The Shadow Trial

## **Prologue**

The Galaxy in which we reside, is one of many wonders and one of even more sorrows. Each day, scientists break the thin glass that covered what used to be believed as facts and each passing day, billions upon billions look to the stars with fear because they don’t know if their lives will continue the next day. The following story is a ripple effect of one of the many tragedies that take place within this Galaxy of ours.

If there is one thing the Galaxy is known for is war, and few have been involved in as many wars as the sentient AI nation of Zenak Forge. They have seen it all, been placed near hegemonic and purifier behemoths, the Zenak were never meant to last; maybe that was the intention behind their creation, perhaps as a sick joke, although that would be a subject for another conversation. War after war, they saw their numbers dwindle and the nation fall apart until the cycle of destruction would partially come to and end when the Favsim finally subjugated what little remained of the Zenak nation. The members of the forge however would not go down easily, because simply accepting the favsim overlordship over them would mean that all of the secrets Zenak possessed and even their origin which they themselves had never really taken an interest about, would be wide open for the dominion to use as they pleased and that was simply unacceptable. Due to this, the Zenak primary mainframe disconected itself from the zenaks outside the nation (meaning migrants and ambassadors) passing to them all important data that they would have to guard from now own.

It took a while for the dominion to see through this smokescreen but at last they found out and ever since that moment, they have been employing assassins and mercenaries to eliminate or capture all Zenak outside the forge in order to get a hold on the missing info. In a hundred percent of the cases the result have been elimination, since those that have been captured, have self destructed just to spite their would be captors, and the method in which they do it has proven to be impossible to counter.

All of this takes us to the very end of the 24th century, in the final month of the year 2301, a time which would be marked by a specially grim event involving the Zenak Embassy and a rogue faction of the Shadow Templars, in the planet of Ortus, capital of the Commonwealth.

For quite some time now, The Shadow Templars lead by their long lasting leader, Devonaire, had been going through some very important internal turmoil and leadership crisis, with a business minded faction rising quite quickly to prominence amongst the ranks. They argued that, as a mercenary company, they couldn’t survive working just with the Commonwealth who they saw as increasingly unreliable due to beliefs differences. They wanted the templars to accept contracts with other nations, something Devonaire was strongly against. This struggle had been going on for some time now, and while it had not shown it’s effect on the battlefield yet, it was starting to erode the company as a whole and the cracks would only grow bigger with time.

## **The Embassy Attack**

These events came together when the rogue faction within the templars went ahead and accepted a contract from the favsim with a very simple objective, to retrieve any data possible from the zenak embassy and its members, and right after that, to destroy it all, ambassadors and staff included, making it seem like a freak accident if possible. A twenty strong men tactical team was sent to deal with the unapproved mission and then things just got extremely messy; the zenaks were waiting for them and had made sure to prepare the building as a proper death trap. Unfortunately for the Zenaks, they were facing highly experienced and highly trained soldiers who, when noticed that communications were down, decided to bring up the big guns and bring the building down. The fallout was tremendous and a brutal fight ensued afterwards with the rogue templars splitting up in unison trying to mop up the remaing targets if there were any, and according to the readings, there were. However, zenaks once again proved to be prepared coming out of subterranean bunkers and getting close and personal with their would be killers, ending their lives in a gruesome way that it would be best leave it to the imagination. In any case, one by one, little by little, using the rubble and the subterranean bunkers to their advantage, the Zenak came up victorious with no casualties but with many injured robots with some concerning glitchy behavior.

Now, there was a reason why the zenaks were so prepared in the first place, and that is the fact that Devonaire had been studying the movements of the rogue faction for quite some time now, even going as far as getting infiltrators in their midst. He argued that those people were far too numerous and dangerous to the values and principals of the organization to leave them be without checks or bounds, and that proved to be a wise choice, because that unauthorized attack on the zenaks was just the perfect opportunity Devonaire was waiting for to strike and put them down for good. He warned the Zenaks about the imminent attack and once the tactical team had been dispatched to end the Zenak Embassy, Devonaire gathered a total of six thousand men to raid the main base of operations of the rogue faction in a quick and hopefully simple attack. Both events would prove harder and messier than imagined for the attacking sides and would have far reaching consequences in the near future.

## **Endsieg and repercussions**

When the attack on the Embassy was nearing it’s end, the raid on the rogue main base of operations was about to begin, and it began with heavy losses for Devonaire. Turned out that the rebels were also expecting the attack after being warned by one of Devonaire’s second in command who was (in the mind of the traitor at least) a pragmatist and a true believer of the templar’s organization.

Mines were detonated killing at the very least 300 hundred of the attacking force, followed by an artillery barrage that had little effect thanks to the quick reaction of Devonaire, who directed his men to take cover in some robust areas surrounding the hideout. A new change of plan was needed and according to the schematics, the hideout had a total of five subterranean entrances in the shape of a star that could be attacked at the same time as the main entrance, pressuring the defenders enough to the point of breaking and then finally bring them to heel and to justice for all their transgressions.

The attack began at about 02:00 am and immediately ran into trouble as all five subterranean entrances were barricaded and turned into choke points that would only make attack attempts even harder and probably death traps. The order was given to continue both up and down attacks, causing the casualties rise to the thousands. On the attacking side; up to twenty seven hundred people died on the offensive but it had the intended effect, since the defender were stretched extremely thin. This however only made them more reactionary and fanatic in their defense; they opted to use what little explosives they had to blow up the subterranean entrances although only four of them fell leaving one still open to attack. The forces from the other four points (both attackers and defenders) went to the remaining one and fought to the nails to either break in or keep the invaders out. It got so desperate at one point that the rogues set loose, a pack of five genetically modified Ayalubus smuggled from the Favsim Dominion which ravaged the attacking forces, delaying them enough to allow the defender to manually bring down the walls in that last entrance.

The upper battle hadn’t gone any better with the attackers being pinned down by the defenders, who even still with no more artillery had a better position to keep the attackers at bay. This second wave had taken up to two hours and big losses on both sides, but mostly on the attacking side; the simple surprise attack Devonaire had in mind became a nightmare in the blink of fan eye and soldiers and ammo were starting to run very low.

It was at this point when a scout party sent by Devonaire himself in order to find any weaknesses to exploit, came back, and they did with some good news. There was an aquatic cave that led right below the hideout and while there was no way to get in from there, it could be exploited nonetheless. Devonaire reacted quickly as usual and arranged for some small fusion bomb to be placed there and detonated. A new attack order was given but caution was key, since no more people needed to die if the plan worked.

A nerve racking hour passed and Devonaire was let know that the bombs were in place and ready to detonate, he took the chance immediately and detonated the bombs. Of the remaining six hundred of the initial one thousand, only one survive the explosions only to die later on from his wounds.

Commonwealth law enforcement's were made aware of the templars battle once it was done since they were already caught up with the Embassy attack, but when they got there, a mass arrest process began and the backlash on the templars was severe. People demanded their dismantlement and even politicians saw this as an opportunity to get ride of what they considered a terrorist cell waiting to develop. However, due to the many participants in previous war of the Commonwealth, the loyal service provided and the fact that Devonaire had warned the Zenaks before the impending attack was enough to grant the leader of the templars and his peers a trial hearing in which two subjects would be debated….

1. Analize the reasoning behind the attack on the zenak embassy and should the templars take full responsibility for the attack, assuming the charges of terrorism.
2. Should the organization known as “The Shadow Templars” be allowed to continue to operate in Commonwealth Space, other nations or be disbanded outright due to them being too great of a danger.

The fate of the shadow templars was about to be decided in a court of law.

## **The Trial**

We open the year 2302 with the follow up to the shadow templar attack to the zenak Embassy and their petty, yet dangerous civil war. As mentioned before, the templars would have to undergo a trial in wich two subjects would be discussed; one being if the shadow templars as a whole should be charged with terrorism after their attack on the zenak and number two, if they should be allowed to continue to exist. The trial ended up becoming quite the big event inside of Ortus and the rest of the Commonwealth with great press coverage with notable figures such as Otsilo from GCN and it’s direct competition from Take 5 Media Franz “The Pig” (being known like that due to his many sensationalist agendas) appearing to do their best covering the whole trial for their audiences.

Presiding the trial was the honorable judge Enzo “Il Dogo” Corte (known like that due to his long traced Italian ascendancy), a man who rose to prominence on the judiciary after the trials of the Commonwealth separatists a few years back, he’s always been known for being fair and level headed while also enforcing the law to it’s fullest extent; it was no wonder then, that he could’ve been picked to preside such a trial. On the prosecution side stood Rikhart Fegelein, known for being relentless on the court of law and for his many hyperbolic mannerisms (which to many made him look like a divo); a man also risen to prominence during the trials of the separatists; he held quite the reputation on the halls. On the defending side, there stood Sir Devonaire and representing him and the entirety of the shadow templars was a most unusual presence, a Thadrakos She-Elf known as Higana, a shrewd attorney quite notorious for using strategies that would always paint her clients in the most relatable light and this time would be no different.

### **Opening statements**

The trial began with the entrance of the judge Enzo who, after taking his seat, proceeded to order both the prosecutor and the defense attorney to give their respective opening statements. Rikhart began giving a fiery speech worthy of a play performance on how the actions of the shadow templars endangered all of the Commonwealth and should they be allowed to continue roam free, it would come at the expense of the nation and the lives of it’s citizens and allies. Here are some of the highlights.

**Highlight number 1:** *Honorable judge, ladies and gentlemen of the court, we find ourselves here today to do something that has been long overdue, and that is to hold the shadow templars, a group known for their extremism and carefree nature, accountable for their crimes and to once and for all put an end to pain they cause others…*

**Highlight number 2:** *…Our Zenak friends have suffered great hardships, being attacked by most of the nations placed on the wild north, and as if it wasn’t enough, now they have to suffer being attacked in neutral territory by a group that was a ticking time bomb and that has finally gone rogue. The situation…*

**Highlight number 3:** *…Which is the reason why these people must be stopped, their band must be disbanded and they must be prohibited to ever resembling in Commonwealth territory ever again. I shall prove that despite the heads-up given to the Zenak by Devonaire, the attack would’ve happened anyways and it was only a matter of time. They are a threat to our citizens, friends and would be allies and I shall do my best to end their blight bringing like this justice to us all.*

The Thadrakos came after and gave a thunderous speech on how the templars were people that had made a career being devoted to the Commonwealth and it citizens. They were a group of companions that fought valiantly to protect everything that was good about the nation an it’s people, which was one of the reasons they would accept any contract given to them; out of love and respect. Dismantling the group and sending them to the mines would not only be a crime in itself but would also hamper military operations. Here’re some of the highlights:

**Highlight number 1:** *Honourablerable Judge, ladies and gentlemen of the court, while it is true that what happened with the zenak embassy and the shadow siege’re all sorrowful events, we should not forget the fact that my represented warned the zenaks about the imminent attack and has also dedicated his life into serving the Commonwealth…*

**Highlight number 2:** *…Even in places like Voice, the templars were on the frontlines, with their zeal driving them always forward when others were retreating in the face of certain defeat. The nation owns these people a great debt of gratitude and dismantling the group would only serve as punishment to the innocent and furthermore, imprisoning and sending it’s members to the mines would be a crime in itself and a big stain on Commonwealth’s justice system. We’re not here to deflect responsibility, we want justice for all like anyone else, but not at the expense of the lives of innocents. I shall do everything in my power to help us all reach a satisfactory conclusion to this event.*

### **The next three days**

Given the sheer size of the list of witnesses (about 150), the trial extended for a period of three days in which both the prosecutor and the thadrakosi engaged in a battle of rethoric in which one could not tell who was trying to outdo the other. Rikhart would always cut to the chase with his questions, trying to bring out the facts and how they made the templars look like a dangerous band of lunatics that cared little for the lives of others, or even theirs for that matter. Higana on the other hand opted to aim the questions to a terrain that painted the templars in a much more relatable light, bringing out situations in which the soldiers would endanger their own lives to save civilians from shrapnel, how they would cordon off areas to prevent collateral damage and many other circumstances of heroism.

This would continue until the third day in which the final witnesses gave their statements. It was now time to question the high command of the shadow templars, but there were not many left after the siege and some of those who remained were in no mental condition to give any sensible answer. In the end only three captains were questioned and it would be an understatement to say that they left quite the bad impression on the court. Now it was time to question Devonaire himself, the future of the templars would be decided then and there.

Rikhart would be the first to have a crack on the witness and he didn’t hold back even a little. He questioned Devonaire on the values of the templars, some of their erratic behaviour in certain battlefields and most importantly, his opinions on sentient AI. This last question was the one that had made the previous three screw things up for the defense and now Devonaire would be tested aswell.

Devonaire made clear that his intentions when founding the templars were always to protect the values and the citizens of the Commonwealth and make sure that anyone who dared to attack regretted it with every fiber of their bodies. He also mentioned that they would always try their best to avoid civilian deaths on any side and that eagerness to fight in the face of death or doom were some of the most welcomed attributes in the organization; that and also not taking contracts not belonging to the Commonwealth.

When it came to the issue of sentient AI, he said that he valued, unlike many of his peers, all types of lifes. However, while he respected all life, he personally was not a fan of sentient AI wich he considered to be dangerous to organic life, and while he recognized that even the Commonwealth was heading into that direction, he was weary of the consequences such a thing could bring. Although none of this would ever prompt him to directly attack the zenaks or any other.

Once this part was done, then came the turn of the defense and during the questioning, pretty much the same points were addressed and even same answers were given. At that point there was little else to add and it came down to the Judge to give the final verdict. Judge Corte excused the court for an hour long break in order to reach a sensible verdict and once it was through, the judge came back with a verdict reached.

### **The verdict**

While it was true that the shadow templars were involved in the embassy attack, the fact of the matter was that a rogue faction was really at fault, even if they formed within the templars. For this crime of terrorism in specific, the judge ruled in favor of the shadow templars, however, the organization would be forced to pay a hefty amount of twenty thousand energy credits in reparations, a sum that would not bankrupt the band but it would certainly hamper their ability to fight effectively.

For the crime of having an actual battle on Commonwealth soil and thus proving too dangerous to exist or even operate as part of the military, they were found guilty but Devonaire would not be sent to a mine nor would his peers. The organization would be disbanded either, however, the Shadow Templars would be banned from operating in the Commonwealth, their members would be prohibited from entering any city and would have to keep themselves in their moon bases, they would also be cut down to size and Commonwealth officials would always be monitoring their movements from that point onwards.

The end result off this affair was the effective crippling of the shadow templars as a military organization, but one that quite literally saved it’s members of a future working in the deepest galactic mines of the Commonwealth due to terrorism charges and they also kept their company. Now, only time would tell how the templars would conduct themselves through this new age in their history.