RP: United Outer Colonies Court Martial

The Asuka and Vanguard had been called back, due to the Tange wanting to run more tests on the Asuka's design. Apparently, since Yaichiro was still in the SAoY, they wanted to make sure that there were no weaknesses in the design.

Noboru was brought out of his cell, and put in handcuffs by a guard.

"Recruit Akio, you are charged with insubordination and attempting to solicit your fellow soldiers in mutiny against a superior officer. Anything you say can and will be used against you in your court martial, so you have the right to remain silent regarding the charges against you or any other crimes you may or may not have been involved in.

You have the right to hold regular meetings with a JAG Corps Officer, who will act as your defender."

Noboru took one last thoughtful stroke at his bare chin before his hands were clasped in irons and he was brought from his cell, silently and with dignity, into the light.

"The JAG Officer would be nice, thanks."

Out in the main room of proceedings, a Peacemaker in dress uniform sat waiting in the gallery, watching other cases. She had an eerie beauty, and her dual-toned hair was up in a pair of large buns for a completely professional look that day...Miyako. It so happened she was on Tokyo, and had been transferred to a special command dealing specifically with soldier morale for the trial, and they were sensitive to the matter of her delayed leave. It meant she could take some extra Kyoto courses from the home on the beach, and amazingly the first thing she blurted out for how she could help ended her up taking professional voice and music lessons through various contacts.

That day she was called to be a witness, even though they had gathered all the data that damned Noboru beforehand. It was explained to the Sub-Lieutenant in a briefing by the JAG office. All she could hope is he would not humiliate himself during the trial like the day his actions endangered so many lives.

They were shown to a woman who was in a suit, and holding a file...in spite of the technology, telepathy, and volumetric display systems available; it was best to have a hard copy to confirm the data.

"...So the Defendant and the Witness are here...please, have a seat."

Noboru shot a begoggled stare at Miyako.

"Isn't the court system all about being tried before unbiased peers?" He asked, half-rhetorically. "Because I don't think an irate officer who issued the martial in the first place counts as unbiased..."

"She is a witness, not a peer...you need not say anything in her presence that is self-incriminating, however...the key issue is if we can get rid of this mutiny charge. There's not much we can do about the charges for disobeying orders and insubordination, save trying to spin them as being well-intended..."

She sighed, looking at the pair.

"The audio/video evidence from the Power Armors are concrete on those, and you're looking probably at dishonorable discharge for those...the big issue is the mutiny charge, which was placed because of your requesting of the other personnel around you to assist you while disobeying your XO's orders. Hopefully that is a bit more flexible because your intent there is unclear...because if you were convicted of mutiny, you're looking at life imprisonment. If this were the Star Army, you likely would be facing execution...or have already BEEN killed, depending on the temperment of your superior officers."

"Your honor, if I may." Noboru maneuvered into a position to face the judge.

"Miyako was helping no-one by standing by, and if we had stood by and waited for any longer measure of time all we may have dragged out of that cave were corpses. This was the time for action- quick and decisive. I was willing to take the risk of putting myself in harm's way to get to the wounded first and get them out of harm's way ASAP. If I put them at risk, that was an unforeseen consequence and I didn't wish it upon anyone. But there were people in there- wounded people, dying people- and I couldn't stand by and wait for them to be killed by indecision and slow reaction time..."

The woman sighed.

"I'm not even the judge, I'm a JAG Officer -- your LAYWER. And I doubt that criticizing your XO so openly will be convincing. Your XO's record is exemplary, and she has the support of your CO behind her.

I called you here to discuss options with your XO...I suggest you stop criticizing her at this early stage, lest you shoot yourself in the foot.

And I should note that in the end, they did it her way in the end, and no one died as a result of the additional time. One had died instantly from crushing injuries when the incident happened. That's all. So that defense is ill-advised...

There's also that records show that they rescued them from a situation which could easily have caused them ALL to have been crushed if not careful. If you stick to that argument, the prosecutor will eat us alive."

"Well then how can I defend myself from soneone with a rock-solid alibi? No-one's going to take me seriously, even if I did the research solely because of Miyako's glorious military history." Noboru crossed his arms across his chest and got that slightly ignorant 'I can't see you, I can see through you' stare that people have when a situation seems hopeless.

"The simple fact is that when it comes to the insubordination and disobeying of orders, you're guilty as sin. There's no way I can defend you against such concrete evidence. What we're here to do is try to find a way to avoid getting your butt in a Military Prison for the rest of your life, and just get a dishonorable discharge. Badmouthing your XO in court when the audio/video data of the Power Armor proves you did it will only make you look bad.

The best thing to do is to make your motivations clear. The mutiny charge is based on your intent -- that you called for your fellow soldiers' help to assist you in disobeying your XO. If we can spin that to be just a call to help save those people in a panicked situation, with good intentions, maybe we can get the mutiny charge dropped or reduced.

I can tell you that you won't get out of this with a clean slate, but you may keep your freedom, with good planning and a bit of luck. It all depends on how we present your intent. Luckily, intent is a hard thing to prove or disprove, and the burden of proof is on the prosecution, not us. We just need to provide reasonable doubt to the mutiny charge.

I called your XO in hopes of getting her support in this matter...it's rare that a superior wants it on her record that she's been mutinied against. While not technically a demerit, some see such a thing negatively when looking at the ability of the officer to train and control their subordinates. That's why your CO asked I speak with BOTH of you on this matter."

The JAG Officer looked to Miyako as well, for her input.

"And here I was thinking I would get off with an out-of-court settlement..." Noboru said, part-sarcastic and part-hopeful.

The JAG Officer raised an eyebrow.

"That's only for civil court. Lawsuits. You're having a criminal trial. Also, the judge will NOT like that sense of humor. Just let me do the talking when in court, alright? Unless you waive that right or unless you are specificly asked something."

"I'll leave it to you, then." Noboru nodded, completely trusting the woman. His life was now officially in her hands.

(OOC: Instead of a long, drawn out trial, I'll just post this...)

After a long and drawn out trial, where Noboru was put under the microscope, it was finally decided that imprisonment was not warranted (barely), and they merely kicked him out of the Peacekeepers. He kept his freedom by the skin of his teeth...

(Thaank you.)

Noboru stepped out of the courtroom wearing civilian clothes from his duffel bag. He scratched the back of his head where his goggles dug into his scalp, sighed and pulled the brown long-coat higher over his shoulders. Looking around him, he stepped into the (hallway? Road? I have no idea where we are) and looked around.

"I guess this is where I start again." He sighed, and headed for the shuttle bank, looking for one bound to Nepleslian space.