Title: Star Trek-Infinity: Upsetting the Balance [PG] (MISC) Author: Charles Rando (trando@worldnet.att.net) Series: MISC Rating: [PG] Part: NEW 2/2 Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and Peter David owns the Selelvian race (see his book, Strike Zone). I'd like to think that the characters I've invented and the story are mine. :-) Summary: When an accident on the Infinity results in the death of an Engineer, Commander Neddek is charged with negligence. Is this just an attempt to drum him out of Starfleet? It's up to Lieutenant Remley to find out! Author's note: Hello everyone, and welcome to the second season premiere of Star Trek-Infinity. Please feel free to send me you comments, complaints, compliments, commas, whatever you feel like, about this story. I look forward to hearing from you all, and I hope you enjoy it! "You may be seated," ordered Admiral Jim Branson, the head judge advocate in the court-martial case. He looked over the gathered audience in the courtroom, and then to Admiral Parker and Captain Lyrris, the two other judges. "This court is now in session. The first matter of business today," he said with a smirk; a court-martial case could possibly go on for weeks, "is the accusation of negligence on the part of Lieutenant Commander Neddek. Commander Gordon, are you ready to present your case?" The chief prosecutor rose. "Yes, your honor. On Stardate 48297.4, the starship Infinity was on a rescue mission in the Cyrmetron sector. The Hawkins had become caught in a gravitational stream, and required assistance to remove itself. The Infinity attempted to tractor the Hawkins out of the stream, a process that did not go smoothly. The strength of the stream was great, and the Infinity was under a great deal of strain to pull the Hawkins out of it. Many ship's systems, especially the structural integrity field, were already at full output levels, but it wasn't enough. Captain Rando ordered the defendant, Commander Neddek, to perform a dual transfer of extra power to the tractor beam and the structural integrity field. During this procedure, Commander Neddek became emotionally enraged, verbally abused a fellow officer, and took his remaining anger out on his computer console. The power to the structural integrity field was cut dramatically, and the entire ship shook due to the increased strain. The sudden jerking caused Ensign Peter Farnan, who had been on the second level of Engineering, to fall to his death to the level below. I intend to show that Commander Neddek was responsible for the sudden drop in the power flow to the structural integrity field, and therefore responsible, due to negligence, for the death of Ensign Farnan." Branson nodded as the prosecutor sat, ending his opening statement. "Commander Neddek, you have chosen to defend yourself, is that correct?" Neddek rose to respond. "Not entirely, your Honor," he replied. "No one with legal experience was able to defend me. I am, therefore, forced to defend myself." Branson nodded again before asking, "Is there anything you'd like to say for an opening statement, Commander?" "There is nothing I wish to say at this time, your honor," Neddek replied. "Well then, let's get this show on the road, shall we? Mr. Gordon, call your first witness," Branson instructed. "Your honors, I call Lieutenant Brett Pallick to the stand," Gordon said. The young Lieutenant proceeded to the front of the courtroom where he was sworn in before Gordon began questioning him. "Please state your name, rank and position onboard the Infinity for our records." "My name is Brett Pallick, I'm a full Lieutenant and an engineer on the starship Infinity ," Pallick responded. "You have brought this case of negligence against Commander Neddek, is that correct?" Gordon asked. "Yes sir. From my position on the secondary engineering level, I could see Commander Neddek working at his console. I saw him explode at Lieutenant Krodel, the assistant chief engineer, before he slammed his fist down on the console he had been using. A second later, the ship lurched, and my friend Pete, Ensign Farnan, had fallen to the floor below." Gordon brought up a PADD and showed it to Pallick. "Do you recognize these schematics?" he asked. Pallick nodded. "These are schematics for the primary and secondary engineering levels," he said. Gordon retrieved the PADD and walked it over to Neddek before proceeding. "I would with to have this schematic entered into evidence as 'People's Exhibit-1,' if there is no objection," he added, facing Neddek. "I see no need to object at this time," Neddek replied, handing the PADD back to Gordon. Gordon passed the PADD over to Admiral Branson. "The exhibit has been entered into the record," Branson replied. "You may proceed." After retrieving the PADD one last time, Gordon turned back to Pallick. "Mr. Pallick, would you please indicate where you were working at stardate 48297.4?" "I was here," Pallick pointed to the PADD's screen, "at station B-7." "And where was Ensign Farnan?" "Pete was standing to my left, right there," Pallick indicated. "As you can see, there's a space between the computer consoles. That's where he fell." "And where was Commander Neddek?" "The Commander was working at the main engineering station here. By turning my head to the right and looking down, I had a clear view of him." "You saw Lieutenant Krodel approach Mr. Neddek?" "Yes sir," Pallick replied. "I couldn't hear what he was saying, the ruckus in Engineering was too loud with everyone talking at once, but I did hear Neddek shout, 'I do not care what you think! Do it!' right before he hit the computer console." "Commander Neddek was under stress then?" Pallick nodded. "It looked like it," he said, "which really surprised me. I mean, we all knew that Neddek was a Romulan, but he had been brought up as a Vulcan. He had always been cool under pressure before... but this time he just snapped. It was actually kinda scary." "From your description of these events, it doesn't sound like Commander Neddek was behaving too logically during this crisis." "No sir, he wasn't. He lost control with Krodel, and then hit the console," Pallick said. "You keep mentioning this 'console' Neddek was working at, Lieutenant. Can you tell the court what Commander Neddek was using that console for?" Gordon asked. Pallick nodded. "He was adjusting the power flow to the structural integrity field. When he hit the controls, the power levels suddenly decreased. If he hadn't been so emotional, Pete wouldn't have died." Gordon checked through his notes before turning to Admiral Branson and saying, "No further questions, your Honors." Branson shifted his attention to Neddek. "Your witness, Commander," he said. Neddek stood. "I have no questions for this witness, your Honors." Branson almost seemed to stifle a laugh. "It's your show, Commander. Lieutenant Pallick, you may step down. Mr. Gordon, call your next witness." Remley shook his head in dismay as Gordon called up another engineer, Lieutenant Quiles, to confirm Pallick's story. Neddek wasn't doing anything to defend himself... he wasn't fighting back at all. Remley felt a twinge of pity for Neddek as he realized the engineer was doing the best he could in an uncertain situation. Remley would have offered to defend Neddek himself if he hadn't gotten the same feeling Captain Rando had that something was missing. And since that something might occur to him at anytime, he wanted to be free to be able to hunt it down. For now, he was going to listen carefully to each officer's testimony in hopes of something in his head clicking into place. Something that could help him prove that Neddek hadn't been negligent. In a way, he wished he had a better knowledge of engineering equipment and structural integrity field, so that he could confirm for himself everything that Pallick had said. Perhaps he would have to do his own research once today's hearing was over. CHAPTER FIVE That night, Commander Neddek slept peacefully in his Starfleet 'provided' quarters. Lieutenant Remley, however, did not sleep as well in his quarters back on the Infinity . He was plagued by a recurring dream... almost a nightmare. In the dream, he was running down a long corridor on the Infinity . He rounded a bend, and the next thing he knew he was in Main Engineering, staring at Neddek's computer console. Everything was exactly the same about the console in Remley's dream as the last time he had seen the real console, except this one had a large red question mark on it. Remley knew what the question was, but no matter how closely he inspected the computer console, he just couldn't find a workable answer to his problem. He couldn't find a way to prove Neddek innocent. He would examine ever square inch of the console until he woke up, at which point he was forced to relax himself back into a light sleep... only to have the dream again. By the time the next morning dawned, Remley realized he was no closer to finding the answers he was searching for. The security chief quickly cleaned and dressed for the new day's hearings. After wolfing down a quick breakfast consisting of eggs, toast and bacon, he made his way back to the courtroom on Starbase 506. Yesterday, Commander Gordon had brought over a dozen other engineers to the witness stand, and each of them testified that Neddek had been adjusting the power levels to the structural integrity field before the ship had been jolted, that Neddek had exploded at Lieutenant Krodel, that Neddek had brought his fist down on the computer console, and so on. A few even testified that they had seen the normally stoic Neddek lose his Vulcan control... and Remley was quite frankly surprised by the number of people in Engineering who harbored ill will towards Neddek because he was Romulan. Today, Gordon would be calling on even more character witnesses to show that Neddek's treatment of Krodel was not the norm. Today, he'd be calling Captain Rando to the stand. Remley hoped that his Captain did the right thing. Remley was forced to listen to a few more engineers back up Pallick's story before Rando was called to the stand. He leaned forward in his chair, wishing that the Captain would declare this whole court-martial a mockery of justice... but it didn't happen. Gordon just began asking him questions. "My name is Charles Rando, and I am the captain of the U.S.S. Infinity ," Rando was saying. "And when did you take command of your ship, for the record?" Gordon inquired. "On Stardate 48223.7," Rando replied. "When did you first meet Commander Neddek, Captain?" Rando adjusted his position in the chair. "The night before I took command of the Infinity," he replied. "And what were your first impressions of Mr. Neddek?" Gordon asked. "He was quiet, reserved, like many other Vulcans I've known," Rando said. "Very logical, and yet he had a tremendous imagination." "Did he strike you as emotional?" Rando shook his head. "Like I said, he was like a lot of other Vulcans I've known. According to his personal file, twenty-three years ago he achieved Kohlinar and reputed all emotions." "Of course, according to his personal file, Mr. Neddek isn't actually Vulcan, is he?" "No, Neddek was born on Romulus," Rando replied, "but he was raised on Vulcan by his father from age five to age sixteen and then by both parents after that." "How did you discover that Neddek was actually Romulan?" Gordon asked. "It's a rather long story leading up to it," Rando replied, "but suffice to say, we were transported back in time over sixty years to the Romulan system, and we arrived on a very important day for Neddek's family. You see, the reason Neddek was raised only by his father for eleven years was because his mother and younger brother were still on the Romulan homeworld. When Neddek's father attempted to retrieve them, the Romulan Imperial Guard interfered and took Neddek's brother, S'tev, hostage. They wanted to prevent Neddek's parents from leaving Romulus, so they tortured S'tev and then killed him while Neddek's parents watched on a viewscreen of their departing ship. Neddek realized that we had arrived just a few hours before S'tev's death, and so he took it upon himself to rescue his brother from his grisly fate. He beamed down to Romulus in disguise, located S'tev's body... he hadn't been dead long, and transported back to the Infinity to have S'tev resuscitated. Later, Neddek was offered a choice by a member of the Q Continuum in an effort to straighten out the timeline: Neddek could either keep S'tev with him and have his Romulan heritage known by everyone, or he could give up S'tev and become a Vulcan again. Neddek chose the first choice." "And a very noble choice, I'm sure, Captain," Gordon replied, "but when you say that Neddek beamed down to Romulus, did he do so with your permission?" Rando paused before answering. "No, Neddek beamed down without my permission." "In fact, according to your ship's logs, you had to send an away team down to retrieve him because you thought he might give potentially dangerous information about Starfleet to the Romulans of the past?" Rando paused again slightly. "Yes," he answered. "Was this the only instance in which Neddek left the ship without your permission?" Gordon asked. Rando shook his head. He knew that his testimony, which was the truth, wasn't helping Neddek's case. "No... there was a time, right before we were brought back to our own time by Q, that he stole a shuttlecraft. He was afraid of what would happen to his brother and to himself if Starfleet found out who they truly were." "And you had to use force to retrieve Commander Neddek, did you not?" "Yes," Rando admitted. "Then one could say, Captain, that Commander Neddek has a pattern of doing things without your authorization... of neglecting his duties as a Starfleet officer? And as the Captain of a starship, I'm sure you'd be an expert on duty." "There does seem to be a pattern of negligence," Rando admitted, "but as I have recorded in my private logs...." Gordon cut him off. "No further questions, your Honors." Branson turned to Neddek with a look of resignation. "I don't see why I even bother asking," he said. "Do you wish this question this witness?" Remley watched the engineer closely. Neddek had declined to ask questions of any of the other witnesses, and Remley hoped that he wouldn't make the same mistake again. Captain Rando could easily clear up the special circumstances behind each of the cases Gordon had mentioned, and he could.... "I have no questions for this witness, your Honors," Neddek replied calmly. Remley couldn't take any more. He stood and walked right out the courtroom. ****************************************************** "How's the trial going, Evan?" asked Lieutenant Williams as Remley brought his food tray over to the table he and his cousin were sharing. "Has Neddek started cross-examining the witnesses yet?" "Not even one," Remley replied, a bit disgustedly. He had wandered around for almost an hour, trying to determing why. "He had a chance to have Captain Rando clear up all of the special circumstances behind him rescuing S'tev and taking that shuttlecraft, but he didn't even try. If I didn't know him better, I'd almost say he's given up." "His behavior was quite illogical," Lieutenant V'gel commented. "I agree, he should be at least trying to defend himself, especially after the testimony that Captain Rando gave." Williams took another bite out of his sandwich. "Why?" he asked, his mouth full. "What did he say?" "That's right, you weren't there today," V'gel said. "How come, Phil?" Williams shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I'm behind Neddek one hundred percent... it was just all of that procedure! 'Here, I'll show you what's on the PADD so you can tell me what it is, now I'll show it to you so that you don't object, and now I'll show it to you so you can introduce it into evidence. Ok, now I need it back, so I can pass out another PADD.' It just got very repetitious. I'm glad I went into science!" "What do you think, Phil? You'd probably have a better grasp on this technical junk than I would. Is it possible to lower the power to the structural integrity field just by hitting the controls with your fist?" Remley asked. "I've been thinking about that," Williams replied. "I'm sure it's possible, but it's not likely. Those controls are set up to be adjusted by hand, and I don't think Neddek could have changed anything with his fist unless he rolled it down the controls too. Of course, with the ship lurching around like it was, anything's possible." Remley placed his spoon in his soup bowl and rested his head in his hands. "And I was having such a dream last night... a recurring one! I kept finding myself in engineering, staring at Neddek's console. It had a big question mark on it, but I already knew what the question was... I'd have to be stupid not to. The problem was that I couldn't figure out the answer. I must have examined that console over fifty times in my sleep, and I didn't find anything." "It could be possible that the answer you're looking for isn't on the console, Evan," Williams commented, his mouth full again. His cousin nodded. "That's right. Maybe the answer you need is actually INSIDE the console." Remley considered this new idea for a moment before snapping his fingers. "That's it! How could I forgotten about it! And it was there all along!" He checked the time on the ship's chronometer. "I'd better hurry. Commander Gordon only had a few more people to call after the Captain, and I'm willing to bet Neddek isn't doing anything to defend himself. Thanks for your help, guys! I'll see you later!" Getting up from the table, he ran off, leaving his used tray and the half-eaten soup behind. Williams and V'gel both looked at it. "Would you like to throw it away, or should I?" Williams asked. CHAPTER SIX "We have arrived at our decision," Admiral Branson was saying as the courtroom resumed from a recess, "and we believe we have sufficient reason to find Mr. Neddek guilty of...." "Stop!" called Lieutenant Remley, bursting through the courtroom doors. "Admiral, I believe I have evidence to clear Commander Neddek of all charges!" A general buzz filled the room until Admiral Branson slammed down his gavel for order. "Please, Lieutenant... step forward. What is the nature of this evidence?" Remley stepped purposely towards the judges' bench with a PADD in his hand. He passed the PADD to Branson. "That data comes from a computer security program I was testing when the Infinity was sent to rescue to Hawkins. It shows that the command to cut the power to the structural integrity field did not come from Commander Neddek's console. In fact, it came from a console on the second engineering level." "We've seen evidence that shows the command did come from Neddek's console," Admiral Parker replied. "Why should we place what you say above that evidence?" "Because I've also discovered that the computer reports that indicated Neddek's involvement are false. And, if you will notice, the changes to the computer logs were made from the same station on the second level." Branson considered the young Lieutenant. "So, what exactly are you saying, Mr. Remley? From what I see here, you don't know exactly who it was that accessed this console." "But I can say with all certainty that it wasn't Neddek... it was someone on the second level. And then it hit me... that's what this case is centered on. Ensign Farnan fell to his death from the second level of Engineering. And, as various witnesses can testify to, he was standing right next to that very same computer console before he was thrown over the rail." "Are you saying that Ensign Farnan tampered with the structural integrity field, and that cost him his life?" Parker demanded. "If so, I hope you're prepared to give solid evidence to back it up." "I'm not accusing Ensign Farnan of anything yet," Remley replied. "Witness accounts also place Lieutenant Pallick at that computer console as well. With your permission, I'd like to ask him a few questions." Admiral Branson and the other two judges convened in whispers for a few seconds before Branson replied, "Very well, Mr. Remley. Lieutenant Pallick, would you please take the stand?" Pallick nodded and walked assuredly to the witness box. Admiral Branson reminded the Lieutenant that he was still under oath from the last time he testified, and as Remley looked on, he thought he saw a flash of uncertainty in the engineer's eyes. "Where were you when Ensign Farnan fell over the railing, Lieutenant?" Remley asked. Pallick straightened his uniform and replied. "I was working at console B-7. Pete was standing to my left just before the ship buckled. The next thing I knew, he was on the ground, a level below." Remley paced in front of the officer. "What were you working on at console B-7?" "We were attempting to divert more power to key systems," Pallick answered. "The tractor beam, the inertial dampers, the structural integrity...." "The structural integrity field?" Remley asked. "Yes, the structural integrity field," Pallick answered. "So at the time of the accident, you had access to the power levels of the structural integrity field?" "I believe I've already said that, Lieutenant." Remley nodded. "Then it is possible that one of you decreased the power flow to them?" "It's possible," Pallick conceded, "but that's not what happened. Commander Neddek had access to the integrity field as well. When he became emotional, he lowered the power flow." "You saw him lower them?" "As I have stated in my previous testimony, I saw him bring his fist down on the controls. A second later, the ship shook and Pete went over the rail." Remley took this in. "So you maintain that Neddek was able to lower the power flow to the structural integrity field by bringing his fist down on the controls?" "Yes, I do," Pallick replied. "A sensitive procedure, one that would require Neddek's fist to hit in the exact right place... AND roll down the console in the proper direction, and you still maintain that that's what happened?" "Yes, I do," Pallick repeated. "Okay, then," Remley said, pausing to think for a minute. "Mr. Pallick, you don't like Mr. Neddek that much do you?" "Objection your honors!" Commander Gordon called. "He's leading the witness!" "Which, under direct examination, would be objectionable," Branson replied. "This, however, is cross-examination... or some form of it." He turned to Pallick. "Answer the question." "No, I don't like Commander Neddek. At first I thought he was wrong in choosing Lieutenant Krodel over me for assistant chief engineer... and then I found out he was a Romulan. And everyone knows you can't trust Romulans; they'll stab you in the back if you turn away from them. I'm willing to bet that 'Commander' Neddek was sabotaging the ship for the Romulan Empire by cutting the power to the integrity field," Pallick said. Remley nodded as he continued to pace. "And what about Ensign Farnan? What was his opinion of Neddek?" Pallick started answering before Gordon could object. "Pete didn't trust Neddek either. His grand-parents were killed long ago in a Romulan raid, and his family wanted to avenge them someday. Now, because of another Romulan, he'll never get the chance." "So Ensign Farnan was vengeful?" Remley asked. "Perhaps so full of hatred and the need for revenge that he cut the damper's power to hurt Neddek?" "No," Pallick replied, "he wouldn't do that." "He wrote a program, didn't he?" Remley demanded, ignoring Pallick's response, "a program that would tie in your console with Neddek's... so that when the opportunity arose, he could make it look like what he was doing was coming from Neddek's console." "I told you," Pallick repeated, this time with a tint of anger in his voice, "he wouldn't do that!" "A brilliant engineering feat!" Remley exclaimed. "Almost undetectable! Ensign Farnan must have been quite the engineer to come up with a program like that, eh Lieutenant? Maybe HE should have been assistant chief engineer?" "He couldn't have written that program!" Pallick shouted back. "He never could have written it! It was way too complex for his understanding!" The shouting match set off another buzz in the courtroom, causing Branson to call for order again. Remley ignored him and demanded, "How do you know Farnan didn't write that program, Lieutenant? How can you say for sure that it wasn't his genius that created it?" Pallick threw his face right into Remley's. "Because I wrote that program! It was my creation! I thought it up, and it worked perfectly!" he exploded. Remley shrunk back away from the red faced engineer. He turned to the judges with a smirk and replied, calmly, "No further questions, your Honors." ****************************************************** Neddek sat alone in the empty courtroom. Starfleet security had long since taken Lieutenant Pallick into custody, and shortly thereafter, everyone else in the courtroom had left as well. Neddek did not look up when he heard the courtroom doors swish open. "Commander?" asked a voice. "How're you doing?" After a slight pause, Neddek replied, "I am attempting to regain my logical control again. The last week has been especially trying." "It's been bad ever since people found out you were Romulan," the voice said. Neddek, his control evaporated once again, slammed his fists down on the table as he stood. "I would think that you, of all people, Lieutenant, would understand after everything that just happened that...." Remley raised a hand to cut him off. "Whoa whoa whoa, Neddy! I think you're not hearing me right! I'm only saying that it must be hard with everyone knowing your true heritage because some people DO have a problem seeing past the big picture. Me, I base everything on their potential of being security risks... Romulans, Klingons, even Starfleet... they could all be security risks in general. But that doesn't mean that every Romulan, every Klingon, and every Starfleeter is dangerous. Excepting that shuttlecraft incident, which I know you only did because you were afraid of what might happen to you if Starfleet knew you and S'tev were Romulans, you're one of the safest guys I know. I'd trust you with my life any time, and believe me, that's not something I say to anyone." He smiled. "My life is very important to the proper running of this universe!" Slowly, Neddek sat back down in his chair. "I apologize, Lieutenant. I have accused you of being something you're not." Remley took a seat as well, but on the table. "There seems to be a lot of that going around. If anything, it's us that owe you an apology. There was no reason for this little event... at least no reason for you to have been involved. I've just talked to Captain Rando... he's going to ask Admiral Daubar to use her influence and make sure nothing like this happens again. He's also going to have a little talk with your engineers... if they don't like serving under you, they can transfer to another ship. Of course, it'll be in their Starfleet records that they allowed personal reasons to interfere with their duties... and not many starship captains want officers like that, especially when those 'personal reasons' include bigotry. We shouldn't judge you on what you are, but who you are." Neddek nodded. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I... appreciate having you on my side." "What are friends for?" Remley grinned. "I do have one question... if you don't mind me asking. It is rather personal." "I believe that after everything you've done for me, I owe you a response," Neddek replied. "Well, it's just that a lot of people in the crew, those who know you and like you for what you are... well, we want to know how to refer to you, you know? I mean, you are Romulan, but you were raised as a Vulcan, and it...." "I understand what you mean, Evan," Neddek interrupted. "I have lived the majority of my life as a Vulcan. I have mastered many Vulcan disciplines... I have even trained my mental powers to enable me to mind-meld with other person. Although I am Romulan by blood, and proud of that fact... I am a Vulcan by heart, and I wish to remain one." "You won't have any problem from me!" Remley exclaimed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go tell Ensign Libby. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out he lost our bet!" He bowed his head towards Neddek, turned, and walked back out of the room. "He may indeed be the most boisterous human I've ever encountered," Neddek thought, "but no one is perfect. Not even myself."