Reading Time: 113 Minutes

Title: Finding Justice
Series: Priceless
Series Order: 6
Author: SASundance
Fandom: NCIS, Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, Criminal Minds; JAG
Genre: Crime Drama, Crossover, Family, Kid!fic, Science Fiction
Relationship(s): Gen, background pairings
Content Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Rape/Non-con/Dub-con, Slavery, Torture, Violence – Graphic, Violence – Domestic and/or Against Children , Violence – graphic, offscreen torture, discussions of past and offscreen rape/non-con, issues around the loss of free will, loss of bodily autonomy, mind control, past murder of OC character, discussions of miscarriage and abortion, discussions of slavery and implications of mind control, non-consensual drug use, discussion of past domestic violence, discussion of canon vaccination and future vaccination programs, discussion of past canon unethical medical experimentation, character bashing (Elizabeth Weir and Ziva David). Not friendly to: McKay, Gibbs, Keller, McGee, Vance. (Note: slavery, mind control, autonomy issues are related to canon events)
Word Count: 108,153
Summary: The Interstellar Tribunal begins hearing the first of the two trials of Lucius Lavin for being an accessory to Col Sheppard’s abduction before he must finally answer to the Tribunal for his actions, seizing control of Atlantis and the sexual assault and rape of five Lanteans, six years ago. The survivors will get a chance to confront Lucius and tell their stories to the court, hopeful of finally seeing justice done and putting their demons to rest. Halling helps to outmanoeuvre the Winyan Elder Council, aided and abetted by Ishta, and the Tribunal agrees to hear an appeal to overturn the conviction of Winyan survivors. Meanwhile, Tony and his alter-ego, Thomas Magnum, track down the attacker of Leoosh Benn, who is still fighting for his life, uncovering even darker motives that will rock the villagers.
Artist: Angelicinsanity

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Chapter 14

Aaron had been in two minds as to whether or not to bring up Monique’s suicide attempt. There were several reasons why he was hesitating, and the number one reason was that he was concerned about her mental state. Having to relive it could be harmful to the intensely private individual. He knew he would hate to bare himself in such a fashion. He was also worried too that it might set her recovery back because it was still very much an ongoing work in progress. But it wasn’t just Monique Girard that he had concerns about, he was worried that it might impact negatively upon the hearing.

He had no way of knowing just how the tribunal members would react to her suicide attempt – did they have moral or religious objections to the notion of suicide? Even if they didn’t, would they see her as unstable and therefore unreliable, negating the strong story she had to tell? He consulted Dr O’Shea about the matter and her advice had been to listen to what Dr Girard wanted. If he explained to her the potential risk in her testifying about her suicide bid, and she decided she was willing to take the risk, then Dr O’Shea felt that she could cope with any negative outcomes. Aoife pointed out that what was critically important to the scientist after so many years of being silenced was being able to speak her mind at long last. After many sleepless nights, Aaron decided to give her the opportunity after she finished testifying and if she decided to bring it up, then he would support her decision.

Finally, she finished her painful and incredibly meticulous account of her rapes which had almost the entire tribunal appearing to be uncomfortable – maybe because in their culture they weren’t comfortable in discussing sexual matters. However, Hotch had a gut feeling that it was more likely to be a case of cognitive dissonance regarding Monique testimony. Outwardly she conducted herself with great poise, but her continuous lachrymation was evidence to the contrary.

Aaron knew that while there were many different biases factored into how a person was perceived, attractiveness bias was a real phenomenon. Sometimes it worked to a person’s advantage and sometimes it worked against them. This was why they had been at pains to characterise Monique’s motive in rejecting Lucius Lavin had been based on monogamy issues. Judging by the reactions in the room, they’d effectively dispelled any notion that Monique Girard thought she was better than everybody else because of her looks.

Before finishing up, he asked her, “For almost six years, Dr Girard, you have wanted the opportunity to hold your rapist accountable for his actions. Is there anything else that you want to say before we finish up?”

“Thank you Persequor Hotchner. I would like to say a couple of things if I may. The whole time that I have been testifying I have been mindful of how fortunate I am to be here and able to give evidence against my rapist. I can’t help remembering two victims of Mr Lavin’s crimes who cannot be here today to speak up against their attacker. Dr Sofie Danziger and Mayuna Pavu are no longer alive because they were misfortunate enough to catch Mr Lavin’s eye and he decided that despite them not wanting anything to do with him, his drug meant they had no choice but to obey him. It is my wish to speak for them since he took away their choice to say no to him and then other people took away their voices and their lives.

“I have been so angry for six years, desperately fighting for justice. When I found out that I wasn’t alone, I felt angry and sad. And ye,s really guilty when I learnt a good friend of mine, Sofie Danziger had also been a victim of Lucius Lavin when he took over Atlantis and then was killed because of it, I was filled with uncontrollable rage. I can honestly say that I’ve have never felt anything like it before. I wanted to burn something down or smash something into tiny little pieces which is a feeling that I can honestly say I have never experienced in my life before. Then later, when I learnt of Mayuna Pavu’s death sentence, I was utterly consumed with anger and hatred. I couldn’t eat or sleep, and I was beyond being able to think rationally.” Monique paused, maintaining direct eye contact with the camera, and making everyone feel she was staring right into their souls.

“When Agent Paddington, against everyone’s expectations, was able to locate Mr Lavin, then arrest and charge him with numerous counts of rape and sexual assault, all the anger and the pain just became too much for me to bear. I didn’t want to live with those feelings,” she shook her head.

“For six years I dreamt of the chance to face down my attacker in court and for six years I was told that it wasn’t going to happen. So, I think when it did happen I couldn’t let myself believe it was real, believe that justice would prevail. I was so tired, so angry, so hopeless and I just wanted the pain to end.” She took a deep breath and continued.

“I didn’t stop to think about my son and what would happen if I left him, all that I could think about was stopping my pain and anger and I decided to kill myself after I killed the man who destroyed my life.” At that point, Monique’s voice quavered a little and she took an audible breath.

Hotch, who had remained silent up until this point, chose this point to speak. “It’s okay Monique, take a deep breath, perhaps take a sip of water. You don’t have to go on if it’s too much of a struggle to continue. I think we can all see how much of an impact this has had on you.”

Monique followed his suggestions, breathing deeply and taking several small sips of water before she produced a rather unconvincing excuse for a smile. “Thank you Persequor Hotchner. I’m okay now and I would like to finish my statement.” She paused and took a deep breath.

“At what was probably the lowest point in my life, I learned a very valuable lesson thanks to Alex Paddington who found me and stopped me before I could carry out my plan. I don’t know how he did it, but I can never repay him for saving my life. I’ll admit that it isn’t an easy task, learning how to live with all my pain, my anger, and my guilt but I’ve discovered that I am not alone. I have people who are on my side and will help me when it all gets too much for me to cope with.”

By this stage, Monique’s tears were running down her fine-boned features faster than her scrap of embroidered white cotton could sop them up and Aaron was feeling rather moist-eyed himself. Even Tulee looked moved by her emotions, but Lucius remained unaffected. He was incapable of experiencing empathy for anyone but himself.

“I am still learning to cope with my negative emotions, but I have learnt that you cannot put a price on a life. Just like Sofie and Mayuna’s family and friends can never quantify how much money would compensate them for not having them in their lives anymore. I want to live for my family and friends, but I also want to live for Sofie and Mayuna after other people chose to take their lives away because they had the terrible misfortune to be raped by a monster who didn’t care about anyone but himself.” Her eyes burned with indignation and righteousness and Hotch figured Monique was probably imagining she was glaring right at her rapist as she spoke.

Her voice soften a little as she concluded by saying, “I want to make sure that Sofie and Mayuna are never forgotten, because they’re victims, innocent and powerless, but we aren’t. Their voices were wrongfully taken away, but we can ensure that they receive justice.”

As Aaron thanked her and sat down again, he wondered how Tulee Hano would choose to approach Monique’s cross-examination. Would he take a softly, softly approach, or would he go in hard?

“Monique, do you expect us to believe that you’ve suffered great emotional pain? You spoke about laughing and experiencing happy feelings during intimate acts with Lucius,” was Paracletus Hano’s opening salvo. So, he decided to go in hard.

Aside from a slight widening of her eyes, Monique didn’t react. Well done, he silently congratulated her. She remembered their coaching on how to respond to possible tactics.

“Yes, I do expect you to believe me as I’m telling the truth,” she stated firmly. “I was drugged, and I was convinced that Lucius was a kind and wonderful person. Wrongly, I might add. My brain kept insisting that I must do whatever he said, to make him happy and that it would make me feel happy too. But it was a cruel, sick lie and it was all caused by his herb which I DID NOT consume willingly. It was forced on me against my will.” She paused, taking a ladylike sip out of a cup of water before she continued speaking.

“And the moment that Dr Beckett gave me the vaccine, making me immune to the effects of the drug, I instantly felt physically ill, disgusted at what I had done… what I let him do to me. I spent most of the day vomiting every time I remembered what he had forced me to do. I went against my principles because I wasn’t able to say no to him when he took away my free will to resist his orders.

“Yet, you have moved on with your life. It can’t have had that much of an impact on you,” the paracletus said to her dismissively.

“I had no choice but to move on,” Monique said. That doesn’t mean that the last six years haven’t been a living hell for me and my son. Mr Lavin impregnated me against my will.”

“But you said you were intimate with another man, which was why you rejected Lucius’ invitation. Surely you realised you could get pregnant and were willing to take the chance??

Monique’s expression suggested she was dumbfounded by the question. However, she responded calmly, “James was infertile. He had leukemia as a child, and the treatment which saved his life made it impossible for him to have children.”

As Aaron knew, it was still possible for the RAF officer to conceive using IVF since Monique said he’d frozen sperm, but it wasn’t necessary to bring this up, since Steadman could not conceive a child through the usual method.

“As he couldn’t create a child when we had sex, I wasn’t on birth control because I believed that I couldn’t fall pregnant with James. I was glad I didn’t have to worry about being pregnant on Atlantis because the Wraith attacks made Pegasus Galaxy far too dangerous to risk it in my opinion. Mr Lavin took away my free choice about WHEN, WHERE, and even IF I wanted to have a child. Most importantly, he took away my right to decide who I wanted to be the child’s father.”

After a few more questions failed to yield anything helpful, Tulee Hano gave it up as a waste of time and Jonas Quinn thanked Dr Girard, congratulated her on her pursuit of justice and dismissed her from the hearing. At that point, Persequor Hotchner stood and requested a short adjournment which was granted, and he ducked out to have a word with the ISBI Associate Director, Alex Paddington who was waiting outside the chamber for Monique to finish up. Hotch figured he might know if his last-minute idea was even feasible.

Unfortunately, Alex told him that to the best of his knowledge, all five of the tribunal members had received the MCD- 238β vaccine shortly after arriving. The news wasn’t all bad though, he thought there were several possible ways around the problem and offered to chase them up. He also said he would double-check with Dr Biro about Jonas Quinn, Ishta, Kalan, Teal’c and Bra’tac to find out if they had received the vaccine. He reported back promptly after contacting the infirmary and as Alex suspected they’d all been vaccinated for MCD- 238β during their mandatory arrival medical exams.

Aaron was disappointed but he’d expected it was a long shot. Plus, Alex said there could be a way around it, so maybe he could pull it off before Hotch closed his case or perhaps it would have to wait until their appeal for Ota, Neese, Willa, Lahn, Heleen and Mayuna. Which meant that he was going to need Ronon Dex to testify next to back up Lieutenant Navarro’s testimony.

He knew that the Satedan was planning on waiting in the Odyssey’s mess. The big guy had spent years on the run from the Wraith after they destroyed his planet. Due to his strength and his impressive physique, the Wraith had turned him into prey, implanting him with a tracker and hunting him down for sport for seven long years until John and Teyla found him. During those terrible years, he’d gone hungry far too frequently. Now that he had access to plentiful food, he always took the opportunity to refuel and at the moment, he was working his way through all of the menu items on board the Odyssey.

Aaron had been very impressed with what Ronon had to say to the Winyan Council Elders in defence of the Winyan’s females. It was why he thought that it would be extremely useful testimony to have at the hearing. Even before Ronon knew of Teyla’s ordeal, he had supported Colonel Sheppard through his recovery and had defended the Winyan ladies most vehemently. Naturally, he’d jumped at helping Teyla, Miko and Monique when he learned of the evil that had unfolded on Atlantis. Being naturally protective of others as a trained soldier, he too felt guilty that he hadn’t protected the Lanteans from the likes of Lucius Lavin.

Aaron began Dex’s testimony by introducing the Satedan to the Venerabiles Sodales and getting him to speak briefly about his background and how he came to be on Atlantis. Listening to the normally taciturn man speak during his initial witness prep, the persequor knew that Ronon Dex was going to be an excellent witness.

“How did you find yourself on Atlantis,” he asked gravely after Dex had described how the Wraith had decimated Sateda, a modern advanced society with a substantive military.

“After the Wraith devastated my planet of Sateda, they captured me and took me aboard one of their hive ships. I was certain that I going to die but instead, they decided it would be amusing to make me a runner. They placed a tracker under my skin on my back where I couldn’t remove it myself and then turned me loose so I could never stay in any place for long.

In the seven years before the New Lanteans rescued me, I killed more than a hundred Wraith, most with my bare hands.”

“And how many Wraith do you think you killed after you joined the expeditionary force on Atlantis?”

“After I joined Atlantis, I fought as a member of their elite AR-1 team, under the command of Colonel John Sheppard. I’ve lost count of how many hundreds of Wraith, I’ve helped to defeat while I’ve been here, but it is likely in the more than a thousand.”

“That is a truly astonishing record,” Hotch commented in admiration. “So, my question to you is despite all of your long and extensive years of military training which included both physical and mental survival skill training during your years as a Sateda soldier, and then more years on AR-1, were you able to resist the effects of Lucius Lavin’s special plant?

“I was not, Persequor Hotchner. He compelled me, an Athosian warrior of great skill and training to go on a dangerous mission to a Wraith-protected planet to harvest more of his special plant for him. Even more unbelievable is that he selected Dr Beckett to lead the mission, rather than myself or Teyla Emmagan, who also possesses great skills as a warrior.”

“Teyla Emmagan has already testified that Dt Beckett has no training as a warrior. Why didn’t you discuss with Lucius Lavin how dangerous that was?”

“I did not protest because it never even entered my head how dangerous that was. Not just dangerous, but suicidal. We did not know what we were facing when we got there. We all thought it was a great joke – a fun adventure because Lavin had told us he wanted us to do it.”

“And what happened when you went to the planet where Lavin’s herb grew?”

“You mean M6H-491? The place was swarming with Wraith. They’d set up an outpost there, just as our intel had informed us, which was why Colonel Sheppard had already ordered us not to go there.”

“So, you all disobeyed a direct order from a superior officer,” Persequor Hotchner asked incredulously.

“Not just a superior officer, but Atlantis’ Commanding Officer. He was the highest military authority on the base, but because of Lavin’s herb, we completely disregarded him. And that is to my great shame as a specialist of the Satedan Military Forces.”

“Were you successful in finding more of Lucius’ special herb,” Aaron asked Dex curiously.

“Oh yeah, we got bags of it by taking outrageous and completely unwarranted risks. Risks that any military member worth their rank would have called an immediate withdrawal at that point,” Ronon growled furiously. “But Carson Beckett, while he was a skilled doctor, knew nothing of military matters. We were all intoxicated by the plant and so determined to please Lavin by getting his drug.”

Hotch prompted “What happened then?”

He shook his head in disgust. “We ended up almost bringing the Wraith back to Atlantis and they would have killed everyone in the city. If we had been in our right minds, none of us would have done anything so dangerous, but his ‘special herb plant robbed us of our free will or our ability to make rational decisions.”

“What happened when you returned,” the persequor asked in concern.

“Colonel Sheppard was rightly furious,” Dex said looking very uncomfortable. “ We disobeyed him, nearly got killed for no good reason and almost allowed the Wraith to overrun Atlantis. He tried to grab the bag with the plants that I’d gathered from me, probably intending to destroy it. At least that’s what I believed at that time,” he shrugged.

“I was drugged off my face, and Lucius had told me he needed the herb. By then I was desperate to do anything I could to make him happy, so I did something that still gives me nightmares,” he said scowling at Lucius who was sitting trying not to seem amused.

“What did you do, Ronon,” Aaron asked gravely.

“I pulled my blaster gun on Colonel Sheppard. It has two settings – stun and kill.”

“And when you aimed the gun at the Colonel, what setting was the gun set to fire to,” Ishta asked him looking very serious.

Sounding aghast, Dex dropped his head in discomfiture before raising it and looking at Ishtar. “It was set to kill.”

“What happened then,” Hotch asked with suitable gravitas.

“Colonel Sheppard realised that it was set to kill, and he decided to de-escalate the situation. He backed down,” Dex said in a strangled voice.

Hotch let that sink in, pausing for several long moments before he finally said, “ As a highly trained warrior, I am guessing that you’ve gone over and over those moments in your mind. Let me ask you, do you think that you would have fired your gun if he hadn’t backed down?”

Looking desolate, he replied, “You’re right, Persequor Hotchner. I do replay it in my mind repeatedly, and I have nightmares about what I could have done. I’m certain as I can be that had he not realised how much danger he was in, Colonel Sheppard would be dead by my hand.”

The tribunal members all looked shocked by his startling admission, even though they knew how dangerous the herb was on a large scale, hearing Ronon’s testimony, so stark and personal, just elevated it to the next level in terms of impact.

“At a later point, you did use your gun on your commanding officer, Colonel Sheppard, didn’t you,” Hotch asked Ronon.

“Yes, I did,” he responded sounding chagrined by the admission.

“Tell us about it,” the persequor requested of him gently.

“Colonel Sheppard who was the only person on Atlantis was not affected by the plant because he had an illness – a virus – and Lucius’ special herb didn’t work on him. Dr McKay had begun working on an antidote to the drug which had made everyone crazy, but he was interrupted by Lucius, who ordered me to restrain him so he could infect him with the herb too,” the Satedan said shamefaced.

The Colonel kidnapped Dr Beckett and stole a puddle jumper to take them to the mainland, to wean him off the effects of the plant. He realised after he’d talked to the people on Winya that they were all going through a withdrawal from the drug. Lucius was furious when he discovered what Sheppard had done and he ordered us to track John down and bring both men back to Atlantis. When I found Sheppard, I shot him with my gun purely because Lavin was so angry with John. Luckily for him and me, I only stunned him, but if Lucius had told me to, I have no doubt that I’d have killed my truest friend and warrior brother, not because I wanted to but because I couldn’t resist Lavin’s orders.”

“Tell me, Ronon, as part of your military training, did you receive specialised training in how to resist torture, interrogation and mind control?”

“Yes, I did. All Satedan military personnel did.”

Hotch looked at him quizzically and Dex nodded subtly, permitting him to continue.”

“Is it true that you were captured by a Wraith worshiper who gave you up to a Wraith who wanted to turn you into a worshipper and send you back to Atlantis to kill everyone in the city?”

“Yes, that is true.”

“Is it also true that they use an addictive Wraith enzyme to create Wraith Worshippers?”

“No not always. Some individuals chose freely to become worshipers of the Wraith because they are afraid of dying. But for anyone who resists or is a warrior, then they torture and brutally break down the individual and use the addictive enzyme to speed up the process.”

“And did you succumb to their brainwashing process?

Yes, unfortunately, I was too strong physically. The lucky ones die during the arduous process but if you don’t die, then ultimately, it is impossible to resist.”

Aaron asked him empathetically, “How long did you resist the torture?”

“I’m not entirely sure but it took days,” he replied in a pained voice.

“And you would have gone back to Atlantis and killed everyone there if they hadn’t rescued you?”

“Unfortunately, I believe that I would have. Although if you had told me that before they broke me, I would have told you there was no way I would give in like that.”

“It sounds like you resisted bravely and held out for as long as humanly possible. So, can you tell me how long were you able to resist giving in to Lucius Lavin’s ‘special herb’ before you finally capitulated and did whatever he asked of you,” Hotch asked Dex?

“I didn’t resist…I couldn’t. The effect was instantaneous. I found him to be an abhorrent individual and I was instantly suspicious of him the moment I encountered him on Winya, especially when he tried to seduce my teammate Teyla Emmagan. When he turned up out of the blue with Carson Beckett and the doctor was acting like he was in love with him, my suspicions only increased. Teyla and I were ordered to guard him and the more I saw of the man, the more I despised him, but when I made the mistake of getting too close to him, I immediately succumbed to his special drug.”

“Had you ever encountered a mind-controlling substance that wasn’t ingested by the individual who was drugged,” Aaron said curiously.

“Never,” Dex said emphatically and shook his head to emphasise his point.

“So, you had no way of knowing that merely getting too close to Lucius Lavin would result in you being drugged by him?”

“Unfortunately, no idea.”

“So instantly you had a change of heart about a man you admit you were highly suspicious of? How did you view him after the drug affected your mind?

Dex looked extremely sheepish as he admitted, “I had an instant change of heart about him. I thought he was the greatest person I’d ever encountered. I thought that he was wise, kind, and caring and I was desperate to please him. I loved and worshipped him.”

“When you say you loved him, what do you mean by that,” Aaron asked him, pulling on his innocent and curious mien which was pure theatre. It was a basic rule in the legal profession that you never asked a witness a question in court if you didn’t already know the answer. Aaron already knew the answer to this question.

“I mean that I was completely infatuated with him. In love.”

“Are you normally attracted to men, Ronon?”

“No, I am what you call heterosexual, not that I object to anyone who is attracted to the same sex – just that I’m not attracted to other men in a sexual way. But suddenly, I wanted to be with Lavin, and I would have done ANYTHING to make him happy. Nothing else mattered, except for the fact that everyone else wanted to get inside his trousers too.”

Hotch looked suitably surprised. “Really? Who else did you think was infatuated with him?”

“Dr Elizabeth Weir, the commander of the Atlantis Expedition couldn’t keep her hands off him. Dr Beckett and Dr McKay were flirting with him too, trying to get his attention and do whatever they could to please him,” Dex said in disgust.

“Why the disgust,” Hotch asked him. “Were you jealous?”

“I was at the time,” he admitted candidly. “I was insanely jealous, but now my disgust is because of what I did and almost did while I was under the mind control of Lavin. I disobeyed direct orders and I almost killed John Sheppard, who is my best friend. I shot him when he was trying to save everyone, and I almost let Carson and Teyla get captured or killed by the Wraith on that planet. It was extremely fortunate that the Wraith weren’t successful in overrunning and destroying every last person on Atlantis.”

He glared hatefully at Lucius and if looks could kill then a sociopathic con man would be lying on the ground with his viscera spilt out around him.

“I think I’m entitled to feel disgusted by all of that but honestly the thought that if he’d been attracted to males instead of females, I’d have let him rape me too fills me with loathing. The moment Carson gave me the vaccine and I was no longer under his control, I felt a powerful revulsion for him. He is an evil person who is totally without redeeming traits. I empathise with every female who turned down his clumsy sexual invitations while they were sound of mind, only to recover from the mind control and remember everything that they had done against their will.”

“Thank you Specialist Dex for volunteering to testify about your experiences at this hearing. Before I finish up, is there anything else you wish for this tribunal to hear?”

“If someone with my military training in resisting torture and interrogation was unable to resist the effects of the plant, then how can you expect those young women, some of them still practically girls to fight its effects,” he demanded furiously. “They didn’t stand a chance; we need to help them deal with their terrible ordeal, not blame them, or try to say they enjoyed it,” he said sorrowfully.

After a pause, Persequor Hotchner turned formally to the three individuals seated on the dais.

“Venerabiles Sodales, I have no further questions for this witness.

As he returned to his seat, pleased with how the testimony had proceeded, Hotch wondered, would the paracletus try to impeach his witness or realise it was a waste of time. Tulee Hano had shown himself to be rabidly homophobic so he reckoned that he would find it hard to resist calling Ronon’s character into question.

He was right, While the rather portly man could hardly be described as leaping to his feet, he rose to his feet quite speedily for one so cumbersome.

“Specialist Dex, what you would ask this hearing to believe is quite difficult. You claim to feel disgusted at Lucius Lavin, but you would have us believe that you are not attracted to males. Is that right? After all, you admit that you don’t find it abhorrent for males to lie with males and females to lie with females. How do we not know if you are lying to us about not being attracted to males? You admit that your best friend is a male,” he accused him.

Dex tried to keep a straight face. They had speculated that Tulee might go there – his bigotry made it an even bet. So, they’d been ready for it.

“First off, on Sateda we didn’t seem to have the same aversion to people of the same sex having sex or as you say on Winya – laying with someone of the same sex. I don’t understand why it is such an issue for you, but I respect your views just like I expect you to respect my Satedan views. I don’t need to be attracted to males to support people who are. Such an accusation is specious – would you say that I was a lesbian because I also believe that there is nothing wrong when a female loves and has sex with another female.”

He looked up at the Venerabiles Sodales and said very deliberately, “The only reason why I brought up the point was because I am attracted to females but despite finding the Accusatus abhorrent, his special herb created a sexual attraction that I was unable to ignore and had he ordered me to, I would have laid with him to use Paracletus Hano’s term.

Hano wasn’t ready to let go of the topic though. “So, we should believe you when you say you are not attracted to males then?”

Dex shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. “I don’t see why you have a problem with it but no I am not attracted to males. My promised on Sateda was a woman and my current partner who I have been living with for over three years now is a female too. The only reason I brought it up was to show how absolute the sexual attraction of the herb truly was. Nothing more.”

“You also testified that you almost killed Colonel Sheppard but later you admitted you shot him with your gun, and yet you merely stunned him. Frankly, I find it difficult to believe that you would have killed him. Why should we believe you, Specialist Dex?”

“Because I speak the truth, Paracletus Hano.

“So, you say,” he retorted disdainfully. “I have no further questions for this witness.”

Aaron rose and said, “If the Venerabiles Sodales would permit it, I would like to show them the security footage of Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan and Dr Carson Beckett returning to Atlantis after their mission to M6H-491 to gather the special herb. It shows where Ronon almost shoots Colonel Sheppard.”

Jonas Quinn looked at his fellow tribunal members quizzically. They nodded and he said, “I think it would be very useful to see it.”

Hotch picked up the remote control and clicked on the plasma, finding the specific video, and opening it up.

The video of the gate room showed that the Stargate was lit up and the iris was open. Over comms, Dr Carson Beckett’s voice could be heard shouting, “Atlantis, this is Beckett! We’re coming in hot! At that point Marines could be seen racing into the gate room, their weapons aimed and ready to fire. Three blasts from what was probably a wraith stunner gun came through the gate and impacted against the wall. Lucius Lavin, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, and Elizabeth Weir who were descending the stairs, hit the deck.

Rodney and Elizabeth, were very solicitous to the man accompanying them, immediately making sure that Lucius was unhurt, and then they helped him to stand as they continued down the stairs. Carson Beckett, Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex emerge from the gate at a breakneck speed.

The trio laughed uproariously, including Dex who was running backwards while he fired his blaster weapon into the event horizon. The gun was set to kill since Ronon most emphatically didn’t believe in stunning Wraith.

All three individuals were carrying large bags full of unknown plant material. They turned towards each other giggling like children as the gate shut down. Lavin, McKay, and Weir beamed at them, completely blasé about the danger they were in. Colonel Sheppard was the only one who looked concerned about his people.

Sheppard asked them, “You alright?”

Dex who still had a huge grin on his face, responded, “Yeah, it was a little rough, but we’re good.”

Dr Beckett piped up, wildly enthused, “It was all terribly exciting.”

Sheppard responded wryly. “Well, I guess we can assume there are Wraith on that planet, he said snarkily as he turned to Lucius and glared at the Winyan man.

Teyla smiling widely told him, “Yes. Many.”

Weir interjected, apparently trying to appease the colonel, said, “Now, don’t overreact, John.”

Sheppard did seem to appreciate her contribution. He asked her, “Are you kidding me? You send a team led by Beckett to a planet full of Wraith. How do you expect me to react?”

He clearly was very unhappy about what had happened but seemed to be the only one who was. No one else seemed at all concerned about what had nearly happened.

Weir certainly didn’t seem alarmed or anxious. She said, “ Well, firstly, they volunteered,” as if that fixed everything.

Then Beckett piped up a second time, telling Sheppard, “And secondly, we got the herb!”

At his triumphant declaration Teyla, Ronon and himself held up the bags they were holding. Everybody in the gate room except Colonel Sheppard broke into applause.

Lucius had a grin a mile wide as he said, “Carson, I will tell people the tale of your bravery for many years to come.”

Beckett approached him, looking fit to burst with pride, “You will?”

Lucius nodded. “Yes, I will!” At which point they hugged each other, Lucius pounding Carson’s back with gusto.

Sheppard reacted to Lucius in visible disbelief. “You sent them to get a herb?”

Teyla protested, beaming at everyone, “We wanted to go.”

The colonel was visibly seething as he said, “Ok. I’ve just about had enough.”

He approached the off-world team, obviously intending to grab the bags they were carrying, but Ronon instantly cocked his blaster gun and aimed it at him.

McKay immediately reacted, “Whoa.”

Dex warned off the CO of Atlantis, reacting aggressively, “Don’t touch it!”

At that point, Dr Weir moved toward Ronon and gestured to him to lower his blaster before turning to John. “What on earth is wrong with you, John? We were just helping a friend, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Lucius leant over to Rodney, speaking sotto voce, “ I think there’s something wrong with him.”

Suddenly McKay peered at the Colonel suspiciously, “Hmm,” he said.

By this stage, John seemed to realise he was on his own, that everyone in the room was backing up Lavin. He seemed to think quickly on his feet.

“You know what? I’m just tired. It’s this damned cold, Sheppard turns to Lucius. “I apologise”.

Lucius, knowing he was the victor in that stoush didn’t reply, just grinned at him.

Weir suggested helpfully, “Maybe you should get some rest.”

Sheppard agreed with her saying, “You’re probably right. I just need a good night’s sleep.”

Dr Weir nodded at him, smiling relieved at avoiding a bloodletting. Colonel Sheppard turned to depart the gate room as the Marines stared at him balefully. At the doorway, he turned back to check out the room, only to find everyone watching him intently as he left.

Aaron left the recording of the incident frozen on the frame of the suspicious and malevolent expressions of the Marines under Sheppard’s command, Colonel Sheppard’s team members and Drs Weir and Dr Beckett and the smug self-serving expression of Lucius Lavine for the Venerabiles Sodales to take in at their leisure.

With their eyes still glued to the tableau, he commented conversationally, “I’d say that it is extremely fortunate that Atlantis’s commanding officer had such a strong sense of self-preservation and was so quick to de-escalate a very dangerous situation. In my opinion, the security footage amply demonstrates that Specialist Ronon Dex was not exaggerating when he testified to this tribunal how close he came to killing Atlantis’ commanding officer.

By the time he called 2nd Lieutenant Emilio Navarro to testify, Hotch’s expert witnesses including Dr Bill Lee and a biochemical expert along with Ronan’s testimony had done a sterling job of explaining the insidious nature of how the MCD- 238β, aka Lucius’ special herb worked. Not only did it rob a person of their free will and stop them from rejecting Lavin’s orders, even when they were couched as suggestions, but it also acted as a sexual attractant to anyone exposed to it. It exuded a chemical effect so strong it was able to override an individual’s normal sexual orientation, causing them to fixate on the wearer. It was powerful enough to make those individuals exposed to the drug agree to have intercourse with the wearer of the herb, even when they’d previously refused before they were under the drug’s influence.

So even without being able to stage a real-life demonstration of the effects of MCD- 238β for the tribunal members, Aaron felt like they had done everything they could to mitigate any possible homophobic biases that the members might have arrived in Pegasus with. Now the rest was up to Emilio Navarro, the young Marine.

The cocky young 2nd lieutenant of six years prior had been deeply affected by his run-in with Lavin and had matured into a far less impetuous or brash individual. Navarro, who was now a full lieutenant following a promotion a year or two ago, had immediately agreed to testify against Lavin after he’d been assured by Agent Paddington that it would be a closed court, with the evidence classified. They also informed him that like the other victims, he could testify in camera, and they could pixelate his image if he wanted them to.

Despite DADT being repealed some years ago, Lieutenant Navarro had decided that he would give testimony in camera and take them up on their offer to pixelate his features. As he said, while he was determined to face his attacker, no self-respecting Marine would expose themselves to a firefight without appropriate protective gear and armed weapons to defend themselves. Protecting his identity was just common sense.

He provided corroboration that Dr Monique Girard had indeed politely and emphatically turned down Lucius Lavin’s invitations to have sex with him before she was drugged with the special herb. He then freely admitted that he mocked the older man when he was clumsily trying to seduce a very obviously unwilling Dr Girard. He also conceded that he wanted to humiliate Lavin because he didn’t like the guy. He stated categorically that he had not been sexually attracted to him and it wasn’t until another of his teammates had physically restrained him later on while Lavin breathed on him that he’d suddenly found himself wanting to do anything that Lavin told him to. That was even giving the intruder to Atlantis oral sex when Lavin suggested it might be nice and him feeling happy to do it right up until after he’d received the antidote to the special herb. From that point onwards, Emilio experienced feelings of disgust and shame at what he’d done and a crippling fear that someone would find out about what had happened.

Of course, Tulee Hano with his extreme homophobic views was not moved by the evidence but to be honest, Hotch hadn’t expected him to be. The Winyan council elder was outraged, and quite clearly, not just with Navarro either. He was so disgusted with Lucius for partaking in behaviour he viewed as not just aberrant but highly abhorrent too. It seemed he was so outraged that he refused to even cross-examine Lieutenant Navarro even if he should be trying to defend his cousin’s husband. It seemed as if in this particular incidence of sexual assault, Tulee had drawn a line in the sand and refused to set foot over that line.

Aaron knew it wasn’t professional behaviour on the part of the paracletus, but he wasn’t going to lose any sleep over Hano’s motives in choosing not to cross-examine a witness. Mainly because he already knew that anything Paracletus Hano did say to the bisexual Marine lieutenant would be ugly and hurtful and he was ecstatic to spare his witness any additional humiliation when it came to the likes of Lucius Lavin. As Jonas Quinn thanked Lieutenant Navarro (who, for the duration of his testimony, was referred to as Lieutenant X to protect his anonymity) and told him he was excused from this portion of the hearing, Aaron heaved a sigh of relief that another of Lucius’ victims had finished the ordeal of giving their evidence.

Hotch hoped that the process was as painless as possible for the Marine as Quinn calmly reminded the lieutenant he would be welcome to partake of the Agonium Statement if the Accusatus, Lucius Lavin was adjudged guilty of the charges.

Chapter 15

By this stage of the hearing, all that remained for Hotch was to present Dr Sofie Danziger’s rape but as she was dead and was unable to testify, Sofie’s diary would help Hotch tell her story since she catalogued the multiple attacks on her in the pages of her diary which she hidden in her Teddy bear Tadzio. Captain Laura Cadman and Agent Alex Paddington as the investigators who discovered her diary, Dr Daniel Jackson, who translated the diary from Polish into English and Janae Progenius the IA on Atlantis (who also translated the diary independently of Dr Jackson) would all give expert testimony relating to the diary. Hotch was impressed that Alex had been so thorough in how he approached the translation of the diary – insisting on two people translating it independently so that no one (Lucius Lavin and his paracletus Tulee Hano) could accuse them of colluding. The man was certainly careful about how he gathered evidence and it certainly made Aaron’s job a lot easier.

Also, on Hotch’s list left to testify was Dr Barbara Biro (who’d been on leave from Atlantis at the time Lavin drugged the entire city bar one) who would testify regarding her medical records when she sought medical treatment following Lavin’s attacks as an expert witness. Dr Danziger’s partner Dr Ilsa Meier would be the last to testify, giving evidence about Sofie’s guilt, feeling she had cheated on Ilsa, and the anguish Sofie had endured before she was killed. Not only because she was beside herself with horror when she had learned that Lucius impregnated her but because of the euphoric feelings she’d had when she was drugged which had made her confused, thinking that all of the homophobic bullshit had been right, and she wasn’t a lesbian.

Lucius had been unable to contain his rampant smugness during the presentation of Sofie’s case. He was particularly gleeful about the fact that Sofie, like all of the others had firmly rejected his advances. Sofie explained she was in a relationship with another woman and wasn’t attracted to men sexually. When the tribunal heard how being drugged had not only distressed her but left her confused about not being attracted to men, Lucius had been grinning in jubilation. Hardly a good look for him under the circumstances. If Hotch was his paracletus he’d have admonished him harshly for that behaviour but luckily he wasn’t Tulee Hano.

However, Lavin’s inability to control his gloating was not going down well with the tribunal, but even more crucially, it exacerbated Tulee’s disgust at him as he cross-examined the expert witnesses. And although he supposed that he should feel guilty that Lavin wasn’t getting the best possible defence Hotch found when confronted by Lavin’s total lack of remorse or even a pretence of one, that he didn’t care. Especially if he decided not to cross-examine Dr Meier.

Aaron also felt very angry that Lavin has messed with Dr Danziger so badly. Why hadn’t the doctors and psychologist addressed such obvious trauma issues in the weeks before her death? It was appalling to imagine her inner turmoil in those last weeks of her life.

As Hano got up from his chair to cross-examine Alex, opting to target Dr Danziger’s diary, which they’d anticipated he would as she wasn’t there to be cross-examined. They already knew in terms of evidence that her diary was a lot less robust than the four counts of rape and as soon as Tulee brought up the diary, Alex threw an amused glance at the very serious persequor. It was a ‘told you so’ look and Aaron nodded imperceptibly but the investigator at this point knew him well enough to know he conceded the point.

Hano said, “I’m not sure that we can trust Lantean’s to truthfully translate this so-called diary. After all, it is not as if we can read it when it is written in a language we cannot understand. It could say anything, about anything and we would be none the wiser.”

“There are other people from Poland who are living on Atlantis. I could bring someone to the Odyssey to read it out at the hearing,” Alex offered although it was his least favourite option and General O’Neill’s too. He wanted the whole situation kept quiet until they had ample supplies of the vaccine for everyone.

Tulee smirked. “But how do we know we can trust anyone from your world? They could say whatever they liked, and we would be no wiser than before even if they lie.”

“Janae Progenius isn’t from our world,” Alex objected. “She was created by an Ancestor over ten thousand years ago.”

“The artificial person known as Janae Progenius may have been created by an Ancestor but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t feel loyal to the current inhabitants of the city. I have heard people talking in the eating place about how Janae Progenius worships you, almost like you are her father. I do not think that she is trustworthy either.”

Alex frowned. “Janae Progenius isn’t capable of lying. The artificial intelligence would just refuse to participate if I asked her to lie; she would just refuse to participate.”

Hano smirked. “So, say you. However, I’m not convinced of Janae’ Progenius’ honesty.”

“Who would you be willing to believe,” Alex said, flicking a quick amused glance at Hotch. “Would you be willing to believe an Ancestor if they translated Dr Danziger’s diary, after all, they come from the Pegasus galaxy, Surely their loyalty would be to the truth.”

Hotch mentally rolled his eyes. This was supposed to be a cross-examination by Hano of the investigator, yet Paddington was playing him like a Stradivarius.

Tulee smiled patronisingly. “Well, of course, I would trust the Ancestors if there were any left in the galaxy, but we know that they all left Pegasus a very long time ago,” he said patronisingly, “so I would ask the Venerabiles Sodales to disallow Dr Danziger’s diary being considered as evidence.”

Before Hotch had a chance to object or the Venerabiles Sodales had a chance to respond, Alex jumped in. “But there is an Ancestor in Pegasus and I know she would jump at the chance to see Colonel Sheppard and the Venerabiles Sodales again if we asked her to attend the hearing. And she loves spending time with my daughter, Belle.”

Jonas Quinn interrupted him in delight, “I would certainly welcome spending more time with Chaya Sar before I return to Langara again. I have some questions about the Ancients and their laws that I hope she can answer.”

Hano looked alarmed. “There is an Ancestor here…now? But how can this be? They all left many generations ago,” he protested weakly.

“Most did,” the man who Hano was supposed to be cross-examining told him patiently, “but not all. A few remained although Chaya Sar of Proculus (also known as Priestess Athar) is still in Pegasus, and I’m sure she will agree to translate Dr Danziger’s diary for us if we ask her to. That way, you can be assured that Dr Jackson and Janae Progenius do not deceive us,” he said mildly.

~o0o~

The Paracletus was not exactly a brilliant man, but he had enough common sense to know that he had lost this round. If Agent Alex was able to call on an Ancestor to come to the trial who was friendly with Colonel Sheppard then she was probably not going to be well-disposed to Lucius Lavin, who Tulee freely admitted was an extremely unlikeable individual. It had taken a lot of effort to come up with his objection to the diary, which was written in a language that neither he nor Lucius were able to read. He truly believed he’d come up with the one thing that he could challenge them on, that they couldn’t argue away and now he was stuck in a boggy river unable to get himself out.

He’d already stated to the hearing that he was willing to take the word of an Ancestor for the translation of the Danziger woman’s diary and felt devastated that he hadn’t been able to pull it off. Mainly because he was trying to win at least one battle. When Cousin Filiya pleaded with him to become the paracletus he was violently opposed to the notion, after all, he had been against his younger cousin’s marriage to the man from the beginning, but Filiya would not listen to reason. She’d insisted that she could change his less-than-desirable traits of laziness, craftiness, and arrogance by giving him children. Of course, Filiya had been sadly mistaken, and he’d abandoned her and their children, Jeroze who was a fine boy and sweet little Adrexa the moment he found his miracle herb. And while it was painfully clear that the man was determined to spread his seed far and wide – even it seemed, on the city of the Ancestors – Lucius had no interest in actually caring for his offspring.

Frankly, it was very disturbing to know that there were so many children in Pegasus – eleven Winyan children counting Filiya’s two and now there were two, possibly three here in the City of the Ancestors. While at least Jeroze and Adrexa had a mother of excellent breeding and outstanding moral character, the mothers of the other children could not be said to have the same moral character as his cousin. They had not behaved as females of good character should, cavorting around licentiously with a married man. He didn’t expect anything better of Lucius who had always been reprehensible, but women as the bearers of children must uphold a higher standard of behaviour. He could not overlook the disgracefully wanton and lustful acts they had engaged in with him, despite all their protestations afterwards.

Surely the fact that two of them had allowed themselves to be used for the comfort of those frustrated and disappointed young men, leading to Leoosh Ben nearly dying was further proof that they weren’t of good character. If the rest of the Elder Council had listened to him back when they found the females guilty and not commuted their sentences then the situation would never have happened and Kadin Imo would not be staring at such a grim future, locked up in a prison cell and facing charges that had brought terrible shame on his entire family. Tulee’s wife was the second cousin to Kadin’s father, and it was a tragedy what the family would be going through right now. All because that little floozy Mayuna Pavu and the other five harlots had not been able to resist temptation. And now six fine Winyan families would be forced to endure terrible humiliation, all because the rest of the council was too soft to do what needed to be done five years ago. It was fine to say that Lavin’s offspring needed their mothers, and therefore their sentences should be delayed so they could raise their children. An admirable sentiment Tulee supposed but at what cost for the families of Kadin Imo, Goss Rao, Karn and Edano Wetz, Pato Arlis and Yek Imo, who must be devastated.

And now he was boxed in, trapped by Agent Paddington into having a living Ancestor verify the contents of that stupid immoral woman’s diary. What a complete disaster. The hearing immediately took an adjournment so that Agent Alex could contact the Ancestor whose name was Chaya Sar. And Tulee did not doubt she was going confirm the contents of the diary or Agent Alex would not have been in such a hurry to offer the option in the first place. He’d done his best to get rid of the stupid thing, but he could hardly be blamed for not knowing that there that an Ancestor still alive and living in the Pegasus galaxy. He was sure that no one else on Winya had any idea either.

When Chaya Sar turned up surprisingly quickly after Agent Paddington sent off a message, Tulee was taken aback by how beautiful the Ancestor was and her air of serenity was infectious, he felt like she was utterly trustworthy. Looking over at Lucius, who worshipped beautiful women, he expected the lascivious pervert to be drooling at the sight of her but was shocked to find that Lavin looked terrified of the Ancestor. Tulee wondered why.

~o0o~

When Chaya Sar got the message from Tony they had previously discussed the possibility that she might be needed to verify that Sofie’s diary said what Daniel Jackson and Janae Progenius said that it did. In anticipation of being summoned, she had already gained the permission of her gaolers that she could attend the hearing. In Chaya’s opinion, permission was granted, mostly because the Ascended were anxious to assist Atlantis’ who had a strong desire that John Sheppard’s abductors be severely punished, and they saw Chaya as assisting Atlantis who was a much revered Ancient. That was why she was able to arrive from Proculus in such a timely manner, so the hearing was only delayed for less than an hour.

After her arrival, Chaya didn’t even wait for the Winyans to challenge her as Porteus Kolya had done, she proved her credentials to Lucius Lavin and Tulee Hano, appearing as pure energy to quell any thoughts that she was not a true Ancestor. Tony noticed that when she greeted him and the Venerabiles Sodales in her energy ribbon-like form which was so clearly not human, Lucius Lavin looked as if he was about to fill his pants. Tulee Hano initially looked positively beatific at being in the company of an Ancestor before it occurred to him that she was going to ruin his strategy while Lucius Lavin just looked petrified. Then again, Chaya had passed right through him before she greeted the Venerabiles Sodales and her expression when she returned to her humanoid form had been quite foreboding.

Tony would hazard a guess that she scanned him… read his mind and did not like what she found. He couldn’t exactly blame her though, he thought that Lavin was almost entirely without redeeming features apart from the fact that Jeroze adored his father despite his appalling behaviour. As for Lucius, surely even someone as vile an individual as himself must realise that he would never be capable of fooling someone like Chaya or hiding who he was from her. While he had no way of knowing just how much she despised him for his part in John Sheppard’s imprisonment, surely he must pick up on her disdain of him.

As the hearing got back underway, it was delicious to watch Tulee Hano and Lucius Lavin’s pained expressions as Chaya read out the diary in her clear-as-a-bell voice. Each word was intonated perfectly and somehow it increased the impact of the account Sofie Danziger had chronicled in a way that made it impossible to dismiss. Tony hadn’t factored in the Ancient’s ability to communicate, which appeared to be significant. Certainly, the impact Chaya’s testimony had on Jonas Quinn, Kalan and Ishta was much more substantial than if Janae Progenius or Daniel Jackson could have exerted and he wondered just how much Tulee was regretting objecting to their translations right about now.

When she finished giving testimony, Chaya departed from the Odyssey to head to Atlantis and check up on John Sheppard and Belle, who had promised to teach her how to play the piano the next time they met. Meanwhile, Daniel Jackson and J.P. who had been waiting to give evidence were excused since Chaya had already testified about the translations of Sofie’s diary and Paracletus Hano had already said he would accept the evidence of an Ancestor if there was one. Daniel didn’t seem fazed by the fact that they didn’t require him to give evidence – probably because the content of the diary – well the Lucius Lavin stuff and all the subsequent angst was so damned awful. J.P. wasn’t quite as sanguine about it – the B’Elanna Torres holograph/persona seemed quite miffed not to take part in the hearing.

So, there were just three witnesses left who Aaron planned to call and Dr Biro was first up, testifying about Dr Danziger’s medical records after the sexual assaults. Biro confirmed that she was pregnant and that the preponderance of chance that it was Lucius Lavin’s was high, considering that Sofie had tested positive for a substance that only very recently Dr Biro had been able to identify as a fertility treatment which was consistent with one had been found in the bloodwork of Teyla Emmagan, Miko Kusanagi and Monique Girard. And Barbara pointed out, since Dr Danziger’s lover was Dr Ilsa Meier, it was highly likely that the embryo was Lucius Lavin’s. The forensic doctor also testified that Sofie Danziger had died from a massive overdose of sleeping pills, and even though they weren’t accusing Lavin of murdering her, she was killed because he raped her, and she’d refused to remain silent about it.

When Tulee rose to cross-examine her, he seized on the fact that there was no conclusive evidence Lucius had been the father of her baby. Tulee argued it could have been anyone and Dr Biro said that anything was possible, but that she maintained that the most likely outcome was he’d impregnated her. Then Tulee suddenly changed tack, doing a one-eighty degree turn around, claiming that Lucius had created a highly effective fertility treatment and people should be grateful to him, not punishing him. This resulted in Hotch recalling Tony to the stand, who luckily was still on the Odyssey.

He testified that the fertility remedy which Lavin had given to Miko, Teyla, Sofie and Monique, without their consent, was in truth one which he had stolen from a Winyan healer, Miril Argou, after she’d died, taking credit for her remedy. Then to head off Tulee Hano’s denials, Tony proceeded to play a video of a taped interview he carried out with Zarayl Argou, Miril’s widower who confirmed that her fertility treatment and all the notes on it disappeared after Lucius Lavin visited him following his wife Miril’s death. When he confronted Lucius, accusing him of stealing it, he denied it, but it turned out that there was a small amount in a bottle that had gone unnoticed and Zarayl had agreed that the Lanteans could have it to analyse it. He said that Miril had come up with her fertility remedy to help people to have children but that she would never wish to force anyone to have a baby against their wishes. Argou said Miril would be furious to learn that her work was being used for such dark purposes.

Tony also told the hearing that he’d had an analysis done by Dr Anya Eriksen, a biochemist who was also a forensic specialist, confirming that Miril Argou’s fertility treatment which Zarayl Argou had surrendered Alex was the same substance found in Dr Monique Girard’s and Dr Sofie Danziger’s bloodwork after Lucius Lavin forced them into having non-consensual sex with him. He was quick to point out that although Dr Kusanagi and Teyla Emmagan both reported that he had made them drink something while he was raping them, neither one of them had sought medical treatment for the rapes, feeling too ashamed to admit what he’d done to them. Aaron had Called Dr Eriksen to testify to her findings that the substance in the bloodwork done following his takeover of Atlantis six years ago was an exact match to the substance collected from Zarayl Argou yesterday.

At this point, Tulee Hano decided he was losing badly and to quit while he was behind, refususing the opportunity to cross either Agent Paddington or Dr Eriksen about Miril Argou’s fertility treatment. Ilsa Meier was the final witness, testifying about the mental agony her partner endured following her rape and how she was wracked with guilt because Sofie Danziger viewed the rapes as cheating on Ilsa. After all, Sofie felt that she’d agreed to have sex with him even if she was under the influence of his special herb.

Hotch asked her, “Since Sofie isn’t here, how do you know that she didn’t have consensual sex with Lucius Lavin?”

“Two reasons. I was there with her when he first asked her to have sex and she turned him down flat. She told him she wasn’t attracted to men…any man and that she and I were lovers,” she said.

“How did he handle being rejected,” Aaron wanted to know.

“Well, he joked about her just not finding the right man, one who knew how to give her what she needed, but when she refused him repeatedly even when he flattered her, you could see that he was frustrated and angry.”

“And you’re sure that Sofie wasn’t persuaded by his flattery?”

“No, it was annoying her, and she told him to odwal sei,” she said.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what odwal sie means,” Hotch apologised.

Dr Meier smiled somewhat grimly. “It’s Polish. I don’t speak much Polish, but I know how to swear. Odwal sie it means Piss Off,” she said.

Looking at the Venerabiles Sodales who looked clueless, he said, “And for someone who isn’t from Earth and doesn’t understand what Piss Off means can you explain the term,” Hotch asked gravely.

Ilsa thought about Aaron’s request and said, “It means to get lost! Go away! Stop bothering me or NO!”

“Thank you, Dr Meier. You mentioned that two reasons made you certain that Sofie didn’t willingly have sex with Lucius Lavin,” he asked her, trying hard to get her testimony back on track.

“Because Sofie had confided that before she realised she was not attracted to men sexually she had a couple of encounters with men and was paranoid that she might fall pregnant.”

“Why was that such a problem,” Hotch asked her.

“Because she had been raised in a very religious family and her parents would have been livid if she got pregnant and not married first. So, she was super cautious, made the men she was with double up on the condoms in case they might break so she didn’t get pregnant.”

“It sounds like Sofie didn’t want to fall pregnant,” Hotch commented.

“She absolutely would never have agreed to have unprotected sex with any man, which is how I know she didn’t give consent to Lucius Lavin.”

Aaron also had Ilsa talk about how guilty Sofie said she was for cheating on Ilsa with Lucius Lavin.

“Why did she feel like she was cheating when she had been drugged and forced to have sex?”

“I’m not exactly sure why, but I know she felt confused about the fact she felt happy while she was drugged and that made her feel confused.”

“Confused about what?”

“About how she could feel happy when she was a lesbian and being raped by a man. Confused about how she felt happy being with Lavin when she was in to be in a relationship with me,” she said.

“Did she ever get psychological counselling, especially after she learnt she was pregnant?”

“No, unfortunately,” she said regretfully. “If she had, then her last weeks might not have been as torturous and guilt-ridden.”

Ilsa described the terrible mental suffering she went through before her death and how MCD –238β had messed with her head, not being able to reconcile how if she hadn’t wanted to have sex with Lucius to how she’d suddenly agreed so willingly. As Ilsa spoke about their last weeks’ together where Sofie blamed herself for cheating on Ilsa, no matter how much she reassured her lover that she had been drugged and raped, Sofie was beyond consolable.

Hotch was surprised when Paracletus Hano elected to cross-examine Ilsa, he had hopes that Tulee’s sanctimonious homophobia might save her from having to interact with him. But his questioning was thankfully short and sweet.

He asked her, “Why did you think it was a bad thing for Sofie Danziger to question her vile beliefs she was sexually attracted to females when it went completely against the natural order? Why couldn’t you be happy for Sofie if Danziger had finally seen the light?”

Ilsa answered calmly that because she did love Sofie so much, it had broken her heart to see her in so much emotional pain and confusion. She hadn’t been able to sleep or eat and spent a lot of her final weeks crying.

“If Sofie had decided that she was wrong about being sexually attracted to females and wanted to be with a man and she’d been happy about her decision, then I would have been happy for her,” told the hearing

“Are you sure? Why would you be happy that she wanted to be with a man instead of you,” he asked, his voice dripping with disdain or perhaps it was disbelief.

“Because I loved her, and I would have done anything to make her happy,” Ilsa countered calmly, “but she wasn’t happy.”

Not getting the reaction he expected, Hano grew tired of baiting Dr Meier, particularly when she kept reinforcing how deeply troubled Sofie was in her final weeks of life. That was not something he wanted the Venerabiles Sodales to dwell on.

When the Persequor rested their case, Tulee as he had before, having no real witnesses to rebut the evidence that Hotch had presented, called Lucius Lavin to the stand. As in the previous trials, Lavin was quick to foist the blame on other people; in this case, he claimed it was Dr Weir’s fault for failing to follow through on their security protocol, not allowing unauthorised people onto Atlantis. While Carson Beckett had been under the influence of the ‘special herb’ when he brought Lucius back to Atlantis, Weir wasn’t, and she should have followed her own protocol. Lucius said it wasn’t his fault that she was a poor commander, making it far too easy to take over the City of the Ancestors. It also wasn’t his fault that they’d made it so easy to assess information that they didn’t want outsiders to know about. They should have had more safeguards in place so he couldn’t get access to it.

As to the sexual assaults, the Lanteans were simply making far too much fuss about the whole situation. Physically he hadn’t forced anyone to do anything they didn’t want to. He insisted that his special herb didn’t work like that, it was harmless, blatantly ignoring the mountain of testimony from witnesses who testified to the great harm it caused them and how it did force them to commit acts against their will. He also conveniently ignored the whole issue of deliberately setting out to make his victims pregnant without having their consent.

When Hotch cross-examined him, he had no comebacks so fell back on his assertion that Dr Weir was to blame, just as he’d asserted he didn’t save John Sheppard from Kolya’s goons because he was in fear of his life. Both were pretty poor excuses, and he expected this one to be about as successful as the in fear of his life had been…as in a total flop.

When Aaron started to present his closing argument he took a deep breath. There was so much riding on the verdict in this case – yes he had already been found guilty of participating in the abduction and torture of Colonel Sheppard, which was a relief. Even if this case didn’t go the way they hoped, Lucius Lavin would still be held accountable for his actions and that was a great thing. In a way, it should have lessened the pressure to deliver a guilty verdict in this trial but instead, it heightened everyone’s expectations, including his own. To have him found not guilty would be a terrible blow and he felt an unbearable pressure to deliver justice for the four survivors, Sofia Danziger, and their innocent children. He could only try his best.

Briefly, the Persequor gave a quick summary of the case, reminding the tribunal members of the mountain of evidence that Aaron, Agent Alex Paddington, and Captain Cadman had amassed and presented at the hearing regarding Lucius Lavin’s takeover of Atlantis base and the blatant sexual crimes which he’d committed. Hotch also reminded the tribunal of the crucial intel that Lavin had gathered after drugging the entire population of Atlantis, which could have proved to be incredibly dangerous as the complication with the Personal Protection Shields had demonstrated on Balara. He also underscored Lavin’s plan to receive the gene therapy developed by Dr Carson Beckett, which, had it been successful for him (as it was in 40% of recipients), would have enabled him to use the Ancestor’s technology and potentially, he could have acquired great power in the galaxy.

He reiterated how but for Colonel Sheppard having a head cold, things could have taken a catastrophic turn for the inhabitants of Atlantis due to Lavin’s Special Herb. Ultimately, it would have placed everyone in dire peril with the Wraith because MCD –238β took away an individual’s ability to effectively assess risk. If anyone doubted this statement, he pointed out they only needed to examine the mission by Carson Beckett, Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagan to the planet that Lanteans Atlantis designated as M6H-491 to harvest MCD –238β for Lucius Lavin so he could continue to drug the residents of the city. Effectively it had been a suicide mission and it had very nearly resulted in the city being surrendered to the Wraith, even if the trio in their drugged state, had thought it was all a huge joke.

The persequor concluded with the final candid discussion that took place between Colonel John Sheppard and Lucius Lavin after the most senior military officer and second in charge on Atlantis was captured by Ronon Dex and placed in the detainment cell on the orders of Lucius after he abducted Dr Carsen Beckett. He’d absconded with the chief medical officer so he would detox and be able to complete the vaccine Dr Rodney McKay had started on to counteract the effects of Lucius’ special herb – MCD –238β before the chief scientist had also been drugged. He felt it was worth showing the Venerabiles Sodales once again in this part of the trial before he rested the case.

Up on the screen, the video showed the Atlantis Brig with Colonel John Sheppard in the cell, (sans force field) pacing distractedly. He stopped as the door opened, and Lucius walked in, and he wore an Atlantean communication headset. John rolled his eyes and sat down in the middle of the cell on the ground.

Lucius greeted him, “Good morning, Colonel.” He gestured to the bars of the cell as he walked over. “I want to apologise for this harsh treatment. I hate that Elizabeth had to do this.”

Sheppard told him harshly, “Cut the crap.”

(Lucius grinned at him as he leant onto the bars of the cell.

Sheppard began to engage him, “So … That herb of yours.”

Lucius looked proud. “One of my greatest discoveries. Well, it’s my ‘only’ great discovery, but you’ve got to admit, it’s pretty great.”

Sheppard asked him, “How did you get by before that?”

Lucius responded, “I was a baker. Bread, mostly. The occasional muffin at festival time.”

Sheppard encouraged him to keep talking, “So that herb pretty much changed everything.”

Lucius chuckled quite amused. “Yeah”

At that point, he pulled up a chair and sat down outside the cell. “Yeah, I baked it into my own bread. I like to experiment… and I noticed that people started to like me. Well, hate me less,” he conceded honestly, “but pretty soon it became like. So, I perfected a potion. It worked great for years. Then the wraith set up an outpost on the only planet where I could get the herb. I knew I could never go back there.”

Sheppard pressed him, “ ‘Til we showed up.”

Lucius gave him a beatific grin. “I’m telling you, it was fate. And everybody wanted to help, so I let them. See, that’s the great thing about this herb. Nobody gets hurt. They just want to help me all the time. What’s wrong with that? I’m a nice guy. I never make them do anything they didn’t wanna do.”

“Six wives,” John pointed out sarcastically.

Lucius raised his eyebrows and smiled lasciviously at Sheppard. “Sometimes all at once.”

At which point Colonel Sheppard looked as if he was trying not to vomit at that particularly lurid confession.

Lucius stood up, telling him conspiratorially, “You know when you get over this cold, you and I are gonna have a long chat, face to face, and I’ve got a feeling we’re gonna become the best of friends, and you’re gonna want to help me, too, all the time.” He gave the colonel a huge grin, “And you’ll love it,” he vowed.

Sheppard reacted to the threat with one of his own. “Just a warning, Lucius… you get too close to me, it’ll be the last thing you do.”

Lucius didn’t seem too concerned. “That’s alright, Colonel. I’m in no rush.”

Dr Carson Beckett could be heard speaking over the radio.

Lucius activated his headset before responding. “Yeah, go ahead, Carson.

Beckett told him, “I’ve finished preparing the inoculation.”

Lucius responded to Beckett, “Alright, I’ll be right down.” He told Colonel Sheppard, “I’ve got to go get an inoculation. We’ll talk after.”

Sheppard asked, “He’s giving you the A.T.A. therapy?”

Lucius said, “ Yeah!” He leant down and smirked at the colonel, “Isn’t that great,” before stalking out triumphantly.

Aaron purposefully left the tape frozen with his exiting the Brig. You could see the angry frustration on Colonel Sheppard’s face which was what he wanted the members of the tribunal to remember. This was what his victims had to endure.

~o0o~

It had been a drawn-out trial and so it wasn’t unexpected that the Venerabiles Sodales would take their time considering the wealth of evidence which had been presented but still, everyone remained on tenterhooks until finally, they were notified that a judgement had been reached. Not all that surprisingly, there was quite a mixed bag of emotions experienced by the individuals who assembled to hear the verdict. Among the people who came together were those who’d been involved in the arduous investigation, as well as the people who took part in preparation and planning for the tribunal and of course, many of the witnesses and victims such as Ilsa Meier, John Sheppard and Teyla Emmagan, Barbra Biro, and Aoife O’Shea. Some of the victims chose not to be present in the chamber but they wanted to watch the verdict remotely, so multiple cameras were set up in the chamber and they crowed into the in camera room to hear the verdict.

When the verdict by the Venerabiles Sodales was announced that the Interplanetary Tribunal for Justice after due deliberations, found that on the multiple counts of rape against each of the following personnel: Teyla Emmagan, Miko Kusanagi, Monique Girard and Sofie Danziger and two counts of sexual assault against Emilio Navarro, the Accusatus Lucius Lavin, he was found to be guilty, the chamber erupted in mass jubilation. Jonas Quinn then went on to remind everyone that for the first part of the case, Lucius Lavin had also been found guilty of piracy, trespass, the unlawful drugging of over five hundred residents of the city of Atlantis, reckless endangerment, spying, and accessing of classified information there was much elation.

While the reaction within the tribunal chamber was for obvious reasons, more muted and decorous within the tribunal chambers, it was far less muted for the occupants of the in-camera room. There had been wild scenes of unbridled joy, hugging, whooping, and cheering by some. Furthermore, if some people shed copious tears of relief, then no one batted an eyelid. Aaron and Alex exchanged looks of exhausted relief after putting so much of themselves into getting justice for the victims of Lavin’s heinous crimes.

Now, all that was left to do was to inform the victims of the crimes that were his victims of their opportunity to make an Agonium – a statement expressing the impact which his crimes had had on them and express their opinion about his sentence. Given the fact that he’d drugged everyone on Atlantis for his nefarious purposes, the Venerabiles Sodales and the Decerno had determined that only those individuals who he’d sexually assaulted, and/or their partners would be able to make an Agonium, in addition to Colonel Sheppard for Lavin’s part in his abduction and incarceration. When Hotch suggested that the three victims of the mission he’d sent to MCD –238β to harvest more of his ‘special herb’ herb also be permitted to make an Agonium, after a brief consultation the tribunal agreed to the request. After all, Dr Beckett wasn’t on Atlantis, so they were only talking about Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagan and she was already making a statement.

When Jonas Quinn suggested that they could begin hearing contributions from the various parties after a brief recess before rendering judgement, Lavin’s paracletus stood up and objected. “Venerabiles Sodales, I will need to return to Winya to inform his family, Madame Lavin, his mother, Filiya Lavin his wife and his son Jeroze and daughter Adrexa of the verdict. They may or may not wish to take part in this portion of the hearing, to perhaps speak to what punishment they would hope to see for their son, husband, and father.”

After consulting with the two other Venerabiles Sodales, Quinn granted his request, stating that they would reconvene tomorrow morning at 0900. “We agree that his family should have an opportunity to appear before the tribunal.”

Tulee Hano who had remained standing, responded, “My thanks Most Venerable Members on behalf of the Lavin family.”

As Hano made to sit down again, Jonas spoke. “And Paracletus Hano, we would have you pass a message to the other Winyan Council of Elders: Magistrate Wodren Drell, Ando Jeet, Abo Trewe and Gerde Yemel. Please inform them the Interstellar Court will be hearing the appeal to overturn the conviction of the former Winyans: Willa and Heleen Upo, Ota Ben, Neese Luta, Mayuna Pavu (deceased) and Lahn Yeeps, as petitioned by Halling and the Athosian resident, Yas Yeeps on behalf of the residents of New Athos.”

Kalan took up the conversation at this point “The Interstellar Court recognises that the Winyan Council of Elders may wish to be present during the appeal. We will be making a ruling based on any new evidence that may be tendered, along with evidence which has already been submitted by the appellants and relevant testimony we’ve already heard in Lucius Lavin’s two preceding trials from expert witnesses,” he informed the Paracletus before dismissing the hearing until tomorrow.

Chapter 16

When he was informed that the Tribunal was preparing to hear the evidence against the five Winyan females who lay with Lucius Lavin and were found guilty of adultery, Tulee Hano scowled. He knew what some of the new information was likely to be – the attack on Leoosh Ben and the appalling behaviour of Ota Benn and Neese Luta tempting those poor young men. He had little doubt that the blame would be spun to make them seem like monsters and he was right, in part. Hotch would present Kadin Imo as the criminal he was, but Hano had not been read in on Kadin Imo’s part in the violent rape of Mayuna Pavu and her subsequent miscarriage. Tony and Rossi had been keeping that information quiet and planned to inform the Elder Council just before the Appeal.

Tulee was most disgruntled by the fact that Yas Yeeps had already left Winya with his daughter and grandchildren, requesting asylum with the Athosians who had granted it eagerly. Now Yas had encouraged the other four harlots to leave Winya to escape lawful punishment. As if that wasn’t enough, the leader of New Athos appealed their conviction to the Interstellar Tribunal, claiming it to be unlawful, and requested the convictions and the death sentences be overturned. They argued that the women were victims who had been unable to control themselves because they were drugged. Based on the fact the Venerabiles Sodales had already found Lucius Lavin guilty of a huge number of crimes, he feared they would look sympathetically on those former Winyan women who’d cavorted with Lucius while Tulee’s cousin Filiya had been desperately trying to feed and clothes Jeroze and Adrexa.

He was forced to admit that opinions towards the whores seemed to be softening, especially after the attack on Leoosh Benn and the scandal surrounding Oto Benn and Kadin Imo. That and the impassioned defence of them from the famed Satedan Warrior Ronon Dex, Agent Paddington and his highly esteemed boss, Thomas Magnum had helped shift opinions. Even Tulee’s cousin, Filiya, who had been grievously wronged by them was now inclined to accept the excuse that the women were unfortunate victims, not willing participants. And he supposed that these descendants of the Ancestors, who’d come back to Pegasus from a distant galaxy to occupy the City of the Ancestors were certainly powerful, after all, they could control the Ancestors’ technology so easily.

Plus, looking around this magnificent ship that they’d built was many times larger than the biggest Winyan town and capable of flying vast distances and carrying many people and goods. That included the items which travelled from their galaxy to Pegasus and ended up being given to Filiya for her textile business. It was hard not to be impressed by their ingenuity and technology. They were even able to beam people up and down to the Ancestor’s city as if by magic.

Tulee also recognised the fact that the Lanteans were paying the farmers of Winya to cultivate and harvest a crop of Enchuri for them, which would bring much-needed income to Winya. The contract negotiated, which he must admit, was more than generous, was that the Winyans would be paid in goods such as farm equipment and seeds. They’d also agreed to pay the Winyans in goods that they could trade with other planets, including several spices and salt which were sought after as preservatives. So, with such generous trading partners as the Lanteans, Hano felt like no one was too eager to cause any ill will, even if the Athosians who were strong allies of the Lanteans had readily agreed to give refuge to the Winyan whores and their offspring. It seemed as if he was the only one who was prepared to protest, the rest were too eager to remain on good terms with the descendants of the Ancestors.

As far as Lucius’ trial was concerned, however, Tulee was rather fed up with Filiya’s husband. He was a horrible person, and they probably should have just sentenced him to death instead of exiling him. The man was quite clearly incapable of sticking to a bargain after he’d given his word not to have anything more to do with his blasted special herb. If he’d been man enough to keep his word, then it was unlikely that Colonel Sheppard would have spent months being held captive and tortured. That abuse had been what had started Agent Paddington’s investigation into the whole sordid affair, which found there were five Lanteans victims, although Teyla Emmagan was officially an Athosian. He’d discovered this truth, while he was acting as Paracletus for that pathetic pile of burdle dung, otherwise known as Lucius Lavin, that Teyla Emmagan was the former leader of Athos. She had stood down as leader of Athos to join the Lanteans in fighting the Wraith; she was most definitely not someone Burdle Dung should have singled out and impregnated.

So, with time a critical factor for the resumption of the tribunal tomorrow, he hadn’t hung about bothering to offer words of comfort to Lucius, he’d merely indicated that the guards should return the Accusatus to his cell in the Odyssey’s Brig. Nor did he intend on wasting sympathy on the buffoon, either. He’d agreed to argue his case, not because he believed Lucius was innocent – he wasn’t – although Tulee also didn’t believe that the women were victims either. He was sure if Lucius had tried to order Tulee to lay with him, he would have refused to have anything to do with him, drugged or not drugged. Unfortunately, it seemed that few people agreed with him that the victims should have resisted – rather than submit to the debauchery they participated in. Still, Tulee Hano considered himself a realist, and he knew that at this point, there was little he could do to change other people’s attitudes.

He also knew that he was more or less powerless to stop the other Winyans’ softening their opinions about the victims, so there was little to be gained by him fighting a lost cause. Even Wodren Drell’s stance as Magistrate had shifted ground rather substantially. However, at the urging of Filiya, he had taken on the role of Lucius’ paracletus to ensure he received a fair hearing of his numerous and horrific crimes. By this stage, even though she was furious with her husband for what he’d done – abandoning her and the children and equally as unforgivable he suspected, humiliating her for younger women and creating more children that he proceeded to neglect as well, she was greatly concerned about her children’s reaction. Not that Lucius seemed particularly concerned for Jeroze and Adrexa or the numerous offspring he seemed to have spawned like frogs. Oh, Tulee had a feeling Lucius was mighty proud of impregnating so many attractive females, seeing it as a sign of his virile masculinity but that was as far as it went. As far as Hano knew, he’d ignored all of them. Even Jeroze and Adrexa he mostly ignored, except if he wanted them to wait upon him and he expected them to fawn all over him.

Unfortunately, Filiya’s two children, who she’d done an admirable job of raising almost single-handedly, adored their father. As unfathomable as that was to Tulee, he had agreed to act as Lucius’ paracletus solely for their sake. If their father was found guilty (which he had been) Tulee wanted to be able to look them in the eyes and tell them honestly that their father had received a fair trial and that he had been judged fairly He was also no one’s fool, he knew that there was a strong possibility that Lucius would receive the death penalty for his numerous crimes. Seriously, what had he been thinking, taking over the City of the Ancestors like that? Too arrogant to see that aiding those Genii thugs in capturing and torturing Colonel Sheppard and impregnating the former leader of the Athosians was too stupid to be believed, yet he’d gone and done it.

Tulee felt no sympathy for Lucius whatsoever – he’d brought it on himself, but he felt sorry for the son and daughter who inexplicitly loved him. And he felt that the only ones who had a shot of saving him from receiving the death penalty at this stage might just be his children. So, he needed to race back to Winya to rally Filiya into trying to mitigate his sentence, or at least to permit Jeroze to plead for mercy on his family’s behalf. It was the only thing left that he could do for them.

The Winyan Elder requested that his security escort return him to the City of the Ancestors speedily so he could speak to Agent Paddington or his superior Thomas Magnum to arrange his return to Winya at the earliest possible time, however, it seemed that Agent Paddington was one step ahead. He and Thomas Magnum had been in the chamber to hear the Venerabiles Sodales’ decision and knew that he was planning to return home to break the news to his cousins and determine if they wished to plead on Lucius’ behalf.

Thomas told him gravely that they both appreciated all he had done for Lucius for the sake of Lavin’s children and that they doubted anyone could have brought in any other judgement but guilty given the weight of the evidence against Lucius.

“Don’t blame yourself, Elder Hano, the evidence against Lucius Lavin was overwhelming.”

“I agree with Mr Magnum, there was, unfortunately, no real chance of any other verdict. I know young Jeroze is going to be devastating but that was always going to be so,” he said shaking his head.

“At least with you as his father’s Paracletus, young Jeroze can take comfort in the fact that if it was possible to save him, you would have done so. While that may not help him now, as he grows up, I’m sure he’ll take it will be a source of comfort for him and Adrexa,”

Tulee sighed, still feeling bad about the outcome for the children’s sake. “I do hope you are right, Agent Alex. He looked at both men shrewdly. “I take it by the way you are speaking that you think that the Venerabiles Sodales will impose the death penalty on him?”

Both men shook their heads. “It does appear to be a possibility,” Agent Alex said gravely.

Thomas Magnum agreed.” No one can say for certain how the Venerabiles Sodales might decide to go, but it isn’t looking good in my opinion.”

“However, should the decision go against him we have arranged for suitable family quarters to be prepared for them next door to your own if they decide to come to Atlantis,” the ISBI agent informed Tulee kindly.

Tony felt genuine concern for Jeroze and Adrexa and felt compassion for Filiya too.

As they entered the transportation room, he shot the pair a grateful look. “Thank you both. You have always been very kind to Filiya, and the children and I am certainly grateful for that. As is she,” he told them just before they were beamed back down to the great City of the Ancestors.

Feeling a buzzy sensation Tulee checked to make sure all of his parts were where they should be, as Thomas Magnum joked to Alex, “I wonder, will I ever get used to being beamed up and beamed down?

He chuckled, and said, yeah I know what you mean.

Tulee looked at them questioningly. “Is this not your technology then?”

Alex answered, “No it was given to us a few years ago by an ancient and very technologically advanced race, who unfortunately like the Ancestors became too arrogant and ended up becoming extinct. So, before they died out, they shared beaming technology and various other inventions that they had developed over the millennia because we had become great Allies of theirs after they met our boss, Lieutenant General Jack O’Neill, “he explained as they walked out of the gate room towards Tulee’s quarters, even though a Marine corporal had been assigned to escort him, and he trailed along behind.

“Oh, but I thought that Thomas Magnum was your boss,” he said.

Exchanging an amused look at Agent Paddington, Thomas said dryly, “Yes I am, but Lieutenant General O’Neill is my boss too, and also Colonel Sheppard’s and every military person. Ultimately, he is senior to Ambassador AuClair too. He is also in charge of the bases back on Earth, so you see, he is very powerful and important,” he said.

Alex nodded. “We had to seek his approval before we could offer to help the Winyans to discover why your female birth rate is declining and male births are rising so fast.”

“Yes,” Thomas agreed. “We don’t want another race becoming extinct, the extinction of the Asgards and the Wraith wiping out races in Pegasus like the Haff… ” he looked at Alex.

“The Hoff,” he supplied helpfully.

“Yes the Hoff, is already too great of a tragedy,” Thomas said sombrely as they arrived outside Tulee’s temporarily assigned quarters. “Well… we will leave you to ready yourself for the journey home, Tulee. Corporal Hadley will take it from here, but since you will be returning to Atlantis again later today, feel free to leave extra clothes here in your room. They will not be disturbed. Oh… and should any of the other members of the Elder Council wish to accompany you back here for the hearing of the appeal to overturn the conviction of Neese Luta, Ota Benn, Heleen and Willa Upo, Lahn Yeeps and Mayuna Pavu, we will prepare VIP quarters for them too.”

“VIP? I am not familiar with that word – what does it mean,” Tulee frowned.

“It is an acronym which is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and then pronounced as a new word. VIP stands for very important people or a person,” Agent Alex explained to him politely. “Just as ISBI is an anacronym which stands for the Interstellar Bureau of Investigation.”

Tulee Hano nodded gratefully. “I see. Well again, thank you for your hospitality and your kindness to Filiya and her children. I know it is not because you feel kindness toward Lucius.”

Thomas nodded. “No that is true. He brought everything on himself through the actions he chose. But we are not in the habit of blaming victims and Filiya, Jeroze and Adrexa have no blame for what he did and yet they have been made to suffer too. We are just trying to help support them in any way we can. Like we are trying to support our own people who have suffered greatly at his hands.”

~o0o~

Ten days later Tony convened a meeting to bring everyone together who had helped bring Lucius Lavin to justice. His intention was for it to be a debriefing. He also wanted to acknowledge all of the invaluable help everyone provided in what had been a complex and extremely complicated investigation. At the start of the case, it had just been himself and the Head of Base Security to carry the load, although gradually the number of base personnel had swelled quite markedly, and his agency staff increased three-fold. First Tobias Fornell joined the ranks as an experienced investigator for the ISBI, then Nikola Bates as the head of their intelligence and analysis division, as well as being the only analyst assigned to Atlantis so far. The most recent and surprising addition was SSA David Rossi, who was going to work part-time for both the FBI and the ISBI and Tony was thrilled to have someone of his experience and skills on board.

Meanwhile they had all stepped up to vindicate one of their own. Rossi, Hotch who had also consulted and Tony, along with Penelope Garcia working back in DC at Homeworld plus Nikki’s analyst skills on Atlantis, had all been working together on the case that had seen Fornell’s impressive FBI career come crashing down on him, forcing him to resign. The reopening of an old case with Gabriele Hicks had come right in the middle of a horror stretch of life events for the veteran agent. First, he had been planning on remarrying his ex-wife Diane Sterling who was killed violently because of her connection to Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Sergei Mishnev had wanted Gibbs to suffer, so Mishnev had killed Diane as payback as he was under the mistaken belief that Gibbs had killed his half-brother, Ari Haswari. Unfortunately, Ziva had killed Ari, her half-brother on her father’ Eli David’s orders because he’d lost control over his son.

Fornell had not handled Diane’s death well at all and soon after, he resigned from the FBI (before they fired him) when a serial murder case against Gabriel Hicks was overturned on appeal. Ducky conducted fresh autopsies on the victims and proved that the person who’d been convicted, Gabriel Hicks wasn’t the killer, which was when the MCRT discovered that Fornell, who’d been the agent of record in the original investigation had failed to inform the district attorney he had eyewitness testimony casting doubt on Hicks being the killer who was then exonerated during a retrial. If losing his ex-wife (who was also his fiancée) and his longstanding and illustrious career wasn’t bad enough, Tobias lost his and Diane’s only child, Emily to the scourge of drug addiction. It was more than most people could cope with, and Tony had not been convinced that Hicks wasn’t the serial killer, trusting Fornell’s instincts, even if he’d done the wrong thing in withholding evidence because it was prejudicial to his case.

At Tony’s suggestion, the three profilers had independently of each other, drawn up a profile on the killer. Tony felt it was an excellent opportunity to test his skills and see how he stacked up against two absolute legends in the field. Once they’d compared their profiles of the killer, with his being comfortingly similar to Dave’s and Hotch’s, it became apparent that they’d all found anomalies between the killer’s profile and their execution of the kills, which had led them to conclude that the killer had an accomplice helping him. That would account for Ducky finding evidence of a left-handed killer when Hicks was righthanded. Plus, it would explain why the witness claimed to see a dark-skinned man when the FBI’s chief suspect was Caucasian.

So armed with the new profile of a Caucasian male and an African American male working in cahoots, it wasn’t too long before Garcia and Nikki had vindicated Fornell and also verified Dr Mallard’s autopsy findings by tracking down the second murderer. While Tobias would have a permanent censure on his personnel file for failing to disclose the eyewitness’s testimony, even though he believed her to be mistaken, he hadn’t sent an innocent person to jail. Tony didn’t excuse his lapse, although as an exceptional investigator, he was also extremely aware of how notoriously unreliable eyewitness accounts were in wrongful convictions. Most people would be amazed at how often well-meaning and helpful witnesses to crimes got it wrong.

After they’d cleared the way for Fornell to return to the FBI if he wanted to, and he’d decided to remain on Atlantis where people didn’t know about him, Diane or Emily, Tony was happy too. With Fornell merely receiving a slap on the wrist over failing to turn over the evidence, it meant that he could supervise trainees and with Amelia Banks due to start FLETC in three weeks, they would soon have a probationary agent who needed to be supervised. Tony had also received several applications for junior agents that he would evaluate, along with Nikki’s ex-husband Rick Travis Bates. The ISBI was growing in leaps and bounds despite all of the security issues attached to having to hire personnel to work in a far-flung galaxy on a base that most people would never be cleared to know existed, and Tony was looking forward to the future.

However, for most of the Lucius Lavin investigation, he’d had to cobble together a rag-tag group of individuals. For instance, to interview and record witness testimony of the Winyan victims after learning about the fate of Mayuna Pavu, he’d recruited Major Teldy’s fantastic all-female team who were as outraged at the treatment of the victims as he was. Aoife O’Shea, Barb Biro, Daniel Jackson, Amelia Banks, and Vala Mal Doran had also been invaluable interviewers of the Winyan victims. Looking at them all clustered around, it struck him what a diverse group of people they all were and yet, how well they had all come together to ensure that justice was done. He also hoped that it wouldn’t be necessary to pull together such a disparate team again since it wasn’t likely they would ever have such a complicated case to investigate again, but each one of the team had been priceless, in terms of the skills they’d brought to the case.

When he had first uncovered the drugging of the base and the non-consensual attacks on Teyla, he had no idea how large and complex the case would grow, but he’d promised her that he’d make sure she received justice. He felt overwhelming gratitude that these people in the room had helped him keep his promise and not just to Teyla but for all of the silent promises he’d made to every other victim of Lucius Lavin.

During the sentencing phase of the hearing, when Lavin had been found guilty of every single count of the crimes that he and Hotch had charged him with, for the crimes he’d committed on Atlantis and his role in John Sheppard’s abduction and torture, Tulee Hano had returned to Atlantis with Filiya and her two kids in tow. His wife had flatly refused to testify on her husband’s behalf, insisting that she wasn’t a hypocrite, and she felt her husband should face the full consequences of his actions. She did grudgingly allow Jeroze to speak up for his father, purely because he begged for her permission, However Filiya ruled out any possibility that Adrexa would be permitted to speak to the tribunal. Filiya argued that the nine-year-old wasn’t even two years old when her father abandoned the family, and it was doubtful that she even remembered him living with them. Jeroze at twelve years did at least remember them living as a family and he wanted to speak in defence of his father, even if he couldn’t fully understand the seriousness of all of the charges he’d been convicted of.

Lucius was disappointed that no one but Jeroze volunteered to speak up for him, he naturally had expected Tulee as Filiya’s cousin would do so, but Hano declined. He’d told Tony and Dave Rossi, aka Agent Alex and Thomas Magnum that he’d been candid with his cousin’s husband, telling Lucius that he quite honestly despised him for abandoning his family and for neglecting to provide for every other child he’d spawned. He’d also told Lavin that he considered that he’d done his familial duty to him by agreeing to be his Paracletus for two trials defending him for crimes Tulee found abhorrent. There was no way Hano was going to stand up and plead for the Venerabiles Sodales to show mercy…not for the likes of Lucius Lavin.

So, the hearing had opened with a parade of people who Lucius Lavin had harmed and who had welcomed the opportunity to express their opinions on how he should be punished after he was found guilty by the Interstellar Court. Unsurprisingly, John Sheppard, Monique Girard, Teyla Emmagan, Lieutenant Emilio Navarro, Miko Kusanagi, Radek Zelenka and Dr Ilsa Meier had accepted the Tribunal’s invitation to give an Agonium Statement. Likewise, no one had been particularly surprised that most of the participants had called for the death penalty to be imposed on Lucius Lavin.

Considering the number of serious charges Lavin had been convicted of, the Venerabiles Sodales felt that the victims’ arguments were valid. Plus, factoring in the crimes he had previously been convicted of during his previous trial regarding the abduction, incarceration, and horrendous torture of Colonel Sheppard, Kalen, Jonas, and Ishta felt that the imposition of the death penalty was reasonable.

Then Jeroze Lavin stood up to plead for his father’s life to be spared. He’d made an eloquent and heartfelt plea to spare Lucius’ life, not just for his father’s sake but for himself and his nine-year-old sister. He explained that Adrexa never really had a chance to know their father, having been a toddler when he left them after finding his special herb. Jeroze had argued that it was the special herb, which was the true culprit, that while it made others obedient and wanting to please his father, it made Lucius behave wickedly. Then Jeroze argued that punishing him by sending him to prison for a long time would teach him how wrong he’d been.

While it was a creative explanation for Lavin’s appalling behaviour, none of the Venerabiles Sodales honestly believed that it explained or excused his actions, but it was also incredibly difficult to reject the earnest and genuine love of the young boy for his father. Although Tony figured that it was more the idea of a father that Jeroze loved than the actual man. He understood, also having a father when he was growing up who neglected and rejected him, sometimes he’d outright abused him before finally wiping his hands of Tony for decades. Yet the young Anthony DiNozzo continued to hero worship his father, despite his sometimes larcenous activities. So yeah, Tony knew a thing or two about loving the ‘idea of a father’ as opposed to the reality of loving the man.

Jeroze’s emotional plea had appeared to have deeply touched Jonas Quin, Kalen, and Ishtar and as illogical as it seemed, the Venerabiles Sodales looked as if they were going to genuinely consider the option of imprisonment. And Tony was not immune to the power of the young boy’s devotion to his dad – he’d become quite fond of the kid, even during the short time on Winya when Jeroze had helped him to arrest Lucius. That said, as much as Tony was no fan of the death penalty, he was convinced that in Lavin’s case, he was a real genuine sexual predator. Even without that ‘special herb’ of his, Tony believed if he had the slightest opportunity to prey on young vulnerable women and girls, he would continue to do so because he was a sociopath. Factoring in all the information Lucius had acquired when he was on Atlantis, he was one extremely dangerous individual.

However, Tony had acknowledged that it wasn’t his call to make. He did wonder, however, if just like he’d inherited certain abilities from Senior, perhaps Jeroze did too. For instance, Tony’s innate ability to create invaluable social networks, read other people’s tells, and even Tony’s ability to assume undercover personas were abilities that he’d inherited from Senior, even if, unlike his father, Tony had used those gifts to help others rather than for personal gain. Could the young and earnest boy’s ability to form meaningful connections with people who then wanted to do his bidding perhaps be something he’d inherited from his sperm donor?

Fortunately, like Tony, Jeroze seemed to have empathy and he quite obviously cared a lot about his mother and sister as well as his misguided loyalty to his father. However, before the Venerabiles Sodales had had a chance to begin deliberating on Lavin’s sentence, some unexpected occurred. Thomas Magnum’s network of informants which he begun cultivating many months ago, began reaching out to him with extraordinary news.

It seemed that when Tulee Hano returned to Winya with news of the verdict that Lucius had been found guilty on all counts and might be sentenced to death, word had somehow gotten out. As they’d been trying to keep information about his special herb on the down low and also protect the identities of his victims, publicity about the hearing had been restricted. But when Tulee returned with the news there had been a trader from another planet there to trade with Filiya Lavin for her yarn and fabric, and he’d carried the news about Lavin’s troubles back home with him.

From that point, the news spread like wildfire to various planets who he traded with after he found the special herb on M6H-491. Suddenly, women he’d drugged, forcing him to have sex with him began coming out of the woodwork demanding their own chance to be heard. That there were other victims on the planets he’d traded with, hadn’t exactly come as a big surprise to Tony, having always maintained that there would be more victims since Lucius Lavin was a serial rapist.

By the time three women came forward from Mahnan, which was the planet where Joseph Favre had betrayed Colonel Sheppard to Porteus Kolya’s thugs, five women who were formerly from Belara before it was wiped out by the Wraith and two young women from Latira were all clamouring for their justice too, Lavin’s goose had been cooked. Any thoughts that the Venerabiles Sodales may have briefly entertained on rehabilitation and clemency for the sake of Adrexa and Jeroze Lavin had well and truly flown out the window.

After a period of deliberation, they reached the fairly obvious conclusion that these new victims could very easily be just the tip of a very large iceberg and so they announced that he would be sentenced to death for his crimes. In the end, the whole iceberg analogy proved to be quite prophetic. Even while they were announcing their decision, two more women had come forward and as the news continued to travel around the Pegasus galaxy, Tony expected even more individuals to come forward. And as many victims who chose to admit to being raped by Lucius Lavin, Tony, Tobias, Hotch, and Rossi all agreed that there would be still more victims who’d choose, for a variety of reasons, to never go public about having been raped.

By this point in the proceeding, the Venerabiles Sodales of the Intergalactic Tribunal were eager to carry out their sentence as quickly as possible. They briefly canvassed the possibility of carrying out the sentence immediately, disgusted by the sexual serial predator and wanting to wash their hands of his filth as soon as possible. However, it was Kalan who reminded them that they had given a previous undertaking that they would hear the Winyan victim’s appeal first.

The tribunal having granted the Lantean victims the chance to confront Lavin, the Venerabiles Sodales felt that it was only honourable for the Winyan victims to be given the same opportunity of finding justice even if it was belated. Especially since they’d been pronounced guilty and given a much harsher sentence that Lucius had been by the Winyan Council of Elders, they deserved the chance to confront him, just as the Atlantis victims had. That was why they scheduled the appeal to be heard the next day and reluctantly planned for Lucius’ sentence to be carried out the day after the appeal was concluded.

Now with victims turning up left right and centre and wanting justice too, Jonas, Ishta and Kalan were sympathetic, understanding that the victims from other planets wanted an opportunity to face him too. That said, the Venerabiles Sodales also needed to return to their own worlds as soon as practical. At the rate that victims kept turning up, realistically, it could easily continue for days, weeks, even months and that was time they couldn’t afford to be away from their own planets, especially since they were keen to launch their own vaccine programs against Lavin’s mind control substance.

However, delaying his sentence for another 24 hours would allow Lucius some extra time to make his peace with his family, they rationalised. Tony figured that there was a slim chance that Madame Lavin would want to see her son one last time and decided to ask Wodren Drell to consult her. She had accepted the offer and they had brought her to Atlantis where she had comported herself with a great deal more decorum and grace than her son who was not as smug anymore. In truth, Lucius fell apart after his sentence was announced by the Venerabiles Sodales. Like most narcissists, Lucius seemed to believe that he could escape consequences for his actions, probably since he’d managed to do so up to this point in time. Plus, he was a grifter par excellent and had seen the effect of Jeroze’s plea for his life on the tribunal. Although no one had anticipated that the news about his guilty verdict would leak, spreading around the galaxy like wildfire or that his victims would suddenly start coming out of the woodwork. No one had seen that coming.

It also hadn’t stopped him from trying to save himself right to the end. He’d even tried using emotional blackmail with his so-called five surviving wives. Fortunately, ever since they’d been held in protective custody in the City of the Ancients and Lahn’s father offer to adopt them all as his family, the five mothers of Lucius’s children had become begun to develop a sense of outrage over their treatment. They had all refused to fall for his manipulations and the Lanteans were so proud of them.

Perhaps it had something to do with the work that Drs O’Shea and Nkusi were doing with them to support and help them deal with the trauma they’d all been living with during the past six years. Being on Atlantis, even though it was a very foreign environment for them may have helped too. Of course, having the Lanteans treat them as normal rather than tainted second-class citizens also could have gone some way towards helping to turn their poor self-esteem around. Whatever had started their awakening, they were able to recognise Lucius Lavin’s pleas to meet him one last time with their children for what it was – a blatant attempt by a desperate criminal to manipulate them. As Willa had commented shrewdly, he’d never shown the slightest wish to interact with any of them before this point.

Then there was the appeal of the Winyan’s Elder Council verdict that the six Winyan females, Lahn Yeeps, Willa and Heleen Upo, Ota Benn, Mayuna Pavo and Neese Luta were guilty of depraved and unchaste behaviour, adultery leading to Lavin abandoning his lawful family, multiple acts of group sex and public sex and various morality charges. In the end, while it was a painstaking process by the Interstellar Tribunal the appeal itself was not overly complicated. Aaron and Tony had already compiled massive amounts of evidence from the rest of their investigation, and they had just presented it again.

Perhaps the most important part of the process had been the opportunity given to the five surviving victims to tell their own stories and for Yas to testify before the Venerabiles Sodales as to what he witnessed, particularly Lavin’s constant pursuit of Lahn while he was married to Filiya. Even when Lahn was still a child and Yas had unfortunately always taken it as a joke until it was too late. All five of his so-called wives had been eager to tell their stories and thanks to the interviews that Tony and his team had done, they were all somewhat comfortable sitting down in front of a camera. Most of them chose to give testimony in camera with Yas as their support person, although Willa stubbornly insisted that she wanted to face him in the chamber when she testified and Aoife, Umwali and Tony supported her choice even when her other ‘sisters’ tried to talk her out of it.

Then again, Willa was the eldest of Lucius Lavin’s victims and had been the one who was the one who’d most wanted to leave Winya. Even before Lahn and her father decided to get Shaelli and Edu out of Winya, she had been open to the idea. Willa could see that for the male children of Lucius Lavin, there was no prospect of finding a partner and the girls would always be considered as tainted and she had wanted better for her daughters. The only reason she’d stayed in Winya as long as she had was Willa had been trying to convince her sister to leave too but Heleen was not as realistic about her children’s prospects as her older sister. Being on Atlantis surrounded by people who built her up and reassured her that she was a victim of Lucius, and with Yas offering to look out for them in New Athos was all the push she needed to decide not to return to Winya, even if their convictions were overturned on appeal.

Tony honestly thought Willa was looking forward to thumbing her nose at the Winyans and people were already talking excitedly about the contribution she could make to her new people. None of the Athosians was a trained dressmaker and she was looking forward to creating clothes for the people who welcomed her with open arms. They’d already embraced Lahn and her two children, even before the Interstellar Tribunal had declared them to be innocent. Willa had been determined to stare down Lucius as she told the Venerabiles Sodales her story and show him that she wasn’t going to let him ruin her life or the children he’d forced her to have with him instead of the man she’d loved.

All five of the Winyans (although technically Lahn was now Athosian) comported themselves well, and Tony could tell how much of an impact their stories had on the Venerabiles Sodales. Kalan in particular was moved by the stories of the children and how they were treated as being tainted because of the identity of their parents. Ota testified about how she had turned down Lucius’ repeated attempts to bed her because she was hoping to become engaged to a young Winyan man Uttad Maros. That was when Lucius drugged her and raped her until she became pregnant and all three Venerabiles Sodales were moved by her testimony.

They were all aware that her son Leoosh was slowly recovering in Atlantis’ Infirmary, having just been allowed to wake up from the induced coma and was still not able to speak. Since everyone knew the eight-year-old had been beaten almost to death because he was trying to protect Ota, everyone was hoping the youngster would make a full recovery, although Halling had assured Ota that he was still welcome amongst the Athosians, and they’d accommodate any disabilities Leoosh might have.

Ota had spoken of her own experience as a sexual slave, unable to escape from Lucius, then when Atlantis vaccinated all of Winya and she thought she was finally free. However, that was when she had been charged with committing crimes, found guilty and sentenced to death, although her death had been commuted until Leoosh turned fifteen and deemed an adult. After testifying to her own experience, the Venerabiles Sodales requested that she speak about Mayuna. Being cousins, they felt Ota was best placed to speak about Pavu’s experiences with Lavin as she wasn’t here to speak on her own behalf. She spoke about how Kadin Imo had been courting her cousin and Maya had been walking around with her head full for him. Meanwhile, she was fending off Lucius, staying out of reach of his wandering hands, and refusing his constant invitations for her to warm his bed.

“Mayuna kept turning Lucius down, but he didn’t stop. She couldn’t take her eyes off Kadin – the young man she wanted to marry. He was all Maya thought about…all she talked about. At the time, I thought she was pretty annoying making love eyes at him all the time,” she said, wiping a tear from her eyes.

“And how did Lucius Lavin react to her making the love eyes at Kadin Imo,” Jonas asked her.

“He was not happy, and he would not give up. The next thing I knew he’d drugged her, and she had joined his group of wives, and he ignored Heleen and me, lying with her every chance he got until she was pregnant, which was when he turned his attention to Willa. She had been quite rude to him, making fun of his age and his skills as a healer.”

At that point the Venerabiles Sodales requested that Tony testify about what had happened to Mayuna, having been notified that in the course of investigating Leoosh Benn’s attack, he’d learned additional information about Mayuna. He’d testified about the fact that Kadin Imo had made a confession to him and Thomas Magnum that he was furious with Mayuna for ditching him and going with Lucius Lavin and had been making her have non-consensual sex ever since Lavin had been exiled from Winya. On one occasion he’d admitted that he’d beaten her violently when she had tried to refuse him, beating her until she was unconscious, kicking her in the stomach, and then raping her roughly. The next day she miscarried her baby and the Elder Council brought forward her execution because she no longer had a child who needed to be raised. As he reported the stoning which Yas Yeeps had described to him, the three tribunal members and the Decerno Teal’c looked physically ill.

Ishta demanded, “Why did Mayuna Pavu not tell the Elder Council that she had been assaulted and raped?”

Tony scowled. “Kadin Imo’s cousin, Yek Imo admitted to us when we interrogated him that Kadin threatened to harm her cousin Ota Benn if she told anyone.”

“But his beating and rape in all likelihood was what caused her to lose her foetus,” Jonas Quinn said, visibly outraged.

Tony had nodded grimly. “According to the medical experts I’ve consulted, that is highly probable.”

“If she had informed them of such acts, surely he would have been punished,” Ishta objected. “Why did she not speak of it?”

Tony demurred on that point, suggesting that Dr Nkusi was the best placed person to answer those questions. She was the expert in dealing with victims of sexual crimes – he was just the investigator who investigated the crimes.

Notes:

Burdle dung – dung from a goat-like domestic animal found on Winya

Chapter 17

At Tony’s suggestion, Umwali had been called to answer the questions of the Venerabiles Sodales. Fortunately, she was present at the hearing, since she’d been providing emotional and psychological support to the five former Winyans who appeared to have made a strong connection with her and seemed to have found common ground with the former Rwandan psychologist. After she had been sworn in, vowing to tell the truth and seek justice, Umwali explained the phenomenon of learned helplessness that commonly occurred when victims endured extended periods of time as sex slaves with little or no ability to make choices for themselves.

“Learned helplessness can be overcome with the right supports in place but these young women did not receive them and nearly six years later it remains a real issue. It is evident in how they have been living their lives,” she said.

When asked what specifically she was referring to, Nkusi pointed to how they had refused to consider leaving Winya and look for another planet to live on with people who would have been less judgemental. And learned helplessness was why Neese and Ota had endured Kadin Imo and his gang of thugs treating them as whores.

Nkusi looked grim as she continued, “Having the whole town blame them for a situation they had no control over, treating them as second-class citizens and viewing their innocent children as tainted, it was easy to brainwash them into believing that they were somehow weak-willed and to blame for what had happened to them. Ultimately all six of Lucius’ victims had come to believe that they deserved to die for their crimes, and they began to think that whatever happened to them, they’d brought it on themselves by not resisting.”

Kalan interjected, “Dr Nkusi, could you please explain the word you used – brainwashing? I do not understand what it means.”

“My apologies, Most Venerable Member. It means making someone believe something that isn’t true. For example, prisoners of war are frequently made to believe that their people are evil murderers and wrong to fight against their captors. If the brainwashing is successful, the captive might come to believe the lies they are being bombarded with and be willing to fight against their own people and wipe them out of existence.”

Jonas asked musingly, “For example to convince a great warrior such as Specialist Ronon Dex that the Lanteans were his enemy and send him back to murder them all because the Wraith could not gain access to the City of the Ancients?”

Nkusi nodded. “Yes, that sounds like a common scenario.”

Jonas shook his head. “Not just a scenario, Dex testified that it truly occurred to him during Lucius Lavin’s last trial,” he said. “But he said that the Wraith used physical torture and Wraith enzymes to break him down.”

Umwali told the Venerabiles Sodales, “There are numerous means of brainwashing a subject: beatings, starvation, even small acts of kindness, drugs, long periods of exposure to loud noise, bright lights and sleep deprivation help to physically break down an individual’s psyche in concert with constantly bombarding the individual with lies. If you keep the message simple enough, it is pretty easy to make people believe something that isn’t true if they hear it over and over again.”

Jonas looked ill, as if he was remembering some unpleasant memory before he shook it off and told her, “I’m sorry, we interrupted what you were saying. Were there any additional factors that might have contributed to Mayuna Pavu not speaking up against her attacker?”

Well, Mayuna, like the other five women was probably encountering some highly toxic verbal abuse from the man who she had planned on marrying and possibly his family too, since the Winyans considered Mr Lavin’s victims to be tainted and were off limits as mates. Speaking to the other women who were promised or being courted by Winyan males, they have all described exactly this type of abuse to me which they meekly accepted as their due, but we know Mayuna was being subjected to physical and sexual abuse too. All of these factors can play havoc with an individual’s sense of self-worth,” she said as Ishta nodded in agreement.

“I believe you speak great truths,” Ishta responded grimly.

“Mayuna’s life was quite possibly so miserable that at that moment, death could easily have seemed to be a way out of having to deal with her pain and suffering. Plus, if she had been found guilty by her people then she likely thought it was what she deserved,” Umwali said.

Everyone was silent as they thought about Dr Nkusi’s testimony. Most of the Council of Elders looked uncomfortable, although Magistrate Wodren Drell looked positively ill. A cadaverously thin man normally, he was noticeably even more gaunt-looking in light of the whole Kadin Imo revelations and the brutal and heartless attack on eight-year-old Leoosh Benn. Tulee Hano was the only member of the Council of Elders who didn’t look uncomfortable and ashamed. He looked disgusted and angry, and no one was in doubt that his strong emotions were due to any regret he might be experiencing. He saw nothing wrong with how Lavin’s victims had been dealt with – he was an individual who made up his mind and stuck to his opinions, Tony thought grimly.

Ishta stared at Dr Nkusi shrewdly, seeming to sense that she wasn’t quite done. “Dr Nkusi, is there anything more you wish for us to know before we rule on this appeal?”

Dr Nkusi nodded. “Yes there is,” she said. “I think there was another crucial factor as to why Mayuna never tried to stand up for herself after being beaten and raped so severely by her former fiancé Kadin Imo. I believe it was because she was experiencing grief over miscarrying her baby. It is a devastating loss for any woman, and it is extremely common for the mother to feel like they are to blame for the foetus’ death.”

Again, Ishta nodded, agreeing with what Dr Nkusi said. As a leader of her tribe of female Jaffa warriors, she knew this was true.

Umwali continued, “That grief and guilt can be overwhelming, and I suspect that this, combined with the other factors I’ve outlined would have rendered her incapable of being able to defend herself. She needed an advocate to act on her behalf but there was no one there for her. Thus, Mayuna Pavu was stoned to death for factors entirely outside of her control,” the psychologist said grimly.

Tony had stood up in the audience and asked permission to add additional evidence, and Jonas agreed. “Please remember that the oath that you took to tell only the truth remains in place, Agent Paddington.”

He nodded. “I understand. I just thought I would add that while I and Thomas Magnum were questioning Kadin Imo, he admitted that he was terrified that people would learn that he had violently raped Mayuna the day before her miscarriage. He threatened her cousin and her son, Leoosh if she said anything. He also told her that it was her fault that she lost the baby because if she hadn’t resisted his efforts to lay with her and have her fulfil his physical needs, then the baby would still be alive,” he told the tribunal as the people in the audience vibrated in anger.

Even if she wasn’t already feeling guilty, as Dr Nkusi has said guilt is a common grief response after a miscarriage, the man that she had once been full of love for was telling her that her baby was dead because she tried to resist him and there for, she was to blame.”

Ishta looking like she wanted to commit murder asked the ISBI agent, “I trust that this man and anyone else who was involved in this criminal act and the shameful attack of Ota Benn’s eight-year-old child. Leoosh will be properly dealt with!”

Wodren Drell stood up and announced. “I have decided to request that Atlantis assist us in holding an interplanetary trial based on the Ancestor’s Codes of Law, Venerabiles Sodales. Kadin Imo and his associates are from influential Winyan families, and I believe very strongly that we need an impartial jury to hear the case,” he said before sitting back down again.”

It was clear by the looks of surprise on the faces of the other four elders of the Council that this was news to them too, In addition to shock, several of the elders, Tulee looked positively ropeable. Tony knew that Tulee’s wife had ties to the Imo family and in such a small population, one that was shrinking all the time, most Winyans were probably related to each other if you went back a few generations.

Ishta looked reasonably satisfied by the news and after a brief consultation with the other Venerabiles Sodales, they asked if anyone had further evidence they wished to present before they retired to consider whether to overturn the verdict of the Winyan Elder Council as requested by the Athosian Leader Halling and Athosian citizen Yas Yeeps on behalf of Lahn Yeeps, Hellen and Willa Upo, Ota Benn, and Neese Luta. When no one came forward the Venerabiles Sodales adjourned the hearing and left the chamber to enter the room which had been set up for them during the four previous trials where they could deliberate on the case.

Everyone who’d played a part in the appeal was on tenterhooks during the deliberation process and they’d decide to head back to Atlantis to wait since there were more distractions available for people than onboard the Odyssey where there they all felt like visitors. Ronon and Teyla had decided to head down to one of the gyms to spar while Tony had been bullied into playing the piano for the Winyans, including the Elders who he was quick to include since they were Atlantis’ trading partners. Besides, if they had any chance of changing their archaic views, then Lanteans needed to keep the lines of communication open with them. When he saw that Aoife and Umwali, as well as Aaron, Nikki, Rossi, and Tobias, were planning to come too, he wondered briefly if they’d all fit in the music room but Daniel and Vala had already seen to that issue, hurrying off to get help to remove the walls between the music room and the recreation room that housed the giant screen for movie watching and the computer games consoles for gaming purposes. They’d even rearranged the seating so everyone could be comfortable.

So, for the next few hours, they chilled out, listening as Tony played classical music at first, then some jazz pieces. Finally, he played some of the songs that he’d composed which were frequently about his mother, his daughter, and a lost love who he refused to name. The name of the song was ‘I Lost You,’ and most people assumed was about the mother of his child, but Nikki and Tobias exchanged looks knowing that it was probably someone very different. Partway through his performance, Lahn Yeeps disappeared in the quarters she’d been temporarily assigned with her father and children, returning with a stringed instrument that Tony thought was somewhat like a lute and she and the Winyans shared some of their music, which reminded Tony of a weird amalgam between country and folk music. Then Rossi and Daniel organised for lunch to be brought up to the family wing and people grazed on food as Tony took up his guitar and started to play some popular songs that he knew that most people knew and would sing along with. He figured it would make time go quicker.

When the Tribunal finally reconvened, everyone appeared relieved that the wait was over. Somehow waiting for the verdict of the appeal had been even more nerve-wracking than the other four trials. Perhaps it was because this appeal was about righting the wrongs which had been perpetrated on the Winyan women, first by Lucius Lavin, then by the Winyan people and the Elder Council. These women and their children had been waiting far too long for justice and even the possibility that their appeal might not be successful was too unbearable to contemplate. When the Venerabiles Sodales filed into the chamber, they seemed to read the room, realising that people were in no mood to wait any longer.

When Ishta announced, “After careful consideration of the facts, including all of the new information which has come to light due to the evidence Agent Paddington and Persequor Hotchner accumulated and presented over the four trials, as well as this appeal, we have reached a decision. The tribunal has concluded that Lahn Yeeps, Heleen Upo, Willa Upo, Ota Benn, Mayuna Pavu and Neese Luta were drugged by Lucius Lavin’s ‘special herb’ which the scientists have named MCD –238β. Further, we have determined that they couldn’t resist the wishes of Lucius Lavin and that they were not responsible for their actions while under the influence of MCD –238β. Therefore, they cannot be held responsible for the actions they took while acting under its influence and they should be considered to be victims of Lucius Lavin and not co-conspirators. We, the Venerabiles Sodales grant the appeal to overturn the previous finding by the Winyan Elder Council that these women are guilty of depraved and unchaste behaviour, adultery leading to Lavin abandoning his lawful family, multiple acts of group sex and public sex.”

While there was cheering, hugging and joy, Neese, Lahn, Heleen Ota and Willa were silently weeping and holding onto each other as a drowning person might clutch onto their rescuers. Yas also had tears streaming down his cheeks as he approach the Venerabiles Sodales, thanking them for considering the appeal and for delivering justice for his daughters and their children, something which would change their lives in a most significant way.

With all of the trials and appeals done and dusted, all that was left for the Tribunal to undertake was the carrying out of the death sentence of Lucius Lavin. Athos was about to get another four adult females and seven children although, the former Winyans decided that they would remain on Atlantis until Leoosh was well enough to join them. Plus, several of the ex-Winyan women had expressed their desire to attend Lavin’s execution, having been forced to bear witness to Mayuna’s stoning they declared that they needed to see him receiving long-awaited justice for all of the pain he’d caused to so man.

When everyone gathered in the chamber the next morning to witness Lavin’s sentence being carried out, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone that he was a mess. He was in a state of psychological collapse, crying copious quantities of tears, wailing in fear, and covered in snot. For victims who chose to be present during the sentence, it helped some of them to see him reduced to a snivelling wreck since so many of them had built him up to be a monster. Witnessing the monster who’d ruined so many lives and was now a pitiful pathetic pile of self-absorbed fear, would hopefully help them put some personal demons to rest. Although for Ota Benn and the other Winyan women who had been forced witness to Ota’s cousin Mayuna’s stoning, death by Zat’ni’katel had seemed far too clean and painless.

However, right at the last minute, as Teal’c was aiming the Zat’ni’katel at the sad apology for a man, Atlantis started speaking to them again, forcing Tony to act as her interpreter even if listening to Atlantis’ archaic form of the Ancient language always made his head feel like it was on the point of exploding.

“I, Atlantis formally request the Venerabiles Sodales of the Tribunal that they not carry out Lucius Lavin’s sentence yet. I plead with them to wait until my esteemed emissary arrives to speak on my behalf.”

Tony thought she had waited until the very last second before she requested a halt to the proceeding because she evilly wanted Lavin to suffer and was ecstatic at watching him peeing his pants because she would never forgive him for hurting John Sheppard, even if he hadn’t harmed so many others. No one wanted to offend the ancient…Ancient who’d volunteered her body and consciousness to become a flying supercity because she was unable to reproduce little Ancients and wanted to make a lasting contribution to her people. So, it was a no brainer that they agreed to wait, although Tony did wonder if it was more to stop the terrible din that everyone experienced when Atlantis attempted to communicate with them, and they sought to appease her.

Whatever the reason, the Venerabiles Sodales ordered a halt to the execution, and many of the individuals who were there to witness his demise looked scared out of their minds. Lucius Lavin looked to be deeply conflicted – relieved that he was still alive and scared witless that an Ancestor who had been turned into a massive city, wanted a say in his punishment because she adored Colonel Sheppard. It was now common knowledge that she regarded him as the son she never had. At the very welcome news he would not be required to translate for Atlantis any further, Tony almost sobbed in relief. Hopefully, it meant his head would not explode all over the floor of the chamber, which was a real relief!

Of course, the tribunal members, Tony and General O’Neill had a pretty fair idea who Atlantis’ emissary would be since this wasn’t the first time that Atlantis had weighed in during the carrying out of a sentence. The first time she’d tried to make Tony translate for her had been Porteus Kolya’s execution. Fortunately for him, Atlantis’ interpreter aka the Fallen Ascended Ancient from Proculus was now making her appearance as a being of energy. Chaya Sar was in her ribbon-like sylphic glowing state, invoking fear from the many victims and tribunal witnesses who’d never seen a real Ascended Ancestor before. Which was no doubt her intent, to emphasise that she was not of this world, even if she had been banished here to spend eternity one the physical plane. It gave her the credibility required for her to pull off the plan that she and Atlantis appeared to have cooked up together if Tony was reading her correctly.

Which of course was always an occurrence that made him feel supremely uncomfortable. His abilities to read people, thanks to the Ancient gene for communication that he’d inherited and passed to Tali felt far more like a curse than a blessing to him. Invading other people’s minds felt a little too much like mind-rape to the supremely private federal agent and although Chaya had told him that he was too messed up emotionally to be able to read minds, he didn’t have any difficulty doing so with her. And increasingly, he was able to read other people…perhaps not specific thoughts but he was certainly able to read their emotions when they were upset, angry or happy. He’d already worked out that these were times when people were less guarded and tend to broadcast their thoughts and emotions. And it sucked!

Chaya who by this stage had reverted to her humanoid form – the form she explained to him which was what she’d looked like before her Ascension. As she regained her humanoid form, the Lanteans, the Tribunal members and the Pegasus victims assembled for Lucius Lavin’s execution, let out a collective sigh. While appearing in her noncorporeal state had been a necessary theatre to convince people of her bona fides, she was also highly intimidating in that form. Even Bra’tac the toughest of Jaffa Warriors went limp and submissive before her.

She greeted everyone politely. “Salutations to the peoples of the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies. For those who don’t know me, my name is Chaya Sar although the people of my home planet know me as Athar. I am one of the beings you know as Ancients or the Ancestors and although I Ascended more than four and a half millennia ago, I continued to love the people of Proculus where I lived in my humanoid form. When the Wraith attacked my old planet I broke the most sacred of the Ascended rules –

I interfered in the affairs of the people living on the physical plane. I used my mind to lash out and destroy the Wraith. For my heinous crime, my fellow Ancients sent me back to live on my home planet in my immortal state for eternity, and I was permitted to protect the Proculeans but no one else. If I had tried to save any other races from the Wraith, Proculus and all of her people would be destroyed.”

“Agent Paddington has said that he considers this to be a most terrible and cruel punishment – because I am immortal I cannot die but my people are mortal, and they do die. So, I have been sentenced to watch the people who I love, grow old and die in what seems to be a mere blink in time. Agent Paddington rightly felt how desolately lonely my life is and while I have no regrets about saving my people, I have suffered unimaginable guilt over all the other people in Pegasus who I’ve been forced to watch die. Immortality is a far crueller punishment than death, trust me,” she told the people listening to her avidly and some with great empathy.”

Ishta decided to respond. “I think that Agent Paddington is most wise. I cannot imagine a worse punishment than has been imposed upon you, High Priestess Athar. Thanks be to you for explaining about your background. Does it have anything to do with what brings you here before the tribunal as we carry out the sentencing of Lucius Lavin?”

Chaya had flicked a disdainful look over at Lavin who was now covered not just in snot and tears, and urine. He’d vomited all over himself just before Teal’c had aimed the Zat’ni’katel at him. Tony had just been grateful that Lavin hadn’t shit himself as well. Narcissists were such massive cowards and he’d been crying like a baby ever since he realised there was no escaping his fate…well until Atlantis weighed in, and Tony wondered what the hell she was up to.

“Yes, it does. It seems that Alex has ruminated on my punishment for breaking the Ancients’ high rule of non-interference on the physical plane of existence, in this case, in the Pegasus galaxy, and Atlantis has taken it to heart. She also agrees that immortality is a fate worse than death and she too is immortal and has spent ten millennia alone when the Ancestors who lived here departed, leaving her at the bottom of the ocean. They returned to Terreua, also known by the designations of Earth or T’auri, so she knows how painful immortality can be when you are alone.”

Chaya was silent and it was clear she was communicating with Atlantis because she said, “Atlantis is exceedingly fond of John Sheppard who she sees as an offspring of sorts,” Chaya said, looking briefly at John Sheppard who looked extremely uncomfortable at being the subject of Atlantis’ adoration. “And she is grateful that his presence has brought more of the Ancients’ offspring who possess their genes to return here from Terreua. She isn’t alone anymore and for that, she is truly grateful, but she is angry at the harm that was done to John Sheppard and also to the others who now live on Atlantis. She wishes to make an Agonium Statement to the Venerabiles Sodales and has a suggestion regarding how the Condemnabitur should be punished because she feels that death is far too easy for him.”

It had been at that point that Lucius had made a terrified mewling sound, sort of like a wounded animal and a foul stench hit the air as he soiled himself in terror. Chaya flashed an amused mental smirk to Tony, and he realised that this psychological torture of Lucius was all part of the plan by the fallen Ascended and the starship-bound Ancient to punish the serial sexual predator. Tony just wished that they all didn’t have to suffer along with him – the stink of sweat, urine, faeces, and vomit separately was incredibly gross, but combined it was horrendous and many people were looking rather green. He hoped no one else would start sympathetic vomiting. Flashing him a mental chuckle, he realised she’d received his complaint and with a languid wave of her hand, she encased Lucius in some sort of clear bubble-like membrane that captured all of his putrid bodily emanations and contained them within it.

Tony knew he should not be experiencing a perverse sense of schadenfreude as Lucius started gaging and turning an interesting shade of chartreuse. He was expecting Lavin to start barfing any minute now, judging by his violent gagging. Again, Chaya read his mind and informed him that she’d paralysed his vomit reflex, not wanting him to aspirate on his own vomit. Wow… he almost felt sorry for the bastard but looking at all of his victims gathered, he hardened his heart.

After due deliberation between the Venerabiles Sodales, Decerno Teal’c, Persequor Hotchner and Paracletus Hano, it was decided that Atlantis would be permitted to make an Agonium Statement to the tribunal. Tony had snorted mentally – as if anyone could stop her! He felt a rush of amusement from Chaya who was standing before the Venerabiles Sodales looking grave as she waited for their leave to continue. Even though Atlantis had stopped communicating with him, thank goodness because it was painful, he felt her emotions and she was feeling suitably smug about something she had cooked up, but he didn’t know what.

When Jonas permitted Atlantis to give an Agonium Statement Chaya activated the large screen which had been used to display evidence, and to relay the testimony of victims who had chosen to testify from the on camera room, rather than being in the same room as their rapist. The screen showed the exodus of hundreds of humanoid people dressed in unfamiliar clothing, predominately neutral in colour from a familiar gate room and racing through the stargate. Chaya stood so she could see the screen but also the audience, near where the witnesses had sat to testify at the hearings although the seat had been removed in anticipation of the execution of Lucius Lavin and Tony realised that they were watching Atlantis’ memory of the exodus of the Ancients back to Earth.

“Ten millennia ago, the people who you call the Ancients, or the Ancestors departed from the Pegasus galaxy when they realised that they were in a war with the Wraith which they couldn’t win,” Chaya said, speaking for Atlantis. “As their thoughts turned more and more to the task of Ascending to a higher plain, they decided to depart from this galaxy and head somewhere safe to continue their quest to Ascend. They returned to the planet that they had inhabited for a time, millennia before Atlantis had been created. They had left Terreua due to a plague and had resettled in the Pegasus galaxy,” Chaya informed her wrapt audience.

“When they decided to leave and return through the Stargate to Terreua, Atlantis was then sunk to the bottom of the Lantean Ocean where she waited in anticipation of her inhabitants or their offspring many-generations-removed, hoping they would return to Lantea and resurrect her back to her former glory. For ten millennia she waited in complete darkness, surrounded by the ocean, too deep down to receive any natural sunlight and she was alone.”

Chaya suddenly turned to face her audience and began to empathically communicate the emotions that Atlantis experienced during her millennia on the depths of the ocean floor. They felt her claustrophobia of the absolute absence of light and her overwhelming fear and horrific loneliness that only increase as the years passed. Chaya made everyone experience Atlantis’ dread that her people had forgotten about her or even worse, had been wiped out of existence by the Wraith or perhaps an even worst foe back in the Milky Way. She contemplated that her people may have been successful, managing to ascend to a higher plane of existence. Finally, after so very long, Atlantis had to accept the fact that she would probably never know of their fate, and she grieved. The sentient flying city, who was once upon a time a living breathing Ancient began to wish that she had died…that her people had set her self-destruct sequence in play when they left, and for the first time she began to communicate with the AI software program which Janus had left behind to watch over a frozen intruder – a traveller through time but not one of the Ancient’s descendants.

Atlantis had tried to persuade the AI program to activate her self-destruct mechanism, but it had refused, having been given a coding directive to protect Atlantis at all costs in order to protect the one who called herself Dr Elizabeth Weir. This individual was in a state of suspended animation in one of her stasis pods, simply because Janus had taken a liking to her, chiefly Atlantis believed, because she was proof positive that his time travelling gate ship technology worked. Giving up in disgust, since she was unable to activate her self-destruct mechanism herself as that arrogant upstart Janus had circumvented her control of it, she sank into a deep depression. Chaya communicated her suffering empathically and even individuals who’d fought their own battles with depression and triumphed over it, were almost paralysed by the deep abyss of dark despair and loneliness into which she sunk as her terrible fate stretched before her. Many people were shaking with emotion while most people had tears in their eyes.

Just as some people thought that they might suffocate or even go mad with the weight of dark despair that Atlantis experienced for so many millennia, Chaya Sar seemed to know that the humans had reached the limits of their endurance and once more the screen lit up, this time it was people returning to Atlantis through the stargate. So deeply depressed was she by now, that the mostly somnolently and scarcely sentient Atlantis hardly registered their presence since they were not her people. They were related to the one who Janus had hidden in one of her stasis pods ten millennia before. Weir had only risen thrice to change the Portentia (the Zero Point Module), and Atlantis had come to hate her for switching them out since without the Portentia, her shields would have collapsed and flooded the city and the underwater pressure would have crushed her structure. She would have ceased to exist. A slow death to be sure, in comparison to the self-destruct mechanism, but considering the agonisingly lonely existence she endured, Atlantis would have taken the slow death in a heartbeat but even that option was snatched out of her grasp.

But when the chief medical officer came through with an ATA gene and almost the last human through the gate was John Sheppard and she recognised instantly his Ancient gene which could initialise and operate her starship and launch the drones, she felt herself start to stir out of her turbidity. But her depression had been so deeply entrenched for so many millennia that her return to self-awareness was a fierce struggle. Even though Atlantis felt relief that her people must have survived in some form to be able to pass on the ATA gene as these newcomers called it, in her barely aware state she was prone to episodes of paranoia.

The sentient city who had felt an immediate kinship with John Sheppard and found her technology instinctively responding to him like he was an Ancient, often found herself wondering if he was a captive. He seemed to be placed into situations where his life was in jeopardy quite frequently, making Atlantis remained suspicious of her new inhabitants and their motives. Even Carson Beckett who possessed the ATA gene, although it wasn’t as strong as John Sheppard’s, seemed to have ambivalent feelings about it, while at the same time, he figured out a way to activate the gene which many of the others carried in its recessive form so they could operate her technology too.

Over the short time that the offspring of the Ancients occupied Atlantis, which in terms of the millennia that she’d existed was a mere drop in the ocean, she had gradually begun to trust them. This was despite their stupidity in meddling with Wraith DNA, foolishly believing that they could fix what the Ancients couldn’t. And as she became more aware, she could see in these humans, even those without ancient genes, that they seemed to have inherited her people’s arrogant nature and enormous egos. But when Lance Corporal Joseph Favre betrayed John Sheppard, the son she never had, and Sheppard disappeared from this city, all of her fears resurfaced about the people who were inhabiting her structure. Without her son, she began to slip back into her deep depression which she was barely emerging from as she slowly began to shut down her various functions, knowing that if she did it too suddenly the technicians would counteract it. While they all knew that she was slowly fading, they all believed it was because the city was feeding off John Sheppard’s ATA gene.

It wasn’t until the investigator Alex Paddington step through the stargate from the Ancients’ old planet, Atlantis finally realised that John was not a prisoner, but a most revered member of the expedition. Since Alex not only had the ATA gene but he possessed one of the four other Ancient genes, the communication gene, Atlantis found it very easy to read his emotions and his intentions. The fact that he had brought his offspring with him to Atlantis also spoke to his good intentions and when his persistence in searching for John Sheppard had prevailed and he returned her son to her city, Atlantis felt overwhelming relief and joy at having John back home with her, even though he had suffered great injury.

Chaya Sar stared at the Venerabiles Sodales and Decerno Teal’c as she said gravely, “Atlantis has requested that due to the harm that Lucius Lavin has caused her and the people of Atlantis, that instead of death, that he be condemned to spend eternity contemplating all of the evil and the harm he has caused to many other innocents aside from her son, John Sheppard.”

There was a stunned silence punctuated by wailing anguishing sobs from Lucius Lavin.

Finally, Jonas Quinn responded, “While I find it impossible not to be moved by Atlantis’s incredible testimony, I am uncertain about how we would be able to facilitate such a request. We do not have the technology to be able to carry out what she has requested of us.”

Chaya bowed her head. “Atlantis realises this, and she has already requested that the Ascended create a fortification where Lucius Lavin may live out eternity in contemplation of his crimes, knowing great loneliness and boredom. Atlantis believes, and I agree,” Chaya said earnestly, “that existing forever without the adulation and attention he craves as others require air to sustain them would be a far harsher punishment than death.”

As people stared at the condemned prisoner in his self-contained bubble, reduced to a blubbering lump of flesh, bones and human waste at the thought of spending eternity contemplating his sins, he let out a blood-chilling shriek that would have moved the hearts of most individuals, but it did nothing but seal his fate.”

“If we were to grant her request, does she have the ability to ensure that he would be contained for eternity?”

“No, but she has already sent a request to the Ascended for assistance and they have agreed to assist her. In the meantime, they suggest that he be placed in a state of suspended animation until the jail they are creating especially for him is ready,” Chaya said as Lucius howled like a banshee.

The Venerabiles Sodales conferred with each other before addressing those who had assembled. “Although we are much moved by Atlantis’ Agonium Statement, the former Winyan has committed many terrible crimes which have affected many people’s lives. We would ask those of you who have also offered the tribunal Agonium Statements of your own, would you feel that justice was done if the death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment if the sentence was for eternity? If so, please raise your hand.”

A roar of approval began to swell around the chamber and one by one his victims raised their hands. The Condemnabitur who had until now thought that death was the worst possible fate, began to plead and wail, and in doing so, effectively sealed his fate. The fact that he was terrified of the thought of spending eternity alone made death seem like a soft option and all bar one victim voted for the Atlantis Option.

When Miko Kusanagi was asked why she opted for the death penalty, the Astro physicist softly opined, “To be imprisonment for eternity was far too cruel, even for a monster such as Lucius Lavin.”

Rather than sway anyone’s resolve, Miko’s statement seemed to strengthen people’s resolve and the Venerabiles Sodales solemnly commuted the former Winyan, Lucius Lavin’s death sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment in a specially constructed jail for the rest of eternity. He was swiftly rendered unconscious by Decerno Teal’c of Chulak and transported down to the stasis pods on Atlantis where he was placed in a state of suspended animation.

While Jeroze and his little sister were happy to hear the news that their father’s life had been spared at the last moment by the Tribunal, even Madame Lavin and Filiya were chastened by the new sentence, able to fully appreciate just how harsh it was. As for the new victims who had so recently come forward, it was hoped that allowing them to bear witness to his draconian sentencing would help them to experience closure, although Tony, Aoife and Umwali Nkusi had all baulked at the use of the word ‘closure’ protesting that it lost its power, becoming completely overused in pop culture. The problem was, as Dave Rossi pointed out, there wasn’t any other one that could be used in its place.

Even after Lucius Lavin’s sentence had been enacted, victims continued to come forward, apparently believing that Lanteans would believe them. Aoife and Umwali insisted that every new victim who came forward should have the opportunity to swear out a formal complaint against him and have it added to his file for posterity, so everyone would know how much of a monster he truly was. As they reminded everyone, it was all about helping his victims to move past what had happened by first acknowledging what he’d done to them.

So that was why Tony and the ISBI found themselves so run off their feet, interviewing people and it was why it had taken so long to organise the debrief cum get-together, which was also part celebratory, as well as a chance to debrief together as a team. There were still issues to be dealt with arising from the case – the attack on Leoosh and Ota Ben, the issue of Pado Arlis and the forced prostitution of Neese and Ota but right now, it was time to step back, take a deep breath and accept a pat on the back for a job done magnificently.

As he raised a glass of champagne and made a toast before bringing the meeting part of the gathering to a close, Tony known only as Alex Paddington to most of the people in the room said. “Congratulations, everyone. And I sincerely want to thank everyone for their unique contributions to this investigation.”

As the room erupted with loud cheers, he waited until the jubilation died down before continuing. “Although we still have a few loose ends to tie up, we have achieved a massive win for justice. It is only the first step along the road for people to begin healing, and we need to remember that there is still a very long way ahead for the victims. That said I’m just so damned proud of the part we’ve played in helping them begin that journey.”

Everyone was sober, knowing that he was speaking truthfully – finding justice for the victims had just been the first step on the path to their healing. However, everyone was just as proud of the crucial part they had played in helping the victims attain justice.

Smiling, he announced, “And I have good news. Tomorrow, Leoosh Benn will be discharged from the infirmary, thanks to the skills of the Atlantis’ doctors and of course, General O’Neill and Vala’s sessions healing him. He has begun to speak, only a few simple words as yet, but the expectation is that with speech therapy, everyone is hopeful that he’ll make a full recovery.”

Beaming at the prospect of his full recovery, Tony recalled the broken child he and Dave Rossi had come across on Winyan that day and his eyes met the profiler, knowing he was remembering the sickening sight too. He exchanged a look with the esteemed profiler, and he knew like Tony was, Dave was picturing the sight of the severely beaten and bruised small boy with his skull caved in and their fear that even if he survived, he may end up in a vegetative state.

“And I know everyone here will be thrilled to hear that they will join the Upos, Willa, Yahnore and Yashael, Heleen, Artez and Remae, the Yeeps, Yas, Lahn, Shaelli and Edu and also the Lutas, Neese, Bada and Bale in beginning their new lives as proud Athosians on New Athos. The five mothers can start anew with their convictions overturned and no more threat of the death penalty hanging over their heads.”

At that announcement even though it was common knowledge, everyone cheered since it was a stupendous achievement, and it should be celebrated for the awesome win that it was. There were some individuals present tonight when Lavin took over the city and they were still extremely distressed that he’d harmed some of their own and they’d been completely ignorant about it. There was plenty of guilty to go around and like any good leader, Tony knew that for many of the Lanteans who remained clueless, it was in part because some victims hadn’t been ready to come forward and even now were reluctant to go public. Plus, while Sofie and Monique had been willing to fight for justice, others on Atlantis and back home had agendas of their own and had worked hard to hush them up.  For most people though, they had been all too ready to forget their embarrassment over their infatuation with Lavin and their capitulation during the foothold situation to examine what occurred all that closely. Unfortunately, that was human nature.

“And that’s thanks to everyone in this room that they are all able to make a new life. You should all be proud of yourselves – I sure am. Finally, enjoy the beer, wine, and food that General O’Neill had flown in via Midway II. You’ve all earned the reward,” he exhorted them.

These were his people, at least for this case and it was true, he was damned proud of all they had achieved in these last few months. They’d fought for and achieved justice for the most vulnerable people who desperately needed it. At times like this, Tony was glad to be back in law enforcement. Being able to make such a tangible difference in people’s lives was a priceless gift to be able to offer.

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