When the opportunity struck, Talib carefully forced Othello into a corner that he couldn't escape from and the prosecutor couldn't turn it into a circus, he pushed the young man into telling him the truth.
"I… I can't…" Othello was shaken to his core about the possibility of telling the truth, but Talib reminded him of his duties.
Loran spoke up, wanting a turn with Othello, and Talib switched places with him.
The short Time Lord struggled but he managed to keep focus on Othello.
"You have nothing to be afraid of, child, you are protected, here, you know this," Loran reminds Othello.
Sitting in his spot as it visibly weighed on him, Othello worried, "What if it gets me exiled?"
Quizzically tilting his head, Loran echoes, "Exiled?"
Nodding, Othello panicked that just thinking about it made him scared.
The Council spoke up as they stated that Othello would not be at risk of exile, unless he was charged of a crime, and they gave their word.
"But…" Othello's voice dropped as he chewed on his inner lip, sweat ran down his face.
Councilman Asimov raised his voice as he assures Othello that they were more interested in the murder of Theta and anything Othello told them would not be held against him.
"I… I saw… a man…" Othello chewed on his inner lip as he forced himself to speak as he tells the court room when he turned the corner, he saw a man standing near Theta's body.
Prosecutor Jon gestures as he encouraged Othello to describe what the man was doing.
"He was c-carrying a woman," Theta gestures.
Rousing in his spot, Paul's angel eyes widened as Theta described her as Taylor.
Now curious, Prosecutor Jon asks, "Do you recongise him?"
Othello grew quiet once again before he was instructed to speak, and he did.
"Y-Yes, I do," Othello squirmed.
When asked, he stated the man wasn't in the courtroom.
"What did he look like?" Prosecutor Jon asks him.
Growing silent, Theta internally panicked before Loran encouraged him to tell the court what the man looked like.
"Remember child, you are under oath," Loran reminds him once more.
Looking down at his lap, Othello says, "I saw him before… I saw him in a picture…. Theta showed me it… when we were looking for the hidden tomb… but when I saw him in person… he looked… sick."
His curiosity insatiable, the prosecutor didn't try to challenge anything he said.
Hearing the description of the man carrying Taylor, Paul could see fright in the faces of the Council as they turned pale as a ghost.
He himself turning pale as the description matches that of the Master, already pits formed in his stomach, as did the Council while it dawned on them.
The air in the court room changed as the Council called off the trial and instead demanded the Vanguard assemble, they did as they were ordered, and they took Othello, Paul, and his counsel into protective custody while ordering everyone else out of the courtroom.
Panic in his angel eyes, Paul stressed with the men that he needed to find Taylor and gain access to his TARDIS, though they told him that because he hasn't been officially charged or proclaimed innocent, he would not be allowed to even take off the metal band around his head unless the Council approves of it, and Talib stressed that going against the Council would only fuel their bias and make it easier to rule Paul as guilty.
"Taylorneedsme!" Paul stressed the urgency and Talib shows sympathy for him, before stressing that the Council's word is law.
Pacing around the holding cell the Vanguard brought them, Loran struggled before turning his head to see his son coming towards the bars wearing armor and a hand over his gilded sword.
He spoke to the Vanguard watching them and he opened the padlock for him.
Seeing his son dressed like a warrior, Loran goes to him as he asks him what he was doing, and Memphis told him that testifying on Paul's behalf wasn't all he planned on doing.
It went over Paul's head, as Memphis recalled specific sections of Gallifrey's law, before summarizing that because his father and Talib were Paul's counsel, they would be with him when the Vanguard return to place them in custody until the situation is handled.
"However…" Memphis pink eyes glistened. "Under situations such as this, there are exceptions where someone who is an expert that could help is granted leniency to aid in the situation, provided they are carefully guarded and minded by a third party sanctioned by the Vanguard."
Effectively, because Paul knows the Master and the threat he possesses, he can get out of the court snarl under the law.
It may not help in the case, but anything to find Taylor and ensure that the Master gets his comeuppance.
"As I am a warrior sanctioned by the Vanguard, I Memphis al Loran accept their whims and wishes to uphold the laws and to watch over the suspect, Paul al Theodore," Memphis held two fingers over his hearts, a vow.
Pride radiated on Loran's face as he smiled at his son turning away from being xenophobic against Paul to helping him.
"Since the suspect is under my command, his counsel is dismissed until the court resumes," Memphis eyes his father and Talib.
Thus, they may leave for safety until the threat is dealt with.
"Be careful, my son," Loran reached out to him.
Smiling, Memphis assures his father, "I may be thick headed, father, but I am a warrior, and I have a duty."
Leaving with Memphis, Paul follows him out into the empty corridor, Memphis' hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
"Our enemy, where would he go?" Memphis looked to Paul for guidance.
Hesitant, Paul responds that he wasn't sure how he could say anything since talking about exiled Time Lords risks trouble from the Council.
Memphis brings up that under these circumstances, neither he or Paul would face scrutiny.
Nodding, Paul clears his throat, "Very well, but I'm not sure where everything is here, where Theta's body was found, what can you tell me about the corridor?"