When the CEO arrived, his car pulled up next to the limo that the corporate executives had used as their transportation. Selim Yaxıs looked out of the window and gazed upon the giant marble columns that held up the Grand Courthouse, pillars of white that had stood for centuries, millennia, even. The driver exited the vehicle and opened the door for Selim to step out. As Selim did so, the huge wooden doors of the Courthouse opened with a large groan. Out filed a score of soldiers, decorated with full regalia and armaments.
Selim looked shocked, but had no time to inquire as to what this was about, for a higher ranking soldier grabbed him by the arm and led him up the stairs to the Courthouse. Instead of going into the main doors past the gigantic atrium, the soldier turned to the left, followed by six more, as six others turned to the right. The two groups respectively went in the side doors, descended two flights of stairs, and then regrouped in a hall. This hall had red flooring, with two white stripes running down the length of the hall, much like the flag of the country itself. Selim noticed, as they walked down the hall, that the lights were perfectly spaced, three meters apart, with Shields of Vadalar in between.
Two soldiers overtook Selim and the soldier guiding him, and did a quick jog to the doors, which were also wooden and decorated with brass. The soldiers threw open the doors, through which Selim was forced.
Inside was a cavernous chamber that had stairs running downward to where he was destined to go. At the bottom, he could see the board members that had arrived earlier. Everywhere else, however, was occupied by military troops. Behind them, to the left and right, were seating spaced filled by soldiers. Above them, in a recessed balcony to the left, right, and behind, were also filled by military. The only seats left unoccupied were his, and what Selim supposed would be the Judge’s.
Selim was shoved downward as soon as he got to the chair, and the soldier went back to join the rest of his troop, outside the courtroom.
“Şaxım at!” shouted a military officer, as he stood suddenly. Immediately after the order, all the military troops stood, giving off a rumbling noise.
“Ho!” chanted the soldiers in unison, giving the salute of Vadalar. Then a man entered through the door behind the Judge’s chair. This man was the Commander in Chief, the Arbiter of All Law, also commonly known as the President of Vadalar.
“The fuck is this?” Selim asked one of the board members who was sitting closest to him, shaking his head bewilderedly.
“Shut up, buşki!” The board member whispered madly. Selim had on a face of disgust, wondering why he wasn’t being given a public trial, like they should. Meanwhile, the Arbiter of All Law sat down in his ornate chair, banging the gavel on the elevated podium. Instead of giving off the loud clack that a gavel would normally emit, Selim was treated to a loud boom, as if an artillery shell went off. Fact is, there was a detonator for powder charges underneath the podium, to give the effect.
“Order. The accuser may stand and state the charge.” the President said into the microphone, which amplified and deepened his voice to make it sound near Godly. The prosecutor, or rather, the Secretary of Defense stood from his desk.
“The accused, Selim Yaxıs, CEO of Raxamehan Electric, is charged with corruption of the highest degree, obstruction of the law, and treason of the highest degree against the Daniz Vadalar. The Board of Executives of Raxamehan Electric are charged with corruption of the first degree, aiding and abetting crime, and obstruction of the law.”
“How do you respond?” inquired the Commander in Chief.
“My clients plead guilty to obstruction of the law, and not guilty to all other charges.” said the defendant attorney.
For the next several hours, the legal battle went back and forth, both the prosecution and defense calling in numerous pieces of evidence, building cases and defeating them, and calling in a seemingly inexhaustible list of witnesses. Finally, the last witness by the prosecution was called.
“We call to the stand,” the prosecutor looked at his list, “Maria Tsarianov.”
“Maria Tsarianov is called to the stand.” declared the Arbiter of All Law.
Maria Tsarianov went up to the podium underneath the President’s, and went through the usual process of affirming that she would be “speaking only the truth”. Once the preliminaries were complete, as they had been done tens of times prior, the prosecutor began his rapid fire line of questioning.
“Ms. Tsarianov, it is true that you have had contact with Selim Yaxıs, is it not?”
“Yes, it is true.”
“Ms. Tsarianov, it is also true that this contact took place less than two weeks ago, is it not?”
“Yes, it is true.”
“Ms. Tsarianov, would you state that Mr. Yaxıs acted oddly during this contact?”
“Yes.”
“Did he seem as if he was hiding something?”
“No.”
“Ms. Tsarianov, what would you say was odd, then?”
“Selim was acting oddly, as if he had done something against his morals. Not to say that he was hiding anything, but it was as if he had changed.”
“And what did you do?”
“Knowing Selim, this was different, and I set out to find why, through investigative reporting.”
“I should ask, Ms. Tsarianov, what do you mean by “knowing Selim”?”
“I have known Selim since my freshman year of university.”
“To what extent was this relationship?”
“Purely academic. Both of us were pursuing a Economics degree, and our meetings were based on the courses we took.”
“Would you say, over the course of this academic pursuance, Selim had a good work ethic, and was morally conscious?”
“Yes.”
“And is this what had changed?”
“His habits were different, but I could not yet determine if anything further was the case.”
“Through your investigative journalism, what did you discover?”
“The company, Raxamehan Electric, had numerous discrepancies in its financial reporting.”
“Why go through finances?”
“I wanted to get a full picture of Selim’s involvement in the corporation, and given my Bachelor’s Economics degree, I figured finances were a good place to start.”
“Understandable. What were these discrepancies?”
“Millions were underreported, and hundreds of thousands were somehow found elsewhere in the company’s assets.”
“Your Honor,” the prosecutor addressed the President, “given that the prosecution has went over the finances substantially, may I continue on a different, but related line of questioning?”
“You may.” the Commander in Chief answered.
“Ms. Tsarianov, after reviewing finances, what else did you discover?”
“After reviewing finances, I looked into the communications that Selim had been having, and I discovered that he was speaking with Merimienan nationals.”
“Yes, we have gone through this with other witnesses. What new insight can you allow us concerning this contact with Merimienan nationals?”
“Instead of mere nationals, citizens of Merimien, I discovered that they were so much more. They were the highest ranking members of the Ministry of Science and Technology.”
A murmur went through the courtroom, but then quickly died out.
“Ms. Tsarianov, what else did you find out about this contact with the Merimien Ministry of Science and Technology?”
“I was able to obtain, through sources of mine in the Merimien government - whom I may not name due to their insistence of anonymity, they would face death in Merimien - I was able to obtain the names of whom Selim spoke to, and what information they spoke about.”
“I understand the condition of your sources, and I respect it. What information did Selim give to the Ministry?”
“Selim gave to the Merimien Ministry only but the most import—“
“OBJECTION!” shouted out the defense attorney, jowls waving.
A bang rang out the courtroom as the Arbiter of All Law threw down the gavel.
“This must be your first case in the High Court. Understandable, of course, since you were expecting a case in the National Court. Objections are disallowed, and all lines of questioning must be followed. I shall decide if the information is valid.” said the President, with finality.
“Your Honor, may I continue?” The Maria Tsarianov asked of the Commander in Chief.
After an affirmative reply, the Maria continued.
“Selim gave to the Merimien Ministry only but the most important technical data concerning Vadalar, as well as the blueprints on the new secure information transmission systems that are being constructed by Raxamehan Electric.”
“As we all know, these data are highly classified, and were entrusted to Selim and his board. With that, Your Honor, I rest my case.” the prosecutor finished.
The defending attorney began to stand, but was commanded to sit down by the Arbiter of All Law.
“In cases of national security, there is no debate over law. A special investigation was held - I knew about this fact of evidence already and had a special group investigate the allegations.”
Selim looked on with perplexity. What special group? What investigation? It was clear by the President’s tone that no information would ever be released to the public, or even the lower echelons of the military. Even the prosecutor would never know the details of such an investigation, nor Selim.
“Based on the results of this investigation,” the Commander in Chief continued, “I sentence Selim Yaxıs to life plus fifty years in the State Military Prison. I sentence each board member to twenty years in prison and five years of subsequent house arrest.”
The Arbiter of All Law completed his arbitration with final bang of the gavel.
Selim looked shocked, but had no time to inquire as to what this was about, for a higher ranking soldier grabbed him by the arm and led him up the stairs to the Courthouse. Instead of going into the main doors past the gigantic atrium, the soldier turned to the left, followed by six more, as six others turned to the right. The two groups respectively went in the side doors, descended two flights of stairs, and then regrouped in a hall. This hall had red flooring, with two white stripes running down the length of the hall, much like the flag of the country itself. Selim noticed, as they walked down the hall, that the lights were perfectly spaced, three meters apart, with Shields of Vadalar in between.
Two soldiers overtook Selim and the soldier guiding him, and did a quick jog to the doors, which were also wooden and decorated with brass. The soldiers threw open the doors, through which Selim was forced.
Inside was a cavernous chamber that had stairs running downward to where he was destined to go. At the bottom, he could see the board members that had arrived earlier. Everywhere else, however, was occupied by military troops. Behind them, to the left and right, were seating spaced filled by soldiers. Above them, in a recessed balcony to the left, right, and behind, were also filled by military. The only seats left unoccupied were his, and what Selim supposed would be the Judge’s.
Selim was shoved downward as soon as he got to the chair, and the soldier went back to join the rest of his troop, outside the courtroom.
“Şaxım at!” shouted a military officer, as he stood suddenly. Immediately after the order, all the military troops stood, giving off a rumbling noise.
“Ho!” chanted the soldiers in unison, giving the salute of Vadalar. Then a man entered through the door behind the Judge’s chair. This man was the Commander in Chief, the Arbiter of All Law, also commonly known as the President of Vadalar.
“The fuck is this?” Selim asked one of the board members who was sitting closest to him, shaking his head bewilderedly.
“Shut up, buşki!” The board member whispered madly. Selim had on a face of disgust, wondering why he wasn’t being given a public trial, like they should. Meanwhile, the Arbiter of All Law sat down in his ornate chair, banging the gavel on the elevated podium. Instead of giving off the loud clack that a gavel would normally emit, Selim was treated to a loud boom, as if an artillery shell went off. Fact is, there was a detonator for powder charges underneath the podium, to give the effect.
“Order. The accuser may stand and state the charge.” the President said into the microphone, which amplified and deepened his voice to make it sound near Godly. The prosecutor, or rather, the Secretary of Defense stood from his desk.
“The accused, Selim Yaxıs, CEO of Raxamehan Electric, is charged with corruption of the highest degree, obstruction of the law, and treason of the highest degree against the Daniz Vadalar. The Board of Executives of Raxamehan Electric are charged with corruption of the first degree, aiding and abetting crime, and obstruction of the law.”
“How do you respond?” inquired the Commander in Chief.
“My clients plead guilty to obstruction of the law, and not guilty to all other charges.” said the defendant attorney.
For the next several hours, the legal battle went back and forth, both the prosecution and defense calling in numerous pieces of evidence, building cases and defeating them, and calling in a seemingly inexhaustible list of witnesses. Finally, the last witness by the prosecution was called.
“We call to the stand,” the prosecutor looked at his list, “Maria Tsarianov.”
“Maria Tsarianov is called to the stand.” declared the Arbiter of All Law.
Maria Tsarianov went up to the podium underneath the President’s, and went through the usual process of affirming that she would be “speaking only the truth”. Once the preliminaries were complete, as they had been done tens of times prior, the prosecutor began his rapid fire line of questioning.
“Ms. Tsarianov, it is true that you have had contact with Selim Yaxıs, is it not?”
“Yes, it is true.”
“Ms. Tsarianov, it is also true that this contact took place less than two weeks ago, is it not?”
“Yes, it is true.”
“Ms. Tsarianov, would you state that Mr. Yaxıs acted oddly during this contact?”
“Yes.”
“Did he seem as if he was hiding something?”
“No.”
“Ms. Tsarianov, what would you say was odd, then?”
“Selim was acting oddly, as if he had done something against his morals. Not to say that he was hiding anything, but it was as if he had changed.”
“And what did you do?”
“Knowing Selim, this was different, and I set out to find why, through investigative reporting.”
“I should ask, Ms. Tsarianov, what do you mean by “knowing Selim”?”
“I have known Selim since my freshman year of university.”
“To what extent was this relationship?”
“Purely academic. Both of us were pursuing a Economics degree, and our meetings were based on the courses we took.”
“Would you say, over the course of this academic pursuance, Selim had a good work ethic, and was morally conscious?”
“Yes.”
“And is this what had changed?”
“His habits were different, but I could not yet determine if anything further was the case.”
“Through your investigative journalism, what did you discover?”
“The company, Raxamehan Electric, had numerous discrepancies in its financial reporting.”
“Why go through finances?”
“I wanted to get a full picture of Selim’s involvement in the corporation, and given my Bachelor’s Economics degree, I figured finances were a good place to start.”
“Understandable. What were these discrepancies?”
“Millions were underreported, and hundreds of thousands were somehow found elsewhere in the company’s assets.”
“Your Honor,” the prosecutor addressed the President, “given that the prosecution has went over the finances substantially, may I continue on a different, but related line of questioning?”
“You may.” the Commander in Chief answered.
“Ms. Tsarianov, after reviewing finances, what else did you discover?”
“After reviewing finances, I looked into the communications that Selim had been having, and I discovered that he was speaking with Merimienan nationals.”
“Yes, we have gone through this with other witnesses. What new insight can you allow us concerning this contact with Merimienan nationals?”
“Instead of mere nationals, citizens of Merimien, I discovered that they were so much more. They were the highest ranking members of the Ministry of Science and Technology.”
A murmur went through the courtroom, but then quickly died out.
“Ms. Tsarianov, what else did you find out about this contact with the Merimien Ministry of Science and Technology?”
“I was able to obtain, through sources of mine in the Merimien government - whom I may not name due to their insistence of anonymity, they would face death in Merimien - I was able to obtain the names of whom Selim spoke to, and what information they spoke about.”
“I understand the condition of your sources, and I respect it. What information did Selim give to the Ministry?”
“Selim gave to the Merimien Ministry only but the most import—“
“OBJECTION!” shouted out the defense attorney, jowls waving.
A bang rang out the courtroom as the Arbiter of All Law threw down the gavel.
“This must be your first case in the High Court. Understandable, of course, since you were expecting a case in the National Court. Objections are disallowed, and all lines of questioning must be followed. I shall decide if the information is valid.” said the President, with finality.
“Your Honor, may I continue?” The Maria Tsarianov asked of the Commander in Chief.
After an affirmative reply, the Maria continued.
“Selim gave to the Merimien Ministry only but the most important technical data concerning Vadalar, as well as the blueprints on the new secure information transmission systems that are being constructed by Raxamehan Electric.”
“As we all know, these data are highly classified, and were entrusted to Selim and his board. With that, Your Honor, I rest my case.” the prosecutor finished.
The defending attorney began to stand, but was commanded to sit down by the Arbiter of All Law.
“In cases of national security, there is no debate over law. A special investigation was held - I knew about this fact of evidence already and had a special group investigate the allegations.”
Selim looked on with perplexity. What special group? What investigation? It was clear by the President’s tone that no information would ever be released to the public, or even the lower echelons of the military. Even the prosecutor would never know the details of such an investigation, nor Selim.
“Based on the results of this investigation,” the Commander in Chief continued, “I sentence Selim Yaxıs to life plus fifty years in the State Military Prison. I sentence each board member to twenty years in prison and five years of subsequent house arrest.”
The Arbiter of All Law completed his arbitration with final bang of the gavel.
)
