Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 431: Before the council.

"Are you truly only eleven?" She blurted out.

Ariel blinked. "Dear client, can we avoid personal questions right now?" He pushed the dorky glasses up because they were slipping.

"Ariel, you don’t need glasses." Hades reminded him. "Take the damn things off, they are a distraction."

Ariel slammed a book shut and looked at Sunshine. "Dear client, please control your husband. We are dealing with serious matters."

Hades scoffed for a second and then grinned. "So, have you discovered what punishment your mom will be getting if she loses the case?"

"Prison." Sunshine said flatly.

Hades had his doubts. Unless someone with authority had specified that this would be the punishment, Sunshine was leaping to conclusions. At most, she would pay a fine. At worst, her access to these other worlds would be cut off.

"Not if I am her lawyer." Ariel countered meanwhile. "Hunter said mom is a universal repairman. We must cite Article 21: ’Repairmen may wield personal weapons for self-defense that can be used if they are in duress.’ We will argue that she struck with her hammer because she was in duress. Human biology is fragile. She was under threat of death of this Nine’s retaliation. His poison corroded her body."

He leaned closer. "We will need to make you pale and sickly before the trial. You need to walk with a cane or be carried into that courtroom. We should cover your eyes with bandages and forge medical records to show that you had surgery."

Sunshine continued to be horrified. And Hades, he laughed so hard that he spilled wine on the table.

Hunter hardly reacted and White snored, having fallen asleep like his mom had told him to.

Ariel settled down. "Mom, I am going to write down the defense strategies in case I cannot go with you."

Sunshine felt guilty. "Ariel, sweetie, I am happy that you are doing all this for me, but I am overwhelmed. You are a baby, my baby. You should not be worrying about all this."

He frowned. "I’m not just a baby mom. I am your son. I will not allow them to take you away from me. If they try, I will fight them with every statute in the book."

Hades put a hand on her shoulder. "He is right. You are ours; they cannot take you from us. If they try, I will make a deal with Pink and send her after them."

Sunshine smiled faintly, tears pricking her eyes. She got up carefully to avoid startling White. Then, she hugged Ariel from the side and kissed the top of his head.

***

The summons arrived at 6:59 and Sunshine was pulled into an unknown space. It was labeled the tribunal chamber, and it was designed to intimidate. The walls were lined with polished red steel, the ceiling was high, but the lights hung low, suspended in the air above the seats.

They flickered in a way that made everyone look slightly guilty, even those who were not on trial. Above, behind white screens sat the council of discipline, five senior officers who were invisible. Only their faces were magnified on the screens which represented their positions.

One was a man with a humanlike face. He looked bored. The second was a woman with two small green horns above her eyebrows. Her dark eyes were cold, and she seemed unwilling to be there.

The third was an insectoid male, mature and smiling. The fourth was an alien male with red skin and yellow eyes. He had a jaw that reminded Sunshine of Hades’. He was unconventionally handsome.

And the last, his face was covered with a white veil. Sunshine could not make it out.

Nine was marched in by two medics who looked bored, like they wished to be anywhere but there. As he sat down, his antennae twitched nervously, betraying his attempt at composure.

Vortan walked in and stood in the center behind a red table. "Council convenes." He sat down. "The charges: Reckless combat in the sustenance bar, destruction of property, endangerment of other repairmen and wastage of food and drink."

Sunshine exhaled nervously. Those were too many charges.

"Let us hear the grievances." Vortan announced.

Nine stood up first. "She deliberately coated her body in anti-bug cream that made me faint. She sings off key, all the time which is a distraction while I am working."

"That is not a crime." The red man said.

Nine sulked. "The bug spray is a crime."

The female councilwoman leaned sneered. "So, to clarify, we are here because of.... bug spray?"

"Yes," Nine replied stiffly.

"Yes." Sunshine replied equally stiffly.

The council exchanged looks. The insectoid pinched the bridge of his nose. The woman scribbled "ridiculous" in the margin of her notes.

Witnesses to the fight in the snack bar were called. Their stories were consistent, they had seen Nine walking towards Sunshine and then her scream and a hammer flying.

The cook was the most distraught. "I spent five hours simmering the stew. All of it was used as a weapon in their battle."

A piece of the wall from the ship was brought as a witness. "Her hammer made a crack in my floor. A dent in my side and a hole in my heart. The engineers will need two days to patch me up."

"And my stew!" The cook cried out again.

The council sighed in unison.

"Make your arguments." Vortan said to Sunshine and Nine.

She stood up first. "Everything has been heard. I want to clarify that I was under duress. My hammer responds to my will. If he hadn’t harmed me, none of this would have happened."

Nine also stood up. "Will or no will, it nearly smashed me into a paste. I only retaliated because she harmed me first. Bug spray or cream of any kind is warfare against my kind."

Sunshine recalled a point Ariel had made and shot back, "Bug spray is hygiene."

"Are you calling me filthy?" Nine’s mandibles clicked faster in fury.

The council chair, Commander Melvin appeared behind Vortan. His was wearing the uniform of the repairmen, but black in color. His hair, a cascade of pale, golden strands with an almost metallic sheen. It seemed to glow faintly.

His face was angular--too angular, like it was carved from stone. His eyes were iridescent, shifting between icy blue and violet and a bit of silver. The pupils elongated vertically like a cat.

His skin was smooth, reflecting hidden scales when the light hit it at the right angle. He was tall and lean, with muscles defined like a statue. His physique was like Dominic Steward’s, but somehow__more. He was honed for survival in harsh environments.

There was a quiet intensity about him--an aura of command. "You two are co-workers assigned on duty to fix a ship. That duty will not change just because one sings often and questionably and the other is too sensitive and jealous of how much progress their colleague is making."

His voice resonated harmonically, feeling human like and at the same time, otherworldly.

For some reason, both Sunshine and Nine lowered their heads like undisciplined children before a parent.