The Mech Touch

6081 The Double Sentencing

Guilty.

Lanie's eyes grew hazy as she received this sentence.

While Taon managed to get away with his attempts to kill her because the special tribunal thought he engaged in an act of attempted justified homicide, Lanie got stuck with attempted voluntary manslaughter!

This was undoubtedly worse as it effectively communicated that the clan thought that Lanie unambiguously acted wrongly under this circumstance!

Not just Lanie, but also many other Larkinsons did not quite agree with this verdict!

Unlike Taon, Lanie attracted greater sympathy from the Larkinsons due to several reasons.

First, Goldie did not entirely abandon her. The female expert pilot retained her connection to the Larkinson Network, and every clansman could sense that. The fact that the ancestral spirit of the Larkinson Clan remained sympathetic towards her cause was a big deal, even if it could not materially affect the decisions of the special tribunal by itself.

Second, Venerable Lanie had undoubtedly been wronged first. Her mech got struck by a super-massive high-velocity transphasic hyper gauss round in the back! The fact that she managed to get stronger and better should not rule out the fact that she could have died if she was a bit less lucky! It was unreasonable to expect her to act with restraint after suffering such a huge blow.

Third, Venerable Lanie did not sound as nihilistic and unsympathetic as the other accused. The former still expresses her earnest intention to fight on behalf of the Larkinson Clan and atone for whatever crimes she may be guilty of by making a lot more contributions on the battlefield. She still regarded her fellow Larkinsons as brothers and sisters. The only notable exception was Venerable Taon, but that could be excused.

Therefore, most Larkinsons thought that Lanie deserved a bit of punishment, but not too much.

The question now was whether the special tribunal expressed the swillingness.

Before Venerable Jannzi could continue to explain the special tribunal's rulings, Venerable Vincent Ricklin stood up and waved his arms yet again.

"You wish… to speak again?"

"Yeah! I don't object to the decisions when it comes to Lanie, but the way you explain it is not good enough. I am worried that you do a good job at elaborating because you need to be careful about using the correct terms and phrases. I think I can do a better job at making our fellow Larkinsons understand how we will deal with Lanie's guilt."

Surprisingly enough, Jannzi did not disagree with Vincent. The chief judge nodded towards the other judge.

"You may speak."

"Thank you, Jannzi." Vincent briefly smiled. "Now, Lanie may be guilty of a bunch of stuff, but… who can blher? She almost got killed. Are we supposed to ignore that? No. Regardless of whether it is the Emperor Tree or Taon that is ultimately responsible for this, mech pilots such as myself are trained to be decisive and aggressive. Under normal circumstances, we are also expected to control ourselves, but how can you possibly expect us to do so in the heat of the moment? Lanie is insane. Lanie was also heavily provoked and threatened during the incident. Do you think it is reasonable for her to stop fighting, sit down and think really carefully about the cause and effect that resulted in her Elegant Rage getting separated into two damaged pieces?"

Humans were ultimately emotional creations. Their rationality may be able to temper their worst excesses, but what if it could no longer do so? Any human could easily turn into a beast if that happened.

Vincent leaned forward on the bench. "I can tell you that if I was put in a similar position as Lanie… I may actually respond in the sway. Expert pilots may be larger than life to many of you, but we are still human in many ways. As Taon and Lanie have proven, we can go mad and lose all reason when we are pushed beyond the brink. Can we truly judge Lanie harshly when she has clearly been driven beyond the limits of her sanity? I do not think so. To expect her to fight against her instincts as a warrior and resist the overpowering desire to take revenge on Taon is not possible. Only unfeeling AIs are capable of behaving in such a logical manner. Don't be too harsh on Lanie. She is a good kid that has been dealt a bad hand. She needs counseling, not punishment."

"Ahem."

Another judge wanted to interject. Vincent looked aside and reluctantly sat down again.

Commander Casella Ingvar conveyed a lot more intelligence and authority than her fellow judge.

"The insanity defense should not serve as a carte blanche that can allow Venerable Lanie to escape total culpability in her crimes. As much as I respect Venerable Vincent's opinions, I must respectfully disagree. The Larkinson Army is a military organization that is governed by rules and regulations. While there is room for initiative and improvisation, there should be much less room for disobedience. Lanie has been given a clear and unambiguous order to cease her fighting and disengage. No matter how hot headed she has become, it is unacceptable for a pilot of her stature to ignore Venerable Joshua's lawful orders."

Venerable Lanie looked glumly at the Sentinel Commander. It was as if the latter was stabbing the former in the back with words!

"Venerable Lanie Larkinson is a champion. A hero. An expert candidate turned expert pilot." Commander Casella emphasized. "Her elevated status allows her to enjoy greater autonomy on the battlefield and fight however she wishes. However, her status also imposes greater demands and expectations on her. Our clan rightfully holds her along with every other champion to a higher standard because they would turn into loose cannons if left unrestrained."

She made a good point. Expert pilots received exalted treatment from the Larkinson Clan. They had an obligation to reciprocate what they received and uphold people's expectations.

Lanie undoubtedly failed to do so when she beclost in her madness and tried to kill Taon without restraint!

"I fear that incidents such as this may not be the last ta champion of the Larkinson Clan commits crimes in the throes of their own extrand abnormal mental states. Regardless of how they justify their own decisions, their willful disregard of our laws and their own instructions should not be tolerated. Venerable Lanie should not be treated as a mental patient, but as a convicted criminal. Only by demonstrating that we are willing to treat our champions to a higher standard than ordinary soldiers will we be able to send a message that those with greater power must bear greater responsibility."

That was a well-reasoned argument, though it was not quite clear whether Commander Casella would get her way.

In any case, the chief judge took the word yet again.

"Let us address Venerable Lanie Larkinson's remaining charges before we proceed with the sentencing of both of the accused."

The special tribunal ruled that Lanie was guilty of a bunch of other crimes, though just like behaving in a manner unbecoming a champion, they were not that as severe as the initial charges.

Venerable Lanie listened to Jannzi's announcement with a more stoic expression. The new expert pilot undoubtedly grew disappointed with the clan for judging that she acted incorrectly.

Lanie still believed that she had made the right calls. Taon deserved to die for having her blood on his hands. The fact that he was still alive was the biggest travesty in the courthouse!

"Venerable Taon Melin-Larkinson and Venerable Lanie Larkinson have been exonerated from scharges, but are convicted on many other charges. Under both circumstances, our special tribunal has taken into account that they acted under extrprovocation and that they are not sound in mind. While these mitigating factors have given us strong reasons to reduce the severity of the punishments that we must impose on them, letreiterate how we form our decisions."

She turned around and looked up to the large statue of the Golden Cat. The sculpture dominated the courthouse.

"Nyaaaaa~"

Many Larkinsons becsurprised when the Golden Cat actually decided to manifest herself!

Her much smaller form emerged from the statue and slowly descended until she perched on Jannzi's shoulders. The spiritual cat lovingly rubbed her cheek against Jannzi's head.

Goldie unambiguously expressed her support for the chief judge.

"Our special tribunal works on behalf of the Larkinson Clan as a whole. We can be sympathetic towards the interests of individual Larkinsons, but we must always make decisions that will benefit our clan in the long run. We have set a precedent today that should hopefully lead to less confusion and greater certainty about where our clan stands on various issues. We also hope that our sentencing will successfully protect our clansmen while making sure that we do not treat Venerable Taon Melin-Larkinson and Venerable Lanie Larkinson unfairly."

Everyone fell silent as they wanted to hear the punishments levied towards the two offending Larkinson expert pilots.

Venerable Jannzi briefly paused before she spoke the most crucial words. "Venerable Taon Melin-Larkinson. Venerable Lanie Larkinson. Your culpability and crimes may vary, but the special tribunal has decided to impose the spunishment on the both of you for multiple reasons."

"Starting from the 5th day of the 3rd year of the Age of Dawn, the Larkinson Clan formally severs or annuls all oaths, contracts, obligations and other bonds, both formal and informal, with the two convicted criminals! They have one day to settle their affairs and bid farewell to the clansmen they are familiar with before a vessel deposits them on the surface of Bortele III. They may depart with their personal belongings as well as a fairly generous severance package as a reward for the services they have rendered. Let the records state that Venerable Taon Melin-Larkinson and Venerable Lanie Larkinson are both exiled from the Larkinson Clan!"

Exile!

Many Larkinsons including Ves and Ketis widened their eyes when they heard the sentencing!

This was not the punishment they expected to hear, but it was one that did not sound unsuitable for the pair of malignant expert pilots.

Lanie looked devastated at this announcement. As a trueblood Larkinson, she still possessed a strong belonging to the Larkinson Clan. Getting exiled was the sas losing all of her family!

As for Taon, the morose expert pilot showed very little reaction towards his punishment. It was as if he had already written off the Larkinson Clan in advance. Getting exiled made no difference if that was the case.

Venerable Jannzi raised her hand in order to quiet the unrest among the audience. "Letexplain why we have resorted to exile for both offenders. First, the special tribunal acknowledges that the ultimate guilty party is the calamity plant known as the Emperor Tree. It is the true cause of this incident. Everything else that proceeded from the initial deception should be regarded as chain reactions. If the Larkinson High Court had its way, we should have dragged the Emperor Tree in front of the bench. In fact, it is not necessary for us to bring it to trial, as it is not human and does not enjoy the right to have a trial. I am told that our clan is already planning to retaliate against this calamity plant in the coming weeks."

That sounded nice, but it did not change the fact that Taon and Lanie becaffected anyway.

"Second, as powerful as Venerable Taon Melin-Larkinson and Venerable Lanie Larkinson have become, our clan does not welcthem anymore. The plain and simple truth is that our soldiers cannot trust their backs to either of them. We also cannot count on the two to follow orders and fight for our clan without any complications. We are not desperate enough to obtain more expert pilots to forgive their crimes, tolerate their anti-social speech and ignore the fact that they still want to murder each other! According to our own recruitment standards, both convicted criminals are most definitely not eligible to join our clan anymore. Since that is the case, let us sever our ties with them without levying any further punishment onto them. This is our mercy to the pilots that have once risked their lives to defend our clan."

The dramatic court session had finally cto an end.

From tomorrow onwards, neither Taon nor Lanie could be considered as members of the Larkinson Clan anymore!