Project Ares

Court Martial

Repulic Courts - Coruscant

The layout of the court was fairly simple, a panel of judges would sit on an elevated platform and look down on the trial. Both the defence and prosecution would be on hover pods similar to those in the Senate. The accused would be directly in front of the judges and surrounded by a pair of Coruscant Guard troopers. Because it was a whole group that was being accused, Chief would be the only one coming forward to represent Blue Team.

After being walked like a criminal to the stand, Chief looked up to see a jury on a platform to his left and another platform with all of Blue Team standing on it in cuffs. Returning his gaze to the centre of the room, Chief looked up to see the Chancellor, Mace Windu and Mas Ameda sitting where the judges would sit. As the court-martial began, Mas Ameda spoke first, directly to Master Chief. "Master Chief, you and along with thirteen clone troopers are being charged with treason, murder of a Republic general, theft of military hardware, insubordination and conduct unbecoming. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty." Chief replied calmly, gazing at the blue Senator on his right. "Very well then, Admiral Tarkin, you may proceed." Ameda gestured to the admiral, signalling the prosecution to begin. Immediately, Tarkin asked if he could produce his first witness. Confirming the request, the judges allowed the prosecutor to bring forth Captain Fordo of the Coruscant Guard. Taking the stand, Fordo was asked whether or not Chief asked for Katarn armour for his men.

"Objection!"

"Over-ruled." Palpatine slyly replied. When Fordo confirmed what Tarkin was asking, the Admiral pointed out to the jury that Chief went out of his way to cost the Republic critical military hardware, and for what? Some underqualified clones who had just completed their second successful mission. Asking the clone captain again whether or not Master Chief spent any time with the men on base whenever he was stationed on Coruscant, Fordo reluctantly replied with negative.

"So not only was the Master Chief hellbent on giving away crucial military hardware to unqualified clones. But he also does not value the men who serve alongside him on base. The Master Chief clearly favours only the men below him and has a complete disregard for the rest of the Grand Army of the Republic." Tarkin spoke with his usual authoritarian tone, causing the jury to stroke their chins in contemplation. Relinquishing the witness over to Senator Chuchi, Tarkin took his seat with a smug grin on his face.

"Captain Fordo, was the Master Chief ever disrespectful to you or any other troopers?"

"No ma'am, he always treated the men and myself with the appropriate respect, insisting that we refer to him as a fellow soldier and nothing more. When I could not provide Blue Team with Katarn armour, he was understanding and did not push further."

"But still you gave his men sets of ARF trooper armour?"

"Yes ma'am, my observation was that he wasn't trying to take advantage of his team's status as special operators. Rather he just wanted to look after his men by equipping them with the best gear available so that they would be the most effective in battle."

"Thank you Captain." Chuchi replied, letting the ARC trooper return to his duties. She had just knocked some of the charges regarding conduct unbecoming off the list. The next witness was Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Chief's temporary commander before he was placed under the R.S.A.

After answering all of the senator's questions with nothing but positive answers, Anakin was then grilled by Tarkin for anything that the jury might be able to use against the super soldier. Unfortunately for the prosecution, Skywalker had nothing negative about Master Chief, stating that from the small amount of interaction he had with the warrior, 117 was one of the most loyal and respectful soldiers he had ever met.

Time skip

It had been almost 3 hours and the court had interviewed General Kenobi, Windu, Admiral Yularen, Commander Cody and some clone troopers who had interacted with Chief. No matter how hard Tarkin questioned them, they all produced the same result. Though he may be frightening and his methods are unconventional, he is the best warrior they have ever had the privilege to fight alongside. Currently, Chuchi is busy questioning Captain Rex about the battle of Umbara.

"Captain Rex, it is my understanding that General Pong Krell was about to send yourself and multiple of your brothers into a scenario where there were going to be heavy casualties as a result of missile strikes coming from low orbit. Am I correct so far?"

"Yes ma'am, though both the Master Chief and myself objected to these orders and proposed alternative solutions, General Krell forced my men and I to charge into the field whilst under fire from a supply ship that was being protected by a large fleet of Separatist forces."

"Forced, Captain? How so?"

"General Krell told us that if we did not obey his orders, no matter how many men we lost, we would be placed in front of a firing squad for execution."

"So, despite being threatened by the superior officer with death, Blue Team commandeered some Umbaran assets and proceeded to take out the supply ship without any support from the rest of the GAR assets at Umbara. Is this statement correct Captain Rex?"

"It is correct ma'am and I also believe it is important to state that they did not lose a single trooper despite the overwhelming forces they would have had to face up there." At this point, the jury was looking like they were going to side with the Master Chief in this trial. In response, Tarkin spoke up by saying that there was something the courtroom should see and that they should prepare themselves for this evidence may be disturbing for some members of the jury.

Projecting a compilation of videos and pictures of Master Chief in private, the videos depicted the supersoldier as mentally unstable and even somewhat psychopathic in nature. Some of these clips were after-action reports that highlighted the brutality that he displayed towards Separatist forces in battle. As the courtroom gasped at the visceral nature of 117's missions, the screen cut to security footage of ARC troopers Fives and Echo confronting Admiral Tarkin following Chief's disappearance at Dathomir. As the clip ended, the courtroom was left in shock and Blue Team was in outrage, calling Tarkin a coward and a degenerate from the stands. Holding his hand out to silence them, Chief spoke up.

"Chancellor, may I address the courtroom?" Chief looked up at the panel of judges, hoping to be able to speak on behalf of himself and his men. "Proceed Master Chief."

"Members of the jury, I will not deny the reports shown on the screen there, I did do those things. However, the context is missing from those pictures and recordings. All those missions were given to me by the admiral accusing me today and I followed his orders to the letter. Most of the missions given to me were assassination missions where I was ordered to take out certain individuals. Also, regarding the Republic Security Agency, I did not want to be a part of this operation from the start. Rather, I just wanted to fight on the frontlines alongside my fellow soldiers for the Republic."

"Thank you for your statement Master Chief, the court will take it into consideration before determining what the outcome of this trial will be." Palpatine slyly responded to 117's statement. Motioning for the prosecution and defence to return to their spots and for the jury to discuss behind closed doors, Palpatine sat back in his comfortable seat as he watched Master Chief.

After waiting for about an hour, the jury finally returned to their platform and took their seats. As the judges received the verdict from the jury, Palpatine stood up and read aloud the outcome. "Master Chief, you and your team have been cleared of murder, insubordination, and theft of military hardware. However, you have been found guilty of conduct unbecoming and are henceforth sentenced to a demotion of rank and withdrawal from the Republic Security Agency. Your new position will be determined at a later date and Blue Team will be disbanded and return to their original units. I hereby bring these proceedings to a close."