The BLTS Archive- The Disapproval I Expressed
by Riss (usc_mam@yahoo.com)

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This is another in my Philosophy of the Minds series.  They are
separate but related stories that follow the J/P relationship.

Thanks to Monica for another wonderful job of beta reading!

Disclaimer - Paramount owns Star Trek. Nuf said...

Feedback and critiques warmly welcomed.

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Disapproval is what I expressed to her after I heard the sentence.  If
I was capable of experiencing emotions, anger and disgust might have
crossed my mind. However, as a Vulcan, I only made clear to her the
illogic of the long incarceration and the uselessness of solitary
confinement.

As I concluded would occur even before I made my case to the Captain,
she listened to my opinions and rejected them.  At times the Captain
can be unpredictable, as was her overwhelming desire to stop Mr.
Paris' action during the incident.  However, once her anger has been
unleashed, she always follows it through to the conclusion and ignores
logical arguments to the contrary.

This incident clearly illustrates why the Vulcan philosophy of
emotionless existence is superior to the human frailties caused by
reliance on emotions.  The uncontrollability of emotions, linked from
one to the other, from love to jealousy to anger, have caused the
situation to spin out of control.  If logic had been followed
throughout our encounter with the Moneans, none of the unfortunate
outcomes would have occurred.

Mr. Paris would not have been swayed by emotions to violate the rules
and attempt an attack on the Monean facility.  In turn, the Captain
would not have turned her displeasure with Mr. Paris' deeds to quite
the level they reached without the prior feelings she had for him.  It
was this passion-fueled anger which resulted in the harsh punishment,
not just the need to uphold order on this ship.

Four months ago I came to the conclusion that despite the ongoing
relationship between Mr. Paris and Lieutenant Torres, the Captain
retained her desires, or love for the Helmsman which she succumbed to
early in the voyage.  I also have observed a reciprocal feeling from
him, though I do not believe he has ever attempted to pursue those
feelings other than flirting early in our journey.  Unfortunately,
this stable situation turned into a war of emotions with the Monean
incident.

While technically the Captain had every right to enforce the
punishment she decided upon, considering Voyager's present situation,
it was illogical. Consistency in command is very important and she
totally disregarded previous incidents of this nature.  I disapproved
of her handling of the two situations in which I disobeyed her direct
orders and she did not dispense appropriate punishment.  The first
incident involved the transfer of the federation library in a black
market deal for a technology that would help move us closer to home.
She declined to give any more than a verbal reprimand, which I believe
began a laxity of punishment on this ship which might have encouraged
the subsequent mutinous actions by Seska and Jonas.  The second
incident was not even mentioned despite my defiance of a direct order
in contacting the Vidians for assistance in finding a cure for her and
Commander Chakotay's illness.

The lack of discipline, while not unexpected when compared to my
previous analysis of her first tour as Captain, lead to a certain
understanding on the ship.  While not completely logical to me, the
idea exists that there is some leeway on this ship.  Rules are to be
followed, but occasional lapses are to be corrected not punished. This
has lead to a situation of great respect for the Captain and very
little in the way of serious offenses on this ship.

However, the Captain violated this unwritten agreement with this
incident and has paid for it in a loss of trust and respect from the
entire crew.  While a reprimand of Mr. Paris was clearly expected by
him and the rest of the crew after his complete disregard for
protocol, the level to which the punishment was taken showed a similar
disregard for this understanding and the desires of the crew.

Clearly, anger mixed with a feeling of personal insult was the driving
force behind the punishment.  If, for instance, it had been myself who
had attempted to destroy the oxygen processing facility, a reprimand
combined with confinement to quarters while not on duty would most
likely have been the resulting punishment.  However, the
circumstances, or more specifically the persons involved, were very
different.

Last time I examined what I had finally deduced was a mutual
attraction between the Captain and Mr. Paris, I had concluded that the
only harm this attraction could pose was to the relationship Mr. Paris
had with Lieutenant Torres.  I now find this to be a premature
conclusion considering the important facts which only now have been
exposed.

The entire crew is suffering due to the Monean incident.  Not only did
the Captain break the unwritten rules of the ship, but she did so with
her first example of integration.  If she can take the man she
redeemed from being the most hated to one of the most respected on the
ship and place him in solitary confinement for thirty days, what will
she do for the Maquis who she was originally hunting?

I feel that morale is at its lowest level since the early days of the
voyage.  Even the unfortunate news of the destruction of the Maquis in
the Alpha Quadrant did not cause as much fear among the Maquis.  And
in an intriguing show of integration among the two crews, the vast
majority of Starfleet personnel join the Maquis in their questioning
of the Captain's motives.

Division has once again returned to Voyager.  While I do not see the
logical next step as mutiny as I did when designing Insurrection
Alpha, I find there is no simple solution to this situation.  The crew
still resent the Captain's abandonment of them during the journey
through the void.  Now they see that abandonment as spreading to their
welfare.  By continuing to confine Mr. Paris for an offense, which
previously received minor punishment, during the middle of a battle
where his piloting skills would have been invaluable, has caused the
crew to believe she has lost her respect not only for him, but for
them as a whole.

Logically, there is truth to that argument.  Despite her return to the
Bridge, she has maintained distance from the crew.  Her harsh
criticism of Lieutenant Torres for not gracefully accepting the use of
the Cardassian to save her life, immediately followed by the Monean
incident, has displayed a side of the Captain which the crew does not
approve of, especially following her bout of depression while in the
void. They question her ability to command.

I see the actions in a different light given the state of her
feelings.  The depression was not assisted by the strong relationship
she observed between Mr. Paris and Lieutenant Torres.  Only eminent
danger to the ship facilitated her return to normal duty on the Bridge
during our journey through the void.

The subsequent harsh treatment of Lieutenant Torres, beginning with
the Lieutenant's own bout with depression and ending with the bitter
exchange with her following the life saving procedure are all related
to her love for Mr. Paris.  The need for Lieutenant Torres' talents in
Engineering is clear if Voyager is to return to the Alpha Quadrant.
However her presence still causes the Captain much discomfort.  The
conversation they had following the operation was one where the
Captain expressed the sentiment that she was alive only at her own
behest.  This is indicative of the harsh, almost condescending manner
in which she is treated by the Captain.

Then came the man she loves betraying her trust.  The anger she felt
at his slight contributed to his sentence despite the grief she has
caused herself in the meantime.  What will become of her feelings in
the subsequent weeks, logic cannot predict.  This incident has delved
far beyond anything which can be controlled.

Before I thought that her love was a typical human reaction to
emotions. Now, I'm certain it has passed well beyond that point.  Her
own actions remind me of my own lapse as a youth.  I lost control of
my emotions and fell in love with a young woman at my school.  I was
unable to control the passions unleashed by love.  Jealousy, self-pity
and anger overwhelmed me.  It took months of intensive study with a
Master to regain my control.

I believe the Captain has lost control of her emotions for Lieutenant
Paris.  I fear this has gone well beyond the point where I was forced
into seclusion.  She is now surcombed to being ruled only by emotions,
discarding logic as a hindrance to her passion and desires.  I believe
only disaster will result.  Will it be her own disaster?  Or, will the
passion between the Captain and the Helmsman lead to the breaking of
Lieutenant Torres' heart.  Logic predicts disaster either way, but
only time will tell if my original hesitancy to interceed in this
emotional encounter was as illogical as it now appears to be.

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The End