The distance separating them was far more than the table between them. In fact, never had they been further apart. The impending case against Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall had chilled the once-close relationship between Allison Reyes and Robert Drake. Now, as the unflappable admiral and the incisive prosecutor waited for the hearing officer to arrive, they said nothing at all. There was nothing to say. The lines had been drawn, and now all they could do was wait.

Commander Drake had no doubt that Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall were guilty of war crimes. He was certain that they had tortured and executed their prisoner, a restrained enemy combatant. The JAG officer felt no love for the Vorta, but he loved the Federation to his very core. Animals like Jake Lewis and Lisa Hall could not be allowed to haphazardly trample on its virtues and values. It was his duty to stop them, to put an end to their impropriety, to see them behind bars for the rest of their lives. There was no appropriate alternative for such rabid creatures.

Admiral Reyes saw it differently. They had lost nine hundred and thirty five sailors during the Battle of Nasera. If not for Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall, they would have lost thousands more. Victory might have belonged to the Lost Fleet on that dark spring evening, and that would have meant the colonists of Nasera II would have remained under the savage yoke of their captors. The ends had justified the means. She was sure of that. The law might not agree, but the admiral would ensure her colleagues never saw the four walls of a prison cell. She owed it to them for the sacrifices they had made. But it wasn’t just loyalty either. It was also pragmatism. As much as their actions might be repulsive to common society, the Federation still needed people like Jake Lewis and Lisa Hall. Allison Reyes had seen enough over her many years to be certain of that.

The door chimed, cutting through the silence.

“Enter,” Admiral Reyes commanded as she rose from her desk, speaking for the first time since the JAG prosecutor had arrived. Across the table, he did the same.

An elderly gentleman, his hair more salt than pepper and his eyes bearing the wisdom of age, stepped through first. He carried himself with a seasoned gravitas, but the four pips on his collar had been earned in the courtroom rather than on the battlefield. Captain Eleazar Adler had come to preside over the preferral as preliminary hearing officer, and he was very much expected. However, the younger female captain that followed him through was not. What the hell was Captain Elsie Drake doing here? The sister of Commander Drake was neither a judicial officer, nor a non-biased party. As to who it worked in the favor of though, her brother or the admiral, neither was certain.

But the admiral didn’t miss a beat. She never did. “Captain Adler, Captain Drake,” she nodded as she calmly addressed each by name. Her expression did not betray her surprise in the slightest. “Welcome aboard the Polaris. I regret, though, that it is not under better circumstances.” She shot a glare at her colleague across the table.

Commander Drake opened his mouth to snap back, but the elder captain raised his hand, stopping the younger lawyer off before he could start. “But it is our duty nonetheless, is it not Admiral?” Captain Adler asked pointedly as he raised an eyebrow in her direction.

“Of course,” nodded the admiral.

“And we will find based on the facts, and the facts alone,” Captain Adler continued, his gaze now falling upon the young lawyer sitting opposite the admiral. “Isn’t that right, Commander Drake?”

“Absolutely,” nodded the young prosecutor.

“There have been far too many anomalies and delays in the handling of this case up until now,” Captain Adler observed. In transit, he’d read up on the totality of the situation, not just the preferral and the exhibit list, but also on the altercation in the Starboard Stardrive Computer Core, Reyes shuttling her operators away from Nasera aboard the Serenity, and, most recently, the disturbing news that one of her operators, Lieutenant Jace Morgan, had taken his own life. “Going forward, it is my expectation that this preferral shall be handled expeditiously and judiciously.”

“I would have it no other way,” Admiral Reyes smiled disarmingly, although it was a complete lie.

“I’m glad you see it that way,” Captain Adler smiled back, but he was no fool. He knew exactly who Fleet Admiral Allison Reyes was. “Because Admiral, given your past relationship with the defendant, I hereby order that you recuse yourself from any further role in the adjudication of the case against Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall.”

His tone left no room for ambiguity or argument, but Admiral Reyes didn’t blink. “Of course,” she agreed calmly and without protest. From the moment Commander Drake had brought his charges, she knew there’d come a point when she’d be forced to step away. Her conflicts of interest were just far too documented, and it was almost freeing that, unshackled from the facade of neutrality, she would now be able to wear her real colors. The colors of her crew, those who’d served loyally and done what needed to be done. She would recuse herself from further adjudication, but only because she would now act actively in their defense.

“And Commander Drake, you are ordered to produce, by no later than 0500 tomorrow morning, a final exhibits and witnesses list,” Captain Adler said as he turned to address Commander Drake. “You can direct it to my team, which is already setting up in the chambers on Deck 6.”

“Was the one you had incomplete?” Commander Drake asked, a bit confused by the request as he was certain Lieutenant Kel’don wouldn’t have made such a significant lapse.

“I would certainly think so if you have any intent of tying the defendants to the physical material present at the crime scene,”  replied Captain Adler with the tone and tenor of a stern professor. “And I would think it quite unlikely that you would have grounds for a referral without that.”

Commander Drake frowned. The Captain had made his position clear. He did not like the link Drake’s team had tried to establish between the corrupt operators and the instruments of torture and death. But at least he was giving them a chance to resolve it. “We’ll work on it. But 0500 tomorrow? Why such a tight turnaround?”

“I’d like at least a few hours to read it over before the hearing begins,” Captain Adler replied flatly, his intentions now clear. He would waste no time getting to work. He intended to start the hearing first thing in the morning.

“Sir, wouldn’t you like a bit of time to get settled?” Commander Drake offered, hoping to stall him at least a day or two. Lieutenant Morgan’s death had thrown a massive wrinkle in their litigation strategy.

“While that is a gracious offer, at my age you realize that time is valuable, and you must make the best of it,” Captain Adler shook his head. “Of my time, of your time, and of the time of the accused. You’ve had months to prepare. It’s well past time we get to resolving this matter.” The Commander opened his mouth again, but the Captain was having none of it. “We start at 0800, sharp,” he rearticulated. “As I said: expeditiously and judiciously.”

And then, without another word, Captain Adler spun on his heels and briskly strode out of the Ready Room, leaving Admiral Reyes standing there with brother and sister.

“Captain Adler is going to be far more than a rubber stamp on your indictment,” Admiral Reyes smiled cruelly as she looked at Commander Drake. “Sounds like you’ve got some work to do.”

Without another word to either the admiral or his sister, Commander Drake hustled off. That told Admiral Reyes all she needed to know. The Commander was feeling the pressure, and he was no more happy at his sister’s presence than she was. Admiral Reyes intended to exploit both facts.

Once the door had shut behind the JAG, Admiral Reyes turned towards the younger Drake. “Elsie,” she said warmly as she made her way around the desk.  “It’s been quite a while, but I must say I’m glad to see you.” She meant it too, although not for purely kind reasons. Elsie could be the key to undermining her brother, willing or unwilling. “Please, have a seat.” She gestured at a pair of couches, and then drew to a stop in front of the replicator. “May I offer you a drink?”

“That’s all too kind of you,” Captain Drake said as she approached the couch and took a seat. “I’ll take a Tarkalean tea, warm, not hot.” It was, after all, what Rear Admiral Grayson had sent her to do.