Benefit of the Doubt

Posted on Sun Feb 13th, 2022 @ 1:37am by Lieutenant Victor Barclay de Tolly

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: USS Excalibur
Timeline: 2392 in the other Reality
512 words - 1 OF Standard Post Measure

Years back Victor was an Assistant Chief of Engineering aboard the USS Excalibur. He spent his lunch time fencing with his Captain Mackenzie Calhoun. After three sets which Calhoun which Calhoun won all three, Calhoun spoke several narratives to teach Victor insight on what he had learned over the years.

First one he talked about was the end of the Iliad how the Greeks outfoxed the Trojans. Next one was from the sequel called The Odyssey where the hero Ulysses dressed up in disguise when he reached home. This allowed him to analyze the situation and it was good thing he did because it allowed him stop the suitors who were pursuing his wife.

Calhoun told a few more stories ending with one about his own experience when they arrested a fellow commander back when he was a commander. The evidence was overwhelming but he was told to stand down. Eventually he explained how his fellow commander was cleared.

The next day, Victor was on the bridge when Starfleet showed up to arrest Captain Mackenzie Calhoun. Several of the officers were upset especially when they were told Admiral Elizabeth Paula Shelby was arrested as well on the USS Trident. Both commanding officers urged the officers to stand down.

Victor quickly recalled what Calhoun told him that sometimes appear not as they are. Starfleet sent a replacement to be the Captain of the Excalibur. It was Captain Cassius Cage.

A month went by before the Excalibur and the Trident went on their first joint mission. Both ships were sent to Coridan to settle a dispute between the Orion Syndicate and the Coridan government.

Commander Burgoyne, the Chief Engineer of the Excalibur along with Victor and a few others were locked up on an Orion Ship. A week later the Excalibur and the USS Trident just left them to defend for themselves.

Two months went by as the prisoners now found themselves on an unknown planet mining it for ore from ones that made Latium to ones that were related to Dilithium.

Victor kept wanting to find a way to escape but Burgoyne convinced him that it would not be a wise move. Fortunately for them one day Mackenzie Calhoun and Elizabeth Shelby plus several others showed up to rescue them.

Mackenzie explained to the rescue prisoners he was working with an Admiral to expose members of Starfleet who were working with the Coridan Crime Syndicate who were rivals of the Orion and Sigma Iotian Crime Syndicates.

Calhoun takes his crew back to Earth where they were all happy to see Cage and others locked up.

Calhoun told Victor he was very proud on how he acted during this crisis even though it was not easy.

“Captain,” Victor replied as he looked Calhoun in the eye, “I trust you and I will always will give you the benefit of the doubt. Plus the charges seemed like a setup from the beginning.”

The next day Victor was reunited with his daughter Lara who at the time all of this happened was staying with his mother.