The PADD felt heavy in her hands. As much as she disagreed with its contents, Fleet Admiral Allison Reyes had no choice but to go along with it for now. The heroes of Nasera would be tried for the crime of doing what was necessary. Or at least those who were still alive would be.

This was not what they needed, nor what they deserved, but it was what they’d be getting nonetheless. There was nothing she could do to stop it. If she tried, Commander Robert Drake, the JAG officer she’d handpicked for Polaris Squadron, would go over her head, and then she’d be no help to Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall. That meant she had to play her part. For now.

The hiss of the door drew her from her thoughts.

“They’re en route,” Fleet Captain Gérard Devreux reported as he stepped into the diplomatic reception room that had been converted into a makeshift judicial chamber. Admiral Reyes sat at the front bench as presiding officer, while Commander Drake and Lieutenant Kel’don, the prosecutors from the JAG Corps, sat at a desk on the right. The desk on the left was unoccupied but that would soon change. The accused were en route.

“Were there any issues?” Admiral Reyes asked warily. She knew how impulsive Captain Lewis could be. She hoped he hadn’t done anything foolish. Not again, at least. Just a day prior, she’d had to stop him from committing a cold-blooded murder of the very JAG officer that would now be sitting first chair for his impending court martial.

“No ma’am.”

As she exhaled a sigh of relief, Admiral Reyes cast her eyes over at Commander Drake. The JAG attorney leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed and a smug look on his face, almost as though he was enjoying the drama. The admiral frowned. That kid had no idea how close he’d been to becoming a corpse, and she would not have completely blamed Captain Lewis for it. Commander Drake had helped push Lieutenant Morgan over the edge. The situation had spiraled out of control, and Admiral Reyes wondered if she would be able to steer it to the best possible outcome in the end – or at least the best outcome for those still alive.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to drop this, Robert?” asked Admiral Reyes. “After everything Commander Lewis has sacrificed for the Federation? After everything we’ve gone through? ” She knew it was futile though. Commander Drake didn’t compromise. Not for anyone or anything. It was what had brought them together years prior when they fought together to unravel a conspiracy within the highest ranks of the fleet, but now it was mighty inconvenient.

“Admiral, you sealed their fate when you sent them to Nasera,” Commander Drake replied bluntly. “But what Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall did down there, that’s on them.” The JAG locked eyes with the Admiral, and he didn’t blink. “That’s why they’re on trial, and you are not.”

From Commander Drake’s perspective, he’d actually been quite reasonable in the aftermath of Nasera. Nine hundred and thirty five officers had died as a result of the command decisions made by Admiral Reyes and her senior staff during the Battle of Nasera, but he’d elected to not investigate those choices out of respect to her and the difficult odds they’d faced. However, what Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall had done on the surface was not something he could look past.

Admiral Reyes frowned. No rank, no position, no relationship, no desperate situation, nothing whatsoever would stop Commander Drake from pursuing those who had desecrated the ideals of the Federation. Even all the history they shared would not dissuade him.

“Don’t feel bad, Admiral. If it wasn’t Nasera, it would have been something else,” Commander Drake added. “As much as you think you can control everything, you must realize that even you cannot tame the untamable. This is always how it was going to end for Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall.” If it wasn’t on Nasera, it would have just been somewhere else. It was just how rabid animals behaved.

“What about…” Admiral Reyes began to say.

“What about nothing,” Commander Drake interrupted, unwilling to entertain whatever mental gymnastics she was about to present. This was not up for debate. “We should consider ourselves lucky they didn’t do more damage this time, but there can never be a next time. Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall will be prosecuted for war crimes, and they will spend the remainder of their days behind bars.” It was the only way to safeguard the Federation from them.

“If they are found guilty,” Admiral Reyes reminded him. “So far, they only stand accused.”

“Oh, they are guilty, Admiral,” Commander Drake insisted coldly. “I have no doubt of that, and justice will be served.” For all the confidence with which he spoke, he knew though that he and his team had a tall task before them. The evidence was not as strong as his convictions. “And Admiral, let me remind you that, as Commanding Officer of Polaris Squadron, you have obligations to fulfill in this proceeding.” The relationship between Admiral Reyes and Captain Lewis was not lost on him. “I expect you to fulfill your duties impartially and by the book.” Otherwise, he would throw the book at her too.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, my friend,” Admiral Reyes assured him with a deep, but feigned, sense of sincerity. In reality, she absolutely intended to manipulate the proceedings, and she doubted whether they’d be friends after this. The reality was that the Federation needed people like Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall, and Commander Drake and his binary views of the universe had outlasted their welcome.

The door hissed open again, and a squad of security officers funneled into the room, flanking on all sides a lieutenant in teal and an older man in plain clothes. Dr. Lisa Hall, Polaris Squadron’s Counselor and the Cultural and Psychological Research Lead for the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity, had a nonchalant, disinterested look on her face, almost as though it was just another day in the office; meanwhile, Captain Jake Lewis, Polaris Squadron Intelligence Officer and Commanding Officer of the USS Serenity, had a determined and icy expression on his face, almost as if he was preparing for war.

The security team led the pair to the desk opposite that of the JAG prosecutors. They pulled back a pair of chairs and motioned for Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall to sit. The pair complied.

“Captain Jake Lewis, Lieutenant Lisa Hall,” Admiral Reyes began, staring at the pair with a deep sense of regret as to the proceedings that were about to unfold. “As the Commanding Officer of Polaris Squadron, and as a representative of the Admiralty of Starfleet’s Fourth Fleet, it is my duty to notify you that on this day, June, 18, 2401, the Office of the Judge Advocate General has filed a preferral of charges against you for crimes you are accused of committing on March 16, 2401 on Nasera II while serving as commissioned officers of Starfleet.”

Although it was a simple statement of fact, the mention of a preferral confirmed for Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall that the Judge Advocate General was seeking a General Court Martial, the most severe trial an officer of Starfleet could face. While capital punishment had been outlawed centuries ago, a General Court Martial could lead to prison time, up to and including a lifelong sentence. It would be Dr. Hall’s first time, but Captain Lewis had been through a General Court Martial once before. He’d avoided a guilty verdict, but even the mere proceedings had been enough to force him out of Starfleet for almost a decade.

Admiral Reyes then began to lay out the backdrop to the charges as laid out on the charge sheet: “The Office of the Judge Advocate General submits that on March 16, 2401, Captain Jake Lewis and Lieutenant Lisa Hall, along with two deceased Starfleet officers, Lieutenant Junior Grade Jace Morgan and Lieutenant Kora Tal, and at least two dozen civilians, identities unknown, executed a tactical operation against the governor’s residence in Nasera City with the objective of capturing the military commander of a Dominion force that had illegally occupied the Federation system.”

None of this was debatable or objectionable. It was fact that Captain Lewis and his team had gone to Nasera on a covert mission to undermine the defenses and command structure of the Lost Fleet in preparation for a counter-assault by the USS Polaris, and that, with the support of a group of angry colonists, they had executed a raid against the governor’s mansion to capture the Vorta in charge of the operation. This, and the other simultaneous operations that Captain Lewis’ team had conducted, had been essential in securing victory in the Battle of Nasera.

“While the initial assault on the governor’s mansion resulted in significant loss of life, including one Starfleet officer, an unknown number of civilians at least thirty in number, and an unknown number of enemy combatants at least twenty in number,” Admiral Reyes continued to read from the charge sheet. “It is the opinion of the Office of the Judge Advocate General that, until 1815 hours local time, the operation was within the bounds of the authorization of force issued by Commodore Imya Jori, Commander, Fourth Fleet Task Force 93, and that the loss of life, while regrettable, was within acceptable parameters based on the totality of circumstances on the surface of Nasera II on the evening of March 16, 2401.”

Captain Lewis could not hold back his surprise. Commander Drake had not submitted any charges related to his use of civilians? The JAG could certainly have cooked up a legal theory under which the Captain had used civilians with reckless disregard for their lives, and he’d even suggested as much in the early days of the investigation. The only reason Commander Drake had given him a pass was because the JAG had more substantive charges to level, and he didn’t want to get caught in a battle of semantics around the acceptability, or lack thereof, of the use of civilians during an occupation, which was a muddy subject given how civilian resistance movements had been celebrated across much of history.

“However, it is also the opinion of the Office of the Judge Advocate General that the actions of Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall, during the period between 1815 hours local time and 1910 hours, were not within the bounds of the authorization of force provided by Fourth Fleet Command,” Admiral Reyes continued to read, her tone growing serious as she leveled the accusation. “And further that criminal acts were committed during this period in violation of the General Orders and Regulations of Starfleet and the laws of the United Federation of Planets.”

If passing on their use of civilians wasn’t indication enough, the timestamps in the accusation told Captain Lewis everything he needed to know: this would be a war crimes tribunal.

“On the first count, Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall, you are accused of intentionally and unlawfully subjecting an unarmed and restrained enemy combatant to physical and pharmacological torture in violation of Starfleet Security Protocol 49, Starfleet General Order 2 and several interstellar treaties on the treatment of prisoners of war.”

Neither Captain Lewis nor Dr. Hall reacted. They had well-trained poker faces, but even more than that, neither felt even the slightest bit of remorse over what they’d done. Almost a thousand officers had died on Nasera, but it would have been far more if Dr. Hall had not bent the Vorta’s mind to the point that the creature gave the order to end the conflict.

“On the second count, Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall, you are accused of exacting capital punishment upon an individual in Starfleet custody in violation of Starfleet General Order 4. This charge may be elevated to an aggravated charge in the event that it is demonstrated that this action was, in part or in full, to prevent prosecution of the first count.”

Again, neither operator reacted. Where Dr. Hall had been the pharmacological mastermind, Captain Lewis had been the executioner. Not that it mattered who had pulled the trigger. Dr. Hall would have just as willingly. The creature deserved no other fate after all the lives it had taken: Lieutenant Commander Brock Jordan, Mr. Ryssehl Th’zathol, Lieutenant Kora Tal, Petty Officer Jason Atwood, and Crewman Nam Jae-Sun, all from their team, plus nine hundred and thirty other officers and an unknown number of civilians estimated well over ten thousand in total. Starfleet regulations might have banned capital punishment, but their code demanded nothing less.

“On the third count, Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall, you are accused of first degree murder in violation of the First Guarantee of the Constitution of the United Federation of Planets.”

Captain Lewis furled his brow at the civilian charge. The Vorta was not a Federation citizen, but the Constitution did provide its guarantees to any lifeform on Federation territory and, while it might be a stretch to argue that Nasera was Federation territory on March 16, 2401, the JAG had clearly set out to ensure that the totality of their incarceration would vastly exceed the remainder of their lives.

“And on the fourth count, Captain Lewis, you are additionally charged with multiple violations of Starfleet Command Regulations as it relates to issuance and supervision of illegal orders, with respect to one or more officers under your command and on the matter of the torture and murder of a prisoner of war.”

While the last one paled in comparison to the others, it would ensure that, even if Captain Lewis tried to pawn the built off on others, Commander Drake would tie him to the crime as the senior officer present. It also signaled that, if Commander Drake was open to cutting a deal, it would only be with Dr. Hall.

“Based on the nature of these counts, this preferral of charges has been referred to the Honorable Captain Eleazar Adler to determine whether or not these charges shall be referred to a General Court Martial,” Admiral Reyes wrapped up, just glad the recitation was over. As much as everyone in the room knew she was just doing her duty, she still felt like she’d just betrayed two people who had sacrificed so much for the fleet. “Captain Lewis, do you have any questions?”

“Not a one,” Captain Lewis said as he stared coldly at Commander Drake. It wasn’t that he was angry about the charges though. No, that just came with the territory. Instead, his fury was borne of the fact that he held Commander Drake responsible for Lieutenant Morgan’s suicide, and now, sitting in the chamber across from Drake in the chamber, his anger was building. He should have killed the JAG and avenged the lieutenant while he’d had the chance.

“And Dr. Hall?”

“No ma’am,” Dr. Hall shook her head calmly. The threat of life imprisonment didn’t phase her. In her past, she’d endured far worse than a comfy Federation prison cell.

“Then, in recognition of the impending charges,” Admiral Reyes concluded. “Captain Lewis, Dr. Hall, you are hereby suspended from duty and confined to your quarters until a determination is rendered in these proceedings.” Commander Drake cleared his throat from the plaintiff’s table, but the admiral tried to ignore him, “Security, please escort Cap…” 

“Ma’am…” Commander Drake interrupted. “A minute please.”

“Commander,” Admiral Reyes admonished, uninterested in entertaining anything further from the JAG. “There will be time to make a statement during the hearing.”

“Respectfully, ma’am,” Commander Drake insisted, refusing to back down. “The Office of the Judge Advocate General hereby requests that Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall be remanded into the custody of the brig officer of the USS Polaris. The risk to order and security is too great to allow them to remain free on their own recognizance.”

Admiral Reyes stared at him. “Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall have served with honor…” she began to say.

“Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall have a history of flagrantly ignoring restraints placed upon them,” Commander Drake pointed out. “Not even 48 hours ago, Captain Lewis disobeyed a direct order from my office to remain with the USS Polaris.”

To stop the Borg and save the crew, Captain Lewis thought to himself. But it wasn’t worth saying. It didn’t matter to him if he spent the next week in his quarters or in the brig, and frankly, he was sort of ready to just move on. This Starfleet appointment was proving more trouble than it was worth. There was a part of him that was ready to just be done with it and to return to private enterprise where he didn’t have to deal with holier-than-thou JAG officers.

“And before that,” Commander Drake added. “After being advised that they were under investigation, Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall conveniently found themselves on a two month soirée to Earth, out of reach of our investigators.” On that one, he knew Reyes was partially at fault too, and he could completely see Lewis, Hall and Reyes again contriving an excuse for them to run off once more. “Remember what I cautioned earlier, ma’am.”

“Very well,” Admiral Reyes sighed, recognizing this was not the hill to die on. “The defendants are hereby remanded into the custody of the brig officer of the USS Polaris.”