trans_9 | Say What You Want [R for Cussing][Open]

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Say What You Want [R for Cussing][Open]

Yes, Sam Winchester was still secure in his cell, sitting on his bed, still writing in John Winchester's journal as he had been for much of the time since he'd been locked up. A stack of uneaten slop trays sat outside his cell, a sign that he was still not eating. The only nourishment he would take came from the silver flask of water that sat on the floor near the head of the bed that he had refilled periodically by either Dean or whoever was in the Precinct at the time.

He'd had several visitors, many of them trying to convince him to back down, to start eating again. But each time he had refused, defiantly resisting any and all efforts to change his mind or sway him into thinking he was wrong. He wasn't wrong. He knew it.

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"That's true. But we;re not exactly on Earth and you're not exactly petitioning for the freedom of a nation."

He paused and raised a hand to forestall any commentary, "But, I respect that you're trying to achieve something with this and that at least this way, it's not going to result in any violence. I simply don't want to see a promising young man waste away."

"Give me five minutes alone with that slug and you won't have to," he offered, reiterating his demand for what felt like the hundredth time. "It's that easy."

Kirk set his jaw and slowly shook his head, "You know I can't let you do that, Mr. Winchester. It would be cold-blooded murder."

"Well, then I guess that means you gotta keep me locked up then, don't it. I mean, you can't really let me out because you know, and I know, that I'll just keep trying until it's dead."

"I do. But I hope that you'll at least not let yourself die. There are better ways - there are different ways. You don't have to make it a choice between you and this... Yeerk."

He paused again and sighed, "Because, that is a choice I will not hesitate to make. I'm not about to kill any sentient being out of hand. Not without a fair trial. If the jury decides that it should die, then... it will die. But if it decides differently, it's going to be locked up for the duration of our stay on Stacy."

He ran a hand through his hair, "You're a valuable member of this crew, Mr. Winchester. But you're asking all of us to make you the ultimate arbiter of life and death. I can't do that."

(http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd304/mysterio2000/Sam%20Winchester/?action=view&current=SPN-Icons-supernatural-1390934-1-1.jpg)

Sighing, Sam closed his father's journal and set it aside then climbed off of the bed. "No, I'm not. I'm asking you guys to just consider that I'm right about this, that keeping this Yeerk alive is a huge mistake. But, up until I started this strike, no one was doing that. Now they are.

"And if choosing the Yeerk over me is something you gotta do, then that's something you gotta do, Captain. But you better hope and pray that I'm wrong, because if I die and I end up being right, you'll lose the crew."

Kirk sighed and shook his head, "We have considered it. We've weighed the options and we believe this is the best way to proceed. Not cold-blooded murder. If the crew decides that the Yeerk deserves death for what it's done... then we'll kill it. At least we'll have given it a fair trial."

He paused, standing and walking to the bars, "The moment we start killing people, killing others, for what they might do in the future, killing people without a chance of recourse, then we become no better then the Yeerks. I don't want to see you die. I don't want to see anyone on the crew get hurt. But, if we break all of our principles to come out of this alive, I'm not sure it will have been worth it."

"Yeah? Well, when that thing does get out and when it does hurt people, I want you to point at every injury, every cut, every scrape, every broken bone, every dead body and I want you to say to yourself: 'Those are my principles,'" Sam said, drawing very close to the bars of his cell.

"You know what the really dumb thing about this is? You know what really takes the cake? I've had at least five of you come down here and tell me stop the hunger strike because you don't want me to get hurt or die over this. Five of you have come down here to try to convince me not to die for my principles. Meanwhile you're using yours as an excuse to put everyone else's lives at risk. At least my principles are only putting my life at risk, no one else's. Which is more than I can say for any of you. And you're all trying to make me out to be the selfish jackass."

Kirk squared his shoulders, "That's a risk I'm willing to take. That's the risk that any civilized society takes when they let someone who might do something in the future go free. What I can tell you is that the moment it becomes a threat again, we'll deal with it. Not before. There's a phrase, Mr. Winchester - innocent until proven guilty. It applies to everyone. Not just those who we choose."

He leaned forward, eying Sam, "I never called you selfish. In fact, I don't think I've implied any such thing. I simply think you're going about this the completely wrong way - if you really want to starve yourself, you're free to do so. But know this - I'm not going to let you die, if I can help it. I may respect the life of a surrendered enemy, but I also respect the lives of my crew."

He took a step back, "I'm not going to convince you and you're not going to convince me, so I'm just going to leave it at that for now."

"Are you threatening force feed me?" Sam asked. He knew it was always a possibility and lately, after his talk with Shawn, he'd started to think that they might be seriously considering it. So, all it took was that seemingly off-the-cuff comment by Kirk--the second in command--to get his attention.

Kirk let out a long breath and rolled his shoulders. This was going to get difficult, very quickly, "I'm not going to lie to you - I'm considering it. It's an option that I am weighing, very carefully. I don't want to and I hope I don't have to."

"Now who's no better than a Yeerk?"

Kirk simply shook his head, "I'm trying to save your life."

"Really? So, now life trumps principles?" Sam argued. "How's this work exactly? You're willing to violate your 'not-gonna-be-like-a-Yeerk' principle to keep me from putting my life at risk over my principles, but at the same time you're willing to risk other people's lives for the sake of your principles."

It was Sam's turn to shake his head. He stepped back from the bars.

"With all due respect, Captain, but that's fucked."

"Stopping you from committing suicide is hardly the same thing as a Yeerk crawling into someone's head and taking over control of their body," Kirk pressed his lips together, shoulders tense, "I wouldn't willingly let a Yeerk commit suicide anymore then I would you or anyone else on this crew. Not like this and certainly not now."

He let out a sigh, "My morals - Starfleet's morals and principles - talk about preserving life where ever it's possible. I wouldn't be the captain of a starship if I didn't at least try. And with all due respect to you, Mr. Winchester, I truly think you ought to reexamine your reasoning behind all of this. You're the one who says he's operating for the good of the crew and yet you seem to believe you have the right to choose for everyone else. That Yeerk will be tried by a jury and if necessary, he will be put to death. That's the only thing I can promise you."

He turned to go, "Think about if your life is truly worth this. If you die and you do turn out to be right - hypothetically - then what good will your death have served anyone but yourself?"

"None," Sam answered. "It will have been for nothing. And you and everyone else who insisted I was wrong are gonna have to live with that. So you better be damn certain that you're right. Because if I am, I'll just be the first dead body your decision created."

"And if you're wrong, you'll just have wasted your life," Kirk sighed and headed out the door.

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Say What You Want [R for Cussing][Open]

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