Title: Family
Time Setting: At the end of Star Trek IV.
Codes: Kirk, McCoy and the rest of the original crew.
Summary: The crew contemplates their fate prior to the Court Martial.
Disclaimer: Star Trek and characters are Paramount's property, I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. Any original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author.
Copyright 2005
Chapter 9
Even though Admiral Kirk was the only one ordered to appear before the panel, his friends and crew mates went with him to the waiting room. The guards chose not to make an issue of everyone going with Kirk. Mr. Spock joined them shortly after they arrived in the waiting room. They formed a circle with their chairs and quietly talked about their interviews. Until the previous night, Kirk had been unwilling to even listen to their accounts. Jim Kirk had returned to his old self and was taking charge of his life and his crew was greatly relieved.
While Kirk and crew waited, the medical board members; Admirals Webber, Stevens, T'San and Captains Edwards and Lewis met to review the psych scans before their interview with Jim Kirk. "Admiral T'San, what is your analysis of the Enterprise officers psych scans?"
"Admiral Webber, after consulting with members of the Federation Council and reviewing Starfleet regulations, I established this panel was not given the responsibility of reviewing these scans. Regulations are very specific in regards to protecting Starfleet personnel. I will quote from Starfleet regulation 78/7 paragraph three. Unless a formal court martial is summoned, no Starfleet personnel other than their medical officer is empowered to examine a psychiatric scan without the consent of the individuals and their current medical officer. We are not a court martial and our stated goal was to determine why these officers chose to disregard orders in an attempt to rescue Captain Spock. " Admiral T'San leaned back in his chair and did not appear to react to the rage on Admiral Webber's face.
"Admiral T'San, I am running this inquiry and I will decide what evidence we need." Webber was beyond angry as he shouted at T'San. "I will send my own staff to obtain those scans and we will review them!"
"I don't think so, Derrick." The Federation President walked in during Webber's tirade. "I agreed to this inquiry to determine why these Starfleet officers made a conscious decision to jeopardize their careers. I also wanted to know if they were more loyal to James Kirk than to the Federation and Starfleet. Gentlemen your assistance in this matter is appreciated but your services are no longer required. Admiral Webber, you and I will have private talk and I will find out exactly what your purpose has been with this inquiry." The President had moved across the room until he was standing directly in front of the Admiral. Webber's face went from livid red to a pale white.
Admiral T'San interrupted "Mr. President, Admiral Kirk is waiting in the adjoining room for his interview. Perhaps he should be informed his presence will no longer be needed."
"An excellent idea Admiral, Lieutenant Spears have Admiral Kirk come in."
Lieutenant Spears nervously stepped forward, "Mr. President, you should know Admiral Kirk's command crew is also waiting with him."
"Excellent, now would be a good time to apologize to them for any discomfort or embarrassment which may have occurred. Ask all of them come in." The President leaned on the desk and ignored the glares of Admiral Webber as they waited.
Lieutenant Spears entered the room and stuttered a little as he informed the Enterprise crew, "Uh . . . the Admiral, uh . . . the President, uh . . . they will see you now."
"About damn time, I'd say," muttered McCoy. "Good luck, Jim."
"Actually, the President and the board want to see the entire Enterprise command crew." Lt. Spears informed them.
"The President, well, that is an interesting twist," Kirk looked at the rest of his crew.
"Indeed, Admiral." Spock was as surprised as the rest of them.
"Shall we?" Kirk led the way into the next room.
The President stepped forward and greeted Admiral Kirk with an extended hand. "Admiral Kirk, I would like to extend my apology to you and your crew. Admiral Webber was instructed to conduct an informal interview with you and your command crew to determine your thoughts and motives for your actions in this incident." Kirk accepted his handshake. The President starred at Webber, "No one was to be intimidated or accused of misconduct at this time. Weren't those your order's Webber?"
Webber defiantly refused to respond. "WEBBER," the President barked in a voice which would have made any Admiral proud.
Webber jumped but did respond with a weak, "Yes."
Kirk looked at McCoy and the rest of his crew. Their faces indicated agreement and Jim answered for them, "We accept your apology, Mr. President. But, I would like to complete my interview. I'm willing to explain my motives and thoughts about this incident."
"It is not necessary Admiral," the President wanted to close this inquiry as quickly as possible. He suspected Admiral Cartwright of being behind Webber's actions and he planned to pursue his suspicions with Admiral Webber. Cartwright had inundated him with suggestions and the common theme was crucifying Admiral James T. Kirk.
Admiral T'San interrupted, "Mr. President, with Admiral Kirk's input we could complete a report addressing the goal which was initially outlined for us."
"Admiral Kirk, if you are willing, I believe the officers will allow you to tell your story in your own words." The President turned to look at the officers, "With no questions. Agreed?" The Admirals and Captains nodded assent. Admiral Webber stared ahead and did not acknowledge the comment. The President moved to the side and motioned Kirk to the center seat.
"I would like my crew to stay," Jim requested. He felt they deserved to hear his story after the way he had been ignoring their offers of assistance. The President nodded his agreement and Spock, Uhura, Scotty, Bones, Chekov and Sulu moved to stand behind Jim Kirk.
"Before last night, I'm not sure I could have explained or answered your questions well enough to clear up why I . . . we needed to return to the Genesis planet." Kirk waved his hand to include his crew behind him. "Over the years, I have had to leave crew members behind on a number of planets. Many have died and we couldn't bring their bodies home. My son . . . ," Kirk paused to recover his composure, "My son, his body will never be brought home. I was not going to leave Spock on that planet after finding him alive. Over the years, there have been so many deaths. I know it is part of the service, but these people behind me are family. I would sacrifice my life for any of them." Kirk had everyone's attention.
"But, you want to know why we went to the Genesis Planet. First, Starfleet has never understood the Vulcan disciplines. Granted, Vulcans are not open about their culture but I knew after my initial request no one would listen. I knew with a certainty Spock could be alive. I also knew with a certainty, I was the only one who could go after him. Dr. McCoy had no choice but to go as he carried Spock's Katra. But even without the Katra, I know he would have gone." McCoy nodded in agreement. Admiral T'San leaned forward with interest.
"When it came time to find a way to travel to the Genesis Planet, I turned to my family for help. I asked them to help me get the Doctor and the Enterprise ready to go. I did not ask them to go with us. It was no surprise to me that they refused to stay behind. We did not jeopardize anyone but our selves. The destruction of the Enterprise tore out a piece of my heart. But, if we hadn't returned to the Genesis planet there would have been two more deaths, no three more deaths. Lt. Saavik, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy. We have decided to plead guilty and are willing to take the consequences of our actions. Our decision to disobey orders was the result of very unusual circumstances. If I could have made it to the Genesis Planet without their help, I would have. But I know they would never have forgiven me for not telling them what was going on."
Scotty stated, "Aye!" emphatically. The panel listened with interest to the obvious loyalty of the Admiral's crew.
"If you check our records, we have had to choose between orders and saving lives in the past. It has never been an easy choice. Starfleet made it an impossible choice by not listening. We are trained to be tolerant of the many cultures and customs we encounter but Starfleet command has lost their edge. It has been so long since they have been out there, they have forgotten there are more things in this universe that we cannot explain than those we can explain. If I could have taken the blame alone, I would have, but my crew over ruled me on that point." Kirk glanced over his shoulder at his crew.
"That's right, Admiral!" Chekov spoke for all of them.
"As for our actions, some things transcend our loyalty to Starfleet. I can't say I will never disobey Starfleet orders again. But, I don't think Starfleet wants tin soldiers who only follow orders. At least, I hope not, as Starfleet has too many ships who are out of contact and you need men and women with the ability to think for themselves and to uphold the ideals of the Federation. Above all else, we need to learn from our differences and grow from the experience."
"An excellent explanation of the Vulcan concept of IDIC, Admiral Kirk." Admiral T'San had dealt with emotional humans for decades but he could appreciate Kirk's obligations to family. Vulcans commitment to family was one of the strongest in the galaxy.
"If I had an opportunity to go back and change my decision to go to the Genesis Planet, I would still go. If that disqualifies me from further service in Starfleet, so be it." Jim stood and looked at every member of the board one at a time. He looked at the President when he asked, "Is there anything else you needed to know, Mr. President?"
"No, Admiral, I think you told them what they needed to know. If you and your crew will return to your quarters, we will see you tomorrow in the Council chambers. I would like to thank you and your crew for cooperating." Admiral Kirk and his crew filed out of the room.
The President called two security guards into the room. "Please escort Admiral Webber to my office and stay with him until I return." He waited for Webber to exit the room and then turned to the rest of the board. "If the four of you can put together a report for me with recommendations of any changes in Starfleet policy you can come up with, it would be greatly appreciated. Admiral T'San if you would head up the team, I would be grateful."
"Mr. President, one common theme throughout these interviews has been the need for family in the absence of your own family and the need to care for family. Vulcan ships normally carry family groups and I would like to pursue a recommendation for Federation ships to do the same."
Admiral T'San thought he had found a key element which led to the loyalty Kirk's crew felt for him.
"An interesting idea, Admiral. Analyze the interviews and send me the report but you should realize any major changes in Starfleet's policy as with any bureaucracy moves at a crawl."
"Indeed." Admiral T'San and the other members of the board gathered their data pads and followed the President.
Jim Kirk and his command crew sweated out one more night of confinement awaiting the decision on their lives and careers.
The Presidents' discussion with Admiral Webber were less than forthcoming with any information that was useful. Webber was adamant, he was only trying to find out the information he had been told to obtain. The President also suspected Cartwright's involvement as Webber was called away by an undisclosed emergency which needed his attention immediately. 'After tomorrow I will have time to deal with Webber and Cartwright, first I have to announce the Council's decision in the case against James Kirk. I wish I could let Kirk off scott free but that isn't possible. It still makes me laugh as I suspect Kirk will see a demotion from Admiral to Captain as a reward not a punishment. But back to Webber and Cartwright, if I have my way, Webber will no longer be the head of Starfleet Medical and Cartwright will no longer be C & C of Starfleet. If I can work it out, he won't even be an Admiral.' The Admiral packed his data pads in his briefcase and headed home for the night.