Gabatrix: The Terrorists of Batrice

"Why? It would have fallen into a double standard," Baxton remarked as he stood up again. "Let us look at the case hearing very closely, shall we? Batrice has had to take care of the UHN since it fumbled with the Itreans. With a strong and powerful fleet, we would be in a better position than ever before. Prime Minister Chanvatey made his point very clear. A powerful military and government will be able to repel any opposing force. When we started to keep much of the material resources, the UWA protested. We took those resources and built Fort Batrice. The Itreans of all clans never bothered to attack that station upon completion.....why?.....because they know they will lose to it."

"Your point is?" Thiago asked.

"Admiral Thiago," Baxton commented as he pointed his hand at him. "I am well aware of Palora. You harvest the metals from the nearby shattered world of Acraman and Picaro. Through there, you ensure that the UWA receives the metals necessary to build the warships that Mars needs. Of course.....you don't have the fleet required to stop the Nova pirates that continually pray on the transports that mine throughout the belt. In the end, the UHN sends their warships to hopelessly stop them while you become enslaved to the UWA. You are a slave to the UWA.....I will not let the UWA dictate to me, but I also know that the UHN cannot survive without Batrice and Gillan's help. Much like you three, I will not be bullied in the room either. I know my place of importance. One-third of the future warships will be coming directly from Batrice and Gillan alone. Are you willing to jeopardize that relationship? We can survive an overwhelming Itrean clan fleet, but can you?"

Mizu could see where this was going. Baxton was using economics to fuel his argument. Even the admirals seemed disgusted with what he said, but they might have been foolish to outright deny that either. Baxton was flexing his political muscle by stating the obvious. Batrice was an economic powerhouse. No other star system had the incredible defenses of Fort Batrice alone. Even when coming to Mars, Mizu only recounted seeing the numerous defense satellites and ground weapon emplacements. Without the fleet to protect Mars, the capital planet could not survive an overwhelming invasion. For once, Baxton might have had a way to corrupt the admiralty to convincing them that Li'lo and Jenta were guilty of their crimes no matter what. Money was power, and that power was needed to help defend all of the UWA. Regardless, Mizu was fully aware that Fort Batrice was not entirely invincible either.

"That isn't entirely true....." Mizu whispered to Li'lo. The Yutilian did her quick nod as she listened.

"I object to that," Li'lo replied. "You are wrong....."

"Explain your objection," Annika asked.

"Fleet Admiral Baxton," the woman explained as she stood up. "Umm......you claim that Fort Batrice can stop anything.....you have not met the full firepower of the Itrean clans. Our resources are fifty times stronger than your planet alone. Even the T'rintar clan could smash that space station with a big enough fleet," she paused as she looked at the three admirals. "Even with Batrice and Gillan helping the UWA, you don't need to have Baxton completely dictate to you on what you need from them either."

Baxton gave a look that seemed to show anger on his face. Admiral Thiago was the first to nod.

"Baxton," Thiago countered. "While I understand my plight to the Palorans in having to fight the pirates, rogues, and thieves that attack the shipping in my territories, I do not view myself as a slave to the UWA like you might view yourself."

"This attempt at coercion is getting us nowhere," Simmons argued back at Baxton. "You can't parade the might of Batrice all over this room and expect it to get the results that you want."

"I agree....." Annika added as she seemed to think about it some more. "Your attempt to threaten us or the UWA will get you nowhere as long as you are a citizen of the UWA."

"We will see on that," Baxton replied. "Wait for the day your civilian ships start running to our space.....wait for the day that your defenses fall......wait for the day that your governments flee from your space. Fort Batrice will remain.....it will always remain. The Itrean clans will have to use everything they can just to put a dent into it."

With that, Li'lo went and sat back down again. She was careful with how she remained seated so she wouldn't smack her tail against Mizu. The argument was exactly what Mizu knew and felt. Li'lo essentially took the words right out of his mouth. He gave a nod of approval to her, even if he knew the arguments were getting slightly off-topic.

"Fleet Admiral Baxton," Annika continued. "We wanted to ask questions on the bombing. According to Mizu's reports, he believes that the footage of the bombing had been forged and altered. We need to know if you have a response to this."

"A response?" the Fleet Admiral got out of his seat as he tapped the button on his tablet. It began to replay the explosion as he began to pace the room slowly. "You are convinced that this is fake? The dead are real. I have the reports to verify it, and all of you can review it over and over again......unless you decided to willingly omit it."

"We are not denying the explosion ever happened but how it occurred. Mizu, you are the only direct witness to this. We need to ask you to verify it. What are your comments on the bombing?"

"I saw it all, Fleet Admiral Annika," Mizu said from his table. He could see Baxton watch him as he maintained his pace. "I saw the explosion, I saw Li'lo and Jenta leave, I saw Ambassador Ifra and Kane as they left, and I saw the event."

"What makes you claim that the explosion on the recordings different than what you saw?" Thiago asked him.

"I remember the explosion was slightly different than what you see it. The explosion occurred from below and up into the center of the shuttle. The rest of the blast blew out from the hatch before the whole vessel went up. Can somebody pull up the specifications of the Itrean shuttle?"

It was Thiago that went and pressed in the commands of the Type 40 shuttle. As the schematics came up, he pointed at the projected display image.

"The shuttle design is set up where if a powerful enough explosion were to breach it, then it would filter out where it is naturally weakest at. The hatches, for example, are these areas."

"I object to this comment," Baxton countered. "Suddenly, the defendant in question is a demolition expert?"

"Sustained," Annika replied. "However, bear in mind that the only demolition experts that are available at the scene are conveniently your personnel, Baxton. Mizu is the only direct witness to this event."

"You yourself said that you saw it in your peripheral vision. Your eyes may betray you. You see the evidence before you."

"For once, I have to actually agree with Baxton," Simmons said. "The recording does show the detail of the images. I see an explosion directly inside it. An explosion that would occur inside would do exactly that."

"I know what I saw, sir," Mizu replied. "I might not have seen it directly. I even said this in the report too, but I know that the recording is wrong."

"You stated that there was something else in your report," Annika said. "It is one of the other reasons why we needed all three of you in this hearing and court case. Continue, Mizu."

"I.....remember something that was discussed with Li'lo and Jenta. Jenta claimed to have heard a sound that was reminiscent with an outside activation signal.....a detonator."

"I object to this," Baxton said. "This is hearsay."

"We agree.....Jenta, can you confirm this?" Thiago asked.

"Yes," Jenta replied as she gave a quick nod.

"What is this going to accomplish?" Baxton replied as he went and pointed at the three admirals. "She is just trying to say this to save her own skin. Both of them are working together and will do everything they can to worm their way out of a guilty verdict. They are lying to you."

"Objection!" Li'lo said as she stood up and slapped her hands to the desk. "That isn't true. I might not have heard it directly, but I remember it happening. Admirals, we would never hurt Ambassador Ifra and Ambassador Kane......I love them. They are family. I.....I have family that cares, and they stand up for me. I would never hurt them like this."

"Order.....," Annika said as she tapped her fingers to the table. "I understand the emotional turmoil that all of you have been through. Both of you sit down."

With that, Li'lo sat back down in her chair. Baxton went and put his hand on the table as he looked at Mizu very closely. Mizu was looking back at him as he could see that Baxton was not precisely in the best situation. The only thing that Baxton seemed to do, however, was simply smile at him. It began to scare Mizu as he couldn't figure out why he was doing that. He saw Baxton sit down as he put his hand to his swagger stick as he pointed the bristles towards his direction.

"Now," Annika continued. "In regards to Li'lo and Jenta, we do have the report given to us from Ambassador Ifra and Kane. According to their witness testimonies, they solemnly believe that Li'lo and Jenta are innocent of this crime. Are you still going to press forward on this belief that Li'lo and Jenta are guilty of the bombing, Baxton?"

"It is irrelevant," Baxton countered. "The perfect line to strike is when the backs are turned. Li'lo and Jenta's actions are clearly motivated, as stated in Li'lo's tilon. They support the Zaza and wanted Ifra and Kane dead. They used this time perfectly to instigate their wave of terror."

"I object to this, your honor," Li'lo countered. "I do not have that in my tilon at all, and Baxton is purposely withholding it. It is.....he is lying."

"Sustained," Annika said. "I am afraid that regardless of what you claim, there is nothing here to really suggest that Li'lo and Jenta's motivations were responsible for the bombings."

"I agree as well," Admiral Thiago added. "Baxton, all we have is a recording of a bombing."

"Bloody hell.....Are you admirals' blind?" Baxton said as he took his swagger stick and slapped it on the desk. "Why am I not surprised that you would say that. We will lose this war because you try to stack things against me and the people of Batrice. You review the reports, but you don't look close enough! Look at time index 0855," he commented as he tapped his tablet.

The recording switched over as it depicted a close-up on Li'lo just after she tripped. The damning image was evident as it showed the Itrean woman trip. The belongings go flying as she opened up her tilon and pressed the button on her display.

"There it is!" Baxton added. "There is the trigger made. Shortly afterward, the bomb explodes. We have the data and telemetry of where the signal was sent. It was sent straight to the shuttlecraft interior just before the bomb detonated."

"Baxton, do you have any form of bomb-detecting equipment on Fort Batrice?" Thiago asked him.

"We do, but this was a T'rintar GXK-90 detonator and warhead mix," he explained as he tapped the button on his tablet. The schematics appeared that showed a box-like device as it showed internal biocircuitry. "This is based on the T'rintar clan shared database. These GXK-90 bombs are designed by the T'rintar clan for infiltration and sabotage purposes. They are quite powerful, capable of not only being hard to detect but producing a powerful enough explosion to do just like you saw. Enough of these can actually destroy a battleship. They are small, compact, and at the same time being almost stealthy in design. After these events, of course......I now have the technicians adjusting all internal sensor equipment to pick up these things." He looked hard at Li'lo and Jenta. "I will not make the same mistake twice....."

"Do you have any of this available for evidence?" Simmons asked.

"I happen to have some of the pieces," Baxton replied. He took his hand and fished out a small package of bomb fragments from his chest pocket. The charred remains consisted of various alloys, including two metal contact points were in a small closed plastic bag. He tossed it on the table for the admirals to see.

Mizu could see that this might have been part of the fabricated evidence. This was the part that he was never able to see while he was kept away from the hangar bay. The most interesting part was for him to present this evidence while keeping the tilon away from the hearing. It was damning evidence. There was variable proof that a bomb had indeed been used to destroy the shuttle.

"How?....... How did you get that?" Li'lo asked him.

"Admirals......" Baxton said as he raised his hands. "I understand your ability to question me. Mizu, Li'lo, and Jenta place a valiant defense, but in the end, these fragments are what you need to prove that this is indeed an Itrean bomb.....carefully found in the wreckage of the shuttlecraft."

"Baxton," Annika asked him. "This makes no sense to us. You will not present your tilon to us, but you instead bring bomb fragments."

"Because I have plenty to spare. If Simmons got his hands on this and messed with it, then I got more at Fort Batrice. The bomb fragments are there. If you wish, you can analyze it verify that they were used to destroy the shuttle."

"I object to the evidence brought forth," Li'lo said as she waved her hand. "Baxton has clearly managed to get ahold of Itrean technology. If it wasn't him, then it was one of his staff members that did it. They were the ones that planted an explosive to try to kill us all."

"I am afraid that Li'lo might have a point on this," Thiago added. "I can speak for myself that Itrean equipment is starting to show up in the hands of the Nova Hamidou Pirates. If pirates are able to get ahold of this technology, then anybody could get it."

"How is that possible?" Simmons asked him. "We started an alliance with the T'rintar clan over seven months ago."

"One week ago, just after the Battle of Charon, one of the patrol ships destroyed a Nova pirate ship. It was a Type 39 T'rintar clan shuttlecraft."

"It appears that the T'rintar clan are undermining your efforts to.....mine, admiral," Baxton remarked.

"My point is that it wouldn't take much for that sort of technology to get into your hands either, Fleet Admiral," Thiago countered.

"Me? Are you making an accusation that I somehow destroyed the shuttlecraft?"

"Alright......alright," Annika said as she could see things getting out of control again. "Enough. Baxton, regardless of this evidence, this is not enough to convince us that Li'lo and Jenta are responsible for blowing up their own shuttlecraft. Those tilons are deliberately being withheld from this hearing."

"Ugh....." Baxton said as he stood up and hit his swagger stick on the table. "I present the evidence that there was a bomb explosion and the recordings of the fugitives there that clearly detonated and killed over twenty people on my space station!"

"It isn't enough," Annika explained. "We have reports from the Ambassador that claim that they are innocent. Mizu's report mentions that he was watching Li'lo and Jenta, and they didn't press anything. Isn't that correct, Mizu?"

"Yes, it is, ma'am," Mizu confirmed.

"I can clearly see that all three of you are here to counter my arguments," Baxton remarked. "Why have a defense attorney assigned.....I can see that it is like convincing the dirt that it isn't dirt."

"We already told you that we are treating this more of a hearing," Annika countered. "It is no different than you replacing your own prosecutor at the last minute. You didn't even bother to come in with the correct uniform on either. We already told you that your arguments have very little weight on us."

"You disgrace us with that uniform," Simmons said. "I would have expected it from those New Olympians, but even they have tried to respect the codes that we establish."

Mizu was watching Baxton more and more. He could see that he was almost smiling at hearing them talk like that. It was almost as if he was purposely enjoying the events than anything else. It was as if it didn't matter that he won or lost. It was as if he was trying to prove a point.

"What else do I not know about?" Baxton told the three. "As a fellow member of Batrice, I have the right to say that this trial is a farce. It is a joke of the former glory of what Mars originally was. Batrice has outdone you, Fleet Admiral. You are afraid of what we will become. Even Gabatrix would have shaken his head at you."

"You are wrong, Baxton," Annika remarked. "I spoke to Gabatrix before he passed away. He was more afraid of the direction that all colonies would go. He mentioned about the idea that colonies would one day overpower Mars.....but the goal was to stay together regardless. The purpose of this hearing is to try to reach an agreement. For now, I have a lot of various reports that suggest that you have a troubled history with us. Unless you cooperate and give us what we need, we may have to suggest that Li'lo and Jenta be let go."

"The deaths on my station must be heard," Baxton countered.

"Then give us the tilon. If we can evaluate it and confirm it, then we will move on. Withholding evidence alone is shameful as it is to this proceeding. Batrice must cooperate to ensure that a fair hearing can be provided."

Mizu could see that the admirals were far more on his side than ever before. Perhaps they had always been on his side. It didn't make him too comfortable, though. His name was never mentioned yet.

"With that being said, this hearing isn't complete yet," Simmons said. "As much as I dislike Li'lo's jittery attitude and past transgressions, we have too little evidence. I don't think I would even want your evidence, Baxton. Besides....." he said as he leaned on his podium. "You pissed me off too much."

"Enough," Annika said as she tapped her hand on the table. "Let us move along with the hearing for Mizu. According to both reports, Mizu broke Li'lo and Jenta out of the station. This alone has to bring in the events of the violence on Fort Batrice into light. We have to evaluate the motives, actions, and reasons for such an event to happen. It will serve as the other side of a puzzle that occurred that we must resolve. Baxton, according to your report Mizu had broken the prisoners out of a cell block in which you detained Li'lo and Jenta. He was currently armed for his watch, correct?"

"That is correct," Baxton replied.

"Do you happen to know of his motives?"

"I do not."

"Mizu, you don't deny what you did. Are you fully aware that your actions have led to the deaths of injuring five personnel and killing two personnel on Fort Batrice?"

"Yes," Mizu replied.

"Are you aware that you might face penalties for such an action?"

"I am."

"Very well.....Baxton, there are some things that I have questions for you as well. According to your reports, Mizu was armed up for three of the watches in one week. Why was he on so many of the watches?"

"We needed personnel to fulfill the watches," Baxton explained. "With the events transpiring on the station, personnel were shuffled around."

"Mizu, you claim that Li'lo and Jenta were mistreated in prison. Is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied to her.

"We have a report from the Olara'kon's doctor that shows that Jenta was malnourished," Li'lo explained.

"Yes, we have that report," Thiago replied. "Baxton, did you ensure the prisoners were well treated?"

"As best as Fort Batrice can offer," Baxton replied.

"The report shows that Jenta hadn't eaten in over twelve hours. Are you aware that Yutilian physiology of the Fo'mil that they can starve to death in a day if they don't eat?"