A/N Another update. The unpacking is coming, slowly but surely. Still have a ton of stuff we're taking to storage. It's just been so hot! Anyway, I really appreciate all the reviews and am glad you all have been enjoying the story. Still a few more chapters to go! Thanks again!
Chapter Eleven
Nelson followed Commander Martin down the corridor of the psychiatric wing of the detention center where Lee was now being held. The government was taking no chances that Crane would beat them to the punch by killing himself thus denying them the opportunity to execute him publicly. The two men had come to talk to Crane and explain the new developments.
"How is he?" Nelson asked the attendant in charge.
The man shrugged his broad shoulders. "Attempted to kill himself again earlier this afternoon by shoving his shirt down his throat so we've had to truss him up in a straight jacket. One minute he seems lucid, next he's ranting and raving about his guilt and how he deserves to die." He glanced at the two men at his side. "If you're planning on having him checked out by a doc, then all I can say is it's about time."
A few moments later they were ushered into a secure room where Crane lay huddled on the floor of a well-padded room trussed up as the orderly had described. He looked up at them will dull, sunken eyes. "Come to gloat, Admiral?"
For a moment, Nelson was rendered speechless by the rapid deterioration in Crane's appearance. He inwardly winced at the bruising around Lee's throat. He felt ill. "Lee," said Nelson urgently as he moved closer. "We need to talk to you. We have some evidence that could prove your innocence."
Lee leaned his head against the wall and laughed, it was a hollow sound filled with self-loathing. "But I'm not innocent, Admiral! I killed those men. All of them! The ones on the Seaview as well as the ones on the Viper. I sold out my country. I betrayed you and Chip and every man on Seaview. I deserve to die. Don't you see? There is no evidence that could prove I didn't do those things because I did!"
Seeing how fragile Lee's mind had become, Nelson continued more gently looking directly into Lee's haunted eyes. "Lee, you are not responsible. You were brainwashed. Babrof told me the whole story – how you'd been kidnapped, subjected to brutal torture, then drugged into believing whatever they told you so you'd destroy Seaview. The Institute analyzed the pills you were being given. It was a powerful mind controlling drug. Don't you see, you aren't responsible for your actions!"
Lee just stared at him, his face now expressionless. "It doesn't matter, Admiral," he said flatly, his voice barely audible. "I deserve to die for what I did." He then closed his eyes and shut them out.
Nelson turned to stare helplessly at the lawyer by his side. Martin had a thoughtful look as he led the Admiral back into the corridor. "Admiral, I know he looks bad, but this could actually help his case. I mean, look at him! He's a psychological wreck overwhelmed by guilt. I've got two psychiatrists who are well versed in methods of brainwashing coming tomorrow morning to evaluate him. I can't see how they could fail to see that he'd been coerced into doing what he did. And if, as you said, his conditioning is starting to fall apart, he might actually start remembering what happened to him."
Nelson glanced unhappily at the cell door. "I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing."
Commander Martin nodded. "It won't be pretty but the stronger we can build the brainwashing case, the better for Crane." He peered in through the window in the door at the morose figure inside. "You know Admiral," the lawyer said softly. "When this all started, I fully believed he was guilty even though I was assigned to defend him. I mean there was nothing to say otherwise, and he was readily admitting everything. But now, for the first time, I think he really could be innocent."
"Thank you, Commander," replied Nelson still looking worried. "I'll admit, I also thought he was guilty as much as I didn't want to. But if he was brainwashed, and looking at him now, I honestly believe he was, I'll do whatever possible to prove him innocent of these charges."
"Well Admiral," said Martin as they began to retrace their steps back up the corridor. "Let's see what our shrinks say and go from there."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The tribunal reconvened at ten o'clock Monday morning. Admiral Nelson sat in the audience with an anxious looking Chip Morton by his side. Nelson smiled slightly as he remembered the conversation he'd had with Chip the night before.
You're absolutely sure, Admiral?" Chip had asked in shock. "You can prove he was brainwashed? He really wasn't responsible?"
"No Chip, he wasn't. He was under the control of a powerful mind control drug and had no choice. We will be presenting our evidence at the hearing on Monday." Chip had immediately declared he would be at the hearing no matter what, so now they sat together praying the evidence would be enough to clear their friend.
The door opened and Nelson heard a muttering run through the crowd as a couple of guards escorted Lee into the courtroom. Lee looked as if he aged twenty years since the previous week. His clothes hung loosely on his lean frame, his face pale and haggard. He seemed oblivious to his surroundings. Nelson saw the members of the tribunal exchanging comments at the prisoner's deteriorated condition. "My god, Admiral," Chip muttered in shock. "What happened to him?"
"The effects of the drug and brainwashing are wearing off, and now he's feeling responsible for everything that happened," replied Nelson grimly.
"Commander Martin," began Admiral Carlson. "You asked the court for a recess so that you might examine some new evidence that could clear Commander Crane. Would you please present your findings to the court?"
"Yes sir," said Martin quickly rising. "Gentlemen, as you know, Commander Lee Crane has been accused of numerous crimes including treason and murder. I would like to prove to the court that Commander Crane was not acting under his own volition but had been brainwashed into believing his actions were necessary to save the world. I have several witnesses to present who will support this supposition and prove Commander Crane's innocence."
"All right, Commander," said Carlson still frowning at Lee's haggard expression. "Please continue."
Martin's first witness was Commander Leo Babrof who willingly repeated what he had told Nelson several days before.
"So, Commander Babrof," said Martin, "You were responsible for making sure Commander Crane took this drug as prescribed by the men who supposedly brainwashed him, and you also were ordered to kill Crane if he showed signs of breaking through his conditioning, is that correct?"
"Yes," replied Babrof firmly. "I was warned by Dr. Gambell, the scientist in charge, that Crane's will was strong and could break through if not tightly controlled. He was given an exceptionally high dosage of the drug to insure he remained under our control."
"And why, Commander, did you choose this time to come forward with this information?"
Babrof shifted in his seat. "I had two reasons," he began. "The first is that I hoped that by telling you what had really happened to Crane I would be given asylum and allowed to remain here in this country. If I am returned to the People's Republic, I will be executed as a traitor. I had decided earlier it was best to keep this information to myself in case I needed it as a bargaining chip."
"And the second reason?"
Babrof hesitated a moment. "I felt I owed it to Captain Crane. He saved my life when the Viper was going down. He could have escaped, but instead he came looking for me and rescued me from the reactor room, thus risking his own life."
Martin nodded and thanked Babrof before calling his next witness, Dr. Reilly. Reilly sat in the witness seat, but her eyes kept wandering towards Lee who sat slumped in his chair at the defense table. He never glanced at her or even seemed aware of her presence. It took her only a few minutes to explain her analysis of the mysterious drug to the tribunal. She then hurried from the courtroom unable to look at Lee any longer.
Martin's last witness was Dr. Morgan Llewellyn, an expert on brainwashing techniques. "Dr. Llewellyn," said Martin eagerly, "You examined Lee Crane recently, can you tell the court of your findings. Do you believe Commander Crane was brainwashed?"
Dr. Llewellyn was an older man with a thick head of snowy white hair. He looked more like a kindly grandfather than an expert on torture and brainwashing. He glanced sympathetically at the man huddled in his chair at the defense table.
"Yes, I did examine Commander Crane and in light of the blood work showing traces of the aforementioned drug in Commander Crane's blood as well as on my own clinical observations, I have no reservations in stating that I believe he has been brainwashed and very thoroughly I might add."
"Can you elaborate further, doctor?" asked Martin sitting down and placing a hand on Crane's trembling arm.
"Yes indeed. Commander Crane is exhibiting the classic symptoms of a victim of a highly sophisticated mind control program. Right now, his body is showing extreme withdrawal symptoms from the drug even though it has been weeks since he last took any. This chemical appears to remain in the subject's system for quite some time. It will require more study, but I suspect the extremely high dosage Commander Crane was ingesting was partially responsible. But, as his conditioning is starting to fail, he must now deal with the implications of his actions. He has been accused of treason as well as murder. He has attacked the Seaview resulting in the deaths of several crewmen. He has betrayed the trust of his most valued friends, and he isn't sure what is true and what is not."
Llewellyn took a sip of water and noted with some satisfaction that the courtroom seemed to be hanging on his every word. "I was able to use hypnosis in an attempt to get at the facts of the situation, and it was obvious, Commander Crane had been subjected to severe physical and psychological torture to soften him up as you might say and make him more receptive to the drug. Given what Dr. Reilly has told the court about the chemical nature of the drug, there is no way that Commander Crane could have overridden its effects on his mind. If he was indeed being given as much as Commander Babrof claims, the mere fact he was able to function at all is a testament to Commander Crane's strength of will."
"Doctor, we have been informed that Commander Crane has twice attempted suicide. Could this be a side-effect of the drug?"
Llewellyn glanced over to Crane once again. He frowned. The man looked worse than ever.
"Commander Babrof's testimony claims that suicidal tendencies were common in previous subjects. I think withdrawal from the drug could indeed cause such an effect, especially in cases where the subject was induced to go against his normal beliefs and behavior such as we saw with Commander Crane. By all accounts, when he was captain of the Seaview, he was an exemplary officer, highly regarded by all his men and appeared to care deeply for their wellbeing as well as for the submarine itself. To now realize he was instrumental in the death of some of those crewmen as well as the deaths of many of the Viper's crew, he has fallen into a dangerously depressed state. He still is not certain in his own mind if he killed Commander Harker or sold vital government secrets to the enemy although I would say he did not. These actions were all part of the process of isolating him from his normal world and undoubtedly carried out by others. Crane was told he had suffered a serious head injury during his escape to the People's Republic thus explaining his headaches and fuzzy memories. Gentlemen, it is my opinion that Lee Crane cannot be held responsible for his actions aboard the Viper."
There was a slight mumbling in the observers. "Do you think this is true, Admiral?" asked Chip softly, peering across the courtroom at Lee's despondent appearance.
Following Chip's gaze, Nelson had no doubts in his mind that Lee had been set up and used by agents of the People's Republic. He knew Crane well, and the pain in Lee's eyes told him all he needed to know. Under normal circumstances, Crane would never have willingly attempted to destroy the Seaview and her crew. "I think it's all true, Chip," replied the Admiral grimly. "After all we've learned, I don't believe Lee is responsible for any of this."
Chip nodded in agreement. He felt a stab of guilt. He had believed the worst of Lee despite his own instincts. He had to admit though, whoever planned all of this was good. If Babrof hadn't come forward, Lee would most certainly have been convicted and executed as a traitor. That might still happen but Chip fervently hoped the tribunal would believe the testimony of Babrof and Dr. Llewellyn.
"Thank you, Dr. Llewellyn," said Admiral Carlson. "Your testimony has been very enlightening. Commander Martin, do you have any further witnesses?"
Martin stood up. "No sir. I just ask that you carefully consider the testimony of the three I have presented today. Commander Crane is a victim here having been kidnapped, tortured and brainwashed into doing things that go against everything he has always believed in. His record is exemplary both in the Navy and as the commander of the Seaview. Should you absolve him of all charges, and I hope you will, there is no guarantee he will ever get his life back after this."
The members of the tribunal conferred for a few moments before Admiral Carlson addressed the group. "This tribunal will recess until tomorrow at 10:00 hours when we will present our verdict. Thank you." He rose to his feet and led the others from the room. Martin conferred briefly with Crane who showed little reaction before slowly rising to his feet and shambling from the room behind his guard. Nelson wanted to run after him; apologize for ever doubting him but instead simply watched with a heavy heart as Lee disappeared through the door. Martin approached him and Chip.
"Admiral, I think there is an excellent chance that they will dismiss all charges," said the lawyer happily. "Today's testimony was pretty convincing."
Nelson nodded, his face still grim. "I hope you're right, Commander. I hope they will continue to keep a careful watch on Lee. He looked worse than ever."
Martin's face fell. "I know. Dr. Llewellyn said he's going to need some serious re-programming when this is all over. Even if he consciously knows he isn't responsible for what happened, his sub-conscious is still working against him." He now eyed Nelson uncomfortably. "I meant what I said at the end. You realize there is a very strong possibility that even if they clear Lee, he'll never be fit for duty again. We don't know what the long term prognosis for this situation is."
Nelson continued to stare at the door where he'd last seen his friend. Yes, he was becoming more and more aware of the possibility that regardless of the outcome, they may still lose Lee no matter what they did.
