Hung Jury 3

"Interesting how?" Grandmother Ashes jumped at the opportunity to further her knowledge.

"Interesting in almost any way you can imagine. In their most recent iteration, that being their final one, there was a heavy emphasis on a concept I believe we have a fairly good grasp on. If I remember correctly the official term was called the presumption of innocence, a fine work of logic whose goal served to place the burden of evidence on the prosecution."

"Would I be correct in assuming this means that the accused are not charged with a crime until it can be proved that it was indeed them who committed it?" Grand Elder Larson was not the most well versed with such scholarly topics, but the name seemed to give away the intent.

"That would be correct. I find it fascinating that someone could not only develop a justice system so similar to ours in an independent manner, yet improve on it in ways that would be deemed biased for us. Despite its inherent bias toward the defendant, I still feel that this system upheld our definition of neutrality."

Grand Elder Firche raised his voice here. "Excuse my ignorance if it is indeed the case I am, would bias towards one party not immediately violate neutrality?"

"In a vacuum, perhaps it might. However this system was built upon a written legal code, yes, written. Any person who could read could read the law and se exactly what it says. That being the case, the purpose of the judge, singular, was to keep the courtroom in order and make sure proceedings followed proper processes. The duty of this legal system was not to determine the presence of bias or neutrality like ours is, but to be a neutral arbiter of the written code of laws."

"But would the laws not have some inherent bias themselves?" Firche again wished to know more.

"Perhaps, but it was not the court's job to determine neutrality. In fact, they did not strive for neutrality. Instead they chose to search for justice, or at least something approaching the ideals of their moral code. They had their own separate legal bodies that would write laws and subsequently determine those laws' justice, but the courts remained a place whose sole purpose was to determine the legality of an individual's actions."

The Arboreal Maiden was wondering if she was getting through to them. She could probably count on Grandmother Ashes picking up some of the concepts she was relaying, but the other two displayed clear confusion. This was no doubt the side effect of a life spent searching for true neutrality.

"My lady," Grand Elder Szirpty spoke up, "you claimed that their laws were written, correct?"

The maiden nodded her head. "Indeed. I think you will find that these humans, they have yet to determine their race name, were all literate. I believe this to be a necessity borne from their inability to utilize split in conversation."

"That answered my follow-up question as well. As ever, I am impressed by your foresight. Would I be correct in assuming you know how to read this language of theirs? This is simply the inquiry of an old lady who wishes for something to do in her free time so you may disregard it if you so choose." She was certainly pushing the borders of familiarity with the implication she wanted to be taught.

"While I am afraid my station forbids me from teaching you, I understand the Scholar is somewhat fluent in their language. Would I be correct in assuming you have received a tool to assist you in your studies as well?" While not facing him, the target of her utterance could not be clearer.

"Yes! I did not bring it with me owing to ceremony, but it was called a 'Dictionary'!" He said the word aloud in English. "It has been very helpful in teaching me words, increasing my 'lexicon' so to speak." The childish part of him was boasting his abilities in front of his superiors, clearly looking for approval.

"Interesting... Might I request you come to my quarters tonight Scholar? I have been craving new realms of academia to explore and it would appear this 'aenglsh' you speak of will keep me busy for some time."

"It would be my pleasure!" He gave a somewhat awkward salute, what with the Captain still relying on him for support.

"How lovely. Now while I would love to stay and chat, I do have important tasks for the lot of you that are somewhat urgent."

The Arboreal Maiden tapped her staff on the stone with some force, creating a high pitched *tock* sound that signaled the close of the somewhat light mood they had been sharing.

"Librarian, Marshal, the two have decided they will indeed be enrolling in the academy. As I understand it, a semester has recently begun correct?"

"A few weeks ago, but it should be no issue to shuffle them into classes at this point. The workload to catch up will not be too difficult for first years, not that they will need to do any given their status, but I can assure you it won't reflect on them negatively either." Grandmother Ashes was quite the accomplished teacher, if she thought someone could do it they could most likely do it.

Grand Elder Larson was a fair bit less optimistic. "Finding an open spot in the military academy will prove... rough." He had been teetering on using impossible, but precedent proved otherwise. "All of the positions have been filled for low-level soldier spots, and low-level officer spots are hard to find in the first place. Even with that, the first round of competitions has already finished so they would be operating at a setback."

"Would there be anything you could do to remedy that situation? Even if it's the rare case you need to make an exception, he has demonstrated he wishes to finish life in the academy as soon as possible. I believe you would call the path he wished to follow the Master of War?"

"He want's to be Marshal, Admiral, and Armada Head huh? I guess that isn't too surprising considering their situation, but I can't say I recommend it... I'll see what strings I can pull and what I can get him out of."

"I thank you. I will have the Captain and Scholar coordinate with the two of you in order to enroll them in what they need most. Those two are far more familiar with their level of knowledge than I am, so they are better suited for the task."

She waited patiently as those four left the room, left only with Grand Elder Firche.

"What do you need from me my lady?"

"You are familiar with the Sanctum's current material reserves correct? I, they, will need your assistance in requisitioning the proper materials to rebuild their industry."

"Industry? My lady there are only two of them, and they haven't even a planet yet? How could they possibly support an industry?"

"It is not your job to question their methods, Merchant, just know that they have them. It would not be an exaggeration to say they might be able to out-produce us in a matter of years."