Karrsh - Judgment The circle of judgement was old. It predated the Tyranny by many centuries. It had survived the scourging relatively intact, the rocky fastness of the original Starhunter Prideholds had been abandoned to the interests of scholars and tourists long before the Flagritz came and no one had wasted the firepower needed to shatter the strategically irrelevant if historically significant rocks. A single battle had been fought here, between desperate refugees and a clearly lost Flagritz patrol, afterwards its remnants had simply been hosed off the thick uncaring granite. When the Flagritz had left and the rebuilding had begun; the surviving Starhunter Prideelders had moved away from the radioactive ash stains that had once been there cities and returned to their ancestral home. Modern conveniences had been tacked lightly on to ancient stone and for a while the Prideholds had lived again. As the Tyranny had recovered the Pride's business had moved backed to the bustling starbases, leaving the holds almost empty once more . But still they came here, for council and for judgment, seeking solace in the time-worn rock. The circle was twelve paces across, surrounded by a wall of nine foot tall granite slabs. A gentle breeze blew up past him from the entrance. Atop the wall reclined the elders. To Karrsh they where just silhouettes, back lit by bright artificial lights mounted in the sconce's of ancient torches. He knew who they would be; family heads of core septs, representatives of technical groupings, Clade leaders of the Karlosse, and Harrur. There would be no Priestesses present of course. Even amidst the recent religious revival the Starhunter Pride remained resolutely secular in its Pride business.

'Karrsh, you have been called to judgement by the elders of the Pride' The voice was cracked and withered, by ancient tradition the eldest spoke first and the council spoke through her. He knew that voice, Kaliashh, matrilineal ancestress of Rasshan.

The voice almost shook his resolved. But he held his posture in the position of polite attention and his tail showed nary a twitch.
'Yes eldest'
'The Tyrant has approved your actions as in the interests of the Tyranny' the voice was flat, spoken in the technical dialect with all emotional cues absent. The direction of the gentle draft and the brightness of the light meant he could neither read her posture or sense the evocation of her pheromones, the words might have been spoken by a computer or an alien for all sense he could gain of her true feelings.
'Our judgement is on your capacity to continue to serve the Pride and the Tyranny. A judgement the Tyrant has left to us, do you understand?'


'Yes eldest' He did understand, he had done what was necessary; but the Starhunters controlled almost half the Tyranny's space going military. The Tyrant could not afford for them to become disaffected. Allowing them this judgement was a sop to Pride autonomy which would help silence nay-sayers. Well so be it.

'Do you have anything to add to the record?'

Karrsh knew the forms, in a true trial, there would be Archons present and evidence and rebuttal but this was not a trial, they knew what he had done and he did not deny it, it was a judgement. So he stared up at the Eldest, his eyes watered from the light but did not waver, his posture correct and his tail still 'No eldest, all pertinent details where in my report'

Only the shifting of shadows marked the conversation among the elders, either by ancient engineering or modern whisperfield no sound carried down to him. He simply stood and waited. After a while the movement stopped and the Eldest spoke.
'It is the consensus of the Pride that you have acted within the interests of the Starhunters, and that based on your record and the recommendations made previously by Pridesenior Rasshan you be appointed to the office of Pridesenior'

The words hit Karrsh like a blow to the head, control finally knocked back by sheer shock 'El...Eldest?'

'Notification of your appointment will be dispatched to the Tyrant and to all Starhunter holdings, security and authorisation privileges will be transferred to you forthwith '

The lights dimmed a little and he could see the elders clearly now, each rose from there couch and made the gesture of submission. Some grudgingly, some with clear signs of anger, but each submitted.

'By your leave Pridesenior?' He could read her emotions at last, a dry amusement mixed with a touch sorrow.

He numbly indicated his ascent and one by one the Prideelders left, some on foot, some by simply cancelling the subspace link that had projected there holograms, leaving him alone in the Circle.