STARDATE 55228.88: Fourth Day of the Trial

"I was twenty-one," Keegan said. "By three years, the youngest in the department. You were how old?"

"Twenty-seven," Leslie Willis said. "And the oldest next to Nirrip."

"You had seniority, experience, training. Why that vote?"

"You had been the de facto head of the department for months," Leslie said. "Nirrip's plan to ease you into the team failed the first day. You were ahead of us before you began. We never got to a vote, not really."

"Did that bother you?" he asked.

"I love science too much for an ego. My first Chief Science Officer was only two years older than me. I remembered her as a student from the Academy. She made my head spin. Our field is saturated with child geniuses. Einstein published Relativity at twenty-six. I was glad for the chance to work with you. Nirrip loved you. He gave you all his grunt work and got twice as much of his own work done." She gestured at him with fervor.

"A child genius. That was what you thought of me?"

"Yes," she said. "I remember... I remember a task the captain gave us. I wrote a paper in the Academy on the use of plasma scarring to determine the stages of manufacture of different alloys. The captain told us to analyze a relic drifting near a white dwarf. I got the job and sent it to you for review. You corrected my theory and my original paper. You fixed my damn doctoral thesis! I could have kissed you."

Phil tried to hold in a smile. "Lieutenant Commander Willis, are you afraid of me?"

"Hell no!"

"Do you find the work I did suspect?"

"No, not at all."

"Why not?"

She puzzled over her answer. "In the late twentieth century, doctors wondered if they should use medical information gleaned from the Nazi Holocaust. Volumes of documentation existed on hypothermia and dehydration, and all that work done with twins. No one questioned the value of the material, only the source. Would using that information betray the victims or justify their suffering? The information was not to blame. A fact is a fact." She paused, clearly organizing her words. "I based my view of your work on the man I saw. I still do. I don't credit the genetic engineers with your ideas or the other eugenics. In all the time I knew you, I never saw you do anything that would harm another. I don't hesitate to praise you for the papers those scientists stole."

"Harm another? Like the crew of the Equinox?"

"Yes. You tried desperately to be the voice of morality for the department. You seemed obsessed with it."

"Objection," Commander Brown said. "The witness cannot know the mind of the defendant."

"Mister Keegan?" Admiral Pek said.

"I won't contest it," he said. "Lieutenant Commander Willis, what did you think of my efforts at morality?"

"I was amused by them. I thought you were trying to please everyone."

"To curry favor?"

"Yes. Before I knew you, I dismissed it as the enthusiasm of youth."

"And later?"

"Just a quirk."

"How so?" he asked.

"You told us things we already knew or already did. I guess I found it endearing."

Keegan said, "If you had found out what I was that first month in the Delta Quadrant, what would you have done?"

She sighed and answered quietly. "I would have demanded you be put off the ship at the first opportunity."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Commander, I have no further questions."

Commander Brown leaned back in her chair and waited for Keegan to take his seat. "Lieutenant Commander," she began. "What is your current assignment?"

"Chief Science Officer of the Madagascar."

Commander Brown read from a PADD. "I see you served well in that capacity aboard Voyager."

"The captain never complained."

"Were you happy to receive that position?"

Leslie looked down at the floor. "Yes."

"But, you believe Mister Keegan would have done a better job."

"Yes, I do."

Commander Brown walked to the middle of the room, reading from the PADD. "Who are the Vendite?"

"They are a race we encountered. They asked us to repair their ecosystem. Their sun had entered a state of instability. Solar flare activity had increased tenfold. It threatened the biosphere."

"Were you able to help them?" Commander Brown said.

"Yes."

"How?" the commander asked.

"I saw Phil at lunch one day. He made a suggestion."

"How much time passed between the assignment and Mister Keegan's suggestion?"

"Two days," Leslie said.

"Did anyone die during that time?"

"Yes," Leslie said in a soft voice.

"If he had lead the department, could he have prevented those deaths?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"There are other examples," Commander Brown said, holding up the PADD.

"I know," Leslie replied.

"In your opinion, were his actions wrong for a Starfleet officer?"

"Yes," Leslie said.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Commander."

"Redirect, your honor?" Phil said, standing. Chauhan nodded. "Lieutenant Commander, would you serve with me again?"

Leslie waited and waited, hoping for a good answer. "I would go to hell and back to read one of your papers, but I don't know how I would feel if I had to serve with you again."

"Thank you. No further questions."

STARDATE 50312.5: In Orbit Above Earth, 1996

He sat cross-legged in front of the window and watched India pass below him. He held a PADD that displayed his recent scan. Nine hundred and eighty-one eugenic signatures. Eighty-one signatures were below the age of five. In orbit, just past the horizon, two DY-50 series shuttles sat docked to the new space station. On the continent below, three DY-70 transports waited on launch platforms. Two DY-80 and DY-90 transports sat in hangers. On an island to the south, a favorite retreat for the Prime Minister, a single DY-100 stood in a bunker.

In two months, the war would begin. Captain Janeway told the crew to ignore it. They could not interfere with this history. Keegan smiled lightly.

"Burn in hell, you bastard," he said.

STARDATE 50472.37: Two and a Half Years in The Delta Quadrant

"Taida was upset," B'Elanna said.

"I noticed," Phil said. "I am prepared to open the primary computer panel."

"You are authorized to do so." She examined a control terminal closely. "Why was she upset?"

"You know why. I am removing the primary and secondary relay junctures."

"Proceed," B'Elanna said. "I think you make a nice couple."

"Thank you. I am now accessing the main library interface."

"Wait." She input a command code. "Proceed."

"I am now rerouting all secondary functions to the Auxiliary Core."

"You have authorization to proceed." She watched the data flow. "It was just dinner."

"No it wasn't. I am now inputting the modified interface protocols."

"Stop. Disconnect the tertiary relay juncture." She continued to watch the data until he completed the task. "You have authorization to input the new protocols. So what if it wasn't just dinner?"

"Stop it B'Elanna." He sat back while the programs loaded.

"What's wrong with that?"

"I put a woman in Sickbay."

She leaned around the terminal. "Some women like that."

"Taida isn't one of them. Neither is Lisa."

"There are techniques. My mother told them to me."

"Your mother?" he said.

"She wanted me to marry a Klingon male. She thought I should be ready."

"Is that a Klingon thing?" Phil asked.

"No, that's a 'my mother' thing. How did you do that, anyway?"

"I'm stronger than I look."

She examined the breadth of his shoulders. "Oh. Does this happen to you often?"

"Hurting women? I hope not."

"No. Women throwing themselves at you."

He sighed. "It seems like it. The fact is, few people in my family have been called unattractive." She nodded at that. "But," he continued, "I think it's cabin fever more than anything else. We need some kind of outlet. Once in a while, a woman will think I'd make a good outlet. They move on eventually."

"Why do you let them?"

He leaned back at her. "I don't want to hurt them physically or emotionally."

"That's a pile of manure, Phil," she said, her eyes on the control panel.

"The hell it is. How many women do I have to put in Sickbay to convince you of that?"

She looked back at him, considering a response. "Fine, it's your personal life, but some of the women on board are healthier than you think."

"Any suggestions?"

She watched him and returned to the panel. "Not just now. I think some women would risk a night in Sickbay."

"I don't like hurting anyone," he said. "No matter how much I might enjoy the experience."

"Ah-ha! Lisa said you were having fun."

"Up until the screaming began."

She tapped the controls. "My mother said that's the best part."

"Your mother is Klingon. Bruises are a sign of affection."

"They can be a lot more than that."

"What?" he said.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. You have authorization to return secondary functions to the Primary Core."

He input the commands. "I had a bad experience. Is that so hard to understand?"

"You're running, Phil. Leslie said the same thing."

"Please leave Leslie out of this."

"You'd make a good department head," B'Elanna said.

"Fine. I'd make a good department head. Find me a department."

She stopped completely. "Do you mean that?"

"Yes. Give me something really obscure, deep in the bowels of the ship."

"How far do you need to run, Phil?"

He lifted his eyes. "Relay junctures?"

"You're authorized to replace the secondary and tertiary relay junctures. Answer my question."

"I'm not running, per se."

Her eyes said bullshit.

"Fine. I'm running. Are you happy?"

"No. I like you where you are."

"You've never done anything bad?"

She considered her answer. "You told me once you were seeking redemption. You won't find it down here."

"I need to go down somewhere else for you?" he said softly.

"What?" she said.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"You are authorized to replace the primary relay juncture, and nothing else."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you at least going to the party?"

"No," he said. He watched her expression. "No." Her expression didn't change. "Yes," he said. "Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"We're not going to dance."

"The hell we're not."

"You're lucky you have a nice ass," he whispered.

"Damn straight," she whispered back.

It began with a game of darts. Someone suggested four teams; two Federation, two Maquis. Bets were taken. Everyone had fun. A joke was made. Another joke followed. A comment followed the joke. A harsher comment followed that. Two and a half years in the Delta Quadrant, and the crew was tense. For two and a half years, they refused to say what they thought. They refused to think what they felt. They refused to do what they wanted to do. Better it be done without phasers.

Phil claimed he had work to do. It allowed him to delay his arrival. He hoped most people would be drunk or exhausted. He could walk in, say hello, beat someone at pool, laugh and leave. Two minutes later, and security would have stopped him.

B'Elanna, screaming, "Damn Federation!" shoved an ensign against a wall and punched another in the stomach. Someone took hold of her from behind. She butted her head back and turned, fist forward, at any target.

Phil walked in the door. He registered the chaos and heard the crack of a nose breaking. He turned and, by pure instinct, lifted his hand. With a loud smack, he caught B'Elanna's fist. A dozen combatants nearby stopped fighting when they saw it.

B'Elanna stared at her fist, hovering in space as if detached from her body. She wondered, for just a moment, at the strength of the hand that held hers.

"God damn it, B'Elanna!" Phil said, throwing her hand down. "Why the hell do you have to be so Klingon all the time?" Security found him on his way out and ordered him back to his quarters. Now in an ensign's quarters, he had more room to move and more furniture to throw. He took hold of a table and tossed it backhanded across the room.

His door chimed.

"What is it?!"

It chimed again.

"Come in."

Lieutenant Munro stood in the doorway. "Why didn't you tell us you weren't involved?"

"I was going back to my quarters, anyway. I had no desire to make trouble."

"You sure as hell calmed down Lieutenant Torres," she said. She walked to the table. "Prefer your anarchy alone?"

"Are you off duty?"

"Computer, what is the time?"

"The current time is twenty-one, oh four."

"Yes, I am," she said.

"Do want to go to Sickbay?"

"Sickbay?" she asked.

"The same way Lisa Hununga did. I need to vent my frustration on something other than furniture."

She sat on the bed and leaned back. "I'm a little healthier than Lieutenant Hununga, and I know some techniques. Why are you like that, anyway?"

"You can have sex or questions. Not both."

She stood up and walked to him. "It's a tough choice, but I think those questions are worth knowing. Besides, I don't think you're at your best right now. You could try the 'Vulcan Love Slave'."

"I'll keep it in mind." He took hold of her and kissed her. "Do you like me?"

She laughed and pulled away. "Yes, that's why I'm here."

"Thanks, that means a lot."

She pondered him. "Oh yes, those answers are worth the wait. Do you need anything else?"

"Time on the holodeck alone."

"Do you want me to suggest a few other holonovels?"

"No," he said. "I'll find my own."

"The Computer Core? Are you serious?" B'Elanna said.

"As serious as I can be."

"Nobody goes to the Computer Core."

He shrugged. "You need someone there. I can do a lot with the Core."

She turned away from him. "Did you realign the coils?"

"Yes."

"Did you flush the vents?"

"Yes."

"Did I apologize about yesterday?"

"Twice," he said.

"How did you do that?"

"Healthy living."

"Phil—"

"Damn it, B'Elanna, what do you want from me?"

She struggled to find her best answer. "Okay, Phil. The approval process will take about a month."

"Thank you, and I'm sorry. I had a bad day. I don't like it when my supervisor tries to beat me up."

"I apologized. Twice."

"You're right," he said, forcing a smile. "You did. I shouldn't complain about it. Or that weak punch."

She pushed a smile back at him. "Weak is it? Take me to the holodeck, and I'll show you something weak."

He chuckled. "Take me to your quarters, and I'll show you something strong."

"That, Ensign, is insubordination and highly inappropriate."

"Yes, Mistress. Perhaps I deserve a good beating."

She smacked him across the arm. "Back to work, before I have you flogged."

"Not after?"

"No! Back to work."

"Yes, sir."

"B'Elanna and Tuvok speak highly of you," Chakotay said.

"Perhaps they are being kind, sir."

"B'Elanna and Tuvok? But tell me, why do you want the Computer Core?"

"I feel I can do a good job."

Chakotay crossed his fingers. "That makes no sense, Ensign. It hardly helps your career."

"I don't need to help my career, sir. I need to do my job and help get us home."

"You're not an Academy graduate, are you?"

"No, sir," Phil said. "I received a field commission from Mister Tuvok."

"He seems to think you're Maquis."

"Not even Mister Tuvok can know every member of the crew. Personally, I've stopped caring which side anyone was on."

"Commendable. I wish you were around during that brawl."

"I was, sir," Phil said. "B'Elanna took a swing at me."

Chakotay laughed. "You're lucky you're still standing." He read from a PADD and sighed over the material. "I see nothing in your record to indicate you are the best choice for this position. The Computer Core is a very important part of the ship. I can't randomly hand this out."

"I understand completely, sir."

"If it weren't for the recommendations of your former department heads, I wouldn't consider you for it at all." He read the PADD again. "Your history is very sketchy."

"I'm from a very backward world."

"That happens." He set the PADD down and thrummed his fingers across it. "You may not be the best I've seen, but you are the only person aboard to request the job. We do need someone in the Core, you can do the job, and Mister Tuvok trusts you. Pending review by the captain, you will receive your promotion by the end of the week. Congratulations."

"Thank you, sir. I will do my best."

STARDATE 55231.39: Fifth Day of the Trial

"Lieutenant Torres, why did you suggest me for the Computer Core?"

"I knew you could do the—" The sound of an infant's wail stopped B'Elanna. In the gallery, Tom shushed little Miral.

"Do you need some time?" Phil asked.

"No," B'Elanna said. "Tom?" Tom Paris carried his daughter out of the room.

"Lieutenant Torres?" Phil said.

"I knew you could do the work. I also trusted you completely."

"Did you ever regret your decision?"

"When you shut down my ship, yes."

Phil smiled. "Looking back over the entirety of my time in the Computer Core, do you believe you made a bad choice?"

"You did your job. You did it as well as I expected. You were one of the best computer engineers I've worked with. No, I don't believe I made a bad choice."

"How did you feel about the Quagaar?"

"More proof you weren't living up to your potential," she said.

"You were upset to lose me from Engineering."

She nodded. "Not as upset as Leslie, though. She begged me to send you back twice."

"Are you a better engineer than I am?"

"Yes," she said. "I am."

"But not a better scientist?"

"No."

"Do you like me?"

She paused. "In many ways, yes."

"Do you fear me?"

She stared and stared at him. "No, Phil, I don't."

"Would you serve with me again?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes, I would."

He picked up a PADD. "Were you able to find any traces of my commands in the computer after my protocol whitewash?"

"No, they were completely erased."

"Did you find any hardwired commands?"

"No."

"Are you certain?"

"Completely certain," B'Elanna said. "Seven and I missed nothing."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. No further questions."

Commander Brown stood and walked to B'Elanna. "Lieutenant Torres, I see you've distinguished yourself aboard Voyager on multiple occasions."

"Yes, Commander."

"Do you now consider yourself a Starfleet officer?"

B'Elanna touched the two Starfleet pips on her neck. "Yes, I do."

"Do you regret your time in the Maquis?"

"No."

"How do you resolve the two?"

"I haven't. That time is ended. I deal with it when I need to."

"But legally," the commander said. "All of you were given pardons."

"Yes."

"Why?"

B'Elanna looked at Phil, who could only shrug. He knew the question was coming. "We were given pardons, because we acted as Starfleet officers while aboard Voyager."

"In your opinion, did Mister Keegan act like a Starfleet officer when he added those commands to the Computer Core?"

"No."

"Did he act like a Maquis?"

B'Elanna stared at the commander. "No," she said slowly. "He didn't."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." The prosecutor sat down.

"Redirect?" Keegan said. Pek nodded. "Lieutenant, what would you have done if you found out what I was that first month?"

"Avoided you," B'Elanna said.

"If you found me in the Alpha Quadrant, before Voyager, would you have recruited me for the Maquis?"

"What?" she said.

"Would you—?"

"No," she said. "I don't believe any of us would."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."