TDRP2237: "The Verdict" (221001)

The USS Taylorholic Durant, referred to as the USS Durant, is named for the late Admiral Taylorholic Durant in honor of her contributions to UFS and for exemplifying what an excellent officer should be. We are honored to bear her name. The Durant is a Luna Class Science Vessel, assigned to explore and chart the unexplored areas of the Delta Quadrant. We are also on diplomatic assignments, as we are usually the first contact for many planets with warp technology. Our Science vessel converts into an impressive combat vessel when warranted.

We use Post Order/Para Roleplay (ParaRP), which means before our Roleplay begins the game master will list each roleplayer's name in the order they will make their posts. This guarantees each person adds to the creation of our fascinating stories. Para RP means our posts are paragraphs that can be short or long, emoting our thoughts and feelings along with dialog. We feel Para RP adds more depth to our stories. If you would like to try Para RP request a ridealong with us! We will be happy to teach you.

Roleplay Times: Saturdays 9:00am SLT
Commanding Officer: Evelyn Rieko
Executive Officer: Greenlantern Excelsior

Moderators: Evelyn Rieko, Greenlantern Excelsior

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Evelyn Rieko
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Ship/Station Posted: USS Taylorholic Durant
Grid: 001 Second Life Grid
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Contact:

221001.0310

===OOC======
Sat October 1, 2022
OOC Preparation
MISSION TDRP2237
==============


STARDATE:
221001
CREW START TIME: 9:00am SLT

LOCATION TO MEET: Durant Hearing Room
RP STARTS: Durant Hearing Room

WHAT TO WEAR:
UFS Duty Uniform
Durant Chat Relay
Medical Tricorder (Medical Officers)


MISSION LEAD/GM: Fleet Captain Evelyn Rieko


POST ORDER: Will be decided, and posted, by the Mission Leader just prior to mission start (and sometimes adjusted in the RP if necessary).

ARRIVING LATE? Ensure to enter the scene in a logical manner.
NEED TO LEAVE EARLY? Justify your exit.

SITREP:
In sickbay Dr. Gunnar Ragnarsson continues treating Ensign Torak, one of two Ensigns that were injured during the ion storm and also during the Hemmer shuttle's emergency landing on the Priki Planet. Ensign Linda Johnson has recovered and is back on duty, but Ensign Torak is in critical condition. Lt. Ginrai Yamabushi has been ill and treated by Dr. Ragnarsson as well. and he has been released from sickbay and back on duty.

The hearing continues.
The hearing is to determine if the prime directive was violated by Lt. Colonel Elsa Mitchell, Lt. Sandra Lacrima, Lt. Selina Otsuka and Ensign Carol Ellsworth, and if they should be arrested and tried. RADM Skinstad will listen to all of the information given and the testimonies and she will decide the outcome.

Each accused officer will testify, giving their statements. Then the prosecution, and the defense will give their closing arguments and the judge will give the verdict.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Directive

https://lcars.ufstarfleet.org/index.php ... Sector_Map

You should have read:

TDRP2236: "Order in the Court" (220924)
viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33961

TDRP2235: "The Hearing" (220917)
viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33933

TDRP2234: "All Hail Carol" (220910)
viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33876

TDRP2233: "Caveman's Bride" (220903)
viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33864

TDRP2232: "Priorities" (220827)
viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33830

TDRP2231: "Welcome to the Jungle" (220820)

viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33812

TDRP2230: "Guess Who's Going to be Dinner!" (220813)

viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33811

TDRP2229: "Search and Rescue Mission" (220806)
viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33796

TDRP2228: "We Come in Peace" (220730)
viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33755

TDRP2227: "Give us a Sign" (220723)
viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33733

TDRP2226: "Somewhere out There" (220716)

viewtopic.php?f=885&t=33716


=OOC================================
SIM Concept: Evelyn Rieko
Historian: Hal Jordan (GreenLantern Excelsior)
====================================
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Greenlantern Excelsior
Command - Fleet Captain
Command - Fleet Captain
Posts: 1271
Joined: 170814.0803
Duty Post: USS Taylorholic Durant
Ship/Station Posted: USS Taylorholic Durant
Grid: Second Life Grid
Location: Sweet Home, Oregon, USA
Has thanked: 112 times
Been thanked: 248 times
Contact:

221201.1832

CAST OF CHARACTERS
=================


Evelyn Rieko (Fleet Captain), CO
Carol Ellsworth (Ensign) Medical Officer ((Evey45))
Sandra Lacrima (Ensign), Security
Hal Jordan (Captain), XO ((GreenLantern Excelsior))
Zania Turner (Rear Admiral), COMS-ENG Specialist
Ginrai Yamabushi (Lieutenant JG), Engineering
Cheryl Skinstad (Rear Admiral )

Image
Back row: Yamabushi
Middle row, left to right: Lacrima, Ellsworth, Turner
Front row, left to right: Skinstad, Rieko, Jordan

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Greenlantern Excelsior
Command - Fleet Captain
Command - Fleet Captain
Posts: 1271
Joined: 170814.0803
Duty Post: USS Taylorholic Durant
Ship/Station Posted: USS Taylorholic Durant
Grid: Second Life Grid
Location: Sweet Home, Oregon, USA
Has thanked: 112 times
Been thanked: 248 times
Contact:

221201.1832

RP NARRATIVE
===========



Evelyn Rieko listened as Carol gave her testimony. Evelyn looked around the courtroom as Carol spoke. Evelyn wondered about the look on Carol's face as Carol sat there in the witness box. Her expression took on a dream-like quality, like she was thinking about something else and no longer focused on the proceedings going on right now that would so seriously affect her Starfleet career and her life. Then suddenly Carol's eyes focused and Evelyn could tell her thoughts were back here in the courtroom. She looked at Carol, "Ensign Ellsworth, do you have anything more to add? You seem to be in deep thought for a couple of minutes, if it pertains to what happened on the planet would you like to share what you are thinking about? Also, you said you told one of the tribe that you all came from another part of the planet, did they seem to believe you?" She walked closer to Carol, and looked her in the eyes, then said, "Also I will ask you again, do you feel you are guilty of violating the prime directive? 

Carol Ellsworth tilted her head to the left, she had been looking at everyone as if she needed approval to continue or maybe she needed to see their faces and guess if they knew she was omitting a part of the truth. Her legs were restless but she managed to sit still when Captain Rieko approached. Her face reddened a bit and she cleared her throat, then nodded. "I was just thinking if I should explain more. Many things happened on that planet, but nothing that would need more explanation except what I told them about our location. I think Ahnee had some doubts but they believed me. I couldn't explain how we got the "iron birds" that could fly, but they didn't ask much and the fact that we barely understood each other helped."

Sandra Lacrima looked down at her body and noticed a loose thread on her jacket which needed to be immediately taken care of. She grabbed the thread between her thumb and index finger and pulled, with the result of more of the thread being pulled out of the seam. She sighed and rolled her eyes, then rolled the thread around her index finger and gave it a rough jerk to successfully remove the loose thread. She wiped over the area and looked back to the area where Ensign Ellsworth was questioned by Captain Rieko.

Hal Jordan sat quietly, listening to Carol's testimony. He could foresee a problem with one of her statements. "Ensign Ellsworth, did the Starfleet team tell the natives that they came from a different part of the planet? And if the natives did not understand the word, did any of your team members explain the meaning of the word 'planet?' Probably it would not be a problem if they heard you talking about warp fields or replicators, because those concepts would be foreign to them. But the idea that they were living on a ball suspended in space might be understandable and could shape their actions in the future. Simply mentioning the untranslated word 'planet' and leaving it at that might not violate the Prime Directive, though."

Zania Turner listened carefully to the testimony, trying to use her empathic abilities to determine the validity of the answers or if maybe the crew member might be trying to conceal something that they may not want to have revealed during this process. If they were trying to cover something up, it definitely would not look good for her and the rest of the crew involved with the incident.

Ginrai Yamabushi quietly walks in and sits at the nearest open chair as part of the audience. As the doors had opened, Ginrai could feel the tension and nervousness overwhelm his senses like a powerful odor. He couldn't point out who was giving what emotion off, but he knew it was deep in this room. The setup gave him flashbacks to when he faced tribunals, but he was in a bit of relief because it wasn't him for once in front of the tribunal. Ginrai took a deep breath, one very quiet and listened intently. He thought about some of the Engineering crew that are currently sifting through the shuttles seeing if there is anything salvageable to use to put together another ship, or to even use the shell as another shuttle. Due to him still being on light duty, he couldn't join them, which upset him, but knowing that his "right hand" Davies was looking after it, it gave him some relief.

Cheryl Skinstad: As a half Betazoid, she detects worry, stress and guilt feelings in the room, even though these may not be warranted. She looks to everyone seriously. "I have been studying notable exceptions to the Prime Directive, when in history Starfleet has allowed for violations, IF satisfactory reasons were given. In particular, when tribes had been contacted and assisted, but it did not interfere with the natural pre-contact growth of the society. Thankfully, Starfleet cites examples in history of this happening before. I am looking for evidence of this here in the testimonies. Did Starfleet's presence affect the Priki tribe, and cause irreparable damage to their pre-warp development? Could those involved have acted differently? Would they do the same action again, because it was the correct thing to do ethically?"

Rieko looked at Carol as she stated that it seemed to her that some in the tribe believed her. Evelyn looked at Carol and said, "I have asked you twice, do you feel you are guilty of violating the prime directive and it seems you have ignored the question, which makes me believe the answer is yes, and you are avoiding it. This is your last chance to answer that question." She listens to Carol's response, and then to Admiral Skinstad's comments. and says, "Yes, Admiral, I too have researched incidents when the prime directive has been violated and the consequences. Along with your wise questions, a statement from Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise-D sums up what we should keep utmost in our minds during these proceedings. Captain Picard said, "The Prime Directive is not just a set of rules; it is a philosophy, and a very correct one. History has proven again and again that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well-intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous." So even if the officers acted with the best intentions, the questions you raised, Admiral Skinstad, are what should be considered: "Did Starfleet's presence affect the Priki tribe, and cause irreparable damage to their pre-warp development? Could those involved have acted differently? Would they do the same action again, because it was the correct thing to do ethically?"

Ellsworth thought she needed to be more careful. The Captain had noticed she was lost in time thinking about the events and Captain Jordan had noticed there was something missing. She started touching her hair in a nervous gesture. "I did say the word "planet" and then touched the ground and pointed to the mountains so she understood what I was saying. I just mentioned that we came from the other side of the land they were on." She looked at the Admiral and continued. "We didn't leave evidence behind us, except for some knowledge, but nothing that they wouldn't have been trying, like medicinal herbs and rocks. I wouldn't say we affected them as we tried to reverse the damage inflicted on them due to our presence there. We can't make them forget about us, but they have nothing else but some words they heard us say like: phaser and injection. I can say I would try to avoid some things but the reality is that I would do something very similar." She knew her words could be vague, maybe her statement didn't make sense but that statement was 100% truth. She turned to look at Captain Rieko. "Yes, I feel I did things that were against the prime directive but I feel too that I couldn't avoid it. If I need to choose an answer I will say I'm guilty and I'm not proud of it, Captain and I'm afraid I'd do it again. Yes, I'm guilty." She lowered her eyes, there, she had said it. She couldn't bottle that up.

Lacrima followed the hearing and listened to Ensign Ellsworth's testimony which gave a lot of details about the time where she herself hadn't been present then or didn't take notice of.

Jordan listened to Carol's response and smiled. "Thank you, Ensign. It does seem that you were careful to avoid explaining the concept of a planet. I'm sure that the natives believed that you were only talking about the land, and that you came from far away." That was a standard answer, suggested during the Prime Directive classes in the Academy. Revealing that you came from another world would be a clear violation, but telling someone that you lived a long distance from their location would be a good enough explanation for your strange clothing, facial features, and accent.

Turner listened as they stated that they were guilty and would likely do it again. That was very concerning, from the standpoint of someone in a higher rank, as it meant disobedience and disregard for the rules and regulations as they saw fit instead of following the directives of their commanding officer. This was very troubling and might make her question the crew member's decisions in the future.

Yamabushi sits quietly and listens, while looking down every so often at his PADD, His eyes darted between the testimony and also the data coming in and knowing that there were things that were broken and things that needed to be repaired. Lots of structural damage, he thought. He shrugged it off, and kept focusing on the hearing.

Skinstad listens intently to everyone and also is almost overcome by the emotions within the room. She feels great empathy in the human way towards the Officers who were having to deal with their emotions whilst swearing on oath and explaining their actions and decisions.

Rieko looked at Carol as she spoke and admitted that yes, she had violated the prime directive, and would do it again. That last part worried Evelyn. She said to Carol, "I appreciate your honesty. It is refreshing, it is commendable, but it is also showing this court that you do not hold the prime directive in high regard if you would willfully violate it again. It seems to not hold enough importance to you." She shakes her head, and then listens to Hal as he comments on Carol's testimony. Hal was doing a good job as defense for the officers. "It is to be noted that the prime directive violation is a very serious offense, Captain James T. Kirk of the legendary Starship Enterprise is quoted as saying, "A starship Captain's most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew, rather than violate the Prime Directive." She looks at Cheryl, Zania, Hal, Sandra, Carol and a few other faces in the courtroom and continues. "Captain Kirk and his crew discussed that the Prime Directive is in effect, saying, "No identification of self or mission. No interference with the social development of said planet. No references to space, or the fact that there are other worlds, or more advanced civilizations." So it should not be carelessly disregarded." She says, "Ensign Ellsworth, you are dismissed back to your seat in the witness box. I call to the stand Lieutenant Sandra Lacrima." She looks on as Sandra takes the seat Carol vacated. She looks Sandra in the eyes and says, "Lieutenant Lacrima, give us your account of what happened on the planet, and do you feel you are guilty of violating the prime directive?"

Ellsworth looks at the audience, feeling guilty. Maybe she should have clarified that if the circumstances were the same she would repeat what she did as she couldn't let the tribe die and couldn't let Zark die because he had helped her. The rock wasn't a big deal, it was a rock that wasn't violating the prime directive. Maybe she shouldn't have admitted she had violated, but she was feeling guilty enough because of her intervention. She sighed and stood up, walking slowly to her seat. What would happen now?

Lacrima sighed before she got up, straightened her jacket and went to the witness box. She took a seat on the chair and, sitting upright, waited for the questioning to begin. Though she tried to stay calm towards her part of the hearing, she felt how cold her hands had become, a clear sign that she was not as laid-back as she wanted to be. As Captain Rieko directly addressed her, she looked into her CO's eyes and listened carefully to the questions and gave her answers. "Well, Ma'am, first of all, even if you didn't ask me to, I want to state that, for me, the Prime Directive means that we should not and are not allowed to intentionally interfere with a pre-warp society in a way that could affect its natural evolution and that if this should happen under circumstances we're not responsible for, it is our duty to minimize or undo the consequences of this accident.“ She stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. "Having said this, I want to continue on with this particular incident… Regarding the events that took place, I refer to my duty log and point out that I hardly had any contact with the inhabitants of this planet. My focus was on quickly arranging the safe return of our stranded crew members, especially the severely injured Ensigns Torak and Johnson. Of course, after my return to Durant, I looked back to and reviewed the events on the surface, thinking over my own actions and reactions and I could not think of a moment or an incident that could qualify as a violation of the Prime Directive on my behalf… so… no, I don't feel guilty, Ma'am.“

Jordan thought about the witnesses waiting to be interviewed, and wondered what he would have done in the same situation. Trapped on Caveman Planet, the natives are friendly but ignorant about the stars around them. Some are sick and dying, and you can cure them easily. As an added bonus, you know why they are dying and can easily prevent further deaths by telling them what is killing them. They are helping you to survive. Will giving help to them violate the Prime Directive, or is it harmless? As usual, the entire concept seemed like a gray area unless there was blatant misconduct. He was seeing no intentional misconduct so far in the testimony.

Turner listened as another crew member took the stand. One down, three to go. She inwardly wondered if any one of them could potentially give testimony that might differ from what another crew member might say. If that happened, then things definitely wouldn't look good for any of them. The fact that Lacrima stated that she did not feel guilty was very telling and perhaps an indication of that.

Yamabushi folds his hands over the PADD, he looks over at Ensign Ellsworth, and feels immense guilt. He's been in "the hot seat" before, and he sympathizes with anyone testifying. He listened to the testimony, and thought deeply about what he would have done. His engineering mind went to work on the possibilities on masking structures, to blend in, but it led to more questions.

As Skinstad listens to the last two testimonies she actually feels the pain that these two excellent officers are going through. Would Cheryl have acted any differently is the question she asks herself. If so, should she be punished? Of course the answer is obvious.

cont'd

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Greenlantern Excelsior
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Rieko listens to Sandra's testimony and comments, "Thank you for telling us all what the prime directive means to you. It seems you did not have much interaction with the natives, but wasn't there an incident with you and one of the cavemen? In your log you mentioned a caveman offered you the equivalent of an engagement ring on your planet Earth. Are we to believe that you did nothing that would make him think you would be his 'bride'?" Evelyn walked over to the prosecution desk and picked up her PADD, "I am reading from your Report Log, Lieutenant Lacrima. Stardate 220903 - As the EMH had stabilized Ensign Torak, Lieutenant Otsuka and I carried him into the La Forge. Even though I avoided contact with the natives as much as possible, one male had approached me and offered me a gift, a dinosaur tooth. Being in a hurry and just wanting to be polite I accepted it, but as it turned out, his intention was to make me his partner/mate/bride. I immediately returned his gift and focused on our departure. The prosecution sees this as a possible breach of the prime directive, and I read it so that you can clarify for us, whether you feel you interacted with these cavemen as a friend, and that made him consider you as a mate." She listened to Sandra's response. She listened to Hal's comments, nodding subconsciously as Hal defended the officers. She listens to Elsa's testimony and Selina's testimony as well. Evelyn was doing her best as prosecution but her heart wasn't in it. She could see why the officers had contact with the tribe's people, and she fully understood why Carol, Selina, and Elsa had helped them. However her job was to give the opposing view.

Ellsworth bites her lower lip and listens to Lieutenant Lacrima. She could only hope she wasn't punished as she didn't deserve it. She had done nothing. Her words had been so accurate! She was right. She couldn't detect a single sign of nervousness in her. Lieutenant Lacrima was indeed very strong. Her eyes turned to look at Captain Rieko and the Admiral's expression when Lieutenant Lacrima finished, but she couldn't even guess their thoughts. It was like looking at poker faces. But when Captain Rieko spoke, she was shocked at the information and looked at Lieutenant Lacrima in disbelief.

Lacrima took a deep breath after her testimony and listened to the CO's next question which of course brought up this incident with the male native. She rolled her eyes and explained. "Yes, Ma'am, as I also wrote, this particular incident happened while I was in a hurry. Basically the log explains it, but I will most likely give more details on that incident. I have not seen that male tribesmember before, and if so, I can't remember. He approached me all of a sudden and wanted to give me a present, an animal tooth. Okay, I thought, nice gesture, be polite, accept it – remember I was in a hurry to get the Ensigns into the shuttle at that point and wanted to continue quickly. As it turned out, this present was something like an invitation to become his partner, wife or mate. The moment I realized the true intention in this, I returned the gift without many words and carried on to evacuate the injured Ensigns. I did not see this tribesman again. In my opinion, it was nothing I should feel guilty of, Ma'am."

Jordan looked around the room and wondered how much longer this would take. The inquiry was not required, but it was a very good idea in case someone at Starfleet Command read Durant's logs and decided to waste their time with an official inquiry. Leaving no stone unturned and no question unasked and writing it all up for submission would prevent that from happening, probably. He looked at Lieutenant Lacrima, then at Read Admiral Skinstad. "I have no questions for this witness."

Turner felt it to be interesting that Captain Jordan had no questions for the witness. That was very unusual as she thought it would have been better if he had presented at least a few questions, unless he was also getting tired of this entire proceeding. The days were pretty long as it was, and a lot of information was being shared. Unfortunately, even interacting with the pre-warp species regardless of whether or not she returned the gift, was very concerning and could lead to a lot of potential damage that Starfleet now could not undo.

Yamabushi widens his eyes, and listens intently as his head darts between the Lieutenant and the Captains and the Admirals, yet remains silent. Captain Jordan's response to this was one that was just, he thought. Ginrai thinks in a toolset mindset, "It's better to have something, and not need it, than to not have it and need it." The thoughts just kept going back to solutions if he was in that situation, and thinking of strategies to not expose yourself or your technology.

Skinstad draws a deep breath and says. "As Picard has been quoted already today, I will add one more quote from him. There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute. Even life itself is an exercise in exceptions. I am listening intently to everything and it will all be considered in my verdict."

Rieko listens as Sandra gives her response to the accusations, and says,"Thank you Lieutenant Lacrima, we have your testimony and you are dismissed back to the witness box." Evelyn walks around the courtroom and then stands in front of the officers in the witness box. She listens as Cheryl quotes Picard, and nods in agreement. She looks at each one, and then turns to Cheryl, "Your honor and everyone here in the court, I say to you these four officers are honorable, and I have found something to admire in each of them. Lieutenant Colonel Elsa Mitchell for her unselfishness, protectiveness, strength, and honor. She is willing to shield the lower ranking officers under her command and take the full force of the blame unto herself. That is commendable, however, some of the violations occurred without her being present. Lieutenant Sandra Lacrima, a 'by the book officer,' who did not allow herself to be involved in the problems of the Priki Tribe, yet one of the male tribesmen proposed to her. She is strong, insightful, and also protective of her fellow officers, quickly and efficiently getting the injured officers back to Durant to sickbay. Lieutenant Selina Otsuka, warm, engaging, strong, also insightful, and an excellent pilot, doing what she could to help the tribe while trying to be careful not to violate the prime directive. This brings us to Ensign Carol Ellsworth, warm, caring, protective not only of her crew mates but also of the Priki tribe. All of these officers have admirable qualities, and they acted in ways that displayed them, but as I've previously stated, we are here to decide if the prime directive was violated. I say yes, it was violated by all four officers, including Lieutenant Lacrima who I will allow is the least guilty of the officers, but still the prime directive was violated. No matter how good the intentions were, the answer is the officers are guilty of the violation. First when the shuttle landed on the pre-warp planet, we can argue that it was necessary and the only possible solution, but the question is was the directive violated and yes it was. Secondly, the directive was violated when the officers interacted with the tribe, letting them see their phasers, hyposprays, and using advanced medical treatments on one of the tribe's men. Thirdly, helping the tribe move to another location, because they would have all died had they remained living in their caves. This is the only violation that I feel was necessary as I know I would have done the same thing myself. Putting my personal opinions aside, The question here is was the prime directive violated by these 4 officers. I say yes. I must state that the officers are guilty of violation of the prime directive. Your honor, I ask that Rear Admiral Zania Turner be allowed to give a closing statement if she chooses to. I rest my case."

Ellsworth stared at Lieutenant Lacrima while she was talking. She didn't mention it before. She remembered a joke when they were getting the injured crew out of the caves, but she was too worried with the caveman's wounds and Una's illness to notice why. Just the thought of Lieutenant Lacrima being friends with the caveman had relaxed her, maybe in another moment she would have laughed, but not now. She averted her eyes from Lieutenant Lacrima and looked at her Advocate, he had done a great job defending her and her crew mates. After all, the landing had been an accident, and when dealing with emergencies you just react. She looked at Admiral Skinstad and Admiral Turner, wondering what they were thinking, she had looked at her Captain too and sighed relieved, it seemed Lieutenant Lacrima wasn't in trouble. Her words about all of them had been great and she agreed that Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell was willing to take all the blame, but it wasn't fair. She nodded as the Captain continued, Lieutenant Lacrima and Lieutenant Otsuka were just like that, loyal and trusty.

Lacrima sighed in relief as she was dismissed from the witness box. She got up and went back to her seat and slumped down in the chair. She watched and listened to Captain Rieko's closing statement which started kind of positively on the incident, which could mean no good as Lieutenant Lacrima feared. Her premonition came real with her CO's final statement that sounded way more negative than she had expected. She sank lower in her chair and waited for the next statements of Admiral Turner and Captain Jordan.

Jordan thought about the details of the Prime Directive. It allowed interaction with members of a pre-warp civilization as long as the interaction didn't reveal knowledge that the civilization wouldn't have known on their own. He stood and addressed the room generally. "From the testimony, it sounds as though the Prime Directive was not broken, or even 'bent.' These fine officers were well trained, as we all were, and they knew not to interfere with the primitive society. The natives would have understood eventually that the radioactive caves were killing them, in fact, the reports seem to indicate that they suspected it already. As for the demonstration of our technology, it appears that it was kept to a minimum and used only when absolutely necessary. Arthur C. Clarke, a twentieth century science fiction writer, said 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' Our tricorders and hyposprays were used, but not discussed with the natives, so they were probably seen as either magic or inexplicable wonders. No one fired a phaser during the event. The shuttle lifting off and flying away would be seen as a magic box ascending into the heavens, since their operation was not explained to the natives. It might exist as a legend for a few generations, but since the natives have no written language yet, eventually it would be forgotten. In fact, this entire event will pass down in oral tradition for some time, but after a while it will fade from memory, leaving no lasting effects on the planet's population. So, was the Prime Directive violated? I believe that the answer is in doubt. But I believe that the SPIRIT of the Prime Directive was not broken, and for that I commend these brave officers. With that, I also rest my case."

Turner stands to address the court and give her closing statement. "Your honor, the Prime Directive exists for a reason. It is there to safeguard the development of pre-warp civilizations from the technological advances that they have not yet discovered. Exposing them to any amount of technology, no matter the intention or the situation, can have devastating and long-lasting repercussions . . . many of which we won't even know without finding a way to observe the natives. It exists to protect our officers from violations that can lead to proceedings like today. Should they have interacted with the natives on the planet? Absolutely not. They all had the opportunity to stay on board the crashed shuttle and avoid such interaction, yet instead they chose to venture outside of it and interacted with the natives of the planet. They provided them advanced knowledge in order to prevent deaths, but still shared that with them and thus interfered with the natural development of the natives. Good intentions or not, they violated the Prime Directive and for that they need to be held accountable."

Yamabushi thinks about everything Captain Rieko has said with facts laid out there. He also felt the waves of assuredness and connection. The strong bond that is in the crew. Assuredness filled the air, and he sat back in the chair, his muscles relaxed, but not too much because he knew that the assuredness could give way to the Worst Case Scenario: folks being reassigned or worse. He looked down at his PADD to see that records from the replicators in the bay showed things were replicating, but one piece of the coils didn't replicate correctly. He took another sigh, and sunk in his chair further, the thought again replied in his mind, "I wish I was down there..." he put his palm to the side of his face, with his elbow resting on the chair rest. The feeling that some of the people he'd served with on away missions, fixing things, going off to other ships overwhelmed him. "If only I was there," he thought, listening to them talk about the situation, and the Prime Directive. How we could have hidden the ships, our technology, everything. He snapped out of his daze when he looked down to see that they successfully replicated the coils, and replaced the casings for the nacelles. He quietly gave a sigh of relief in the matter, thinking: one week to go..

Skinstad looks steadfastly to everyone in turn before she begins. "All stand. I believe it has been shown today, through testimonies, how carefully we must tread through these worlds, these assignments, operations and expeditions. yet we are tasked to seek out new life and civilizations by the nature of our vocations. The hearing was to determine if the prime directive was violated by Lieutenant Colonel Elsa Mitchell, Lieutenant Sandra Lacrima, Lieutenant Selina Otsuka and Ensign Carol Ellsworth, all excellent Officers of Starfleet, and what the outcome should be. I, Rear Admiral Skinstad, have listened to all of the information given and the testimonies. I also considered thoroughly the prosecution and defense closing arguments. I as presiding judge have decided the outcome. Some things were completely out of your control such as the shuttle accident. Others were not as in your interactions with the tribe members. My verdict is Guilty. However, I have decided to acquit all of the Officers due to extenuating circumstances. Nevertheless, there is punishment and you will all take Academy refresher courses and tests on the Prime Directive.

 =^=
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Greenlantern Excelsior
Command - Fleet Captain
Command - Fleet Captain
Posts: 1271
Joined: 170814.0803
Duty Post: USS Taylorholic Durant
Ship/Station Posted: USS Taylorholic Durant
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Location: Sweet Home, Oregon, USA
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221201.1834

MISSION IMAGES
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Evelyn Rieko (Fleet Captain), CO

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Carol Ellsworth (Ensign) Medical Officer ((Evey45))

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Sandra Lacrima (Ensign), Security

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Hal Jordan (Captain), XO ((GreenLantern Excelsior))

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Zania Turner (Rear Admiral), COMS-ENG Specialist

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Ginrai Yamabushi (Lieutenant JG), Engineering

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Cheryl Skinstad (Rear Admiral )

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