The dark, smoky room was filled with shadows in every corner. The only light inside came from the active terminal on a large obsidian desk. Its screen was currently occupied by a shadowy silhouette of a man, though he was scrambled and highly obscured regardless.
And when the scrambled man spoke, his voice was also deeply masked and digitally altered.
“So Anatol,” said the scrambled man, “how’s the family doing lately? I heard your children have been pretty busy these past few weeks, making their mark on the Federation. I keep seeing and hearing mention of them all over the ‘Casts.”
Seated in front of the terminal was an old man in his 60s, his face obscured by the shadows all around the room.
He smiled proudly at the mention of
The return of the Prophets of Gaea - they’re going to be the main antagonists in this arc. And like I mentioned prior, they carry with them certain themes. Such as racism, bigotry, and empty faith.
The courtroom was abuzz with activity as everyone settled into their seats. At the far end of the room atop the judge’s bench sat a pale elderly man in long flowing robes. He looked wise and stern and a little bit long in the tooth.Behind him was the seal of the Federal Judiciary - a scale with a sword and shield in each of its weight pans. Both were perfectly balanced with each other.As the judge adjusted his notes and activated his terminal, so too did the court clerk just beneath and in front of his bench. The clerk began tapping away on her terminal even before proceedings officially began.On one side of the room, to the left of the judge and facing inwards was the jury box, where 12 Helios citizens settled themselves into their seats. They seemed a relatively eclectic group, and consisted of a variety
“You may step down from the stand,” said the judge solemnly.The well-suited businessman nodded, then stepped down from the witness stand. He was quickly escorted by the bailiff to a door off to the side, who came back only moments later.“Prosecution,” said the judge, “you may call your next witness.”The lead prosecutor stood up and bowed his head to the judge.“Thank you, your honor,” he said. “The People of the Sol Federation calls for Jionna Laertidus.”The bailiff headed out through the same side door, and once again came back moments later. This time, with Jionna in tow. He led her straight towards the witness stand.
“Now that both the prosecution and defense teams have rested their cases,” said the judge, “they may now present their final arguments. The prosecution may begin with theirs.”The lead prosecutor stood up and cleared his throat before he walked straight towards the jury.“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he said, “it has been an extraordinarily long few cycles. You’ve heard all our witnesses, read all the testimonies, reviewed all of the evidence. There is irrefutable proof that this person, the defendant…”The lead prosecutor turned his body slightly, and pointed at Nightmare behind him without even looking.“...knowingly and willingly committed grievous acts of assault, battery, larceny, robbery, and
The Spirit of Amelia once again sat in a rented Helios hangar, her ramp down and airlock open. Music blared throughout the ship, and echoed down every passageway, every section, every room.More than the music, the ship itself was more alive.The inside of Habitation itself was the most lively. The Ravens had put up posters and photos and handwritten letters and favorite clothing along the walls and around their bunks. Containers filled with the girls’ things were strewn everywhere, ready to be transferred to their new home.Though it seemed they already had more stuff than they could fit onboard.So instead of replacing the large screen that used to be next to the terminal, they instead installed more storage lockers and drawers. Which were, of course, quick
Planet Tarsus, Veltos System, Federal Colonial TerritoriesThe planet was one of the many planets in the galaxy that was just like Gaea - it was filled with vast blue oceans and verdant lands. Or, at least, it was how Gaea used to be, before nanites rewrote her land and her sea and her air. Tarsus’ equator was especially rich with life, and it enjoyed dense tropical forests alongside deep oceans, both of which were filled with all manner of life.Its weather was also very much like Gaea - there was moderate, predictable rainfall in certain months. Other times, those same rains could get whipped up into violent storms. Strong enough to uproot trees.The planet itself was larger and denser than Gaea, had a slightly higher gravitational pull, and had a thicker atmosphere on top of it all. Regardless of those differences, it was still
Miko followed old man Reeve further into his shop, and noted how much of it was in utter disarray. Parts were scattered all over the shelves, on tables and desks, the floor, any open surface, really. And seemingly at random without a discernible order or structure to their placement.The parts themselves were in varying degrees of usability. Some were outright broken, while others barely had a scratch. The one thing they all shared was that each part was relatively clean.At the very least the old man, or someone else, had the sense to keep the parts spotless.In utter contrast to the scattered parts, the workshop’s tools were hung along the walls with an absolute order to it. Various wrenches hung next to each other from largest to smallest. A variety of multitools were inset into the wall, their overal
Amal walked deeper into the clinic, led by the nurse receptionist. She noted how the clinic itself was close to immaculate, and how the smell of disinfectant permeated the air. Unlike most others, she was comforted by that smell.As they walked down the hallways, she noted the few rooms where a number of bed-ridden patients were recovering. Most seemed content, or at least, opposite of miserable.A few other nurses walked between these rooms and patients, and tended to them carefully.Amal realized that the settlement’s clinic was incredibly well-staffed, and probably had the best operational budget in the settlement itself. Everything was nearly spotless.The nurse in front of her knocked on a door when they reached near the end of their hallway, though the door i
A little over a dozen rowdy (and thoroughly inebriated) bar patrons cheered at a couple of people seated at a small table in the middle of the whole bar. Of the two people seated opposite each other, the first was a big hunk of a man with an imposing barrel chest, and whose biceps were larger than his opponent’s head.The other was Eva. Though she had a bit of a sly grin, she yawned a bit and taunted her opponent“Is that all you’ve got, big guy?” she asked. “I’m starting to get real sleepy over here.”Both their hands were locked, and their elbows were solidly on the table in front of them. And on each side of the table were small piles of coins and paper currency. The rules of their arm wrestling match was simply whoever made their opponent’s knuckles touch the