Chapter 15 - Behind Closed Doors
Official Report
The Nation of Fleogas Vs. Her Highness, Captain Almira Eos
Five days after Operations Open Skies
Day 3 of the Trial
Presiding over the case, the Honorable Lorenson Par
The Nation of Fleogas accuses Almira Eos of treason of the highest degree; for the murder of the late King Khayin Almiriykh, and for the abandoning of her post during Operation Open Skies.
1000: Beginning of the testimony by Eaghan Fakhir
Led by Lord Biron Sal
-information omitted –
[beginning of transcription and recording]
[1000. Courthouse 1. Seating at maximum capacity.]
Par: Order in the court. May the gods and wisdom guide us as we go before them in the eyes of the law. We will now resume the trial of Almira Eos. Today his highness Lord Eaghan Fakhir will be providing his testimony. Lord Biron Sal has the floor.
Sal: Please state your name and title.
Fakhir: Prince Eaghan Fakhir, fourth prince of Fleogas and currently fourth in line to the throne.
Sal: And please state your connection to Eos.
Fakhir: Captain Almira Eos is my sister, second princess of Fleogas, Lord Sal.
Sal: Watch your tongue, highness.
Par: Lord Sal I am ready to remove you from the courtroom for your unrelated remarks. If I hear another comment from you then I will be forced to stop the interrogation and I will find another more suitable individual.
Sal: I apologize.
Par: This is your final warning. Continue.
Sal: You are now free to give any remarks on Eos' character.
Fakhir: What good I have to say is already known to everyone, save the nobility who seek to tear her down at every turn. Captain Eos' character is widely regarded as of even temper and fairness, her judgement prudent. Her blade is even more temperate. I have the highest respect for her, and will not stand for the slander to her name, regardless of her current relationship to the crown and the nation of Fleogas.
Sal: Please explain to us the significance of your evidence.
Fakhir: My evidence is in two parts. I shall explain the first.
Sal: Proceed.
Fakhir: The first contains an interrogation. My staff is as follows: his highness General Akil Kunsgnos, Lieutenant Orion Isil, Lord Han Ri, and Lord Lyre Omnos.
Sal: Are all here as witness?
Fakhir: They are here, seated behind me.
Par: Let it be noted by the recorders that the four men are present and seated in the crowd.
Sal: Continue, Prince Fakhir.
Fakhir: The interrogation was conducted by myself, with those four men as witnesses to testify in court. My prepared remarks have already been approved by the committee.
Sal: And who did you interrogate?
Fakhir: The legendary griffon, who we found at the scene of the crime, along with Captain Eos.
[a rise from the crowd]
Par: Order! Silence!
Sal: Please explain to us how the interrogation worked, Prince Fakhir.
Fakhir: As easily as any Fleogan, for the most part. The griffon communicated thought images, emotions, and brief lines of though. Physical contact is required, and the griffon has a way of melding conscious minds together as one. That is how they communicate.
Sal: They?
Fakhir: There are more. From the interrogation we learned that the griffons currently number as ten, and live hidden away in the Shendian. They protect a host of eggs that have yet to hatch.
Sal: Please continue with the interrogation as pertinent.
Fakhir: This griffon in particular was captured by Galra scientists and held at their lab at Doseogwan. As demonstrated in the visual footage obtained from Captain Eos' helmet, this is the same griffon. The two of them managed to escape the building and fly back to the capital city, where Captain Eos confronted the king.
Sal: Confronted?
Fakhir: I request to ignore this question with the intent to return to this question later, as it pertains to my second piece of evidence.
Par: Granted. See to it that this question will be noted for later review.
Sal: Continue.
Fakhir: After their arrival at the castle, the griffon remained outside. It only broke in when it sensed that Captain Eos' life was in grave danger. The image projected was that of the king crushing Captain Eos' head with his foot, with the intent to kill.
Sal: Please explain how you come to understand the late king's intent.
Fakhir: I already said that the griffon primarily communicates through emotions and images. Unlike most people, griffons have heightened emotional sensitivity, thus giving it a good idea of when to intrude.
Sal: Continue.
Fakhir: However, let it also be known that Captain Eos had her twin swords drawn, as though ready for combat. While she momentarily had killing intent, she was unable to follow through before being subdued by King Khayin.
Sal: What you say contradicts Eos' testimony. She claims to have set the griffon on the king in order to kill him.
Fakhir: Then let it be known that my entire committee and I have discerned the truth. Captain Eos only did so to ensure the griffon's life be spared, and by a technicality her claim is still true. The griffon did come to her aid due to her life being threatened, and as they were familiar with her intent to kill, it can be claimed on this technicality that Captain Eos did desire the griffon to kill the king. In Captain Eos' interrogation and testimony, she skewed the story slightly as to ensure that the life of a precious and legendary creature would be spared from the anger of those here presiding over the case. Arguably, she worked to save an important cultural piece of Fleogan history.
Par: Let the conflicts be noted, as per Prince Fakhir's testimony. The judge rules in favor of Prince Fakhir's telling, based on factual evidence gathered in addition to the support of his interrogation committee. Let it also be marked that Captain Eos will not face charges or technicalities for the discrepancies.
Sal: Then continue, Prince Fakhir.
Fakhir: My first piece of evidence is complete. I hope that I have convinced the judge, jury, and all those presiding and watching this case that the griffon technically may have been set upon King Khayin by Captain Eos, but the action was also an independent decision by the griffon and taken in defense of Captain Eos' life, who was about to be murdered by her own king and father.
Sal: I assume that you will now move onto the second piece of evidence.
Fakhir: You assume correctly.
Sal: Proceed.
Fakhir: My next piece of evidence concerns the accusation of the late King Khayin to be a traitor to Fleogas by acting as a mole and supplying insider information to the Galra.
Sal: Please explain.
Fakhir: After receiving permission from his majesty King Alastrine, the same committee and I took to searching the royal complex and other venues for evidence of communications. By using the Technology Brigade's network, we were able to detect encoded, unidentifiable messages that had been flying under the radar for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. We were able to ascertain a location of one of the guilty devices, which was inside a hidden basement in the castle. We have provided images of the room in question as part of our evidence.
Par: Let it be noted that the images were circulated to both Judge, Jury, and Lord Sal for investigation.
Sal: Continue.
Fakhir: We were able to hack into the system to review the datalog. In it were countless communications between the late King and the Galra at the base in Doseogwan. We have provided one particular account for demonstration.
Sal: Please provide a brief summary on what you have selected and why.
Fakhir: All military documents regarding Operation Open Skies are still under review. Therefore, any communications regarding these plans are unable to be seen by a wider audience. However, we found a piece of evidence regarding the disappearance of her late highness Princess Lavena Sidhe, which we thought would suffice to demonstrate his late majesty's intent with the Galra.
Sal: Play the tape.
[A projector is used. Two images appear; one of King Khayin and the other of a Galra. The transcription has been provided here for reference]
Galra: Trying to hide something from us again, Khayin?
Khayin: It was nothing of my plan. Voltron suddenly appeared without warning. We are just as confused as you are.
Galra: No one is confused here, only you and your silly people. But you hide them, all the while.
Khayin: They think it safe to hide within the crater.
Galra: Then we must demand compensation for this action. Hiding such a highly wanted criminal group by Emperor Zarkon requires something… valuable.
Khayin: How valuable?
Galra: Well, we might start with one of your wives, but they're probably too old to sustain any experiments. A child, then.
Khayin: I have one that'll be easy enough. Lavena is at the summer house with her mother.
Galra: It seems we might have a deal. But keep hiding Voltron, and we might be forced to ask again.
Khayin: Whatever you want, I will give you.
Galra: Good. You're much more compliant than that last successor.
Khayin: I only want the best for our alliance.
Galra: Alliance? Pah, you rat. Bold of you to assume your equality to geniuses such as us. But I assure you that no harm will come to your head while you're on the throne… if you keep this up.
Khayin: I'll give anything.
Galra: Hahaha, so desperate to keep your head, eh?
Khayin: Wouldn't anyone?
Galra: Only those too weak to protect themselves. Send the coordinates.
Khayin: Of course.
Galra: Don't fail us now, Khayin.
[end of audio transcription]
Fakhir: Additionally, it is clear to see the connection between Captain Eos' communications and this one here. In the video recording, Captain Eos saw a pair of plum wings, which we confirmed to be as belonging to the late Princess Lavena Sidhe.
Par: May the gods have mercy upon her soul, and may she cross into the dawn with the ancestors and ascend to the skies above.
Fakhir: Of course, that isn't all. We've analyzed a good chunk of the communications log, but we're only getting started. We've already discovered records from the late King Solus, as well as other predecessors.
Sal: Are you telling me that these exchanges have been going on for multiple decades?
Fakhir: Not just that. Millenia, as far as we can tell. Every king, not just Khayin, has been playing us for fools. They've maintained contact with the Galra for years, making exchanges and sacrificing Fleogan lives for experimentation and torture.
Sal: Gods…
Fakhir: The intent of this evidence is to support Captain Eos' statement that the late King Khayin was indeed a mole and a traitor to the people of Fleogas. As such, he deserves criminalization for his deeds as a traitor king, as well as for the attempted murder of his daughter Eos once she unearthed these exchanges.
Par: Any final words, Prince Fakhir?
Fakhir: I pray that the members here consider my testimony and evidence. We have all been blind, and it would seem that now is the time to open our eyes and wake up.
Par: This concludes the events for the day. The court will adjourn until tomorrow. We will begin at 0800, and will announce the final decision regarding the fate of Almira Eos. May the gods go with us in grace.
[end of transcription and recording]
The air was abuzz with gossip and similar conversations. It was the hottest topic of the century, the one event no one could shut up about. Of course there were plans underway to transition from an era of imprisonment to one of freedom and war looming on distance horizons, but such talks were temporarily placed at bay. All eyes were on the accused king killer, the beloved, snowy haired princess of Fleogas and legendary military genius.
The passing of the king had been tragic. The accusation and confirmation that the beloved princess and wind bender captain had murdered him in cold blood had been the most hotly debated topic, with fiery words exchanged even among the closest friends. Who could honestly believe such a thing had come to pass? Those who had the fortune of being inside the massive courtroom immediately left everyday to regale their friends with the blow by blow of the who's who and accusations. It had left a sense of division and fragmentation particularly among the military; after all, who could sincerely believe that their adored captain had done such a thing?
But with Eaghan's testimony the atmosphere exploded once more. Disbelief at the King's traitorousness and shock at the revelation of the griffons, all emotions mingled together, creating a cacophony of newly enraged opinions. Almira was right. How could they sentence her to die now?
The nobles had doubled over from the wave of harsh criticisms, the schism between royals and military only growing larger by the minute. The royal siblings who lived in both worlds were pressed on all sides for their opinions, their reasonings, and how "of course you can't seriously execute your sister, can you?" and others crying, "but you can't just abandon the law for her!"
Noise, noise, noise. For the first time since their arrival, the paladins felt rather left out and out of the spotlight. It wasn't to say that it wasn't welcome, but to observe such fervent attention on something that wasn't their miraculous appearance was disconcerting, the first time ever on their journey that this had happened. People still talked to them, but only to hear their opinions on the case. Eventually it all grew rather exhaustion, and the group trooped back to the royal apartments.
"Agh, I'm beat. This whole thing's making me angry."
Lance's sentiment seemed to be shared by the entire group. Anger at the entire legal process, anger at the uppity nobles who carried such an immense disdain for the woman on trial, anger as all they could do was watch from the sidelines. Sprawled out in a living area on countless floor cushions, the team moped around.
"Yeah, it just sucks that we can't do much of anything." Hunk hugged a pillow to his chest, flopping onto his back on the floor. "Has anyone even seen Arden? Or Almira?"
Pidge sighed, removing her glasses to clean them. "I tried checking into Almira's location. It sounds like she's on house arrest, but no one's allowed to see her."
"Awwww." Rolling over onto his side, Hunk's expression turned wistful. "I wonder if she's okay."
"It's Almira, of course she's okay." Oddly certain of himself, Lance gestured wildly. "She's like, 'blam, my name's Almira and I'm so badass!"
Hunk seemed relatively unconvinced, rolling on the floor, squirming with boredom and anticipation. "Yeah, but isn't she up against a death penalty?" With his words, the joking and lighthearted tone of the conversation dropped, sending each individuals into their own worlds of despair.
Keith sat next to Shiro, arms crossed as he stared blankly into his own lap. Each time he thought of Almira, his mind vacillated between the time spent after that one sparring session, lounging on the back porch of her home while picking at snack and talking about everything, and that of the face she had worn during her interrogation. It had been the first time in days that anyone had seen her, her face pale, gaunt, and exhausted. She looked completely worn, not just from physical exhaustion but that of a weariness of her soul. His hands clenched at the memory; in that moment she had seemed completely resigned to her fate, unperturbed that a hundred wolves stared down at her face, ready to devour her for her self professed crime.
Her face was devoid of any emotion, any attacks that her interrogator had launched lost to her as she blankly replied. Gone was the attitude, the sarcasm, the wit and the light that the paladins had come to know over the past week. In its place was a prisoner, dressed in a white robe that only served to make her seem smaller and like a blank canvas, ready to accept whatever sentence was written across her surface. What had Keith the most upset was the look in her eyes when she had turned away from the box where she stood, leaving in order to return to her cell. They had only met for a moment, but he saw the guilt that followed recognition, shame forcing her to turn her head.
How could she give up so easily? After her confession, the nobles seemed all but ready to give the order. But then the general had stepped in and blurred the rigid lines that the true monsters had drawn. Eaghan had only pushed the balance further, tipping things into Almira's favor as the courthouse had been left in an uproar. But even when others fought so hard for her, why had she given up the fight?
A knock sounded at the door, drawing all of the inhabitants' attention. Sliding open slowly, the stoic face of Eaghan broke through, orange eyes surveying each member before resting on Allura's face. There was a fierce look on his expression, both seeking to root out any who dared oppose him while rallying his own forces.
"If you want to help Almira," he spoke quickly and quietly, "come with me now."
We dream of a brand new start
But we dream in the dark for the most part
Dark as a tomb where it happens
I've got to be in the room where it happens
.
The courtroom was packed to the gills. Beyond the doors, trailing down the steps of the courthouse, overflowing into the forest beyond, people stood waiting with baited breath. The entire crater tensed with apprehension, a storm ready to break upon the world.
Not a sounds from the stands inside. No one could remember such a time as this, when every person witness to the events of the courthouse waited so silently, unable to move a muscle for fear of breaking the spell. On the platform for the plaintiff, Lord Sal twitched nervously, hands wringing underneath his sleeves which covered all motion. Both Eaghan and Jin stood on the platform opposite, their gazes cool as they watched the judge enter his booth high above the courtroom floor. At the center of the circular room stood Almira, hands still shackled together, dressed in a white robe that all prisoners wore. Her hair was neatly pulled back into a bun, appearance much more put together than her first sighting two days prior. Golden eyes looked above warily, waiting.
The judge Lorenson Par sat down in his seat, chair squeaking in the silence. No one made a sound, dared to even breathe. Clearing his throat, he nodded for the recorders to begin the session.
"Order in the court." The phrase seemed silly, with all eyes on him and eagerly awaiting his words, the room dead silent. "May the gods and wisdom guide us as we go before them in the eyes of the law. Today, we end the trial of the nation of Fleogas against her highness, Captain Almira Eos." Shifting in his chair, he produced a single paper, peering over it to look down at the small girl below. "Do you have any last words, your highness?"
Almira breathed in slowly, steadily exhaling as she stared back unflinchingly. "None, your honor, save that I will honor the decision of the panel."
He nodded sensibly, accepting her words with graciousness before continuing to read from his paper. His voice echoed harshly around the space.
"You stand here, accused of the murder of the late King Khayin. Based on the proceedings here in the hall, the testimonies, and the evidence provided, the jury finds you guilty as charged."
Not a sound. The crowd waited with baited breath for the final decision.
"By the laws of Fleogas and the gods above, we sentence you to…"
A dramatic pause.
Almira lowered her head.
The crowd leaned forward.
"Exile from Fleogas!"
The world paused.
Then it erupted into chaos.
Almira's breath hitched the exact moment that a roar went up from the crowd. Laughter, cheers, whistling; why such a reaction? But as she looked around she saw the pristine uniforms of members of the military from every branch, clapping and raucously celebrating with one another. Most of the nobility that sat among the crowd had the smarts to restrain themselves, the few that expressed their anger quickly getting into spats with the others that celebrated. The gavel pounded away at the judge's seat, but the look on his face revealed his half heartedness, a grin on his lips as he finished his final remarks and motioned for the recorder to finish. Golden eyes met those in the crowd, cheering her on with gaudy smiles.
She had been sentenced to exile.
She was alive.
The cheer in the space was infectious, and even she found her lips quirking at the antics of everyone in the space. This only seemed to goad them on even further, another roar pulsing through the crowd. Even as she was whisked away by a contingent of armed guards, ushered along the more secluded and secret pathways of the crater back to her home, she could hear the roaring of the crowds echoing through the trees. Their shouts continued to make their way to her ears all the way to the royal apartments, where she finally found silence and solitude. But even as the noises faded away the smile fell from her face.
Exile. A wanderer without a home. Pain struck her heart, and she wanted to collapse from the revelation, but her feet continued to march on, carrying her away. Even as the crowd celebrated her escape from certain execution, she began to grieve.
She had spent nearly one hundred years on this world, and over half her life had been spent in dedication to the protection of her homeland. Fighting tooth and nail to rise to the top she had become an accomplished captain and assassin, as famous as her elder brothers, if not more. Her siblings had arguably become the most well known royals, entering the service from a young age and relying on their abilities to gain high positions instead of connections and word of mouth. Upon their family name they had built a legacy that everyone was certain would stand the test of time; now that Fleogas had been freed from the wicked hand of the Galra, they had only cemented their names even further into the foundations that would hold up an empire. Alastrine, Akil, Eaghan, Arden, and she had all done this, together.
Until this point Almira had been consumed with her duty. Everything she did was in the name of freedom, of hope for a future where they could breathe freely and soar the skies as their ancient ancestors once did. She had staked everything on a dream. Now that the dream had been realized, she found herself lost.
Sentenced to wander for the rest of her life, her connections to her people severed indefinitely. A traitor, a king killer, a villain. She had given everything for her homeland, and her reward was the severing of her identity and any ties she had to it. Escaping physical death she only lived to see the end of her identity as a princess, captain, and lover of her people.
She might as well have died on the steps of the throne room.
AN: Still can't believe that this story is coming to a close. I'm hoping to bring this story to a close by the time the next season of Voltron airs, but we'll see what happens. I'm still editing some things and decided how I want to wrap things up.
If you have a moment, please leave a review! Thanks, and ily all 3