Chapter 7 - Resolution
The next morning, Jack and Melissa met K’Nor outside the
courtroom.
“What’s this about?” Jack asked.
“Alverson wouldn’t say,” K’Nor replied. “Just that he wanted to
meet.”
“Could it be about Loftus?” Melissa
asked.
“Possibly,” K’Nor said. “Given I was supposed to depose her this
morning, and that she was our key witness in the case, I suspect he wants to
make an offer.”
“Because he knows they’ve got us in a bad place,” Jack said,
looking down. Loftus’s death was personal for him. “What do you think he’ll
offer?”
“Most likely… You will be stripped of your commission, your
retirement allowance, and that you have to serve five to ten years on a penal
colony,” K’Nor said. “But we’re not going to take it.”
“But with Loftus gone…”
“No,” K’Nor said. “The case will be more difficult, but not
impossible. There were other officers on the bridge that day.” He looked at
Melissa. “I think they can give compelling testimony. And I believe Lieutenant
Burton had an encounter with Dameron before she joined your crew.”
The thought of putting Zaylie in the same danger which had
consumed Loftus and Purcell made Jack want to give up on the case. How many
more of the people he cared about had to die before he put an end to this?
Jack noticed Melissa staring at him.
“What?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “I know that look. You have to fight this.”
Jack shook his head. “How many others have to pay the price for my
righteous cause?”
K’Nor took Jack’s arm. “You are not going to serve a single day in
a penal colony. Do you understand? That would be a violation of everything that
uniform you’re wearing stands for. Trust me to make this work.”
Alverson’s Andorian associate stepped out of the courtroom door
and looked at K’Nor. “We’re ready,” she said.
K’Nor pointed Jack to the door.
“I want to come in with you,” Melissa said.
“They won’t allow that,” K’Nor said. “You don’t have clearance
for… that directive.”
“But I was there on the bridge that day,” she pleaded. “I know all
about it!”
“I won’t let Jack do anything stupid,” K’Nor said to her with a
smile.
After a moment of looking at Jack through tear filled eyes,
Melissa nodded.
Jack and K’Nor entered the courtroom.
Alverson stood at the prosecution table, looking down and not
meeting their eyes as they entered.
K’Nor led Jack to the defense table, and they both took their
seats.
After they were settled, Alverson finally turned to them. “Captain
McCall… I want to offer my condolences on the deaths of your officers. What
happened was tragic and will not go unanswered by Starfleet. We take care of
our own.”
Jack had a few choice things to say about that last point, but at
the moment, his chief concern was Loftus and Purcell. “Thank you.”
Alverson took a long breath as his face transformed into a frown. “I
have been ordered by Admiral Nocelan of the Judge Advocate General’s office to
present this to you,” he said, holding up a PADD. He activated it and began to
read. “Captain Jack McCall will retire with full honors, and full retirement
allowance. He will agree not to seek reinstatement of his commission from this
day forward. All records of the criminal case against Captain McCall will be
placed under seal and classification Ultra.” Alverson’s frown deepened. “Upon
accepting the above, all charges will be dropped with prejudice against Captain McCall,
and against any Chamberlain officers who have been charged or
might be charged in relation to the events involved with the charges against
Captain McCall.”
Jack didn’t know what to say. A part of him couldn’t believe he
heard Alverson right. He turned to K’Nor who seemed just as confused as he did.
K’Nor looked at Alverson. “All charges will be dropped?”
Alverson’s frown turned into a full-bore scowl. “Yes.”
“I assume we will have this in writing above Admiral Nocelan’s
signature?” K’Nor asked.
“Yes,” Alverson replied. “As well as that of all three judges in
this case.”
“Is Jack’s retirement necessary?” K’Nor asked. “Given you have
relented on everything else, why can’t he…”
“That part is non-negotiable,” Alverson said, a smile erupting for
a moment on his face. “He has to resign for all aspects of this agreement to
take effect.”
“And none of my officers will be prosecuted over this incident?”
Jack asked.
“Given the deaths of Commanders Kadan and Purcell, the Judge
Advocate General’s office believes this matter is best left to those who set
Starfleet policy and not the inside of a courtroom.”
They blinked, Jack thought. Kadan and Purcell weren’t murdered as
some plot concocted by anyone in the upper levels of Starfleet. It wasn’t a
sanctioned act after all. It was someone rogue… Dameron, Zuld, or both of them.
“Will you be leading the investigations into the deaths of Kadan
and Purcell?” Jack asked.
“Yes, why?” Alverson asked.
“For all the other things I might think about you, you are
tenacious,” Jack said. “I hope you find those responsible for their murders.”
“I’ll find them,” Alverson said. He turned away a moment, then
back to Jack. “I know your father was an admiral, and I know that’s an elite
club within Starfleet. But this stinks. I intended to
bury you. I would like nothing better than for you to reject this offer.”
K’Nor held up a hand. “I’d like to discuss this offer with Captain
McCall before he does any accepting or rejecting. What is the timeline for him
to submit an answer to you?”
“Forty-eight hours,” Alverson said, still scowling. “The case has
been put on hold.”
K’Nor stood. “Thank you for meeting with us Captain Alverson.”
Alverson returned to the prosecution table and put his things in
a small satchel. He then walked briskly out of the courtroom.
A few minutes later, Jack and K’Nor exited the courtroom to find
Melissa still waiting for them.
“That was fast,” she said. “I take it you told them where to put
their offer.”
“No,” Jack said.
“It wasn’t the offer I had expected,” K’Nor said. He led them away
from the courtroom entrance to the building’s spacious lobby. “They will drop
the charges if Jack agrees to retire from Starfleet.”
“What?” Melissa murmured. “Is this legitimate?”
“Yes,” K’Nor said. “And they will not prosecute any other Chamberlain
officer involved in this incident.”
Melissa turned to Jack. “So… the price for your freedom is you
resign?”
“Yes,” Jack said. “It’s the price for your freedom and that of
every other officer on the bridge that day.”
“They’ve realized they dug themselves a hole they can’t get out
of,” Melissa said. “And they’re trying to bury the whole matter.”
“That and the murder of two Chamberlain officers I think
has them worried about whatever else is going on with this,” K’Nor said.
“Someone didn’t want Kadan Loftus to testify in this case.”
“Which means they’re afraid,” Jack said.
As they walked to the center of the lobby, Melissa grabbed Jack’s
arm. “You can’t give up like this!”
“I’m not giving up,” Jack replied. “This is a win. Perhaps not the
best case, but still a win.”
“I have to agree,” K’Nor said. “As Jack’s attorney, I have advised
him to accept this deal.”
“But you still have people who can testify about Dameron!” Melissa
insisted. “We’re all standing with you, Jack!”
“No one else is going to die on my account,” Jack said. “And no
one else is going to have their Starfleet career shredded because of me.”
“But…”
“Melissa,” Jack said with a smile. “I stopped Dameron from killing
all the people on Geryon IV. They are safe now. If I was willing to offer up my
life for the Prime Directive, ending my Starfleet career is a small price to
pay for having saved those people, and saving the rest of you on the Chamberlain.”
Tears began to fall from Melissa’s eyes. “But what about you?
What’s going to happen to you now?”
Jack looked away from her, his mind racing. He had assumed he’d
either beat the case, or lose and end up on a penal colony. Having no course of
action before him, no duties calling to him, Jack could only say, “I really
don’t know.”
