Undiscovered III: Intimations of Justice
Dec. 8th, 2013 11:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
works_in_spaceIt had all gone wrong. Gorkon was dead. Hopes for peace were dashed. And Captain James Kirk was sitting in a cold unlit holding cell aboard a Klingon Bird of Prey. For the moment, he was separated from Bonea. And he was fairly certain his life would be over soon.
The Klingons wanted blood. And only that they were desperate for Federation help prevented a summary execution, Jim was sure. Instead, he was told there would be a trial. A fair trail? Almost definitely not. Like any dictatorship, they had reasons to put on a show. But it would be just that. At the end, he would be executed. No doubt for every perceived crime he'd ever committed against the Empire. After which, the war would try to start again until the Organians stopped it, as they did thirty years ago.
Jim stared into Gorkon's face as the chancellor was dying, wounds too great for Bones to fix, wounds too alien for Bones to understand. And in Gorkon's eyes, there was no hate. How was that possible? Didn't Gorkon think that his old foes were betraying him? Maybe Gorkon simply came to understand that this is how things would be. But Jim did not believe that. Not anymore.
The state dinner was a disaster...no, it was only a mess, given what came afterwards. But at no time did Gorkon lose his composure. Or his sense of perspective. It could be possible for a cunning enemy to play his opponents. Jim didn't sense that, though. Klingons tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves. And Gorkon's eyes...there was no hate. No guile. Only resolve. And a love of his people. Was Gorkon different?
And had Jim, through his actions or through his inactions, forgotten what he was supposed to do as a Starfleet officer? He was an explorer. And by boxing off the Klingons, was he failing to explore what Gorkon called "the undiscovered country" of peace?
Jim didn't know. He felt like he didn't know anything today.
He felt old.
"Captain." Another new Klingon face (and anyone who said "they all look" alike was not just a blatant racist but blind).
"Yes? Hear to hose down my cell?" Jim wasn't sure what tone to take. Mild annoyance and a touch of sarcasm would do, even if the translators wouldn't pick it all up.
"I am Colonel Worf. Your lawyer." The words were translated by a device mounted on Worf's belt. Handy, that.
"Lawyer? I get to defend myself? How sporting."
The lawyer glared for a moment, but grew calm quickly. "Under the codes of interstellar law that allowed us to arrest you, you are entitled to a trial. And to a defense."
"After which I'll be executed." Worf was silent for a moment.
"It is a possibility. But I have reviewed the evidence, and there is room to cast doubt."
Jim's turn to be silent. Work continued.
"I know you do not think that you will receive a fair hearing. Were our circumstances reversed, I would feel the same way. But despite what you might think of us, Captain, we DO believe in the rule of law." There was some small contempt in Worf's tone, as if he was sure the Federation didn't. But also that look in his eye. The same one as Gorkon had. Of...honesty?
"And how do you intend to prove your case? Am I innocent until proven guilty?"
"Ah. The idea that the burden of proof is on the prosecutor. No, we do not operate that way. The burden of proof is on the judges. They alone get to determine the facts based on the evidence provided by both sides. There is no presumption of guilt or of innocent." Jim weighed this. It made sense in a way. It was nothing like what he had seen in his own life.
"And who are these judges?"
"Men of honor. Men like yourself who have served their whole lives and have been rewarded with other duties that present new challenges."
"So the courtroom is war by another name?"
Worf presented a predatory but not entirely unfriendly grin. "Life is war by another name. But the judges do not treat your trial, or any others, as a battlefield. Even if General Change might." Jim gasped.
"He's the prosecutor? And you say I have a chance?" He struggled to contain his anger.
"General Chang is NOT the judge. Be thankful for that. Be thankful that we did NOT execute you in anger. Be thankful that we do not have such luxuries."
There was a long silence.
"Captain, you do not understand our ways. Any more than we understand yours. But we both believe in justice. And in law. And such beliefs mean that you are entitled to a fair hearing, and a defense. We do not have to like each other for that to happen. We simply need to work together. And you need to trust me."
"And can I trust you? Can I trust any Klingon after everything that's happened?" His anger was rising.
"No." Worf paced in the corridor. "Nothing is simple now. But if there is to be peace, the Federation must accept that we will have our justice. And the Klingons must accept that it will be fair."
"What are you saying, Colonel?" Jim didn't think he would hear the word "peace" again.
"Q'Onos is too far gone for us to posture and bluff and scowl the way you and Korr and Kang did in your youth. We demand that the Federation allow us to try you as we see fit. But it MUST be done in a way to show that once Gorkon's death has been accounted for, we can still negotiate."
Jim understood. The show was for the Klingon public, or the part that mattered in terms of politics. And for the Federation. So that everyone would be mollified. And there could be negotiations after all.
"So I'm to be sacrificed on the altar of peace? I never thought that would be my fate."
Another long silence from Worf. If nothing else, he chose his words carefully.
"It is possible. Maybe even likely. But understand, Captain, that I AM a lawyer. With all the authority and rights that go with the profession. I was assigned your case because I am a good lawyer. And I have seen enough evidence to suggest that you are not guilty."
"You believe I didn't do it?"
"What I believe does not matter. Facts matter." One more pause. "And the facts say that the great Captain James Kirk, when he intends to kill someone, is not that subtle. And does not return to the scene of the crime, as I believe the saying goes." How do the Klingons know so much Earth culture? And why, Jim wondered, does the Federation know so little of them? Where did we go wrong?
No matter. For the first time since he beamed over to the Klingon ship, Jim felt a flicker of hope.
"That is the saying. And I guess I will take that as a compliment."
"It is intended as one. Your reputation is widely known. Many hate you. But other have what could be called respect." Whether Worf was counted in either group was unclear.
"And what about Bones...Dr. McCoy?"
"He is to be be my client as well. But the case against him is different. He stands accused of malpractice in his failure to save the chancellor. That might be harder to dispell.
"But I will give it my all for him as well."
Jim was not satisfied with any of this. But it would have to do.
"Colonel, can I ask you a question?"
"I reserve the right to not answer." Not a whit of humor in that reply. Or at least Jim thought that. Who knew what Klingons found funny?
"Do you really want peace?"
"Peace is not the natural state of creation. And the Klingon Empire has long thrived on battle. But sometimes the battle must change. Our war is not with you now. It is with time. Someday, after we have saved our race, our empire, we might seek war again. Today, the only course of action is peace with the Federation.
"And you, Captain?" Jim was tempted to decline to reply, to turn the table on Worf. But he didn't think that would be fair.
"Honestly? I don't know. Ask me again if I survive."
And with that, the interview was over, Worf left with just the hint of a smile, and Jim tried to sleep.
The Klingons wanted blood. And only that they were desperate for Federation help prevented a summary execution, Jim was sure. Instead, he was told there would be a trial. A fair trail? Almost definitely not. Like any dictatorship, they had reasons to put on a show. But it would be just that. At the end, he would be executed. No doubt for every perceived crime he'd ever committed against the Empire. After which, the war would try to start again until the Organians stopped it, as they did thirty years ago.
Jim stared into Gorkon's face as the chancellor was dying, wounds too great for Bones to fix, wounds too alien for Bones to understand. And in Gorkon's eyes, there was no hate. How was that possible? Didn't Gorkon think that his old foes were betraying him? Maybe Gorkon simply came to understand that this is how things would be. But Jim did not believe that. Not anymore.
The state dinner was a disaster...no, it was only a mess, given what came afterwards. But at no time did Gorkon lose his composure. Or his sense of perspective. It could be possible for a cunning enemy to play his opponents. Jim didn't sense that, though. Klingons tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves. And Gorkon's eyes...there was no hate. No guile. Only resolve. And a love of his people. Was Gorkon different?
And had Jim, through his actions or through his inactions, forgotten what he was supposed to do as a Starfleet officer? He was an explorer. And by boxing off the Klingons, was he failing to explore what Gorkon called "the undiscovered country" of peace?
Jim didn't know. He felt like he didn't know anything today.
He felt old.
"Captain." Another new Klingon face (and anyone who said "they all look" alike was not just a blatant racist but blind).
"Yes? Hear to hose down my cell?" Jim wasn't sure what tone to take. Mild annoyance and a touch of sarcasm would do, even if the translators wouldn't pick it all up.
"I am Colonel Worf. Your lawyer." The words were translated by a device mounted on Worf's belt. Handy, that.
"Lawyer? I get to defend myself? How sporting."
The lawyer glared for a moment, but grew calm quickly. "Under the codes of interstellar law that allowed us to arrest you, you are entitled to a trial. And to a defense."
"After which I'll be executed." Worf was silent for a moment.
"It is a possibility. But I have reviewed the evidence, and there is room to cast doubt."
Jim's turn to be silent. Work continued.
"I know you do not think that you will receive a fair hearing. Were our circumstances reversed, I would feel the same way. But despite what you might think of us, Captain, we DO believe in the rule of law." There was some small contempt in Worf's tone, as if he was sure the Federation didn't. But also that look in his eye. The same one as Gorkon had. Of...honesty?
"And how do you intend to prove your case? Am I innocent until proven guilty?"
"Ah. The idea that the burden of proof is on the prosecutor. No, we do not operate that way. The burden of proof is on the judges. They alone get to determine the facts based on the evidence provided by both sides. There is no presumption of guilt or of innocent." Jim weighed this. It made sense in a way. It was nothing like what he had seen in his own life.
"And who are these judges?"
"Men of honor. Men like yourself who have served their whole lives and have been rewarded with other duties that present new challenges."
"So the courtroom is war by another name?"
Worf presented a predatory but not entirely unfriendly grin. "Life is war by another name. But the judges do not treat your trial, or any others, as a battlefield. Even if General Change might." Jim gasped.
"He's the prosecutor? And you say I have a chance?" He struggled to contain his anger.
"General Chang is NOT the judge. Be thankful for that. Be thankful that we did NOT execute you in anger. Be thankful that we do not have such luxuries."
There was a long silence.
"Captain, you do not understand our ways. Any more than we understand yours. But we both believe in justice. And in law. And such beliefs mean that you are entitled to a fair hearing, and a defense. We do not have to like each other for that to happen. We simply need to work together. And you need to trust me."
"And can I trust you? Can I trust any Klingon after everything that's happened?" His anger was rising.
"No." Worf paced in the corridor. "Nothing is simple now. But if there is to be peace, the Federation must accept that we will have our justice. And the Klingons must accept that it will be fair."
"What are you saying, Colonel?" Jim didn't think he would hear the word "peace" again.
"Q'Onos is too far gone for us to posture and bluff and scowl the way you and Korr and Kang did in your youth. We demand that the Federation allow us to try you as we see fit. But it MUST be done in a way to show that once Gorkon's death has been accounted for, we can still negotiate."
Jim understood. The show was for the Klingon public, or the part that mattered in terms of politics. And for the Federation. So that everyone would be mollified. And there could be negotiations after all.
"So I'm to be sacrificed on the altar of peace? I never thought that would be my fate."
Another long silence from Worf. If nothing else, he chose his words carefully.
"It is possible. Maybe even likely. But understand, Captain, that I AM a lawyer. With all the authority and rights that go with the profession. I was assigned your case because I am a good lawyer. And I have seen enough evidence to suggest that you are not guilty."
"You believe I didn't do it?"
"What I believe does not matter. Facts matter." One more pause. "And the facts say that the great Captain James Kirk, when he intends to kill someone, is not that subtle. And does not return to the scene of the crime, as I believe the saying goes." How do the Klingons know so much Earth culture? And why, Jim wondered, does the Federation know so little of them? Where did we go wrong?
No matter. For the first time since he beamed over to the Klingon ship, Jim felt a flicker of hope.
"That is the saying. And I guess I will take that as a compliment."
"It is intended as one. Your reputation is widely known. Many hate you. But other have what could be called respect." Whether Worf was counted in either group was unclear.
"And what about Bones...Dr. McCoy?"
"He is to be be my client as well. But the case against him is different. He stands accused of malpractice in his failure to save the chancellor. That might be harder to dispell.
"But I will give it my all for him as well."
Jim was not satisfied with any of this. But it would have to do.
"Colonel, can I ask you a question?"
"I reserve the right to not answer." Not a whit of humor in that reply. Or at least Jim thought that. Who knew what Klingons found funny?
"Do you really want peace?"
"Peace is not the natural state of creation. And the Klingon Empire has long thrived on battle. But sometimes the battle must change. Our war is not with you now. It is with time. Someday, after we have saved our race, our empire, we might seek war again. Today, the only course of action is peace with the Federation.
"And you, Captain?" Jim was tempted to decline to reply, to turn the table on Worf. But he didn't think that would be fair.
"Honestly? I don't know. Ask me again if I survive."
And with that, the interview was over, Worf left with just the hint of a smile, and Jim tried to sleep.
