The Trial

With that announcement, the trial was underway. The trial that would decide the fate of Kita was about to play out before him.

Kita stood there and watched as the Prosecution got up and began to present his arguments. All of his arguments were based around facts that were true. Kita had really did all that stuff. Although the Prosecution was exaggerating much of the events for theatrics, but the facts were solid.

As Kita stood there and heard about all the arguments presented against him, he felt like he had done something really bad. Which was weired. Although he admitted that he had broken some rules and disregarded the orders from his superirors, he didn't think that he had done something that would have too much of an impact.

Kita got bored after a bit, he knew what he had done. There was no point in hearing the same thing over and over again from someone else.

He turned to look towards the judges.

The judges of this trial was the members of the council. Out of the 10 or so members, only 3 of them were physically present. The rest joined the trial through virtual projections.

There were veranda like structures stacked on the wall, the judges sat there according to their ranks. The highest rank of them all sat at the very top. When Kita tried to look at the person sitting on top, he could barely make out their faces. But he knew who he was. The one of the very top was the Head of the council. When it came to anything related to the military, his decisions were absolute. No one could defy his orders. He was a man that sat on top of the whole military power structure of the Arcorn Empire.

He was also the presiding judge of this trial. And the final verdict would be his to give out. Currently, the esteemed figure attended the meeting through a virtual projection.

Kita even doubted that this trial was the main thing he was doing right now. It was very possible that he was attending to multiple things at this very moment. But Kita didn't have any way to confirm this theory. But considering the amount of things he needed to attend this felt like a very real possibility.

Soon, the prosecution finished his piece and went back to his seat. It was Peter's turn next. So he got up, and came in front of the judges to present his piece.

His main argument for Kita's defense was staged around the fact that the planet B1 wasn't all that special and Kita didn't warrant that much scrutiny over destroying it. He also presented arguments that Kita did what he did in a state of grief. Which was a valid claim. But this was a double edged sword. This made Kita seem like someone who couldn't control his emotions during a time of pressure.

Well, Kita didn't care if someone thought of him as an unreliable person. It didn't matter anymore. So if saying so could get him out of trouble, so be it.

Soon, Peter finished his piece and returned to his seat after bowing to the judges.

The prosecution got up again. And began his speech.

"Esteemed council members, I want to turn your attention to this footage of the planet formerly known as B1." He said as he turned on a recording of the footage of the moment of impact.

The footage showed how moments after the impact, the huge planet self destructed and split into two. To the ones who hadn't seen it before it was a horrifying sight. People couldn't help but imagine what would happen if something like that happened to a planet with human population. The amount of destruction would be off the charts.

"This was a planet almost 10 times the size of earth. A single impact caused the planet to self destruct. This wasn't a fluke like the defendant would like to claim. But it was a calculated move done in cold blood. To claim that this was done in a fit of rage after losing one's beloved is nothing more than a try at distracting the council from the main point. While I sympathize with Dr. Kita on his loss, But what he did, took careful planning and action. Not to mention abusing his authority as someone with great power. I urge the council to consider the actions of the accused in an objective matter. Not only did he disregard direct orders from his superior, but also broke many rules along the way. I urge the council to take these things into consideration as they make the decision."

The prosecution finished his piece and got back to his seat.

This had a great impact on the trial. The footage shown was too impactful!

Kita looked at Peter, he seemed caught off guard by this. From his expressions, Kita could figure out that the Footage shown by the prosecution wasn't part of the plan. But He got up regardless.

There was little he could say about the footage itself. It was clear as day that the destruction was unlike anything humanity had seen. But he still proceeded to say that whatever happened was just a fluke. And Kita didn't plan for the destruction for the planet. But getting lucky to this degree was still a bit suspicious.

Peter finished his piece and got back to this seat.

The trial was almost at the end. The judges directed their attention to Kita himself. They wanted to ask him a few questions.

"Dr. Kita, I understand that you did what you did knowing in sound mind and body that what you're doing is against the code of conduct of an researcher of your stature, am I correct?", One of the judges asked.

All the eyes in the court turned towards Kita. Kita was caught off guard by this sudden question. But he decided to answer truthfully, he would be caught if he lied anyway. There were multiple ways they were tracking whether he was lying or not. So there was no point in lying.

"Yes, I was aware that my actions would go against the code of conduct expected off of me."

"And did you know what your little fit of rage would result in the destruction of the planet formerly known as B1?"

"No. I wasn't aware of the magnitude of the destruction it would bring. My target was only the monolith that took my Helen from me." He replied in a resolute voice. It was true. He didn't expect that it would destroy the whole planet.

"That will be all.", the judge said before turning towards the other judge.

One of the judges then announced that they council would now decide on the verdict. A privacy shield activated that isolated all the judges from the rest of thr room, no one could heard what they were talking about. They could only wait for the verdict.

After about 10 minutes, the privacy shield dropped, and the judges looked like they were ready to give out the verdict.

"Before the council announces the verdict, I would like ask Dr. Kita another question."

The Presiding judge at the top said in a solemn voice.

He looked at Dr. Kita and asked.

"Dr. Kita, What did Dr. Helen your late wife meant to you."

'Huh?!?' That caught Kita off guard again.

What did Helen meant to him? He couldn't formulate an answer straight away. So he began to think.

His expression turned soft, He began to think about Helen.

He first Met Helen in their university days. It was love at first sight for him. But he had been too timid to chase after her. So he had waited a number of years before he managed to confess to helen. Who to his surprise accepted his feelings.

After they began dating, Kita could remember his days only becoming more colorful. He couldn't image a life without her after that point.

He had pictured a perfect family with her, but the monolith had taken everything from him. It had destroyed the perfect future he had imagined.

After losing her, Kita lost all meaning in life. So, What was Helen to him? The answer was obvious to him. His actions should've made it clear to the council as well, But they were still asking him this question?

The esteemed council felt like a bunch of idiots to him at the moment. What did Helen meant to him?

"Everything."

That was the only word Kita spoke. He was unwilling to elaborate any further.

"And do you regret your choices? Would you, if give the chance to turn back time, would you make the same choices?"

"I wouldn't. Instead I would save Helen at all cost!", Kita said in a clear and resolute voice. There was clear conviction in his voice.

"I see." The judge said.

After a while, he said again.

"This council has made it's decision. I will announce the verdict now."

"For his crimes, Dr. Kita Thiels will be Dishonorably discharged from the Arcorn Military. All of his credentials and access will be revoked. And he will have to pay a fine of 1 million credits." With that said, he banged the gavel. That marked the end of the trial.