Ray had been informed by Dancer what she had told Hands and her orders for Hands. He had thanked her for that since it was hard enough for him to sit through. Ray should have considered it but he had been as stressed out in his own way. Thankfully from what he and the rest of the adults were told the trials weren't expected to last very long. It was going to take time to present the evidence collected from the implants and what was left from the property.

At the moment, Ray was taking some time in the new room Gerdal had designed. It also was a true Pack Father room much like Hands' was. It had the heavier furniture, a wide fireplace, stone and wooden walls. There was low lighting as well as a rather nicely stocked bar as well. Ray felt somewhat silly with the large stein of beer but it seemed to be the favorite drink of the Pack Lord. In his lap was one of the very quiet females in the pack. Silent Wind was, as Ray had finally decided, just a quiet retiring female. She was somewhat older but younger than Vyra. She had been one of the communication officers aboard the ship.

She had quietly approached him earlier and requested to spend some time with him. When she had he could tell that she needed some attention. Since the man cave was only for the males of the pack or the Pack Mother they had some privacy. Once they had gotten something to drink and settled down he finally asked what was wrong, "Silent Wind what is wrong? I can tell you are upset and you felt fine yesterday."

Silent Wind, she had never chosen a usename, tucked her head into his neck, *I received a message that one of my Aunt's passed away earlier. She was old and it was her time but it is still upsetting.* She hadn't seen the woman in a number of years and they weren't very close but she was still family.

Ray closed his eyes and rested his head on hers and started stroking her ears, *I am sorry to hear that Silent Wind. Is there anything I can do other than comfort you? Do you need to go home for a few days? Gentle and I can bring you to our bed and comfort you as well.* Even if she did want to go home it wouldn't be until early morning.

She shook her head, *You need me here Ray. The pack needs to be together. I just needed some comfort for a while.* The offer to spend the night meant a great deal to her. Relationships were never something she had been good at. With heat, it was different since that didn't require much interaction in the Harem. With Ray, it had been so different. He had taken the time to talk to her and relax with her. He hadn't been driven to just screw and move on, *I would appreciate that Ray.* When Gentle settled down next to them she relaxed even more.

Gentle had been called by Ray and when he had told her what was going on she had informed Vyra. They would send something nice to Silent Wind's old pack in sympathy. They had done much the same when Flitter had passed. Many of the packs which the females had come from had done much the same. It was to be expected, "Vyra is taking care of sending a small gift and sympathy card for us. We will also comfort you this evening. Maybe a warm bath and massage will help you relax as well." They continued comforting her even as a low croon started through the pack.

When it was time for bed Ray and Gentle brought her to their room. Zantha already had the tub filled and ready for them. He settled down and drew Silent Wing against his chest and held her as they relaxed, "Whatever you need Silent Wind, let us know and we'll take care of you." He nuzzled an ear and lightly nipped it. It wasn't sexual but for comfort.

Silent Wind shifted her head as he was nuzzling her and sighed, "We weren't close but she was family. Thank you Ray." She leaned back against him and let the water and jets do their thing to help her relax. A few tears slipped out but not many. Having the attention of her pack father helped a great deal.

Eventually they did make it to the bed and Zantha had placed the heavy sheet on the bed. Ray urged Silent Wind to lay down so he could get to her back. He straddled her bottom and started working the massage oil into her skin. He took his time to work on her back and by the time he was done she was asleep, "Sleep well Silent Wind. We'll be here for you tonight and as long as needed. He slipped off to one side and draped an arm across her back. Gentle did much the same and they fell asleep that way.

Zantha settled down behind Gentle and fell asleep as she was soothing their emotions.

~~~

The trial for the first group of females had taken longer than expected. Since they were being tried Dancer, Steel Heart, various City Mothers, and most of the temples all asked for patience. Many of the people of their planet were willing to give the government and temples room to take care of the issue. There was a caveat from the people that the trials had to be public and justice had to be served. In a number of cases that meant something drastic to those responsible. What drastic was many people weren't sure since it had been so very long since anything like this had happened. Some wanted mind wipe, others wanted death, a few wished the deities would do something.

As it ended up Hands did get called for further testimony as the trial continued. Thankfully it had simply been to clarify what he had done and about how he had stopped the drive from exploding. He had done his best but there were several times he had been forces to ask for a few minutes. It had brought back a few nights of nightmares which hadn't been pleasant. Even though he might not appreciate the Temple Mother ordering him to remain at school he started to understand.

What he wasn't looking forward to was the punishment phase. He didn't know what to really think about what was the right punishment. Coming from earth Hands did have many of the view points from there. On Earth, they didn't have the fancy tech to allow a mind wipe or memory lock or even punishment by implant. They had prisons and in some cases death. On Folicia corporal punishment simply didn't exist. It had been done away with centuries before.

Here one of the worst punishments was to have your genetic future removed forever. That would mean that an entire branch of the family tree would be neutralized. They weren't so crude as to sterilize the person, they would simply program the nanites to block any future pregnancies. It was a way to eliminate a DNA mutation which might lead to related crimes in the future. When he had discovered that he had done a search and the last time had been 123 cycles ago. He chose not to find out why the male had been convicted with that.

The conflict between how he had grown up and what he was learning as a Pack Father was causing him stress. It was the reason he was in the meditation room where he had originally met, or been taken to, the Goddess. He had one in his section but this one was special to him. At the moment, he was alone though since he needed the privacy to try and understand or deal with the confusion. This wasn't something anyone except maybe Ray could help or understand. Everyone else grew up here and simply wouldn't be able to help and that included his Temple Mother and Temple Father. He wasn't even trying to contact any of the deities. It was simply for privacy.

Even though he wasn't trying he was being heard by the various deities and they came together in a communal space. The Goddess was relaxing in the arms of the Pack Lord even as the other two were seated close to each other, *How should we deal with this?* The Pack Lord asked. His voice was firm and carried determination to protect his child.

The Goddess lifted her chin and looked at the other two, *These children of ours went wrong. They impacted on all of us. The Pack Fathers child, the attempted death of a pup, the death of a female in the attempt. The death of a number of females simply doing their jobs. They impacted an entire Pack which also needs to be addressed.* Her voice was sad yet determined as well.

The Goddess of Judgment replied, *My Priestess will do as they have always done. She will hear the evidence and make the decision of their innocence or guilt. There will be emotions involved since they are gifted with free will. I have full trust that she will do as best possible. I will not interfere.* The Goddess of Fertility was far more emotional than she. Their jobs were different when it came to helping to keep their people growing and learning. She, Fertility gave the people the drive to mate and produce a new generation. She, Fertility, gave them the emotions to care for the young and to protect them.

The Pack Lord's job was very similar since he gave the males, both Pack Fathers and non-Pack Fathers, the drive to mate. This also drove the urge to protect the pack even though there were more females than males. They tried to ensure their females and progeny worked to keep the pack going. She, Justice, did have emotions but her drive was to give the people a sense of morality and what was right and wrong. With this it helped to drive the desire to place a value on many things. It wasn't just life but rank and level in the packs. It also included the world since how they impacted on the world indicated a type of right and wrong with how they treated it, the world.

Her counterpart, the Scale Shaker, was harder to define than any of them. From what she had learned of the humans he would most closely, a very loose fit, as the god of the underworld. They really didn't have a concept of hell as such. To be honest some of the human concepts were rather odd and simply impossible to understand. His job was to ensure their children knew that if they did something wrong there was a punishment. The concept of going to some nether region for infinity again didn't compute. Once punished and if they understood then they were sent to the Goddess of Fertility to be returned to the wheel of life.

The Scale Shaker simply smiled slightly, *The punishment will be appropriate and once their guilt is assigned, the punishment will be administered. I will not speak of it since I can't foresee the future. If one thing changes it will change the punishment. Go comfort your human child.* He faded from view.

The other deities traded looks since he was the most remote of the deities. They understood since punishment should be unemotional but they were still talking their children. Once they traded looks they also vanished from the realm they were in.

When Hands finally woke from his meditation he had to sigh. At best, he had received traces of support but that was it. He knew the chances of his being actually contacted was slim but it would have been nice. Once he stood he left the meditation room and slowly headed towards the Pack section. When he walked in he was still feeling somewhat remote since he was still thinking about what he might want. It had been offered for him to speak at the punishment portion of the proceedings if it made it that far.

That was part of the reason he was feeling this dissonance inside. Frankly he felt they should have the ultimate punishment based on his earth based morals. It wasn't the eye for an eye so much as once they were gone he could look forward. Hands didn't know if that was really true but it was what he felt. Based on his Folician learning getting rid of any person was the last thing considered. Their race had been dying and to lose anyone like that was a horrible concept.

Once he sat down Rain came over and settled down next to him, *I can sense you are very torn about something. I don't want to ask since I have a feeling it is dealing with what happened to Dreamer's mother. If it would help I can relax with you and maybe my scent will help?* He didn't know if it would or not but he wanted to ask.

Hands wrapped an arm around Rain and settled for simply relaxing with the boy, *I am and even if you asked I would have to say no to telling you. It is a conflict that is almost unique to me because of my dual backgrounds. Thank you for asking Rain.* He had to smile slightly since even he wasn't immune to a concerned Pack Father even if not one as of yet.

~~~

For the first trial, it took over a week before everything had been presented by both the defense and prosecution. Once that was done the Priestess had retired to consider the evidence and transcripts. That took several more days. Once she had made her decision, yes it was forgone but she had to look at and consider both sides, she called for all to return, "I have looked at the evidence, reviewed the transcripts of the trial, and what happened at the Pack property. As of now I have come to the conclusion all indicted are guilty. I will not list each and every item of which they have been indicted on. That is in the transcripts and has been made public. As of now I turn the guilty over to the Scale Shakers justice. I have talked to the Priest in charge of punishment and he is going to convene his phase in two days. All who wish to speak for or against the guilty will be there." She nodded at the bailiff and left the room.

When Hands was informed of the decision he finally decided he needed to go home and talk to his Pack Father. When he decided he had to, thankfully it was a Friday evening; the entire pack didn't give him a choice. They packed up and went with. Dreamer and Rain couldn't feel his emotions the way the girls could but they could smell and see the strain he was under. They trooped out of the Pack Section and onto a large transport. Even without it being mentioned they knew they were setting up for a sleepover.

Misty could feel Hands stress but it had been quietly asked of her to give him some room. That had lasted until the end of the trial portion. Almost before the end of the day Misty knew she was going home. Hands was going to be going there and she was going to give her little brother a huge hug. She might even talk the rest of her section into a massive cuddle session for him. Then again saying massive wasn't really much compared to his pack but she was still going to do it.

When she walked into her section she had to blink tears back since all the other girls, Thunder and Singer included, were already packed up and waiting. Since Skye had 'needed' to stop for some reason it had given them a chance to get ready, "Thank you, all of you. This means so much." She smiled as she took the bag Shadow handed her.

Shadow snorted, "Don't get all snively since I am doing this for the chocolate I can get. I am still tempted to seduce Ray when I am of age just for even more chocolate I can get." She smirked at Misty's wrinkled face just for good measure.

Misty wanted to growl at her but settled for making a face and sticking her tongue at her, "I am so going to let Ray know about this plan." The idea of her older brother being interesting in 'that' way to her section still gave her shudders.

With a serious frown at Shadow she turned and wrapped an arm around Skye and almost stomped out of the room. Misty knew exactly what Shadow had been trying to do and though she appreciated it the idea still bothered her. The others controlled their amusement since they could tell even with the joking Misty was worried about her little brother.

The flight to the Pack Property didn't take that long but they did arrive after Hands and his pack did. When they walked into the house the younger girls were getting it ready for a sleepover and movie night. When the older girls walked in a number of the younger girls came over for hugs and comfort. Nothing was said as the older girls split up somewhat to allow the younger girls room to cuddle up.

Hands had told the girls he needed to talk to Ray as his Pack Father and he would be back. Savory, Kyth, and Nuzzle came with as he went to find Ray. When he did he found him in the new man cave with Gentle, Zantha, and Dusty. Even as much as he wanted to go to Ray he headed to Dusty and settled down in her lap. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a good hug.

Ray smiled as Nuzzle crawled into his lap and held on tight, *Loves you daddy.* She rarely called him that but tonight she needed it. When Ray wrapped his arms around her she closed her eyes and let her ears and tail relax with the comfort.

"Hands say what you need to and we will help you. If you have been having similar problems to what I have then we do need to talk." Ray wasn't going to say what he was having problems with since he wanted to give Hands some room to talk, "Say what is needed and we won't judge you." *Love you to my sweet little Nuzzle. Thank you for taking care of my brother.*

Hands frankly wanted to do anything but this but if he couldn't talk to his brother then who could he? "Pack Father I am trying to... work out my feelings. How we were raised says one thing but the new Pack Father part is saying another. I want to go and scream at them but I also just want this to be over. I don't know what to do about saying anything at the punishment part. The two parts are fighting over how I should do this." At the moment, he was sounding like the kid he was.

Ray sighed since he was having somewhat of a similar problem. For him though in a way it was easier since he knew what it was like to be facing imminent death. He had grown up with that and it gave him a somewhat different view. The Folicians had been facing much the same and to so many they still were. The solution was there but it was known by so few at the moment, "Hands I am going to ask a question and I want an honest answer. Just answer the question and don't try to over think it. My question is if you went and spoke do you think you could ask for justice or for revenge?"

As expected several in the room jerked as if they had been smacked since they had a feeling what he had asked wasn't what they thought. Hands didn't notice since he was so tied up mentally. When Ray asked the question, he tensed and a low growl sounded, "I want revenge. I want it for Dreamer, his mother, and Rain. I want it for all the other innocent females and males fucked over by those involved." Hands had to lean even more into Dusty as he hoped they wouldn't be upset with what he said.

Ray nodded at Hands though his brother wouldn't see it, "I had a feeling that was what you were going to say. Wanting revenge is... Part of being alive, we get hurt, maybe screwed by life and want punishment. I know I had to think long and hard about this myself and after a great deal of soul searching I realized I can't honestly give a balanced statement. I plan on simply stating that I can't make the statement without my emotions getting involved. It isn't just because of what happened or was caused by those people. It is because of a accumulation of so much stress. We lost our parents, then losing Flitter. After that was when you had to kill someone and I ended up in a coma. Add in all the other lovely things and I just want someone to pay. If I make a statement other than that I will know my emotions will be focused on them for everything." He took a slow breath and leaned against Zantha since he needed her help at the moment.

Hands wanted to feel better based on what his brother had said but it was hard to admit he also wanted someone to pay, "Pack Father I can't go. If I do I will scream and shout. I am going to say things I