Chapter 14

Back at the brig, Kirk again lingered in front of each cell, saying his silent goodbyes. He knew the courtroom was no place for it. Reaching Spock's door, he was again full of emotion. He stared at his friend for several long moments, not daring to hope for any response.

*I have been, and always will be-*

*-your friend.* Spock's voice completed the thought in Kirk's mind.

*Spock!*

*Yes, Jim, I can hear you.* There was no visible change in Spock's demeanor.

*So much to say, and yet so little that really needs saying. I pray the peace of the Lord to remain in your heart. Live long and prosper, Spock!*

*May the Lord go with you wherever you go. Shalom, Jim, until we meet again.*

Aware that Steve was trying to hide his impatience, Kirk turned away and entered his own cell. He spent the next half-hour in Scripture meditation, trying to calm his soul. Not very successfully. Finally he began simply talking to the Lord.

Lord, You know I hate saying goodbye. And You know how emotionally upset I am right now. I don't want to go into that courtroom fighting an emotional battle with myself. But I have placed my emotions under Your control, Lord, so right now, I choose to trust You. I accept the path You have for me to walk, no matter how dark or difficult.

Suddenly a supernatural peace came over his soul, and it lasted all the way through the court session.

xxxx

The courtroom was again crowded with Enterprise personnel, his six senior officers surrounded by base security, as was he, himself. After relatively few preliminaries, Kirk was instructed to approach the bench. Whispering to the Lord one more, I trust You, Kirk rose and walked briskly to a point approximately ten feet in front of Commodore Pierce. Turning to face him, Kirk came to attention, his face impassive. However, when Pierce looked up at him, he did not try to hide the warmth in his eyes.

Pierce got the message, loud and clear. Kirk still considered him friend, not foe. And he couldn't possibly know what decision they had reached. In fact, he undoubtedly expected the worst. The man was incredible! Shaking himself mentally, he was suddenly aware the entire courtroom was waiting for him. Looking down, he cleared his throat and began to read.

"As regards the charges brought before this court against Captain James T. Kirk, we find the defendant not guilty." He paused and the room erupted in a cheer. He looked up at Kirk, who hadn't moved or changed his expression. By some sixth sense, Kirk knew he wasn't finished. He banged the gavel for order and continued.

"However, there are other concerns the court wishes to address. While we understand Captain Kirk's position as regards the meeting involving Lieutenant Mechak, we feel it necessary to uphold the authority of the court, and to discourage other witnesses from refusing to testify. Therefore we find Captains Kirk and Spock in contempt of court, and bring the following disciplinary action.

"Captain Spock, please rise and approach the bench." Spock came to stand beside Kirk, who still had not moved. "Captain Spock, you are hereby temporarily reduced in rank to that of Commander, for a period of one year, during which you will remain in your current posting aboard the Enterprise. I am required to inform you that you have the option to reverse your position and thereby avoid this disciplinary action. Do you now consent to testify concerning the meeting involving Lieutenant Mechak?"

"No, sir, I do not."

"Very well, Commander Spock, so be it. Captain Kirk, you will retain the rank of Captain, but you will be relieved of your command for a period of one year. Instead you will be given command of Border Outpost #67 in Sector 29 of the Klingon Neutral Zone. At the end of that period, you may or may not be again given command of the Enterprise. I am required to inform you also, that you have the option to reverse your position and thereby avoid this disciplinary action. Do you now consent to testify concerning the meeting involving Lieutenant Mechak?"

"No, sir, I do not."

"Very well, Captain Kirk, so be it. You will turn over command of the Enterprise within twenty-four hours to Captain Joshua Young. Captain Young, please approach the bench." Neither Kirk nor Spock moved an inch when Young joined them. "Captain Young, you understand that your posting to the Enterprise is temporary, and may or may not be made permanent at the end of one year. Also, that decision may or may not depend on anything you do or do not do."

"Yes, sir. I understand, sir."

Kirk noticed the mellow quality of Young's voice, but gave no indication that he was aware of the man at all. Kirk's chief thought was that Pierce had created an untenable position for Young. No one could be expected to succeed with that kind of uncertainty hanging over him. It wasn't fair to Young. He would log a protest. Not that it would do any good, but he would do it nonetheless.

Pierce was talking again. "There is another concern which the court wishes to address. It has come to our attention that approximately twelve months ago, several of the senior officers of the Enterprise, including Captain Kirk, professed a belief in Jesus Christ as their Lord, and now place allegiance to Him above their oath to Starfleet. Subsequently over three-fourths of the crew of the Enterprise have also become Christians.

"At the highest levels, there is a concern that this Christian movement constitutes a threat to the survival of the Federation. Some feel that we cannot tolerate Starfleet officers with a higher allegiance than that of Starfleet. Others say that Christianity is by its very nature exclusive, and therefore at odds with what the Federation stands for. At its heart, the Federation is about living in harmony with those who are different, including those with different belief systems.

"While the case against Captain Kirk did not produce supportable evidence, the issues it was trying to raise are valid and should be investigated. First, the court wishes to confirm the need for this investigation. Captain Kirk, do you claim that Jesus Christ is your Lord?"

"Yes, sir. I do."

"Mr. Spock, same question."

"Yes, sir. Jesus Christ is my Lord."

"Captain Young, same question."

"No, sir. He is not."

"Commanders McCoy, Scott, Sulu, and Uhura, and Lieutenant Commander Chekov, please approach the bench."

They formed a second row behind Kirk, Spock, and Young. Pierce asked each of them the same question and got affirmative answers from each.

"Now will all personnel from the Enterprise currently in this room please stand." They counted nearly half the crew. "Of those 194 people, if you would answer affirmative to the question: 'Is Jesus Christ your Lord?', please raise your right hand." They counted 175. "Thank you; you may sit down. I believe that confirms the statistics.

"The court hereby appoints a panel of observers to remain aboard the Enterprise a minimum of three months, and longer if the panel deems it necessary. The panel will report its findings to this court, after which a decision will be made concerning Starfleet's position with regard to Christians.

"Captain Kirk, the court would deem an investigation unnecessary at this time if a majority of your senior officers would recant. Are you willing to do so?"

"No sir, I am not."

Pierce asked the same question of the others, and none of the six agreed to deny the Lordship of Jesus.

"Very well, so be it. The panel of observers is as follows: Please rise and approach the bench when I call your name. Samuel Cogley. Yes, right up front here, Sam. Lila Murphy." As she stepped in front of Kirk, he recognized her as the prosecuting attorney. "Lieutenant Commander Charles Byrd."

Kirk was surprised to see his friend Chuck, the security chief, step up next to Lila. The fourth person Pierce called was a male Tellarite civilian named Gliff. Unless Kirk was mistaken, Gliff was dressed as a rock-rigger, one of the jobs typically done by the outcasts of society. The last person on the panel, and its leader, was the man seated to the right of Pierce, Lieutenant Commodore Sullivan, whom Kirk had sensed from the beginning was most hostile. But then Kirk hadn't expected any of them to be friendly.

Pierce asked each of them to state their position with regard to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They all responded in the negative. No surprise. That was probably a prerequisite. Pierce had a few closing remarks and admonitions. Then they were all dismissed.

Kirk turned first to Young. "Captain Young, may I congratulate you on your posting, however temporary. And my apologies for the circumstances which make it temporary. Yours is not an easy task. If there is anything I can do to assist you, please ask. The crew would undoubtedly prefer to have a few hours to prepare for your arrival. Would a reception at 1900 be suitable?"

Kirk gave no indication of his surprise at Young's appearance. He had the white hair and antennae of an Andorian, although the antennae were short and closer to the sides of his head than normal for that species. But most striking was his skin color: Instead of bright blue, his skin was a pale shade of green. The mellow-sounding voice did not match that of an Andorian, either. Kirk suspected he was a hybrid of some kind.

"That would be fine, Captain. I regret our acquaintance will be so brief. By all accounts, you are a most unusual man."

Andorians didn't like to be touched any more than Vulcans did, so Kirk didn't offer to shake his hand.

"I regret it also. Now, if you will excuse me, there are several matters requiring my attention."

"Certainly, Captain. Until 1900, then."

Kirk turned his attention to finding Lieutenant Commodore Sullivan. He was huddled with the four others on the panel, holding a brief conference.

"Excuse me, sir. May I interrupt long enough to inquire when you wish to board the Enterprise? I don't mean to rush you, but the transition of authority will take place this evening, beginning at 1900. I would like to let my people know when to expect you, so that arrangements can be made for your accommodation."

Sullivan gave him a hard stare. "Of course, Captain. With your permission, we will beam aboard within the hour. It is unfortunate you are being allowed to reboard the Enterprise at all, but we certainly wish to monitor all of your communications. And Captain, please inform me of all meetings you schedule."

"Do you wish to assign one of your panel to follow me around and listen to everything I say? For the short time I will be aboard, that should not be a great hardship. Or perhaps you can take turns."

"You would consent to such a thing?" he asked, clearly surprised.

"Yes, sir, I would. Of course, I cannot speak for Captain Young. He will have other considerations besides the panel's need to collect data."

Sullivan was tempted to assign the Tellarite to the job, but he wasn't very certain of Gliff's ability to observe. Lt. Cmdr. Byrd, on the other hand, was on the panel precisely because of his powers of observation. His report on Kirk's detainment had been most impressive.

"Lt. Cmdr. Byrd, you will accompany Captain Kirk, and observe him until he leaves the Enterprise tonight. I will expect a complete report."

"Yes, sir."

Chuck left with Kirk, and they walked over to Commodore Pierce.

"Sir, I would like to thank you for the way in which you have handled this situation. Your actions show considerable wisdom. However, I must log a protest on behalf of Captain Young. He cannot possibly succeed as captain under such a temporary assignment. Crew loyalty is an essential ingredient to his success, and he won't get it, if they expect me back next year. And if by some chance he does succeed, it's not fair to take it away from him."

"You want me to make his posting permanent? Burn your bridges now, so to speak?" He shook his head. "You continue to surprise me, Captain."

"It would be better for the Enterprise if you did. A crew with confused loyalties doesn't function well. There's only one person I know who could successfully command the Enterprise for a year, and then just as successfully give it back to me, with no confusion in the crew's loyalty at either transition, and that person is Mr. Spock. And even for Spock, a year is a long time, longer than anything we've done before."

"Unfortunately I cannot give command to Mr. Spock, and I am not willing to burn your bridges, even if you are. Captain Young will just have to cope." He gave Kirk a penetrating stare. "But I will log your protest, if you insist."

"I do, and thank you, sir."

Kirk left Pierce, followed by Chuck, and searched out Spock and the others. Gathered in a corner, they were obviously waiting for him, nobody saying much of anything. Signs of shock were evident on all faces, except Spock's. Into this circle of depression walked Kirk.

He adopted a light, brisk tone. "Thank you for waiting. My apologies, everyone, for your enforced idleness this past week. In contrast, the rest of today is going to be quite busy. I'm sure you realize that everyone on board the Enterprise is in shock. It's going to take time to process this change. Meanwhile, what everyone needs is something to do.

"So let me give you a timetable. The panel of observers will be boarding within the hour. I want a senior officers' briefing at 1500, followed by a captain's inspection of the ship at 1600. Reception for inaugurating the new captain is at 1900. Can we do it? If you think it's too tight, I'll forego the inspection. I only want a chance to greet each crewman." He looked around the circle to see them stand taller.

"Aye, Cap'n, we c'n handle it."

Scotty's opinion was echoed by the others. Spock merely nodded.

"All right, then. Let's get to it." As they began to leave, Kirk added, "Spock, a word with you, please." He waited a moment til they were more or less alone, except for Chuck. "Two things. Get me Captain Young's service record, if you would. And have someone pack my things and prepare my cabin for its new occupant. I'm not going to have time." Kirk swallowed his grief and tried to give Spock as neutral an expression as possible.

A slight hesitation was all the emotional response Spock permitted himself. "Yes, Captain. Anything else?"

"That's it for now. We'll be along shortly." Spock nodded acknowledgment and departed. "Well, Chuck, do we need to go pack your things, or were you briefed about this ahead of time?"

"I've known since 1100 this morning. Just barely enough time to put my house in order. My things are packed, but still in my quarters. It wasn't for certain this was going to happen. They said you might back down. I knew you wouldn't, but I've learned not to argue with a Commodore."

Kirk laughed. "Some days I wish I'd learned that too. And I have learned which things are worth arguing about. I guess I've never learned to be intimidated by rank."

"I don't think there's anything that intimidates you. Which reminds me, there's something I need to tell you."

They were alone in the turbolift.

"I'm listening."

"I used to be in a different department entirely. I was one of those that did the psych profiles on recruits. Occasionally they'd ask us to work up a report on a criminal case. So after five years, when I was bored, I switched to Security, and that's how I got here. Occasionally I get to work up a profile on somebody, but mostly I make notes for my own amusement. My guys got hold of my notes one day about three years ago, and I thought there'd be serious trouble. But they just made a joke out of it, so now my nick-name is "Beady-eyed-Byrd."

Kirk laughed, because having been a victim, he recognized how well the name fit. He wasn't quite sure where Chuck was going with this, so he made no comment.

"You made an absolutely fascinating character study, so I made extensive notes." He paused as they reached Chuck's quarters and stepped inside. "Jim, I don't know how to tell you this."

"Brutal honesty usually works. Chuck, I'm not fragile."

"You certainly aren't. It's not you I'm worried about. It's what you will think of me."

"I don't think so. You're too much like me. You're most bothered by what you think of yourself. But I don't have time to bandy words with you this afternoon. Either you're going to tell me what's bothering you, or you're not."

"You're right. My apologies. I'll make this short. Late last night, they asked me to write a report on you - not just everything you said and did, but my opinion of you as a person - your personality, your character, as complete a profile as I could manage without having given you any of the formal tests. And they knew they were asking for an expert opinion. So I gave it to them - brutal honesty, as you said." He chuckled nervously and went on.

"This morning, I get in there and find out they've twisted everything I said to fit their preconceived notions. For instance, every time you act as if you don't care and it doesn't bother you, to them, that's another sign that you're completely uncontrollable, and therefore dangerous."

Kirk didn't quite grin, but his response was just short of mockingly flippant. "Well, they're right."

Chuck was not amused. "Jim! I wish you wouldn't say things like that. You're just digging the hole deeper. I have to report everything!" He tried to pace in the small space available, but ended up taking just two steps before turning and facing Kirk. "When they assigned me to this panel - and by the way, this was not a volunteer mission - they told me it was because of my ability to observe the subtle nuances, and interpret what I see. I'm wearing a microphone hooked up to a recorder. I even have to report your reaction to this conversation."

He flopped down on the bed and rubbed a hand over his face before continuing. "If anyone else had just been told I was analyzing their every thought, action, and motive, they would begin to exhibit signs of nervous tension; they would attempt to change their behavior to what they thought I wanted to see; and eventually they would find a way to ask what I thought of them. You have done none of those things. Instead, you're calmly standing there trying to figure out what about this upsets me so much, and how you can help.

"Well, I don't know if there's anything you can do, but I'll tell you why I'm upset. I've never met anyone like you: someone who has more courage and inner strength of will than I do; someone who understands me, yet accepts me; someone who gives himself freely, over and over again; someone who feels things deeply, yet is in absolute control of himself." He stood up and took a step towards Kirk. "I want to know you like I've never wanted to know anyone in my life. And I hate it that this report is coming between us."

"How so?"

"I never tell anybody I'm analyzing, but I had to tell you. I couldn't stand the thought of deceiving you. Now that you know what I'm doing, you need to guard every word, every action, every thought. If it weren't for this report, I would want you to be as open and honest with me as I can stand."

Kirk reached out a hand to Chuck's chest and pushed him back on the bed. "You, Chuck, can stand a great deal, including what I'm about to say. I'm glad you told me about the report, so we could get it out in the open and talk about it. But that report is not going to affect how I relate to you, or anything I think, say, or do. I am an open book, and you are welcome to read and report anything you like. In fact, the more brutally honest your report, the better picture of reality they will have."

Purposely invading his space, Kirk sat down on the bed next to him. "That being the case, if that report comes between us, it will be because you put it there. I think you tend to keep people at a distance by raising your shield of observer status, so no one can get near enough to know you. If you would know me, you will have to let me know you. Your willingness to share this concern is a good beginning." He stood and offered Chuck a hand. "However, in all honesty, I do not expect to have much time today to interact with you. So let me challenge you to get to know my friends. I think you will find them equally ready to know you."