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It is a time that Spock is on the bridge, when the Admiralty contacts the Enterprise. They must have checked.
“Sir, priority one message.” The Communications Officer informs them, “They are specifically saying not to take it privately.”
Captain Pike directs, “On screen.”
Once procedure is followed, the bridge is witness to a panel containing a large number of Admirals. All in a configuration denoting the serious and severe nature of the matter being discussed.
Upon seeing them in such a position, the Captain sighs, “How bad is it?”
Admiral Cornwell tells them, “First of all, you’re not turning the ship around. You’re too far away to help, and people need something to hope for.”
“That’s not helping with the worry.”
“I wish I could tell you that it’s unfounded.” She takes a deep breath. “The Klingons have declared war with the Federation.”
Spock has never seen Pike so devastated before. “You’re absolutely sure that we-”
“We wouldn’t have contacted you like this, if you could help.”
The Captain rubs a hand across his temples, “How could this happen?”
The Admiral grows a bit shifty and hesitates with the next answer. “There was an incident with an Officer, whose name I cannot disclose. Due to the fact that they had a... personal relationship with a member of your crew.”
Spock immediately responds, “What did Michael do?”
The Captain turns towards him. “How could you possibly be certain that it’s about you?”
“Admiral Cornwell hesitated to call it a personal matter, while still attempting to allow for privacy. Because privacy is a central tenet of the Vulcan doctrine, but Humans view all private matters as emotional ones.” Spock contemplates the situation, “Logically, if the incident related to my parents, you would have been forced to take the message in a briefing room. While likely being given much different orders. If any other relative was involved, most of them would not know to be wary of giving the name.”
The Captain shoots him an inquisitive look, which Spock can only assume is in reference to the information about his parents. At present, he has greater issues to deal with. Spock refocuses his attention on the screen.
Anderson is the one to respond this time, “Okay. So procedure dictates-”
“Did you forget my question, Sir?” Spock cuts in, but is met with a blank look of confusion. “I ask you again, Admiral, what has she done?”
Anderson is not so reticent about sharing information, as Cornwell. “She’s the first mutineer in Starfleet history.”
“Fascinating.” Pike likes to think he knows Spock well enough, by now. To the point that he’s almost sure Spock isn’t saying that with his typical inquisitive nature. No, that tone is pure calculation.
“Why? Did you know this would happen?” Forrest’s voice has an edge to it that would probably scare anyone else.
Too bad he wasted it on a Vulcan.
“Negative, Sir. I simply wished to indicate that your word choice is most interesting.” Spock would never launch into a lecture in the middle of determining how to handle a crisis, but he can allow himself some time for questioning in this situation. “During my time at the Academy, I learned that there were, no less than, three previous attempts by Officers to take control of vessels. So Michael would not be considered the first mutineer, instead she would be the first successful one.”
“Oh, sure! Let’s worry about our accuracy of language, at a time like this.”
“Yes, indeed. Sir. Let us.” For once everyone on the bridge knows that Spock understands the underlying sarcasm, if only because he looks like a cat ready to pounce. “You said Michael was a mutineer, not that she incited mutiny. Therefore, I must conclude that she did not use her connections with the crew to turn them against their Captain. I ask you how it could be possible for one individual to go against the crew of Starship and succeed?”
Terral states plainly, “Burnham lied about her Captain’s orders.”
Spock looks very interested, he probably didn’t expect that. “What were the orders?”
Forrest tried to tack on, “She was trying to destroy the Klingon ship when-”
“‘Trying to’ is she, or is she not, the first successful mutineer? Sir.” Pike never wants to get on Spock’s bad side. Everything that he has ever said would be fair game to use against him.
Admiral Terral allows, “The former Commander was partly successful.”
Spock’s padd pings and he’s already speeding through the document by the time Admiral Cornwell explains, “I just sent you a full write up of the incident and aftermath. Which you can peruse at your discretion.”
“This says that the Klingon declaring war blamed the Human Captain.” Spock raises an eyebrow, “Who apparently allowed Michael to work with her following the incident. Will she be pardoned?”
Cornwell grimaces, “I regret to inform you that that isn’t going to happen.”
Spock finds their double standards quite unbecoming of the service. “And yet you are not, in any way, disgracing or denouncing the actions of Captain Phillipa Georgou.”
“She died, we can’t punish her. And it’s not severe enough to warrant-”
“I apologize.” Spock doesn’t apologize, it isn’t the Vulcan way. So if he didn’t know what was coming Chris would assume it doesn’t sound like one, because of that alone. “I believe that I misread this document. I was under the, seemingly mistaken, impression that the Official word of Starfleet on the matter was of this war being started by one mutineer. And not a series of mistakes made by multiple Officers with one main instigator of issues. A war, I might add, which has been brewing since before the birth of not only myself but my father as well.”
Admiral Anderson has rejoined the defense, “Well you see-”
“I understand the Human need for martyrs.” For a long time he was unable to, but eventually Michael was the one to ‘make it make sense.’ Spock will never forgive himself if he cannot give the same courtesy to those deciding her fate. “I even understand the compulsion to pretend that a dead individual could not have made any significant mistakes. But my sister is very much a living person. And therefore deserving of more respect and nuanced understanding, than is being afforded to her.”
“Sister?” That gets the Captain to come back into the discussion. Pike only gets a quelling look, which he knows must translate to ‘we’re not talking about this right now.’ Or maybe that’s too hopeful. Why would they ever have that talk, unless Chris forced the issue?
Spock continues on, unimpeded. “This is the most blatant act of xenophobia that I have ever been witness to. And my childhood school experienced four attempted bombings, because I was in attendance.”
“I know. That speech can be very disturbing.” Cornwell either truly tries to think the best of people or she’s helping. No one on the bridge, or in the conference room, can determine which.
“That is not what I speak of. In this very declaration, it says that the Captain asked for peace from a culture that sees peace as weakness and weakness as unacceptable.”
“It is standard procedure,” Terral points out.
“And was used when dealing with a society deemed non-standard.” Spock elects not to press the issue. “Let us move on to discussing the treatment of the prisoner.”
Admiral Cornwell looks offended, “Are you insinuating that she isn’t receiving the basic dignities afforded to all criminals in the Federation?”
Spock’s eyebrows have gone into his hairline, “Negative, Sir. I had assumed that following directives on basic Human rights was implied. If there was any circumstance where they were forgone, it would be extremely disconcerting.”
Beside her, Admiral Forrest relaxes. “Then what were you talking about? And what was it you were trying to say about xenophobia being perpetrated against Humans by Humans?” It almost seems like a joke to him.
“Captain Georgou believed Michael to be emotionally compromised. Because, as a child, she watched her parents die at the hands of Klingons. And yet, there is no indication of her receiving psychiatric treatment. Nor a psychological examination. Even as she is being gaslighted into believing assertions, of the narrative against her, stating that she is the sole cause for this war.” Spock must bring up the point again. They have not yet responded to it. “A war which Starfleet has been strategizing about responses to, for fifty years.” He must also be deferential. “I apologize, again. Standard is not my first language. As such, I cannot be certain of appropriate usage. Do you know of a better word to describe the situation?” That last sentence sends shivers down the spine of even Una.
Anderson’s patience is wearing thin, “Get to the point, Lieutenant.”
“Michael was seen as too Human by her Captain to remain objective in a crisis. And is now too Vulcan for her mental state to be considered in her sentencing.” As a Vulcan Spock cannot use tone to show the special importance of specific statements, but he can alter the wording to empathize it. “Yet, she is not Vulcan enough to have had a clear mind in the crisis and made accurate, logical recommendations to her Captain.”
Since she became a part of their family Michael has always been too little and too much, all at the same time. As a child Spock believed that he had pushed part of his burden onto her. As an adult, Spock sees the full ramifications of the societal structure for the service which they have dedicated their lives to.
“The sentence would remain-”
“Michael is a Vulcan citizen. Confirmation of her being emotionally compromised has the same legal implications of an insanity plea.” This seems to shock a significant contingent of the Admiralty. Which is extremely disquieting.
Terral was not one of them, “If she was of sound mind-”
“Objectively, Michael was ignored, then stopped from completing her ideas. Which had historical precedent backing them, and were shut down by a Captain who was not learning from past battles.” He looks directly into the eyes of the Admiral. “That Captain is seen as ‘just following procedure.’ You argue that that was the correct decision, when Georgou’s own actions indicate regret about the handling of the matter. As seen in my sister’s temporary release from under her custody.”
Forrest has grown less assertive, “That’s still not xenophobia.”
“What is xenophobia? How do you define it?” Spock does not wait for a reply. “I am arguing that the reticence displayed by Starfleet, in regards to treating Michael as a human, demonstrates an uneasiness about race mixing. Or, if one took it a step further, then viewing her as in some way contaminated by her education on Vulcan.”
“Those are lofty accusations. You have to back something like that up with a significant amount of evidence.” Cornwell’s tone tells him that she thinks he hasn’t already done so.
Spock believes that this is his best opportunity to explain his view of the situation. “You called her the first mutineer.” It is not an accusation, merely recited by rote. “That is a title which gets put into history books. No mention of the other attempts beforehand, or the reasoning behind it. Or the complication regarding whether the term truly applies, because of how she was stopped and so cannot be seen as the first one to be successful.”
Cornwell points out, “We are currently discussing the difficulties presented by the situation.”
“But will the writers documenting the incident do so? Will they take the time to put the same care and attention into explaining her upbringing?” They already know the answer. “Or will they simply write her off as Human in name only? See her as Vulcan, through and through. In an attempt to make themselves feel less capable of committing the same crime.”
Anderson’s face has grown very red, “You don’t understand-”
“You do not understand.” Spock is not someone to be messed with. In this matter, he seems unwilling to permit any interruptions to his argument. “Most who judge my family, oscillate between thinking of any given member as closer to Human or Vulcan. Generally, more for their own comfort rather than based upon evidence. In this circumstance, every change in that opinion leaves Michael worse off.”
They will never understand the pain which the S’chn T’gai family has suffered.
They still try to defend themselves anyway. “We are treating her as Human.” At least Admiral Terral is not lying, he simply does not know any better.
“Did you contact her mother?” For once, Spock does not bother with calculating the odds. “I can say with nearly one-hundred percent certainty that you did not do so. It would require viewing them as Humans, with a Human parental-child relationship. You contacted her father about a diplomatic incident.”
Cornwell’s voice has grown soft with understanding. “This clearly happens to you too often.”
“Indeed. I will state, for the record, that which I wish to inform the Admiralty. I would have resigned my commission, if I had been requested to fight in this war. A war, which you blame on one person.” Spock wonders, “Do you not know your own history? What do you believe caused Earth’s World War I?”
Forrest has gone back to being cocky, “The assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand.”
“That is incorrect.” Pike almost thinks Spock’s eyes are alight with amusement. “The assassination caused a minor skirmish. It is the Alliance system which caused a World War.”
Terral does what’s best for them all, and wastes no more time. “End Transmission.”
The Captain finally stops his gaping, to ask Spock. “Why the hell did you do that?”
“There is now a record of certain ideas, with several possible uses.” The Lieutenant begins detailing them, when the Captain’s expression does not change. “The transcript may later be used to set precedent for Vulcan criminals who did not commit their crimes on Vulcan. And create the understanding that they may require mental assistance.”
Christopher says in realization, “You don’t think anything is gonna come of it. At least not for her.”
“It never does for the first eleven times, on average.”
Pike sounds as though he had the wind knocked out of him, “Well, shit!”
Spock merely says, in a somewhat sympathetic manner (for him), “It is what they do to my family.”
Which makes everyone else on the bridge appear horrified, the second he turns to the console. Spock goes back to his work as though nothing out of the ordinary has happened.
This is a man who just went up against the Admiralty. If Spock had not been careful enough with his wording then he could be severely punished. He might still be, for the way he interrupted some of them.
His sister is in jail. Spock has not spoken to his family. But apparently he believes now is the time to return to normal.
Una is still astonished by his fervent defense. She didn’t know Spock was capable of such a thing. “You and your sister must be close.”
“We have not spoken since she joined Starfleet.” It is said in the same emotionless voice which he uses a majority of the time.
The sheer loyalty! “But I can’t imagine you don’t care for her deeply.”
This time Una does not receive a response. It would be an admission of guilt, otherwise.
“You should take some time off.” The Captain tries to be gentle with the request.
Spock does not even look up from his panel. “If I do not continue my work, with the same efficiency as before, they will argue that I am emotionally compromised. I would then be taken off duty, indefinitely.”
The Enterprise is so far away from civilization that they have been told not to come back for help with the war effort. And Spock’s life must still be ruled by his duty to the service, or the opportunity could be taken away from him forever.
Needless to say, no one is going to sleep easy at night.