by James Blish
Stone, who had been discreetly pretending to study the documents, rose suddenly and moved between them. Jame was obviously fighting back a storm of tears. Kirk watched her in dismay.
"Captain Kirk," Stone said in a voice as hard as his name, "you say you jettisoned the pod after the double-red alert?"
"You have my sworn deposition," Kirk said. "Then, Captain, it is my duty to presume you have committed willful perjury. According to the extract from your computer log, you jettisoned the pod before the double-red alert. Consider yourself relieved of command. A board of inquiry will determine whether a general court martial is in order."
Kirk never saw the board. As far as he was concerned, the inquiry consisted of Portmaster Stone and a recorder, which was to produce the tape the board would study.
"Where do you want me to begin?" Kirk said.
Stone pushed a cup of coffee toward Kirk. "Tell me about Officer Finney."
"We'd known each other a long time. He was an instructor at the Academy when I was a midshipman. But that didn't stop us from beginning a close friendship. His daughter, Jame, the girl who was in your office last night, was named after me."
"The friendship—it rather cooled with the years, didn't it? No, please speak, Captain, the recorder can't see you nodding."
"Yes, it did. I relieved him on watch once, on the USS Republic, and found the vent circuit to the fusion chamber open. If we'd gone under fusion power, the ship would have blown. As it was, it was contaminating the air of the engine room. I closed the switch and logged the error. He drew a reprimand and went to the bottom of the promotion list."
"And he blamed you for that?"
"Yes. He'd been kept on at the Academy as an instructor for an unusually long time. As a result, he was late being assigned to a starship. He felt the delay looked bad on his record. My action, he believed, made things worse. However, I couldn't very well have let an oversight of that magnitude go unreported."
"Comment by examining officer: Service record of Officer Finney to be appended to this transcript. Now, Captain, let's get to the specifics of the storm."
"Weatherscan indicated an ion storm dead ahead," Kirk said. "I sent Finney into the pod." For the benefit of possible civilians on the board, Kirk added, "The pod is outside the ship, attached to the skin. One of our missions is to get radiation readings in abnormal conditions, including ion storms. This can only be done by direct exposure of the necessary instruments in a plastic pod. However, in a major storm the pod rapidly picks up a charge of its own that becomes a danger to the rest of the ship, and we have to get rid of it."
"Why Finney? If he blamed you . . ."
"He may have blamed me because he never rose to command rank. But I don't assign jobs on the basis of who blames me, but whose name is on top of the duty roster. It was Finney's turn. He had just checked in with me when we hit the leading edge of the storm. Not bad at first. Then we began encountering field-variance, force two. The works. I finally signaled a double-red alert. Finney knew he had only a matter of seconds. I gave him those seconds, and more—but it wasn't enough. I can't explain his not getting out. He had the training, he had the reflexes, and he had plenty of time."
"Then why, Captain," Stone said, "does the computer log—yours, made automatically at the time—indicate that there was no double-red alert when you jettisoned?"
"I don't know," Kirk said.
"Could the computer be wrong?"
"Mr. Spock, my first officer, is running a survey now," Kirk said grimly. "But the odds are next to impossible."
Stone looked at Kirk long and penetratingly, and then reached out and shut off the recorder. "I'm not supposed to do this," he said. "But—look, Kirk. Not one man in a million can do what you and I did: serve as a starship captain. A hundred decisions a day, hundreds of lives staked on every one of them being right. You've been out nineteen months on this last mission. You've taken no furlough, had virtually no rest in all that time. You're played out—exhausted."
Kirk was beginning to get the drift of this, and he did not like it. "That's the way you see it?"
"That's the way my report will read," Stone said, "if you cooperate."
"Physical breakdown," Kirk said. "Possibly even mental collapse."
"Well . . . yes."
"I'd be admitting that a man died because . . ."
"Admit nothing," Stone said. "Let me bury the matter, here and now. No starship captain has ever stood trial before. I don't want you to be the first."
"But what if I'm guilty?" Kirk said steadily. "Shouldn't I be punished?"
"I'm thinking of the service, dammit! I won't have it smeared by . . ."
"By what, Portmaster?"
"All right!" Stone said explosively. "By an evident perjurer who's covering up bad judgment, cowardice, or something even worse!"
"That's as far as you go, Captain," Kirk said, instantly on his feet, "or I'll forget you are a captain. I'm telling you, I was on that bridge. I know what happened. I know what I did."
"It's in the transcript," Stone said, equally hotly, "and computer transcripts don't lie. You decide, Captain. Bury the matter and accept a ground assignment—or demand a general court, and bring down on your head the full disciplinary powers of Star Fleet."
"I have already decided," Kirk said. "Turn the recorder back on."
The courtroom was stark. There was one main viewing screen, a recorder, a witness chair, one table each for prosecution and defense, and a high bench where sat Portmaster Stone and the three members of the court-martial board. The prosecutor was a cool, lovely blonde woman named Areel Shaw, who as it happened was an old friend of Kirk's. ("All my old friends look like doctors," Bones McCoy had commented, "and all Jim's old friends look like her.") It was on her advice that Kirk had retained Samuel T. Cogley, a spry old eccentric who put his trust not in computers, but in books. He did not inspire much confidence, though Kirk was convinced that Areel had meant well.
Stone called the court to order by striking an ancient naval ship's bell. "I declare that the General Court of Star Base Eleven is now in session. Captain James T. Kirk will rise. Charge: culpable negligence. Specification: in that, on Star Date 2947.3, by such negligence, you did cause loss of life, to wit, the life of Records Officer Benjamin Finney. Charge: conduct prejudicial to the good order of the service. Specification: in that, thereafter, you failed accurately to report the same incident in your captain's log. To these charges and specifications, how do you plead?"
"Not guilty," Kirk said quietly.
"I have appointed, as members of this court, Space Command Representative Chandra and Star Command Captains Li Chow and Krasnowsky. I direct your attention to the fact that you have a right to ask for substitute officers if you feel that any of these named harbor prejudice harmful to your case."
"I have no objections, sir."
"And do you consent to the service of Lieutenant Shaw as prosecuting officer, and to my own service as chief judge?"
"Yes, sir."
"Lieutenant Shaw," Stone said, "you may proceed."
Areel Shaw stepped into the arena. "I call Mr. Spock."
Spock took the stand and passed to the recorder attendant his identity disk. The recorder promptly said: "Spock, S-179-276-SP. Service rank: commander. Position: first officer, science officer. Current assignment: USS Enterprise. Commendations: Vulcan scientific Legion of Honor. Awards of valor: twice decorated by Galactic Command."
"Mr. Spock," Areel Shaw said, "as a science officer, you know a great deal about computers, don't you?"
"I know all about them," Spock said levelly.
"Do you know of any possible malfunction that would cause one to recall an event inaccurately?"
"No."
"Or any malfunction that has caused an inaccuracy in this one?"
"No. Nevertheless, it is inaccurate."
"Please explain."
"It reports," Spock said, "that the jettison button was pressed before the double-red alert—in othe
r words, that Captain Kirk was reacting to an emergency that did not then exist. That is not only illogical, but impossible."
"Were you watching him the exact moment he pressed the button?"
"No. I was occupied. We were already at red-alert."
"Then how can you dispute the record of the log?"
"I do not dispute it," Spock said. "I merely state it to be wrong. I know the captain. He would not . . ."
"Captain Stone," Areel Shaw said, "please instruct the witness not to speculate."
"Sir," Spock said to Stone, "I am half Vulcan. Vulcans do not speculate. I speak from pure logic. If I let go of a hammer on a high-gravity planet, I do not need to see it fall to know that it has fallen. Human beings have characteristics that determine their behavior just as inanimate objects do. I say it is illogical for Captain Kirk to have reacted to an emergency that did not exist, and impossible for him to act out of panic or malice. That is not his nature."
"In your opinion," Areel Shaw said.
"Yes," Spock said with obvious reluctance. "In my opinion."
The personnel officer of the Enterprise was called next. "With reference to Records Officer Finney," Areel asked him, "was there, in his service record, a report of disciplinary action for failure to close a circuit?"
"Yes, ma'am," the P.O. said.
"This charge was based upon a log entry by the officer who relieved him. Who was that officer?"
"Ensign James T. Kirk," the P.O. said softly.
"Speak louder, for the recorder, please. That is now the Captain Kirk who sits in this courtroom?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Thank you. Your witness, Mr. Cogley."
"No questions," Cogley said.
Areel next called Bones McCoy to the stand, and went after him with cool efficiency. "Doctor, you are, on the record, an expert in psychology, especially in space psychology—patterns that develop in the close quarters of a ship during long voyages in deep space."
"I know something about it."
"Your academic record, and your experience, doctor, belie your modesty. Is it possible that Officer Finney blamed the defendant for the incident we have just heard your personnel officer describe—blamed him and hated him for being passed over for promotion, blamed him for never having been given a command of his own, hated him for having to serve under him?"
"Of course, it's possible," McCoy said.
"Then, isn't it also possible that all that hatred, directed against Captain Kirk, could have caused a like response in the captain?"
"You keep asking what's possible," McCoy said. "To the human mind almost anything is possible. The fact, however, is that I have never observed such an attitude in Captain Kirk."
"What about an attitude generated in his subconscious mind?"
"I object!" Sam Cogley said. "Counsel is leading the witness into making unprovable subjective speculations."
"On the contrary, your honor," Areel said. "I am asking a known expert in psychology for an expert psychological opinion."
"Objection overruled," Stone said. "You may proceed."
"Captain Kirk, then," Areel said relentlessly, "could have become prejudiced against Officer Finney without having been aware of it—prejudiced in such a way that his judgment became warped. Is that theoretically possible, doctor?"
"Yes," McCoy said, "it's possible. But highly unlikely."
"Thank you. Your witness, Mr. Cogley."
"No questions."
"Then I call James T. Kirk."
When Kirk's identity disc was placed in the recorder, the machine said: "Kirk, SC-937-0176-CEC. Service rank: captain. Position: starship command. Current assignment: USS Enterprise. Commendations: Palm leaf of Axanar peace mission. Grankite order of tactics, class of excellence. Pentares ribbon of commendation, classes first and second . . ."
"May it please the court," Areel Shaw said. The recorder attendant shut off the machine. "The prosecution concedes the inestimable record of Captain Kirk, and asks consent that it be entered as if read."
"Mr. Cogley," Stone said, "do you so consent?"
Cogley smiled disarmingly, stretched a bit in his chair, and rose. "Well, sir," he said, "I wouldn't want to be the one to slow the wheels of progress. On the other hand, I wouldn't want those wheels to run over my client in their unbridled haste. May I point out, sir, that this is a man we are examining, so perhaps a little longer look would not be amiss. The court's convenience is important, but his rights are paramount."
"Continue," Stone told the recorder attendant. The machine said:
"Awards of valor: Medal of Honor, silver palm with cluster. Three times wounded, honor roll. Galactic citation for conspicuous gallantry. Karagite Order of Heroism . . ."
It took quite a long time, during which Areel Shaw looked at the floor. Kirk could not tell whether she was fuming at having been outmaneuvered, or was simply ashamed of the transparency of her trick. Doubtless she did not want the court to be able to tell, either.
"Now, Captain. Despite the record, you continue to maintain that there was a double-red alert before you jettisoned the pod?"
"Yes, ma'am. There was."
"And you cannot explain why the computer record shows otherwise."
"No, I cannot."
"And in fact you'd do it again under the same circumstances."
"Objection!" Cogley said. "Counsel is now asking the witness to convict himself in advance of something he hasn't done yet and, we maintain, didn't do in the past!"
"It's all right, Sam," Kirk said. "I'm willing to answer. Lieutenant Shaw, I have been trained to command. The training doesn't sharpen a man's verbal skills. But it does sharpen his sense of duty—and confidence in himself to discharge that duty."
"May it please the court," Areel Shaw said, "I submit that the witness is not being responsive."
"He's answering the question," Stone said, "and he has a right to explain his answers. Proceed, Captain Kirk."
"Thank you, sir. We were in the worst kind of ion storm. And I was in command. I made a judgment—a command judgment. And because it was necessary to make that judgment, a man died. But the lives of my entire crew and my ship were in danger, and not to have made that judgment, to wait, to have been indecisive when it was time to act, would in my mind have been criminal. I did not act out of panic, or malice. I did what I was duty-bound to do. And of course, Lieutenant Shaw, I would do it again; that is the responsibility of command."
There was a brief hush. Areel Shaw broke it at last, turning to Stone.
"Your honor, the prosecution does not wish to dishonor this man. But I must invite the court's attention now to the visual playback of the log extract of the Enterprise's computer."
"It is so ordered."
The main viewing screen lit up. When it was over, Areel Shaw said, almost sadly, "If the court will notice the scene upon which we froze, the screen plainly shows the defendant's ringer pressing the jettison button. The condition signal reads RED-ALERT. Not double-red—but simply red. When the pod containing Officer Finney was jettisoned, the emergency did not as yet exist.
"The prosecution rests."
Thunderstruck, Kirk stared at the screen. He had just seen the impossible.
During the recess, Sam Cogley calmly leafed through legal books in the room assigned to them, while Kirk paced the floor in anger and frustration.
"I know what I did!" Kirk said. "That computer report is an outright impossibility."
"Computers don't lie," Cogley said.
"Sam, are you suggesting I did?"
"I'm suggesting that maybe you did have a lapse. It's possible, with the strain you were under. Jim, there's still time to change our plea. I could get you off."
"Two days ago, I would have staked my life on my judgment."
"You did. Your professional life."
"I know what I did," Kirk said, spacing each word. "But if you want to pull out . . ."
"There's nowhere to go," Cogley said. "Except back into court in half an
hour. The verdict's a foregone conclusion, unless we change our plea."
Kirk's communicator beeped and he took it out. "Kirk here."
"Captain," Spock's voice said, "I have run a full survey on the computer."
"I'll tell you what you found," Kirk said. "Nothing."
"You sound bitter."
"Yes, Mr. Spock. I am. But not so bitter as to fail to thank you for your efforts."
"My duty, Captain. Further instructions?" There actually seemed to be emotion in Spock's voice, but if he felt any such stirring, he was unable to formulate it.
"No. I'm afraid you'll have to find yourself a new chess partner, Mr. Spock. Over and out."
Cogley gathered up an armful of books and started for the door. "I've got to go to a conference in chambers with Stone and Shaw."
"Look," Kirk said. "What I said before—I was a little worked up. You did the best you could."
Cogley nodded and opened the door. Behind it, her arm raised to knock, was Jame Finney.
"Jame!" Kirk said. "Sam, this is Officer Finney's daughter."
"A pleasure," Cogley said.
"Mr. Cogley," she said, "you have to stop this. Make him change his plea. Or something. Anything. I'll help if I can."
Sam Cogley looked slightly perplexed, but he said only, "I've tried."
"It's too late for anything like that, Jame," Kirk said. "But I appreciate your concern."
"It can't be too late. Mr. Cogley, my father's dead. Ruining Jim won't bring him back."
"That's a commendable attitude, Miss Finney," Cogley said. "But a little unusual, isn't it? After all, Captain Kirk is accused of causing your father's death."
"I was . . ." Jame said, and stopped. She seemed suddenly nervous. "I was just thinking of Jim."
"Thank you, Jame," Kirk said. "But I'm afraid we've had it. You'd better go."
When the door closed, Cogley put his books down. "How well do you know that girl?" he said.
"Since she was a child."
"Hmm. I suppose that might explain her attitude. Curious, though. Children don't usually take such a dispassionate view of the death of a parent."
