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undermined the very foun dation of a Tribunal, which was that the person who
sat in i Square of Decision should receive a fair hearing. They neede to cool
off the courtroom, give the tension time to eas Chankah turned to the Eder and
the judge nodded, undei standing her unspoken message.
The Elder regarded Yeva. "If you wish to present a state ment, you may do so
prior to the morning session tomorrow. She turned to Chala. "We will take your
petition into consic eration."
Chala and Yeva nodded. After everyone had taken thei seats, the Elder picked
up a mallet and knocked it against small gong on the bench. "This Tribunal is
ow in session, She turned to the Voice. "Evid Dahl, step forward."
The Voice went to stand before the Bench.
"Do you swear to remain impartial when you question th witnesses?" the Elder
asked.
"I swear," Evid said.
"Please call your first witness."
Testimony of officers from the CityGuard filled the morr ing, and after Midday
recess the airfield personnel were ques tioned. The witnesses laid out a list
of Kelric's actions; fight! threats, assaults, abductions it all formed a
violent pictur incongruous with the quiet man who sat in the Square c
Decision.
"And so the matter before this Tribunal," Yeva finished, "is on with no
precedent in modern history. As such, it require unprecedented justice.
Yesterday it was claimed we regress t barbarism if we deal with the accused as
he has dealt with u
I answer with this: if his crimes go unpunished what messa will that send out?
That a person may murder without cer sure 7
Mutters rumbled among' the witnesses. The Elder waite
The Last Hawk 99
until the noise died down and then spoke. "No one would deny we must avoid
such a message. However, we remind you that Sevtar Dahl has been convicted of
nothing."
"I understand, your Honor," Yeva said. But as she returned to her seat, others
nodded their support to her.
The Elder turned to Evid. "Summon your next witness."
"I call Dabbiv Dahl," Evid said.
Dabbiv went to stand before the Bench. The Elder said, "The Tribunal oath
requires you tell the facts with truth. Do you swear to do so?
"Yes," Dabbiv said.
"Be seated then."
The Square of Witness, to the left of the Bench, looked much like the chair
where Kelric sat. However, no guards stood around its rail. After Dabbiv was
seated, Evid said, "Doctor, in what capacity do you know Sevtar Dahl?"
"I was his physician," Dabbiv said.
"Was? You no longer are?"
"Manager Dahl took me off his case."
"Why?"
Dabbiv hesitated. "We disagreed about his treatment."
"Disagreed how?"
"She wanted me to give him drugs that made him sick."
Evid raised his eyebrows. "Manager Dahl wished to poison her Akasi?"
Dabbiv flushed. "Of course not. The drug was a sedative, a powerful one, but
safe under proper superviston. Safe for a Coban, that is. Kelric, I mean
Sevtar, isn't a Coban."
A prosecution judge beckoned to Evid. He talked with her, then turned back to
Dabbiv. "When was the last time you gave Sevtar the drug in question?"
"The day of his Oath ceremony," Dabbiv said.
"After which he escaped from a locked room at the top of a tower, knocked out
all of his guards, shot Manager Dahl, wrecked the airfield, kidnapped a pilot,
and flew to the starport?"
Dabbiv reddened. "Yes."
"Since these events, do you believe the drug had any effect on him at all?"
100 Catherine Asaro ~~B
"I don't know how he managed to nullify it, but it was poi| soning him."
IBI
A neutral judge bent to Evid. He listened, then spoke tl Dabbiv. "Could a side
effect of this drug be to induce psyH
"It made him physically ill," Dabbiv said. "Not mentally." U "But is it
possible?" if "I don't know."
B "Could his adverse reactions, both to food and medicine,
b psychological in origin?" /llL "I doubt it."
Evid leaned forward. "Then tell me this. Can a change in eye or skin
pigmentation dramatically alter the way a persoB reacts to sedation?"
"|| "I don't know. It doesn't seem likely."
;| "Yet," Evid pounced, the only difference between Sevtar| and you or
me is coloring. Why then should a substance that is? harmless to us poison
him?" '> "He only looks like us." Dabbiv thumped
his fist on the;;
chair. "What do I have to do to make you people see? This man;| isn't from
another Estate. He's from another world." \ "Young man," the Elder
said. "Please control yourself." 3 Dabbiv scowled at her A prosecution
judge beckoned Evid. He listened, theni turned to Dabbiv. "Are you still a
member of the Estate staff?" "" The doctor stiffened. "No." "What is your
position?" ;
"Medic for the city maintenance crew." "Manager Dahl dismissed you from the
Estate?" ' Tightly, Dabbiv said, "Yes." s
"I see." Evid glanced at the judges for confirmation, then ' said, "We have no
further questions Doctor." "
Chankah frowned. The more she heard, the less impartial Evid sounded. She rose
to her feet. When the Elder nodded, Chankah said, "It should be made clear in
transcript that Man- \ ager Dahl fully intends to recall Dabbiv in his
position as one of her physicians." i
"Very well." The Elder glanced at the Scribe. He sat to the right of the Bench
at a Quis table recognizable by its distinc-
. The Last Hawk 101
tive structure, a round top on a fluted pedestaL The Scribe dipped his quill
in ink and turned Chankah's words into hieroglyphs on his parchment. The next
witness was Senior Physician Rohka. "His reaction was severe," Rohka said when
questioned about Kelric's bout of Kevtar's disease. "The night they brought
him back here his fever was so high we had to pack him in ice. Without
treatment, he would have died." "Do you know what caused it?" Evid asked. "He
probably lacks immunities we're born with." "Can't emotional stress make some
people sick?" Rohka considered the thought. "It's possible." "Could that have
led him to attack the escort?" "It would take more than stress to explain how
he killed Llaach Dahl." The doctor blanched. "Every blood vessel in her brain
was ruptured."
A murmur rumbled through the petitioners and witnesses. Evid waited until it
quieted, then said, "We have no more questions, Doctor."
After Rohka left the chair, Evid bowed to Chankah. "I now call the acting
Estate Manager of Dahl."
So, Chankah thought. It was a rare occurrence for a Manager or her successor
to be called in a Tribunal. But then, this was no normal Tribunal.
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