Arm of the Law

Posted on Mon Nov 30th, 2009 @ 6:23pm by Captain Vorn Krace & Commander Peter Brown & Lieutenant Commander Abigail Valera

Mission: Into a Devil's Heart
Location: Starbase Ronin - Courtroom
Timeline: MD09 1715hrs

Anastasia, an older, grey haired, wrinkled El-Aurian sat in her chair at the front of the large courtroom, looking out at the rest of the room. At her side, an empty witness chair. A few feet in front of her, on either side of the room, the defendants and the prosecutors tables sat.

From the side of the room, Anastasia's yeoman strode up to her. "Starfleet Command v. Lt. Commander Peter Brown. One count theft of Federation property, one count desertion, one count destruction of Federation Property."

Captain Vorn Krace walked in from the rear of the room, leading Lieutenant Commander Peter Brown who followed closely behind. Captain Brown and a select few other possible witnesses to be called for the court martial were waiting in secure areas nearby.

"Presenting Lieutenant Commander Peter Brown for your review," Vorn spoke formally, his attention on Captain Webster.

Anastasia nodded. "Am I to presume you will be serving as council, Captain Krace?" she asked.

Peter walked an few meters then Placed an the Pile of Padds on the Table before taking an Breath

"I beg pardon, Your Honour I will defend myself in these charges, and place my plea of Not-Guilty into the record, if my prosecutor agrees" Replied Peter

Vorn nodded to Captain Webster silently, acknowledging his permission as Peter's Captain that Peter represent himself.

Anastasia nodded towards Krace, and then towards Brown. "Very well, Commander. You may begin when ready."

Peter then walked around the table and faced the members to the left of Captain Webster. Then taking a breath, he spoke his opening arguments.

"Members of the Court, I have been charged with the following: One count theft of Federation property, one count desertion, one count destruction of Federation Property. Yes, these charges will fit under normal situations and would mean Chapter 38 and Court Martial from Starfleet, then placement in the Federation Stockade for no less then 18 months, but Members of the Court in this you will learn much from me. You will learn how Federation Security, who is there to protect the Federation is not what it seems. I will show you how the crew of the Starship Sierra and Director Harris are the guilty parties. With evidence from me and the witnesses I call you will see how if I am to be charged for anything, it would be following the orders of a superior officer," Peter said, before walking to the table and picking up a Padd, and placing it on Captain Webster's desk.

"On the following Padd, which is being passed to the members you will see that The U.S.S Iapetus received an encrypted transmission from Earth. In those Logs it stated that no transcript was recorded due to the Security Protocols on board of the U.S.S Iapetus, but you will confirm from reading these the transmission came from Federation Security H.Q" Replied Peter as he walked back to the Desk and Picked up an other Padd.

"On the next set of Padds you will see my report on the Black Orders given to me from Federation Security, and the details on every aspect of my mission to get the U.S.S Sierra, and follow my orders kill the entire ship's personnel. My first witness is Captain Vorn Krace, Commanding Officer U.S.S Iapetus" Peter continued, motioning for Vorn to take his place in the witness chair.

Vorn looked up at the judge, seeking their silent not as permission, before standing from the bench he had sat at and moving towards the witness chair to the side of Captain Webster, awaiting the questions that would be put before him.

Peter walked up to the Captain and looked at him for several moments before speaking, then looked at the Members of the Court.

"Captain Krace, as Lieutenant Commander Brown's Commanding Officer you are aware of his skills as well as his character. Please explain to the court the details of everything Lieutenant Commander Brown did to the U.S.S Iapetus before leaving for Starbase Ronin, and prior to you catching Commander Brown, what did you feel his motives were?" Asked Peter looking at his Commanding Officer

"Commander Brown used his access aboard the ship to cripple us," Vorn began. "Setting a crafted virus in our computer cores, he set it to shut down all systems not necessary for keeping the crew alive. The virus was set to re-enable the systems after a pass phrase as spoken by Lieutenant Valera, and a message was played for each her and myself."

"As for his motives..." Vorn paused to collect his thoughts, and consider his statement. "After the message played to me, and information gathered from Petty Officer Williams, I understood his motives to be revenge against his father for an act he had committed."

Anastasia leaned forward, listening intently to the testimony being given by the Iapetus Commanding Officer. She could tell already that this case would be one of the more interesting ones she had dealt with in several months.

"Thank you Captain Krace, you are relieved," Peter said. "My next witness is Lieutenant Abigail Valera," Peter continued, looking into the Court Room at Abigail for the first time.

Abigail stood and walked to the witness's stand. There she waited for Peter to ask her the questions that needed to be asked.

"Lieutenant Valera, what is your personal relationship with the accused?" Asked Peter, looking at Abi. In his mind, he knew it will take a long time before they spoke again outside the courtroom.

"He is a friend that I met when I first joined the U.S.S. Lincoln and later saw him again on the U.S.S. Iapetus." She looked at Peter and seemed to know what he was thinking. Abigail would always think of Peter as a friend, but she would never forgive him for what had happened to cause her to see her friend thrown in prison.

"Lieutenant Valera, please tell the court what Lieutenant Commander Brown informed you of on the U.S.S Iapetus before he left," Asked Peter as he looked at her again, before heading back to the table, picking up a padd and making a note to remind himself of something; that he would not speak to Abigail until she would speak to him, if she ever did. Peter decided if he got off he would avoid everyone; all his friends. He then decided he would be alone forever.

Abigail paused for a moment to gather her words and then said, "I wanted to talk to Commander Brown about a personal matter and then I asked him what was wrong. He then told me about how his ex-girlfriend/fiance had been kidnapped and that he had orders not to tell anyone. He showed me those orders." Abigail paused to let that sink in, "Then I told Peter that he would need to go to Captain Krace, but he refused. I said I would go to the captain and he made me swear to keep it silent. Commander Brown also told me his father had been involved in the kidnapping."

"I next call Captain John Brown, Commanding Officer, U.S.S Sierra," Peter said, as he took a deep breath, as he had to ask the hard questions which were the foundation of his case.

"Captain Brown, please state your position and mission for the Court," Peter said, looking directly at his father.

John glared at his son for a few moments, before speaking. "I am the Commanding Officer of the Starship Sierra, whose mission is to maintain the Security of the Federation by any means necessary," replied the cold Captain, knowing that there was no point in hiding his mission at this point. If he ever got out of this, he'd make sure everyone here was killed anyway.

Peter nodded, and then walked to the desk to look at a PADD before asking the next question. "Captain Brown, is it true your mission gives you rein to harm citizens of Federation planets and bully them?" asked Peter, looking directly at him.

"I object! I am a Senior Officer. I have never broke any Federation Law. I am here to protect the Federation from the likes of you," Captain Brown snapped.

Anastasia looked at the older man sitting in the witness chair. "Your line of questioning is starting to get a little off topic, Commander." she said, looking at Peter.

"One final question," Peter pressed on, looking sternly at his father. "Would you be willing to break any ethical Law if it meant that it would save the Federation?"

"Yes, dammit!" John snapped, clearly having had enough of his son's questioning. "Do you not get it yet, Peter? This whole 'mission' was designed to force you to return to Federation Security. These pathetic Starfleet personnel can't defend the Federation like I can! They are the reason Federation Security is out here - to make the hard choices! This is why I forced Sara to leave you, this is why I ordered Sean to contact you on Omega IV. All of it to force you to come to me. But then, like you always do, you went weak!" yelled Captain Brown.

The crowd in the courtroom suddenly burst into noise, causing Anastasia to grab her gavel and begin slamming it on the table before her. "Order! Order! Captain Brown, you are out of line!"

"You are relieved. If I can beg the Court, if Captain Krace is willing I call myself to the stand," Peter said, looking towards the Judge.

Anastasia thought a moment, and nodded. "Keep your statement within reason, Commander."

Peter took a deep breath and walked up to face the Court from the Witness Stand. "Members of the Court. I will make this statement for the record. Yes I am a Senior Officer in Starfleet and First Officer of the U.S.S Iapetus, where I have served for many years. But I first came to Federation Security when I was 16," He took a breath before continuing. "They had me do things that were - as they said - for the 'Good of the Federation'. But that's why I left Federation Security; they are corrupt. Starfleet is where I am supposed to be. Starfleet is there to protect the weak, even when it can't protect itself.

"When I heard the communication regarding Omega IV, I was planing on taking leave to go there myself to investigate. But then I received new orders and with those I had my chance. I knew that Federation Security was in the area.

"I didn't do this for revenge. I did this to save my ex-fiancé Sara, just as I would for any member of the U.S.S Iapetus' crew. If anyone is in trouble, I would risk everything I have to save them. This is why I am meant to be out there in the stars. If it's not in Starfleet, then so be it. But I am out here to protect those who can't protect themselves from the likes of Federation security. We are in an imperfect universe and Starfleet is the guiding light that will show the way. Please don't keep me off the Bridge of that ship. In conclusion of this statement, the Defence rests, and I will say one thing: Think about what I have said." Finished, Peter walked and took a seat at his table and took an deep breath, preparing himself for the Judge's decision.

Anastasia nodded. "Thank you, Commander." she said, looking at a few of her notes. "I will now retire to my chambers and review witness testimony and evidence."

Vorn stood along with the remainder of the Court as the Captain stood to take her leave.

Peter stood up and waited for Captain Webster to leave the Courtroom.

"The Sins of our Fathers" Said Peter as he himself left the room

=^=Snip to the next morning=^=

Anastasia walked into the courtroom from the door behind the judges bench. Seeing that everyone in the room was standing, she gave a slight nod and sat down.

Peter Stood up when Captain Webster entered the room. He was preparing himself for the worst that could happen when he sat down again, as was protocol in the Court.

Anastasia looked around the court room, finally resting her gaze on Peter. "Mr. Brown, please rise." She watched as he did so.

"Lieutenant Commander Peter Brown, in the matter of Starfleet Command v. Brown, I hereby find the following. An the count of theft of Federation Property, the court finds you not guilty. On the count of desertion, the court finds you not guilty. On the charge of destruction of Federation Property, the court finds you guilty."

Vorn nodded along with each ruling. He knew that Peter would be let off on a number of them due to the dubious source of his orders, and the fact that the Court had confirmed through their sources the validity of the orders, but he also knew that he would face charges for at least one crime.

Peter smiled as he heard the counts of not guilty, until the one count of guilty. After this, he took a deep breath as he prepared for what was to be.

Anastasia took a moment before continuing. "Mr. Brown, destruction of Federation property is quite a severe charge. One, in general, that has a maximum penalty of dishonourable discharge and one-third life expectancy in Federation prison. However, after reviewing the extenuating circumstances I believe that your intentions were, at their core, good. I therefore rule that you are to be stripped of your position as Executive Officer and that you shall not be allowed to return to said position or a higher position for a period to be selected by the Federation Command oversight committee."

"Thank you, Your Honour, thank you," replied Peter as he turned, looking at Vorn and then back at Captain Webster. In his mind, Peter thought that if he would be allowed to stay on the Iapetus it would be good.

"There is one further point I would like to convey." Anastasia said, waiting for everyone to quiet down. "I believe it shows great discipline in the fact that you were not only able to apprehend the crew of the Sierra, but with minimal casualties. It is for that reason that I will be recommending that you receive a promotion to the rank of Commander."

Peter looked at the Captain and stared at her for a few moments. "Errr.....ummmm, thank you Your Honour! Very unexpected but thank you," replied Peter.

Anastasia nodded, "The court thanks you for your time. We are adjourned." she said, slapping her bench-top with her gavel.

Peter then turned to Vorn walked up to him offering his hand. "It would be a pleasure serving with you again Captain, if you decide to let me stay on board," Peter said.

"I trust you'll understand when I tell you I'll need time to think on that one," Vorn replied. He had known that Peter wouldn't be given the maximum sentence after having all other charges dropped, but he hadn't decided yet whether he still wanted Peter on his crew. Whether he could still trust Peter to be one his crew. "Report to my office tomorrow, at oh-nine-hundred," he said. "I'll inform you of my decision then."

Without a backward glance, Vorn turned to leave the court room, heading for the bar for a drink.

--------------------
Captain Vorn Krace
Commanding Officer
USS Iapetus

Lieutenant Commander Peter Brown
Former Executive Officer
USS Iapetus

Lieutenant Abigail Valera
Chief Science Officer
USS Iapetus

Captain Anastasia Webster
Judge of the Court
Guest Star