The Court Martial of Captain Kathryn Janeway Part 3

[The following partial document was intercepted by Romulan Intelligence during its transmission on Stardate 55220.4]

Official Transcript

Case number: 566477288 HH3992 882KKL

Stardate: 55210

Participants:

• Admiral William Ross: Presiding Officer
  
• Captain : Committee Member
  
• Captain Nog: Committee Member
  
• Commander Iccny: Prosecutor
  
• : Defence Attorney
  
• Captain Kathryn Janeway: Defendant

ROSS: ready to present your opening argument, Commander Iccny?

ICCNY: Yes, indeed, Your Honor. If it pleases the court...

ROSS: Iccny, you couldn't please this court if you wore clown makeup and did the Cardassian neck trick. Now get on with it.

ICCNY: Yes, your honor. As you know, my esteemed colleague Commander Rose has already presented the portion of the prosecution's case covering Captain Kathryn Janeway's actions during Voyager's first three years in the Delta Quadrant. Some of her conduct during that time was indeed shocking, but, if anything, her actions in later years were even more appalling. The prosecution will prove that Captain Janeway did not merely violate Starfleet regulations and Federation law, but fell well below the minimum standards of conduct that any civilized society expects of its citizens, much less a Starfleet Captain.

ROSS: Always nice to hear from a prosecutor who isn't over-reaching. Now please list the charges and specifications.

ICCNY: Yes, sir. The charges and specif --

[End of document]

[The following document was found on Commander Iccny's PADD, lost by Iccny, but fortunately recovered by a Starfleet Security officer who used it as a coaster for three months]

Charges and Specifications

Amendment to Charge I: Disobeying Orders

Specification II: On or around Stardate 52356, Voyager encountered a race, known only as "Species 6339," who had developed a technology capable of infecting a Borg vinculum, a mechanism used to supress the individuality of drones, with a virus capable of spreading throughout the Borg Collective. Contrary to Starfleet's standing orders, per Admiral Necheyev on Stardate 46982, to seek out opportunities to destroy the Borg Collective invasively, Janeway not only failed to seize the opportunity presented in this instance, but also interfered with another race's attempt to undermine the Collective.

Specification III: On or around Stardate 53740, Voyager encountered a race called the Brunali who had developed a biological weapon for use against the Borg Collective. Contrary to Starfleet's standing orders, previously cited, Janeway not only failed to seize the opportunity presented in this instance, but also interfered with another race's attempt to undermine the Collective.

Amendment to Charge II: Violation of the Prime Directive

Specification V: On or around Stardate 51900, Captain Janeway allowed a pre-sentient lifeform to sample the Voyager crew's DNA. The pre-sentient "silver blood" lifeforms became humanoid as a result, and quickly mimicked the crew's mannerisms, memories, and technology. The Prime Directive is designed to prevent interference with the development of lifeforms less advanced than those of the Federation. Most often, alleged violations of the Directive arise from technology transfer or the exposure of pre-warp civilizations to the existence of alien life. The violation here, in many ways, is much more severe, as the evolution of an entire species, not merely the development of a civilization, was irrevocably altered by Janeway's callous actions. Indeed, there is anecdotal evidence, not corroborated in Voyager's logs, indicating that these lifeforms came to believe that they were in fact Voyager's crew, and they all died in a futile attempted to return to Earth. If true, this underscores the importance of the Prime Directive and the terrible consequences that can result when it is violated.

Charge VI: Dereliction of Duty

Specification I: On several occasions, Captain Janeway improperly gave Starfleet technology or technological assistance to Delta Quadrant races. In the best-documented incident from this time, on or around Stardate 51710, Captain Janeway gave Federation holodeck technology to a race called the Hirogen. Three years later, it was discovered that Hirogen abuse of that technology resulted in the creation of a sentient and violent breed of hologram. Those holograms subsequently killed several sentients. In a documented conversation taking place on or around Stardate 54300, it was revealed that trading technology for supplies had in fact been standard operating procedure aboard Voyager for some time. Not every incident is fully documented in the ship's log, but a pattern of improper trade and its often dire consequences is easily seen in the record.

Specification II:

---

**** CLASSIFIED ****

---

Specification III: On or around Stardate 52140, Captain Janeway jeopardized her crew as well as the Federation itself by negotiating a treaty with an alien species, known only as "Species 8472," who had demonstrated a clear intent to infiltrate Starfleet and displayed knowledge of the Federation that could only have been gained by espionage. Janeway agreed to give up the lone weapon, a form of nanoprobe technology, that had proven effective against members of "Species 8472" in exchange for genetic alteration methods that have never proven to any value. Janeway was very clearly derelict in her duty to protect the Federation.

Specification IV: On or around Stardate 53170, Captain Janeway ordered her crew to revive a race called the Vaadwaur, who were found in suspended animation on a devastated planet. The Vaadwaur had in fact been a violent, predatory race that had been defeated and nearly wiped out by its victims centuries earlier. As a result of Janeway's actions, several Vaadwaur vessels escaped to threaten that area of space once again. Sworn testimony from Ambassador Neelix and Crewman Annika Hansen will demonstrate that Janeway did not wait for a historical records search to be completed before having the Vaadwaur revived. That search revealed the true nature of the Vaadwaur, but by then it was too late to prevent their reintroduction into the Delta Quadrant.

Specification V: On or around Stardate 53270, Captain Janeway negotiated with members of a paranoid and xenophobic race called the Kesat, offering them tactical data on neighboring races in exchange for information needed to treat Commander Tuvok, according to sworn testimony by several members of Voyager's bridge crew. While Voyager's log indicates that a deal was not in fact struck, Janeway's willingness to make such an arrangement demonstrates a disregard for sentient life and for Starfleet's principle of non-interference. A Starfleet Captain has a duty to protect the members of his or her crew but not at the expense of innocent sentients.

Specification VI: On or around Stardate 53320, Captain Janeway ordered her crew to assist an alien named Tash in building a "subspace catapult," which was subsequently used by Voyager to travel several thousand light years closer to home. The crew used Starfleet technology and methods to build the catapult, but Janeway did nothing to prevent the catapult and its component Starfleet technology from falling into the wrong hands after leaving it behind.

Specification VII: On or around Stardate 53790, Voyager's holodeck malfunctioned, and holodeck characters captured two Voyager officers and threatened their lives. Voyager's log and sworn testimony from Voyager's chief engineer show that Janeway refused to consider a suggestion to shut down the holodeck, fearing that the characters would be damaged by a hard reset. Witnesses will testify that the Captain had an emotional involvement with one of those holodeck characters which impaired her judgment. Clearly, a Captain's priority should be the safety of his or her living crew members and not holograms.

Specification VIII: On or around Stardate 53850, Captain Janeway discovered that the complete contents of the Federation database had been stolen from the Delta Flyer. While Voyager's crew apprehended the thieves, who were impersonating Federation representatives, Voyager's log shows that Janeway made no effort to determine whether that data had been passed to others, creating the possibility that the Delta Quadrant could now be awash in Federation knowledge and technology.

Specification IX: On or around Stardate 54600, Voyager was irradiated by a subspace mine, and Captain Janeway ordered the vessel's evacuation, leaving behind only an untested "emergency command hologram" to safeguard the ship and prevent its technology from being appropriated by neighboring races. The "emergency command hologram's" own logs confirm that Voyager was very nearly captured on several occasions while it was in command.

Charge VII: Abuse of Sentient Rights

Specification I: On or around Stardate 53420, Captain Janeway ordered her crew to use Starfleet technology and methods to repair a telepathic beacon. This device implanted traumatic memories of participating in a massacre in all sentients who approached it. In ordering its repair, Janeway became an accomplice in mass brainwashing.

Charge VIII: Attempted Murder

Specification I: On or around Stardate 53020, Captain Janeway attempted to murder Crewman Noah Lessing of the Starship Equinox. While conducting an improper interrogation of Lessing in Voyager's cargo bay, Janeway knowingly, recklessly, and with malice aforethought endangered the life of Crewman Lessing by lowering the shields in the cargo bay, opening that portion of the ship up to an incursion by alien lifeforms which Janeway knew would try to kill Lessing. Only the intervention of First Officer Chakotay, who defied Janeway's orders and overrode her lockout of the cargo bay controls, prevented Lessing from being killed. Sworn testmony from Commander Chakotay will show that Janeway spoke of "poetic justice" in the alien's attack on Lessing and showed no indication that she intended to prevent the aliens from killing the crewman.

[end of document]

Due to the highly secret nature of Charge VI, Specification II, its content has been stricken from the official record and was argued in closed session only.

Charge VI, Specification II: On or around Stardate 51781, Voyager's sensors detected the presence of Omega molecules in a nearby solar system, and the vessel automatically went into Omega Directive Mode. Under the Omega Directive, a Starfleet Captain is obligated to destroy existing Omega particles and to prevent their future creation by any means necessary. While Voyager's logs were expunged of this incident, sworn testimony from several members of Voyager's crew shows that Captain Janeway did not carry out this assignment competently. While she and the crew did destroy all existing Omega molecules, Janeway did nothing to prevent or even discourage the alien scientists from continuing their research. The Omega Directive demands that knowledge of Omega and how to create it must be destroyed along with the particles themselves, and it is very clear that Captain Janeway did not perform her duty in this regard.

[end of document]

Acknowledgements: The author would like to acknowledge the work of Jim Wright at Delta Blues and Jamahl Epsicokhan at Star Trek Hypertext, whose episode reviews and synopses were invaluable in researching this article.

Next week will see the fourth and final article in our special series on the Court Marshal of Captain Janeway. Grand High Janewayite of the J-Team, Lisa, will step up to the plate to rebut the points raised by her esteemed colleague for the prosecution. In the mean time, go back to the introductory article.

What do you think? Should Janeway be found innocent or guilty? Please send in your reactions to feedback@treknation.com and they might be published in a special edition of the Trek Nation mailbag!

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