The white chess piece slid across the board. It was Mistralian by design and unlike Atlesian chess pieces, this set was painstakingly crafted to tell stories. Each piece was outlined with sunken reliefs of great heroes. Of gods native to Mistral. Of epic tales and of course, the piece itself. Knights had helmets and queens had crowns.
It really was quite beautiful.
He knocked out the remaining pawn of his foe. They'd been at it for a while. An hour or so. That's how it always went. His opponent was a young woman with olive skin and bright purple eyes that would fit right in a sunset. Her hands were lithe and her hair was as black as his. Or at least as black as his used to be.
There was more grey in his now than ever. It came with his age of course.
A weak smile was on his lips as he planned out his path to victory. While some might consider his opponent unassuming, he did not.
She moved her piece with a quick tap of the board and smiled at him. "Good play." Kind words. Soft words.
He nodded and made his next move with a bishop. There was only the sound of a soft mechanical whirring when he moved his right arm. A heavy hand moved the piece and put it on the board with a metal thud. Accidental overuse of force was more common as he aged, the metal alongside with him.
—
The gavel struck down several times to bring order to the ciourt. The judge looked down at the guilty. The convicted. The damned.
He sat slouched. Once he was tall and proud and powerful but here he was... less so.
A former shell of a man. Or what was left of a man. He was mostly machine now anyways.
The judge piped up to deliver his verdict. "The jury, after deliberation, does hereby find James Ironwood to be guilty on the following charges. Conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity. Conspiracy against peace and attempted murder. On the following counts he is considered not guilty. Conspiracy to commit war crimes. Conspiracy against humanity and treason.
His once gleaming eyes were barely focused. His ears inattentive. What was once a messily cropped beard had become a disheveled mess of mad hair that struck out in all directions. James knew his fate before he ever stepped foot in the tribunal.
"This jury hereby sentences James Ironwood to life in prison, with no chance of parole." The gavel struck again. The military police lifted the emaciated tin man onto his feet and escorted him back to the holding cell. He passed by the next of the accused coming to hear their sentence.
As he was being dragged off, the former general could just about hear the second sentencing.
"Arthur Watts is hereby sentenced guilty on the following charges. Conspiracy against peace. Conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity. Conspiracy against humanit-"
James couldn't hear anymore of it as he was dragged to his cell.
At least James had one little light left. Arthur wouldn't be walking free either.
—
"Another excellent game James" the woman said as she rose from her seat. Ironwood looked up at her and smiled again, this time a bit more brightly.
"Thank you for the session, Doctor..." he said meekly. The woman slid the chess board and all its pieces back into her bag alongside a dozen different papers.
"You've been progressing wonderfully James" the lady reassured him by putting a hand on his shoulder. She felt the cold, hard steel beneath her. Separated only by thin clothing. "I'm sure your new case for parole will be considered this time. I'll make sure to talk to the council myself, Alright?"
"Alright" he said as he made his way to the guardsmen. Cold metal cuffs met a cold metal body that was so used to suffering.
"Therapy session is over 'sir'" one of the guards chided as he shoved the one proud general along to his cold, dark cell. The Mantle War Crimes tribunal had tossed him into the deepest darkest pit they found and threw away the key, after all.
At least Jacques and Arthur hanged.
As he was taken away, the doctor frowned at the remaining guard. "I really don't see the harm in letting him out for a while. He's served his time."
The guard chortled at that. "He's a convicted war criminal, ma'am." His voice was strained. If she had to guess he must have been a child during the war. Much older than her.
"It's been more than twenty years since the Salem War" the doctor protested, a hand on her hip, glaring bullets at the guardsman. She had her mothers eyes alright.
"His sentence was life without parole. Should have swung with Schnee and Watts in my opinion. It was your mothers influence that kept him alive. You should be grateful for that."
The woman practically growled as she stormed out of the room. The guardsmen called to her as she stormed off.
"Should I schedule you for next week as well, Dr. Hill?"
Doctor Amaranthine Hill shouted back an explicative that was taken as a yes as she left the corridor to head for the exit to the large prison complex.
Her mother may not have been a councilwoman anymore but by the gods she'd be hearing about this.
She only hoped it would work.