The Defender
Dal:
I used to be the king in the intergalactic courtroom. Wearing ridiculous flowing robes to court as a sign of my status, I'd defend the mightiest in the universe. Planetary rulers, quadrillion dollar companies and A-list celebrities, were typical for me. For five years, my name was associated with every high-profile case in the universe.
How the mighty have fallen. Now I am stuck defending Judoon prisoners. The fall from grace came as a result of the discovery of my overbilling of clients. I argued I deserved more for providing premium service, but it fell on deaf ears. So here I am, four years later, in my increasingly ragged suit with graying ginger hair, defending the dregs of society.
I looked at my latest file. Name: Doctor. Crime: Murder dating back ten years ago. Murder cases were always interesting, at least. The victim was a mercenary named Meer Telon, who sold data to the Daleks on planetary weaknesses. It sounded like the guy deserved it. The defendant claims she doesn't remember committing the crime. This promised to at least hold my attention for a few minutes.
The guards scanned me for weapons as I stepped on to the prison meteor. One then led me to the door of my client.
"Sho Do Quo" I said to the guard.
It was a polite way of saying: Let me in.
"Sho Do Go," the Judoon said back.
It was his polite way of saying: Make it Quick.
The Doctor had blond hair cut close to the scalp and was wearing a red prison jump suit. She sat against a wall staring blankly at the opposite wall. It didn't appear that she recognized my presence.
I sat down opposite her.
"Doctor," I said. "I'd Dal Ergal, your attorney representing you."
She didn't say anything, and kept staring into space.
"Doctor," I said. "You claim in your statement that you don't remember murdering Meer Telon. Would you care to elaborate on that?"
The Doctor didn't react at all.
I sighed and looked through her file. She was two years into her life sentence of solitary confinement. That explained some things.
"Doctor," I said. "I'm going to see about getting out of solitary once a week? Does that sound good?"
I stood up and got closer to her.
"Doctor, I'm here to help."
She suddenly cowered as if I had slapped her.
"Get away from me," she whimpered.
"I'll see you in a couple weeks," I said.
She didn't respond.
I stepped out.
Judoon. I truly hated these intergalactic brutes. They saw the law in black and white, with no room for additional interpretation. Which caused problems like this.
I walked to the warden's office, and entered without knocking.
"Ro Do Ko!" the Judoon yelled.
"Ro Do Ko my ass," I said. "It is against intergalactic law to hold a non-violent prisoner in solitary for more than three weeks."
"Ro Do Ko!" the Judoon yelled. "You didn't read the whole file Ergal. Prisoner Three Six Nine One, made multiple attempts to escape and incapacitated a guard while attempting to steal an evacuation pod. That is grounds for four years of solitary confinement."
"Can't you review that policy every few months?" I asked. "She seems so docile right now."
The warden stood up and got in my personal space.
"Do not underestimate the Doctor," the Judoon said in a lethal tone. "She is among our most dangerous prisoners."
"I'll see myself out," I said.
I walked out with as much ferocity as I could muster.
As I walked through the labyrinth underbelly of the meteor to find my transport vehicle, I read more of the Doctor's file. The Doctor was feisty at first when she came in. Went on hunger strikes, refused to bathe, started fights, among other things. She was also tech-savvy enough to steal a spoon and fashion it into a laser diverter. Her hair was cut short after she tried using it in an elaborate knot system to create a prison code, that led to a riot and an attempt to escape using one of the emergency pods. She was a shell of who she used to be.
I found my vehicle and added it to my case load in the passenger seat. This was one of the few cases where I still could muster enough energy to feel something for. Something was off about all this. I just wasn't sure what.
…
"Daddy!" my kids shouted excitedly.
Sem was my ten-year-old daughter and Ese, was my eight-year-old son. Sem's had fiery red hair and Ese had purple hair like his mother.
"Did you defend and murderers?" Sem asked.
"Did you subpoena anyone?" Ese asked.
"Did you file any injunctions?" Sem asked.
I have a problem with talking too much about work at home. At least they're still too young understand exactly what they're asking.
My wife Nara appeared. Dressed in a blue turtleneck and jeans, with her purple hair tied up in elaborate knots, she was the picture of casual elegance.
"Give your daddy some space," she said.
"Did you get a search warrant?" Ese asked.
"Ese!"
"Sorry," he said.
"Kids, I'll tell you all about my day at dinner," I said. "Now go wash up."
They quickly hugged me and raced down the hall.
I plopped onto my favorite chair.
"So, how was work?" Nara asked as she pulled a drink out of the fridge.
"I got a new case. A woman who claims she doesn't remember committing the murder but is too far gone after two years in solitary."
"Two years in solitary is a long time," she said.
"I guess this woman, her only name only one word, Doctor—"
There was the breaking of glass. Nara had dropped the ale bottle.
"I'm sorry," she said. "My hands are still a little greasy from making red oodle."
"Oh, my favorite!" I said. "Don't worry about it."
Nara suddenly kissed me.
"You're too good for me, you know that?"
"No reason to cry over spilled ale," I said.
"I'll go get a broom," she said.
My eyes lingered lazily around the room. I glanced at a tall shelf where Nara kept things she didn't want broken by the kids. One was an elaborate glass hourglass filled with gold beads. I once tried turning and she slapped my hand. She said it was only to be turned when someone in the house died. I didn't understand all of her family rituals, but I knew better than question things she was serious about.
"Drink?" she said.
"Thanks," I said.
Sipping the ale, I couldn't get the image of the Doctor of out my mind. I had a dozen other pending cases and years ago, I would have considered this beneath me. Some how I felt drawn to her story. For the first time in years, I felt part of my old self coming back to life.