Episode 1.3 - "The Time of Trial"

Mission Info

Mission Posts

View All Posts »

Mission Summary

The Board of Inquiry was convened and the opening statements from each side were heard. Captain Arnold Mercer announces his intentions to “prove to this board that there is more to Rear Admiral Iluvar than meets the eye...that perhaps this man is not as innocent as we have come to believe.” Captain Joseph Wells argues that the defense intends only “to reinforce what we already know to be fact: Rear Admiral Iluvar is a dedicated Starfleet officer.”

Proceedings for the Board of Inquiry began with the witness testimony and questioning by the prosecution. Commander Christopher McNeil was the first to be called to the stand. During questioning, Captain Mercer started by asking the commander whether he had ever found himself questioning the admiral’s decisions. The line of questioning eventually led to a brief discussion of the incident in which the USS Tethys crossed over into the Mirror Universe as well as the recent incident in which the USS Pandora diverted from her rendezvous with a representative of the Romulan Senate.

The floor was then turned over to Captain Wells for questioning on behalf of the defense. McNeil’s responses to the questions established that Iluvar was “far more concerned with the well-being of his crew and doing what he believes to be right than advancing his career.” The commander further explained that he believed Rear Admiral Iluvar had acted in accordance with Starfleet regulations during the incident with the Mirror Universe. Satisfied, Captain Wells allowed the witness to step down.

Witness testimony and questioning by the defense opens when Lieutenant Aerus calls Captain Jorian Dao to the stand. The lieutenant’s objective was to establish a continuity of behavior by making connections to people who had known him during his early Starfleet career in the Briar Patch. The testimony of Captain Dao enables the defense to paint a picture of an enthusiastic young officer who, despite the losses he has experienced, has grown over the years to become a seasoned officer capable of sound command decision.

Commander Harking of the prosecution took over the questioning and immediately turned focus to the incident involving the USS Valar. She pushed the captain’s testimony toward the fact that then-Lieutenant JG Iluvar had been unsatisfied with the inquiry board’s ruling and had taken it upon himself to launch his own investigation, an investigation which two years prior to the current board of inquiry had yielded results that “conveniently” affirmed Iluvar’s argument of how the Valar had been destroyed. At this point, she concluded her questioning and allowed Captain Dao to step down.

Lieutenant Aerus took the floor again, calling Admiral Alynna Necheyev to the stand. He proceeded along a line of questioning to establish the same continuity of behavior from the admiral’s testimony. Taking note of what had just occurred during Commander Harking’s cross-examination, he began focusing in on the fact that Necheyev had been the one to grant Iluvar permission to take his leave on the surface of Ba’ku and the motivations behind her decision to do so. He concluded his questioning with the admiral’s confirmation that she had been confident in Iluvar’s ability to return to duty upon his decision to do so.

Again, Commander Harking took the lead on the prosecution’s questioning of Admiral Necheyev. She focused on Iluvar’s extensive knowledge of the Briar Patch and questioned why such a dedicated officer would not have shared all the information he had available to him with his superiors. In support of her argument, she presented evidence from the an engagement that took place during negotiations with the Tzenkethi that centered around two alien vessels that were unknown to any in the room except for Iluvar. At this point, Captain Wells interjected with an objection, bringing an end to the questioning and allowing Admiral Necheyev to step down.

At his own request and against the better judgment of Captain Wells, Commander Earlond was called to the stand to provide testimony on Iluvar’s behalf. The commander’s testimony focused on how Iluvar kept to Starfleet procedure and had been the one to keep him in line on more than one occasion. In short, Earlond saw Iluvar as a strong commanding officer who was capable of making sound command decisions.

No sooner had Captain Wells turned away than Captain Mercer took over questioning of the witness. He immediately began to push the questioning further into the actions that had been taken by Earlond which had required Iluvar to “keep him in line”. After several minutes of back-and-forth, Captain Wells requested a brief recess which the board granted.

During the recess, Rear Admiral Iluvar and Commander Earlond have a brief, frank conversation about the latter’s decision to testify before the board. Little was said and by the time it was over, there was no question in either man’s mind as to what would happen when the board reconvened.

The inquiry reconvened following the recess and Commander Earlond returned to the witness stand where he was once again questioned by Captain Mercer. Questioning proceeded from where it had left off prior to the recess and eventually came to the recent incident of the undercover operation that Commander Earlond had authorized. While admitting his own involvement and accepting full responsibility, Earlond vehemently denied that Iluvar had been involved in any manner aside from being the one who ordered Earlond’s being confined to quarters.

Captain Mercer then abruptly shifted his focus to what he perceived as Iluvar’s preferential treatment toward the EMH, the Peter hologram, and Aris. He questioned whether the commander felt that Iluvar was acting in accordance with Starfleet procedure in each case or whether he was allowing his personal feelings to influence his judgment, to which Earlond replied confidently that Iluvar had acted in the best interests of all. At that point, Mercer concluded his line of questioning and allowed Earlond to step down.

Finally, Rear Admiral Iluvar is called to take the stand by Captain Wells. Questioning began with a focus on Iluvar’s rapid promotion over the past three years, which took him from the rank of Commander to the rank of Rear Admiral. In each instance, the common thread seemed to be Iluvar’s “performance as a commanding officer and, later, task force commanding officer”. Captain Wells focused in particular on the infamous events of the Battle of Altorus in which Rear Admiral Iluvar and the USS Tethys took a leading role in the engagement. Satisfied at the admiral’s responses, Wells concluded his questioning and turned the floor over to Captain Mercer.

Almost immediately, Captain Mercer took his line of questioning back to the incident involving the USS Valar. He challenged Iluvar’s interpretation of events by citing the official records and findings of the Starfleet inquiry into the matter. Mercer further questioned Iluvar’s decision to take a leave of absence and live amongst the Ba’ku rather than face counseling sessions as recommended by the inquiry at the time. Before Iluvar could respond to that point, Captain Mercer abruptly shifted topics to address Iluvar’s decision to assume custody of Aris. Despite Iluvar’s strong responses to each of the prosecution’s questions, the damage done simply by the possibilities raised was enough for Captain Mercer to confidently bring an end to the questioning and allow the admiral to step down from the stand.

Two days after the testimony of Rear Admiral Iluvar, the Board reconvened to issue its final ruling on the matter and hand down appropriate sentence. Admiral Gareth Bullock (NPC) spoke on behalf of the inquiry board as he outlined their views of the testimony and evidence they had seen over the past few days. It was the final decision of the board that Iluvar be stripped of his position as Task Force Commanding Officer and reduced in rank to Captain. As a consequence of his new rank, Captain Iluvar was allowed to retain command of the USS Pandora.