Lesser of Two Evils

[Capt Rian Kwai 0]

Choose fast Kwai:

 

— Send the requested officer down - an android who may malfunction due to the widely conflicting legal and moral obligations, Or

 

— Send another officer down who could follow a direct order without conflict or question, but would be wrestling with her own conscious and moral obligations later?

 

Weigh the odds. No matter what choice you have, you're going to muck things up. Just how bad depends on what you decide now. Do what you're told and hope that Joy doesn't have a meltdown? Or do what you see is the best solution and ask for forgiveness later? So which is it, Kwai?

 

A big "oh spite" moment occurred after Rian slipped into the courtroom smuggling the transport enhancer device. While trying to remain inconspicuous (and how can you really blend into the background when you've got spots?) and yet move to the most optimal spot for the device to work, Rian realized one thing:

 

You're supposed to be acting as the XO, you dope. Executive officers weren't supposed to do this. An executive officer wouldn't put all of the upper senior officers in this position – she would have sent another officer in Joy's place, not gone herself. She wouldn't have left the ship while the admiral was also planet-side.

 

Doh!

 

If she'd been in a private location, Kwai would have smack herself in the head. Against a wall. Repeatedly.

 

As it was, the Trill had been more worried about the urgency of the situation than her newly acquired position on the ship. Well, she'd only been appointed a few hours ago, one could hardly blame her for forgetting. Right? Ha! And she could offer a plausible explanation of her actions. Considering just how close they'd come to watching the execution of the Republics two officers, her quick reactions to Joy's assertions probably preserved BluRox's plans and the officer's lives.

 

Still, Rian knew she'd be beating herself up over the decisions, as well as the moral conflict of the jailbreak scenario for a while. Yes, she felt as if these crew members need to be punished. But even in the Federation the accidental nature of the incident was taken into consideration during sentencing. The death sentence for an accident was extreme. On the other hand, the Republic crew did not have the right to inflict the Federation laws on this culture. It was a no-win situation for the Trill. No wonder Joy was concerned about her protocols.

 

Let them die. Rescue and punish according to Federation laws. Neither decision was the lesser of two evils.

 

All Rian could hope for was that she made the right decision for that moment in time.