Chapter 11

Debriefings, 2378 – Day One

"Kessik IV," B'Elanna answered with an unhappy sigh. The list of questions extended far beyond anything she could have anticipated. She felt her breasts growing heavy and hoped the panel would not be privy to watching milk leak through her outdated uniform. She cursed herself for not taking the lactic suppressant the doctor on the outpost had given her, but she had no way of anticipating the duration of the session. And her bag of nursing supplies was now somewhere in Starfleet custody.

"And your mother's name?"

"Miral." This is all in my personnel file. Why are they wasting time with this?

"Ms. Torres, you gave birth to a child on stardate 54973, aboard Voyager, is that correct?"

B'Elanna did not like hearing herself referred to as "Ms." She knew they were simply trying to call attention to the fact that her brevet rank of lieutenant junior grade no longer carried any weight. "That's right."

"And the name of the child?"

"Miral."

"The child's father?"

"Lieutenant Thomas Eugene Paris."

"Are you and Mr. Paris married?"

"Yes."

"Where and when did you marry?"

"We were married by Captain Janeway on Voyager on stardate 54058." To B'Elanna's mind, the entire debriefing process had thus far been a giant waste of time. She crossed her arms over her heavy chest testily. She had expected to get grilled about her Maquis experiences or the systems modifications she had made to their precious Intrepid-class. Instead, they seemed more concerned with genealogy.

"Where and when did you first meet Mr. Paris?"

"On board Voyager," she answered reflexively. She paused. "I'm sorry, that's not entirely true. We were briefly in the Maquis together, but we didn't really know each other very well."

"What was the nature of your relationship with Mr. Paris once you boarded Voyager?"

"Excuse me?"

"Prior to being married, what was the nature of your relationship with Mr. Paris?"

"I'm sorry, but is this about my love life or about what happened to Voyager?" B'Elanna asked, trying to control her temper. One of the last things Captain Janeway and Tuvok had reminded her when they'd arrived in the morning was that she needed to remain cool.

"Are you aware of the fact that Mr. Paris is a convicted felon?"

"Of course I am," she laughed.

"Were you aware of this fact prior to your marriage?"

"Yes." Great, B'Elanna thought, now they're going to make a list of all my previous relationships: ex-con, murderer, that petaQ in Warp Theory lab…

"And on stardate 52179, Mr. Paris was sentenced to thirty days in the brig for disobeying a direct order from Captain Janeway, violating the laws of an alien world, and nearly causing a diplomatic incident, is that right?"

"You have the captain's logs, you tell me."

Her appointed advocate leaned toward her. "It's best if you don't use sarcasm." Then louder to the panel he said, "I'd like to request that the committee discuss Mr. Paris's crimes with Mr. Paris directly and utilize this time for questions that specifically pertain to Ms. Torres."

"Thanks," B'Elanna mumbled. "Any way you can get me a recess?"

"Ms. Torres, are you familiar with the treaty of 2367?"

B'Elanna nearly snorted. It was the treaty between the Cardassians and the Federation, the one the Maquis rejected, that had propelled them into action. "Yes."

"Are you aware that your actions during your time in the Maquis were in direct violation of this treaty?"

"Yes."

"Were you aware at the time that violating the treaty was a crime?"

"Yes." Her answers were becoming rote. She imagined making an audio recording of herself saying the word "yes" and returning in a few hours to check on the progress.

"Were you ever convicted of any crime, similar to this or otherwise?"

Ah, something new. "No. Well, yes, I was convicted of a crime during a visit to an alien world, but that had nothing to do with the Maquis or the Cardassians."

A Vulcan admiral tapped a padd quickly. "You were arrested by a species known as the Mari, is that correct?"

B'Elanna nodded. "They're telepathic, so thinking about violence is illegal on their world, only I didn't know it at the time." No sooner had the words left her mouth than B'Elanna realized what a giant mistake it was calling attention to her proclivity for violence. She sighed. Well, it's all the ship's logs, anyway. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at her feckless advocate.

"Were you ever held in custody following your activities with the Maquis?"

A hole in their line of questioning! "I was held in custody on several occasions after joining the Maquis, but none as a direct result of being a Maquis."

"Can you elaborate?"

"All right," she said, smiling with satisfaction. "First I was abducted by an entity known as the Caretaker, then I was held in a hospital by a species known as the Ocampa, later Tuvok and I –"

"Ms. Torres, please limit your response only to Federation activities."

I was serving on a Federation starship at the time, she wanted to say, but as much as she enjoyed giving them a hard time, she just wanted the session to end. "No, I was never held in custody as a Maquis."

"Ms. Torres, what is your genetic makeup?"

"My mother was Klingon, and my father is human."

"Has this always been your genetic makeup?"

"Yes." What a stupid question, she thought, shifting in the chair so her uniform wouldn't chafe her chest.

"Ms. Torres, would you like to reconsider your answer? Your medical record reflects otherwise. I remind you that you are under oath."

B'Elanna considered the question for a moment and took her best guess. "Maybe you mean the time the Vidiians decided to separate my DNA? For a brief period I existed as two separate entities, one fully human and one fully Klingon. The Klingon died, but her DNA was reintegrated into my body. I guess you could say this body originated as fully human." It was not really an experience she liked to think about, much less have to explain to bunch of high-ranking Starfleet duds.

"It was discovered that your Klingon DNA was able to cure their disease?"

"You'd have to ask the Doctor," B'Elanna answered honestly. "I think it just slowed its progress. He was working on a cure, but I don't know if he ever found one."

"And on stardate 49694.2, with the USS Voyager under the command of Acting Captain Tuvok, you agreed to trade some of your DNA for an antiviral agent needed by Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay?"

"That's right," B'Elanna said slowly. She couldn't gauge where the line of questioning was going.

"Ms. Torres, was it difficult for you to make a deal with the Vidiians for the sake of the lives of your captain and first officer?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you have trouble putting the needs of your captain and first officer before your own trauma?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a smile. "I feel I've really grown under her guidance. Our situation in the Delta Quadrant was really awful, but it gave me a chance to perform the duties of a senior officer." The debriefing was going much better than he expected. It had only been thirty minutes, and it seemed as though it was ready to wrap up. He could smell the homemade apple pie already.

"Ensign Kim, your personal logs indicate that you and Mr. Thomas Paris enjoyed quite a friendship."

A dark cloud suddenly formed over Harry's sunny homecoming. They read my personal logs?

"Tom Paris was – is – my good friend."

"What is the nature of your relationship with B'Elanna Torres?"

"She's also a good friend."

"Were you at any time romantically involved with either Tom Paris or B'Elanna Torres?"

"No!"

"Were you at any time privy to secrets pertaining to the Maquis obtained through Tom Paris or B'Elanna Torres?"

Shouldn't you be more concerned about Chakotay? "No."

Admiral Wallis tipped her head down and studied him intently. "Ensign Kim, you have a nearly spotless record. The only trouble it seems you've ever gotten into was on stardate 52573.1 over a personal relationship." She gave a restrained smile. "Captain Janeway might have needed to reprimand you, but I think we can all agree a personal relationship isn't the worst reason to go on report."

Harry looked up hopefully, remembering how angry he had been with the captain – and then later how upset he was that he had disappointed her, over someone he thought he loved but didn't really even know.

"It happens to all young officers at least once," Captain Iabe added with another smile.

"What I want to know, Ensign," Wallis continued, "is why you befriended such disreputable people? You have a bright future in Starfleet. You should surround yourself with people who have equally bright futures."

Harry gave an inward groan, mentally kissing the extra pip and apple pie good-bye. "With all due respect, Admiral, Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres aren't disreputable people. During the seven years I have served with them they have both been upstanding officers."

"Did Captain Janeway inform you of her intention to make the Maquis captain Chakotay the first officer of Voyager prior to doing so?"

"She did not."

"Did you, as second officer, agree with her decision?"

"It is my duty as a Starfleet officer to agree with my captain's decisions."

Suspecting more to Tuvok's answer, the Vulcan admiral two seats from the left pressed, "Did you find her decision logical?"

"I did."

"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, did you find it difficult to follow the orders of a known Maquis?"

"If you are referring to Commander Chakotay, I did not. I found him to be a skilled officer, and as such it was rather easy to follow his orders. Additionally, as the first officer and acting commander, he was my superior. It was my duty to follow his orders."

"But would you have followed his orders even if it wasn't your duty?" Admiral Perkins asked.

"That is an illogical question. If it were not my duty –"

"Yes or no, Mr. Tuvok," Captain Mortenson encouraged. "If there was no rule saying you had to follow someone's orders, would you have followed Chakotay's orders?"

"If he were serving as my first officer and commander, I would."

Mortenson frowned at this answer. "Commander, tell us about the events of stardate 54090. According to the ship's logs, you investigated a series of attacks on the Maquis crew, and the result of the investigation was ultimately that you were responsible, correct?"

"That is correct. However, I was experiencing a form of mind control."

"And the Maquis crew eventually detained the Starfleet officers and attempted to take over the ship?" Tuvok nodded. "Commander Tuvok, were you one of the crew members who attempted to retake Voyager?"

"I was."

"How long did you spend uncover in the Maquis, Commander? Are you certain that your loyalties to Chakotay were not the result of your own shift in loyalties away from Starfleet?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm finding this a little difficult to believe, Captain Janeway," Peabody said, again in mock confusion. She looked down the table at her colleagues for support. "You encountered a species more destructive than the Borg, and you discovered a way to stop them. You saw them preparing for an assault on Earth, and you did nothing?"

"I tried to make peace with them," Janeway repeated resolutely. "That is what Starfleet stands for, isn't it? Don't we value peace over war? Friendship over enmity? Or has our mission changed in the time we've been gone?"

"Captain Janeway," Markham intervened, "perhaps we should discuss the Borg female known as Seven of Nine."

"Ah, yes," Peabody swooned, "please tell us about your decision to embrace the Borg as part of your crew, Captain."

"She was not a Borg at the time; she had been disconnected from the collective," Janeway reminded them sorely.

"Didn't she continue to remain in communication in her regenerative state?" Pendergast asked.

Janeway cleared her throat slightly. How many close calls had they had with the collective over the years? "She had a few difficulties reintegrating into human society, but she managed. Voyager faced minimal risk."

"Captain," Markham said, "when the Enterprise under the command of Jean-Luc Picard found a single Borg drone and attempted to teach it humanity, they were faced with the opportunity to return it to the collective and infect every drone in existence. Have you read the report on this encounter?"

Janeway nodded. Of course she'd read it; how else did they think she got the idea that Seven could learn individuality in the first place?

"Did you read Captain Picard's addendum to that report?"

"Yes. He noted that Admiral Necheyev verbally reprimanded him for not following through on the plan."

"That's right, Captain," Peabody said. "The next time you encounter Species 8472, I hope you'll remember that."

"I'm sure I will," Janeway answered pertly.

"I'd like to point out to the panel that this wasn't the only time Captain Janeway made a compromise with a species that posed a threat to the Federation," Peabody said. "If you'll look at the data I've provided, I'm noting three other separate incidents: one with a hunting species known as the Hirogen, to whom Captain Janeway gave –"

"We should stick to asking questions of the captain," Markham suggested. "There will be time for our assessment of her actions later."

"In that case," Peabody continued with evident annoyance, "I have another question. Do you consider yourself a good captain?"

Janeway looked up with surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

"I don't see the relevance," Pendergast started, but Peabody was on a roll.

"Do you consider yourself a good captain?" she repeated.

"Yes."

"Based on what?"

"Based on my adherence to Starfleet protocols, my ability to lead a crew, the decisions I make in combat situations…I'm sorry, is this a debriefing about the last seven years' mission, or an assessment of my continuation in Starfleet?"

Markham intervened; he was not going to let a good captain feel that she was mounting the gallows. "Captain Janeway, I assure you that your continuation in Starfleet is not on trial. We are merely here to ascertain," he looked around the panel as if to remind them to stay on track, "the probability that a similar offer will be extended to other members of your crew. I'd like to remind the panel of that end, and ask them to keep other questions to a minimum."

Peabody huffed. "Captain Janeway's ability to command is relevant to determine whether officers who served under her have had the appropriate training and experience."

"I recommend we take a recess."

At long last B'Elanna found herself excused for a recess. They'd been given a short break four hours earlier, but she desperately required another. She asked for her nursing supplies, and her advocate promised they'd be brought to her.

She walked out of the debriefing room and found Chakotay in the main hall, sitting on a bench, his head hanging, his hand in his hair. B'Elanna stood in front of him with her arms oddly crossed over her chest, not sure what to do with herself. Janeway came storming out of another room a moment later.

"Are you all right?" she demanded of them with all authority. Clearly, she was shaken.

"I'm fine," Chakotay sighed, lifting his head slightly to look at her. "You?"

"These damned brass," she said, risking insubordination. Fortunately no one else was around to hear, and B'Elanna and Chakotay certainly weren't going to tell on her. "Have they been giving you a hard time?" She looked down at Chakotay and got her answer. "B'Elanna, why are you standing like that?"

"Um, I, I haven't nursed since this morning…" B'Elanna's face grew hot. She didn't really want to explain her bodily functions to the captain or to Chakotay.

"Why didn't you ask for a recess?" Janeway demanded. B'Elanna opened her mouth in futility, as Janeway didn't wait for an answer. With a firm hand on B'Elanna's back, she pushed her down the corridor and into the hearing room. She pushed her all the way in front of the panel, some of whom were absent, the rest of whom were startled. "This woman gave birth two weeks ago, which you know, as it's in her file, and you no doubt interrogated her about it. You have held her here for eight hours, and she needs to be with her baby for her own medical reasons and for the health and safety of that child. I request that you reconvene her debriefing tomorrow morning."

"Request approved."

Janeway nodded curtly, satisfied, and returned to the main hall, leaving B'Elanna alone, slightly dazed.

"I assure you, my loyalties have always been and continue to be with the Federation and Starfleet."

"If you were not loyal to the Federation, you wouldn't admit it, would you?"

Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "Vulcans do not lie. However, there is a certain amount of logic to your statement. It is conceivable that were I not loyal to the Federation, I would not readily admit so." He knew the full implications of what he was saying were dangerous – that they may not understand he was merely following the course of logic – so he continued, "I am, however, presenting the truth. I believe my service record, as well as my personal logs and the logs of my fellow crewmen, will attest to this."

The panel seemed satisfied. "Very well, Commander. We thank you for your time. You are free to return home. You will receive your new assignment in three days."

Tuvok nodded. "Thank you, Admirals, Captain."

"Did he steal a shuttle without Captain Janeway's permission, Ensign, yes or no?"

"Yes, but he wasn't –"

"Did you try to stop him?"

"No, but –"

Harry Kim's debriefing felt more like a trial with every hour that passed. Already they'd had a break for lunch, and dinnertime was rapidly approaching. He could imagine his mother, across the continent a few time zones, recycling the untouched apple pie before going to bed.

"Did you agree with Captain Janeway's punishment?"

"I didn't really think about it at the time."

"What do you think about that decision now, Ensign?"

"I think she made the right decision."

"And if you had been the captain?"

"I would have done the same." Harry said the words effortlessly, without thinking, but once he had said them, he knew he meant them. He wanted to be the kind of commanding officer Captain Janeway was.

"Very well, Ensign." There was some muffled discussion before someone announced, "We have no further questions for you. You're free to go. You will receive your new assignment in three days."

A bit of tough grilling at the end, but for the most part, Harry thought as he left the debriefing, it hadn't gone too badly. More importantly, he was finally on his way home.

"….justify why you should stay in Starfleet…..Maquis…..left in the first place?"

Chakotay was beginning to zone out as the questions continued on and on, with no direct line of thought. They moved in circles, overlapping and repeating information, and swirling together into confusion. It seemed like a lousy technique for a debriefing, he thought, but a pretty good one for psychological torture. "I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?"

"I asked you to justify to us why you should be allowed to stay in Starfleet, given that you left to join the Maquis and only started wearing the uniform again when you were left with no other choice?"

It occurred to him why his debriefing was dragging on. They weren't trying to figure out whether or not he was going to be arrested; they were trying to figure out whether or not he should get to keep his commission. He sensed there was an easy way to end the interrogation. A decision he'd been unable to make for two weeks suddenly became crystal clear; he just hoped that Seven would support it. "I can't," he told the panel easily. "I don't want to stay in Starfleet."

"You don't?"

"No."

B'Elanna and Janeway found themselves alone on the shuttle that returned to Mariana Two, uncertain of what had happened to the others. They sat through the ten-minute ride in silence, exhausted by the day's events and contemplating what the next day might bring.

When the shuttle landed, a group of curious onlookers gathered to see who exited. Captain Janeway emerged first and slowly approached Seven of Nine. "I'm sorry. We aren't sure what happened to Chakotay," she explained, putting her arm around her protégée. It was the first real interaction they'd had in two weeks. "I'm sure we'll hear something any minute now."

When Tom spotted B'Elanna, he rushed to greet her as she came out of the open hatch. Seeing the expression of relief on his face, she crossed her arms over her chest with a grin. "Miss me?"

"I just came to tell you you're late for dinner," Tom teased, a split-second before he cupped her cheek and pulled her in for a kiss.