Punishment (Death Sentence part II)

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

In a short conversation between them, Sejah and J'ktal reached a compromise.

Well, not as much of a compromise than an ultimatum which would at least leave Sejah alive. The day after the meeting in the council, the two Nehantites entered a closed training room, the windows blocked and the door the only enterance and exit. Sejah's eyes were pained and his face showed defeat as he paced to the center of the room and knelt.

He wore only simple trousers, the muscular pyhsique of his upper body easily visible even under his fur, but he could also be seen trembling in fear. A few feet away, J'ktal stood, a short wooden stave in his paw, clad in black and a crimson vest bearing the symbol of his Death-Shadow affiliation on its back in silver thread. Silently, they waited, waited for those on the Council who would witness the event to arrive. Neither of them expected much of a turnout, but already a room was being prepared in the medical ward, and the doctors were preparing for their incoming patient.

[Ryla Relvinian]

For the first time as a Council member, I dreaded doing my duty. Meetings, promotions, decisions... I could handle those. Even the very few negative sessions were easy enough to bear. People simply either did or did not do their duty, and the results showed it accordingly.

This time, however, my duty was to sit and watch, powerless, as the fate of an entire planet was decided between two beasts, equal in our world but very different on their own.

Worse yet, I knew in my heart that both of them were pawns of their own government. The Council had somewhat sided with Sejah: Poor, low-class, striving so hard to make the best with what he had been given... I would be lying if I did not hope to see a small portion of my younger self in his eyes. Was it fair that he had to get beaten within an inch of his life, just to atone for past misdeeds? The Council seemed to disagree, and I with them.

But there were two portions of this puzzle, and my heart ached for the other part: J'ktal. I doubted if anyone had gotten as close as I felt to him in recent days. To be honest, many people were still afraid of him, even Council members to some extent. His power was the counterpoint to Sejah: Privileged, extensively trained, hardened and honed like a soldier.

Yet I knew he did not take pleasure from this ordeal. He was not a monster.

My mind raced as I took my seat, sitting down like a spectator to some terrible bloodsport. I half-expected the cheering masses of the Tatooine slave markets to show up, filling the pristine training space with their filth and degradation. With my growing skills in empathy, I knew that I would feel the emotions of both participants, and the thought frightened me more than a small portion. Even the thought of our advanced healing facility, and our own healers, myself included, did not make me feel any better about what was about to commence. I did not know what would happen, after this punishment was carried out.

All I could do was wait.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei Wu Wei entered the area with a grim look on his face. "Such things ought not to happen," he said to himself.

Wei took a seat next to Ryla and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Be brave. It'll all be over soon."