The First Legendary Beast Master novel Chapter 202

Chapter 202 Tribunal

By the time that the tribunal was finished with everyone they wanted to call for witnesses, it was nearly lunch, so they postponed the final two interviews with the Base Commander and the Captain for after the meal.

That cut out almost all chance of getting a proper patrol completed on that day, and that meant double the numbers of dangerous monsters the day after, as Karl's team wouldn't be out there to deal with them.

But more importantly, with nobody challenging them, there was a chance that the larger monsters would team up and start coming after the base.

But very few in the camp were actually concerned about the implications of stopping their clearance duties for a day. They all wanted to know how this drama was going to play out, and if there was going to be a new Base Commander at the end of the day.

If there was, then they would expect a whole new set of orders to be coming, and they couldn't rely on routine to get them through tomorrow. Even if the Base Commander was just censured by the High Priest, the tribunal officers would be breathing down his neck for the foreseeable future, and that meant even more chaos than a new Commander.

They had all realized yesterday when the pile of monster heads was brought into the base that something was horribly wrong outside their patrol ranges, but most of them didn't know the details.

They did, however, know about the altercation between the Captain and the Base Commander.

Lunch at the military chow hall was a dismal meal, with everything from cans and no clerics assigned to kitchen duties to bring fresh food to the mix. Karl wasn't certain, but the ever present rice and beans might actually be better than what they were serving here.

Lotus must have felt the same way because Karl saw her sneaking spices into everything that she ate, including the tea. For such a tiny creature, the cleric ate a surprising amount, but she was still finished before the meal was over and waiting for the circus to begin.

The final decisions would be made within the next hour, and they would find out if they were going to have to patrol in the afternoon, or reorganize their team after it lost its Captain. There was a very slim chance that they would be sent out without their officer, but Karl's group might well be reassigned to another unit while the one they were with was put on base duty until they could receive a new officer.

The Golden Dragon Nation's Army was quite flexible with officer ranks, as they were mostly based on accomplishments, so you could end up with situations like this, where a Captain led a platoon of men, instead of a Lieutenant, but without an officer, nobody would be going anywhere.

Someone had soundproofed the tent, so everyone waiting outside could only guess at what happened after the Base Commander and the Captain were called inside, but it was an entire hour before they came back out.

The Captain, whose uniform insignia had already been changed to red to signify his punishment status, was now wearing the silver bar of a Second Lieutenant, along with the red stripes of an officer under punishment, while the Base Commander was no longer wearing any military rank at all. His coat and hat had been removed, and he was accompanying the JAG officers to the helicopter they had arrived in the day before.

The former Captain, now Lieutenant, waited beside the High Priest while he prepared to make an official announcement, waiting for the crowd to quiet before he spoke.

"Attention. Our decision has been made. The base will receive a new Commander within the next seven days. Until that time, I will remain here, and the Church Guard will take over administration of this forward post.

For the crime of instigating violence against a fellow officer, a demotion from Captain to Second Lieutenant has been issued, and this matter is now considered to be resolved. May the Dragons favour all your lives."