The Trial of Jack Starbuck

[Military]

There was a low murmur echoing throughout the courtroom as spectators, holo-press, and various military personnel and ranking officers murmured amongst themselves while waiting for the trial to begin. The court 'room' was actually more of a half dome; very similar in design to the Grand Convocation Chamber in the old Galactic Senate building, though half the size and with an open roof so that the orange glow of the light polluted night sky was visible overhead.

Sitting at the defendant's repulsor dais was Admiral Yularen who had arrived early. It had not yet been raised however; it sat waiting for Captain Jack Starbuck.

[Jack Starbuck]

Jack was relieved to see his mentor before him. "Glad to see a familiar face" Jack noticed the admiral dropped his crud humor and presented his fake mannerisms, it was wise he did the same. "Likewise" They shook hands. The moment Jack stood onto the platform it was raised into the center of the chamber. The morning light blinded Jack momentarily but when his eyes adjusted he saw masses of officers and government officials and he took a hard swallow. The only time he had seen so many people gathered for him was for his commissioning now they were here to possibly see his court martial.

"Whatever happened to the days when an officer was a free thinker and a respectable soldier?" He whispered to the admiral "We shouldn't have to stand trial for doing the right thing" "Aye, I wouldn't say their gone yet little Jack, they still got us don't they?" Jack gave a small smile "But nows not the time kid, don't say anything stupid and don't speak unless spoken too." "I did graduate basic sir" Jack joked "So did Colonel James, you don't see him before this trial do yeh?" "Everything I learned I learned from you" "Damn guess your right" Yularen chuckled "Guess were both karked aint we?" Jack saw the head judge rise to announce the beginning of the trial "you bet your ass we are"

(OOC: I'll let the you start the trial since I don't know what process is)

[Xeones]

Xeones smoothed out his uniform as best he could. This was the first time he had ever been called to witness a trial. Once his buddy had gotten into some trouble at a bar, but with some credits put in the proper places, court was avoided. When Xeones entered the room, Starbuck was already in his stand. He looked stoic for the most part. How he could hold his emotion Xeones could only guess for he himself was shaking. The captain and him had grown close through the battle of Kayshyk, Xeones looked up to the man with great respect. He had helped him cope with the death of some close commrades. The least Xeones could do was show his support at the trail.

[Military]

The murmur died down as the door at the other end of the atrium raised open. Three figures walked through the door and onto the large repulsor dias.

The being on the left was a brown coated Bothan who wore an elaborate robe signifying him as a high ranking member of the Sith order. He walked with an air of importance, his head held high.
On the right was a human male of medium build. He had
In the center was another was an older human who had a significantly muscular build that could not be entirely hidden by his uniform. He had a shaved-bald head, a thick grey mustache, and a stern angry look set about his face.

The platform they were on proceeded to hover into the very center of the courtroom, placing it just high enough that the defendants too would have to look up to address them.
The atrium was suddenly in complete silence, every breath held waiting for the judge to speak.
To the surprise of most it was the Bothan who first rose to address the crowd.

"Imperial citizens, and brave soldiers of the empire;" he said in an exaggerated tone, "I am Lord Loomis, High Bishop of The Grand Church of the One Sith. I am here as a presider of this trial today to represent the Sith Order, and by extension, The Emperor himself. Here with me to pass judgement today are Grand Admiral Thanos, who has come here with me from Bastion, and Grand Moff Dhillion who is in charge of the Imperial Mid Rim sector."

Loomis sat back down, a content smile on his face at having been the center of attention. As he took his seat the Grand Admiral rose to stand next. The same dark, scornful look upon his face.

Thanos looked Admiral Yularen straight in the eye and began to speak in a gruff and deliberate tone; "Admiral Yularen, you stand accused of aiding a possible coup against Imperial forces, and granting orders to a soldier whom you had no authority over."
He turned his head slightly and bore his eyes straight into Jack. "Captain- Jack- Starbuck." He said loudly and even more deliberately, his face growing red, " You stand accused of disobeying direct orders from your superiors, participating in an alleged coup against your allied forces, manslaughter and assault of against fellow Imperial soldiers, and, it goes without saying, treason against the Empire. How do you both plead?"

[Jack Starbuck]

Jack was stunned by the accusations but when he thought about it, it did add all up. He sat motionless for a moment continuing to keep his eyes fixed upon Thanos, if anything he couldn't look weak in front of the council. But relief came when Yularen took a stand

"Well Kriff that is a lot accusations there now aint it?" He heard a low murmur of laughter within the auditorium, good. "I do not deny the fact that I gave Captain Starbuck here the order to return to Coruscant. But if you would remember sirs, that Colonel Jones jumped the gun on the whole operation sending the best he had blindly into the fight with no satellite images or troop deployment intel whatsoever." He pointed to Jack "Captain Jack here lost over half his troop for what? a body count?" Jack lowered his head, what the admiral said hurt but it was in fact true. "What I can say from my intel is that Jack did the right thing to retreat, for it was not in vain. His tactical retreat may have been against orders but it saved lives, were it not for him Sir you would have almost no more ground forces on that Lord forsaken planet. I would hardly say it was a coup my Lord but a conservation effort to regroup after that embarrassment and actually hit the enemy where it counts!" There was a small pause but Jack was amazed at the admirals speaking abilities. "As for the violence that ensued on the cruiser" He looked at Jack with a look saying its your turn to die. "I have no say."

Yularen sat down as Jack rose, he could still hear a small applause for Yularen amidst the crowd. "My Lords the events that happened aboard the cruiser were more of a situational development, as I was still in my cell when the alarms sounded." He paused to face the audience. "My platoon sergeant, Sergeant Tarkin came with the orders for retreat and with the information that Colonel Jones was emotionally compromised, which I personally could not disagree with." He faced back to the council "My lords our weapons were set for stun and we killed no one, for the damage done to the juggernaut droids I plead guilty." The audience chuckled once more. "I resent the act of manslaughter my lords, however you are probably inquiring about that 'thing', it said it was a gen'dai by the name of Skeang. I personally am disgusted by the acts he committed, but what he did was in the best interest of me and my men and our new orders." He gave Yularen a quick glance saying sorry then he looked back to Thanos. "If I don't recall, didn't Colonel Jones waist all of his resources in the end? At that point the only way to remedy the situation on Kashyyyk would be nothing short of a straight orbital bombardment." He paused for a minute noticing how his heart rate increased and took his seat.

[Xeones]

Things were heating up quick. Xeones knew that Starbuck's points were valid. Problem was that regardless of Jack's rightous motives, Jack disobeyed orders, damaged property, and commited a felony by breaking out of prison. Xeones bowed his head remembering those lost in battle. Why did this have to happen? His first mission as a commando and it ends with his squad dead, and a great Captain standing trial.
Xeones knew how politics worked but man, they suck when one is involved. Xeones wondered if he'd be called to the stand. He hoped to lord not, but he knew he was involved in decision making just as much as Jack. Xeones started to feel guilty that he was not on trial too. He felt like he was leaving a man behind.

[Military]

Thanos seemed to calm down by a slight degree after hearing Yularen speak, though he maintained his displeased look.
"Well Admiral, it is true that the decisions made by Colonel Jones during the Kashyyyk crisis were less than optimal, and rest assured he will be reprimanded for his actions. The fact remains however, that you had neither authority at that time to give Captain Starbuck permission to carry out his attempts, or to cover for him once the incident had ended."

He turned once more to Jack,"Captain. Evidence collected from droid teams confirm that all weapons registered to members of the Gloomwalkers had indeed been set to stun during the events on the cruiser. However, your tactics, particularly in the use of high grade explosives, were entirely irresponsible and completely disregarded the lives of fellow soldiers.", Thanos lowered his tone slightly, Your actions, Captain, put several soldiers in critical condition and there was a certain 'door breach' utilizing remote charges which killed an unarmed communications officer.""

(For reference, see Debriefing Reply #42 550aby.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=kashyyyk&action=display&thread=174&page=3 )

[Jack Starbuck]

Jack was stunned by the news, the fact that his foolish actions killed another fellow ally. He sat motionless staring into space as Yularen put his hand on Jack's shoulder but said nothing.

Amidst the thoughts of guilt and anger ran through his head he saw someone amidst the crowd he would never have expected to see again, Xeones. He could the same look of hurt in his face as Jack felt inside. He looked into the face of a fellow soldier he fought with and died with, a man whom he only knew for a while considered him to be closer than a brother. For him, for all of his men, for the empire he had to be the example of what was honorable and what was good. This couldn't go on any longer. Jack saw the image of himself in the dream, lowered his head to the confusion of the crowd. He was stuck in a lose/lose situation, but he wasn't running from it anymore, the more excuses he made, the less of a man he would be.

He stood and faced Thanos with the straightest face he could summon , He wanted to ask so many questions like who the communications officer was, about his family but he put it aside. "Then I shall take full responsibly." he heard a rumble amongst the crowd and he saw the admiral smile. "It was not among my intention to take the life of a comrade but it happened didn't it? I will not live with his death on my conscious nor for all the other servicemen who lost their lives on that day." With that he sat down to see a satisfied look upon Yularens face "Well that changes things a bit, but you did the right thing lad." Jack eyed Xeones and then stared back into space and remembered the face of the young apprentice he took away weeks earlier.

[Military]

If Thanos was surprised by Jack's answer he did not let it show on his face, but his face did seem to soften a bit, "Very well Captain Starbuck, your acknowledgement in that matter is settled. Now there is the matter of your...accomplices." The Grand Admiral looked into the side stands directly at Xeones, "We'll start with an account of one of the soldiers who aided you in the assult. Private Xeones Alden."
As he scalled his name, the platform that Xeones was sitting on rose from the stands and took an adjacent position ti Jack and Yularen's.

"Private Alden, will you describe in your own words the reason you chose to join Captain Starbuck in rebelling against your superiors, and exactly what you hoped to gain from this endeavor?"

[Xeones]

Xeones was caught in suprise, it all happened so fast. He had to find away to hide his emotion. Xeones remembered his team who fell on Kashyyk, he could not let them down.
"With all due respect, Sir, "rebel" is hardly the term to be used. If you knew anything about the GloomWalkers then you would know the oath we took. "To serve and Protect at all costs. I am a Special Soldier, trained and expected to think and act on my own for the good of my fellow soldiers and my Empire"
I don't know about you sir, but a fellow soldier comes first. We did our part on Kashyyk, fought untill we reached our objective. Once there however we lost many men. Cpt. Starbuck made the Tactical decision to stop wasting valuable men. HE followed the Creed, HE held up to his honor, his part of the oath. For that he should be awarded a medal.
Xeones paused to let the message sink in.
"After that, the Captain was taken captive by his own Empire. The very Empire that he swore to protect. That is Betrayal in my book Sir. I was left for dead by those men who captured Starbuck. Where is the Honor in that? If the Captain were allowed to do his job I would have been carried off immediatly. Also, due to the lack of competence in the unit that captured Starbuck, they also left behind 3 other men. Would Starbuck do that?
So after that I took action. I Went to go break Starbuck out. I ordered it, he had nothing to do with it. I threatened him with a thermal detenator, forced him to follow my plan. Punish me sir, not Jack. My freind, my mentor, my hero."

[Military]

"Your view on the matter is duly noted soldier. Now I would like to ask the both of you. This 'Gen'dai' you were working with. The one who was working with you in the '"best interest of you and your men and your new order"'. What exactly were the circumstances leading to your involvement with him? "

[Jack Starbuck]

Jack was touched by Xeones speech, though the thermal detonator part was a little over the top but he knew Xeones knew what he was doing.

He then stood up to address the Skeang issue. "My lord as I have stated before, this Skeang was already onboard the ship, allied with my men and Private Alden when I was broken out. Why he was there I can not say, he left on another ship back to Kashyyyk after the violence ended and I have not seen him since."

Jack figured Skeang and Xeones may have had some sort of a pact back then but he figured to leave it out, if Xeones wanted to mention it, it would be him alone, though Jack really hoped he wasn't that naive.

[Xeones]

I believe sir, you are delving into a matter of security. I myself have not been debreifed, and to speak in detail in public about this would be real treason. I will not go against protocol.

[Military]

The Grand Admiral gave Xeones a stern glare, "...very well soldier, but you had best make sure I receive all information pertaining to this matter as soon as you are. The fact of the matter is that the two of you were working with a wanted fugitive and terrorist, who even prior to these events was responsible for the destruction of military property and the gruesome murders of several Imperial Security personnel." Thanos gave pause for a moment before proceeding, "Do you mean to tell me that neither of you were aware of this fact when you allowed him to 'aid' you?"

[Xeones]

"Sir, by all means, there are alot of wanted in this galaxy, I was never given intell on this man. I sincerely promise you had I known what I do now, that being would be the one on trial,"
Xeones truly meant it he had not known untill right now. It stung him to hear of the creatures prior involvment with the military.

[Jack Starbuck]

Jack gave Yularen a confused stare and whispered "Was this thing responsible for the control tower fiasco you told me about at the club?" Yularen looked even more nervous than every. "Aye, it may just be lad."

Jack then stood "My lord I have heard of the attack on the control tower however this occurred after my...release. If you what you say is true then the events that occured happened before the violence on the cruiser, however I did not know of his actions. It was on my return I heard of the events that ensued, and it was just now that I have linked them together."

Jack continued to put up a strong front, but more and more he felt more guilty for all of the troubles happening. The death of the communications officer and now this control tower incident, Jack didn't know what to do as he felt himself becoming the cause of all the horrors in the galaxy.

[Military]

"The event did indeed precede the Kashyyyk incident Captain Starbuck. There had been several other incidents involving this criminal as well."
Lord Loomis quickly added his own thoughts to the matter, "I am told that this creature has caused havoc in Sith matters as well. Such as the the incident at the Palace Academy and...other.. classified matters. I would say that this individual should be on the Empire's most wanted lis-"
"Thank you- Lord Loomis. But we will move on to the matter of this individual once it is appropriate to do so. Not during this trial.", Thanos looked back to Jack. "Captain Starbuck, according to Imperial Judicial custom your vitals, reaction, and voice pattern have been monitored during the trial. You appear to be honest about most of what you have said today. We will take a short recess to further review evidence and compare it to what you have said to this point. We will decide upon your fate and that of Admiral Yularen then."

With that all the repulsor daises returned to their original berths and the Judges left the room.

[Jack Starbuck]

Jack took a sigh of relief as he heard the disks click back into place. He was amazed that even with all the emotion he felt during the trial that the only thing that the monitor picked up was him telling the truth.
Yularen leaned and in. "You doin ok boy? That took spaceballs to do what you did." "Is that what they call it now?" they both laughed "Sir, if you would be willing there is someone I would like you to meet." "She better be karking hot boy, I only pick the finest of the flock" Jack smiled while standing and made his way over to Xeones disk. What was only weeks seemed like a lifetime for Jack since he saw his valuable comrade. "Hell soldier, come to save my ass again?" They embraced "Xeones this is Admiral Yularen, my mentor and head of the 3rd fleet, he's the reason why were still here today." "Ah lad you give me too much credit, well there private...Xeones, I've heard a lot about you and your heroism down on kashyyyk I want to thank yeh for bringin Jack home." He held out his hand

(OOC: I'm not to sure on the organization of fleets so I just put Yularen in charge of a random one if thats cool.)

[Military]

(Not a problem)

[Xeones]

"Someones gotta keep an eye out for this mop head, eh?" "Pleasure to meet you sir, you must be one hell of a man to have mentored the Captain here," " As humble as he may be we both know that it was him who saved my ass several times down there." Xeones was glad to meet up with the Captain again, it felt like they had known each other for years. " Hey, what do you say we head on down to the Cantina after this mess is over? I'm buyin,"