Justine stared at her hands, folded, against the table. Wooden table, she said to herself. Don't faint. Don't faint. This is a wooden… table. I've got Counselor Troi to my right, Commander Riker to my left, and Captain Picard to his left. Breathe. Breathe. Keep breathing, don't throw up.

Riker shifted beside her. Oh God, she's going to faint. He'd had enough women faint on him to recognize the signs. He covertly slipped his hand inside his jacket for a barbiturate, and then passed it into her lap. She unfolded her hands quietly and felt for the hypospray, and then jammed it into her thigh. Riker heard her sharp intake of breath, followed by a sigh of relief. Justine's head cleared, a little, enough to raise her eyes as Miranda Bouley entered the courtroom.

Miranda wore a smirk, and a dark gray suit. She and her lawyer took their seats at the prosecuting table.

"All rise," the bailiff intoned, and Riker put a hand beneath Justine's elbow to haul her to her feet. "The honorable Judge Farah Marq presiding."

The judge entered, her blonde curls pinned severely against her head. She was frowning slightly as she sat herself into the judge's chair. "Sit," she said, brusquely.

Justine collapsed back into her chair.

"The prosecution may begin."

Miranda stood. "Your honor, I am about to present absolutely irrefutable evidence which proves that I, and I alone, created the organic android J357, also known as 'Justine Riley.' I created it from a mixture of organic compounds and synthesized nucleic acids. While it is capable of talking and walking, it is as much my possession as a computer, or a charming toy. I here present my signed and dated notebooks, clearly outlining every step of the manufacturing process. I have had seven independent patent lawyers certify these notebooks as sound and legally binding. You honor may peruse these at your convenience, these are all copies." Miranda passed a thick stack of notes to the bailiff, who gave them a perfunctory search and handed them to the Judge, who rifled through them, impassively. Miranda continued. "I'd like to play exhibit A, a video diary of the creation of J357."

The judge nodded, and Miranda pulled a remote control from her pocket, pointing it at the viewscreen. An image of Justine appeared on the screen. She was staring forward, vacantly. At the bottom of the screen was the stardate for June of four years ago. Miranda's voice came from off camera. "State your name."

"J357," Justine said, flatly.

"State your code name."

"Justine Riley." Just as flat.

"Diagonostic."

Justine spat out a long, long string of numbers, faster than humanly possible, ending with "All systems running."

"Initiate personality subtype 3, demo."

"Hi," Justine's face slipped into its wry, welcoming smile – the left corner of her mouth higher than the other. "My name's Justine Riley, pleased to meet you. Where are you from?"

"Initiate personality subtype 24, demo."

Justine teared up. "I'm sorry I yelled at you! I'm so sorry…"

Geordi, sitting in the public seats, flinched. Justine, at her table, was trembling. Miranda grinned, sharp-toothed as a shark. "You see," she said, switching off the video, "J375 is autonomous but fully programmable android. And, your honor, I would like to call it to the stand."

Justine paled to the point where she looked green. Riker put a hand between her shoulder blades. "Just like we practiced," he whispered. Justine nodded and stood, walking shakily around the table, trailing one hand across the wood for balance. She stepped into the witness stand, putting most of her weight on her arms, and lowering herself down slowly.

Miranda smiled, sniffed, and ran her thumb under her nose as she approached. "Tell me, Justine, what did you study at Starfleet?"

Justine cleared her throat. "I majored in starship engineering, and specialized in warp c–"

"Activate code 1, authorized Miranda."

Justine broke off mid-sentence. Her back straightened, her jaw snapped shut. Her head snapped up and forward, her eyes blank, her arms loose at her side. Miranda turned to smirk at Captain Picard and Riker, and then turned back to address the judge. "Your honor, this is a puppet, completely under my control. J375, stand."

Justine stood, robotically, still staring forward with the same blank eyes. "Clap your hands three times." Justine did, the sound echoing dully.

Miranda turned to the judge. "She'll break her own neck if I tell her to." Miranda reached inside her jacket and removed a phaser. Before the bailiff could react, Miranda placed it on the witness stand. "J375, kill Captain Picard."

Justine grabbed the gun, deftly set it to kill, aimed, and fired.