"The third charge…and perhaps the most severe of them all…is another severe breach in Starfleet protocol…security protocol to be exact," he added, glancing at Lieutenant Ada Marquet.  Ada did not look down in shame…she simply continued to stare at the judge.  "You just handed over all data you had in your computer data banks, including many Starfleet and Federation files, to a species called the Kiklar.  Although they did not appear hostile at first…they turned out to be…as well as technologically advanced."

That was after the Dragon launched from Hintaru dry dock.  If it hadn't been for Sarah, from the future…none of them would be at this trial today.

"The fourth charge is another breach of the Prime Directive," the judge added.  "Not to mention your crew disobeyed direct orders from you, yourself, Captain Harriman.  They brought together several species and attacked another species called the Rukarian in order to rescue you and end the Rukarian reign of terror on that sector.  However…your crew acted under field commissioned Captain Sarah Caft.  As she…is not here, the charge is dropped."

That threw a pang of pain into everyone's hearts, Vendar included.  Sarah wasn't here…because she sacrificed herself.  She sacrificed herself so that the Vorkalai's reign of terror would also end.  The judge did seem to respect that…but also couldn't ignore the law, not right now.

"The next charge is a breach of the temporal Prime Directive," he added next.  "The Dragon and a Class Four Tactical Borg Cube were thrown into the distant past of the Kalium galaxy.  There, you initiated contact and relations with another government.  Although you did so in order to ensure the past was not assimilated…the charge, I'm afraid, must still stand."

That's when Vendar remembered her current predicament.  The moment they came back to their galaxy…she lost her ability…to manipulate the Force.  She didn't know how or why, she simply couldn't, no matter how hard she tried.  It confused her…but more than that, it sort of frightened her.  If she had become more reliant on the Force…perhaps she would be very frightened…

"The final charge refers to the Dragon's actions against the Vendoth," the Judge finally said.  That elicited some commotion about the courthouse…  "You once again breached the Prime directive to help free a species called the Venshai, which caused severe confrontation between the Vendoth and the Federation…costing thousands of lives."

"These are the five major charges against you and your crew, Captain Harriman," the judge finally finished.  "How does your crew plead?"

Chris stood up from his chair on the far left of the jury stand.  He looked at his crew, smiled confidently, and then turned his attention back on the judge.  "Your honor…Admiral…on behalf of my crew, I'm afraid I must plead guilty on all charges."

She knew he would do that.  They were guilty of all of those acts.  The next step would be to prove to the judge and Admiral Paris that they had made the correct decisions.

He then sat down and awaited the judge's next decision.  After conversing with Admiral Paris, they both stood up and looked back at the jury stand.  "Very well, then.  Trial date is scheduled to begin in three hours, at ten hundred hours.  Dismissed."

With that, everyone else stood up, Vendar included, and began filing out of the courthouse.  Today was going to be a long day…

Chris walked slowly into his temporary quarters in the Federation Headquarters building.  He looked around cautiously, half expecting a Section 31 member to jump out of the corner at him with a phaser set on kill.

It never happened.

He almost let loose a sigh of relief as he walked in and sat down on the couch.  He shook his head and tried to clear his mind.  It was a mass of memories and feelings…  For the past three years, he had made these decisions that now put his senior staff on trial.

He started to finally clear his mind and relax…and let the couch absorb his body…

Until he jumped out of it and spun around to look at where the footstep sound came from.  There, emerging from the rest room of the quarters…was someone he hated more than ever.  Anger filled in him as he glared at her.

Rear-Admiral Cherise Shivar smiled at him as she walked around his quarters, staring at him.  "It's nice to know you haven't forgotten me," she said, moving her tight jaw very little to get very pronounced consonants and vowels out.

If she wasn't a Section 31 member…Chris would probably consider her attractive.  Just a little shorter than he was, she had shoulder length dark brown hair, dark brown eyes…and very sharp facial features.

"I never thought I'd see you again soon enough," she added, smiling, reveling in the anger she induced in Chris.

"I hoped I never would see you again," Chris replied bitterly.  He then corrected himself.  "Wait, I take that back.  I was looking forward to seeing you again…so that I would have an opportunity to take your organization down."

She laughed nonchalantly, as if his threat were immaterial to her.  "You think that you, yourself, could take down Section 31?  I'm just curious, who's word would they take…yours, a Captain on trial, or mine, a well established Rear-Admiral?"

"Goliath once said something around those lines," Chris commented easily.  "He thought he could take on any one.  What was one little man named David?  Nothing but a puny target to crush."

He let it rest at that, knowing that even Section 31 members recognized a story from such an ancient human belief.

She finally stopped walking around the room and looked at Chris, the even smile on her face never changing.  "We had an agreement," she reminded him.  "That agreement can still stand.  Section 31 can make you keep your command, your rank, and your crew.  Just do as we ask."

That was her mistake.  Although she did not show it on her face…she was afraid.  As was the rest of Section 31.  They knew that Chris could disrupt their entire operation with a simple report.  "I see.  So that after all the trouble you've put me through…you want me to continue to let your operation work?"

"To do otherwise would make us kill you," she stated, pulling a type one phaser from seemingly no where.  She aimed it at Chris and made sure it was on kill.  "You either do as we say…or some of our new agents that you don't know will kill you."

It was a bluff, and Chris knew it.  They had no new agents.  In fact, they tried to avoid gaining new members for fear of exposure.  They arrogantly thought they were saving the Federation…but in fact, they only reveled in the power that had been assigned to them.

"We can't continue to keep Federation security intact if we are disbanded and destroyed," she added.  "You would be hurting the Federation more than helping."

Chris shrugged.  "Perhaps…"

"So, what is your word?" she asked, leaving it simple like that…her smile never changing.

Chris stared at her for a moment, acting like he was taking things into consideration…then nodded.  "Very well, the deal stands.  Keep me in command…and I'll keep your secret safe."

She smiled deeper and nodded her head.  "I knew you would see things my way.  After all, I do outrank you."

The phaser disappeared as she moved towards the exit.  "I'll see you around…Captain Harriman."  With that, she left him.

He nodded in reply, despite the fact that she couldn't see him any more.  "You can bet on it…"

"This trial is now in session," the Judge stated, seating himself and reviewing a data PADD.  "Now as you all know, this court martial trial will also be used to review some other issues…"

Vendar expected there would be more, but she never guessed that they would be looking into those issues during the trial.  She mentally shrugged off her confusion and decided to concentrate on the trial.

However, the first person the Judge called to the stand…surprised her.  "We will first be addressing Lieutenant Commander Vendar Perkins," he stated, looking directly at her.

Her mouth went slightly ajar as she heard her name called.  She had expected that Captain Harriman would have been the first called to the stand.  Why her?

With some hesitation, she stood up from her seat in the jury box and moved out to the seat in front of the Judge and Admiral's platform.  She looked around at the crowd around her, wishing she didn't have to speak in front of them all.

Finally, she sat down, composed herself, and stared at the Judge, awaiting his first question.

He looked over his PADD some more, then looked her square in the eye.  He seemed surprised that she was staring right back at him.  An even look on his face, he began.  "Lieutenant Commander Perkins, it is my understanding from these debriefing records that after only three months you were given a promotion to Lieutenant Commander…as well as to chief of Operations.  Tell me…do you find your job difficult?"

Her nervousness seemed to disappear the instant he asked that question.  She let loose a small grin and shook her head.  "Well, to be honest…I don't know any other way of working as an Ops officer.  As you know, the Dragon was my first post.  Since the Dragon's Operations officer was waiting for us at Deep Space Nine, I had to perform the job myself from the start.  As for whether or not it is difficult…I don't really think so.  It was daunting at first, having to take so many reports on the general operation of the ship…but I'd rather know all of that than be in the dark about it."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, probably expecting her to have told him right off that she originally found it difficult, or even that it was still difficult.  However…the only difference was that she had to take in those reports, review them, make any changes to the reports, submit them to the first officer…and then do as the XO says to change anything or address any issues in the reports.  It sure as hell added to the work load…but when you're on a starship, and you have a personality like Vendar's, that really didn't matter much.  Kept her from being bored…

"Since you have been operations officer from the start, perhaps you can answer a few questions about certain decisions," the judge finally said, never breaking his even tone.  "For one, regarding Captain Harriman's decision about spreading Quantum Torpedo technology throughout the region of the Kalium galaxy you were in at the time.  What do you think of his decision?"

"Well…I wasn't present at the briefing when he made the order to do so," Vendar replied, starting to get nervous now.  She realized that Chris's career might partially hang on her next words…  "I can, however, say that I totally agreed with his decision.  To do nothing, to not spread the technology, would mean that we would be letting anyone we pass by die by the hand of the Vorkalai, who we knew to be a very powerful species.  That, more than breaching the Prime Directive, would have been a crime, against our very principles as Federation officers."

She let those words sink in, wishing she could say more, but not knowing what to say.  They all believed in his decision…all of them.  Although it was against the Prime Directive…none of them cared.  They were humans, and couldn't let others suffer and die.

The Judge, however, simply nodded his head as he wrote down a few notes.  He looked up at her again.  "Less than a year later, the Captain made a decision to assist in something else.  The Alliance had decided to completely annihilate an entire species, starting with their home planet.  Weapons of mass destruction are something the Federation does not tolerate, nor does it tolerate an attempt at genocide.  Captain Harriman, however, decided to once again ignore Starfleet protocols and assist, in fact by his own words, spearhead this operation.  What are your views about this?"

This she was also hesitant about…  "Well…the Vorkalai war had been going on for nearly a year.  Millions, maybe even billions had already died at the hands of the Vorkalai in that war alone, let alone what they had done to so many other species."

"So it was an act of revenge?!" the Judge interrupted, seemingly appalled.

Vendar's extra energy flared to life for a moment…  "I didn't say that, sir!"  She said sir with a bite to it.  "What I was saying is that they still held the upper hand in the war.  We needed to take down their home planet, their pride, in order to win.  If we had not destroyed their home world when we did, they would have eventually won.  They may not have been capable of building ships as fast as the Jem Hadar…but it was comparable.  We needed to strike a blow while we still had the chance!"

Her flare did not anger the Judge, he simply nodded and wrote down a few notes, never breaking his even face.

"So what you're saying then," he added, "is that had the Dragon not helped, the mission would most likely have failed, the Alliance would have been conquered, and the Vorkalai would have continued their wave of conquering?"