Chapter IV: The Trial of a Hero
LES: This chapter will give the details of Jak's arrest and trial. Thought, I can't promise that it will be a very fair trial.
It had been another few weeks since the day when the Guard Commander discovered the incriminating evidence against Jak. However, the elf himself was not aware of this. Instead, he was sitting in his small apartment with Daxter, who was trying to comfort his distraught friend.
Jak was truly on the brink of insanity. The want, the need, the lust that he felt for Keira was truly driving him up the wall. Well, not quite, but he was getting there.
"I can't take it anymore, Dax." Jak said miserably. "I can't stop thinking about having her for myself."
"Jak, my oldest buddy…" Daxter began. "If I know one thing about women, it's that most women tend to be more reluctant to 'give it up' than men."
"It's been over six months!" Jak said. "And she hasn't shown the slightest interest in me… that way."
"Hmm… maybe you should just ask her." Daxter suggested.
"What?"
"To sleep with you!" Daxter said. "I mean, you two are already dating. It is sort of a given."
"Yeah, I can imagine that." Jak scoffed sadly. "Hey, Keira, how are you? Good? Keira, I can't ignore my lust for you, will you have sex with me?"
"Okay… coming out of your mouth… that just sounds weird." Daxter commented.
"Not to mention embarrassing." Jak said. "I can't ask her for that. I still love her, Dax. I can't ask her for something that she's not ready to give."
"Ah… I think I've discovered the source of the problem." Daxter said with a very fake British accent.
"What?"
"You love Keira too much." Daxter said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What?" Jak asked, incredulously. "Is that even possible?"
"Of course it is!" Daxter said. "I mean, if I were Elvin, I'd walk right up to Tess and say…"
"Stop!" Jak ordered. "For the sake of my sanity… don't."
"Yeah, what's left of it." Daxter laughed. "Listen: To score with the chicks, gun-ho you must be, my young Padawan."And then Daxter laughed. "Now here's a sight. Jak Mar, heir to the Throne of Haven City and two-time savior of the world, is really a scared little crocadog when it comes to women!"
"I'm not scared!" Jak hissed. "I just respect Keira's wishes. Which is a lot more than could be said about you, you little pervert!"
Daxter laughed at Jak's comment. "I think the word you're looking for is 'playa'." Daxter corrected. "Hey! Have you ever considered that Keira's playing 'hard-to-get'?"
"Why would she do that when we're already dating?" Jak asked.
"Don't ask me to fathom a she-elf's mind. They're crazy, you know… especially when faced with a hunky guy…"
"I hope you the Precursors you aren't talking about me." Jak said. "That just sounds…"
"Of course I wasn't talking about you!" Daxter said. "I was talking about me! Women can't resist me."
Jak was about to remind Daxter that he was a rat and that any relations that he could have with any of the women he knew would be considered 'cross-species' and is against the laws of nature when someone knocked on the door."
Jak looked up at the noise and sighed. It had to be past midnight. Who in the world would come to visit this late? Never the less, Jak got up with half a mind of yelling at whoever it was to go away. The elf opened the door.
Whatever happened next happened too quickly for even Jak to react. There was a bang and Jak was enveloped in a net. He tried to tear it off instinctively, but a shock wave tore through his body. He realized what he was trapped in: an old net that the Guards had used on him in prison to keep him under control. Krimzon Guard were now pouring into the door.
"Jak!" Daxter cried, he ran to his friend's aid, knowing full well that Jak could not get out of one on his own. But a Guard pounced on Daxter and quickly restrained him before he could even get close to helping Jak.
Suddenly… "Stop!" Torn had walked into the room.
Jak glared up at Torn from the floor. "Torn!" He roared. "What's going on here?"
"I'm sorry." Torn said. "Jak, I have orders from the Grand Council of Haven City to have you put under arrest."
"What?" The angry elf demanded. "I haven't committed a crime in months!"
"Jak, if you don't fight us, I'll get that net off you. At that time, you'll be handcuffed." Torn said.
Jak thought about this for a second. Once he was in handcuffs, he could break free. Handcuffs were nothing to him. "Fine." Jak said. "I won't fight."
Torn nodded. Several guards jumped forward. While holding the elf against the floor, just in case, they carefully extracted him from the net and cuffed his hands behind his back. Torn might have noticed the look in Jak's eyes when the Guards picked him up off the ground. "Don't try to break out of those cuffs." He said. "The Council had them especially made for your arrest, made out of Precursor Metal… indestructible… and Dark Eco won't melt them."
Jak then realized that he was truly trapped. He could never hope to break Precursor Metal. It was impossible. "Why am I being arrested?" Jak asked. "I haven't done anything wrong."
"That's not what the Council thinks." Torn said. "Jak, you are to appear before the Grand Council of Haven City and tried for High Treason."
"High Treason?" Keira demanded when Ashelin called her to inform her of the event of Jak's arrest. "What for? He's done nothing wrong!"
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do." Ashelin quickly said. "The circumstances were suspicious. I told him so weeks ago."
"What circumstances?" Keira asked.
"We tried to keep it a secret…"
"What?"
"Jak… he was down in the Underport when the Metal-Heads broke through. He walked out of there without a scratch. Claims he was knocked out, but there was no one down there to verify…"
"Wait, are you saying that Jak let the Metal-Heads into the City?" Keira demanded.
"No, I'm not saying that… but it does look rather bad from the law's point of view." Ashelin said. "He's here in the Palace, under guard, of course. I'm going to go see him now… I can take you with me. Torn and Samos will be there too."
"I'll be right over." Keira said.
Jak now sat in a heavily guarded room in the Palace. There had been debate whether to put him in the prison or not. Many figured that since he broke out once, he could do it again.
Finally, they decided to lock him in a heavily guarded room in the Palace. Jak was secretly glad not to be locked up in that damn prison again. He had enough nightmares of the two years he spent in that place. At least the room where he was locked was comfortable.
The door opened and Jak looked up. Ashelin, Torn, Samos, and Keira walked in. "I hope you've come to bail me out." Jak said to Ashelin.
"Jak!" Keira ran up to him and pulled the elf into an embrace. Jak, who still had his hands cuffed could do little more than bury his face in her hair.
"I'm sorry, but I can't just bail you out." Ashelin said. "The evidence against you is overwhelming."
"I'm not a traitor, Ashelin!" Jak hissed. "Why would I let Metal-Heads into the City?"
"I don't know." Ashelin said. "Vegar says he has plenty of reasons." She sighed. "This on top of the New Metal-Head War?"
"How are you guys doing?" Jak asked.
"Not good." Torn sighed, and he looked like he had pulled several all-nighters. "The Metal-Heads have congregated in the Farming District and they're pushing our forces back a little more every day. And the Bots are overrunning South Town."
"How could the Metal-Heads be this organized?" Jak demanded. "Without a Leader, they're brainless! I destroyed Kor months ago!"
"That can only suggest that the Metal-Heads have rallied around a new Leader." Samos suggested.
Ashelin sighed. "The people are blaming you, Jak. Not only for our current situation, but also for the last time the Metal-Heads broke through. They believe your partnership with Krew helped the Metal-Heads get into the City."
"Partnership?" Jak demanded. "I was nothing more than hired muscle to that fat-ass." There was an uncomfortable pause. Jak stared at Samos. "You don't believe I let the Metal-Heads into the City, do you?"
Samos didn't answer for several seconds. "What's in the past is done."
"The Council is meeting tonight in an emergency session." Ashelin said. "It will double as Jak's trial."
"What?" Jak demanded. "I'm going to be tried by those idiots? They hate me!"
"I know." Ashelin said, rather miserably. "I doubt it's going to be a fair trial."
Torn stepped forward. "We need to go."
Jak glared at Torn. "Sending me off to my death, are you? I know the punishment for High Treason… death."
"No!" Keira gasped.
"Come on, Jak." Torn said, grabbing the elf by the arm and leading him out of the room, flanked by about half-a-dozen guards.
"Don't worry, Jak." Ashelin said, catching up to them and taking a place by Jak's other side. "I won't allow you to get the death sentence."
They loaded Jak into the back of a prison transport and the rest had to get in the front. Not that Keira hadn't tried to stay with Jak. She had put up quite a fight, saying that this was the time when he needed her most.
But, in the end, Torn had to force Keira bodily into the front. Jak was almost glad. He couldn't face his girlfriend now that he was labeled a traitor and possibly about to get the death sentence.
The transport took off. The back when the prisoners were kept was pretty bare, only a bench to sit on. However, almost as soon as Jak sat down there was commotion in the front. People were screaming in shock and alarm.
There were few windows in the back, and Jak stood up and looked out one. What he saw nearly made his heart stop.
The Palace… the Palace was falling over! Missiles were being launched at its stone base. Stone crumbled as the once mighty structure began to tip. Now, the only thing holding it up was the Support Towers, but they had never been designed to hold that much weight. The cables snapped and the Palace toppled over, destroying a fifth of the City instantly. Hundreds of innocents were probably buried. "Oh my God…" Jak gasped.
The transport zoomed over the remains. Jak figured that Ashelin wanted to get a closer look at the damage.
Then, under where the Palace had been… a deep, artificial hole. A hole that led somewhere underground.
Something about this deep hole caught and held Jak's attention. A suddenly urge came over him, he wanted to see what was at the bottom of that hole. Then Jak remembered that he was a hundred feet in the air, in an armored transport, with Precursor Metal handcuffs around his wrists.
"Now's not the time to get curious." Jak said to himself.
The transport veered away to head to its original destination: Jak's trial.
The Haven City Council was a large assembly that had been created shortly after Praxis' fall to run the City. It was made up of about fifty men and women from all walks of life. People, they hoped, who would be able to stop Haven City from tearing itself about.
The Council was, in a way, the true rulers of Haven and their leader, Count Vegar, was its power broker. As mentioned before, Vegar hated Jak with a passion for his connection with Dark Eco. But Vegar could never touch Jak for he was under the protection of the governess. But he had his proof that Jak was a traitor. Now he would be able to get rid of that Dark Eco freak, the one blemish on his Dark Eco-free view of Haven City, once and for all.
The Council sat in a circular room with Vegar at its head. There were others too. Ashelin and Torn were there, as was Samos, Keira, and Daxter, who had been called a short while ago. He had spent the whole time calling the Council (and Vegar) several less-than-nice names. But the rest of the Council ignored him. He wasn't a member of the Council… hell, he wasn't even Elvin, so they weren't even sure if they had jurisdiction over him.
Finally, the doors opened and a group of a dozen guards led in the handcuffed Jak. He didn't look scared or guilty, there was only a look of defiance on his face, the same look he wore on the numerous occasions that he had come face to face with the Baron. He was stopped just before Vegar.
"Jak, the Dark Eco Freak…" Vegar said, calling him by his well-known name, possibly to remind the Council of everything else he had done when he was the Dark Monster. "You stand before this Council accused of High Treason and Fraternizing with the enemy. How do you plead?"
"I'm innocent." Jak said automatically.
Vegar grinned, a smile that was full of venom. "Are you aware that to perjure is a crime?"
Jak's mouth fell open. He knew from the start this wasn't going to be the fairest trial, but didn't he have the right to say that he was innocent? Vegar was basically accusing him of lying on the stand. "I'm not lying! It's the truth."
"We shall see of that." Vegar said. Then he turned to the rest of the Council. "A month ago, a half and hour before the Metal-Head's attack, the charged was sent on a mission by our Governess, Ashelin Praxis." Ashelin looked away. "To go into the Underport to close the doors that the Metal-Heads used to get in here last time. And we can confirm that he went, and not only that, but he went completely alone. Then the Metal-Heads attacked and the charged emerged later, without a single scratch. Is that not true?" Vegar asked of Jak.
"Yes," Jak said. "But…"
"Tell us what you say happened?" Another Council member asked.
"I went down there…" Jak began. "And I couldn't find the Guards that Ashelin said were down there…"
"Ah, yes, the Guards." Vegar said. "Governess? Can you confirm that you sent those Guards into the Underport to guard the hole?"
"Yes, I sent the Guards." Ashelin said.
"But a dozen loyal guards just… disappear?" Vegar asked. "No, it would have been so easy for the Freak to kill them just like has done so many others." The Council members became to mutter to themselves under their breath.
"I didn't kill those Guards!" Jak said. "They were gone when I got there… but I did find some blood."
"Yes, my guards investigated the scene too, but blood was not the only thing they found." Vegar said. "We found a Dark Eco stain on the wall. Now, can the charged answer me this question? Is there any living person on the planet that can use Dark Eco?"
Jak hesitated before answering. "Yes."
"And who would that be?"
"Me."
"No one else?"
"No one else."
"A Dark Eco-based attack… perfect for getting rid of loyal guards before you released the Metal-Heads on the City…"
"Why would I do that?" Jak demanded. "I hate Metal-Heads more than anything. Why would I help them?"
"I believe we've got the answer." Vegar said. "You destroyed the Metal-Head Leader several months ago, am I correct?"
"Yes." Jak said, confused.
"Did you perform this act alone?" Vegar asked. "That is, did someone help you with the actual killing?"
"No." Jak answered.
"A scientist in my service studies animals and their behaviors." Vegar said suddenly. Jak blinked, talk about changing the subject. Ashelin seemed to think so to.
"Vegar, is this relevant to the case at hand?" She asked.
"Yes. Now, let me continue." Vegar said. "He informed me that animals with hierarchical-structured societies, like the Metal-Heads, pick the strongest of their kind as their Leader. The last Metal-Head Leader was the strongest of the Metal-Heads."
"Everyone knows that." Ashelin said. "Make your point, Vegar."
"Well, doesn't it follow simple logic that the being who defeats the Leader would be even stronger?" Vegar asked rhetorically. Jak stared at Vegar; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I believe that, in a loose sense of the term, the charged has become the new Metal-Head Leader!"
Needless to say, this statement caused quite a sensation. Jak's mouth dropped open. He had never heard anything so ridiculous sounding in his whole life! And he spent most of his life in Daxter's company, so that was really saying something. "Me? The Metal-Head Leader?" Jak demanded. "How is that even possible? I'm not even a Metal-Head!"
"The Metal-Heads are probably willing to overlook race in their quest for a new Leader." Vegar said. "They are mindless animals that can't survive without a Leader to direct them, so they will rally around anyone who is strong enough to lead them."
Jak looked around the room. The Council was looking at him as if he'd suddenly sprout dragonfly-like wings, a tail, and a huge metal-covered body and eat them all. Then his eyes found Keira. He could see the doubt in her eyes. She had just listened to overwhelming evidence that he was a traitor and being accused of being the Metal-Head Leader. The look of doubt made him sick to his stomach. "Keira! It's not true!" Jak yelled at her.
"Silence!" Vegar ordered. "Have you been attacked by a single Metal-Head in the last month?"
"No."
"Have you been in a situation that puts you in danger of being attacked?"
"Yes."
"Yet, they have not touched you?"
"Yes."
"Well, it can only be concluded that the Metal-Heads revere this Freak as their Leader and I, for one, do not think the Leader of the Metal-Head armies some be let go to gather more information against us."
"I can't control those Metal-Heads!" Jak said. "I don't know why they won't attack me, but…"
"I haven't even brought up his past criminal activities…" Vegar said.
Ashelin stood up. "I have pardoned Jak of all those crimes. They are no longer on his record."
Deleting a few hundred murder charges does no bring those he killed back." Vegar said. "I think it an insult to those people if their murderer were allowed to walk free." He paused, looking at Jak's unwavering face. "It is clear he shows no remorse what-so-ever for his crimes."
"You can't hold Jak accountable for crimes not on his record." Ashelin hissed. "We are focusing on the crimes that he is on trial for. I, for one, personally do not believe that Jak would help Metal-Heads."
"I'm afraid your personal beliefs do not hold a lot of weight in court." Vegar said. "I do hereby find the defendant guilty of all charges!" Jak frowned, he had known he would be found guilty. All that remained was to discover his punishment.
"Hey!" Daxter protested.
Vegar ignored the rodent, just as the other Council members did. "And the crimes, being numerous and heinous in nature, constitutes the death penalty." Keira was in tears at this point.
"You can't do that!" Ashelin said. "Jak's a hero, and he should be honored as one, not killed like a criminal! He saved us all from the Metal-Heads, or have you all forgotten that?"
"One good deed is not enough to redeem a man from years of wickedness." Vegar hissed.
"Though it does seem enough to condemn him." Daxter couldn't help piping up.
"Shut up, rat!" Vegar rounded on the rodent. "You're lucky you're not going to join in your master's fate!"
"Master?" Daxter demanded. "Master? Jak ain't my 'master'! Jak's my friend!"
"Be quiet!" Vegar yelled. "Because of the nature of the defendant's crimes and his obvious lack of remorse, I move for a life-time banishment to the Wasteland." A few people gasped, most nodded with approval. "All those in favor of exile?" A huge amount of people put their hands in the air. "All apposed?" A small amount of people put their hands in the air, between those Torn and Ashelin. Samos Keira and Daxter couldn't vote, though it won't have mattered if they did. "Good." Vegar said. "I guess it's settled. I sentence the defendant to a life-time exile to the Wasteland!"
With that, court was adjourned and Jak's fate sealed. Ashelin left her seat and ran up to Jak, and embraced the surprised elf. That is, he was more surprised by the embrace then the sentence. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"
"What's the big deal?" Jak asked, nervously pulling out of her embrace. "I've been out in the Wasteland before. I can live out there easy."
"Jak, you haven't been banished to the Wasteland around Haven City." Ashelin said. "The real Wasteland is a desert about an hour's flight from here. No one can survive out there for long. They say even Mar didn't stay out there for more than a few hours. They call it a banishment, but it's really a death sentence."
Keira stood a ways back from the elf. Jak turned to look at her. "You believe me, don't you?" He asked. "You don't think I let the Metal-Heads in, do you? You don't think I'm the Metal-Head Leader, do you, Keira?"
Keira seemed at loss for words. Finally, she spoke, only three words. "I'm sorry, Jak." She turned and walked out.
"Keira, wait!" Jak started after her, but was stopped by several guards. "Keira!" But she was gone.
Pain stabbed into Jak's heart. He looked away from when she had just disappeared. Then he allowed the guards to lead him away. There simply wasn't any fight left in him.
Ashelin watched Jak being led away, and then she pulled something out of her pocket. It was a homing beacon, standard-issue to Krimzon Guards. Hopefully the rumors were true and there were people who lived out in those deserts…
LES: I hope this was up to standards. This chapter was rather inspired by Harry Potter's trial in the Order of the Phoenix. In that one, Harry kept telling the truth, but it only screwed him over more. That's what I wanted for Jak. He told the truth the whole time, and it screwed him over. Also, those lines that Vegar and Daxter say were borrowed from 'Pirates of the Caribbean.'
