Trial by Comparison

“In the judgement of this tribunal, we sentence Josephian Sandreas to life without parole in the Hiborra Prison Colony, as payment for the crimes he has committed against the citizens of the Empire. May God forgive the debts that you cannot pay.”

-from the transcript of the trial of Josephian Sandreas, arsonist. 33/10th/593 [EC]

Aymon was forced to wait, which he hated. He had forgotten how absolutely miserable it was to be stuck somewhere, not in control, and not having twenty different things to split his attention between. At home on Emerri, there was always something new demanding his input. Here, in orbit around Jenjin, he could only wait for everything to be handled without him.

He was irritable the entire time, both on the shuttle and when they linked back up with the God's Engine. While everything on the surface of Jenjin was reasonably sorted, these things did take time. Halen knew that he was in a mood, and simply left him to it. Kino was her usual quiet self, and so avoided the brunt of his frustration. Unfortunately, the team aboard the God's Engine were not so lucky, and often were caught off guard by Aymon's impatience and temper. He wasn't making a good image for himself, but he was on a Fleet ship, not in public.

At last, days later, the planet was under some semblance of control. The Fleet had taken over all operations from the JDF, Governor Vaspar had been found and imprisoned, all the agitators on the farms had been captured or calmed, and aide had been distributed to cities. Aymon could finally land on the planet, taking a shuttle down rather than the elevator. It was faster that way. Halen had come down with him, but Kino was staying aboard the God's Engine, not wanting to aggravate her concussion further. Unfortunately the prolonged acceleration she had been put under just days before had caused a resurgence of her head pain and concussion symptoms.

He was planning to spend as little time on Jenjin as possible. His personal ship, the First Star, was supposed to be arriving to take him back to Emerri shortly, but Aymon did have to attend to things on the planet before he could leave.

The first order of business was to install the new Governor, Halia Xu. She was to be the interim Governor, anyway, until the end of what would have been Vaspar's term. Xu was a former Imperial Council member, who had mysteriously failed to be reelected as soon as the charges of fraudulent elections began surfacing. She had fallen out of favor with Vaspar's government, but had remained a relatively trusted figure on Jenjin. She had originally come from the mining part of the planet, but she was known for her work on the Council, which was somewhat insulated from the politics back at home.

Her swearing in was going to be a private, televised event. There was no reason to have it be public, given the recent chaos, but it did need to be documented. Film crews set up in front of suitable backdrop in the capitol building.

Halia Xu looked like she had had a rough few days. The makeup crew had done their best to disguise the deep bags under her eyes, but she still looked as though she was dragging herself through the day by sheer force of will. She was almost scarily thin. Someone had handed her a Fleet ration energy bar, and she was nibbling at it slowly, leaning against a wall.

Both Aymon and Xu were dressed up for the event. Aymon was wearing his full formal attire, with the long black cassock and cape embroidered with gold. Xu, who was not a sensitive, was wearing a flowing, intricately wrapped garment that was of a popular style on Galena. It was a deep, forest green with black trim. It suited her, but did little to disguise the ragged edges of her professional persona.

Aymon came to talk with her before the swearing in.

"Hello, Governor," Aymon said.

"Don't curse me yet, First Sandreas. I still have another half an hour by my clock."

"Are you really dreading it that much? We can find a replacement."

"I'm joking," Xu said. "It came out wrong. I don't feel that taking over this position without an election is ideal, though."

"It is what it is. At least you have been democratically elected before. Had we not had any appropriate candidates, Jenjin would have been under complete Fleet control until the next election."

"That almost might have been better. If people see a friendly face that they trust, they might forget that they didn't actually choose me for this position. If there's martial law, no one will forget how precious the right to vote is."

"It's no worse than living under Vaspar," Aymon said. "And it's only for another year and a half."

"That's true." Xu yawned. "Sorry."

"Rough few days?" Aymon asked.

"When I got word that you were in system, I knew it was time to head for the hills, so to speak. I was in hiding, then there was all the fighting, and once that was over I've been working non-stop. I haven't had a chance to sleep much."

"At least the food shortage is over," Aymon said, nodding to the ration bar she was holding.

"For now, maybe. There will be a lot to do getting the farms up and running. More than just the Governor's Residence burned to the ground."

"I know, but I trust that you will be able to handle it. You'll have plenty of support."

"I hope to not disappoint," Xu said. "It might take more than a year and a half. Then you'll have to trust my successor to it."

"You could always run for reelection."

Xu laughed. "I'm already dreaming of retirement. Imperial Council was the height of my ambitions. I never had any desire to be Governor, and yet, here I am."

"Those who seek power shall lose it, and those who seek humility shall achieve greatness," Sandreas quoted.

"Speaking of, what's the situation with Vaspar?" Xu asked.

"He's in custody. There will be a trial, of course.”

"Was he hard to catch?"

"Vaspar is a slippery man, but his fatal flaw is that he likes to make himself known. If he had just stayed quiet, disguised himself, and faked some paperwork, he almost certainly could have gotten himself off planet. But he couldn't do that," Aymon said.

"He always did have an ego. Strange that the Academy didn't manage to beat that out of him."

"The Academy, for all its good qualities, can't be responsible for every sensitive, you know," Aymon said. "The Academy is only ten years of a person's life. For a man who's pushing sixty, Vaspar had plenty of other experiences that shaped him."

"That's true."

"Are you ready for this?" Aymon asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Xu said, then finished her ration bar. She picked up a water bottle she had left on a nearby table and took a long drink. "I'll be honest, I think I was more nervous the first time I was sworn in to the city board."

Aymon laughed. "All of these ceremonies are the same, aren't they? And, hey, this time you don't even have a crowd."

"The ceremony is easy, it's what comes after is the hard part," Xu said. "But I know as soon as I'm sworn in, I'm going to go home and take a..." She pulled out her phone to check the time. "Twelve hour nap."

"That's certainly the strangest definition of nap that I've ever heard," Aymon said.

"This is my planet now, and I'll decide what a nap is or not."

"Not yet, you still have another twenty minutes," Aymon said.

"See, I've let the power get to my head already."

They stood around and chatted for a little while longer, but before long each of them were pulled away to deal with pressing matters.

"How much do you want to hear about what's going on with Yan and Sid?" Halen asked. He was holding a sheet of paper in his hand; it looked like the printout of an ansible message.

"Who sent the message?" Aymon asked.

"This one specifically is co-written by Maedes and Hernan to me, but there are others from Lieutenant Harber and the captain of the Sky Boat."

"That's the one they were taking between..." Aymon wracked his brain.

"Byforest Station and Zhani," Halen supplied.

"Why has her message gotten all the way to me?" Aymon wondered aloud.

"It hasn't, yet, I'm here filtering this information for you," Halen reminded him.

Aymon sighed. "How bad is the news?"

"Do you want the good or the bad first?" Halen asked.

"Good."

"Apparently the negotiations on Olar are going well," Halen said.

"See, you got me thinking that I should be nervous," Aymon said. "What's the bad news?"

"While aboard the Sky Boat, they were attacked by pirates. There was, what’s the best way to say it? There was confusion about what Yan and Sid should have done, and now the captain of the Sky Boat is sending insane messages to everyone she can. Also, they’re both, you know-"

"Give me the letter," Aymon said. He swore under his breath as he read it.

"Try not to think about it too much," Halen said. "As far as I can tell, they're coping and still accomplishing what they set out to do."

Aymon crumpled up the paper in frustration. "How long until they get back?"

"Depends on how the diplomacy goes," Halen said. "They really shouldn't have to be on Olar too long, and they have a much straighter shot out of there than they had in, in terms of ship routes."

"Will they beat us back?" Aymon asked.

"There's no way to know that," Halen said. "May I say something?"

"Always," Aymon gave him an odd look.

"You might want to write something to them," Halen said. "I doubt anything that I could say would be received very well."

"I'll take that under consideration. Did you tell Kino this?"

"Not yet. Do you want me to?"

Aymon had to think on that one for a second. "Don't go into too much detail, but she deserves to know. They haven't been mailing her, have they?"

"Not as far as I know. Maedes didn't mention that Sid mailed anyone, and Yan only mailed a friend of hers."

"I assume the incident is public knowledge?" Aymon asked.

"Somewhat. No one has published anything about it, but with the captain of the Sky Boat all up in arms, I'm sure all the Trade Guild knows about it by now."

"Ugh," Aymon said.

"If it's any consolation, if this does get to the media, it's much easier to sell as 'Apprentices save Trade Guild ship from pirates', rather than the current angle of 'Apprentices abandon ship during pirate attack'."

"No offense, but spacers are all insane," Aymon said.

"You have to be a little bit, to survive the life.”

"I'll trust you to handle this, I've got to go," Aymon said. Someone was flagging him down so that they could start the swearing in for Xu.

"There's nothing to handle," Halen said. "It's all far out of our reach at the moment. Go do your thing."

Aymon nodded and left Halen. He had remarks prepared for this swearing in, which he would be delivering beforehand. The whole thing was set up on a slightly raised stage, and the usual space in the room that held a small gathering was filled only with media people.

Aymon and Xu both had microphones fitted to them to catch every sound, then they were shuffled on stage to do a quick check of the setup. Everything looked good, so Aymon and Xu were hurried off the stage again to give time for the broadcasts to begin; every news channel airing a pre recorded segment.

In the wings, Aymon smiled at Xu, who, contrary to what she had said before, was looking fairly nervous. Her hands were shaking a little bit as she took the last few sips from her water bottle. Aymon tried to appear comforting, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded or not. Then, from across the stage, someone flashed him the signal to go on. Aymon walked out into the bright lights of the cameras, wearing his most professional expression.

His remarks were short and to the point, reiterating that this was a temporary measure, and that the Empire supported the right to self determination of all planets under its care. He briefly talked through some of the reasons why Xu had been chosen, and what he hoped that the future would bring for Jenjin. It was about as standard as he could make it, in such an unusual situation. It was still unfortunate that the Empire had to step in on Jenjin in the first place, but it was working out for the best.

Then it came time to actually swear in Xu. They stood face to face, with their sides to the cameras filming the event. Normally, Aymon would never even be present for the swearing in of a new governor, but the situation was anything but usual, and since he was on hand, he might as well preside over the event.

"Halia Xu, you have been called here to represent the people of Jenjin, to rule over them fairly, and to protect them from all harm. Do you accept this call?"

"I do accept this call."

"Halia Xu, you have been called because the people of Jenjin have seen that you seek the truth, speak with compassion, and act with justice. Will you continue to do so?"

"I will continue to do so for the people of Jenjin."

"Halia Xu, in the course of performing duties for the people of Jenjin, you may be tested. The road of truth may be tested by the ease of deceit, the merciful heart may be tested by the heat of anger, and the sword of justice may be turned astray by the love of power. Will you face these tests with a steady heart?

"I will face them with the courage that God gives me."

"Halia Xu, do you choose to reject evil and all its works?

"I reject them with the grace of God."

"Halia Xu, do you swear to guide the people of Jenjin in the light of God?"

"I do so swear."

"Halia Xu, do you promise to uphold this sacred duty with all your power, until the time comes to pass this duty to another?"

"I promise to walk this road for the time that God wills."

"Then, Halia Xu, receive the blessing of the people of Jenjin."

Xu knelt on the ground. Aymon held his hands over her.

"God, you have seen fit to guide us to this day and hour. Your servant, Halia Xu, wishes to take up the mantle of protecting your people. She has professed her faith and her steadfastness. Grant that she may perform her duties with strength, courage, and wisdom."

Aymon paused for a long, silent moment.

"Halia Xu, we name you Governor of Jenjin and protector of God's people. Go forth with our blessing."

Xu stood up and there was scattered applause from the people present. Ideally this whole thing would have been done in public, and been a big celebration, but the conditions just weren't right.

Aymon and Xu shook hands, Aymon clapped her on the back, then Aymon walked off stage so that Xu could deliver her own remarks. He half listened to them from the side of the stage, but Aymon considered his duty done. Everything now was in the hands of Xu and the Fleet, since she would be using their manpower and resources to get Jenjin back under total control. Although it was too early in the process to feel confident, Aymon was hopeful that the whole thing would go over well in the end. Xu seemed like a competent leader, and her track record while on the Imperial Council was a good one. If it hadn't been, she never would have been nominated for this position.

When Xu finished, Aymon gave her his due congratulations.

"Congratulations, Governor," Aymon said.

"And now the curse settles over me like a blanket," Xu said. "But thank you. Are you heading off?"

"Yes," Aymon said. "I have a certain former politician to visit in prison."

"Good luck," Xu said. "I doubt he'll be in much of a mood to talk."

"Hm, you never know, he may have a loose tongue," Aymon said. "Good luck to you, though. If there's any assistance you require, let me know."

"I hope to not need to trouble the Imperial Government any more than we already have.”

"Ha, well, sometimes it can't be avoided. Don't feel ashamed to ask for what you need to be successful. We did put you into this position, after all."

"Let me give governance a try before I start begging for help," Xu said. "Are you leaving the planet soon?"

"As soon as the First Star gets here. There's always work to be done at home, and I feel remiss being away for so long."

"I understand. Thank you for being here," Xu said. "It may not seem it now, but I know in the future the people of Jenjin will appreciate what you've done."

"I certainly hope that history looks kindly upon us all," Aymon said. "There is one thing I need from you, though."

"What is it?" Xu asked, sounding wary.

"There isn't going to be any colony space available for a long time, years, maybe. I need you to try to keep the planet together until then."

"That has always been the intention. I think we are better as one planet, anyway, rather than spinning off by ourselves every time we disagree."

"I wish that everyone saw it that way, but that's why you’re the leader."

Xu yawned and nodded.

"Are you still planning on taking that long nap as your first official act as governor?" Aymon asked.

"I'm lucky beyond lucky that there's no afterparty like there usually is for these swearing ins. The Governor's residence was burned to the ground anyway, so I get to go to my own comfortable bed, rather than trying to move everything in to a new home."

"Well, I hope you don't let that stop you from rebuilding it before your successor comes into power."

"That's years away yet," Xu said. "We're going to take things day by day around here."

Aymon saw Halen waiting on the edge of the room, tapping his watch to indicate that they needed to move along with their day.

"Sorry to rush right out of here, but I do need to get going" Aymon said. "Enjoy your well deserved rest."

"Thank you. Godspeed on your journey, First Sandreas," Xu said.

Aymon nodded at her, then headed towards Halen. They made their way through the capitol building and out into a waiting vehicle. It was marked with the JDF colors, but was driven by Fleet personnel. They drove to the outskirts of the city, where there was a building that the Fleet had taken over as a base. It had been a JDF building, but they had been sent elsewhere as the Fleet came in. The building was useful because it had plenty of secure facilities where criminals sometimes were held.

On many planets, and in the Empire itself, enforcement of the law fell to the military force on the planet. The JDF ran the prisons, the street patrols, and the courts. It was one use for a planetary military force when there weren’t many outside threats to defend against.

These facilities, though, held only one prisoner at the moment. Former Governor Tani Vaspar was imprisoned in the most secure cell. He was under constant surveillance and was kept drugged just enough to impair his use of the power. After all, if a person couldn't think straight or concentrate, there would be no using the power at all, let alone to escape from a secure prison.

All of Vaspar's cronies who had been captured, including General Hamark, were in different locations. Vaspar was the only sensitive among them, so he required special treatment.

Aymon and Halen were escorted down into the depths of the facility. It was dingy in the way that only these clinical settings could be. No matter how many times the walls and floors were scrubbed, the harsh glow of the lights would cast everything in the most unfavorable view. Whites turned grey, greys turned a ruddy blue.

Vaspar's cell was painted the same grey as everything else in the facility. It had a heavy door and a one way mirror for people to look in on him. Inside the room was a bed with a thin mattress, a toilet and sink with a shower curtain around them for some semblance of privacy, a table, and a chair. Vaspar wasn't chained down or in any obvious distress, he was just sitting on the bed and staring across the room at a blinking light on the wall.

"What's the light for?" Aymon asked as they observed him through the mirror.

"It flashes in a totally random way. It's designed to be distracting, so that it will be difficult for him to focus through the drugs and meditate," one of the prison guards supplied.

"Seems unnecessary to me," Aymon said. "But I'm not an expert in prison security."

"It has a proven track record of improving the effectiveness of the drugs," the guard said. "It was tested on volunteers a while back."

"I think that the psyche of a volunteer from the Academy looking to earn a few extra charges and the psyche of a criminal who wants nothing more than to escape are two completely different things," Aymon said. "But it isn't doing any harm, I suppose. In your assessment, is Vaspar a suicide risk?"

"We haven't dialed in the dosage yet," the guard said. "I don't think he's lucid enough for that."

Halen placed his hand on Aymon's arm, and sent him a message through the power.

"Vaspar's more lucid than he's getting credit for. Faking being out of it to reduce his dosage," Halen sent.

"And how are you checking his state of mind?" Aymon asked aloud.

"Just look at the man. Since we first got him he's done nothing but stare at that light." The guard seemed clueless. Granted, there wasn't a great way to determine the effectiveness of a drug other than testimony, and checking if the recipient had passed out, but there had to be some way to know other than lowering his dose until he appeared more responsive.

"Just to be safe, I want him kept on the dosage that's appropriate for his body, whatever it says in the literature. Don't go after what he looks like. Keep in mind that Vaspar is a man known for playing the long con."

"Just so, sir," the guard said. "We'll be sure to keep his dosage up next time we deliver it to him."

"Excellent. Is it safe to go in and talk to him?"

"I don't know if he'll have much to say, but the most he'd be able to do to hurt you is throw a punch," the guard said. "Do you want to be let in?"

"Yes, thank you," Aymon said.

The guard led them towards the door, where he unlocked it by consulting his phone and keying in on the door a code that he received. The lock clicked and the guard pulled the door open.

"Just say when you want out," the guard said. Aymon, Halen, and two Fleet guards stepped into the cell. Vaspar barely looked up. The door swung shut behind them with a dull clang.

Looking more closely at Vaspar, it was clear that he had not been captured without a fight. He had bruises showing over the collar of his bright green jumpsuit, and one of his hands was bandaged. Aymon pulled the chair away from the table and moved it to sit directly in front of Vaspar. The two Fleet guards stood by the doorway, and Halen stood directly behind Aymon.

"Hello, Tani," Aymon said. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, fuck you," Vaspar said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.

"It's good to see you, too," Aymon said. "When we last talked, I had hoped that you were taking things in the right direction. I see I was wrong about that."

Vaspar didn't say anything.

"It doesn't give me any pleasure to do this, you know," Aymon said. "But I think that in the end, this is what's best for the whole population of Jenjin."

"Did you just come here to gloat?"

"Actually, I came here to make sure you didn't have some sort of plan set up for just this eventuality," Aymon said. "If you can assuage my fears, then I'll be happy to leave you alone."

"I don't have any fucking plans," Vaspar said. "Anything I did have planned is already done and over with. It failed."

"What were you hoping to accomplish, Tani?" Aymon asked, sounding as sincere as he could under the circumstances.

"Someone needed to take back control of the planet. The whole place was slipping into the hands of a bunch of backwards farmers who wanted to starve us out. It was unconscionable. Someone had to do something, and I was the one who took that responsibility," Vaspar said. His face was twisted into something menacing, even though his eyes were still closed.

"You based your entire career as governor on repressing the freedoms of those so-called backwards farmers. You tampered with the elections, for God's sake. What made you do that?"

"You wouldn't understand, First Sandreas," Vaspar said. "You've never held an elected position. You can talk so high when you were pulled into power as a child. You don't know what it's like to work hard for something and have it ripped away by a fickle minded public."

"The Empire respects the right of every planet to self determination. You don't have the right to deny that to your citizens."

"The Empire can get fucked, too," Vaspar said. "It didn't want to provide aid to us when farmers refused to send in staple food for months at a time. You only come bearing gifts to disguise the fact that you're controlling the way we do things around here."

"The way you do things is not the way that things should be done, Tani."

"You've replaced one unelected governor with another," Vaspar said. "I see no difference, aside from the fact that at least some people supported me and what I was doing."

"Halia Xu was elected to the Imperial Council for five consecutive terms, with a good amount of popular support. I think that she is an excellent choice to serve the rest of your term."

"There's a big difference between the toothless Imperial Council and what actually happens at home. No one on Jenjin cares about how much sugar Rothuss should be allowed to export, no one on Jenjin cares about how many stardrives to sell to the Trade Guild. Everyone on Jenjin cares about feeding the people in the cities. That's the difference between electing someone to the Imperial Council and the governorship. It doesn't translate."

"That may be so," Aymon said. "But Xu is governor now, and we must all trust that she will make the best decisions for the future of all of Jenjin."

"The future of the mines is the future of all of Jenjin," Vaspar said with a sneer.

"I think you are wrong about that," Aymon said. "But since you no longer have any power over it, you can keep that opinion."

"So. Am I being tried here or by the Empire?" Vaspar asked.

"That depends on how much you are willing to cooperate.”

"By cooperate, you mean lie down and take it."

"Yes, that is what I mean. I don't actually know what would be worse for you," Aymon said. "You can be tried for treason by the Empire. I doubt anyone would call for the death penalty, but you'd almost certainly spend the rest of your life on a prison colony."

"And the alternative is spending life in prison here on Jenjin? That doesn't sound very different."

"Well, prison colonies do not have the greatest reputation for comfort," Aymon said, putting it as lightly as possible. "But I don't doubt that certain people on Jenjin, specifically those who are also set to be tried soon, would find you an unpleasant cellmate."

"Ha. So you did catch the leaders of the Levelers, too?"

"They were much easier to find than you were. I take no pleasure in it, but they were responsible for some of the suffering here, just as much as you were."

"More so," Vaspar said.

"They would argue that you and your faction drove them to it."

"And I would argue that they were driving me mad," Vaspar said. "They're all guiltier than I am."

"Luckily, trials are not comparisons of one criminal to another," Aymon said. "I have no doubt in my mind that you all will be sentenced to the degree that you deserve."

They continued to go back and forth. In truth, there wasn't much that Aymon thought he could actually get out of Vaspar, he had just come to see what it looked like up close when an Academy man betrayed the ideals that they had all thought were accepted. Had it truly just been the belief that he was doing the right thing that caused Vaspar to fall so far? Aymon didn't know. He couldn't really tell.

Vaspar’s acting overly drugged had been abandoned as soon as Aymon walked into his cell, of course. Aymon would give it that the man was a good actor, but he couldn't resist showing off. And if the leader of the Empire deigned to visit him in his prison cell, well, that was a prime opportunity to get some last few jabs in. Aymon had no doubt that when his trial reached court, it would be full of theatrics from Vaspar. It was almost unfortunate that they did have to keep him drugged halfway to oblivion, but with sensitives, there was too much of a danger to not.

Aymon's curiosity satisfied, he left the prison. There were more administrative duties to attend to before the First Star arrived to take him home.