Oh I screwed up

As word of the other civilization's victory over the alien invasion spread throughout the earth, ecstatic jubilation broke out. Streets were packed with jubilant throng who were cheering wildly and waving flags. There was a tangible sense of relief in the air, mixed with newly discovered unity and optimism for the future.

A group of pals watched the celebrations take place in front of them as they stood in awe in a busy city square somewhere in the world. A person stated,

"Are you serious? We're free! We did it!"

"It's fantastic, but we didn't do it. That is them. They clashed. We are merely celebrating their win."

"C'mon you have seen how they look? They are humans too."

"You actually believe that? North Koreans may resemble us, but they are aliens. I am sure they are of the same kind. They most likely stood up for us because we resemble them. This cannot continue for much longer. We'll need to advocate for ourselves. I've made up my mind to enlist if any openings arise for space exploration or service in a space army."

"You're correct. Also joining is me. If not for humanity, then for my curosorty of space. If it's possible, I'd like to visit worlds outside our solar system as well."

Amidst the revelry, an elderly man, his eyes shimmering with happiness, shared his thoughts with a young boy beside him.

"Son, keep in mind this day. Remember how they sacrificed for our freedom, our safety. We must never take our freedom for granted and more importantly remember who sacrificed for our safety and security."

"I will, Grandpa! I want to be a hero like them. I want to protect our world. I want to be like the man who single handedly killed so many jets. That was so cool. He is my hero. "

Laughter filled the air, washing away the remnants of fear and uncertainty that plagued humanity for an hour or two, when it choked them, making humanity feel a sense of doom.

In addition to saving the world, this victory over the alien invaders had also formed a kinship that would last for many years. It was a celebration that would live on forever in history, serving as a constant reminder of humanity's strength, cohesion, and capacity to triumph over even the most difficult obstacles.

"This is better than I expected." Robin remarked as he went through Pyongyang's streets and observed the festivity and the crowd.

"What you just accomplished altered the course of history forever. The lines between nations will soon start to blur. Hopefully, people will cooperate as they become more unified and accepting of others around them." Rita said while beaming with happiness. Sometimes, happiness spread easily and could be seen.

They also took part in the festivities. Unaware that one of their heroes was also celebrating and having fun with them, the folks in the vicinity. The situation was obviously different for the Anno residents, but the majority of them had never met their Supreme Commande nor seen his face.

Robin was able to live the life of a rich man without being bothered by photographers or anything like that because he in a sense always had his solitude.

While people all throughout the world were celebrating, something else was going on in the world.

----

I fucked up.

I grandly fucked up.

I am a Judge in High Court in the India. And I have fucked up royally.

All of this started few months ago when North Korea was in rage around the world. Even after receiving numerous confirmations from the media, I initially believed it was all a fraud and paid little attention. I was enjoying a life of luxury while having my ass kissed.

But then, out of nowhere, this North Korean leader gave an interview and claimed that the global justice system was inadequate and that we required some sort of improvement. I was a little annoyed by this. How could he? Someone who has no knowledge of the legal system makes statements about us. Does he even understand how the legal system functions and how an innocent person might be imprisoned if we don't do our job properly?

I was enraged by this, but I didn't care. Then everything started to go crazy. Out of nowhere new circulations came that we needed to be more efficient and close cases faster and not just 'hang them around.' Additionally, the government asked us to reduce our vacation time to zero. There was typically a 155-day vacation for high court judges in India.

Since the country's independence, this has been going on, and the government has just recently decided to outlaw our custom of taking annual vacations. And I wasn't the only one who felt this way. Many of my coworkers were, too, and we complained about it to the government as well as to the prime minister in letters, pleading with him to remove these absurd new restrictions for us.

But of course, the government did nothing about it and simply told us to do as it was told. According to the constitution, the Government had little authority over the courts and judges in India, but politics became a factor in the end, so they did have some power over us to a certain level. Despite this, we still had our independence.

And fortunately, we weren't the only ones going through hardship. Small country leaders, owners of profitable firms, individuals who took advantage of others and struck arrangements with the government to enrich themselves, as well as other parties from all over the world, were urged to change their ways. We didn't like this too much.

Soon a global 'cabal' was formed and we were pushing against this blatant agenda and change of rules against the new North Korean regime. After displaying slogans such as "privacy violation," "the issue that innocents would be harmed if we disseminated faster judgments," "small nations also deserved their independence," and other such phrases, we began to move forward.

Plus there was a whisper that an alien civilisation might come looking for us and North Korea would have to suffer the burnt for it. We crossed our fingers and hoped that the extraterrestrial civilisation would overthrow the North Korean government so that we could resume our normal way of life.

While we waited for the so called 'invasion' I was served another notice. A notice for me to resign from my position. And that was caused by a case that I had almost forgotten.

Some 4 years ago, I came across a case where a young woman of 17 years of age was harassed and killed by her 'older boyfriend' of 30 years of age along with her mother. This man killed the mother and the young teen by manslaughter in a particularly terrible case. Despite the fact that the case was quite straightforward, this man was well-heeled and wealthy. It was a classic case of grooming and then when the teenager wanted to get away from the relationship, he killed her and her mother.

The teenager's brother was a soldier who was away on duty and the only surviving member of the murdered family at the conclusion of the case. Without giving it any thought, I granted this individual bail and requested that he post a sizable sum of money as bond and bail. This man obviously had strong political ties because he personally contacted me in the past and offered to bribe me with money.

And that was it. But then the shit hits the fan.

A little over six months later, the brother returned. He was now a decorated army veteran who had previously served in the special forces. He tracked down the perpetrator and executed him with the utmost brutality. He tied the man upside down and skinned him while he was still alive. After two hours of severe suffering and blood loss, the guy passed away.

Since it was a large metropolis, I shouldn't have learned about the case, but God had different intentions. I was the judge of this case and when I read through the case I instantly knew what case this was.

I read the reports and was shocked. The soldier was discovered after a few days and brought before me since the individual had a politically active father and was highly connected. The man had no regret on his face when I glanced at him. He smiled warmly and did not display any animosity. It frightened me. I wanted to get rid of the case fast because I too was involved in it and in the final moments I asked the soldier.

"Is there anything you want to say?" This was customary in courts, therefore I was required to comply.

"Yes. What was the name of the judge who released the murderer on bail?" The soldier questioned while grinning. I was horrified and without much thought at that time I sentenced him for double life imprisonment which amounted to jail time of 144 years with no hope for bail.

--

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