Reinstatement of Captain Kirk

TERRAN REPUBLIC v THOMAS KIRK, Ship Captain, U.S.S. Valiant, United System Navy
No. 1,165

Terran Republic Military Court

22 T.R.M.C. 54

2095.09.13

WILLIAMS, Chief Judge; SOWELL, Judge (concurring in the result); JONES, Judge (concurring in the result).

WILLIAMS, Judge:

Captain Kirk, of the Tavor Class U.S.S. Valiant, stands acquitted of all charges of neglect and dereliction of duty during combat action. The battle in question took place June 31, 2095 in the Vesta region of the main asteroid belt.

Initial evidence of wreckage and debris of enemy vessels indicated questionable actions taken by Captain Kirk. Despite the clear victory for the Valiant, said evidence could have suggested the captain hesitated to act on enemy presence. The awareness of the Brutus Magnus initially appeared to be realized only after an attack had been initiated. Ship records indicate this was not the case, and that Captain Kirk did act in a timely fashion.

Eye witness accounts all confirm Captain Kirk acted appropriately. Such testimony was taken under caution, due to the obvious loyalty of the crew to their captain. One such account included video recording of an ocular prosthesis by one Lt. Adrian Smythe, who actually saw through his window the initial volley of missiles fired upon the Valiant. This recording corroborated that aspect of the bridge records of the engagement. Lt. Smythe's testimony and eye piece, due to the enhanced vision it enables, provided conclusive evidence the captain acted according to procedure regarding the instigation of hostilities.

However, the assumption of negligence was compounded by the surprise appearance of an enemy Intrepid class carrier, commanded by Captain Sebastian of the Free Africa Union's wing of the Interplanetary Trade Guild. The Defense concedes Captain Kirk took note of the Intrepid only after it closed to well within its attack range. It did not go unnoticed by this court that the mysterious Captain Sebastian has a reputation as being an exemplary officer and very capable combatant. A full investigation was until recently under way, and had gained little insight upon the known facts. What rendered this investigation moot was another engagement involving an F.A. ship and a Republic battle ship.

In that battle, it was discovered that the enemy in question utilized a new form of stealth technology, previously thought to be impossible for any capital ship. The Terran Republic has as yet been unable to implement this technology on any vessel larger than a drone or fighter craft. Thus, the possibility had not been considered for the battle of June 31, 2095.

Upon further review of the evidence, in light of this new Stealth technology, this court has determined that Captain Kirk was not derelict in his duty for failing to notice the enemy Intrepid in a timely manner. It is the opinion of this court that Captain Kirk could not have noticed the Intrepid well in advance if the enemy utilized such Stealth technology. Other intelligence recently acquired in light of this possibility suggests the F.A. fleet has been experimenting with capital ship stealth capability as early as April 2094. The court is obliged to recognize Captain Kirk's excellent record to date, and that given the possible evidence of a stealthed enemy, the charges of negligence and dereliction of duty are not consistent with his established performance or the record of the battle of June 31.

Due to this new evidence, and the reliable nature of previously available evidence, Captain Thomas Kirk is hereby reinstated and returned to active duty.