Chapter 6076 The Larkinson High Court


    The third year of the Age of Dawn hade and gone!


    The entire n along with the rest of red humanity held a festive celebration in order tomemorate the start of their independence from the Milky Way.


    Though not everyone found the Great Severing to be an asion worth celebrating about, the Red Two along with other major groups worked hard to build up pride and self-esteem of the humans of the new frontier.


    The specter of the uing alien offensive loomed tall over everyone''s heads. There were even analysts who imed that the Red Cabal would surely ruin everyone''s day byunching a surprise attack!


    Fortunately, the troops on high alert ended up doing nothing but look menacing. The third year of the Age of Dawn eventually concluded with renewed expectations towards the future.


    s, not everyone was able to tackle the new year with an optimistic outlook.


    The Larkinsons had be consumed by the first high-profile trial since the founding of their n!


    This was not the first time the n passed judgment over those whose alleged crimes merited serious consideration. With a membership figure that was rapidly approaching 2 million individuals, there were always cases where even the most well-meaning Larkinsons crossed the line.


    Minor transgressions took ce all of the time. These incidents were not really worth getting wound up over, and were often dealt with internally or through one of the many lower institutions.


    Only a handful of cases reached a level of severity thatpelled the Larkinson n to take them more seriously.


    These incidents ranged from faulty maintenance leading to severe injuries or death, to a recruit of Terra origin who leaked a little too much information to one of his former employers.


    The Larkinsons invested with the power to cast their judgment over these cases mostly consisted of professional judges from various states. They were all professionals who had been vetted and proved theirpetence through numerous ways.


    Under normal circumstances, these judges possessed enough authority and respect to judge their fellow Larkinsons.


    This time was different. The used parties consisted of two expert pilots who built up their reputations over many years. Both of the newly ascended expert pilots had fought and risked their lives in dozens of battles. Each of them had gone above and beyond what the n expected from a typical serviceman and made significant contributions.


    Given the status and contributions of these two champions who had always been known as upright and honorable among the Larkinsons, both protocol and public demand forced the n to convene a special tribunal to judge their individual cases.


    Shortly after the new year celebrations passed, the concurrent trials of Venerable Taon Melin and Venerable Lanie Larkinsonmenced!


    Since the decision had been made to broadcast the trials, the solemn asion took ce within a special courthouse built inside the Spirit of Bentheim.


    The selection of judges to preside over the special tribunal did not proceed without contention.


    For a trial of this scope, the decision had been made to select 3 professional judges, 3 expert pilots of the Larkinson n and 1 high-ranking mech designer of the Larkinson n.


    The selection of judges was done in an instant. Everyone knew that for these important trials, the judges had been reduced to legal clerks in all but name. The three professionals were all expected to attach themselves to an expert pilot and mirror thetter''s judgment. The esteemed individuals epted this and were happy to assist the selected expert pilots in navigating theplex legal processes.


    What truly mattered was the selection of expert pilots. Numerous volunteers brought their names forward, but it was not appropriate to select 3 among this enthusiastic group.


    In the end, the Larkinson High Court selected Venerable Jannzi Larkinson due to how much she cared about the n. The Court also selected Commander Case Ingvar-Larkinson due to her expertise as a mechmander. Furthermore, Venerable Vincent Ricklin got added due to random selection.


    "Why do I have to preside over these trials? I am not a judge! I don''t have the faintest clue about thew!"


    "That doesn''t matter. You are not in the special tribunal because of your legal background. You have been selected as a judge for these cases because you represent a part of the soldiers of the Larkinson n. Look, don''t pay attention to the legalese. Just listen and decide ording to your own heart and principles. Decide what you think is best for the Larkinson n. An actual judge will apany you and take care of all of theplicated paperwork and other protocols."


    "Oh. Why didn''t you mention that first?"


    The selection of the mech designer also had to be made with care. Both Ves and Gloriana were the most authoritative ones, but that made them the worst possible choices. Gloriana and especially Ves already held a lot of executive power over the n. Letting them exercise judicial power vited the principle of separation of powers and could lead to catastrophic abuse in the long run.


    Ketis was normally a good choice, but she was in the chain ofmand when the disastrous mission unfolded, so she was anything but impartial. Her involvement already ruled out her selection.


    Eventually, Alexa Streon epted this important responsibility. She was not among the old-timers of the Larkinson n, but she received a rich education and had proven to be professional in all of her jobs.


    It took over a week for Taon, Lanie and Alexa to depart from their locations and arrive in the Bortele System where the expeditionary fleet had decided to rest and recuperate. The Larkinson borrowed the Red Association''s fastest couriers in order to expedite the journeys.


    The special tribunalmenced shortly after the aforementioned individuals rejoined the expeditionary fleet. They had already made numerous preparations during the journey.


    Thousands of Larkinsons serving in the expeditionary attended the proceedings in person whenever possible. Hundreds of thousands more nsmen chose to follow the live feed of the trials.


    The actual process had been condensed into just two days. Nobody wanted the special tribunal to drag on for months or years. The allegations, while severe, only took ce during a brief interval of time, so it was not as if it took a lot of time to go over all of the evidence and arguments.


    Plenty of hard evidence became avable by downloading and processing the recordings and data logs of the living mechs that had the misfortune of observing the unfolding tragedy.


    Two key witnesses provided their own testimonies on what had happened. Venerable Joshua and Venerable Dise might not have been able to attend the special tribunal in person due to the fact that they were still a part of Task Force Solus, but they were allowed to take part by remote,


    Since both of the witnesses were expert pilots, people did not doubt they spoke the truth. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Theplication was that Joshua and Dise were both biased and held strong opinions of their own. The judges had to take these variables into ount.


    At the end of the second day, anticipation throughout the Larkinson n rose as the prosecution and the attorneys representing their two clients made their closing statements.


    The judges all retreated for a while and returned to their bench.


    Of the seven judges, Venerable Jannzi Larkinson assumed the role of chief judge. Her interest and investment in the trial surpassed that of all of her current peers!


    Since the rules governing the special tribunal were a bit looser and more flexible than normal trials, Venerable Jannzi decided to turn this asion into a lecture as well as an opportunity to pass judgment.


    "Larkinsons." She spoke as she knew she held the attention of pretty much every Larkinson, no matter whether they were in the courtroom in person or watching from one of the many distant branches scattered across human-upied space. "I am deeply disappointed today."


    Her protective aura which she had honed through many battles and moments of introspection red up, allowing every viewer to get a feel of how much this trial impacted her mood.


    Jannzi exuded a lot of authority as her gaze seemed to prate straight into the eyes of every viewer. She along with the rest of the judges enhanced their stature by wearing slightly decorative dark red robes and special headdresses. The luxurious fabrics and the exquisite detailing of their outfits literally made them look taller andrger than life.


    "When the Larkinson High Court initially came into existence, I hoped that it would never be used on this sort of asion. How could one of our honorable and well-treated champions evermit crimes severe enough to warrant this response from our n? Our expert candidates and expert pilotse from different different backgrounds, but the Larkinson Army has always made sure to select soldiers who can be trusted to fight on our collective behalf. If there are any champions who have exhibited disconcerting behavior, then it is the responsibility of the Hall of Heroes to correct their mindsets."


    Jannzi exuded a lot of authority as her gaze seemed to prate straight into the eyes of every viewer. She along with the rest of the judges enhanced their stature by wearing slightly decorative dark red robes and special headdresses. The luxurious fabrics and the exquisite detailing of their outfits literally made them look taller andrger than life.


    This was especially the case for the chief judge, who wore a militaristic gold sash that held all of her medals and decorations!


    "The institutions of our n did not fail." She continued with a voice enhanced by her strong willpower. "There is an abundant amount of evidence and witness testimony that indicate that Taon Melin-Larkinson and Lanie Larkinson have both behaved as exemry members of the Larkinson n. Our tribunal has no reason to cast all of this evidence in doubt. The used have only truly made missteps during the infamous sample retrieval mission."


    The air in the courthouse grew heavier as Jannzi clearly worked her way towards this fateful day and mission.


    A proportion of the viewers shifted their attention to the used. Both Venerable Taon Melin and Lanie Larkinson attended the trial while wearing their military uniforms, though stripped of decorations and anything too fancy.


    The two frequently glowered at each other whenever they could. This forced the courthouse to ce them far apart from each other while activating an opaque energy shield in the middle.


    Now that the time hade for them to learn about their future in the Larkinson n, both Taon and Lanie set aside their irrelevant thoughts and paid close attention to Venerable Jannzi''s words.


    After Jannzi spoke about the circumstances of the mission for a couple of minutes, she finally addressed the usations in chronological order.


    "Venerable Taon-Melin-Larkinson, former serving and leading the Eye of Ylvaine Mech Legion, you stand used ofmitting friendly fire. The evidence conclusively proves that you and the deceased living mech known as ''the Zeal'' have both worked together to aim and fire thetter''s devastatingly powerful Devora Cannon in the back of the living mech known as the ''Elegant Rage'', who was piloted by the the then-expert candidate Lanie Larkinson at the time. This has sparked a disastrous chain of events thatpounded every mistake and led to errors that are hard to forgive. The only serious issue of contention is whether your deed is idental or deliberate."


    A lot of people clung to the chief judge''s words. They wanted to know if the special tribunal was willing to excuse this outrageous act and whether the judges could justify their decision!


    "Based on the evidence, the witness testimonies and other context, we have judged you… innocent of the crime ofmitting deliberate friendly fire on a fellow Larkinson soldier. We judge that you havemitted an act of idental friendly fire, which is a much less severe crime that is associated with much more lenient sanctions."


    "What?!"


    "This is an outrage!"


    "He''s a killer!"


    The courthouse became noisy as many Larkinson soldiers became indigant when they heard this verdict!


    From their perspective, Taon Melin hadmitted an unforgivable crime by stabbing one of hisrades in the back with a fatal blow!


    None of the mech pilots wanted this to happen to themselves one day, so they strongly urged the special tribunal to condemn Taon Melin in the strongest terms!


    So what if he managed to break through and be an expert pilot? A Larkinson with the blood of a fellow nsman on his hand did not deserve to be treated as family anymore!