Scientific Method.
Chapter Four.
Sentence.
A/N: a short one, I'm afraid, but it seemed a good place to end the chapter.
As Barricade lifted him, Sam heard Starscream speak, his voice whip-sharp.
"Barricade! You may be Trial Leader and Master of the Court, but you will obey the rules of this court and right now you are what in English would translate as 'in contempt'! Before you remind me that this is not a human court, I remind you that on Cybertron rushing a trial, and not allowing evidence to be submitted, is illegal under our rules too, and any conviction from an illegal court is null and void! Do you want him to walk free?"
"You have given your evidence and, taking the human lifespan into account, I have rejected your assertion of leniency due to his age. Do the others concur?" The other mechs present nodded, obviously all happy with Barricade's refutation of Starscream's defence of Sam. "He may be a sparkling by our standards, but not by his!" Barricade said, not releasing his hold on Sam, and grabbing his arm, in preparation, Sam guessed, to tear it off. Despite his fear, a possible argument sprang to mind.
"Actually Sirs, I'm not an adult by American standards either," he said. "What?" said Barricade, momentarily surprised, something Sam took full advantage of.
"According to the laws of my country, Sir, I am not yet old enough to drink alcohol, or vote for whom I wish to run the country," he explained. "Full adulthood in this country is only attained when I turn twenty-one. I still have three years until I reach that age. That's three full orbits of our planet around our primary," he added, aware that a human year might not be understood as a time unit by non-humans without a frame of reference.
"Well, there you are, Barricade, the human is not an adult by either our standards or by his. Sub-adult or older youngling, perhaps, but not an adult," Starscream said. "You have a point, Starscream, but he did kill Megatron," one of the other mechs, the mono-optic he thought was called Swindle, said. "Do you suggest we simply let him go?" "Not at all, Swindle," Starscream stated. "Even on Cybertron older younglings can and were convicted of crimes. What I suggest is not to let him go, but adjust his sentence to reflect his age." "So, what would your suggestion be?" another mech whose name Sam did not know asked.
Starscream did not reply straight away, instead walking around until he was directly in front of Barricade, his greater height making him loom over and look down at the black and white frontliner. His voice was amiable, but Sam had no doubt that Starscream was trying to intimidate the smaller mech.
"As sentence has not yet been decided, due to the new evidence that even you cannot refute, may I suggest you put the prisoner down, Trial Leader?" the Seeker asked silkily. Barricade glanced down at Sam, as if only just remembering that he still had hold of the boy, and then deposited him roughly on the ground, stepping back with a growl of displeasure.
"Dropkick asked you a question," Barricade said, glowering at the Seeker. "What would you call an acceptable sentence for a sub-adult who has been found guilty of murder?" "It's not even murder, you heard his testimony yourself, Master of the Court. He did not know what the Cube would do to Megatron, we were all agreed on that," Starscream corrected. "None of us could know, as he said, the Cube could have merged with Megatron making him all-powerful. Unintentional killing, yes, but not murder."
"Then you suggest an appropriate sentence," Barricade said. Starscream inclined his head, stepping back from Barricade. "Trial Leader and Master of the Court, I suggest that due to his young age, the sentence of slow and painful death be reduced to incarceration on this Base for the remainder of his life."
oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo
Sam fell as reaction kicked in, his immediate destruction averted by a very welcome technicality. "May I suggest a modification that would take into account his youngling status but would satisfy those of us who feel you have been unduly lenient?" Barricade continued. "You may," Starscream allowed. "We could merely alter the timing of his punishment, allow him to become an adult and then carry out sentence," Barricade suggested.
"If it was a clear-cut case of murder, Barricade, I would be in agreement, but I believe we have already established that Sam's intention was not to kill Megatron as he did not know what would happen," Starscream reminded the black and white frontliner. "However, should new evidence be obtained, a retrial could be held when he is of adult age and if the evidence suggests harsher punishment, than he can be resentenced." "It just seems to me that simple incarceration is not a harsh enough penalty, even for unintentional killing." Barricade protested. "Nobody said that it had to be pleasant for him," Starscream said. "There are several things that can make a human life unpleasant without causing him physical harm, as it happens I am working on an energy weapon that will cause pain without causing damage. How about I use him as my test subject?"
Sam looked up in alarm as he realised the discussion had just made things potentially worse for him. He shivered as Barricade nodded slowly, turning a cruel grin upon him. "That could just be an acceptable compromise. After all, I assume there are various methods that could be tried, not just energy weapons. Chemicals, irritants, the effects of different sonic frequencies could all be tried on him to ascertain their effects on humans." Sam couldn't understand the words as the other mechs muttered, but the tone was one of assent.
"Then that is agreed then," Starscream said. He looked at Barricade, who then turned to address Sam. "Samuel James Witwicky, this court has decided that for the rest of your existence you will remain our prisoner here. In addition, you will be used as a test subject for any experiment that Starscream, or any other scientist or medic, deems necessary."
"Well, now that that's settled, I will need to get on with my work," Starscream said, turning to Barricade. "Take him back to his cell, he can remain there until I have need of him."