(gasps) you all right? what time is it? 0400.

you've got a big day ahead. [captioning sponsored by the u.s. department of education

this hearing will come to order. we are here to consider the request of the klingon empire that lieutenant commander worf be extradited for trial on charges of murder. advocate ch'pok. you may present your charges. the klingon empire makes the following allegations against lieutenant commander worf: that on stardate 49648

he knowingly fired upon and destroyed a klingon civilian transport ship near the pentath system. that as a result of that action 441 klingon civilians were killed. it is my intention to prove that mr. worf was grossly negligent in his command of thedefiant that his lust for combat overrode his good judgment. i ask only that he be returned to us to face the judgment of his own people. thank you. the advocate neglected to mention in his opening statement that at the time in question thedefiantwas under attack by two klingon warships. this was a combat situation with hundreds of lives at stake. it was at that moment when suddenly

worf gave the order to fire. not because he was reckless or negligent but because he believed he was firing on a warship. we intend to show that the destruction of the transport was a tragic but unavoidable accident. i will hear formal evidence beginning tomorrow afternoon at 1500 hours. thing there is to know about the klingon who was commanding that transport ship. you suspect it wasn't just an innocent passenger run. i'm going to argue that he saw the battle and decided to join it that he decloaked to attack thedefiant. not the smartest decision he ever made. use your contacts in the empire. find out something about this captain i can use. was he reckless? did he have a reputation for drinking? did he have a death wish? something.

ch'pok: captain. the witnesses i intend to call. thank you. a remarkable station, captain. thank you. we don't get many klingon visitors anymore. after this case is over you might be seeing a lot more of us. oh? when worf is extradited the federation will be forced to admit that one of its officers committed a massacre. that will put you on the defensive. and while you're busy trying to repair a badly damaged reputation we'll find ourselves with certain... opportunities. an opportunity to annex more cardassian space and set up additional military bases in this sector? possibly. but in any case, worf is about to present us with something we never could have won in battle. sympathy. any move we make against you

to an outrageous slaughter. you're presuming an awful lot. worf maintains his innocence. and you're about to remind me that the burden of proof is mine. it's an interesting system of justice you have, captain. it does have its flaws, however. it emphasizes procedure over substance form over fact. i'm sorry if it puts you at a disadvantage. on the contrary. i look forward to fighting on your terms. this is not a fight. it's the search for the truth. the truth must be won. i'll see you on the battlefield. i have studied commander worf's reports thedefiant'ssensor logs and the reports of the other officers on the bridge. and i believe every word of it.

that starfleet officers never lie or commit fraud. so i will accept the facts of the case as they have been submitted. admiral, if there are no facts in dispute then this hearing would appear to be at an end. we klingons are not concerned with matters of fact and circumstance. what matters to us is what was in worf's heart when he gave the order to fire. was he just a starfleet officer doing his duty, or was he a klingon warrior reveling in the battle? that is why i am here. because if he was a klingon lost in the bloodlust of combat onlywecan judge him, not you. we can't put a man's heart on trial. it's a subjective issue that cannot be reasoned in a court of law. i ask that the advocate be limited to arguing the evidence in this case.

wherever it takes us? the question of commander worf's motiveisrelevant. i will allow you to explore this issue but only as far as logic permits. i bow to your judgment. you may call your first witness. ch'pok: you are considered something of an expert on klingon society, aren't you, commander? my previous host, kurzon, would have called himself an expert. culture. in your opinion, as someone with apassingfamiliarity with our culture wouldn't you say the klingons are a violent, warrior race? yes, there is that aspect to your people. would you agree that one of the things that makes a klingon warrior so formidable is his predatory instinct, his blood lust, if you will? i'd agree with that.

combat, don't you think his predatory instinct took over? i think that instinct was present but i've seen mr. worf restrain it before. how do you know how he behaves in battle? in the holosuite we've fought many times. you mean you practiced with mr. worf. youplayedwith him. oh, no. when we fight, we fight. have you ever been injured? a few bruises here and there. a broken finger once. nothing serious, and i've given him a few lumps of his own. ch'pok: so you're not afraid of mr. worf. i'm no fool. i can see the killer instinct in his eyes. and i know he could kill me if he wants to. but that look always goes away.

jadt. at this time, i would like to enter into evidence files i obtained from the defendant's private data base. objection. there's been no search order issued. this is a violation of mr. worf's privacy. the captain is correct. without a properly executed search order or the permission of the defendant any information from his private data base may not be admitted into evidence. ah. i see. rder so i'll ask you, worf. may i enter this file into evidence or do you have something to hide? don't play his game. i have nothing to hide. use whatever you wish. ch'pok: commander dax, are you familiar with the holosuite program "the battle of tong vey"? yes. it's one of the programs

a reenactment of one of the epic klingon battles. 10,000 warriors under the command of emperor sompek conquer the city of tong vey after a long siege. a glorious battle. when worf recreates it in the holosuite what role does he play? sompek. of course. the conqueror's role. one of our greatest heroes. tell me, commander. once they had conquered the city of tong vey? commander? he told them to burn the city to the ground and kill everyone in it. everyone?

civilians? women? children? yes. ch'pok: now, commander when mr. worf runs this program, doeshegive the final order to destroy the city and kill all of the inhabitants? it's not the same thing. it's a simulation... answer the question. that's the way the program is supposed to end. you have to... i ask that the witness be instructed to answer the question "yes" or "no." yes or no, commander. yes. ch'pok: of course he does. because he is a klingon warrior. he doesn't have the same moral code as a starfleet officer.

objection! restrain yourself, advocate. i have only one more question for this witness admiral. commander dax when was the last time worf used that program? the day before he left on the convoy mission. the day before. thedaybefore.

captain, you ordered worf to command thedefiant on the mission in question, did you not? that's right. how did you describe the mission to worf? an outbreak of rudellian plague has struck the cardassian colony on pentath three. of medical supplies and relief workers but the pentath system borders klingon territory and the cardassians are worried about raids. well, pentath is a strategically important system. the klingons will try to stop them. the problem is the cardassians don't have enough warships available to protect the relief convoy. they've asked for starfleet protection

there will be seven convoys headed for pentath three in the next week. each of them protected by a federation starship. the defiant has been assigned to escort convoy six and i've chosen you to be in command. ch'pok: why did you select worf for this mission? i felt that he was an experienced officer who was ready to take on greater responsibilities. he had a distinguished record and obviously understood the klingons. a famed klingon warrior-- might jump at the chance of combat and forget about the plague victims? if i were, i wouldn't have given him the assignment. and you're sure you made your instructions perfectly clear that commander worf knew he was on a humanitarian relief mission that he was not being sent out to seek combat? yes. thank you, captain.

if you wish to add anything to the record you're free to do so. not at this time, admiral. call your next witness. it was about 1700 hours. i was doing some clean-up work. dr. bashir was at the bar talking to etheria one of the dabo girls. have you ever seen the wormhole open? no, wait. it wasn't etheria; it was glidia. have you ever seen the wormhole open? or was it... midia? ch'pok: mr. quark, is this necess..? no, it was ralidia, and she was with morn and he was the one who turned to her and said... can we get back to the matter at hand, please? oh, right. um, well, as i said i was cleaning up, and i saw mr. worf come in.

no. he comes in here all the time. but he was in a good mood. and that's unusual? well, he's a klingon and you people are rarely in what i would call good moods not that you're anything but a pleasant, charming race. let's get back to mr. worf. describe what happened next. he came in, he ordered a drink-- prune juice, i believe-- and we started to talk. out the convoy mission so i asked him about it and he said he was going to be commanding thedefiant. what was his attitude? hard to say. he's a very private man. he doesn't share a lot with his bartender. did he seem... afraid of the mission? no. did he seem excited by the mission?

then what exactly? i just remember asking him... what happens if the klingons go after the convoy? he got this funny look in his face and he put down his prune juice looked me right in the eyes and said... i hope they do. "i hope they do." well, it would appear commander worf's hopes were answered.

what do you have for me, constable?

and he was known to his family and friends as a quiet, efficient man who was content in his position. doesn't sound like a man who'd suddenly decide to take on thedefiant. what about this story of theirs that the transport ship just wandered off course into a combat area? i checked the flight plan the captain filed and the projected course was near the border. it would have taken only a very slight error in navigation for the ship to stray into the fight. that's the question no one seems able to answer. no one seems able, or no one seems willing? oh, they're too willing to answer questions. that's the problem. i'm always suspicious of people who are eager to help a police officer. start looking into the passengers on that ship. maybe someone with a grudge against worf or the federation was aboard-- someone who could have seized control of the ship and taken it into the battle.

i'll keep looking. there were two klingon ships-- a bird of prey and an old battle cruiser. one would engage us while the other went after the convoy. then they'd switch. the first ship going after the cardassians while the second ship came after us. we've lost the number three starboard shield. come about. the cruiser has taken us too far away from the convoy. keep our port side to the klingons. aye, sir. this went on for maybe five minutes. they'd come at us, try to draw us away from the cardassians. we'd head back. then the bird of prey came toward us off the port bow. i have phaser lock. fire. we damaged them, but not much. we'd seen them do this cloak- and-run maneuver a few times

we have them now. come to course 185 mark 278. stand by quantum torpedoes, full spread. aye, sir. i ran a quick sensor sweep then i reported. i picking up a tachyon surge directly ahead. fire. sisko: when did you realize it wasn't a bird of prey? as soon as it exploded. oh, my god. we were all stunned. i scanned for survivors, but there were none. i stand by his decision. is there any question in your mind about his motives? no, sir. i've known commander worf for nine years. he's an honorable man. he would never intentionally fire on an unarmed ship. thank you, chief. i'm curious, chief.

do you agree with it? i completely support it. that's not my question. do you agree with his decision? i wasn't in command. it's not my place to question his judgment. what if you were in command? what would you have done? i don't know. chief, how many years have you been in starfleet? twenty-two. i couldn't even guess. try. 100, 150. for the record chief o'brien has been in 235 separate engagements and starfleet has decorated him 15 times. i would like to have him declared an expert in the area of starship combat. any objection? none.

could you have taken over command of that ship? i would have. let's say that happened. you're in command. you're chasing the bird of prey. it cloaks. you anticipate your opponent's maneuver, so you give the order. come about to 185 mark 278. stand by quantum torpedoes, full spread. the crew obeys. the ship comes about. and then your helm officer tells you... ad. stop right there. freeze that moment in time. everything rides on your next decision. do you give the order to fire this isn't a fair question. it didn't really happen this way. i wasn't in command. i'm not interested in whether you think it's a fair question or not. you're in command. there's a ship out there decloaking. you don't know what it is.

no. but that's just my opinion now, after the fact. i wasn't in command that day. things look a lot different when you're sitting in that chair. i'm sure they do. captain sisko mind if i sit down?

that's right. may i make a suggestion? concede. let me take him back to the empire and i'll make sure he's not put to death. in fact, i'll defend him myself. you? what matters to me is the thrill of the fight not which side i'm on. i think we both know, the extradition fight-- it's over. you're not making this offer out of kindness. you want the federation to concede so the convoys will stop and the klingons can move in on the pentath system. as humans would say, that would be icing on the cake. i wouldn't try eating that cake just yet, if i were you. but you have told me one thing i needed to know--

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