Get ready for the Court Martial Chronicles! All our favorite characters from the ship get interrogated aka grilled and raked over the coals for the sake of entertainment. But first Spock will need some help to get out of this mess.

Lawyered-up

Captain Kirk arranged another meeting with Spock in his holding cell. He hadn't seen his friend and first officer since their 'disagreement' and he was unsure how Spock would react to seeing him now. Actually, he wasn't sure how to apologize for his uncharacteristic act of violence. His behavior had been uncalled for. Spock was just being his usual insufferably logical self.

When Kirk entered the cell, Spock was standing at attention and stared straight ahead.

"At ease, Mr. Spock," Kirk addressed him formally.

"Captain," Spock said and bowed his head. It was the closest to humble Kirk had ever seen his friend.

Kirk took a deep breath. "Look Spock, I'm so-"

"Apology accepted," Spock said before Kirk could complete his sentence.

The captain smiled. "You don't know what I was going to say."

Spock looked relieved and responded, "Yes, I do. And I must offer my apologies to you, Jim. My wife informs me that I have behaved like a self-sacrificing son of a bitch, which is not entirely inaccurate. But I assure you I had a good reason for my actions."

"Apology accepted. And Uhura sure does have a way with words sometimes. Luckily, I was not on the receiving end of her sharp tongue this time. However, she set me straight about your legal standing." Kirk grinned with a twinkle in his eyes. He was always glad to get one over on Spock.

"Did she, Sir?"

"Yes, she did. I've been made aware that the Lieutenant is now your legal guardian." The captain told him.

"Yes, it seems Nyota is more familiar with Vulcan clan traditions than I was aware of. I believe I have my father to thank for that." Spock said.

"I always did like that Sarek," Kirk said.

"No, you didn't," Spock replied, catching Kirk in a blatant lie.

"No," Kirk admitted with a sheepish grin, "No, I didn't. But I like him now. Sarek has been a great help to you since you ran off with Uhura and Starfleet property. He's the reason you're on Starbase 11 instead of in one of Komack's dungeons on Starbase 6."

"Komack doesn't have access to a dungeon and I highly doubt Starfleet would allow the mistreatment of a prisoner."

"Spock, must you always be so literal?"

"Yes," he said with a deadpan expression.

The captain shook his head. "Alright then, we don't have time to debate it. We've got to get you ready for your trial." Kirk made his way to the cell door.

"Captain-" Spock started to protest but Kirk interrupted him.

"Don't bother Spock, I'm taking my orders from Uhura on this one." He opened the cell door and an attractive female entered. "Mr. Spock, may I present Miss Areel Shaw, attorney at law?"

Spock stood at attention. "Miss Shaw, I believe we've met," Spock said as he greeted her with a Vulcan salute. "You were the prosecutor on Jim's court-martial for the death of Lieutenant Commander Finney."

Areel returned the gesture of greeting. "Yes. You are correct. Jim and I go way back and he has persuaded me to defend the innocent for a change rather than prosecuting them." She smiled.

"Do the innocent often need defending? Isn't a suspect innocent until proven guilty?" Spock asked.

"Actually, there is no such thing as innocent Mr. Spock, just guilty or not guilty. I'm not going to prove your innocence, I'm going to prove you are not culpable."

"I would think a man's innocence would prove he is not culpable," Spock stated.

"You sound like a man who believes in the system or his innocence. However, justice is blind. A trial is just two sides presenting arguments, trying to make order out of chaos. We argue degrees of guilt and culpability. Innocence has nothing to do with it."

"But the law metes out justice does it not?" Spock asked.

"Justice, like the truth, is subjective. Mr. Spock, your captain hired me to help get you exonerated of the long list of crimes you've been accused of. I don't care if you are or are not innocent. Guilty or not guilty is what the court will decide. My job is to make a convincing argument to mitigate the evidence being presented by the prosecution. Whoever has the strongest argument wins. Justice is a fool's game but rest assured I play to win." Miss Shaw informed Spock.

"Now, I am taking this case as a favor for Jim, but one thing I must have is your full cooperation, Mr. Spock. The things I may need to do during the course of the trial may be disturbing to one such as yourself who believes in things like "truth, honesty, and fair play". I may need to ask uncomfortable questions of you and your friends and expose private affairs. Your defense may require sacrifices."

"The practice of law is a game that requires strategy and sometimes you have to sacrifice your pawns to win. But I can assure you, Mr. Spock, that I never sacrifice my client's wellbeing in the pursuit of a victory. A win at the expense of the client's life is a hollow victory, don't you agree?"

"I do," Spock said, feeling flustered by all that was happening and everything that was at stake.

"And do you agree to the terms of my taking on this case? You won't interfere with my judgment or methods? You'll trust that I have your best interest at heart?" Miss Shaw asked.

Spock looked at his captain. Kirk trusted this Miss Shaw. They were old friends and she had proven herself to be an excellent prosecutor for the captain's own court-martial. If Spock stood any chance of preserving his career and protecting his family, he had to rely on her.

"I agree."

"Good." Miss Shaw pulled out a DataPadd and took a seat at a small table. "Now let's get started. Tell me everything that happened and leave nothing out."

Note: Okay. Next is a huge subsection of the story called The Court Martial. It's really, really long so I've decided to break it up into chunks. But it's all one long chapter.