The Court of Justice, Qo'noS, 2375

Trial Day 7

Tired and grumpy after yet another night without sleep, the judge paced the length of his office. Not that there was room to do so properly. It was a decent sized room, as befitted his rank and position, but right now it felt far too small. Momentarily, he considered going into the courtroom; its circular layout would allow him to burn off some of his restlessness without having to turn round every few steps.

He wouldn't have minded so much had his sleeplessness been the result of other more pleasurable activities, getting drunk for example or… an image of Marla slipped unbidden into his mind before he dismissed it as both irrelevant and inappropriate. Sadly, his lack of sleep had been caused by the bad weather… days of extreme heat, followed by that awful storm that had trapped them inside the hall of justice from early morning until almost midnight. Nor had the trial itself helped. The case was complex, and he had much to think about if he were to deliver a verdict that fitted the facts, complied with the law and satisfied his own sense of justice.

That the verdict must also satisfy the crowds outside was something he did not allow himself to consider. The jurisdiction was his and his alone and he would not be swayed by the presence of the news reporters and the protesters who had gathered outside. What did concern him was the leak of information to the press. Krahl scowled fiercely at the memory of that morning's newscast.

"…Koval of the United Qo'noS News Service, reporting live from the Hall of Justice. After a tense week of waiting, we have been given to understand that the trial of war hero Krang epetai Inigan is coming to an end and that a verdict is expected in the very near future…"

The camera panned away from the news reporter, showing the gathered crowds, some of them waving placards containing stark slogans written in both pIqaD as the written form of tlhIngan Hol was called, and Federation Standard English. … INNOCENT… JUSTICE FOR THE INIGAN GAMILY… NOT GUILTY… FREE OUR HEROES… They were being held back by security forces wielding electrified batons, not dissimilar to the pain-sticks used in the Klingon 'Age of Ascension' ritual but larger and much more powerful. So far, the crowd seemed to be behaving itself, but Krahl was all too aware of just how quickly a peaceful gathering could become a mob. He shrugged. If there was to be rioting, then so be it. That was the problem of Homeworld Security.

Resuming his pacing, the judge allowed his mind to return to the previous day. Still hungover after the marathon session the day of the storm, Krahl had kept the proceedings short, commencing sometime after lunch and finishing only a couple of hours later. It had been a day of explanations and summaries, questions being asked and answered, points clarified, and finally, the closing arguments. As was traditional, the Defender had spoken first, and he had had much to say, expounding loudly and passionately on the principles of honour and justice.

Treason, he claimed, was the absence of honour. More formally, it could be defined as 'the intentional betrayal of one's allegiance by levying war against the government or giving aid and comfort to its enemies', a definition which was valid with only slight variations in the wording, in both the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets.

"It cannot be denied," he'd continued, "that the defendant disobeyed what he believed to be the legitimate, although dishonourable, orders of the High Council. In refusing to obey, he was in full accordance with the teachings of Kahless the Unforgettable, who fought his brother across the Ketha Plains for twelve days and nights after he told a lie. Further, he acted in the best and most ancient traditions of our people. "Did not Kortar, the First One wage war against the gods themselves, fighting for the protection and benefit of all Klingons?

"At no point did my client ever betray his allegiance to his Empire or even to his family. His only crime, and I would argue that it was no crime at all, was to disobey the illegal instructions of a corrupt and dishonourable politician, acting in the best interests of the Empire itself. Krang son of Marek is innocent, and I demand that the charges against him be immediately dismissed, and an apology issued."

If the Defender had spoken with passion and rhetoric, the Prosecutor had focussed on cold, hard facts. He'd started by thanking his esteemed colleague for the timely reminder of just what constituted the crime of treason. "Let us break down that definition into its constituent parts," T'Bor continued, "beginning with 'intentional betrayal of one's allegiance'. In accepting the role of planetary governor, the defendant was seconded into the direct service of the High Council and hence, was legally subject to their orders, as well as those of Imperial Intelligence. The operations master of the time instructed Krang to obey his orders. Any intention otherwise was not communicated to the defendant and therefore the privately expressed wishes of the operations master may not be considered as a mitigating influence. Orders from both sources of authority were ignored."

He held up a hand, silencing the protests he knew were forthcoming. "It is true that the signature on the execution orders was forged by Chancellor Gorkon, rendering them illegal and invalid. The correct response would have been to query those orders and await clarification. The defendant did not do that. Instead, he took things into his own hands… which brings us back to the next part of the definition, 'by levying war against the government… or…'" T'Bor placed bitter emphasis on that last word before continuing, "… 'giving aid and comfort to its enemies'.

"There was no direct 'levying of war' but the Defendant did, by his own admission, defy the legally stated will of the government. Nor can it be denied that he met with the captain of a Federation starship, and not just any captain, but the war criminal James Tiberius Kirk! He met also with the leaders of the Terran resistance. He did not just 'aid and comfort' our enemies, he surrendered to them, giving them everything they wanted and illegally ending the occupation of Earth.

"There can be no doubt about it. The defendant, Krang epetai Inigan, committed treason and there is only one possible verdict – GUILTY!"

BANG! BANG!

Hearing the faint sounds of footsteps and voices, Krahl had realised that people were starting to arrive. Like it or not, he was out of time. Growling discontentedly, he stopped his pacing and returned to his desk, retrieving his formal cloak from the back of the high-backed chair where he had thrown it. He threw it over his shoulders, fastening it in place, and as its weight settled itself on his body, so too did the weight of his position burden his soul.

He'd made his way down the corridors, and satisfied that everyone was in place, he'd entered the courtroom, his footsteps heavy and ponderous as he crossed the hall and settled himself in the great, throne-like chair.

BANG! The heavy globe came crashing down for the third and final time, and with that, the court was officially in session. Not quite ready to speak, Krahl remained still, taking one last moment to gather his thoughts.

The silence in the courtroom was oppressive, the very air pregnant with expectation. To those present it felt as though time itself had stopped, even the torches illuminating the chamber seemed to have halted their flickering. Nobody spoke or moved, and it seemed as if the entire world was hushed, holding its breath in anticipation. This was the calm before the storm, the final moment before all that had transpired over the last week came to the inevitable conclusion.

The wait was almost too much for Chrissie. She had slept poorly last night, and when she eventually did sleep, her rest had been plagued by nightmares. She'd listened with hope to the speech given by the Defender, her heart lifted by his passionate invocation of Klingon honour and tradition. Yes! Her mate was innocent, and the judge would surely see that and rule in his favour. And then the Prosecutor had brought it all crashing down again, his words echoing those spoken by her husband during that all too brief interlude the night of the storm.

"…The chancellor and… and Meth…" she'd protested, "they wanted you to do what you did. That can't be treason."

Chrissie did not think she would ever forget his answer. "What somebody wants has no legal standing in any way. The fact remains that I chose to disobey legally given orders from a member of the High Council. Nor did I stop there. I went on to put an end to the invasion, taking the fleet back to Qo'noS without permission and under false pretences. There is no other word for what I did but treason."

Guilty! The prosecutor's stark words had lodged themselves in her mind, and in her dreams, she'd heard it repeated by the judge. "Guilty… sentence of death…carried out immediately."

Guards had moved forward, surrounding the dock and manhandling the prisoner into the centre of the courtroom before forcing him to his knees in front of the judge. They'd stepped back and he'd raised his head, turning slightly to meet Chrissie's shocked and terrified gaze. His dark eyes had been full of love for her. There was no fear, only a calm determination… and then… then the flash of a mek'leth, blade reflecting the flickering red light of the torches as it came sweeping down…

Chrissie had come awake screaming!

Standing in the witness area, Grenn aimed a concerned glance in her direction. Her face was pale and drawn, her eyes rimmed red and underlined with dark shadows. She must have been… crying, he thought it was called. It was an odd thing, but humans leaked water from their eyes when they were distressed or unhappy. Moving closer, he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, offering her whatever strength and comfort he had to give. She glanced up at him, offering him a shaky smile of thanks and returned her attention to her mate.

The silence continued, those present pondering the details of the story as they waited for the judge to speak. It was a tale that had caught them all by surprise, pieced together as it was, from the accounts of Krang and his wife, and the two witnesses, who against all the odds, were still alive to tell their tale. Supplementary evidence had been submitted from the historical documents in the Klingon archives, the personal logs of various participants, such as Kell, Koreth, and Meth. Likewise, the Federation had sent what little remained of their own historical documents from the time-period in question, as well as the logs of the Enterprise, Starfleet Intelligence and even the Department of Temporal Investigation.

Someone coughed, the hacking sound unnaturally loud in the stillness, and just like that, the spell was broken, and the world exhaled and began to move again.

Finally, ready to continue, the judge rose to his feet. He did not yet know exactly what he wanted to say, but he could delay no longer.

"Having listened carefully to all the submitted evidence," Krahl began, "as well as the closing arguments presented by my honourable colleagues, both of whom have made some very valid points, I have taken the time to consider all possible options and come to a decision. Before I announce the verdict, I will share my own thoughts.

The judge took a deep breath before continuing. "It is my opinion that time travel is incredibly dangerous. "As Klingons, the danger alone should not be enough to deter us from a given course of action. But we must take into account both common sense and reason, not to mention honour.

"It was Gowron's belief that changing history in this way would have led to the downfall of the Klingon Empire after the destruction of Praxis. Certainly, it is true that without the assistance afforded us by the United Federation of Planets, our recovery would have been delayed by many years, causing the loss of many more lives, and leaving us vulnerable to attack from outside. It has been theorised that the changes to the timeline caused by the success of the so-called Earth mission, would have created a temporal paradox that affected us as much as it would have done the Federation.

"We are not here, however, to speculate on what might have been, but to make a judgement based on known facts. And the fact is that the accused was given orders which he chose, by his own admission, to disobey. Furthermore, he then collaborated with the enemies of the Empire."

The judge paused and looked over at Krang, a long, thoughtful look. "I have one final question for you, Krang. In your long career as a Captain of Security, you have on more than one occasion been required to judge the guilt or innocence of prisoners brought before you. Tell me, son of Marek, what verdict would you deliver in this case?"

For several moments Krang was silent, considering the question put to him. From her place at the other side of the courtroom, Chrissie could only wait for him to speak.

Krang stared at his wife and the regret she saw in his eyes told her what his answer would be even before he spoke. He was too honest, too honourable to say anything other than that one terrible word that she was so afraid to hear. Desperately willing him to protest his innocence, even as she knew he would not, Chrissie reached out a hand to him, wordlessly offering him her love and support. The pain in her soul was unbearable as he turned away from her again to face the judge, the sound of the blood roaring through her veins almost drowning out his voice as he finally spoke.

"Guilty!"

A big thank you to RobertBruceScott and welcome back to JDC0 and Solasnagreine. Ive missed you both. Again thanks go also to my beta, Linny, without whom much of this story would not exist.

Comments below from Robertbrucescott for the previous chapter:

Loving the smug pronouncements of the Guardian - at once prophetic and puerile.

Also quite a fun bit of history with Koreth, Kell and the frustrated corrupt counselors. Particularly enjoyed the reference to the surviving gods or perhaps the terran god looking out after their ship and crew.

This chapter was a bit of a romp. Thanks! rbs

And below, from Solasnagreine:

Hi there,
I hope you are keeping well. Things have been more hectic than usual at work so I haven't had the time to read very much until today.

I have binge read all of the chapters I have missed, and I loved them all!

While I was more than interested in all of the chats, in the back of my mind I was thinking we really don't have time for all of this! Thank goodness for the punctured tyre!

Fina shines through, and needing to have a nap gives a sense of reality. While very exciting for her it must be overwhelming as well.

There are so many side stories, and back stories that you could write for everyone of your characters, it all leaves me wanting to know more about them.

What a stroke of genius on behalf of Krang's brother, going into the future was a great idea.

You know I was worried about Koreth, and the thought that he would end up dead by the hands of the High Command. Another stroke of genius, but this time on Kell's part. And for them both to survive the war 3

How you keep track of all the threads I have no idea. The different perspectives of people really help to complete the story.

My 'review' doesn't do your story much justice. Let's just say I hardly read anything these days, and I keep coming back for more!
Thanks :-)