Time Marches On

[STSF Seiben 0]

Time Marches On

11011.17

 

Starfleet HQ – San Francisco

A weary Seiben listened on as the prosecuting attorney pitched his case to the tribunal. Dozens of members of the various Federation worlds listened on intently. It was hard to tell at this point what they were thinking. It was time like these that Seiben almost wished he were a Vulcan or some sort of other telepath.

 

The trial had been ongoing for a few weeks now and it seemed as if all the energy had been sucked right out of him like a vacuum in that time. Both sides fought hard, valiantly pitching their sides and views to the judge and the tribunal. Judge S'Ress, the bright orange Caitian officiating the trial stroked her orange chin again in contemplation.

 

At this point, the trial was a stalemate. Prime Directive Law, as she knew, was very vague on matters such as these. S'Ress certainly did not want to make the wrong judgement, especially since she was up for re-election next year. Having 15 years of experience as a Judge under her belt, she was in the prime of her legal career and didn't want anything to tarnish her upstanding reputation.

 

S'Ress was known for taking her time in deciding big cases, but more often than not, her judgements were just and fair, which won her the respect of the legal community as well as the general public as a whole. Folding her large furry paws into her arm, she listened half-intently as the persecuting attorney, a large balding man, by the name of Robert Flack pointing at a view screen of Federation laws with a large pointy stick.

 

He blathered on incessantly about Federation laws and Starfleet Procedures, but did not produce enough evidence to prove Seiben's guilt or innocence. The trial was going nowhere, and everyone with half a brain seemed to know this. Eventually tiring of the incessant babbling, S'Ress called an end to the day's deliberations and adjourned the trial for the day, where she would slink off and drink whatever kind of booze she had stocked in her office until she forgot what it was she was drinking to forget.

 

Back in the courtroom, Captain Seiben and his court appointed attorney Mr. Locke were gathering their belongings. Seiben let out a stifled yawn as he reached behind his chair to pick up his coat. “I know” said Mr. Locke knowingly, “it's been a long day for all of us”. Putting his coat back on and straightening his uniform, the Captain shrugged. “Why don't you go home and get some rest”

 

* * *

 

Though he was tired, Seiben could not get any sleep. For the duration of the trial, Seiben was placed in a hotel with armed guards restricting access of who can get in and out. Two guards were stationed outside his room to prevent any late night sneak outs. He started to miss home. They could have at least let him stay at one his residences nearby.

 

He missed his house, his friends and his new wife Julia. Though they had only been married a short while and hardly knew each other much longer before that, he still felt that the two of them were starting to click a little bit. She seemed impressed with the family's 19th century castle in Switzerland, overlooking Lake Geneva.

 

After an hour or two, Seiben gave up and went to his terminal to see what he could find about his crew's mission. From what he heard last, the Challenger crew on the USS Columbia were about to explore a potential base of operations of Orion Pirates in a cold, desolate ice planet; hardly a place for Orions to set up camp.

 

The information that trickled back was sparse, but it seemed that they had indeed found the pirate base, abandoned rather quickly judging by all the loot they had left behind. The Columbia was now due to return to Starbase 14. The Challenger by now should be nearing completion of its repair/refit cycle by the station workers. Of course Seiben had been in contact with Commander Ba'alyo who stayed behind to monitor the operation in his absence and was kept informed of the repair progress.

 

It was nice to see that his ship was back in one piece again, as good as or better than new. It was just too bad, he was stuck here and probably won't get to go with it. Eventually, fatigue mixed with sleeping medications kicked it which brought Seiben mercifully to sleep.

 

 

 

***

 

Restless from a dreamless sleep, his desktop console beeped into life, jarring him awake. Seiben looked at the chronometer. 0630. He had only been asleep a little less than four hours. Still groggy from his sleep medication, Seiben slumped over to the console and turned it on. “Yes?” The face of his attorney, Mr. Locke appeared on the other end.

 

“Hey Rolf. Sorry to wake you, but our request has just gone through. Judge S'Ress has granted a change of venue of the trial. It'll be held back at Starbase 14” said Locke. Despite his state, Seiben smiled. Looks like he may get a change to see Challenger and his crew afterall. “We've manage to get some more witnesses for the trial and now that the Columbia is returning from its mission, it may give your crew opportunity to provide testimony on your behalf”

 

Seiben nodded and smiled. “That's great to hear. Could be just the break we need” he said, certainly not wanting to visit the Federation Prison Colony in New Zealand anytime soon. “The court is adjourned until next week, so get back to sleep and get some rest. You look like a hobo” with that, the screen went blank. Seiben chuckled and smiled. For the first time in a while, it looked like he had something to smile about.