Guest Appearance JP Pt. I

Posted on Tue Oct 19th, 2010 @ 11:24am by Vice Admiral Iluvar

Mission: Episode 1.3 - "The Time of Trial"
Location: Courtroom, Deep Space Four
Timeline: Mission Day 04, 0930 hours

ON: [[Courtroom, Deep Space Four, Mission Day 04, 0930]]

"Thank you, admiral," Aerus (NPC) said, rising to his feet. He'd been spending a lot of time helping Captain Wells to prepare for this case and felt honored that the captain was allowing him to assist with the witness examination. Glancing briefly at the PADD he held in one hand, he took a moment to check his information before saying, "Will Captain Dao (PNPC) please step forward."

Jorian looked up at the lieutenant. He stood up in a solid, sweeping motion and tugged his uniform straight so that he would look more presentable. Sidestepping out of the row he had been sitting in, he slowly moved towards the witness stand, looking from the defense team, to the prosecution, and finally to Iluvar, before taking his seat. As he sat down, he looked at Iluvar once more and gave an infinitely small smirk.

Aerus had done a little research into Rear Admiral Iluvar's records and found that he had spent a considerable amount of time on Deep Space Twelve during his earlier years in Starfleet. It seemed only natural that they call upon those whom he had served with to provide character testimony. When he had brought his suggestions to Captain Wells, it had been somewhat affirming to know that the captain agreed with him. Aerus' gaze followed the Trill as he made his way up to the witness stand. As Captain Dao passed the prosecution table, Aerus noticed the smug look on Commander Harking's (NPC) face. Hopefully he wouldn't mess this up.

"Captain," Aerus began, "Could you please state your name and position for the record?"

Jorian nodded and leaned forward in his chair, slightly. "Captain Jorian Dao, Commanding Officer of the USS Helena."

"Prior to your service aboard the Helena, you were stationed aboard the USS Excelsior," Aerus said, recalling the information from memory, "Correct?" The first thing he would need to do is to establish the connection between Captain Dao and Rear Admiral Iluvar. That would give the testimony greater validity and would allow him to then proceed further with the questioning.

Jorian nodded, and gave the lieutenant a warm smile, before responding, "Indeed I was, Lieutenant. I served as the Excelsior's helm officer."

Aerus nodded slowly. So far, things seemed to be lining up. It wasn't that he doubted any of the information he had researched, but he'd gotten the distinct feeling that the prosecution would be looking for any possible opportunity to chip away at the defense testimony. "Where was the Excelsior assigned during your tour of duty," Aerus asked.

Jorian shifted slightly in his chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. If he hadn't known better, he'd have thought they designed them to make the user uncomfortable. "For the bulk of my tour on the Excelsior, it was assigned to sector 441," he answered. Realizing that perhaps not everyone in the room had memorized the sector layouts, he added, "The Briar Patch."

"According to Starfleet Operations, Deep Space Twelve has been the focus of operations in Sector 441 since its construction in 2376," Aerus quoted from his research for the benefit of the official record, "In your time aboard the Excelsior, did you ever have any interactions with Rear Admiral Iluvar?"

"In fact I did, Lieutenant. If memory serves, I believe he was a... Lieutenant Junior Grade at the time." Jorian responded, stretching his memory back to when he first met Iluvar aboard the station.

The initial connection had been made. Now Aerus could begin to focus on the character testimony that the captain had to offer. Based on what he had seen of the admiral's record, he should be able to establish some continuity of behavior that would work in the admiral's favor. "What was your initial opinion of the admiral when you first met him," Aerus asked.

Jorian straightened his back and he took a deep breath as he tried to remember back to his intitial impressions of the man. "Well, it *was* a good few years ago, but as I remember it, he was quite enthusiastic about the assignment, even though he had been on the station since just after construction began. He had extensive knowledge of the patch, but he didn't flaunt it like some would have."

"How has your opinion of him changed since that time," Aerus asked, hoping to show some sign of continuity.

"Well," Jorian said, trying to put his thoughts into words, "He experienced some harsh losses since I first met him. Something like that is bound to have some level of effect on anyone." he said, remembering a handful of tragic losses that Iluvar had been involved in. After a moment of silence, Jorian continued, "He's much more contemplative than he was then... but he's never lost the enthusiasm."

Aerus admired the Trill's ability to make such an honest observation without seeming to be condescending in any way. It certainly showed that the captain had some level of respect for the admiral. "What about your professional opinion as a commanding officer," Aerus inquired, "What has been your impression of the admiral's command ability?"

Jorian tilted his head slightly and looked at the lieutenant. "To be honest, I haven't had many interactions with him in an official capacity since he joined the Eighth Fleet. From the reports I read every now and then from that end of the quadrant, he's been doing quite well."

"Thank you, captain," Aerus said with a small smile, "I have no further questions." He turned and walked back around the table to take his seat next to Captain Wells. It seemed like he had done rather well during the questioning, but they still had cross-examination to worry about. There was no telling what kind of questions the prosecution would be asking.

Rising smoothly from her chair, Commander Harking fixed the Trill with a firm gaze. "Captain Dao," she said with a hint of a germanic accent, "Tell us more about the 'harsh losses' you say the admiral has experienced since you first met him. Is there a particular incident that you believe has affected him moreso than another?"

Jorian lowered his head slightly. This was one of those questions that no matter how he answered it it would look bad on the Admiral and, judging by the look on her face, the Commander knew that too. Taking a breath and tugging on his uniform slightly, he answered, "I would have to say the loss of the USS Valar. The Admiral, I'm sorry I forget what his rank was at the time, was assigned to the USS Valar when it responded to a distress call from one of our outlying research bases. The captain ordered him to the surface to coordinate the evacuation of the base while the Valar attempted to divert an asteroid that was on an impact course with the base."

Pausing a moment, both to let the first part of the story sink in and to recall what the official report said was, Jorian looked around the room slightly to gauge the reactions of all present. "The Valar was able to divert the asteroid, but the way they did it caused a massive plasma surge that destroyed the ship. Iluvar, having been the only officer the Captain sent to the planet, was the only one of the crew to survive. I think something like that would impact anyone severely." he finished, making sure to emphasize the final sentence.

"A most unfortunate event," Commander Harking said curtly, "How did then-Lieutenant JG Iluvar handle the situation?"

Jorian peered at the Commander silently for a few moments. He couldn't tell if she was good at her job because it was her job, or because she liked it.

Either way, he didn't appreciate the tone of her last statement and question. "He took a leave of absence from Starfleet." he said, then allowing his emotions to get the better of him, he continued, "And if you think that him taking a leave of absence shows an inability to cope, you're dead wrong. If anything, it shows how well he knew himself, a lesser man would have tried to deal with it and his job at the same time but -"

"Thank you, captain," Harking said, cutting him off abruptly, "It is clear that you believe then-Lieutenant JG Iluvar took a leave of absence for his own sake. According to Starfleet records, however, then-Lieutenant JG Iluvar was not satisfied with the ruling passed down by the Inquiry into the loss of the USS Valar. Is this true?"

"I suppose not, no." Jorian responded.

"Why not," Harking asked sharply.

"Because..." Jorian thought back to when he had spoken with Iluvar some time after the incident. "Because the Chief Engineer of the Valar was better than that. He wouldn't have made the mistake that official record said he did. He wouldn't have made the kind of error that would lead to the destruction of the ship."

Harking turned and lifted a PADD from the prosecution table, raising it to show the Trill seated in the witness stand. "I have here the official findings of the Board of Inquiry," she said in a firm tone, "It is very clear that the destruction of the USS Valar resulted from a warp core breach due to extreme taxes on said vessel's power systems due to excessive tractor beam usage. Do you deny the accuracy of these findings?"

Jorian raised an eyebrow. "Indeed I do, Commander."

"Then what was the cause of the vessel's destruction," Harking demanded.

"If the prosecution would have properly reviewed the records," Jorian said, hoping that perhaps it might shake the Commander slightly, "perhaps it would have been noted that just under two years ago, Iluvar uncovered the truth, that it was an attack by an alien starship of as yet still unknown origin that destroyed the Valar."

"A situation that conveniently confirms the theory maintained by then-Lieutenant JG Iluvar during the original inquiry," Harkings said in a low voice as she lowered the PADD to let it rest in her other hand.

"If you're insinuating that he made it up, you may want to talk to Captain's Shelby, Johns, and Faisal." Jorian responded. "The Excelsior, the Independence, and the Helena were all witness to the events."

Harking paused for a moment, scrutinizing the Trill through narrowed eyes. A few seconds passed in silence before she finally said, "No further questions."

Turning on her heel, she returned to her seat and placed her folded hands on the table before her.

"Thank you, captain," Joseph said from his own seat, "You may step down."

Jorian nodded slowly and stood, straightening his uniform as he did so. As expected, the Commander had attempted to manipulate the facts to her favor, but he felt that he had managed to counter her efforts successfully.

OFF

A JP by

Rear Admiral Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

Captain Joseph Wells (NPC)
Legal Officer
Starfleet Judge Advocate-General
Played by: RAdm Iluvar

Captain Arnold Mercer (NPC)
Legal Officer
Starfleet Judge Advocate-General
Played by: RAdm Iluvar

Captain Jorian Dao (NPC)
Commanding Officer
USS Helena
Played by: RAdm Androski (guest)

Commander Anne Harking (NPC)
Deputy Legal Officer
Starfleet Judge Advocate-General
Played by: RAdm Iluvar

and

Lieutenant Aerus (NPC)
Deputy Legal Officer
Starfleet Judge Advocate-General
Played by: RAdm Iluvar