An Admission of Guilt

An Admission of Guilt
Date of Scene:	28 July 2024
Location:
Synopsis:	In a twist of fate, the interrogation of Burkenn ends in Soren's confession of crime.
Cast of Characters:	159, Annelia Belask, Cayde Alexis

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Athena (159) has posed:
Today is a day like any other at the Republic Executive Building.

For most, anyway. But for Senator Burkenn and his beloved stepdaughter, Gianka, they are not among 'most.'

After vehicular homicide had been attempted against Sanzo Laa, the Chancellor's aide, the CSF had immediately swept into action. They'd headed straight to Senator Burkenn's office to interrogate the man as soon as it had been discovered that the droid who had been piloting the black vessel at the time of the accident belonged to him. They'd also requested that any Jedi who had been with Laa inside his personal vessel should avail themselves if possible, for the questioning of the Senator.

Subsequently, two officers and a forensic analyst are marching determinedly towards the elevator in the executive building, ready to arrest Burkenn if the circumstances required it.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    There was, admittedly, a brief temptation to requisition a leash.

    But for now, a businesslike Ann simply follows along with the officers, having long since shared copies of the image to CSF and to a couple of devices back at the Temple. The other jedi on the ship may not be present- but, well, Windu ever has quite a few responsibilities and a curious way of coming and going. Ann seems more or less fine with it.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde wasn't on the shuttle with Laa.

    But his master was, and so he's following Ann and the officers to Burkenn's office now.

Athena (159) has posed:
The secretary in the lobby recognizes Cayde, and frowns somewhat disapprovingly at the young padawan. Hadn't he been here the other day, wandering around the VP offices without his master?

The small group of five heads straight into the lift and press the button for the floor where Burkenn's office is located. The ride up is mostly quiet, but after a minute or two, the forensic analyst comments to no one in particular, "Say, don't you think the senator's daughter looks a lot like the padawan here...?"

Annelia Belask has posed:
    There's an immediate sigh from Ann, and she shakes her head a little.

    "We've been saying that for weeks and months and it seems to strike some nerve. Don't really care why or why not at this point. I don't trust that girl as far as I could throw her. Scratch that-, I don't even trust her as far as -you- could throw her."

Athena (159) has posed:
The forensic analyst arches a brow at Annelia. "You strike me as the competitive type, but I didn't think you be so forward about it in ordinary conversation," she says. "Anyway, the girl is literally nineteen. Give her a break, if we can't trust her, it's not going to be her fault. She's obviously too naive to even know when she's waist deep in danger."

"Not that what you think really matters," she says bluntly, "thank the light you're not the one she looks like." She peers at Cayde. "Don't you have anything to say about that?"

But before Cayde can answer, the lift chimes that they've arrived, and the doors slide open.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde watches the exchange between the Ann and the secretary. Then the secretary addresses him, but the lift arrives before he can figure out how to respond. So he just nods vaguely and turns to head into the elevator.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "I haven't really gotten into what I actually think- call it competitive if you like, I just don't trust her in this moment, regardless of who's throwing," says Ann simply, shrugging a little. "Could she grow up? Sure. Is she going to do it in the next thirty seconds while we handle this? No. And at this point, after all the mess here, nearly having the ship I was on crashed, and Cayde having been kidnapped at one point in relation to this, I just want it to be done and sorted. Execrate me if you have to- let's just get this done."

Athena (159) has posed:
The forensic analyst looks like she's about to reply to Annelia, but then the doors slide open and they've arrived on the floor where Burkenn's office is.

The five of them step out, making their way towards down the hallway.

Once they arrive, the two officers burst into the lobby area, and demand to see Burkenn immediately. The lobbyist, discombobulated and frightened, hurries off to fetch the Senator, who appears a few minutes later, his step daughter Gianka in tow, who stares at Cayde for a moment before her father interjects with, "What's the meaning of all this? Is there something wrong?"

"Your droid was found piloting the vessel that attempted vehicular homicide against Sanzo Laa," one of the officers relays. "And we're here to question you."

"What?!" Burkenn says in disbelief. He glances over at Anne, looking puzzled and worried.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde follows Ann and the officers into the senator's office, his gaze connecting with Gianka's as she stares at him. He finds himself wandering into her mind, trying to see if she actually knows anything about this, even as the police start questioning her stepfather.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "And in point of fact," adds Annelia, voice much calmer now all of a sudden. "I happened to be on Laa's ship for a quick chat myself at the time."

    She reaches down to her belt, pulling a small handheld out from a holster. She flicks it on, looking at it a moment and pressing a couple of buttons before turning it to face the senator- showing the image of the droid with visible serial.

    "Managed to avoid injury and get this photo before the droid crashed itself into the water. And unless the kindly officers here are holding something back from me, there's been no report of this droid going missing in any manner."

Athena (159) has posed:
Gianka doesn't seem to know much about what's going on - she is aware of what had happened to Sanzo, but she never could have imagined that they'd be framed for it.

She frowns when Annelia shows the image of the droid and its serial number. "How dare you! My father would never stoop to such criminal actions!" She immediately defends.

"Well that's where the officers are wrong," Gianka says, "The droid did in fact, go missing the other day."

"But you didn't report anything," the officer continues.

"The droid doesn't always need supervision," she snaps, "it's... somewhat free thinking, and will run errands of its own accord. Sometimes it will be gone overnight, but usually, it will return the next day. So we had determined it wasn't extremely out of the ordinary for it to be gone for a bit longer than usual."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Hm, well Gianka seems to be telling the truth. So Cayde moves on to Senator Burkenn. Did he know anything about this? Was it true that it was normal for the droid to be gone for a day? Had he noticed anything strange in the droid's behavior?

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Then maybe you might understand that without those records, we can't rule anything out and need to engage questioning. That's investigation- you rule things out. You know, like if you were curious about your family tree or something," Ann answers with some meaning in her voice, eyebrow raised a little.

    "And, respectfully- this is the Senator's droid. I'll thank you to let the man speak for himself."

Athena (159) has posed:
"He's my father, we share our assets. Everything he owns --"

But when Annelia mentions her family tree, she blushes furiously, looking angry. She sits down, folding her arms.

"Gianka, please..." Senator Burkenn says firmly but gently. "I'll handle this." He glances at Cayde for a moment, then back to Anne, his expression pained. "She's right, it's normal. The droid ... well we did not purchase this droid. It was a gift from Vlaven, on Life Day. Since then, Gianka's uncle, the doctor Cassias, has made a few upgrades to it upon Vlaven's suggestion to make it a bit more free thinking and less standard. We complied, as we saw no reason not to. The droid wasn't performing optimally, so we figured a few updates couldn't hurt. It has never done anything malicious, strange, or suspicious, that I have witnessed, and I swear upon my life this is the truth," he says.

Cayde will be able to tell the man is telling the truth. There's something else weighing on his mind, though. The comment about Gianka's family tree had cut deep, but he just isn't saying anything about it.

The forensic analyst frowns. "You think.. the doctor was responsible for this?" she says, "but what motive could he have for doing such a thing?"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    It doesn't surprise him that Vlaven had been the one to give them the droid. Clearly he had an agenda.

    But what exactly was on Burkenn's mind? He tries to push deeper, what was this family matter that was bothering him at this moment? Why would it be related to the situation at hand?

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "More to the point, why in the galaxy would a -doctor- be the recommendation to make adjustments to a malfunctioning -droid-?" questions Ann further, eyebrow raised as she looks over at the analyst a moment.

    "I may not be CSF proper, but I do find it very curious that we came in saying we wanted to question the Senator and the reaction was more like we made a formal accusation of guilt. Something on your minds?"

Athena (159) has posed:
"He's rather handy," Burkenn replies. "Perhaps he liked to tinker when he was young, I dont know. He doesn't speak about his past much, or at all," Burkenn says with a shrug.

He frowns. "Are you trying to imply that I think you've already accused us?" he huffs. "I can assure you I've made no such assumption. And I'm not accusing the doctor either. That was a suggestion made by the CSF," he says.

There was something Gianka had done that her stepfather had never quite forgiven her for, and from time to time has been a sore spot for them. It has everything to do with Gianka's secret investigation of her family tree...

"Look, why don't we all go down together and talk to Cassias. He's here today, helping the Chancellor onboard Luli part time while Sanzo is in the hospital."

Annelia Belask has posed:
    A brief sigh from Ann, shaking her head.

    "No, I'm implying you've got some reason to be scared that we don't know yet, and keeping secrets is only going to cause more problems in the long run."

    She shrugs helplessly, looking at the two officers and analysts a moment. "I imagine that if we're going to add that many people we're not going to get much productive done in a big group- should I assume we'll take this to the station or some spare space here for individual questioning?"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns, his expression vacant as he tries to push harder. What had Gianka done that Burkenn was so upset about? And why was it weighing on him now? Did it have something to do with Vlaven?

Athena (159) has posed:
"Scared?" Burkenn frowns. "I have no reason to be afraid," he says, though he's partially lying and Cayde will be able to tell. However, his reason for being afraid doesn't seem to be linked to the investigation, at least according to him.

"Listen, I do not have much else to share. I have been honest," he says, glancing over at Cayde, "as honest as possible with you, and have told you everything I know. I have no idea what my droid would have been doing piloting that vessel, nor am I the one responsible for maintaining it. I have my suspicions, and I've made them known to you. Do what you will with the information I've provided, I've done my part in giving you unbiased truth about what I know."

The officers frown and exchange glances. "We don't have anymore questions to ask you for the time being," one of them says, "but we'll go find the doctor and see what he has to say. Depending on how he responds, we may decide to take you both back to the station for individual questioning."

"If you want to stay here and ask Burkenn more questions, you can," the forensic analyst says to Annelia, "but we'll be heading to the Chancellor's office to talk with the doctor."

Cayde will discover that it has everything to do with Gianka trying to take things into her own hands regarding her mother's wasting disease, but the notion is fading, as Burkenn is suddenly now growing very worried about how the doctor might respond. He says nothing though, as the CSF officers begin to get ready to depart.

Annelia Belask has posed:
     Ann pauses, pinching the bridge of her nose a moment. "Probably better if the doctor -doesn't- see Cayde and I, seeing Jedi seems to set him off something fierce, and there's a history between him and the padawan. Maybe the Chancellor, but that might need to be done much more carefully, all things considered."

    Turning to Burkenn, she adds; "Senator, if you don't mind, I'll just stay a few more minutes to tick a couple things off then set you on your way, alright?"

    As the officers leave, she turns to Cayde with a silently questioning raise of the eyebrow- and a particular... aura, of sorts, that might give the oddest sensation that snapping back to reality at least a little bit might be a good move right now.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    But what is Burkenn afraid of, if he doesn't think it has anything to do with the investigation, which is what's happening at the present moment? Was it Vlaven? Why was he afraid of how Soren might respond? What impact would that have on him anyway?

    Okay maybe he shouldn't get in too much deeper...for fear what happened with the Chancellor might occur again. Although he does sense a change in Ann's presence, as it becomes more directed toward him and he blinks and turns to her.

    <They are not lying...mostly...>

    Abruptly, he turns and starts following the officers.

Athena (159) has posed:
The CSF officers nod, and then exit. Burkenn's gaze follows them, and for a moment, he looks despaired and Cayde will feel it palpably in the Force. Then he turns back to Annelia, looking weary.

"That's fine, I suppose," he says, sounding exhausted. "What else would you have me say."

The officers seem confused by Cayde's sudden decision to join them, but don't question it. The forensic analyst, though, seems to want to continue their conversation from earlier. "You never answered my question," she says, "what do you think about Gianka?"

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann reaches out and grabs the hood of Cayde's robes as he turns, sighing just... oh so deeply.

    "You -have- to know that's a bad idea. I won't stop you, but..." but she's shaking her head as she releases the hood.


    Turning to Burkenn, she waits for the officers to be out of earshot- her earshot, even- before continuing. "Look, I'm just going to lay things out honestly here. My padawan's been in danger thanks to all of this, a man's in the hospital, there are assassins out and about and people being poisoned- I just want it to end. Cayde seems to think you're more or less on the level, and I trust that. Just- level with me in turn. Can you think of any reasons Vlaven and-slash-or the doctor would want Laa gone and frame it up around you? Think timelines here- if there were mods to the droid, planning goes back at least that far. Raising extra fuss about an incident at a convention, playing keepaway with Jedi transport fleet funding, shapechangers running around and everything. There's a lot going on, and I need a few more pins to get it all tied together or rule elements out as incidental."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde looks over at the analyst as she asks him what he thinks of Gianka. [She has been honest] he signs. At least, as far as he can tell from how much he's dug around in her mind.

    He hesitates when Ann grabs his hood, glancing back at her and looking surprised that she isn't following?

Athena (159) has posed:
"You don't think I don't want the same?" Burkenn says, a heavy sigh escaping him. "But I don't know. I don't want to accuse anyone of anything when all I have are hypotheticals. Vlaven is a highly ambitious politician, and Sanzo Laa a notorious gossip who seems to know things no one wants him to. Naturally, those types don't mix well. And I don't know why either the doctor or Vlaven would want to frame me, but most politicians will frame anyone if they're desperate enough. Perhaps that's helpful, perhaps it isn't. I can tell you that my integrity is intact, and I would never stoop to such levels, but I suppose I'll let you be the judge of that."

"As far as the doctor is concerned, I just don't know. He's a mysterious man, and despite having known him for seven years I know so little about him. He is Gianka's uncle, through marriage, I think. But neither Gianka, Soren, or her mother, my wife -- like to speak about their haunted past."

"I have suspicion that he's done a favor for Vlaven here and there, but I cannot prove it. I'm sorry."

"No," the forensic analyst presses, "I wasn't talking about whether she was honest or not. I meant about her looking a lot like you. And sharing a surname. Do you think it's a coincidence?"

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Hypotheticals work for me at this point- I've been throwing out the idea that the reduction of funding for the Jedi might be part of some fuzzy bookkeeping for funnelling credits, or something like that. But crashing ships together seems like a big escalation when you could just cancel the reduction and find another avenue, if it's just credits. The Grafs ring any bells? Or Cyclor shipyards? The more ammo we can have going into these next steps, the better."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde lingers a moment, watching Ann talking to Burkenn as if expecting to her follow at some point but then it seems she is rather preoccupied at the moment, so he eventually just moves on and keeps following the officers.

    When the analyst keeps pressing the issue, the padawan recalls seeing a picture of his mother on her desk, and how Gianka had told him that was her aunt. [...she is my cousin] he suddenly tells analyst.

Athena (159) has posed:
"Oh," Burkenn says. "Well yes, but that's public knowledge, I'd think. The Grafs weren't exactly quiet about their donation to the Outer Rim Economic Convention. And if you can get into their bookkeeping records, I'm sure you'd find a snake's nest of suspicious activity. They don't exactly have the cleanest record, and most reputable folk would agree that's true."

"If you want to put a face to them, I'd look for Xera. Xera Graf. She's daughter to the current matriarch, and the face of Graf Holdings. Look her up on the Holonet, and it should be relatively easy to reach out to their PR coordinator and arrange a tour of their family estate on Thelj. She won't refuse you. She can't. It won't look good if she does. That will get you in, at least."

The forensic analyst looks taken aback. "Does your... Master know this?" she says, suddenly bringing her voice down to a whisper. "I thought the Jedi are forbidden to be in frequent contact with biological family."

But then once again, Cayde won't get to reply, because they're arriving at the Chancellor's Office. Dr. Cassias is there, with the pink skinned Mikkian girl Cayde had seen at reception at Cassias Enterprises, and the Chancellor.

Rie looks up, his voluptuous brows creasing when the CSF officers approach. "May we... help you, officers?" he asks.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    [I am not] Cayde answers, in response to the question of the frequent contact. And besides, he'd only found this out very recently.

    As they arrive at the Chancellor's office, he watches Dr. Cassias intently, attempting again to enter his mind and see what his reaction is to the officers' questions. Did he have any motive to attack Mr. Laa?

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann sighs, nodding a little. "Thanks for your time, Senator. I'll see what I can do to make this all settle out quickly."

    With that she offers a polite nod to him and Gianka before taking her leave to follow after the officers and Cayde... but will come to a stop a little down the hall and out of sight to simply listen in, for the time being.

Athena (159) has posed:
Burkenn suddenly reaches forward and places a hand on Anne's arm. "Please.. keep me apprised." His lips press into a thin anxious line, and he then releases her, shaking his head. "You have no idea how much I wish I had answers, too..."

"You realize this makes you of distant relation to the Chancellor? And by proxy, Vlaven? What else haven't you told us?" The forensic analyst says, in disbelief.

"Dr Cassias," one of the officers says, "we're here to ask you a few questions regarding the droid that was piloting the vessel that attempted vehicular homicide against Sanzo Laa. Burkenn made it known to us that you tinkered with the droid's programming," the officer says. "Can you verify?"

CAyde will have a hard time gleaning anything from the doctor's mind. He seems terribly emotional for some reason, though it's clear he isn't at all surprised the CSF are here to interrogate him.

"I did," he says frankly. "And if you're here to ask about whether I'm responsible for the incident, I am."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns, trying to sift through all those negative emotions and find the truth. He was lying...he wasn't responsible, but for some reason he was willingly becoming the scapegoat. But why?

    <You're lying...why? Is someone threatening you...> The voice is suddenly there in the doctor's mind, as he tries push into the deeper recesses of memories...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann nods to Burkenn, offering a faint smile before she takes her leave.

    Moments later, she... remains out of sight for now, listening in on the conversations- only frowning with some concern at the doctor's words.

Athena (159) has posed:
There's an audible gasp, from both the Chancellor and the Mikkian girl. Even the officers seemed... shocked.

The pink skinned girl speaks first, though. "...but... you... you would never," she says, tears springing to her eyes suddenly. "how could..."

"I'm sorry," the doctor says, his tone mostly level, but there's an undercurrent of emotion about to pierce the skin of his facade. "I'm sorry to all of you. For lying, and for keeping all of this a secret. You deserved so much better, but I deceived myself and thought I was quietly doing what was best for all of you. I did, in fact, fabricate the toxicology report for Heydan Seegil, and was responsible for poisoning him. The research that Gianka asked me to perform regarding the negative aspects of spice in medicine is a sham. There is very little repercussion to using spice as a relaxant, and anti-inflammatory. So many would be impacted in adverse ways if spice couldn't be used in medicine. So I couldn't condone the anti-spice proposal, nor could I even stomach seeing it reviewed and possibly approved by the Senate. The measure might have seemed extreme, but I couldn't bring myself to tell Gianka how strongly I felt about the matter. She is the only real family I have left, after all."

When he hears Cayde's voice inside his head, he turns to face Cayde. "Please," he says, his voice shaky, "stop. I'm doing the right thing, for once. So let me have it. I need to do this, for myself, for your mother, for everyone who ever thought I was a good person."

He turns to the CSF officers, who, although stunned, begin to cuff him.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns, but wait, that didn't make any sense...why did the spice proposal have anything to do with trying to kill Sanzo Laa?

    His eyes widen as the officers start to cuff Dr. Cassias. How could they just jump to conclusions like this? There were still so many questions! The padawan reaches out with the Force, attempting to whip the cuffs out of the officers' hands.

Athena (159) has posed:
"Sanzo Laa had suspicion of my involvement," Dr. Cassias continues. "I never intended to fatally wound him. Just injure him enough to make him hopefully forget whatever pending accusation he had against me. But the droid's programming went awry, and the accident ended up being much more deadly," he says morosely. "I'm so sorry, again. But I won't be seeing any of you again, so at least there's that."

"There must be some kind of mistake," The chancellor suddenly cuts in, watching with mild satisfaction as Cayde takes the cuffs out of the officers hands. "Dr Cassias would -never- do such a thing, I don't care what he or anyone else has to say! This is absurd!"

"Chancellor, he's giving us his confession," one of the officers insists, "and by law, the very least we have to do is incarcerate him, until we can fully affirm his testimony. In most cases, pleading guilty would immediately result in a sentence, but since you are protesting..."

"Rie, please," Dr Cassias says, picking up the cuffs and handing it back to the officers. "You don't need to do anything on my behalf. You owe me nothing..."

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Seems the commotion has roused Ann to come around the corner, because she strides into view... just in time to watch the cuffs get ripped out of the officers' hands.

    "Cayde, -stop-," she says with an unprecedented firmness and harshness in her voice.

    "Let the officers do their job- we screw this up and half the case gets thrown out. This isn't the end of the conversation. But with an admission like that there has to be custody and more formal questioning. And at the bare minimum, warrants to scrub the files for those reports and any drive they ever touched to verify these claims- nevermind recovery of any cores from that droid. The process isn't 'straight from the office to federal prison'."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    But when the doctor picks up the cuffs again, Cayde tries to pull them away from him once more before he can give them back to the officers. Well hey, at least the Chancellor agrees with him...

    This time he turns his attention toward the officers, more specifically the analyst who was talking to him before. <...he's lying...he is not guilty...you protect the true culprit> Even if he wanted to be punished, it would only give the real perpetrator the freedom to do even more harm. However, he doesn't quite know how to express that in words and she'd get...some images of criminals running free wreaking havoc while the innocent are jailed instead.

    He doesn't seem to have heard Ann's rebuke.

Athena (159) has posed:
"She's right," The forensic analyst says, "we're not going to immediately assume anything just because he confessed. In all honesty it doesn't make a lot of sense to me either, Sanzo was reported drunk off his ass for a good three quarters of the time while at the serenity gala. No way he was even cognizant of what was going on when the poisoning happened."

"But a confession, unfortunately, by law, means a lot. We -have- to incarcerate him, at the very least, until we can prove he's actually lying."

And then Cayde tries to tear the cuffs out of the doctor's hands, but he clings to them. "Cayde, please!" he says. "Stop trying to protect me. You don't owe me anything. I -know- you only ever wanted good for me. But the truth of the matter is, I don't deserve it, and I never will. Ever since I knew of you, I've only ever wanted the best for you. And the best thing for you is to stay the hell away from me..."

The forensic analyst sighs when Cayde projects chaotic images into her mind. "Look," she says calmly. "I know you don't like this. But we're bound by the law to do what we're supposed to do in this situation. And you're not exactly in a good place to really be trying to tell us anything unbiased. If Gianka is your cousin, that makes the Chancellor a distant in law and Dr. Cassias... at the very least your uncle, or ... your father. Now I'm not trying to accuse you of anything. But it is -weird-. And it also means I have to take everything you say and do with a huge grain of salt, because who knows what else you conveniently forgot to tell me? Unfortunately, I don't even know what questions to ask."

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann's march continues- and this time, it's basically the full collar of Cayde's robes she takes in her hand and hefts to -force- his attention.

    "Think. Literally. -Ten- minutes into the future before you do these things. Unless you'd rather think about tonight, when if I see -one more sign- of you ignoring your Master I'll have you cleaning every workbench in the entire -temple- with a -toothbrush-."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    When Soren won't let go, Cayde won't let go either. Even as the analyst tries to explain, he doesn't seem to be convinced. Eventually, the cuffs simply snap in half.

    And then Ann comes in and grabs his robes. Did he ignore her? He doesn't remember what he apparently ignored. But he just stares at floor dejectedly. Why wouldn't they believe him? Why does being related to Gianka automatically make him less credible? It's not as if they grew up together or anything, in fact he only just learned about the relation. <I am sorry Master...I do not remember...>

Athena (159) has posed:
The officers sigh. "Well, I guess it's not necessary anyway." They start leading Dr. Cassias away, although the Chancellor goes after them, still protesting. The pink skinned Mikkian girl sits down in a corner and draws her knees up, sobbing quietly.

"I'm sorry, kid," the forensic analyst says. "But you can't just waltz into court and say, 'I used my Jedi space wizardry to deduce that he is, in fact, not guilty, even though he said he is." Then she turns away and starts heading down the hallway after the other officers, shaking her head.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann sighs, shaking her head as she settles and lets go of the padawan's collar.

    "Just remember Cayde- these people's perspectives are not the same as yours. Not everyone sees what you're thinking the way you see what they are. They can't verify that you're telling the truth, or that he's telling the truth or lying, or anything like that. Nor do they know anything about your connection to Gianka, so they have to verify."

    She crosses her arms, thinking for a moment as she focuses in on the padawan and lets the officers do as they will off to the side. "You're a teenager, I imagine you're thinking 'well if people would just believe me', but not only are they not able to do that when you think about it from the perspective of a Judge or another outsider, never in the history of the galaxy has any group of people 'just' anything. People will never 'just' and everything is solved. That's why we have these processes. It takes time, and sometimes it's not ideal during that time, and that's not great- but if you follow the alternatives to their conclusions, they're worse."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    None of anyone's apologies or explanations seem to lift Cayde's spirits. He continues to stare at the floor...had he even heard any of it?

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann pauses, looking between Cayde and the Mikkian girl. She puts a hand on each of the two's shoulder, looking between them and saying sincerely. "Hey, listen. This is bad now. But it -is- more lead. We're going to get this sorted out, alright?"

    She offers a faint smile to the Mikkian before refocusing on Cayde, moving to guide him (gently, this time) to make their way out.

    "Come on. No workbenches tonight- but I do have a project in mind for you, something to get your mind off this so you can clear your head, and help you with some of your aims at the same time."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde sighs and follows her out, although he still looks equally downcast. What was the point of investigating, if no one would believe him?