Warren's body was frail. His clothes had been torn during the interrogation, exposing his skeletal back. But the moment he stepped onto the gallows, he stood straight as a sword that would sooner break than bend.
His blind, clouded white eyes did not turn toward the nobles above him, nor toward the guns below. His gaze seemed to pierce the endless darkness, to see beyond this sinful city to the future this world should have had.
He did not beg for mercy. He showed no fear. Instead, he drew a deep breath and summoned the last ounce of strength in his aged chest. Before the tens of thousands of people in the square and the countless cold camera lenses broadcasting across the planet, he loudly, unmistakably recited the evidence of their crimes, collected by his own son and long since committed to memory!
"Philo Heimdall! The five hundred and seventy-sixth speaker of Nostramo!" The old man's voice was hoarse, yet it cracked across the square like thunder. "Three years ago, you embezzled three hundred million credits in relief funds intended to upgrade the Underhive's air purification systems! As a result, over a hundred thousand Underhive residents inhaled highly concentrated toxic gases, developed irreversible pulmonary fibrosis, and died in agonizing pain and suffocation! Evidence reference: A-017, distributed throughout the city!"
On the viewing platform, Speaker Heimdall's smile froze. The wineglass in his hand fell to the ground with a sharp crack and shattered.
"Hector Marr! Supreme Commander of the city's garrison!" Warren did not pause. His voice grew louder still. **"Over the past ten years, you secretly used military transports to conduct illegal human trafficking with the 'Bloodthroat' xenos pirates! You sold a total of three thousand seven hundred and sixty-two civilians from Nostramo! Among them were twelve hundred underage children!