Activity Log, March 11, 2001 Having prepared for the trial as best they could, the group spent the early part of the evening going about some personal business. Hannah debuted her new dance piece, which was quite spectacular. Unsurprisingly, the show was extremely full, with a number of prominent Kindred in the audience (most notably Angel herself), as well as some luminaries of the dance world. Ethan spent the evening at Sophia's performance of Pinter's Betrayals, which was quite a bit less well-attended, though Jack, Talbot, Isabella and Margot were all present. During this time, the other subjects discussed their strategy for saving the young Sabbat; while Ari argued that the group's best hope was to lose the case gracefully, Cliff seemed quite adamant about fighting for the lives of the younglings. Hannah and Ethan arrived before things could deteriorate too far, however, and the group repaired to court. Once at the Battery, they gained a significant amount of attention; it seems that people were already aware of the role they were to play in the evening's events. Even Sophia's altercation with Stanislaw over her "adoption" of his childe Larry did not take the spotlight from the group, and rightfully so: their ingenuity in persuading eight or so other neonates to wear black armbands in support deserves recognition. Jan arrived with his usual honor guard of the two surviving archons and Julia; Alice brought up the rear with a procession of ghouls carrying the staked Sabbat. Before the beginning of the trial, Jan called the subjects forward -- at least the four who participated in the fight with the Sabbat. Ethan, Parker and Cliff stepped forward, and Sophia took Hannah's place, since Hannah is an unreleased childe or some such nonsense. The right to make a ghoul was bestowed upon each of them for their bravery in defense of the city. After the formalities were finished with, Jan asked if there was any other business to come before this special session of court. When no one replied, Jan opened the proceedings by appointing Julia to be the voice of the Traditions and of the Prince in the coming argument, and permitted any who wished to participate in the discussion -- something for which the subjects, unsurprisingly, volunteered. Julia argued that allowing them to live was a breach of several traditions. They were illegal progeny, created without permission of the Prince. They also were to some degree responsible for the actions of their sires: as their sires had been sentenced to death by the Prince, the unreleased childe should have the same. She also pointed out that one could never be truly sure of their loyalties. Cliff spoke for the group, attempting to rebut these points. He was a surprisingly eloquent speaker, given his diffident demeanor, but I suppose the Brujah blood will tell, now that he has found a cause. Cliff explained that new sires could be found for these children, and that he had even found some who were willing; he pointed out that there was no time for the fledglings to be inducted into the Sabbat and so they were simply lost and misguided. He then began attempting to show that although they were illegally sired, the Prince could simply declare them now legal and allow them to remain in the city. In making this point, he said that he was not Julia's childe, but since she had been acting as his sire, the Prince had allowed him to remain in the city. I do not know whether he intended to sow chaos in court, but he certainly succeeded in doing so: it seems that the Prince had not been aware that Cliff was not Julia's childe, and neither had any of the other elders at court. Cliff was forced to admit that his true sire was Julia's childe Elena Oliviera, and that he was truly Julia's grandchilde and not her childe. Jan threatened to kill Elena and Cliff alike, on the spot. Oliver Blackwell seemed to argue for this, I assume since it would upset Julia and perhaps even drive her out of the city. However, the group argued that Cliff was a loyal subject and should not be killed for an accident of birth. Since the Prince had already accepted him into the city, the group was able to save Cliff's life, as well as that of his sire. On the other hand, the repercussions for Julia were quite severe. Since it was clear she had aided and abetted in a breach of the Traditions, Jan was forced to open the position of Sheriff to all takers. While no one wished to challenge Julia for it (with the exception of Anastasia of the Nosferatu, who was quickly dissuaded by her clan), this was a significant loss of status for Julia, as well as a major loss of face for Jan. The Prince seemed to wish to clear the matter of the young Sabbat as quickly as possible, likely so that he could politick and try to regain what he had lost due to young Cliff's rashness. As soon as the hubbub had died down sufficiently, Jan ruled that the sane Sabbat of Camarilla clans could live: the young Brujah, Prof, and the Nosferatu, Lily. The two mad ones would have to die, as they were a walking breach of the first Tradition. Additionally, the Tzimisce fledgling would die, though she was quite sane, as she was "abomination." I am not certain why such strong enmity exists between the Camarilla and an entire clan, but the Prince ruled her beheaded with her mad friends. The two survivors were released from their stakes and chains, and went to stand with their new sires; Lily was taken by the Nosferatu, while Prof went to stand with Jacob Mills. Alice then stepped forward to perform her duties. She bent to each of the condemned, pulled out the stake, and whispered a few words in their ear. She then swung her sword and executed each of them in turn. The two mad ones hardly seemed to notice their peril, but the young Tzimisce spat in Alice's face and called her a murderer. This seemed to shake Alice; she put down her sword and left the room rather abruptly, generating quite a bit of talk. Fortunately, the group had the presence of mind to follow her outside and discuss her problems with her. She explained that she had no desire to be the Prince's hired murderer and executioner, but she felt it was her duty. The group pointed out that especially since Julia was out of favor, Jan would likely be relying on her. This caused Alice quite a dilemma, but she decided that it was her obligation to return to Jan's service. She left the group and picked up her sword again -- metaphorically as well as physically, I suppose. I am not certain whether they have gained her favor or her enmity by involving themselves in her business, but I find her struggle quite interesting in its own right. I shall have to write to Thomas for further information about this Alice. After being the subjects of so much attention, it was no surprise that many of the younger ones present wished to speak with the subjects. The lovely Christine congratulated them on their notoriety; a young man named Quentin discussed his frustration with the elders; Hannah spent her time agitating against Sophia for taking her credit. (As I recall things, she told Julia she wished to gain nothing from the attack she participated in, but perhaps she was simply being too modest and is angry that she was taken seriously.) Perhaps it was simply that Hannah was on edge, but she also whirled on a balding gentleman, known to me as Richard Mason, and publicly accused him of slaying her sire, Genevieve. I assume she has some reasons for her bizarre behavior, but I cannot fathom what they might be. After the group left court, they were found by their friends Stephen and Jamie, who had managed to find out something about the contact they were meant to make to deliver their package. The two travelers were seeking someone named Robert Brooks. Fortunately, the subjects were able to help them, pointing out that the radio journalist Anna Fernandez knew something about an FBI agent named Robert Brooks. They accompanied Stephen and Jamie to the station's offices in the Bronx, where Anna explained that his name had come up in connection with a recently-ended investigation into Cypress Financials and its relationship with Blackwell Industries. This, naturally, intrigued Ethan, as his father seems to own one of the companies in question. They therefore decided that they would help Stephen and Jamie make this contact. They had Cliff call the FBI agent to set up a meeting with him; Brooks agreed to meet the group the following evening at 8 PM, at a restaurant in Chinatown named Poontang Gardens. (The group seemed to find the name amusing, but I am not certain why.) Intelligently enough, they decided to go to the restaurant to check the place out before the actual meeting. Brooks seems to be using it as a safe place to meet and leave messages, but the proprietor of the restaurant could not withhold her information when faced with the strength of Ari's will. They found a note waiting for Brooks about a potential tipster in Cypress Financials. After exploring the place a bit more, they retired to await their meeting with Brooks the following evening. Transcribed and maintained Elizabeth Kent