Rum, Sodomy, And The Lash
Posted on Apr 25, 2020 @ 5:31am by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Edited on on Apr 25, 2020 @ 5:36am
Mission: Last Days of Empire
"RUM, SODOMY, AND THE LASH"
(Continued from "Mistaken Identity")
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"The only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy, and the lash."
- unknown, attributed to Winston Churchill
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Captain's log, supplemental - the Phoenix continues its journey back to Starbase 56. From there, the crew of the Satet will be transferred back to Starfleet Intelligence, and we will be handing off one of our own crew to Starfleet Security...
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Location: USS Phoenix, en route to Starbase 56
Stardate: [2.20]0424.2130
Scene: Conference room - deck 3, drive section
Michael Turlogh Kane watched as the doors to the conference room hissed open, admitting the accused. Harrad-Tor, eyes downcast to the floor, filed in behind Jasmine, and Virgil Silsby and a Human man Kane didn't know were bringing up the rear. Waiting in the conference room along with Kane were Jake and Byte. They were all assembled for a disciplinary hearing - the first one that Kane had ever chaired - against Harrad-Tor, on charges of treason. The luckless Orion had been manipulated by the Klingon intelligence agent Dhirissa for well over a year, and had more recently passed her valuable information regarding the movements of the Phoenix and details of her mission. Although he had, in the end, come back to the right side, they did not exonerate his original sin.
Discipline in Starfleet, like any naval service, had a code that all its officers and enlisted crew had to abide by. It protected the rights of the accused while mandating various penalties for infractions and offences that ranged from simple tardiness for a duty shift all the way up to the most heinous - murder, sabotage, and treason. In centuries past, the punishment might have been physical - the actual infliction of harm upon someone's body - but the death penalty had never been a part of the Federation's statute books, and that was not the issue today. This was a disciplinary hearing, not a court-martial, and was being undertaken to decide what to do with Harrad-Tor for the duration of the voyage home.
To his credit, the Orion looked shame-faced as he sat down beside Jake. Regulations stipulated that the next-highest command-level officer should be the defendant's counsel, while Jasmine herself, as the ship's Security Chief, would act as a kind of proescutor, outlining the alleged crime and leaving it up to Kane, who, as master of the vessel, would judge the case. Byte was here to keep a record of the whole affair, and Silsby and the other man were anachronistically present to prevent the accused from fleeing the hearing.
The result itself was a foregone conclusion. The whole sorry tale had been documented by Harrad-Tor's own confession, and there was subspace communication evidence corroborating everything. When this went to a court-martial it would be a question of what the sentence would be, not whether or not Harrad-Tor would be found guilty.
Kane loked around to make sure everyone was ready. "This hearing is now in session," he announced. He shot a glance at the Orion. "Ensign Harrad-Tor, you are accused of committing treason against the United Federation of Planets by violating your Starfleet oath of service and providing intelligence on the movements and intentions of the starship Phoenix to foreign agents." He activated his PADD and glanced down at it. "It is noted that you have confessed to the aforesaid, and worked to make restitution for the offences you are accused of." He looked up at Jasmine. "Lieutenant Yu?"
Jasmine activated her own PADD and began reading her prepared notes aloud. She described each one of Harrad-Tor's messages to Dhirissa, outlining how they gave House D'Ghor an advantage while they worked their scheme to killed Is'toQ and betray their own people. It was a tangled web, involving intergalactic geo-politics all the way down to simple local corruption, and involved several players - Orion, Klingon, Romulan. For the past six months and more, the Phoenix had sailed through it all and come out the other side.
"To conclude," said Jasmine, wrapping up her testimony, "it is the recommendation of this starship's Security Chief that, upon the Phoenix's next arrival at a friendly port, Ensign Harrad-Tor be turned over to the local Judge Advocate General's office, there to be subject to a court-martial in accordance with Federation law and Starfleet regulations."
"Thank you, Lieutenant." Kane turned to Jake. "Commander?"
Given that Harrad-Tor had already confessed, and his confession was backed up with evidence, Jake could not contend with it. However, he could appeal for mitigation and mercy on Harrad-Tor's behalf, and he did. The whole sorry tale was related again from the Orion's point-of-view, how he had fallen in love with the wrong woman, escaped the noose of the Orion Syndicate, made a new life for himself in Starfleet, and had been manipulated by a third party. Jake outlined how Liriss, the Orion crime lord, had attempted to have Harrad-Tor murdered in the Alcyonus prison facility, and how Harrad-Tor had worked to rehabilitate himself by final revealing everything and working against Dhirissa's machinations. The eventual 'success' of the Phoenix's mission was, Jake argued, sufficient proof that Harrad-Tor's efforts had not been half-hearted.
"To reiterate and conclude," said Jake, "Ensign Harrad-Tor is aware of the magnitiude of his crime, and based upon my aforesaid testimony, I ask that his rights and privileges as a Starfleet officer be retained at this time. Thank you."
Kane nodded. Everyone had played their parts well in this drama. Upon their arrival at Starbase 56, Byte would transmit everything said here today to the local JAG and let them take over. There were no extenuating circumstances that would cause Kane to take drastic disciplinary action right now, so he decided to move ahead to the conclusion. There was no need to apply the proverbial lash to this case. "Ensign Harrad-Tor, your appeal for mitigation has been noted. Upon our arrival at Starbase Fifty-Six, you will be turned over to the local Judge Advocate General, there to be subject to a court-martial under Starfleet regulations. Fore the remainder of this voyage, you are confined to your quarters, except for one hour per day when you may visit any non-restricted area of the ship. You will be accompanied and observed by a Security guard at all times when not in your quarters. Your other rights and privileges as a Starfleet Ensign are retained. Do you understand my ruling?"
The Orion nodded slowly. "Yes, sir."
Kane looked around. "This hearing is concluded."
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Scene: Chief Counselor's office - deck 12, saucer section
Eve Dalziel had just finished writing up a report on her most recent appointments when the door chimed to get her attention. No names, of course - there was still such a thing as patient confidentiality even in the twenty-fifth century - but the bean counters at Starfleet Medical were always interested in the numbers of of crew needing psychological help - causes of stress, medical referrals, statistical breakdowns on species, gender, age of those seeking help, everything. A thousand people cooped up together in a confined space required the processing and acceptance of a different kind of reality - there was no place to storm off to if you got into a fight with someone, and you could pretty much forget any privacy while aboard a starship. That went double if you were an enlisted crewmember, sharing a room with three more of your shipmates. Counselors - the unsung heroes of Starfleet Medical.
She saved her work deactivated her desktop terminal. "Come in." She had no more appointments scheduled for the rest of the day.
When the doors opened, she saw Jake Crichton standing outside. The man didn't immediately come in - he took a heartbeat to stick out a leg and cross her threshold. Eve watched himself carefully as he stepped forward, noting how his right hand was clenching and unclenching into a fist. She raised an eyebrow. "Commander Crichton."
"Counselor." Jake looked around the room, as if to make sure there was nobody else here.
Eve got to her feet. She indicated the couch. There was something on Jake's mind, that much was clear. Moving to the replicator, she threw him a winning smile. "It's alright, Commander. I'll make us some lemonade and you can tell me all about it."
Jake took another step forward, giving the door enough space to hiss closed on his back. He said nothing, but crossed the floor quickly.
Eve glanced at him as he sat down, wondering what was wrong.
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Scene: Primary sickbay - deck 12, saucer section
A few corridors away, Sidney Bartlett was reading a medical journal in his office. Sickbay was empty, and he was taking the opportunity to catch up on industry news. In another hour, he could go off-duty and try to think of some way to eat up his evening. It was a big ship - surely there was something he could find to do. It wasn't always easy for a seventy-year old man to keep active, but he thought about maybe taking some time on one of the holodecks. A nice sunset over the Welsh valleys at the end of a summer's evening would be nice.
The heavy doors to sickbay opened and Kasandra Thytos stolled in. Bartlett watched her look around and flip a grin and a greeting to Nurse Fallon. "Hey, how y'all doin'? Boss in? Need ta git mah bits checked out."
Bartlett got to his feet, wincing as a muscle spasm ran down his back. Better have a look at that later, he thought. Getting old. Picking up the medical tricorder beside his desktop terminal, he walked out onto the floor. "Major Thytos," he smiled. "Welcome to sickbay."
"Heya, doc." Kass looked in his direction, but wasn't looking directly at him. She was off by about half a foot, grinning at the wall over his right shoulder. She lifted a bony finger and tapped the side of her head. "Brain needs calibratin'."
"Your sensor network," nodded Bartlett. "Yes." He gestured to a biobed. "Up you get." As Kass clambered up on the bed, he lowered the large bio-panel down over her body. "Everything else alright with you, Major? No aches or pains? Eating healthier like I recommended?"
"Ya got any burgers?" asked Kass. "Once ya git mah sigh-napses recalibrated n' such, Ah'll head on down ta the VT an' eat me a big bowl o' bittergreen salad. And git me a drink. Ah have me a hankerin' fer some rum or somethin'."
"Don't do that, you'll get the runs. The salad, I mean. Eat a little bowl." Bartlett opened a panel underneath the biobed, reached for the diagnostic cap, and placed the instrument on Kass' head. A moment later, it wirelessly connected to the biobed's computer, and a series of coloured lights began to ripple across its surface, clashing with the flashing lights of Kass's sensor network under her skin. "You're all lit up like a red-light district."
Kass raised an eyebrow. "A what?"
Bartlett chuckled. "Shall we get started?"
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Scene: Deck 3, saucer section - junior officers' quarters
Jasmine Yu checked the nameplate on the wall beside the door to make sure she had the correct quarters. Owen Arion lived here, sharing the quarters with Counselor T'yal, but the Vulcan woman was on duty right now, and Owen was supposed to be alone and waiting for her. They had arranged this date earlier, and Jasmine was looking forward to seeing what became of it - if it went well, she might be back to see the man again.
She jabbed the door control panel, thinking about what lay ahead? Would this date go well? She hoped so - she had never been inside Owen's quarters before, and adjusted her collar to make sure it was straight. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of a man Owen was, but there was something intimidating about Trills - they always gave you the impression that they knew a lot more than you did. Maybe it was all those lifetimes of experiences.
The door hissed open. Owen Arion stood there, still in his uniform. For a moment, their eyes met -
- and then Wei rushed forward into his quarters, and Smooshy appeared out of nowhere, and the two dogs started barking and leaping at one another in excitement. Smooshy swatted at Wei's nose, and the corgi took the hint, barking and running away under the coffee table. Smooshy darted after her, and she burst from underneath the table, the two of them running around and around the floor so fast that Jasmine was sure they would both puke up at any moment.
The two dog owners watched helplessly from the doorway. The doggy play date was underway!
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NRPG: There was no sodomy in this post!
Jerome McKee
the Soul of Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Commanding Officer
USS PHOENIX
"He speaks an infinite deal of nothing!"
- Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", Act 1, Scene 1.117
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