Chapter 413 - Elder Trial

Hardin's accusation quickly causes chaos to erupt in the room. There had been a rumour that Hardin was vying for the Elder's position, but none thought he'd be so blunt about achieving it. The rule McNamara had broken was a relatively unknown and vague one called 'The Chain That Binds'.

Essentially, people under your command cannot be ordered to do something by someone else, regardless if their position is higher than yours. In order for them to use your men, they would have to order you to use them instead. Truthfully, Afton had thought that no one bothered to adhere to that rule as he'd seen higher officers break it before...​​

Unfortunately, since McNamara had revealed that he'd broken it, there was just cause for Hardin to try and oust him as Elder... This wouldn't be good for anyone, Afton and his group especially due to Hardin's apparent hostility to them.

The members of the Brotherhood quickly break into a discussion on the validity of Hardin's accusation, as some were of similar minds to Afton on the matter. McNamara decides to bring back some semblance of order to this shit-show of a trial... It'd changed from Afton being under the axe to McNamara... Only with the executioner's axe having Afton's name on it.

"Silence!" McNamara calls, his voice somehow breaking through the muttering discussions and forcing them all to stop. He looks to Hardin, "Head Paladin, please air your grievances and accusations, afterwards, I will explain my actions and a vote will be held to decide the fate of our Chapter." he states.

Hardin nods and glances around the room at the various allies he'd gathered during his time preparing for this, people were fed up with living in isolation underground, so it wasn't hard to bring them to his side... Though, McNamara's earlier words would sway a few.

"Brothers, sisters, we all adhere to the Codex as it has not ever led us astray, even in these dire times. All of us are aware of its utility, but for it and our Chapter to work as it should, strict adherence is required! We cannot go flouting our rules and traditions simply because it may be convenient in the moment, this is especially important for one such as the Elder, who should be a beacon of what we should all strive to be...

Elder McNamara has broken this delicate balance, altered the Chains That Binds and altered the order of command. A rule which was designed to stop tyranny and corruption from occurring, to prevent Elders from overstepping their bounds and causing needless death.

My men, three squads had gone missing with no logs or records of where they might've gone. They were all good, honest men with families, yet, due to Elder McNamara overstepping his authority and commanding them without my knowledge, they are all missing or dead.

Hardin pauses while examining the room for reactions to his words... He was difficult to tell under their helmets, but the uncomfortable shifting of their bodies made it clear he was rather convincing.

"Additionally, Elder McNamara's choice to keep us all hidden underground like rats, in my opinion, is slowly causing our extinction! It is clear our enemies already know of our location, but the choice is what we should do about it... Should we stay here, hiding like rats until they send a big enough force to squash us? Or should we stand up with our heads held high, and fight for our freedom, our pride, our fate!" he almost shouts the last part, afterwards nodding and stepping back slightly to show he was giving the floor to McNamara.

The reception to Hardin's words were... Semi-positive. Most liked McNamara and considered him a good leader. He was the only reason they'd managed to survive Helios One after the last Elder abandoned them after all.

Over at the side of the room, Afton's group were all looking incredibly confused. They'd only come to try and save Veronic and Afton's families from the Legion, but now they'd been caught in some kind of power struggle... Boone looked annoyed, Anja looked fearful, Josie was curious, Tamia looked bored, Karl looked contemplative, and Veronica was keenly focused on the discussion itself.

Elder McNamara nods at Hardin and stands from his seat to address everyone. "I will not lie to you all, I did break the Chain That Binds us." he states, causing a few of Hardin's supporters to glare daggers at him, "But, there was a good reason for it. Most of you hadn't known until now that the ventilation systems of the Bunker were slowly degrading, this was causing the air quality to slowly drop. Of course, this would need cause any noticeable effect until a couple more years, but the fact that we were eventually going to suffocate down here was unavoidable." he says, causing most of the people here to look at one another in semi-fearful apprehension.

McNamara continues, "Look at your reactions to this news. Even now after we have recovered the parts necessary to fix it, you are all still fearful. Imagine that twice that fear amongst the entire Bunker... I have no doubt that there'd be a mass exodus of people leaving the Chapter, we would cease to function properly under it, which is why I did what I had to...

I gathered three squads known for their abilities, and sent them off to discover the ventilation parts required, as I'd thought Knight Parker had perished after not hearing a word from him. I did this without notifying anyone else to keep information about the ventilation quiet. In the Codex, there are numerous rules pertaining to situations like this, ones where the Elder must act against previous mandates for the Chapter. I hold no shame in what I did, even if it is now somewhat unnecessary due to recent events." he states, focussing on Head Paladin Hardin.