On Higher Authority

Governor Eldgina on witness stand challenged by Lawspeaker Rett (On Higher Authority, image by James Goudie)

Toghma. Planet so far away from the Core Worlds of the Concordium that an ordinary citizen isn’t even aware of the planet’s existence. Yet it is there. On the fringes of Concordium space. Close to the border with the Urix. Toghma is out there, drifting in the vastness of space, a playground for the two powers and their game of galactic chess. Biding their time, some would say. Biding the time before justice finally arrives…

Unbeknownst to anyone but a select few in the audience, justice was sitting among the population of Toghma today. It was witnessing the charade that was the trial of Governor Eldgina. For years and years, she plunged her world and her people into the abyss, running rampant. Nepotism, corruption, political assassinations. Eldgina had her fingers in everything. The only problem was there was no proof that it was her. Each time accusations were made the witnesses disappeared, changed their statements or Eldgina simply found her way into freedom.

Scowling beneath the robes pulled over his head, Lawspeaker Rett knew that today she was to do the same. Or was she? A lot depended on the outcome of this trial. Toghma was in a precarious position. Eldgina had strong support on one side, either fearing or buying the populous to her side. While on the other hand, for each “friend” she had an enemy to her name. The division among the population of Toghma was palpable. And the Concordium was not going to let another planet fall into disarray. That is why Rett was here. He knew that Eldgina was going to walk away free from this trial and her freedom would ignite the spark that would plunge Toghma into nothing short of a civil war. You see, even if an ordinary citizen of the Concordium did not know that Toghma was there, for the upper echelons of the Concordium this otherwise unremarkable planet was of vital strategic importance. And it was the same for the Urix as the stakes in the game of chess were slowly but surely getting higher and higher.

Rett narrowed his eyes into an angry scowl as he watched the proceedings, watching the Governor sit in amusement as the charges piled on. Like a warlord. Or a princess from one of those ancient fairy-tales. Pretending that she was listening and caring, but at the end of the day all she cared for was herself. And remaining in power. Above her, on a slightly raised pedestal those presiding over the trial sat. Bureaucrats. Judges. Five of them, selected from every facet of Toghma’s society. And almost every single one of them was in Eldgina’s pocket. Firmly. If there was thing Eldgina was to be “admired” for, it was her uncanny ability to cover every corner, swim in the murkiest of waters and thrive. Judges presiding over her trial included.

“Governor!” The prosecutor bellowed from the podium below the judges. “How do you plea?”

Slowly, Eldgina rose from her chair, facing the opposition, her chin held high in pure display of nothing but arrogance and disdain. “I did what had to be done,” she said “for the people of Toghma.” She chanted the well-known phrase she used so many times before. The moment she mentioned the people of Toghma a loud applause was heard from the right side of the large, marble adorned court hall. Only to be neutralized by jeers coming from the opposition.

“Order!” An elderly judge roared from the high seat above the podium. “I said order!” He tried to calm down the two sides. And it…. worked. After a while, that is. The judge looked towards Eldgina, merely nodding his head. She sat back down, her chin still high as she faced the prosecutor. Slowly the judge rubbed his forehead and was about to make his judgment, when a loud thump was heard. Then another one. Then another one.

A hulking figure rose from the crowds, thumping his staff against the marble floor. Slowly he took off the hood, revealing the menacing ursine figure. “I be Lawspeaker Rett,” he said as his voice boomed through the hall. Slowly he started walking down the steps, his sharp, shiny claw pointed at Eldgina herself. “And you. You broke the law. Plunging this world into chaos. Into anarchy!” He hissed. ”Watching your people suffer while you be hidden in your sanctuary. No more!”

Rett slammed his staff against the marble floor once again and it was as if the ground itself shook a little bit from that. He turned towards the audience, casting a deadly glare towards both sides of the aisle. As a warning that from this time forward, he and he alone was the sole authority over whatever was going to happen next.

“Outrageous!” one of the defenders shouted from his seat. “This is a matter of Toghma and Toghma alone.”

Sneering, Rett scowled towards the defender, prompting a reaction that saw the defender silently slide back into his seat. “I have walked this here planet for many moons now. Gathering evidence,” Rett began as he turned towards Eldgina. “Of your incompetence. Of your misdeeds that you be making to the people of Toghma. And while you be hiding in your sanctuary and behind those who be supporting you, you cannot hide from justice. Her golden eye sees all and requites the unjust. Her golden gaze is a morality that be fair. Unbiased. Unprejudiced. She be the sole authority. She be guiding my hand and mind at all times.”

Slowly pointing his claw and fixating his gaze towards the diminished Governor Rett’s eyes narrowed almost to a point of two slits. The room fell into a deathly silence. The tension was palpable as Rett's fierce visage regarded the Governor, her future solely at his mercy by the law that he represented and wielded. With a deep rumbling growl a single word that reverberated through the hall.

“Guilty!”

by Bojan Sekulic