Carnoc had trouble sleeping the night before his return to court; he couldn't shift his body at all, but he tucked his head against one side of his body, then  the other, then laid his neck out straight...  Nothing, it seemed, could get him comfortable, and the cold, hard metallic floor beneath his chin was nothing like the rock he was used to.  He sighed and tucked his head against his left flank again, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep, but it wouldn't come.

Tomorrow was the day.  In just a few hours, he would return to court and the judges would say... whether or not the trial would, or could, continue.  He groaned.  It could be weeks before this ends, he thought.  Weeks I should be spending with my mate, hunting for her and protecting her while she carries our egg, not spending paralyzed in this cell.  Can't they realize how much she needs me?  Can't this all wait until after she's laid our egg, and we'll have at least two decades to sort this all out before having to worry about when it will hatch?

Finally morning came, and he didn't have to wait long after his breakfast before the wall moved out of the way and the police arrived to escort him to the trailer that would take him to the courthouse.  There were less of them this time, he noticed, and most of them didn't even draw their guns while they waited for the collar's effects to wear off.  I guess they paid attention to what I said last time, he decided while they were busy shackling his legs.  From there it was a brief shuffle across the warehouse to the trailer, and they were off to the courthouse.

"There are a lot more people out today," said the officer riding along with him.  "They've kept the whole block around the courthouse clear this time, though, so you won't have to walk past them all to get inside."

Carnoc tried--unsuccessfully--to find a way to sit more comfortably in his chains.  "Why?"

The officer shrugged.  "Apparently a whole squadron of military jets is going to be setting down in the street, if they aren't there already, but nobody's been told why they're coming.  Most likely they're going to be escorting you somewhere, but I don't know whether they'll be taking you to Nepal or a to more permanent prison."

"At least this means the trial should end today," he muttered, shifting his chains around again.

They rode in silence for a couple of minutes, then the man stood and stepped between him and the doors.  "Right, we're here.  Now let me close up that ring again, and we'll head on inside."

Carnoc dipped his head and waited while the policeman locked his mouth ring fully shut, then got to his feet and stepped down out of the trailer.  As the officer had said, no crowds waited on the street today; there were a few humans with video cameras, but other than that only the police officers were there to escort him into the courthouse.  He could still faintly hear humans shouting and chanting, but they weren't anywhere in sight, and even as he climbed the steps to the huge double doors their shouts were drowned out by jet engines as six fighter jets came in to land in the near-empty street.

As much as the atmosphere outside the courthouse had changed from his previous visit, the courtroom itself seemed exactly the same right down to the seat each human sat in.  His father was there, as before, and Carnoc paused on his way down the center aisle to growl a greeting across the room to him.  The old dragon growled back, then whispered, "good luck," in dragontongue.

Carnoc walked to his spot on the floor before the judges' podium, trying not to look over towards the humans in the media square, where flashbulbs and video cameras followed his progress to the front of the room.  John was already sitting at his table, and when he passed by the lawyer whispered, "good job."  Carnoc gave him a questioning look, but John only smiled and shook his head in return.

The judges proceeded to their chairs once everything in the courtroom was situated, and a few of the cameras turned to point at them instead of the dragon--if only for a brief moment.  The judges waited for everyone in the room to sit down again, then the one in the center spoke.

"We the judges have deliberated over this case and met with the defendant, and have now come to a unanimous decision."  She paused, smiling slightly as if she enjoyed keeping everyone in the room wondering for a moment longer, then said, "we have decided that the complaint made by the defendant is justified, and that he is being charged with an ex post facto law.  Therefore, this case cannot continue."

The judge looked around the room for another moment, noticing both Carnoc's elated grin and the shocked outrage on the faces of Dave and Simon.  "However, the prosecution was also somewhat correct in stating that killing a human is too great a crime to go wholly unpunished, so we have decided to create a sentence similar to what would have been done to the defendant under the laws in place at the time.  We consulted briefly with the handlers and executives at Disney World, along with the dragon clan elder, then devised a sentence for the defendant.

"Carnoc, you are sentenced to five years of quarantine from humans, along with four further years of probation to make sure you remain peaceful around humans, and a period of anger management the length of which will be determined by your rate of progress through the program.  While quarantined, you may only come into contact with humans while restrained and accompanied by both human military personnel and at least one elder dragon.  There are exceptions, including humans coming into contact with you without permission from you or human security officials, medical emergencies, meetings with your anger management counselor, and a few other situations, as outlined in the full document we will provide to your lawyer.  This is your only warning; if you have any incidents involving humans before the end of your probation, you will be charged to the full possible extent of the law."

"Your honor--" one of the lawyers across the aisle began, but she ignored him.

"This sentence will not be available for appeal," she said, and struck a wooden circle with her gavel.  "Carnoc, there are fighters waiting outside the courthouse to escort you back to Nepal, where you will remain until you are released from quarantine.  You will fly with them, restrained, to San Diego and board an aircraft carrier that is waiting to transport you across the Pacific Ocean to the port of Macau.  You will then fly from there to Nepal, and your quarantine will begin.  If you have any questions not answered by the document concerning the sentence, call the phone number given at the end of the document.  You are dismissed."  The judges rose again and left the courtroom.

Several loud conversations--a lot of them sounding angry--began as soon as the judges were out their door.  "As I was saying," John said, "good job."

Carnoc looked back at him as another man walked over and handed the lawyer a packet of papers.  "You knew?"

The lawyer put the papers down on the table.  "I thought the fighters outside made it obvious.  They made it clear that you were going to be flying somewhere after today's stint in the courtroom, and since we hadn't even gone over the evidence in court yet they couldn't have already given you any sort of prison sentence."

"...right.  So that's it, then?"

"Well, I have to read through your full sentence first..."  John picked up the papers he had been given and started to read through them.  "The older dragon with you while you're with a human must speak International Standard Language, so if I understand correctly that rules out all the females, at least for now."

"What language is that?"

"The one we're using right now..."

Carnoc shuffled his wings.  "Oh, English."

"Well, yes, but officially it's known as the International Standard Language because it's the language most commonly spoken in UN territories--all UN citizens are required to be able to speak it."

"I've never heard it called that before."

John straightened his tie and turned a page.  "Anyway.  Violation of your quarantine will result in a thirty-day prison sentence, unless you can prove an exception...  All humans attempting to see you must apply through the sergeant in charge of the soldiers guarding your clans, except for your assigned anger management counselor, who will meet with you once every five days, excluding holidays.  Your first meeting will be the day after you arrive in Nepal.

"Ah, here we are: exceptions from quarantine.  People attempting to meet you without your or the sergeant's permission; they already said those two...  Any UN government official can request a closed meeting with you, media representatives can ask for the same...  The rest of these circumstances look too ridiculous or unlikely for you to worry about.  If you have any incident involving humans during your quarantine or probation, whether it's assault, homicide, murder, etc, you will be charged to the full possible extent of the law, excluding the death penalty due to dragons' status as a protected species.  Other than that..." John read through the last page of the document, "I think it's all been spelled out.  I guess I don't have any more work to do here, then."

Carnoc watched him pack up his briefcase again, then said, "thanks for your help with all this."

"It is my job," John shrugged, then he turned and walked out of the courtroom.

"Come on," said the officer who had ridden in the trailer with him, reaching down to help the other officers switch his chains so he could leave.  "Let's get you out to those fighters so you can be on your way."

Nesleh joined him in the hallway outside.  "Five years without contact with humans," he growled in dragontongue.  "And they're calling that punishment?"

"The law has spoken, and I must obey," Carnoc grinned, tail flicking as much as its chain would allow.  "No matter how hard it may be, I have to stay away from humans for five years."

"Right," the old dragon chuckled.  "I'm sure it'll be very taxing for you.  Of course, you realize that this anger management won't be coming from me?  Because they've assigned some human to help you with it instead.  I told them my techniques would work best since I know what I'm dealing with--and because I'd be better able to keep you under control if you did lose your temper--but they went and got someone else anyway."

He shuffled his wings.  "I'm sure it won't be much different from what you've been teaching me, anyway.  I'm just glad I'll be able to spend at least a few weeks with Melora before she lays our egg, and that I'll be able to be there for her."

"That's what I thought.  When the judges came to me to ask how we had punished you for what you'd done, I was worried they might enforce some of our own more harsh policies with you, and I had to answer them honestly...  But they didn't seem to add any of them to your sentence, so it all worked out.  It'll be nice to have you back at the caves again," Nesleh said, reaching over to nuzzle at Carnoc's shoulder.

"It'll be nice to hunt for myself again," he said.  "I haven't done that since the mating cycle ended.  And to fly as far as I want, whenever I want, without having to let humans watch my every move...  I just wish I could get these damn chains taken off already," he kicked a little with one of his hind legs, snapping the links taut.  Then they reached the front doors, and he had to wait a moment for his father to go first--the doors weren't quite wide enough to take two dragons at once.

"Well, it's part of your sentence if you're around humans, so you only have yourself to blame," Nesleh said.  "Just a week or so more, anyway, then they'll come off."

"Easy for you to say," he growled.

The officer leading them along stopped and turned around to face him.  "Almost ready," he said.  "Just a few more things to do..."  He motioned for Carnoc to lower his head and removed his mouth ring while another policeman untied the cord pinning his wings.  Carnoc worked his jaw and flexed his wings, growling happily as he spread his wings for the first time in weeks.  He looked around at the jets, ready to get flying, but then the officer in front of him coughed and he looked down to see the man holding up his muzzle impatiently.

He groaned, but lowered his head and accepted the bit, then waited a moment for the man to fasten the straps before pulling his head up again with an unhappy grumble.  "My least favorite part," he muttered to Nesleh.

"Now you're all set," the officer said.  "They'll take the muzzle off for your meals, of course, so don't worry about that.  You don't have to worry about directions either; just follow the fighters across the province to San Diego.  There's a boat waiting for you there, and it's about a five-day ride across to Macau."

It took three long days to make it to San Diego, made worse by the uncomfortable hunched-over flying position his shackles forced him to use.  He was almost glad when the fighters guided him and his father down to the deck of a large, near-empty ship anchored outside the harbor, but was surprised to find a familiar mutant with a backpack waiting on deck for them.

"What's that coward doing here?" he asked Nesleh.

"Stop calling him that; you can't expect humans to be as brave as we are.  Anyway, he said he just wanted to see the two of us safely to Nepal so he can quit his job as soon as he's finished helping us out and move in with the female he likes."

"And what'll I be doing for five days?  I'm not supposed to be near any humans."

"You'll be confined to the main aircraft hangar inside the ship.  I don't know if it's been emptied for you or if they'll take off any of your chains while you're down there, but that's where you'll be staying.  I'll spend some time down with you, but since Sean can't be in the same room as you I'll have to be up on deck whenever I want to talk to him.  A dragon has to join the UN Senate in Geneva, so I offered to take the job, and I want to see if Sean knows anything about what I'll be doing."

The ship started moving out to sea even as the UN fighters came in to land, but even then the ship seemed strangely quiet.  "Where is everyone?" Carnoc asked.  "I thought these human ships were always jammed full of people."

Nesleh asked Sean, who said, "I've already looked around a bit, and aside from the three of us, the captain, the drivers and the jet pilots, the only people on board are the service crews for the ship.  There aren't many of them and they usually spend all their time belowdecks, so we probably won't see any of them unless something happens to the ship."

"Does that mean I don't have to spend my time here bound up like this?" he asked his father.

"We'll see," Nesleh said, looking around the deck for someone who could tell them where to go, but they had to wait a couple of minutes before one of the fighter pilots got out of his jet and walked over to them.

"Nesleh, you don't have to do anything right now, but you're free to travel between the deck and the hangar where Carnoc will be staying as long as someone's around to open the hatch for you," the pilot said.  "As for you, Carnoc, if you'll ride the lift down into the hangar with me, I'll get all those chains off you and you'll have the whole place to yourself... ?cept for your meals, of course, which I'll be bringing to you.  Come on, I need sleep, and I'm sure you can't wait for a chance to stretch out."

The two of them rode a large platform down from the deck into a huge room beneath, which Carnoc was glad to see was almost completely empty; here and there some peculiar pieces of metal stuck out of the ground and there were patterns of paint all over the walls and floor, but the hangar was mostly clear.  Better yet, there was a pile of beef--fresh, even--on a tray nearby, and he hadn't eaten since that morning, twelve long hours of flying ago.

The lift ground to a stop at floor level, and the pilot stepped off, reaching into his pocket for a keycard.  "Now let me just get these off you..."  First went the chains and shackles, then the muzzle, which the pilot carried off into a corner.

"There's a box in the corner if you ever need to clear your pipes, and I'll be back in the morning with some breakfast," he said, then turned to leave the room.  Carnoc wasn't listening; he had started eating his dinner as soon as his muzzle was off.  Then a loud thump sounded from the doorway, and he looked up to see the fighter pilot lying on his back by the open door.

"What are you doing?" Carnoc started to rise, distracted; then a man stepped over the body, aimed a rifle and shot him.
 

"It's just that rules for mutants in Canada are so much less restrictive, and from what I've seen of their government it's just run so much better than the UN's."

Nesleh looked around; already land was completely out of sight, and the sun had just set.  Everything on the ship around them was lit by lights from the bridge and around the edge of the deck, but it was still hard to see in the half-light.  "Maybe things will be different for the UN with a dragon in the Senate," he chuckled, "though I've still barely been told what my responsibilities will be.  It all seems so complicated."

"That's government for you.  Can't say you'll enjoy it, but... hopefully..."  Sean paused and put a hand on his backpack; Nesleh was looking around the deck again, sniffing at the air.  "What?"

"I thought I heard something, that's all, and considering that everyone else is belowdecks...  Ah, it was probably just an odd swell knocking against the hull."

"No, I can hear it too.  Footsteps, from somewhere over--" he turned to point towards one of the hatches leading into the ship.

"Freeze!"  Twenty men, all holding rifles, appeared out of the darkness or from behind the parked fighters.

Nesleh started to stand, but one of them said, "we mean it, dragon, don't move!  We don't want to have to hurt you, but we'll knock you out if you force us to.  Our business on this ship isn't with you."

"Then what is it?" Sean asked.

The man ignored him, instead unhooking a communicator from his belt.  "Sir, we have secured the dragon and the mutant on deck."

"Good," said the voice on the other end.  "We've got the target under control down in the hangar.  The restraints the target was wearing before are being sent up to you; use them to bind the dragon up there.  You don't have to worry about Sean," the voice laughed, "he's too much of a coward to try anything.  Just make sure they stay out of the way while we do what we came here to do."

"Oh, no," Nesleh whispered, eyes going wide.  The target these people are after is in the hangar, he thought, and that's where Carnoc is...  He's supposed to be alone down there, so it must be him they're after!  "What are you going to do to my son?" he roared, turning on the man who had spoken.

"He and our clients have a score to settle," the man shrugged, bringing up his rifle again.  "Remember what I said about not moving?"

"Who are your clients?" Sean asked.

"That's not for you to know," the man said, motioning a group of men forward who had just arrived carrying Carnoc's chains and muzzle.  "Now hold still, dragon, while we put these on you."

But Nesleh already knew the answer to Sean's question.  "It's Dave," he said.  "Dave and Simon are here."