The Sound of Justice [Ugohr Poof.]

[Republic Engineering]

“There are many paths down the winding road of fate, each step that we take causing more and more routes to materialize, as time and progress push us ever forward. Thus, there comes a time when our feet, and the choices we make, carry us down the darker path. And so, as the decisions of one had curtained those of the many - Justice would have to be met.”​

~ Jedi Knight Arcanus Sunstrider, Circa 56 ABY.​

Chandrila - Hanna City

Brionelle Memorial Military Academy: Auditorium
1905 Hrs; Taungsday.
Twelve Hours after the Cessation of Hostilities.

This was an unfettered disaster. Though it had taken everything that the Ambassadorial Corps had to offer to get the Chandrilan people to accept the Alliance’s offer of Confederation, there was still an unsteady, almost hostile air hanging about the Planetary Capital. The Democratic Assembly had asked, nay demanded, that the Perpetrator pays for his sins should the people of this lush agricultural world wish to remain within the Federation. It was a marginally small price to pay when considering the larger picture. The man, if proven guilty through a military court, would find himself incarcerated for a mandatory minimum sentence of Twenty-five years - as his crimes had, at the time, slain several foreign nationals. Their families would receive reparations from the Federation, as the man’s assets would’ve been frozen and subsequently liquidated. However, according to the reports streaming across the Fleet Admiral’s augmented retina’s - his company would remain in his possession, either under a new executive board or something of that manner. It was the only way they could make him pay, as the company he owned operated in various places throughout the galaxy, and was in no way affiliated with the Alliance. Well, at least they could dissolve the so-called “Army of Malastare” and begin mending this travesty with whatever proverbial salve they could muster.

Breathing out a sigh of frustration and gripping the bridge of her nose between forefinger and thumb, the Fleet Admiral opened her eyes to bear witness to the improvised Auditorium around her. She was chosen as the highest ranking military official in the sector, to act as but one portion of the Courts-Martial Jury - filling the position usually reserved for the Chief of Army Operations, as it seemed that he was indisposed elsewhere and wouldn’t make it to the trial in time. The others that sat beside her were several of the leading members of the Chandrilan Assembly, Several Officers of their Planetary Defence Force, alongside equal numbers of enlisted Officers from the various Regiments attached to the orbiting Expeditionary fleet, were also present to flesh out the Jury with equal numbers from both aggrieved parties. From there, the Prosecutor sat alone at his bench with dozens of datapads stacked neatly to the side, along with several portable information devices that would, in his mind, prove the defendant guilty beyond measure. Every piece of evidence had been submitted to the Courts before the assigned date and was rigorously scanned for any signs of tampering. Thus, all the man had on hand were digital and holographic copies to show not only the Jury but to the Gallery as well.

The Defendant, Ugohr Poof, was seated beside his assigned Defensive Counsel, who in turn were enlisted Officers of both the Federation and Chandrilan armed forces. If the Court had proceeded according to her knowledge, the Prosecutor would attempt to dispel the presumption of innocence through weaving the evidence and reconstructing the alleged crime so that the Jury could accurately announce their verdict. It was a droll process, but the man had to be made an example of as the Federation goes through this rampant period of growth. There were likely to be many situations akin to this in the future, so it made sense to her and the Supreme Commander that they were dealt with in such a manner that would dissuade others from “acting out of inexperience.” Had they been in the Hapes Cluster, there wouldn’t need to be such a formal trial. In fact, Astarii would’ve been well within her rights to place the Jedi before a Firing Squad and sweep the atomized ashes under the carpet. But, that was a different time and a different life. She was an enlisted Federation Officer now; she had rules and regulations to follow. It’s what made her different from those that considered themselves Warriors - as they always had someone to answer too - no matter how powerful they were.

Clearing her mind, the Fleet Admiral stood to attention, along with the rest of the Jury and the Gallery, when the Chandrilan Bailiff had withdrawn to the rear of the chamber and opened the door. Scant seconds later, a figure, swaddled in ebony-hewn fabric, emerged to the sound of the Chandrilan Officer’s voice booming throughout the converted auditorium.

“All rise!” Nearly drowned out by the sound of sentient life rousing themselves from their seats, the Bailiff continued, seemingly undaunted by the display. “In the presence of the sign of our sovereignty, and the emblem of our constitution, Remember the principals for which they stand. By Department Three, of the Chandrilan Home Defence Force and the Federation’s Judicial Branch, this Courts-Martial is now in session. The Honorable, Tomas Ashford the Fourth, Judge Presiding. Please be seated and come to Order.”

With the opening proceedings complete, the Gallery and the Jury had taken their seats in silence. It was then that the Clerk stood from the bench and addressed the defendant, listing off his crimes.

“Ugohr Poof, you have been accused of Manslaughter, Murder of Foreign Nationals, Excessive Use of Force, Reckless Endangerment of Non-Combatants during a Hostage Crisis, Reckless Operation of an Armoured Vehicle, and Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer. How do you plead?”

| [member="Ugohr Poof"] |​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Astarii Saren"]

She'd never quite understood military matters. Oh she'd dealt with plenty of armies in the past, and she even commanded the 5th legion herself, but she did not do so with any real military authority. The 5th Legion wasn't really a part of the Alliance's military, not anymore anyway. It served as the more military arm of the SIS, something that had occurred due tot he blending between Aela's command and her own attachment to the soldiers of the Legion. That was part of the reason why Aela never had to deal with these sorts of courts, and the other reason was that she was a Jedi, not a member of the Alliance military. She was however a part of the SIS

It was an odd conundrum and one that left her questioning exactly what would happen to her in a situation just like this.

Aela supposed that with so many criss-crossed lines of command things would have to be settled in a wholly different manner than this ordeal, though what exactly that manner would be she had absolutely no idea. Perhaps she would ask someone.

That wasn't a question for the now however, no. Her focus was entirely on what was happening within the courtroom. She was no lawyer of course, though she had studied legal proceedings several times in her youth. Mostly it had been due to innate curiosity, seeing the way of things. Her father had always told her that Lawyers were the only things in the galaxy worse than Sith Lords, an old joke that apparently everyone liked to tell every now and again.

She'd never actually met a lawyer, but given todays proceeding she was interested in seeing if it was true.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

The charges being listed in front of Ugohr, were, simply put, able to put a Jedi in a special cell. after having spent the past 12 hours on remand or so, which felt like an eternity to him. During that span, all the stuff he did was real estate-related. No Jedi business, no military business, he was assumed under house arrest with his lightsabers as bail before hostilities ceased, and on remand afterward. He sold off his 85% stake in IGR to Clan Lok, represented by Cathul, but before that he shot an episode of the Outer Rim House Hunter's Show and he negotiated the Turnkey Solution with Jaii Builds. It was a truly dark day for the Alliance, both in terms of crime and in terms of finance: the Alliance lost one of its major financial corporations. Ugohr essentially repeated his deposition made in the pretrial proceedings, when he was brought in shackles with void stones inlaid inside. With a heavy heart, the main contributor to the Galactic Alliance Planetary Development Project advances to the defendant's box, being asked for a plea to the numerous crimes and an undisclosed number of manslaughter counts.

"Mesa pleaden guilty to da charges of manslaughter, excessive use of force, reckless endangerment of non-combatants during a hostage crisis and reckless operation of an armored vehicle. All of disen crimes stem from una single action, mesa firen a tank round into da main door of dat agricultural facility. Mesa have only una thing to blame: mesa lack of experience and/or training in hostage crises. Mesa military service issa mostly one of a minesweeper commander, yousa see what happens when yousa assign a soldier on a mission out of hisen combat specialty. Mesa uncomfortable with having commiten disen crimes. Nevertheless mesa have a few questions: how many counts of manslaughter are there? How many of da dead are hostiles and how many of them are non-combatants?"

All that Ugohr had a sense of, as far as the death count was concerned, To the defense counsel, it was most puzzling why so many Jedi performed similar slaughter of innocents left and right without being judged for their respective slaughter. The Force has abandoned Ugohr, my unlucky client, the defense lawyer thought. Was it because it was, well, collateral damage for combat operations (as seen on Coruscant)? But Ugohr apparently showed no sign of having fallen to the dark side of the Force. Sure he no longer was a general, or even a minesweeper commander, but his successor as the commander of the Army of Malastare, Korand, was also charged with conduct unbecoming of an officer, just that he was tried separately from Ugohr for some reason. Perhaps Korand would be able to retake the command of the Army of Malastare in five years' time, whereas Ugohr would have a dishonorable discharge and then some. Plus the presence of one General Talith (she was senior to Ugohr because Aela's position as commanding officer of the 5th Legion was nominally that of a major general, whereas the Army of Malastare was, for protocol purposes, brigade-sized and thus Ugohr was a brigadier general) made him even more uncomfortable.

[member="Astarii Saren"] [member="Aela Talith"]