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Date: Sat, 05 Jun 2004 17:41:17 -0400
Subject: [ASC] NEW:VOY "In Pursuit of Justice" 2/13 J [PG-13]
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Forwarded by the ASC-VSO 
Posted: 3 Jun 2004 13:19:55 -0700  
In: alt.startrek.creative 
From: roq@iname.com (Rocky) 
 

Title: In Pursuit Of Justice
Author: Rocky
Contact: roq@iname.com
Web page: http://www.angelfire.com/yt/rockyroad
Series: VOY
Part: 2/13
Codes: J
Rating: PG-13
Date first posted: 6/3/04
Archive: ASC yes, all others please ask

Summary & Disclaimer: see part 1

Admiral Mishpat U'Tzedek, the presiding officer at the court-martial,
picked up the small silver gavel and tapped three times on the podium.
U'Tzedek was an Anjehelian, an avian species whose slender wings and
delicate, almost ethereal features naturally gave rise to the common
shortened form of their name.  As U'Tzedek fixed her glowing red eyes
on the defense table, Janeway started involuntarily. An angel of
justice, not mercy. "Are you ready to begin, Captain Gaines?"

Gaines rose and addressed the panel of seven who would be deciding
Janeway's fate. Janeway recognized only three of the officers, T'Lara,
Lemech and Alexander Kaiser, who had been the ones to originally
review the charges against her during the article 32 hearing and
decide they warranted going to trial. The others—Getz, Serug and
Tirkar—were unknown entities.

"I would like to begin by describing the exact circumstances Voyager
found itself in," Gaines said, his deep voice resonating clearly
throughout the chamber, "as well as provide background on the 'Spirits
of Good Fortune' who played a key role in the Equinox's crimes, as
well as the incident for which this trial is being held.

"On Stardate 53035.2, Voyager came across the badly damaged Equinox.
Jubilant at finally seeing another Federation vessel after long years
in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Janeway immediately offered aid and
succor to Captain Ransom and his people, encouraged a free exchange of
supplies, technology and even of personnel. She held nothing back,
listened sympathetically as Ransom and his first officer, Commander
Burke, explained how Equinox had been under almost constant attack by
a particular species of aliens." Gaines paused for a moment. "But
Ransom left out key details of his story, gave orders to keep
Voyager's officers away from his own ship's labs and engine room, lest
their secret--a systemic use of a race of sentient beings for *fuel*,
a calculated campaign of genocide--would be revealed."

The jurors' attention never wavered, but one or two allowed a pained
expression to cross their faces.

"The crew of the Equinox, from the commanding officers on down,
engaged in a coordinated and deliberate attempt to deceive Voyager.
And when the truth was ultimately revealed, Ransom ordered the
deliberate sabotage of their benefactor's ship, the theft of key
equipment necessary for Voyager to defend itself against
attack--attacks provoked by the fact of their helping Equinox--and
left their fellow Starfleet officers to what they were convinced was
certain death. As a final parting shot, Ransom kidnapped two members
of Voyager's crew, and left behind their own Emergency Medical
Hologram to serve as spy and additional saboteur." Gaines gestured
dramatically. "If that does not constitute an act of war, an opening
of hostilities, I don't know what would.

"Equinox was long gone, and Voyager was left exposed and defenseless.
But contrary to Ransom's expectations, Voyager was not destroyed. They
managed to beat off the enemy, jury-rig the shields to protect against
further attacks. And then instead of allowing Ransom to get away with
his heinous acts--or abandon her crew to his tender mercies--Janeway
set off in pursuit.

"Make no mistake: it was Equinox which began this conflict, set these
events in motion. Janeway's actions were calculated to elicit
information to help her ship, recover her missing crew members, and
finally, bring Ransom to justice.

"Voyager tracked Equinox to a small planet. Ransom was able to elude
Voyager--he had superior firepower, not to mention inside information
about Voyager's weapons and capabilities. Ransom and his ship got
away, but Voyager managed to capture one of the Equinox crewmen on the
planet—Ensign Noah Lessing."

Gaines took a sip of water. "Try to imagine, if you can, the situation
on board Voyager at that time. The ship was crippled, under attack.
Ransom and the Equinox were gone, but there was no guarantee they
would not return at a later date to raid Voyager once more, to prey on
their fellow Starfleet officers as they did the nucleogenic aliens,
stripping them of rations, of energy, of equipment, perhaps of their
very lives. Even if the stakes were not so high regarding Voyager's
own survival, Captain Janeway could not in good conscience allow the
Equinox to continue on their present course of action, charting a path
of destruction and genocide across the galaxy. To stop Ransom, she
first needed to find him. And so she turned to the obvious source of
information, the recently apprehended Equinox crew member.

"However, through misguided loyalty to his own captain--the man who
had set Equinox on their repugnant path--Noah Lessing refused to talk.
He refused to assist Captain Janeway, refused to cooperate in any way.
By his own actions, he clearly regarded himself as a prisoner of war.
Perhaps over time he would have reconsidered his situation, realized
he had a chance to break with the unspeakable cruelties of life on
board the Equinox, of no longer having to follow Ransom's sadistic
directives. Perhaps Lessing would have decided of his own volition to
help stop the destructive and vicious cycle--in time. But time was a
luxury that Voyager could not afford. And so Captain Janeway was
obliged to treat him as an enemy—a prisoner of war--and interrogate
him."

Gaines paused once more, and Janeway had the sense he was picking his
way very carefully. "The manner of this questioning, the methods
employed--it's all very easy for us now to judge Captain Janeway, to
look back from the safety of our own positions, from the comfort of
the Alpha Quadrant where lone ships are not forced to fend for
themselves for years in hostile environments, contending with
tremendous forces against them. Even our recent experiences in the
Dominion War cannot quite bring us to comprehend the dire
circumstances Voyager was in. If Captain Janeway was perhaps harsh in
her manner of interrogation, it was because she was driven to it by
the situation. She needed the information Lessing had, and it was
imperative that she obtain it, by force if necessary. Too many other
lives were at stake."

Gaines glanced around the room, noting the few observers, and then
turned his attention back to the members of the jury. "The end result
of course, was that Noah Lessing did not speak. Was his life
endangered? Yes. But was it ultimately lost? No. For the duration of
the Equinox incident--and for the remainder of the years in the Delta
Quadrant--Lessing was not threatened again in any way, was not in any
greater peril than any other individual on board Voyager." Gaines
gestured toward Janeway. "These are not the actions of a captain who
harbored any ill will toward him--or anyone else connected with the
Equinox! The entire set of regrettable events which transpired between
Captain Janeway and Ensign Lessing on that day were solely due to the
captain's desperation--" Gaines quickly corrected himself "--desperate
need for information. Nothing more.

"It is my hope, my belief, that this jury will find Captain Janeway's
actions, while they may perhaps be considered extreme, were caused by
the exigencies of war, and not out of a malicious or premeditated
intent to commit murder."

The prosecutor, Captain Lenore Mendez, was tall and her sleek black
hair, with just a hint of gray about the temples, was caught up in a
knot at the nape of her neck. Unlike her opponent, she chose to stroll
around the chamber as she spoke, as if to give greater weight to her
words.

"We have all heard the words of my esteemed colleague," she said in
slightly accented Standard, "but I intend to show Captain's Janeway's
actions went well beyond what has been described. She was not only
pursuing information, but an enemy. Yes, the Captain was seeking
*revenge* for Captain Ransom's deception, for the damages inflicted on
her ship--and ironically enough, his violation of his oath as a
Starfleet officer." Mendez smiled. "I say ironic, because by her
actions, Captain Janeway showed she wanted Ransom's whereabouts at any
cost, didn't mind if it cost a life or two to get it--as long as it
wasn't *her* crew at risk.

"How else can one explain what she attempted to do to Noah
Lessing--what she very nearly succeeded at, the cold-blooded murder of
an innocent man. The Ensign was not privy to the private thoughts of
his commanding officer; he could not read Ransom's mind and tell
Captain Janeway where the Equinox was headed, or what they intended to
do next. In fact, Lessing could be viewed as much as a victim of
Ransom's cruelty as Voyager. A hapless victim.

"But to Captain Janeway, this man represented something else. He was a
symbol of the crimes the Equinox had committed, of what Ransom had
done to her ship and crew. Ransom was out of reach, but Lessing was
not."

Mendez inclined her head graciously toward the defense. "Captain
Gaines, in his eloquent statement a few moments ago, did not detail
just how Captain Janeway's interrogation was carried out. In a move of
stunning brutality, she threatened to expose him to the nucleogenic
aliens--and then did just that, blatantly ignoring the rules of
engagement, of civilized behavior, of sheer humane conduct. The fact
that Lessing survived this 'interrogation' is not to Captain Janeway's
credit, nor was it due to any actions of hers.

"It is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt if Lessing had not been
removed from that cargo bay, he would have been dead mere seconds
later. No, Captain Janeway did not fire on him with a phaser, she did
not viciously beat him. She just left him to what she knew was certain
death.

"Such an act would be considered cruel by any standards, but consider
what it meant to this particular victim. Noah Lessing had firsthand
knowledge what the nucleogenic aliens were capable of, what painful
and heinous death they inflicted. Lessing had spent years watching
crewmates die, seeing his ship attacked time and time again. Like the
other Equinox survivors, he learned to avoid getting trapped in narrow
or confined areas, to constantly be straining his ears for the
high-pitched sounds which heralded another attack. Captain Janeway's
threat to expose him was a form of *psychological* cruelty,
exquisitely calculated to inflict maximum pain and suffering by making
his worst nightmares come true. Even if she had never intended to
leave him to be murdered, the threat alone clearly demonstrates an
intent to torture him, to break him in the most devastating way
possible. But as I have already said, Janeway did not stop at
threats."

Janeway glanced involuntarily at the jury, but none of the members met
her eyes. Beside her, Perry put a steadying hand on her arm.

Mendez went on. "The desperate situation Voyager found themselves in
doesn't excuse torture and attempted murder. Captain Janeway blamed
Ransom for behaving contrary to how a Starfleet officer and captain
was supposed to act, but by her own behavior she herself sank not just
to his level, but worse. She deliberately, and cold-bloodedly, left
Noah Lessing to die."

U'Tzedek's silver gavel rose and fell once more. "Captain Mendez,
please call your first witness."

"The prosecution calls Lieutenant Del Butler."

Butler, a short, barrel-chested young man, took his seat. Clearly
nervous, he cracked his knuckles and faced the prosecutor after he was
sworn in.

"Please state your name, rank and serial number for the record,"
Mendez said pleasantly.

"Lieutenant Del Butler, j.g., serial number 656-5827B."

"Current assignment?"

"I'm on leave at present, ma'am--I'm due to ship out aboard the
Potomac in ten days."

"Your department?"

"Security."

"You previously served as a security officer on board Voyager, is that
correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Were you a member of the original crew that left Deep Space Nine on
Stardate 48315.6, or were you a member of the Maquis?"

Butler glanced at Janeway. "I was a member of the Voyager crew from
day one."

Mendez nodded. "Please state where you were assigned on Stardate
53049.2."

"I was on the bridge during Alpha Shift."

"At the tactical station?"

"No," Butler said.  "Commander Tuvok was at tactical. Lieutenant Parks
and I were ordered to take up additional positions on the bridge. I
was stationed next to the turbolift."

"Was it common practice to have a security guard posted on the Bridge,
in addition to the Chief of Security?"

"No, but we had extra security personnel all over—everyone was pulling
double shifts while we were in pursuit of the Equinox; we were
expecting an attack at any time."

"You were expecting an attack from the Equinox?"

Butler nodded. "Also from those--creatures."

"The Spirits of Good Fortune?"

Butler's lip curled. "Yeah, that was one name for them. We'd just
managed to get our shields up so we wouldn't have to worry about any
fissures opening up for them to come through--but we hadn't been given
the order to stand down from the heightened state of alert yet."

Mendez's demeanor changed slightly; her tone became more brisk. "All
right, Lieutenant. How did you end up in Cargo Bay Two?"

"Captain Janeway received word Ensign Lessing had been apprehended on
the planet. When she left the Bridge she ordered me to accompany her."

"Did you actually go inside the cargo bay with Captain Janeway?"
Mendez asked.

"Yes. Morrison was outside, but the Captain told me to go in with
her."

"Just the two of you?"

"No," Butler said. "Commander Chakotay was there as well."

Mendez glanced down at a PADD on her table. "Please describe the
setting in the cargo bay. Lessing was standing?"

"No, ma'am. He was sitting down."

"On the floor?"

"In a chair."

Mendez came to stand in front of the witness stand. "Was he able to
move around freely?"

Butler shook his head. "No, ma'am, his arms and legs were bound."

Mendez said, "Were you armed, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, ma'am." His surprise at the question was evident. "Security
officers on duty are armed at all times, especially during an
emergency situation."

"So you weren't carrying a phaser because you were afraid of what
Ensign Lessing might do, or to protect your captain."

"No, ma'am. He was a prisoner of war."

"If he was a prisoner of war, why wasn't he in the brig?" asked
Mendez. "The brig hadn't undergone any damage, had it?

"Not that I know of."

Mendez consulted her notes. "The brig is shielded, is it not? More so
than the rest of the ship?"

"It's supposed to be impervious to beam-outs, if that's what you mean,
ma'am, to minimize the risks of any prisoners escaping."

"I see," Mendez said. "But shouldn't Ensign Lessing have been in the
brig? Didn't that strike you as odd?

Butler shifted uneasily in his seat. " I...I don't know, ma'am."

"Wasn't it normal procedure to keep prisoners in the brig?" Mendez
repeated. "Why do you think the Captain gave orders--"

Gaines rose to his feet. "Objection. The witness has already answered
the question. He doesn't know."

"Sustained," said Admiral U'Tzedek. "Move on, Captain Mendez."

"You said earlier, Lieutenant, that you were armed?" said Mendez.

"Yes."

"What about Captain Janeway?"

"Yes, ma'am, she had a weapon." Butler added, "We all did, everyone on
board. Because of the attacks by those aliens, you see. There wasn't
much warning when they would show up and it took phaser blasts to
drive them off--"

Mendez leaned forward. "But the shields had been restored, hadn't
they, all over the ship? The danger of imminent attack wasn't there
any more, was it?"

Butler gulped. "No, ma'am."

"So there you were, you and Captain Janeway, both heavily armed,
confronting a man who was bound hand and foot." Mendez's lip curled
slightly. "Did the Captain tell you what she was going to do?"

"She wanted to question the prisoner."

"Did Captain Janeway clearly state to Lessing what she wanted from
him?"

"Yes. Tell her how to find Ransom and what his tactical status was or
suffer the consequences."

"What was Lessing's reaction?"

"He refused."

"What did Captain Janeway do then?"

"She increased the threats. She told him exactly what was going to
happen if he didn't cooperate."

"Was she bluffing?" Mendez asked in an almost conversational tone.

Gaines rose once more. "Objection—once again, how can Lieutenant
Butler purport to know the defendant's state of mind?"

"I'll rephrase the question," Mendez said. "Based on her demeanor, did
she look like she was serious?"

Butler hesitated, then nodded.  "Yes, she was deadly serious. There
was no question in my mind the Captain meant what she said."

"Did Lessing believe her?"

"I don't know," Butler said slowly. "Lessing looked at Commander
Chakotay, asked if this was where he was going to come in and save
him, advise him to give it up. But Chakotay said no, the Captain was
on her own."

Mendez let the words hang in the air for a moment. "What happened
next?"

"The Captain walked out, giving orders to remove the shields."

"Did you comply with those orders, Lieutenant?"

"Yes," Butler said, uncomfortably.

"Why?"

"She's the Captain," Butler said.

"She's the Captain," repeated the Mendez. "Rather similar to Equinox's
sit--" seeing Gaines begin to rise from his seat yet again, she
quickly changed what she was about to say. "You followed the Captain's
orders even though you knew what was likely to happen next?"

"Yes." 

"What *was* going to happen?"

Butler glanced at Janeway again. "We were under almost constant attack
by those creatures, thanks to the Equinox."

"Thanks to their treachery, you mean?"

"Yes--they unleashed those monsters on us and then crippled our
systems and left us to fend for ourselves!" he said heatedly.

Mendez looked at Butler for a long moment. "So, in your opinion,
Captain Janeway's decision to expose Lessing to them was justified?"

"Objection," called Gaines, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

Mendez said, "Withdrawn. But Voyager was able to get the shields
working again, isn't that correct? You were no longer at risk?"

"We were able to rig something," Butler said grudgingly.

"In every part of the ship?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"You were safe at that particular moment in time, isn't that correct?"

"As long as the shields stayed up."

"What happened in unshielded areas?" Mendez asked.

"The creatures came," Butler said.

"Right away? Or was there a period of time in which you knew you were
relatively safe?"

"Our experience had been it was only a few seconds, maybe half a
minute at most."

Mendez nodded as if satisfied. "So Captain Janeway, as she promised,
willfully exposed Noah Lessing to almost certain death." She looked at
Gaines. "Your witness, Captain."

Gaines approached the witness stand. "Lieutenant, you said earlier
that there were others present in the cargo bay, other than yourself
and Captain Janeway?"

Butler gave him a questioning look. "Lessing was there."

Gaines smiled. "Yes, of course. What I meant was, other than the
prisoner and Captain Janeway and yourself, was there anyone else
present?"

"Commander Chakotay."

"I see. And did he say anything during Captain Janeway's
interrogation?"

Butler thought for a moment. "I don't think so, sir. I mean, not more
than I already mentioned, that Lessing asked the Commander if he was
going to intervene and he said no."

"Nothing Commander Chakotay said or did made much of an impression on
you? Or seemed to have any impact on how things were proceeding?"

"It was Captain Janeway's show to run."

"So you don't recall if Commander Chakotay made any objections to what
she was doing," Gaines said.

"No, sir."

"To all appearances, he was in complete agreement with the Captain?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Gaines said. "I have nothing further for this
witness."

Admiral U'Tzedek said, "You may step down, Lieutenant." She then
tapped the gavel three times. "Due to the lateness of the hour, we
will adjourn until tomorrow morning at 0800 hours."

Janeway glanced at Gaines, unconcernedly slipping PADDS inside his
briefcase. "What was that about?" she asked.

Gaines snapped the lid shut and stood, straightening his uniform as he
did so. "What are you referring to?"

"That bit about Chakotay," Janeway said, standing as well. "I already
told you, it won't be possible to show he was complicit in my actions,
that it was all part of an elaborate charade the two of us concocted—"

"Please, Captain." He gave her a sharp look.

Janeway lowered her voice, remembering they were still in a public
area. "I don't understand what you hope to gain. Are you trying to
discredit Chakotay? Getting Butler to admit he saw no reason to
interfere or disobey orders is a far cry from—"

"A court-martial is like a chess game," Gaines said, interrupting her
once more. "These were just the opening moves. We'll see how it plays
out tomorrow."

End part 2

--
Forwarded to ASCL by:
Stephen Ratliff
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