Chapter 61: The Association Split

Bekka entered the tribunal carrying the black-box fragment while hundreds of heroes watched from galleries.

Gruber stood at the central podium, arranging his notes as broadcast drones turned toward the unregistered woman approaching him.

"This hearing concerns the Ghost, not another vigilante seeking attention through hidden evidence and convenient accusations," he announced.

She placed the fragment on his podium, letting its symbols brighten beneath the waiting cameras.

"Show them the wreckage."

Murmurs moved through the chamber as several heroes recognized the Vorn markings beneath the Association suppression casing around it.

Gruber covered the fragment with one hand, signaling security officers while maintaining the patient smile expected from his position.

"This object remains unverified, dangerous, and connected to the criminal who attacked Hancock during an authorized recovery operation," he said.

"Your operation collected alien wreckage while your networks called the corvette a satellite, making verification difficult by design," Bekka answered.

"The Ghost stopped that vessel while your strongest fighters fell into the bay," Bekka said.

Younger heroes struck their desks in agreement while veterans demanded order across the chamber floor.

Gruber raised his voice above them, presenting casualty figures from the salvage yard without mentioning the surviving captive pilots.

"I request approval for a ten-million-credit kill order before this criminal weapon brings another invasion toward our world," he declared.

The proposed bounty flashed across the screens, drawing anger from heroes who watched Leo divert the corvette from District One.

Bekka opened Sierra’s copied files across the chamber screens, replacing his casualty report with records from Apex Medical Tower.

"Before approving murder, ask why Apex kept splicing labs beneath its hospital and supplied Gruber with altered children."

Rows of hidden treatment logs appeared beside footage from the underground wards, carrying dates, signatures, and Project Smith classifications.

Gruber lunged toward the controls, but Bekka caught his wrist and held it above the glowing fragment between them.

"Remove your hand from the chairman, or tribunal security will treat this interruption as an armed assault," a marshal warned.

"Let him erase one more file on camera, and every district will understand who this building protects," she replied.

The chamber doors opened, admitting Hancock with bandages crossing his cheek and sunglasses hiding eyes.

"Please lower your voices... my headache is defending civilization."

He walked toward the witness circle carrying water instead of bourbon, drawing whispers from heroes who never saw him sober.

Gruber released the controls and straightened his coat, watching the S-rank enter without the escort assigned by Association handlers.

"Hancock, your written statement confirms the Ghost attacked without provocation and attempted taking classified recovery property," Gruber said.

Hancock removed his sunglasses, exposing bloodshot eyes while Leo’s cut marked his cheek before everyone.

"My statement confirms your agents lied, your cargo came from space, and the kid warned me about an approaching fleet."

Several cameras turned from Gruber toward Hancock, catching the chairman signal handlers who no longer obeyed his gestures.

The galleries erupted, splitting between demands for the black-box recording and accusations that Hancock remained intoxicated during testimony.

Hancock placed both palms on the witness rail, letting golden light expose every concealed transmitter planted beneath its surface.

"I was drunk yesterday, Chairman, but your people worked hard ensuring sobriety never interrupted my usefulness," he continued.

Bekka watched Gruber lose his smile as reporters aimed their drones toward the transmitters scattered across the floor.

"Tell them who kept delivering bottles whenever you questioned orders from this office," Bekka said.

"Association handlers delivered them, doctors approved them, and sponsors filmed the results whenever citizens needed another smiling champion," Hancock answered.

Three senior heroes left Gruber’s side and crossed toward the witness circle, while others surrounded the chairman with raised voices.

The black-box fragment pulsed, projecting the corvette’s homing sequence across every screen in the chamber.

"That signal ends at Earth, and the formation following it arrives within forty-eight hours now."

Richter’s decoded star map appeared beside the sequence, showing carrier shapes and the central vessel advancing behind its escorts.

Gruber called the projection fabricated, but two Association analysts confirmed its orbital mathematics before their supervisors silenced them.

One marshal removed his helmet and stepped away from security formation, refusing Gruber’s order to seize Bekka or the fragment.

Another marshal followed, then six A-ranks crossed the aisle and demanded the tribunal suspend every warrant against the Ghost.

The chamber split down its center, leaving Gruber’s supporters facing heroes who finally questioned the orders beneath their victories.

Pressure touched every mind, silencing the chamber before Kingsley’s telepathic projection appeared above them together.

His image carried no ceremonial armor or escort, yet even Hancock lowered his head when the founder’s gaze crossed him.

"I reviewed the evidence, the hidden laboratories, and every altered statement submitted after the corvette attack," Kingsley said inside them.

Gruber tried speaking, but the founder closed his mouth through a thought and returned his attention toward the waiting chamber.

"No bounty will target the Ghost while Earth faces the enemy he risked himself exposing."

The ten-million-credit order vanished from every screen, leaving Gruber’s authorization seal floating alone above the empty bounty field.

Cheers rose from one side while Gruber’s faction shouted about compromised leadership, unauthorized powers, and collapsing public confidence.

Kingsley lifted one hand, quieting both factions before turning his projected attention toward Bekka beside the black-box fragment.

"Bekka Hayes will serve as official liaison to the Ghost, carrying tribunal authority until this invasion threat ends," he declared.

Her new credential appeared across the screens, granting evidence access and operational standing equal to an Association field commander.

"I accept, but nobody uses this title to leash him after ignoring warnings he gave."

Kingsley’s expression almost softened before his projection vanished, releasing the chamber into arguments that security could no longer contain.

Gruber gathered his notes with shaking hands, leaving through the rear doors while his remaining supporters blocked pursuing reporters.

Bekka copied the tribunal record to Sierra, then secured the black-box fragment inside the pouch beneath her coat.

Hancock approached her near the aisle, pressing cold water against his bandage while cameras continued following their every movement.

"Tell shadow boy I testified. He was right."

"Call him that again, and your next scar won’t look nearly as flattering," Bekka replied.

He laughed once, then glanced toward the doors where Gruber disappeared with Project Smith supervisors.

"Gruber doesn’t lose quietly. Reach your mountain."

Below the tribunal, Gruber entered an unlogged cryo-storage level and pressed his hand against three identical sealed capsules.

No tribunal camera reached this level, and every access log routed toward an account erased before Kingsley’s verdict.

"Wake units Seven, Eight, and Nine, then remove the Ghost before Kingsley intervenes," Gruber ordered.

A technician hesitated beside the controls, reading unstable output warnings while frost spread across each capsule’s viewing panel.

"The prototypes never completed social conditioning, Chairman, and their command recognition degraded further during storage," the technician said.

Gruber entered Bekka’s image beside Leo’s mountain coordinates, marking both targets with immediate extermination authority under his private seal.

"Kill the Ghost, erase the Hayes girl, and leave nobody capable of testifying when this ends," Gruber ordered.

Three pairs of eyes opened together below her as Bekka reached the corridor above and called Leo’s burner.

"They are heading for your mountain right now," she said, ducking behind a pillar as alarms awakened below.