‘Thank you, General.’
The judge glared down at Kinsel. ‘Questions?’ he snapped.
‘These people you claim named me under interrogation. Can you produce any of them in court?’
‘Regrettably, no,’ Devlor Bastorran responded, his face a picture of contriteness. ‘You have to understand that they were hardened revolutionaries and outlaws. Some were sentenced to long prison terms in various of the colonies. Several had the death sentence passed on them. Quite justifiably in my opinion. And one or two of the others, sadly, resisted questioning to the extent of deliberately forfeiting their lives.’
‘If their…
interrogation
was anything like mine, I’m not surprised.’
The judge’s gavel pounded his bench again. ‘The accused will refrain from making frivolous and irrelevant comments.’
‘If you can’t bring any of these people here, General,’ Kinsel said, ‘at least name them.’
‘Can’t be done, I’m afraid. That could compromise ongoing investigations. It’s a matter of-’
‘State security, yes. But perhaps you
could
tell the court who the persons of influence were who supposedly protected me?’
‘Objection!’ Laffon stated. ‘It must be obvious even to the accused that such sensitive information couldn’t possibly be exposed to public gaze.’
‘Where are the public?’ Kinsel argued. ‘I see none here.’
‘We’ll have no facetious remarks,’ the judge barked. ‘You’re right, Commissioner. Questions on this subject will not be pursued.’ He eyed Kinsel. ‘Do you have anything else to ask? Anything sensible, that is?’
‘I…’
‘I thought not. Do you have any further witnesses, Commissioner?’
‘Just one, Your Honour. He’s waiting outside.’
‘Well, bring him in, bring him in.’
‘Call Aido Brendall.’
The name meant nothing to Kinsel. But as the clerk directed the man to the witness stand, he recognised him. He was probably in his thirties. His build was average, his clothes unremarkable and his features nondescript. Except for one thing. He had a black leather protuberance in place of a nose. It seemed to be padded, and was held fast by narrow ties that ran round to the back of his head.
‘You are Aido Brendall, a corporal with the harbour watch patrol?’ Laffon asked.
‘I am, sir.’ It came as no surprise to anyone that his voice had a distinctly muffled quality.
‘I’ll not beat about the bush, Corporal. It’s evident to all present that you’ve suffered an injury. Tell me, did this come about whilst carrying out your duties on behalf of the citizens of Valdarr?’
‘It did, sir. I was disfigured in the line of duty.’
‘And was it not the case that several of your colleagues actually lost their lives in the same incident?’
‘They did, sir. Two of ’em, and a grievous loss to the watch patrol they were, sir.’
‘I believe a member of the paladin clans was also murdered that night.’
‘Yes, sir. Died heroically, he did.’
‘Please tell the court, in your own words, how this tragedy occurred.’
‘There’s not a lot to tell, sir. It was last summer, and my unit was patrolling the central docks when we got word of an illegal entrant getting off one of the ships. A woman, it was, along with a couple of children. Quite young they were, those
kids. Anyway, we spotted her and gave chase. We had a paladin assigned to our unit that night and he came along too. We caught up with the illegal, and she’d been joined by a man.’
‘Can you identify that man?’
‘Yes, sir. It was him.’ He pointed at Kinsel.
‘You’re sure?’
‘I’m not likely to forget, sir, seeing as what happened next.’
‘Do carry on.’
‘Well, we confronted him and the woman with the kids, and the next thing we know
another
woman turned up. I reckon she knew ’em. Was one of ’em, if you ask me. Because when we ordered her to stand aside, she attacked us.’
‘And as a result of that unprovoked attack, your two comrades and the gallant paladin officer gave their lives, and you were left badly wounded?’
‘Yes, sir. Scarred for life, sir.’
‘What part did the accused play in the assault?’
‘He egged her on, sir. No doubt about that.’
‘You saw him as the one behind the attack? The driving force, so to speak?’
‘I don’t reckon the one who did all the damage would have tangled with us otherwise, sir.’
‘To sum up: the accused, whom you have just identified, was deeply involved in an altercation that saw the deaths of three brave defenders of the peace and the severe injury of another, namely yourself?’
‘That’s just how it was, sir.’
‘I think the testimony of this witness, a man who puts himself at risk every day in order to preserve the peace and safeguard the good citizens of Valdarr, gives the lie to the accused’s protestations of innocence. Thank you, Corporal.’
‘Your witness,’ the judge rumbled, nodding at Kinsel.
‘You’ve told the court that you confronted five people that night. Two women, two small children and a man.’
‘You should know; you were the man.’
‘I want to establish something. Your group consisted of three harbour watchmen and a paladin, all of you trained fighters. In the case of the paladin, a highly experienced swordsman, I imagine. Is that right?’
‘That’s right.’
‘When the fighting began, did either of the children join in and attack you?’
‘That’s ridiculous. Of course they didn’t.’
‘Did both of the women attack you?’
‘Just the one.’
‘And what about the man? Did he take part in this brawl?’
‘You know you didn’t.’
‘So the fact is that four very experienced law enforcers faced one woman, who killed three and dealt you a serious injury?’
‘Well…yes. But she was good. By which I mean she was wild. Deranged, possibly. There was no reasoning with her.’
‘Did you
try
to reason with her? Or did you simply order her aside so you could get at the non-combatants? Isn’t it possible that-’
‘Objection, my lord!’ Laffon was up again. ‘It seems the accused is trying to imply a justification of self-defence for this terrible event. And if he is, isn’t that as good as admitting that he was present?’
‘I’m inclined to agree,’ the judge replied. ‘Also, the exact circumstances of the incident are secondary to the fact that three law-keepers were killed. There can be no justification for that, and anyone present, in whatever capacity, must be seen as an accessory. This line of questioning will cease. Does the accused have any more questions?’
Kinsel wearily shook his head and sank back onto his chair.
The harbour watchman was dismissed. Then the judge instructed Laffon to deliver his final arguments.
‘Your Honour, I do not propose wasting the court’s precious time on a lengthy summation of the prosecution’s case. The facts speak for themselves. We have heard from the two highest officials of the esteemed paladin clans, and they left us in no doubt of their conviction that Kinsel Rukanis is a dangerous and manipulative individual. In respect of the evidence of Aido Brendall, the court was presented with the testimony of a dedicated and courageous public servant who related how the accused was involved in a vicious act of violence. And you will have noted, Your Honour, that Rukanis did not deny being present at the docks the night murder and mayhem were doled out. My lord, the fact that Kinsel Rukanis is a man of some notoriety makes his crimes all the worse, for such as he should always set a law-abiding and patriotic example. One element of the accused’s personality has not been mentioned in court today, but is well known. I refer to his espousal of pacifism. This, too, has a bearing on the issue of patriotism. For how can a man be called a patriot if he does not believe in fighting for his country, and who, indeed, encourages others to embrace his skewed doctrine? What distorted view of the world is it that sees cowardice and contempt for one’s homeland as virtues to be championed? For such a philosophy, if it can be dignified with so noble a title, and for the evidence we have heard today, there can be only one verdict.’