The gold nugget mystery had been one of the biggest things that had hit the Animalian colony in Alice Springs, Australia, and had dominated much of the summer and early fall as a gold nugget was found on the land of a local rancher. At first, the mystery was largely about where the gold nugget came from and who owned it, as the ranch owner, Archibald Walters didn't claim ownership of it and his ranch was not a site where a gold deposit was to be found... at least not in the way that Marla found the nugget laying on the ground while leading one of her and Khan's gym exercises. From there things began to get weirder as those who did try to claim ownership of the gold could give no logical reason as to why it was left there or prove that they'd even been in Alice Springs lately. The Alice Springs police simply chalked that to wanting the gold and nothing more.
It was then that Martin Mamsy first appeared in the mystery when Archibald Walters put up a security camera at the spot where the gold nugget had been discovered. Mamsy then placed another nugget at another spot and left a note at the pole that the security camera was mounted on. Technically it counted as trespassing, and wasn't all that much of a crime, but it was enough to take the mystery from "who owned the gold" to something more. The Alice Springs Police Department now had a mystery to find Martin Mamsy and as Inspector Cohan and eventually adding in Inspector Rebecca Harold from the Australian Federal Police now had someone to find, and for much of the time, they also found that Mamsy had had a host of aliases for a series of relatively minor infractions that largely amounted to something that would allow for fines at worst.
It had been a long investigation that only raised questions as to who and why the suspect was and why he'd done it. As the two inspectors found things that indicated that their suspect was not some common thug that would gain much from what he had done and by the fact that he'd been able to leave a gold nugget behind to be found. That then dominated the questions they two had through the course of the summer and into the fall, when they finally got some tips that actually lead them to Mamsy and his actual address. That in turn led to his arrest and brief detainment for questioning at Alice Springs, mostly to try and get some of the nagging questions answered. And ultimately, Mamsy proved to be more than cooperative, and revealed that in an odd way, a lot of what had been done was done as part of an idea to help the Animalian Colony with the idea that the discovery of gold would lead to enough interest in the land that Archibald Walters would have to sell. Mamsy even said that despite his work in real estate, that he wouldn't engage in the sale operations if that happened.
There had been concerns from the lawyer, but Inspector Cohan did get some answers. It found that Mamsy had no evil intent and might well have had some underlying mental trauma from his past military experiences in the "War on Terror" and left him worried that Australia would eventually manipulate its Animalian population. Establishing a colony that would be separate from Australia's government would be something good for the Animalians, and from how Mamsy described it, there was no true intention of harm on Mamsy's part. Though, not that excused the actions taken and thus lead to the trial that was presently beginning.
And it brought many of the key figures from the investigation and the mystery into one of Alice Springs' courts. Both Inspector Cohan and Inspector Rebecca Harold were there as part of both security for the trial and making sure that other things would be safe. Partially as Archibald Walters and Marla were also present, and they could note their presence in the gallery. Walters might be needed as his security cameras were a key part of what would prove that Martin Mamsy had engaged in the crimes he was accused of. And while Mamsy had been quite cooperative, knowing that there wouldn't be any serious punishment for what he did that he couldn't afford, there was the worry that Walters might actually vent some frustration that could hurt the prosecution's case.
The rancher glared at Mamsy as he was lead in, wearing a fine suit and sat in the defendant’s chair and with his lawyer nearby. Some of that was because of the fact that the fact that Mamsy had looked dangerous on the security camera footage but looked so calm and peaceful at present in person. Inspector Cohan was certain that was Archibald Walters' perception of Mamsy, though based on his questioning and the fact that Mamsy had been far more cooperative than he needed to be, the Alice Springs inspector didn't have the sense that Mamsy was truly up to no good.
"That's him?" Archibald Walters asked Inspector Cohan as he noticed Mamsy taking his seat at the defendant's chair, and coming over to Inspector Cohan and Rebecca Harold where they were seated in the gallery. "I... I expected something a bit more sinister."
"I don't think he is sinister," Inspector Cohan answered while glancing to Archibald Walters and then looking to Mamsy who was now looking to the desk area where the desk would be, "traumatized from some of his own past life... in a way... and very supportive of Animalia's freedom..."
"And that justifies sneaking around my ranch, or any of the others?" Archibald Walters asked with narrowed eyes and a sharp tone in his voice.
"It doesn't... but from what he told us... he's not looking for any ends that wouldn't be achieved legally," Inspector Cohan answered, "but was unsure as to how to get that and made poor choices in trying to set that up that were criminal."
"That's not an excuse and belittles the Animalians that have worked hard for their livelihoods," Archibald Walters commented.
"People can do rather odd things when they're fearful of things and living with trauma," Inspector Rebecca Harold spoke, "thankfully, most of what was done here were all rather minimal..."
Archibald Walters gave a disapproving grunt but couldn't say anything more as the presiding judge came into the room and the trial began. From there, things were in the hands of the attorneys, which was in its own way what Martin Mamsy also wanted. He likely would be found guilty here, but the case was relatively minor, and the punishment wouldn't be much different from anything else he had endured before. Much of that came more to being a bit on the clumsy side, and one thing that made him more than willing to get out of the army, even before his combat tour in Afghanistan. By now, he was sure the police had checked his name against the combat record the Australian army had, and likely found him there... a low-level infantryman, largely assigned to guard engineers working on training and building projects in the country. They also likely found that he had been wounded on battle with the Taliban supported forces, and that the mental stresses from that had been enough for him to be honorably discharged.
That had been something that Martin Mamsy liked and supported, particularly as it got him back into the work he'd been working for before being called up to serve. It was also something that largely kept things on level ground and avoided having to be super agile. And as time went on, some of his war related nightmares and issues went away. It was very easy to deal with things when there was no one screaming or in pain or with bullets flying. But then, as Animalia came about, some of those things began to come back, mostly as he feared people would try to take advantage of the Animalians. Some of this was even shown as reports of various countries, including the US wanting to use the Animalians as part of some idea for a super soldier, and that brought old nightmares back, regardless of how many of the attempts at "super soldiers" ultimately failed. Thus, creating his scheme with the gold nugget and hoping it would raise interest in the land that would in turn open things up for Animalia's Alice Springs colony to grow into its own sister city to Alice Springs, and thus preserve their freedom.
He couldn't explain why no increased interest came about, and some of the responses to things were even more surprising to him. But he pressed forward with what he figured would work out because of how small or insignificant the crime would be. The trespassing and other charges that were there were all minor, and because none of his aliases were attached to any serious crime, those aliases weren't criminal in and of themselves. He merely drummed his fingers on the wooden desk and waited for the judge to come in. When the judge did so, he abided by the call to rise and then set with the agreements that had been made.
"Now," the judge spoke as he straightened his robes and sat down, "this case is one of trespassing and attempted vandalism, though at the lowest levels?"
"Yes, your honor," the prosecuting and defense attorney's both said together.
"And from fillings delivered to my office from the defense, it would also appear that a plea deal has been offered and taken?" the judge asked.
"Yes, your honor," the defense attorney spoke, "the offer would be to accept the charges at their lowest possible level in the circumstances and allow for the defense to make one statement to the court to explain the actions taken."
"And does the prosecution have any objection?" the judge asked turning his head to the prosecuting attorney and ignoring some of the surprised gasps in the room.
To Inspector Cohan, that sounded as though most expected Martin Mamsy to vigorously contest the charges. But given how small they were and the worst punishment he'd face would likely be in fines and "time served." Particularly when no damage was done.
"The prosecution has no objections, your honor," the prosecuting attorney spoke, "only a request to provide commentary after the defendant's statement to the court regarding sentencing."
The judge nodded and then turned to Martin Mamsy, who had stood up beside his attorney, "you may proceed with your statement, Mr. Mamsy."
"I can make no denial I was at the locations that the prosecution would wish to describe in the trial," Martin Mamsy said plainly and with some degree of calmness in his voice, "but I would only say that I made no attempt to do damage to the homes or structures that would be of value to the property or actually threaten the lives of those on said property. That is all precious... and that the base reasoning was to try and give the Animalians of Alice Springs a chance at long term success and safety."
He paused briefly as there was some gasps at that.
"And we cannot deny that people have wanted to exploit them," Martin Mamsy spoke, "the Russians wanted to make them into super soldiers. The Chinese want to make them into super soldiers, North Korea had one wild animal uplifted to be trained to be a super soldier... and now has the agent and that deer living as a mated pair and with reports that the agent has been looking to defect TO the US or to Japan or South Korea. Even the US has sought to make them into super soldiers... Make them fight and go into places that still give people nightmares. Things that all of us as free people wish to oppose and why many who have served... like myself... did to preserve. And that has risen in my mind in recent years... brought back old nightmares from when I was but a humble NCO sent to Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al Qaeda."
There were other gasps there and Mamsy glanced over to see two well-muscled Kangaroo Animalians whispering something to Archibald Walters.
"I had hoped that the leaving of the gold nugget would lead someone to look into buying the ranch and its property that would see it then legally pass into the hands of Alice Springs' Animalians so that they would have things independent and free," Martin Mamsy continued, "and there was no desire for harm or injury... or that the change in ownership would be illegal. But... haunted by old ghosts and fearful that there would be rejections, I made some wrong choices. And which has worked out like a childish prank that has failed to do well... and I can only be grateful that no one has been harmed."
With that, Martin Mamsy sat down. The judge then nodded with that and then looked over to the prosecuting attorney.
"Will you wish to present your case, given that the plea deal has been offered and accepted?" the judge spoke.
"No, your honor, but I would like to make a statement to establish the prosecution's position before the sentence is pronounced," the prosecuting attorney spoke.
The judge nodded.
"The prosecution and the people can respect the act of taking responsibility for the actions committed, actions that are something that would be expected from a teenager's prank," the prosecuting attorney spoke, "not something from a respected businessman and veteran of the Australian Army. That is not something that people of your stature do, as normally it would be something we would consider childish."
The prosecuting attorney paused for a moment and then looked directly to Martin Mamsy, "the only thing that I could draw as a cause for this behavior was the mention of nightmares. And that I could see... some past mental trauma from your service hurting your ability to fully rationalize things, even if it is not fully recognized. Thus... engaging in what would amount to a prank, seemingly to help those who may not need or want it because of events going on outside Australia press on old wounds and old scars. In this, I would urge to the court that in addition to the appropriate fines, that Mr. Mamsy attend therapy to address possible issues of post-traumatic stress, either here or in his native Brisbane and provide to this court the base reports that he is attending these sessions and getting the help that he will truly need and avoid having to deal with such childish actions again in the future."