Intergalactic Love Page 13

  “Well, let’s get started,” Rea said, after taking a breath.

  “The man killed on Mars Colony, did you know him well?” Knoll asked.

  “Gavin and I were set up on a blind date. We’d only met the one night we had dinner together. After that we had no contact with each other,” Rea said.

  “To your knowledge, had Chief Darion and Gavin ever come into contact with one another?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, her answer immediate.

  “When you were on Mars Colony with Chief Darion, had you ever suspected he’d do any such thing like kill Gavin?” he asked.

  “Are we on trial already Knoll?” I asked wryly.

  “It is a valid question,” he answered.

  “It’s not, you’re supposed to ask questions based on facts to try and get a full story. I’m not sure what you’re getting at now,” Rea said.

  “I am trying to gain the facts of both your state of mind at the time, as well as Chief Darion’s,” Knoll said. Rea considered this as she studied Knoll’s expression.

  “No, I hadn’t suspected he would murder. I was falling in love with him at the time,” she answered.

  “So you were in a sort of infatuation and wouldn’t have fathomed him capable of murder,” Knoll said as a matter of fact.

  “I wasn’t infatuated. I was growing attached to him, so no, I didn’t fathom him capable of doing that,” she said. Her tone annoyed.

  “Are we done here Knoll?” I asked.

  “Yes...I believe I have all I need,” he said after a quick glance at his lawyers.

  “Wonderful...” Rea murmured. She stood up and barely said goodbye to them before she strode out. I couldn’t hide my smirk.

  “Until the hearing, Chief Darion,” Knoll said. I gave him a curt nod, then followed Rea’s lead.

  Chapter 8

  Rea

  “NOW WE WAIT IN ANXIETY until the High Council hearing?” I asked Darion. He’d just caught up to me from leaving the study.

  “There’s no need to be anxious. But yes, we wait,” he said.

  “Can we do something outside of the palace? I don’t want to just wait around,” I said. Just then, Nye came hurrying over to us from nowhere.

  “Chief Darion...there is a problem,” he said, out of breath.

  “What is it?” Darion asked. He drew me to his side and glanced around briefly. The hallway was lined with guards, so if he was concerned about anything violent breaking out, we were covered.

  “Saphia, her life has been attempted,” he said.

  “Attempted? What does that mean?” I asked.

  “Someone tried to kill her. Who was it, Nye?” Darion asked.

  “It is being looked into. But some are already speculating whether you had a hand in it. This was done on purpose, to help Knoll’s cause,” he said.

  “It couldn’t have been Knoll’s doing. He was in there with us just a moment ago,” I said, confused.

  “The murder was attempted this morning, as we met with Skye and Ruthe,” Nye said.

  “As long as it is speculation, I won’t concern myself with it. In the meantime extend security to Saphia while this is all going on,” Darion said.

  “But do you know why someone would want to kill her?” I asked, “Other than to make Darion look bad?”

  “That is the only logical reason I see...otherwise, it would be to silence her. We are dealing with either supporters of Knoll, or supporters of Darion,” Nye said.

  “If Darion is found guilty and he’s no longer Chief and put in jail...who takes over?” I asked.

  “As head of the civil sector...it would be Knoll,” Nye said.

  “Oh, well...there you go!” I said and threw my hands up. “It’s a conspiracy. They have been waiting for an opportunity, Darion. All they needed was something to set your impeachment into motion,” I told him. He studied me as he thought about that.

  “Let us...go somewhere more private to discuss this,” Darion said.

  “Indeed,” Nye said. Just then, I saw Knoll and his lawyers finally heading out of the study. They headed down the opposite end of the hallway.

  “It’s times like these that I wish we held on to some of our old ways. There would be no conspiracy, but a simple challenge and all Darion would have to do is defeat Knoll in a battle,” Nye murmured under his breath. I stared at him in a bit of shock. I’d never have expected him to say something like that.

  “Where is the intelligence in that Nye?” Darion said dismissively.

  “It is so difficult to prove conspiracy,” Nye said.

  “Well we have the stuff on Saphia, then Skye and Ruthe are confident we can push that angle with Nor. So what’s to say we can’t find a way with the attempt on Saphia?” I asked. Why don’t we try and talk to her?” I glanced at Nye who nodded.

  “I’ll have Ruthe speak with her once we send the guards to look after her,” he said. Then he hurried to go get stuff done.

  “Do you think she could switch sides?” I asked Darion.

  “If maybe Ruthe convinces her that it wasn’t you who tried to kill her. Do you think she’d be willing to work with us?” I asked.

  “I doubt it,” Darion said. “But clearly, anything can happen,” he added.

  “I think I want to go with Ruthe, to talk to her,” I said. Darion glanced at me with raised brows.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded. He took a deep breath.

  “Fine, but I’m sending you with guards. The last thing I need is for your life to be threatened,” he said. I got excited at the prospect of being ‘out in the field’ and actually doing something. Nye called Ruthe to the palace, and as soon as he got there, he and I headed out to Saphia’s home.

  “Skye has been doing some work. The assassin sent for Saphia had been captured, just moments ago. His identity hasn’t yet been revealed to the mass gossiping public,” Ruthe said. Clearly he wasn’t a fan of ‘speculation’.

  “And?” I prompted.

  “The one sent to kill her can be directly linked to Nor, but not Knoll,” Ruthe said.

  “But it can be said that Nor supports anyone who’s not Darion to be Chief,” I said.

  “It’s all smoke, Madame Rea. But what we can do definitively, is prove that Darion had nothing to do with this attempt on Saphia’s life. Then perhaps convince her to work with us as we are now protecting her,” Ruthe said.

  “That works too,” I said. Ruthe chuckled at me and nodded his head.

  “Either way, we may still come out the victors of this matter,” he said.

  “Yeah, unless another murder attempt occurs,” I mumbled, making him laugh again.

  Saphia’s house was well outside of the capitol city. She had a nice bit of land. Her farm house was in the middle of a green field that led to a thicket of trees before the next property. There were two guards outside, walking the perimeter of the house already. When Ruthe and I knocked, Saphia answered quickly.

  “Madame Rea, Ruthe, welcome,” she said and invited us inside. She looked a bit overwhelmed.

  “How are you?” I asked.

  “As well as can be expected. Are you here to convince me it wasn’t your husband who ordered to have me killed?” she asked.

  “Show respect. Chief Darion still rules Radon and Madame Rea is still his wife,” Ruthe told her. She sighed and then gestured for us to follow her past the front room, into the living room. There was another guard there, standing by the doors that led out to the rear deck. His eyes were all for Saphia though, I hid my smirk.

  “To answer your question, yes, we are here for that reason,” I told her.

  “I know. I know it wasn’t spurred by the Chief,” she said.

  “How?” Ruthe asked.

  “Because Nor approached me yesterday. He spoke about ‘setting something into motion that would be in our best interest’,” she sighed.

  “Your best interest?” I asked.

  “Yes, he and I represent a large portion of the
Radonian public who would like to see Darion suffer some retribution for what he’s done when dealing with the blight. Nor wished to ensure Darion wouldn’t get off. I asked what he would do. He told me to trust him. Unknowingly...I said okay,” she said slowly. She took a deep breath and glanced outside to the field.

  “You were right...Rea, revenge is a weapon that often backfires,” she sighed. I glanced at Ruthe, wide eyed. He gestured at me to act normal. We might have just won the High Council case.

  Chapter 9

  Darion

  REA CAME SKIPPING INTO the room like a woodland sprite. “You will not guess what happened!” she exclaimed. She jumped on the bed and pulled me up off of it.

  “The High Council called off the trial?” I asked.

  “No, but they will!” she exclaimed. “It’s conspiracy. The assassin Nor, he put the hit on Saphia himself to make it seem like it came from you! Saphia told us everything. She had spoken with Nor and he basically told her what he was going to do. Ruthe said the collusion alone will make the council want to dismiss the entire trial,” she said excitedly. Plus, Saphia said that if we question her during the trial, she’ll tell the full truth about everything,” Rea said. “And if she doesn’t, there's always still my recording,” she said smugly.

  I laughed at her giddiness, “Rea, you’re amazing,” I told her. I drew her close and kissed her deeply.

  “I know,” she grinned. “But really, it wasn’t me. That Nor guy is dumb. You never tamper with court cases, it just doesn’t work out how you’ll want it to,” she said.

  “So tell me, what happened?” I asked. She pulled me towards the door then.

  “Saphia was shaken up with what happened to her, and therefore has resentment towards Nor. She also realized that she was wrong in what she did and seeking revenge against you was fruitless. So, she said she’ll tell the High Council that she went forward with the info about me on purpose. Then she’ll tell them that Nor did what he did on purpose. Yadda, yadda, by then, Ruthe said, the council will be forced to dismiss the case due to all the ulterior motives of the ‘witnesses’ and the subsequent collusion. Yay!” she jumped on the bed as if she were an adolescent. I couldn’t help but feed off of her excitement.

  “Well then, Saphia has been of help, for which I wish her fortune and happiness,” I said. “Why are you so full of energy though?”

  “Ruthe took me to this coffee place, and I found out too late how strong Radonian coffee is,” she said all on one breath. I shook my head at her fondly, then tackled her onto her back. She giggled underneath me and I absorbed her laughter in a hard kiss.

  “I love you,” I murmured against her lips.

  “I love you too,” she said with a broad smile.

  WITH AS MUCH EXCITEMENT we all had about the outcome of the trial, Ruthe, Skye, Rea, and I were nervous as we entered the council building. Nye would be watching the proceedings from the viewing area. We didn’t see him before we rode to the building, though I knew he’d be just as anxious as us.

  “This may be one of the biggest cases on our records yet,” Ruthe said. “I'm positive about the outcome. But we can't really relax until we know the final outcome.”

  Chapter 10

  Rea

  RUTHE’S WORDS BROUGHT it all back. It was Chief Darion on trial for serious crimes that he did commit. And he was facing impeachment and possible criminal punishment. We all sobered then, especially as the High Council all filed in. The room reminded me of a supreme court setting. I glanced over at Burton, along with Alicia, Knoll, and one of Knoll’s prosecutors. Their faces were sullen. Burton and Alicia seemed tired.

  “Let us commence. If everyone would take their proper seats...” said the hawk-nosed woman from the council. I got up and went to sit in the gallery, as I wasn’t on trial. I sat right next to Saphia. She looked tired, but she did give me a small smile and inclined her head in greeting.

  “All parties; defendants, prosecutors, witnesses, and record keepers, do stand for the oath of truth,” she said. Everyone she listed out stood and repeated after her the oath, swearing nothing but the truth would be spoken during the trial.

  “Very well, let us begin. As prosecutors in this case, Ambassador Burton, you may take the floor, followed by Knoll,” she said.

  Burton and Alicia stood. “We’d like to begin by stating the course of events that led to Ambassador Burton’s knowledge of the circumstances that brought Rea Norwood to Radon,” Alicia said.

  “Very well, Ambassador Burton, please step forward,” the councilwoman asked. I squinted at the small name plate in front of her seat which read 'Kaa'. Burton stepped behind the witness podium and Alicia was able to walk freely around the small space in front of it.

  “We, at Earth’s embassy, were of course unaware that Madame Rea came to Radon under a troubling pretense. Madame Rea got a job at the embassy and worked for an entire week before her bodyguard, not she, approached us with the story...” Alicia gestured to Burton who then relayed everything Saphia told them. He and Alicia told the story of how they called me in and I chose to stay. Then Burton told the part about me going away for the weekend without any way for the embassy to contact me. Then their decision to report the incident to Earth was spurred by Saphia going public with the story in her TV interview. Burton also told them about when I went back to the embassy and told them, yet again, that I wanted to stay with Darion.

  The council considered this amongst themselves. There were six of them, and they all murmured to each other until Kaa spoke again.

  “We would like to hear from Saphia herself on the matter,” she said. Saphia and Burton then switched places. “Saphia, since Madame Rea expressed her desires to remain on Radon with her husband. Why did you go forward to the embassy?” she asked, her gaze skeptical as she waited for Saphia’s reply.

  “At the time, I was concerned for Madame Rea’s well-being. I hoped that she would have a chance to leave the palace and Chief Darion if given the proper help...” she said slowly. Her eyes darted from me, to Darion, to Nor, to Knoll, then back to Kaa.

  “'At the time?' Could you clarify what you mean by that, please?” Kaa said.

  “When Madame Rea and I first spoke, in private, she told me that she was fine, though I went above her regardless. I...to be truthful...I reported to Ambassador Burton in the hopes of affecting Chief Darion—”

  “In hopes of punishing him, by removing his wife and putting him through this trial,” Kaa said disdainfully.

  “Yes,” Saphia sighed.

  “That is all for now, we would like Madame Rea herself to speak,” Kaa gestured me forward. I got up and switched places with Saphia. Alicia sat down, and Ruthe stood to take her place. I hadn’t fully researched how Radonians conducted court hearings, but it was interesting to see.

  “Madame Rea, this is where we ask, if you’d like to carry forward with the charges being brought forth regarding your abduction?” she asked.

  “No, I’d like to drop the abduction charge,” I said.

  “Fine, with that off the table. Chief Darion faces only minor forgery fees regarding your marital documents,” she said. Kaa picked up a pen, hidden behind her desk, then wrote something down. She passed it around to the other council members, who also signed whatever she did. The paper was then given to a record keeper.

  “Now, for the matter of the honor killing...” Kaa said, she almost sighed as she said it. “We would like to hear from Nor under presentation of the defense,” she said. It got some murmurs and grunts from the gallery, but I got up to switch places with Nor. The man was petite; if anything he could have also been an acrobat. But his gaze was sharp and completely black. A chill ran up my spine as we passed each other.

  “Of course. Nor is an assassin, he committed a murder on Mars Colony. He does not know whom he was truly hired for. But when certain details came to light, such as Chief Darion’s activities on Mars Colony and his involvement with Rea Norwood, Nor was quick to sing his supposed tale...”

>   “Council I thought we all took oaths of truth here,” Nor spoke for the first time. His voice was just as small as he was. It was kind of funny, though I didn’t laugh of course.

  “Speak on your turn Nor,” Kaa warned him. “Continue Ruthe,” she said.

  “As we know, Saphia’s intentions when she went forward with the abduction information was not solely in the interest of aiding Madame Rea. She also wanted revenge. Chief Darion still has dissenters who harbor ill will towards him in how he eradicated the blight that nearly rendered us all extinct. Nor has just the same ulterior motives. He jumped at the chance to say he was hired by Chief Darion, he got back to Radon as soon as he could. He made contact with Saphia, as soon as he could,” Ruthe said.

  “Is this true Nor? The incident that occurred, just hours prior to this trial, were you involved?’ Kaa asked.

  “I do not know which incident you refer to,” Nor said, sounding as ignorant as ever.

  “The attempt on Saphia’s life. Was that not your orchestration?” she asked outright. Her piercing gaze shot right through him. Nor didn’t answer. “I see...Ruthe you may sit down, Knoll please do take the stand,” Kaa said. Nor got up and switched places with Knoll. His lawyer got up to stand near him.

  “Please relay the results of your investigation into the murder of Gavin,” Kaa said.

  “We found that Gavin was indeed killed by the hands of Nor himself. We also confirmed that Nor was hired, though no one has been able to definitively deduce who made contact with him. Nor did not see who he spoke to—”

  “So Nor was hired by a ghost to kill a Radonian on the basis of honor. Nor then came back to Radon when the news broke of Madame Rea’s abduction...how did he link Madame Rea with his assigned kill?” Kaa asked.

  “When we interviewed him...he made it apparent that he simply...put two and two together,” Knoll said reluctantly.