Part 5:
"Ladies and gentlemen, this field court martial is now in session. As we are at a state of effective war, as defined by Article 5442, we have all powers normally assigned such a court during a time of war. The purpose of this court martial is to resume evaluating evidence against the previously introduced charges against Commander Alfred Simon Samuel Kirk. Has the accused been read the nature of the charges, your rights, and the punishments laid out by regulations?" The President of the Court intoned.
"Yes ma'am, I am." Kirk replied.
"Then we shall proceed. Captain Kane, as the officer bringing these charges to bear, please enumerate them for the court."
"Yes ma'am." Kane stood up and walked to the center podium. Holo recorders refocused on his new position, and he prepared to speak. "I, Captain Kane, Commanding Officer of the Ajax, Hull number 0041, a CMSI, Laklannan class, hereby bring the following charges against my tactical and first officer, Commander Alfred Simon Samuel Kirk. Specification the First: He did knowingly, and willfully, engage in dereliction of duty. Specification the Second: He did knowingly, and willfully, disobey a direct order, in the face of an enemy under declared battle conditions. Specification the Third: That he did knowingly, and willingly, desert his post in the middle of combat. Specification the fourth: That specifications one, two, and three represent desertion in the face of the enemy. Specification the fifth: That all specifications result from cowardice, and represent a complete lack of moral fiber. Specification the sixth is secret, and may not be read. Judgment has already been passed on specification the sixth. As commanding officer I have ordered this Field Court Martial convened, and hereby-" a loud com signal interrupted him. He couldn't place it. Then, as he activated the inner-com, he recognized it and paused. It was the urgent data signal for court martials. He finished activating the inner-com, and asked, "What was so important you interrupted this court-martial?"
"Engineer Tachaon reporting sir. I have additional charges for you to bring to bear. If I may provisionally bring supernumerary charges to bear for you?"
"Get your ass up here right now and do so. As you interrupted during the reading of the charges, you may add them to the list in your own persona."
"I-nuts. Aye aye sir! I'll be up ASAP-should I show up in dress or work uniform?"
"President of the court?" Kane asked.
"This court will accept that he was not aware that he would have to attend, and allow him work uniform to allow for the most swift presentation of additional charges."
"You heard the woman! Move it!"
"Yes sir!" The tech replied from the opening door.
"That was fast. Take the podium and present your charges." Kane said.
"I, Engineer First class, Lieutenant Senior Grade Frederick Tachaon, have discovered evidence to support supernumerary charges against the accused, one Commander Alfred Simon Samuel Kirk. Supernumerary specification the first: that he did knowingly, and willfully, sabotage the defe-
"No! You can't!" Kirk screamed, rushing up with the obvious intent to beat Lieutenant Tachaon senseless. Several marines stood in his way, and one died under his flailing limbs in the effort to stop him. Several others were injured. Eventually, order was restored and Kirk placed under restraints in his seat, as well as being gagged when he refused to stop screaming, "He is a rotten liar! I did nothing of the sort!" The president of the court then ordered the resumption of the proceedings.
"Resuming from where I left off. Supernumerary specification the first: that he did knowingly, and willfully, sabotage the defenses of this ship, a CMSI, Laklannan class, Terran Federation Ship Ajax. Supernumerary specification the second: that specification the first occurred near a combat situation, and affected the ships performance in said situation. Supernumerary specification the third: That said affect nearly caused the destruction or possibly capture, of the vessel he has sabotaged. Supernumerary specification the fourth, provisionally charged until external evidence can be examined: it is the belief of the officer bringing these charges to bear, based off of the technology used, the Commander Kirk did these things under the pay, orders, or with the aid, of a foreign government. I provisionally order this court martial to convene and judge the accused, presuming acceptance of the commanding officer, president of the court, and the officer bringing the original charges to bear. Captain Kane, may I do this?"
"Yes, you may." Kane replied, aghast at the fact that Kirk wasn't just a slime ball, but a traitor as well.
"President of the court, may I impose upon you in this manner?"
"Yes, you may Lieutenant Tachaon." The president of the court replied.
"Captain Kane, as you were the one bearing the original charges to bear, I ask you again: May I bring to bear the additional charges I have enumerated?"
"As the president of the court accepts, and I have accepted as commanding officer, I as the officer bringing the original charges to bear accept."
"President of the court, I return the floor to you."
"Thank you Lieutenant Tachaon. As president of this court, I bring additional supernumerary charges to bear. Supernumerary specification the fifth: That during the reading of Lieutenant Tachaon's charges, the accused did attempt to assault Tachaon's person, and in the process killed one marine, Private Vork, and seriously injured Lieutenant Second class Bigpapaj. Supernumerary specification the sixth: That in the process of supernumerary specification the fifth, he did knowingly, and willingly, disturb this court, and cause a grave disorder. I add these charges as president of the court, and no additional authority is required. Members of the court, as the list of evidence has grown, I ask this: will any of you challenge my motion to shift these proceedings immediately to a debate over sentencing, as Commander Kirk has shown no respect for the court, and provided ample reason to believe several of the capital charges are in fact true?" Almost silence greeted her-Kirk was still trying to scream through his gag. "Members of the court, seeing as how we have all witnessed with our own eyes the murder of Private Vork, will any of you challenge a motion to consider him guilty?" Again, near silence. "Mr. Kirk, as you have insisted as acting as your own counsel, can you provide legal reason I can not do this?" Listening to Krik's now un-gagged screams of 'You can't do this!' she motioned to the marines to replace the gag. "I'll take that for a no. Members of the court, a final question. Will any of you challenge a motion to sentence him to death for that crime?" A deep silence, as Kirk stared with a pale face, and a jaw that would have been slack, as no one spoke. The silence had a feeling of finality, and he knew what was ending. "Guard! Bring the prisoner to the forefront!" the president of the court barked. They did so-and then had to hold him there, as he refused to stay. They were mortified that he was forcing them to-he kept on rubbing up against them, and since terror had loosened both his bladder and his sphincter, he wasn't pleasant to be near. "I, as president of this court," the president of the court began, "hereby sentence one former commander of this navy, former holder of the scarlet ribbon, former member of the academy, former member of the crew of the TFS Ajax, former member of the construction group at orbital space yard one, former member of the crew of the Potemkin, and former member of the officer corps of this fine navy, to death. He is stripped off all rank. He is stripped of all privileges. He is stripped of all rights. He is stripped of all awards. He is to be stripped of his life itself, as soon as possible. As the presiding officer of this court, I invoke the Scurrelli clause. Members of the board, under the Scurrelli clause we may, should we unanimously decide, cause the immediate execution of a member of the military who has been placed under the death sentence, without consultation of a higher authority than that aboard the ship. Do any of you object?" None of them answered, though several looked uncomfortable. One opened his mouth then seemed to think better of it, and shut it. "Do any of you wish time to consider this?" One by one they all answered no, though they did not like this responsibility, they felt their duty to be clear. "Then as president of this court, I hereby schedule execution to occur this evening, and 1900 hours, directly after officer mess. All hands will attend, save those needed for standing watch, the repair crews required to insure the survival of this ship, and those whom are medically excused. I declare this court- martial ended, and I am again Lieutenant Commander Susan Scully. Corporal of the Guard, you are relieved and may resume position as commander of this ship's marine force."
"Court dismissed." Kane uttered.
* * * * *
Later that evening:
"Ah-ten, HUT!" Major Captain McGuillity, chief of the marines on board-and the executioner, bellowed. The officers and crew were in dress formation, and dress uniform, in the mess hall. It had been cleared of all tables and chairs, and the kitchen sealed off. Even with it cleared, there was not enough room in the mess hall, so everyone was standing shoulder-to shoulder, save a very few. Where the dais was for the nights were there was entertainment, an ugly looking set of poles had been set up. Two were vertical, several feet apart, and one was horizontal, lifted of the deck by the other two. At the points where the horizontal pole was attached was a set of loop eyes-large enough for a thick rope. In between the two poles was another eye loop, temporarily fused to the deck.
Captain Kane waited just outside, angered by what he had learned. That bastard had sabotaged his ship! He had deliberately set the shield frequency to one vulnerable to the enemy missile's radiation pulse. He'd almost certainly given the enemy the data to know where to target it, and it looked like he was the one that set it up to disable the engines. The only good news was that the technology he did it with, while it had parts far in advance of anything the Terran Federation currently had, the other parts were extremely crude in comparison to the Terran Federation's.
"This is an execution, ordered by the field court martial held today under the authority of the Scurrelli clause. All of you are assembled both as witnesses for legal purposes, and to see the fate that awaits traitors, and other capitol level criminals. Stand at ease." Major McGuillity then proceeded to explain the situation leading up to the court martial, the events of the court martial, and the decision of the court martial. "Presiding over the execution will be Captain Kane."
That's my cue, thought Captain Kane, time to execute Kirk. I've never had to do this before. I never dreamed it would be necessary before. Killing people in ship-to-ship combat was hard, but I'd thought this would be the same. Somehow, it isn't. As much as I want him dead, I don't want to have to do this. He walked into the mess hall.
"ATTENTION ON DECK!" Bellowed the ships Bosun as the captain walked in. He normally wouldn't have had it, but this was a special ceremony, and it wasn't to outline his power, but the Captain's responsibilities.
"Bring in the prisoner!" The Captain said. Kane knew he couldn't do it, not like this, but the Captain, his official persona, could. And would. Alfred Kirk was brought in, in full dress uniform. The doctors had been busy, they'd sealed up his bladder, and sphincter to prevent him from befouling himself-again-and cut his vocal cords so he couldn't scream. "Bring him to the scaffold!" Kirk was manhandled by the marines flanking him, two of them, up to the dais. Two more grabbed his arms, and pulled them out. The two that had marched him in grabbed his legs, and forced him to stand in the scaffold. "Major Yethic, Major Neliz, bind the prisoner to the scaffold!" They weren't majors, merely Marine Captains given a courtesy promotion to avoid conflicting with that exalted rank that only the skipper of a vessel could hold. They marched forward from their units, faced towards the dais, and marched up to the scaffold in perfect step. They took the ropes from behind the scaffolding, and then tied Kirk's legs together. They then tied the robe binding his legs to the loop in the floor. Finally, they each took on arm, and tied it to the loops at the upper corners of the box formed by the scaffolding. When they were done, Kirk was standing, arms held above the horizontal by the rope. The rope was taught enough that he couldn't move at all, and even if he relaxed he was still held in that position.
The Captain looked, and found it good. "Roll in the backdrop!" He ordered. Several marines rolled in the specially constructed armor plate. Until now, it had never been touched by weapons fire. Soon, it would be. They rolled it up to the dais, and then rolled it up the ramp at the rear of the dais. They placed it directly behind Kirk, not even looking at him. He was a piece of carrion to them now. "Major McGuillity! The prisoner is yours! Do as you will." The Captain barked the first two sentences, but Kane came through a little on the third, making it softer, more sad. Major McGuillity saluted, and then marched forward, halted, and right faced. He was twenty paces from the prisoner, and directly in front of him. "Alfred Simon Samuel Kirk, you have been sentenced to death. Private Matt! My side arm!" The indicated private marched forward, and handed the disrupter to him.
Padre, the ships chaplain, began intoning the rituals of Kirks faith. "Oh Lord God in heaven, forgive us, for we send off one of your own to your enemy. He has violated our laws beyond our ability to forgive, and dies outside a state of your grace. Patra selindra torkan, seledra rosstin Satan. Kor el vemas tre so gola meda to fortina, le doraga tentra." The last part translates, roughly, as Great beast Satan we give him to you. He is evil, and may strengthen you, but he is your spawn. Then, the universal refrain. "May god have mercy on your soul."
"Amen." The ships company replied.
"Crew: About-Face!" Major McGuillity bellowed. All the enlisted members faced away from Kirk, and the officers faced him. Major McGuillity raised his arm. A scorch mark appeared on the armor plating behind Kirk's chest, and his arms started to jerk, and then relaxed permanently. His head fell, and a nearby marine closed his eyes, which had been as round as saucers. All the officers and crew marched out, except for the captain and four marine privates, on their first tour from boot camp. The captain nodded and they cut down the body, and carried it to a nearby airlock. They couldn't eject it yet, but as soon as they hit normal space it would be.
Assuming they survived the transit into normal space.
Interlude:
A large force arrayed itself by the wormhole, with more pouring through by the second. A force lead by the three ships that first entered this space. They formed up, and headed towards the starlane their prey had taken...
"Ladies and gentlemen, this field court martial is now in session. As we are at a state of effective war, as defined by Article 5442, we have all powers normally assigned such a court during a time of war. The purpose of this court martial is to resume evaluating evidence against the previously introduced charges against Commander Alfred Simon Samuel Kirk. Has the accused been read the nature of the charges, your rights, and the punishments laid out by regulations?" The President of the Court intoned.
"Yes ma'am, I am." Kirk replied.
"Then we shall proceed. Captain Kane, as the officer bringing these charges to bear, please enumerate them for the court."
"Yes ma'am." Kane stood up and walked to the center podium. Holo recorders refocused on his new position, and he prepared to speak. "I, Captain Kane, Commanding Officer of the Ajax, Hull number 0041, a CMSI, Laklannan class, hereby bring the following charges against my tactical and first officer, Commander Alfred Simon Samuel Kirk. Specification the First: He did knowingly, and willfully, engage in dereliction of duty. Specification the Second: He did knowingly, and willfully, disobey a direct order, in the face of an enemy under declared battle conditions. Specification the Third: That he did knowingly, and willingly, desert his post in the middle of combat. Specification the fourth: That specifications one, two, and three represent desertion in the face of the enemy. Specification the fifth: That all specifications result from cowardice, and represent a complete lack of moral fiber. Specification the sixth is secret, and may not be read. Judgment has already been passed on specification the sixth. As commanding officer I have ordered this Field Court Martial convened, and hereby-" a loud com signal interrupted him. He couldn't place it. Then, as he activated the inner-com, he recognized it and paused. It was the urgent data signal for court martials. He finished activating the inner-com, and asked, "What was so important you interrupted this court-martial?"
"Engineer Tachaon reporting sir. I have additional charges for you to bring to bear. If I may provisionally bring supernumerary charges to bear for you?"
"Get your ass up here right now and do so. As you interrupted during the reading of the charges, you may add them to the list in your own persona."
"I-nuts. Aye aye sir! I'll be up ASAP-should I show up in dress or work uniform?"
"President of the court?" Kane asked.
"This court will accept that he was not aware that he would have to attend, and allow him work uniform to allow for the most swift presentation of additional charges."
"You heard the woman! Move it!"
"Yes sir!" The tech replied from the opening door.
"That was fast. Take the podium and present your charges." Kane said.
"I, Engineer First class, Lieutenant Senior Grade Frederick Tachaon, have discovered evidence to support supernumerary charges against the accused, one Commander Alfred Simon Samuel Kirk. Supernumerary specification the first: that he did knowingly, and willfully, sabotage the defe-
"No! You can't!" Kirk screamed, rushing up with the obvious intent to beat Lieutenant Tachaon senseless. Several marines stood in his way, and one died under his flailing limbs in the effort to stop him. Several others were injured. Eventually, order was restored and Kirk placed under restraints in his seat, as well as being gagged when he refused to stop screaming, "He is a rotten liar! I did nothing of the sort!" The president of the court then ordered the resumption of the proceedings.
"Resuming from where I left off. Supernumerary specification the first: that he did knowingly, and willfully, sabotage the defenses of this ship, a CMSI, Laklannan class, Terran Federation Ship Ajax. Supernumerary specification the second: that specification the first occurred near a combat situation, and affected the ships performance in said situation. Supernumerary specification the third: That said affect nearly caused the destruction or possibly capture, of the vessel he has sabotaged. Supernumerary specification the fourth, provisionally charged until external evidence can be examined: it is the belief of the officer bringing these charges to bear, based off of the technology used, the Commander Kirk did these things under the pay, orders, or with the aid, of a foreign government. I provisionally order this court martial to convene and judge the accused, presuming acceptance of the commanding officer, president of the court, and the officer bringing the original charges to bear. Captain Kane, may I do this?"
"Yes, you may." Kane replied, aghast at the fact that Kirk wasn't just a slime ball, but a traitor as well.
"President of the court, may I impose upon you in this manner?"
"Yes, you may Lieutenant Tachaon." The president of the court replied.
"Captain Kane, as you were the one bearing the original charges to bear, I ask you again: May I bring to bear the additional charges I have enumerated?"
"As the president of the court accepts, and I have accepted as commanding officer, I as the officer bringing the original charges to bear accept."
"President of the court, I return the floor to you."
"Thank you Lieutenant Tachaon. As president of this court, I bring additional supernumerary charges to bear. Supernumerary specification the fifth: That during the reading of Lieutenant Tachaon's charges, the accused did attempt to assault Tachaon's person, and in the process killed one marine, Private Vork, and seriously injured Lieutenant Second class Bigpapaj. Supernumerary specification the sixth: That in the process of supernumerary specification the fifth, he did knowingly, and willingly, disturb this court, and cause a grave disorder. I add these charges as president of the court, and no additional authority is required. Members of the court, as the list of evidence has grown, I ask this: will any of you challenge my motion to shift these proceedings immediately to a debate over sentencing, as Commander Kirk has shown no respect for the court, and provided ample reason to believe several of the capital charges are in fact true?" Almost silence greeted her-Kirk was still trying to scream through his gag. "Members of the court, seeing as how we have all witnessed with our own eyes the murder of Private Vork, will any of you challenge a motion to consider him guilty?" Again, near silence. "Mr. Kirk, as you have insisted as acting as your own counsel, can you provide legal reason I can not do this?" Listening to Krik's now un-gagged screams of 'You can't do this!' she motioned to the marines to replace the gag. "I'll take that for a no. Members of the court, a final question. Will any of you challenge a motion to sentence him to death for that crime?" A deep silence, as Kirk stared with a pale face, and a jaw that would have been slack, as no one spoke. The silence had a feeling of finality, and he knew what was ending. "Guard! Bring the prisoner to the forefront!" the president of the court barked. They did so-and then had to hold him there, as he refused to stay. They were mortified that he was forcing them to-he kept on rubbing up against them, and since terror had loosened both his bladder and his sphincter, he wasn't pleasant to be near. "I, as president of this court," the president of the court began, "hereby sentence one former commander of this navy, former holder of the scarlet ribbon, former member of the academy, former member of the crew of the TFS Ajax, former member of the construction group at orbital space yard one, former member of the crew of the Potemkin, and former member of the officer corps of this fine navy, to death. He is stripped off all rank. He is stripped of all privileges. He is stripped of all rights. He is stripped of all awards. He is to be stripped of his life itself, as soon as possible. As the presiding officer of this court, I invoke the Scurrelli clause. Members of the board, under the Scurrelli clause we may, should we unanimously decide, cause the immediate execution of a member of the military who has been placed under the death sentence, without consultation of a higher authority than that aboard the ship. Do any of you object?" None of them answered, though several looked uncomfortable. One opened his mouth then seemed to think better of it, and shut it. "Do any of you wish time to consider this?" One by one they all answered no, though they did not like this responsibility, they felt their duty to be clear. "Then as president of this court, I hereby schedule execution to occur this evening, and 1900 hours, directly after officer mess. All hands will attend, save those needed for standing watch, the repair crews required to insure the survival of this ship, and those whom are medically excused. I declare this court- martial ended, and I am again Lieutenant Commander Susan Scully. Corporal of the Guard, you are relieved and may resume position as commander of this ship's marine force."
"Court dismissed." Kane uttered.
* * * * *
Later that evening:
"Ah-ten, HUT!" Major Captain McGuillity, chief of the marines on board-and the executioner, bellowed. The officers and crew were in dress formation, and dress uniform, in the mess hall. It had been cleared of all tables and chairs, and the kitchen sealed off. Even with it cleared, there was not enough room in the mess hall, so everyone was standing shoulder-to shoulder, save a very few. Where the dais was for the nights were there was entertainment, an ugly looking set of poles had been set up. Two were vertical, several feet apart, and one was horizontal, lifted of the deck by the other two. At the points where the horizontal pole was attached was a set of loop eyes-large enough for a thick rope. In between the two poles was another eye loop, temporarily fused to the deck.
Captain Kane waited just outside, angered by what he had learned. That bastard had sabotaged his ship! He had deliberately set the shield frequency to one vulnerable to the enemy missile's radiation pulse. He'd almost certainly given the enemy the data to know where to target it, and it looked like he was the one that set it up to disable the engines. The only good news was that the technology he did it with, while it had parts far in advance of anything the Terran Federation currently had, the other parts were extremely crude in comparison to the Terran Federation's.
"This is an execution, ordered by the field court martial held today under the authority of the Scurrelli clause. All of you are assembled both as witnesses for legal purposes, and to see the fate that awaits traitors, and other capitol level criminals. Stand at ease." Major McGuillity then proceeded to explain the situation leading up to the court martial, the events of the court martial, and the decision of the court martial. "Presiding over the execution will be Captain Kane."
That's my cue, thought Captain Kane, time to execute Kirk. I've never had to do this before. I never dreamed it would be necessary before. Killing people in ship-to-ship combat was hard, but I'd thought this would be the same. Somehow, it isn't. As much as I want him dead, I don't want to have to do this. He walked into the mess hall.
"ATTENTION ON DECK!" Bellowed the ships Bosun as the captain walked in. He normally wouldn't have had it, but this was a special ceremony, and it wasn't to outline his power, but the Captain's responsibilities.
"Bring in the prisoner!" The Captain said. Kane knew he couldn't do it, not like this, but the Captain, his official persona, could. And would. Alfred Kirk was brought in, in full dress uniform. The doctors had been busy, they'd sealed up his bladder, and sphincter to prevent him from befouling himself-again-and cut his vocal cords so he couldn't scream. "Bring him to the scaffold!" Kirk was manhandled by the marines flanking him, two of them, up to the dais. Two more grabbed his arms, and pulled them out. The two that had marched him in grabbed his legs, and forced him to stand in the scaffold. "Major Yethic, Major Neliz, bind the prisoner to the scaffold!" They weren't majors, merely Marine Captains given a courtesy promotion to avoid conflicting with that exalted rank that only the skipper of a vessel could hold. They marched forward from their units, faced towards the dais, and marched up to the scaffold in perfect step. They took the ropes from behind the scaffolding, and then tied Kirk's legs together. They then tied the robe binding his legs to the loop in the floor. Finally, they each took on arm, and tied it to the loops at the upper corners of the box formed by the scaffolding. When they were done, Kirk was standing, arms held above the horizontal by the rope. The rope was taught enough that he couldn't move at all, and even if he relaxed he was still held in that position.
The Captain looked, and found it good. "Roll in the backdrop!" He ordered. Several marines rolled in the specially constructed armor plate. Until now, it had never been touched by weapons fire. Soon, it would be. They rolled it up to the dais, and then rolled it up the ramp at the rear of the dais. They placed it directly behind Kirk, not even looking at him. He was a piece of carrion to them now. "Major McGuillity! The prisoner is yours! Do as you will." The Captain barked the first two sentences, but Kane came through a little on the third, making it softer, more sad. Major McGuillity saluted, and then marched forward, halted, and right faced. He was twenty paces from the prisoner, and directly in front of him. "Alfred Simon Samuel Kirk, you have been sentenced to death. Private Matt! My side arm!" The indicated private marched forward, and handed the disrupter to him.
Padre, the ships chaplain, began intoning the rituals of Kirks faith. "Oh Lord God in heaven, forgive us, for we send off one of your own to your enemy. He has violated our laws beyond our ability to forgive, and dies outside a state of your grace. Patra selindra torkan, seledra rosstin Satan. Kor el vemas tre so gola meda to fortina, le doraga tentra." The last part translates, roughly, as Great beast Satan we give him to you. He is evil, and may strengthen you, but he is your spawn. Then, the universal refrain. "May god have mercy on your soul."
"Amen." The ships company replied.
"Crew: About-Face!" Major McGuillity bellowed. All the enlisted members faced away from Kirk, and the officers faced him. Major McGuillity raised his arm. A scorch mark appeared on the armor plating behind Kirk's chest, and his arms started to jerk, and then relaxed permanently. His head fell, and a nearby marine closed his eyes, which had been as round as saucers. All the officers and crew marched out, except for the captain and four marine privates, on their first tour from boot camp. The captain nodded and they cut down the body, and carried it to a nearby airlock. They couldn't eject it yet, but as soon as they hit normal space it would be.
Assuming they survived the transit into normal space.
Interlude:
A large force arrayed itself by the wormhole, with more pouring through by the second. A force lead by the three ships that first entered this space. They formed up, and headed towards the starlane their prey had taken...
