As for the triple-addition signs I use for changing scenes, if there's no bolded info after one, it means it's the same scene as the prior one with passage of time, usually given in the scene itself. 'kay?
+++
Tribunal Headquarters (Estate in France), March 30, 8:03 p.m.
Trowa shifted in his seat, slightly perturbed the five judges were not as of yet present. He'd left the circus temporarily to sit in at the hearing. Having to wait and perform, or worse, do nothing in the hours that would comprise the hearing would have unnerved him to no end. These hearings would determine the lives, or at the very least the next few years of the lives, of many people, Trowa included.
He glanced around, looking for a familiar face. Heero and the Foreign Minister were off to his right, closer to the front. Lady Une, the Chief of Preventers, and her daughter were in the left most of the four aisles arranged in the makeshift courthouse. Trowa considered going to speak to Quatre, but digressed when he noticed Dorothy Catalonia mouthing off to some reporters next to him. Apparently, her temper was getting the better of her that night.
No one else looked familiar, with the exception of some politicians and other notable public figures he saw infrequently on news broadcasts. Trowa settled down to wait.
+++
Relena checked her watch for the umpteenth time, irritated. Next to her, Heero tried hard not to glare at her.
"Relena, I'm fairly certain the time hasn't changed much since the last time you checked," he said, narrowly keeping the annoyance out of his voice. It was rarely that he had to deal with people, even someone he was as familiar with as Relena. This wasn't the most anxiety-free of situations, either - the judges were more than an hour late.
Another few minutes and the five-person panel entered. All the judges were old-time lawyers, curiously free of any form of charge against them, although that had most likely been arranged. The head judge, the renowned and sixty-three-year-old Christina Novellum, opened in a slightly raspy voice with thick glasses obscuring her eyes as she spoke.
"We apologize to the public for the delay. The Tribunal found it necessary to deem whether or not it was proper to hold such a general amnesty hearing," Novellum intoned. "At length we ascertained there would be far too much…political entanglement should the orders given us be averted in any manner."
Novellum was looking directly at Relena; she met the judge's gaze coolly. Heero remembered she had mentioned this very hearing was part of the deal to let the trials proceed - which would effectively circumvent them should the amnesty be granted.
If not, the prosecuting team should be none the worse for wear.
+++
Outside the Tribunal Headquarters, 9:36 p.m.
"The judges arrived about half an hour ago," Noin murmured softly, nearly afraid to break the silence of the area. It appeared that nearly all of the stars were visible in this semi-rural area, away from the cities and on Earth.
"They must have been arguing about whether this were even allowed," Zechs responded in similar low tones. "Relena's rather tricky when it comes to wording. They wouldn't have been able to stop it even if they had been allowed to take longer."
"Hm. Are you certain you don't want to go in?"
"Yes. But if you-"
"No, it's alright. But I'd rather be working." She smiled wryly as she continued walking past the building, a few hundred yards away from them. There was, oddly enough, a river, more of a brook really, ahead, its bank dipping conspicuously.
She really is worried, isn't she…? Zechs thought, watching her cross her arms in an all-too-familiar stance that spoke of annoyance - or fear.
"It'll be okay," he assured her gently, falling into step next to her. Noin couldn't keep herself still in her anxiety.
"You always were a terrible liar, Zechs," she scoffed, mirth and admonishment both absent from her voice.
"Only to you," he responded evenly, waiting for her to say precisely what was bothering her.
"I don't know what's upsetting me so much, honestly…" Noin said softly, a tinge of depression coloring her voice. "Mostly it was hearing about hearing about the sabotage on our base, Lady Une's house being damaged by those protesters. Some of the charges against her, us - they're absolutely…" She stopped, laughed at the insanity of it all. Zechs was concerned for her mental health, in all seriousness. No, she's held up this long, she wouldn't crack now…
"Absolutely what, Noin?"
"Ludicrous…things that we couldn't possibly be directly responsible for, but Une would be held guilty of anyway. Such as, extreme violation of the third and fourth sections on the Convention on the Rights of a Child*, which we both received, because of all the young soldiers Specials trained, and graduated before they were legally adults…that I, and the other instructors were responsible for, in our ignorance.
"Lady Une wasn't responsible for it; hell, not even General Catalonia** was responsible for it! Yet she has to take the blame for a crime started so long ago she viewed it as perfectly natural, that we all did, only because she was in the unfortunate position of being the last leader of OZ…
"They're just looking for someone to blame for the loss of their children and families. I don't blame them but it's not fair to attack people with this blunt an instrument."
"In looking for justice they're causing more lack of it," Zechs surmised for her, remembering Noin's abrupt, quickly silenced and now apparently fermenting anger at a few of his charges and her own. "Only causing more lack of it…"
+++
Inside, 9:59 p.m.
Mariemaia bit her lip as she squirmed irritably, finally having given up on watching the speakers - at eight years old she was too short for the task. Her wheelchair was set next to the left most of the four aisles in the courthouse, Lady Une seated next to her on the hastily constructed wooden bench.
The Foreign Minister, Relena Darlian, was finishing her brief speech; Lady Une squeezed Mariemaia's hand to make the understandably agitated child stop fidgeting.
"I understand most of you believe I am biased, that I would be one to suffer most politically and emotionally should these trials to through and that most of you are aware by now I had a part to play in bringing this general trial to all. I want you to understand that I am biased.
"It should also be noted that all of you are as well, no matter what outcome you wish for. To avenge a family member, a loved one, a lost home, or to keep the same from feeling more pain all make you biased. As much as I, possibly more so depending on the situation.
"I ask you to pause and consider - do you think that what, who you wanted to protect could possibly, truly be avenged by executing, punishing the ones you want to blame? Many of these people have families now, they have lives and are important to their community. Before you vehemently demand that these charges be brought to court, meet the ones that you would have so mercilessly castigated. Then maybe you'll change your mind.
"Thank you for your time."
Lady Une clapped softly at the end of Darlian's words, a sentiment hesitantly echoed throughout the large room, crowded with as many as a thousand spectators.
"Mother?" Mariemaia asked softly, dipping the volume of her voice so others wouldn't overhear.
"What is it, Marie-chan?" Lady Une didn't look back at her for a few moments, studying the poker faces of the judges' panel before turning to Mariemaia.
"What will happen?"
"I don't know, darling. I don't think even the judges do."
+++
Outside, 4:21 a.m.
Noin stirred awake, immediately reminded of where they were by their surroundings. She checked her watch quickly.
"Zechs, wake up. It's nearly 4:30 in the morning."
He turned to look at her, mildly surprised. It had been just after one in the morning when he'd dozed off, on a park bench in a small area they'd find walking around. He suspected the entire area had once been a rich estate. Every once in a while there were patches of overgrown garden, like this no longer quite so cultivated park area where the river, evidently artificial, twisted around playfully. The courthouse itself was most likely a former mansion.
They had seen many people storm off in the several hours since they'd arrived, although it was still too short a time for the judges' pane to have come to a conclusion. The lights were still blazing in the seeming distance, although in reality it wasn't that far away. The dark, bleak nightscape was now beginning to lighten with the promise of dawn in an hour or so, but still offered the illusion of increased detachment.
"Oniisama!*** Noin-san!" Relena called frantically, running towards them. Heero was jogging behind her, for some reason appearing puzzled even through his usual mask of blank expression.
Noin stood, Zechs coming up next to her. "What is it?" he queried, wondering what could have made her run out if the hearing weren't complete. But if it were…
"Did the hearing complete?" Noin voiced, blinking in confusion at Relena, who was barely keeping from hysterics, underlying emotion unreadable.
"Yes," Heero informed quietly.
"It's-" Relena had a curious expression of shock on her face, shook her head. "The amnesty has…been denied."
+++
Footnotes
* No, I am not making this up. There is a Convention on the Rights of a Child (it's being used extensively in Rwanda right now); I wasn't able to figure out whether it was the 3rd or 4th section that held the specifics of child-soldier rights, so for the sake of the fic it's both. (I couldn't find a hard copy, just inefficient summaries.)
** General Catalonia was Treize's predecessor as the leader of OZ and Specials; he was Dorothy's father and Treize's…second cousin? I don't get family trees. Hell, I call half my distant relatives cousin for lack of any relevant knowledge.
*** Nope, not making that up either. She calls him oniisama for the greater part of the series. Scary, ne?
+++
A/N: Yes, there's an epilogue. And no, that wasn't an intentional cliffhanger. :) Well, review!