Chapter 16

Kirk recognized most of the hearing committee members. They were five in all. They all had come from the Earth in a short notice.

Kirk knew well that this investigation committee was merely the beginning of his troubles. An official court martial would be in order when they were done with this public interrogation.

But that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted it all to be completely public. He needed his crew to understand his motives for his actions. Not that He really cared for rumors; People could think and say all they wanted. But those words are knife stabs when it is your family saying those horrible things.

He couldn't afford to let his mind drift away again like so many other times since he woke up in medical center. He desperately needed his concentration. He looked closer at each one of the emissaries in a hope to get his mind to focus.

They were conversing among themselves and, from time to time, glanced his way. This was taking too long. Kirk shifted in his chair uncomfortably. It was unnerving. He read the name labels for the third time to distract his racing mind; Admirals Sulir, Diwat, Vennra, Benson and admiral Tirusia's right hand man, vice-admiral Rinsa.

Gordon was also present, sitting with Mr. Johnson, the base manager, McCoy and Spock and some other members of the crew in the back of the room.

Admiral Diwat, a middle aged Andorian, looked at him with piercing black eyes and began the questioning.

"This session will attend the recent disturbing events regarding the planet Niurex. Captain Kirk, please explain for the record the reason for your insubordination."

Kirk drew a deep breath, as deep as he could with his aching ribs. It was painful to speak, even with McCoy's painkillers. The captain had insisted on a small dose of pain medicine. He needed his head clear for this.

"I couldn't do it… I couldn't allow innocent people to die…"

Vice admiral Rinsa opened his mouth as if to say something. His face was crimson with the anger Kirk's words sparked in him. Surly he didn't believe they were responsible for any lives lost due to the lack of medicine or any other vital good imports.

But Kirk cut him with a louder tone, "The moderated, less harsh restriction plan had less chance of antagonizing them… it would have given them our continued support… a chance to overcome their economic problems… and yet they refused…that shows something important. That they already had their minds set on revoking the treaty. A complete ban would not have got a better reaction."

He was short of breath again and his tight neck formal uniform did little to ease his discomfort. The back of his stiff chair was grating on his half healed injuries. Nevertheless, he remained ram rod straight, motionless.

McCoy watched him with concern from where he was sitting, too far away to be of any help. He couldn't see his friend's expression and that made him even more anxious. 'The tri-ox isn't enough,' he thought with anger.

Kirk was not yet released from sick bay. He had improved considerably, but still, he was not off the medications. His respiratory system was not to its optimum. He needed more time to fully recover from those severe injuries, just like Spock did.

The half Vulcan had played the role of the difficult patient he was fond of so well that in a matter of three hours after he came out of his healing trance, the doctor just wanted him out of his hair. It was of course against his better judgment, but some part of him knew that they all needed Spock right now, even though he was not practically fit to be even out of bed. So, he was now sitting next to the passive looking first officer and was trying, unsuccessfully, to imitate his calm front. And that was definitely a facade, McCoy knew Spock well enough not to be so easily fooled.

The doctor just wished he had made Kirk rest more this past twenty four hours. He looked meaningfully towards Spock, who returned it with as much encouragement as he could possibly allow himself to show.

McCoy's precarious attention shifted back to the center of the room.

Ambassador Sulir, a short and overweighed man, was continuing the questioning with an explosive tone.

"You didn't know that! The restriction plan was the only way we had to stop that dictatorship. You did know the Federation would never support your faulty ideas. You did not have the right to change the message of the Federation! What if they did accept your offer? What then? You changed the terms for a huge interplanetary relationship. It could have started a major war if they found out you were a fake representative!"

"No, admiral. That is not what I did. I merely promised them, on behalf of the federation, to continue to act as is our duty; to provide their more deeply needed provisions, to keep the planet from falling from the edge of the abyss they were standing on."

Kirk paused to catch his breath. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before starting again.

"This national disturbance was going on for far too long. That's why they were in such a dire situation. And the worst part is, it was happening … right in front of our eyes. The federation should have done something … before they become this much desperate for their basic needs. The federation neglected them in an indefensible way. That is the cause of their present calamity." He paused for a moment, "Admiral, we could stop this all from ever happening."

"What do you think you know, Mr. Kirk? You were not in the admiralty. What can you possibly know about something as delicate as deciding inter galactic relationships?"

"We already had evidence that the Klingons had a hand in the disturbances…but the headquarter did not deem it worthy of their attention!… I tried to emphasis on it… I offered other approaches…"

"Nonetheless, you had no authority to change the orders! Your action was disrespect to the Federation itself!" Sulir was almost yelling towards the end.

Rinsa spoke next, "As you well know, this course of action was planned in a committee of strategists. Not one man has the right to make such paramount decisions. Admiral Tirusia and his team spent over a year to organize this, and you destroyed all those hard work."

Kirk was livid. "Do you even know what the people on that planet want? They want this government to go. They are inconsolable. Unlike what you believed, they don't want reformation, they want revolution. No other way in their eyes is capable of getting them out of this dead end, and they are right. When a government starts killing its people, it is when said leadership is doomed to failure. This one tortured and killed its antagonists. What chance do you think it has to regain its people's trust and respect? None!"

Kirk paused again. It was becoming increasingly difficult to even breathe. His voice was already hoarse.

"Niurexians want a government of their own. They will never trust the federation again… if we force them to keep this government. And we did just that. We made everything harder for them… They can barely live on that planet now, let alone think… and plan a revolution. They cannot fight back. The government's defenses are unimaginably powerful for them. Also, the leaders of that planet provide us with false information. They led us to believe they have a perfect society. They managed to trick us so childishly, all because… there were short comings from our side."

"No man is worthy of freedom if they are not ready to sacrifice something for it. Try and always remember that. If they want freedom, they should fight for it. We cannot interfere in every private business of a planet."

"No. That's where you went wrong. No man deserves to live under that circumstances that we saw there. It was beneath the decency of man. The federation has the duty …to support innocent lives, not abandon them. And certainly not make their living condition worse. We had to help them. My offer was a message to the people… that we don't want you to suffer, even if we have to stop helping your government and that will make things harder for you.

"Their dictator leader was waiting for a reaction from the federation for a long time. And we did the one thing they wanted the most, reject them. We gave them a reason to walk out and shake hand with the enemy. They wanted to do whatever they pleased; they didn't want the federation's intervention when they suppressed their antagonist. They could have that freedom if they were part of the Klingon Empire. They just needed to convince their people that the federation has no good deed and the right thing will be to stay away from its exploits."

"You say that they were waiting for this event to take place. But can you prove it?" admiral Benson questioned briskly.

"…no. but-"

"Then how do you know they were co-operating with the Klingons at all?"

"We found pattern indicating the possibility of the Klingon's activity. We received unofficial reports from the civilians. But yet we couldn't prove anything. Not after what happened to our ship. "

"Explain"

"Four Klingon war birds surrounded the ship. Chief engineer Scott managed to beam back the landing party with some difficulty. The signals were weak with heavy interference. I assumed the Klingon's jamming signals can be accounted for that."

Diwat frowned, "You assume? You mean you are not sure?"

"We didn't have time to investigate it in depth. The source could have been on the planet. But one thing is a fact; the jamming signal had a definite Klingon signature to it, whether it was originated from the planet or not."

"What was their business there?"

"Governor V'sder mentioned they would find new allies. They seem to have many common grounds with their new partners. I anticipated some sort of negative reactions; even retaliation after the message was delivered."

"You mentioned that four war birds surrounded the Enterprise. Explain what happened next."

"The Klingon ships were only a part of the ordeal. The main problem originated from the planet itself."

"The planet?"

"Seconds after the first shots were exchanged, a powerful tractor beam started to pull the ship into the atmosphere. We lost almost all our maneuver capability and sustained heavy damage. By the time we broke free, we had minimum shielding and the matter- antimatter chamber was overheated. It was only with the crew's experience and well-timed maneuvers that we managed to defend ourselves."

"But why didn't you contact for help immediately?"

"The jamming signal prevented us from doing so. I knew the Statder was already on its way. We counted on this for extra protection for the evacuating crew."

There was a long pause. Then the admirals started to converse among themselves. A few long minute passed before any of them spoke again. It was the Vice admiral's voice that silenced the rest of them,

"Mister Kirk, I have your psych file here in front of me. I can see that, with your history of experience with settlements on the verge of destruction, you were emotionally compromised. That's why you changed the orders. You should have notified the admiralty and resigned commission the moment you realized you cannot handle this. Your first officer, Mister Spock, had the duty to take command of this mission with the first signs of emotional distress. I am asking for a new psych evaluation immediately for the next hearing session. Dismissed."

Kirk blinked unbelievingly.

What? Were they implying that he…?

The world was spinning. Strange. It spun a lot lately.

He felt a weight on his shoulder. He turned and saw McCoy and Spock behind him.