There was a level of reluctant patience in the grand hall. A great deal of grace had been bestowed upon them. These were not simply a district judge that talked to the bailiff in the break room. These were monarchs of entire worlds, maybe even numerous worlds. They were immensely powerful, if they were anything like the monarchs in human history, they bordered on the reverence of a god. They had also proven to be a great deal wiser, clever, and/or terrifying than any nation of Humans had proven to be... were proving to be. Furthermore, this was more than just a senate or a collection of diplomats. These were the monarchs of their races, and had put themselves into a peculiar situation even gathering. To think like a human, the worlds would be thrown into turmoil if one explosive made it into this room. Honestly, Echo doubted that any of these creatures were even present, she suspected that they were holograms and safely parked thousands of light-years away in bunkers and behind a massive military. Even if they were used to meeting, even if they trusted each other immensely, it wasn’t exactly like they were sitting around all day hoping for some random people get arrested so that they have something to talk about. This was big news. It was not difficult to imagine that their behavior was being observed by every important person if not the breaking news to dozens of worlds.
The Humans were acting like something you might find on... oh what’s the name of that show? Judge Judy. This was not going to end well, especially as words of impropriety and accusations were thrown about. They were acting just as a criminal and backward world might be expected to behave. The entire crew were proving the first impressions correct. Yep, they were all doomed now. Unless...
Echo glanced to Thalia and Owen, then to Rend. Owen, Thalia, they both might have meant well, but they already had two strikes against them... first of all, they took responsibility when they said they were in charge. They were responsible for this crime (if one indeed exist), this was a negative against anybody who claimed leadership. The second strike was that they had leapt without looking and now proven with action more than a record that Humanity was fractured. That would go over worse than simply explaining that they had not ever found common ground to unify. Even if the entire crew, save for Rend stood behind them, their chances of being exonerated were not good. With Rend opposing them, this really did mean that they could not win the hearts of 20% of the population of the human race. Neither of them were public speakers.
If anybody could dig them out of this situation it was Ailbeart Rend. To make matters worse they had accessed the computers of the Artemis. The truth would come out eventually, and it was not going to sit well with these very powerful rulers. Rend was undoubtedly listed somewhere as a leader, if Cryonautics did not put it in there, then Rend’s people probably did, and if they didn’t, then the history books undoubtedly listed him and probably nobody else.
She would just have told the truth... but she had not been given permission to even say a word.
Echo departed the main group, her boots she had were designed to avoid that obnoxious clacking and clomping. Now, however, she kind of wished that that powerful and confident stomp accompanied her as she made her way across the floor...
She locked eyes with Rend as she approached.
Then she passed him, and his expression twisted and contorted, surprised that her path did not take her behind him, but instead brought her farther, much farther from the realm of humanity as though she had reached escape velocity from earth and the sun and all that was Human.
Her first thought was to head to the other monarchs and try to reach a peaceful compromise by hammering out some sort of subjugation to the more merciful ones. However, the perfect opportunity arose, and so did she... straight up the dais and onto the unoccupied throne. There she seated herself. She smiled in good nature. The selection of the throne was a decision to thoroughly enrage them far beyond anything the rest of the group could possibly do. Their frustrations would be vented on her, and then followed shortly would be a martyr's death,
"Sovereigns, if any is guilty here, let the accusations fall to me."The choice of her address of the monarchs as "sovereign" was carefully selected. Driving a strong point home to each. That each was to see to the internal laws of their people. One monarch was not permitted to punish the people of another for violation, there had to be extradition. However, her words also closed the door on that implying that there was such a tight ship kept that any form of law-breaking was because she had made a mistake and not the fault of the underling.