Chapter 10
The Accused
Mabus had arranged for an informal hearing to be held in the Central Hall, closed to the public. All four remaining members of the Committee were present, as well as Ambassador Shantar, Commissioner Balek, and all Autobots and Decepticons.
"We welcome you all again, and we thank you all for your help with the investigation of Representative Gadrin's unfortunate passing," Mabus addressed the entire assembly. "We shall hear from both parties now, and then weigh up the findings. Optimus Prime, we would like to begin with your investigation efforts."
Optimus Prime stood up from his seat, as everyone in the room quietly watched and waited in anticipation to hear what he had to say. "Thank you, Representatives… Elders. I'd like to begin by saying that Gadrin's passing has affected us all deeply, and I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Autobots, to offer our sincerest condolences to his friends and family. We would also like to extend our sympathies to Ambassador Shantar, who shared a special friendship with the Representative." Shantar smiled ruefully, lowered her head slightly.
Rumble, two seats away from me, leaned across and whispered to me in a low voice, "Come on, come on, I wish he would skip the preamble and just get to the important stuff."
I couldn't help but smile at his candid remark. "Yeah, but then it wouldn't be an authentic Prime speech," I said to him, and he grinned back at me.
"Prowl, please share with everyone your findings," Prime said, looking at his second-in-charge, before sitting back down again.
Prowl stood up and addressed the group. "After careful consideration of all the evidence, First Representative, we charge the Decepticons with the assassination of Representative Gadrin. Further, it is our recommendation that they be apprehended and detained immediately."
Suddenly, the room turned into chaos as voices erupted all at once. Starscream pointed his null rays threateningly at Prowl, as Thundercracker and Skywarp offered their own weapons in defense, holding their ground against the Autobots. I stood up, ready to use my scatter blaster should it become necessary.
"Please, do not be concerned," Karlin said to us, stepping in between Prowl and Starscream. "I won't allow that to happen."
"How dare you accuse us, you miserable, good-for-nothing Auto-scrap! We had nothing to do with Gadrin's assassination!" Starscream yelled at Prime. I hadn't seen Starscream this furious at anyone in a really long time… and, believe me; you wouldn't want to be the unlucky sucker on the receiving end of one of his verbal attacks.
Though, to be honest, I kind of saw it coming. Even though what Starscream said was true – we had nothing to do with the assassination – there did appear, on the outset, to be a strategic advantage to Gadrin's termination for the Decepticons, which did make us look bad in all of this. But this so-called advantage would have only been short-lived, and not worth either the effort or the risk for us.
Finally, Mabus interrupted the uproar, his voice overriding all the others with a surprising demonstration of dominance. "Please, your attention!" The room finally settled down, and he motioned for the three seekers to return to their seats. "Please, put away your weapons. That won't be necessary." Once everyone had retaken their seats and the room had quietened down again, he continued speaking. "The Autobots must be able to provide sufficient evidence for their claims."
"Of course, Representative. Our assertions are never unfounded," Optimus replied, ignoring Starscream's angry scowl.
"We shall also allow the Decepticons the opportunity to respond to your claims. Both parties will get the chance to present their findings," Mabus said, and then nodded towards Prowl, indicating for him to continue.
Prowl stood up again. "We have found compelling evidence that the Decepticons," he said slowly, watching for our reaction, "were involved in Gadrin's assassination. Not only do they, alone, benefit from Gadrin's removal from the Committee, but we have irrefutable evidence that links them directly to the crime. Wheeljack, please hand over the evidence to the Committee, so they may see it for themselves."
I must admit, I did not expect the Autobots to produce any hard evidence against us. If I wasn't able to provide a reasonable explanation for whatever it was that Wheeljack had in his hand, it might result in a serious blow to our credibility.
I watched as the Committee members examined the small packet, as they passed it around among themselves.
"What is this?" Karlin queried.
"That is what we commonly term a RAID – a Remotely Activated Immobilization Device. It is quite a versatile little gadget, and quite common in acts of sabotage. It can arrest the function of any electronic device, and can be controlled from a remote location. In this instance, we found it attached to the recording equipment just outside Gadrin's guest quarters at the High Rise Inn. It explains the missing portion of security footage, which happens to coincide precisely with the approximate time frame of Gadrin's death."
"There's no proof we put it there," Rumble said, defending our innocence.
Prowl rested his gaze upon the smaller Decepticon, taunting him with a derisive look. "As a matter of fact, a close inspection of the device clearly reveals that it is, in fact, Decepticon technology."
"Then it is glaringly obvious that we have been set up!" Starscream protested.
Karlin leaned across and whispered something to Mabus, who nodded. The latter then addressed Prowl and the Autobots. "Do you have any further evidence for your claim?"
Prowl acknowledged him with a curt nod, and then spoke. "Indeed we do. We have an eye witness who claims to have seen Starscream break into a local chemical facility the night before Gadrin was found. Small quantities of two common substances were taken. Needless to say, those very same substances are, in fact, both precursors to the lethal substance that was used to poison the Representative: potassium cyanide."
Starscream rose from his chair in protest. "That's a lie, you pitiful–" It was only Thundercracker's steady hand placed upon his shoulder that prevented him from starting an all-out war with the Autobots right then and there.
"Don't worry, Starscream. We'll prove them wrong, just wait and see," he said.
Prowl continued his presentation, ignoring our Air Commander's indignation. "Furthermore, the damage to the facility made during the forced entry was caused by Decepticon weaponry. This corroborates our witness's claim, and places Starscream at the scene of the break-in."
Before anyone could say anything further, I interjected with a question. "Who's the witness?" Prowl ignored my question, so I appealed to the Committee. "We have a right to know who the witness is."
Mabus nodded in agreement. "Please, answer the question," he said to Prowl.
The Autobot's military strategist glanced my way, but he did not display any emotion. "The name of the witness is Talak Ren. He has submitted a sworn statement."
"Thank you," Mabus said to him.
Prowl sat down again. "There is nothing further."
Mabus addressed the group. "We shall take a ten minute break, and then hear what the Decepticons have to say."
The room broke into lively conversation, as the Autobots chatted amongst themselves, while the Committee members exchanged private words.
"I guess it's all up to you now," Astrotrain said to me.
My team mates must have all come to the unanimous decision that I'd be the one to speak for them, though I hadn't really thought about it – I'd been too focused on solving the case. "Yeah, I guess it is."
There was a lot riding on the outcome of this case. It could mean the difference between our losing out on an established partnership with a resource-rich planet, or gaining one – a partnership that would finally see the Decepticons recognized as an official independent power, not only within the Cybertronian Empire, but also within our galactic neighbourhood.
But now there was another complication; Starscream's own reputation was also on the line. If I couldn't blow the Autobots' case completely out of the water and help to clear his name, any chance of a future partnership with Paradisia would be over for us, and the Autobots would keep their exclusive status as the sole representatives of Cybertron. Everything now rested upon the strength of our case, and on what I would say next.
As the room began to settle down again, I gathered my thoughts together as I slowly stood up, and then started to do what I do best: talk.
Author's Note: Have you figured out who assassinated Gadrin before Swindle reveals the answer in the final chapter?