Truth and Reconciliation Directorate

"Really is somethin', findin' out the fifth-life guy livin' across the hall was the launch-control officer who pushed the button for the bombardment of Arecibo."

— A witness during a Directorate-mediated trial

The Stellar Compact Truth and Reconciliation Directorate is a Stellar Compact agency charged with fact-finding and prosecutions related to the destruction of Second Interstellar Period civilization in the Great Patriotic Wars.

Mandate

Under its founding charter, the TRD's mandate is to investigate incidents of war crimes and other such strife during the Second Interstellar Period and Interstellar Dark Ages, so as to put to rest any disputes and prosecute anyone found responsible. Even though these actions may have been condoned or at least not forbidden by the powers of those times, it claims the right to do this under international moral law--some deeds are so heinous that their evil nature should be obvious to every sane, rational human or human-like being, everywhere and in all times. By resolving past crimes, it is hoped this will enable Stellar Compact member states to bury old enmities and move forward together.

Operations

The TRD employs teams of legal scholars, lawyers, investigators, and relies on the assistance of other organizations such as the Star Patrol to help capture fugitives. Trials can be a complex affair since multiple nations or successor states can have claims against a single accused individual; most are run with Directorate mediation. Many proposals were made for how convicts ought to be punished, ranging from bringing back the death penalty to toren Scavlord Maximus Mortus' proposal that these people, who helped destroy civilization, should be sentenced to live in primitivism without it. The eventual decision was for victim nation(s) to determine punishment, within restrictions against cruelty.

The number of trials has dropped greatly in recent decades as most investigations finished out long ago, though every so often historical records will emerge pointing to new suspects.

Type

Governmental, Department

Parent Organization

Stellar Compact