Guilty as Charged

The overseer grunted. He would have been surprised if Astra had said anything else, given the lack of communication with Allaria over the last five years. Once Astra was back in uniform, the Hespanian consulate would "request" Astra's outfit, to see if there was anything special about it. The Master of the Cavalry would be interested.

The captain continued, "Let us address the following charges. Were you traveling without the proper papers?"

"Yes. I left them back in the barracks, as I did not want to lose them."

The captain paused and looked at Astra, as if she were trying to determine whether Astra was insolent, or merely stupid. She decided to chartiably to assume that 'stupidity' was more likely and continued.

"You are also charged with resisting arrest."

"I could not tell that they were officers. They came from the shadows. I thought that they might have been thieves."

The captain looked at the slackjawed overseer (who had pulled his mask toward the back of his head), and shrugged her shoulders. She then leaned over to the overseer, and whispered, "She isn't exactly one of the best and brightest. We had to give her an officer's position because she was a minor noble."

The Overseer snorted and a smirk appeared on his face. The captain played well to his prejudice that the Aqualarians, and especially Aqualarian nobility, were dull-witted. The captain moved on.

"So, we have established that you left your papers in the barracks so that you would not lose them while traveling. Which is why we have the papers in the first place." The captain enunciated each syllable of the last sentence slowly. All the spectators in the room laughed except Astra and the captain. Astra turned red, and the captain looked at her sternly while the laughter subsided. She then continued, "Now, having left your papers in the barracks, you failed to recognise the silver uniforms of the Hespanian Elite Cavalry. You might be the only person in Aqualaria not to recognise them.

There was no laughter this time, but the Overseer's face had broken into a full grin. Astra imagined self-satisfied grins behind the masks of the other cavalrymen.

The captain then said, "The last charges are 'obstruction of justice' and 'insolence to an overseer.' Explain what happened."

By now Astra knew that her best course was to admit to any charge, and finish this 'investigation.' The captain was giving her an education, which is doubtless what she intended to do. Astra thought that the captain's sarcastic manner was a cover to distract the Hespanians from appreciating that she was conveying information to her.

Astra weakly said, "I was not thinking correctly. I just wanted out of there, and did not think about who these gentlemen were."

"So you are essentially pleading guilty to all charges?"

"Yes, ma'am," Astra said sheepishly.

"Do you have any further questions, Mister Overseer?"

"No."

"Lady Astra, you shall perform muffin duty for a year and a day, and will be confined to barracks when not on duty."

The overseer said, "All you are going to do is make her cook?"

The captain replied, "No. The muffins that I am referring to are the horse muffins that one finds on the trails around the lake. As you can imagine, it is not desirable duty - and carts full of horse muffins do get heavy. This is not a soft punishment."

The overseer said, "Hmm. Someone has to do it. The honour of Hespan is satisfied with the sentence." The overseer turned to Astra, "And while you are moving the horse droppings to the pits, young lady, you will have plenty of time to think about the importance of your papers, and respect to the uniform." The overseer then turned back to the captain, and said, "The quality of your officers is falling off, Captain. Perhaps you could use some help from the Hespanian army?"

The captain said, plainly, "You do not have to waste your time. We are what we are."

The cavalrymen filed out of the room. Astra started to speak, but the captain cut her off, and said, loud enough for any outsiders to hear, "Astra, that was embarassing. I should have demoted you to the ranks. Were you totally off your head?" Then the captain whispered, "Shh, until we are at the post." The captain then untied Astra bounds, and Astra's arms were now free. The captain and Astra walked through the suburbs of Themyscira silently, taking side streets to avoid the gaze of onlookers.

When they reached the post, Astra and the captain entered through a back door. The captain then whispered, "Astra, I do know why you came back. I wish you had not. But now that you are here, you have got to listen to me and my ancient, Paula." Ancient was the rank of a petty officer in the Aqualarian cavalry. "You cannot stay here long. Not too many people have seen your face, but this was your old squadron. You cannot trust everyone here. There are some who would gossip about you, and before you know it, the Silver Horsemen will know who you are and kill you."

"I do not remember you, Captain. I thought I knew most of the officers."

"You would not have known me. I would have been a face in one of the militia units. I helped my mother run a shop in the city. A long time ago. Somebody had to hold the squadron together, and one thing led to another."

Then Astra said, "Captain, what in the world happened? It have been in the Shreken and beyond for five years, with no news."

Captain Copernica replied,

1. "It all started in the spring five years ago, with a civil war between two sisters of a tribe in Jaxinarta. We did not think much of it until the Hespanians shocked us by taking sides."
2. "I wish that I could talk. I am going to get you away from here, and get you some clothes that will hide you identity."

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