A/N: Again, thanks so much for all the support! You guys rock! There is just one thing I want to make clear before we start this chapter: writing in bold with the little apostrophes ' ' around them are on Jim's PAD. Stuff that Jim is meant to be reading out-loud is in actual quotations! Thanks a bunch, enjoy!

Jim sighed heavily as he plopped into his desk chair. He turned his PAD on and opened a new tab on the internet. He didn't like the project at all and there was no way in hell his opinion on that man could ever be changed, but he was going to try in earnest to complete the assignment as required.

As much as he hated to admit it, Krestridge did have a point. There would be times when he became captain on a ship when he may be required to do things that he didn't necessarily agree with. Dealing with that in a professional manner was a good skill to learn.

'Okay Jim.' He thought to himself. 'You can do this.' But with his fingers poised over the PAD he completely froze; his mind blank. What did he type into the search engine?

He released a slow breath through his mouth before his fingers tapped over the on-screen keyboard.

'Governor Kodos-justification'

Far more links showed up than Jim felt comfortable with but he was going to do this. The first link he clicked was written by one of those psycho fans that, for whatever reason, fell in love with people made famous for their horrible acts. It just rambled on about the heroic actions of Governor Kodos and how strong he had to have been in that time of crisis.

Jim closed out the tab immediately and shoved the memories that were threatening to resurface with a vengeance back into the deep, dark pit from whence they came.

The next link was far more tame. The author simply made claims that Kodos alone knew what to do in that situation and he was the only one willing to act upon his knowledge. He mounted the rebellion against the government because they refused to listen and see reason. Yes, killing four thousand people was a hard decision to make, but Kodos had realized that was the only way the other four thousand people on that planet could survive.

Jim shook his head in disbelief. There were no facts, no compelling arguments that could justify murder. It wasn't possible. Still, this wouldn't be the first assignment he'd completely bullshitted his way through.

A third link yielded very much the same result as the second. People liked to simply take the words and excuses Kodos himself had used and reiterate them, spinning complicated webs to try and confuse other people into believing him.

"How's the research going?" McCoy's muffled voice called from behind his closed door.

"I can't believe there are so many people out there who actually think Kodos knew what he was doing."

"Jim, the world is full of crazy people. Deal with that, B.S. your way through yet another assignment, and move on."

"You make it sound so easy." Jim mumbled to himself, refocusing his attention on the web page in front of him. A link he'd noticed just before Bones had distracted him had caught his attention.

'How Kodos was framed: The true story of Tarsus IV'

Jim laughed softly as he opened the link; he honestly wanted to see what this author had to say. The title was so insane Jim found he was actually a little excited to read the latest conspiracy theory on Kodos, but as Jim continued reading, his previously lighthearted mood grew steadily darker, a storm of rage brewing just behind his normally cheerful blue eyes.

Not only did the current website claim Kodos was an unsung hero who should be commemorated for his actions and quick thinking, but the author also had the audacity to suggest the four thousand colonists who had been killed had somehow done something to cause their own deaths.

'Information from a very reliable source alerted Kodos to a growing force speaking out against him, opposing his new reign over the planet. Kodos had his men conduct extensive research and found the names of all those involved in the plot. For the security of not only his life, but the lives of the remaining colonists, Kodos sentenced all those involved to execution. Effective immediately.'

Jim had all but stopped breathing. He had known a handful of those four thousand people killed in the initial massacre, his aunt, uncle and cousin included. They had been the nicest, most gentle people Jim had ever had the pleasure of meeting. To suggest they were part of some secret rebel force that was plotting the eventual destruction of the planet was absolute insanity.

He should have exited the link right then and there, forgotten everything he'd just read, but Jim was too curious for his own good and he grudgingly admitted that the author of the webpage knew what they were doing; they'd grasped his attention completely. So, like an idiot, he continued to read.

Jim had just finished a paragraph detailing all of Kodos' beliefs on eugenics and how that would help save the lives of the four thousand colonists left alive when the header for the next paragraph caught his eye.

'The Band of Renegade Soldiers'

"What?" Jim spoke softly, gripping the PAD tightly in his strong, tense hands. In all his time on Tarsus, Jim didn't remember hearing anything about renegade soldiers.

"It came to light about a week after the rebellious forces had been crushed that a rogue band of their soldiers had escaped capture and were hiding somewhere in the woods." Jim's breath caught sharply on the inhale as he read softly to himself. Vocalized the lies of someone so clueless and careless.

"This group of renegade soldiers escaped capture and continued to attack Kodos' followers, robbing them of clothes, weapons, food, and anything else of importance found on them at the time of their murder." Jim shook his head softly; not believing what he was reading but wholly unable to stop.

'The rebelling soldiers posed a constant and ever present threat to Kodos and his reform projects taking place on the planet.'

"Are you kidding?" Jim scoffed. That author clearly didn't have their head screwed on tightly enough. Those children had never been a threat to anyone; they had lived three months of their lives in absolute terror, praying they'd live long enough to see the next sunrise but never daring to give in to the hope that they would.

Scrolling down a little further Jim's eyes widened at the picture that followed the paragraph. It was simply labeled: 'Rebel Leader at His Time of Capture'. And suddenly Jim was no longer sitting in his bedroom reading some stupid article; he was being roughly dragged out of the woods by two of Kodos' soldiers. Pain flared in his side where a phaser blast had just winged him. He glanced upwards and saw the street camera; he felt its electronic eye staring at him, through him. He had no idea that the stupid thing was still working, that it had just captured a picture that would become one of the most well-known from the whole disaster.

Jim gasped and dropped his PAD on the floor when a pounding on his door brought his mind abruptly back to reality. He missed half of what his roommate was saying simply attempting to get his breathing back under control. Something about the noodles in the fridge.

"I'll be right out." He called, wincing at the breathless quality of his own voice. Picking up his PAD, Jim exited out of all the tabs concerning Kodos with a vengeance, switching the stupid machine off and slamming it down on his desk so hard he felt the tremors up to his shoulder. He didn't really know what he planned to do, but there was one thing he knew for certain: there was no way in hell he was completing that assignment.

A/N: Hello again, just an FYI, I don't really know how phasers work. I mean, Jim could've gotten just clipped in the side, right? Well, for the purposes of this story, yes he could! ~Until next time!