"Marquis-Admiral."
"Inspector-General."
You caught Ploskiy Tan outside of the courtroom hall. Thirteen of the judges arrived last week, and comandeered one of your stations for the impending trials. You see their ships, loitering in your ports. Insolent shitters. You can't help but feel the constant, nagging temptation of blowing them all to kingdom come and blaming it on the ENEMY. "You ready for this?" the sober man asks you.
"Ready as I can be."
"Don't be worried. Only the guilty have things to fear."
You nod. You worked together with the General, along with the personality files of many of the judges. They came with years of court recordings, to build an ask-response tree that should lend your cause some weight. Still, it's a shame that you're being watched. A soft sussuration of gawkers whisper beyond your hearing. You'd like to have a last minute psyche up, but you shall deal with it. "Understood. I shall go direct after offering my own words of encouragement to Alessandro gens Idrine, over there." You point at the man, who appears to be caught in a state of glass chewing fury and white knuckled calm. You believe that he is considering the merits of gunning you down, right here and now.
"Have your fun. But I've just been meaning to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"What's your name?"
"Huh? How's that relevant?" You squint at him. "That's a damned rude question you know."
"Oh, fine. Barbarian."
You shake your head. Barbarian. Your people (who will also go unnamed) were a part of the Empire for seven thousand years. And you get this shit, all the damn time. Not a single ounce of grace in these fucks. "Lieutenant Admiral!" you call out. "How are you today?"
"Marquis-Admiral," he grits out, "a pleasure."
"Ready to brave the beast?"
"As always." The words hissed out of him like a malfunctioning steam engine.
"Ah, chin up, lad." You take the opportunity to sneak a maliciously overstrength avuncular back slap to his back. Then you left before he could spit poorly disguised venom at you.
Your boots click on marble, quarried out of Zatastia-4. The stands are filling, and the light is bright and unsparing. You find your seat underneath the podium, laying your suitcase before you on the alderoak table.
The judges file in. Inquisitors, more accurately. You're not being judged, your deeds not brought forth to a council of your peers for a mediated judgement. You are being poked at, dissected, like an animal. One, then two, and then five, and then thirteen.
You lean back. Let's rock.
"Hereby the Empire brings the Marquis-Admiral of the Relative North Defense Fleet to judgement," intones the one in the centre. Yes, the one called Mr. Tramonti. The weak point. He's got a venerable career, that was achieved the normal way-- metric shitloads of corruption. He's a nephew or something. "Are you the Marquis-Admiral?"
"Correct," you snap back. You've decided to be brisk, to project the image of a harried general, eager to get back to his maps and his war.
"Are you aware of the charges of corruption brought to you?"
"Indeed," you drawl.
"Very well. Do you have anything to say?"
Now, Marquis, let's be careful. We don't want to oversalt this one. "What do you want me to say? If you want to lock me up, then hurry up and do it."
"Do you understand your situation?"
"You sound like a broken goddamn record. Yes, I understand my position perfectly well. Didn't I hand over my records?"
"Yes, but--"
"--but, but, but." You repeat, "my books are clean. You know it, I know it. Let's get to the bit where you accuse me of doing everything you did to buy you your current position, except for nepotism."
A chuckle runs through the crowd. Mr. Tramonti looks angry, just for a while. "If you're quite done, let us go through some of your actions in the recent months. Let us begin at the very start."
Ohshit did they find out about the thing with the guy?
"I have here," the judge raises a file up for common perusal. Well, only some of them can see, because the font is tiny and not everyone has the money or the need to aug their eyes, "a complaint from the Inspector of Calaay, Khoulin, about the presence of Division Niner Niner, calling at his berths for rest and repair."
"It's exactly what it says. Rest and repair. The lads took a beating, they deserved rest."
"And you do not think that it was due to the lack of your own inability of command, that lead them to this state."
"What a leading question. I had believed that this inquiry was for corruption, and not incompotence. Look at my record. At every turn, I have frustrated the ENEMY and worsted his attempts at incursion in our space. For a bureaucratic jobsworth you are certainly sure of yourself. Why haven't you joined the Empire's military arm? You might even enjoy it."
Titters run through the crowd. Uncomfortable ones. No applause yet, but that will come, otherwise you might as well space yourself right now.
Mr. Tramonti's jaw works up and down. "Very well. In recent times, you have created a private entity and staffed it with your own officers. This United Shipping contractor has also taken a majority share in the shipping of the various nations along this Front. Ms. Rosse, you have the stand."
"Thank you, Mr. Tramonti. Marquis-Admiral, please state your reasoning for creating this corporate entity."
THE WHY
[]- FUCK'EM: "They're not Imperial citizens, and they chose the ENEMY over us. Should I have let this insult slide?" Loudly reaffirm your loyalty to the EMPIRE, driven to awesome and patriotic wrath over these affronts. Imply that United was a scheme to weaken the barbarian nations, and therefore ought to be approved of. (Cons, may paint you as an iron fisted despote sent from the EMPIRE to the barbarians.)
[]- YOU AIN'T PAY ME: "Ms. Rosse, you are surely aware that the pay for my soldiers are still in arrears…" Insinuate that what you did was out of love to your soldiers. How manfully you have worked, tirelessly and relentlessly, to provide your soldiers with a living! (Cons, may paint you as an insane would be secessionist dictator)
[]- WHY YOU HATE THE EMPIRE: "Those were enemy assets, so I confiscated them. It's quite simple. Would you rather see the EMPIRE weakened? Why so?" Imprecate that these judges would rather not see the EMPIRE grow and prosper. How ridiculous! How laughable! (Cons, may get caught in point that you're mostly using United to enrich yourself.)
