Ask Judgment

[Altair Din]

To say that Altair was disappointed was an understatement. He had enjoyed the time he spent with Kalique and generally found her agreeable. However, having risen through the ranks, he knew better than to ever let his personal opinions cloud judgment. Levik (@Eccles ) had lodged a character report on Kalique that outlined her tendencies to try and assume control in situations. That had been alarming, but it only got worse when Max Dram’s report came in. This one was about Kalique outright assaulting him over mere words. Everything about it smelled like the old Sith ways.

Altair had patience for a lot of things, but he had no tolerance for Force users harming Imperials, especially ones under their command. It was the very opposite of what Imperial Knights were intended to be. This alone made him reconsider the rights allowed to the Knights overall, but he wouldn’t make any sweeping calls just yet.

He had heard eyewitness accounts from other soldiers on the scene - these days Imperials didn’t back the Force users. They had witnessed Kalique shove Max, and Max kept his cool without lashing back. None of what followed mattered beyond that.

The tiefling was adorned in military attire, seated at the head of large chamber. He had invited both Dram and Kalique here. His face didn’t betray what he thought, though he was bristling with distaste under the surface.

Once they arrived, they would notice they had an audience in the form of both upper echelon military and Imperial Knights. Altair first invited Max to approach, “State your case.”

@LadyRen @Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max stepped forward, resplendent in his military dress uniform. When he had filed his quickfire report on Columex, he had not necessarily anticipated that it would be heard, much less by the Warmaster and an assembled panel of military officers and Imperial Knights. Still, he was not the kind of man to run from hard truths.

"With your permission, Warmaster" he acknowledged, moving into the centre of the room. The Tiefling looked imposing, as he always did, all horns and rippling broad frame. There were few Max truly looked up to these days, but Altair was among them.

"Knight Captain Demici and I were both assigned to a mission on Columex" he explained. "We were tasked with investigating attacks by a cell of Sith sympathisers and neutralising the threat". The brief had been clear, even if the mission itself had thrown up several challenges.

"Early on, the Captiain and I traded a few sharp words" he continued "she decided to assert herself by using the Force on me, pinning me against a wall without warning". Max was a big boy and it was difficult for him to suggest he had been mistreated. But it was true, by every objective rule of Imperial conduct. So he made himself say it.

"Irrespective of anything that followed" he added "the Captain acted outside of her authority, assaulting a member of her own unit and overstepping her bounds". She had indeed overreacted and it needed noting despite any actions later to put it right.

@LadyRen @Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair remained silent as Dram spoke. The soldier had to have some of the worst luck imaginable when it came to getting paired with Force users. Altair was given a brief written report prior to this about their exchange. The gist of it was around his past and general distrust of Force user, which then provoked her to remind him of her authority and the assault.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” He said, his amethyst gaze next flipping over to Kalique for her to step forth, “As a reminder, Knight Captain, Imperial Knights are never, ever permitted to use the Force on Imperials, especially if those Imperials are under their command. You were entrusted with a position of authority and you acted out like I would expect from a Sith. This is not the first case filed against you on your overly aggressive and dominating behavior. Loyalty is earned, not demanded.”

He paused there, his face impassive, “What do you have to say for this particular offense? No, I don’t want to hear about a long list of your accomplishments elsewhere. I want to understand what could possibly justify you physically pushing and using the Force on an Imperial officer over words. When he did not attack you first.”

@LadyRen @Alhon

 

[Kalique Baize]

As in Imperial Knight you were always walking a very thin line and after all this years of compliance, something had triggered her to lash out in an unquestionable inappropriate way. As she had always been very reflected and fully aware of what she was feeling and in control of all that, it had come as a surprise to her. She felt terrible as this little slip up had ruined years of hard work of trying to embellish the Imperial Knights' reputation.

Always having protected the Imperial soldiers above her own life even (and many Imperials could obviously account for that after everything she had done), she had never injured them ever before, so that after this short moment of having lost patience, she was incredibly disappointed about herself.

Her behavior back then was inexcusable, so a trial was just fair, but she was oblivious to what Dram had reported. She had never been prone to exhibiting impulsive behavior, but she regretted her loss of control severely. She entered the room silently, shortly inclining her head to respectfully great Altair and all the others before she took her assigned position and waited for Max' statement.

Despite his past, she appreciated that he kept the report neutral, not letting any emotions of a bruised ego bleed in, however she felt even worse that he had been the one whose relationship towards Force users had already been battered. What Altair said about her having exhibit rather dominant behavior before did surprise her though as she couldn't remember a second scenario where this had been the case, unless Levik had shared his particular view on her diplomatic skills in a not necessarily fair way...There were always two sides on the medal and while she still saw more in the Empire than him, she was curious why no one had questioned her about it...But that was a different topic.

She stepped forward when she was asked to, taking full responsibility for this particular case. "There is no justification. It wasn't just inappropriate, given that our exchange had been verbal. I made this mistake and Dram is right when he says I acted out of the authority I had been entrusted with". Altair called it Sith behavior and given Max' and also the Empire's past, she saw where it came from.

She'd still call it a human mistake, knowing that this behavior hadn't been a reflection of who she truly was, but she herself had been potentially hurt worse in all of this as she had disappointed herself the most. "This is not who I am, but I don't deny that this was my first time asserting myself over an Imperial, with the Force even. I understand the scope of my mistake and I wish I wouldn't have betrayed the faith the Empire had in me". She had no idea what this one slip-up after all those years would entail, but it wouldn't look good that it had started after her official promotion that she really didn't feel worthy of right now.

@Sreeya @Alhon

 

[Varyn Atrix]

With the Lord Commander largely absent, it had fallen to Varyn as the senior-most Imperial Knight to represent the order on this topic. When he had read the report in advance, he had been exceedingly unhappy to put it lightly.

For the Imperial Knights, their armor was their dress uniform, and his had been polished to a shine, lightsabers hanging from his belt as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His jaw was tight in disappointment and frustration. The Imperial Knights had just finally earned back some freedom and oversight for themselves and it was immediately met with this.

He waited for the others to speak: the Lieutenant to bring the accusation, the Warmaster to make his statement, and the Knight-Captain to make her defense.

He wished that she would have some defense. Evidence that the Lieutenant had attacked her first or that she had been defending herself, but there wasn't any of that. The reality was that after months of doing their best to break from the history that the Sith had established, she had done precisely the kind of thing that had gotten the Sith kicked out of the Empire in the first place.

When the others were done speaking, Varyn finally stepped forward. His statement was addressed at the entirety of the court, not at any single member. It was important - no, it was essential - that the Imperial Knights as an organization address this directly.

I've been asked to speak on behalf of the Imperial Knights, he began.

As an extension of the military and law enforcement, we are bound by the same laws and statutes that govern the other officers of the military. Battery of a subordinate officer is an unacceptable action and unbefitting of an officer of the Empire. We are not the Sith, he let the words hang in the air for a moment to make his definitive statement on the fact clear. The Imperial Knights did not on any level endorse battery of their subordinates.

The penalties for such an action are covered in Article 128* of the military code of conduct. I see no reason for an exemption from judgment under the same articles as any other officer of the Empire. We are servants of the Empire and are called on to hold its laws in the highest regard, he said.


*OOC Note: Since it cannot be expected for there to be a full military code of conduct written on an RP site, I have taken information from real-world militaries for a proportional response.

 

[Altair Din]

In truth, even without Levik’s assessment, this charge alone was terrible. Altair listened as she spoke, her comments suggesting that this being the first time meant there would be leeway. How many other first times had there been when Imperials were forever taught that this was simply how things were under Sith? How many first times did a Sith Force choke or throw an Imperial under their command? It only took one time.

The Force was a weapon. This was the equivalent of using the weapon on a subordinate. The fact that it was the first time meant nothing. He found himself mentally echoing much of what Varyn stated. He allowed a moment of pause before he spoke, addressing Kalique directly.

“If this was your second time, you would be executed,” Altair stated flatly so she understood the gravity of the situation, “The very foundation of this Empire is built upon the faith that no Force user will ever be able to toss their powers around to subjugate Imperials like the Sith had before. The very core beliefs of the Imperial Knights mean that they never act like the Sith of the past and use their abilities on their own comrades. It doesn’t matter how remorseful you are, the fact of the matter is that you lost control. That’s not acceptable even once regardless of how much you have done for the Empire. There is zero tolerance for it.”

He paused there, despising that he had to do this, “You will be stripped of your Captain rank. You may rank up again, but it will be after further training on meditation and if, and only if, both the acting Lord-Commander and at least a Commander in the Imperial military both sign off on your promotion. Furthermore, while you may command Imperial Knights in the future, you will not command any Imperials for the foreseeable future. On missions with Imperials, you will consider them your superior.”

The punishments were harsh, but it had been stressed countless times that abuse with the Force and letting emotions manifest into Force use would not be tolerated on Imperials. Nothing would ever excuse that behavior. There were other measures Altair was taking with the ISB, but those needed to be discreet.

Altair turned to regard Max, “Thank you for bringing this up. If you witness anything else similar, please escalate and tell your soldiers to do the same.”

He looked to both Kalique and Max, "You are both dismissed."

@Alhon @Phoenix @LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

As Knight-Captain Atrix rose and assessed the situation from the Knight related side, she did mentally go through the article, already getting a rough feeling for how this would end. She felt terrible and had never thought she'd end up in such a position, but here she was, remorseful but shocked it had come that far.

Altair took over and her downcast gaze met his as he shared his judgment. It was a fair judgement in her eyes. Harsh and extensive, but he was right. She deserved no less for having violated the Code like that and losing control once was one time too often.

She had no objections and she'd do what she was told as she always had. Maybe she hadn't been ready for more after all. Altair had once again proven that he was right where he should be, capable of keeping the Knights under control and deciding justly. She respectfully lowered her head and was sent off, knowing she had fucked up, but fiercely determined to never break that faith that was being put into her ever again.

@Sreeya @Phoenix @Alhon