“In your professional experience as a forensic medical examiner, what would you posit as the most likely reason for the drugs found in the victim’s bloodstream?”

“Enhanced interrogation with the intent to compel the subject to action against their will,” Lieutenant Commander Terok replied firmly. “There is no other logical purpose for the combination of drugs identified in the toxicology report.” In fact, mixing that specific set of drugs had been all but asking for a physiological and psychiatric disaster.

“Doctor Henderson, do you agree with the examiner’s assessment?” Commander Drake asked, turning from his medical examiner to the USS Polaris’ Chief Medical Officer. While it was unconventional to seek the testimony of two expert witnesses simultaneously, both he and Admiral Reyes had agreed to this format, where they would be able to interview the defense’s expert and the prosecution’s expert at the same time.

“I do,” Dr. Henderson confirmed.

“And if you were asked to administer a cocktail such as this to someone,” Commander Drake inquired. “What would be your reaction?”

“I would refuse,” Dr. Henderson answered, a disturbed look washing across his face at the mere suggestion. “As doctors, we take a pledge to do no harm, and administration of this combination of agonists and antagonists would absolutely violate that. In fact, while I am not an expert in Vorta anatomy, I would presume that, were it not for the secondary medications, the subject would have succumbed to fatal cardiotoxicity within minutes of administration.”

“And doctor,” Commander Drake pressed. “Over your illustrious forty year career of public service, have you ever seen someone with this particular combination of substances in their bloodstream before?” They’d done their digging. They knew this was not the first time the good doctor had stumbled across a situation like this.

“Yes, once before,” Dr. Henderson recalled as he thought back as his expression shifted from disturbed to haunted. “It was something similar, maybe even exactly the same. You’ll have to forgive me that I cannot recall completely, but it was long ago, back during the Dominion War. We came across a Cardassian with a similar cocktail of psychoactives in his bloodstream.”

“And what did you do?”

“We stabilized the patient, and then we filed a report with the Office of the Inspector General.”

“The Inspector General?” Commander Drake feigned surprise. “That doesn’t sound like a typical day in the field. Why would you file a report with the Inspector General?” He, of course, already knew the answer, a corollary to what he now alleged of Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall.

“Because the Cardassian had been in Starfleet custody prior,” Dr. Henderson explained. “And we were concerned it might suggest the commission of crimes against humanity. We are, as doctors, always on the lookout for such malfeasance, as we, all too often, are the ones who see the consequences firsthand.”

“Do you know what came of your report?”

“Not exactly,” admitted Dr. Henderson. “I tried to follow up on it. Many of us did, in fact. It was very disturbing to us, just like what you’re showing me now is quite disturbing. Unfortunately, we were told to bugger off by Starfleet Intelligence. They cited obscure Starfleet Security directives. It was, after all, the middle of a war.” A war where, as the rumors went, some within Starfleet eventually went so far as to unleash a morphogenic plague specifically targeting Changelings. His report of torture drugs palled in comparison to that, and ultimately, neither his report, nor the rumors of the attempted genocide, ever went anywhere.

“Starfleet Intelligence, hmm?” Commander Drake mused rhetorically. “The same organization that both Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall worked with for years.” An organization that he absolutely despised.

Admiral Reyes, for her part, saw no purpose in litigating the purpose of the drugs. That wasn’t a winnable battle. Instead, she chose a different path. “Dr. Henderson, looking at the toxicology report, I’ll admit I don’t recognize half the words, but tell me, if I went to a medical replicator and attempted to fabricate, for example, anticholinergics and arylcyclohexylamines, what would happen?”

“It would reject your order.”

“Even as a Fleet Admiral?”

“Yes, even as a Fleet Admiral,” Dr. Henderson confirmed. “Both are regulated and restricted substances that can only be replicated by those with specific medical clearance.”

“And who, aboard the USS Polaris, has such clearance?”

“Only I, as the ship’s Chief Medical Officer, can authorize such a requisition… unless I am incapacitated, in which case, that authority transfers down my line of succession within the medical department.”

“And did you, Doctor Henderson, ever provide such authorization to Captain Lewis, Dr. Hall, or any other member of their team?”

“No, ma’am.”

“And were you ever incapacitated such as someone else might have?”

“Not that I’m aware.”

“Suppose, for a minute, the JAG accuses you of lying,” Admiral Reyes pressed, looking over at the prosecutor who had already made far more reprehensible accusations during the course of the preferral. “What would you say to that?”

The doctor looked offended at the mere suggestion. “As a healer, I took a solemn pledge to consecrate my life to the service of humanity,” Dr. Henderson replied, his voice booming with sincerity as he spoke his truth. “To practice with conscience and dignity, to heal, to help, and to save. That, ma’am, is my calling, and so long as I shall live, I will rise to that calling each and every day. What you are saying would be completely antithetical to that.”

“And doctor, I don’t question that for a moment,” Admiral Reyes assured him genuinely. “But during the course of this trial, insinuations have been made that, to win our war, our officers might compromise even their most important values… so what say you?”

“I would sooner die than do that,” Dr. Henderson replied firmly. He meant it too. There was nothing he held more sacred. “But, even if you don’t believe me, you should know that, in the requisition of such tightly controlled substances, there are systems and protocols in place that generate an audit trail that no one – not me, not my staff, not the computer systems engineers, and not even you as a Fleet Admiral – can erase without leaving a trace.”

It wasn’t exactly true, Admiral Reyes knew. Certain parties had mechanisms for overriding such systems in the interest of Federation security, but that was a closely guarded secret, one never acknowledged in public circles. And thus, for the sake of this trial, it was enough. She turned to the medical examiner. “Commander Terok, I have always known you to be a very diligent investigator,” the admiral offered. “So I would presume you looked into this?”

“I did,” Lieutenant Commander Terok acknowledged.

“And did you find any trace of either such a requisition, or any tampering?”

“I did not.”

“So, why then, are we even having this conversation?” Admiral Reyes asked as she turned to Captain Adler, the presiding officer. “Unless the prosecution can present evidence that places Captain Lewis, Dr. Hall, or a member of their team in possession of these drugs, I see no purpose in this line of questioning.”

“We have reason to believe that the drugs may have come from the private military contractor that provided ‘logistical’ support for the operation,” Commander Drake insisted. “Including, but likely not limited to, the Ferengi trawler, the SS Lucre, that was used to slip past the Dominion blockade.” Disdain was evident in his tone, both because he despised the use of civilians in military operations, and also because of what the firm in question really was.

“Do you have any evidence to back up this claim, Commander?”

“We have tried to reach out to Sebold Industries, which, might I add, was Captain Lewis’ old outfit,” Commander Drake explained. “But they have not answered our subpoena.”

And they never would, Admiral Reyes knew. They were, at the end of the day, shielded by Starfleet Intelligence, who relied on them for services exactly like the ones they had provided to save Nasera, services that could never be publicly acknowledged but were absolutely essential. And that meant the JAG would never tie Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Hall to either the drugs or the murder weapon.