Author's Note

The 'Galactic Federation' is not to be confused with 'The Federation'. They are separate.
This series is set in the 2003 universe and after the events of Season 3 Episode 23 but before episode 24 onwards. Because of this it's mostly Canon-Divergent but still carries canon elements along through it that may differ in certain ways.

CHAPTER ONE

THE TRIAL

It was another casual day in the sewers of New York City. The sound of footsteps hitting hard against the pavement echoed through the underground tunnels, having lost their volume as they eventually reached the lair that gave solitude to a group of unlikely fighters for justice. Having not long finished a training session with their Master, the four turtle brothers had separated themselves around the base; each cooling off by engaging in personal activities. Leonardo perched himself on one of the higher level beams, soothing himself with deep meditation. There was a definite testament to Master Splinter's training, as not even the piercing sounds of Michelangelo screaming at his video games or the repetitive pounding of Raphael slamming his fists into a battered punching bag could penetrate the placid aura surrounding the level-headed leader. Donatello sat not too far from his button-mashing brother, reading a tattered magazine he had managed to scrounge off the streets above. It may have been an out of date issue, but it was certainly a refreshing read on the world of robotics and recent endeavours in the world of technology – there was always something to be learned, whether it was a new discovery or an old one.

Klunk, their not long adopted stray cat, trotted innocently up to Michelangelo's feet and brushed his scruffy ginger coat against the turtle's legs. Mikey let out a chuckle as he took a free hand off his control-pad to lift the small critter onto his lap.

"Do you want to play too, Klunk? Huh?"

The small cat let out a meek mew in response. Donatello lowered his Technology Weekly onto his lap as he turned his head to look at the pair.

"Please don't make the cat play the console, Mikey."

"Aww, why not? It's just a li'l fun! Right Klunk?" Michelangelo cooed as he stroked under Klunk's fuzzy chin, causing the animal to purr contently.

Don shook his head before going back to his article.

"I meant, he'll ruin the controller with his claws." He turned a page. "That and I'm pretty sure animals aren't too fond of being held up to game consoles against their will. Cats are pretty dominant creatures, y'know."

Mikey's lips turned into a pout.

"Sorry, Klunk. It's probably just as well- I don't think Raph would want all of his high scores to get beaten by a cat."

"What was that?" Raphael growled as he threw another harsh blow at his exhausted punching bag.

The joker turtle grinned and tipped his head back to view his hot-tempered brother over the back of the sofa.

"You heard me, noob! Klunk could knock all your scores clean off the game!"

Raphael shifted his raised fist to point at Mikey from across the room.

"You better watch your mouth there, Mikey."

Donatello sighed as he lowered his paper once again. It was evident the peace was soon to be broken and he would be unable to concentrate on his indulgence much longer. Raph marched over to the sofa as his brother continued to taunt him, soon bringing him into a headlock and forcing Klunk to swiftly hop off his comfortable spot and hide by the leg of Don's seat.

As the two turtles began to wrestle, the noise of two doors sliding open were drowned out by the sheer volume of Raph and Mikey's antics. Splinter walked out of his room, feeling the floor with his cane as he did so. Paying little attention to his bickering sons, he stopped in the middle of the room and rested one hand atop of the other that was already holding his stick. His eyes closed deep in thought. Leonardo, unable to keep his concentration much longer, opened one eye to peer down upon his family until his gaze fixed on the old rat.

"What's wrong, Father?"

Feeling a sudden rush of concern, the boy leapt down from his perch and landed beside Splinter.

"Is everything alright?"

His adoptive father nodded his head.

"I am fine, Leonardo. Although…" He opened his eyes once again. "…I feel a presence approaching…"

The blue masked turtle frowned at his Master in concern, soon shifting his gaze up to the ceiling.

"A…presence…?"

Suddenly, a blinding light burst seemingly from nowhere and brought all the turtles to a standstill as they promptly shielded their vision. Splinter merely closed his eyes again, appearing un-phased by the mysterious orb forming within the middle of their home. As the glow began to diminish slightly, Leo moved his arm from his face just enough to make out two figures emerging from the blaze, making it apparent that this was some kind of portal that had accumulated itself into their lair somehow. Being wary, the turtle drew both his katana swords and took a fighting stance in front of Splinter. Once the light finally dimmed, his eyes widened at the recognition of the characters standing before him.

"U-Usagi? Gen?!"

The rabbit-like warrior turned his head to the bewildered turtle, a smile wiping across his face as he did so.

"Leonardo-san, my good friend."

"What are you doing here?" He stopped in his tracks, observing the tufts of fur and scratched robes on his long-eared friend. "What happened to you-"

Usagi stopped Leonardo in his inquisition by holding up his hand and shaking his head. Leo took a step backwards as he was silenced, a sense of unease rousing within him.

"I am afraid we haven't much time." The young Samurai asserted. "We come to you this day with a grave warning."

Each of the brothers exchanged concerned glances, Raphael and Michelangelo finally rising to their feet and dusting themselves off from their previous tussle. They all gathered around Usagi and Gennosuke, eagerly awaiting the tale of caution that they were about to receive.

"Our home world was attacked." The rabbit began. "These...strange contraptions- ships, if you will – just appeared out of nowhere. I was unable to get a full glance at what was going on, as I was too busy trying to keep my comrades safe."

A loud crunch abruptly filled the room, interrupting Usagi's speech. They all turned to gaze upon Gen, who had without haste helped himself to one of Michelangelo's left over bags of chips

"Hey! Those are mine!" Mikey fumed.

Splinter wavered his hand lightly.

"Hush, my son. Please, my friends, continue."

Gennosuke walked back over to the group, chewing ferociously on his acquired snack.

"They claimed to be some sort of 'galactic police'." The Rhino snorted. "Appeared to be looking for something."

Usagi placed his hand on Leonardo's shoulder, lowering his head.

"I do not know what these people are looking for, but there is a chance they may come to your planet as well. I thought it would be best to warn you. If I am wrong, then all I am is wrong…But if I'm not…"

Leonardo frowned and bowed his head to Usagi.

"Don't worry, Usagi, we'll be sure to keep on the look-out. Thank you for coming to tell us."

A brief smile formed across Usagi's lips as relief washed over him. Raphael folded his arms, seeming perplexed about the situation.

"What kind of police force just barges into places without askin'?"

Donatello scratched his chin in thought to his brother's comment.

"It must've been something incredibly important, although it does seem odd that an organisation like that would be so rough when simply looking for something."

"It is possible their intentions were not bad." Usagi contributed. "But our world is not used to such an event happening. Our panic fused with theirs may have caused more of a travesty than on most other planets."

Donatello nodded, but still did not seem entirely convinced. Usagi bowed to the group, soon turning on his heels as he began to speak once more.

"Now I must bid you farewell. Gennosuke and I need to return to our own world…to finish picking up the pieces." He briefly looked over his shoulder. "I wish you luck."

Before the sentiments could continue, the sound of the lair's security system whooped throughout the entire hall. Everyone came to a standstill, looking amongst themselves until eventually fixating on Donatello, who had already made a dash towards his computer. The brothers followed not long after, Mikey grasping onto the back of Don's seat.

"W-What is it?" He gulped.

Leonardo drew his katana, his gaze fixed on the main entrance.

"Is it them?"

"I'm not sure…" Don replied. "The bio-sensors aren't able to pick up a proper signature for some reason…"

Raphael joined Leonardo in a fighting stance, twirling his Sai around as a confident smirk wept across his face.

"Well it ain't like we haven't had unwanted house guests before."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Raph."

"Yeah, yeah."

Master Splinter tapped his cane on the ground to gain the attention of the hot-headed duo. The alarm had begun to fade away, allowing his voice to be heard more clearly.

"Raphael. Leonardo. Both of you will investigate the surface. The rest of us will wait here on-guard."

"But-"

The rat pointed his cane up at his sword-wielding son's chin.

"Go."

There was a slight pause of hesitation before Leo bowed his head in obedience.

"Yes, Sensei."

As the leader turned and made his way out of the lair, Raphael grumbled and placed his beloved Sai knives back into their holster around his waist, continuing after his brother shortly after.

It took them little time to reach the nearest manhole in the sewer tunnels. They had yet to encounter any potential enemies, but Leonardo remained alert, allowing Raphael to climb the ladder before him. The splashing sound of the murky, trash-filled stream below echoed through the passageways as usual. It would be easy for the turtles to become swayed into questioning the presence of danger at all in their current scene. This possibility was soon swept away as the two brothers drew closer to the surface. The muffled sounds of car alarms, shrieking, and crashing, made it all too evident that something was afoot in the world above, and after a signal from his comrade, Raphael carefully tipped up the manhole cover to peer out over the streets of New York. Figures ran from every direction, scattering across the streets like headless chickens. A large, what could only be considered as a spaceship, filled up half of the road, a series of crushed bins spread out underneath its metal belly. A small group of cloaked creatures surrounded the area, some of which were holding peculiar devices and trying to examine anything that appeared to be moving. One of the creatures was stood on a pedestal rising from the ship, speaking out of a megaphone words that could not be deciphered due to the screams of the local residents.

"Not exactly subtle, are they?"

Leonardo shifted his head from below to see if he could get a view of the scene from where he was positioned on the ladder. He called out to Raphael.

"What is it?"

"Some freakish lookin' alien guys just went and parked their ship in the middle of the street. They're shouting out a bunch'a stuff but I can't make any of it out." Raph furrowed his brow. "The idiots- do they have space dust fillin' up those heads of theirs-?"

The red-masked turtle shifted to get out of the hole, only to be tugged back down by the foot. He grumbled and looked down at Leo, who shook his head.

"We need to go back to Master Splinter and the others. We'll regroup, and then come back up to the surface to try and negotiate with these things. If that doesn't work, then we'll take action."

Raphael let out a frustrated sigh as he lowered the manhole cover and started to climb back down with his brother.

"I knew you were going to say that."

The two ninja swiftly made their way back to the lair.

"Guys!" Leo beckoned. "There's something happening up-top, we should-…"

His sentence trailed off as he was struck with the image laid before him. Their family and friends stood separated around the room, hands held up high as they had gun-like weapons poking their backs. The room had been taken over by another group of the aliens that created havoc on the streets above, only now their forms were easier to make out. They had red, rugged skin covered in long flowing white coats, and examined their surroundings with large cat-like eyes almost filling each side of their head. One of the creatures differed in appearance only by a pair of black goggles resting atop its head, and walked around the room with a small device in its slender hands, consumed in a search. Raphael fumed and drew his Sai, taking a step forward.

"What do you bozos think you're doin'?!"

Leo growled and moved to pull out his katana alongside his brother, but was soon interrupted by the tip of an unknown weapon prodding at his neck. Raphael suffered the same fate, causing both turtles to come to a halt. The inspecting figure took little effort to look up from his device.

"Do not fret, residents. This should not take long."

Donatello, now stood with Michelangelo in surrender, watched the mysterious individual curiously.

"Um…Sir? What exactly is it that you're doing?"

"Yeah!" Raph barked. "And why have you and your weirdo friends just gone and set that spaceship of yours right in the middle of- Hey! Watch where you're pokin' that thing!"

The exasperated alien sighed, pressing buttons on his handheld contraption before leering over at Raphael and Leonardo.

"We are a specially selected collection squad belonging to the Federation of Universal Protection against Deadly Extra-Terrestrials."

"So…'Foupadet'?" Mikey teased.

Don shot a glare at his clown for a brother and lightly slapped the back of his head.

"Oww!"

"Not the time, Mikey."

Usagi frowned.

"A collection squad…?"

The alien nodded and continued to hold up his device to certain objects in the room as he carried on with his explanation.

"We have been given direct orders to examine each planet within a certain perimeter, and search for any unregistered life forms."

Donatello, still confused, but also intrigued, contributed yet another question.

"What does that mean?"

"It means-"

A sudden gasp from the alien caused him to stop in his tracks, and he pointed in front of him.

"What is that?"

He looked towards one of his colleagues, then back to his device, frantically pressing buttons. Klunk, who had previously hidden himself, walked out from behind the televisions and let out a light hiss. Mikey beamed.

"Heeyyy, Klunk! So that's where you'd got to!"

Klunk mewed at him. The various guards and inspectors throughout the room shared whispers and gasps. One of these guards spoke in the device-holders' ear.

"I haven't heard of a 'Klunk', sir."

Donatello blinked and looked at Klunk before looking back at the red-skinned duo.

"Uh, that's actually a ca-"

Another more violent interruption occurred as the press of a button from the alien's device caused an uproar within the room. Selected guards from around the hall began to restrain each of the turtles, along with their master and comrades, as the now distressed leader of the collection squad mumbled something into what must have been a headset installed into his goggles. After a slick gesture of his hand, the guard by his side thrust forward, pulling out a metallic collar and snapping it around the small cat's neck. Michelangelo made a burst towards them.

"Klunk-!"

His attempt in rescue was made futile as one of the aliens promptly pulled the turtle back, throwing his hands into a pair of sleek, silver cuffs. Before they knew it, more of the aliens had begun to flock into the lair, holding up various types of equipment resembling guns. Something like this would usually have Donatello fascinated, but his mind was too distracted by the chafing grip of the handcuffs around his wrists, and the sudden outburst from one of his brothers across the room. Raphael growled as the guard beside him tried to force him into the designated handcuffs, and swiftly brought around his leg to kick the figure away.

"Raph, don't-!"

Raphael had little time to yell back at Don, as he was soon brought to his knees by the paralyzing shock from a spherical taser that one of the guards aimed at his neck. Unable to fight back immediately, he too was forced into the steel clamps like his comrades, and the guard tugged him to his feet.

"By declaration of the Galactic Federation, you are all under arrest for harbouring illegal, potentially destructive foreign matter, and using physical violence against an officer of the law." The guard bellowed in the weakened turtle's ear.

All but Master Splinter exchanged confused glances across the room, Michelangelo frowning as he watched Klunk being lifted into a large white capsule, his stomach churning at the sound of the feline's distressed meows. The squad leader made a hand gesture, signalling for his subordinates to begin making their way out of the sewers as he continued to mutter into his headset. Donatello turned to Master Splinter as they all began to get pushed out of the lair, lowering his voice slightly.

"Master Splinter… What do we do…?"

"Stay calm, my son. We shall soon find out what this is all about." The old rat looked over at his other sons. "That is, if your brothers can restrain themselves long enough."

Donatello didn't seem entirely satisfied with the answer given, but nodded and allowed the group of aliens to lead him and his family and friends up to the surface.

After what seemed like an eternity of scheduled 'witness-memory-erasing' and travel preparation, the seized individuals sat quietly in the spaceship's mobile cell, arms still tied behind their backs. The whole room was silent enough to hear the hum of the ship's engine and the faint rattling of the metallic plates covering the walls. Everyone in the group had been fitted with oxygen tubes running from compact bottles into their mouths, reminding them all vaguely of their previous space encounters. Raphael was restless, letting out the odd grumble and thumping his heel on the floor of the room. Leonardo turned to look at him.

"Cool it, Raph."

"Cool it? Cool it?!" The angered turtle seethed. "Do you guys have your heads up in the clouds? We've just been arrested by freakin' aliens for who knows what and taken from our home in the space of two hours! Not to mention they took our weapons! And you're telling me to 'cool it'?! Geez, Leo, out of all the people, I figured you would-"

"Raphael! That is enough!"

The sound of his father's stern tone made Raph back off slightly, growling before looking back at the ground and once again slamming his foot on the ground in frustration. Leo looked at his brother sympathetically before turning his head to Usagi and Gennosuke.

"Usagi, I-…I'm really sorry about this."

The young rabbit shook his head.

"You need not apologise, Leonardo-san. We both took a great risk in visiting you when we did, but there is no blame to be put on you."

The moment was shortly interrupted by Michelangelo, who had been unusually quiet for most of the journey.

"Why would they take Klunk? He's just a little cat…!"

Donatello, who was sitting beside him, frowned before forcing a comforting smile at his worried brother.

"I'm sure Klunk's okay, Mikey."

Raphael's glare could be felt from across the room.

"You're worried about the CAT? What about us?!"

"Raph!" Leo scolded.

"Argh! I'm sorry, but this is all really weird!"

Donatello nodded in agreement.

"It is certainly strange that they freaked out over him…I mean, you'd think cats would be a 'registered' animal."

"What do you mean?" Leonardo asked.

"Well, they said they were inspecting for 'unregistered creatures', right? At a best guess that means they must be looking for creatures that they don't have registered under existence on certain planets."

"…I guess that makes sense. Sort of."

"It's the best I can make out of the situation so far." Don sighed. "Until they actually tell us what's going on I don't think we're going to get anywhere."

Mikey let out a faint whine in disappointment, lowering his head. The entire cell went silent once more, with only the clattering of the walls and occasional shuffle from the unsettled individuals breaking the stillness. It wasn't long before the youngest of the brothers began to fidget where he sat, and perked his head up.

"Oh maaaan! When are we gonna get there?! This is so boring! Why did they have to handcuff us? Couldn't they have at least given us some comic books or something?"

Leonardo wanted to set his head into his palm, but due to his restricted movements had to do with simply tipping his head back in exasperation. Master Splinter closed his eyes.

"Be patient, Michelangelo." One of his eyes opened to look over at the turtle. "And try to keep your voice down. We do not want a repeat of Raphael's mistake back in the lair."

Raphael snarled and simply turned his head away from his family, gritting his teeth. He could tell he would not hear the end of this for a while to come. Leo, suddenly having an idea, lowered his head back down again to look at Donatello, throwing a question his way before Mikey could stir up another outburst from Raphael.

"Wait- Don, what about your shell cell?"

Mikey blinked, having been successfully distracted by the change in conversation.

"But…Didn't they, like, take ALL of our stuff?" he contributed.

Donatello leaned back against the wall, nodding.

"They did. That and I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in space. It wouldn't work out here anyway!"

Michelangelo grinned and pointed his foot at his blue-masked brother, letting out a slight chuckle.

"Y'sure you've got enough oxygen going to your brain, Leo? Even I knew that!"

The leader frowned and sighed as his brother laughed at him. Donatello was right, but as embarrassed as he was for not thinking his question through, he was glad to have directed Mikey's teasing away from Raph, who was still sulking on the floor. He rested the back of his head against the wall once again and closed his eyes. It took a while for Mikey to settle down into silence again, leaving the room to once more be filled with nothing but the ambient sounds created by the mechanics of the ship. The rattling of the seats and walls soon became muffled, and the low hum of the ship's engine began to slowly fade away as he began to slowly drift off into a deep slumber.

Many hours passed before Leonardo opened his eyes again, his face scrunching up as he was awakened with a blinding light shining in his face. Still being slightly drowsy, he barely registered the fact that he was quickly pulled to his feet and lead out of the spaceship with his companions. He shook his head multiple times to try and waken himself up, but was still unable to fully adjust to the sudden change in light.

"Ugh…Donnie…What's going on?"

Donatello looked at his brother.

"I think we've arrived at...wherever we're supposed to be taken to."

Leo looked back ahead, allowing his eyes to continue adjusting. His focus on this caused him to stumble over his own feet slightly.

"Agh…I can't believe I fell asleep."

"We ALL fell asleep, Leo- well, everyone except Master Splinter. It was a long journey, besides; the pressure inside that cell probably didn't help. At least you've actually woken up."

At his last remark, Don cocked his head, gesturing for Leo to look to his other side. As he did so he witnessed two armoured guards staggering along with Michelangelo asleep in-between them, snoring directly into their ears. Leonardo couldn't help but cringe slightly, embarrassed by his brother's lack in grace considering their situation. Master Splinter, who wasn't too far away, shared Leonardo's expression, shaking his head.

The crew were dragged through what felt like many extended hallways within the mysterious building, occasionally being stopped for scans and weapon checks. Their sleep induced states caused the individuals to barely notice what was happening around them half the time, especially when everything seemed to look the same, it made it that much harder to focus. The walls were mostly pure white, making it harsh on the eyes for someone who had just woken up from being inside a dark spaceship. Mikey finally awoke during one of the final examinations due to the extensive poking and prodding of the staff, almost head-butting one of the guards in the process due to his surprise and confusion. This brief fright was enough to bring everyone to their senses, all becoming aware that they were now being brought into some sort of hall filled with high-raised desks and stands.

"It almost looks like a courtroom." Don said as he was pushed onto a wide, flat pedestal.

Once all of them were gathered on the platform, the collection squad leader appeared in front of them, a digital clipboard under one arm. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"It is expected of you to remain silent unless spoken to throughout this session. Anything you do say could be used against you, and will be put on record. There are designated guards at every entrance; any violence or attempt at leaving this room will result in an immediate jail sentence." He shot a brief glance at Raphael. "Do you all understand this?"

The group exchanged glances at each other, before nodding hesitantly. Donatello opened his mouth to ask a barrage of questions, but was halted by a stern look from his father. Raphael simply grunted to himself, restraining himself as best as he could so as not to cause another scene. Without anything more to add, the squad captain took a small bow before leaving the platform. The following hour consisted of groups of aliens gradually filling up all the empty spaces in the room, one of which was very largely built and wore a steel helmet over its head. This particular creature stood at the front of the room, shuffling some documents before taking a place at the large desk set out before him. A few more minutes were spent waiting for the room to become filled to the brim with chattering individuals, all of different species and origin. One of the few times the cuffed crew blended in with such a crowd, they still managed to stick out like a sore thumb. It wasn't long before a thumping was heard from the front of the room, causing everyone to stop talking and fix their gaze upon the bulky alien, who was slamming a large hammer-like object against his desktop.

"If I can have your attention, everyone." He bellowed in a low, gruff voice. "We shall proceed with the trial."

Michelangelo fidgeted where he stood. A trial sounded really boring, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to stand for the entire session, especially as one of his legs had begun to go to sleep. Leonardo nudged him as a warning before returning his attention to the front.

"The accused before you have been taken into custody under the belief of concealing a potentially dangerous life form listed under the targets of the Galactic Federation's Collection Division."

The judge shuffled for the next page.

"The individuals have been taken from the planet known locally as 'Earth', and less than 12 earth hours ago were convicted during a Federation official search, not only for the suspicion of hiding the described life form, but also for afflicting physical assault on an officer within the Galactic Law Force."

Raphael flinched as he felt the gaze of his peers fall on him, trying ever harder to contain his rage and clenching his restrained fists. Mikey stood beside him, becoming equally as restless as he felt his boredom begin to sink in. He'd been restricted for almost half a day, it was getting increasingly difficult for him to keep still, evident from the small dance he began to do on the spot before getting a soft kick in the shin from Leo. Mikey winced and tried to hold back a yelp. Donatello frowned at his brothers, trying to listen to the judge so he could deduce the situation.

"Shhhh." He hushed, quietly.

The judge read through a couple more of his sheets of paper before continuing.

"As the creature has now been taken into specified labs for testing- we shall call some witnesses to the stand regarding the charge of physical violence."

The next ten minutes or so consisted of various members of the collection team standing at the front of the room and giving their personal accounts on the incident. The turtles and their friends only got the occasional vague question asked, which gradually made them feel all equally frustrated as they still failed to grasp the full brunt of the situation. Eventually one of the familiar cloaked aliens entered the room and walked up to the judge to whisper something in his ear, followed by the judge nodding and shuffling his papers again.

"Having just received confirmation that the creature has been safely contained, we shall move onto the main charges." He shifted his gaze to peer at the turtles over his documents. "I pose these following questions to the young man in the orange mask."

The group turned to look at Michelangelo, who by this point was starting to zone out due to boredom, and had to be brought to attention by Raphael budging him forward.

"Whuh- huh? Me?"

"Yes, you."

"Uh- okay."

The judge looked at his paper once again before looking back at the turtle.

"The record states that you seemed rather distressed at the capturing of this creature. Had you grown an emotional attachment to it?"

"Well, yeah."

"And this would mean you have had the creature under your possession for an extended period of time, correct?"

"I-…guess so?"

Mikey began to find himself feeling a bit nervous. He wasn't particularly comfortable in serious situations, and he knew if he tried to make jokes right now, he'd most surely get a beating. The judge continued.

"Now, the Federation is well aware that not all planets will be enlightened with the Galactic Laws… However, due to the severity of this recent law, we cannot afford to let incidents like this slide by so easily. Young boy, under your knowledge, is your planet "Earth" under any connection with the Galactic Federation?"

"Uh, no…At least, I don't think so."

"Then of course you will be unaware of the current searches made by the Federation's Collection Division across the galaxy?"

"Well, Usagi said something about it, but-"

The judge frowned.

"So you were aware? And despite this, you still hid the creature from the Division's eyes?"

"Wait- what- no I-"

"And not only did you conceal the existence of the creature, but upon accusation one of your companions attacked an officer?"

"No! I mean- well- I don't…!"

Mikey looked to his brothers over his shoulder as panic began to sink in. The group still had little idea of what was happening, and he grew increasingly unsure of what to say in his responses. A thud was heard at the desk as the bulky umpire slammed his hammer on it and then cleared his throat.

"All the evidence and witness accounts given only strengthen the suspicion to your conviction. With the life form now in custody, and no more ground to cover I will now set my declaration." He dropped his documents onto the table and slammed his hammer once more. "Until all experimentations and confirmations on the illegal matter are finalized, I hereby sentence all of you to confined imprisonment in the jails of the Galactic Federation Headquarters."

The group's gasps were drowned out by the sudden uproar from the jury, and the judge's hammer banging echoing throughout the room. Guards that had been previously surrounding the platform gathered together to lead them all out of the courtroom, leaving little opportunity for the characters to make any form of protest as they were taken away through the wide, empty halls towards the prison that awaited them.