It wasn't long after that incident that Keta-ki received word from one of the arbitrators that had gone after Uri. The badblood had been apprehended, alive, and was currently being held on a mothership. A trial had already been held, and they listened to anything Uri had to say. Three elders had attended, and all had agreed to a death sentence. Uri was due to arrive at the clan house within the hour.

Keta-ki went into the bedroom, where Zuri was curled up in his finest furs while his bed was bare. She always slept in late and took frequent cat-naps. He had tried hard to make her see that Uri was a badblood because it was true, and also because Keta-ki wanted her as a mate...But now he couldn't help but think that his actions were not quite honorable. He hoped that she would still be able to say goodbye to Uri, despite having been shown a side of him that Uri had hid from her.

"Zuri, get up."

She stirred some.

"Get up."

She turned and blinked at him sleepily, "Why?"

He didn't know how to put it, so he just said, "Get up, we gave to go."

She rubbed her eyes and nodded.

Without another word, he led her to his ship, and they quickly landed at the clan house. He led her through the terminals to door outlined in skulls. Keta-ki began to pace, debating on what to say, or whether he should just open the door and let her put the pieces together. Zuri stood with her hand on her belly, watching him nervously. She must have known something was up by now, and was just afraid to ask.

Keta-ki stopped to stand in front of her, and lifted her chin with his hand, "I'm sorry Zuri...Go in and say your goodbyes."

Her eyes began to water, and she choked, "They caught him?"

"Yes, and his trial did not go favorably." She started to sob and Keta-ki took her face with both hands and leaned his forehead down against hers as he said, "Be strong."

Keta-ki let her go to slide open the door for her. She didn't budge at first. Tears ran down her cheeks. With timid steps, she began to inch towards the door. As soon as she caught sight of Uri though, she ran right to him.

Keta-ki followed her inside, and watched her throw herself into Uri's arms. The arbitrators and other yautjas present all looked at her with disgust. In their minds, she was fawning over a rogue, a murderer. That's what Keta-ki had first thought thought of her devotion to Uri as well, but there was no shame in loyalty to one's mate. Uri was chained in the center of the room with the other yautjas behind him, and Keta-ki stayed by the door to give her privacy.

Keta-ki did not like seeing her arms wrap around his neck as she placed small kisses on his face. He did not like the way Uri struggled against the chains, unable to hold her. He could see Uri's mandibles moving, but he was talking very quietly and Keta-ki was too far away to hear. When Zuri spoke back, he could make out hushed whispers, but not the words. Watching her with him, Keta-ki hated feeling like he and Zuri could never be mates.

The others in the room huffed and grunted impatiently, glancing at Keta-ki on occasion. However, he had requested that Zuri be able to see the badblood, and he was determined that she be given more time. So the minutes passed on. He wondered if they were discussing baby names-as Keta-ki had already picked one out that he liked but had yet announced it to Zuri. If he was to help raise the child, he felt that he had the right to name it.

Eventually, Zuri stood, her hands shaking and her eyes red with shed tears. She slowly trudged back to Keta-ki, and he was about to put his hands around her when she grabbed the blade strapped to his leg. It was big in her hands, and shaped like a machete. She pointed it up at Keta-ki, her eyes wide with fear as well as determination. Keta-ki couldn't move-all that was going through his mind was that they would kill her for trying to free Uri, and Uri was probably the one that told her to do it.

Zuri wasn't stupid, and knew that she wouldn't stand a chance against the many yautjas in the room. The blade was poisoned though, and strong enough to cut through Uri's chains. Uri must have seen it and told her to grab it. The very air stirred with geep growls. Keta-ki wanted to protect her, save her, but if she chose her path with Uri...he knew it was not his place to do so.

She would be just as much a badblood in their eyes. He wouldn't be able to help her. Keta-ki could have snatched the blade from her hand, but instead he took a step back, letting her decide. Her chest was heaving and the other yautjas in the room waited for her to make the first move so they could tear her apart. Zuri dropped her gaze and meekly handed over the handle of the blade to Keta-ki. Then, she frantically ran out of the room.

The badblood began to yell, "Zuri! Zuri!" The chains rattled and the metal began to groan with the tension as he struggled, "Zuri!"

Keta-ki would go after her, but first he had business to finish. He was still an executioner. Keta-ki calmy walked forward and poised the blade over Uri's chest. Badbloods were usually ritualistically killed and made an example of. For Zuri's sake, he would be killed more humanely.

The poison would work fast. Keta-ki deftly plunged the blade into Uri's heart, the blood trickling out at first. A he removed the blade, bright green fluorescent blood spurted out from his chest cavity to the beats of his dying heart. It didn't last long. In a matter of seconds, his heart stopped and his limp body fell in the pool of blood. Keta-ki wiped the blade on Uri's clothes to remove the blood from his weapon, and put it back in the holster on his leg.

"We have further news." One arbitrator spoke up.

Keta-ki wanted to go find Zuri, to make she she was safe, but knew that he needed to stay. "What about?"

"Uri confessed everything, even divulging that there was indeed someone steering his crimes. We think we know now who the instigator was-and that yautja will go down with Uri."

Keta-ki hadn't known whether or not to tell the ooman that Uri's actions were not completely his own, that they were motivated by someone else. It had been a theory before, but at the trial their suspicions had been confirmed. Uri had gotten himself in debt, and in trouble, and a corrupt yautja had used that against him to turn Uri rouge. Though he was forced to act criminally, Uri still was not innocent. It would have been honorable just to commit suicide, but instead Uri took two innocent lives to try and save his own.

When Keta-ki finally went to go find Zuri, he couldn't decide whether or not to tell her. He didn't know if it would make her feel better, worse, or just confuse her. He located Zuri quickly enough. A few clan members had found her crying in the halls and had taken her to one of the medical rooms. Keta-ki took her back home.

She wouldn't eat at first, not even chocolate. She wouldn't talk to him, or even look at him. Keta-ki could do nothing but let her grieve. He made sure that she took a bath, ate, and got rest, but otherwise didn't try to bother her. The bedroom lights were dimming, and he was about to close the door when she finally spoke up.

"Don't leave." She begged softly.

Keta-ki hesitated, but then sat down in the end of her bed. "Did he tell you to grab the weapon?"

"Yea."

"You listened at first, so why did you change your mind?"

"...When I told him I was afraid that they'd attack me and hurt the baby, he said, 'We can make a new one'."

Zuri started sobbing again, her body shaking uncontrollably. She squeezed her eyes shut and rolled to her side, fingers tightly holding onto the edge of the furs. Even Keta-ki was shocked to know that he'd said something as horrible as that. If Uri had a desire to live so bad that he'd endanger his own unborn child, he truly was a badblood.