The Diego Diaries: Court (dd6 507)

-0-Court

It was dead silent in the room after Hard Drive spoke. He then sat down in his chair, glancing at the two tables of attorneys as he did. "I'm assuming that we're ready to proceed?"

Both Sherrod and Coln-2 nodded. "Yes, sir," they both said.

The room was filled with a few sitting along the walls or on the stairs. They were a drawn and tense group, nervous and uncertain about what was to come but unable to leave or not participate. The rules of the road were very clear and they had to be here come hell or high water. Hard Drive was an imposing force all by himself given the gravity of his charisma and his history among The People. That a row of this many Praxians were sitting on stage with all their dark armor and imposing figures was probably unprecedented. Hardie glanced at Piro. "Please read the indictment's charges, Piro."

Piro stood, bowed deeply, then began to read from the datapad in the old fashioned manner of a court of this nature. "Here we gather to hear the accounting against Crader of Nova Cronum. He is called to account for the following charges some of which are outstanding warrants from alleged activities and actions from before The Fall on Cybertron and throughout the Empire and Local Group. They include murder, arson, fraud, tax evasion, conspiracy to run guns and violate the Tyrest Treaties, conspiracy to sell Cybertronian technology in violation of the Tyrest Treaties, participating in a criminal operation that dispersed forbidden tech and weapons to alien groups and planets, running a criminal enterprise regarding the sale and distribution of controlled substances, enslaved individuals, providing individuals for immoral purposes some of which were under the age of consent, money laundering, tax evasion, manslaughter and murder as well as conspiring to aid and abet the enemy in a time of war. There are also two counts of treason. So say I, so say it all." He sat down and waited.

Hardie considered that as the panel began to dial down their emotions to the 15% that was required to be completely dispassionate and fair. He looked at Crader who sat with an expression of amusement on his face. "What say you to the charges? Guilty or not guilty?"

Crader grinned at his team. "Lucky you to defend me against this slag."

Sherrod stared at him, then Hardie. "Not guilty, General."

"That's right, Hard Drive. Not guilty," Crader said. "Not that it matters I suppose. I do so like a good debate especially with so many of my co-conspirators sitting behind me," he said as he glanced over his shoulder.

The audience looked like they could dig a hole to the core of Mars. They looked, some of them like a big fat spotlight was pointing directly at them and it probably was. Some of the mechs and a couple of the femmes were likely to know as much about what Crader did as the next person.

Hardie nodded. "Your plea is accepted. Coln-2, you represent the Prime's brief. Please begin." He glanced at Sherrod. "Unless, of course, you have a motion, counselor."

Sherrod stared at Crader, then Hardie. He shrugged tiredly. "No, I don't."

"Nor do I, General," Coln said as he stood datapad in servo.

"Very well. Please begin. I would suggest to anyone sitting in this auditorium who might find what is said offensive or difficult to hear to contain yourself. This is going forward with you present as per The Code and the System of Exception." He glanced at Coln, then nodded.

Coln bowed, then walked closer to the panel. "Gentlemen, I'm here to represent The People in this case in which a war criminal has been placed before all of us to stand at long last for the deeds of which he's been accused. Given that the rules of law state that the warrants that were outstanding on Cybertron all of this time be honored, we have a good half dozen charges that wouldn't have had a chance to find an airing otherwise. We're here to present the picture of a criminal who headed a conspiratorial organization that did a great deal of harm to our people and played a big role in the fall of our home world and the terrorized life of our population.

"We're ready to present evidence that Crader of Nova Cronum did participate himself in at least five and as many as seven murders. We have evidence and witnesses to show that Crader was in the pay of Megatron when the war was declared and thus through his actions showed himself to be a traitor. He also sold our technology and weapons systems to aliens who were forbidden to have it through the Tyrest Treaties and some of them assisted Megatron in the war, thereby using our own weapons against our own people.

"We're ready to present evidence that Crader laundered astonishing amounts of currency, fenced and transported stolen goods especially those of considerable value both monetarily and culturally as well as participated in slavery and the exploitation of minors. His business, Crader Transport was a criminal enterprise that smuggled guns, drugs, addictive games and other contraband to whoever had the largest pile of cash to pay for it. He had no interest in the effect his actions had on the lives of anyone affected. He laundered money for himself and others, hid money without declaring it and cheated our people out of the taxes that he owed through the system.

"Crader was part of the corruption that engulfed our government and he was protected from consequences of his actions because he made them wealthy as well. He could be as brazen and as objectionable as he wished because he was protected. He was a partner with those in business and government that profited off his activities. It was a mutual protection racket that led to the downfall of our planet and the agony of our people. We will prove that there was no high minded pretensions here, not by him and not by those whose protections allowed him to maraud without penalty.

"We're prepared to enter into the record documents that show what was done, where the profits of criminal activities went and who abetted the process."

A youngling mech stood and carried a stack of datapads to the steps which he climbed. He walked down the row of judges handing one to each. He walked back and sat down again to run the evidence and take the record for the prosecutor's office. It was ghastly silent in the room.

Coln looked at the judges. "Please press the button marked case file on your datapad." They did. "I'm going to go over the documentation which has been forensically evaluated for both me and Sherrod to prove that its authentic and above board. Both of us have agreed that the documents are those created by Crader, his agents and those with whom he worked and that all signatures and notations are those of the defendant and his accomplices." He looked at the audience. "I have asked Dr. Floe of Iacon to come forward to speak as an expert witness on forensic accounting. We've agreed, both Sherrod and I that he's not only competent to speak toward criminal enterprise but of the highest qualification both professionally and personally."

A tall quiet looking mech stood and walked to the platform where he would stand. As he did large monitors hanging on the wall around the room came on to show what the datapads the judges held told. "Please give a brief synopsis of your qualifications, Professor, so that everyone can be educated."

Floe nodded. "I am Floe of Polyhex. I was educated at the University of Iacon in business administration, then took several advanced degrees in the Praxus Institute of Economics as well as taught business, economics, money management and investment at the University of Iacon, the University of Praxus, the Praxus Institute of Economics and served four Primes as a consulting economist. I worked with Venture of Praxus as well and authored many books on the subject with him before taking up a personal vocation regarding forensics accounting and criminal law. There isn't an entity related to the law on Cybertron and in the Empire that I didn't consult with about this kind of crime and I have been an expert witness for eons in trials. This is my specialty, my personal calling and I'm ready to assist you in the determination of the data compiled within that framework."

"Thank you," Coln said. "We've recovered a number of accounts in a number of dummy companies and banks, businesses that exist to shift vast sums and other shell game type apparatuses. I would like you to take us through this and explain as fully as you can how this shows a criminal intention and effort to conceal money that can be traced to criminal activity."

He would. Floe would methodically outline the organization of Crader's gang, how they operated including within the government who used them for a number of nefarious operations. It showed how forbidden tech and arms were gathered, dispersed and the funds that paid for the contraband funneled through dummy companies, fake accounts, transfers from banks to investment firms to banks again. It was complex and required a lot of cooperation from the government and financial institutions but it was clear by the time Floe concluded that Crader had it.

"I'm directing you, sir, to the next set of exhibits. Please explain what they are, how they're important and what they show us," Coln said.

Everyone looked at the monitors. A set of ledgers appeared with a stream of names, dates, places and amounts laid out in immaculate detail. "This set of books if you will are ledgers that show activity and remuneration for that activity by a number of individuals. The chain of custody established when discovered is not disputed by you, Coln-2 nor Sherrod. There are payments listed that detail arms sales to the Dark Coalition which is not only forbidden by the Treaties but by common agreement of all the civilizations in the Burren. No one was allowed to trade with the Coalition. It was forbidden. They're an emerging civilization with great warlike tendencies and the law was clear." He showed pages and pages of electronic numbers, each of them a transaction, the individual who was the customer and what they paid.

"This ledger shows that the activity was noted by a number of important company directors and members of the Senate. These notations are bribes that were paid to those individuals to allow this activity to continue without interference." He then outlined how the information worked and what it told. Most of the individuals mentioned were not on world and hadn't been found on Cybertron. They were flagged and perhaps sometime they would fly in and face the music. For now, it was probable that they would remain on the missing/dead lists.

For over an hour Floe documented the damning information that had been taken from the big mainframes on Cybertron, from ships flown by Crader's group and databases of dossiers made by policing authorities on Cybertron and the Local Group during the run up to war. It was only war that broke the back of the conspiracy that had been created between the defendant and everyone else. When the last document was explained and slotted into the framework of the criminal cartel that was Crader's company, it was obvious that a number of the charges were given a giant boost of credibility. Floe waited quietly as Coln went through his notes. "I have no more questions for this witness at this time."

"Sherrod?" Hardie asked quietly. Everyone else sat like crows on a fence, their fierce charisma making it very quiet among the multitudes watching. There wasn't a mech or femme in the room who wasn't totally glad that they weren't in Crader's chair.

"I have no questions. The credibility of this witness and these documents is unassailable," Sherrod said equally quietly.

Crader glanced at him with a slight grin on his face. "You aren't even going to try?"

Sherrod looked at him sharply. "I would prefer that you address your concerns to me off line."

"WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT!?" Crader called out, then he laughed. Leaning back, he grinned at Hard Drive. "Please, Maestro … continue."

It was silent, then Hardie looked at Coln. "Please continue."

"I would like to call Murrell of Helex to the stand," Coln said.

Sandstorm opened the door topside and leaned out. Stepping back, a small mech walked in, one nearly quivering with nerves and fright. He walked down the steps, then stepped onto the platform as he was instructed. He looked at Hardie, then Coln, keeping his back studiously turned away from Crader.

Piro stood. "Do you swear to state that you will tell the truth and present facts relevant to the proceedings without embellishment or subterfuge?"

Murrell nodded. "Yes. I do."

Piro sat as Coln moved closer, purposefully standing so Murrell wouldn't have to see Crader. "Murrell, please give a short synopsis of yourself so your testimony will have context."

Murrell nodded. "I was a worker on the docks at Nova Cronum, the out world docks. I worked for a mech called Parcel. He was old school, had a lot of integrity and didn't allow funny business around his area. The docks were corrupt and so were the companies that used them. We knew a lot of slag went through them but not when Parcel was there. He was told to get with the program but never did. He wasn't a worker for the companies like we were. He was a dock employee. He had a lot of friends and worked for the docks, the city corporation that owned and operated them.

"Crader used to send his goons to intimidate the workers and bosses. Most of them gave up and fell into line. Getting a bit of money for looking the other way helped. No one would help us and it was easier than being dead."

"What happened to Parcel? Did he give in?" Coln asked quietly.

Murrell stared at him, then became emotional. "No. He was abducted and killed. They took him apart bolt by bolt, put him into a crate and shipped him to us. I was instructed to open the crate myself. No one knew he was inside it. We saw him there. He was dead. He was a good guy, a really good and brave mech. We were told that Crader did it himself. We were told that we were next if we didn't do what he wanted. No one argued after that. We just did what we were told and … we gave up." He looked sick at spark, shaking his helm slowly. "Parcel was the best mech I ever met. He was a hero and everyone let him down. He stood up and was counted but it didn't matter. Crader owned everyone. He killed Parcel without a care. Parcel was just in the way."

"How did you know he did?" Coln asked.

"There was a brand on Parcel's hand, the glyph for Crader Transport. When Crader killed someone himself, he branded them. He said so. I heard him when he came to pay off some supervisors. They were talking and he was telling them that they were smart to go along. He told about how he removed anyone who didn't and when the mood moved him, he did it himself. He branded them on the hand, he said. I heard him say so."

It was silent. "What more can you tell us about this mech and how things were?"

Murrell considered that. "He doesn't have a spark. He likes to hurt you. He gets a thrill out of it. He's a coward." Murrell turned to stare at Crader. "You're a coward and a traitor, Crader. You never did a good thing in your life but get caught." He looked at Coln who nodded.

"I have no further questions," Coln said quietly.

Sherrod stared at the mech who turned to them again. He was girding himself and this would be an very bad emotional exchange if he interviewed him. He decided it would be a disaster if he did so Sherrod shook his helm. "I have no questions."

Coln glanced at Murrell. "Thank you, Murrell. You can go."

Murrell stared at Coln, then Crader. "I can go. You never will again. Who's the stupid slagger now?" He stepped down and walked out, the door closing behind him.

Crader watched him go, then glanced at the crowd behind him. "Who indeed?" he said softly as he grinned a malicious grin.

-0-TBC 10-28-18 edited 11-3-18