Essais - Essays

Trial

Ilok advanced inside the enormous room in which the Council gathered. He could guess, by the magnificence of the pillars on both sides, and the ceiling that was barely visible, that this place was ancient, and filled with powerful history. When he reached the center of the room, the four guards took his handcuffs off and took a step back. He didn't even try to move. He looked down a little, and saw that, all around the tiny plate that he was standing on, there was a ray of blue energy. Pure plasma. Ready to kill him instantly if he was to attempt anything else than to talk. He raised his head again. The bleachers on both side of the room were filled with tens of thousands of other Marglars. He recognized some of them. They were all completely quiet. In front of him, standing on their chairs, fifteen meters from the ground, the Sevens were looking down on him. After a few minutes of almost complete silence, only deranged by coughs or whispers in the public, one of the Sevens started talking, his old-sounding voice projected through the entire room by an amplificatory placed on his neck.

"Ilok. Warrior-lieutenant of the sixth division, legate fifty-seven. Do you know why you're here?"

Ilok didn't answer. Of course he knew. But he couldn't show any sign of weakness. He knew what the Marglars did to cowards. And to traitors.

"I respect your silence, but I require actual answers from now on, for every other question we shall ask."

Ilok acquiesced.

"When you saw the artifact, were you mesmerized by its power? Left paralyzed by its greatness?"

"No" Said Ilok. He knew exactly what they wanted from him

"Then how come, when you finally reached it, that you weren't able to withstand a human battalion, even though you were accompanied by fifty-six of our greatest warriors?"

"They were too powerful. We were quickly overwhelmed. I'm the only survivor."

An excited whisper circulated through the courtroom

"How many ships were there?"

"Only One"

"One?" Said another one of the seven "That's impossible"

"I know what I saw. There was only one ship"

"Then you are either lying to the Sevens, or admitting your unsatisfactory behaviour as a lieutenant" Said yet another one of the old Marglars

"I am not lying. I did everything I could."

"If you had done everything you could, you'd be dead." Said the first of the Sevens

"I know. I was prepared to die. I was supposed to. But for an unknown reason, the humans let me go."

Another whisper circulated through the courtroom, more of anger than surprise this time

"You are saying... the humans let you go? You... talked to them?"

Ilok strengthen its jaw. It was an act of high treason. But it would have been way worse if he had lied.

"No answer? Good. Have you got anything else to say for your defense?"

Ilok squinted his eyes:

"Yes."

Four of the Sevens lent on their chairs, ready to listen very carefully

"What would you -what would any of you had done against a team of six Human Lancers?"

Another whisper of excitement shook the room

Part of the Sevens seemed to take this argument very seriously

But the Great One made everyone close their mouths as he started talking:

"We would have died for the race. We have already successfully annihilated Lancers before, they're a problem no more. You have no excuses for your actions."

Ilok felt something break inside of him. It was his ultimate argument, and the Great One just threw it away with the back of his hand like it was nothing. It was over now.

One of the Sevens started talking, slowly, as the whisper from the crowd was starting to get louder:

"Ilok, you are accused of high treason, cowardice, and retention of information to the Sevens. You are therefore declared a heretic, and sentenced... to death."

The whisper from all around the courtroom transformed into a general hysteria

"HERETIC! HERETIC!"

It felt like the entire room was screaming

The four guards put the handcuffs back to Ilok

He looked on his left, where he thought he saw his brother at the beginning of the so-called 'trial'. But he was gone. Or maybe he was never there in the first place.

As the guard forced him to advance, he closed his eyes, trying to retain the tears which he was feeling coming from deep down. He never actually cried through his entire life. Even when he felt death was close during battle, he always kept his cool. But this time he couldn't.

"OPEN YOUR EYES" Screamed one of the guards while hitting him in the back with the cross of his weapon.

He executed the order.

He recognized this place

The cliff of heresy

How many time had he accompanied poor soldiers here, being glad he wasn't at their place

The view on the inside of Randar was breathtaking

He felt another hit on his back

"Jump. Now" Said the guard while removing the handcuffs

All around him, Ilok felt like the light became liquid

The sound of the thousands of Marglar screaming transformed into a buzzing in his ears

He felt his tears drying before they could reach his eyes

He put one foot in front of the other, and repeated this operation until he was on the verge of the cliff

"NOW" Screamed the guard

Ilok couldn't hear him anymore.

The only consolation he had, was that no one had the idea to ask him how and where he found the Artifact

He would die knowing something no one else did

He lifted his right feet from the ground

He looked down

He couldn't even see the ground.

He put his foot down as if he was about to land it on solid floor

Everything seemed to slow down

He felt his body balancing into the void

His second foot lifted from the ground

The tears came back

"I won't scream" He thought, as he started falling, "I won't scream like the others whom I used to make jump off that cliff."

He disappeared into the void, without any sound.