𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ➪ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐤¹

|| 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐀𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 ||

Samsa reached out to take her hand, but Luna pulled away at the last moment.

"No. Ignore me, Kiddo. I'm fine."

The blonde didn't look convinced. She went to persist when there was a knock on the door. "Founders," she cursed. "Sorry, this isn't good timing but it had to be done."

Luna rushed to wipe her dampened cheeks and frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I found a lawyer for you."

"A lawyer?" She echoed through a scoff.

Samsa got to her feet with a sigh. She made her way to the door and gripped the handle. "Before you start complaining, you need one for your trial. I can't stay while you're with him. Something about client confidentiality, so promise me you'll behave?"

"Samsa-"

"Good."

Luna went to scold her sister but it was too late. The door opened and a tall, slender, Chinese man glided into the room. He looked to be in his late twenties, with ink coloured hair spiked up into a quiff, the ends of which were dyed violet. A long, velvet, trench coat covered his three-piece suit. Tucked underneath his arm, was a large leather binder.

"Miss Gillian, I presume," he said, smiling at Luna. "It's a true honour to finally meet you."

"Luna, this is Samuel T. Cogley," Samsa introduced. "I'll be back in an hour to see how things are going." She gave her one last thumbs up before slipping out of the room.

The brunette was stumped for words at first. "Listen," she began, chuckling slightly. "I don't know how much you've been told, but you should duck out of this one while you can. I'm as far from innocent as you can get."

"But that's exactly why I took your case, Miss Gillian." A smirk made its way onto Samuel's face. "One of my colleagues said it would be practically impossible to achieve any outcome besides you ending up in a hideous jumpsuit behind bars. Naturally, I accepted the challenge."

Only when he took several steps closer did Luna realise his eyes were a similar colour to the ends of his hair. She looked him up and down, raising a single eyebrow. "You don't exactly-"

"Look like a lawyer?" Samuel finished for her. "Yeah, I get that a lot." He pulled up a chair and removed his jacket, carefully folding the garment across his lap as he sat down. "I'm also here because I have a firm belief that every being is entitled to the best possible defence in a court of law."

"Even cold-blooded murderers like me?" Luna hummed in an attempt to wind him up. Deep down, she knew Samsa wanted her to have the best chance, but she was in no mood to discuss her trial today.

"Especially cold-blooded murderers like you," Samuel said.

"And why do you hold such beliefs, Samuel T. Cogley?" The Sanguine leant back on her bed, placing the tip of a cigarette in her mouth

"Because of what happened on the U.S.S Vengeance."

"You mean the city?"

"No. I mean what happened before you even made it to the Bridge. How you spared the life of that Section Thirty-One crewman? The details might be a little hazy for you."

Luna went rigid. She propped herself up and twirled the cigarette around between her front teeth.

"That got your attention, didn't it?" Samuel smiled. "They managed to salvage the security footage from the wreckage." He picked up the leather binder and opened it to reveal stacks of papers and files. After selecting a certain one, Samuel placed it on the end of her bed.