Return to Valjiir Stories
Five pairs of eyes looked up at the voice of their First Officer. Commander Spock stood beside the table.
"Commander...?" Jilla questioned, and Ruth realized it was the first thing the Indiian had said since sitting down. She studied the grey eyes, and couldn't face the icy emptiness. Goddess, Jilla, she thought, what is this doing to you? She came back to normal awareness at Spock's:
"I, too, have been relieved of duty."
Spock, too? Spock?! "Bwana..." she began incredulously.
"No, Miss Valley," Spock interrupted. "Commissioner Davis. Like all of you."
"A commissioner doesn't have the authority..."
"An admiral does. Bradigan apparently takes orders from Davis."
"What's going on?" M'ress said in a whisper.
"There is a simple term for it, Lieutenant," Spock answered. "Inquisition."
Ruth was staring at him, her eyes wide and growing wider. When she spoke, her voice was barely audible. "Shoah."
Arex, too, seemed to tremble with his own interpretation. "The Hysteria," he whistled dully.
"There are many precedents in history," Spock said calmly, "a great many of them Terran. Suffice it to say that we will be expected, as always, to go like lambs to the slaughter."
"Never again!" Ruth hissed.
"Caitians don't submit," Mrraal snarled, with M'ress growling in agreement.
Arex began in a low voice to tell about the Hysteria on Edos, and Ruth turned to Jilla. Jilla's hands were clasped tightly together, her head down.
"Jilla...?" Ruth began.
"It is deserved," she whispered.
"What?!"
"I am worthy only of..."
Several startled gasps from across the room turned Ruth's attention abruptly to the door of the rec room. The sight froze her in the very act of turning.
Sulu was at stiff attention, and behind him, in formal parade, were eleven uneasy security men, outfitted with full gear as for an intruder alert. In deafening silence they began crossing the room, heading straight for the table of non-Humans. Sulu's eyes showed helpless confusion, but when he spoke, his voice was the stern tone of official duty.
"Commander Spock. Lieutenant Arex. Lieutenant M'ress. Lieutenant Valley. Lieutenant Mrraal. Lieutenant Majiir. I regret to inform you that I am under orders to confine you to quarters."
Spock's eyes closed briefly. M'ress and Mrraal growled, M'ress dismayed, Mrraal angry. Arex's head bobbed incredulously on his long, thin neck. Ruth hissed, "I haven't done anything!" as Jilla tried in vain to catch and hold Sulu's eyes, her plea of his name unvoiced.
"Please, don't make it any harder than it already is," Sulu murmured.
"Why, Lieutenant?" Spock asked coldly. "On what charges are we confined?"
Sulu swallowed. "I haven't been told, sir. If you will accompany the guards..."
"Sumin tu," Jilla managed, her voice a fear-filled rasp.
"Not without official charges! You can't just..." Ruth began. Her words choked off.
"I have my orders, Lieutenant," Sulu interrupted. "Please, I don't want a scene..."
"You're going to get one!" Ruth nearly screamed. She lunged forward and was stopped by Spock's quick grasp on her arm. But Sulu's reflexes were faster, and the stun from his phaser hit Ruth, traveling like a shock wave through Spock's arm. Ruth fell, Spock was thrown off balance, grabbing the table's edge to prevent his own fall.
"Damn it, I didn't want to..." Sulu snarled helplessly, then gasped in surprise as Jilla suddenly threw herself at him, the force of her lunge knocking the phaser from his hand. It clattered on the floor, and Sulu shouted, "Hold your fire!" then struggled with Jilla's hysteria. She screamed incoherent Indiian at him, her eyes whirling terror. But more horrible was the desperate plea in them, a plea Sulu had seen before and had hoped never to see again, the silent cry of "damn me!!". The room seemed paralyzed as he desperately tried to tell her it was only duty, Starfleet orders, nothing more. She only battled more fiercely and finally, with a deep, anguished sigh, he nodded to one of the guards. He managed to break physical contact as a phaser was fired, stunning Jilla into unconsciousness.
No one moved. The security guards had all phasers drawn. Spock slowly shook his head to clear the buzzing pain, then bent to aid a still dizzy and disoriented Ruth to her feet. The final blow came with Sulu’s voice, haggard and full of despair though it was; "M'ress, Mrraal, you've been ordered to vacate your cabin. M'ress, you'll stay with Tara Ryan, Mrraal with Ramon Ordona."
No one heard the bitter, "God, I'm sorry."
"Mr. Sulu."
"Yes, ma'am," Sulu said. He sat facing the commissioners, weary, tormented and totally confused. What he had just done weighed heavily on him, and he was searching for something, anything to justify it. Orders, I was only following... But should I have been? Were they just? What the hell is going on? What does the commission hope to gain by this random, pointless persecution? He was almost glad to be going through his own ‘interview.' Maybe it would at least give him some answers.
"How long have you been in Starfleet?" He was being addressed by a small Japanese woman named Hashi.
"Including the Academy, nine and a half years."
"How long aboard the Enterprise?"
"Five and a half. It was my first assignment."
"Always under Captain Kirk?"
"Yes, ma'am." He cleared his throat. "Ma'am, may I ask..."
"How long have you been living with the Indiian?"
Sulu started at the change of subject. "Uh, about six months."
"You are known for your attraction to aliens, aren't you, Mr. Sulu."
His jaw dropped slightly in shock, disbelief, and a touch of insulted anger. How did one answer a statement like that? And what business of anyone else's was who he was attracted to?
"We have records of several brief affairs during your Academy years," the commissioner continued, referring to a statboard she held. "With an Orion houseguest of one of your professors, two fellow cadets, an Andorian and a Cygnian, a Vegan aide-de-camp of Commandant O'Conner..."
"Wait a minute..." Sulu bristled.
"Since boarding the Enterprise you have been sexually involved with a Caitian, an Antarian, and now an Indiian. So, Mr. Sulu, your preferences can hardly be disputed."
"I wasn't going to dispute them," Sulu growled, "I just don't see how they have any relation to any Federation security matter." And I didn't think anyone knew about Lieutenant Simtin, he added privately.
"Is the list complete?"
"What?"
"Is the list of these affairs complete, Mr. Sulu," the TerAfrican commissioner, Chanti, repeated.
"Is the list of these affairs..." Sulu began incredulously.
"Answer the question, Lieutenant."
"No, you forgot the Klingon, the Tellurite, and the brothel on Lorilei!" Sulu blazed in indignation, getting to his feet. "I don't have to stay and be subjected to..."
"Sit down, Lieutenant."
There was unmistakable menace in the man's voice, and Sulu stopped, getting his rage under control. The order of the day was cooperation. No wonder everyone who went through one of these interviews hated him. If he'd been escorted by Security to these kinds of insults and innuendoes...
With a deep breath, he turned and took his seat, glaring coldly at the commission. "A Klingon and a Tellurite," Hashi was muttering, checking her board. "We don't seem to..."
"I was joking, for god's sake!" Sulu burst out.
"This is hardly a joking matter, Lieutenant," Chanti snapped. "Their names, if you please?"
"There aren't any names." And no one needs to know about Kami. "I told you, I was joking. I was angry. I said the most absurd thing I could think of..."
"Lorilei, however, is..."
"Sir, how is my private life any of..."
"We are asking the questions here," Commissioner Hashi broke in.
Sulu bit back his anger. "Yes, ma'am." he said tersely.
"Now, as to your association with Lieutenant Cos-Majiir."
"It's just ‘Majiir,' ma'am," Sulu corrected.
"Yes," she replied, her cool gaze meeting his, and he became aware that it was no slip of the tongue or a mistake. She meant it as in insult to Jilla's marriage.
"Commissioner," he said carefully, "it is a personal relationship. I don't see how any of this concerns the Federation government."
"You will answer our questions, Lieutenant; that is all you need to know."
Sulu swallowed, fighting the urge to tell the woman in words and tones only she would understand exactly what she could do with her questions.
"Were you involved with her before this six months you've already admitted to?"
Sulu grinned without amusement. "Why don't you just say what you mean?"
"Very well. Mr. Sulu. Did you give your Indiian assistance in the Shas incident, such as looking the other way when it was necessary?"
Sulu laughed bitterly. "Hardly. I was as outraged as everyone else, and I was use--" He stopped in mid-word, seeing the smug assurance in Hashi's eyes.
"I see, Lieutenant. She acted - is treacherous an appropriate word?"
"She had very good reasons," Sulu replied evasively.
"She used your attraction to her, did she not?"
"It was for the good of..."
"Answer the question, please."
"All right, at the time I thought she was treacherous, yes!" Sulu burst out in trapped anger.
"Mr. Sulu, let me assure you that you are not under any suspicion. Your type of dealings with aliens are understandable, and we don't condemn that..."
"What, exactly, is ‘that,' ma'am?" Sulu's voice was tight and hissing from between furiously clenched teeth.
"Putting them to their proper use - or at least what would be proper if you confined yourself to females," Chanti replied calmly.
"WHAT!!" Sulu was on his feet with the shriek of vehement outrage.
"We only want the kind of treachery you yourself experienced to be stopped before it goes any further, Mr. Sulu," Hashi said, more gently. Sulu stared, unable to give voice to the violent feelings of betrayal and hostility.
"You seem disturbed, Lieutenant," Belinkov, the TerRussian, said coldly.
Sulu turned on her. "Disturbed?!" He choked off the words, swallowing the bitter fury that was consuming him. His vision cleared as he took several deep, shuddering breaths. “I've loved a few of those ‘aliens,’” he finally managed, his voice as full of cold rage as Belinkov's had been of disdain, “and liked and respected the ones I didn't love. As for Jilla...” He took another deep breath, trying to remember that he was an officer, here under orders. He bit back the damning recriminations and simply asked, "Are you finished?"
Hashi sighed. "We hoped you would see reason, Mr. Sulu."
"I could say the same thing, Commissioner."
"Enough of this," Chanti snapped. "That will be all, for now, Lieutenant."
"That will be all, period, Commissioner," Sulu returned.
"You are still under our orders," Hashi reminded him.
"Bradigan's orders," he replied. "And officially under protest from this minute on."
Sulu spent several furious hours in the gym, trying to work out the aggression and anger, not wanting to bring it home. When he was exhausted, and saw that it wasn't working, he ruefully decided to go home and face Jilla. He could apologize for following orders, now that he knew what was behind those orders. He could try and comfort her terrible fear now that he knew what was driving it.
He entered his quarters, half expecting to hear her sobs. The absolute silence that greeted him was unnerving. "Jilla?" he called hesitantly. There was no answer. He knew she wasn't still unconscious, he'd asked M'Benga to make sure she was all right. He went to the sleeping area and found her lying, fully clothed, curled up as far on her side of the bed as she could get without falling off, staring, quite awake, at nothing. He shook his head in regret. "Honey, he began, "I know what you must be..."
"You cannot know," she said quietly.
He sighed. Well, you knew this wasn't going to be easy. He could easily feel the fear and tension of the crew and knew it was that much worse for Jilla. He moved around the bed, kneeling beside her. "You're frightened, and I..." he started again, reaching for her hand. She was up and off the bed in one swift movement.
"You mustn't..." she began, and her voice choked off. "I am... alien."
Sulu glanced at his hand, suddenly feeling that it was terribly filthy. "Jilla, will you give me a chance to explain?"
"There is no need," she whispered. "You have your duty and I am —" Again her words were forced back.
The anger he hadn't been able to work off was beginning to fill his head. What was she saying, what was she implying? "I want to anyway," he tried.
"No, I cannot... I understand, Sulu. You must not soil your Terran purity."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Sulu burst out.
Jilla winced, her gaze dropping to the deck. "This release from duty, and confinement... it is because we are not Human. You are. Your duty demands you be above suspicion. I - I understand, Sulu."
"Jilla, stop it," Sulu said, trying to keep calm.
"I will not - I cannot compromise your duty," Jilla stammered. "We must not... you must not... I cannot stop being alien. I cannot stop being dam- " She abruptly cut the word off. "I know it attracts you..."
"Jilla, that's not - " he began, then stopped. Of course. She picked up that notion from the commission. And it was feeding her own certainty of worthlessness. Sulu started toward her.
"... but we... you must think of your duty...
"I won't hear this, Jilla."
"...Sulu, you cannot, you dare not..." She gasped as he reached her, touching her arms. She shrieked in panic, "No! I am...!"
"Damnit now stop it!" Sulu shouted. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her with the same vehemence. She struggled, moaning, nearly screaming under the kiss and finally broke free. Tears streaked her face and she was glowing with shame.
"You must not touch me!" she whispered in horrified dread.
The rage flooded him, and he was again stepping toward her, intending to hold on and not let go until she listened to reason - and the intercom buzzed insistently. At the distraction, Jilla ran into the bathroom. Sulu swore, taking a deep breath.
"Sulu here," he answered.
"Mr. Sulu, you will proceed immediately to Captain Kirk's quarters and place Lieutenant Valley under arrest," Bradigan's voice said.
"What? Why?" Sulu stammered.
"Orders, mister!"
"What did she do!"
"Broke confinement, Lieutenant, and that's all from you! Move it!"
"But, sir..."
"You must, Sulu," Jilla's aching voice said as the com clicked abruptly closed. "It is your duty, regardless of who, or why or..."
"Damn it!" Sulu roared, then whirled and stormed out of the room.
Jilla watched him leave. Her shame welled up in her until it eclipsed even the fear that seemed to permeate the very air around her. How could she have condemned him, how could she have - even for love's sake - given to him her sin and blasphemy? What kind of love did she feel if she could stain him with her damnation? The commissioners were right. She was alien, and she had no right to so blacken another. She knelt before her Aeman shrine and wept.
"Daffy, I don't want to get you into trouble," Ruth said. She was standing directly behind her roommate. Daffy turned, surprised, and met Ruth's eyes.
"Since when..." she began.
"Go to sleep," Ruth suggested. Daffy slumped into Ruth's arms and Ruth lowered her onto the bed. "Sorry," she apologized and went to the intercom.
“Computer,” she said, “Patch me through to Captain Kirk’s office.”
“Unable to comply,” came the female voice.
“Why?” Ruth snapped.
“Voiceprint identification Valley, Ruth Maxwell. Status: confined to quarters. All communications blocked.”
Swearing, Ruth switched off the terminal. She thought for a moment, then walked to the door.
She had to see the captain. She had a right to know what was happening. It wasn't real, it couldn't be... but it was or she was going crazy. All she really knew was that she was confined to quarters, as was every other non-Human crewmember. Even Spock. How could Kirk let them do this to Spock?
The corridor outside her cabin was empty; she hoped it would stay that way until she reached the turbolift. Once safely inside, she requested, "Deck five." The turbolift did not respond. Surprised, Ruth realized that now the computer wasn't even talking to her. Her voice code was being used against her. Still she tried again. "Deck five," she said clearly and firmly. Nothing. "Oh my god," she whispered hoarsely. You're not trapped, she told herself sternly, ‘they' aren't coming after you with phasers blasting.
Sulu didn't shoot you down in the rec room either, did he?
She pressed the wall panel that worked the control manually. Again, nothing happened. She pressed the door release; the door did not respond. She looked around wildly, feeling trapped, afraid the walls were going to fall in on her.
"Ruth Maxwell Valley, you will calm down," she heard herself say. "The release mechanism is very simple now, isn't it?" She took a deep breath and set to work on the control panel. With luck, she could get out of the turbolift and get to Kirk’s office before Security showed up. Without proper equipment it took her longer than it normally would have, but she soon had the door open. No intruder alert sounded as she stepped out of the turbolift and made her way stealthily to the between-decks stairway. They must want to keep this quiet, she thought, and briefly wondered why.
It wasn't far from the stairway to the captain's office and her luck held. That surprised her, but she was thankful for it as she entered the office; he wasn't there, but the door hadn't been locked. She sat behind the desk for a while, waiting and thinking. She didn't know what to do, or what to say. She only wanted to know why, and she wanted to know it from Bwana.
Had they known she was in the turbolift? When it was found that she wasn't still there, would they look for her? Where would they look? There weren't that many places, even for an ingenious Antari, to hide on a starship. How much trouble would she be in for leaving her quarters? After all, she wasn't officially under arrest, she hadn't used any force. Would they send Security? Well, she was in no mood to be cooperative. Be uncooperative and you've had it; official charges, excuses to lock you up for real. "I haven't done anything!" she shouted at the empty room. She thought she heard the empty room answer ‘so?’
Maybe hiding out in the office isn't such a good idea. He doesn't spend a lot of time here; he’s no desk jockey. Besides the Bridge, then, where was the likeliest place to find a Bwana? His quarters. She nodded to herself and went to the door that connected the captain's office and his rooms. That door wasn't locked either.
Wait for him to come off duty. She'd done it a few times since Alpha Metaxa. Times when he'd been tired and tense and in need of a little more than friendship. She would just slip in and out quietly, a very private, quiet evening. What do I do when he comes in and immediately calls Security? All I want is answers. I'm not begging him to save me. Just... Jim, please tell me why it's happening. Tell me why you're letting it happen. You're Bwana, remember? Bwana would never let anything bad happen to his people... God, Ruth, grow up! He's a starship captain with a career to worry about. What's throwing a few aliens to the wolves going to mean to... No! Not Jim Kirk! I wouldn't be here if I didn't know him better than that.
She heard the door open and turned. A gold uniform, but not Jim's. Sulu stood just inside the doorway, his face expressionless, holding a phaser on her.
"Lieutenant Valley." His voice was expressionless too. "You are under arrest."
Ruth stared at the phaser, her throat suddenly very dry. She didn't want to see Sulu's eyes. “No," she said quietly.
Sulu ignored her answer. "You are to accompany me to the brig."
Ruth took a long, shaky breath, repeated, louder, "No."
Sulu came toward her. "I have my orders; please, come quietly."
"My ancestors went quietly and they died by the millions!” Ruth said, the panic beginning to overtake her. "Sulu, why are you doing this to me? I'm your friend!"
Sulu grimaced, gesturing with the phaser. "Please, don't make me have to use this again."
Why hadn't they sent someone else? She already knew that Sulu had the fastest reflexes on board, she had no chance of making it out that door. Still, the panic in her wouldn't let her do anything else. Ruth lunged. If the phaser were set on the lightest stun, she might be able to absorb most of the energy. If she remained conscious, she could wait until he got close to her, and then disable him. Sulu didn't take the chance. What hit her wasn't light stun, but a higher setting. She didn't have time to swear properly before she was out cold.
"God damn you, you son of a bitch!" Ruth screamed from behind the brig force field. "Why'd you bother waiting, to gloat?!"
Sulu's official mask had disappeared and he winced. "I wanted to make sure you were all right."
"What's the matter, Terran? Feeling sorry for the alien?" Ruth asked bitterly. She saw the look of angry resignation cross Sulu's eyes before he spun on his heel and quickly left the cell.
Sulu was again escorting Jilla to the briefing room. It had been a bad night. The day didn't look much better. Nothing he had said to her penetrated the wall of grief and shame surrounding her. Nothing he had said had made much a difference to his own sense of shame. Jilla had been the one to say, over and over again, that he was following orders, he had no choice. It was right for him to do so, no matter how painful. And how could he protest his own pain when hers flared so brightly? She had tried, he knew, to conquer that pain for his sake, to no avail. His touch called it forth, and though he knew it, he couldn't bring himself to let her cry before her shrine, lost and alone. That she silently allowed anything he wanted from her only made it worse. He had almost disregarded the call from the commission, ordering her to appear before them again. But it was Jilla who insisted he comply; again, for his sake and his alone. And for her sake, for the strength he knew she needed him to show, he again donned his officer's mask and walked her to the inquisition.
Jilla was silent, trembling. She held onto Sulu's arm as they moved down the corridor, though she knew how incriminating it would be for him. She tried in vain to control the terror that pressed in on her. She did not understand, could not comprehend the aura of distrust and suspicion that had descended on the Enterprise. That of it aimed at her was deserved, she knew; and by extreme extension it was possible Ruth and Spock could be implicated, but what had that to do with the others? Sulu had told her the commissioners were wrong. But she felt his desires and she knew his past. Part of her attraction for him was her alienness. Did he not call her ‘silver one?' And was she not, after all, his downfall, just as the commissioners feared?
They reached the briefing room and again Jilla worked to control her fear and shame. The questions would come and she had to be prepared to deal with terror worse than this. They would ask about Selar, about her genetic changes - about The Time. And about how she, a married Indiian, claimed to love and dared to be living with - consorting with - a Terran. "Sumin tu..." she whispered, and felt Sulu stiffen.
The door opened and she took in the sight before her, trying without success to block the feelings; Mrraal, obstinately silent, his arms folded, M'ress at his side, her fur bristling. Spock was staring seemingly at nothing, obviously controlling the emotion that nonetheless flowed freely to her sensitivity. Ruth glared at the commissioners, stubborn, her eyes full of fear and resolution. Arex glanced nervously at everyone and everything. Jilla shivered, and Sulu gently extricated his arm from hers. His whispered, "love you, hon," tore at her heart as the door closed between them. She was motioned to take a seat opposite the commission, and did so.
"Perhaps, Lieutenant, you'll be more cooperative," were Davis' first words.
"You really should try torture," Ruth interjected caustically. "It's an old established Terran method."
"I don't think that will be necessary," Chanti assured her coldly.
"Bets?" Ruth countered, at the same time as Mrraal growled, "That's what you think."
"Commissioner," Spock's calm voice said, "this is insanity. We have told you, separately and all together, that there is no conspiracy. The incidents you have related are unconnected and coincidental."
"You speak for all, Vulcan," Belinkov pointed out, no longer hiding the contempt.
"Lieutenant Majiir," Davis interrupted. "we don't want to continue to harass you. If you will simply confess to what you have done, steps will be taken to insure your rehabilitation..."
"You mean destruction," Arex piped in.
"You will answer our questions, Lieutenant," Davis said with a scowl at Arex.
Jilla glanced around, swallowing. "Concerning what, sir?" she managed. With a triumphant glare, Davis continued.
"Let me be delicate, Lieutenant. Your obvious preference for Vulcan."
Jilla's face was starting to glow. "I preferred one Vulcan, sir," she answered softly. "An individual, my husband..."
"Your medical records indicate otherwise."
"I..."
"It's none of their business, Jilla!" Ruth broke in.
Davis' scowl became worse. "Will you allow the Indiian to speak for herself?"
"It was... it is between my husband and I..." Jilla stammered.
"Explain your ears, Lieutenant!" Belinkov suddenly shouted. "Explain your control, the fact that you call yourself Vulcan!"
"It is Indiian custom to adapt to a husband's needs and culture," Jilla replied miserably. "Vulcan is - different. My husband sought to aid my adjustment..."
"Biologically, genetically, is that not true!" Chanti accused.
"Yes!" Jilla cried out hopelessly, at the same time Ruth screamed, "Selar was a mad scientist, so what!"
Commissioner Hashi quickly moved to Jilla's side. "Lieutenant," she said, "we don't blame you. We are aware this was not your doing. We wish to stop the true conspirators...
"Con - conspirators?" Jilla questioned, bewildered at Hashi's manner. Did not blame her? How?
"THERE IS NO FUCKING CONSPIRACY!" Ruth shrieked.
"Another outburst like that, Valley, and we will have you restrained!" Chanti exploded.
"Miss Valley states the truth emotionally," Spock said, his hand on her arm both restraining and consoling, "yet she is quite correct. There is no conspiracy."
"You had ample time to arrange this silence," Belinkov began. Her voice continued over the disgusted muttering. "Which is why you are now separated and confined. We will have the truth here!"
Arex spoke up hesitantly. "There are means aboard this ship, psychotricorders, drugs, that can give you the truth. Why don't you..."
"That would be too simple, Arex," Mrraal grumbled. "They don't want their xenophobic balloon to burst."
"It isn't the truth they want, Lieutenant," Spock added, "despite their words."
Chanti glared angrily at him. "Then why don't you tell us what we do want, Commander."
"A final solution," Ruth murmured, but the fearful, bitter words died under the gentle, reassuring look in Spock's eyes. She nodded an affirmation that she was all right, then Spock turned to the commission.
"Your questions were personal, nonsensical," he said, "making correlations between unrelated instances, finding menace or direction behind single, unmindful acts. Were you to as carefully scrutinize any officer's record, you would find that each was at a crucial post, or made an afterward corrected error at some point in their careers. We are being persecuted, Commissioner. Do not think we are too blind to see it." He paused, his eyes hardening. "What is it you want? A maintaining of the status quo. A continuation of Terran dominance of Starfleet, and hence a way to ensure such dominance within the United Federation of Planets. Perhaps the turning of the Federation into a Terran Empire."
Davis was livid; his voice shook with rage. "You are wrong, Commander. What we want is to prevent the Federation from becoming a Vulcan Empire!"
Ruth laughed bitterly. "Oh? Then what do the rest of us have to do with it?"
"Conspiracy," Jilla said, suddenly understanding. Then she, too turned to the commission. "Commissioners, I - forgive me, you are mistaken. My husband's work... it was private. It has not been disseminated. It was unknown even on Vulcan. I am - I am altered, this is true. I cannot represent Indi to you. Yet I know Indi would not prefer Vulcan to Terra. He is already an Empire - but a peaceful one," she went on quickly as the commissioners bristled. "Or he would not have been a founding member of the Federation."
"Wrong, Jilla," Mrraal growled. "It's all a plot to turn the galaxy into Vulcans."
"Goddess forbid," Ruth rejoined with mock intensity.
Spock's cold voice came as a surprise to both the officers and the commission. "Indeed, gods forbid."
Belinkov made a dismissing gesture. "Oh yes, your IDIC, NOME..."
"Yes," Spock replied. "Those are the precepts by which we live. We are not conquerors. But neither will we be conquered."
"I doubt if the Zehara would take kindly to it," Ruth mused, "and if we keheils are so powerful, how come we haven't taken over already?"
Arex' voice wavered as he spoke, but he faced the commission without flinching. "Edoans fight when they must, but we have never waged any but a defensive war."
"And Caitians are predators," M'ress concluded, "But Humans are not and never have been our prey."
Jung suddenly sat forward, his dark, intense eyes glittering. "You speak quite idealistically of the peaceful intentions of your homeworlds," he said quietly, "but how could you be expected to think otherwise? You do not see the threat each of your races poses to mankind. You are, each of you, part of a plot to dominate and destroy Humans and all that Humans believe in. The sad part is that you don't seem to realize what your masters are using you for. Even you, Vulcan, with your legendary intelligence, do not know what you are doing."
When the surprised, indignant protestations died down, Spock spoke calmly to Jung. "Your conclusions are illogical and contradictory," he said. "If I am a tool, how can I then also be leading this alleged conspiracy?" Jung started to answer, but Spock went on. "However, in your statement that my species is to blame, I am forced to agree. My mother is Human."
Laughter and cheers broke out among the officers, and Hashi's voice pierced through it, its usual quiet dignity replaced by assured indignation.
"You blame Human cruelty or domination? We have been extraordinarily lenient with aliens, all aliens, more so than we should have been! We let you people in, gave you our help and technology, welcomed each in their proper capacity."
Ruth started protesting, incredulous at the implication, angry at the fact that, when the words were spoken, Jilla's head bowed in submissive acceptance.
"But you weren't content," Hashi continued, "you strove for more, heedless of your benefactors. We gave you our space and you have done nothing since but attempt to take ever more from us!"
Mrraal and M'ress began yowling that Terra did not own space, Arex whistling in strident agreement.
"You should have been stopped at the first signs," Belinkov took up the tirade, "but again, we were lenient. We let you go on. Is it any wonder why now we must use unpleasant and, yes, illogical methods to contain you? We're fighting for our very existence!"
Her last words were drowned out by the roaring storm of denunciation and insulted contradictions. The commissioners were calling frantically for Security, pounding on the table in front of them, ordering quiet, jumping to their feet in response to the raging of the officers. Finally Spock's voice rose over the din: strong and calmly impassioned.
"You are fighting for your supremacy. You are fighting against change, against progress. Humans have much to give. We non-Humans have as much. You view everything as by Humans, for Humans. Working together we can satisfy the needs of all intelligent beings, with logical compromise. Have you not yet learned that it is compromise, not conquest, which lasts?"
As the door of the briefing room opened admitting the security guards, Mrraal growled, "Forget it, Commander. They don't want anything good and they certainly don't want it to last."
"Security report, Captain," Sulu informed Kirk as he stood stiffly in front of Kirk's desk.
Kirk looked up from the paperwork covering the desk and noticed that the lieutenant looked tired, almost as tired as he himself felt. Days spent preparing the reports Fleet wanted were draining him. "Proceed, Mr. Sulu," he said.
Sulu took a deep breath. "Commander Spock, Lieutenants Mrraal, M'ress, Majiir and Arex are confined to quarters. Lieutenant Valley is under arrest. All - detainees - at the moment are being interrogated by the commissioners."
Kirk's jaw had continued to drop throughout the report, his face turning red, then white with anger. "Who gave you orders to confine my First Officer!" he demanded, furiously. "Who ordered an arrest?!" Sulu winced, but Kirk glared at him, waiting for an answer.
"Admiral Bradigan, sir," Sulu replied, his voice properly military. Yet Kirk could see the confused bitterness in the almond eyes.
Bradigan. By rights, the admiral could order anyone on the ship, including himself. By official, military rights. But this was his ship! "On what charges, Mr. Sulu?" he asked angrily.
"I don't know, sir. He did say Ru- Miss Valley broke confinement."
"That's not cause for arrest and you know it, mister," Kirk shot back.
Sulu met the captain's eyes. "I'm only following the Admiral's orders, sir, and yours. You said I was to cooperate with the Commission."
Kirk exhaled bitterly. That explained why Bradigan ordered the crew evaluations. Damn, goddamned son-of-a... "Yes, Lieutenant. So I did."
"Sir?" Sulu spoke hesitantly. "You don't think it would be possible to create an emergency that you desperately need your Chief Helmsman for, do you?"
It broke the tension between them, and Kirk had to smile in spite of his anger. It wasn't, after all, Sulu's doing. "Confinement and arrest," he said. "I don't imagine you're the most popular man on the ship right now, are you? Or," he added, more sourly, "that you like your job very much."
"I wouldn't mind if it wasn't screwing up my life as well as my popularity," Sulu replied wearily. There were several moments of silence, and Kirk had the feeling that Sulu wanted to be asked, and was just about to do so, when the lieutenant went on. "Sir, if it wouldn't be a breach of security, could you tell me what's going on? I mean, since I have to bear the ship's ill will over it..." He swallowed. "And if I could at least tell Jilla..."
Kirk started to tell Sulu that the Chief of Security probably knew more about the situation than he did, and realized with a shock that it was true. He was the commander of this ship, ultimately responsible for everything that happened aboard her, but he had no idea what she was being used for, or why beyond the vague concept of `Federation security.' His anger again flared and he growled, "I'd tell you, Lieutenant, if I knew. I don't. And it's about time I found out."
Sulu had backed off, and was staring at him incredulously. Kirk's words of moments before were obviously just sinking in. 'Who gave you orders to confine my First Officer? Who ordered an arrest. On what charges. That's not cause for arrest and you know it.' "All this has been without your knowledge," he whispered.
Kirk nodded grimly, gesturing toward the paperwork. "I've been kept conveniently busy." While Bradigan runs my ship! "I'll see to it, Mr. Sulu, that you are no longer held responsible for this - travesty. Dismissed, Lieutenant. But I will be, he thought, and moments after Sulu left the office, he hit the intercom, requesting - no, demanding - Admiral Bradigan's presence. Immediately.