STARDATE 55242.35: Ninth Day of the Trial

"Are you ready, Mister Tuvok?" Phil said to the computer screen. On the screen, Tuvok gave a single nod. To the Vulcan's left, a middle aged man scowled and shook his head, not lifting his eyes to the display. "Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. Please remove the dedication plaque." Tuvok took a step toward the plaque, a molecular welder in hand.

"Your honors, this is not necessary," the middle aged man said. He pointed to the plaque and the names that covered it. "Those men and women were heroes."

"That may not be the case," Admiral T'Lara said. "We have a responsibility to the truth, Mister Gladstone. Mister Tuvok, remove the dedication plaque."

Tuvok placed the tip of the welder to the first rivet. The plaque he touched read "S.S. Valkyrie, First of the DY-50 Transports, Launch Date July 8, 1990". Names of human engineers, etched into the metal, covered the space below the date. Tuvok separated each rivet from the wall and peeled away the plate. Signatures eight columns wide and twenty rows deep filled the smooth square of metal behind the plaque.

"Computer," Phil said. "Focus in on the signature in the second column, third up from the bottom."

The view on the courtroom display zoomed in. The members of the court struggled to read the grotesque handwriting. Only the "P", the "h" and the "K" could be easily identified.

"That will be all," Admiral Chauhan said, and the display zoomed out. "Thank you, Mister Gladstone."

The curator of the Utopia Planitia Museum responded by taking the plaque from Tuvok and leaving.

STARDATE 54874.88: One Month Before Voyager's Return to the Alpha Quadrant

"All of them?" Phil said.

"Yes," Crewman Chell responded. He set down a plate and glass.

"Instead of colonizing the nearest Class-M planet?"

"Yes," Chell said.

Phil shrugged. "And all this time, I thought it was just Neelix."

He finished his meal, and Chell removed his plate and utensils. After Chell left, Captain Janeway walked in. She ordered the guards to leave.

"We're going to move you," she said. "We can't keep you in here forever."

"I was wondering when you would get to that."

"You'll be in one of the least used parts of the ship and still under guard."

"No replicator or computer access?"

"You'll have an independent computer, and food will be brought to you. We will also allow you some books and other personal items. But no technology. The computer will be sealed off."

"I'm not going to do anything."

"I know," she said. "I wish you would sometimes."

"Is it really that bad out there?" he asked.

She sighed. "Where you're concerned, it is. You're creating a new rift. Some of your friends have gotten into fights."

"I'm sorry. I don't want that."

"What do you really want?" Janeway asked.

"Revenge against Khan for what he did to me, and I want my siblings to be remembered for the good people they were."

"What does that mean to you, siblings and cousins?"

"Same batch, siblings; different batch, cousins. Ten batches, one hundred to a batch. We called the genetic engineers our parents. Some of them probably were."

"I'm not surprised you have rogue scientist in your blood," she said.

"They weren't rogue. They were part of a large project that began in eighteen-sixty-eight."

"You mean nineteen."

"No, eighteen-sixty-eight. A scientist, a true rogue, started it after reading Origin of Species."

"We were told—"

"No," Phil said. "Only direct genetic manipulation began in the nineteen-sixties. Selective breeding began a century earlier."

"I wonder why we never knew."

"The selective breeding didn't produce emotional instability. Those scientists were arrogant but not at the level of Khan."

"Every time we talk," she said, "I feel a little of history destroyed."

"I could destroy a lot more, if you'd like," he said with a smile. "Human ego has always tried to make history and the universe fit its desires. The ego has always lost. Even for the best egos among us."

"Is that why you are the way you are? Do you feel your ego losing?"

"No," he said. "It's for a completely different reason."

She found she wanted to draw out the conversation. She shook it off. "We'll move you in two days. Give the guards a list of the items you want from your room."

When she left and the guards returned, one of them walked to him with a PADD. She watched him with eyebrows raised.

"Lieutenant Munro, how are you?" he asked.

"Should I shoot you or slap you?"

"You made your choice. You got your answers."

"Definitely shoot you," she said. "Maybe later."

Two days later, four guards escorted Philip Keegan to his new quarters. Tuvok spent the previous eight days on every small detail, insuring that even Mister Keegan could not escape the room. Unlike Phil's first trip through the corridors, no crewmembers watched him pass. The captain ordered the route off limits. Keegan, his hands cuffed in front of him, enjoyed the opportunity to walk more than three strides without hitting a wall. The guards, two humans in front and two Vulcans in back, walked with rifles ready but expected no trouble. At the largest intersection, the humans advanced, watched the length of the side corridors, and motioned the procession forward. When the Vulcans reached the intersection, a flash grenade and a sonic grenade struck.

Keegan dropped to the ground as the first phasers hit. He crawled to one of the stunned humans, felt around in the burning white and took his comm badge. Phil tapped it, whispered "Tuvok," and stuck the badge to his shirt under his tunic. A hand took hold of his arm and pulled.

"Come on," a voice said through the metallic hiss in his ears. The hand pulled him down a corridor.

He regained his sight just as they entered the access corridor to the Aero Shuttle. "Why are you doing this?" he said.

Sandra Donnelley turned and kissed him. "Do you need to ask?"

"Yes," he said.

"In my era, we don't stop caring for someone just because we broke up." She opened the hatch to the repair bay around the shuttle.

"I know. That doesn't answer my question."

She reached the ventral hatch and tried to open it.

"That won't work," he said.

"It worked yesterday."

"We didn't have a security lockdown yesterday."

"Don't worry. I know a few tricks." She took out what appeared to be a normal tricorder and removed a non-standard device from it. She set the device on the hatch control panel and entered commands onto it. The hatch didn't open. She entered the commands four more times. She climbed down the side of the shuttle and opened a panel. She removed, examined and replaced some of the components. "I have it all set up," she said as she worked. "I installed a cryogenic chamber in the Aero Shuttle along with a holographic engineer and pilot. You'll be back in the Alpha Quadrant before any of us. You'll be safe."

"I took them out," Phil said.

"The cryogenic chamber?" She moved to a new panel.

"The hardwired commands."

She looked up. "What are you talking about?"

"The hardwired commands built into the transfer nodes. I took them out."

"What?"

"What are you called?" he asked.

"What are who called?"

"Your organization," he replied. "In my day we called them secret police. What does Starfleet call them?"

She watched him with narrow eyes and a clenched jaw. "What did you say?"

"People today are very trusting, especially of Starfleet. No one would look for a department like that. You must find it very easy to hide." He smiled, as if at an inside joke. "Paranoia has some benefits over trust."

"You bastard. That's why you were sleeping with me."

He shrugged. "If it's any consolation, I broke it off when I started to like you."

"No, Phil, it is not a consolation." She raised her phaser. "You're getting on that ship and going back to the Alpha Quadrant."

"I want my trial."

"Starfleet wants you back as soon as possible," Sandra said. "The engineer has schematics from the Delta Flyer. She'll be just as fast when he's done."

"Starfleet didn't issue this order. They want to kick me out."

She said, "We're offering you a way to serve in Starfleet. Do you want to abandon that?"

"Yes."

She took a step toward him. "I don't care."

He jumped forward. The phaser struck his shoulder and numbed his arm. His other hand took the phaser from her. He bent it in half and tossed it away.

"I will stay here," he said.

She punched at him. His left arm, dragging his numbed right, knocked her hand away. She kicked out. He blocked with his knee and jumped back. She attacked with more force and fury, continuing to attack until Janeway and Tuvok arrived.

"Mister Keegan," the captain said. "Stop this before I stun you."

"I'm not fighting back," he said. Donnelley punched and kicked at him with great skill. He blocked her hits or took them when necessary. His face was bruised and he favored one leg, but he never attacked.

"Ensign Donnelley," Tuvok said. "I will not permit this."

She continued to fight. Tuvok fired a phaser between them. When that failed, he shot her leg. She dropped with a yell.

The captain tapped her badge. "Security—" she began.

"No!" Donnelley said. "You can't do that. Tuvok, starlight protocol, code Winslow eight-one-five. I commandeer this ship."

"Your code is correct," Tuvok said. "But I will not permit this. You do not operate with the approval of Starfleet. Mister Keegan was correct."

"What?" she said.

Keegan threw the comm badge to Tuvok.

"You son of a bitch," Donnelley said.

"Mister Tuvok," the captain said with a little sarcasm. "Could I have an explanation?"

"They are called Section Thirty-One."

"No!" Donnelley said. "You are not permitted to discuss this."

"They tried to recruit me out of the Academy. I declined, but duty prevented me from revealing them," he said. "They are Starfleet's espionage division. I do not know why they want Mister Keegan, but they are not autonomous. They cannot take him without Starfleet approval."

"Why is she on my ship?" Janeway said.

Tuvok said, "Most starships, especially the long range exploration vessels, have one operative in the crew. As Security Chief, I was made aware of certain commands. If a crewmember gave me those commands, I was required to allow him or her to complete one action without interference. After that, the crewmember would be immediately transferred."

"You are in violation of numerous Starfleet security directives," Donnelley said. "You'll be stripped of duty. And he—" She pointed at Keegan. "Is guilty of removing hardwired security commands from Voyager's computer system." She turned to Phil. "You're out of Starfleet no matter the results of your trial."

"I'm certain the new charges will be added to the list," Tuvok said. "However, if this is not sanctioned by Starfleet Command, both of us will be cleared of the charges."

"Ensign Donnelley," the captain said. "You will return to your duties in maintenance until I speak with Starfleet. You will be monitored. Those hardwired commands will not be put back unless I receive a direct order from Admiral Paris. You will not be allowed near Mister Keegan or any of the shuttles. I will maintain your anonymity, but this is my ship. You will not supersede my authority again."

"My orders—"

"Are irrelevant," the captain said. "Everyone has made sacrifices because of the Delta Quadrant. This is one of yours. Disobey my commands, and I will put you in the brig. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"No one will record this incident." the captain said. Donnelley nodded. "Mister Tuvok, escort Mister Keegan to his new quarters."

"Yes, Captain," he said.

"Mister Keegan," the captain said. "These grandiose performances of yours are growing tiresome. Could you try to avoid them?"

"I will do my best, sir."

"I can't ask for more than that."

One month later, as Philip Keegan sat at his computer composing a new paper, the intercom chimed. "Lieutenant, you have a visitor," a guard said. "Step away from the door."

Without looking up, he replied, "I am."

The door slid open, and a security officer stepped in with his rifle raised. He aimed the rifle at Keegan, waited to see if the eugenic would move, then nodded to someone outside. Admiral Kathryn Janeway walked into the room, crossed to a chair and sat down. The security officer, phaser still aimed at Keegan, stepped back, and the door closed. The admiral sat and waited, legs crossed, until Keegan finished his paragraph.

"Admiral Janeway?" he said, turning to her. "Admiral. What can I do for you?"

With age, the natural gravel of her voice had turned to a rasp. But it still held all of its strength. "It's good to see you again, Phil."

"Am I dead?"

"No. You were in prison."

"I lost?" he asked.

"Yes. You were discharged and imprisoned for ten years."

"Am I out?"

"No," she said. "You were granted a special pardon after five years. I haven't seen you since."

"Section Thirty-One," he said. She nodded. "I must have been very desperate."

"You loved Starfleet. In five years, you became my Chief Science Officer. Leslie Willis stepped aside so fast, I thought she hurt something. You served well. I promoted you to Lieutenant Commander. Every last one of us testified for you, those two out there included. It didn't mean a damn thing."

Phil shrugged. "They had more time to prepare their case."

"That wasn't it. You always told me you had an ace in the hole, but you were afraid to use it."

"Not afraid, Admiral, I'm not sure it would be right for a Starfleet officer to do something like that."

"You never told me what it was," she said.

"I don't think you'd like it."

"I hate it when you say that."

He felt the need to chuckle. "I'm proud of my counterpart. I'm glad he didn't use it."

"He couldn't," she said. He tilted his head at her. "We were still five years from home. We were in the Alpha Quadrant but not close." She sighed around the memories. "The Borg attacked the Federation. Starfleet ordered you into Astrometrics. We set up a replicator, a bathroom, a shower, a bed, everything for you. You were there for a month without communication. Just you and Pathfinder. When you walked out, you told me you were going to prison. The next thing we heard, the Borg had been defeated. The Federation was safe. When we returned home, they took you into custody before the celebration even began." She scowled at her memories now. "It was your ace, wasn't it?" He nodded. "You said you'd tell me one day. Why did the Federation abandon its savior?"

"They didn't," he said. "I don't know how to defeat the Borg. My counterpart did his duty, as a good Starfleet officer. I'm sure he knew the consequences. And Starfleet Command did their duty, as they saw it. I'm actually glad. It's good to know I progressed that far. I do thank you for the warning about Section Thirty-One and their special pardon."

"It will be different this time," she said. "The Borg haven't attacked. You still have your ace."

"Yes, and I must make the choice to use it or not," Phil said. "I must decide what is right for a Starfleet officer."

"You were the best Science Officer I ever had. That should tell you what's right."

"Unfortunately, I don't have my counterpart's years of service to draw on. I'm still struggling with the question."

"Your admiral is ordering you," she said.

He smiled. "My admiral is also breaking the Temporal Prime Directive. Maybe you didn't make me better. Maybe I made you worse."

"Oh, god," she said with a laugh. "I hate it when you do that. Promise me one thing, promise me you'll tell her one day."

"I promise."

"You'll be getting out of here. They need your help to install the new systems."

"No, they don't," he said.

"They do if I say so."

"Yes, Admiral."

"And, Phil," she said, standing. "If I don't see you again, I enjoyed working with you."

"Thank you, Kathryn. I enjoyed most of my time on Voyager."

She called to the guard and left.

Lisa Hununga stared down the short length of the Jefferies tube and watched Phil laughing over his work. "What are you laughing at?" she asked.

"I'm sorry. I can't say."

Lisa turned back to her work. "Written any papers?" she said.

"A few." Phil removed a shield control unit and replaced it with the upgraded design.

"I want to read them." Lisa pulled out a gel pack, injected a circuitry upgrade and replaced it.

"I'll send them to you." Phil replaced a panel, removed another and began disconnecting another shield control.

"You owe me dinner."

He stopped his work and inched around in the Jefferies tube. "You're right, I do."

"B'Elanna said you cook." Lisa continued working, never looking at him.

"Yes." He turned back.

"My mother made a very good sayadiyah."

"I know a recipe. I'll have to replicate the ingredients."

"Officer's Mess at eighteen-hundred."

"That may be difficult," he said.

"I'll speak to the captain."

He sighed. "I'll be there."

They crawled out of the Jefferies tube to a waiting security officer.

"I have him," the officer said. "Jefferies tube three, hatch b. Now moving to hatch d."

"Proceed," Tuvok replied over the comm.

Lisa stopped the officer. "Lieutenant Munro," she said.

"Lieutenant Hununga," the officer replied.

"Lieutenant Keegan is preparing a dinner at eighteen hundred hours. Would you join us?"

"I would be pleased to," Munro said.

"Very good," Lisa said.

"If you will proceed to hatch d?" Munro replied and gestured them on. Lisa nodded and followed close to Phil.

Four hours later, Phil distributed the plates of fish and rice, and Lisa poured the wine. The small clutch of diners in the otherwise empty mess hall waited with eagerness. Lieutenant Commander Tuvok and four of his security officers watched with phasers in hand.

"It's not how my mother made it," Lisa commented, sitting at her plate.

"It's my sister's recipe," Phil replied.

"Was she a scientist, too?" Leslie Willis asked.

"No, a writer."

"That was true?" Munro said. Phil laughed and nodded.

"May I read her work?" Jessica said.

"After the trial," he replied.

"Not much longer now," Tom said.

Leslie groaned. "Oh god, I have to tell my mother I'm married to a Maquis."

"You didn't tell her yet?" Jessica asked.

"It's not that easy," Leslie said. "She's a commodore."

"You told me you told her."

Leslie raised her eyebrows and looked for help.

"So, Phil," Lisa said. "What was your childhood like? We know so little about your people."

"The genetic engineers didn't think our development stopped with birth. We spent our childhood learning everything they could teach us."

"Wasn't that difficult?" Tadao said. "Not to have a childhood?"

"We didn't know anything different," Phil replied. "But I don't regret it. I still learn everything I can. Now I have a galaxy of knowledge around me."

"How many papers did you write back then?" Jessica asked.

"One hundred and thirty. Seventy-two were published by others. The remainder are still in archive. I also encoded twenty-six other papers into the written works." Phil smiled. "We liked codes."

"I hated your people," Tom said. "My mother's great-grandfather loved his captain. His anger stayed with my family."

"I'm sorry about Astrometrics, Tom. I shouldn't have done that."

"You're right," he said. "You shouldn't. What the hell. Family forgives."

Phil turned away from that comment.

"What was he like?" B'Elanna asked and touched her stomach. "My daughter's ancestor?"

"A sick bastard like most of them. He told me he dated human women as a hobby. He died early in the war." Phil took a sip of wine. "He was an electrical and mechanical engineer and built the world's first production model hydrogen fuel cell car."

"Llawdden Roche?" Tom said. "I didn't know he was a eugenic. Or that we were related."

"What about the other batches?" Tadao said. "Were they all like Khan? I mean, I'm trying to understand why you are like you. I want to be ready when I testify."

"I can't give you your answers, Tadao," Phil replied.

Tadao shook his head. "I need to understand you, so I can evaluate you, Phil," he said. Some of the others nodded at the statement.

"We're going to testify, Phil," Lisa said. "We need to know what we're talking about."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea for you, Lisa," he replied.

"Why not?" she said.

"I don't want them turning you into another Marla McGivers." The people at the table stopped eating and stared at Keegan. "What?" he said.

"We don't do that in the Federation, Phil," B'Elanna said.

"Oh," he replied. He turned his wine glass. "I'm sorry."

"A third of the crew has volunteered," she continued.

He raised his eyebrows. "That many?"

"You have more friends than you think," she said.

Jessica sipped her wine and said, "You told the captain the eighth and ninth batches also had emotional development." She let it hang as a question.

"Yes," Phil said. "The eighth batch didn't turn out well. They were mad geniuses. A hundred Fermis that seemed to be everywhere all the time. Only three of them survived to the Trials. One of them apologized for taking up everyone's time."

"That guy?" Tadao said.

Phil nodded. "Batch nine may have been the worst of them. They believed they were superior, but they were cautious. They picked their battles. Khan took only one batch nine with him. That didn't surprise me. Those two were always close. That war would have turned out very differently if Khan had been one of them." His voice began to fade and his eyes drifted to the gold distortions in his glass. "My batch did the best they could."

"Were they all like you?" Munro asked.

"No. My sister Gescilene was the best of us."

"What did she design?" Leslie asked.

Phil shook his head. "Nothing. She was an emergency room surgeon. She saved hundreds of unimportant lives, often waiving her fee. She helped anyone she could." He sighed. "She would have understood your world much better than I do. She would be so much a part of you now, you wouldn't care where she came from." He lifted his head. "She died six weeks after the probe took me." He returned to his food.

"I hate to say this," Munro asked. "But what was Khan really like?"

Phil's face solidified and he bent the fork in his hand. People stopped their movements, tried to be quiet. They watched Phil reach out and carefully set the twisted utensil on the table.

"He was a man who knew how to be loved," Phil replied.

They finished eating in silence. Everyone carried their dishes to the kitchen except Phil. Lisa took his. With the meal ended, he was required to remain visible to the guards. Tuvok ordered Phil to one of the doors. Lisa followed at a respectable distance. The guards at the door did not move.

"I don't believe any of it," the closest said.

"I'm sorry," Keegan replied.

Tuvok said, "Ensign, step aside."

The officer didn't turn. "The Nobel Committee is considering asking my family to return the medal."

"I'm sorry," Keegan said again.

"What gives you the right?" the ensign asked.

"Ensign," Tuvok said. "You will step aside."

The officer stepped back, and Keegan continued on.

As Phil passed, the second officer said, "You're just like him."

Phil turned so fast, only Tuvok could follow the motion. Keegan took the officer by the tunic and shoved him against the bulkhead, screaming, "I am nothing like Khan Noonian Singh!"

Lisa and the rest of the Science Department crew stepped back. Munro drew her phaser, and Tom pushed his wife behind him. Tuvok and the other security raised their weapons. Only Tuvok breathed normally.

"Lieutenant," someone said from the door.

"What the fuck do you want?!" Phil turned sharply and closed his eyes with a sigh. "My apologies, Captain."

"Put Ensign Kruger down," she said.

"I'm not holding him in the air."

"Then let go of him," she replied. Phil complied. "Thank you. I believe your dinner break is over."

"Yes, sir."

"If everyone has eaten," she said, "everyone should return to their duties. I don't believe we have the time for more recreational activities." She turned to Tuvok. "I'll have a moment alone with the lieutenant."

"Yes, sir," Tuvok said and followed the others out.

"I'm sorry, Captain," Keegan said.

"I don't pretend to understand you, Mister Keegan. This is not easy on anyone." She watched him. "Not on any of us. I need to know something. We are about to enter a most difficult area. I need my best pilot."

Phil sighed. "Your people never understood that. I am better than you in a lot of ways, but I am not better at everything. Khan would say that. I know I'm imperfect. Tom is your best pilot."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I believe you." She stepped to the door and called for Tuvok. Two new officers led Keegan away. What was it her counterpart had said about him? Too much and not enough. Damn it.