Though no-one could see the energy that coursed through the bars of the cage, all in attendance knew that a single touch could cause excruciating amounts of pain. That didn't seem to stop the the occupant of the cage, who tested the strength of his prison several times, both screaming and laughing as the pain wracked his body.

The court did not find it in the least amusing, but then, they failed to find much of anything amusing. Captain Darius Wolsley held more than a little hidden amusement and admiration for the resilience of their captive. He was, after all, Darius' former commanding officer. Former captain of the ship that Darius now commanded, the EAS Mariposa, and the man that had betrayed the entire Earth.

Darius still could not believe that the prisoner, John Allen, decorated war hero, career space navy, descendant of many an officer going all the way back to World War II, could side with an enemy, let alone a species of alien that looked and acted so unlike humans. But he had. Allen had passed vital security codes to that enemy that, if the fleet commanders hadn't changed the codes in time, could have brought down the entire planetary defence array, leaving the Earth vulnerable to attack.

"Betrayal is a word that positively reeks of negativity." John Allen broke through Darius' thoughts as he answered the assembled judges. Civilian judges. They didn't think he deserved a military court martial. "I like to think of it as pre-defending our interests."

"'Pre-defending'? By giving away our most valuable secrets to an enemy?" The lead judge almost foamed at the mouth, spittle flying, incredulous at Allen's testimony. "You have been given this opportunity to explain yourself due to your years of spotless service, do not think that we cannot end these proceedings and come to our judgement without hearing another word. State your case and show due respect for this court!"

Allen didn't look cowed by the judge's words. He still held that little smile, even as he pretended contrition, bowing his head and clutching his hands behind him. Darius had already questioned him, of course, before bringing him back to Earth, but nothing the man said made any sense. At first, he hadn't even spoken in Earth Standard, instead talking as though his speech centres had become mulched. Only later, as Darius had transferred Allen to Earth Security had he regained his senses.

Darius had chased Allen, in the alien ship, to the outer edges of the Solar System. The ship hadn't even defended itself, only racing faster and faster to reach beyond the Oort Cloud and on into the blackness of interstellar space where Earth ships couldn't follow. If not for Darius' hail-mary play, sending the entire complement of torpedos to explode in front of the highly manoeuvrable alien ship, they would have lost the man forever.

"Let me start by asking a question." Allen turned to look directly towards Darius and, in that look, Darius saw his old commander. If only for a second. "Have I ever lied to you?"

"Yes." Darius shifted in his seat and looked away, towards the judges. He wouldn't lie, not even for Allen. "Several times."

"Alright. That's fair." Taking a second, Allen chose his next words more carefully. "Have I ever lied to you about anything important?"

"Yes." Again, Darius couldn't lie before the court. Allen had done so many times over the years, all for Darius' own good, or so Allen had said. "Several times."

"Okay. Clearly he's still upset about the whole 'shooting him in the leg' thing." The hands emerged from behind Allen's back, launching in the air to proclaim his frustration. "I've never lied about anything to do with defending Earth and I'm not lying now. I did what I did to protect Earth."

A chorus of mutters erupted between the judges as they conferred in harsh whispers. Darius had no idea what game Allen played, but pretending that betraying the Earth could, in any way, protect the Earth sounded preposterous. The planetary defence array was Earth's only protection. After the last war, they still hadn't managed to rebuild the fleet to its optimum numbers. Ships alone couldn't cover the entire Earth, but the array could.

"In what way did passing our security codes to vile aliens protect the Earth?" Another judge leaned forward. "If you aren't going to answer in good faith, then we must close this court until such time as we have deliberated upon your sentence."

"Wait! What if I told you that those aliens aren't the threat you think they are? What if I told you that something far, far worse is coming and the only way we can save the Earth is by joining forces with these aliens?" Allen reached out to grasp the bars of the cage and only stopped as he remembered the painful effects of those powered bars. "Look, they spoke to me, in my mind. That's why I couldn't speak when I was captured, it caused my brain to misfire. They needed to speak directly into my brain because it would take too long to learn each others' languages. And what they had to tell me took time to process."

Darius shifted in his seat again, turning towards the cage. He could see, now, the desperation on the face of Allen, all amusement gone. He looked as deadly serious as Darius had ever seen him. Still none of what he said made sense. Darius had seen the aliens as they had captured Allen. They were, in effect, as alien as aliens could be. They were horrific in looks and in action. Darius could only imagine that they had, somehow, brainwashed his former commander. His former friend.

"Stop playing games, John!" He couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't see Allen brought so low. It disgusted Darius. "You're going to be executed. At least tell us the truth. If not for the court, for me. You owe me that."

"I do." Allen spoke to Darius, now, as though no-one else existed in the court. "These aliens, they're not technically all that advanced. Their ships are faster, more manoeuvrable, but that's it. Their weapons aren't much better than ours, but they have a device. If they can connect it to our defence array, it'll boost their power and give us a fighting chance. Darius, you have to believe me. They're coming. Look beyond the Oort Cloud. A wormhole is forming. They are coming!"

As he spoke, Allens words became more desperate. His voice raised in pitch and volume until he almost screamed those last words. Darius shook his head. The man in the cage was no longer the man he had once admired. He had become mad. Hysterical. Whatever those aliens had done to him had broken him beyond repair.

The judges thought much the same as Darius. Adjourned until sentencing, the court sent Allen back to the cells and Darius could hear the insane screams even as the doors closed upon the man. Darius couldn't take the time to mourn his friend, though. He had to return to the Mariposa and oversee the final refit after the battle to capture Allen.

As he stepped out of the court building, into the fresh Spring air, he almost forgot to turn his communicator back on. As soon as he did so, the communicator burst into life, showing several missed calls and messages. With a tap, he connected back to the ship.

"Captain! We thought we were going to have to transport down to get you." The voice of his XO sounded out of breath. If he didn't know her better, he'd think she were afraid. "Sir, we've been monitoring deep space, out where we caught ... him. There's something out there, sir, something big. An asteroid, a comet, we can't tell, but it's huge and it's coming this way. Orders? Sir?"

Darius' hand dropped but his eyes raised to the skies.

-+-

(If you enjoyed this Sci-Fi story, why not check out my full, novel-length Sci-Fi stories over on my main profile (Kymeraent ).
"They Don't Care About Robots, Do They?" - https://www.wattpad.com/story/305931584-they-don%27t-care-about-robots-do-they

"Anna In The Garden" - https://www.wattpad.com/story/252848426-anna-in-the-garden

And my Wattys2021 winning story, "Foston Slacks - Time's Flies" - https://www.wattpad.com/story/238646728-foston-slacks-time%27s-flies )