What amazes me most about this episode is that it’s a Star Trek legal episode that doesn’t want to make me tear my hair out. Thankfully they kept the trial procedure to its most basic.
The title means loosely, in Latin, “To the Stars Through Hardship/Difficulties,” or “A Rough Road Leads to the Stars”. It is the motto of the state of Kansas, can be found on NASA’s Apollo I memorial, and also in-universe the motto of the United Earth Starfleet in ENT.
As a child, Una suffered a serious leg injury, but her father refused to take her to the hospital for fear of the doctors discovering her modifications. We see the open wound glowing, like Una did when manifesting her abilities in SNW: “Ghosts of Illyria”.
Batel offers a plea deal: plead guilty to knowingly submitting false information to Starfleet by failing to disclose her genetic modifications, and Starfleet will dishonorably discharge her without prison time. The charge could carry a two-year minimum imprisonment term, so Batel and Una’s JAG-appointed counsel advise her to take it. Una recognizes that this is designed to sweep this under the carpet, and questions how she can have effective counsel if he works for Starfleet. This is a live issue in military trials even today, and to discuss it properly would take more space than we have here.
It is Stardate 2393.8. Pike is on a planet in the Vaultera Nebula to persuade Counselor Neera Ketoul, the civil rights lawyer he and Una discussed in the previous episode, to take up her case. The atmosphere is toxic to humans and Pike requires an oxygen mask to get around. The local inhabitants are Illyrian, genetically adapted to survive.
Ketoul used to be Una’s friend but something came between them. She notes that Starfleet’s race laws are draconian and Una’s lucky not to be charged with sedition. Ketoul has had 10 cases against the Federation thrown out over the last 2 years despite being strong ones. Pike makes reference to the events of “Ghosts of Illyria” and convinces her that taking this case might bring more attention to those she’s lost.
The case file Pike hands to Ketoul is contained on a translucent orange square, like a cross between the old data cartridges of TOS and the isolinear chips of TNG.
The last time Neera and Una met was 25 years ago (we find out later that was when she joined Starfleet), which makes it around 2234-2235 (SNW: “Children of the Comet” suggests it was at least 2260 then). It’s been two months since Starfleet found out about Una’s modifications. Until then her record had been spotless.
Batel refers to the JAG as her boss, although she was also commanding the USS Cayuga in SNW: “The Quality of Mercy”, that was helping Enterprise upgrade the Neutral Zone outposts. In the present day military, trained JAG officers can technically alternate between legal duties and being line officers in a separate MOS as required, and Batel could be in that position. It is possible she used to be a JAG officer, switched to a starship captaincy and then was reactivated for Una’s case because she was the closest qualified JAG officer.
The Judge is Admiral Vasak, and Batel is accompanied by a Vulcan Vice-Admiral, Pasalk (the JAG?). Both Admirals are dressed in variations of the blue uniforms last seen in DIS with Admiral rank flashes on their shoulders.
Because Una has rejected the plea deal, Batel applies to amend the charges against Una to knowingly submitting false information to Starfleet and violating Starfleet Code 614 to 617 by engaging in permanent bioengineering, along with two counts of sedition. She announces she’s seeking a sentence of dishonorable dismissal and 20 years in a Federation penal colony.
The way Batel phrased it (and taking Ketoul’s earlier remarks about Una being lucky not to be charged with sedition), I surmise Una’s original charges were only the false information and permanent bioengineering charges. As we find out later, they fall under the same regulations, so the false information charge is probably specific to information about bioengineering rather than a general false reporting offence.
The plea deal was then not a reduction, but merely to plead guilty to one and have the other one either withdrawn or taken into consideration (i.e. not sentenced separately for). Batel’s application is therefore to add the sedition charges not previously put forward and proceed with all charges at trial.
A global sentence of 20 years seems harsh, and that’s probably because of the sedition charges and also because they’re charging her under military regulations. Over a century later, Richard Bashir would be sentenced to two years in a minimum-security penal colony for genetically modifying his son, which as a civilian he would have been subject to civil laws (DS9: “Doctor Bashir, I Presume?”).
Robert April sponsored Una’s application to the Academy. She served under him for years (alongside Pike on Enterprise) and he promoted her.
Ketoul is assigned Una’s quarters on the Enterprise for the duration. She is escorted there by La’An, who is back in uniform. Ketoul asks for access to the Starfleet Uniform Code of Justice - presumably their equivalent of the US military’s Uniform Code of Military Justice.
La’An refers to Starfleet v. Wyck, which points to the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine - a well-known rule in US law which states that illegally procured evidence, or indeed even evidence indirectly derived from that, is inadmissible in Court.
Una and Pike met when he gave a speech to her Academy class, talking about a test mission he’d flown. Una pointed out a mistake he had made during re-entry, impressing him with her willingness to tell him he was wrong, qualities important in a first officer.
Ortegas’ miming of Pasalk and Spock’s conversation mentions kal-toh, a Vulcan logic game/puzzle first seen in VOY: “Alter Ego” and most recently in PIC: “No Win Scenario”. M’Benga reads the Vulcan body language and says the two hate each other. He would, of course, be familiar with it since he did a medical internship on Vulcan (TOS: “A Private Little War”). Spock says Pasalk was a former colleague of Sarek’s.
Uhura quotes Regulation 25, Section B, that all personal logs are to remain sealed unless by order of Starfleet Command. Regulation 25 was quoted in LD: “Second Contact” as prohibiting the transfer of weapons to other races without the permission of the Federation Council, so it seems odd on first blush that personal logs should be lumped under that section as well, but maybe it’s just a result of a century of regulatory amendments.
The tribunal is called to order with a ship’s bell, as first seen in TOS: “Court Martial”. Behind the panel is the JAG Office seal. Javas is presiding, along with Space Command Representative Zus Tlaggul, a Tellarite, and Starfleet Commander Chiv, a Vulcan. Batel and Una are dressed in division colored versions of the Admiral uniforms, which are redesigns of the dress uniforms seen in TOS, complete with medals being displayed on the left chest.
Batel refers to the Eugenics Wars (TOS: “Space Seed”) as the impetus for the genetic modification ban, with tens of millions dead. April says Starfleet Regulation 17, Article 12 specifically prohibits genetically modified people from serving in Starfleet.
April words General Order One as, “No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society.” This is a summary, as the actual order was seen for the first time in PRO: “First Con-tact”, and the wording taken from David A. Goodman’s book *Federation: the First 150 Years”.
In 2246 (one year after Enterprise was commissioned), April warned the Perricans, a pre-warp civilization about a meteor shower that could have ended their planet. In 2248, he sent his science officer to Na’rel, an industrial age planet to stave off an extinction-level drought by sharing Federation technology. On the hostile planet Man-us II, landing without his security officer, April chose to reveal the Enterprise to the pre-warp Ohawk. Apart from the violations, this suggests that GO1 was in force by 2246 at least.
April promoted Una faster than any other officer on the ship and recommended her for the Medal of Gallantry after the Marcel disaster of 2248.
La’An graduated top of her class and has been promoted each year of her tenure in Starfleet. That means she’s been in service for about two to three years (assuming ENS, LT j.g. and LT progression). That also allows us to calculate her age to be - at a minimum - 23 to 24 years old (entry at age 16-17, 4 years at the Academy, 3 more years in service). She has also been considered for the Starfleet Medal of Gallantry.
La’An met Una when she was rescued after escaping a Gorn breeding planet (SNW: “Strange New Worlds”, when Una was an ENS on the USS Martin Luther King). She lies when she says she didn’t know Una was Illyrian (“Ghosts of Illyria”). Una sponsored La’An’s application to Starfleet.
Spock met Una on his first day aboard Enteprise (ST: “Q & A”) and mentions her love for Gilbert & Sullivan (which she swore him to secrecy on, damn you Spock!).
In Una’s quarters we see a picture of her as a child with her parents alongside a picture of Pike in his DIS blues next to Una in her DIS Season 2 uniform (DIS: “An Obol for Charon”).
La’An believes that someone got a hold of her personal log in “Ghosts of Illyria” and that was how Una was outed. La’An also carries her ancestor’s augmentations (confirming something we’ve long suspected) and fears she could become dangerous. Ketoul assures her genetics is not destiny and given the time - 6 months minimum - it’s needed to subpoena a persona log, it’s unlikely La’An was responsible.
(Continued in comments)
I know following real world legal proceedings in order to create a sense of realism is good TV, but I find it disappointing the federation still follows the templates of easy plea deals with serious punishments behind them if not taken.
Of course this is not an episode where Starfleet's prosecutorial conduct is meant to look good. But it does make me wonder what the rest of the federation justice is like if the threat of a massive escalation in charges and sentencing is always on the table.
It was the same stunt they pulled on Kirk in "Court Martial": we don't need to have a starship captain on trial, claim negligence, fatigue, and we'll quietly give you a permanent ground assignment. Kirk pushed the issue, and Stone said, well in that case we'll throw the book at you, break you and drum you out in disgrace. As Areel Shaw put it, they have to, to show zero tolerance for starship captains - senior personnel - who break the rules, "for the good of the service".
So no change there.
No change indeed. I had forgotten about that one.
And yet it still feels worse here. Two reasons for this, I think. First, they escalated to an even harsher penalty for failure to plead guilty, and second, because in terms of air date this is 56 years later and attitudes towards prosecutorial pressure to get a pleading has changed.
This may also be a commentary on modern policing in America where the vast majority of those accused of crimes are never given an opportunity to plead their case because they can choose to plea down to a lesser offense and avoid jail or risk a trial that might risk 20 years. It sucks though.
Yes it is indeed a copy of the modern system. I just expect Starfleet to be better. Traditionally messed up justice systems have been the domain of some Hat Planet.
But Starfleet looking less optimistic and rosy has been a general push for a while.
I think we can also say that Starfleet (or the Federation) is better while still allowing the stories to be allegorical and topical. I mean, it was unfair that Richard Bashir went to jail for genetic tampering because it's a bad law, but 2 years on in a Federation prison is just not quite the same as what we have now.
But, to that end, Starfleet has always looked a little bit like this. They tried to treat Data as property. They tried to do racism against Crewman Tarses. And imperfect officers break the rules and sometimes forge evidence to sway a Romulan senator - or murder them.
Allowing for that nuance is interesting - and holding Starfleet to a higher standard also lets us understand where we as regular people need to be held to higher standards. I would love to break canon by doing prison abolition before global catastrophe.