Before the Trial

The men in the silver dressed Astra in her skirt and blouse, but kept her arms bound. The sleeves of the blouse hung from the sides. She did not get her belt or boots back, and she looked dissheveled as the men in silver marched her to a newly constructed building by the lake. Astra could see a sign of gold lettering on a gray stone: "Consulate of Hespan - Themyscira Office." Aqualaria and Hespan had never had diplomatic relations. Now the consulate was housed in a palace-like building on what appeared to be an artificial lake. When Astra started to swivel her head around, one of the men barked out, "Eyes front!", and poked her in the ribs. She entered the consulate, and was taken to a courtyard, where she was ordered to sit on a bench. There were several men with heavy sticks watching her. She sat, back straight, and stared blankly into the court while biding her time.

The men stirred when a tall woman in a brown uniform entered the courtyard. The leader of the silver-uniformed men said, "Captain Coperina, is this woman an officer in your corps?"

Astra looked into the eyes of the captain. There was a hint of dark circles from worry and lack of sleep, and there were crow's feet at the corners. The captain was probably no more than thirty years old, but her face seemed to be at least ten years older.

The captain was in a difficult spot. She knew who Astra was, from a muster years ago, but the Hespanians and most Aqualarians could not. The princess had disappeared five years ago, and was presumed to have died at the hands of the master in the Shreken Mountains. Astra was now the only surviving child of Queen Maia - but she would not be if these the silver goons knew who she was. Some "accident" or "suicide" would occur. Copernica was trying to craft a way that she could get Astra alone, so that the two could get their stories straight. She would be conducting the 'inquiry', of course, but would be closely watched by the 'military observers' and 'consulate staff' to ensure that Hespaniard interests were taken into account in the Principality.

Copernica's own position was unusual, and would be hard to explain to Astra. The First Squadron the Second Sabre regiment had no horse and no sabres. The fact that the squadron existed at all was due to Copernica's willpower through the famine of that first winter in holding them together. Afterward, the Hespanian need for disciplined labour allowed Copernica to come out from the cold without danger and her squadron intact. It was her women who helped build the great lake that served the pleasure of the Hespanian consulate, and her squadron, and squadrons like hers, who acted as the gardners, servants, foresters, and masons for the Hespanians and the other embassies that lined the lake.

Copernica had to tell Astra enough about the ground rules of the new Aqualaria to allow her to survive. The men in silver were bad news. They were the elite of the Hespaniard army, all of them horsemen. Their silver armour blunted edged weapons, and absorbed the power of projectile weapons. These calvarymen were almost invulnerable in battle. They were indoctrinated by the mysterious "master" in something called the "New Way." Copernica hated them with all their heart. Copernica knew there were many Hespanian foot soldiers who, for their own reasons, hated their own calvary almost as deeply as she did, but were as powerless as she was to do anything about them.

In the aftermath of the war, Aqualaria had been dismembered. Puppet rulers of neighbouring tribes each received Aqualarian territory, and the only lands that Aqualarians were allowed to live in were the Principality of Themyscira, the Duchy of Stygria, and the Republic of Ferra. But even here, refugees from the tribes allied to Aqualaria before the war, and opportunists from the Havnheim, abounded. Aqualarians were forbidden to own horses, swords, parchment or ink, or meet without permission. Queen Maia was trying her best to preserve the Aqualarian way of life after the disasterous war, but she felt, with good reason, that armed resistance was hopeless.

Astra said, "Just after Hercania, in fact."

One of the soldiers swung a stick across Astra's back. She yelled. The soldier bellowed, "You will speak only when spoken to, woman."

Captain Copernica said, "That is quite enough. When you strike an officer, you are striking at your own authority as well as at her. Where did you find her?"

"We found her on the path between the lake and the city centre. She was riding a horse, and leading another. Those are part of the charges against her. Shall we begin the trial?"

"I would like to conduct a short investigation first. I suppose that you will wish to have someone present?"

The leader of the men said, "Yes. If one of your officers is absent without leave, we need to know why. She might have been trying to stir up trouble between the nations."

The captain said, "Fine. I would recommend that we hold the court of inquiry at the post. It would not look good to hold it here, wouldn't you agree?"

The leader of the calvarymen said,

1. "I agree."
2. "Going back to the post will take too much time."

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree