Forty-six - Public sentencing

The mentors exchanged signs and nods with the production crew. One of whom was on the phone. He gave a sideways thumbs up after a long moment and flicked a hand at another crew member. The crew member rushed to hold up a screen in front of the mentors while someone else among the production crew speed typed a message being dictated from the phone.

"It seems your explanation has been partially accepted by the authorities," Beryl said slowly, leaning forward to read the screen. "Part of your performance will be allowed to air when this episode is uploaded as a lesson to others, but your entire team will all receive eight hours of community service time, corporal punishment and a police record warning. Your community service work will include cleaning up the battlefield and caring for those who are injured after the battle is over - should you all survive and are not carried away."

Corporal punishment? Hardly any country that Stacey knew of still used corporal punishment as a consequence of breaking the law. If it was indeed a law that she had broken. Had she broken a law? Using corporal punishment in a classroom setting was one thing. Hearing it was in place here as a law breaking sentence was a bit of a shock.

"I admit I was wrong to give in to peer pressure," Imogen declared and Blaze interpreted for Stacey under his breath. "I will withdraw from the competition when my community service hours have been completed."

"Are you sure?" Beryl asked.

"I am sure," Imogen said in a firm voice, bowing herself to the ground in front of the cameras. "The Na family always admit their wrongs and are not afraid of the consequences. I think many people know that our Na family have strict family rules. Since I have publicly shamed our family name, I will go home to receive the punishment I deserve. I hereby give a public apology for disrespecting a sacred song of our ancestors and the price they paid for our freedom."

Imogen glanced at Stacey with angry, glittering eyes as if it was all her fault and strode out of the auditorium. There was a long moment of silence.

"With such a public black mark, there is no way forward for me in this industry. I also will withdraw after I've served my community service hours. Mum, Dad, you were right," Derrick said to a camera in Tadpole and bowed to the floor as well. "I should have listened to you in the first place. I quit this competition and will obey you now. I will enrol in the military as you have wished and as penance."

Derrick followed Imogen out of the auditorium with a stiff back. Blaze looked back at Stacey and gritted his teeth.

"We were wrong and have been taught," Blaze forced Stacey into a deep bow with him. "We have nowhere else to go and can only continue here. Stacey did not know. Please don't make things difficult for her."

"What? What did you say?" Stacey asked Blaze, feeling confused.

"I apologised on our behalf," Blaze told her.

"Oh."

The screen was brought to Hugh. Reading it, he gave a sad sigh.

"Blaze," Hugh summarised the message on the screen, "the authorities have decided that you too, should be withdrawn from the competition following the completion of your community service hours. Given the type of conduct you have shown here in the past week with us, you will be sent to military school. Please leave the auditorium to join your other two teammates for your corporal punishment."

Blaze put an arm around Stacey's shoulders. His arm tightened while they waited for the verdict on Stacey's future. Stacey felt like a mouse, tense and waiting to be pounced on.

"Stacey," Beryl's face brightened up a bit after she read what came up next on the screen, "you will not receive corporal punishment. It has been judged that you truly have forgotten or are completely ignorant and lacking in basic knowledge. As you have come to us pretty much a blank slate, you will be treated like a younger child who is still learning elementary matters. You will only need to serve the eight community hours. Your hard work and diligence in your studies has been observed and applauded. In order to encourage other young people and show perseverance in spite of adversities and mistakes, you will continue to take part in the program. However, you will no longer be a contestant. You will study and must strive to match the standards of the other trainees as if you were still a contestant. Failure to meet the standards required as if you were taking part in the competition will result in a public corporal punishment."

So if she failed an exam or an elimination challenge, she'd be paddled or something? What the hedgehog. Talk about adding pressure.

"The public will be able to continue to watch your growth through your channel and the weekend competitions," Beryl continued. "You will lose much of the screen time you have been receiving in the weekly episodes to be fair to the other contestants but people can follow your progress through your personal channel. Hopefully you will be able to be an example of how a person takes hold of their second chance and changes to become a role model worthy to be looked up to. Your classes from here on will also teach you the common laws and prepare you for the battle."

"That's a much better result than I expected," Melesse commented and all the other mentors agreed, looking relieved.

"I thought we were going to lose you for a moment there," nodded Telea, wiping sweat from her forehead.

Much as Stacey was glad she wasn't about to be beaten, somehow things didn't feel fair. They were a team. Shouldn't the whole team be punished equally?

"I don't have to have corporal punishment?" Stacey frowned, glancing at Blaze and brushing his arm off her. "That's not fair on the others in the team. Shouldn't the consequence be the same regardless of ignorance? The law is usually impartial, right?"

"But you had no idea what you were doing," Beryl explained, glancing at the screen in front of her every now and then, "and probably still don't quite fully understand the ramifications of what you have done. Let's just say that you have effectively insulted the entire human race on Gaius and their ancestors on national television. There are people who also watch this show overseas, so the impact will be quite large. After you have learnt more history and law," Beryl read out loud, "if you still feel you ought to also receive the corporal punishment, you may speak to your guardian about it. They may administer it for you on the law's behalf but you have been exempted from the current corporal punishment according to the judge's verdict."

That had been a rather quick trial and sentencing. Stacey had never heard of a court trial being held over the phone in this way before. From the time of the report to the sentencing, it had barely been half an hour. She supposed the systems here were very different from the bureaucratic red tape that was rife back home on Earth. Maybe they were that much more efficient on Gaius.

While she was relieved she wouldn't be paddled or caned or however they carried out their corporal punishment here, Stacey felt bad that her other teammates would be beaten and leave the program but she wouldn't. She was still allowed to participate in the program in a limited capacity. They weren't. Their careers had been cut short before they had even started.

Shouldn't teammates go through weal and woe together? Doing things this way alienated her from the rest of her teammates, as well as the rest of the trainees, and might make people hate her more. Especially any fans of the other three. With a lighter punishment, Stacey felt like a traitor. It had been her idea and yet she had been punished so lightly. Would the others resent her?

She looked at Blaze with a furrowed brow but he seemed strangely pleased. Relieved and yet bitter.

"It's fine," Blaze clapped her on the shoulder and cupped one of her cheeks. "It's a good and fair result. If they had punished you the same as the rest of us, I would have put up a fight. Now you won't have to be paddled. I'm glad. Just know that none of this is really your fault and I'm not blaming you for any of it. I'm going out now. I'll see you when it's time to do our community service."

"Go back to your seat, Stacey."

Stacey was sent to her seat. Glancing back, she saw Blaze walk out of the auditorium with squared shoulders and a straight back. Seeing him like this, Stacey felt that this might be the most handsome she had ever seen the rebellious boy.