Skylar took a deep breath, pulling most of their tentacles back inside their body to hide the trembling. Now that things were more stable on Qwortar, it was time to learn the consequences of their theft and subsequent loss of the ship on a planet that was not as technologically advanced.
The surviving five judges sat in the places in the circle of desks around Skylar. Their black holographic screens were now raised, a conversation Skylar couldn't see or hear happening around them.
As the accused, Skylar had to stand in silence for this part. Their beak was clamped to tightly it too started to tremble. Plenty of Qwortarians had cracked under this pressure, many admitting guilt just for the sake of ending this wait.
A wait which had lasted two months once. The judges getting breaks for food, water, and bathroom, though many had admitted to taking a nap though there was no dedicated time for sleep. Since as long as one of the judges was typing, the verdict didn't have to be declared.
But Skylar had already admitted guilt. They did steal the ship. They did get caught by humans and questioned. They did have to be rescued and leave a ship behind. It was just a matter of how harsh, or lenient, the judges were going to be.
About five minutes in, Skylar was still trying to hide their trembling, pressing their dry tongue back and forth, wishing they had more moisture like they did as a human.
Luckily enough, Skylar didn't have to wait much longer. Before ten minutes had passed the hologram screens blinked out of existence, and the eldest judge pulled the lever to raise their stool another two feet. Skylar, having rested their eye on the surface of their skin, tilted it up in order to watch the judge.
"For the theft, abandonment, and the exposure of intelligent life beyond what the dominant life form on Earth was aware of, you are grounded.” The judge let the silence stretch for nearly a minute. “For life.” Skylar swallowed, slowly ducking their beak.
The door creaked open. Skylar slowly trudged to the hall, where they were wrapped up in a tight hug from both Leama and Jatydid, multiple pairs of tentacles squeezing.
“Now that is unfair.” Jatydid whispered.
“Not just unfair!” Leama screeched. “Skylar has worked their whole life for flight Academy, and now is banned from flying again! That is vile!”
“It’s okay.” Skylar murmured. “I got to fly. I got to see life on another planet. And we know what happened to Charwin, so… I don’t think any other adventure would come close to that.” Leama continued to complain, but Skylar mean what they said.
Word count: 452
