before Selene could continue, Corvina's voice cut gently but firmly through the chamber's silence, a controlled reminder of the court’s purpose.

“Witness Syn, kindly restrict your testimony to observable facts relevant to the charges. Assumptions about intent must be supported by direct evidence or factual history.”

Selene met her mother's eyes briefly, a silent exchange passing between them before she nodded once, composed and unflinching despite how annoyed she felt underneath it all.

“Understood.” Selene's gaze moved back to the council. “Detective Vexler was assigned by my family to ensure my safety from a very young age. His intervention during the duskhound incident was consistent with his previous duties, which have historically prioritized my protection. The methods he employed during the attack minimized harm to civilians and prevented what could have become multiple fatalities. Without his intervention, it’s highly likely that I, and possibly several others, would have died.”

She paused briefly, allowing this careful clarification to settle into the council's consciousness before continuing.

“I believe these facts are essential context for the council’s understanding of his actions both then and subsequently.”

Isolde paid close attention, not to the witnesses’ words, but more to her body language. Isolde didn’t get the sense this was anything more than a person trying to uphold a loved one’s image and reputation. It was a pity that court cared very little for that and preferred either evidence or showmanship. Isolde spared a glance to her fellow council members, sure that at least a few of them had made up their minds.

There was an underlying vein though, especially when Corvina spoke up. Isolde sat back in her chair and awaited further information.

All the council members seemed to have different reactions — Thorne rolled his eyes. Elira seemed more interested as if actual emotional depth was being shown instead of factual biases. Aureline didn’t seem to be moved in any which way, staying neutral in expression, and not reacting at all to the speaker Corvina or the witness Selene.

However, Geode’s brows furrowed as he stared at the young woman on the witness stand as she spoke. It was clear that this was not a good witness. She might have been trying to hide emotions and attachments but she faltered.

When Roach heard Selene speaking, he didn’t turn to look at her, but he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. There was a split second thought of him confessing to himself that he wasn’t surprised but then again… something inside of him hurt a little bit that she was up there on the witness stand and speaking out — against him. His eyes opened up and he gently shook his head in the negative. A clear indicator of disappointment.

---

Pilka could hear all the commotion beyond the walls, the loud speaking of Corvina, the faint talking of Selene, and all the whispers of the audience. The grey-skinned man looked over at Kara and he forced a smile, ‘There is nothing you could have done. The only thing that could have stopped this is if we didn’t run into each other at all,’ his words were even as his moonlit-eyes looked over at her. ‘I will be fine.’

A sigh let out, ‘Do not tear yourself down about any of this, okay?’ he was trying to be reassuring but he knew he wasn’t doing a great job at it. ‘It’s not like they wouldn’t do this to me any other time, if they had caught me,’ he chuckled, not because he found it humorous, but he found it stupid.

"Unfortunately you're right," she added as she stared down at the floor. After her experience with Pilka, Kara had realized how badly unchecked the stigma ran against dwellers and burrowers. She exhaled, pushing away from the bars. "I'll put on a good word for you out there, promise." A small smile formed as she said those words, but the rest of her face only showed the concern that left no room for optimism.

---

Corvina’s voice spoke up.

“Let the record reflect that the witness has confirmed her proximity to both the accused and the Burrower known as Pilka during an unsanctioned altercation in the Esille market district.” Her fingers grazed the edge of a holographic transcript, flipping its pages until she finally lifted her gaze, cold, honed, daring Selene to flinch.

“You testified earlier that your decision to engage was based on observation. Let us proceed from there.”

Selene’s shoulders tensed slightly, so small a motion most would miss it, but Corvina would not. Corvina’s hands, pale and still as alabaster, settled neatly atop the dais as she asked:

“Describe, in detail, what you saw between Detective Vexler and the burrower. Focus on conduct, escalation, and whether the accused made any attempt to de-escalate once civilian presence became evident.” Her lips thinned, a surgeon’s suture of a smile.

“And do keep to facts this time, Witness Syn. No editorializing.”

Selene’s fingers twitched, a phantom spasm swiftly smothered. The chamber’s climate controls hummed, yet sweat prickled beneath her collar. She began flatly as though reciting a post-mission debrief, each syllable sanded of inflection.

“The accused pursued the burrower through the market district following the duskhound attack. I initially disengaged and left the area. However, after hearing the sound of a weapon discharge, I returned to observe the situation more directly.”

A measured inhale.

“Upon my return, I observed the accused using a steel cable to restrain the burrower.” She spoke carefully for this next part, like someone stepping across shattered glass. “The burrower was visibly injured and attempting to remove the device. In the process of doing so, the accused was briefly overpowered. When he stood, he drew a firearm.”

There was another pause. For breath. And for the truth.

“The burrower did not immediately retaliate with lethal force. He displayed a blade, but his stance was defensive. In that same moment, a civilian entered the scene—a young woman, approximately my age.”

“Kara Voss,” Corvina inserted crisply. “As confirmed in post-incident records.”

Selene gave no outward reaction. She simply continued.

“She placed herself between the accused and the burrower. She was not harmed, but her presence did not appear to deter the accused’s aggression.”

Selene’s gaze shifted briefly to the Council, catching the eyes of those seated above her.

“A second civilian appeared, and the accused briefly aimed his weapon at him as well.”

Another pause.

“At no point during the escalation did the accused issue a formal warning, identify himself under authority, or attempt to de-escalate the conflict verbally once civilians were clearly present.”

Her eyes finally moved down, toward the platform’s edge, then slowly back to meet the eyes of the council. Not her mother.

“When I intervened physically in an attempt to stop the confrontation, I failed. Shortly after, the accused was disarmed with a projectile and during the resulting confusion, the burrower and the young woman fled. I remained on scene until officers arrived.”

It was here that Selene allowed herself one final sentence.

“Those are the facts, as I witnessed them.”

Isolde kept a running beat in her head. This witness, Selene, was measured in her response. Practiced. However there was an undercurrent of emotion stemming. Was it due to whatever nature was held between Selene and the accused or was it the tension, almost overtaken, between Selene and Corvina. Isolde didn’t need to scan and observe Corvina herself to understand there was some hostility, however veiled.

The facts provided painted a picture. Isolde could almost see it as if it was happening in front of her. However, a fool would immediately put merit on one witness’s testimony. After all, even the most profound person is touched with emotion. Selene could have seen something and put, in its place, something else she felt. The other girl or the burrower, perhaps. Or perhaps the accused was, in fact, guilty as sin.

Isolde waited, the thrum of this filling her veins. The other council members may care or they may not, but this was thrilling.

There was no applause. Somewhere in the upper tiers, a spectator’s throat clicked dryly, followed by a hiss of admonishment that died mid-syllable. The air itself seemed to thicken, heavy with unvoiced judgments. It was the quiet of a vault sealed shut, of a detonation smothered mid-blast.

Corvina’s voice, as ever, was the click of the bomb disarmed.

“The court thanks Witness Syn. You may step down.”

The witness platform descended with a wheeze, its hydraulics exhaling as Selene’s feet met the chamber floor. Her stride betrayed nothing, her chin angled to avoid the council’s predatory gazes. She moved as her mother’s protocols demanded while the crowd’s periphery blurred as she passed, a mosaic of faces and glinting recording lenses. If her eyes moved toward Roach’s enclosure, it was a reflex quashed before recognition could fully crystallize.

Only when she rejoined the crowd did her fingers unclench.

Corvina, for her part, did not watch her daughter leave the witness platform. Instead, she tapped her transcript once and turned a page.

“The court will now hear testimony from Kara Voss.”

Roach’s face twisted when he heard Kara Voss since he knew that girl didn’t like him. The short amount of time he spent in the holding cells with her and Pilka made it very clear that she was going to gut him like a pig in her testimony against him. It was somewhat funny to him that she was able to testify against him at all when she would most likely be getting her own trial.

That was when he noticed Selene blending into the stands but she didn’t blend in to him and he looked directly at her. Staring. The light pouring down on him was intense but his eyes were even greater then he blinked and took his attention elsewhere.

---

‘I want you to do what is best for you, Kara. I don’t want you to put in a good word for me if that puts you in danger.’ He was hoping that she understood where he was coming from. Pilka could hear the announcement and glanced at Kara, ‘Sounds like it is your turn,’ he casually mentioned as he heard a heavy door open up and unbolt while two sets of footsteps came down the hall. Officers that were here to come get Kara to testify — the officers didn’t want him to testify because he said he understood why Roach was doing it. Everyone had to make money somehow. Plus, he was illegally in the city so they had no reason to make him testify.

She too heard the announcement that called her to testify. Kara's pulse quickened, her head turning towards the officers that would be leading her to the witness stand.

"Be careful," she whispered. Alternative words eluded her, failing to be able to say anything comforting to her friend. She was led out of her cell and she looked back once in silence, one of the officers giving her a gentle nudge to go ahead and walk towards the door. Kara was afraid that was the last time she would see him, but there was nothing more she could do even if she tried, and that thought killed her.

Once out in the Judgement Hall, Kara was amazed at the near theatrical presentation: the excessive number of lights, the large crowd, the weird layout... She walked forward slowly, her expression neutral as she was filled with worry. Her eyes didn't meet anyone else's despite an entire crowd probably eyeing her with some form of judgment. After she arrived at the witness stand, she stepped up on the platform as instructed. The officers advised her it would lift about 10 feet, and so her handcuffed came to rest on the rail. Kara then raised her gaze to briefly scan the crowd as best as she could despite the bright lights shining on her as if she were part of a circus freak show. She wasn't looking for anyone specifically, though she did notice an uncanny resemblance amongst the majority of them. Maybe it was their stoic expression or the way they were dressed.

Kara then gasped, nearly inaudibly, once the platform began its ascent.

As the platform jerked to a stop, Kara stood level with the council members perched above like stone carvings on a temple wall. Their faces gave nothing away, but the weight of their stares pressed down. Corvina observed her reaction closely, intrigued, despite having participated in this dance many times. Witnesses either crumbled or combusted under the council’s silence. She wondered which this one would choose.

“Kara Voss,” she began. “You were present during an unsanctioned altercation involving the accused, Detective Roach Vexler, and an individual identified as Pilka, an unregistered Subdesignated Biological Entity, as defined under Article Forty-Four of the Surface Ordinance Law.”

Beside Corvina, the court transcript flickered into motion, Kara’s identity and case linkage displayed in clean, blinking text, only for her eyes.

“Per classification, said individual is unauthorized for presence within Dominion-regulated boundaries and is presently detained pending relocation to an Unclaimed Zone. Your testimony is expected to assist in determining whether further procedural violations occurred during this engagement.”

Corvina’s hands settled against the dais as her gaze fixed coolly on Kara.

“The court acknowledges you were not present at the start of the incident but arrived amid its escalation. You are hereby instructed to relay, in precise terms, what you personally observed.”

A pause, her razor smile returned.

“You will refrain from speculation. Speak only to what occurred before your eyes. Do you understand?”

Jonathan was on the edge of his seat, watching all the people involved in the incident being questioned. He was reminded of Shakespeare's plays, including all the banter and drama in this court case. But again, all the court jargon lost his interest. When the witnesses were questioned, his attention would come back. While the others were being interrogated, Jonathan was glaring at Roach. Focusing all of his hatred and anger on him. If only he had been alone with Roach, he was sure he would make him squeal and cry like a baby.

For a brief moment, he was imagining slicing up his face and neck with his pocket knife. This made Jonathan smile to himself. Doing it to other liked minded individuals would be preferable as well. He looked over at Selene as she was being questioned. “Bad girl.” He whispered, remembering how she treated him when they first met.

He would have used the knife if not for Selene blocking his target. If he had used the knife, he would have justified it by saying it was self-defence. He didn’t do anything but glare at Selene. His eyes focused on Kara, hoping she would do well while being questioned.

The council members were behaving and their eyes were steady on the three important parts of the judgement day — the speaker, the accused, and the individuals who were to testify. A few of them seemed to stare at Kara with questioning looks since she looked so young. One or two probably had questions on how she got wrapped up with a burrower in the first place. This might have caused concern in some of the council members because the protestors and rebels were becoming more and more frequent — there had been talk and consideration that borrowers were behind it. Was this a case for them? Pilka influencing citizens to go against their government to expose lies and corruption? They wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

Isolde held similar beliefs, but she was fairly sure she wasn’t as worried as the other council members were. Being the people’s chosen council member meant she was their voice and that voice included members of the populace the other council would sooner jump off a high tower than deal with.

She waited for Kara to testify. Out of everyone that would be speaking, she was most interested in hearing Kara and the accused. She would also prefer to hear from the burrower, but she knew that was pushing things too far.

It didn’t mean she couldn’t find out what he had to say anyway.

From her seat among the observers, Selene remained perfectly still. At least on the outside. Her jaw had relaxed, her hands rested neatly in her lap, but her focus was razor-thin and pointed.

Kara looked too small up there despite her being as old, if not older, than she was. The platform’s height seemed to exaggerate the imbalance, bringing out her youth. And Selene knew that look on her face. The practiced neutral, the stiff posture, the microsecond flinch when the lights hit. She’d worn it once. Still did, sometimes.

A slow breath left her as Corvina's voice cut again, entirely impersonal. Not a single one of her words acknowledged that Kara was just an innocent being dissected in front of a crowd, yet Selene couldn’t say that she was honestly surprised.

The one thing her eyes still didn’t do was shift toward Roach. They didn’t need to. She could feel the gravity of his presence, his eyes on her back, just as she could feel the tension threading through Kara's spine. They were all caught in this machine now, teeth on a gear. And Corvina was still the one turning the crank.

Seeing another silhouette rise to the stand made him roll his eyes. Why did court cases have to take so long? It was something irritating for him and then when the woman rose to the top and the light shined down on her — Fuck… not that little bitch… — he instantly thought. She was definitely going to testify against him, why wouldn’t she? She was trying to protect her friend and everything. Young and emotional… that was never a good thing for anyone.

And with all of that, Roach felt bad for her, because he understood the curiosity. When he was her age, burrowers were allowed in the cities, and no one had an overabundant curiosity about them. They were just there — you worked with them, might have had them in your family in some capacity, and so on. And in honesty, Pilka looked familiar to him. A little too familiar but he didn’t feel like he ever spoke to the kid — the man while he was a kid.

It was all so formal, just as she'd imagined, but the dry dialogue and expressions devoid of emotion unnerved her just the slightest.

"I understand," she acknowledged. Stick to facts and only facts, Kara She reiterated to herself, the pressure to do right by Pilka weighing on her. "I came across the incident walking home from the hospital. I noticed Pilka was hurt, and at first I thought the one responsible was the man trying to help him, but I was wrong. I then noticed Roach, and he didn't waste time carrying another offensive strike against Pilka, even though I was standing close to him, to Pilka I mean." Kara was not impressed with how he'd been labeled initially, a "biological entity". As if he wasn't a living being with his own thoughts and emotions. And so she would continue to say his name. "I realized Roach was under the impression that Pilka had hurt me because..." Kara stopped, gathering the strength to finally speak the truth out loud in front of members of The Council. "Because I falsified a report. I lied, claiming Pilka had hurt me when in all actuality, it was me who voluntarily accompanied him outside city limits."

Kara swallowed hard, one hand gripping the rail with enough strength to turn her knuckles white. "Even though I confessed to Roach Pilka hadn't hurt me, he doubled down on his decision to take him out. Selene arrived, and she too tried to convince Roach to let up. But he didn't care. In fact, he pulled out a gun, going as far as aiming it not only at Pilka, but at the other bystander as well." Throughout her brief statement, Kara had remained calm, her voice portraying the same. "Both the bystander and Selene attempted to disarm him, and in that moment I hurried off with Pilka, pulling him into an alley to prevent him from being killed. Unfortunately it was a dead end, though it wasn't long before the authorities arrived and we surrendered."

The truth was out now; the same truth that would shape her life for the worse. The details of how exactly that would happen was something that she would anxiously await.

The silence that followed Kara’s confession was a vacuum, sucking every twitch of the girl’s fingers, every shift in her breathing, into the vault of Corvina’s scrutiny. Her posture didn’t shift. Not a single lash fluttered. But her gaze remained just a second too long on the young woman before her.

“Let the record reflect,” Corvina began, her tone as neutral as ever, “that the witness has admitted to falsifying an incident report critical to this investigation.” Her fingertip brushed the console, and the transcript shimmered crimson, branding Kara’s words into permanence. This deception influenced Detective Vexler’s conduct, potentially exacerbating the conflict.” She tilted her head. “But even lies do not excuse failure to assess a threat before resorting to lethal force. Not when civilians are present. Not ever.”

Her hands folded neatly, a portrait of composure. Kara’s recklessness had handed Corvina something she could use, either to gut Vexler’s defense or to slit the girl’s own credibility. The beauty of it was in the choice.

“Your testimony has been noted in full, Ms. Voss. Should further clarification be required, you will be summoned again following the break.”

There seemed to be an uproar in the crowd when Kara confessed to lying about Pilka and what happened. People began to talk. There were concerns, there were worries, curiosities, and so much more. Why would someone lie about a burrower? Were they friends? Were they a part of the people who wanted to expose the surface!?

This was when Council member Thorne stood up and his deeper voice echoed in the large corridor, “ORDER! I CALL ORDER!” and this seemed to get quite a few people’s attention. They seemed surprised that one of the council members stood up and called for order. The room began to quiet and once it was at an acceptable level, Thorne sat back down, “Let the trial continue,” he gestured his hand.

There were three trials today. Everyone wanted to get this done and over with. He didn’t want the public reacting too much and slowing them down. Council member Geode glanced over before a slight curl to his lips happened. At least someone wanted an order in the court.

Isolde seemed to have it right. Kara was important to these proceedings and, by extension, the burrower would be someone to question for further clarification. But it seemed everyone just wanted things to continue.
”Ladies and gentleman of the public, your concerns will be heard after we hear from the witnesses and the accused. Please, be patient as we continue and know your voices matter just as much.” She stared at her fellow council members, daring them to correct her or state a contrary view, surely angering the crowd even more. She gestured to Corvina to continue.

‘Sweetheart,’ Roach called out while looking at Kara. ‘I have a job to do. You lying made that job more difficult. If you didn’t…” he chuckled at his words. ‘...maybe your friend wouldn’t have been wanted as much,’ he flicked his tongue against his teeth while shaking his head. Young people are so stupid… he thought to himself before his eyes casually glanced up at Selene who was hiding in the crowd. Then they moved over to the newer council member Isolde.

Everyone seemed to be in an uproar because of everything. It didn’t make sense to him. At least to anyone who was a resident of Khia, they worked alongside dwellers, and burrowers were always in the tunnels. Yet, he noticed, everyone that was causing a curiosity uproar was dressed nicer… middle class or higher. That made him roll his eyes hard before looking back down at his chains.

The words cut through her like a blade. Not that she was surprised...her actions had been reckless at best. She just wished Pilka wouldn't have been hunted as a result, and she also wished he had listened to her in the first place and stayed the hell outside of the city, as big of an ask at it may have been.

This time when the platform began lowering, Kara didn't flinch. She was a bit stunned, especially given the crowd's reaction. Once on the ground, Kara was led back to her holding cell. She left Judgement Hall the same way she came in, hands still bound and her gaze avoiding the crowd. But now, she also felt ashamed, unsure of what to say to Pilka.

Selene didn’t blink when the transcript turned red. She knew that shade intimately. It wasn’t just a bureaucratic marker; it was a brand. She’d seen it seared into case files, smeared across her own record years ago when she’d been deemed uncooperative. The colour clung. To documents, to skin, to the way people’s eyes slid past you once they recognized who you were.

But then, the worst part: the sound of the crowd.

Gasps, low murmurs, outrage rising. Selene’s spine tensed, knowing how quickly the public’s interest could twist into something hungry. She’d seen it before. Lived it. The difference was, when they came for her, they came politely. They called it a scandal. With Kara, they’d call it sedition.

When Thorne stood, barking for order, Selene felt the room’s balance tilt, tectonic and sudden. Authority thickened his voice, but it couldn’t smother the hunger beneath. Spectators settled into their seats like vultures folding wings, obedient but not sated. Compliance here was a lid on a boiling pot.

Selene’s gaze shifted to the witness stand just as the platform began to descend. Kara had looked too young up there despite her age. She’d looked like someone trying to do the right thing, and Selene hated how much she understood that. Hated how, in a different lifetime, or maybe a few wrong choices ago, that could’ve been her in shackles, choosing between honesty and survival.

And still, Corvina had turned her into a tool. Kara had handed her vulnerability over like an offering, and Corvina had taken it with clean fingers and made it strategic.

Still….Selene didn’t look at Roach, not even when he opened his mouth. But her jaw clicked once, in the back of her throat. It was the only outward sign of the anger she hadn’t decided what to do with yet.

Jonathan watched as Kara was being questioned. He had heard rumblings of a potential rebellion against the government. He didn’t support it, but he did understand why people like him would be angry. Depending on the jury's decision, things could go well or badly for him, especially with Kara. Leaning forward, he placed his elbow on his legs and his hands underneath his chin. Listening intensely to what Kara would say.

Looking over at Roach, seeing him starting to sweat a little as Kara took the stand. ”Hehehe.” Chuckling softly to himself. Looking surprised by her revelation of her lying to protect Pilka. He assumed she was quite a good egg from what he had seen of her actions.

He laughed again as Roach’s actions were reprimanded, even though Corvina had noted Kara lying in her report. Overusing power in this situation could help tip the balance in their favour. Looking over his shoulder at the people who were either booing or saying things that damaged Kara’s character. Glaring at them with intense hatred. Turning back around, the one named Throne called the court to order. Giving Kara a thumbs up and a smile as she came down from the platform. ”Your doin a good job kiddo.” He said.

Corvina didn’t so much as glance toward the ripple of voices swelling in the gallery. Let the masses grumble and shift in their seats like restless children. Such theatrics were Thorne’s domain, not hers. She remained motionless, her attention fixed on the holographic transcript bleeding crimson above her console. Kara’s lies still pulsed there, a wound left unbandaged.

She waited for the silence to return, just long enough for her voice to enter it:

“Let the record reflect Councillor Thorne has restored order following civilian interference,” she intoned. No reproach coloured her words; none was needed. Thorne’s methods might quiet the room, but hers defined it. She tapped her console, and the transcript advanced, Kara’s damning crimson text scrolling upward like smoke from a snuffed candle. Beneath it, fresh lines glowed sterile white.

“The court now calls to the stand Jonathan Harrison, present at the time of the Esille market altercation.”

All the council members waited for the next person who was going to testify — Jonathan — except one. One council member knew exactly who Jonathan was and without meaning to. He glanced. Train Geode glanced up into the stands to notice Jonathan almost instantly because he had such a distinctive look to him. As soon as he looked, he gradually looked away, and put his eyes on Corvina.

Isolde bit her tongue. Civilian interference was a pretty phrase that meant rebellion. The people were growing irritable and rightly so.

As the next witness came about Isolde paid special attention and clocked a glance. Fleeting, sure, but unmistakable as he looked to the council. Isolde followed his eyeline and stared at Geode. It seemed Jonathan knew the council member somewhat. What that meant would have to be seen as Isolde turned her attention back to Jonathan and waited for his testimony.

‘For fuck sake, he let out a groan when he saw Jonathan up on the stand to testify. Why the hell were they going for the lowest of the low? Did they not have any other options but to pick people who would literally say anything if bribed the proper amount?

Roach rolled his eyes and shook his head in the negative, ‘This trial is a complete mess and injustice to the system,’ he mumbled unhappily to himself. Someone in the higher ranks wanted him prosecuted and he wasn’t sure who but he had a few ideas.

---

When Kara was brought back into the back, Pilka glanced up at her, and glanced at the guards. He waited until they were doing their own thing before talking to the woman. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked lightly. He didn’t want to push her into talking or saying anything though he knew what she did was difficult. Painful even. She told the truth on herself without knowing what punishment she might endure.

A pause. There was a quiet storm brewing in her eyes, her gaze lingering like she was searching for the right angle into the obvious. "I've had better days," she finally added quietly from the confines of her cell; her statement both an attempt at being humorous and the simple truth. "Though I'm sure I'll survive this." Whatever this was. Kara was at that point where she was the most uncertain she's ever been about her future. And now that she was isolated from her family, she felt especially vulnerable. This same vulnerability, unfortunately, had led to helplessness.

"Let's worry about you now, okay?"

---

The next name Selene heard, she didn’t recognize at all. Though it didn’t really matter, regardless. Her eyes narrowed slightly, not at him, but at the council.

Geode looked. Just briefly. Enough for Selene to register it before he turned his attention elsewhere, feigning detachment. That was something. What exactly she wasn’t sure.

In contrast, Roach’s groan from across the chamber didn’t warrant her attention, but she heard it anyway. Felt the sneer behind it. The bitterness. The disgust.

He thinks this is a circus, she thought. He’s not entirely wrong.

Jonathan smiled and started making his way toward the podium. ” It’s showtime, folks.”, saying this while beginning to walk. He gave the crowd and some council members finger guns while winking at them. He usually wasn’t given this much attention, either good or bad. So being a part of the court process made him feel quite special.

For a brief moment, he looked at the jury, the other council members, and the audience. Then, he felt good about himself as he sat at the podium. Feeling like a celebrity. Comparing himself to Dean Martin or Sinatra.

Corvina observed Jonathan’s ascent with the detached focus of a predator tracking prey through brush. Each step he took was a performance, his gaze sweeping across the gallery like a spotlight seeking applause. Men like him were living parodies, mistaking swagger for substance, charisma for credibility. All flash and gesture to distract from the emptiness behind their eyes. A wink here. A smile there. Finger guns.

How charmingly juvenile.

She didn’t acknowledge the performance, but the brief pause before she spoke was measured enough to let silence reassert its dominance. The room wasn’t his. It never had been.

“Jonathan Harrison,” she said, voice stripped of indulgence. “You were present during the Esille market altercation. You are now instructed to provide a factual account of the events you personally observed.” She turned one page in the transcript. “You will omit speculation. You will exclude anecdotes. You will not,” she added, her tone hardening by a fraction, “waste this court’s time with self-mythologizing.”

Another razor of a smile, without warmth.

“Do you understand the conditions under which you are permitted to speak? If so, please begin.”

Upon arrival to the stand and making a subtle but loud entrance in a way. Thorne chuckled while leaning over to Council Member Elira. Elira began to let out a laugh like a careless child before covering her mouth and fixing her face. They seemed to exchange looks before Elira glanced over to Geode.

Council member Geode was looking at them like a disappointed father. Irritated by the lack of care or seriousness they were bringing to the seats of the council. He wanted to say something but knew it was better to not disturb Corvina or the trial.

Isolde looked over to her fellow Council members in varying degrees of ignorance. Jonathan’s entrance was a breath of fresh air, and while Isolde could let it go, she knew Corvina would not be as relaxed about it. Geode especially was not happy. The seriousness of the trial was lost the moment it started.

Isolde cleared her throat, enough to be heard by the others. If they were to look in her direction she had her pointer finger over her lips, as if to say “shush”. She dared them to speak up against her now.

---

Pilka’s shoulders slumped when he heard Kara focus all the attention on him. ‘I don’t think I can do that,” he responded truthfully. ‘I’ve been through a lot worse than leaders judging me and I have been through that plenty of times,’ he chuckled, finding amusement in his situation, and a semi-forced smile was on his face.

Looking over to Kara, he tried looking into her eyes more than anything, ‘I really do apologize for getting you into this mess,’ Pilka did feel terrible. He felt terrible from the beginning but he hoped that things wouldn’t come this far.

Kara finally managed a little smile, though her eyes were nonetheless filled with concern. "You did warn me to stay away, but I wasn't a good listener..." She paused, listening to the muffled voices from outside. They had called the next witness to testify, and if she assumed it was the only other individual present on scene whose name she didn't know. Kara hoped he used less than favorable words when referencing Roach as that would hopefully lead to Pilka not catching too much heat during his own trial.

---

As he took a seat on the podium he took off his hat, placing it on his lap. The crowd could see his bandaged head fully. And with a sharp eye, he could see the burnt part of his face that was covered.

” Well, I was walking back to my house when I noticed a man who looked quite wounded.” He said, pointing to Pilka. ”When I tried to help him by giving him some first aid, I was threatened by this gentleman. Waving a gun around and pointing it at myself and this woman.” He said, pointing to Roach and then Selene.

”Selene tried to disarm Roach, but it looked like an awkward hug. I wanted to defend myself, so I kicked a can at his hand, hoping to disarm him, and luckily, my plan worked out. Then the cops came and I ran because I was scared they would assault me for being a scavenger in this situation.” Jonathan took a deep breath while his bandaged hand rubbed his eyes. Even though his tear ducts had been burned off a long time ago. A little bit of theatrics to help gain sympathy.

Corvina didn’t sigh, but when she spoke, it was with the kind of cool finality that scraped clean the last traces of drama from the air.

“Let the record reflect that the witness claims to have been threatened at close range by the accused, and that his actions, including the throwing of a projectile, were conducted under perceived threat to life and limb.”Her voice, unhurried, continued to go over the facts. “Witness has identified both the Burrower and two civilians as present at the scene. His statement has been recorded.”

She lifted her gaze now, finally, and looked Jonathan directly in the eye. Not out of respect. Not out of interest. But to remind him.

“The court appreciates brevity, Mr. Harrison. Further dramatization will be stricken from the record should it hinder clarity.” A pause. “Should the council require elaboration, you will be recalled. For now, your testimony is concluded.”

And with that, she turned her gaze back to the transcript. The performance, in her view, was over.

“The court will recess for fifteen minutes while the council reviews the testimonies provided.” Her voice didn’t rise, yet it carried. “Witnesses are to remain in their designated holding locations. Members of the public will remain seated until permitted to exit.”

---

The council’s seats were lowered into a room that couldn’t be seen or heard by anyone else. Before anyone else could speak, Council Member Geode raised his hand, ‘I think we should determine every bit of this. People that are licensed still have thirty days to find another career. He was working in his designated duty before bounty hunters and the like will become fully outlawed.’

‘He was causing a ruckus, we can’t have that in our streets, Geode. Especially in the streets of Slia or Esille,’ Elira spat out with irritation. ‘People like him need to be outlawed. If we allow for light sentences, where does that get us in the future?’ She asked with a facade of concern.

”It gets you support.”

Isolde spoke and waited. Once attention was on her, she continued. ”You heard the people out there. Someone admitting to lying about a burrower was enough to cause enough disorder that the proceedings needed to be paused for order to be taken back. The solution is not to outlaw anything or anyone. Because if you tell a child not to touch a hot stone every instinct within them will want to touch it. Banning something never works.”

Isolde sat back, hand to her chin as she thought more. ”I believe Councilor Geode is correct, we need to determine every bit of this which means we need more answers to questions that have yet to be asked. And we need to ask someone who has yet to speak.” She looked to her fellow Council members, wondering if they caught on to what she was suggesting.

---

Two guards led Roach into a holding cell in the back where Pilka and Kara were but he had nothing to say to either of them. He sat in his cell with as much enthusiasm as he possibly could — none.

On the other hand, Pilka shook his head, ‘Things could be worse,’ he shrugged his shoulders. ‘I could be being tortured to death by the cult of darkness members or being eaten alive by some cave beast,’ he chuckled. The older man was trying to lighten the mood since Kara was blaming herself. They were both to blame to an extent though if the government of Dominion was open minded. People like Pilka wouldn’t be outlawed at all.

‘Does any of that make you feel a little better about not being a good listener?’ Pilka teased and it was honestly because he needed to focus on the good of the situation. If he didn’t find some humor in this, he was going to shut down, and too many thoughts would be in his head.

The door swung opened followed by approaching footsteps and Kara stared as Roach was led back to his cell, her gaze was steady, burning with contempt too great to be overlooked. From the few moments she stared, it was obvious he was in a bit of a sour mood himself, as he should be.

Pilka eventually spoke up, and Kara addressed him again. "Well, when you put it that way, any alternative sounds better," she added smugly, matching his mood. The least she could do for him is try to keep a bit of a positive outlook given their circumstances.

---

From her seat, Selene didn’t move when Corvina declared the recess. She just stared at the now-darkened transcript hovering above the stand, its last words still etched into the inside of her skull: “perceived threat to life and limb.”

That’s all it took to be justified, wasn’t it?
A perception.
A threat.
Someone pointing at you, and someone else choosing whether that fear meant you deserved to bleed.

She’d barely registered Jonathan’s wink earlier, but the “awkward hug” comment had landed like a stray elbow to the ribs. It hadn't embarrassed her, but it had reminded her how little control she had over her own narrative in this room. No matter how carefully she picked her words. No matter how composed she kept her posture. All it took was someone like him and a well-placed line to turn a calculated intervention into a punchline.

That’s what the court wanted, though. Characters, not people.
Kara the naïve rebel.
Jonathan the fool.
Roach the relic way past its prime.
And Selene, the Syn girl caught in the middle of it all.

But she wasn’t just watching anymore.

Selene didn’t head to the refreshment corridor with the rest of the council assistants. She didn’t pause near the observer chambers or take the chance to slip out for a breath of cleaner air. Instead, she moved with quiet purpose through the side corridor until the polished stone gave way to a rougher utility hall. The guard stationed near the secondary security door caught her approach, brows drawing together beneath his visor.

“Miss Syn,” he said, more cautious than dismissive. “This area’s restricted during recess.”

“I’m not here to interfere. I need a moment with the accused before he’s called again. Officially, I'm also listed under witness protection protocol.”

The second guard leaned subtly toward his partner. “She’s council-blood,” he murmured.

The first guard hesitated. “That doesn’t mean open access to active holding. If the Speaker didn’t—”

“She wouldn’t want me making noise about this in front of the council either,” Selene interrupted smoothly. “And I imagine your next assignment won’t involve repeating my name, justifying why you delayed me, and having to explain why the Speaker’s daughter wasn’t allowed to debrief a man she’s known since childhood.”

That made them both pause. Not because they believed her entirely, but because it was close enough to be plausible.

A heartbeat later, the door unlocked.

“Five minutes. You speak from outside the cell,” the older guard said. “No physical contact. No raised voices. If anything looks off—”

“You’ll do your job,” Selene finished for him. “I’m counting on it.”

She stepped inside.

---

“Gotcha i’ll keep that mind.” He said while answering their questions as best he could. Feeling like he was doing good telling the council what had happened. He hoped his testimony would help put Roach in prison. Nodding as he got off the podium so they could take a break from all the drama. Jonathan had put his hat back on as he saw down on one of the benches. Closing his eyes as he felt strangely tired from the whole proceeding. And he had a feeling it was going to drag on even longer.

---

Corvina didn’t shift as the debate unfurled around her—Geode’s quiet logic, Elira’s sharp disdain, and Isolde’s people-first pragmatism—all predictable, all accounted for. It was like watching chess players argue over the shape of the board, unaware she’d already memorized the entire endgame.

Only once silence was properly restored did she speak.

“Roach Vexler’s credentials remain active under the transitional clause. Until the enforcement ban is ratified, licensed bounty contractors still operate within provisional legal boundaries.”

Her tone remained cool, even as she folded her hands atop the datasheet.

“This tribunal’s task is not to moralize. It is to determine if his actions exceeded his contractual rights. Proportionality, not virtue, is the metric.”

A beat. Then, a glance toward Elira.

“Public order is important, Councillor. But we are not here to make a display. We are here to weigh the law and render judgment. If we appear to bend to pressure, be it from protestors or factions within this chamber, then the verdict, whatever it is, becomes mere theatrics.”

She let that hang in the air for a moment before continuing.

“As for the burrower, and the girl who lied to protect him, clarity is still required. I agree with Councillor Geode. More remains to be examined. And the councilor for the people,” a glance toward Isolde, “is not wrong. If we do not ask the difficult questions now, the people will ask them later, except with more fervour and less patience.”

Her voice dipped slightly.

“Then let us consider Councillor Isolde’s suggestion. If clarity is our aim... the accused himself should speak.”

Council member Thorne seemed so displeased with the overall words from both women and Council member Geode, he waved his hand as if he was waving them all off. ‘He had a whole hour or so to speak and barely said a damn thing,’ he instantly complained. ‘Why give him the time of day to speak now? He had his chance and he lost it.’

‘Some people feel pressured with so many eyes on them, Thorne,’ the quietest council member spoke up — Aureline. ‘I don’t think it would be a bad idea to hear what he had to say without charges being brought up, people on the stand testifying against him, or whatever else. It gives everyone a fair understanding of the whole story and we have every side except his,’ she looked towards the other council members. She knew Thorne and Elira were out voted when it came to this idea.

This response seemed to put a positive expression on Geode’s face, ‘That is three of us for hearing what he has to say and it’ll give us more room to ask questions which I do not doubt that Isolde might have a few,’ he chuckled while looking at Thorne and Elira.

‘We have laws…’ Elira sounded distasteful towards Isolde and Corvina. ‘Our laws for decades have been enforcing order in Dominion. If we start considering the easier road especially in a time of famine and loss… our civilians will die. We need to start cutting our weak and undesirable links, like Roach Vexler. I doubt anything he will say can change my mind to not hang him or people like him,’ she spat out those words in such a tone that it sounded like she was talking about a dog or possibly something that wasn’t human. Elira, like a lot of other higher class people, didn’t see certain people as people and it was showing.
”How absolutely stupid.” Isolde rarely let emotions get the better of her, and while she held back actually screaming into the void, she did let the veneer slip a bit. She should not have been surprised, the Council members benefitted from things not changing.

”Pardon my frankness, but do you actually think that because laws have been established for so long that they aren’t subject to changes as time moves on? And do you actually want to sit here and discuss how some people deserve to be, as you so eloquently put it, cut off? These are people’s lives you are toying with. We have a duty to the people we serve and to talk so non-chalantly about their lives is a dangerous road to go down. Your seat might be saved but when you have no one to lord yourself over it will be just you and the empty void to scream in.”

Isolde took a beat. She needed to remain calm and collected. She was still the people’s council seat and that meant she would need to play nice with some of the Council members. ”I apologize for my bluntness, but this issue, I believe, is set to be a cornerstone of change and I want to ensure we do it justice. The accused should have a right to say, or even not say, what is on his mind. As Concilor Aureline stated, having certain eyes on you may silence or bolster your voice, depending on the situation. And to reiterate my point, yes I do have some questions for the accused as well as some of the other witnesses. But I want to do things correctly.”

---

“Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Roach had some irritation in his throat when he realized who was coming into the holding room with him — at first he thought it was going to be Corvina or possibly one of the other council members. No… he was disappointed to see the little girl standing in front of him with attitude in her hips and judgement on her face.

Shaking his head in the negative, ‘What the hell are you doing? Go back to the stands and eat your popcorn,’ Roach hissed those words out to Selene because he didn’t want her running into trouble when it came to this — this wasn’t something that could be easily stopped or avoided. ‘Before you get yourself in trouble and me in even more trouble,’ he felt like he had to make that clear.

Pilka appreciated that Kara was trying to stay positive with him, ‘Thank you,’ these words were followed by brightness in his eyes. Not a smile. Not the typical behaviors of a civilian of Dominion since he wasn’t. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t share this but I am hoping that Kapin is here,’ it was a confession that showed the lingering fear in his system. He was hoping that someone was going to show up. The same person that was questioning Kara about Pilka and what happened.

There was a subtle shift in her expression when she heard the name. Kara wasn't sure what she'd make of Pilka's statement, but it wasn't her place to be nosy and ask him to explain it further. He had a reason to wish for the safety officer's presence in the trial, and she'd respect it.

Kara was about to give him some generic response in return when the door opened again. This time it startled her given the three of them were already in their respective cells. However, a moment later Kara was relieved to see Selene strolling in. She watched quietly, taking interest in Roach's response. He seemed to truly care for her, though she was oblivious as to what their relationship was.

Selene didn’t so much as blink at the venom in Roach’s voice. She just stood there, one hand still resting lightly on the guard rail, shoulders squared, spine straight. The girl with attitude in her hips wasn’t moving. Her gaze was cool, but not cold. She’d been yelled at before—by instructors, council staff, her mother—but Roach’s scolding carried something that settled somewhere more tender. Not because it hurt. Because it didn’t, and that was almost worse.

“Already in trouble,” she replied softly.“For telling the truth. For showing up. For being born, probably. So if you’re worried about my reputation, you’re about a good couple of years too late.” Her fingers slid from the rail as she slowly stepped closer.

“ You know...my augments have been misfiring,” she continued on, as if that had anything to do with anything. “ So, I took it to my father. He poked around, ran diagnostics. Found out the override chip you gave me? It’s based on one of his old designs.” She let that hang for a beat, watching him. Her voice wasn’t accusing. If anything, it was too neutral.

“He knew, Roach. He always knew. Just like he knew you weren’t on the family payroll anymore.”

Somewhere down the hall, a rust-lined drainpipe dripped—Plink. Plink. Plink.—its sound echoing off the concrete like time itself leaking away.

“Haven’t been for over a year, apparently.”

---

Jonathan had taken a quick nap trying to recharge his batteries. But the dream he was having was not very pleasant. There was mismatch of images of his past, and present. The most prominent image him running away from the cult of darkness. His skin was on fire as pieces of flesh was running down his face. Crying and running into the darkness hoping to find someone to help him. But in his dream he didn’t find anyone and was confronted by one of the creatures living in the darkness.

It bared it’s teeth at him and rearing it’s head to try and bite him. But he was transported to his apartment but it didn’t look like his apartment. It looked like a mixture of his apartment, O’Bannon’s lab, and the court house. Standing in front of him was Roach, the council members, Pilka, Selene, Kara, and O’Bannon. Roach was standing over the dead Pilka, Selene, and Kara. Some of the council members were cheering on Roach, while others were scolding him. O’Bannon meanwhile was standing beside Jonathan armed with a gun. To him it looked like he was protecting him from Roach. And as Roach was coming towards them with his own gun, O’Bannon aimed his gun at Roach. But O’Bannon’s face changed to look like his own. But it was quite terrifying. Now having empty eye sockets with a shark like smile on his face. As the two men fired at each other Jonathan woke up.

Jetting up and screaming loudly which got some strange looks from the people around him. Looking around and letting out a sigh of relief when he noticed he was in a safe space. Picking up his hat as he noticed it felt off his face when he jumped up. Looking around and coughing softly before moving to another bench. Because he felt embarrassed from the people looking at him. As he sat down on the bench he started humming Nowhere Man by The Beatles.

---

Corvina did not so much as blink when Elira invoked execution. Nor did she when Isolde snapped back. Instead, she waited—precisely two seconds after the final word—to ensure every breath, every twitch, every simmering thought had time to stew before she spoke up.

“Severity is not strength,” she said then. “The law isn’t a weapon to swing at your enemies. It isn’t a trophy to parade before crowds. It is a scaffold. Built brick by brick, fact by fact, until it holds the weight of justice without cracking.” She folded her hands across her chest. “Our purpose should be to ensure that when historians dissect this trial, they will find no gaps, no shortcuts. Only a record so complete, so ironclad, that even our critics cannot pry it apart.” She had seen what happened when the process was rushed and political expediency took precedence over accuracy.

Corvina would not preside over a repeat of that embarrassment.

“Due process is not optional,” she continued, colder now. “The accused will speak. Not because he deserves it, but because the law demands it. Omit his voice, and the verdict becomes a rumour. A joke.” Which they probably were already, given the lack of a response to the duskhound incident in Esille.

Then, at last, her gaze passed over each member of the chamber in turn, the final word landing not as opinion, but as verdict:

“The people will not be handed a verdict built on omission. And I, for one, will not sign my name to one.”

“Which I hope most of us would do the same,” Aureline continued to break her silence and looked at Thorne and Elira. She didn’t have to look at Geode or Isolde — she already knew those two would but Thorne came from a family of generational wealth and power and Elira came from the business district and the social ranking of snobs. They didn’t see lower classes as people and sometimes it was difficult to differentiate what either of them said because they sometimes sounded so similar… they sounded like the same echo chamber to Aureline.

Elira seemed to shift in her chair and glare at Isolde as if she was a child that knew nothing, “I’m not saying they won’t change. I am saying that we need them to change. To get rid of people like Vexler,” she huffed out as if it was such an annoying task to reiterate her words. “And we do not have a duty to the people. We have a duty to society and sometimes people need to be pushed out so the rest of the people can survive. Have you ever picked up a history book? Have you considered what is currently happening, Isolde? That we lost burrowbulb tunnels which is the main resource to meat supplies,’ she began to explain like she had any idea about the burrowbulb tunnels. The higher societies truly had no idea about them except what educational textbooks showed.

‘Didn’t you just say the other day you had never seen a burrowbulb?’ Aureline seemed confused and surprised.

Elira scuffed, “I don’t have to know what they look like to know they were important to our society and with these cave-ins, our society is being threatened,’ she rolled her eyes to show her annoyance.

That’s when Thorne raised his hand before Elira could say anything else, ‘I think we all have questions for the accused even if we do not care to listen to him because of one reason or another. I think Elira is speaking on behalf of her people and showing the fear that the cave-in’s incited on the people. Everyone is worried and worry causes people to say stupid things and make even stupider decisions,’ Thorne looked over to Isolde. ‘We will go with the fairness of the court and listen to Mister Vexler,’ his dark eyes moved over to Geode. Goede dipped his head in agreement and as if he was approving the behavior.

‘I think it’s better that we listen to Mister Vexler before anyone makes judgment about him and Isolde is very correct. No one deserves more or less than another person. We cannot toy with lives just out of fear nor can we make decisions based on selfish needs. We need to focus on what makes our society grand and successful and try our best to continue everything even with this hiccup of a trial during hard times,’ Geode explained and gave Isolde a gentle smile.

Isolde met Geode’s gaze with gratitude. At least one amongst them seemed to understand where she was coming from. Elira was not speaking for her people, she was speaking for herself. It was those in power that often spoke easily about people being taken down or out so the others may survive. Whom amongst them had that right?

”I am glad reasonable voices have raised their support. Everyone deserves to be heard, even if their opinion is steeped in velvet and venom.”. Isolde did not spare a look to Elira, though she hoped the woman understood her meaning.

---

Roach went to say something while Selene was talking away about being in trouble already, how her augmentations have been misfiring, and that last statement caught him off guard. You weren’t on the family payroll any more. He shook his head, ‘And what difference does that make?’ There was something that wanted to argue, call her father a liar, and so on… but he knew better. There was no reason to lie for such a shallow reason.

‘I don’t know why it’s so important if I am on payroll or not,’ he spat those words out but he knew it might mean something different but he didn’t want it to.

Pilka on the other hand stayed extremely quiet while the two were speaking. He didn’t want to disturb what seemed to be a more intimate conversation even if he had every reason to do so. There were plenty of reasons to be rude, disrespectful, and disruptive though that wasn’t in his nature when it came down to morals.

“You always said it was just a job,” Selene replied. “That I was a contract. That all this….” She motioned vaguely, encompassing the prison cell, the conversation, the years of late-night check-ins and healthy-ish treats. The years of looking over her shoulder for him for both good and bad reasons. “ …was just business.”

She let that sit for a bit, holding his stare.

“But you kept showing up. And…and I guess I’m just trying to figure out if I missed something. Or if you just forgot how to leave.”

Her eyes looked down, almost as if it was too much to look at him now, to accept how much she wanted his answer to matter truly.

“Because if it wasn’t duty or money, then what was it?”

---

Corvina did not engage Elira’s backpedalling, nor did she dignify the scramble of justifications about burrowbulbs or societal duty.

“Then it is settled,” she said instead. “The accused will be called to speak after recess concludes. One uninterrupted testimony, followed by directed questions from the council. No interruptions. No showmanship.”

Everyone else seemed to be calming down with words and Elira might have shown a tad bit of embarrassment by her silence. ‘We have about five minutes, does anyone want to say anything else before we leave this enclosed area?’ Councilor Geode questioned while looking around.

Elira wouldn’t look at him, Thorne shrugged his shoulders, and Aureline shook her head no. It didn’t look like the others had any interest to add anything more so Geode looked at Isolde.

Isolde had many questions for the witnesses and the accused, that much was true. But she also had questions for her fellow Council members. How did Geode know the one witness Jonathan? Why was Elira so quick to dismiss all of this? Was it because she truly wanted the best for her people or was it more? Corvina and the one witness, Selene, history there, how did that factor into this?

But she bit her tongue. Being an information gatherer meant you knew when to listen and when to speak. She shook her head no and awaited their break to be over.

---

Roach was looking at Selene with stern and intense eyes, he was thinking, and he was considering what he wanted to say or what he wanted to not say at all. ‘It was business and a job,’ he started before adding, ‘at first.’ There wasn’t much emotion when it came to his tone or body language.

‘What do you want to hear me say? That I took the job because I cared? Because I didn’t at first. Or I stayed around because I didn’t know how to leave? I know how to leave, I just didn’t want to, sweetheart,’ and he said sweetheart in a way that wasn’t a compliment or enduring. It sounded more like an irritation being stated than a loving nickname.

Rolling his neck and his shoulders, he looked back at her, ‘I could have cared less if they took me off payroll when you were five. Your mother threatened it enough but I think she kept me on it because she knew I was going to be an issue,’ his face softened slightly when it came to it and he looked down at the ground. He shook his head in the negative, ‘I don’t know. Maybe I just stuck around because I thought it could make me feel better for not being there for my little girl when she needed me or my wife,’ Roach’s silver-blue eyes locked onto Selene’s. ‘Is that what you want to hear? That I failed so horrible for the people that mattered the most, I was trying my best to ease my own self inflicted pain and suffering by being there for you?’ All of this was in a defensive manner and tone.

Selene’s lungs froze mid-breath, the words she’d rehearsed dissolving like sugar in rain. Roach had never cracked open like this, not once in all the time she’d known him. She’d seen him exhausted, bleeding, and drunk before. She’d even watched him silently endure her mother’s icy disdain, his face's usual mask of indifference. But this? With his defences down and for her eyes only? Well….

For a heartbeat, it caused the girl to wonder if this was a trick, another lesson in spotting lies. But the look in his eyes made this idea hard to believe.

Not to mention that there was that one slip-up she’d filed in her mind as “probably nothing” years prior.

She could remember it clearly now, accidentally spotting the image of the two on a crumpled photo tucked in his wallet that had fallen out. A girl with short brown hair, maybe four or five, grinning in the arms of a woman whose eyes mirrored Roach’s in rare moments—hard but with a hint of softness in its depths if one looked for it. Selene had pretended not to notice when he’d snatched it before she could, his knuckles whitening. Later, she’d caught him staring at it, shoulders slumped like the weight of the world pressed on them. And she’d filed it away as “nothing”, because “nothing” was safer than “something she couldn’t possibly understand”.

So, “…Oh,” was all the girl could say at first, her voice smaller than she meant it to be. She had prepared herself for lies and deflections. Not honesty. And the apology, too, when it came, felt inadequate, a bandage on a bullet wound. Yet, she meant it all the same.

“I’m sorry.” Selene’s eyes didn’t move from his as she said this, but something in her posture softened. The tension in her shoulders, the rigid line of her mouth. All of it eased, if only slightly. “Is that why you hate them so much?” She didn’t clarify who she meant. She didn’t have to, with her eyes briefly moving to where Pilka was held and back.

Which was when the hallway door hissed open.

“Time’s up,” called one of the guards, his tone clipped and practiced. “Witnesses return to standby. No exceptions.” Another stepped into view, palm resting casually near the handle of his shock baton, not in a threatening way but enough to make the power dynamic clear.

Selene didn’t move at first. Her fingers stayed curled around the rail between them like she might still wrestle more from him before they pulled her away.

“We’ll…talk later I guess?” she murmured before she started to step back, her eyes remaining on him all the while.

---

Corvina rose before the others, smoothing a nonexistent wrinkle from her sleeve and stepping toward the lift that would raise them back into view.

“Let us return,” she said as the platform accepted her weight and began to rise, the low light of the council’s private chamber receding and replaced by the glare of the hall above.

As the seats began to rise and they were back in the overly bright lights and thousands of eyes of the civilians of Dominion. Thorne looked over to Isolde and Geode. He had nothing to say but the silence might have said more than what he could vocalize — do not make this longer than it has to be.

Geode decided to stand when the platform stopped rising, ‘Citizens of Dominion, we are requesting to speak with the accused, Roach Vexler. Please with all due respect, try your best to stay quiet during the questioning or we will have to request people to leave. This is a crucial point in the trial today!” Geode made his voice heard, it echoed throughout the corridor, and he was hoping that the majority of people could respect the request. The councilors had questions, especially Isolde.

He sat back down and glanced at Isolde with a faint smile, ‘I will warn you, Roach Vexler has been on the testifying stand a lot when it comes to trials that deal with criminals and other things. He is a bounty hunter by career and his mouth proves that. He might say some off putting things, do not humor him, or this will take forever but do not be too cut throat or he won’t care to answer either. We have dealt with him a lot.’ This wasn’t meant as commands. Just a friendly insight on how to deal with the man that was coming back out.

‘That’s the exact reason I hate Pilka and others like him,’ Roach’s tone was unmoving and unforgiving though he hated almost everyone to an extent. Before he knew it, he was being dragged out by the guards again and placed on the central stand of the court and he huffed out in annoyance.

His silvery-blue eyes glared up at the council members, his cuffed hands above his head so he could see past the blinding lights, ‘What are you calling me back out here for? Hoping that I have something else for you? I have nothing,’ he spat those words out before putting his hands down and looking disinterested — letting his eyes wander to other places than the council members.

Jonathan stood up from where he was sitting and took a seat on the witness bench. Looking around the room at everyone that was inside of the courtroom. His eyes peered over towards Geode. A part of him wondered if they had met before, he did look sort of familiar to the scavenger. ” Hi, hi you! Have we meet before? I feel like i know ya. Or have seen ya before.” Jonathan yelled out to Geode. His voice echoing throughout the courtroom.

“Let the record reflect that the tribunal has reconvened, and that the accused, Roach Vexler, is present and under oath.” No warmth or indulgence was present in Corvina’s tone. “ As stated, any further disruptions from the gallery, verbal or otherwise, will result in immediate removal. Mr. Harrison. That includes you.”

She finally shifted her gaze to Roach, and when she spoke again, it was unmistakably final.

“You will answer the council’s questions, Mr. Vexler. With clarity. Without provocation. And preferably with your eyes open and your spine upright.”

Thorne couldn’t roll his eyes any harder than he did when someone in the upper stands began to yell at Council member Geode. He couldn’t help but his sharpening gaze to look at the slightly older man with annoyance. Geode looked back at Thorne before looking at the cartoon-ishly dressed character above causing a disturbance. They had honestly never met, but he knew people got confused at times. People that found themselves under the influence or mentally distracted found themselves thinking they knew him because of his frequent appearances on T.V.

This was when a guard approached Jonathan, ‘No individuals should be in the witness or testifying area at the moment. Please come with me,’ the guard politely gestured for Jonathan to leave the area without any confrontation.

Aureline glanced at Jonathan and the guard before her eyes wandered to Corvina and then to Isolde. ‘It seems like the others are waiting for your lead with this questioning,’ she added with some encouragement.

Isolde figured she would be put on the spot first. She looked down at Roach Vexler, gauging his demeanor before she got into questioning. It allowed her to assuage a person’s honesty.

”Mr. Vexler, you have heard the witnesses give their testimony. You have heard the people watching. I imagine you have your own thoughts on these court proceedings, but I am going to ask you to hold off on speaking on such if you will permit me one thing.”

Isolde looked over at the other Council members. What she planned to do next was not, technically, against what she said she wanted. She did have questions for Vexler, but she was sure the answers she needed would still be given.

”So I am going to cede my time with questions to allow you to speak on the event in question. I want to hear from your point of view what happened. Who was present, who did what, and why. And I will note, Mr. Vexler, that I can tell when you are not being honest with me. I am giving you a chance to plead your case in front of people who want nothing of the sort. So give me some leeway and I will return it in kind.”

Listening to the council member speak, he seemed to find some amusement in her words, especially when she emphasized that she can tell when others are lying. That wasn’t something he cared to do, not that often, and he had no reason to while on this stand. Dead center in the stand, actually, but he wasn’t surprised to find himself here today. It was only a matter of time until he was standing here and he was surprised that it took about forty or so years.

‘I appreciate your kindness, councilor Halcryst,’ and he kept up on all the councillors for good reason. New ones were constantly changing laws and regulations that happened to be around his career and work — the biggest reason he was here today was because of that.

Though he knew he was still restricted even if he could speak freely, ‘All I can say is before I start… I can’t share clientele information. I don’t know how well-versed you are with the laws regarding my line of work, councilor, but I can get put on the chopping block for even sharing client information, so I hope you don’t mind me leaving those bits out,’ Roach wasn't going to overstep and share client information when it came down to it. That was one of the biggest issues most people had… younger people that are new to the lifestyle that accidentally bring up clients names or accounts or whatever else. They got punished severely and he wasn’t looking to play with even more fire.

‘Everyone’s accounts were pretty accurate,’ Roach stated. ‘When the duskhound alarm went off. I purposely skipped through a few alleyways to find my way to Selene Syn to make sure she was okay. She wouldn’t shut the fuck up even though I told her too,’ his eyes found Selene easily in the crowd and his bionic eye scanned her before looking back at the council members.

He chuckled and looked at the ground, shaking his head, ‘She wouldn’t shut the fuck up and anyone with common sense knows duskhounds attack off from sound so one pounced her, but I took it down with an electrically charged gun,’ he sighed while looking back up at the council members.

‘After that, I noticed the burrow Pilka up on a cliff in the rockface. Over the past month, I had been called in by a client and this client was concerned with people who were endangering citizens. These people that I was hired to go after were burrowers and scavengers. Over the past month, I killed four scavengers by the names of June Talit, Bram Olson, Quinteth Klipp, and Astra Fontain. For burrowers, I took out two others that I identified to be Fether and Siouse. All of these people had criminal records in some fashion, harassment, murder, distribution of drugs, and more. Why is this relevant? It brings me to Pilka, he was put under the list of people, because the source that hired me to kill the others, also hired me to kill him. He had charges for physical violence and assault towards a young civilian woman, Kara,’ Roach explained while looking around the stands but he couldn’t see Kara but he found Jonathan — someone on his list to kill — though his eyes went back to the councilors.

He shrugged his shoulders, ‘Once I spotted Pilka, I shot him down with a grappling hook gun. I was able to pull him off the cliff, he fell into a pile of trash, and got up. That’s when he and I started our dance, if you want to refer to it, and he didn’t seem to want to fight, which I thought was odd at first,’ Roach explained. ‘I wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to fight because he was a coward, clearly hurt, or if it was possible that he never hurt that girl though I had a job to do,’ his voice stern and plain with explanation.

‘Pilka ran and I chased after him. Selene chased after me. Pilka ran into the one that is referred to the Ratman or Jonathan and he ran into Kara. I wasn’t sure if he was going to attack her or not so I kept attacking him. I kept egging him on to see if he would attack me as well but he never did. He only defended against my attacks,’ Roach continued with a sigh. ‘During that time, Kara was trying to defend him, and she confessed that he never hurt her. I told her that she was ruining her life because she was getting in between something she shouldn’t since an emergency law was pushed through last week by the council. You can double check, it’s on the updated laws and regulations for bounty hunters. All scavengers are considered kill-on-sight and burrowers are even more targeted than before because of the level of risk they bring to functioning citizens,’ he looked up at Corvina when he said this. He wondered how amused she was to be up on that stand and seeing him in the spotlight. She would be drinking wine and laughing about it later if it went her way.

He looked back to Isolde, ‘During this time, Kara continued to try and stop me, Pilka kept telling me to lower my weapon, and Selene kept trying to distract me with emotional talking points. Then Ratman kicked or threw a can into my hand which caused a superficial cut. And Pilka and Kara ran. That’s when the authorities showed up,’ That was all of the story. It was simple and straightforward. Isolde would notice that he wasn’t lying and he was just telling everyone how it was.

‘Oh…,’ he smirked with amusement when he thought of it. ‘Selene tried stopping me with a hug during that time too. I don’t know if that’s important or not,’ Roach looked right up to Corvina and chuckled before looking back at the councillors.

‘Once the authorities showed up, I dropped my weapons, and I talked to them like I usually do. I think that’s all from beginning to end,’ Roach didn’t think there was anything else to add.

Selene hadn't anticipated Roach softening the blow; honesty, however brutal, was his trademark. Nevertheless, hearing the unvarnished truth stung more than she’d expected. His voice remained utterly steady, devoid of inflection, as he recounted her actions, a sort of delivery that somehow amplified the humiliation. It wasn't so much anger she felt primarily because of it, but a hot wave of remembered panic and acute embarrassment.

He simply stated facts, and those facts painted her in a painfully foolish light. Logically, Selene recognized he might merely be teasing her now, a dark jab typical of his humour. Yet, the recollection, voiced aloud in his flat tone, felt like coarse salt being ground deliberately into a tender wound.

As if he’d read her mind, Roach looked directly at her then. Selene felt startlingly transparent, as if her flustered reaction and internal churn were laid bare for his examination. It was an uncomfortable vulnerability. Reacting instinctively, she managed to roll her eyes with practiced nonchalance. It was her silent, wordless retort: Fine. Fuck you too. She held the look for a fraction too long before breaking it, a small act of rebellion.

Lowering her eyes, Selene felt her jaw muscles tighten involuntarily as Roach resumed speaking, methodically listing names. These identifiers likely held no meaning for the others present, just obscure entries in Dominion's grim catalogue. For Selene, however, each name struck with a surprising, disproportionate weight, landing like a physical blow deep in her gut. Each one represented another life erased, another grim tally mark in Dominion’s endless accounting of violence, another price extracted. Hearing them now, especially in light of his confession about his family, felt jarring. These names weren't just casualties; they felt like pieces of a disturbing puzzle she was only now assembling, pieces stained with blood she hadn't fully appreciated before.

Was this the core reason behind his chilling efficiency? The ability to extinguish so many lives seemingly without hesitation, forged in the white-hot crucible of what had been done to his family? Selene wasn't naive though; she harboured no illusions about the innocence of the names Roach recited. She knew June Talit had smuggled forbidden technology directly linked to brutal violence plaguing the lower city sectors. Bram Olson’s reputation as a sadistic underground enforcer, one who relished inflicting pain, was widely whispered about. Astra Fontain had peddled dangerous substances responsible for countless agonizing overdoses in the Market slums. Quinteth Klipp was a notorious assassin whose body count likely rivalled Roach’s own.

And yet, despite this rational knowledge, a profound heaviness settled stubbornly in Selene’s chest, an oppressive weight she couldn’t dispel. Her disturbance didn't stem from questioning whether these individuals deserved their fates. It sprang entirely from the icy, effortless manner in which Roach delivered their retribution. It was the dawning, chilling realization that his grief and fury hadn't just hardened him; they had sculpted him into a man who could file away human death as dispassionately as inventory stock or digits on a terminal screen. His recent, painful confession about his family only threw this stark reality into sharper, more disturbing relief. It illuminated the deep scars beneath his coldness, scars that had somehow become the very foundation of his lethal capability.

Selene found herself grappling with a disquieting question: Was this detached executor the true Roach Vexler she had consistently overlooked, perhaps even willfully ignored? The implications of that potential blindness unsettled her deeply. What did her persistent avoidance of his past reveal about her judgment? He had immersed himself so completely in her own life, yet she had never once turned that same curiosity towards the darkness that had clearly shaped his own. The imbalance felt glaring now, a silent indictment of her focus, or lack thereof. It forced her to confront what she might have chosen not to see about the man standing before her, casually listing his dead.

” Right sorry.” Jonathan said but really sounded more like a whisper. Being escorted back to the seats and was watching Roach testify. Glaring at him because of him admitting killing other scavengers. With him being one of the people Roach wanted to murder. ” You wouldn’t be able to touch me…you son of a bitch.” He thought while pulling back the fedora on his head. He didn’t know the people listed personally, however he did hear of some of them. Astra Fontain he had heard about from O’Bannon and his men. If Roach was freed then he would be deeply afraid for his life. And wondered if O’Bannon would be able to protect him from Roach.

Jonathan was squirming inside of his seat. The feeling of dread and despair filling his body. A part of him felt bad for making the hugging comment since it seemed to be used against Selene. But he only felt slightly bad.

Corvina’s eyes stayed locked on Roach as his voice finally ceased recounting the events. She absorbed every detail, analyzing his posture and tone beneath a mask of professional detachment. Though Roach’s pointed comment about the embrace was clearly meant to provoke a reaction from Selene, Corvina avoided turning her head. Rather, there was only the minute tightening of the councillor’s grip on her datasheet, a subtle betrayal of the tension she felt.

“Let the record reflect that the accused's full account has been documented without interruption.” She ensured the formal words held no trace of personal feeling, especially regarding Roach’s earlier jabs. Maintaining this neutral tone was crucial; any hint of bias could undermine the council’s perceived fairness. So while inside she cataloged his provocations for later consideration, outwardly she remained the picture of judicial calm.

“Mr. Vexler, you invoked emergency provisions enacted by the council in your defence. To clarify for the record and public understanding, were you operating under the full authorization granted by these new provisions at the exact time of the Esille incident?” Corvina did not wait for his immediate response before continuing, cutting any possible hesitation away. “Furthermore, you stated your list of targets was provided by your client. Without revealing the identity of this individual, can you confirm whether this client is, or ever has been, associated directly with Dominion’s government or its official institutions?” The implication was clear: was his client acting with state authority, or was this a private, potentially treasonous, arrangement? Corvina understood the political bomb this question potentially represented, but had to put it forward.

Thorne was looking at Corvina with accusatory eyes and his eyes moved heavily onto Roach. His mask was stern and debateful but unmoving. He had no words to add to this situation at this moment in time. That allowed him to give a glance to the other councilors.

Aureline gave him a questioning glance back before she looked away. It was as if they had mere seconds of conversation in their silence. A conversation that others wouldn't understand and one they might never share.

On the other side of the seating arrangement, Train Geode was looking down at Roach with a steadiness and waiting for his reply. He wondered what the man would confess to and what he wouldn't confess to. His eyes flicked up to Corvina before noticing the glaring eyes of his colleague, Thorne.

Isolde spared a glance towards her follow Council members after Corvina’s question. It was one of the questions she had for Roach also, though Isolde recognized that coming from Corvina would be better. Isolde had her suspicions that there was more going on underneath these court proceedings.

And her suspicions appeared justified. Aureline, Geode, and Thorne all reacted. Isolde’s left eye was enhanced to be able to pick up on body movements, however slight. The human body reacted even if one didn’t realize it. Aureline seemed the less worried though, only shifting slightly. It was Thorne and Geode who reacted more heavily, Thorne’s jaw clenched as if he was trying to prevent any mouth movements and Geode’s blood pressure raised, indicating his heart was pumping blood. Both of them had subtely answered Corvina’s question. Isolde was sure Aureline wasn’t as guilty, but she still had something going on with Roach too.

Isolde filed this information away for later. There would be no point accusing anyone without further proof.

Roach looked up at Corvina when she asked that question, glanced at all the council members, and chuckled. He shook his head, ‘You know as well as I do, I cannot share anything about my clients, Mrs. Corvina Syn,’ he rolled his shoulders with his snarky tone.

‘I will not disclose any information,’ he stared right up at Corvina. ‘Legally, I cannot, and even if I am granted the privilege to share the information without consequences, I will not,’ he emphasized.

Then he glanced at the council members, ‘And that’s probably not something you want to hear at all, is it, princess?’ Roach stared right at Isolde when he spoke. And he assumed everything he said was something that she didn’t want to hear either.

---

She happened to be paying attention to the preceedings when she heard something interesting. Roach had said the name of one of the council members, Corvina Syn. Having earlier heard Selene's full name, she could reasonably assume the two were related.

"Hey, did you catch that?" They were alone now, her and Pilka, so she felt she could speak freely. "That Corvina woman has the same last name as Selene. What do you suppose the relationship is there? Do you think that's her mother?”

---

Corvina’s face showed no visible reaction, maintaining its usual calm mask, yet the atmosphere in the large chamber instantly grew colder when Roach openly defied her. Inside, she registered his refusal not just as disobedience, but as a dangerous challenge to the tribunal’s authority.

“Let me be perfectly clear, Mr. Vexler,” Corvina began once he was finished, eyes fixed upon him. “While confidentiality regarding clientele is acknowledged, it does not supersede this tribunal’s authority to uncover the truth in matters of public safety and state security. The provisions of Dominion law grant us the explicit right to compel disclosure in cases involving potential misuse of governmental power.”

She paused, allowing the severity of her statement to permeate the air before continuing.

“Your refusal to answer the council’s questions directly obstructs this tribunal’s function. Should you persist in withholding this information, I will have no choice but to invoke immediate suspension of your bounty hunting license pending a full investigation. Consider this carefully: your license, livelihood, and personal freedoms within Dominion are contingent upon your compliance.”

Corvina sat back, her posture impeccably poised.

“Now, I ask again, Mr. Vexler: Is your client, or have they ever been, affiliated in any official capacity with Dominion’s government or its institutions? Your answer, or refusal thereof, will be recorded officially.”

‘You do not have the authority to do that, Corvina Syn. You have the ability to put in a request and proposal for such advances but you cannot suspend his bounty hunting licenses because he will not share information,’ Thorne spoke up, casually, and stared at the woman who was speaking. He knew she was trying to scare the information out of Roach but he didn’t believe the man would budge. ‘Though…’ Thorne smirked while glancing at his colleagues. ‘I can tell you that Mister Vexler has worked for three of us. I have hired him, Aureline has hired him, and Geode has hired him.’

This caught a glance from all over the councilors except Geode looked angry for a split second before that emotion was masked. He had nothing to say to Thorne but Thorne was looking directly at him. ‘All I know is that the last person that didn’t hire him was me,’ he spoke evenly.

Isolde smiled upon the admission as well as Roach’s insinuation of her motives. Thus far, people have been assuming things of her for one reason or another. And that suited her just fine. Let people think what they want, fit you in a nice, little box and overlook what you can do.

”You do not know me, Mr. Vexler. You assume such because of my position and I cannot blame you for it. However, I have asked you to speak honestly, give my time up for questions I had so that you may disclose what transpired to the council and you have done so. And even now you uphold your morals even with the supposed threat of losing what you hold dear. I have detected no dishonesty within you.”

Isolde spared a glance to her council members again. ”The same cannot be said for some of my fellow council members, it seems. I know not why they hired you though I can hazard some guesses. As it is now in the open, would you permit me some answers as to what you were hired for?”

Roach chuckled with amusement, actually being amused which was a rare sight to see, but he knew that question from Isolde could get him in trouble. It caused his eyes to scan the crowds above, he noticed about four individuals that were recognizable, and his cybernetic eye began to filter out information for him. He looked down as if he was thinking, trying his best to decide the best route, and he began whispering to himself. That whispering was important but it might have looked crazy to some.


Target one is 12 yards away.

Target two is 45 yards away.

Target three is 85 yards away.

Target four is 72 yards away.

He began tapping his foot while glancing up again. ‘12, 45, 85, 72,’ he whispered under his breath while looking at the four men that he knew would stand up and shoot once he answered the question.

‘I apologize for my rudeness, councilor Isolde, but your courtroom might get a little blood if I answer that question,’ he hummed those words. ‘Since you want answers, I wasn’t necessarily hired, but I was informed that I would be taking out all lesser civilians in Dominion. Starting with dwellers, burrowers, and scaveng —’ that’s when Roach reached under his clothes. The man was doing what he was told within reason, he wasn’t going after anyone that quickly, and the people he was eliminating were all criminals. He couldn’t bring himself to kill the innocent.

Target three is standing up.

Roach spun to the side and shot off the gun he had — he might have been in police custody but they usually never took his weapons away. They never had to think about it and the system was so corrupt that most safety officers looked the other way if you paid them enough. Within a minute four shots were fired and four higher ranked safety officers were down in the crowd, people were freaking out, and people were leaving the courtroom. Everything broke out in chaos and Roach glanced to where Selene was to make sure she was safe before letting his eyes fall on Isolde. Then he began to reload the gun.

Once it was reloaded, it was pointed right at Geode, ‘Don’t move or I will shoot you. I saw those four in the crowd. I know there are more and if you lift a finger. I’ll kill you then all of them.’

---

‘I did catch that they had the same name but I have no idea what their relationship is,’ Pilka smiled slightly. ‘If I did, I would share that with you,’ he teased because he wouldn’t keep that a secret. He wondered what their relationship was too but those thoughts were quickly overwhelmed with gunshots and Pilka stood up.

His body was defensive while standing and he was staring right at the door, the door that led out into the courtroom, and a few guards entered into the hallway. ‘Get down,’ he wasn’t sure if the guards were the ones that were shooting or not, but he didn’t want Kara getting shot. He didn’t have any of his weapons and he was tightly cuffed too. There was no way he was going to survive getting shot either. His heart was beginning to race and he could feel the clothing around his wounds beginning to slightly soak with blood.

She was about to hint at the possibility of a conflict of interest when shots went off nearby. Not necessarily in the holding unit, but close enough to be shockingly loud. With a gasp, Kara made for the wall and crouched in the corner of her cell. She noticed guards coming in so she could only assume the shots had gone off in the courtroom. Her heart was beating as if it wanted to burst out of her chest; her breathing ragged.

The woman wanted to ask Pilka if he was okay, but she was too afraid to speak, almost as if she was giving away her position to the shooter.

---

Selene’s fingers dug into the plush edge of her seat, her nails pressing into the upholstery as Roach remained stubbornly silent. Corvina’s warning shouldn’t have shocked her; her mother operated that way, especially when appearing calm. Yet, hearing the specific threat to suspend Roach’s license made Selene’s chest constrict with a sudden, anxious pressure. It felt less like a professional sanction and more like a personal strike aimed at the core of the man’s existence. What was her mother aiming for exactly?

Her eyes shifted sideways, seeking Corvina’s face. As always, her mother’s expression was a smooth, impenetrable mask. To Corvina, this confrontation was merely another calculated move on a vast, invisible game board, it seemed, pieces shifted for maximum effect. Selene felt a familiar mixture of resentment and reluctant understanding churn within her. Witnessing this detached strategy unfold always left her feeling both alienated and uncomfortably aware of the bloodless calculation driving it.

And then Thorne spoke.

Selene’s eyes snapped toward him in disbelief, her breath catching. He had what? Hired Roach? Along with Aureline and Geode? She stared, frozen, as the implications slowly came to be understood. One sentence had detonated whatever illusion of impartiality the tribunal still had and left her mother’s question resembling a trap that had just been sprung in reverse. This situation wasn’t just about Roach anymore. This was about who wanted him gone. Who wanted him silent. And who might’ve used him for work they'd now prefer buried.

Before Selene could untangle the implications further, Isolde’s voice interrupted her thoughts, followed by Roach’s low, indistinct whisper. Though she couldn’t make out the words, Selene had spent enough time near Roach to recognize it. She knew the signs preceding violence. She sat bolt upright, her heart hammering against her ribs. His posture altered, just slightly, and then his voice, clearer this time, finally came as an alert: “Your courtroom might get a little blood if I answer.”

That was the only warning they got.

The shots came fast, and Selene was moving before she had time to think, dropping behind the nearest railing, hand reflexively reaching for a weapon she wasn’t carrying. Her eyes scanned the chaos until they found him again—Roach—and she saw him check on her.

That second of eye contact struck her as if she’d been physically hit.

She couldn’t immediately process which part stunned her more: the fact that he’d looked for her the instant violence erupted, or the powerful jolt it sent through her core, shaking loose emotions she wasn’t prepared to examine. A confusing mix of fear, gratitude, and something deeper flooded her.

Worry about yourself first was her only thought then and there.

Jonathan was instantly watching the court wondering what was going to happen next. He assumed that Roach would be punished for his excessive use of force. Squinting his eyes and wondering what Roach was whispering. He didn’t think that Roach would pull out his gun and fire at the crowd. “Ah hell’s bells”. The tall man jumped from his seat and onto the ground.

He was now in flight or fight mode. He knew he was one of the targets on Roach’s list. Or so he thought. Starting to crawl on the ground towards the door. He hoped he could reach the door and not get shot. He wished he had gotten a weapon from O’Bannon. The best weapon he had was his aerosol spray and his pocket knife. Looking around for a weapon he could use to defend himself while trying to leave the room.

When the deafening crack of the first gunshot ripped through the air. Corvina didn't hesitate; her body reacted instantly, driven by deeply ingrained reflexes. In one smooth motion, she pushed her heavy chair backwards and dropped low behind the protective curve of the raised platform where the council sat. Her left hand gripped the solid edge of the dais tightly, anchoring her position. Simultaneously, her right hand dove inside her formal coat, finding the slim emergency alert band hidden in the inner lining, a device permitted by strict security rules for just such a crisis. Her voice didn't rise in panic, nor did she yell or scream. Instead, she spoke directly into the band’s microphone:

“Seal the chamber. Evacuation order Level Four. Lethal force is authorized against any armed assailant not already in custody.” Even as the courtroom erupted into pandemonium – shouts, scrambling feet, the sound of more weapons being drawn – Corvina’s discipline held. Her primary focus was on controlling the situation, but a powerful instinct pulled her attention elsewhere for just a fraction of a second. Her gaze darted towards the gallery, specifically towards where Selene had been seated. Relief pierced through her concentration. Her daughter had reacted quickly, already moving to safety. Good, Corvina thought, the single word a silent acknowledgment before her focus snapped back entirely to the immediate, lethal threat unfolding before her.

Aureline and Elira both hit the floor when shots fired. Thorne froze in his chair but he knew Roach was not crazy enough to start shooting at anything without reason — was he? This was something he was betting on while he watched the gun and the older man smirk after all the shots were fired and pointed the gun at Geode.

Thorne glared at his fellow council member who sat there like a gun wasn’t pointed his way. ‘You might want to lower your weapon, Mister Vexler,’ Tarin Geode said with a lack of emotion or care. He was hoping that the stone-like appearance he was giving off would be enough to give him something against Roach but one of them had a gun and the other didn’t. His blood pressure was gradually increasing as he was realizing how serious Roach was about this — maybe he shouldn’t have used Selene Syn as a bargaining chip for the man to do his dirty work. Was that where he went wrong?

Isolde cursed herself for not noticing the movements and actions of those hidden amongst them. Roach Vexler knew and within seconds shots rung out in the courtroom. People panicked, naturally. Corvina remained stoic calling for evacuation and sealing the chamber, leaving them stuck with him.

Geode. She barely knew the guy but had assumed, unjustly, that he was on her side. Foolish on her part. None of the other Council members were on her side, they were firmly on their own sides. While the others either dropped to the ground or remained standing, either stoicly or not, Isolde remained in her seat. She had to admit the sudden gunfire had startled her, but giving into fear would not serve her. And above all, she firmly needed to serve her own interests.

Roach pointed his gun at Geode. Isolde stood up and faced her fellow Council member. ”I don’t think he will be doing anything of the sort. It seems this trial has been turned upside-down thanks in no small part to your own actions Councilman Geode. Care to enlighten the others as to what’s going on?” Her hand reached for her own weapon at her side, subtly. ”And do keep your movements to those of natural consequence. If I see a signal or something untoward it won’t just be Mr. Vexler’s gun you have to worry about.”

Roach was somewhat relieved that no one was turning weapons onto him but his few seconds of having the gun on Geode allowed that to happen. He kept his gun pointed and smirked while Isolde asked her questions and made her own demands — he liked this one. They hadn’t had such a young and spunky council member in a long time, it was refreshing to see, and for some reason… he felt like Isolde might actually care about how corrupt Dominion was and wanted to work against that.

---

While the commotion in the main area of the courtroom was going on and a few guards ran through the hallways. Pilka reached out and grabbed on without any hesitation while slamming him against the bars. ‘Sorry about that,’ he said to the man while checking the unconscious pockets of the security guard. Pulling out a few things, he watched as the other guards turned around, and he pulled his hands back into the cell.

Taking a few steps back since he didn’t want them electrocuting him with their tasers or anything of the like. ‘Put up your hands!’ one guard shouted before running to the door of Pilka’s cell. Pilka wasn’t complying as he put the keys and keycard into the pocket of his pants and had the unconscious man’s taser in his other hand.

‘Or what?’ he questioned while keeping his eyes on the guards.

That was when one of the guards went to open the door and Pilka flicked the device to be on full power before connecting it to him. The man screamed before falling to the floor and the other man went to jab his taser into Pilka’s side — a few steps in a half-moon motion and Pilka had the man by the neck, standing behind him, and shoved the taser into his lower back before dropping him as well.

A sigh let out as he searched their pockets for anything useful. Taking what he thought was useful and walking out of his cell and in front of Kara’s, ‘Do you want me to open your cell or do you think you are fine here?’ Pilka’s moonlit eyes scanned her and noticed she was huddled in the corner. She was terrified.

Kara stared him down, slightly shocked by his actions. Not that she'd condemn them given what he'd gone through.

"I want out, please," she scrambled to her feet, pulling herself up using the bench. She didn't know how much time they had before additional officers arrived, but she wasn't going to sit around and find out. Once Pilka unlocked her cell, she held out her arms in front of her.

"Uncuff me and let's try to get out of this place.”

---

While Jonathan was making his way towards the door he was pushing though the other people trying to escape. He really didn’t want to be one of the casualties of this shootout. And the thought of being on that list meant he would not be safe if he stayed in the courtyard. But has he was moving towards the door he was pushed onto the ground by someone. He feel onto the ground landing on his butt. Crawling away from the door and to the corner of the room, waiting for most of the crowd to dissipate before leaving. Although he was still worried that he would be fired at by Roach.

While he was waiting Jonathan noticed an officer was helping people escape from Roach. The officer turned his head to notice Jonathan cowering in the corner of the room. “What the hell are ya doing, come on get the hell out of here.” He said striding over towards him grabbing him by the shoulder. Jonathan was surprised how strong the officer was. He was brought up to his feet and was being lead away. He turned his head to the others being worried of their wellbeing. “But what about the others?”. He had to yell out because of how loud the room was. He was reassured they would be safe once the other officers take down Roach. Being lead out of the room and into the hallway with other people and officers.

Corvina remained where she was, crouched low behind the dais, but her posture was far from panicked. She had already sealed the chamber. The fingers of one hand maintained steady pressure on her emergency alert band, confirming the lockdown was holding while she mentally calculated response times. Security forces would breach the chamber in approximately sixty seconds based on standard protocols. Still, with everything occurring around her, she rose after some time, only to reassert control of the situation.

“Enough,” she said, her gaze first sweeping over Roach before shifting to Councillor Geode, who stood frozen halfway between intervention and retreat. There was no mistaking the warning in Corvina's tone as she continued, “I highly suggest you answer Councillor Isolde's question fully and without your usual posturing, Councillor. Dominion may not look kindly on public executions, no matter how deserving the target may be.”

The final phrase came out almost conversational, yet carried deadly implication: “Though that is not likely to stop the man before you.”

A chuckle came from Geode though it didn’t have any humor in it or any humor that any regular person could detect — though some might realize the twistedness in it. ‘I’m not saying anything. Investigate. Do a trial. I plead the fifth on this,’ his eyes fell down upon Roach as if he was wishing he was burning alive but he said nothing before looking back at Isolde.

‘And I am surprised, you are so quick to believe him, maybe an investigation should happen with you as well, Councilor Isolde,’ Geode had venom on his tongue as he spoke her title and name.

This was when Thorne stood up, ‘Guards, arrest this man!’ he shouted the orders while pointing at Geode. The guards listened with some hesitation but began to make their way to the councilors.

”We all have skeletons in our closet Councilor Geode. It’s just yours are enough to fill a mausoleum.” Isolde glanced at Roach, gun still pointed despite the guards coming to take Geode away. And Corvina was still crouched down, waiting, though she still commanded control. She must have had an inkling as to what was going on.

”Let it be known here that I would like to help lead the investigation into Councilor Geode’s actions. I think the people would appreciate their chosen Councilor looking into things given the actions of today.” Isolde didn’t let it slip she intended to investigate all of the Councilors. Rotten fruit is born of a rotten tree, as it were.

People seemed to be calming down when the gunshots stopped, everything was focusing on the councilors, and the guards were arresting people — Councilor Geode and Roach. Two guards were taking away Roach’s gun and putting his hands behind his back for safety reasons most likely and he was debating if he should beat these two senseless and try to get out of dodge. It was hard to not do that.

‘Hopefully change happens…,’ Roach said under his breath while glaring up at the Councilor’s — too many of the councilor’s came from generational council members. It caused rot in the city to the point where it was making people suffer and Roach knew about some of the details but that was because him and Thorne were more or less… friends.

Selene stayed crouched behind the railing, not because she was afraid, but because her thoughts were still racing to catch up with everything that had exploded around her. Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs, her muscles still tense with leftover adrenaline, yet her mind had never felt more focused.

Her gaze snapped back to Roach just as the guards wrestled his weapon away. Watching them force his hands behind his back made something hot and angry twist in her chest. They treated him like some dangerous criminal who needed restraining, when he'd been the only one brave enough, or maybe stupid enough, to call out the council's corruption to their faces. The injustice of it burned in her throat. He'd been the only honest one in this whole damn room, as far as she was concerned.

A sudden urge surged through her. To stand up, to shout, to put herself between Roach and the guards. Before she could stop herself, she was already speaking.

“Wait—” Her voice came out hoarse, barely audible over their talking. She pushed halfway up from her crouch, eyes darting between Roach and the guards restraining him. “You can't just—”

But she barely got the words out before security moved to intercept her. A young officer she didn't recognize stepped forward, his expression professionally blank as he blocked her path.

“Miss Syn, you need to clear the chamber. Now.”

“I’m not—” Her words caught, stalled by the look he gave her: not hostile, just impersonal. She was a variable to be removed. A distraction from a protocol that had no room for personal ties.

Another guard moved to escort her out, and she could practically feel her mother's presence nearby, watching everything unfold with that infuriating calm. Corvina wasn't stepping in, wasn't objecting. Just observing, always observing, always in control.

Then everything shifted with a single word.

“Hold.”

The guard froze mid-step, turning back toward the raised platform where Corvina now stood at her full height. Selene's mother looked carved from marble - impossible to read, impossible to challenge. Her gaze locked onto her daughter with unsettling intensity.

“Let her pass.” Corvina told the officers. Then, with the barest tilt of her head toward Selene: “To me.”

There was no gentleness in the request. Only a summons dressed as permission.

Selene’s legs moved almost without her consent, carrying her forward even as her mind screamed protests. The room blurred at the edges as she crossed the floor, and when she reached the base of the platform, Corvina didn't descend to meet her. Didn't extend a hand. Just stared at her daughter, studying her for several endless seconds.

“Escort her to the secure exit.”

The dismissal was complete. Corvina's attention had already moved on, leaving Selene standing there, dismissed like some unimportant petitioner rather than her own daughter. The conclusiveness of it stung more than she wanted to admit.

Everyone was being moved out of the courtroom. People were flooding out of the building in a bustle of confusion and people trying to ask questions about what was happening. Luckily, there was not a mob uproar. People were concerned. During this time, Roach was being taken to a secure location — not a location in this particular building. They were taking him somewhere.

Thorne helped Elira and Aureline up while Geode passed them in cuffs. Aureline said something, whispered in a harsh tone towards Thorne, and he rolled his eyes and said something back. The man encouraged those two council members to leave before glancing at Isolde. ‘Since you want to take the lead, Councilor, what’s next?’ he asked and not in a rude way. He was curious on what the young council member was thinking of — Geode was arrested, Roach was being taken somewhere else, and the people wanted answers.

‘It might be good for you to speak on Dominion Broadcast about this, the people love hearing things straight from council members or the face of Dominion, Liora Vex,’ it was more of a recommendation than anything but he knew the people’s curiosity and concern would grow.

With things quieting down Isolde had a chance to think. There were many moving parts to this and if she wanted to start looking into what she believed was only the tip of the corruption running rampant here, she would need to be smart.

”That is a good starting place as any. The people will be riled up and looking for answers. Best to give them some to tide them over and ensure we’re looking into this. I will get that set up once things settle a bit more.”
Isolde glanced over at Roach being taken away. The man who stood accused had ended up saving lives, if that was truly the plan, and yet he continued to be treated like a criminal. The justice system was beyond broken. Just one of many amongst their society that had cracks in its very foundation.

”Once he is settled I would also like to speak to Mr. Vexler. Alone.” She had more questions for him. Questions she dared not ask in a public setting. She believed Roach was, either on purpose or not, the very center of all of this and his experience would prove invaluable in her investigation.