The courtroom was packed, as expected, as the trial got under way. The prosecution brought forward the tapes, images unaltered by Jevor, which showed Hanarran in the corridor at various times. His friends, kept isolated from each other, were all called to the stand and gave different accounts of what went on during the time periods in question.
Yilaan rolled her eyes several times and leaned over to Lt. Reiv. "They're convicting him all by themselves," she whispered. He nodded grimly in agreement.
Hanarran was then asked about his presence in the corridor. He said he was merely travelling about, but couldn't explain why he was in one spot in the corridor for several minutes. He also couldn't remember what the play was about that he claimed to have gone and seen.
The prosecution then went into a detailed account of Hanarran's training in the Andorian Civil Defense Force, which included, unfortunately, special forces training that would've allowed him to pull off all the technical stunts necessary to bomb the Grizzelas and kill Biln.
The court then broke for lunch. Reiv, Giovanni, Ivanovna, and Yilaan sat together in silence in one of the mess halls, picking at half-eaten sandwiches.
"Why are we getting so upset?" Dr. Giovanni finally asked. "How do we know Hanarran didn't do it?"
Yilaan shrugged. "How often are Jevor's instincts wrong? The captain trusts him. I trust him. It just seems like something's not right with this, that's all."
"When you told me of Jevor's arrest," Reiv began, "you said that he made it sound like he was on to something." Yilaan nodded, and he continued, "Well, the others didn't pay attention to him, assuming that he had just doctored the images himself. But we know he probably wouldn't do that, right?"
Yilaan agreed while Ivanovna merely shrugged her shoulders. Reiv then went on, "So, why not find out what he saw?"
"How? The work he did was surely erased, and there's no way to get to him now to find out what he did," Yilaan said.
Ivanovna snapped her fingers, "Unless the logs that the computer keeps were themselves erased, it should've kept a log of what Jevor did! I'll bet they're still intact; erasing computer logs would've been a highly unusual procedure in this instance."
"And you could gain access to the videos," Reiv chimed in excitedly to Yilaan.
A slow smile crossed Commander Yilaan's face. "I suppose I could. Then I could recall the commands given by Jevor and see what he saw, and maybe shed some new light on this mess." Yilaan stood up quickly, "I've got work to do; I'll see you all later."
Lunch break was over and the court session was reconvened. The prosecution pointed out Hanarran's older brother's business ventures and how he stood to profit by the Marked Prince of Grizzela's sudden death. They mentioned sidelong how the poison used to kill Biln Falor and 19 other innocent people was indigenous only Andora and two other planets.
Hanarran's expression was indeed sullen as the prosecution rested its case around mid-afternoon. The court called a recess before the defense presented its side of the case.
The Bristol officers milled quietly about during the intermission. At one point, Ivanovna approached Reiv. "I wonder what's taking Commander Yilaan so long?" she asked. Reiv merely shrugged.
The presentation of Hanarran's defense then began. They skirted around the discrepancies pointed out by the prosecution, instead emphasizing that a person did not have to prove one's innocence. They moved for a dismissal of the charges on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to prove its case. The motion was denied, and the trial continued.
The defense then brought in a couple of character references, along with the young woman who had seen Jevor enter the movie. Cross-examination did reveal, of course, that no one had seen him leave.
Just as the defense was about to reluctantly rest, knowing full well that they'd probably lost, Yilaan came racing back into the courtroom. After convincing the court that the defense should be allowed to call an unscheduled person to the stand, Yilaan was admitted.
Yilaan had the closer, more damaged, tape inserted, then proceeded to give the same commands as Jevor had to the computer back in the lab, to enhance the image before the court's eyes. Before she reached the final image enhancement, she realized how embarrassing Hanarran's indiscretions were. She asked the court for a private screening of the final segment. Her request was denied, and the final image adjustment was made.
The court gasped as the screen showed irrefutable proof that Hanarran was indeed busy with other activities with a woman other than his wives, and not planting a bomb. Hanarran was then called to the stand, where, at the point of near hysteria, he rattled off his full list of indiscretions, which happened to account for most of the times that he otherwise couldn't be accounted for. His mistress was then called, as the proceedings dragged on into the evening, and everyone's stomachs growled in protest. She confirmed everything, including providing some computer logs of her own, proving that Hanarran was with her much of the time.
By this time, Hanarran was rocking in his chair and sobbing openly. The court decided on a recess until the following morning, and the onlookers filed out, all mumbling to themselves about the dramatic turn of events.
As Yilaan turned to leave, she noted Hanarran scowling at her. "What's your problem? I might've just saved your life."
"You've cost me something more dear; my honor, my integrity, my pride. I am shamed and ruined, and now I will suffer this alone, for my wives will surely renounce me after this, and no other women will have me," he replied angrily.
"Seems to me like you brought that on yourself. It would've been very convenient to take the blame for these murders and languish in a penal colony for years, as compared to this, if I fully understand how these things work in Andorian society. Just remember; I couldn't take from you what you didn't already have, so get down off your high horse Hanarran, and take responsibility for your actions," Yilaan retorted.
Hanarran squirmed under her true spoken words, and he was led off.
The next morning, Yilaan, Siruk, and Commodore Miller were having breakfast together. "Well so far, we have a dead man, a dishonorable man, and no bomber. We'd better come up with something fast; the Grizzelans are getting anxious for a resolution to this case, and their words are becoming more and more angry, every communication I have with them," Miller informed his breakfast companions.
"I think this Edward O'Rourke deserves more investigating," Yilaan offered.
"What's to investigate? There's no record that he ever boarded the station, and we have visual communications with him on his ship all the time," Miller complained.
"Ah, but just because there's no record of it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. I think Jevor himself proved that sure enough with his little stunt to gain access to the image processing room," Yilaan said, smiling.
Miller nodded, "Good point, Commander. Oh, and speaking of your chief engineer; under the circumstances, I've decided to drop the charges against him. The same goes for Hanarran, too."
"Thank you Commodore! That's very reasonable of you," Yilaan replied.
Miller merely shrugged. "It seemed the appropriate thing to do," he said, referring to Hanarran, "since most of the prosecution's case was circumstantial, and those circumstances got blown away with your new evidence."
After a few moments of eating, Siruk cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt our silence, but what was your idea regarding Mr. O'Rourke, Commander Yilaan? You never got back to that."
"Ah yes," Yilaan responded. "Well, I think that we should board his ship, for one thing. We should also analyze the images of himself he sent us for any sort of distortions. We should analyze our own sensor logs. Did he beam anything onto the station? That should be searched too."
"Well, we can't board his ship; it's against our laws," Miller objected.
"Unless we find evidence that might allow it," Siruk interjected. "Let's get started on it."
"I'd like Commander Jevor to analyze the images," Yilaan said matter-of-factly.
Miller stared at her for a long moment, then reluctantly agreed. "Yilaan, I want you to analyze the sensor logs. I'll have Commander Kuchma report on any contact we've had with his ship since its arrival."
They nodded and went their separate ways.
Yilaan met up with Jevor and they went to image processing. After being granted access by a couple of wary guards, Jevor went to work on the images while Yilaan downloaded the sensor logs to another terminal in the room and analyzed them. They had been working for about a half an hour when Jevor broke the silence.
"I feel bad for Han," he said abruptly.
Yilaan turned to scowl at him, "Why is that Commander? He got what he deserved."
"I know he did, and he knew what he was getting into. But, he's a good friend and was a very proud man; so much of his identity was his pride. Now to be ostracized from our society.....," Jevor replied, trailing off.
"He brought it on himself Jevor! I guess I can understand your feelings some what, him being your close friend and all, but don't feel too bad for him. It wasn't like life just dealt him a bad hand, so to speak; he made his choices."
"I think it's a good thing you were able to clear him of those murders," Jevor commented, changing the subject somewhat.
"So do I. Perhaps we can bring the real criminal to justice," Yilaan said, regaining her composure after becoming slightly angry at Jevor for, what she considered to be, his unreasonable stance on Hanarran's actions. "Would you have been able to do it?" she asked suddenly. "Would you have brought those images forward and destroyed your friend, or would you have let him live with the lie?"
Jevor swiveled around in his chair to face his inquisitive first officer. "Yes, I would've brought the images forward," he said after several moments of thought.
"You don't sound convinced, Jevor," she said, smiling, teasing him.
In all seriousness, he answered, "I'm not," before returning to his work.
Yilaan stared after Jevor, contemplating him for a few minutes before likewise returning to her work.
About ten minutes later, Jevor again interrupted their silence, this time with a shout. "Commander, I think I have something!"
"What is it?" Yilaan asked, moving across the room to where Jevor was.
"Look at this! See how this image is distorted?"
"What did you do?" she asked.
"I did a trans-spectral analysis, and picked up strange readings, so I went ahead and...," Jevor began.
"Alright, I'm sorry I asked. You can explain it to Miller later; I'm sure he'll be thrilled," Yilaan interrupted. "What am I seeing here?"
"You're seeing a holographic projection of Edward O'Rourke over the person that's really talking."
Moments later, they were in the meeting area, explaining it all to Commodore Miller. "And so after some expert handiwork on the part of Jevor, that's what we found sir," Yilaan was saying.
"Very good. What did you find Lt. Commander Kuchma?"
"That several boxes were beamed aboard six days ago, but they've all been moved or unpacked since then," she replied. Miller grimaced.
"He might've been inside one of them," Yilaan suggested, recounting the incident awhile back on the Bristol where a Klingon had beamed aboard the ship undetected, as he was hiding in amongst cargo.
"But how could he have known about the Grizzelas coming here several days before we knew?" Kuchma asked.
"As Commander Yilaan has already pointed out, the Grizzelas knew," Siruk observed.
"And for a man who supposedly makes his living by the pound," Miller inserted, referring to the cargo handler O'Rourke, "he came in here with a nearly empty hold. Men like that don't do a one way trip unless there's a substantial profit. They always want there to be some job waiting for them."
Kuchma nodded. "Maybe there was. So, we're assuming he's somewhere here on the station? I'll sound General Quarters and have my guards....," she began.
"No, don't do that; there are a million places to hide on this base. I have another plan to flush him out," Miller said.
It was hot and uncomfortable in the service crawlway, but it was home to Edward O'Rourke. He had made it his home for the past six days, after sneaking on to the space station. He had patted himself on the back for hiring Biln; and for pinning the crimes on Hanarran. 'Those were good moves,' he thought to himself in his tight, cramped, camping place. Now, he was irritated, for his delicately laid plans were unraveling, and his employer would not be able to pay him if he didn't find a way out of this to try to kill the Grizzelan.
Suddenly, in the darkness, his communications device beeped. It was a miniature visual device; he switched on the system and saw his Arcturian assistant, Gran. "What is it, dammit? I told you not to contact me!"
"But sir," the Arcturian wheezed, "they're on to us! I just got a message from that commodore fellow saying they were going to board our ship and search it!"
"What? They have no right to do that! Tell them that I refuse to allow it, and if they do, I will file a formal grievance with the Federation and get them all court-martialed," O'Rourke said in an irritated whisper.
"I tried to tell them to not board us; they won't listen! They're giving us ten minutes to give them access, or they're going to beam aboard."
"If they beam aboard, they'll find the equipment! Raise the shields you idiot! They won't be able to beam aboard then," O'Rourke replied angrily.
"But how will you get back?" the Arcturian Gran wheezed.
"Gran, let me worry about that. Out," O'Rourke closed the channel. 'Damn him anyway,' he thought to himself. 'They've probably discovered the signal and homed in on me. I've got to find someplace else to hide.'
He quickly gathered up his equipment and took off, at a crawl of course, down the service crawlway. He took several turns and went up two levels. He had reached an intersection, near to which was an access panel, before his communications device signaled him again.
"What is it now?" Edward O'Rourke fumed at his assistant.
"Just one quick thing sir," the Arcturian said. To O'Rourke's horror, the image of his trusted assistant slowly transformed into that of the station's commander, Commodore Miller. Miller gave him a big smile, "You're under arrest."
At that moment, the access panel popped open. Two phasers were pointed at him from outside the crawlway by station security guards. He dropped his communications device weakly, raising his hands and sighing. The guards bodily transported him to the Brig and confiscated his equipment.
Later that evening, Yilaan was enjoying a quiet dinner in the corner of one of the mess halls, watching space and eating her food slowly. She felt someone's presence behind her and turned to face Siruk, the Vulcan advisor to Commodore Miller.
"I'm sorry," he said. "If I'm disturbing you, I'll leave."
She smiled at him, "Not at all Siruk. Join me, please."
He sat down next to her. "The Commodore and I were very pleased with your role in these recent events."
"Well thank you!"
"So much so, that we would like you to replace me," Siruk said.
Yilaan nearly choked on her food. "Pardon?"
"I'll be leaving in a month to take up a new post as an instructor in the Starfleet Academy on Vulcan. You've shown yourself to be very intelligent, rational, and resourceful. We'd like you to replace me here. The role of advisor is very difficult, as you're given a great deal of responsibilities with helping to run the station. Many different people come in and out of here; it's quite a job to keep them all from getting in each other's way. Eventually, you'd probably be promoted and would replace Commodore Miller, I'd imagine. It's a very good opportunity for career advancement, if you wish it."
Yilaan mused for a minute, then shook her head. "Thanks Siruk, but I don't think so. My time here has shown me that it wouldn't be very interesting. Nothing exciting ever happens on a starbase."
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