The holding cells in the Militia’s Abraham Barracks were clean. They were well maintained and provided everything a prisoner would ever want shy of an open door.

It was this clean prison cell is where Yujo found herself when she woke up. She had been changed out of her wet suit and into the spare change of clothes she had taken with her. When she put her handcuff bound hands on top of her head she could feel a cotton bandage covering the cut.

“Took long enough for you to wake up.”

Her attention turned to the owner of the dignified yet stern voice that greeted her. He was a older man of average height. On his right hand side several medals were pinned to his jacket. His mouth was a straight line. It gave Yujo no opportunity to get a read on his emotions.

What she did know, as did everyone else in the Republic, was his name. He was Grand Marshall Leon Rand, the man in charge of the Republic’s militia forces.

The sight of the imposing figure made Yujo's heart skip a beat. The severity of the situation she found herself in was now much more worse. She sat up and moved her body around so her legs sat over the edge of the bed. Her head still tense with pain she looked up at him with as much reverence as she could manage.

“Yujo Sippe Palms.” He said, his voice booming as if it had come from on high to judge her.

She meekly nodded.

“Last night, at approximately 23:23, you were brought to the shoreline by a selk hunting pod. Though an interpreter, they informed us that they found you in their territory."

‘So I did end up in the Selk Lands…’ Yujo thought to herself as she looked down at the floor, her freckled cheeks glowing in shame.

“Their testimony and the lack of a Boat Hand means that have you committed two very serious crimes. Also, if it wasn’t for the selk you would also be dead.”

The Grand Marshal’s pinpoint, sharp-tonged, analysis of the situation stung. He turned around and put his hands behind his back.

“It is only good luck within bad that we also found the person who offered you the job. Had we only found you and the pictures you took you would have also been been charged with Incitement.”

Yujo couldn't say anything, he had her bang to rights.

“That person, that John Smith character of yours, has been in and out of our custody for years for similar acts of misconduct. The fact that we can finally charge him with a felony, coercing a minor to commit a crime, is the only good to come out of this whole farce.

Yujo didn’t know what was worse; that the whole ordeal had was a ‘farce’ to the authorities or that she was still a minor in the eyes of the law.

One of the left-over policies from the wartime government was the conscription. This took the form of a two year service with the militia that was mandatory of all able-bodied citizens from the age of 16. Between that age and the age of 30, everyone had to have taken the service or risk finding themselves arrested. Due to the pride in the militia during wartime no one could call themselves an adult in polite society until they had completed their service.

That was all academic for Yujo. The severity of her crimes outweighed any sort of special factors the judges would take into account for her being a minor. As she had broken the terms of the ceasefire, that made her a potential felon.

The pride she had felt when she got her license three years ago, all that work she did for it, was now in tatters after making a stupid decision.

A wave of tiredness quickly washed over Yujo. She looked up at the Grand Marshal and asked another question.

“So, what happens now?”

Still unable to get a read on his emotions, Yujo watched on as the Grand Marshal turned around to look down on her.

“Well, the first thing to happen will be that your guardian, Rosemary MacKenzie, will be brought here. She needs to be present when we levy the charges.” He fumbled around his pockets to find something, paused when he couldn't find it and then coughed.

"We called her as soon as you came in. According to the person who took the call, one brother Hogan, she had left to go looking for you at about 17:00 last night."

Any sense of relief Yujo felt knowing that Rosemary knew of the situation was quickly burdened by the very same fact.

“We will conduct a meeting to establish the charges levied against you; that would be one count of ‘dangerous diving’ and a felony ‘contravening the ceasefire’. Then all you would have to hire a lawyer or have the state provide you one and then you’d stand trial.”

Yujo looked to the side of the bed she was sitting on to hide her face from the inescapable gaze of the Grand Marshal.

“And then I’d go to jail.”

A wry smile, something Yujo missed in her attempt at bitter commentary, made itself aware on the Grand Marshal's face.

“It’s not my place to predict the future.” He stated before turning around.

“But I suppose this empty talk until your guardian arrives.”

He turned around to leave.

“If I were you, young lady, I would start thinking very hard about what you’re going to say to her once she gets here.” He said as he walked away and closed the door to the prison room behind him.

As soon as she was on her own. Yujo's mind devoted everything to figuring out what she was going to say to Rosemary when she arrived. The smallest part of her hoped that Rosemary would have left her to rot. Why should she bother rushing to the aid of the ungrateful brat that had a stupid argument with her and then broke the law?

Yujo closed her eyes and sighed.

That was nonsense and she damn well knew it. She knew that Rosemary would turn Mem upside down for her. That bit of self reflection helped a little. What it didn't help Yujo to do was figgure out what she was going to say.

“Hi Rose! I make a mockery of the teachings by making the whole thing with those selk personal. My anger nearly got myself killed and might as well have died! Now as my stupidity has got me facing a who knows how long sentence in capital-J-A-I-L Jail!”

That didn't sound great.

In fact it was probably the worst thing Yujo could say to Rosemary right now. The fact that it would be the thing that she said to her on the cusp of losing of St. Aldrin’s made even worse.

In utter defeat, Yujo sprawled herself out on her bed and fell asleep.