CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Vincent fought his way back towards the white light and as waking consciousness enveloped him he became aware that he felt strange. It felt as if he were floating and he was cold. He started to shiver and then he heard shouts; someone giving orders and then calling his name. He struggled to hold onto the voice but it kept drifting and he was so cold, so very cold. The voice came again.
“Vincent. Vincent can you hear me? Vincent. Move your fingers if you can hear me.” He concentrated his mind and tried to connect with his fingers but they felt so very far away and numb with cold. He turned his head towards the sound in an effort to hear better and the voice came again. “Hold on to my voice Vincent, now try to move your fingers if you can hear me, try really hard.” He tried again but it was no use, he couldn’t reach his fingers, they were just too far away and too cold. “You will soon be warm Vincent, don’t worry.” He cried out with his mind, begging for warmth as the voice continued to talk to him. “You are safe now Vincent. All of the enemies are dead and you are safe here. We are here to help you get better.” At last he began to feel the temperature rise and as the warmth pervaded his body he felt his connections with his extremities return. He moved a finger and the voice sounded pleased. “Well done. Now I’m going to talk and you move your finger when you want to say yes, can you do that for me?” Vincent moved his finger and the voice continued. “Wonderful, now are you warm enough?” He indicated yes.
By this slow and painstaking process Doctor Jam learned that Vincent returned with all of his mental faculties intact and would make a full recovery. He learned that he felt no pain but he needed the tank four degrees warmer than normal, which was about average for a Lilean patient. The only two things that were worrying the doctor were how he was going to react when he awoke fully to find himself breathing liquid and how he would react to the change back to air. With his Lilean physique he could be quite a challenging patient if he decided to thrash and panic and he decided to have a supply of tranquiliser handy just in case. He thought it may be a good idea to begin getting Vincent used to the reality of his liquid environment gently, rather than waiting and letting him find out all of a sudden when he wakes fully. He took a deep breath.
“Vincent, can you still hear me?” The finger moved. “Good. Now I want you to listen very carefully. Do you feel as if you’re floating?” Yes. “Good. Now that is because you are in a very special place right now, a place that you will never have seen before. It is so special that it is the only place that can make you better right now, do you understand?” Yes. “Okay. Now you are floating because there is a very special and magical liquid all around you. This liquid is healing all of your injuries and making you well again. Do you understand?” Yes. “Great. This liquid is so special that it is even breathing for you.” Vincent’s body twitched frighteningly and for a second the doctor thought he was going to panic. What he wanted to avoid more than anything was having a huge panicking Lilean on his hands. He continued his soothing words. “Don’t worry Vincent; the liquid is doing everything your body needs right now, even breathing. You are getting all the things your body needs to repair itself from this liquid. Your lungs are having a well deserved rest and this liquid is making them stronger and more efficient than they’ve ever been before.”
Vincent’s chest heaved and the doctor’s heart sank as he thought, oh fuck. He knew right away Vincent was trying to breathe normally and would be panicking and thrashing within seconds if he didn’t get him calmed down. If he damaged the tank he could set his own recovery back and even cause himself more damage, not to mention hurting his medical staff in the process. He had to force him to calm down so he tried to get an authoritative edge to his voice and sound commanding.
“Vincent listen to me. Listen to me now. You must stop moving, you must remain still and you must stop trying to breathe normally. The liquid is breathing for you, let it do its job. Now calm down please.” He shouted in command and instantly felt sorry but it seemed to do the trick. By now Vincent's hands where on the inside walls of the tank and Doctor Jam knew within seconds he would be thumping and trying to escape. As he watched him forcing himself to calm down he was amazed. This poor man who never saw a tank before, let alone had to breathe liquid quartz emulsion, was now bravely fighting the most natural of urges because he trusted him.
Vincent’s eyes flicked open as the man shouted at him. He told him he wasn’t breathing and sure enough, when he tried to, he found he couldn’t and started to panic. As the man shouted at him to calm down and let the liquid do its job he remembered Syra’s words, trust them. So he forced himself to calm down and as his eyes strained to make sense of what he was seeing he heard the voice again.
“Hello there Vincent, welcome back.” The voice was coming from his right so he turned to look for it and saw a face looking at him through the liquid. The face smiled and he raised a hand in response. “Are you in pain?” He moved his head side to side. “Good, that’s wonderful. Are you warm enough?” He nodded. “My name is Doctor Jam and I have been looking after you since we got you away from the Transmortals. You will be able to come out of the liquid in a day or so, once your brain is completely healed.” At the mention of his brain Vincent frowned. The doctor noticed and explained what the Transmortals did to him. “The Transmortals put a device into your brain that they wanted to use to make you into one of them. I removed it and now we need to let things heal completely before getting you out of there. Now, do you see that button there, by your right hip?” He looked and nodded. “If you need anything at all or if you’re worried or just need someone to be here, just press that okay?” He nodded.
Lomas entered the medical bay like an excited kid with a new toy. He couldn’t wait to meet Vincent alive and well. The doctor was there to meet him.
“Your Majesty, welcome. Come and meet Vincent.” The doctor stood aside and there was Vincent in the tank. He approached slowly and looked into the liquid. The man was huge, a fine Lilean if ever he saw one, no wonder he was the prophesied one. As he met Vincent’s gaze he smiled.
“Vincent. My name is Lomas and I am the King of the Drycenian Nation. We are so very proud to have you as our guest and it is an honour to meet you at last. When we found you deep in the bowels of the dome, we feared you lost. Welcome to my ship; treat it as your home for the duration of your stay. We are at this moment racing with all haste to Terramora Prime to make sure that you are given your freedom from the false claims made against you back on Moxal 3. Michael Donaldson is working to free you as we speak but you have to be there in person and we intend to get you there. There is no ship in the galaxy as fast as ours; you can rest assured you will make the appointment and you will get your freedom.” Lomas smiled as Vincent raised a hand in response. “We made a solemn vow to do all in our power to help you to get the stain wiped from your record and bring those responsible to justice and we always keep our promises.” Vincent nodded slowly. “Concentrate first on making a full recovery; you are receiving the very best of care I can assure you. We will talk properly when you’re out of there.”
Doctor Jam took a few moments to have a final run through with the Troopers. “Now gentlemen one more time. Mallon, you will be on Vincent’s right, and Belmore, you will be on his left. Stix and Wemlo, you take either side of his legs, around about the knee area would be best. Have you tested your equipment fully?”
“Yes Sir, all functioning perfectly.” The Troopers were instructed to wear Casmet Brachial Armour to give them the necessary extra strength that they might very well need in the next few minutes. These devices are worn on the arms like elbow length metal gloves and when the wearer needs extra strength that his physical body doesn’t possess, the devices give him that extra power. The doctor was worried about this coming procedure so he decided to bring the Troopers in for safety’s sake.
“Now, the tank will empty and the sides will des
cend, leaving Vincent on the table. I suspect he will thrash and panic and because of his physique, the damage he could do to himself, the equipment and me, would be considerable. You are to restrain him only enough to prevent him causing damage, do you understand? He’s not a prisoner.” He gave the Troopers a grave look as they nodded.
“Yes Sir, we understand. We will be careful Sir.”
He walked over to Vincent, who was watching the conversation intently through the liquid in the tank. “Vincent I need you to listen to me very carefully now okay?” Vincent raised a hand. “Okay. Now, it is time to bring you out of there but this can be an uncomfortable experience for those who aren’t used to it. Do you remember when you first woke up and nearly panicked?” Vincent nodded. “And you remember how I told you how important it was for you not to panic and thrash about?” Another nod. “Good. Well we have to have that conversation again now okay?” Vincent rolled his eyes and the doctor suppressed a grin. “I know I know but it will all be over in a minute or so. The liquid that surrounds you will flush away and the sides of the tank will descend, leaving you lying on the table.” A nod from Vincent. “Once your lungs have no more liquid filtering through them, you will naturally start to cough and vomit.” Vincent’s eyes widened. “Don’t worry about it, just allow your body to expel the last of the fluid from your lungs, the more you relax into it, the quicker it will all be over. If you panic and thrash about, it will take much longer.”
Vincent looked at the troopers and then back at the doctor, his eyes widening accusingly. The doctor looked sheepish as he explained. “Vincent, you are an immensely strong man, much more so than we are. If you should panic you could damage yourself, the equipment and errm, us. These men are only here to prevent you from hurting yourself or wrecking the place, okay?” Vincent stared at the doctor, and the doctor stared back. “Okay? Shall we start now or would you rather think about it for a while?” Vincent got the point and raised a hand and nodded. The doctor indicated for the Troopers to take their positions. He counted down from three and pressed the switch. Immediately the liquid flushed away and the sides of the tank dropped through the floor and Vincent was up in a flash, sitting on the table coughing and vomiting the remaining fluid from his lungs. At first he behaved himself and the doctor was delighted, but then when he tried to take a breath in and started a fresh coughing fit, he panicked.
“Gentlemen,” the doctor shouted at the Troopers, who all took hold of Vincent as he instructed them. As Vincent struggled, the Troopers Casmet’s did their job and kept him from causing mayhem in the medical bay. The doctor stood behind him to keep him in a sitting position. “Vincent please stop struggling. Please, it will end sooner if you stop fighting it. Please trust me on this.” As Vincent panicked and began to struggle for air, he felt himself being restrained and no matter how much he wriggled and fought, they were stronger. He heard the doctor shouting and it was only when he caught the words, trust me, that he found the strength to stop fighting. His body heaved as he coughed and vomited and choked up the remaining fluid in his lungs. God how his lungs burned, he felt they were going to explode through his chest if he didn’t get air soon. As soon as he allowed his body to get on with the job, it was all over very quickly and with one last heave, his lungs were finally free to breathe and man, did that feel wonderful. The doctor indicated for the Troopers to step away.
“Thank you gentlemen, good job,” he smiled as they left the room. He busied himself removing the various wires and tubes from the garment Vincent was wearing and waited for him to relax into breathing normally again. “Well done Vincent, feels good to breathe normally doesn’t it?” Vincent nodded and looked down at himself. He touched the silver garment he was wearing. It felt just like his own skin. “The garment forms a bond with your own skin and makes it porous so that the fluid in the tank can get directly through into the cells of your body and do its job quicker. In a couple of minutes the garment will begin to disintegrate as your skin returns to its normal non porous state again. Now, how does your head feel?” he asked as he checked Vincent’s eyelids and pupils, probed his ears with an instrument that beeped and felt the glands in his neck.
“Fine, great actually,” Vincent said as he shook his head and rolled his neck around.
“Good, good. Now let’s get you into a shower to clean up shall we? Come on; let me help you off the table.” He helped him into the next room to shower.
“Did I hurt anyone?” Vincent asked.
“No, no damage done.”
“How long was I out?”
“Just a day here with us but it must’ve been five or six in total with the time you spent down in the dome. Here we are, now step up there, that’s it.”
Once showered and dressed, Vincent felt better than he felt in years. He went back into the medical bay to find the doctor talking with another man he thought he recognised.
“Ahh Vincent hello again, how are you feeling?” The man came toward him and offered his hand, which Vincent shook whilst still trying to remember where he’d seen him before.
“I feel great, thank you for everything. I owe ya one I guess.” He remembered how much these people had done for him and didn’t want to forget to at least say thank you even though it sounded a bit inadequate.
“You don’t owe us anything my friend. After what you’ve done for the whole galaxy, you owe no one anything. I am King Lomas VII. We spoke a couple of days ago while you were still in the tank. Do you remember?”
So that was it. “Ahh, I knew I recognised your face, yeah I remember you. Umm, how should I address you. Is Sir okay?” He suddenly felt awkward; he’d never met royalty before but Lomas put him at ease.
“Officially it’s Your Majesty the first time and Sir after that, but unless it’s a state occasion, then Lomas will suffice. Let me show you around, come.” He gave Vincent the tour and then showed him his quarters. “Come and go as you please. There is no where off limits to you. You are not a prisoner here, you’re an honoured guest. Now, let’s go to the obs deck, we have much to discuss.” He led Vincent to the obs deck and introduced him to Byron, Toma and the others. Vincent looked at Toma and remembered where he’d seen him before.
“You were the one held in the mine,” he said and Toma looked surprised.
“Yes, you know about that? But that happened after you left, how did you know?” Vincent suddenly realised what he’d done. He wondered how they would take the information that he spoke to a spirit woman. Lomas saw he looked a bit awkward and saved the day.
“Ahh of course, we keep forgetting. Your spirit friend will have told you, yes?”
He looked up at Lomas in surprise. “You know about that? How?”
“We are Drycenians Vincent; there isn’t much we don’t know.” He raised his eyebrows and everyone laughed. “We’ve never personally encountered one before, but we got used to knowing they’re around from Farra.”
Vincent hadn’t heard that name before. “Farra? Who or what is Farra?”he asked.
Lomas indicated for him to sit. “She is a woman who is also fighting to bring you your freedom.”
He realised this must be the woman he saw in the hotel room. “Oh, you mean the dragon woman? Is that her name? Farra?”
Lomas looked at the others. “Dragon woman?” he asked.
“Yes, that’s her," Jam smiled "Your Majesty, she has a large dragon tattooed on her back. When she had the melanin implant put in, she got me to re colour it for her so it would stand out more. It’s quite fine I must say, a beautiful work of art.”
Lomas’ eyebrows went right up to the top of his head. “Good lord.”
Suddenly a Trooper came in and gave something to Byron, who took it over to a machine and pressed a switch.
“Here’s the data from all those chips we took from the domes Your Majesty. We hope they will fill in all the missing pieces.”
Vincent remembered
what Syra told him. “You haven’t figured that out yet?” he asked them and they all looked at him.
“Well we’ve discovered most of it yes, but not the finer details,” Lomas replied.
Vincent didn’t know whether to tell them or not. He sent out a question with his mind, should he tell them? A throb from his chest told him yes, he should. “While I was out, my err, guide showed me stuff. Stuff from way back in time and stuff from now. She showed me how the Transmortals began. When they first started trying to umm, change people, they went to a planet someplace that had primitive, savage humanoids who were cannibals and they brought them to the planet we just came from and set them there so they could breed and be nearby for their experiments. They brought their trees and plants too to make em feel at home I guess and they did their thing on them. Trouble was it changed them the wrong way from what the Transmortals wanted. The process makes a person into the opposite of what they already are and these humanoids were already savage and violent so when they changed they became passive and friendly. They tried to do them again but it only works once. When they realised their mistake they took the ones they’d changed back to their own planet and left them there. Those became you people.” He looked at all the stunned faces that stared back at him and didn’t know what to say. “Sorry, but it’s true. No use letting you spend however long trying to figure it out when I already know.”
Lomas got up and walked to the observation window. “So it is true and we are Transmortals. My god I don’t know how to feel about this. It never crossed my mind that this may be why our language was everywhere down there.”
“Seems to me it doesn’t matter what you call yourself or where you’re from, it’s what you do that matters,” Vincent replied to the silent group.
Suddenly the intercom buzzed with a message for the doctor. He went to see what it was and returned excited. “That poison you put into the water supply Vincent, it’s from something called the Polea Beetle,” he explained.
Lomas and the others looked up in surprise. “Polea? Are you sure? But that’s a Drycenian poison,” Lomas exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes sir, I had it checked twice. It’s Polea. Remember what we got from the data chips from the domes, and what Vincent has just repeated to us? They not only took the humanoids from the planet, which we can assume is Drycenia 4, but they also took the trees and plants? It stands to reason that the trees would’ve brought along their own parasites and other minute inhabitants, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does doesn’t it?” Lomas could hardly take it all in. “How will everyone take this news I wonder,” he pondered aloud.
“Well I won’t tell em if you don’t,” Vincent offered, trying to sound light hearted.
Lomas took a deep breath and turned around. “Of course, what possible good could come from telling the whole galaxy? They don’t need to know just yet. Maybe in a few thousand years or so. Now, sit down and let’s discuss what will happen when we get to Terramora Prime.”
“I’d like to know about this Farra too,” Vincent asked and Lomas nodded.
“Of course, ask anything you want to know.”
On Terramora Prime, Donaldson was reading the riot act to his delegates and making sure that they understood that the mystery woman who saved him should not be harmed and was not to be held as a prisoner. Now that the Moxal 3 business was in hand, all they must do now is find Vincent. He hoped with all his heart that his instincts were going to pay off and that the Drycenian Nation had the problem in hand. Surely they wouldn’t leave the hardest part of the job to those least likely to succeed, would they? He was pondering this thought when the door burst open. An admin clerk rushed in.
“I’m terribly sorry gentlemen for intruding but there is an emergency call for you Mr Donaldson on the secure inter galactic channel. I know you said you weren’t to be disturbed but I think you’ll want to take this call Sir.” Donaldson wondered who could be calling him on the secure channel; there was no one in the field at the moment that would need to do so. He was intrigued so he nodded and the admin clerk handed him his communication headset.
“Michael Donaldson here, who is this?”
“Mr Donaldson thank you for taking this call. My name is King Lomas VII of the Drycenian Nation and I offer you warmest greetings. I am calling to inform you that I have Mr Vincent Richard Domenico here with me on board my vessel and to let you know that we will be with you within 2 days. Let me also take this opportunity to thank you from the whole Drycenian Nation for believing in us and for having the insight and courage to let right be done. I also have the greatest of pleasure in informing you that Mr Domenico has single handedly defeated the Transmortal threat permanently and that their race is now extinct. Until we meet soon Mr Donaldson.” Donaldson struggled to find the words as the tears started down his cheeks. The delegates looked on, puzzled,
“God speed Your Majesty.”
Byron rushed into the obs deck to find Lomas and Vincent and the others already there.
Lomas saw the worried look on his face. “Byron, something’s bothering you, what is it?”
“Yes Your Majesty I am worried. You see, we haven’t heard from Farra since her last message about the shooting.”
“But there is nothing for her to report so why would she?” Lomas asked.
“I suppose so Sir.” Byron reluctantly had to agree that Farra wasn’t going to just call them up to say hi when they couldn’t reply to her. “It just doesn’t seem like her to just wait patiently, I’d have thought she’d have been calling to say where the fuck are you or something like that.”
Lomas turned to the doctor. “Is her implant still working?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes Sir, perfectly.”
That pleased Lomas, who turned back to Byron. “So long as her implant is working, we know she’s alive and healthy. Don’t worry just yet Byron.”
“No Sir, sorry Sir.”
Two days later they arrived at Terramora Prime and the circus began. Donaldson was taken to meet Vincent in the privacy of the Drycenian vessel.
“Vincent, I’m so pleased to be able to meet you again to right the wrong that was done to you. I offer you my sincerest apologies for the part I played in the terrible things that happened to you and I want you to know that I fully intend to put that right today.” Vincent took his proffered hand and shook it, squeezing just a tiny bit too hard.
“Thank you Donaldson, better late than never,” Vincent smiled as Donaldson worked his fingers to get the blood flow going again. Lomas stifled a giggle as Donaldson continued.
“Now. We managed to get Ranger Dolton here and we have five witnesses testifying that Prince Toma was held prisoner in the mine and we have another two who will testify that they saw large sums of money being handed over to Mr Midship.”
“Midship? Who the fuck is Midship?” Vincent asked.
“He was the rep for SB Weapons. Oh sorry you’ll have known him as Bullet,” Donaldson explained.
“Oh him, so that’s his name huh? What about McGreedle, you got him too? Vincent asked.
“No I’m afraid not. He’s dead.”
Vincent looked surprised. “Dead? Really?”
“Not only that, but he was killed with the same weapon used in the other five murders, a Hellfire Pulse Laser Canon. A Transmortal weapon as you know. Did you ever see or handle such a weapon on Moxal 3?”
“No, never. I know what they are. We saw them in the military from time to time and we learned how to recognise the signs but I never handled one and I never even saw one on Moxal 3.”
“Then we will put pressure on Ranger Dolton. He is our only apparent witness to you having committed the murders. Now that McGreedle is dead he may feel safe enough to tell the truth.”
“Mr Donaldson may I comment here,” Lomas asked.
“Of course Your Majesty, please.”
“As you may be aware, we are lucky enough to
have some pretty nifty gadgets at our disposal, and we do have something that might help uncover the truth.”
Donaldson was intrigued. “I’m all ears Sir.”
For three days the trial concentrated on the Moxal 3 fraud, the money going missing, Toma being held prisoner and employees paying in cigarettes to go and see him. McGreedle was found guilty of fraud and false imprisonment posthumously and sentenced to have his remains interred permanently within the confines of the Laxmay Penitentiary. Midship was found guilty of kidnap and fraud and assisting an unauthorised political revolution and was sentenced in his absence to life in a maximum security prison facility and a warrant was issued galaxy wide for his arrest.
Then Donaldson addressed the court. “We now turn our attentions to the five murders that took place on Moxal 3. Murders that Mr Vincent Richard Domenico has previously been convicted of.” Murmurs travelled around the court. Donaldson continued. “I call Ranger Dolton, previously employed at the Moxal 3 Mining Corporation.” The Ranger was brought in and questioned about the murders. At first he stuck to his story that he saw Vincent threatening two of the victims and saw him running from the scene in possession of the Hellfire Pulse Laser Canon. Donaldson approached him. “Mr Dolton you are sure that your statements regarding Mr Domenico are accurate?”
“Uh yes Sir, yep, all true,” Dolton grinned at the court.
Donaldson then played his ace. “In that case Mr Dolton you won’t mind submitting to a turn in a Magneto Pulse Wave Scanner?”
“Huh? A what?” Dolton looked at Donaldson without the first clue what he was on about.
“You’ve heard of the Drycenian truth machine I take it?” Donaldson asked and Dolton nodded.
“Oh yeah I’ve heard of it, who hasn’t. No one but them Drycenians have that kinda stuff. You ain’t got access to their shit, nobody does.”
“No, but if we did, would you submit to a test?” Donaldson prayed he’d take the bait.
“Hell yeah, of course I would. I’m telling the truth as a good citizen. But I don’t see any Drycenians nor their machines here, so y’all gonna have to believe me when I tell ya I’m telling the truth.” He sat back and grinned at the court as Donaldson turned around and addressed them.
“I call His Majesty King Lomas VII of the Drycenian Nation.”
An audible roar of shock went around the courtroom and when Donaldson turned to face Dolton again, he was delighted to notice that the Ranger had turned quite white. The court hushed as the doors opened and in strode Lomas in all his best royal garb. He went to town on his appearance for this and the crowd were suitably awe struck. He took the stand and Donaldson approached him.
“Your Majesty, if I may be allowed to ask you some questions?”
“By all means Mr Donaldson, I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.”
“Thank you Sir. Do you have a Magneto Pulse Wave Scanner?”
“We do indeed.”
“Has its use been proven in a court of law?” Donaldson asked and when Lomas listed the famous cases where it was successfully used with one hundred percent accuracy, he asked if they might use it here today.
“Of course we’ll be happy to assist you in any way we can.”
Donaldson turned back to Ranger Dolton and smiled broadly. “There Mr Dolton, all settled. Will 4pm be suitable?” The crowd giggled and Donaldson turned to walk away.
Dolton leapt up. “Okay okay okay I’ll tell y’all.” He knew that if the machine found him to be lying, his sentence would be much worse than if he told the truth by choice.
“We’re all ears Mr Dolton.”
“It was the Boss’s idea all along. He wanted Domenico put away for good and he meant to make it happen. He hated him for some reason. No one knew why and no one was shit stupid enough to ask. He had the Hellfire Canon. Said he got it from his home planet where them Transmortals had been and he found it amongst the rubble and bodies and shit. He said everything was going to plan until Domenico arrived at the mine and him just being there put him on edge so bad we all felt it. Once Domenico arrived the Boss went nuts about fixing him and getting rid of him. Someone asked him why don’t he just shoot him and be done with it, but y’know what? The guy said he didn’t want him to just die, he wanted him to suffer for years and years first. The boss was mad crazy and everyone, and I mean everyone, was so scared of him they’d sell their own mammas if he told em to.”
“And you are willing to submit to the truth machine with this new statement?” Donaldson asked.
“Yes, absolutely, it’s the truth. Domenico never killed no one. Everyone liked the guy. He was a bit of a loner. Kept himself to himself but he was fair and the guys liked him. Shit, even I liked him.”
“What is the name of this character you call, Boss?” Donaldson asked.
“No one ever knew his name. Everyone called him Boss. All we knew is he made the rules, when he said jump you said how high and we all guessed he had some history maybe with Domenico, them being the same an all.”
This last statement caught Donaldson’s attention. “The same? In what way, the same?”
“They both got that thing,” Dolton said, waggling his finger towards his own chest. “That scar thing. They’re from the same planet and they both got the same mark, the Lilean Star I think it’s called.”
Donaldson hadn’t been prepared for this at all. “The Boss is a Lilean too?”
“Yeah.”
“Dolton, do you happen to know how Mr Domenico’s DNA was put onto the Hellfire Canon?”
“Yeah the Boss said he had a sample of Domenico’s DNA and he put it on the Canon himself, personally.”
“Is there anything else you wish to tell us Mr Dolton?” Donaldson asked.
“Yeah, he also killed McGreedle. And I did see that happen and yes I’ll do the machine thing and tell y’all the same thing.”
The jury reached their verdict in just one hour and filed back into the court room. Donaldson rose and addressed the packed court.
“I call Mr Vincent Richard Domenico into the court.” The crowd fell silent as Vincent walked into the court and took the stand. There were sighs and murmurs of “wow” and “gosh look at him” from the ladies amongst the crowd. Donaldson addressed the jury. “Will your spokesperson please stand.”
The man at the end of the row stood. “I am the jury spokesperson Sir and I inform you that we have reached a unanimous verdict.”
“Please inform the court of the jury’s decision,” said Donaldson as he closed his eyes and prayed like he’d never prayed before.
“We the jury in the case of Vincent Richard Domenico do hereby find him not guilty of the crimes for which he was previously and wrongly convicted.” He sat down and Donaldson fought to keep his composure. He turned to face Vincent and for the first time he really felt as if he could look him in the eyes.
“Mr Domenico, I am proud and happy to declare here today to all persons on all worlds throughout the galaxy that you are and always have been, innocent of any wrongdoing. It shames me to know that you were treated so harshly and suffered so greatly due to a miscarriage of justice and I am proud to be able to right that wrong today. You are a free man and there is from this moment on, no stain whatsoever upon your character or your record.” He then turned and addressed the court. “I also have pleasure in announcing to this court and to everyone throughout the galaxy who cares to listen, that Mr Domenico did just 7 days ago, single handedly defeat and kill the Transmortal army. His Majesty King Lomas VII of the Drycenian Nation was there and saw for himself the dead body of the Transmortal leader and has personally confirmed that the Transmortal race is now extinct. What Mr Domenico has done for us, whilst still being regarded as a fugitive and a criminal of the worst kind, goes beyond all my experience of compassion and humbles us all.” Donaldson stood, turned to Vincent and started to applaud. Within seconds every single person in the packed courtroom was applauding
and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
*****