Chaos reigned. Lexxi could barely grasp what Connell was doing to her. He thought…love? Her? But she thought…
She suddenly realized there were tears streaming down her cheeks. Anger rose in her, flushing her face and tensing her muscles. She clenched her fists and couldn't draw a deep breath.
Lying! Thieving! Oh god, it was true!
Tell the truth…
No, just end it all!
Admiral Connell's voice echoed in Lexxi's ears. "I'll take her home, Captain, she will be punished."
Lexxi gazed at Kirk. He was staring back, not speaking. Her heart sank. His eyes were blank, his heart emanated betrayal and distrust. The love…the love was still there, but masked. She dare not search for it. She could not believe she'd dared before. She didn't deserve…
"Admiral," a deep, rocky baritone brought order, radiated calm, "I wish to question Lieutenant Montgomery."
"What for?"
Silence. Spock's cold glare could back anyone down. "I do not believe that what you are accusing is true." He turned to Lexxi. "Lieutenant, we were in telepathic contact in sickbay."
"Yes." Lexxi tried to control the quiver in her voice.
"You saw several things in my mind."
"Yes."
"And I in yours."
Lexxi nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"I submit to the court that from what I saw in the mind meld, Lieutenant Montgomery is not what Admiral Connell accuses her of."
Connell stood. "Now it's my word against yours, Mr. Spock."
Spock turned and said matter-of-factly, "Vulcans never lie."
"Preposterous!" Connell roared. "I've never believed that bullshit!"
Spock once more addressed Lexxi. "Lieutenant, what is the date of your birth?"
Tell the truth…
There was a pause, as it appeared that Lexxi fought to talk. "U…unknown, sir."
"Location?"
"Also unknown." The words came easier. The objections in her mind died down.
"What is your approximate age?"
"242."
Gasps swept through the room. Spock, however, didn't miss a beat. "Tell me about your childhood."
"My childhood?" Lexxi searched the Vulcan's deep eyes for understanding. He nodded and lifted the corners of his mouth almost imperceptibly. "Well," she began and looked down at her hands folded in her lap, "well the first thing I can remember is my mother teaching me how to read in our apartment in Queens. Only I found out much later that she couldn't have been my mother. Both of my parents were human and I …I wasn't. My dad played the guitar, the acoustic guitar, and he'd sing me to sleep at night. Until…"
"Objection!" Connell protested. "This is irrelevant."
"Quite the contrary, Admiral, this is very relevant." Spock turned back to Lexxi. "Please continue. Until what?"
"Until they were murdered."
"Lieutenant," Spock chose his words carefully, "do you remember your parents' murder?"
"Yes." The single whispered word was quiet and airy. There was a long pause and Spock prepared to ask Lexxi to elaborate, but reconsidered. Lexxi's eyes had glazed over and she was lost in memories.
With a sharp intake of breath, Lexxi pushed her thoughts away. She cursed herself for the lapse and focused intently on Mr. Spock, who'd begun to speak once more.
"Lieutenant Montgo—"
"Mr. Spock!" Lexxi stood. "I do not understand your preoccupation with my past. It's gone...I've let go. I assure you, nothing here is, in any way, connected to that. Let history rest in peace!" She paused only long enough to throw a heated glance around the room. "I'll give you what you need, Mr. Spock, to lock us both up and set your captain free. Admiral Connell transferred me to Earth because he was attracted to me. And he told me so. He said all those words a woman and trained to melt for. And, right on cue, I melted. He told me he'd get me a good position on Earth and we could be together. And I told her…told him about my differences. He didn't shy away or give me pity. He…I thought he understood. And now I kick myself for being so stupid. I arrived on Earth and turns out he had all these debts to these ambassadors and politicians. He sent me with them to help "persuade" their opponents. Yes, Admiral Connell knows all about my emotional manipulation. He exploited me. Always with the same line, "Just for me, cupcake, I love you. One more time for me, sweetheart, I need you." I swayed all those people with simple projection. I'm really good at that. But oh, not as good as the admiral, no, he led me to believe I loved him. All of that because he promised me…love. And now, my dear Teddy, it's an issue of your word against mine. Go ahead, Mr. Spock, lock me up." Lexxi, as abruptly as she'd stood, sat.
Spock only paused a moment before speaking. "Is that what you were to do in Caspia IV?"
Lexxi almost smiled. "No, ironically, it was not. I was supposed to die on Caspia IV."
"You were supposed to die?"
"Yes. You see, there was no civil war on Caspia IV. The colonists there were perfectly united. United in a mission give to them by Admiral Connell. A mission I didn't know about. I went to settle a civil war. Bu the Aldrin was attacked and I was captured. In fact, I never sent out a distress call. I didn't have the chance…and if they were willing to kill me, I was willing to die." Lexxi took a deep, shuddered breath. "And that's all I have."
"One more question."
Lexxi lifted her bowed head to look at Spock.
Spock lifted an eyebrow and cocked his head slightly. "Why should we lock you up?"