The Cosmic Turnabout - Transcript



Apollo: The courtroom bombing incident -- a terrible attack launched by the will of a madman.

Apollo: That incident perfectly symbolized the state of the legal world in this dark age of the law.

Apollo: Mr. Wright brought it to a resolution... of sorts.

Apollo: Ted Tonate was discovered to be the one responsible for the bombing.

Apollo: ............If only it were that simple. Somehow, I can't help but think...

Apollo: ...that there's a darker influence at work -- one that's lurking in the shadows, waiting...

Apollo: That's why I want to review the trial that was taking place when the bombing occurred.

Apollo: After all, I've got more than a few personal stakes in it...

Episode 4 The Cosmic Turnabout

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December 16, 9:12 AM District Court - Defendant Lobby No. 5

Apollo: (Time for another trial to begin...)

Apollo: (But this one is different.)

Apollo: ............

???: Umm.. Sorry to bother you, but...

Woods: Are you all right, Apollo?

Apollo: (Ack! Was I making a scary face just now?!)

Apollo: Oh, hi, Juniper! Yes, I'm fine! I was just doing my Chords of Steel exercises.

Apollo: Now I'm all ready to go!

Woods: Yes, knowing you, I'm sure you will be just fine!

Woods: Oh! I brought you a present from my garden.

Apollo: Is this... a lotus root?

Woods: That's right. My grandma says lotus root is good for your eyes.

Woods: She says that if you look through the holes, it can help you see into the future!

Woods: It's for good luck! Maybe later, you can cook it and--

Apollo: Thanks for this! I'm gonna have some right now!

Woods: Oh, my!

Apollo: ............Mmm. *crunch* Kinda tough, though...

Woods: Hee hee! You can't eat it raw! But... thank you for the enthusiastic try.

Apollo: (Oops! If she didn't think me weird before, she will now! I've gotta calm down!)

Athena: Apollo! I'm sorry I'm late!

Woods: Hi, Thena!

Athena: Junie! I didn't know you were coming today.

Athena: Did you come to cheer Apollo on? Oh, I get it. You sly little thing, you! Ha ha ha!

Woods: Th-Thena, stop!

Apollo: Quit kidding around, Athena. The trial's about to start any second. Is everything all set?

Athena: Oh, Apollo, Apollo... When will you ever figure it out?

Apollo: Figure out what?

???: ............Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaangh...

Apollo: (Wow. That was the longest sigh I've ever heard.)

???: Haaaaangh... This is it. It's all over for me...

???: They're gonna find me guilty.

Apollo: (This is our client, one Mr. Solomon "Sol" Starbuck.)

Apollo: (He's a very famous astronaut, who happens to be an acquaintance of mine.)

Apollo: (You wouldn't know it right now, but he's usually a very upbeat and driven person.)

Apollo: (The scene of the crime this time happened to be the Cosmos Space Center .)

Apollo: (Back in high school, my best friend and I went there almost a little too much...)

Apollo: (...but that's where we met Mr. Starbuck.)

Apollo: (We'd ask about space travel and he'd launch into story after story with so much passion...)

Apollo: (Back in those days, the man was one hundred percent my hero.)

Starbuck: Are... you sure you're okay with being my lawyer, Apollo...?

Apollo: Of course I'm sure. I know you, Mr. Starbuck.

Apollo: I know you're not the type to commit murder.

Starbuck: Thanks, but......... Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaangh...

Starbuck: I was supposed to be in space right about now...

Starbuck: Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaangh... Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaangh...

Apollo: (He's so depressed, it almost seems like an act.)

Apollo: (The launch getting called off must've been a huge shock.)

Starbuck: I'll probably never get the chance to go into space again.

Apollo: Don't say that! Don't stop believing!

Apollo: Besides, you just have to go into space again!

Starbuck: Yeah... I don't think I could face Clay in the afterlife if I just rotted away in a cell.

Athena: Clay Terran... I can't believe he was murdered.

Athena: I mean, he was such a promising astronaut under your command...

Starbuck: Yeah... He was a good guy -- always there to pick me up when I was down.

Starbuck: No one loved life as much as him, that's for sure.

Starbuck: He was always so full of energy, telling me, "You're fine, Mr. Starbuck!"...

Starbuck: ...Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaangh...

Starbuck: How could something like this happen to a guy like him, huh?

Apollo: (I've never seen Mr. Starbuck so down...)

Starbuck: ...Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaangh...

Starbuck: Clay's gone, and I'm going to prison... I wish I could burn up like a shooting star right now.

Apollo: ...Mr. Starbuck! You'll be fine!

Starbuck: Ah! Wh-What is it?! What's with the yelling?!

Apollo: I'll get to the bottom of this today! You'll see!

Apollo: And in exchange, I want you to go back into space for you and Clay! Promise?!

Starbuck: ...Does that mean you have lots of evidence to prove my innocence?

Apollo: Oh! Umm... Well... About that...

Apollo: We... didn't get to investigate the area as much as I'd have liked, thanks to the police.

Starbuck: ............I'm done for. I'm a goner.

Starbuck: Everybody thinks I did it.

Starbuck: Thought I was gonna soar like a comet, but I'm just gonna crash like a meteorite.

Apollo: No, don't say that, Mr. Starbuck!

Athena: Don't count yourself out yet!

Apollo: I know it's hard to lose a teammate, but you've got to keep going.

Athena: ............And what about you, Apollo?

Apollo: What about me?

Athena: I was just thinking, wasn't Clay your best friend?

Apollo: .........We need to focus on the trial right now. Are you all ready to go?

Athean: Apollo...

Bailiff: The trial is about to begin. If the defense would please proceed into the courtroom!

Athena: O-Okay! Here we go!

Apollo: (This is it.)

Apollo: (This is one trial I can't afford to lose!)

Apollo: (For Clay's sake and our client's, I WILL find Clay's killer!)

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December 16, 9:55 AM District Court - Courtroom No. 4

Day 1 Court Is Now In Session All Rise

Judge: Court is now in session for the trial of Solomon Starbuck.

Apollo: The defense is ready, Your Honor.

Judge: ............Excuse me, Mr. Justice!

Apollo: Yes, Your Honor?

Judge: What happened to your eye?

Apollo: ...I'm fine! The defense is ready, Your Honor!

Judge: ............Are you sure? I don't--

Apollo: I'm fine, Your Honor! The defense is ready!

Athena: I'm sorry, Your Honor.

Athena: He's been like this since yesterday. He keeps insisting it's just a sty.

Judge: Hmm... I suppose it's something he doesn't want to discuss.

Judge: Maybe he's entering a touchy age...

Apollo: ............

Judge: Very well. And the prosecution...?

Blackquill: ............

Judge: The prosecution appears to be ready as well.

Blackquill:

Blackquill: ............ ...............

Blackquill: ...Not yet. I'm... not quite ready yet.

Judge: Hmm?

Blackquill: Ngh... Graaaaaaagh!

Judge: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

Blackquill: The prosecution... is now ready.

Athena: Well, it didn't take him long this time.

Apollo: ............ (What's up with Blackquill?)

Judge: N-N-Now, then. I-I-I shall give the opening statement...

Blackquill:

Judge: ............

Blackquill: I'll do it.

Judge: You will? Wh-What an unexpected surprise!

Blackquill: This time, I can't leave it to anyone else.

Judge: I-I see...

Judge: Hmm... Something is off with the two of you today.

Judge: You both seem different somehow.

Athena: ............

Judge: Very well, Prosecutor Blackquill. Your opening statement, if you would.

Blackquill: It was just yesterday.

Blackquill: The crimes in question occurred at the Cosmos Space Center.

Judge: Ah, that famous federal research facility of all things related to astrology, right?

Blackquill: Astronomy. It's astronomy. Anyway, a rocket was set to launch from there...

Blackquill: ...but at 9:28 AM, before they could even move the rocket to the launch site...

Blackquill: ... two explosive devices were detonated, and the launch was canceled.

Judge: My word! Two bombs? How dreadful...

Blackquill: The defendant in today's trial is charged with both the bombing and with murder...

Blackquill: One Mr. Solomon Starbuck.

Blackquill: For whatever inane reason, he detonated a bomb on the rocket he himself would be in.

Judge: Solomon Starbuck? I recognize that name. Isn't he that famous astronaut?!

Blackquill: Correct, Your Baldness. Mr. Starbuck was the pilot of the HAT-1 rocket seven years ago.

Blackquill: As you may recall, despite some interstellar trouble, his mission was a success.

Blackquill: Some say it was a miracle he returned alive. I suppose you could say he's a living legend.

Judge: Oh, I remember now. He's become something of an international celebrity, right?

Judge: They even turned that incident into a movie and everything!

Judge: We've got a real space pioneer in court today!

Blackquill: Hmph. But even heroes tumble from their lofty heights.

Blackquill: Returning to the subject at hand...

Judge: Ah, yes. The victim was one Mr. Clay Terran, a subordinate of the defendant.

Blackquill: Indeed. A loyal disciple brutally stabbed to death by his mentor.

Judge: Stabbed to death, you say?

Judge: You mean his death wasn't a result of the bombing?

Blackquill: Correct. Despite his lofty dreams, the victim was seen as an interloper by the defendant.

Blackquill: And so, he was sent not into space, but to the universe which we mortals cannot see.

Apollo: (Clay...)

Judge: I think I've heard enough. The case seems pretty clear-cut at this point.

Judge: However, there is one thing I'm curious about.

Judge: That metal box next to the witness stand...

Judge: What purpose does it serve, exactly?

Blackquill: Since you asked so nicely... It's your coffin.

Judge: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! Have mercy on meeeeeeeeeeee!

Blackquill: ............I jest. It's evidence.

Blackquill: Due to its immense size, we've little choice but to lay it where it rests now.

Blackquill: We shall get to the contents of the box in due time.

Judge: Phew... I feel like I just lost fifty years off of my life.

Athena: ...Does he even HAVE fifty years left?

Apollo: Inner monologue, Athena! Inner monologue!

Blackquill: Enough jabbering.

Fulbright: Bobby Fulbright's the name! In justice we trust!

Judge: Ah, Detective Fulbright!

Judge: Very well, them. Please explain the details of this incident to the court, if you would.

Fulbright: On it! First, take a look at this pamphlet from the Cosmos Space Center!

Fulbright: In it, you'll find a diagram outlining the overall layout of the Space Center.

Fulbright: Ah, here we are.

Fulbright: For a more detailed look at what's on the left side of this building...

Fulbright: ...take a look at this cross-section that we the police have created.

Fulbright: See the launch pad and the main building ?

Judge: The launch pad is the square building, and the rounded structure is the main building, right?

Fulbright: You got it. The incidents took place in Launch Pad 1 and in the main building's Lounge.

Fulbright: I'll be using this diagram during my testimony -- it'll make it easier to understand!

Space Center Diagram added to the Court Record.

Witness Testimony

-- Details of the Case --

Fulbright: Just before the rocket was set to launch, two bombs went off. BOOM! BOOM! Fulbright: One one the second floor of the Space Center's main building and one in Launch Pad 1. Fulbright: Thankfully, only the two astronauts were in Launch Pad 1 at the time. Fulbright: The two of them managed to make it back as far as the boarding lounge ... Fulbright: ...but after the escape, one of the two was found stabbed to death!

Judge: Hmm... A murder on top of a bombing...?

Judge: Detective, the victim was already dead by the time you arrived at the lounge, correct?

Fulbright: Yup. Thinking he'd sabotage the bombing, the defendant attacked and killed the victim.

Fulbright: Just look at this tragic photo!

Judge: Oh, my! I-Is that a knife in the victim's chest?!

Fulbright: Yes, Your Honor, it's the knife that cruelly ended this young man's dreams!

Fulbright: We couldn't get any prints off of it, though, because the defendant was in his space suit.

Utility Knife added to the Court Record.

Judge: By the way, Detective Fulbright...

Judge: Why are the victim's helmet and right glove absent in this photograph?

Fulbright: We had to remove them to identify him, Your Honor.

Fulbright: I personally removed his glove during the investigation.

Fulbright: We had to get his fingerprints to confirm his identity, after all.

Judge: Hmm... Yes, it would be very difficult to identify him without a face or fingerprints.

Judge: Now, there's just one more thing I'd like to inquire about...

Judge: What is this round thing next to the victim in this photo?

Blackquill: Something so important to the victim he took it with him as he escaped the launch pad.

Blackquill: A capsule that apparently contains asteroid samples.

Blackquill: While obviously valuable for research purposes, it has no relation to this case.

Judge: Hmm... I see.

Apollo: So... we know that the bomb in the main building was on the second floor...

Apollo: ...but where was the bomb that was in Launch Pad 1 located?

Fulbright: Heh. That one was on the rocket itself.

Fulbright: It was situated around the central part of the rocket.

Fulbright: Apparently, the area arond the launch pad's elevator was a sea of flames.

Fulbright: I would like to sumbit this diagram and report into the record!

Bombing Report added to the Court Record.

Athena: The trial's just started and we're already in a bind.

Apollo: You get used to it. Besides, that's what cross-examination is for, right?

Apollo: (What the two astronauts were doing during the bombing... That'll be the key!)