1st LF writing contest entry no 1: The Case by Jae Onasi

[Kheren]

THE CASEJae Onasi





“Cadet First Class Johansen, step forward.” the Academy’s judge intoned. The dark-headed Vulcan, Admiral Selik, sat the high seat of the bench, flanked on either side by the Betazoid prosecutor and the human defense attorney, Captain Romero.

The young, brown-haired human stepped forward. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing against the stiff Academy dress uniform that had seen use only a handful of times. He knew that the prosecutor, Captain Callrin, was a gifted telepath. He didn’t bother trying to suppress his fear from her.

“Cadet First Class Xam, step forward,” Admiral Selik stated once more.
Xam, the only Ferengi in the Academy, stepped forward to stand next to his classmate and good friend. Neither looked at the other—they both knew better.

“You both are charged with assault and battery, destruction of property, and conduct unbecoming a Starfleet cadet. I note that you both have pleaded ‘not guilty’ to all three charges.”

“Aye, Sir,” both cadets answered.

“Prosecution may begin the argument,” the judge nodded to the Betazoid.

Captain Callrin rose from her seat and walked over to stand in front of the cadets. She looked up at Johansen for a long moment. He kept his green eyes studiously forward, trying to keep his heart from racing any faster and trying not to notice that her hair was pulled so tight into a dark-colored bun that it made her face taut. She then looked down at the young Ferengi, who had locked his eyes straight ahead.

“Cadet Xam, explain what happened last week at Club Orionis.”

The Ferengi took a deep breath. “Sir. Cadet Johansen and I were at the club, playing Dabo. I realized the table was rigged, and warned him quietly not to play it. The Tellarite running the Dabo table overheard him and took offense. Cadet Johansen proceeded to argue with him. Pugneen—the one running the Dabo table—punched him, and then grabbed him by the throat. When I tried to get Pugneen off of Johansen, Pugneen’s brother grabbed me, threw me over the bar, and proceeded to assault me. There was a loud noise, and all the glass bottles around me exploded. The Tellarite and I continued to fight. Then Johansen grabbed Pugneen’s brother off of me and knocked him out.”

“That much is clear from the police report, Xam,” Callrin said, sarcasm making the air in the court room desert-dry. “Do you know how much damage that ‘offense’ cost?”

Johansen replied, “50,942 credits, Sir.”

Xam turned his head abruptly to his fellow cadet. “What??? That’s outrageous! There is no way we are responsible for all that damage! Did you have an accountant look at that, Johansen?”

The human cadet nodded. “In fact, I had three accountants look at the receipts of the damage from the bar fight, Xam. Honest ones, too.”

“Ferengi Rule of Acquisition Number 16…”Xam started.

Johansen finished, “There is nothing more dangerous than an honest businessman. I know. In light of our situation, Xam, we might consider an exception.”

Xam turned his head back forward, the sound of grinding teeth clearly audible.

Captain Callin’s obsidian eyes pierced Johansen. “I noticed from the report that you just conveniently happened to find a sonic weapon on one of the Tellarites during this little ‘bar fight’, as you put it, Cadet. I also noticed it was conveniently tuned to a frequency that Tellarites are especially sensitive to. I also noticed that Xam was curiously unaffected during the altercation.”

Romero stood. “Objection, Admiral. Captain Callin is presenting assumptions rather than facts.”

“Sustained,” Selik said. “The prosecutor will constrain herself to the facts of the case only.”

Callin nodded acknowledgment. “The facts of the case are as follows, Admiral. Cadet Xam made an accusation regarding the accuracy of the Dabo table being run by the Tellarite, Pugneen. The Tellarite, naturally, argued the point. Cadet Johansen escalated the verbal argument, and when he called the Tellarite a ‘Krognik demon’, Pugneen threw a punch. A fight broke out in the bar. Cadet Johansen somehow found himself in possession of the Tellarite’s sonic weapon and discharged it, rendering the Tellarite deaf, possibly permanently, and breaking all the glass in the club.”

Xam looked at his friend in awe. “Did you really call him a Krognik demon? I never heard that part.”

Johansen shrugged one shoulder. “I thought he might appreciate the fact that I’d studied his species enough to be familiar with an appropriate Tellarite insult. Apparently I found the one Tellarite who couldn’t take a joke.”

The DA’s mouth twitched a fraction in humor before he schooled it back to the decorum required in the courtroom. “Admiral, it is clear from the report that these two cadets merely defended themselves. It should be Pugneen who is responsible for the damages, and the cadets should be acquitted of the assault and battery charges.”

Callin again looked at Johansen intently. “I have a question for you, Cadet. Keep in mind that I am Betazoid and will know immediately if you lie in this courtroom.”

Johansen met her level gaze. “Captain, since I learned you were prosecuting this case, I have not once forgotten that you’re Betazoid.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Tellarite weapons are not normally set to a frequency that is harmful to their own species. Did you alter that Tellarite’s weapon?”

Romero interjected, “Admiral, Johansen’s Academy record clearly states that he is pursuing coursework in physiology in preparation for medical school. His record shows he does not have proficiency in any weapon except a standard phaser and some basic karate techniques.”

Admiral Selik said, “The Cadet will answer the question anyway. The Academy does not always note training that a being might have acquired outside of their normal coursework.”

Johansen looked at Callin, whose eyes were glittering onyx slivers. He stood rigid. “Sir, I was in the middle of a brawl. There was no time to change any settings on any weapon, let alone a Tellarite weapon. Pugneen had my neck in a death grip. I couldn’t breathe. I got ahold of the sonic weapon and fired it, hoping just to get him off my neck. I didn’t expect all the liquor bottles to also shatter. This, of course, was not the club owner’s fault, even if he is Pugneen’s brother. However, as an honorable Starfleet cadet, I am willing to reimburse Pugneen’s brother for all the broken bottles of alcohol, including the 2 bottles of Reserve Romulan ale that he had under the counter. I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to reimburse him for the ketracel-white that was also there, however, seeing as that’s illegal and all.”

“How did you manage to see the white, Cadet?” the prosecutor asked.

“Pugneen’s brother grabbed Xam, dragged him behind the bar, and was punching him into a pulp,” Johansen replied.

“He had me by the ears,” Xam nodded, rubbing one lobe. “The pain was unbearable.”

Callin’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two cadets as she studied them.

Johansen continued, “I jumped over the bar to rescue Xam. I punched Pugneen’s brother right in the snout. He fell back, and the cabinet door broke. That’s when I saw the ale and white. Well, the broken bottles, blue ale spilled all over, and the shattered tubes of white, anyway.”

Xam shook his head, eyes downcast. “Just think of all the profit he lost. Maybe his entire business!”

“Terrible, just terrible, Xam. I feel sorry for him. First he finds out his brother is ripping off customers and fellow cadets on Dabo, then his brother goes deaf when his own sonic weapon is set to a Tellarite frequency, and then he discovers his brother is running a drug ring right under his nose. That must have been a really bad day for him,” Johansen sighed sadly.

“I’m sure Pugneen’s brother appreciates your…touching sympathy.” The acid dripped from Callin. “This case looks and smells just like vigilantism to me.”

“Objection! The prosecution is insulting 2 Starfleet cadets,” Romero said.

“Sustained,” answered the judge. “Do you have other questions, Captain Callin?”

“Yes. Cadet Xam,” she said, turning to look down at the Ferengi. “Your hearing tests indicate that you should have been incapacitated by the sonic blast. Yet you were not. Why?”

“It may have had something to do with my earwax problem, Sir. And the fact that we were both rolling around on the ground behind the bar, which partially shielded the sound.”

Capt. Callin tapped her PADD. “Cadet, there is absolutely nothing in your medical record indicating an ‘earwax problem.’”

“I use my q-tips regularly, Sir. It’s very embarrassing for a Ferengi to have earwax showing in public.”

“He goes through at least a box every other week, Sir,” Johansen chimed in. “I know—I see them in the bathroom trash all the time, being his dorm-mate, you know.”

“I’m aware the two of you share a dorm room, Cadet,” Callin said. She turned towards the front of the courtroom. “Earwax,” the prosecutor muttered under her breath as she shook her head in frustration, and then looked up at the judge. “Prosecution rests, but reserves the right for rebuttal.”

Admiral Selik nodded once. “Noted. Captain Romero, you may proceed.”

“Cadet Johansen, did you change the settings on Pugneen’s sonic weapon at any time?”

“No, Sir, I did not.”

“Did you start the bar fight?”

“No, Sir, I did not.”

“Why were you arguing with the Tellarite?”

“I was engaging in inter-species relations, Sir. I thought Pugneen might appreciate a taste of home.”

Captain Callin rolled her eyes.

Captain Romero said, “By calling him a Krognik demon?”

“I was not aware that this particular Tellarite considered it an extreme pejorative, Sir. I will keep it in mind for the future, however.”

“I’m sure you will,” Capt. Romero drawled. He turned to the judge. “Admiral, we have reviewed the case carefully. It is clearly evident on the holo-records that Pugneen attacked Cadet Johansen first. Tellarites are known for their argumentative nature, and while Cadet Johansen obviously argued with Pugneen, there was no way for him to know that Pugneen would become violent. Furthermore, there was evidence of alcohol and ketracel-white in Pugneen’s system in sufficient quantities to deem him ‘under the influence’. Ketracel-white has been shown in medical studies to contribute to Tellarite violence. Again, Cadet Johansen would have no way of knowing that Pugneen had been ingesting an illegal substance. I move that the charges against Cadets Johansen and Xam be acquitted of the charges.”

Johansen could hardly breathe as Admiral Selik reviewed the facts on his PADD. Finally, the judge spoke. “There is insufficient evidence of wrong-doing on the Cadets’ part and clear evidence that they were attempting to defend themselves. It is the opinion of this court that the charges be dropped.” The Vulcan looked at both cadets. “However, it is also the opinion of this court that you two never again step foot in Club Orionis or any other facility owned by these particular Tellarites.”

“Aye, Sir,” they said in unison, relief easing the tension on both their faces.

As the cadets walked out of the courthouse and down the side garden path back to the Academy education center, Capt. Callin walked by. “I’ll be reviewing the club’s previous holo-records. If I find tampering with that weapon, I will personally hand-deliver the perjury charges to Admiral Selik. Have a nice day, Cadets.”

Xam stood up straight. “Johansen did not alter that weapon, Sir, and you will not find one shred of evidence of that, no matter how many records you comb through.”

The prosecutor stalked off without an answer.

“Cadets, can you give me a hand for a moment, please?” Johansen and Xam looked over at the man calling them. It was the gardener. “This pot is a bit heavy for me to move.”

“We’ll move it for you, Boothby, don’t worry,” Johansen said.

The cadets picked up the pot and carried it over to the spot the gardener directed them.

When they finished, Boothby said, “Come and sit a moment. You two look like you could use a bit of quiet after being in the middle of the hub-bub in that courthouse.” He pulled a trowel out of his gardener belt pouch and started digging in the large pot. “You know, my father and grandfather were gardeners here for years. I decided to follow in their footsteps and tend to the beauty of this campus. Sometimes, we even chat with the cadets. So, when I found these, I thought I’d make the time to chat with you two.” He pulled Ferengi earplugs out of his pocket and held them out to Xam. “Found these in a flower pot not too far from the dorm. Must have fallen out of your ears. They’re good ones, too. Block out lots of sounds, I noticed, especially sonic frequencies that affect Tellarites.”

Johansen and Xam glanced at each other.

Boothby went on. “We Boothbys have kept an eye on promising cadets for years. Especially the ones that do the right thing, like protect classmates and visitors from thieves who’ve managed to elude the law for years, even if they might not go about it in quite the right way.” He kept digging in the pot. “I took a little visit to Club Orionis. Found this copy of a holo-record from a week back. Kind of develops a weird glitch right before a couple cadets walk in and a certain Ferengi pick-pockets a sonic weapon. Tellarite brothers probably should get their recording system checked. It never would show it to me a second time.”
Xam swallowed hard.

Boothby settled some flowers into the pot with gentle fingers before looking at the two sweating cadets. “Next time, you come to old Boothby, and I’ll get you the right kind of help with the right police so you don’t end up in a courthouse trying to do the right thing. Sometimes I give good advice now and then, too.”

Johansen grinned.



The End