[MA]

CHAPTER 4

BATTERED AND BRUISED

Nox was marched, or more like carried, into the courtroom by two sligs. He was taken to a wooden stand, where he would need to defend himself, and sat on a wooden chair. Directly in front of him was the jury stand, where ‘decorated’ military sligs and 2 glukkon juniors of Slig Barracks sat. A murmur arose from the jury as Nox sat himself down, surprised by Nox’s bloodied face; his head wound still slowly oozing blood.

Nox swayed on his seat, feeling drunk, and tried to peer around the room, having to wipe a smear of blood from his visor. The jury sat in the jury box ahead of him, with a slig sitting on a wooden stool at a small metal table just in front of the Jury stand, an old fashioned typewriter placed upon the table already loaded with paper, the slig typing the proceedings of the court case with a flurry of ‘clicks’. To Nox’s left about 20 wooden seats were lined up on the green marble floor, occupied by the ‘witnesses’ of the courtroom, to ensure things went accordingly. They consisted of mudokons (forced, of course), and simple factory guard sligs, excluding a few sligs sitting on the front row, they seemed to know what they were doing. They faced the Judge’s stand, to Nox’s right, the highest wooden stand in the courtroom, which was currently empty.

The courtroom itself had the consistent green marble floor, and wooden panelled walls, with white plastering covering the ceiling and a few ‘factory-style’ lamps jutting from the court walls, providing the room with a dull glow. These were alongside security camera’s, watching the court case closely.

The metal door in the wall to the left (from which Nox had entered the courtroom), suddenly opened, but in a relaxed manner, contrasting with the loud echo the huge courtroom produced. A Vykker shuffled into the room, and soon began to speak in its shrill voice.

“As you all know, the Chroniclers have had a recent, well, very recent dispute with a few Glukkon superiors.” it said, whilst shuffling towards the Judge’s stand and moving its arms around expressively. The Glukkons in the room nodded and whispered to each other in a disapproving manner. “therefore, seeing as I am the only one with the brains and expertise in the vicinity to ‘grab’ in such shooooort notice, I have had to assume the role as ‘Judge’, and accept all the responsibilities, vices, virtues and so on and so forth, etcetera…that comes with the job. Unfortunately.”

By now the Vykker had reached the stand and the end of its whining rant, and climbed the steps up the back of it, then seating itself. It looked around the room, Nox watching it as closely as his drowsiness would allow, and it set eyes upon him.

“Can someone fetch a cloth, or something, for this slig here, please.” it squeaked impatiently, its voice echoing around the room. It then immediately set its eyes down onto some paperwork sitting in front of it, and began shuffling and writing notes.

If Nox hadn’t of been so semi-conscious, he would have jumped when he heard a slig’s voice so close behind him, unsuspectingly, but instead he issued a low grunt.

“yes, your honour.” the slig said from behind Nox, and Nox saw to his left side a slig’s arm point at one of the 2 sligs at the metal door, waving one of them away frustratingly.

One of the sligs guarding the door gave a salute and exited, leaving the door itself to slam shut on its own accord after him.

A few members of the Jury began talking amongst themselves in a hushed tone, some pointing at the Vykker, others pointing at Nox. It seemed the Glukkons didn’t approve of this Vykker assuming the place of Judge, and obviously preferred the Chronicler before it. Now, Nox could hardly think straight as it was, but one thing most definitely did not make sense. The fact that a Vykker was doing a Chronicler’s job.

SLAM

In burst the slig excitedly, holding a grey cloth above his head, just about managing to refrain from shouting ‘I GOT IT!’ when he realised where he was, a courtroom.

“SHHHHH!” the slig behind Nox spat loudly, waving him to come over.

SLAM

The slig who had just retrieved the cloth flinched when the door slammed back shut, making his attempt at being quiet, fail miserably.

Nox heard a weary sigh from the slig behind him, and saw the slig with the cloth begin to make his way towards Nox’s stand, walking embarrassedly past his friend still standing guard by the door, who just stared at the noisy sligs face in dumb-struck disbelief.

“Maybe,” the high-pitched voice of the Vykker started again, raising its over-sized head from its paperwork to survey the noisy scene, whilst putting 2 of its hands onto the sides of its head in a ‘fed up’ manner, “if I just pop down to the barracks firing range to finish this paperwork, I’ll be greeted with less noise and more personal safety than I am receiving in this courtroom at this given time damn it!!”.

The typewriter slig tapped away, and a murmur of soft laughter rippled through the Jury and ‘witness’ seats, not contributed to by the 2 Glukkons, who sat solemnly.

The Vykker turned back to its paperwork, whilst Nox suddenly felt a bad stinging sensation on the top of his head, soon realising that the slig behind him had just placed the cloth onto it. Nox didn’t even react to the pain; his arms felt heavy, and the top of his head was becoming numb, fast.

Due to the pressure he could sense on top of his head before he totally lost the feeling there, he assumed the slig behind him was holding the rag on his head for him.

Maybe this world ‘ain’t so bad after all.

Don’t go soft on me now!

Oh, so you want my help now? Eh?

Just…when I need you, okay?!?

Oh, I dunno’, cus by the way you’re actin’, I won’t see much action for a looooong time! Heh heh heh! Sounds like a bad deal to me.

Oh just…for once do what I want to do! You keep getting me in the shit, and I have to keep getting us back out of it! Look, we’re in a courtroom, and I’ll be happy just to stay conscious for the sentencing!!

Remember, suuuurviiiiive!!

You’re more sadistic now, than you were back in the ‘D&M’ war.

Oh, I don’t know about that. Remember when I forced you to shoot that poor, helpless, mudokon child? In that old, derelict factory we were clearing out? Oh, let me help yeh, ‘The Re-Take of Outpost 21’, I think it was officially named. Oh yeah…that…was soooo goooooood!!

You were putting me on edge! That place was crawlin’ with Maylon sligs!! I just turned a corner and there it was! I had no time to think, it could have been a slig, and I just pulled the damn trigger!! FUCK!!

Yeah, just keep telling yerself that, sonny. Heh heh.

A skinny, scruffy slig hurriedly entered the courtroom, taking the 2 sligs guarding the door by surprised, the quiet one having to restrain himself from nearly grabbing the ‘intruder’s’ shoulder. The slig was carrying a brown, worn briefcase, and looked flustered. He weaved his way through the ‘witness’ seats, towards a small, wooden desk in front of them.

Slamming his briefcase down onto the desk with a sigh, and scraping the wooden chair tucked under it out so he could sit down, he sat. Then proceeding to open his case with a couple of ‘clicks’ and sort through, yet more, paperwork.

One of the Glukkons from the Jury stand, leant forward in his seat and yelled,

“Finished?!?”

The slig looked at him, and then uneasily resumed his sorting.

“Order”, the Vykker Judge mumbled, not even looking up from his work.

The slig sitting at the desk pulled a couple of sheets of paper from the mess inside his case, and then slammed it shut, settling slightly.

There was silence for a few seconds, the occasional cough from a mudokon or slig filling the air, briefly.

“Err, I think we’re ready now, your Honour”, a slig from one of the ‘witness’ seats said, bravely. The echo of it not helping.

“We’re ready…when I’m…err…ready…wait a moment…” the Vykker Judge said in reply, engrossed in its paperwork for the time being.

As Nox looked at the scruffy slig that had just entered, he noticed something strange. His vision…it was…swaying. It was beginning to get blurred, he squinted to try and see better…no good, his vision was now blurred.

Oh fer Odd’s sake! I don’t know much about medicine and doctors an’ all that shite, but I’d say you’ve got a bit of the ol’ concussion! Jeeze, last time yeh had that, it was cus that hard bastard Drill Sergeant slig hit yeh ‘round the head with the butt of his revolver! Remember? Just after you called him an ignorant twat when he tried to order that platoon to charge over a mine field? Good times, eh Nox’y? Good times.

“Well, I think we’re all sorted now,” the shriek of the Vykker cut off Nox’s thoughts. “Court, proceed”. The Vykker Judge then slammed down the wooden hammer lazily.

The scruffy slig immediately stood, holding a piece of paper in front of him, and the typewriter slig hastily resumed clicking.

“Sligs, Gluk’s…and Mud’s, we are summoned to this, here courtroom, for this, here court-martial, to sentence this violent slig”. He paused to gaze upon Nox mercilessly, and then began again, this time wandering around the courtroom floor idly, staring members of the Jury and ‘witnesses’ into submission while doing so.

“His innocence is not even a question here. We already have 6 witnesses that saw him, and I’ll quote, “suddenly grab another slig by the neck, and try to strangle him. He was only a young one, and didn’t deserve that” end quote. Why do that…err, Nox? What compelled you to try and literally squeeze the life out of another slig, and a youngster at that?” whilst he spoke, he used over-the-top demonstrations with his hands, currently still clenching his fist on his outstretched arm to demonstrate strangulation.

“You served in the ‘D&M’ war, am I correct?” he questioned.

The slig looked like a green blur to Nox at the moment, and he struggled to understand the question, now starting to feel physically sick.

Don’t fuck up now, come on…

“Err…” Nox slurred, not daring to speak too loud in case he spewed up. “Yeah.” he said numbly.

“‘Yeah’,” the slig repeated, then turning towards the Jury stand, “‘yeah’, may I remind you that you are in a court of law, enforced by the high standards of the Magog Cartel. Therefore it is a ‘yes’ that I seek, not ‘yeah’, understand?”

Cheeky bastard.

Nox sat silently.

“Huh, just what I would expect from some warmongering slog-”

One of the sligs sitting on the front row of the ‘witness’ seats suddenly raised his hand and spoke sharply,

“I object your Honour, I believe that’s Slander.”

“Correct,” replied the Vykker Judge, “continue slig, but with less malicious content.”

The slig from the ‘witness’ seats lowered his hand, and the contradictory slig commenced once more, and not without a sly look at the slig that had objected.

“Sorry, you’re Honour. Nox, is it true, that you like the occasional drink at one of Slig Barracks pubs, every so often?”

Nox felt like total and utter shit, and looked so too, but he certainly sensed danger when the ‘Law slig’ bought up the topic of ‘drink’, regardless of his semi-conscious state. Nox raised his bloodied head slightly, so he could gain a better view of his opponent; his head currently bowed slightly.

“Wha’?” Nox blurted.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. I’ve been reading your records closely, seems you have quite a colourful history of drinking alcoholic substances, something I personally find weak and degrading.” the ‘Law slig’ wandered around the room whilst he spoke, staying close to the Jury stand so that his negative impressions would not be in vain.

“your favourite drinking tavern would appear to be…”, the ‘Law slig’ seemed to break his effortless prosecuting so as to briskly walk over to his briefcase, open it, and bend over to read the top sheet of paper inside it.

There was a seemingly embarrassing silence, in which the typewriter slig took quite readily, catching up with all that had been said and done within the courtroom walls, and finishing with another exchange of paper.

THIS CHAPTER IS NOT YET FINISHED!!!
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i'm a bit busy at the moment (bloody cows) so i'm having difficulty finishing this chapter, thus half done.

also, it would be nice if the people who are reading this (if any) could reply, it's just a bit disheartening when i spend the little of my free time i have to write chapters for this story, trying my best not to make it too predictable and not childish, and more often than so discovering no replies anyway. i greatly appreciate the replies i have received, but i'm not sure whether i have any permanent readers, i know i read other peopls fan fic's, and regularly check for updates.

i'm just wondering whether to jack it in, i'm very tired as it is, but i would love to continue if someone, anyone is reading it. i was originally hoping to write about 25-30 chapters to this story before finishing it, and have most of it planned out, but that hope seems less likely by the day (especially the other 2 Parts...).

please reply!!!