Chapter 25: Romulan Honor

Tesat's posture at the witness table was straight and composed, while Brady summarized the information already recorded before the Inquiry Board as well as her personal data for the record. The defender reserved the right to bring some character witnesses later – Caryamandis, Gale Kyllie, and some of Tesat's fellow-students. But he hoped that Tesat's public stance would speak of her character. Automatically, he ran his gaze over them all as he spoke: the Board members all attentive and unreadable… Sarader Komack sitting behind Konor Thrav, glaring at the girl… Thrav remaining quiet in typical Andorian impassivity… the assembled students and faculty shifting restlessly, showing enough excitement for all of them. This was, after all, the first really big legal proceeding ever on Akadem, and qualified as the best reality show ever. Many students had cut classes, either to attend at the auditorium or to follow remotely via their portables.

"Tesat, may I ask you to tell exactly what you contacts were with Gien Kai-Mekelen and other persons in the matter under investigation?"

Though warlike, the Romulan is also an organized and efficient being. Tesat was no different. She recounted the string of incidents, emphasizing her contact with the man who called himself Avennen. "The face was familiar. I am certain he was a student here, but I only know the name because he told it to me."

Brady interjected here that Tesat had assisted in the attempt to piece together a holo portrait with detains about his face and build, but that so far they had had no luck finding him.

"He contacted me on my room terminal, offering some 'reliable information' about Star Fleet weaponry. I interpreted this correctly as an overture to espionage, and challenged him on it, but he did not give up." Tesat sounded disgusted. "He brought the courier to me as I was exercising on the track near Science I complex."

"You had not encouraged Avennen's second contact in any way?"

"No, sir, I did not. And Avennen did not stay. He let the courier talk to me alone. I was furious with him."

"This was Gien Kai-Mekelen?"

"It was. He was very uncomfortable when he realized I was not interested. And I told him to take his secrets and destroy them."

Brady wanted to make sure Tesat's loyalty went unquestioned. "Tesat, did you say anything either to Avennen or to Kai-Mekelen that might have led them to believe you were interested, despite your refusal?"

"Absolutely not!" And Tesat went on to explain that after the abortive meeting, she had called Avennen that afternoon. "I shall be perfectly honest, Dr. Brady. I wanted to go find that Avennen and incapacitate him. But I forced myself to remain in my quad. Then, I thought of influencing the courier to leave and take his documents with him. That would finish it either way."

"You found out where the courier was staying."

"I checked his name on the planet guest register, found the sister's quad, and called there. He was in, and I told him once again of my displeasure. I told him in the strongest terms that I wasn't the one he could buy to commit espionage against the United Federation of Planets. After I cut him off, I believed that would be the end of it."

"Tesat – did you make any move to report this to Security?" Brady felt he must ask; it would be better now than under Konor Thrav's examination.

She looked out of clear brown eyes. "I didn't, because I really didn't feel that this guy, this courier, had anything serious to pass on. I wished to forget that nonsense." She continued ruefully, "Now I see that it would have been better for me to say something right away. But it was already evening – and they came the next day to arrest me." She made a wry face. "I lost control over myself for a moment and struggled with the Security officers."

Howard Brady was glad she had brought it up herself, and in fact the greens' statements about this were already in the record. Besides, the bruise on Tesat's face was still an obvious greenish-brown. "You were indignant and surprised, not expecting to be arrested?"

"Don't lead your witness too much, Howard," India Semmelweiss warned him. He bowed in her direction.

"Yes, sir," Tesat answered quietly. "I expected trouble but not a murder charge. I believe I did not damage either one of them too badly."

There was a ripple of amusement among the students; but in her mind Saavik was considering the deadliness of a true Romulan berserker rage, and wondering how the Security people had escaped serious maiming. "So, the arrest was the next thing you knew about all this?"

"That's right. I didn't feel Kai-Mekelen had what he obviously thought he had." Even more to the point, Tesat felt the entire "plot" had been a waste of time, and that it would be a better idea to just forget about it than to trouble Security. But she did not say so; it would not help her if she appeared flippant before the people who would judge her.

In the hearing room, the atmosphere was reflecting the students' moods. Apparently the question of Tesat's reluctance aroused some doubts. Dr. Komack smiled to herself. Brady pressed on. "Tesat, have you ever had any reason to think that your communications were being monitored, or that your personal computer programs were tampered with"

Konor Thrav looked for a second as if he might object, but subsided and settled back into his chair. The Romulan girl gazed down at her slim hands. "Yes. Earlier this Quarter, I found some strange glitches in my displays and some fuzz on my terminal. My roommate is a computer student and told me this might be from somebody else, a third party, trying to access my accounts."

"So you designed a privacy signal?"

"An overlay. My roommate helped me to rig it. I really did not suspect anyone listening at first, but the odd features kept showing up – not when I used internal functions, but only when I made communications calls and accessed main-bank files." There was a buzz of comment in the auditorium.

"Why didn't you or your roommate damp out the interfering party, or track down the source?"

Tesat shook her head. "We could not. I certainly don't have the skills, and even Rufia – Rufia Helmons, my roommate – doesn't have that kind of training yet."

"I'm surprised, Tesat. I thought you had sophisticated computer training." Brady used the tactic to draw out a point about his client.

"No, actually, I am a biologist." She said it proudly: an adult, a scientist, a student of peaceful pursuits… perhaps a new departure for her belligerent race. "My computer skills are adequate for my daily work. Any of my instructors would be only too happy to complain about my problems with computers. I have a part-time job in a computer lab, but the knowledge does not come by osmosis." The listeners laughed; India Semmelweiss called the room to order again.

Brady's smile was broad, and he turned it prominently in Sarader Komack's direction. "Have you ever accessed, or attempted to access, and classified files, either political or military, while here on Akadem?"

"Never. I would not know how to progress through all the levels of security involved. I hadn't used any military files, except what all the other in the Federation History course were using, and in some other related courses over the past year."

"You said earlier that you thought that there was an interference when you used your terminal to access files. What kind of interference?"

"Is all this relevant?" Konor Thrav challenged mildly. His antennae twitched with impatience.

"It is, Thrav. Dr. Semmelweiss, this line of thought is directly germane to the allegation that this student has committed disloyal acts." The head of the Board motioned for him to continue.

Tesat described the unusual delay and hesitation in the computer's response, and the fact that the balance sheet on which her file-accesses were printed out showed many more access points than there should have been. Casually, Dr. Brady asked her how many extra accesses were claimed. In fact, he knew: going over the printouts that morning with Tesat, they had found a correlation. But he would let her explain it.

"I was not certain. But then I saw that a lot of the accesses were in pairs – two hits recorded at the same time, over and over again. I do not remember that ever happening before. We counted the pairs; there were nineteen. Nineteen extra accesses at least." The impact certainly was immediate. Konor Thrav flicked an impassive eye at Komack, who looked at her hands in her lap.

T'Eilibit, the Vulcan logician, broke in, "Let me ask the accused's attorney a question. Is there a point he wishes to make, that might be made directly and not through the process of examination?" Her low voice sounded just a touch impatient.

Brady inclined his head gallantly. "Indeed there is. We took these instances of double-access and compared them – just for interest, of course – with the print of supposed classified file accesses made from Tesat's terminal and using her codes. These items were so thoughtfully provided to us by Dr. Komack.

"The dates and times are identical. I am putting this before the Board now; consider that when Tesat was accessing her own particular set of data files, there was always a second, automatically triggered logon, into a top-secret file, this also recorded in her transactions file. Tesat does not possess the capability of creating such a program. Only a sophisticated computer expert could have done this." He paused, deliberately avoided looking at Komack, and then finished, "I don't know who did rig this program. The important thing is that Tesat did not."

"Thank you, Dr. Brady," T'Eilibit said. "Please go on."

Howard Brady resumed. "To go back: Tesat, please tell us exactly what was said between you and Gien Kai-Mekelen that night, in your final conversation."

Tesat repeated the words precisely. Brady thanked her and announced his questions were done.

In the moments while Konor Thrav prepared to take his place, Saavik sat in her front-row seat and thought. She had listened to Tesat; she believed her and had no true reason to think her a traitor. She had heard the other's account of the conversation and found the Romulan's memory as accurate and sharp as her own. Something nagged at her, though; she was not used to memory blanks, yet something seemed to be missing… And there was still that bit of illogic… that feeling against the Romulan. This was most alarming to Saavik, who had thought her psyche exorcised of hate, even for Romulans; she had believed herself at last arrived at a point where she was merely indifferent to them.

Konor Thrav stood, his slight frame balanced on graceful, shifting feet. In this predominantly human forum, alien faced alien, authority faced accused. "Tesat, only a few questions from me. I will not question you about the matter of your computer accesses. I will accept your counsel's assertions, and will of course review the records as soon as I can. I do want to ask you if there is anyone else who could confirm the existence of this man Avennen, whom you claim to have turned down in the initial approaches."

She shook her head. "No one that I know of, sir. Our contacts were over the vid, so I saw him, but no one else was with me when we talked. When he brought Kai-Mekelen out to the track, he went off before I could see him properly… but I got a good impression."

"Please stay with the question."

"I am sorry, sir. The only other person who saw Avennen – that I know of – was Kai-Mekelen. And he is dead."

The Andorian did not comment on this. "We do not, then, have any evidence that Avennen exists. I am also not satisfied," he drove on in his sibilant voice, "about your reasons for not alerting Akadem Security at any time during all this. You recognized a security risk to the Federation; why did that not seem to be a grave enough situation?"

"I didn't think it was a risk, sir. I saw it as an attempt, a cheap trick, to appear as espionage…a juvenile game, I guess… something that was so stupid that I couldn't see how either of those people took himself, or it, seriously."

Thrav was not convinced, and said so. Then he asked, "Did you see any of the documents Kai-Mekelen had with him?"

"I chose not to." Her voice rose, proudly. "I had him look at them, and he looked ashamed of himself and put them away. So I think I was right – they were not much in the nature of 'secrets'."

The prosecutor remarked that Federation experts would be on-planet soon to check this out, then took Tesat back over the ground that Brady had covered, concerning the conversations with Avennen and Kai-Mekelen. From his questions and reactions, it was obvious that he was conscientiously doing his job, that despite the reservations he had already expressed, he did not share Sarader Komack's obsession with showing Tesat guilty. When Konor Thrav thanked her politely and she had returned to her seat beside Brady, Komack's dissatisfaction was evident. The woman half-turned toward Tesat and stared in hostility.

Saavik, looking on with fascination, saw Tesat's mouth moving, saw more than heard the Romulan obscenity. And this jogged her memory. Of course… and now Saavik remembered something that would possibly save Tesat's neck. Or…?

--

Saavik first faced Howard Brady, who had already heard her side of the events earlier and again that morning. He was not expecting anything new from her, only a corroboration of Tesat's own words. Luine had proved a poor witness and had at best been indifferent if not actually hostile to Tesat's interests. Brady figured the Vulcan girl as a steady sort, and hoped that her less emotional testimony would serve as the necessary confirmation for Tesat's innocence.

She identified herself to the Inquiry Board as a Vulcan from the Federation science ship Stanek, and no one seemed overly interested in her unusual point of origin, although T'Eilibit raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. Dr. Brady asked her to explain her connection with the case. "How did you happen to hear this conversation? Were you in the room?"

"I was in my own room. Luine Kai-Mekelen's terminal was located in the other bedroom. The doorways of both our rooms in to the common room of the quad were unobstructed."

"I believe that all students on Akadem are aware only too well of the lack of privacy in quad rooms." The audience laughed a little at Brady's remark. It was all too true. "Were you listening actively?"

"I was at my own terminal, studying. The voices of the people conducting the conversation were quite loud. There was no attempt to hide any part of the talk. In addition, my hearing is excellent and I heard the words quite distinctly." Saavik was displeased that Brady seemed to be implying that she was an… eavesdropper, as humans called it. He held up his hand as he noted the precision of her phrasing.

"Saavik, I am glad that you heard. Will you tell the Board and all of us here what you heard? Take your time and recall the exact words."

This was what Saavik did, recreating Tesat's clipped, pithy manner of speaking. The expressions were not ones she would have chosen; she disliked slangy speech and deplored the imprecision and frivolity it lent to the conversations of humans and other illogical species. Romulans she counted among these. However, she had to admit that the Standard spoken here on Akadem, composed of so many parts of Earth languages and loaded with English and Russian slang, served its purpose as a versatile tongue, adaptable enough for anyone's use. Saavik repeated Tesat's imprecations against both Avennen and Gien.

"You are quite certain that you heard that name correctly?" The professor wanted that in the record.

"Yes. The caller named that name specifically."

Brady asked, "What would you say about the tone of voice of the caller?"

"She was angry, very angry."

"Did her anger sound genuine?"

Saavik looked at him rather coldly. "I cannot speculate, Dr. Brady. She sounded angry, her words were attacking Gien Kai-Mekelen, and she ended the conversation very abruptly and broke the connection from her end."

He nodded his satisfaction. He knew that Konor Thrav would ask, so… "Be certain, Saavik. Are you absolutely sure that the person who called Luine Kai-Mekelen's room terminal was Tesat, the accused sitting in this hearing chamber?"

"I am, Dr. Brady. She has a distinctive voice and intonation." Saavik hesitated a moment. Howard Brady, thinking she was perhaps unsure of the truth of what she had said, assured her.

"You are quite right. And Luine Kai-Mekelen has also identified Tesat as the person whom she saw on her terminal screen that evening. I just want to be sure to put your identification on record." He smiled. "No more questions."

The Vulcan had hesitated for quite a different reason than Brady supposed. She had been about to tell her other criterion for knowing the unseen speaker as Tesat, but now there was no need, was there? Had she not done her share to exonerate the Romulan? Tesat's fate, on principle, was of no greater importance to her than that of anyone else.

Then an innate sense shame came over her, as her teachings in honor brought her up short. She hoped that she was not showing it outwardly… and the deeper shame came from the realization that she had been about to risk someone else's justice to cover her own secrets. Yet… Tesat would certainly go free anyway, wouldn't she?

There was no more time to think, since Konor Thrav now stood before her, not unfriendly but quite prepared to challenge her. "Saavik, do you know the accused, Tesat, other than from the conversation you overheard?"

"I have met here once before. I do not know her personally." Saavik looked over at the older girl, who was returning her glance with neutral curiosity.

"But you know her voice that well?"

"I spoke with her when I met her. I have an excellent auditory memory." Aware that this might sound arrogant to the Inquiry Board, she nevertheless believed and knew it to be true,

"I see." Thrav turned partly away from her. "So you heard her voice one time – and then heard a voice you think was hers… through an intervening common room. You are asking the Board to believe a lot of extraordinary things about your powers of hearing and memory."

With as much dignity as a girl of fourteen could muster, Saavik said, "It is all as I said. I can tell you what Dr. Komack said to you this morning at the prosecution table, before she took the stand. I was sitting, as you know, in the front row on the other side of the room, further away from you than I am now." She let the challenge hang, waiting to be asked to elaborate. Komack was livid, Konor Thrav uncomfortable. There was a giggle among the assembled students. India Semmelweiss cleared her throat.

"Young woman, I believe that the conversations between Drs. Komack and Thrav are not material for this hearing. If there is something we should hear, you may let me know in private after today's session. Allow it to be granted that your hearing is excellent." She was stern. "Please tell anything else that might satisfy Dr. Thrav's curiosity."

So it would come to this. Konor Thrav resumed, his face revealing some annoyance at her last statement. He was no stickler for faculty-student etiquette, and he rather liked the Vulcan student who had come to him boldly for help with chess problems from time to time… but the chance that Sarader Komack's unfortunate sotto voce remarks might be revealed to their colleagues annoyed him.

"Please tell us what led you to be so certain that Tesat – if indeed that is whom you heard – was opposed to the alleged plot. After all, this might have been an arranged scene, with the girl pretending opposition in case someone was listening."

Saavik gave him a level gaze. "I do not think so."

"Why not?"

"Because of what she said." Don't make me…

"Words can be false."

She almost shook her head, almost yielded to frustration. Very quietly, very controlled, she explained, "Not the insults or the accusations in her dealings with Gien Kai-Mekelen, Dr. Thrav. At the very end – just before she broke the connection – Tesat said some words…in Romulan. That is also a reason to be absolutely certain it was she."

Konor Thrav raised his head. At the defense table, Tesat sat forward, startled, staring at Saavik. "Do you understand Romulan, then?" The Andorian seemed not to have considered this possibility.

"I do."

"What did she say? What difference does it make to the question of her veracity?"

"Dr. Thrav, may I explain something about the Romulan sense of honor? You may check this with studies of their culture and anthropology." Saavik felt all eyes in the room turn to her… especially Vulcan eyes – T'Eilibit, Stebit, and other Vulcans in the audience. "Tesat ended with an oath. An oath that is only spoken in private by a Romulan, and one that places the honor of an entire house or family on the line. Tesat spoke that oath not believing anyone hearing her would understand. She is telling the truth."

Thrav shifted his attention to Tesat, now sitting rigidly, almost angrily in her place by Howard Brady. He asked, "Saavik… what did she say?"

"It is not an oath to be heard or repeated."

He addressed himself to Tesat. "What did you say to Gien Kai-Mekelen?"

The Romulan's voice trembled with the unexpected betrayal, the violation of privacy that might, ironically, now turn the Board in her favor. "I shall not tell," she declared. "It is as Saavik the Vulcan says. The oath is a private one and its use is an absolute guarantee that one's heart is not false." That was all.

Semmelweiss spoke from her place. "Saavik, you are not bound to this secrecy. We will have the cultural origins and meaning of this oath researched later. I want to know – and so do my colleagues here – what the mystery is all about."

Saavik did not look at Tesat as she quoted in translation, "'May my House be forever dishonored if I lie. May my ancestors' memories lie in the stink of shame if I be false. May my descendants dry up in my body if my heart be turned from the truth.'" Her last words came in a near-whisper in the dead-quiet room. She had spoken without inflection or emotion, yet everyone seemed to hear the words as they must have sounded in Tesat's voice, impassioned and fervent.

The Andorian broke the silence. "No more questions. I would ask Tesat why she did not tell us of this before."

The Romulan girl stood up by her table. "To have mentioned it would have shamed me. Its mention now does shame me." She sat down and after a moment's hesitation Konor Thrav spoke again.

"That is all."

"Very well," India Semmelweiss concluded. "This day's hearing is over. If either Dr. Thrav or Dr. Brady has other witnesses or evidence to present, let them come to us privately. And I do want to hear anything. It serves no one's justice to keep any information from the Inquiry Board." With this admonition, she closed the session.

Saavik rose slowly and as if undecided where to go. Dr. Brady came up to her. "That was inspired, Saavik. Why didn't you let us know before now? And how did you –" He decided not to ask any further when he saw how pale she looked. "I'm going with Tesat now, bit I'd like to speak with you later." She nodded and he returned to his client.

Never had Saavik felt so surrounded by hostile or ambivalent emotion, never since the Hellguard years. Sarader Komack obviously hated her now if she had not already begun to do so before. Most people must think her indecisive. Brady was puzzled by her actions. And Tesat… as the Romulan girl's eyes raked over her in passing out of the room, Saavik remembered the afternoon at the computer center when Tesat had addressed her in the Romulan tongue and she had presented a blank expression. Now the deception was obvious. Perhaps she had done her best just now to save Tesat trouble, but there had been pretense, there had been a self-serving moment. And if Tesat hated and despised her it would not be surprising. Saavik left the room fighting panic, feeling almost physically sick. Fellow-students called to her, but she imagined that they were only mentioning her name in speculation – about that Vulcan girl who knew so much about what it meant to be Romulan.