Demon of War

Blindsided

The next morning Arthur St John walked into his office at 6 am, and read about the events of his daughters Announcement Party and arrest on the front page of nearly every newspaper. The mere fact that a JAG Colonel had been involved, as well as the Deputy Commander of the local Garrison told him it was a matter he had never prepared for.

He knew his own attorneys would be clueless as well, as JAG represented both sides and only cared about the truth. He spent the first 3 hours of the morning making every call he could to every person he could, and the answer was the same. No attorney in the entire Empire could intervene to get details on the investigation, and it had implications far beyond anything they even dared speculate about.

At 9 am sharp his secretary called his line, and made him jump about 2 feet in the air before he landed in the chair again. "Marlene, if this isn't import-"

"Sir, there is a Colonel Masters from JAG here to see you." she replied evenly as he about feinted.

"Send him in." Arthur replied nervously before he hung up the phone and looked at the door to his office pensively. He watched as it opened to reveal a Imperial Officer, that was dressed to the nines in his appearance.

"Mr. St John, my name is Colonel Steven Masters. I am with the JAG Corp, and need a few minutes of your time." he said after he closed the door and was walking towards the desk.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" Arthur asked him.

"No thank you sir, I am fine." Colonel Master said as he sat down across from the man. "I just have a few questions for you about an incident that occurred last night. Do you have a few moments?" he asked in what seemed like a polite manner, but Arthur knew was just that. He had no choice in the matter, as they could just arrest him and haul him away for questioning.

"I am sure I can find a few minutes to spare." he replied evenly despite how nervous he was.

"Excellent, how long have you owned the Kinsington Hotel?" Masters asked him.

"6 years." he answered glad it was simple.

"Plenty of time to have established many procedures than. What is the role of Octavia St John in your Kinsington Hotel?"

"She has no role in the Corporate structure. Octavia is my daughter." he answered growing suspicious.

"So she does not have the authority to ban a person from the premesis. How about Robert Strauss?" Colonel Masters asked him.

"He is an accountant for the Huntington Branch of Kinsington Hotels. He however does not have the authority to ban a guest either as he is not an Officer of the Corporation." Arthur answered hoping it would blow over and he could return to life as it was.

"Who would have the authority Mr. St John?" Masters asked in what seemed an innocent tone.

"The only two would be Vincent Greene, or Michael Pierce. The General Manager and Assistant General Manager." Arthur answered quickly.

"Would your daughter threatening to report to you about them incur any sanctions in regards to their emoyment?" Masters asked.

"Of course not." Arthur lied trying to cover his ass as best he could.

"Excellent, that is all the questions I have for you than." Colonel Masters said before he stood up. "Have a good day sir."

Arthir was taken back by how abruptly it ended when he looked at the Colonel. "What is this about?"

"We are investigating the incident that occurred in your hotel last night. Your daughter assaulted a guest and pressured Mr. Greene into pressing false charges against a Mr. Levi Daemon, corroborated by a Mr. Robert Strauss he had informed the individual earlier in the day he was banned from the premesis." Colonel Masters said matter of factly.

"Why would JAG be involved?" Arthur St John.

"The victim was a guest of General Clapton who had invited the man here for dinner and a reservation in this hotel while suitable accommodations were found by him." Colonel Masters said as the color drained from Arthur's face. "Which reminds me, how long has Mr. Greene been the General Manager of the establishment?"

"5 years." Arthur barely ma aged to get out loud enough for the Colonel to hear him. He knew after what the Colonel said they were investigating far more than the incident itself.

Octavia St John had woken in the cell the officers had thrown her into, alone and scared as they seemed to be ignoring her for the moment. Her head throbbed as she tried to remember what had happe Red through the haze of way too much champagne the night before. She didn't remember the Military crashing the party at all, and barely remembered as she got to slap Levi twice before he was marched out of the Hotel in handcuffs.

She was surprised when she finally heard a key in the door after what felt like hours, and jumped onto the bed as she tried to make herself look small.

"Come with me Ms. St John." Margaret Wallace said as she held the door open.

"Where I am?" she asked confused at the uniform she was wearing.

"Fort Huntington brig barracks, come with me please." she stated firmly.

"Why am I in the Military jail?" she asked as she stood up gaining confidence it was simply a case of mistaken identity.

"We will get to that in a moment." she said as she closed the door and lead her to an interrogation room where two officers sat across from each other. "Ms. St John, this is Captain Marbeck, your attorney. This is Major Martin, who will be conducting the interview." Margaret said as she shook their hands and sat down next to the one who was her attorney.

"What is this about?" Octavia asked confused.

"What do you remember about last night?" Major Martin asked her before her attorney cleared his throat.

"Is my client considered a suspect?" Captin Marbeck asked.

"No. Your client is potentially being charged with 2 counts of Battery against an Officer if the Imperial Army." Major Martin told him as all the color drained from her face. "That will be at the discretion of the convening authority, and how cooperative Ms. St John is. Now, what do you recall of last night? Begin with your arrival at the Kinsington Hotel." he demanded before her attorney out his hand over the microphone and began having a whispered conversation.

It took a few minutes before he removed his hand, and nodded for her to tell her story. For twenty minutes she talked about everything, including slapping her ex fiancee when he had arrived. Her description however made the Major raise his eyebrows, as she seemed oblivious to who he was.

After she stopped talking the Major looked at her with a curious expression. "As I see it you habe two options. As you were unaware of what you were doing, we are willing to let you plead guilty to misdemeanor some assault, which has a penalty of up to 90 days jail and a 10,000 credit fine. It also has the added benefit of being returned to the Municipal Courts. Option 2, you contest the charges. Because of the classified nature of the incident, it will remain in the Imperial Courts. The charges will be 2 counts of Battery against an Officer of the Imperial Army. The penalties include up to 10 years in Imperial Prison, and 500,000 credit fine per offense. I will give you a few moments to consider it with your attorney." Major Martin said as he stood and left the room.

As soon as the door shut Octavia turned to her attorney. "What do I do?" she demanded as he opened the file and shook his head.

"I would take the blessing you have been given and accept the misdemeanor charges in Municipal Court. To fight these charges in Imperial Court would be a losing battle, as the classified information will be highly relevant. The Municipal Court does not have the authority to hear it, which takes the identity of your victim out of the equation. I also strongly suggest you stop striking people unprovoked, no matter who they may be to you." Captin Marbeck told her bluntly.

"Can I call my father and get another attorneys advice?" she asked him bluntly.

"You are free to consult your father, however a Civilian Attorney will not be able to represent you should this be taken to trial. You may request a different representative from the JAG Corp moving forward if you wish, but I strongly advise against attempting to fight the charges in any way." Marbeck said before he stood and informed the guard to get a phone.

20 minutes after Colonel Masters left his phone rang with his daughter sobbing about the choice she had been given. He conferenced in the attorney when she let the JAG Officer explain the deal she had been given, and was hopeful when he had heard transfer to Municipal Court.

"I suggest you accept the deal Ms. Octavia, as Municipal Courts are far more forgiving than the Imperial Courts." the attorney said knowing exactly what the JAG Officer did.

Robert Strauss was sweating the entire time he was in the cell, as he had been far more sober than his fiancee had been, and far more aware of where exactly he was. He was thoroughly irritated when he had been left in the cell alone for 12 hours without a word from the guards as he was being processed out.

"You are being charged with providing a false report to law enforcement. You have 72 hours to schedule a hearing with the Municipal Courts or a warrant for your arrest will be issued." The guard said before essentially throwing him out of the building.

Just as Robert thought it couldn't get any worse, he heard a voice he had rather hoped he wouldn't.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen." Levi said as Robert turned to look at him.

"What do you want?" Robert demanded as Levi smiled holding an envelope.

"Well this requires it be served on the family 30 days before it can become legally binding, and as I have even less desire to see your parents than I do you, you are the unlucky candidate." Levi replied handing him the forms. It was the Imperial Adoption Severance Paperwork, that would forever remove Levi Strauss from that family. After 30 days, he would forever be Levi Daemon.

Robert looked at the title and smiled. "Why would you give me such a present?" he asked rhetorically.

"Oh that is no gift you are going to appreciate brother. In fact it will be a gift you come to despise once you learn what exactly it means. You think the paltry company you managed to steal away from me is some grand prize? I warned you yesterday, and oops, let's restart the clock so it matches the timing for your response to that. What you have sewn with me, has matured and is ready to harvest. Apologize in 30 days, and I won't go out of my way to destroy the pathetic company you hold so dear." Levi told him as he stopped leaning against the wall. "Oh and piece of advise, I am not one you wish to tangle with anymore. Any grand scheme you had involving me, forget it. In fact after the family apologizes to me, you can all forget I was ever part of your world." he said before he walked over to the same Bentley and was whisked away faster than Robert could comprehend what was happening.

He was just thinking he was going to have to walk when a car pulled up, and his sister rolled down her window. He silently got in the car, and watched out the window as she drove to the family estate.