[Nexus] Council

[Morty]

Dipsnig shrugs. Sure, alright. I'll keep quiet for now.

((Sounds like the most sensible approach.))

[Lord Magtok]

Magtok toys with a slinky as he waits for the trial to begin, bouncing it from hand to hand, stretching it outward with a quick jab before tugging it back, and generally looking as silly, inattentive, and utterly ridiculous as he can.

As completely unbiased as possible, gotcha. So is it just the explosion thing, or-

He extends the slinky across the table momentarily, before it shoots back at him, slides down his wrist, and disappears down his sleeve. It just vanishes entirely, and even Maggy can't seem to find it after it zips down there. My guess is it accidentally got telewarped away.

Fudge, it's gone. I hope that doesn't come back to bite me in the future.

[UncleWolf]

"In the case of a trial such as this, the Council will double as a judge and jury. If any of you wish to be a prosecutor or defense attorney, then your vote is taken away. He can wave a need for a lawyer if he wants to defend himself." She tells them.

[TechnoScrabble]

Phil looks around, an entirely unworried look on his face.
"Nice place. Could use a better aesthetic, though, if you're looking to look less military than the Empire was. Maybe some firearm that looks slightly less sinister than those guns?"
And when brought to the council room...
"Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I am here to prove that as much as I dislike the lot of you, I did not attack you and-Hold up. I don't even know most of these people. And the ones I do know are pretty cool. Sorry about that, folks. Figured I'd be talking to the same people who didn't allow me to search Riv's basement for anything dangerous. Which apparently was a mistake on their part. The fact still stands though, I didn't attack anyone. Also, I would have brought snacks, but I was a little hurried. As you can see, I didn't even bother to change out of the inner linings for my spacesuit."

[Morty]

Dipsnig - a small, brown-skinned goblin looking much like his player's avatar - glares at Phil. Hold your wolves, boy. Wait with your defense until the trial actually starts. You haven't even heard what you're charged with yet. He then turns to Vasquez. Sounds good. I sat as a jury in a trial once, waaaaay back. Before the Empire or even Inside was around. Finding a lawyer may take time, but it sounds like he's willing to defend himself.

[happyturtle]

"Would you like an advocate to represent you?" Delisle asks Phil. "This can be an attorney or anyone you consider capable of assisting you in your defense because there are no law schools in the Nexus and very few PC lawyers."

[TechnoScrabble]

"I'm pretty sure lawyers exist to help people who actually did something to someone get less of a sentence or find another way to weasel their way out...And it's not like I really know any lawyers. Plenty of character witnesses, I guess, and two people who were actually there, though one's a newborn smart A.I...." Phil thinks it over, his stomache rumbling noisily.

[happyturtle]

"A legal advocate is not a witness, but someone whose role in the trial will be to question and cross examine witnesses on your behalf, as well as sum up your defense. You can perform this role yourself, but it is highly advisable that you accept help. If you do not have anyone in mind, we can try and find someone for you." Delisle says.

Phil will probably notice a tray of cookies on the table, though most of them have been eaten by Magtok.

[TechnoScrabble]

"I guess that's fine, but I don't really know any lawyers or people who'd jump up to be one. You'll have to pardon my lack of knowledge on how that all works. Spending most of your life building stuff and avoiding governments of any sort doesn't give you much understanding of legal issues. Where I come from, it's either you did it or you didn't, and then the victims and some unbiased jury votes on your punishment," Phil looks longingly at the cookies, but his hands are bound so there's not much he can do.

[Shadowcaller]

Phil looks around, an entirely unworried look on his face.
"Nice place. Could use a better aesthetic, though, if you're looking to look less military than the Empire was. Maybe some firearm that looks slightly less sinister than those guns?"
And when brought to the council room...
"Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I am here to prove that as much as I dislike the lot of you, I did not attack you and-Hold up. I don't even know most of these people. And the ones I do know are pretty cool. Sorry about that, folks. Figured I'd be talking to the same people who didn't allow me to search Riv's basement for anything dangerous. Which apparently was a mistake on their part. The fact still stands though, I didn't attack anyone. Also, I would have brought snacks, but I was a little hurried. As you can see, I didn't even bother to change out of the inner linings for my spacesuit."

Cessie frowns as she hears the disliking part, she hadn't even meet the man before!
However, they were here to see if he was guilty or not, not discuss his attitude problems.

"I'm afraid we haven't meet but I'm Cessie Mithar. Watchtower's representative." She declares. "I'm sure you wish we had meet under more pleasant circumstances." She adds.

[FireFox]

Tobias leans back in his chair and silently studies Phil for several minutes. Then he looks at Erin and clears his throat. Would anyone care to explain why my subordinate has half a pair of manacles on?

[happyturtle]

"After she demanded to assume responsibility for the suspect's actions, I made the decision to apply additional security measures to your subordinate, Mr Vulpan." Delisle says, her tone professional and not at all defensive. "This included a magic suppressing bracelet. There is no facility for attaching it to anything else, so I would not classify it as a physical restraint or manacle."

[FireFox]

Tobias looks at Delisle in surprise, then shakes his head at the typical sort of O'Connell stubborness he really should have seen coming. Ah... Well, that is quite understandable of you. But, in the future, Remnant should be careful about how much control they attempt to exercise over members of HALO.

[happyturtle]

"It was a request I made of her, not a requirement." Delisle says. Of course if Erin hadn't complied, she wouldn't have been able to accompany Phil, but Tobias can probably guess that. "However, I must disagree with your advice. When HALO members come into the city, they are subject to the same laws and conditions that anyone else would face. It would not be right to apply discrimination to individuals based on their organizational affiliations alone."

[FireFox]

I apologise, I was under the impression that Remnant and HALO were equal parts of this council. Tobias smiles. My problem isn't with your perfectly appropriate safeguards. My advice was to be careful, lest Remnant always act without interorganizational communication. I don't expect you to ask my permission every time you wish to do something to a member of HALO, but I do expect to be notified. Casually letting me know what you have done to one of my subordinates and why... that's not too much to ask for, between colleagues, is it?

[happyturtle]

"Remnant is responsible for the security of the city, under the oversight of the Council, as agreed in the manifesto. If you, as a Council member, believe that responsibility is being abused, you are welcome to raise that issue in a future meeting. I saw no need to notify you of something that your subordinate could easily notify you of herself, nor do I think it appropriate or even possible for every action taken by Remnant, or any other organization represented, to be vetted by the Council." Delisle says, her voice still professional and almost bored sounding. She is looking down at her clipboard and sketching out a few notes as she speaks.

[The Bushranger]

Erin decides that it would be wise to stay mostly quiet, but she nods in appreciation to Tobias.

...then can't help but roll her eyes at the ensuing posturing between Commander Tobias and Lt. Delisle.

"Don't worry, Tobias. I'll be fine. And maybe I can arrange to take these back to the base for...further study."

...well, I did say mostly quiet.

[Lord Magtok]

Magtok makes a face at Erin's remark, before turning towards Lt. Delisle.

If there aren't any objections, could we have that ellipsis stricken from the record, please? And maybe from my memory files while we're at it, Mainframe? Oh, and is there any way we could include a snide jab about HALO and its reputation before doing so? Because that'd be just wonderful, thanks.

[happyturtle]

"Yes, thank you, Magtok, for your efforts to lighten the mood. Please remember to put on your serious hat before the trial starts," Delisle says.

[Lord Magtok]

Wait, who told you about the serious ha-

Mag catches himself, having almost admitted to the development of that horrid contraband he's been working on in the darkest, most secretive pits within the MagCave.

Yes ma'am.

[ThePhantom]

"So, should I call some lawyers here so we can get this start?"

Gordon wants to get the trial started.

[happyturtle]

"Wolfbane is at work and TechnoScrabble is afk, so we can't start yet."

"Yes, please go ahead. Once the Council and the defendant have selected their advocates for the case, we can begin."

[ThePhantom]

Gordon takes out a phone, and looks at the list.

"Hmm. Oh dear, I only have two lawyers listed on this, and one of them is Grace."

[AmberVael]

"Grace is willing to forfeit her council vote for the duration of this ruling and serve as their legal representative."
Poise states calmly.
"If this is acceptable to all involved."

[The Bushranger]

"Inflicting lawyers on the poor boy? Isn't that cruel and unusual punishment?" Quinn mutters to herself as she observes the goings-on.

[happyturtle]

Delisle gives Quinn the same Look she just gave Magtok. She may not actually be a member of this Council, but she'll damn well keep it from running off the rails!

[ThePhantom]

"I have no problem with that."

Gordon gets ready to call the other lawyer.

[Morty]

Sounds reasonable. Dipsnig nods.

[The Bushranger]

Erin clears her throat.

"I beleve there's a young woman at WATCHTOWER who might be able to provide representation."

[ThePhantom]

Gordon goes to dial the number.

"Listen, I doubt WATCHTOWER has a lawyer, so I'm calling the other one I know about."