Alien Indiscretions (50 page)

“As for my other co-defendant, Councilman Rajhir just happened to be in the vicinity of such a woman. He was on Plasius at the time, negotiating trade agreements.”

Nivere cut in. “You can check the records on that. The Plasian leader Saucin Israla has agreed to share her documentation of those negotiations with this honorable panel.”

Yuder nodded and took up his story again. “Dramok Rajhir happened to be the first to carry out the emergency orders. I believe this is the reason he was unjustly singled out among all the councilmen who aided the rescue effort. In the course of following his duty, Rajhir and his clanmates discovered Matara Amelia was compatible to breed with our species.”

Onziv was silent for a moment while mulling Yuder’s confession. His expression tense, he asked, “It is your testimony that Dramok Ospar and Dramok Rajhir acted without consulting the Royal Council on the matter because they believed these women were in immediate danger?”

“It is.”

Onziv considered again. Wal could imagine he was examining the assertions from every angle of Kalquorian law, just as he himself was. The grim concentration of everyone on the panel told him they were giving the matter their utmost attention.

There was only one decision in the end, and Onziv delivered it to the hushed courtroom. “Let the record show a plea of guilty by Imperial Father Nobek Yuder in the matter of the Earther Matara abductions that ultimately led to the war with Earth and that planet’s destruction. Let it also be recorded that he assumes sole responsibility for the crime. This panel will deliberate if Dramok Ospar and Dramok Rajhir need to testify further to the matter before proceeding with their cases. In the meantime, we will adjourn until this afternoon, at which time the sentencing hearing for Nobek Yuder will commence. Nobek Yuder is hereby confined under Empire custody until court reconvenes.”

In the quiet following the incomplete verdict, a Nobek in the public gallery shouted out. “Let them all be taken away! The whole Imperial Family and Royal Council should be on trial for their lies! Follow the Basma! Free Kalquor from the tyranny of the entitled!”

More shouting rose in the wake of the cry. Within seconds, fists were swinging in the public gallery.

As the fighting heated up and members of Global Security waded in to restore order and empty the room, Wal found a small sense of relief. The only women in the courtroom were those in the enclosed and guarded Imperial gallery and Nivere, who stood next to Yuder. Under the Imperial Father’s watchful group of Royal Guards, other members of Global Security led him and Nivere away. More guards took up positions between the panel of judges and the public gallery.

Secure from the violence, Wal checked on Cissy. She peeked at him through a wall of Royal Guards, her worried face appearing between armored bodies as she checked on him. The Imdiko mustered a smile for her to let her know he was okay. For his part, he was glad she was in the midst of armored sentries.

Only after he was assured of Cissy’s safety did Wal look to see how Diltan fared. All the councilmen appeared to be behaving themselves for a change as they filed out of the gallery. Diltan lagged behind his grave-expressioned colleagues, giving both Wal and Cissy winks and waves to let them know things were all right on his end.

Real trouble had been averted for the moment. Yet Wal was all too aware how much depended on proceeding carefully, even with Yuder’s sacrifice.

* * * *

During lunch, the panel couldn’t help but talk about what ramifications would result from Yuder’s confession. Now that a guilty verdict was in, they were free to discuss the matter as it related to the Imperial Father.

“He’s protecting those he can,” Dramok Nai said. “Along with his own ass. His assertion of rescue is without merit. He’s hoping to exonerate the other two and stay out of prison.”

“I know Yuder from back when we both served Global Security,” Dorl answered. “He ignores the rules when they don’t serve him, but always in the line with what he feels is best for Kalquor. I think he’s giving himself up to preserve the Empire. The intent is noble, though I’m not sold on the method.”

“He’s going beyond that,” Wal said. He had a flash of insight as to what his Dramok and the empress had been about these last few weeks. “If Yuder pled innocent, was tried, declared guilty and sentenced, then we would still have a problem on our hands. It would cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Earther Mataras’ clanships. By casting them in a sympathetic light, by insisting on their victimhood, the current wave of anti-interbreeding might lose traction.”

“You have a point, Wal,” Onziv said. “However, those who were convinced before will still be opposed to integration. Perhaps even more violently so since they’ll fight to preserve the stance.”

“All the easier to identify those people,” Wal said. He felt a sense of pride for his Dramok in that moment. It was a brilliant maneuver ... if it worked. “If Yuder can present real evidence that the kidnappings did save lives and it turns the mood of the people, even the Basma might be compelled to come out of the shadows in protest.”

“If not him, his most ardent followers at the least,” Dorl added, his eyes lighting at the prospect. “By the ancestors, I’ve wanted to get my hands on those who made some of the women disappear when this ‘let Kalquor die pure’ insanity started.”

Wal thought of those few dozen Earther Mataras who had been abducted by the Basma, never to be heard from again. Even the empress had once been targeted by the revolt’s followers. She had been rescued from vanishing in barely the nick of time.

He swallowed, thinking about how awful it would be if Cissy was targeted by the Basma. If she was to disappear, never to be heard from again—

It would kill me. Two months not seeing her while knowing she was perfectly fine was hardship enough. To lose her for good with no idea if she was still alive ... I couldn’t bear it.

With such daunting thoughts, he headed out with his colleagues for the afternoon session of court. Wal was so worried over the threat hanging over their heads that he almost shouted in relief to see Cissy sitting in the Imperial gallery.

The hearing they hadn’t anticipated began. Onziv said, “We will now move on to the sentencing hearings for Imperial Father Yuder. Does his attorney have any witnesses to call?”

Nivere already stood at her podium. She exchanged bows with the judges and said, “I do, your honor. I call for the testimony of Amelia Ryan, Matara to Clan Rajhir.”

Prosecutor Chamar stood as Maf glowered. “If you hear such testimony, then this court has reduced itself to a joke, honorable panel.”

Onziv crooked an eyebrow at him. “The prosecution has won its case against one of the defendants, who we are now in the process of determining the disposition of. You are excused from any further proceedings except to observe.”

Chamar continued a dogged argument. “I will be lodging a formal protest against this. Bringing in one of these Earther women to testify on Nobek Yuder’s behalf, one who in fact is clanned to his co-defendant, is not a valid witness. What’s more, her Dramok is blood related to Yuder! Her testimony is tainted.”

Nivere never lost her composure. “Matara Amelia was the first of the women to be rescued—” Maf’s growl tried to interrupt her at the use of that word, but she ignored him. “—by our people. Her circumstances are representative of the threat Earth had on her and the other women. However, if it will make the prosecution feel better, I have 1,341 more Earther Mataras brought here before the war. I assure Counselor Chamar that all of those women are also ready – excuse me – eager to testify as to their being rescued, not abducted. I would be happy to bring every last one of them in to satisfy my concerned opponent.”

Silence hung over the chamber. Wal and the rest of the panel looked to the prosecutor’s side of the room and waited. Chamar exchanged a look with the obviously furious Maf and sat back down.

Onziv turned back to Nivere. “I am sure bringing so many witnesses will not be necessary, Counselor. Please bring forth the first witness called.”

Court officer Emro escorted Matara Amelia into the room and hovered uncertainly as she mounted the testimony platform. The light beaming down on her had been dimmed. She was not on trial and not a hostile witness as far as the court was concerned, so concessions were made for her comfort.

Wal had to admit the sight of the redheaded Matara was a lovely one. Tall for an Earther female, Amelia possessed a beautifully curved form. The small bump of her abdomen that demonstrated her pregnancy only made her more inspiring to the Imdiko’s eyes. He thought of how Cissy might look when she someday carried a child ... his clan’s child. A lump formed in his throat at the idea. He couldn’t help but glance up at her, his heart beating too fast.

Onziv’s voice brought him back to the task at hand. “Matara Amelia, in deference to your condition of pregnancy, we will endeavor to keep this examination short.”

Amelia bowed her head. Her flaming waves of red hair tumbled forward to brush golden-skinned shoulders, left bare by her long white gown. “Thank you for the kindness, Honorable Onziv.”

“Please start the examination, Counselor Nivere.”

Nivere stood at the foot of the testimony platform and smiled up at her son’s clanmate. “Tell us how it was that you met Clan Rajhir.”

In a strong, carrying voice, Amelia said, “Nearly six years ago, I left Earth to take an exchange artist opening on Plasius. The official reason was for a cultural sharing between my planet and theirs. However, I had far more personal reasons for leaving Earth. I had been raped repeatedly by two men on my home planet, and I feared for my life should it be discovered.”

Nivere interjected, “Because women who had been raped were, by your government’s definition, guilty of tempting men into doing so.”

Amelia nodded, her expression turning grim. “Yes.”

“Did you ever tempt your rapists, as your government would have alleged?”

“Absolutely not! The first of these men attacked me when I was only fourteen years old, a virgin, and unaware of what constituted sexuality.”

Wal winced at her account. What Amelia spoke of horrified him. Again he glanced at Cissy, thinking about her story of what had happened to Tasha and how it had moved her to accidentally kill a man. She watched Amelia with a sad but unsurprised expression. It made his heart ache all the more to know Cissy had lived under such a threat.

Shaking her head as if to deny the dreadfulness of Amelia’s story, Nivere nonetheless urged her on. “Please continue, Matara Amelia. What of the second man who violated you?”

“He was my work supervisor, in charge of the law enforcement in my hometown. There was no one I could go to, to plead my case in such a situation.”

“Awful. So this is what you feared about Earth? That you would be continued to be victimized with no legal recourse?”

Amelia’s gaze was distant, as if looking across some great divide to a far different world than the one she now inhabited. “That was the least of my worries. I feared being accused of acts of lust. I knew I could never become a wife and mother on my home world. If I was to be so foolish as to marry, any man I took as my husband might report my non-virginal status to the authorities.”

“What would have happened in that case?”

“Arrest, torture, and execution.”

That brought a wave of muttering from the gallery. Even members of the notoriously impassive Royal Guard looked incensed. Diltan and Empress Jessica’s plan was working, Wal thought. The tide of anger moved now in the opposite direction of where Maf had sent it.

“So you went to Plasius to escape?”

Amelia shrugged. “The trip to Plasius was a reprieve from potential discovery, but only a temporary one. I knew I would have to return to Earth and live in fear once more.”

“But you did not return to Earth.”

“No. Clan Rajhir came to Plasius. I met them and they assured me that they would keep me safe from Earth if I would join their clan. After a couple of weeks of getting to know them, I felt sure that they told me the truth. I agreed to come to Kalquor and be their Matara.”

“A couple of weeks?” Nivere’s brow furrowed. “It does not sound as if you were in immediate danger then, Matara.”

Amelia’s eyes widened. “But I was, Counselor. I heard that other expatriate Earther women had accepted the invitations of Kalquorians to come to your planet and live without fear. Earth contacted me and ordered me to go home. I made the mistake of telling them that not only was I also going to Kalquor, but I carried my clan’s child – which turned out to be children, as I had twins.”

“What was Earth’s reaction to that?”

“They sent the military after me. Their plan was to bring me back to my planet for execution after I’d given birth to my children. My babies, Earther-Kalquorian hybrids, would be subjected to testing and experimentation. It most likely would have killed them. The Earther soldiers sent to Plasius caught me. I was beaten. Their commander almost choked me to death.”

Another swell of angry muttering broke out. This time Emro had to threaten the gallery with expulsion to make them quiet. While everyone was distracted by that, Wal snuck a glance at Diltan. His Dramok looked strangely sickened and pleased all at once. Amelia’s story had an effect on him, but things were swinging in the right direction.

When silence had been restored, Nivere prodded Amelia to finish her tale. “What happened next?”

The Earther smiled, signaling a happy end to such a terrible story. “At great risk to their own lives, my clanmates – Clan Rajhir – managed to rescue me and our unborn children. They saw to it that we were spared horrible deaths at the hands of Earth’s government. For the last six years I have lived a life I didn’t think possible. A life of peace with no fear, safe and secure with my clan.”

Despite having heard much of this story before, Wal was newly amazed at the grim horror Amelia had endured. The thought of her children being subjected to medical experimentation was enough to make him nauseous. From the repulsed expressions filling the room, he had little doubt his feelings were shared by the majority of listeners.