Court Martial Line-by-Line

[mattman8907]

STONE: Now let's get into the specifics of the storm, Captain.

 

[Soaraway]

KIRK: Weather scan indicated an ion storm dead ahead. I sent Finney into the pod.

 

[Orac]

Stone: Why Finney?

 

[May 20]

KIRK: His name was at the top of the duty roster.

 

[Soaraway]

STONE: If he blamed you

 

[mattman8907]

KIRK: He may have blamed me that he never rose to command a ship, but I don't assign jobs on the basis of who blames me. It was Finney's turn, and I assigned him. He had just checked in with me from the pod when we hit the leading edge of the storm. Not too bad at first. I signaled a Yellow Alert. Then we began encountering pressure, variant stress, force seven, the works. I finally signaled a Red Alert. Finney knew he had a matter of seconds. I gave him those seconds and more. But apparently it wasn't enough.

 

[Soaraway]

STONE: Then why, Captain, does the computer log from your ship, made automatically at the time, indicate that you were still on Yellow Alert when you jettisoned and not on Red?

 

[May 20]

KIRK: I don't know. There's been a mistake.

 

[mattman8907]

STONE: It would seem so. Could the computer be wrong?

 

[Soaraway]

KIRK: Mister Spock is running a survey right now, but the odds are next to impossible

 

[Orac]

Stone: Stop recording. Now, look, Jim. Not one man in a million could do what you and I have done. Command a starship. A hundred decisions a day, hundreds of lives staked on you making every one of them right. You're played out, Jim. Exhausted.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

KIRK (bristling): Is that the way you see it?

 

[Oddish]

STONE: "That's the way my report'll read if you co-operate."

 

[Orac]

Kirk: A physical breakdown. Possibly even mental collapse.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

STONE: Possibly.

 

[Soaraway]

KIRK: I'd be admitting a man died because..

 

[Oddish]

STONE: "Admit nothing. Say nothing. Let me bury the matter here and now. No starship captain has ever stood trial before, and I don't want you to be the first."

 

[Athena28]

KIRK: But if what you suspect is true, then I'm guilty. I should be punished.

 

[Oddish]

STONE: "I'm thinking of the service. I won't have it smeared."

 

[Soaraway]

KIRK: By what, Commodore Stone?