Arresting Testimony
Posted on Sat Jun 27th, 2026 @ 9:18am by Lieutenant Commander Corin Layal & Lieutenant Jonathan Corwin & Lieutenant Vincent 'Ghost' Zandrell & Commodore S'vRock
Edited on on Sun Jun 28th, 2026 @ 11:17am
3,453 words; about a 17 minute read
Mission:
Episode 2 - The Sins of History
Location: Courtroom Complex - Deck 6 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD014 1300 hrs
"Commander Corin you may call your next witness." The Vulcan judge stated with almost an air of boredom. One could never tell if he was actually bored or simply being himself.
Vincent stood in the witness waiting area outside the courtroom. He was pacing back and forth in his Starfleet ESU Uniform, his mind racing with thoughts about his daughter and the last time he was in a court room. He wasn't there as the witness, but as the one being put on trial. Sitting there for killing the man who killed his wife. He deserved it, he wasn't doubting that, but returning to a place like this only brought back that time. Where his head was, which wasn't a good place. He was different now. At least, he hopped he was.
Layal stepped out of the courtroom and walked into the witness waiting area. "Good, you're here," she said relieved to see the Lieutenant already waiting. "Are you ready?" She asked.
"Of course, I am here." He whispered back, walking over to her, as he slowly crossed his arms over his chests. "I just not a big fan of courtrooms." Vincent said as he looked down for a moment to added. "Bad memories." He soon looked back up to her, putting on a slight smile, as he continued softly. "But I am here, so let's get this circus on the road. Anything I should know before we go in?"
"If the defense attorney tries to get you agitated, don't give him the pleasure," Layal smirked. "Keep it cool and calm. Can you handle that?"
"Can you promise me they won't bring up anything to do with my dead wife and past crime?" Vincent countered.
"Completely irrelevant," Layal replied looking him in the eyes. "If he goes it, do not answer. I'll object and ask for sanctions, and later ask him to give me a good reason not to send a formal write up to the Captain."
"This is about your work on Vamcet's case," Layal assured him. "Nothing else."
"I've been around the block, long enough, to know that my history could be used to attack my credibility. Question why someone, with that history, was doing back in Uniform and involved in this case." He countered quickly, leaning forward as he whispered, meeting Layal's eyes with his own. "Which, we both know legal, he can bring up and it's the judges decision to decide whether it is relevant." He pulled away, letting out a deep sight, as he added softly. "Neither of us can stop them from wanting to do down that road, so writing a letter won't be worth it, if the judge let's it go. All I ask, is you object quickly and give them that face you make when you're really irritated, like you're about to rip someone's throat out." He gave her a slight smile.
With a slight knock on the door it opened slowly and in walked Senior Chief Petty Officer Talia Quince the clerk of the court. "Commander, I am sorry to disturb you. But the Commodore is ready to proceed and would like you back in the courtroom. You as well Lieutenant."
"We better get in there," Layal gesture for Zandrell to lead the way.
Once everyone was back in the courtroom and in position. Talia stood next to the witness stand with a scanner. "Lieutenant please place you hand on the scanner." The moment the hand was placed there the computer began to speak. "Identity confirmed. Zandrell, Vincent. Codename Ghost. Rank Lieutenant. Current assignment Criminal Apprehension Officer, Commanding Officer Emergency Services Unit, USS Artemis."
Talia turned to Vincent. "Lieutenant. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So, help you?"
"Yes." Vincent replied, leaning back in his chair, in an attempt to get comfortable. He cleared his throat slightly as he prepared himself for questioning.
Layal looked to the holoimage of the Judge and gave a brief nod. "May I proceed?"
"Yes Commander. Expeditiously." The curt response came from the stoic Vulcan holopresence.
After receiving the signal from the Court, Layal turned back to her witness, "Could you please state your name, rank, and current Starfleet position for the Court, please?"
He raised a brow. Vincent was tempted. Very tempted to comment on how their machine just told them all that information. If they couldn't trust the machine to tell them, why bother having it. However, he held back and just smirked slightly, clearing his throat, before saying. "Vincent Orion Zandrell, Lieutenant. My current position is Commanding Officer of the Emergency Services Unit onboard the USS Artemis." He leaned back, before leaning forward again to add. "Do you need me to tell you the ships class? Maybe its registration number? No... Okay." He leaned back again. Sure, he would get lip for it, but he couldn't help it.
"Lieutenant, in your capacity as an officer assigned to the Security and Tactical and division on board the Artemis were you assigned any tasks related to the investigation into war crimes committed - I'm sorry," Layal paused to clear her throat," allegedly committed by Yorr Vamcet?"
Jonathan half stood up to object until Layal corrected herself and added the word allegedly, and slowly sat back down again.
Vamcet smiled at Layal's remark. His mind was in two places where that comment was concerned. One was he should have expected that sort of language from a Bajoran. The other was her wording was in fact correct. It was war, and he did commit crimes.
"It's not alleged, Counselor. Your client admitted to his crimes and even justified them in Interrogation." Vincent countered calmly.
"Sorry." He said before continuing on. "I was assigned to accompany and assist the Chief of Security with the interrogation of Vamcet."
Layal nodded an acknowledgement and at Zandrell's response. "Could you briefly summarize what it was that you were assigned to do for the case?"
"What one, in my position, normally does in an interrogation room, Sir. Question the suspect and/or prisoner?!" Vincent replied with a confused look.
Layal turned briefly to defense counsel's table before looking back to Lieutenant Zandrell. "When you had your first opportunity to meet with Mr. Vamcet, what observations were you able to make about him, Lieutenant? Based on your training and experience, did anything stand out to you about his demeanor, attitude, manner of speaking, or anything else?"
Jonathan stood up. "Objection, calls for speculation from a personal who is not trained as a Psychologist or trained specialist in war crimes and or as a profiler."
Layal stood calmly, "Your honor, I simply asked for observations - not an opinion. And I would never ask a witness to speculate."
"Sustained." S'vRock began. "Lieutenant Zandrell can answer the question. However, he must keep his answers to fact. Keep your answers about the case at hand, not the individual."
Vincent looked to Layal for a brief moment, before looking back. (Is there a jury? audience? I'm not sure) "I found him to be polite. Courteous. Confident in his words and prideful when talking about his duties and position. Especially when referring to the Bajorans as cattle, chattel, riff raff, degenerates, and even animals. He said they weren't people and even boasted about he rejected a promotion to Legate so he could remain to continue 'governing' the 'lesser beings.' So... traditionally what you would here from a Cardassian who served during the Bajoran Occupation."
"You mentioned earlier," Layal continued, "That the Defendant admitted to certain crimes. Which crimes were those? The ones he admitted to?"
He paused for a moment, collecting his words, before responding. "He admitted to crimes committed to those at the Porchet Labor Camp, which he told us he was in charge of. When questioned about those crimes, his response was... quote 'Most of them were my idea'. End quote. He then corrected us by saying the 'atrocities can only be performed on people. These were not people, they were cattle, or chattel if you prefer.' As a Betazoid, I would like to add that the sense I got from him, when saying this, wasn't remorse. It was pleasure and contentment."
"Lieutenant Zandrell, was the conversation with the Defendant where he made those confessions audio and video recorded?"
Vincent raised a brow, before nodding his head. "All interrogations are recorded by internal sensors. That includes audio and visual data, unless otherwise instructed to by the Commanding Officer or the Interviewees law appointed representation.
Johnathan rose from his seat. "Your honor I must object that the introduction of said Holo recordings, they could prejudice my client and affect his right to a fair trial under federation law."
Layal sighed quietly. These objections were exhausting and pointless. She was starting to get used to the Judge being a holoimage, but she didn't like it at all. She took a measured breath to remind herself that even though he wasn't here, he could still see her face and body language as she was addressing the Court.
"Your honor, Prejudice is hardly a legitimate objection, for something so probative. These are the Defendant's own statements, relevant to the charges, accurately recorded, with Counsel present, and he was notified of his rights."
After taking a breath, the prosecutor continued, "At this point I move admit Prosecution Exhibit 1, the recorded interview with the Defendant Yor Vamcet, conducted on board the USS Artemis, and request permission to publish to the Court."
S'vRock thought on the matter for a moment, although the silence made it seem like an eternity. When he spoke again his voice was even and devoid of emotion. "These recordings were done during the procedure of interrogation. They were recorded so the court could get the information correctly, and so there would be evidence that procedure was followed. It is logical to allow them in open court. Your objection is overruled Lieutenant. Permission is granted Commander. You may proceed."
Layal let the interview play uninterrupted for a moment. There were a number of officers present, including Vamcet's own attorney during the conversation, but she was waiting for the defendant to get to one particular part where Vamcet was addressing Lieutenant Zandrell specifically.
"On my Cardassia should you disobey an order at first it would seem like all is well. You would be spoken to of course, but you would retain your rank. At that time trained officers were hard to come by. Despite all that they would go after your family. Your spouse, children etc. would become ostracized and in some extreme cases killed. Now, I am not sure if you are aware but family is in fact the most important thing to a Cardassian. So, you would follow orders without question, you would talk yourself into believing that the orders are justified and even correct. For if you didn't you would lose everything. Now, it is your turn."
Layal paused the recording.
"The record will show that the recording has been temporarily paused, while I ask the witness my next questions," Layal announced, a practice that seemed obvious for most outside observers, but one that reviewing courts demanded, a trite procedural point trained into young law students.
"Lieutenant, the allegations that are being brought against the defendant in this case are from when he was assigned to quote labor camps, were they not?" The word labor spat off of her tongue so dryly, her sarcasm was not lost on anyone in the room.
"Yes." Vincent replied. "Something he admitted to being in charge of and seemed very proud of mentioning."
"What was Gul Vamcet's position in these labor camps, Lieutenant?" Layal asked, using the Cardassian's honorific for the first time since the trial began. "And please elaborate with your answer," she added.
Johnathan Stood up. "Your Honor I would like to also point out some of Gul Vamcet's own testimony. Where he states that family on Cardassia is everything and held dear to them. Refusal of an order could result in a demotion or the family members being ostracized by society, which for a Cardassian is shameful to the family until the sin is removed, or the family member could be held hostage or enslaved, or even outright killed. As a husband and Father and finding out your entire family had been killed. One would do anything to prevent that from happening to prevent that from happening to the ones we love. How many of us would stand by and watch our families die and then be transferred to some hell hole to where you would serve as a dishonored member of society, die from a mysterious accident or from Suicide. That is the system they are brought up in and the rules they work with every day of their lives. I ask you in that situation, what would you do in his place?"
"Objection!" Layal exclaimed, shooting Corwin a scathing look before addressing the Judge. "Is Counsel testifying, or is my witness? -I ask that Counsel's statements be stricken from the record. Such commentary is argumentative and should be reserved for closings. And when counsel has a question," Layal turned back again to Corwin. "He can wait his turn.
S'vRock leaned forward on the bench. "Lieutenant the court will take that under advisement during deliberations. However, the Commander is correct. You must save comments such as those for closing arguments. Commander Corin it was you who introduced the testimony. That said the objection is overruled, the remarks will remain in the record. However Lieutenant Corwin consider this a warning."
Layal gave the Judge an abbreviated nod and turned back the the Lieutenant.
"I'll repeat the question," Layal announced, punctuating the sustained objection for any who were watching, and to make the purpose of her question the center of attention.
"The allegations that are being brought against the defendant in this case are from when he was assigned to quote labor camps, What was Gul Vamcet's position in these labor camps, Lieutenant?" Layal asked, emphasizing the Cardassian's title once again. "And please elaborate with your answer"
"Vamcet told us he was in charge of said labor camp and was not only responsible for those under him, but also the cattle, his words, that were there. When Chief of Security, Frost, questioned him about the crimes committed there, he told us specifically they were mostly his idea." Vincent sat back against, before leaning forward to add. "I would like to point out, as fact, many of these statements can be heard out of Vamcet's own mouth in the recordings of the interrogation onboard the Artemis." His eyes soon focused to Corwin, as he said. "If you would like to hear it for yourself, I am sure a copy can be provided to you."
Layal simply looked down at the terminal on her table and before pressing [RESUME], she announced, "Let the record reflect, I am now continuing the interview of Gul Vamcet."
The recording continued, the irrelevant portions of Starfleet officers' comments redacted, resuming with Vamcet now standing in the same interview room, finishing an applause as he spoke.
"Please stop me if I am wrong but I believe this is the appropriate response to show appreciation and commiseration with something that one witnesses on Earth. Lieutenant Zandrell for what it is worth you have just earned my respect, for you hit on the very crux of the issue. Legality versus morality. For what I did was not legally wrong, but it was morally wrong and it is time that I clear my conscience. However, there is a distinct possibility that my conscience will never be clear enough. What was done to those people has no redemption. You mention the Borg and there is a difference between the Borg and myself. The Borg assimilate for their own survival it is in a way how they procreate. We Cardassians did this for our own sadistic enjoyment. There can be no redemption and so I face the judgement of those I wronged."
Toward the end of the recording the Cardassian militant Cardassian was crying, an act that Layal believed firmly was for show, especially considering that they were here, going through this trial rather than taking Vamcet's guilty plea.
The recording ended, and Layal looked into the camera to address the Judge. "I tender this witness for cross examination."
Vincent raised a brow, confused, as he looked to the Judge and then to Layal. He felt like they were having two different conversations. She asked questions about what Vamcet said about the labor camps and what he did, but the recordings she played from the interview had nothing to do with the crimes. She didn't even bother to play any part relating to Vamcet admitting to the very crimes she was talking about. In fact, what she did play, left it up in the air whether or not those crimes were done for his career or survival.
There was a moment of silence in the courtroom as the words sort of hung in the air. For her part Talia was not sure what would happen next. This was to say the very least a very interesting trial. Commodore Sv'Rock looked forward. His face bore Vulcan stoicism with ease. At the moment he contemplated where this trial went. It seemed that counsel attempted to address the repentance of the accused as opposed to the crime itself. That for the moment seemed illogical to the Vulcan. "Your witness Lieutenant Corwin."
Corwin sat for a long moment and then stood up. " I will agree with the statement that what my client did was legal by Cardassian law, But morally wrong in the view of most other species. " I pause for a moment. " This will not be an easy case to decide, To my knowledge this is the first time something like this has been tried. It is proving to be a nightmare and a challenge. "
"The Cardassian's by they're own laws believe their actions to be legal and just in governing an occupied planet and it's methods for keeping a civilian population under control and working to help their empire grow."
"The federation as we all know is a group of over a hundred different species that is working to explore, grow and co operate to expand and grow our knowledge in ways that promote peace. We abhor the death penalty and seek to rehabilitate rather then eliminate. The only death penalty still on the books is for the violation of Talos IV."
"Then we come to the Bjorans, They are angry about the occupation and the deaths of so many of their countrymen and rightfully so. They fought back the only way they could. They ambushed and killed patrols, staged civil disturbances, sabotaged military targets and work areas to halt production and out right did assassination against the Cardassian troops and leaders."
"So overall we have the Cardassians who are the overseers of the occupation who are doing what they have to to keep the occupied population under control and working. We have the Bajorans who are fighting for their freedom and doing whatever they had to to break the occupation and to kill every Cardassian that they come across. And the Federation who is coming in to help settle the matter that is Legal and Morally wrong at the same time and does nothing to help those that are already dead or grieving."
"So in light of all of this information that has been set upon the table and the facts speak for themselves. I have no further questions and state that the defense rest."
The Vulcan judge nodded. "Very well. Lieutenant Zandrell. You may step down."
A Joint Post By
Commodore S'vRock
Fourth District Court Judge
Federation Unified Court System
Lieutenant Commander Corin Layal
Judge Advocate General, USS Artemis
Second Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Vincent Zandrell
Criminal Apprehension Officer, USS Artemis
Commanding Officer, Emergency Services Unit
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Jonathan Corwin
Defense Council, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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