The prisoner sits in a wooden chair, constrained by leather straps. There's an ugly bruise across his face that wasn't there when Hollis saw him last. His face is twisted to an ugly snarl. He's accompanied by two immense Legionnaires, both human, who Kolath recognises as as two of the guards from the Legion's military prison.

Apart from Guruinath's chair, the chamber is empty. Everyone else will have to stand.

Lavuyl, the senior Karazthani, takes a small spherical device from his pocket, and places in the floor a few paces from Guruinath.

"Recording eye", he says, "Everything that happens in this room will be on record. This will form part of the official investigation".

"This is an imposition!", says Gurinath.

"Shut up", says Nir-Urileyr Kavarluis, "You are not to speak except to answer questions".

"I demand independent representation!", says Guruinath.

"This is not your trial", says Lavuyl, "This is your interrogation. You will just make things harder for yourself if you you do not co-operate".

Kolath



The tall, thin Kandar legionnaire nodded as Lavuyl placed the recording device on the floor and activated it, relieved that the interrogation would be recorded.

"Requests would possibly be considered, Guruinath, but your demands no longer impress us overmuch."

"Don't listen to him", snaps Guruinath, "Can't you see that human wizard is mind-controlling him? She's making fools of you all. Known terrorist, she is. You know her brother is in the cells, don't you? Accessory to murder. Don't try to deny it woman, you know it's true".

Hollis / Keila Champion

"Let anyone ask the questions," Hollis said, maintaining a steely demeanor despite the spike of fear this revelation engendered. How much did he know? How much could he know?

"If you fear me so much, I will leave the room and let anyone ask the questions. Besides, if I could mind control anyone, why not just mind control you into admitting your complicity in treason?

"I suppose they could bring in someone from the Academy, who could check for my presence in their minds. Face it, Guruinath; You're whining is so transparent. You are a traitor who's been caught, and you are trying to blow enough smoke to conceal your treason and confuse your interrogators. You are so used to bullying everyone to get your way, you keep trying it even when the truth would clearly be best. Who's in prison has nothing to do with your guilt or innocence."

Kolath



His expression did not change much, but he did wonder about the brother statement. Now was not the time to delve into that subject, however; Hollis was right.

Kolath cocked his head slightly to one side and looked at his associate and, yes, friend and he nodded before turning his attention back to Guruinath.

Lavuyl takes another device from his pocket. It's a square featureless box of about the same size as the recording eye. He places it next to the eye, taps it and two metal prongs extend out the length of a hand.

"Wizardry detector", he says, "Any attempt to use mind powers, it will emit a shrieking sound".

"The girl stays", says Kavarluis. He turns to Hollis. "Perhaps you would care to demonstrate that it actually works?".

Hollis / Keila

Hollis checked with Kolath to be sure she wasn't walking into some sort of a trap. After all, she had not made any effort to inform him of her talents; it had been more along the lines of the Academy folks. But then, she hadn't concealed it either, and he had seen her do certain things ...

Like hit him with a table. Woops.

"All right. I don't know if what I can do qualifies, since it is not under any Academy guidance, but ...

She concentrated and picked up a chair in the room, spun it around, put it back.

Kolath


He frowned for a moment when she looked questioningly at him, but then nodded, determined to protect her to the best of his ability if this demonstration of her powers did lead to trouble.

His mouth sagged open slightly when the chair moved, but he tried not to let any surprise show in his patrician features.

A red light begins flashing on top of the detector, and it emits an audible squawking noise. The cacophony ceases once Hollis puts the chair down again.

"Now you have demonstrated my device works", says the Karazthani to Hollis, clearly not having expected her to do something as blatant as that. He turns to the prisoner. "Are you satisfied now?".

He just glares at Hollis.

Hollis

Hollis, arms still folded, moved closer to Kolath and whispered out of the side of her mouth, "I didn't know what else to do," she said. "Please don't be ... don't worry. You can still count on me. But I had to do something or the interrogation was not going to proceed."

Kolath



He was still frowning, but his expression relaxed slightly at her explanation and he bent down close so he could speak works for only her ears.

"I think he meant for you to try some sort of mental control or manipulation, not something quite so... flamboyant."

Kolath almost smiled for a moment.

"I know I can count on you, Little One." The almost smile retreated.

"But you need... sometime when we have the time, you should tell me about your brother."

Hollis / Keila Champion

Hollis' glance was calculating. For a brief moment, she allowed a little hope to show its face in her expression, but she quickly capped that wayward thought.

"I tried to once before and ... couldn't. But ... I will tell you what he is talking about later."

After she'd made sure she had a getaway planned. It stuck in her throat that she had not managed to get her brother out of prison. He was the innocent one of the two, after all. He just said what he said publicly, which had annoyed all the wrong people.

"If we may proceed", says Kavarluis, "The airship opened fired with battlefield artillery weapons upon the Academy of the Mind, and you were on board the airship at the time. Would you care to explain exactly why you opened fire?".

"They were summoning a Drarth", said Guruinath.

"A drarth?", says Lavuyl, the Senior Karazthani, "What is your evidence to support this? And why did you not share this intelligence with The Legion, or with anybody else? It just seems to be a coincidence that two Karazthan personnel were in the very tower which your beams targetted".

"Look, Lavuyl", says Guruinath, "You know as well as I that the Academy of the Mind is riven with factions. I have contacts with factions opposed to those involved with the summoning. Time was of the essence; I had no choice to take drastic action. With luck, I may have succeeded in disrupting their ritual. Even though these two did their damnedest to stop me. How many innocents died in the crash of the airship, Kolath? There were twelve crew on board. It came down in a populated area, Kolath. How many dead? And for what?".

Kolath



"You protest your innocence a little to much, Guruinath," the Kandar Legionnaire said, his lips twisted in scorn.

"It was obvious that you were hiding something from the Legion well before you took your precipitous action against the Academy. You cared little for the safety of innocents then."

Hollis

"Don't forget about the faulty flame lances," Hollis hissed to Kolath, keeping her voice low. She didn't want the core issue to be swept aside in all the excitement the Guruinath-baiting was evoking.

"So, you have detailed reports of casualties from the Academy of the Mind?", Guriunath demands of Kolath, "I had faith in the surgical ability of my gunner to collapse the tower where the ritual was taking place with minimum collateral damage. I know not if he still lives, or died, but he saved the city with his skill. And no thanks to you".

Kolath



He glanced at Hollis and nodded curtly, then turned his gaze back to Guruinath.

"I doubt severely that any actions taken at your direction were for the good of the city, much less saved it, Guruinath. If you were trying to save anything, it was your own neck."

Kolath leaned forward slightly.

"Tell us of those faulty flamelances, Guruinath," he almost hissed, suddenly beset by the memory of his own brother.

"Faulty flamelances?", Guruinath says, with a little hesitation, "I don't know what you're talking about". Beads of sweat run down his face as he speaks.

Lavuyl addresses Kolath. "Are we referring here to the to the weaponry that failed to perform according to specification at the Rowsta canyon incident?"

Kolath


His eyes narrowed slightly at Guruinath's reaction to his question and he felt sure he was on the right track. Mentally, he thanked Hollis for the suggestion.

"Yes, Sir," he said to Lavuyl and then turned back to his adversary.

"Your expression belies the falseness of your denial, Guruinath. You were at the heart of that conspiracy... and bear the responsibility for the death of many fine men... my brother among them."

Hollis / Keila Champion

Hollis had all she could do to keep from cheering. SHe did not have the mind-reading capabilities of her more classically trained Academy counterparts, but she was a decent interrogator and Guruinath's physical reactions were clear road-maps to his involvement.

Pound him some more, Kolath, she thought to herself. Don't give him a chance to get his balance.

"What evidence do you have?", Guruinath says, "Maybe The Legion were maintaining or storing them improper?".

"It was after the catastrophic defeat at Rowsta Canyon", says Kavarluis, "That we were reluctantly forced to accept the offer by the Seventh Legion of Karmork for reinforcements. After which it soon became apparent that their mission was not to fight the zughru, but to seize power here in Filgeth, and install a puppet friendly to Karmork as Sarkan. Given the way things have transpired, the circumstantial evidence linking you to the Karmork plots has to be pretty strong".

"Lies, all lies", Guruinath shouts, "You're ****ed up, all of you, and you're looking for a scapegoat. Well, I won't be that scapegoat. I'm not going to carry the can for the rank incompetence of the Fifth Legion. Or any screwups in Technical. Or Administration".

"Enough of this!", says Lavuyl, "We haven't even got to the murder of Dalarath Blerynthar and the attempted murder of myself. If your filthy hands aren't all over that, then I'm a bloody glethnu. You killed him because he knew too much. I know administration had been performing a thorough audit at the request of The Legion. And the result was pretty damning".

Guruinath doesn't even respond. He just glares.

"Kolath, do you have anything more to say?", asks Kavarluis.

Kolath


"Sir, I believe you have, for the moment, said enough, unless," he turned to Hollis with a raised eyebrow and questioning look, "my associate has something to add."

Kolath bent down close to her so she could speak privately if she wished.

Hollis

"I think he is behind the attempts to discredit the humans as well, but I don't have any hard evidence yet. So I'd say nothing else for now. But the Academy might have some things to add. What are you going to do with him? A slap on the wrist seems a little light, given his obvious treason."

Kolath



He nodded slowly at Hollis' words and then shrugged minimally.

"It is not up to me, but I will do my best to see the Legion pushes for severe punishment." He glanced at Guruinath and grimaced.

"He deserves it."

Kolath turned back to Kavarluis and spoke respectfully.

"We have suspicions that he was involved in further offenses, but have not the requisite evidence to back up such charges, Sir."

He paused a moment and then continued.

"Perhaps the Academy should have the opportunity to voice their own questions."

No matter what other offences he may or may not have committed, Kolath knows even the lesser crimes Guruinath stands accused of are capital ones.

"We've heard enough from him for now", says the senior Karazthani, "You can take him back to the cells while we find out how many more books the Academy of the Mind decide to throw at him".

"Don't listen to him", shouts the prisoner, "He's a flake. And the Mind-benders are a nest of snakes! You can't trust a single multiplying one of them".

Kavarluis speaks to the two human prison guards. "Take him away! And no using cruel and unusual force. At least when anyone is looking".