Chapter 13: Into the Defence

The spirit beckoned Ava and Eddy to come closer to her screen.

It went on to whisper 'Hi, let's get to know each other. My name is Elyizaahhrg. It used to be just Elisa, but my accomplishments in court have caused the rest of the Universe to adopt this alternate spelling, so I consider it as some sort of honorific title.'

Because Ava and Eddy were still trying to get their breath back from laughing too much, Elyizaahhrg decided to continue. 'As an ethereal being, I am able to see into alternate planes of reality, including the past and possible futures. This is really handy when trying to build up the best possible course of defense. Please don't tell anybody though… So, where shall we begin?'

After some thought, Ava conceded that survival of Humanity as it is should be considered as top priority and a bottom line result for this case. Personal immunity for Eddy and herself also seemed like a good idea. World peace was probably a bridge too far and the responsibility of some other people anyway.

A low growling noise made Ava look around. A terribly large male wolf was standing right behind her!

The fact that it was carrying a silver platter with biscuits was only a minor relief.

'Don't mind me, I am only the messenger puppy. Please wait while I get the tea' the wolf said after Ava had taken the platter and put it on the desk next to her. The wolf left the lab to come back pushing a tea trolley a few minutes later.

'Could you give me a scratch behind my ears? There is a terrible itch down there. I may be allergic to slug slime or something. Took me ages to clean my mouth after that last message.'

Ava obliged and once she removed the worst crusted knots from its mane, the growling turned into a happy purring.

'If you want my advice, I would watch out for that Medusa lady. She can be quite toxic in her remarks. Oh, and you can call me Wolfgang, if you like. I work as a clerk and handywolf for the SHC, hence the tea and biscuits.'

Dipping biscuits in their tea, Ava and Eddy turned their attention back to organising the defense of Humanity.

'First we need to find out how the Jury members are inclined to think about both Humanity and the explorers from Vega, so that will be our opening question.' The spirit proposed. 'Then we have to find out if there is room for discussion with the plaintiff or else if anything can be done to discredit that claim of superiority by collecting evidence about the behaviour of the explorers from Vega since they arrived here. Maybe we need to try and get some more background on how and why they ended up here on Earth. I'll get onto it right away while you finish your tea.' And with that, the spirit disappeared with a popping sound, leaving only the image of the cavernous and highly purple surroundings of whatever plane she was in.

Wolfgang started muttering something about some of his ancestors turning into spirit wolves, and how this had messed with his love life, before leaving Ava and Eddy all by themselves in the now very quiet lab.

Caiman Raptor Elk