Verdict

Posted on Fri Nov 28th, 2025 @ 3:56pm by Commander Anastasia Aventnova

1,881 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Hand That Rocks The Babe
Location: Earth, Hearing Room, Starfleet HQ

The call had come in that the deliberations were going to go past the end of the day and that made Anastasia very concerned. Despite what she had told Cassian the day before, the charges against her could end her career where she was, or strip her of her position and rank and put her in the ass end of nowhere. If that happened, she'd have decisions to make, whether to stay with Starfleet and take the punishment, along with the knowledge that she would never again be in a position of responsibility and decision making, nor any additional promotions ever. Her alternative was to resign her Starfleet commission and go back home to Rome. There, she would likely spend a few months as an Executive Officer to realign herself with the processes of the Republican Navy before being handed a ship of her own as Legatus.

Then would come the other decision to make. Her budding relationship with Cassian would likely be gone if she were found guilty. Whether it was because she reassigned or went back home, they weren't close enough that she could even think about him leaving the ship with her. Of course, was this relationship going anywhere? She didn't even know if it was or not, though he was the only member of the Dreadnought that had come to any part of the trial to provide morale support for her.

Anastasia exhaled deeply as she sat in the waiting room again, because she didn't have anything better to do in case the panel recalled her. She'd already reviewed the reports beamed down from the ship on the repairs status and new personnel, including the new Commanding Officer. Only a Commodore this time, but it still made sense. He'd been the Captain of the Galaxy-class starship USS Longhorn and apparently comported himself well. Of course, making the jump from the Longhorn, with a stop at Utopia Planetia, to the Dreadnought wouldn't be easy. And even if she remained on board, would he want her there?

New Commanding Officer meant that they could accept her offer for reassignment if they had someone they preferred as Executive Officer and she would be expected to make the offer to him. She was the one who had been on the bridge when the Admiral was killed. She was the one who should have had the foresight to keep someone close in on the planet JUST in case he needed to be pulled out in an emergency.

She was the one who'd left the planet to burn behind her.

"Commander Aventnova?" A voice spoke from the doorway, but she didn't hear it.

Who would want an officer who had left that situation, even if it were the demand of the planetary government?

"Commander Aventnova? Ma'am?" The voice echoed again, the senior NCO clearing his throat, "Commander?"

Ana blinked away the vision in front of her and looked up, "Yes, Senior Chief?" She finally asked.

"The panel is reconvening in fifteen minutes, ma'am, I was requested to inform you that your presence will be required at that time."

"Thank you, Senior Chief." Anastasia stood and brushed down her uniform, not that it needed it, wanting to ask if he knew what was happening, but even if he had, he wouldn't have told her. That was the way it was.

Her feet found the way to the courtroom and she took her place at the table where she'd been sitting at the entire time that she wasn't actively testifying, her face immobile with absolutely zero emotion. At the announcement of the three officers, Ana stood for their entry, sitting back down after they'd settled in their seats.

The Commodore reached out and rang the crystal bell, glancing across the rest of the courtroom, a handful of officers who had given testimony to various aspects of the ship upon her return, psychological evaluations and past precedents along with a few curious observers. The JAG officer at the prosecutorial table ruffled a few papers, but it was for show.

"Commander Anastasia Aventnova, the court has a couple of additional questions for you before we render our verdict. Will you please take the podium again?" The Captain in gold gave the polite order.

"Of course, sir." Ana pushed the chair back and took the seven steps to the podium with the microphone, standing in an at-ease position for the resumption of the questioning.

"Commander, as you stated previously, you made the decision to return to Earth rather than stay in the local area to render aid because you felt that the Dreadnought was not 'A Commander's command'. If you had been left with the command of a Galaxy-class starship, or an Ascension-class, both clearly not intended to be commanded by a Commander, would you have made a different decision?"

The dagger had been presented to her and it was up to her to decide whether to plunge it into her own gut or to try to defend herself. "Sir, given the situation, I would have remained in the general area to at least coordinate any relief operation until relieved by higher command."

"Why?"

Ana exhaled, "Dreadnought had been damaged severely in a previous engagement, sir, and while the engineering crew had performed well to bring her back into combat effectiveness, we were still engaged in repairs to major systems as well as minor ones. Other ships would not have been able to absorb damage as severe as Dreadnought had taken and remained effective, so presumably would have been in better condition at the time. Dreadnought has also been consistently understaffed for a ship her size, sir."

The Commodore leaned forward, "And what do you mean by that, Commander?"

"I don't mean to criticize Starfleet Command, ma'am, nor the Bureau of Personnel, but despite the quality of the officers on board Dreadnought, their seniority in grade is lacking." Anastasia knew she should stop, but this had been bothering her for her entire time on board, "On a Galaxy-class starship, department heads in at least the major sections such as Engineering and Medical are typically full Commanders or Lieutenant Commanders, or on rare occasions very senior Lieutenants. On Dreadnought, our Chief Engineer is in charge of hundreds of officers and crew as a Lieutenant Commander, a junior one at that, our Chief Medical Officer is a Lieutenant as well as our Chief of Flight Control and our Chief of Operations. The Wing Commander, arguably a Captain's slot in it's own right with two full wings under his command, is a Lieutenant Commander."

Anastasia fixed each of the panel officers with a look, knowing that this was more of a rant than anything else, "I have absolutely no qualms with the officers in question being in command of their sections, they have all performed exemplary service in their duties, but I would state that they should be granted the ranks that they should hold for the gravity of the responsibilities they hold."

"And what about your own rank, Commander?" The Commodore asked as well, "Should you remain as Executive Officer."

"Ma'am?" Ana started, then stopped. Logically, she should state that she should become a Captain given her reasoning, but that would look foolish to request, but... "Ma'am, a ship the size of Dreadnought should have a Captain as the Executive Officer with the flag officer as Commanding Officer. Whether I remain as Executive Officer or am replaced in the position while I'm transferred to another section or ship, it matters not."

"You are aware that this panel cannot make your wishlist for the officers of the Dreadnought come true, correct?" The Commander asked him.

"I am aware, sir, and I'm not advocating for my own promotion, only pointing out the facts that Dreadnought is essentially a fleet unto herself, a starbase-sized starship that on her own can have an outsized influence on a sector. That sort of ship needs personnel that are in a position of authority and influence with the necessary rank to make those decisions stick." Ana knew it was all on the record and would be reviewed by someone higher on the food chain.

"Very well, you may step down." The Commodore stated simply, glancing at her two panel-mates and getting a nod of confirmation, then waited until Ana had taken her place behind her own table again, "Commander Anastasia Aventnova, are you prepared to receive the verdict of this panel?"

Those words caused Ana to involuntarily tense up, but she came to full attention, "I am, Commodore." She said quietly.

"On the charge of Dereliction of Duty, this court martial unanimously finds you Not Guilty." That was the worst of the charges, Ana knew, the one most likely to have her removed from the Fleet itself, "On the charge of Failure to Follow Protocol, this court martial unanimously finds you Not Guilty." There was a pause before she continued on, "On the charge of Lack of Preparedness By a Command Grade Officer, by a majority of 2 to 1, this Court Martial finds you guilty as charged."

That hit Ana like a punch to the gut. She should have stayed in the area and even as she'd ordered Dreadnought back to Earth she'd known it. Even if just to coordinate relief operations, until someone more senior had come around. But she'd had HER orders from the Admiral, from the local government and she'd followed them.

"As the third charge was not unanimous and given the existing situation and orders as relayed by the accused by the deceased Admiral S'Irra, this court declines to administer any punishment such as reduction in rank or reassignment to some other command. Instead a sealed letter will be placed into your file to be expunged in two years should your future judgements be uncontroversial. The court reminds the Commander that while following orders is commendable, the judgement of the command officer on the spot should not always be constrained by those orders. Commanding Officers tend to have significant leeway if the situation demands."

There was a pause before the Commodore continued on, "Commander Aventnova, your prior service record has been exemplary, with reviews from Flag Officers and Captains you have served under previously saying you are orthodox in your performance, but with great potential. As such, this court does not wish to damage a promising career with punitive action. The findings on the third charge will be sealed by this court and not published, again pending future judgements. Do you have any comments, Commander?"

"No, Commodore." Ana finally remembered to breathe again after the Guilty verdict.

"Then you are released to return to your duty on Dreadnought, Commander, good luck. This court is adjourned." She stood and rang the crystal bell once more and after a few murmurs from the onlookers, the rest of the courtroom filtered out while Ana sat back down.

Saved, she was saved, but... Poor judgement? She was a Tactical officer by training, she could command and she'd proven that in the past and coordinate other ships as well. But she just wasn't... Flexible? Was that what it had meant? Finally as she was stuck with just her thoughts, Anastasia stood from the chair and glanced down, "All right, time to re-evaluate a bit. And get back to work."

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