Alpha One - Chris Burton [12]
They walked in silence, both deep in thought on what was to happen this morning. They entered the main academy building and headed for the court room. Steve asked Jake to attend his hearing, as it was his right to invite an Academy colleague to support him. At nine a.m., Steve was summoned to his disciplinary meeting. He and Jake entered the Academy Disciplinary Panel’s Court room.
The room was circular with the ‘defendants dock’ set in the center of the room. Steve and Jake sat side by side in the dock. The disciplinary panel sat round the circumference of the room, with their seating some two meters above the dock floor. The five members of the panel entered the room together and each took their seat surrounding the defendant. The chair of the Panel then stood and stated the date and time and the title of today’s hearing. He then turned towards Steve and asked him to stand.
Steve stood and the chair spoke clearly and concisely.
“Enson Costella, you have been charged under Section 5 of the Academy Student Conventions of dangerous piloting of a type seven Rapier jump ship on September the 12th, this year. You have admitted your actions and have requested leniency in the Panels judgment towards you today. Is that correct?”
“Yes” said Steve.
“Who supports you in this request?”
Jake stood up and said “I do. I am Enson Jake Carter and I support the request for leniency.”
“Will both of you please be seated.” said the chair.
“We must first establish for ourselves the actions that took place on the 12th September. We will see recorded evidence from the Rapier that was immediately in front of your vessel at the time the incident took place. For the record, the defendant’s vessel was coded Red 5 and the recorded evidence came from Red 2.”
The evidence commenced, and was interrupted on several occasions, while the Panel asked Steve various questions relating to the ship, the training mission, the operational status of his ship and Steve’s mood at the time. They also asked Jake to confirm whether the facts Steve stated were correct. Jake confirmed each point and both he and Steve were then asked to sit while the panel made their initial deliberations.
The chair then rose again and began to cross examine Steve.
“Enson Costella, you are the product of a Titan education and upbringing is that correct?” This was answered in the affirmative and the chair went on to discuss Steve’s family history in Alpha and their eventual demise.
“Can you advise what you stood to prove by taking this action on the aforementioned day? Did you do this to prove that you were worthy of your family’s legacy in the piloting of jump ship?
“Nothing. (Steve ignored the question about his family’s legacy, hoping they would not pursue it). I only wanted to see how good the Rapier 7 was.”
“We will consider your past disciplinary history. Enson Costella. Is this the first time that you have been disciplined for Fly passing and Wing Tipping?”
“No.”
He was asked to provide details of his previous charges and the punishment meted out. The Panel then each asked the defendant questions regarding the actual events and what happened on that day. Steve answered succinctly, keeping his answers brief and to the point as he and Jake had agreed in their previous discussions in the days leading up to the meeting.
The Chair stood once again and asked Steve directly, what he thought the penalty should be for his actions. Steve replied that while he thought he should be punished, the jump ship was his main curricular activity in the Academy and that, whatever happened, he wanted to ensure that he was able to return to flying as soon as was practicably possible. He then sat down. The five panel members then proceeded to discuss the matter amongst themselves. After a few moments, the Chair stood once again and advised that the panel would retire to consider their verdict and that the hearing was in recess for a period of thirty minutes.
The disciplinary Panel was composed