"Gentlemen, sit down."

Kirk waited until ensign and lieutenant had taken a chair each before he followed suit. Neither looked comfortable.

"Mister Chekov, I asked Lieutenant Sulu to accompany you because... well, because what is said here may have repercussions. I felt you should have someone to... to give you some support, if necessary."

The officers glanced at one another. What Kirk was talking about sounded like the preliminaries to a court martial.

"I don't understand, Captain," Chekov admitted hesitantly.

"No, of course you don't. There's no earthly reason why you should. I'm referring to the events of Stardate 3947, the incident on board the *Thurber*." If there was one stardate that was engraved in Chekov's memory, it was that one. And from a day of several incidents, only one could explain his presence here, now.

"Yes, Captain."

"I want to make it absolutely clear from the outset that I'm not accusing you of behaving improperly. The incident was investigated and explained to my satisfaction and the satisfaction of everyone else involved. The actions you took were reviewed and we all agreed that your conduct was satisfactory. If that sounds grudging, I don't mean it that way. The death of Ensign Shaeve was tragic, of course, but I do not consider that it was the result of any failure of judgement, or any omission on your part. However..."

Some howevers, Sulu thought, could be seen a mile off.

He looked at Chekov again out of the corner of his eye and reflected that Kirk's 'everyone else's and 'we all's left at least one vital individual out of the summing up.

"...to inform the deceased's family of all the circumstances of any accident or engagement leading to a fatality," Kirk was continuing, beginning to sound a little less as if he'd been practicing this in front of his bathroom mirror, "and on this occasion, apparently, Ensign Shaeve's family thought there was other relevant information that should have been taken into account in my investigation of what happened."

"How could they know more about it than we do?" Sulu demanded, worried that

Kirk's pause was designed to encourage Chekov to incriminate himself.

"I think they know a little, and a little knowledge can be... misleading. Ensign, I understand that Ensign Shaeve and Ensign Carn were good friends."

"Yes, sir." In fact, all four of the crew of the *Thurber* that day had regarded each other as good friends. Kirk could have asked anyone aboard the *Enterprise* to confirm that.

"Good enough for Donna Shaeve to mention in a letter home in the month before she died that you and Trish Carn were romantically involved."

"She might have... I suppose she might have expressed it in that way to her mother," Chekov admitted cautiously. He frowned at Kirk's slightly impatient expression. "I mean, it wasn't particularly romantic..."

"Friendly sex?" Kirk suggested bluntly. Chekov blushed. "Yes, Captain."

"Donna's parents are suggesting that you allowed that relationship to influence your judgement, that you could have saved their daughter, but instead, you favoured Ensign Carn. You rejected a strategy that gave everyone a reasonable chance of survival, in favour of one that offered Tricia Carn a virtual certainty. Now let me say..." Kirk continued, before either Sulu or Chekov could protest. "I know you didn't have time to make that sort of judgement, even if you'd wanted to, or even that you had those options. I don't think they understand the... the gestalt that operates on board a Starship, or in any hazardous occupation. I believe if Donna had survived, maybe been injured, she would never have made this accusation herself. I don't think there's a shred of substance to this complaint. However..."

'There goes another one,' Sulu told himself.

"...the charge has been made, the question's been raised. Star Fleet has to investigate. And it has to be seen to be doing so in a thorough and objective manner. Your relationship with Ensign Carn is going to be put under the spotlight, your record is going to be dissected, and if someone can cobble together an argument that a two year old couldn't see through straight off, there's going to be a court martial. I want you to think of it as... As Star Fleet's concession to grieving parents. Not a witch hunt directed against you. And as captain of this ship, while I stand one hundred percent behind my original conclusions, I'm going to have to appear completely open minded about this. Personally, you have my complete support, but on an official level, I can't say that aloud until this is cleared up."

"No, I understand, Captain," Chekov confirmed.

"I would say don't worry. I'm sure you don't need to. But it's probably pointless advice."

"Yes, Captain. Are they... Are Ensign Shaeve's parents saying that I should have refused to command the mission because we were... Or are they saying that the crews of Starships just shouldn't..."

"I'm really not sure, Mister Chekov. I'm well aware that either suggestion is somewhat impractical, given the need for flexibility in crewing missions, and human nature being what it is." Kirk sighed.

"Ensign Shaeve's mother is arriving shortly to collect her daughter's body. She'll be aboard the courier that's bringing us the investigation team. I expect you to give them your courteous cooperation, Ensign. That's all, gentlemen."

Out in the corridor, Chekov halted and breathed in deeply, as if the briefing room had been short of oxygen.

"I can't believe this is happening," Sulu said. "It's so petty. It's so... It's like saying next time we go into battle, we'll all turn tail and run because some of us happen to be having sex with our colleagues..."

"It's not quite that, is it?" Chekov pointed out.

"Pavel, stop it. I know you. You're half convinced it's true already. As you said, it's not as if it was a big romance. I didn't even know you were sleeping with Trish..."

"I wasn't..."

"You weren't?"

"I... Look, I don't think this is going to help, but..."

"Oh." Enlightenment dawned in the helmsman's eyes.

"Trish and Donna were..."

And Donna's parents wouldn't have... So Donna was using you as a red herring..."

Chekov stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Why didn't you just tell the Captain? He could have dropped the hint to someone in Medical, or Personnel, and they'd have told Donna's parents she was just mistaken about you and Trish."

"Why didn't I tell the captain what?"

"That Trish and *Donna* were sleeping with each other."

Chekov's confusion deepened. "But why should I say that? They weren't. They were... I mean I was..."

"Oh, no. I don't believe this. You were sleeping with both of them?"

"Yes." It was hard to believe that Chekov's expression of wounded innocence was genuine, but Sulu had to admit that on past experience, or lack of it in Chekov's case, it probably was.

"Did they know?" he asked, feigning merely casual interest.

"Of course they knew." Chekov looked as if he was beginning to doubt Sulu's sanity.

"Now, there's really no 'of course' about it, Chekov. You wouldn't be the first ensign to manage a double lovelife on a Starship. That's the great thing about shifts..."

"We were all on the same shift. That was why it worked out so well."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, they shared a cabin."

"You've lost me somewhere. No, you haven't. Chekov, you were sleeping with both of them, weren't you?"

"That's what I said."

"You didn't say you were doing it at the same time. There's a word for people like you. Greedy. Don't tell me any more. Didn't you get tired?"

"No."

"But I see the problem. It's so embarrassing."

"I'm not embarrassed. At least... I just don't think Donna's mother is going to want to know this. Apparently she was a little... unsympathetic to that kind of thing."

"And Donna wasn't."

"Not at all. I think it was her idea originally. Do you think... they'll have to look at what I actually did, at the facts, what happened. If my decision to risk the port shields was correct, or at least reasonable, then this doesn't have to come out, does it?"

"I suppose not. But you're only protecting her mother's feelings. At what might be a big cost to you. Why bother? She's being pretty vindictive, if you ask me."

"I think... I've spent the past month thinking about what I did, what else I might have done. I believe my decisions were justified. I don't have to spoil her memories of her daughter."

Sulu nodded. It had been a difficult month, watching his friend struggling with the death of a friend, and a colleague; a death for which he was undoubtedly, in the broader sense, responsible. Donna's life had been committed to his care. "Yes, you're right. You don't have to. I just hate that you're going to have to go over it all again."

Chekov shrugged. "I keep telling myself it will make me more careful next time."

"Too careful."

"What?"

"There is such a thing as being too careful. "

***

Sulu instantly recognized the woman, even though they'd never met and he hadn't expected the courier's passengers to be disembarked so quickly. She was dressed in dark, neutral colours and her face was thinner than Donna's, so that one was tempted to say she was worn down by grief when it might only have been her usual appearance. Her short, dark hair was touched with gray. The lieutenant wondered momentarily if she'd let that happen recently. He took a pace forward, to come between his friend and the line of passengers clearing paperwork at the immigration desk. Chekov hadn't noticed what was happening, too much on his mind to register that if Donna's mother was expected today, then she must be here now. Mrs Shaeve walked out of the line, dodged round Sulu as if he were furniture and confronted the ensign.

"Mister Chekov?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Ma'am?" The immigration clerk leaned over the desk to hand her tickets and papers back to her. "You're all clear, Mrs Shaeve. Enjoy your stay."

"I'll do my best." Chekov, trapped between Sulu on one side and his conscience on the other, stood quite still.

Mrs Shaeve looked worriedly at her victim and then glanced up at the information display overhead. "I've quite lost track of time, but my insides are asking for breakfast. Will you join me for a coffee?"

"I'm not sure..." Sulu began, then restarted. "I'm sorry, Mrs Shaeve, but I think it would be better if you and Ensign Chekov didn't meet informally. Would you like me to find someone to take you to your accommodation?" Her eyes crinkled into a smile. "Am I allowed to argue with that, Lieutenant, or do I have to obey orders?"

"It wasn't an order, ma'am. It was a suggestion." She nodded. "Well, thank you for your suggestion, Lieutenant, but... I do need to talk to Mister Chekov. Do you want to chaperone us?"

Sulu considered that he might just get away with ordering Chekov back to the ship, but only if the ensign played along. "This whole thing -- I mean, the enquiry into the accident -- is technically subjudice..."

"Sulu... This is Donna's mother." The lieutenant took a deep breath. "And she's accused you of willfully causing her daughter's death. It's not a good idea for the two of you to talk. I'm sorry, Mrs Shaeve, but for all I know, you could be planning to tape this conversation or..."

The woman's face was stark white against the oversized black collar of her jacket. "No. I never said that. I never intended to make any such accusation. If that's what you've been told... We really do need to talk."

***

Chekov ended up fetching the coffee and refusing to let Mrs Shaeve pay for it. He sat down opposite her, pulled his own cup close in front of him and squared up his shoulders. She nodded, as if she appreciated his discomfort.

"When Donna wrote... You all sounded so young. And so... As if it was a grand adventure holiday. I knew about Trish and you because... Donna said she missed the mail deadline once because you were in her cabin with Trish and she didn't want to disturb you. I thought, all those young people, sharing cabins. It must take some tact. Oh, don't blush, please. I'm not such an old stick as Donna thought. But you don't care about any of this. When we heard about the accident, I got her most recent letter out, of course, and I just thought, but these are children. It's not fair. I never thought of her being in a dangerous situation, trusting her life to someone barely older than herself, barely more experienced. I didn't mean that you'd made a wrong decision. I just didn't see how a young man in your position could be expected to make any decision at all. If you'd had the time to think, if you'd been forced to make a choice, who should you have chosen? How would any of us choose? I wrote to Commodore Teery, because she'd been Donna's CO at the Academy and she'd struck me as a very reasonable, sympathetic person. It was probably a very over-emotional letter, but it wasn't an attack on you. I didn't think any of you should have been there. And someone, some filing clerk on Earth, instead of reading it and giving the Commodore a gracious, meaningless answer to sign, set some sort of inquiry in motion. They told me they were reviewing the circumstances of the accident. I thought they'd get the files out again. And that maybe, at some point in the future, when some hothead was arguing for letting younger and younger cadets into space, what I'd said would be a little extra weight on the side of reason."

Sulu drained his coffee and looked at the untouched cups in front of his companions. Chekov had the fidgety, uneasy air he adopted when he was about to confess to something. The lieutenant reconnoitered under the table with his foot to make sure he had a clear run if he needed to silence the ensign in a hurry.

"Yes," Chekov said. "I see."

"I don't know how to stop what I've started."

"I don't think you can," Sulu admitted. "Star Fleet has a liking for following things through to the bitter end, but honestly, all they can do is look at the way Pavel dealt with the incident, and... there were alternatives, but none of them were clearly better."

"Can I join you?" All three looked up, startled out of their grim reflections. A smiling blonde woman in her early thirties, legal services insignia glinting gold on her tunic, put a fourth cup of coffee down on the table.

"I was going to go straight to the *Enterprise*, then I saw all the faces from the case gathered together perverting the course of justice over here and I thought I'd better check it out. I'm Lieutenant Commander James. I am right in thinking you're Mrs Shaeve? I saw you on the transport of course, but..."

"Yes, Naomi Shaeve. I'm pleased to meet you." Sulu pushed a chair away from the table for the woman.

"This is a little unorthodox isn't it, Commander?"

"What? Settling out of court? Best thing, nine times out of ten." She stirred her coffee thoughtfully. "I don't want to prejudge, but..."

"Commander," Naomi Shaeve said determinedly. "I assume you've reviewed what happened, and that you have enough experience yourself, or would have checked with someone who did, to have formed your own opinion of whether what Ensign Chekov did was reasonable. Please will you tell me what you think?"

"Captain Kirk's conclusions were reviewed as a matter of course, before we had any reason to think there was anything wrong. They were accepted without reservation."

"I'm glad." Donna's mother smiled at Chekov. "Very glad."

"But what you brought to our attention was additional relevant information. Knowing that, we had to look at what had happened again, to check that what appeared to be a reasonable choice out of three not very attractive options really was what it seemed. I must admit, it's difficult to see how anyone survived in the first place. I don't think that he *did*, but maybe Ensign Chekov did make a biased choice. I have two daughters, Mrs Shaeve. If I had to choose between them in an emergency, I'd probably just freeze."

"And they all would have died," Naomi Shaeve said for her. "So there won't be an enquiry?"

"I think we have to go through the motions, quite informally if you both agree. I'm not worried about the outcome, for Ensign Chekov."

"It seems such a waste of time then, and pain. Tell me, if they'd simply both been friends of his, or colleagues, there would be nothing in what happened to make you suspect a bias?"

"No, but they weren't, were they? Chekov could have been influenced, on the face of it."

"So I thought. Until I got Donna's diary..." The ensign put his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. Mrs Shaeve picked up her coffee at last and sipped it thoughtfully. "You'll be pleased to know that my daughter wasn't a particularly conscientious diarist but... well, she seemed very happy. She and Trish shared everything from rag books to ponies, went to the Academy the same time, graduated together. Her mother and I used to joke they'd have to marry twin brothers. Donna thought I'd be horrified, of course. I sometimes think it's a mother's role in life to go around being horrified by things." She put the cup down.

"If anything, I wondered if they weren't taking advantage of *you*, Pavel."

"I'm sorry. I behaved appallingly," Chekov said, as if he hadn't heard a word of Naomi Shaeve's last speech. Commander James had begun to look very worried. "Am I missing something?"

Sulu nodded silently. Donna's mother shook her head. "No, Commander. I think I should just say that Donna had misled me, in a quite unnecessary attempt to protect my feelings. There is no reason for anyone to suppose that Ensign Chekov wouldn't have been entirely fair in dealing with Trish and my daughter." She looked hopefully at the lawyer. "I think he's probably had quite enough worry over all of this. I'm pleased to have met him and to have the opportunity to reassure him that I bear him no ill will. And now, if a brief breakfast meeting isn't too informal for Starfleet, why don't we all put this behind us? I'd like to take Donna home."

Lt Comm James smiled uncertainly. "The courier will be going back later today. You could be on it. I'll see if I can arrange that for you."

"Thank you." Naomi Shaeve started to get to her feet. Chekov was on his, moving her chair for her instantly. She thanked him and shook his hand, then leaned forward and kissed him warmly on the cheek. "Take care, won't you."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Sulu, Commander." The commander watched her walk away then turned back to the others. "Cleared up to everyone's satisfaction."

"Yes," Sulu agreed, looking up at Chekov.

"*Everyone*."

***end***