By Zander Blakeslee and Salvek
100501.2300
The Morning after Recognition
-=Ministry of Justice, Vulcan=-
100501.2300
The Morning after Recognition
-=Ministry of Justice, Vulcan=-
Salvek waited outside the entrance to the hearing room at the Ministry of Justice where they had met the previous afternoon. The charges having been read, the Vulcan’s would make their case today as to Salvek’s responsibility for what had occurred. Blakeslee had yet to arrive, taking the time to make sure he had every scrap of information he could obtain.
T’Dara’s family approached from down the corridor. Salvek stood respectfully as they passed him. Mother and father acknowledged him only with a glance, but T’Dara’s brother at least offered a nod, and Salvek noted a simple decoration to his normal civilian attire. He wore a single pip on his collar; the same one Salvek had presented him with the day before.
As the family walked on Salvek leaned around the corner, watching them take their seat in the gallery, in the front, directly behind the area where Salvek and Blakeslee would be standing during the hearing.
As he turned back, he realized that Zander Blakeslee was now standing right in front of him.
“The family?” Zander asked.
“Mother, father and brother. The brother seems to be quite open-minded. Father is willing to listen but will not be convinced easily. I am not sure what to make of the mother. Did you find anything useful last night?”
“Our friend Savol seems to have ties to the Vulcan Society of Biological Research. He sits on the board of directors there as legal advisor in addition to his duties of Inquisitor. I’m not sure if matters at all, but T’Dara apparently was enrolled there on a research project as well. This is the only information I have tying Savol and T’Dara together. I don’t know if it means anything yet, or is just a coincidence.” Zander nodded. “We’re going to set this right Salvek.”
Blakeslee offered his hand, and Salvek shook it. “Did you ever get in contact with the ship?” Salvek asked.
“No. I have to admit, I’m worried. After this is over we’ll need to try again and call Earth directly if we can’t get a hold of them.”
“Agreed.” Salvek said. He didn’t want to mention it, but he had tried as well, and had not had any luck either. It could have been anything that drew them away, a planet wide medical emergency, a distress call from another ship. If there had been a battle or something more serious, surely they would have heard of it through Starfleet channels.
They entered the hearing room, and Salvek took up his place, standing at the front of the room before the dais. Right on time, Savol entered as well, with Jars taking the seat beside him on the dais.
“This hearing will come to order,” Savol said, banging a large stone against the podium.
Zander immediately spoke up. “The defense has a formal request.” Zander had taken considerable time to study procedures and had found a precedence that allows the accused or his representative to make certain request before charges are read.
Savol allowed a momentary pause as he considered Zander’s statement. He was impressed that the human had taken the time to apparently learn about Vulcan law. Jars folded his arms across his chest curious as to what Zander’s plan was.
“Very well, you may make your request.” Savol answered dryly.
Zander approached the dais to stand next to Salvak. “I formally request that this hearing be immediately ceased. First off, I fail to see how the Vulcan government has any jurisdiction to bring any charges of wrongdoing against Commander Salvak. Starfleet command itself has not seen fit to charge the Commander with any crime or even discipline him for any of his actions. This is a travesty to justice and a egregious mutation of Federation law that, I might add, the Vulcan court signed.”
Savol’s gaze never wavered from Zander but Jars eyes darted back and forth from Savol and Zander.
Savol thought about Zander’s request before replying. “You bring forth very truthful points of interests. However, as you already know, Starfleet has waved the right to prosecution per the terms of these special situations. The Vulcan court has decided to utilize the right to prosecute. A right given to us by the same charter that you speak of. Therefore, your request is denied.”
Zander clicked his teeth together and simply nodded his acceptance of Savol’s ruling, as was expected in a Vulcan court. It was the answer he had anticipated, but now his objection was on official record. He turned and fell back to his expected place.
“I shall now present the charge.” Savol continued. “Commander Salvek, you are charged by this court with unintentional manslaughter. How do you plead?”
For just a moment, it was tempting to simply plead guilty. To set this entire kangaroo court on its ear. He knew however it would do his daughter no good to have a father in prison.
“Not guilty.”
“Very well,” Savol said. “I have subpoenaed, received and reviewed the reports filed by Commander Salvek’s away team. Specifically an Ensign Landry Steele, a Lieutenant Micah Samson, and a Lieutenant Trev Sterling.”
Blakeslee immediately spoke up. “I object! We never received any word from the court that those documents were going to be used as evidence.”
“Have you not read them?” Savol asked.
“Of course I have! But reading a document and preparing a defense based upon knowledge that that document is going to be on the record as a piece of evidence are two very different things!”
“You have just as much knowledge of the reports as we do. Therefore, I see no point in your objection. You are overruled.” Savol returned his attention to the copies of the reports he had before him. “They are standard reports. Not entirely thorough, except for Lt. Samson’s report, of which one observation in particular alarmed me. Lt. Samson reported that you, Commander Salvek, refused to stop the combat from beginning, yet it was you who stepped in and brought to an end before, as Lt. Samson described it, ‘It’s natural conclusion.’”
“None of these facts are in debate, nor are they a crime. Our affidavit submitted to the court clearly states that Commander Salvek was doing the best he could in a no win situation.” Blakeslee said.
“Indeed. What I would like to know, Commander Blakeslee, is why Commander Salvek took this action. Why did your client interfere in the ritual combat? Or, more specifically, what was one his mind when he chose to do so?
“Really? So you are basically trying to prove what? Last time I checked a persons thought process was not considered criminal. Not that my client did anything criminal to begin with. However, as long as you are not trying to tie a crime to process of thought, which can not be considered fact, then I leave it up to my client to answer.” He turned to Salvek and then back to Savol. “With the condition to be understood that his thoughts are not admissible to any crime.”
Savol nodded once again impressed with Zander’s knowledge of Vulcan law.
“It was on my mind to bring combat between Ensign Steele and Ensign T’Dara to conclusion with the utmost speed. T’Dara would have killed Steele, and frankly Steele seemed either oblivious to this fact, or she simply did not care. That or she truly believed someone would come to her rescue.”
Salvek lifted an elegantly crafted, double helix shaped glass to his lips and took a sip of water as Savol readied his next question.
“Was that all? Was that the only reason? Or was something else driving your haste?
“I knew Commander Reece and Lieutenant Grace were in peril. Finding them was our top priority.
Zander winced as Salvek completed his sentence. He had not at all seen that question coming, nor the answer. Savol pounced like a mountain lion on wounded prey.
“So, you are telling this hearing you were willing to interfere with the combat, thus sacrificing T’Dara’s life, because finding this Reece and Grace was your top priority?” Savol poked his index finger into the dais before him with each word to punctuate their importance.
“That is not what I said.” Salvek protested.
“Would the court reporter please read back exactly what the Commander said.”
Attention turned to a young female Vulcan seated before the dais. Around her head was wrapped a recording device with a small transparent screen over her left eye that allowed her to read the transcript of the event as the participants spoke. Controlled merely by the motions of her eye, she scrolled the text back up to Salvek’s last words. She stood, with her hands clasped behind her back, as she spoke.
“I knew Commander Reece and Lieutenant Grace were in peril. Find them was our top priority.” The young woman sat back down, and reactivated the recording function.
“I ask you again, Commander Salvek, were you willing to sacrifice T’Dara’s life?”
“I felt I had the situation under control. That T’Dara would be fine. The odds of her death seemed low at the time, I was not aware of how fully engulfed in the fever she was. The status of Reece and Grace, on the other hand, was completely unknown to me. Every moment we were delayed decreased the odds of their being found safe.”
Savol simply stared for a moment, not to attempt to intimidate Salvek, but merely to allow himself time to phrase his next question exactly as he wished.
“How well do you know this Reece and Grace?”
A normal counsel would have objected or advised his client not to answer. Zander simply grabbed the massive Vulcan by the arm and pulled him aside, as if saving him from an oncoming train.
“What is the relevance of that?” Zander interjected.
“I am curious as to whether Commander Salvek’s relationship with these two officers may have influenced his judgment.” Savol said, without taking his eyes off Salvek.
“I’d love to know how, no matter how my client feels about his shipmates, you would intend to prove that his relationship with them had any bearing on the choices he made that day.” Blakeslee protested. Savol was aggravating him more by the minute.
“I will prove it by asking your client for a truthful answer. Salvek?”
Salvek tilted his head in thought for just a moment. “I have known Commander Reece for a very long time. He is one of the wisest men I know, by all definitions of the word. Lieutenant Grace I have known a much shorter time, but she is a great friend as well. Also, she makes Commander Reece happy, which is something I appreciate, as his friend.”
“So, given your feelings, it is probably reasonable to say that your concern for your friends was fueling your desire to end the combat. More so than, say, if it were two unknown officers that were missing.”
“I’d like to have a recess.” Zander chimed in, before Salvek could answer.
“Granted.” Commander Jars said, standing up from his seat and finally breaking his silence. “And yes, I do have the power to do that much. I can quote the bylaw if you wish.”
Savol turned slowly towards Jars, like some sort of robot controlled by servos that simply were not powerful enough to do the job as quickly as they should. “I know all the bylaws. We will reconvene in three hours.”
-=Outside the Justice building, in an ally between buildings=-
“I don’t know what he’s up to. He’s really grabbing at straws but it might actually be enough.”
Zander was pacing back and forth, as Salvek stood silently.
“He’s determined to pin this on you, Salvek. So determined. But things like this happen all the time in Starfleet. It is simply understood that sometimes there are situations with no good choices. It’s something we all accept when we put on the uniform. So why is Savol so dead set on finding some sort of fault here?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Zander saw a small pebble or piece of plastic of some sort land on the ground beside him, with a tink. By the time Zander and Salvek looked up, it was too late.
-=One Hour Later=-
As the two men awoke, their assailants were long gone. Each sported no signs of the attack, other than a stiff neck and a bit of a headache from apparent nerve pinches. They were in an empty room, and the exit door was propped open a bit, indicating they could simply walk out at any time.
“Are you all right, Commander?” Salvek asked.
“Yeah, I’ll live. What happened? Did you see them?”
“No,” Salvek reached down his body, and found a note, written on paper, lying on his chest.
Zander was already on his feet, looking out the door, and seeing that beyond the next empty room was a public street. “Whoever they are, they’re gone now, and it looked like we are free to go. Then why the attack?”
“To deliver a message.” Salvek said, holding up the paper.
“What does it say?”
“It reads,‘We apologize for our means, but we are risking our lives even giving you this message. We simply could not allow ourselves to be seen. K’Shara Industries. Follow the finances.’” Salvek flipped the page over and confirmed there was nothing on the back.
*********************************
Commander Zander Blakeslee
Chief of Security
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
&
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Commander Zander Blakeslee
Chief of Security
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
&
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012