Survivors - Jean Lorrah [46]
“Yes, Mr. Adin,” said the prosecutor, “we shall prove that is exactly what happened.”
Slowly but implacably, the prosecution built a case that the Orions had targeted Darryl Adin after he led the Starfleet Security team that defeated them at Conquiidor. Rather than kill him, they decided to discredit him. According to this hypothesis, they had approached him at some unspecified time, offering him money. He was known to be a gambler; possibly he owed money to underground associates of the Orions.
Although Dare’s attorney objected loudly, the prosecution continued to suggest that the Orions had found Dare’s weakness and used it against him. But they could not have done it without his cooperation. Presumably he provided them with the information about the dilithium and the plan for taking the Starbound, believing the Orions would leave the crew unharmed and that he was safe because an informer inside Starfleet would be of continuing value to them.
But, according to the prosecution’s theory, the Orions’ real purpose was to destroy Darryl Adin, and at the same time make Starfleet question the reliability of all its Security personnel. And the theme of the prosecution’s case was that for the Orions to achieve their goal, Dare had had to cooperate.
Dare’s response was a sarcastic laugh, and “Anyone who would do a deal with the Orions would have to be mad!”
Unfortunately, the evidence suggested he was right.
The comcon messages were to guests at another hotel on Starbase 36, to set up meetings. But when Starfleet checked the identities of those guests, it turned out that they did not exist. Their identity documents were forged. Their credit accounts were real enough, but had been opened just before and closed out immediately after they paid off the expenses of that trip to Starbase 36. Furthermore, all financial arrangements had been made from a rather backward planet through keyboard-access computers, so there were no images or voiceprints on record.
Nor could Dare account for all of his time on Starbase 36. The supposed meetings had taken place during times when he was asleep-alone- or on his own somewhere on the base. Yar blushed to think they had been watched so closely that whoever set him up knew which nights they had spent together, and the two nights they had been apart, during a seminar for the trainees aboard a Starfleet cruiser docked at the base. The seminar was hardly classified knowledge, but it did not help Dare’s case that he freely admitted spending both evenings gambling, a pursuit in which Yar never joined him.
Then there was the afternoon when she wanted to explore the famous sensory museum with the other trainees, and Dare had told her to go ahead, he had been there many times and wanted to do some shopping.
Dare had had several presents for her when they met again that evening … but as the evidence unfolded, Yar could not help thinking that there had been plenty of time, as well, for him to meet someone for a brief strategy session.
Her own testimony came very late in the court martial. By that time Dare was sitting as expressionlessly as a Vulcan, listening to the damning evidence against him. Still, he managed an encouraging smile for Yar-he obviously counted on her testimony to exonerate him of the charges that he had sabotaged the Starbound.
But … what could she say? She had to tell the truth. She clung fast to his insistence that she do so-surely his certainty that the truth would set him free was the best proof she could have of his innocence!
Yes, she answered the prosecutor, she had taken top honors in Security in her graduating class. Yes, Darryl Adin had made out the Security duty rosters aboard Starbound. Yes, the weapons inventory had been delayed for almost the maximum thirty days after leaving Starbase 36.
“You began to discover defective weapons as soon as you started the phaser inventory?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do about it?”
“I told Dare-Commander Adin-that same evening.”
“Is that standard procedure?”