Chapter 80
The trial of Sunry Crawzer
The Leviathan
Malak was seated at his desk poring through personell reports trying to decide who was to replace Karath as High Admiral to his fleet. The door chime sounded and exactly three minutes later the door opened. The former flag captain to Karath entered the room and came to attention before his desk.
The woman was the sole surviving member of Karath's staff by dint of having been off ship at the time of Karath's death and as such had been spared from the escapees rush to the bridge and the subsequent purge by Malak himself. Having reviewed her performance and work he was satisfied that she was both competent and loyal. He had decided to reassign her to himself and up to now she has not disappointed him in the execution of her duties
"Captain." He finally acknowledged her presence
"Lord Malak, we received an update from the Manaan Embassy in regards to the fugitives." She reported
Malak placed his datapad down and gave her his full attention
"Proceed." He ordered
"They have landed on the planet and was shortly thereafter engaged in an altercation with factions unknown. Our assets have failed to determine the cause of said altercation. The main reason being that the sources they cultivated becoming unavailable. They have resurfaced in Ahto City and has intervened in a local matter of law." She reported
"And?" Malak asked
"That is all, my Lord. Some of them are due to address the local judicial body shortly, the ambassador is transmitting a live feed from the court building as we speak."
"Curious. Relay it to my quarters."
She tapped a few times on her datapad and Malak's rarely used holocom unit activated
Compared to the previous day the court was flooded with colour instead of the sea of silver and orange of the previous days. News of a murder trial had quickly spread and the available seats had been taken up by mostly reporters from various news agencies and their recording equipment and the few remaining seats had been taken up by the curious.
The area in front of the seating has also been changed with three tables and an additional podium having been placed. The shield covering the Adjudicators was up. Their forms barely visible behind the shimmering shield. A chair in the corner to the side of the bailiff station had a Sith officer seated
The shield dropped and the courttoom stilled. A girl dressed in Mandalorian armour stood up and bowed to the bench
Melissa came up from her to the bench and approached their designated podium
"With my upmost respect and apologies to the bench. I would like to have a few items adjudicated before the trial commences. All of these relates to evidence and burden of proof." She stated
"It is unusual but you may proceed." Adjudicator seven spoke
Melissa cleared her throat
"For the bench's record I am a human female sixteen years of age. I have no training in matters of law. One of the man concerns raised when I took on the duty of investigator was a matter of transparency and due diligence. With both the Republic and Sith Empire casting aspersions on it before the investigation was started."
Both officers moved uncomfortably at that statement
"I may not be trained in matters of law but I am force sensitive. And that brings us to a delicate point. Often in cases in republic courts the mere statement of Jedi is taken as irrefutable evidence. The force told me or the force said is taken as definitive statements of truth. But the problem has always been a lack of tangible proof. And in a case like this where deception is the norm how does one determine and prove it. I can easily question a witness and state they are telling the truth or being deceitful by their reactions in the force. But I do not believe that option is available to the bench." She stated
There was a slight hum of speculation and assent from the assembled press behind her
"The answer to that is simple human physiology. As Psychologists from all universities will attest all being have what is called tells when being deceitfull. And that can be recorded." Melissa continued
"Do you have proof of that?" Adjudicator three asked
Melissa forwarded a file to the server from her datapad
"Before we continue I step aside to let my fellow investigator explain."
She stepped back and Bastila stood up
"The file you have received is a transcript from data retrieved from a first contact drone by Dantooine of an unknown human off shoot. The data has been verified by the University of Coruscant. It is relevant to this case as the humans do not have access to the force as far we can determine, yet they have found ways to test physiological responses to determine if they are being deceived. It would be erroneous to say that their methods are foolproof as their technology levels are well below our own but it sparked the question can we not use their knowledge using superior technology. I call watch officer Gristak of the peacekeepers forward."
A door to the side opened and a Selkath peacekeepers officer stepped in followed by a hovertrolley. The officer moved to the witness chair and sat down.
"Officer Gristak, can you explain to the bench what is in the case by your side?" Bastila asked
The officer gave a warble as it cleared its throat
"The case contains twenty devices that had been assembled in my presence. The basis of the devices was sourced from diagnostic devices based on human physiology obtained from randomly selected representatives at the Medical symposium by randomly selected officer of the watch by the watch commanders."
"What do these devices do?" The fourth adjudicartor asked
"The devices monitor human Vital signs. After assembly by the investigators the devices were tested on humans attending the symposium as well as detainees from both the republic and Sith forces in detention. It records. As it was explained when being deceitfull there is a change in human vital signs." Gristak stated
"And do you believe this to be accurate?" The Adjudicator asked
"It was confirmed to be accurate by several of the senior medical personal attending the symposium and they have supplied statements of authenticity. Several were from different species to humans. The investigators were not present during the testing and could not interfere in the selection of participants. Investigator Wren insisted on this as to invalidate accusations of bias in the testing." Gristak continued
Bastila cleared her throat
"Officer gristak was the case sealed in your presence after the tests have been concluded and the devices and the statements placed inside?" Bastila asked
The officer pointed to the sealed case. The police seal evidently intact
"Can you please select five devices from the case."
The officer did so. Bastila nodded her thanks
"The bench will note that the devices are from different companies and was selected at random. We request their use during the trial. We add the qualifier that it has only been tested on humans. If the bench would like a demonstration one of us would volunteer for testing ourselves or perhaps a human member of the press."
Adjudicator two rapidly pointed to a human male and female
"You two. Will you be willing to assist the court."
The two stood up and nodded to the bench and stepped forward. The woman stepped into the recently vacated witness chair. Melissa picked up a device
"Mam, would you please remove your jacket?"She asked
Melissa placed several electrodes and sensorson the woman and synchronised the device to the court server. A series of numbers and graphs appeared in holograph form
"What the bench is looking at is normal Vital signs for a human. Namely Blood pressure, pulse rate, cardiac rhythm and respiratory rate. When being deceitful changes will be observable, this also true if there is significant emotional changes like embarresment. A baseline is created by asking several test questions. Miss I am about to ask you several questions just answer yes and no for know." Melissa explained
The woman nodded
"Are you a reporter?"
"Yes."
"Is your eye colour blue?"
"Yes."
"Did you eat breakfast?"
"No."
Melissa pointed to the graphs
"The graphs stayed the same and the subject answered thruthfully. I will now expand to more complex answers and try to simulate what I can feel is a lie and I urge the subject to try and lie. I believe this may be the first time a reporter is given permission to make up a story."
A small ripple of laughter followed
"Miss please state your name?"
"Bree Larson"
"Are you wearing underwear?"
"No."
The graphs changed.
"As the bench can see the reporter was dishonest and there was an immediate change. Even with more complex answers the device will pick up the changes." Melissa explained
The test was repeated with the second reporter. The shield went up as the adjudicators conferred
"The bench will allow the device to be used."
Melissa pulled her gloves of and showed her fingertips to the bench
"Another peculiarity of human beings is the patterns on the tips of our fingers. Each is unique to that human as is our DNA. As the bench can see mine is discoloured by ink. This was done so that the peacekeepers could record it on flimsy. All of the investigators and the observer had this done to us, this was also done to randomly selected detainees. The results were scanned into the peacekeeper server. I call technician Araga to the chair."
The technician sat down and Terri stepped up
"Thank you for your time technician. What did your analysis of these imprints tell you?" She asked
"Both I and the system concluded that the imprints were unique to the individual it was taken from, though it was only tested on humans."
"Thank you technician, We request the bench to admit this as admissible as well."
"Agreed."
"Then we are ready to proceed to trial." Terri stated
Jedi Council chambers Coruscant
Kavar was rubbing his chin in thought as the council was monitering the transmission from the republic embassy
"They are leading up to something but I can not see what." He said
"They are going to great lengths to point out that deceit can be detected without force use, though the imprint thing is really baffling me." Zess Kai Ell said
He turned to Atris who was trying to speed read from her datapad
"Have you found a clue as to what they are up to?" He asked
"I will if I am not constantly interrupted." Atris snapped
The accused was placed in aforce cage and the court stilled again.
"You may present your case." Adjudicator one said
Melissa stood up
"After carefull investigation I conclude that the accused Sunry Crawzer is guilty of killing the deceased Ilari Hari."
There was a moment of complete silence before bedlam erupted. The officers were on their feet and tried to shout over the other. The reporters were rapidly speaking into their devices adding to the noise. The Bailif pressed a button on his console and a wail overwhelmed the noise. Silence returned to the court. Adjudicator three spoke
"Could the investigator please repeat her statement." He demanded
"After careful investigation I conclude that the accused Sunry Crawzer is guilty of killing the deceased Ilari Hari." Melissa repeated firmly and carefully
Two domes sprung up around the officers as they jumped up to object again, their efforts silenced by the domes. The domes were dropped the moment they sat down
"The representatives for the Republic and The Sith Empire will be given opportunity to make their own statements and question witnesses later. For now the investigator will lay out her case."
Melissa nodded to the bench
"Can the peacekeepers bring in the evidence." She requested
"Do so" An adjudicator spoke
Two hover trolleys were brought in. A datapad was pointed to the court server and several files were uploaded.
"Is that all the evidence gathered?" Adjudicator five asked
"Yes. Adjudicator." Gristak replied
Melissa took her place at the podium again
"This is the facts we verified from the records and security recordings of the Hotel Manaan Excelsior. The deceased was a frequent visitor to the hotel as was the accused and was a frequent user of the room. We have records of several visits at the same time and few where the deceased was alone in the room. At the date of her death she arrived at the Hotel at nineteen hundred hours and was seen at the hotel dining room in the presence of another human male. The accused was seen at the hotel at this time and he was seen leaving the vicinity of the dining room shortly after his arrival."
Melissa continued
"The deceased and her companion relocated to her room. The male companion left the room at twenty one hours thirty. This was confirmed by the time stamp of the security monitor at the hallway. Footage showed the deceased was alive at that time as she accompanied her companion to the door and can be seen by the monitor. The male companion was tracked leaving the hotel. He was picked up by ground transportation. Records from the company showed movement from the hotel to the departure lounge of a commercial liner company with no interruption but unfortunately no visual footage. Footage at the entrance showed the companion stepping from the transport. Time to the front door of the facility and the hotel was an exact match on a duplicate run from the hotel to the commercial liner company. The companion was under surveillance from twenty one hundred forty five till embarking on the liner at twenty two hundred thirty."
Melissa helped herself to some water
"Concurrently security footage outside showed the accused waiting outside the hotel since stepping from the hotel. He re enterred the premises at Twenty one hundred forty, minutes after the male companion was seen departing. Security scanners at the door picked up the presence of a weapon on the person of the accused. A call was logged to the security desk from an adjacent room complaining of a loud verbal altercation. Shortly after the call was logged sensor record indicated that the rooms tachyon detector was disabled. The accused was observed movin away from the room. A security check to the room led to the discovery of the deceased. These are all the easily verifiable facts of the case. I open my statement for contestation." She finished
The Sith officer was up first
"The Sith Empire does not dispute the stated facts and congratulate the investigator on a thorough briefing so far."
He sat down and the Republic officer stood up
"Have you met the accused before your investigation?" He asked
"No I have not." Melissa replied
"Then how can you state with certainty that the person in that footage is the accused?"
Melissa pulled up several files and ran them simultaneously
"On the left is footage from the hotel and on the right is footage from the accused residence. As you will note both individuals show a distinctive gait. The footage have been verified as authentic by the peacekeepers and they were present at the time of collection at both sites obviously the residential footage was done at a later time. Facial recognition software and behavioural software have given a ninety seven percent match to that of the accused." Melissa answered.
The officer sat down frowning, his opponent shooting him a gloating smirk. Melissa turned to face the Republic officer fully.
"Do you any further questions or do you wish to contest the pints submitted?" She asked
"The republic does not contest the stated facts or pose any further questions." He ground out
Melissa tapped the terminal and produced the coroners report
"The next document is relatively straightforward. Time of death between twenty two hundred hours and twenty two hundred and three. Cause of death. Blaster wound to the posterior thorax at close range. Coroners report also found DNA traces not belonging to the deceased nor the accused in the deceased. This indicated that the deceased had carnal relations prior to her death."
She shot a look at the officers, both made no movement.
"This brings us to the more contentious evidence. Will D'Kar Freeu step forward"
The door opened and a green Rodian stepped nervously into the room and took a seat. Melissa gave him a friendly smile
"Good morning Sentient D'Kar Freeu. We thank you for your time."
The Rodian nodded a few times
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions for the bench?"
"No."
Melissa pointed to the force cage
"Have you seen this human before?" she asked
"D'Kar saw human in turbolift on way to room from hotel lobby and later when human left room to turbolift when D'Kar in passage of hotel floor."
"Would you say you can easily identify humans?"
"D'Kar would say no."
"And this human what made him so different?"
"D'Kar saw him walk different from other humans even when he is rushing, walk is different."
"D'Kar. Do you normaly stay in expensive hotels?"
"No. D'Kar normal labourer. D'Kar win prize in competition for holiday. D'Kar liked luxury room but worried now. D'Kar supposed to return to work days ago but D'Kar forced to stay."
"Thank you. D'Kar. The investigator has no further questions for the witness."
The republic officer stood up
"What were you in the passage when you said the accused left the room."
"D'Kar collecting ice from machine, water in room expensive, ice is free. D'Kar always thirsty on Manaan."
The officer sat down and the Sith Officer made no movement to interrogate the witness. Melissa stood up
"The investigator has no questions at this time but reserves the right to recall the witness. We call Dax Shepherd as the next witness."
A human male was seated next. He was older with greying hair at the tips, dressed in a sheer and glittering suit
"Mr Shepherd would you consent to wearing a monitering device during your interview?" Melissa asked
"I have no problem wearing whatever you want little lady." He replied smarmily
"Mr Shepherd, you are in a court of law. Decorum please. I repeat my question will you consent to the monitor?" Melissa said sharply
"Yes." He replied sulkily
The monitor was applied and Melissa pulled up a document
"This document was supplied by Manaan immigration buro and will be used to establish a base line. Mr Shepherd what is your home planet and city?"
"Coronet City on the planet Correlia"
"What is your profession?"
"I am a card player. Sabac and Pazaak mainly."
"And would you say you are a succesfull player?"
"As you can see, yes."
Melissa looked to the readings
"We have a baseline. Mister Shepherd where were you four nights ago at the time frame between nineteen hundred hours and Twenty three hundred hours."
"My room resting before a late night game." He replied
"And would you say it was an uninterrupted rest, no noises to disturb you?"
"No the room next to me got a bit loud. One would expect better soundproofing for a room at that price." He replied
"And how would you describe the noise?"
"The girl was being karked hard, she had quite a set of lungs on her."
"I am sure it was distressing, was that the only noise you heard from that room?" Meliss replied blandly
"No I later heard her scream at someone to get out."
"What did you do?"
"I contacted the security desk and informed them of the noise."
"Why the screaming and not the previous noise you were forced to listen to?"
"The girl sounded angry and later afraid. The previous noise was rather stimulating." He replied
"You had no objection to the previous noise?"
"Sure did not." He grinned lecherously
"After calling the security office did you hear any other noise from the adjacent room?"
"I heard a muted blaster shot."
"How did you know it was a blaster shot?"
"As a gambler you hear that noise often if you play in let us say the less legal establishments. You learn to recognise it and get out."
Melissa pointed to the force cage
"Have you seen this man before?"
"I can not say I have." Shepherd shrugged
"Investigator has no further questions at this time." Melissa concluded
The two officers declined to question
"I call security officer Arax Bendin." Melissa requested
The Shistavanin female entered the room and sat down. Melissa nodded to the lupine being carefull not to show teeth
"Officer Bendin, can you state your occupation for the record?"
"I am the senior security officer for the reaction unit for hotel security." She replied
"Walk us through the event." Melissa invited
"I was on duty in the ready room when control gave instructions to investigate a room on the executive level for a noise complaint. My unit was accompanied by technicians as the tachyon detector went of line in the same unit."
"What is the function of a tachyon detector?" Melissa asked
"It reports the firing of plasma and laser based munitions in its sensor range."
"Has these detectors failed before?"
"No and they are serviced every three months. If one went down it was because it was disabled. The technician concurred to that."
"Would you be able to disable one?" Melissa continued
"No. you would need to know how they work or be comfortable with electrical systems."
"On reaching the room, what did you find?"
"The door was closed and there was no response to coming the room."
"Was there anything that made you suspicious?" Melissa asked
The shistavanin hesitated before speaking
"I smelled tibana and charring." She replied
"And what caused you to order the room to be opened, was it because of what you smelled?"
"No, I ordered the room to be opened on the basis that there was no response to a noise complaint and a security device going inoperable."
"One last question, you said you smelled charring and Tibana. Have you had lot of experience with that and if so where."
"My homeworld during the Mandalorian war, I was on the front line when Shistavana was invaded."
"Sorry for bringing up unpleasant memories. The investigator has no further questions for now."
The republic officer stood up
"Miss Bendin you said you smelled Tibana and charring. This was through a closed door, how accurate would you say your smell is."
"It is officer Bendin. That is my rank, use it. My race is one of hynters and warriors I can track a smell through a thunderstorm." She growled
Melissa stood up
"So sorry, I forgot to ask. When you opened the room what did you find?"
The Republic officer shot Melissa a scathing look, realising he had been set up to try and discredit the witness
"We found the deceased prone on the floor. The technician checked for signs of life and found none. Control was contacted and we left the room and sealed the door pending arrival of the peacekeepers. We were recalled to the ready room to await further instructions."
"Thank you now I have no further questions."
Melissa sat down. The Sith officer stood up
"Officer Brendin I have no questions. I apologise for the insult you suffered at the hands of the Republic. It is a shame how they treat Allied species."
Melissa stood up and addressed the bench
"I call officer Raatik to the witness chair."
A selkath male made his way in
"Thank you officer, hopefully this will not take long. Where you the first peacekeeper on site of the incident?"
"I was."
"Were you alone at the time?"
"I was. I arrived on scene and was taken to the room by a security agent. Opening the seal on the door I found a dead human female and contacted the Watch officer before closing the door."
"Did you reseal the door?" Melissa asked
"No once the seal has been broken it could not be replaced."
"Did you leave the room unattended?"
"No, I stayed by the room till relieved by the detection division."
"Thank you officer I have no more questions."
The officers declined to question the patrol officer. Next Melissa called the detective in scene and walked him through his investigation
"Detective Masar did you leave the crime scene at any time?" Melissa asked
"I was called away to the lobby to attend to the representative for the Sith Embassy as they had been contacted after finding the deceased identification. This was under orders from the commissioner of the peacekeepers. On arrival I was forced to await his arrival"
"Was the crime scene technicians already on scene?"
"No they had been delayed."
"So the scene was left unattended?" Melissa asked insistently
"It was."
"And the order from the commissioner was it verbal or electronic?"
"Electronic. The message was read into the evidence."
"And you can say for certain it was from the commissioner?"
"As certain as I can be."
"And how long was the scene unattended?"
"Thirty minutes."
"Thank you detective. I have no questions further"
The officers looked tense after Melissa's last question. They declined to cross examine. Melissa turned to the bench
"And this is where the scene was contaminated by both the Republic and the Sith. The commissioner never issued the order to vacate the scene. Internal affairs of the peacekeepers have found evidence of a slice on the hardline to the commissioners residence. Two separate credit transactions was made to the registered accounts of one Dax Shepherd and one D'kar Freeu. It was detected by the fiscal monitering system of the hotel. It is a hidden system to prevent the hotel fro being defrauded. Similar to a system that monitors holocom calls. It only records activity but no numbers. The transactions originated from east and West Ahto City. The numbers were blocked under a diplomatic code."
Melissa pulled up the report and displayed it. Both officers looked ashen.
Melissa gave a smile that reminded the Selkath of a firaxan shark
" I call Sunry Crawzer to the witness chair and request that a monitor be attached irregardless of permission granted."
"I object! The accused is a member of good standing in the Republic why should he be forced to wear a monitor when a gambler was given the option to decline." The republic officer shouted
Melissa looked to the bench
"The accused may be in good standing to the Republic. I have full reason to believe the accused will be deceitfull and I wish to prove it to the bench. If he is truly innocent the monitor will not detect deception. Monitor or I no I believe, no, I know I can prove that the accused is guilty of killing the deceased and provide motive for the deed." She said without flinching
"If the Republic is so certain he is innocent why object. Or does the Republic not truly believe their man." The Sith officer spoke up
"The bench will allow the monitor. Investigator be certain you can substantiate your claims or the bench will not be amused." And Adjudicator warned
Sunry was placed in the chair and the monitor applied. Two Peacekeepers took position behind his chair. Melissa ignored the man while reading from her datapad for several minutes. She put the datapad down and placed her helmet onto her head. When she spoke her voice had a metallic flange
"Mister Crawzer, do you know why you are here?" She asked
"I have been falsely accused of murder. And that is Petty officer Crawzer."
"I am sorry, I did not know you were under an active commission. You are married, have been for twenty years, no children." Melissa stated
"That is correct."
You served the Republic fleet till the conclusion of the Mandalorian war. I see that you served on The Mauler, Correlia's Luck, The Chancellor Vlasden. A real interesting career."
She looked at the datapad
"Sorry I forgot the Reliant as well, a real prestigious posting. Serving on the first ship of the fleet. Really impressive."
"It was a good posting."
"Then you were injured and given an honourable discharge and full pension. Now I am sorry to have to ask this. How can you afford to stay on Manaan. A republic pension should not cover all that expense." Melissa asked
"I was reactivated and served as a liason to the republic."
"And you are breaking no confidences by speaking of this?"
"No, I have been given clearance to divulge the details of this case
"And I am guessing that was how you met the deceased?"
"True, I surveiled the Embassy and noticed that at a specific time each day she would leave the embassy and go to a specific bench in the same park. I believed she was a Sith asset."
"And you were ordered to approach her."
"That is correct."
"The purpose of the approach being what?"
"To gain intelligence from within the Sith embassy."
"What position did she hold?"
"She claimed to be a secretary in the cultural department. That is the usual cover for a Sith spy."
"And the Sith employ no secretaries"?" Melissa asked confused
"In my experience, no."
"Experience? What were you in the fleet apart from holding the rank of petty officer?"
"An electrical system technician."
"Not intelligence?"
"I only started serving in intelligence after being reactivated."
It must be wonderful to be so sought after for your skills. In your opinion would you say the deceased was a spy?"
"At first, yes. Then I realised she was more, A full Sith."
"How did you know that?"
"I saw her lightsaber."
Melissa walked to the evidence and lifted the evidence bag containing the lightsaber, her hand on the hilt while it was till in the bag
"Is this the same lightsaber that you saw?" She asked
"Yes."
"Is there anything distinctive about it you can remember?"
"No it was pretty much a standard black hilt."
"Were you at the Manaan Exelsior four night ago?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
" To try and fully turn her to the republic. I went to her room and found that she was already dead. I left the hotel immediately and contacted the embassy to report in."
"And then you were arrested by the peacekeepers at your residence?"
"That is correct?"
"How does your wife react to your dangerous occupation? Being a counter agent is very dangerous, I would assume, and let us be honest you are no longer a young man and you were seriously injured in the line of duty before."
"She is supportive. To an amazing degree." Sunry replied
Melissa lifted up the blaster
"Can you identify this weapon?" She asked
"It is my service pistol, it was issued to me on becoming a petty officer."
"When did you last fire it?"
"It has been some time. I do service it regularly."
"To get back to the deceased what was her eye colour."
"Green, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Do you truly believe she was a full Sith. And sir, I implore you to be honest."
"Yes!" Sunry snarled
Melissa placed her hands on the podium
"Will you please stop lying to the court. It is becoming as tedious as it is embarrising. So far nearly a third to half of what you said was a lie. You found her dead in the room. Did you by any chance see an one armed Devaronian running down the hallway holding a smoking blaster, that at least sounds more plausible than I found her dead."
"That is the truth!"
"Calm down, sir. Getting this excited can not be good for your health. All I want is the truth."
"That is the truth, you little…" Sunry trailed of
"Please finish that statement." Melissa said coldly
Sunry refused to speak.
"Mister Crawzer, continue what you were saying." Melissa demanded
" I was going to say insolent brat." Sury ground out
"Another lie. Shall we try again?" Melissa snapped
"Damn you, Mandalorian whore."
Melissa took her helmet of.
"And there we have the true Sunry Crawzer. A bitter old man with delusions of importance. Tell Me petty officer what do you think that monitor does?"
"Reads my vital signs." Sunry snapped
"That it does and more. Everytime you lie, your vital signs change. When I read out your married status, you were telling the truth, when I gave an abbreviated record of your service you told the truth, then you gave me the baseline of when you lie. You never served on the reliant, but with a little flattery you decided to go with a lie and confirm it and your vitals signs changed significantly. Let us talk of another lie."
Melissa lifted the pistol again
"You said you were issued this on becoming a petty officer. Do you hold to that statement?"
"I do."
"Then how do you explain being issued a weapon in direct contravention to fleet regulations. As per fleet regulations the only personal allowed to carry arms is the command staff, the officer of the watch on the bridge and the officers of the watch in the tactical rooms. The chief petty officer may be armed at the discretion of the captain and the shore police carry stun weapons and may only revert to live ammunition by order of the captain in the event of mutiny. The only time arms and ammunition is to issued to those not listed before is during evacuation of the ship in a hostile area or in case of imminent boarding of the ship."
Sunry looked shocked at having fleet regulations quoted to him.
"Moving on. You said you recognised the lightsaber and that it had a black hilt only."
Melissa lifted the evidence bag, this time the hilt was clearly shown, silver and gold adornment ran along the hilt.
"Shall I also tell you were you messed up in regards to the lightsaber?"
Melissa turned to the bench
"I ask permission to activate this weapon." She stated
"You may proceed."
The blade opened up and a red beam thrummed. Melissa shut it down and activated her own.
"Notice the difference in pitch between the blades."I will get back to that shortly."
She opened up the red lightsaber and removed two components. She lifted one up for all to see.
"Can you identify this component, as an electrical technician that should be easy."
"A power cell."
"That is true. A twenty five year old power cell. You see this power cell type was discontinued twenty five years ago after it was found to be substandard. The company that made these were liquidated by order of the senate after it was found to be price gouging the republic as the sole producer for lightsaber power cells at that time. The corporate guild did not object to the liquidation as the company was also not paying its due to the guild claiming no income from the product. It does not fully charge, ever. That is why there is a different in pitch between the two sabers. More importantly the battery had a tendency of dying when the blade was on for a prolonged period. Not something you want in a weapon."
Melissa dropped the cell
"Something you would not use if you are an active Sith. The second thing."
She lifted the red crystal
"This crystal is inert."
She opened her lightsaber and produced her glowing crystals
"An active crystal will glow."
She replaced her crystals and looked to the now sweating man
"The place you really screwed up, was with her eyes. You see to become full Sith you immerse yourself in the dark side and it leaves it mark on you. All full Sith that have embraced the dark have their eyes turning yellow."
Melissa opened another document
"As more proof that she was not Sith, I present the blood test done on her autopsy. She had a low midichlorian count. How is this relevant? Even on death an active force user has a high midichlorian count."
Melissa finally lifted a datapad in an evidence bag
"And now for the motive. Like a lot of young women. Ilara kept a journal. It was found in her personal effects in the room in which she was killed. I will now read several entries and by this provide the motive for her death."
Melissa opened the relevant file
"Dear journal. I am finally of Teldera and have a job of world. Sure Manaan is not the most glorious of posting but I like it here. The job is fascinating and I get to see the works of real artists, it is a running joke in the embassy that since I work in cultural affairs I must be a spy. Me, a farm girl, a spy."
Melissa looked at Sunry
"Moving a week along. " I met an old man in the park today, I have seen him in the park before, I had thought that he had been watching me and I was right. He said I reminded him of his daughter, she died over Taris, not on our side obviously. The poor man looked so hurt, I see he struggles to move at times like dads friend who got hurt in the last war. Should I report this to the security officer? I do not think he is capable of causing me harm…"
Melissa skipped several entries before moving to the next one she marked
"I met Sunry for the first time in the hotel today. I am unsure if this is a good idea. He said the intelligence officers might object to me meeting him. I have said it before I consider him harmless, all he wants is to connect to someone, he says he wife barely speaks since their daughter died. I feel sorry for him."
Melissa gripped the podium tighter as she came to the next relevant entry
"I made a mistake. I met Sunry again. He said it was his daughters birthday. He had a bottle of wine. He said it was her favourite. I think I had a drink. I woke up in bed with him, mypelvis hurts. He said it was the best sex he ever had. I can not recall having sex. The bottle is still nearly full. I did not get drunk. Why can I not remember?!" I told him I can not see him again!"
Melissa exhaled and continued
"I am scared. Crawzer has been following me to my residence. I am lucky I am sharing with friends. He left messages on my personal comlink, he said if he could not have me no one will. I want to take it to security but I am scared I will lose my job. What do I do?"
Melissa looked at the bench
"I know this is sickening to hear but we are nearly there. "I met Anders today he is visiting from Teldera, I love his work. For such a brilliant artist he is such a shy and humble man. He asked me out to dinner. ME!"
Melissa closed her eyes for a moment
"The final entries "Anders is returning home tonight, I decided to give him a last good meal and a special gift. Me. I do not want to be reminded of Crawzer any longer. I want to feel special. I may not love Anders but I feel he could make my real first time special."
"And finally "I was right it was special. I know it is unlikely I will see Anders again, but I am happy that I took the step. I feel free. Crawzer commed me again, crying. I told him to come up. I will finally get him out of my life."
Melissa closed the file
"That was her last entry. She was shot in the back ten minutes after the last input."
Melissa looked at the bench
"This was not about the Sith and the republic. This was about a man obsessed with a younger woman. He preyed on her, raped her and when she broke free he decided that she had to die. As final evidence I present a spectrograph analysis. Contrary to popular belief a blaster can be tracked by the signature of its tibana emission on being fired. The tibana traces on Ilara's dress and the clothing confiscated from Crawzer match that to the blaster that was confiscated."
Melissa looked weary as she addressed the bench
"It is my belief that the lightsaber and the medal was planted as the detective was lured away from the crimescene. And yes the medal is a plant as well as fake medal. It is made from the wrong material. As to why the trouble was made to implicate an innocent girl in this. I believe Crawzer contacted his handler and claimed she tried to kill him and that this was a perfect opportunity to implicate the Sith. We have obtained footage from the security cameras at a public com centre placing Crawzer there minutes after leaving the hotel. The number called was the republic Embassy. The lightsaber was planted by either of the two witnesses that received a payoff and the medal by the other. I belief the medal was planted in a counter attempt to frame the republic. The deceased's DNA and finger imprints were not found on either the lightsaber or the medal. She never touched either. I rest my case."
The Jedi Temple. Coruscant
"What is that girl doing?! The Sith can not be allowed to win!" Vrook demanded
He was up on his feet and glaring at the image being relayed
"She is doing what is right." Lonna Vash spoke softly
She rarely spoke but when she did she was listened to. She fixed Vrook with a calm gaze
"As Jedi we have to serve justice. Not political or ideological beliefs. The force led her to find the evidence to prove a girl has been murdered. Should she ignore the will of the force to let a murderer and rapist walk free to advance an Agenda."
"Defeating the Sith will be for the greater good of all." Atris spoke up
Vash nodded to her
"It will be. But forgetting one is part of the many will not do. Do we not teach that through one deed great change can be affected. This mindset led to Revan's fall. She started out to protect and serve, but the more she rationalized the concept of the greater good of the many the further she stepped from what she said out to do. At some point the concept of the greater good leads to the idea that the many needs to be led by the few for their own good and those that do not agree to this must be destroyed for the good of all. And then your journey to the dark is complete."