Alien Freak - Calista Skye Page 0,53
Prince Zaroc?”
“They have not, Your Honor.”
“Surely, that is a vital part of such a request?”
“Indeed, Your Honor.”
“Superintendent, you are instructed to investigate further why the Gurandu Wanted notice for His Highness was missing this vital component.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
The judge straightens. “Your Highness, you may speak. Why do the Gurandu want you?”
“They are hunting me,” I explain. “They have a hunting license from the World Court. It expires in seven hundred days. I imagine they thought their hunt would be easier if someone else caught me for them.”
“Ah. We are familiar with the hunting practices of the Gurandu. They want your kind extinct, yes?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
The judge’s wide lips make a little wave, as if she’s smiling. “We can hardly find that not being extinct is a crime, can we, Superintendent?”
“The Star Marshals are not aware of any such law, Your Honor.”
I glance over at Averie, giving her an encouraging smile. These people are actually being reasonable and conscientious. This might go our way, after all.
“As for Averie Dashey. You say that you left your planet willingly, and were not stolen?”
Averie leans forwards. “I am not a piece of property. I am a human, a free sentient being. It is wrong and illegal to buy and sell people.”
“It may be wrong,” the judge says mildly. “But it’s fully legal in every jurisdiction in the galaxy. You had a weapon on you when you were taken into Star Marshal custody, and you now claim to be free. Have the Bululg in fact told you that you are free?”
“The Bululg are evil slave traders who sell my kind as breeding stock and livestock,” Averie seethes. “If you give me back to them, you are no better than they. They will send me to my death.”
Oh no. I close my eyes and try to send Averie a telepathic message: don’t aggravate the judges. But I never had any psychic powers.
“The Bululg have not told you that you’re free?”
I subconsciously nod my head. Oh, Averie. Just lie and say they have.
“No, but I state that I am free. That’s enough. And you know it.”
I catch her eye from the side and motion for her to say yes. Come on!
“Unfortunately, it’s not,” the judge says. “By the laws that govern the Star Marshals, which is the laws that are common for all the major civilizations, the Bululg own your planet and every living thing that was born on it. It follows that they own you. Now they want you back.”
“If you give me back, they will kill me.” Averie says it calmly, making it that much more powerful.
“I will take her back to them,” I offer, to give the judge the way out that she wants. “I will bring her back to her planet when it’s safe to do so. Nobody needs to die.”
“Averie Dashey is in Star Marshal custody,” the judge says coldly. “If she is to be taken anywhere, the Star Marshals will do it. Now, this hearing has concluded on all cases.”
I tense up, testing the chains. Can I break through them if this doesn’t end well?
The judge stands up. “This hearing finds that Prince Zaroc of Lancefer is not to be delivered to the Gurandu. It also finds that the Gurandu must provide a reason why they neglected to specify an alleged crime. How are the Star Marshals to function if we don’t know the basics of a case? Superintendent, you are tasked with that investigation.”
The Star Marshal bows. “Your Honor.”
“This hearing further finds that Averie Dashey of Earth is to be transported back to her home planet Earth and there delivered to the Bululg authorities, in exchange for a receipt. The Star Marshal in charge of that mission is to formally recommend to the Bululg authorities that Averie Dashey not be sent to her death. The law is harsh, but it is the law. This hearing is adjourned.” The judge hurries away, followed by the clerk.
Averie bounces to her feet. “You know they’ll kill me! You’re a filthy murderer!”
Six Star Marshals restrain her, and the chains are too thick for me to break. I still make it hard for the Star Marshals to get me under control, and some of them get pretty close to my fangs.
Averie puts up a really good fight, and I’m impressed at the kicks she gives them.
Her little device falls out of its holder on her arm, there’s an audible zap, she screams in pain, and I throw myself at the Star Marshals around her, fangs