Faction The Lion’s Court

[Brodan Dobson]

Cousin Reggie showed up to the court proceedings and waved in Brodan’s general direction. Brodan wasn’t sure if @Reggie was waving at Brodan or Sev, but he tried to wave back anyways. Being handcuffed, the effect was limited.

Then Severus Dobson made a statement.

Good move, Cousin Sev! Brodan wanted to loudly cheer his cousin on as Severus Dobson pointed out the foolish nature of this trial. And Sev was right… why were they proceeding with a civil hearing? This was a military matter.

Then, the damn bug Cruk Tuk shot down the arguments that Sev stared with professional ease and got to bring up his witness. Brodan attempted to shoot a look of daggers at the stupid bug in an attempt to threaten him. Surely, by being Omar Dobson 's son, he had the same skill, right? But it was ignored as Martin Dux stumbled up to the stand.

The old man came, he rambled, and then he karked off to the bench to sleep off some kind of bender.

What kind of joke is this??? Brodan's mind was going through a few different possibilities. There were so many scenarios that could be playing out right now and he wasn't sure which ones they were…

Then it hit him. Did uncle Arken Dobson tamper with the witnesses? That made sense. It was well within Arken's wheelhouse to discreetly drug a witness before they could give a testimony. Perhaps that was the plan here? That didn't explain Omar Dobson 's death stares though. Maybe Arken wanted to keep justice within the family? That scared @Brodan more than anything. Mind you, my father always has that scary look on his face… he needs to smile more…

Kimiko Taiyou

 

[Severus Dobson]

Post: Four
Objective: Defend Cousin Broden
Tags: Cruk Tuk Brodan Dobson Kimiko Taiyou

Discredit the old, drunk man, and use it to further my point that the trial is rigged, or stay silent and hope his words help further the point?

He couldn't decide. Either way could work. The drunk had helped Severus' cause...and hurt it at the same time, by claiming that Brodan committed murder....Worse still, Severus didn't exactly have a lineup of witnesses that would say anything to seriously sway opinions. He finally made a decision, standing tall, he spoke loud and clear, "This man has just proved my point. Both of them, actually! First, he admitted that everything is rigged against the defense. Then, There is this judge!" He thrust an accusing finger at the judge, "What judge would allow, or even consider a...a drunk to be considered a Witness!? Hell! What Judge would even allow him to disrupt this court as he has done already!? So again, I will make a call for a mistrial, and we will see if this "judge" actually does her job, and grants the mistrial, or if she continues to ignore the obvious.

As for the prosecution, he has spread misinformation in claiming my cousin killed a man for a disagreement. He was not in the ship. He didn't see what happened...and his only witness was that drunkard, who simply reinforced my calls for mistrial. Our claim is that the man Brodan killed was causing dissent. He was the one that would have been court martialed if he had survived."​

 

[Omar Dobson]

Conduct unbecoming of an officer.

Insubordination.

Breach of protocol.

Those were just a few things that Omar could see Brodan Dobson being accused of. His little temper tantrum had cost lives and was unexcuseable. But this matter was taken out of his hands.

There was no encouraging smile or anything of the sort given to his son. Omar was confident that the boy wouldn't get what he deserves here and so further disciplinary action was going to be taken later on.

It was going to be interesting to see if the arguments of Severus Dobson were going to have any weight here. The Dobsons didn't seem to have much influence here. The strength of the family outside of it's own influence was now going to be witnessed here. If Omar was a political man, he'd be keenly interested. But all that he was focused on was the military aspect of it all.

Cruk Tuk Kimiko Taiyou Martin Dux

 

[Aculia Voland]

Aculia listened to the testimony quietly, if intently. Things did not look like they were going particularly well for Brodan and the ever-multiplying amount of Dobsons, notwithstanding Martin’s somewhat unorthodox testimony. She did not feel any particular love for Brodan, but the Dobson family name was something that she now had at least some stake to, given that her new company was, for the moment, one hundred percent reliant on Mandal-Arms for actually manufacturing the designs she had her newly hired draftsmen come up with. She readily admitted she had no idea how all the Dobsons interacted and the complexities of their interpersonal relationships, as she noticed Omar seemingly being a bit pleased so far, while the other Dobson assigned to defend him seemed to be both irritated and floundering in his efforts.

I really should have asked Dorthea to give me a dossier about her various relations…it seems like they are a lot more critical to this Empire than I thought they were. And it seems the King has a mixed history with them. Regardless, I don’t think it would be a good look for my company if the man is straight up convicted of cold-blooded murder with the Dobson name attached…and they seem quite wealthy…

…on the other hand, if this boy is really an unrepentant murder, I’m not so corrupt as to help him walk away scot free with my testimony. I have to know if he was simply a rich idiot trying to do his best in a stressful situation he should have never been in to begin with, or if he deserves a far harsher penalty.

Breathing out slowly, she opened herself up to the Force, letting the warm, comforting power flow through her, and tried her best to sense the emotions and thoughts of the anxious man before her. Did he feel guilty for what he had done? Ashamed? Stupid? Or was he simply another heartless aristocrat filled with pride? What she sensed, or do not sense, would influence her testimony.

 

[Cruk Tuk]

Objective 1: get Brodan Dobson convicted for his crimes in the battle against the pirates of spindle IV.

The geonosian shut his eyes for a moment. That was not an ideal witness in the slightest. And he left without even waiting for further questioning. He needed to call the witness back, but he should have more information through additional sources so hopefully that wasn't necessary.

He heard Severus speak, and he had responses that were already being lined up. Ultimately, he would not be emotionally bothered either way by the results of the trial. But it would be more convenient that Brodan be removed than not, as he posed a threat to the security of the whole. "Panic is not fitting of a courtroom either." he stated bluntly. "Either the drunk has value or he has not, if he does, then its his opinion its rigged against the defense but also that Brodan killed a man. If it does not, neither of those statements are relevant. The defense cannot have it only to their advantage. Additionally, again, the defense can only have it one way. And the defense were also not on the ship, a ship Brodan Dobson got destroyed along with many occupants. Convenient. The defense also assumes he is the only witness, and that we cannot insure he is made sober before calling upon him again. Lastly, dissent does not constitute execution under those circumstances, and that would actually require the defense to prove that the victims actions were befitting of their punishment, and thus not a victim. They must prove they had committed a crime that posed a genuine threat great enough that they could not be confined or had to be terminated immediately. Otherwise it would continue to count as murder, and so the defense would only have admitted to what happened."

His next statement came in just the same tone as the first, but it simultaneously seemed both somewhat accusatory and genuinely mean to help Severus Dobson , "It is also not a wise action to accuse the judge, the only person you presently have to appeal to. It sounds like panic and desperation."

"Martin Dux was not our only witness of this crime, there is one that was on ship at the time. A wookie that survived the ordeal fortunately. We can wait for that as I'm sure there are others in line for testimony."

He did not look at Brodan or Severus here, he just waited. To him the wookie was a jackpot, if he was willing to speak the truth. There was admittedly a strong temptation to ensure that he did. But he didn't want to risk that his force abilities would be discovered here, and if he tampered and was discovered, that would certainly result in a mistrial. And a stain to his position. The attack that threatened Omar was an obvious one, there were witnesses for that plenty. He could probably even count himself. But this was an offense that was the hardest to prove as being outright malicious, and also the most harming if it was proved so. Not necessarily in sentencing, but in character. The rest could be chalked up to incompetence, but this would cast all his other actions in a new light. But that time would come.

Aculia Voland Kimiko Taiyou Omar Dobson Brodan Dobson Martin Dux

 

[Aculia Voland]

Aculia tried her best to get a sense of Brodan Dobson and what he was truly feeling, but the tense atmosphere in the courtroom, combined with the man oozing anxiety out of every pore, made it difficult to know anything more than he was exceedingly nervous. She sighed. She was just going to have to go along with Burtch’s instructions, both spoken and otherwise, to bury the boy. She knew Grand Shepherd Burtch disliked him to say the least after wasting thousands of his soldiers’ lives, and would not be in the least bit sad if he ended up hung on a lamppost outside Elysium’s Central Naval Command if he had any actual say in the matter. He just hoped Dorthea Dobson wasn’t particularly fond of this relation of hers.

I’m not sure he walks out of this one alive, and if he does, I’m not really sure for how long. Soldiers and their families really don’t tend to like officers who have spent their lives pointlessly.

Rising up out of her chair, and deftly avoiding the cockroach-esque thing that had somehow managed to be appointed the prosecutor, she went over to the witness stand, making sure to look as prim and proper as possible. She, unlike Martin, took the customary oath to tell the truth, and only the truth. Which she would, if twisted a little bit to suit her master’s perspective.

“I, too, was in the base, in an undercover intelligence position…” She began, doing her best to paint herself as a competent infiltrator. She proceeded to mention that Brodan should have known what the plan was and of her presence, and of the need to stay back and wait for her and the ground assault forces to accomplish their objectives, lest the heavy defenses of the base still be intact when he moved his ship forward. She made it very clear that he should have known not to move any of his ships into ion cannon range before she had time to disable or destroy it. She even added a few tears in when she spoke about how she desperately tried to get the cannon before it could be fired, having to dodge obstacles caused by Brodan's folly on the way there, and Brodan's arrogance had delayed her and kept the pirates on guard. About the power fluctuations in the base his bombardment had caused, that led to abnormalities in the ion cannon’s power input. A little embellished, but mostly truthful.

And now to do what Burtch wanted me to do…

“And, one has to wonder if Brodan himself was on the payroll of that filthy vampire…” She lamented, staring directly at the boy with ice blue eyes “because it is either that, or the boy is simply not sane and should be locked up in a mental asylum. He was to advance when the ion cannon was dealt with, not before, and yet went forward knowing exactly the kind of devastation would take place, at the cost of so many innocent lives, for no tactical or strategic reason…”

Now, that part was a definite distortion of the truth, sure, he had been within range of the ion canon. And they might have gotten some shots off that might have caused some heavy damage to his fleet in particular, and even more to Burtch’s later. And that his bombing did interfere with the power. But she left out the part where she had been forced to deliberately increase the power output of the cannon by 500% to destroy it in time and had no other choice but to aim it towards Bradon’s fleet to lessen the damage to the fleet as a whole, and that the boy had no way to truly know what kind of massive destruction and absolute cascading disaster would unfold as a result. He had been truly guilty of being dumb, but not insane or bribed off by the pirates. But whether or not others understood that, or whether her accusation was successful, remained to be seen.

 

[Reggie Dobson]

Reggie listened intently to the testimonies of all the witnesses, he listened to his brother, he listened to it all. They were good cases, while it wasn't hard at all to pinpoint everything on Brodan Dobson , Severus Dobson was doing a damn good job protecting him. Severus had always been like that, the smile-flasher, the smooth one. Reggie was convincing too, but for entirely different reasons.

Reggie's heart sunk as his cousin brought up a hand, shackled, waving at him. He turned his gaze from Brodan, he couldn't bear to look him in the eye. But then again, it may be the last time to do so. He looked back to his cousin, half-smiling, a deep sadness in his eyes.

He waved at Severus again, getting his attention, gesturing over his throat, a gesture for him to stop. It was done, Brodan's hand had been dealt, the patriarch had spoken. Again, he made his way to the judge.

Approaching one of the guards, who looked down at Reggie with cold, almost emotionless eyes. Reggie spoke.

"Excuse me, may I speak to the Judge?"


Kimiko Taiyou

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

The entire spectacle was trying her nerves. She quickly noted down a few talking points to go forward, however and wherever that may be, and quickly brought her gavel down rapidly three times,"We shall convene for a one hour recess. In that time, I want both prosecution and defense parties to straighten themselves and their witnesses out." one more gavel strike, signalling the beginning of the recess.

She turned, Yotsuba already beside her offering a water cup. Her attention was quickly turned to the approach of Reggie Dobson, as her guard escorted him towards her.

Her brow raised quizzically she studied the man before asking,"Yes, what can I help you with?"

 

[Severus Dobson]

Post: Five
Objective: Defend Cousin Broden
Tags: Cruk Tuk Brodan Dobson Kimiko Taiyou \

The Recess was a nice break, because The Defense was getting shredded. Just obliterated! There was little hope left, and Severus knew it. He needed to break the news to Brodan. He walked over to his cousin, and with no expression on his face, he said, "We have no hope to succeed in this trial. If they will not give us the mistrial we deserve, we can't beat these odds. No amount of credits in the galaxy can outlast the wrath of both our own family, and The Royal family. I'm sorry Bro but this is over." Bro, his nickname for Brodan, who was like a brother to him. It was tough for him to accept that he may never see Brodan again after today.

But stronger than his pain was his wrath. He had NO allies in this fight. His own family was against him. This whole thing was nothing but a setup. He walked right into an escapeless trap and those he thought would come to his aid, did not. He would have his revenge for this...one way or another.​

 

[Cruk Tuk]

Objective 1: get Brodan Dobson convicted for his crimes in the battle against the pirates of spindle IV.

Cruk listened intently to each word, everything went on a datapad before him. Files and words tags and notes all very swiftly collected. He may not have usually been this elaborate with these types of proceedings, but he was used to this level of efficiency. It was necessary for getting him and his hive to where they were.

Again, he silently considered her final statement. He wandered if Kimiko Taiyou would allow a witness that wasn't specifically a character witness to push motive, but it was entirely up to her or Severus Dobson to try and stop that, if they didn't then he'd let it slide. It benefited him and if the judge accepted it, then it was also not on his head and thus not relevant. It may prove beneficial afterall. Otherwise, her testimony was excellent. It provided plenty of detail on the circumstances and was far more professionally given then the one before it. It also gave it from an individual perspective, he understood that kind of account was more swaying than simple facts to many near-humans. His attention briefly snapped to Reggie Dobson but returned, he was talking to a guard but it seemed it wasn't important to Cruks job here.

Although there wasn't really anything for him to ask at the end, her testimony was so far exclusively beneficial and it would be better left un-tainted unless he could think of a very good question. It seemed that he wouldn't need to bother as of yet, as Kimiko called for a recess. He simply nodded. Deactivating and clutching his notepad as he stood up to head out of the courtroom for the time being.

As he left he spoke in Severus Dobson 's direction, "We each have our jobs here. Mine is to prosecute. Yours is to defend. But sometimes you have to take a blow to survive for the next fight, rather than break your shield on an unstoppable attack. All that is relevant to me is that he is no longer a danger to the Elysium Empire and is given an appropriate punishment. I will do my utmost within this court to achieve that, but I can permit reductions to a degree of the punishment. If something is given in turn, I'm not talking bribes. I'm talking admittance of guilt. I do not tell you this out of some sense of mercy. I seek effeciency. And it is more efficient to have a brief hearing where a sentence is carried out, than it is to have a long one where the sentence is harsher but not any more useful to the Empire. I know what happened and I know that unless someone has bribed or threatened their way through this, you will lose this case. Just bear this in mind, it is up to you. Either way, I'm happy with the result. This is an official statement, though it will be retracted once this case gets far enough along that it would no longer increase efficiency."

Brodan Dobson Aculia Voland Martin Dux Omar Dobson

 

[Brodan Dobson]

The trial was going horribly.

Cousin Severus Dobson was fighting hard for a mistrial, but his words seemed to be passing right through the prosecution and the judge without even registering.

The young woman, Aculia Voland , made a powerful testimony against Brodan’s actions and were highly incriminating. Brodan did even know who she was, and apparently she had been on the pirate base when he’d fired on it. There hadn’t even been any need to question her by the prosecution. Her words were damning enough on their own.

And the judge Kimiko Taiyou didn’t even allow for cross examination of the witness by Severus Dobson and instead called to recess. There was obvious bias against Brodan here.

Cruk Tuk walked past Brodan and Severus Dobson and gave them some kind of shpleel how he wanted this to be quick and simple. Brodan couldn’t help but wonder if this was some kind of subtle hint at a possible plea deal in the future. A plea deal seemed to be his only grace right now if he got one. It wasn’t looking good though.

Brodan listened to cousin Sev’s words and his head began to feel a light light. His spine felt cold and his heart seemed to be the only sound in the room for a second. Eventually he responded, “what’s going to happen to me, Sev? What’s the punishment for my crimes that they’ve accused me of? Can we lessen the damage at all? What will happen to my career?” Brodan looked around him in case someone was listening and then leaned in to whisper, “what will… your father do to me? Is he behind all this?”