Fic: Observations, Ch 198
“Shit,” Leonard got up from his seat.
Those gathered in the conference room-Pavel, Sulu, Leonard, Christine, Giotto, M’Benga-were silent. The security feeds of my meeting with Scotty were on the screen.
“Did you feel anything when you pinched him, Spock? Any telepathic content?” M’Benga asked.
I clenched my hand into a fist, then willed myself to let go.
“Only a blinding thirst for slaughter and revenge. Evidently, the creature has encountered the captain in the past.”
“No. No way. No goddamn way in hell has Jim met anything like that before.”
“It named him specifically.”
“No. No. Believe me, he’s never seen this before.”
“It would not be the first time that the captain has not disclosed details about his past to us.”
Leonard looked away.
“Can we be sure that it’s not Lt. Commander Scott who’s just gone insane?” Lt. Giotto asked.
“You think Scotty could do this? Could be like this?” Sulu replied, aggressive edge to his voice.
“It’s happened to people before. You can’t be sure. People can get space dementia, the stresses of the job, and they just snap. He kept saying ‘red’-that’s the color of his uniform.”
“The color of his uniform,” Christine said. “I really don’t think that’s what he had in mind.”
“You can’t rule out the possibility that he snapped, in a big way,” Giotto argued.
“I can’t believe we’re talking about this. This is Scotty.”
“People change. Things happen. I’ve seen it before, Sulu.”
“Shut up. You shut the fuck up.”
“Lieutenant,” I ordered sharply.
He closed his mouth.
“Doctors, what is your diagnosis? Did the tricorder scans show anything?”
“After you nerve pinched Engineer Scott, we took some in depth scans of his brain. They all came out normally, with no indication of any change,” Christine brought up the images. “If he is possessed by something, it’s quite adept at hiding itself, or it might be triggered by something.”
“Maybe the monster is triggered by your presence, Spock,” M’Benga said.
“What?!”
“Think about it, Leonard. The two times it’s manifested, Spock has been the eyewitness. Not only that, but he gets away unscathed.”
“Sure as hell looked like Scotty wanted to murder Spock right there in the cell to me.”
“He didn’t have a weapon.”
“Don’t need a goddamn weapon to try and murder someone.”
“While your hypothesis is intriguing, M’Benga, two occurrences do not constitute a definite pattern.”
“And don’t be jumping into his cell again to try and test it, you green-blooded hobgoblin! You hear me?! Don’t even think about it or I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life!”
“Doctor,” I said sharply.
He glared, but closed his mouth.
“Hold on. These readings-you said that nothing changed, Nurse?”
“There was no significant change in the brain scans.”
“I don’t know much about medicine, but I know that you can’t take the absence of change and try and twist it to fit your theory. Maybe nothing’s changed because it really is Scotty,” Giotto said. “This is a serious security threat and given the knowledge he has, I’m not sure the ship’s brig can contain him.”
“You have several security guards keeping watch, Lt. Giotto. It is counterproductive to undermine crew morale.”
“He took on the captain. That suggests he can do major damage. I don’t want to lose any of my people, Commander.”
“A justified concern. However, as he is currently sedated in our high security cell, there is little else we can do.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Your arguments contains a fallacy, Lt. Giotto. If Mr. Scott has indeed gone insane, that change would actually show up in his brain chemistry, and we would even have a good chance of identifying the malady. The fact that there is nothing is worrisome and in my opinion, supports the Commander’s hypothesis.”
I nodded.
“Thank you, M’Benga.”
Pavel stood to the side, slouched and silent.
When this mission is over-
I push that consideration aside. Now is not the time. This case is my first priority.
“Lt. Chekov, report.”
He snapped to attention.
“There is wery little scientific on the matter of possession, sir, especially with the sign you are describing-fog. Previous cases in the Federation all involve telepathic control under some species, but there are no telepaths on Argelius. Most literature studying this is speculative, a lot is related to religion and stories of demons, the supernatural, if you are believing in that kind of thing.”
An expectant pause.
“I am sorry, Commander. I ran searches in all databases, but few articles were scientifically rigorous. There are many conspiracy theories about politicians being possessed. Lots of ghost stories. But that is all.”
“Then report what you found that was not up to scientific standards.”
“The basic idea is that there are spirits that can continue living, no matter physical or biological life or death. They are like pure energy beings, maybe like Organians, but many cultures are characterizing them with one defining trait.”
“What types of traits?” Christine asked.
“Anything. Love, greed, lust, wanity. Goodness. Most cultures believe they are ewil.”
“Like being possessed by demons,” Sulu frowned.
“Studies get wery psychological, no conclusive results anywhere.”
“But they are not considered to constitute an actual alien species as the Organians are.”
“No. They are not. Argelius is hafing no known species like this. But Argelian databases are shit. I found this out wery quickly.”
“Thank you. Lt. Sulu, report.”
“The Argelians want a trial. This has created a huge sensation because apparently, Argelians haven’t had a murder happen on their planet in about twenty of their years.”
“Really? A planet without crime? How do they manage that?” Giotto looked skeptical.
“It’s what Hengist claimed, the planet administrator. Personally, I don’t believe him, but that’s what their records show. Like Pasha said, they’ve got shitty records.”
“Just you wait. We’ll find some kind of underground detention center with all the ‘abnormals’ stuffed in. I knew this place was too beautiful to be true.”
“Dr. McCoy, if you could keep your comments relevant to the matter at hand.”
“Hengist’s from Rigel Four, kept talking about how if he were back home, he’d have a dozen investigators on it immediately. My question is, if they don’t have crime, why do they have such an efficient forensics team?”
Leonard snorted.
“He has a point. Their coroner was extremely professional,” M’Benga said.
“Anyway. He and their prefect, a guy named Jaris, want him tried on Argelius. They won’t take no for answer. Even threatened to take this to the Federation and make it official when I tried to suggest something else.”
Sulu’s skills in diplomacy have something to be desired.
“What do they want?” Christine asked.
“Apparently Argelians have an ancient tradition of empathic contact. That’s how trials run, and that’s ultimately how they determine the guilt of a person. Jaris’ wife happens very conveniently to be a judge.”
“Why’m I not surprised?” Leonard shook his head.
“What is the possible punishment if they declare Scotty guilty?”
“Hengist wouldn’t give me a straight answer on that, saying that he had to look in the law books because his memory was rusty. I think he’s bullshitting. I think they’re trying to figure out some kind of spectacular punishment right now.”
“There is still room to negotiate. He may be tried by their systems, but there are legal arguments we might use to ensure that his punishment is carried out by the Federation.”
“If they see him when he’s mad, they won’t want to keep him planetside,” Giotto said. “I can’t say I’d blame them.”
“We aren’t letting them get near him in the first place,” Sulu ground out.
“We may not have a choice.”
“Spock-!”
“I do not enjoy entertaining that possibility, but it is a possibility. They cannot, however, try him without accounting for my testimony as a witness.”
Sulu’s eyebrows went up in comprehension.
“I thought Vulcans never lied,” Leonard said.
“We do not. I will not obfuscate the facts. Simply use them.”
“And who taught you to do that?”
How did you persuade him to keep your secret?
He inferred that universe-ending paradoxes would ensue, should he break his promise.
You lied.
I- I implied.
“I taught myself, of course.”
--
“And the punishment?”
“A public hanging.”
Number One’s eyebrow went up.
“I have recommended that the Federation investigate the judiciary practices of this planet.”
“I will forward it to the appropriate channels immediately. And put Administrator Hengist under review. He has somehow managed to avoid the last two that were scheduled.”
I nodded.
“Your orders, Admiral?”
“Lt. Commander Scott will go to trial on Argelius. We have a solid argument against allowing that government to punish him. The standing agreement between Argelius and the Federation has some convenient loopholes. Whatever the verdict, they will have to be satisfied that the execution of justice will be left to our hands.”
“Understood.”
“You will stand testimony?”
“Affirmative. I am the only witness able to do so.”
“A trial within twenty hours of the crime. It is a very efficient court.”
“It would appear so.”
“I’ve seen show trials take longer to put together.”
“They are confident in their current system.”
“And you,” Number One’s eyes were assessing. “Are you confident in your theory?”
Despite the absence of conclusive evidence, despite the horror of the vision and feeling, despite Jim lying in a biobed still unconscious-Dr. McCoy assured me it was to facilitate the healing, despite Nyota’s skin grey and clammy, despite Scotty sedated in the brig. Am I confident in my theory? Am I sure of what I saw?
“Yes.”
“You have not had sufficient time to process everything that has happened.”
Objectivity comes with time and distance.
“I am Vulcan.”
Number One nodded.
“Very well. Commander.”
I looked at her.
“Be careful. One out.”
--
I stood outside the door of Judge Sybo’s chamber. She had requested a meeting, but would not disclose the reason why. Against my better judgment, I agreed to meet her.
A woman bumped into me.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she attempted to help me up. I refused her hand, but she grabbed mine, shoving a piece of paper into my palm. “I can never see where I’m going, I’m so sorry. Are you waiting for Judge Sybo?”
“Yes. As a witness in the upcoming trial, I was informed to report here for a briefing on how I should conduct myself.”
Jim is influencing my behavior entirely too much. That entire statement was a falsification.
“I’m so sorry, she must not’ve told you. Judge Sybo’s meeting with Hengist to go over the rules of the trial. It’s been so long” her emphasis on the word was strange “since the last murder trial. We Argelians are a little innocent on such matters.”
“What time will she be free?”
“I really can’t say.”
“That is unfortunate. Then I will return to the Enterprise. Please notify her of my visit.”
“Of course,” the Argelian smiled. “The exit is right down that way,” she pointed to a corridor that led to the side entrance of the building.
“Thank you.”
For reasons unknown, despite the fact that I had no security personnel accompanying me, I walked rapidly down the corridor. I made the pretense of taking out my communicator and slipped the piece of paper in the cover’s interior. Written were directions to a cafe.
I followed the directions, went to the specified table, and faced Judge Sybo.
“I apologize for this convoluted manner of meeting,” she said. “But I had to be sure.”
I did not ask her what she needed to be sure of.
“I am sorry that your friend will be subjected to a trial conducted by Hengist, but perhaps it is better this way.”
I still said nothing.
“You are Vulcan, Commander Spock. If I may?”
She held out her hand.
“You are an empathic reader.”
“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes I am an empathic reader. And I feel it all around me, the fear and evil. The fog, Commander Spock.”
“What do you know?”
“Little. Only that this case with your friend is not the first of its kind among us.”
“There have been instances of this before.”
“I do not know when the evil began preying on our land, Commander. But it was not always here. And now I am afraid. I am so afraid.”
“You are a judge, your husband the prefect. Why do you not investigate this?”
“How? How can we investigate? No, Commander. Our planet is not all it seems. But that man Hengist. I have no proof-nothing but feeling-but be careful of him, Commander.”
She rose to leave.
“Judge, do not-”
“I will not say more. Spoken fears have a way of coming true, here. Goodbye.”