Chapter 177: Nightmare's Trial

The courtroom was abuzz with activity as everyone settled into their seats. At the far end of the room atop the judge’s bench sat a pale elderly man in long flowing robes. He looked wise and stern and a little bit long in the tooth.

Behind him was the seal of the Federal Judiciary - a scale with a sword and shield in each of its weight pans. Both were perfectly balanced with each other.

As the judge adjusted his notes and activated his terminal, so too did the court clerk just beneath and in front of his bench. The clerk began tapping away on her terminal even before proceedings officially began.

On one side of the room, to the left of the judge and facing inwards was the jury box, where 12 Helios citizens settled themselves into their seats. They seemed a relatively eclectic group, and consisted of a variety of ages, genders, wealth, and influence. Oddly enough, the one thing that didn’t have much variety was their skin tone - all were light-skinned.