Cynfor Rees sat in a meeting room just outside the courtroom. Well more accurately it was a holosuite running a courtroom program provided by the Starfleet JAG office. He was about to face a court martial, something that he knew would come if the truth came out. There was only two things that he took solace in. The first was that his beloved Margie was not there to see his disgrace, and the other was that his entire family had made the trip to watch the proceedings. The arrival of his daughter Ensign Maia Rees pulled him from his thoughts. He managed a smile at the woman, he was proud of her as she stood there in uniform. “Little pie I appreciate you doing this. I know…” His voice trailed off as he hugged his daughter.

When the embrace was broken she kissed him on his cheek and blushed slightly as he used the nickname he had for her when she was a little girl. “Dad I would not have had it any other way. You have not spoken to anyone about this. Correct? It is important that you admit nothing to anyone except in open court. I have a defense planned, however, for it to work you will have to admit what you did and that you were acting on behalf of the Maquis at the time.” She laid the documentation on the table for him to look at. 

“Now Maia I was never a Maquis.” Cynfor began as he looked at the paperwork. In a short time he saw what she had planned and sighed heavily. “You know for this to work you should know two things. The first is that I had a conversation with Gianna Djokovic on April 30th. However, during that conversation I think I struck a nerve and I do not see her testifying. The second is if this works I will never have a command.” He paused for a moment as he contemplated what he had just said. “Which is something that I do not want anyway.” He added in a short time.”

Alright I am going to check on the rest of the family and check in with the judge. Stay put I will be back in a few minutes. I love you Dad and we will get through this.” Maia place a PADD down on the table which contained her notes, and smiled at him as she left. 

A stone-faced security officer accompanied Maia when she returned. He waited like a silent sentinel just inside the door.

It was time.

After a full morning of analytical testimony and a walk through decades of slowly converging clues, the court martial broke for lunch. Uniformed JAG and security officers flowed back into the courtroom sporting warm drinks and flat expressions an hour later. As a thirty-years-old case of treason, the morning session had been a parade of computer forensic experts detailing decades old R&D access logs and statistical models of the likelihood that confiscated Maquis weaponry had taken their design inspirations from Rees’s Dominion War work with the Starfleet armory.

As the Andorian bailiff entered, all eyes in the room turned his direction and a hush fell over the small crowd. Taking position, the bailiff clearly directed “All rise,” and those in the room who had not already found their place quickly shuffled in the appropriate direction and stood at attention.

The silence in the courtroom intensified, and it seemed as if time had stopped. Then the doors slid open and Commodore R’Marr strode into the room, a regal Caitian flag officer whose deep green, feline eyes were focused directly ahead. She arrived at her chair at the small conference table in the center of the room, and after a ceremonial pause, took her seat and rang the bell that signified the proceedings had resumed. Those present followed suit but maintained the quiet as the Commodore briefly reviewed the PaDD in front of her.

Satisfied with her reading, R’Marr lifted her gaze toward the prosecution. “Commander Dupont, you may continue.”

Maia sat at the defense table with her dad, her client. When they broke for lunch she smiled at him. If the two were worried they sure did not show it. The young JAG officer Maia Rees was overjoyed that they had drawn Commodore R’Marr as judge. Maia knew that the Commodore was a stickler for protocol and a no nonsense kind of judge. Most of all the Commodore respected procedure, and that would play to the strength of her defense. Both her and her dad stood when the judge entered. As Commander Dupont began again, Maia could do nothing except wait for her turn to present her case.

Commander Aymeline Dupont rose again just seconds after having taken her seat. She was a slim, shortish Terran in her early forties with her hair tied back into a knot at the back of her head. “Thank you, your honour.” Dupont spoke with a tiny trace of a French accent. “The prosecution calls Commander Yumi Han to the witness stand.”

Yumi wiped her palms dry on her uniform pants and gripped the chairback in front of her to stand up. She came forward and was sworn in. Then she sank into the witness seat facing the entire courtroom. She glanced at Cynfor and regretted it instantly. He looked almost relaxed sitting at the defendants table next to his daughter. He betrayed Starfleet, she reminded herself. You don’t owe him anything.

Cyn watched as Yumi, a woman he respected probably more than most other people walked to give testimony to send him to New Zealand. She won’t do it. She will sway her testimony. For she knows the fleet needs people like me, people like us. The twinge of nervousness crept in as Yumi was sworn in, Rees knew that this testimony would make or break him and his nerves knew it too.

Dupont stepped around her table and approached the witness stand. “Commander Han. Please describe the steps you undertook when you learned about the possible treason committed by Lieutenant Commander Rees.”

”At first, I didn’t believe it,” she said honestly. Yumi cleared her throat and switched to a clinical air. “After Commander Ackboard was unmasked as a double agent, SFI launched an internal review of all his work in this Sector, and dozens of Maquis criminals appealed their convictions from his evidence. Before 2390, Ackboard’s work was spotless, and all the appeals were denied but one.”

“Drak Murray was a munitions programmer. Still showing no remorse, he said he would offer new information on a Starfleet double agent in exchange for a sentence reduction. All the years in prison while his comrades walked free made him rethink his refusal to deal with SFI when he was first captured. In Mr. Murray’s deposition, he said that one day in 2370 new handheld weapons designs were given to him with no word where they came from. In his–” Yumi balked at the word for a moment. “–professional estimation they were Starfleet in origin. He removed stun capabilities and enhanced their lethality. Then he replicated as many as he could before the base he operated from in the Badlands was taken. The unique blend of engineering styles left signature scarring in its victims. So, when Murray was first convicted, SFI was able to determine that his rifles were used in at least 37,000 combat and civilian killings. Most of them in the Maquis raids of Solosos III and its neighboring colonies.”

I couldn’t believe Lieutenant Commander Rees could be involved in such a thing. At first… But one of the programs seized from Murray’s replicators was an 82% match to a development revision of Starfleet’s TR-216. Lieutenant Commander Rees was the lead engineer on that project until taking family leave to stay home and care for his son, who had recently been diagnosed with a rare disease.” Yumi took a sip of water to cool her suddenly dry throat. “When I determined that Lieutenant Commander Rees did not, in fact, spend that leave with his family but on a trip to this sector of space, I assigned Chief Stevens to seek out and talk to the people close to Lieutenant Commander Rees at that time. It was a coincidence that Lieutenant Smith was under cover with the New Maquis and encountered Dr. Vanessa Baptiste.” 

Dupont nodded here and there during Han’s report, but never interrupted. It was not necessary. “Please tell us who Dr. Vanessa Baptiste is and what links her to Lieutenant Commander Rees, Commander.”

”In her own words, she’s the woman who cured Jorvan’s Disease ten years before Feris Labs. Feris’s treatment finished clinical trials in 2380, putting Baptiste’s cure somewhere around 2370.” Yumi glanced around the thin crowd in the courtroom gallery as they took in the news with raised or lowered eyebrows. Yumi lingered on her son Moonho… and skipped quickly away from Ben Rees’s hardened gaze. Two young lives saved by Cynfor Rees no matter what it took. Had he known his deal was with a devil? Had he known the breadth of Baptiste’s amorality? “Apparently, Baptiste deleted her case records and molecular models after 30 successful trials. As soon as she climbed the mountain she lost interest in it. Between 2370 and 2381, 3.5 million Federation citizens died from Jorvan’s.”

Cynfor sat relatively stone faced, in fact it wasn’t until Yumi mentioned Baptiste not giving up her research that he reacted at all. A glimmer of memory appeared in his eyes as he thought back to the day that he first met Vanessa Baptiste, and all she had said to him on that day. He leaned over and whispered in Maia’s ear. “Baptiste’s research would not be accepted by the Federation, due to her methods. It was for this reason that the research was destroyed. It was destroyed by Starfleet.” Maia took note of what her father had said and nodded. She hoped that she would not need that information, as her defense plan hinged on procedure and protocol. However, she hoped it would work. For now she would wait for her turn to present her case.

As terrible as the number of deaths was, prosecutor Dupont kept a straight face. She had known the numbers before and this was not the moment for theatrics. “Doctor Baptiste will not testify here today. Can you tell us why, Commander Han?” 

Yumi hesitated to dial down her frustration. Baptiste was as wily as an old mouse, always three steps ahead of Ackboard during the Dominion War. Maybe a dozen steps ahead of SFI after twenty more years of practice. She had grown lax for a moment, but stepping into a trap and getting caught in it were two different things. When the jaws snapped shut, she nimbly leaped away. “Lieutenant Smith was unable to apprehend her. He did record his conversations with her, though, where she mentioned several innovations that she is known for and only a Jorvan’s cure and the combat drug Impact as things SFI had never fully connected to her before. Chief Stevens also recorded his conversation with Ben Rees.”

Yumi looked at Cynfor’s son, and he stared back, his brow drawn down in a grim plane. She could say something to discredit the recording. It wasn’t a confession, exactly, but it was the piece of evidence that tied all the loose ends together. She glanced at the older Rees, the attorneys, the judge sitting regally at her podium. A worm of betrayal had gnawed at Yumi’s gut from the day Moonho told her the man she’d just arrested had saved his life only hours before. It’s insatiable twisting finally stilled, not at the chance to fudge the case but at the presence of the Caitian. The job of deciding Cynfor’s case wasn’t on Yumi’s shoulders. That was the honorable Commodore R’Marr’s job. Yumi’s job was to fill in every part of the timeline she knew and then step back. She owed Cynfor for saving Moonho from his kidnapper, but that was a personal debt. Something to repay somehow on her own time, not in Starfleet courtroom.

”Ben Rees is on tape saying that his father saved his life at a time when the only known cure for his disease is the one Dr. Baptiste said she created. Medical records show his unexplained recovery happened at the end of Cynfor Rees’ family leave from Starfleet, the first half of which he spent away from his family somewhere in the Cardassian Sector. At the same time as Ben Rees’ recovery, the Maquis weapons engineer Drak Murray was given acquired schematics remarkably similar to the designs Lieutenant Commander Rees was working on before he took leave.”

The prosecution had rested and it was her turn to present. If Maia was not so well trained she might have been sweating. The truth was while she thought her defense was iron clad, she was not sure if the Commodore would buy it. She stood resolutely and glanced at her father, the man who had guided her and nurtured her for so many years. Now it was her turn to take care of him. Cynfor smiled at her lovingly, paternally he knew that his daughter would ultimately win the day. 

“Comodore R’Marr, your honor the defense chooses not to present a case. Instead we move to dismiss all charges and reinstate Lieutenant Commander Cynfor Rees.” Maia chose not to look at her opponent when she spoke. Instead she stared directly up at the bench and the Commodore who sat there. The stare was not a defiant one, but one of reverence.

The prosecutor jumped to her feet. “Objection, your honour. The defendant had ample time for motions before the trial began. Presenting it now is a mockery of this court.”

Maia gave a quick rebuttal before a ruling could be pronounced on the objection. “Your honor, this is both a motion and a defense. So procedure does dictate that I hold it until after the prosecution make its case. It is a standard of procedure. As I am sure the Commander is aware by waiting until this time if you rule against my dismissal I still have a chance to present a full case.”

R’Marr’s expression remained impassive, but in truth she was intrigued by the defense’s motion. It was a bold move, but one that was procedurally sound, and therefore one that should be permitted. “Objection overruled. Proceed, Ensign Rees.”

Yumi shifted in her seat in the gallery beside her son Moonho. Her stomach fluttered with elation like a slowly filling balloon. She had been right! And yet, Cynfor might still have a chance at leniency. Daring a razor thin smirk, Moonho stared fixated on the dizzying comeback unfolding. 

When the reactions died down Maia continued to address the bench. “Ma’am, in 2374 following the Dominion massacre of Maquis colonies in the demilitarized zone, Admiral Paris granted amnesty to all surviving Maquis members who joined Starfleet and fought the Dominion. In 2378 Federation President Min Zife extended this amnesty to a full pardon. My colleague Commander Dupont has built an open and shut case. So on behalf of the defense I would like to concede, my client Lieutenant Commander Cynfor Rees did knowingly and willingly give weapons schematics to the Maquis. However, since doing so has served Starfleet with distinction. I now point to the Commander’s service record which shows that he participated and fought in a number of key Dominion War battles, he was also granted a commendation for his actions.” 

Maia paused to let all she had said sink in for a brief moment. “In summation due to Lieutenant Commander Rees’ service during the Dominion War the amnesty granted by Admiral Paris, and further the pardon granted by President Zife applies here. The Commander’s actions of giving the plans to the Maquis would make him a member of the Maquis and therefore a covered entity. The defense requests an immediate ruling on this motion.”

Cyn knew the plan from the get go, yet hearing his daughter lay it out like that was impressive. He felt that even the impassive Caitian Commodore would have to be a bit impressed with her presentation. Now his fate lay in the decision from R’Marr and Cyn could not be prouder of his daughter. His heart at the moment was filled with love.

Dupont rose again. “Objection, your honour. Lieutenant Commander Rees did not act because he sympathized with the Maquis but to save his son. Therefore, his actions cannot be deemed as those of a member of the Maquis but have to be judged as acts of treason of a Starfleet officer.”

Maia spoke again with a rebuttal this time turning toward her adversary. “The Commander’s motives are not on trial here. It does not matter why he gave the assets to the Maquis, it matters that he did it. According to the law that act made him a traitor and a Maquis sympathizer. Furthermore according to the law he has already been pardoned for this crime.” She was on fire, her confidence built as she spoke. Maia Rees was sure she had this case locked down.

The courtroom began to stir but was instantly silenced as the Commodore raised a hand. Her gaze shifted from the defense to the prosecution, then back towards Maia specifically. Her expression was unreadable, but she seemed to consider the young officer for several moments before speaking.

”Ensign Rees has made a compelling argument,” R’Marr announced evenly. “This court will adjourn for one hour while I consider her motion.” Once more the bell rang, and the judge was on her way to chambers before everyone assembled could get to their feet.

Maia turned to Dupont and looked at her grimly. Young Ensign Rees was out for two things at the moment. The first was to give her father the life he wanted. One that was free from this burden, and one where he roamed the stars. The second was to prove herself as a litigator. She hated that the latter would have to come at the expense of one of her mentors. She then turned to her father who was all smiles. He jumped to his feet and embraced her. “My young one I think you have done it.” He said as he kissed her and she smiled.

”Dad we are not out of the woods yet. There is a chance that the Commodore will reject my motion and we will have to present a full case. To that end, we should spend the next hour strategizing for just such an eventuality.” Maia replied and then as an after thought added. “But we can do that as family over lunch.”

Cyn took the moment to talk with his family. His son’s gave him an I told you so and his daughter in law simply hugged him and cried. As for little Layla she gave the old man a kiss. This reunion was beyond joyous despite the circumstances. However, it was when Cyn’s eyes met Yumi’s that his blood ran cold. He never could know what ran through the XO’s head, but he hoped that she was happy with the presentation.

Conversations burst throughout the courtroom like a band striking into song when the trial adjourned. “Incredible!” Moonho stood up and leaned forward on the chair in front of him as the crowd of suddenly energetic journalists chattered into their communicators and began filing out. “Maquis amnesty… Do you think it will work?”

Yumi stood beside him, unsure how she felt about Lieutenant Commander Rees returning to his duties as a guilty man. In all of her agonizing since arresting him, she had never considered that possibility. “Those kinds of generous offers tend to expire in a footnote. I don’t know. Let’s not forget the second most unlikely victory today. My team just nailed shut a thirty year old cold case.” She smiled broadly at Moonho, finally giving herself a guilt-free moment to be proud of Jackson’s incredible undercover work and Stephens’ resourcefulness to draw out Ben Rees. They were the finest intelligence team she’d worked with in Starfleet. In his younger, uncorrupted days, even the late Commander Ackboard would have been impressed.

The recess had ended and everyone was back in place. The Commodore surveyed the courtroom, her expression as indecipherable as always but with the folded hands in front of her telling anyone familiar with her a decision had been made.

”Commander Dupont,” R’Marr began, tilting her head slightly towards the prosecution. “Your objection in regards to the motivation of the defendant’s membership in the Maquis is both speculation and irrelevant to the facts at hand. It is therefore overruled, and this court will now enter its judgement. Will the defendant please rise.”

Cyn and Maia both rose and squeezed each other’s hand. It all hinged on this and they both knew it. Together as the Rees family ever was they looked to the Commodore and what the future held for their family.

R’Marr locked eyes with Cynfor. “Lieutenant Commander Cynfor Rees, it is the finding of this court that the case against you is dismissed on procedural grounds.”

The Rees family had been holding their breath and at the sound of those words they let out the air. His family was smiling but Cynfor knew that he was not off the hook there was more. He still looked grimly to the bench.

Moonho pumped his fist silently, but Yumi pinched her lips. He would get off on a technicality? They couldn’t try him for a crime that had already been pardoned. Her mouth twisted. The hour of reflection had cleared her mind of its wake-in-the-night voices. She had never wanted Cynfor to go Scott free. She had only wanted it to not be her fault that a man who saved her son’s life was locked away from his family for the rest of his. SFI had been so careful. So meticulous. Stitching a case together by the book. Following the rules. Only to have the rules yanked out from under them by an Admiral’s whim from decades ago. Would Baptiste get a slap on the wrist and a pardon, too? If SFI ever got hold of her… Yumi ground her teeth. If anyone deserved life in prison, it was the unscrupulous New Maquis doctor. She turned a simmering glare on the judge who had just waved away months of dangerous work by her team as if it were no more than a buzzing fly. JAG desk jockeys never understood the sacrifices intel agents made in the field.

”However,” the Caitian continued, her voice rising above the clamor of reaction and restoring focus, “There are still serious consequences to both your actions and your defense. By your counsel’s own admission, you are hereby found guilty of treason for membership in the Maquis. Likewise, you have therefore been granted amnesty in accordance to the pardon granted by Admiral Paris. Your service record stands, and you may continue to serve in Starfleet, but you will never…” R’marr allowed that last word to stand alone for a brief pause, underscoring its severity. “And I repeat never, be permitted a command of your own. An officer’s career can be made or broken by their decisions, and poor decisions on your part in the past have led to a fracture now that cannot be repaired.”

The Commodore continued to consider the Lieutenant for a moment. Did she truly believe a man of his demonstrated character had willfully betrayed everything he professed to hold dear? Whatever her thoughts, they were irrelevant to the case presented and the only resolution it allowed. It seemed as if she was about to say something more, but her final words were simply, “This court is adjourned.”

The sounds died out the world slowed down for Cynfor Rees. It was done the truth was out and his life would go on. His family hugged and cheered. But for Cyn the room had three people in it. There was the Commodore who exchanged a knowing glance with Cyn as they both nodded. There was Yumi, a woman he respected and called friend. Cyn wondered if they would be able to work together. Then there was Rees himself emotions running high, he was both elated and saddened by the outcome. He turned toward Yumi and managed a small smile as he motioned for her to join him as they would both leave the courtroom.

Moonho whooped under his breath. “What a day!” Saying nothing, Yumi sprang forward at Cynfor’s invitation. The smile on his face and the hope in heart toward friendship with Yumi faded as Cyn saw the look on her face. If her eyes were phasers he would have been vaporized. His gaze hardened for what was to come, but the hope was still there behind the eyes.

Without breaking stride or sparing even a glance at anyone else, Yumi launched a verbal photon torpedo at Lieutenant Commander Rees. “You just blew up 95% of my case against Dr. Vanessa Baptiste with that Maquis amnesty play. I know she did good by your family–” Yumi jabbed her finger at Cynfor, an inch shy of poking him in the chest. “–but she has done a thousand other families dirty. She’s no kinder person with the New Maquis than she was with the Maquis, and if we’re going to serve on the same ship, I need to know one thing. Will you help me catch her? Because so help me, if you get in my way–” Her words choked off as she remembered just how deep a debt she owed him.

Her words stuck in his head, they burned into his brain. He knew that she would be angry, but this was not what he had expected. He actually found himself elated that her anger was not at him but at how he had won the case. Now the question for Cynfor Rees was did he want to lock Baptiste up. As he began to argue with himself internally he thought back to that first day with Vanessa again, the agony on her patient’s faces. He knew what he needed to do.

The smile came back to Rees’ face this time it was a smirk. “Commander Han, Yumi, not only will I not stand in your way. I have just the plan to bring her down, but that is for another day. Today we celebrate. Friends?” He extended his hand to shake hers, knowing that the stoic woman would never accept a hug.

Yumi leaned back from his outstretched hand, eyeing it with surprise. She shook it firmly and met his eyes. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Releasing his hand, she took in the glowing aura of joy surrounding Cynfor in his sons and daughters. It was their day. Baptiste would still be out there haunting the stars in the morning. “Congratulations, Commander. I’m not sure what I would have done in your boots, but I understand putting family before everything else, even the fleet.” She cleared her throat. “Report for duty when the Carlsbad returns from the shipyards.” She turned to leave but a tightness between her shoulder blades spun her back for a final word. He had spoken nothing but truth that day, and she owed him the same. “It’ll be good to have the whole Ops team back on board.”