Survivors - Jean Lorrah [44]
The bodies were then committed to the vastness of space, whose exploration was the purpose to which their lives had been dedicated. There were no Orion bodies to dispose of; the pirates had carried their own dead away with them, a surprising act among a people renowned for having no honor or loyalty.
As surprising as their leaving anyone alive aboard the Starbound.
It was only when the funeral service was over, and Yar found herself wiping away tears and proceeding to her watch on the bridge with a new sense of dedication, that she realized Dare was right. Starfleet regs were right. Instead of increasing their depression, the funeral service provided a catharsis.
For the next three days, Yar doubted Dare slept at all. He visited every part of the ship, inspecting repairs, encouraging hope, ordering people to meals and to rest as often as to duty. And when he was not prowling the corridors, he was in Engineering, supporting George Bosinney, who seethed with frustration at not being able to do the work with his own hands. Then he got the idea of strapping an instrument to the stump of his right wrist, to perform some delicate maneuver that not even T’Irnya was able to complete to his satisfaction.
What he did, he explained, was to build one functioning impulse engine out of the ruins of three. It wouldn’t give them much power beyond barest life support and motion-but if it got them to Starbase 18 it would save their lives. And the day they finally tested it, and began to move, the corridors of the U.S.S. Starbound rang with cheers.
Once they were underway, and it became apparent that the engine would hold, the trip to Starbase 18 became routine. Two days out from base, their radio signal suddenly brought an answer. A starship was sent to tow the crippled training ship in, while the joyful crew were taken aboard, wined, dined-and debriefed. There was talk of medals and commendations, and Yar glowed with pride in her young shipmates, and particularly the man she loved.
A few hours later they were able to transport to the Starbase. Yar, who had been acting more or less as second in command, stood at Dare’s right, George Bosinney on his left, in the last group to transport over. As they materialized on the platform, Yar was surprised to see none of their shipmates lingering, and no admiral or even commodore waiting to greet the heroes.
Instead, a contingent of Starfleet Security marched forward, their leader facing Dare. “Darryl Adin,” he announced, “I arrest you in the name of Starfleet Command. You are hereby relieved of duty, stripped of rank, and consigned to a Security holding area until a board of inquiry determines whether there are grounds for court-martial on charges of conspiracy, treason, and murder.”
Tasha Yar and the other survivors of the Starbound were kept away from Darryl Adin for several days, until the Starfleet board of inquiry had done its work. To their horror, the board found enough evidence to court-martial the man who had given them the strength, courage, and guidance to survive after the Orions left them to die.
Once that was determined, though, Yar refused to answer the defense attorney’s questions until the man arranged for her to see Dare.
By that time she knew what he was accused of: conspiring with the Orions to steal the dilithium crystals, in return for a fortune in numbered bank accounts on Oriana. Starfleet Command had discovered that the leak to the Orions had taken place on Starbase 36, where they had loaded the crystals. Adin’s complicity would account for his being left alive when the Orions killed the other officers.
Yar wanted George Bosinney