18: Yomokei
I hoped that the crowd would perhaps make a stand against Brutus, that someone would say something in defiance, but there was nothing. Brutus was far too imposing a person to challenge, even when I was the prey. He frightened everyone. Even people who were originally blocking his way out immediately moved aside with a look.
-Out of my way. I was dragged by the collar as he went through the crowd and verbally destroyed all resistance in his way. -Out of my WAY!
I was certain that I was crying hard as he brought me to the transit - his car that he shuffled Tsukinousagi around - and unapologetically threw me in the back of it. I really don't remember it. I probably blocked it out of my head. It would have been embarrassing to remember either way; it had been bad enough that I remembered everything else. But I digress. It is not the memory of actually crying hard which told me that I had been crying hard.
-Stop it! He growled at me as he blasted out of the crowds of the courtroom, as I probably sat on the back seat, screeching. -STOP crying, damn you!
My head instantly came up at that. The man was actually cursing. That brought me to attention. To a soldier, it was uncivilized to swear. Oddly, many of his curses translated relatively well into your languages. But I digress.
-Well! I managed to speak through my tears falling into my mouth. -Why sh-should I!
-Because I said so.
-What? I felt some indignance, and attempted to stand up for myself. -How d-dare you! You saw that-
-HA! He roared. I became frightened again. -You weren't that bad off! You weren't hurt! You don't know pain. So I won't let you cry. You are forbidden from crying in my presence. You don't deserve to cry.
I clenched my hands. I was about ready to smack him for the things he said. What a brute! I started planning my escape then and there, how I would throw him out of the transit, and I would get myself home and leave the grunt on his own, sorry he treated me ill. It was a highly illogical idea, as he had a complete physical and experience advantage over me. Brutus was specialized in neutralizing people; he subdued and killed plenty of people in his life. He had probably figured out all of my weaknesses long before this. But I digress.
-And, he continued. -If I had the power, I'd pat you the same way you pat her. And I'd do worse, because you deserve worse, seema-ship.
-Why.......what?
My plan went right down the drain. I felt my bravery drain away. I realized he knew.
-....Dyka! I croaked. -She told you....about last night?! Why would she.....
The minute I spoke, he started laughing at me. He had a very deep but hard laugh, one that put you at total unease, because when he laughed, it normally meant he knew something you either didn't know or you didn't want anyone else to know. That was what I came to realize.
-HA!HA!HA! He laughed as if it was a joke. -Dyka?! You think your boss told me the shit you were pulling? Your boss only knows the one bad incident. Come on, now. You're a schoolteacher, right? Do what you tell the little kiddies and think. Who else could it have been?
I began to feel cold inside at this. It was then I knew full well who had told Brutus what had happened.
-Yes, you got it! He mocked me. -Good. Good. Maybe we can talk a little bit. You sad you can't go into trial?
-.....That's none of your business.
-Oh, but you can't fool me! To my shock, Brutus suddenly stopped the car. -You're dying to know. You want it so you can taste it.
-.....I-
-I'll give it to you. He cut me off, to my surprise again. -I can give it to you. But you ain't gonna like it. Not unless I explain it to you in normal terms.
What he said, I have come to realize, is, sadly, true. Yet Brutus talked in such a way that took me aback. I did not expect a grunt to be so frank with me. I didn't expect a grunt to have the capacity to talk. Yet when he spoke, I felt like I had suddenly become a tiny little speck, or was back at the old school, where the headmistress frowned on me whenever I did something foolish and nonparsec. But....I digress.
-Hey - I'm no idiot, Seema-ship. The transport stopped in a side street. I began to get nervous. -And I bet half them in there are not stupid either. Usagi didn't even have to tall me. Don't you get it? You think us Bysey gave Usagi to you so you could treat her like filth?
-She-
-And don't you EVEN. He turned and gave me the coldest look. -You never worked with prisoners. You don't know nothing about the pirate fighters. Half the people I've seen in my years don't DESERVE to be there. But they're all rotting in prison. Yeah, yeah, I was like you, all pompous and such. But its different for you because you don't have to go in there. You don't have to know the stories.
He was silent. I became red, almost indignant that he should lecture me after such a terrible day. I was almost ready to get out of the transport and use public transportation. I would have rather risked ostrication than a lecture with him. Because I had a lurking fear that he was right, the same fear that had come over me the last time I had been on Tsukinousagi.
-You don't know of Yomokei.
-....Who?
-The One. Brutus slowly nodded. -Kepe's star. She's testifying today.
My head came up at this. The great witness! I had almost forgotten about it again! The one that Kepe had told us would put to rest doubt of Tsukinousagi's guilt. And I was disgraced, unable to see the proceedings....!
-
I was to learn of Yomokei later, of her origins and such, but I feel it sufficient to explain them here. She is a prime example of a sailor soldier, exemplary in her time, that turned almost completely traitor.
Yomokei, ironically, was from the planet Bucepha - from the same system which Bora came from. Yomokei was of the four-legged kind, but she certainly was much bigger than Bora - far stronger, far more feral as your kind would say. Not as tall as I was, but still big.
Much has been said of her since the resolution of the Great Matter. She had been a pirate fighter in her early days, for many years, though she was not of much prominence. Essentially, her job was to root out what was called the True Threat of the Vika galaxies; this threat was not something taken lightly.
The True Threat was the threat of uncontrolled sailor soldiers; warlords, if one prefers. Vika soldiers with great, great power who tortured, beat, and killed the people they had sworn to protect. Those who allowed the ignorant peasants to live in misery. This task was given only to those who were brave enough to face the True Threat, for it was said that, in battle, the most powerful of these evil soldiers eclipsed the combined power of many pirate fighters.
So pirate fighters had to be resourceful, fast, smart, and most of all steadfast in their loyalty to the Seemarin. After the display of power that was shown to me by Tsukinousagi, I am now not surprised if others of similar power had truly existed.
Unfortunately, pirate fighters could be led astray if their loyalty to the cause wavered. There were many things that could entice a pirate fighter. Far away from the structure and from the civilization they knew, they would desire things for themselves, things to remind them of home. The evil sailor soldiers knew this, and could offer them the comforts of their home - friends, a house, foods from their world. Sometimes, that was all it took; sometimes, they were offered that and so much more; things forbidden to soldiers that were too tempting to resist.
I don't know exactly what caused Yomokei to break, but break she truly did, and she became a very dangerous person. She grew to become unusually strong, in essence becoming like a warlord herself. She threatened many planets, before the was finally subdued by Kepe. Almost all of the infamous group of twenty captured and held in Veldanis was either Yomokei herself - which was obvious, but I digress - or those who had sworn allegiance to her.
This soldier, then - a golden, four-legged soldier - was the star witness. She had much knowledge of the Vika galaxies, being a turncoat. She especially had knowledge, she claimed, of one thing in particular - and in exchange for it, the Seemarin was willing to actually reduce her sentence - provided that there was a guilty verdict for Tsukinousagi.
Her interrogation for the trial took place in Veldanis, according to Kepe. In Kepe's version of the story, she confessed after several hours of straight interrogation.
-
-Nothing more than an ass.
Brutus seemed very angry as he finished talking about Yomokei. He actually almost hit several people along the way as he spoke. I simply covered my head and hoped for the best. But I digress.
-But Kepe needs her. Brutus shook his head. -Kepe needs her because of it. Without it, Kepe would really have no case, especially if people found out about the interrogations that were.....held at Veldanis.
-......It?
-The tape.
Suddenly, a small hologram screen came down before me. It flickered on and off, and finally started.
-You-
-have access to it for reasons you don't need to know. I stared. -Its a GCS tape, reportedly. Was supposedly found on Yomokei during the interrogations.
-GCS?
-Galaxy Cauldron Security.
-Oh.
I gave a half nod. GCS was a team of civilians and soldiers whom monitored the Cauldron always. Even if there was no one to see it personally, security cameras recorded every moment of the Cauldron's life. Even in that time, no one was too careful, so I thought.
-But what do the interrogations-
-Shut up and watch. I was subdued to silence. -And don't say anything until the movie's done. Then I'll explain.
So, I was simply reduced to watching a holotape. Granted, I was actually watching an illegal version of it, since only those inside the court was supposed to see this evidence. Then again, who said anyone ever necessarily had to know? But I digress.
Then the holotape flickered on. What I was to see was nothing short of, perhaps, horrifying.
I was slightly displeased, since, at first, the picture was hazy, very hazy. There was a lot of blacks, and some dullish grays on the bottom. In the middle, though, was something I had never seen before in my life. It was some kind of water, yet somehow it was the only thing that was giving off light in the area of the camera's scope. I wondered what it could have possibly been.
Suddenly, in amazement, I realized. It was the Galaxy Cauldron.
Even from just seeing it on camera, a sense of wonder of seeing the birthplace of everything overtook me. It was the Galaxy Cauldron, the center of the universe, a place to be worship as sacred. It looked like little more than a pond, a lake, but it was filled with the primal power of the universe's birth all the way down to its very core. The fuzzy image could not dull my admiration for it.
-=Silver Moon Crystal Power!=-
Suddenly, the picture flickered, and then I blinked. When I opened my eyes again, I gave a gasp, almost a scream.
It was Tsukinousagi.
-=Crisis Power!!!=-
It was her, as she had been the night before, in all of her power. In her hands was something bright - brighter than even the cauldron, for as the object grew brighter, the light of the Cauldron dulled. Then, she began to float, her wings taking her up.
-=To........please...........give me strength!=-
Then, with a fantastic leap, she threw herself, and her power, and her light, into the very center of the Cauldron. Then, white overtook the entire image, and it turned off. It was all on the tape, and it happened within a span of a mere five minutes.
......No..........way..............
I simply stared at what showing. It was Tsukinousagi, leaping into the Cauldron, shouting for power.. It was there. It was irreversible proof. How could Dyka - and whoever she decided would replace me - possibly refute such hard evidence?
Then, I found myself asking….why?
I shuddered as I remembered the power. It was so incredible; I was, in comparison, nothing. Was Tsukinousagi making an example? Why would she simply jump into the Galaxy Cauldron? What did she want to prove?
-I know what you’re thinking. Brutus’ voice hissed again.
I turned to him, ready to say something, but when I opened my mouth, again I had nothing. I simply gave a sigh and huffed.
-See? You’re buying into that. Brutus smirked at me. -If you knew Yomokei, you’d be saying other things.
-How…?
-Yomokei is nothing more than a bully, and when she's called out, a wimp. Brutus crossed his arms. -Certain people have made her think herself better than she really is. Of course she’ll think she’s doing people a favor showing that video and getting rid of the public enemy, especially if it gets her out of jail faster. She knows nothing about the real truth behind the accusations..
-Huh? I looked back at the hologram. -What people?
-…..You really don’t trust me. He laughed. -Just like a softie.
-....Hmph. I growled as the hologram turned off. -Of course not. But what about the interrogations?
-Wouldn't you like to know.
It was there that I again decided I wanted to leave. Telling me about Yomokei or not, or about the interrogations, or why I shouldn't believe the tapes, I hated Brutus. He talked down to me. I didn't like it at all.
-You know. My hand was on the door when he spoke again. -Just so you know, you ain't going to find the interrogation records on Veldanis. You can bitch and cry all you want until your white in the face. You'll never get something on something that never happened to begin with.
My hand went down. The last bit had me staring at him, though I don't remember how wide my eyes were looking at him. What did he say? What did he say?
-Like you care, though.
-What..... my voice croaked. -What.....did you say?!
-Oh, come on! He turned to me again. -Are you really that dense!
I stared at him, my mind unable to form any good answer in retort. He had completely blown any defense I had against my treatment out of my mind. I knew he knew, because he shook his head.
-Hopeless. He drove on. -You need a good beating yourself.
