Sisko had been planning his CMO's defense with the help of Richard, Amsha, and the Chief, and, along with a lot of persuading, he had also arranged for himself and Miles to travel to the trial with Julian. What he couldn't convince Starfleet do, was revoke the order of having Julian transported to Earth restrained and sedated.
The trial date drew near and soon it was time for Julian, Sisko, and Miles to make the journey back to Earth.
XXX
Julian took a deep breath before stepping onto the star ship. Miles and Sisko followed close behind, providing support if needed.
An ensign led them into a small room, bare except for a single biobed. It was different than the biobeds Julian used in the infirmary though; this one had bulky restraints and a sinister air about it. The ensign turned away and the door locked behind him, making Julian's heart rate increase rapidly.
Seeing his friend's eyes go wide and hearing him gulp, Miles moved towards Julian and smiled at him. "Hey, don't worry." he put a comforting hand on Julian's shoulder.
Sisko noticed the slight change of behavior in the doctor and smiled himself. He wanted to add whatever small amount of encouragement he could. "We'll be with you the whole time."
Gathering his courage, Julian laid down on the biobed without saying a word. His heart rate was slowly returning to normal, but his stomach was doing somersaults. He never liked getting sedated, and this was even worse as it was an order to have him unconscious. People feared him!
As gently as possible, Miles fastened the restraints around his friend's ankles and wrists, strapping Julian firmly down. He wished he didn't have to treat him like some sort of threat, but it was the only way Starfleet would allow Julian to be transported to his trial, or they would just lock him up straight away. Miles desperately wanted Julian to keep his job. And his life.
The door parted open and the ensign returned hypospray in hand. As he loaded the drug into the canister and approached the helpless form on the biobed, Julian's breathing grew labored and he fought desperately to keep his body still; he wished he was anywhere but here.
Noticing the look in Julian's eyes and the obvious fear radiating off of him, Sisko stepped forward "I'll do it." He extended his hand for the hypospray.
The ensign pulled the drug away from the Captain's grasp and looked at him with just the hint of regret. "Sir, I have explicit orders to do it myself-"
"Who exactly do you have orders from, ensign? I was under the impression that Doctor Bashir was still under my command." Sisko drew himself up to his formidable full height. "Now give me the hypospray and bring in two chairs."
The ensign visibly shied away from Sisko, he handed him the hypospray but frowned at his last request. "Ch-chairs sir?"
Sisko accepted the hypospray and stared down at the Ensign "We are not leaving him alone in here! We will stay with him for the entire journey; we will need somewhere to sit."
"Of…of course. I'll be back shortly." With that, the ensign nodded at the two men, and moved towards the door.
Waiting for the door to close, Sisko checked the drug in the hypospray was the correct one. As much as he would hate to admit it, it would not surprise him if someone attempted to kill Julian. Shaking the thought away, Sisko approached the doctor. "Ready, Julian?"
Julian only nodded; he didn't trust his voice enough to speak.
"We'll stay right here" Miles said, taking Julian's restrained hand. "You won't be alone."
Sisko pressed the hypo against Julian's neck, and watched as his eyes drooped and his body when lank. His eyes closed and his limp hand fell from Miles' grip.
XXX
Miles sighed and stared down at his best friends face, seeing all pain and worry slip away. He looked so peaceful; Miles smiled. "We'll be here when you wake up."
"Alright, Chief, we should get to work." Sisko said, gesturing for O'Brien to come over. "Can you tell if the room is under surveillance?" He whispered.
Miles looked around the room, noticing the smallest of cameras but could not detect any microphones "There's video surveillance, but no one will be able to hear us." O'Brien confirmed.
Sisko nodded, satisfied that their plans wouldn't be overheard by any hostile parties. For hours they reviewed, evaluated, and discussed their strategy. They had to consider everything including witnesses, how sympathetic the judge would be, and Julian's own testimony. Given his condition he was still a bit of a wild card. Their meeting was interrupted briefly when the ensign returned with the chairs, but they continued until they reached Earth.
XXX
When they arrived in San Francisco, the ensign brought another hypospray, this time to revive the doctor. Once again, Sisko took it from the ensign and injected Julian. He woke up suddenly and reality crashed back down upon him as Miles undid the restraints. The three of them exited the ship, but instead rendezvousing with Mr. and Mrs. Bashir they were intercepted by Starfleet officers.
"Julian Bashir will come with us until the trial." One of them stated flatly. Julian cringed and glanced between the officers and his captain, unsure of what to do.
"No one informed me of this!" Sisko was starting to get very angry. "Doctor Bashir is supposed to be staying with us-"
"Plans change" Another cut in sharply. "We have our orders directly from the top." She handed Sisko a PADD containing several signatures. After carefully verifying the document, Sisko sighed. "Fine, but if there is any attempt to sabotage Doctor Bashir's case I will hold all of you responsible."
Julian began to panic as he heard the words leave Sisko's mouth. He was handing him over to them!
Miles took Julian's hand. "Don't worry; we'll see you bright and early, first thing tomorrow." He covertly pressed a combadge into Julian's palm. "If anything happens call us." He whispered. Julian gulped and nodded before he was escorted away by the hard faced strangers.
Thanks for reading; Georgie and I have been working on this for a long time! Hopefully I'll be able to update regularly so stay tuned. Reviews are appreciated!