"Because all six of the attackers wore something to cover their faces, long sleeves, pants, and clothes that covered their bodies. Most also had Kevlar or other outerwear as armor. I was not close enough to determine if their eyes were cybernetic, as many of the newer generation options mimic natural eye color very well, and their eyes were all I had to judge by, Censor."
"If they were enhanced," Joshua tried next, "would you still have shot them as easily?"
Wasthatwhere he was going with this? Was Joshua really hoping this trial hinged on the fact it had been normals against enhanced? Sin had to clench his jaw to keep from showing any reaction. Beside him, Julie was making a note on the paper she'd brought, but Sin didn't need help. He just needed to make sure he kept his calm, stoic attitude.
"Censor Joshua," Sin finally said, "as a former Legate yourself, you know that when we serve as the hand of God, our responsibility is to protect one who is deemed unable to protect themselves. That person is assigned the title of 'angel,' and ourvow is to die—or kill—to ensure their safety. So yes, I would kill anyone, enhanced or not, who tried to harm my angel."
"Because your angel is enhanced," Joshua stated.
"Objection!" Julie called out. "The prosecution did not ask a question and is instead making assumptions."
Joshua just lifted a finger as if he could agree with that. "Is it, Brother Sinclair, because your angel is enhanced?"
"No," Sin said. "I accept this vow for all of my angels, and I do not ask their status beforehand."
"But should you?" the Censor taunted. "Is it not your responsibility to make sure those receiving the help of the Legion, especially with our most elite branch of priests, isn't a sinner who cannot appreciate what they have?"
"No," Sin said, and this time didn't elaborate.
When Joshua sucked in a hard breath, it was almost gratifying. "And why not?!" he demanded. "Why are you, one of the few enhanced Legionnaires, so devoted to someone who so blatantly broke the first precept? In protecting a sinner like her, you have killed a devout priest. You cut short the life of a good man who could have climbed the ranks and ended up the next Praetor, for all we know! How can you justify this, Legate? How can you claim this is what our faith should be used for?"
"Because I am not aware of any precept considered more important than any other," Sin told him. "According to the Good Book, we should follow all ten, not pick and choose. The first precept says to respect life, Censor. It does not tell me to judge life. It does not tell me which life to respect. It merely says to respect it. Should I value one sin over another? Are the enhanced not alive and thus also included in the first precept?"
Joshua opened his mouth as if to interrupt, but Sin just kept going. "Tell me, Censor, is having an enhancement truly more atrocious than trying to kill a defenseless woman, as Signifer Paul Allston tried? And was he attacking herbecauseof herenhancements or something else? Which option is the more egregious sin against the first precept: modification or murder? Should we ignore the second precept and not care about the will others had in choosing to sin or not? How are we, mere sinful mortals, supposed to know the answers to these things? Or should we simply do the bestwecan to fulfill our vows to God without casting judgement so that we will not break the eighth precept? Isn't that the very definition of faith?"
"Objection," Joshua said to the Tribunes. "The defendant is not here to ask questions."
Oh, but Sin was, because every journalist in the room was recording him, and he had a funny feelingthiswould be what the news led with this evening. Not the death of a priest. Not the charges against him, but the debate about the first precept. Rissa had said to make the conflict public, so Sin just had.
The only way to heal the division in the church was to stop pretending like it didn't exist. Staying silent about it hadn't worked. Trying to reassure people hadn't worked. So, all that was left was admitting that not even the Legion could agree on this one thing.
But Joshua had picked the wrong man to accuse if he was trying to put enhancements on trial rather than the death of that priest. From the moment Sin had woken up after surgery, he'd asked himself these very same questions. Over and over, he'd tried to find the balance between respecting life as God made it and the benefits of enhancements. There wasn't an angle to this debate Sin hadn't faced down, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it.
And now he was going to let everyone in New Cincinnati decide for themselves.
Chapter Thirty-Two
On the day of Sin's trial, Rissa was pulled out of her care bay and dressed in the official robes of the Ingénue. However, she wasn't taken to a data center. Instead, her technician turned her towards the receiving room with no question or information about the problem she was to solve. Her wrist was scanned, and without a word, Rissa was propelled into the waiting area.
Sin wasn't there. She wanted to scan the room, but if she looked too interested, her employers might become suspicious. All she could do was search for the deep blue color used by priests—and she found it. Over by the door, a stout man stood in the formal suit-style robes of Legion priests—not armor.
"Legate?" her technician asked. "I have Ingénue R1554-9370S-02K16. She is due back by the close of business, sir."
"Brother," the priest corrected, and Rissa recognized the voice as Trent's. "Ok, Princess, how am I supposed to operate you?"
"She will follow you, Brother," the technician said. "All Ingénue are encouraged to be mindful and respectful, so they follow directions well."
"Mm," Trent murmured. "Well, then follow me, Princess, because I sure won't remember your numbers."
"Yes, Legate," Rissa replied by rote.
But her heart wanted to race. She had to adjust her endocrine levels to prevent that. Her mind wanted to spin, soshe concentrated on keeping herself just behind and beside him. A million questions hung on her tongue, making it clear how spoiled she had become from her time with Sin, and every step they took towards the doors seemed like it made the distance increase.
Outside, a long line of cars waited directly before the doors. Without a word, Trent led her to the biggest of the bunch. It was clearly some type of limousine, but the windows were darkened and Rissa couldn't ask. Not with the security surveillance on the parking lot. But when Trent opened the door, he politely asked her to find a seat, and then closed her in before her eyes could even adjust.
"Good evening, Ingénue."
Rissa's eyes jumped to the man's shoes. She'd learned just how much a person's preferred footwear said about them, and it wasn't considered rude to look at their feet. This time, she found a very worn pair of leather loafers. They were brown, which did not match the white cloth spread around the man's ankles. Deep blue trim and various religious symbols made it clear she was in the presence of a very high-ranked priest.
