"Would you like some coffee?" I ask Mark.

Mark has gotten dressed for his construction job. He's eating some sort of protein bar or something like that. The awkwardness in our kitchen is beyond anything that I could imagine. We don't have a robot any longer to do things so I've been doing everything around the house including making coffee. He stares at the coffee. I've come out in the main room with nothing on but some tight briefs and a robe. I can tell that he is uncomfortable when he sees me. Truth is I know the was good even though I don't remember it. I feel weak in my knees and sore all over. I don't know what went down last night but a part of me wants to replay the entire scene.

Maybe that's why I'm trying to seduce him this morning. I watch him swallow his protein bar whole. He looks y in his construction uniform. His hard hat and ripped jeans make him look like the manly Aries he is.

Still there is a vulnerability to him. He gazes at me and nods.

"Yeah...sure..."

I pour him some coffee. It's so awkward and I'm so nervous that I spill it.

"."

We bend down to wipe up the coffee at the same time. Our heads smash into each other. We stare at each other for a minute and each struggle to get rid of this awkwardness. The awkwardness is beyond anything that either of us imagined.

"I'll clean it up," he offers.

I watch as Mark cleans up my mess for me. When he's done he pours his own coffee and just stands there. I can tell he doesn't know how to deal with this.

I have to say something first.

"So about last night," I state.

"Yeah. About last night."

"Do you remember anything?" I ask him.

He sighs, "I remember doing some...wild things. I thought it was all a dream though. Um. This morning I found a whole bottle of empty lube on the balcony. Um. I don't remember buying lube. I guess we must have stopped somewhere or...I don't get how we used the whole bottle. Could you imagine?"

I was in pain. I could barely sit. It's the reason I'm perching on a stool right now.

"Yeah. I kind of can imagine."

"What was that about?" he asked.

"You drugged me," I state.

"C`mon you agreed to take the Roar yourself," he tells me, "Don't phrase it like that. Don't phrase it like I'm some sort of ing predator."

"I'm just saying what happened."

I don't know if I feel violated. I just imagined the first time I had with my husband i would be of my right mind. I know I'm sounding defensive but it's all coming out wrong for whatever reason. I think about pulling it back but he's already offended. I blame it on myself. I can't believe I took that drug. I can't believe we both had such bad effects from it that we couldn't even remember using up a whole bottle of lube the night before.

My only regret is not remembering what happened last night. Why can't I just tell him that?

It's too late though. He's already pissed.

"Not my fault. Listen. Get over yourself. I'm not a predator. We got a little ed up and things happened that we both clearly regret. What? Do you think I tried to ing you? I don't want you. I said it a million times. You're the one who is forcing me to stay in this ing marriage."

I'm shocked that he would go there. It wasn't like I was putting a gun to his head. I don't know what pushes me over the edge at that moment. Maybe it was his comment. Maybe it was the fact that we had under the influence the night before. Maybe it was the ing pain in my that was putting me in a bad mood. I just was pissed beyond comparison at that point.

"Don't be ing rude. You should be lucky you have someone like me," I state.

He laughs.

"Someone like you?"

"Yup. Someone like me! A Libra! Who has a future! Not some Aries who glues together bricks for a living. Not some random Ram who probably will never be in life."

I regret the words as soon as they come out of my mouth.

He gives me a hard look, "Is that what you think of me?"

I don't think he would have been hurt by what I said but he clearly is hurt. Before I get the chance he is walking hard towards the door.

"Mark wait!"

I want to apologize. I want to take my words back. I don't have the chance.

" you," Mark says before he leaves.

***

It's the last day of orientation at the Justice Hall. Going into class I feel the worse. I'm having marriage issues. What's worse than having my serious marriage issues is the fact that everyone around me seems to be happy as .

One of the instructors walks in, "Today you will be going through a simulation of how it would be like to really do your jobs."

"I'm nervous," Jackson says.

He looks my way. I don't exchange his stare. Right now I'm still feeling some type of way about the fact that he is married to JB. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it.

We have been brought to our first courtroom. There are twelve of us sitting there. All the Liberties sit in the jury box. The court officials come in after. They are all Capricorns. The Capricorns are easy to tell because they are all very methodical. They seem level headed and practical. It would make sense that they were the court officials. Libras may make up the judge and jury but the Capricorns run the court.

"All stand for the High Liberty," the Capricorn Bailiff announces.

We are all surprised when the High Liberty comes out. We are all a little nervous. Why would he come out just for a stupid simulation? We are still in orientation but this seems a little bit more serious than we were expecting.

"What's going on?" Jackson asks me.

I shrug, "I don't know."

The High Liberty walks out and sits in the judge's seat. He has on his court dress. This is the first time the others have seen him but I recognize the High Liberty. He is stoic and cold.

"Today you will judge someone for the first time," the High Liberty says, "This will be your first look at the new system that we have. It's changed in the last few years. It's a lot different from what you all learned in your textbooks. Bailiff. Bring out the case."

A few of us are talking amongst ourselves. We are all nervous. The man is brought out in handcuffs by the Capricorn a few minutes later. At first the man looks familiar and when I look at him harder I can tell why. He's looks like the guy with the scorpion tattoo. He looks like he was the one who was staring at me the one day I left court. I don't think he's the same guy but he looks similar maybe related in some way. He is a handsome guy. He has good features. I think he might be of European origin even though it doesn't really matter. He has dark eyes, jet black with a shaved head. He looks like he is probably in his mid-20s or so. He has full lips. A couple of the others are staring at him. I even see a Libra fan herself on the bench. He's definitely attractive.

He must be a damn good actor to get so many wet.

The High Liberty speaks, "In this scenario...this man is a Scorpio rebel. He has been charged with Treason against the government. He has conspired to take down the Zodiac system. Everything you need to know about his case is in folders in front of you."

We open up the folders. His name is Orion.

"He looks dangerous," Jackson states.

A couple of the others are whispering about the same thing. Orion has a short bio in the folder. It doesn't have much information. He's age 25. He was born in Scorpio Nation which used to be North Africa. It's a dry area with a lot of valleys. They had a drought years ago and it caused their economy to tank. Orion was born poor with little education. His neighborhood burned down when he was younger. It doesn't say how. As a survivor he was sent to the capital but he refused to be married by the matchmakers. He was supposed to be arrested for refusing but he ran away. Then it goes into his charges of domestic terrorism. At the age of 19 he joined a group known only as the Zodiac Killers. Every year one of them went out on a killing spree. This was his year. By the age of 21 he was leading the group. He killed three Capricorns, two Aquarians and one Gemini outside of the government building.

I take a deep breath, "Damn..."

He is dangerous. I'm shocked that this is our simulation. It seems a little gory. It wasn't like we'd be judging real terrorists? Right? I look at the other Libras. They are all taking their time to review the file. Everyone has the same look as I did. They are disgusted. They are terrified. It doesn't help that Orion is giving us this dangerous blank stare.

The High Liberty looks over at us, "After you are finished reviewing the file...I'll need you to judge him."

"Just like that?" I ask.

The High Liberty looks over at me, "Just like that. The old court system no longer works. As Libras your job is to cast judgement. Is he innocent or is he guilty?"

The others are whispering. No one is questioning this though. It sounds a little weird to me. It sounds a little abrupt. There was nothing in this file about motivation. There was nothing in this file about anything like that. I'm a little confused.

"Doesn't he get a lawyer?" Jackson asks, "Doesn't he get a public defender? Something like that?"

I'm glad that Jackson is at least as concerned as I am. As Libras we studied law forever and a lawyer is usually present unless he waived his rights for one. This guy Orion doesn't seem to be defending himself either. He's just standing there. This process seems weird. Maybe it is just a part of the test. Maybe the High Liberty is just messing with us? There is no possible way this is how real court cases were done now.

"He doesn't need one," the High Liberty says.

"What about witnesses?" I ask.

The High Liberty shakes his head, "All of those things are antiquated. They are outdated. This is the new way."

"Why weren't we taught about this?"

The High Liberty gives me a hard stare.

"You're being taught now, Jr. As Liberties it's your job to hold the scales. All your life you have been taught what is right or wrong. The Aquarian police who arrested him put together his file. We can't depend on witnesses to tell the truth. We can't depend on lawyers who try to twist the truth. We have to find the truth. This is all that you have. This is the fairest and most balanced way. This is the new system."

The new system.

I figured this would be a longer process. I had no idea that the new way of doing things had become so...simplified. I look over the folder again. How do we know that this information is true?

"Can we ask him any questions?" I ask.

The High Liberty looks at me as though I'm losing my mind. It's clear I'm sticking out like a sore thumb. I've always just followed the rules. The problem here is that these weren't the rules that I had learned. Maybe Libras did know more about being fair then other signs but we should at least be given the information we needed to make the right decision even if it was a simulation. The others seem a little irritated at me. They probably want to end this little orientation and get on with their days.

The High Liberty none-the-less nods, "Take your time Jr. Ask