Chapter Text
26 days after launch.
The next 26 days after launch were a blur. Hundreds, if not thousands of articles had been published by various news organizations since the launch. Many of the project's personnel had made news appearances as well; Olesya herself had even been interviewed several times.
The only person who was presently declining all offers to appear on television or give statements was Eva Stratt, which positively infuriated every single news corporation under the sun.
It was not as if she could've done anything anyways, even if she had wanted to. For the past 26 days, Eva Stratt had been patiently waiting out the time to her trial in a 6' by 8' holding cell in a maximum security Swiss prison. The guards had all been told to limit their contact with her, as she was accused by dozens of global news corporations as a deranged, psychological murderer, playing world dictator.
Was that true? She didn't know; but anyways, it wasn't her choice to make.
Today was the day she'd find out. Eva Stratt would appear in front of the courts of the world today, 26 days after the Hail Mary launched, 26 years before the wait would be over.
It had been 19 days since she had last seen Olesya. 27 since she'd held her.
A week into Eva's awaiting-for-trial, Olesya had come. She'd only been allowed once.
The visit had been brief, 20 minutes, and had felt cold all over. They had been separated by a thick slab of glass, with 2 guards on either sides of it, as well as a large digital clock above the glass, with a 20-minute timer slowly ticking down, the numbers illuminated in an unbearably harsh shade of red.
They, obviously, could not have made physical contact through the glass, but oh, what Eva would've given to have been able to hold Olesya's hand during those 20 minutes.
Olesya had looked at her with this look of half-pity, unable to comprehend this situation. It broke Eva's heart that they were in two different worlds right now, separated by 5 inches of glass.
At one point during the visit, Olesya had held up a newspaper, pressing it up to the glass so Eva could read the front-page article. It was about her, published the same morning.
The headline had read: "EVA STRATT, PROJECT HAIL MARY DIRECTOR, STILL IN SWISS CUSTODY AFTER 7 DAYS, AWAITING TRIAL IN 19 DAYS"
The photo underneath it was one taken from a press conference in Denmark from earlier the same year, one Eva had begrudgingly attended. No press had been allowed inside the prison.
The photo was certainly an unflattering one, but it paled in comparison to the written contents of the article. It had proposed some frankly wild conspiracies theories of the "true meaning" of Eva's legal immunity, painting her as a heartless world dictator.
Yet another news organization had joined the bandwagon of stirring up horrifically wild stories of her.
As the timer had hit 00:00, a loud buzzer had gone off, filling the room with a horrible, provoking noise.
The guards had automatically moved towards Eva as it went off, re-handcuffing her wordlessly, before they pulled her out of her seat and dragged her out of the room.
She had not had a chance to tell Olesya she loved her.
She could not have.
Because nobody knew.
Nobody could know.
Both of their lives would be ruined if news of this reached the public.
It broke both their hearts.
Olesya had continued to sit there after Eva had been led out, both out of shock and sadness.
It felt surreal to watch a woman as domineering as Eva Stratt be forcibly handcuffed and taken away, and Eva had not made any move to oppose it. She had left with her shoulders slumped and her head down, her feet moving with a rhythm reminiscent of a military officer, out of habit, but she walked with the spirit of a dying animal.
Eva had simply looked... beaten down...
Tears eventually began to fall from Olesya's eyes, and she finally broke her "stony" composure. She sat in that chair and cried for a half hour, by which time, the guards had long since lost interest and left.
As she dried her eyes for the final time, Olesya reached forward and pressed the button that activated he microphone with a shaky finger.
"I love you," she said to someone who was lost long before. Olesya could faintly hear the message be conveyed through the glass.
She swiftly got up and left, bursting into tears again in the cab.
Eva stepped into the courtroom in handcuffs. A judge, an international jury, ambassadors from every UN country and most other countries of the world, and press from everywhere watched her enter.
In the midst of everyone present, her eyes scanned the room again and again for a certain Russian cosmonaut. She finally found Olesya in the crowd as she was escorted up to the defendant's table. She was sitting in the second row, a rare, flat expression glued to her face.
They locked eyes, and for a fleeting second, Olesya saw desperation in Eva's eyes.
The judge banged his gavel, and the room fell to silence.
"Ms. Stratt, is your lawyer present?"
"I have no lawyer. I am representing myself."
A wave of commentary flooded the room, as did the shutters of cameras.
The judge banged his gavel again, ordering silence.
"Ms. Stratt, are you sure you would like to proceed with that idea? It is certainly not recommended, should you want your case to succeed."
"Yes I would, Your Honor." Stratt replied flatly.
"Alright then," the judge replied reluctantly. "Plaintiff, you may begin."
One of at least 7 lawyers stepped up to their microphone.
"We are suing Ms. Eva Stratt on charges of reckless government spending, as well as illegal pirating of the internet, unethical use of various military vessels as well as personnel, the murder of Dr. Ryland Grace..." the list continued on for another five minutes.
When it finally ended, the judge turned back to Eva.
"Ms. Stratt, how will you counter these accusations?"
Eva reached towards the single folder that had been waiting for her on the defendant's table. She opened it and pulled out a thick document. It was 107 pages long.
She held it up for the crowd to see before the bailiff took it and brought it to the judge.
"That, Your Honor, is the legally binding document drafted by the United States Congress, and signed by myself, the U.S. president, and various heads of the EU, and that is publicly backed by the United Nations, stating the terms and conditions of my legal immunity during and after the execution of Project Hail Mary. I signed this before adopting my role as director of the project, and the document ensured that I would not use the power or funding to my personal advantage. You may note that I gave up all government funding and power as soon as the launch ended, pledging not to invoke a need for it until any potential for a solution to our Astrophage crisis presents itself. You will find that no legal action from any country or organization of countries of the world can be taken against me until at least 4 years after the execution of the project ends, the time that was predicted to be needed to revive our Sun, should the mission succeed. Currently, the project is still being executed, as it will be for the next 26 years, until our "beetle" probes are estimated to return from Tau Ceti, should they return. You may find a summary of what I have just stated on page 64. Lastly, I would like to publicly state that every decision I have made with regards to Project Hail Mary are what I believe to ensure the best chance of our survival. I rest my case, Your Honor."
Another wave of whispers ran through the crowd as Eva sat back down and the judge examined the document.
The jury left to deliberate for an exceedingly short time for such a pressing matter.
They returned some 15 minutes later to confer with the judge.
Several hundred cameras flashed from the galley as the judge ordered for silence.
"Ms. Stratt, on the pretense of the extensiveness and detail provided in your legal agreement, all charges made against you in this case tody are dropped and may not be retried in any court of law for a minimum of 26 years. You are free to go. Case dismissed." He banged his gavel and left.
Free to go.
26 days after launch.