The prosecution is leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of the truth. Now it's Miss Shaw's turn to shine some light on the subject.
~Dr. M'Benga~
"Defense calls Dr. Jeffrey M'Benga to the stand." Miss Areel Shaw announced.
The court broke into hushed but excited chatter. Spock's side of the court gallery consisting mostly of the crew from the Enterprise was surprised by the announcement. What could Doctor M'Benga possibly add to the case? Even Spock was unaware of Miss Shaw's defense strategy. He had declined to testify on his own behalf and instead left the job of defending him up to his attorney's skill.
Dr. M'Benga's record was recited, and then Miss Shaw got to work. "Doctor, how do you know the defendant?"
"I serve with Mr. Spock aboard the Enterprise."
"Are you friends with the defendant?"
"No. We are colleagues in the science department and I have treated Mr. Spock several times for both major and minor injuries inflicted during the course of duty. But that is about the extent of our interactions."
"Doctor, are you familiar with the events that took place on the stardate that Spock is accused of abducting Lieutenant Uhura?"
"Not really. I only know what I have learned after the fact."
"Did you attend to Mr. Spock while he was in the sickbay that day?"
"No, I did not."
"Did you witness Mr. Spock depart the Enterprise with Lieutenant Uhura or the ship's Galileo shuttle?"
"No, I did not."
Mr. Wyatt stood to object. "Your honor, if it pleases the court, may I ask what is the relevance of this witness?" The prosecutor asked.
"Your honor, my client is entitled to a defense, and the doctor is a defense witness."
"The witness barely seems to know the defendant or anything about the incident," Wyatt muttered.
"Miss Shaw, please continue," Stone said.
"Dr. M'Benga, what is your assignment on the Enterprise?"
"I am an attending physician specializing in xenobiology."
"Oh, I see." Miss Shaw shared a conspiratorial smile to the gallery and then said, "In layman's terms please, doctor?"
Dr. M'Benga smiled in acknowledgment. "In layman's terms, my specialty is alien medicine."
"Doctor, an alien is a relative term, isn't it? Just who are these aliens you attend to?
"Yes indeed, alien is a rather inaccurate and human-centric term. Though the majority of the Enterprise crew is human, there are over a dozen non-human races accounted for among her number. I specialize in medicine pertaining to non-humans."
"And within that specialty do you have a further concentration?"
"I suppose you could consider me a Vulcanologist. I have advanced training in Vulcan science and medical practices." M'Benga answered.
"How did you obtain this advance training?"
"I studied at the Vulcan Science Academy, and I did a brief medical residency on Vulcan where I was trained by traditional Vulcan healers."
"May it please the court. Defense moves to have Dr. M'Benga admitted as an expert on Vulcan biology."
There were no objections, and so Miss Shaw proceeded to question Dr. M'Benga. "Doctor, you are aware of the charges against Mr. Spock?"
"Yes, of course."
"We've heard testimony from your colleagues, Dr. McCoy and Nurse Chapel, that on the day Mister Spock left the Enterprise without leave, he was suffering from an unspecified illness. Can you tell us anything about this illness?"
"Well, I didn't examine Mr. Spock at the time."
"But you are an expert on Vulcan medicine?"
"I wouldn't say I'm an expert. I just have some training in the field."
"Don't be modest, I'd wager you have far more experience treating Vulcans than the average Starfleet doctor?"
"I suppose so." Dr. M'Benga said.
"In your expert opinion, knowing Mr. Spock's symptoms, could Spock be held responsible for his actions?"
"Objection! The doctor is not a legal expert."
"Your honor, he is giving medical testimony not legal opinions."
"Miss Shaw, contain your questions to the witness's area of expertise."
"Dr. M'Benga, in your MEDICAL opinion, in his MEDICAL condition was aware of his actions?"
"No, I don't think he was. You see, Mr. Spock suffered from a fever brought about by extreme hormonal disturbances. He was uncharacteristically emotional because he could no longer control his conscious thoughts. He was operating on pure emotion and instinct."
"But if he was, as you say, operating only on instinct, how was he able to abduct a crew member and pilot a shuttle to Vulcan?"
"I don't know," M'Benga said.
"No further questions." Miss Shaw yielded the floor and Mr. Wyatt cross-examined the doctor.
"Dr. M'Benga, you say Mr. Spock was suffering from a hormonal imbalance?"
"Yes."
"Can you elaborate on the cause of this hormonal imbalance?"
"The cause?" M'Benga looked puzzled.
"Yes. What would trigger Mr. Spock to suddenly suffer from this hormonal imbalance that would cause the utter loss of control of his faculties?"
"Well, there are several conditions that could trigger it."
"Well, why don't you tell the court which one caused Spock's?"
M'Benga took a deep breath. "From the medical records I've seen, Mr. Spock suffered from a normal cyclical elevation of certain male hormones unique to the Vulcan race."
"Is that a fact? So this condition was something unique to Vulcans, it was not contagious or a threat to any humans aboard the Enterprise?"
"No, his condition was endemic to Vulcans."
"You stated you don't know how Spock could abduct a woman and pilot a ship? What makes you think that he couldn't?"
"I believe I said, I didn't know how he would be able to commit the crimes he was accused of while suffering his condition."
"In your expert opinion, can you speculate?"
"I cannot."
"Mr. Spock was under restraints in the sickbay that day and yet he managed to escape. Do you have any explanation for how he escaped his restraints?"
"Again I cannot say how he did it. However, Vulcans tend to be several times stronger than humans so it would not surprise me if he just used superior strength to free himself."
"Superior Vulcan strength, huh?" Mr. Wyatt looked shocked.
"Yes. It is well known that Vulcans on average have at minimum twice human strength."
"What else do Vulcans have that is superior to humans?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Well, for example, do Vulcans have any other superior advantages over Humans, such as better sight, hearing, etc.?"
"Yes, I suppose you could say some Vulcans have superior vision, and hearing compared to some Humans. But like Humans, Vulcans come in many different shapes and sizes, and abilities. There are some Humans who also possess superior senses and strength."
"Dr. M'Benga among these other superior abilities do Vulcans possess the power of suggestion?"
M'Benga smiled and shook his head. "No. Although some people believe their politicians do."
"You said no so quickly. Why is that?"
"I have never heard of any such power in all my years among Vulcans. Logic is their superpower."
"But if such a skill existed, I imagine it would be like the art of hypnosis. Couldn't they use it to persuade a person to do just about anything?"
"If anyone possessed the skill of persuasion, I suppose they could try. However, that power would still depend on the victim's ability to resist. Not everyone is susceptible to hypnosis."
"If a person were susceptible; could they, for example, be persuaded to leave the safety of their cabin, travel to another planet, and perhaps even marry someone against their will?"
"Objection. The doctor's specialty is Vulcan medicine, not psychiatry," Miss Shaw stated.
But a Starfleet medical doctor must be well versed in all areas of medicine including psychiatric medicine." Mr. Prosecutor countered.
"I will allow it." Commodore Stone decided. "Dr. M'Benga, please answer the question."
"Well, I suppose if someone were susceptible to hypnosis they could be persuaded to do some things within reason, like quitting a bad habit. However, with hypnosis, the subject remains in control of their body and they are aware of what's being asked. If you don't want to do something you're asked to do under hypnosis, you won't do it."
"Dr. M'Benga, in your medical opinion, why doesn't Mrs. Uhura remember the events from that night?"
"I don't know."
"So if we use your own description of hypnosis, Mrs. Uhura would not forget those events unless she chose to?"
"If she were hypnotized, and the suggestion to forget was put in her mind. But she could have had any number of reasons for not remembering."
"Such as?"
"Fever, traumatic brain injury, drugs, alcohol..."
"But there was no sign of that or any trauma when McCoy examined her on Vulcan."
"That is correct."
"Thank you, doctor. I think we get the picture. No further questions"
"Just a few more questions, doctor," Miss Shaw said. "In your expert opinion, could Lt. Uhura have been under any special Vulcan hypnosis or some other kind of Vulcan mind manipulation?"
"There is no Vulcan mind manipulation I know of that would make her do something she didn't want to do." M'Benga insisted.
"So as far as we know, based on the medical records available, Lieutenant Uhura married Mr. Spock of her own free will not because of any hypnotic trance?"
"That is correct."
"No further questions for this witness."