The Diego Diaries: Verdict (dd8 639)
=0=Coroner's Court
"Two young mechs went to dinner at The Terracotta for personal reasons. It was there that they met a group of mechs who were over energized and looking for trouble," he began. "While there it was an unfortunate thing that anyone decided to take offense at a remark that wasn't directed their way, it is the catalyst for this outburst. Perhaps if the five mechs involved weren't over energized past the point of legal public intoxication they might have realized that and this wouldn't have happened.
"As it was, they took offense at a remark that wasn't directed at them and had nothing to do with their former caste status. An argument ensued with the two young mechs who according to witness accounts were making efforts to placate the situation. The five mechs weren't willing to disengage and at some point in the argument two of them pulled guns with the resulting gunfire. Template and Sims were by all accounts and an examination of video evidence not only the instigators but the sole source of the weapons used in this situation. I would like to make it clear that the two mechs they were arguing with, Coricol of Temple and Serial of Simfur were not carrying any kind of weapon.
"It was during this melee with two shooters in the larger group and two younger mechs trying to stave off being shot that the deaths occurred. Corso and Suvius were shot to death by the weapon wielded by Template. Template in the melee shot his own companions. As the melee continued Template held the gun that shot a round at Sims which rebounded back to him killing him instantly. That and other wounds would be the cause of death of Sims.
"As this was going on the young mechs were shot as well, sustaining very serious wounds that could have killed them as well.
"Hexagon who was aggressive in the fighting and chaos grabbed for Sims' gun which turned toward him in the struggle to shoot him dead. Sims who was mortally wounded as well succumbed from his own wounds. That left two mechs who were unarmed throughout the melee who were grievously wounded through what this court finds is no fault of their own."
It was ghastly silent a moment as everyone including family that had left but returned after Ratchet's testimony absorbed the facts.
"Five mechs died. Two almost did and the underlying cause was caste discord. Because someone who had impaired thinking misinterpreted a conversation that wasn't theirs to hear, five mechs are dead and two wounded. This was clearly a case of caste instigation. This was clearly a violation of the Primal Directive against The System of Exception and the verdict of the Convocation of the Will. If they'd heeded the rules regarding guns they might have ended this with a fight and jail time. As it is, they carried weapons in violation of the law and ended up dead.
"I would like to tell you that I am not victim blaming here. But its clear from a preponderance of the evidence that they had a majority hand in the outcome of this incident. It's the finding of this court that five mechs, Corso and Sims of Praxus, Template and Hexagon of Capital City and Suvius of Crystal City are deceased by misadventure involving heavy firearms. They were killed due to an argument that they instigated.
"The court finds that Template of Capital City, deceased himself, was the mech responsible for the shooting deaths of Corso, Sims and Suvius. In the fight he shot Sims with the resulting rebound of the round killing him by his own servo. Sims who was grievously wounded by the actions of Template also succumbed to his wounds. Finally, the remaining death, that of Hexagon was accomplished by Hexagon grabbing the gun held by Sims as he fell to the ground and in doing so pointed its muzzle toward himself where he thereupon shot himself dead."
Ratchet who was monitoring the crowd noted the levels of emotion that they held and the dark deep stillness of their reception of this information. He was chatting with Drift and Springer as he did giving them the heads up on whoever he felt might blow up and take everyone with them.
"The two young mechs were deeply wounded trying to save their own lives and nothing in witness reports or video surveillance indicates that their personal actions contributed to what happened. Five mechs who were over energized got into a fight with two strangers over something they misinterpreted and in their impaired condition managed to kill each other in a compact space utilizing heavy caliber weapons, all of which were illegal for them to carry. One survives such firepower at distance, not intimately close up like this melee.
"If any of them survived they would face a number of charges for their conduct. As it is, they're mourned and missed by those who loved them and by those of us who wish for peace and the successful acclimation into our ranks by all who come here. The two youngsters are not responsible for what happened but they have to live with their wounds and the burden of what happened for the rest of their lives.
"The five mechs who provoked the fight bear not only the highest price for what happened with the loss of their lives but also the burden of legal responsibility for the outcome. I'm going to label the deaths of Corso and Sims reckless homicide. I'm going to label the death of Template reckless homicide as well. I'm going to label the death of Hexagon reckless homicide by his own hand. Template and Hexagon though their own actions committed acts that killed themselves by grabbing guns in a fight and having them discharge, thereby taking their lives by their own servo.
"If Template had survived this fight he'd be facing murder charges of some degree for the deaths of Sims, Corso and Suvius. Hexagon and Template are responsible for their own deaths which were carried out by their own servo. Ordinarily that would be considered suicide but I'm holding that in abeyance per review by the Office of the Primes and the Officer of Oversight for death findings that might include problematic mental health, which drunkenness that leads to criminal actions includes. Instead, I will list the two as 'death by misadventure'.
"The two young mechs involved do not appear to have contributed to this event nor did they bring out weapons," Tarsil said. "They were victims of this attack and the Court finds them blameless."
A stir in the audience rose, then fell silent.
"I don't expect the families to be happy about this. No one is. But I'm required to make a finding based on a preponderance of the evidence and I have. This case is closed pending new evidence or witnesses. I'll be attaching cause of death to each individual's records. The Court is now in recess," he said, then stood. Gathering his equipment, he walked toward the audience to face the music.
That was when someone stood up to punch him in the face.
Moments later …
It was over almost before it began. Tarsil who was big and military bent with the punch which defused its power. He stepped back as the mech was pounced on, then taken outside into the corridor with his distraught family following.
Everyone else was in various stages of sitting, rising and standing. They stared at Tarsil, glanced around, then began to walk out with various states of emotional distress. The room cleared quickly as Ratchet followed.
The Watch outside with Springer and Drift were talking to the mech and his family, then stepped back to let them go. They hurried out together.
Ratchet paused beside them as they glanced at him. "Good call. Individuals do things when they're upset they wouldn't do when fine."
"That's the weirdest conclusion I ever personally heard," Springer said as the others nodded. "They had a circular firing squad going on."
"That's what happens when you don't think things through," Ratchet said. "I don't know what this is going to do to the whole situation but I don't think its going to be received well."
No one argued with him.
=0=At a doorway in Ops Center
"Rap, rap, rap."
Optimus looked up to note Prowl in the doorway. The winger walked in to take a seat. Optimus leaned back in his. "You look solemn."
"The Coroner's Court finally ended and he handed down a verdict. There were five death by misadventure findings with one of them killing three of them before himself. Apparently, the gunfire was in such close range, had such a high caliber and was a free-for-all grab-a-gun affair that they essentially shot themselves. The Coroner Tarsil would recommend negligent homicide charges against them if they survived. Then someone in the crowd punched his face. It was attended to but there's little consolation here for a lot of families and friends."
Prime nodded. "I did not expect there to be. The two youngsters?"
"They were judged the innocent and much wronged parties in all of this," Prowl replied. "I don't expect any of the more rigid individuals in this group of mechs to take this and let it go."
Prime nodded. "We can just hope that in the end everyone wants peace more than war."
"By the way, Starlet is getting a number of requests to meet with you about the tails. Some of the genitors and their kids are upset, especially the genitors who are being tailed. They want to air their grievances apparently."
"Good. Arrange it. I want to air mine as well," Prime said grimly as Prowl rose to go. "Keep me up on it, Prowl."
Prowl nodded, then left the room.
Prime watched him go, then leaned in to do the unending never ending work of Empire. "Grievances cut both directions," he said softly to himself.
=0=At a home
He walked behind his father watching what he did, mimicking him sometimes and laughing at others.
Drift watched Tell as he gathered up the baby's kit for the evening stay over at the office. "Which dollie do you want to sleep with, Tell?"
The baby ran for his room, rummaged in his several toy boxes to find what he wanted. He wanted two muppets and a Pooh Bear. He would get them.
=0=The Hourly News at 1300 joors
"Good afternoon. I'm Aleph with the news, sports and weather updates on the joor. The lead story at the moment are the findings of the Coroner's Court just concluded at the Courthouse in Autobot City regarding the deaths of five mechs and the grievous woundings of two others at the shootout at The Terracotta Restaurant in City 4, Crater District 13.
"The Colonial Coroner, Tarsil of Torus States concluded the hearing which lasted several joors with a finding. After examining the evidence and hearing eyewitness testimony along with forensics science and video analysis of the actual occurrence, he concluded that the two younger mechs, Coricol of Temple and Serial of Simfur had no part in the instigation of the altercation. He found them innocent of wrong doing in the matter.
"This event happened last week on the Terran calendar and involved an argument between five mechs who were together at a table nearly next to that of the two youngsters aforementioned. Apparently one of the five misinterpreted a comment in a conversation between the two youngsters which causes words between them. The words escalated, then guns were pulled and shots were fired. Five of the mechs in the first group were killed on the spot or arrived at the hospital after dying on route. The two other mechs, Coricol of Temple and Serial of Simfur survived grievous wounds.
"The Coroner's preliminary findings put Template of Capital City most at fault. Three of the mechs involved died from his gun in the resulting chaos. He also died from a ricochet shot fired from it himself. All of them were transported, though none survived. Tarsil fixes the method of death as 'death by misadventure'. He fixes Template of Capital City with three charges of negligent homicide.
"Tarsil also found there was ample grounds that this was caste incitement by the five and that two of the deceased violated a Prime Directive about non-essential personnel carrying firearms in public. The charges of negligent homicide, violation of a Primal Decree and caste incitement will not be filed against the deceased. A full report of the findings will be filed with the Office of the Primes and will be handled by Office Legal Director and Advisor Starlet of Stanix.
"Lord Optimus attended part of the inquest but had to leave to attend to other duties shortly afterward. As of now there are no statements issued from the families involved nor have interview requests been answered.
"We will keep you updated on this event and bring you up-to-date as well on the arsons that led to full martial law being imposed as a colonial safety measure. For those who are unclear, we've fallen back to modified martial law under which we've with since the beginning of this colony. It's the Prime's stated hope that when the threat of the Decepticons and Megatron in particular is over, he can and will lift martial law entirely. Until then, it remains in a modified condition as a safety measure against the possibility of further trouble from Megatron and his faction."
Aleph glanced directly at the camera. "And when that's over with a done, Megatron and his faction, what a happy orn that will be. In other news …"
=0=TBC 2-15-2023
ESL
slang for someone following another, especially law enforcement is 'tail', to be followed is to be 'tailed' and the following itself is called a 'tail'.