Who is being tried here?
None of the holographic Elders seemed to want to move. Hans looked like he was about to faint. Sun opened his holographic briefcase and set a number of holographic papers on the holographic desk in front of him as Cathi fought hard not to giggle. It wasn't really funny. This was very important. But the looks on their faces were priceless.
"This is...unexpected." The female Elder said slowly. "May I ask your intentions, Grandmaster Sun?"
"You may, Elder Franks." Sun replied. Again, Cathi had to fight mirth as the Interrogator stopped speaking. This was... Oh, this was just too funny. None of the Elders wanted to draw his attention. She couldn't really blame them for that.
"What are your intentions?" The Elder asked calmly.
"My intentions are twofold." Sun replied evenly. "First, I am here to maintain security." He nodded to Cathi who did not move. "Tenno Cathi has information inside her skull that must not come out. She has sworn binding oaths not to speak of that. She will not break those oaths."
"Catherina Gata is a renegade!" Elder Hans snapped form where he stood. "No oath she makes can be trusted."
"You are in error." Sun's tone was odd. Not quite calm, but not emotional either. A hint of anticipation? A hint of wariness? A hint of humor? It was hard to tell. "Catherine Gata is no more. This is not her."
At that, most of the eyes in the room landed on him. Cathi looked straight ahead, her emotions flip-flopping. She often said that. But... it hurt. She didn't want to be the person that she had been remade into but she could not undo the past.
"You are in error." Hans replied coldly. "Her energy is the same as recorded for Catherine Gata, renegade Guardswoman who fled before she could be taken into custody." His ire didn't seem to have any effect on Sun.
"The Tenno standing there calls herself Cathi." Sun replied evenly. "I submit to evidence, files A and B. these are both classified so they cannot leave this court." This was a warning and the Elder in charge nodded.
"Submit your evidence." The one he had called 'Franks' said with a frown. "The data will be sequestered here." Hans looked to protest, but a glance from her quelled him.
A pair of images appeared in front of Sun. One was Cathi's face as she knew it now. Probably from when she was arrested, if she wasn't mistaken. The other... Cathi looked away from them.
"That is a fabrication!" Hans snapped. "The log says it is from a Royal Guard data vault."
"Such vaults do still exist." Sun replied. "This is common knowledge. Finding such vaults now is anything but easy. Many who have gone into the Void or dark places seeking such have never returned." He shrugged expressively. "The data can be verified. Image B is Catherine Gata as she appeared when she won the Imperial Games for the third straight year. A feat never duplicated."
"Is that...a Veritux she is hefting? In a gravity field?" One of the witnesses asked, awe in his voice. Sun nodded. "Wow."
"Even assuming this information is valid, that does not change the fact that she is a renegade." Hans was trying to gain control of the conversation.
"What was done to her?" Elder Franks asked. Hans snarled but she raised a hand. "Elder Hans, this situation is far more complex than a simple theft." She looked at the other Elders and to a being, they all nodded. "Grandmaster Sun?"
"We Tenno do not like to remember." Sun's tone was sad now. "But if we forget, who will remember? I know of many who refuse to come out of the Second Dream because they do not want to remember." He gave himself a tiny shake and when he spoke again, his voice was calm. "I must. It is my job." He nodded to Cathi who would not meet his gaze. "Tenno Cathi was taken by a member of the Royal Family who discovered a means of controlling the minds of Tenno." A gasp went around the room and Sun bowed his head. "That member of the Royal Family corrupted twelve of the Guard in total. Brainwashed them to serve only her. Enslaved them. Once she had done so, she altered them physically to suit her personal preferences."
"Personal...preferences..." Elder Franks had gone pale. "Grandmaster Sun, do you mean what I think you mean?"
"The one responsible renamed the woman she had broken 'Cathi' and used her as a honey trap against male members of the guard and as a personal toy." Sun replied evenly. Several of the Elders looked at Cathi and shook their heads. "Whatever horrors you can imagine do not come close to the reality of what happened to her. Be very glad that information is beyond your reach." Cathi shivered in memory.
Elder Franks looked at him and then at Cathi who still wasn't looking at the images. "I see."
"Elder Franks, that is immaterial!" Hans protested. "This renegade has admitted her guilt!" Franks looked at him and then at Sun.
"The second thing, Grandmaster?" The Elder in charge asked politely.
"I am not ambivalent in this." Sun replied. "I captured Cathi during the latest mess with Cyberlancer Jesse. The renegades were trying to subvert Jesse and Jesse proved difficult." A series of coughs went around the room and Cathi had to fight a smile. Massive understatement. But then Sun spoke again. "I broke Cathi free of the bonds that held her. I know how strong they were from personal experience. Once free, Cathi turned her rage against her enslaver. She is the only reason Jesse was not subverted or slain." Cathi shook her head, but the Interrogator was not done. "She consistently downplays her role. In her mind, she is not worth what Jesse and others have done to help her."
"I am not." Cathi's voice was tiny, but everyone looked at her.
"It will be a long hard road for her to fight her way back, but she is up to it." Sun spoke into the silence that fell. "That is not why I am here. She is guilty of stealing from the archives. She does not deny that. She was not in control of herself no matter what she may think."
"I was." Cathi said weakly. No one paid her any attention.
"Cathi was a renegade, but not by her choice. She is not a murderer." Sun continued calmly. "She fought enemies of Tenno and Orokin as a member of the Royal Guard and did so with honor. I looked through all of her memories when I captured her. She was used to trap kin, but she never killed kin. The theft she is on trial for, she was never seen by anyone."
Elder Franks looked at the Rhino who stood beside Cathi and he nodded. The Elder looked thoughtful and spoke after a moment. "So, what do you expect from this trial, Grandmaster?"
"Cathi will demand punishment for her theft." Sun replied evenly. Hans stared from the Loki Prime to Cathi and back. "It doesn't really matter if the files she took were commonly available or not. She acquired them through subterfuge and hacking. This is a violation of the law. None of us disagree with that."
"Then what is the point of this charade?" Hans blustered. Elder Franks glared at him and he subsided.
"Glad you asked." Sun said mildly. Another image appeared in front of him. Cathi stiffened as she saw a video of her arrest in Karl's dojo. "Who ordered this?"
"What the hell?" Elder Franks demanded as the scene played out.
It happened as Cathi remembered, up until the cop trapped her however he had. The rest, she hadn't seen. She winced as Karl and Carlos confronted the cop. She winced harder at Karen's reaction. At seeing Jasmina, Elenia and Mishka all glaring at the poor man. The record ended with a female scream of rage that Cathi was sure was from Brianna. She bowed her head further.
"Tenno Carlos?" Sun asked quietly. "What would Tenno Karl do if Officer Killian returned to that dojo right this moment?"
"Officer Killian would die." Carlos replied without hesitation. "You step on Karl's honor at your peril." Hush swept the room.
"Once before an Elder tried to start a war with Karl's Tenno." Sun said quietly. "It was a bad idea then and it is a bad idea now. They are guardians of secrets that cannot be shared with anyone." The Master of Tenno Interrogators shook his head. "They did not wish to be such, but they are. You will not ferret out their secrets, Elder Hans."
"You accuse me?" Hans was probably trying to sound dangerous. It didn't hold a candle to Sun's effortless malice.
"You are the one who demanded that Tenno Rica report whatever she discovered in Karl's dojo." Sun replied. Hans stared at him and the Grandmaster shrugged. "And you are also the one who ordered Tenno Cathi's arrest despite Officer Killian's reservations." His gaze swept the room. "You did not think this through, Elder Hans. Cathi has powerful allies. Allies who must remain hidden for now. I have been delegated to act for them." He shook his head. "Actually... we tossed a coin, Nikis and I. He lost. He is not happy about that. He hates losing."
"Seriously?" Elder Franks was somewhere between wonder and relief. Sun was bad enough, but Nikis' idea of 'law' usually involved firepower.
"We are the eldest of the unassigned Tenno who are awake." Sun replied with a tiny shrug. "We take our responsibilities seriously. Nikis and I both owe Cathi for helping to end the horror of the one who enslaved her. She saved Jesse nearly at the cost of her own. Cathi's energy was recovered, but it could have been far worse for her. So Jesse feels indebted too. Do you dispute the debts that we feel she is owed?"
"No." Elder Franks said with a frown. "This case is not as it was portrayed to us." She glared at Hans who paled slightly.
"In some ways, no." Sun said with a shake of his head. "But in others, it is. Cathi did break the law. She feels responsible. She must be punished or Tenno law will go the way of Orokin law. Where money and power ruled." At that, every visible face twisted in a grimace. Not a pleasant thought.
"We don't want that." Elder Franks agreed. "So... What do we call you?" She asked Cathi who would not meet her gaze. "Please?" She asked.
"I am Cathi." The Tenno was shivering now. "I haven't been the other... since I woke. After. Maybe someday I can be Catherine Gata again. But not today."
"Well, I for one can hope you find your way." Elder Franks said with a smile. Then her smile faded. "You did break the law and you admit your guilt."
"Yes, Ma'am." Cathi said quietly.
"We were told there was classified data in the vault you pilfered." The Elder said with a frown.
"I did not touch it." Cathi kept her eyes down. "My orders were to find as much basic history as I could. We needed to know what we had woken into. It has been... a long time."
"You mindscanned her?" Elder Franks asked Sun.
"Objection!" Hans exclaimed. "He has admitted he is biased!" Franks looked at him and then at Sun who nodded.
"I am biased." Sun replied easily. "The records of her mindscan are not and will not be available. However, there is a legal alternative." He turned to face the Rhino at Cathi's side. "Officer Graslin, you are the senior officer assigned to the investigation?" Graslin nodded but did not move otherwise. "When did the techs discover the discrepancy? May the court ask for your summary?"
Graslin looked at Elder Franks who nodded. The cop raised a hand and a holo appeared in midair. He made a gesture and the holo vanished and then appeared in front of Sun who nodded. He dropped his hand.
"These are official records and as you can see, they are verified by both the police and Elders." Sun raised his own hand and another holo appeared beside. "They asked for assistance in corroborating what was taken and it was granted by Intelligence. I have not been involved in that."
"You really expect us to believe that your private fiefdom didn't-" Hans choked off as Sun looked at him. For a long moment, there was utter silence in the room. Then Elder Franks cleared her throat.
"Unlike Tenno, who can be emotional and irrational,..." Sun said without a hint of emotion at all. "Documented facts rarely lie." Hans flushed, but Sun wasn't done. "They can be misinterpreted or they can be altered in some cases, but in all of those cases such alterations leave tracks." He looked at Graslin and the Rhino nodded.
"Dealing with Intelligence is rarely a comfortable situation." The Rhino agreed. "We checked all of the information that we had thoroughly. We did not have clearance to access the data, but we could tell what had been copied." He shook his head. "That doesn't change the facts of what..." He paused and nodded to Cahti. "...what Cathi did."
"No." Sun agreed. "But from the report I got, she didn't touch the classified portions. That checks with the mindscan I did."
"And we should just take your word for that?" Hans demanded.
"Elder Hans!" Elder Frank was apparently losing patience. "You will show Grandmaster Sun the respect he has earned or he will be well within his rights to discipline you as he sees fit." Hans froze in place, his face a mask. "Do not antagonize him. It would make such a mess."
"Elder Hans was touched by the same horror that held Cathi for so long." Sun was quiet, but everyone was hanging on his words. "He has been vetted and cleared by mental specialists. He was -barely- within his rights to demand the arrest of Tenno Cathi for her crime. Demanding that Officer Killian do it as soon as possible and with no regard to repercussions was stupid." His tone hadn't changed. His demeanor hadn't changed, but the derision came through loud and clear somehow anyway. "You very nearly started a clan war, Elder Hans. I would have thought that the Elders learned not to push Karl like that after what happened to Grina."
"We have." Frank said sternly before Hans could muster the courage to speak. "When we are done here, I will give formal apology to Karl and his clan." She shook her head. "Tenno Cathi, you have my apology for how you have been treated. Tenno Carlos? Stay with her." Carlos inclined his head to the Elder. "What says the law?" She asked Graslin.
"A crime was committed." The Rhino said calmly. "But no one was harmed. Mitigating circumstances or no, she did what she did and she did not hurt anyone. She could have. Royal Guard were the best of Tenno."
"No, we were not." Cathi said weakly. No one paid her any mind. Carlos laid a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. Graslin looked at her and shook his head.
"My recommendation?" The Rhino said calmly. "Supervised parole. She is too good to leave in lock up. We need her in the field."
"An excellent point." Franks said, her face thoughtful.
"Now wait just a minute!" Hans started to bluster. "She is a renegade and-" He trailed off as Sun turned to face him.
"You will not get the information you are demanding." Sun said calmly. "You are not cleared for it. Be glad. If you were, you would never sleep soundly again."
"You do not frighten me, Interrogator!" Hans snapped. Everyone in the room shook their heads in unison at that. He wasn't such a fool. He couldn't possibly be such a fool as he was acting.
"Hans?" Elder Franks said slowly and carefully. "Do yourself a favor. Calm down. We will talk later." He opened his mouth to protest, but she made a gesture and his hologram vanished. She shook her head. "He feels guilty for what happened to Mavri. He didn't think it through before he woke them."
"Be that as it may, he nearly caused a conflict between Tenno." Sun said with a shrug. "The only reason blood was not spilled was Cathi." He nodded to Cathi who did not raise her head.
"She is privy to the secrets that Karl's clan guards?" Elder Franks asked slowly. Sun nodded. "Then we can solve two problems with one solution." Sun tilted his head in inquiry and she smiled. "Probation is warranted in such a situation. I believe that Karl's clan would be a good place for her to serve her probation." Cathi jerked upright, staring at the Elder who face turned solemn. "That way, the secrets are kept and she is punished. We need to apologize to him."
"I..." Cathi swallowed hard. The Elder looked at her and Cathi slumped.
"What, Tenno Cathi?" Elder Frank's tone was kind now.
"We need to explain to Karl what happened." Cathi said slowly. "All of it. I do need to be punished and he will understand that. But Hans had a police officer infiltrate his dojo. Try to spy on them. On me. It... I don't know..."
"I will be speaking to Elder Hans in the next few days pertaining to security clearances. Who is cleared for what and why such things should not be violated. We will also be discussing decorum." Sun said quietly. More than one of the observing Elders winced at that. "Be glad it is me and not Nikis."
"Hans is a jerk." Elder Franks said with a wince of her own. "But we don't want him dead. He is good at his job."
"Oh, Nikis wouldn't kill him and neither will I." For some reason, Sun's words were not a reassurance. "If the court has decided?"
"Tenno Cathi." Elder Franks said formally. Cathi jerked and stood straight. "You are remanded into the custody of Karl's clan. You will be monitored. You will be required to submit reports of your non-classified activities to the proper authorities for the next two solar years." Cathi bowed her head in acknowledgement. "And for what it is worth? Welcome back, sister."
Cathi stared as the Elder smiled at her and vanished. The other Elders vanished as well, Sun nodded to her and did the same.
"I... um..." Cathi turned to Carlos who nodded as well. "Back to the dojo?"
"First, we get you out-processed." Graslin said with a nod.
"Then I get to grovel."