(If you missed the first part, start here.)
The falling sensation stopped suddenly in a cool burst of blue light. It took Caitlin’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dimly lit chamber. The black of the walls was so intense that it hurt the eyes to look at them for too long. The room was so high that Caitlin could not see the ceiling. Directly in front of her was a rounded podium at least twice her height, at which sat three robed and hooded figures.
The centermost of the three began to speak in a flowing language with too many sibilants. Mr. Smith stepped forward and interrupted the speech.
“With all respect, your Excellencies, it would be less prejudicial to my client if this proceeding were to continue in a more familiar language and venue.”
Caitlin’s eyes went wide as the room around her began to shimmer and then to melt away like wax. Before she could blink, a small town courtroom stood before her, furnished in rough-hewn wood but clean. The three figures at the front had transformed into a judge, a sheriff and a circuit-riding preacher such as could have been seen in hundreds of towns in the West.
“Rightly spoken, Mr. Smith.” The circuit-rider’s lips did not appear to move as he spoke, but Caitlin could still hear the sibilant language as a kind of after-echo. She stared at the three individuals and felt a slight shiver, in spite of the preacher’s smiling face.
The sheriff was not smiling. In fact, Caitlin received a definite sense of disapproval from him. “If these...preliminaries are complete, we should begin.”
The judge nodded slowly, his face completely impassive. “Very well. Let the plaintiff in.”
In the back of the courtroom a door opened that Caitlin could have sworn was not there a moment before. Caitlin’s breath caught in her throat as a figure stepped through. It was David, Molly’s father. Or at least that had been the name he had used... Mr. Smith’s gentle touch on Caitlin’s wrist let her know that she had been clenching her fists.
“It will be alright, my dear,” the lawyer whispered. “Trust me. Trust Molly. And above all, trust yourself.”
Caitlin nodded though her eyes were fixed on David. Damn him. Still as devilishly handsome as ever, his fire-red hair combed in a rakish part. And she still felt the hypnotic power of his stunningly purple eyes. Not lavender, not even violet, they were a deep purple with flecks of black lightning. Caitlin forced her gaze elsewhere, focusing on his long, strong limbs, and those surprisingly delicate fingers. Each with its extra joint. An abnormality of his birth, David had said. Caitlin should have run that first night, or at least should never have looked back into the depths of those eyes.
Molly clung to Caitlin’s legs, burying her face in her skirt. She knew who this was alright. She knew what was at stake.
And then a second “David” walked through the doorway. Caitlin felt her legs grow weak as this figure was followed by a third, and a fourth, and a fifth. Somehow she knew these were not brothers, not even quintuplets. No, they were five exact copies of the same individual. As one, they turned their faces toward Caitlin and smiled, their teeth too perfectly straight. The smiles did not touch the five sets of eyes, where black lightning flashed.
“If the two parties would take their places,” the judge intoned. Smith squeezed Caitlin’s wrist again, and then led her and Molly to the table to the left of the judge. Still smiling, the five “Davids” seated themselves on the right. Caitlin found herself staring, wondering which of the five...
“The court is in session.” The sheriff’s voice startled Caitlin from her thoughts, a blush coming to her cheeks. “Close your hearts to all but the Truth.”
“The plaintiff may state his case.” The judge stared at the duplicate Davids with emotionless eyes.
The five Davids exchanged glances, and then all five looked at Caitlin before they turned back to the judge. “We ask only for what is mine-ours, your Excellencies. The child is of my-our genetic material. Therefore she is mine-ours.” A smile curled at the corners of five pairs of lips, and Caitlin found herself wondering how she had ever found the condescending bastard charming. “This backwater is no place for a child of her gifts. She will be a queen among my-our people, not trapped in brothel bedrooms, a little more than a foundling.”
Caitlin felt her rage bristle, but Mr. Smith laid a hand on her arm. She bit her lip but nodded at the lawyer. She would bide her time then, but she couldn’t take much more of this.
The Davids apparently considered their words sufficient, and Smith arose, all four-foot-nothing of him, and hooked his thumbs under his lapels before he began to speak. “Excellencies, the plaintiff speaks of his rights, knowing full well that the Confederation frowns on interference in worlds not yet ready for full membership. This world is certainly not a place for the Scarotti to find breeding stock–”
Smith was interrupted here by an indignant outburst from the five Davids in a language Caitlin did not understand. The judge had to hammer his gavel a dozen times before the quintet quieted itself.
“Such outbursts do not favor your case,” the judge said in his too smooth voice. Caitlin had yet to see his lips move. “Proceed, Mr. Smith.”
“Thank you, Excellencies. I only wish to add that the child has a name–Molly–and it should be up to her and her mother as to whether she is to be a brood queen for the Scarotti.”
The Davids looked like they were about to cause another scene, but a look from the sheriff silenced them. Caitlin tugged at her skirts and gave Molly an encouraging smile. But her Irish was definitely up as she leaned in to whisper to Mr. Smith. “What was that part about a ‘brood queen’?”
“The Scarotti are like honeybees, or ants. Most members of the species are just copies of each other. There are only few females. And they are waited on, hand and foot. Mostly because they are too pregnant to move for most of their lives.”
Caitlin clenched her eyes shut, willing Mr. Smith to stop. Willing her imagination to quit working. As long as she was alive, Molly would never be anyone’s ‘queen.’
On the witness stand, one of the Davids was giving a very biased account of how he–they–had met Caitlin and how they had created a child together. But the creature on the stand used all of these technical words that made it sound like Caitlin had entered into a contract to provide David with a child.
Caitlin wondered how she had ever thought “David” was human.
At last David’s monologue ended. Mr. Smith popped up immediately. “You contend that, given Molly Murphy’s genetic material is half Scarotti, you have legal right to her?”
“Obviously.”
“Yet your story clearly indicates that Molly Murphy is also half human. Why should that not entitle her mother to the same right of custody?”
The David on the stand blinked, as if that thought had never occurred to him. “Confederation law does not cover primitive species,” he finally said.
“Thank you for your admission. Non-Confederation planets indeed are under a different set of laws. In fact, Confederation citizens are bound to follow local laws in most legal matters when visiting such primitive worlds, are they not?”
Caitlin saw a flicker of anger in David’s eyes. “That is why I-we agreed to take part in this...trial.” Caitlin wondered what adjective he had mentally supplied in the pause.
“So you agree that the matter should be determined by the standards of the overwhelming majority of Earth courts? That is to say–by the standard of what is in the best interest of the child.”
Again the David paused. “If I-we did not, I-we would not be here.”
“And you hold that becoming a Scarotti queen is in the best interest of Molly Murphy?”
The David blinked, again seeming to be surprised by the question. “The genetic superiority of the Scarotti is admitted by all. Plus, as a citizen of the Confederation, we can offer the child the wealth of the Cosmos. Knowledge, power, riches.” He fixed his cold purple eyes on Caitlin. “What can a broken down prostitute offer in comparison to this?”
Caitlin was on her feet before Mr. Smith could stop her. “Love. Kindness. A world of emotions you calculating bastard–bastards–could never understand.”
The judge banged his gavel. “The defendant will be silent until it is her turn to speak.”
“With all due respect, your honor, this whole trial is bullshit. Molly is my daughter, and I’m going to fight for her.”
The courtroom fell silent. Everyone, including Mr. Smith, stared at Caitlin. The being in the form of the preacher finally asked in a soft voice, “Does the defendant understand what she is saying?”
Before her lawyer could respond, Caitlin said, “Damn right.”
The sheriff turned to the Davids. “Is this challenge acceptable to you?”
The five men were grinning like wolves that smelled fresh meat. “Yes, Excellencies.”
“Excellencies!” Mr. Smith’s voice broke through, and then he paused, as if he were thinking something over.
“Yes, counsel?”
“We consent to the change of venue, and agree to Scarotti trial by combat.”
Caitlin’s eyes went wide, and she tugged on Mr. Smith’s sleeve. “Trial by combat?” Her whisper hissed in the small man’s ear. “Are you crazy? It’s five against one!”
“Not exactly.” Mr. Smith wore a lopsided smirk. “Group being. Think of the Corsican brothers.”
Caitlin blinked, and then turned to look at Molly. Her daughter was smiling too. A few years back when Molly was learning French, she had read a story about two brothers from Corsica, and she had shared the tale with Caitlin. Something about one brother sensing the pain of the other... Caitlin found that Mr. Smith’s grin was contagious.
“If the defendant is quite done getting coached by her lawyer...” The words dripped coldly from the lips of one of the Davids. Oh, Caitlin was going to enjoy this.
The Davids stepped into the open area before the judge’s bench. Caitlin joined them. The judge looked from the five men to the woman. “Both parties have agreed to trial by combat, according to Scarotti law.” The sheriff and the preacher remained silent. “Begin.”
Predictably, the Davids surrounded Caitlin. Like a pack of wolves, toying with an injured lamb. But Caitlin was through being a lamb. She waited until the first David rushed her, pivoted in the direction of his run, and kneed him in the groin.
All five went down instantly, rolling on the ground. Caitlin kicked the other four for good measure. She had to make sure she got her licks in on whoever had been with her that night.
“Say uncle, you sons of bitches.”
A few more well-placed kicks were all it took to get the Scarotti to give in. As Caitlin looked up, she could have sworn she saw even the three judges grinning at the outcome before they resumed their Stoic expressions.
“The trial is over. Caitlin Murphy is granted custody of her daughter, according to the laws of the Scarotti and the Confederation.” The words were spoken by the three figures in unison. “Justice and the law are satisfied.”
The room went dark, and Caitlin suddenly found herself and Molly and Mr. Smith standing in a field, with the lights of Cottonwood Falls beyond. The lawyer was beaming.
“Well played, Miss Caitlin. Very well played. The arrogant bas–, err, so-and-sos.” The lawyer smiled mischievously down at Molly. “Too many people...out there were starting to take all the Scarotti propaganda seriously. Especially the Scarotti themselves. Fundamental flaw in that group mind of theirs. That will make the Scarotti think twice before they visit a frontier world again.”
A thousand questions swirled in Caitlin’s head, but there were more important things at hand. She scooped up Molly in her arms, and kissed her daughter. Then she bent down to give the lawyer a kiss on the forehead. Molly did the same. Caitlin could see the little man’s blush even in the starlight. “I don’t know how to repay you, Mr. Smith. I would nave have been able to do it without you.”
“No need, Miss Caitlin. My fees have already been paid in full. You’re fortunate. Very few humans know of the existence of the...visitors among us. Much less the nuances of Confederation law. But I must say, rarely have I found my job such a pleasure.”
The lawyer turned away from the town, as if he were about to head off into the east, where the first streaks of color were showing. Caitlin rested a hand on his shoulder, and he looked back. “I have to know before you go. Who hired you for us?”
Mr. Smith’s eyeglasses twinkled. “Not all of our visitors are as...crass as the Scarotti, Miss Caitlin. Some have in fact become quite fond of us as a species. While I must be careful not to breach confidentiality, you may want to have a word with Hank back at the saloon.”
Hank? The handyman? Was he a human, or another creature from Beyond? Before Caitlin could ask any more questions, she realized that Mr. Smith was gone. Molly stirred in Caitlin’s arms, and she looked down to see her daughter yawn.
“Argellian. Let’s go home, Momma. I’m tired.”
Home. Someone you love. Those were things worth fighting for. Caitlin kissed Molly again and headed toward town.
The End.