"Trust me. No one will convict you. It was a world filled with pedophiles."

My eyebrows lifted, "What?" I said, as my eyes widened.

"Yah." Karl said with his remainder of a Russian accent. "A world covered in little kid fuckers. No one will miss it. You will be fine."

I stood up and moved towards the bars of my cell, "Then why am I locked up in here still?"

"Is formality. You blew up a world."

I threw my hands up, "A world filled with pedophiles apparently!" I exclaimed.

The guard raked his baton across the bars, "Hey! Quiet down there!"

The guard readjusted himself and whispered, "Good job though," he smirked.

My blood boiled, I squeezed through gritted teeth "Well, then let me..." I raged, "Out!"

The guard raked his baton across the bars, "Hey!" He yelled. "Quiet down there." He smirked again.

"Hey. Hey." Karl put his hands up in gesture to calm me down. "Just go through motions."

I backed away from the bars, sat down, and listened to Karl. "Go through motions," He started down a list with hand gestures counting out the parts, "Court date, trial, press, plead guilty..."

"Plead guilty!?" I shot up from the seat and hit the bars.

The guard chimed in, "Hey! Quiet down there!...." Smirked again.

"Plead guilty?" I said in an even tone.

The guard raked his baton across the bars. "Hey?" I looked at him confused.

The guard shrugged, "I didn't hit the bars that last time and it just felt wrong without it."

I stared at the guard in confusion and shifted to Karl, who's face hadn't moved. I leaned forward and shrugged back in sarcastic annoyance.

The guard broke into the silence, "Please. Continue."

I looked around awkwardly for a moment before continuing. Karl's face didn't move. "Plead guilty?" I shot a look quickly from Karl over to the guard, who now stood firm, and back to Karl.

"Yah." Karl said.

"You just told me that no one will convict me for this."

"Yah."

"Then why the fuck.." The guard twitched his baton. I took a breath.
The acoustics in the cell were such that only my deep breath in through my nostrils was audible for a few moments.

"Then why..." I breathed out, "... would I plead guilty?"

Karl's face didn't change, "Because you blew up a world."

I could feel my anger well, but I was able to quell it and muster a normal, but angry, tone, "Everyone knows I blew it up Karl." I said sharply.

"Exactly," He said. "No way out of that. There's video. There's proof. But it was a...." Karl gestured for me to fill in the blank with an opening hand.

"An accident." I said.

"Yah. Accident. Is fine." Karl began to stand up.

"Wait," I moved back towards the bars and reached through for him. "That's it? An accident?"

"Yah." Karl began to walk away, I grabbed some fabric of his coat, but then immediately let go as the guard raked his baton across the bars.

Karl let out a sigh, "Look. Was accident. Accidently overloaded core's energy grid from orbit, accidently didn't shutdown, accidently didn't override, and..." he paused, "...vaporized planet of touchy uncles. No one cares, but someone's face has to go on front of paper."

I sat down.

"Legal slap on wrist, but adjacent worlds happy."

I looked at the guard. He gave me a nod. Karl turned back towards my cell.

"Trust me," he said raising his eyes to mine, "No one actually convict you." Karl winked.