He murmured at that. "I believe you do. You've simply never tried before."
"But that doesn't change the fact that your health is compromised, and?—"
"And the purpose of life is to be lived," he reminded her. "Oddly, that answered the real question I had for you."
"Which was?"
He smiled. "Whether enhancement is good for our people or should it be eradicated as something against God's will. I was hoping you'd be able to guide me in my decision as to which side of this conflict I should be on. You have, inadvertently."
"Which is one more reason you need to seek treatment," she countered. "To have the Praetor ease the conflict will lessen the impact and save lives."
"But I'm not sure that is what will really happen," he said. "I think I took too long to admit there was a problem, and now we've reached the point of no return. Something will happen, Rissa, and I am not the right man to fix this."
"Brother Sin is," she breathed, realizing what he was implying.
Benedict dipped his head slightly, then quickly glanced out the window. "Ah, good. We're here. I believe we're also on time."
"Sir?" she asked.
He lifted a brow. "Benedict."
"OutLink expects me to follow a very specific set of protocols, Benedict," she said quickly. "To do otherwise would give them cause to retrain me."
"Then you behave as a good Ingénue should," he said, "and I will behave like a very old and tired Praetor. I think it should give the world something good to gossip about."
The words were barely out of his mouth before the door opened and Trent was there again. This time, he assisted Benedict out first, offering the old man a loving smile. Only when the Praetor was with another priest did Trent reach in to offer his hand to Rissa.
"Ingénue, please watch your head," he told her.
She stepped out as gracefully as she'd been taught and followed their procession into the massive cathedral called the Legion. The ceilings were three floors tall. Real gold trimmed the edges, and the architecture had been designed to impress, with vaulted arches and alcoves for statues. Rissa might not be allowed to gawk at it, but she did look, doing her best to memorize every single detail she passed.
The church Sin considered to be his home was not only magnificent, it was also intimidating. The sounds echoed due to the acoustics of the high ceilings. The massive amount of stone and metal created a ringing effect with every step. And there, at the back of the main room, was the golden eye of their Lord. It was much larger than she'd expected.
But they didn't stop. The procession kept walking down an elegant hall, and then into a smaller one. From there, they turned to head even deeper into the building until Benedict paused before a pair of solid wood doors. With a gesture, two priests moved to open them - and everything in the room on the other side paused.
"The Praetor of the Legion, Priest Benedict!" a woman called out, sounding like a herald.
"And the defense's council," Benedict said as he continued to meander his way in.
Trent kept pace, making sure Rissa walked with him. She caught him glancing at her a few times, but he said nothing. From the clothing he was wearing, she could only assume this was one of the Legates' many formal duties, but she hadn't memorized the rituals of the church. That was not considered an appropriate interest for an Ingénue.
Standing in the middle of the room was Jaime, the shop owner of the boutique who had helped Sin. Once Benedict moved to sit at a chair in the first aisle, a priest gestured and Jaime began speaking again.
"Like I was saying," Jaime tried, "I had about eight punks come into my store within an hour. All dressed different, all with pollution masks, piercings, and typical street clothes. They kept asking if I'd seen a priest and a Brain. One said they'd be in blue, so I kinda figured they were talking about an Ingénue, but we don't get those types around there. And then, yeah, I heard shooting."
"But you didn't see anything?" the prosecution asked.
"No, Censor," Jaime said. "I was ducked down behind the counter. Some of those bullets can make it through the walls, you know. I just knew the priest was hurt bad, and he had help coming for them."
Which was when Benedict cleared his throat. "Which is why I brought another witness. I think you'll have more fun cross examining this one, Brother Joshua."
With that, Joshua nodded, dismissing Jaime. "Well, who else do you have to support the claim that Brother Sinclair acted in defense instead of murder?"
"Ingénue R1554-9370S-02K16," Benedict said, gesturing for her. "Please, would you give us your recollections of the event?"
Which was when Trent grabbed her elbow and guided her forward. "Just walk into the center there, and do whatever it is you do."
Then he let her go. Rissa made straight for the open area before the ten men who would judge Sin for keeping her safe. "I will need a data cable and a monitor," she said, making sure her tone was soft and polite.
