The Bargall Inquiry

[Primula Peyvand]

Primula waited for the exchange to finish before she sat up to speak, setting her datapad aside for the moment and looking at them severely.

The reason this is being settled by a triumvate tribunal of senators, is because we as the house of represenitives, still retain judicial powers over the military in times of war, which thanks to the declaration of war with the hutt cartel being voted into effect recently, we are currently under. I hope this answered your question Mr. Zatar. Senator Antilles and myself have served in the GAR. Myself serving in the JAG. If you for some reason doubt the authority of this hearing, I can point you to the right legislature.

She said matter a factly. With that, she nodded for him to step down. While in was fully expected for the enlisted men of the military to see this as something of a show, she didn't need him arguing or causing a scene that might disrupt the proceedings. She then nodded towards the second witness, the one in her mind, that had the best view and perspective for the incident in question, to take the stand.

[OOC. Not sure if that's entirely accurate about the representives time of war stuff, but I don't think that there's actually anything about it, not that I know of anyways, so I just sort of winged it lol. Let me know if I should word it better please :)

 

[The Storyteller]

The last surviving soldier was escorted from the room to make room for one of the two civilian hostages who had been in the cockpit area with another hostage... along with the one who had died after being shot for being the pirate captain's human shield. Specifically however, she was the First Mate of the ship that had been boarded.

First Mate Janica Zade was escorted into the room by the security guards and brought to the witness stand.

She hadn't been asked for any information yet so she didn't say anything - choosing instead to merely glare heatedly at the defendant, as if there was any doubt as to how she felt about him.

@Great Jamie @Insalius @anzat17 @Nor'baal

 

[Trenton Kaizer]

Trenton was silent during the time the soldier and his two companions on the panel discussed the right of this investigation. In a way, the Senators were just following their own orders. This hadn't been something that Trenton had set up himself, it was something he had been assigned to do as a Junior Senator. His eyes narrowed slightly at the insinuation that this was all just a political stunt. Having graduated from a military academy, basically ready to jump into service if the need was there as a full soldier, he had been trying his best to NOT politicize this event and keep it as serious as possible. He had a feeling that he had already failed, though. As the next witness was brought in, he finally spoke again to get this debacle moving. "Thank you for coming in to this hearing, young lady. Please, state your name and occupation for the record and then tell us your recollection of the events of that day."

@Great Jamie @anzat17 @Nor'baal @Nefieslab

 

[The Storyteller]

First Mate Janica Zade took a deep breath.

This was where she was going to have to relive that terrible day, wasn't it? Grimacing a little bit, she nodded to the senator who had asked the questions. Taking a small drink of water, she gathered her thoughts for a moment before speaking.

"My name is Janica Zade and I am the First Mate of the Princess Peach, the ship that was boarded." She revealed, rolling her eyes a little bit, "Don't ask about the name."

Taking another sip of water, she sighed.

"We were boarded by pirates after they shot out our engines and we heard that a Republic team was approaching. I was in the cockpit area, just off the main cargo hold, with two other crewmembers. The captain was... the captain was already dead." she took a deep breath, "There was... shooting and explosions and shouting from the cargo hold but we couldn't see it. Then the pirate captain grabbed one of my crew mates, Alex, and used... and used them as a human shield."

At this point, she glared at the defendant,

"And I watched from the side as that karker shot Alex, just to get a clear shot on the pirate kriffer... and managed to accomplish nothing! He shot the man square on his armour!" She seethed before slumping back down, "Alex died... for nothing."

@Great Jamie @Insalius @anzat17 @Nor'baal

 

[Darwin Mortenson Antilles]

Once again Senator Antilles kept his silence as the inquiry continued, waiting for the newcomer to finish her piece. There was something off about her, the way she spoke of the dead civilian, as if she new him more directly than being a mere crewmate. He kept his silence until she came to the end of her piece, and with a warm voice, he spoke.

"Thank you First Mate Zade. I have only one question for you at this time. May you, in no uncertain terms, please describe your relationship with the dec...with Alex?"

 

[The Storyteller]

First Mate Janica Zade blinked a few times.

Her relationship with Alex? Well, she didn't see the relevance of the question but she supposed that was why the senator had been chosen to sit on the panel - he obviously knew what he was talking about. Plus it wasn't like there was some dirty secret or anything.

"Alex and I weren't the best of friends but I kind of took him under my wing, you know?" she sniffed a little bit, "He was... a bit of a kriff at times but it was his first job since moving away from home. At that age where he thought he was the Force's gift to women or every species, you know?"

She smiled fondly,

"But a good kid. Listened well."

@Great Jamie @Insalius @anzat17 @Nor'baal

 

[Darwin Mortenson Antilles]

The First-mate was clearly taken aback by his line of questioning, and rightly so - it had rather come out of the blue, but after all, that was why he was here. Darwin saw himself as the person on this panel who was there to peel back the uncomfortble layers, and weedle out the truths underneath, and it was something he considered himself rather good at.

"How long had he been serving with the crew?" he asked, fully aware of the answer, but asking the question anyway "And, if you would, could you describe his combat experience, if any?" he asked, double checking his notes for any trace of military experiece in Alex' background, so as to see if her answer matched his record.

 

[The Storyteller]

She was getting a little bit confused by this line of questioning but she knew better than to question things too much. After all - she was a witness. She was supposed to report the truth of matters as she knew them and that was all. Sighing a little bit, she tried not to think about how young Alex had been.

"Alex was nineteen." she answered quietly, "He came from a rough family and left school to be a merchant as quickly as he could. He wasn't any good in a punch up - let alone a real fight."

Shaking her head, she scoffed at the idea,

"He was a kid. He'd not had a chance to enlist in the military or even have been part of a swoop gang or something."

@Great Jamie @Insalius @anzat17 @Nor'baal

 

[Trenton Kaizer]

"That will be enough. We've heard all we need. You may go, young lady, your duty is complete here. Retire in peace." He gave her a small smile as she left, hoping she would be able to find a way to move past this horrid mess and find her path through life. Once the room was empty besides for Bretharr and the panel. This show had gone on long enough, it was time to end things. As the head of the panel, it was his duty to hand down the judgement. He considered everything he had heard through the testimony and the outbursts from his fellow panelists. When he was ready to speak he cleared his throat, looking at Bretharr with a serious gaze. This was an important matter, after all, and even though it had turned into another political matter despite Trenton's wishes, the judgement had to be made.

"Lt. Bargall, we have heard the testimony of two witnesses as well as yourself regarding the incident that occurred on the Gegenschein. Innocent lives were lost, along with the lives of soldiers, due to the choices you made during the operation. It is apparent that you are not fit to command as your choices were found to be incredibly lacking from start to finish. It is for this reason that you are to be stripped of your Lieutenant's rank, demoted to Private, and are forbidden from commanding another person until it has been determined that you have gained enough experience to be counted upon again. With that, this panel is adjourned. Pvt. Bargall, report to your barracks for your reassignment." With that, the Inquiry was done, for good or for ill. By the Force, Trenton needed a drink.

/endthread

@Great Jamie @anzat17 @Nor'baal @Nefieslab

((OOC: In a similar vein to what happened to a character in the Sith, Bretharr Bargall has been demoted and now has to go on any PVP or thread accompanying another, higher ranking member of the GAR until such time that a higher-ranked PC is willing to vouch for their reinstatement to their former rank.))