Part 12: The Gods of Genocide
"For your part in the Genocide of the Kaylon how do you plead?""Do I feel guilt? Yes."
"Do I feel regret that the choices made led to the extermination of a people? Yes."
"Do I regret they left us no choice? Yes."
"Were they individually Sentient Beings? Well, you know, there are nuances to every situation."
"Has their extermination cost us more than we will ever know? Yes, I now believe it has."
"Do I regret sacrificing the Orville so that four people could escape certain death in a black hole? I do."
"Do I regret that our survival led to the accident that caused the death of all but two of the Sargass Nine space Station crew?" Ed Mercer stared at Alara Kitan. Absolutely."
****
"Do I regret sacrificing the Orville so that four people could escape certain death in a black hole?" The Isaac hologram confessed to Captain Kelly Grayson."I do not."
"How did you reach that decision?" Kelly, her back turned to the Isaac hologram as she stared at Ty Finn sitting in a chair as Arbitrator, tried not to break focus. "If I was in command of the Orville, how did you make a decision to sacrifice the ship and its crew without my consent?"
"I concluded that the Orville met the minimum requirements for surviving transit through a wormhole and the Shuttle did not." Isaac followed the movement of Captain Grayson around the courtroom. "Realizing that Captain Mercer's flight path would not carry the shuttle to safety, I altered the Orville's course sufficiently to meet the shortfall."
"Wh..." Kelly paused for a moment and focused on an answer to a question she hadn't thought to ask. "Where would the Shuttle's Course have taken it?"
"Beneath the Orville." Kelly closed her eyes, and listening to Isaac, tightened her fingers into a fist. Ed, You fucking God damn son of a Bitch, how dare you make that choice. At that moment she wanted to really hit Ed Mercer. Repeatedly. "I corrected course to meet the necessary requirements for their survival."
"And if I was in Command," Kelly released her fist full of rage at Ed Mercer and returned to resolving her own situation. "How did you make that decision to sacrifice the Orville and crew?"
"I..." Isaac hologram seemed to be searching for an conclusion that only the real Isaac could reach. "...am uncertain."
"Arbitrator," Kelly looked at Ty Finn. "Only the real Isaac can answer these questions."
"Would you summon Isaac from Claire Finn's private quarters?"
...
Bortus stepped back from the doorway to Claire Finn's Quarters as it opened and Isaac emerged. Ignoring the presence of the Moclan Commander the unspeaking metal man turned down the hallway in the direction of the holographic suite. Bortus followed at a discreet distance.
...
The Sea of Isaac holograms vanished as the real Isaac entered.
"Isaac?" Kelly starred at the last Kaylon in the Universe. "Why did you bypass my authority as Commander of the Orville and sacrifice the ship and crew to save the Shuttle?"
"I...they were going to die." Isaac's eyes shifted from red to blue and Kelly smiled at the sight of humanity rising in a machine. "So I made a decision to save the life of Claire, Ty, Marcus, and Captain Mercer."
"And sacrifice yourself, and the crew, and the ship?" Kelly continued to question Isaac. "...even though it meant the death of so many?"
"That is correct." Kelly was proud of the adopted child they had raised to adulthood.
"Arbitrator," Kelly turned and smiled at Ty. "I find the actions of Isaac to be those of a rational and Sentient life capable of a full range of emotions, and not the logic error of a machine."
"As to my part in the death of the Kaylon organism identified as Isaac's mother..." Captain Kelly took a breath and exhaled. "I Plead guilty."
****
"Captain Ed Mercer," the Judge Advocate General's image flickered momentarily. "Your actions by your own testimony and statements of the Witnesses have required this court to suspend proceedings while the Tribunal investigates the situation further."
"Might I interject," Admiral Halsey appeared on screen. "I'm recommending you be placed in charge of the Space Station Sargass Nine until a suitable command staff comes available."
"I..." Ed stared at the screen. "...don't understand."
"I just got word the Kaylons destroyed the Union Shipyards just prior to the destruction of their homeworld." Halsey wanted to hang him for getting Kelly killed but that would have to wait. "We lost two hundred and fifty Starship Captains and their crews as well as a large portion of the fleet that was under repair."
"The Sargass Nine space station is now the furthest outpost we have and the only outpost we have in that region of Space." Halsey exhaled at his frustration over the entire situation. "Like it or not, You are now in Command of Sargass Nine."
The screen went dark and Ed Mercer sat back in his chair and looked at the others present in Ops. The mix of shock and rage at what had just transpired would eat them alive if he didn't take command of it.
"Group Hug?"
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