Vox in Excelso

💡 Did You Know?

"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied - chains us all, irrevocably." This was a famous quote from Judge Aaron Satie, an admiral in Starfleet's Judge Advocate General Corps in the early 24th century. Satie was considered one of the greatest jurists in Starfleet history, he was a leading advocate for civil liberties in the Federation, and some of his judicial rulings were required reading at Starfleet Academy. Judge Satie was the father of Rear Admiral Norah Satie, who was the flag officer that granted Picard command of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) in 2263 (All Good Things... (1994)). Due to her experience as a JAG investigator, and her father's legacy, Satie was brought out of retirement in 2267 to lead a formal investigation into a suspected act of sabotage on the Enterprise, after an explosion in the dilithium chamber hatch of the warp core crippled the Enterprise in the episode The Drumhead (1991). After learning that the Romulans gained access to classified information about the Enterprise's dilithium articulation frame just a week earlier, Admiral Satie became convinced a major conspiracy existed on the Enterprise-D. When evidence failed to support her, she refused to accept it, believing she had to create a guilty verdict to justify her investigation. Satie convened a drumhead trial and started a xenophobic witch hunt after learning one of the Enterprise crew members, Crewman Simon Tarses, lied about his Romulan heritage; unlike others present, Satie was old enough to have been alive and remember the Federation's final conflict with the Romulans at the Tomed Incident in 2311. After Satie gave orders that violated Tarses' civil rights, Captain Jean-Luc Picard intervened to protect Tarses, leading Satie to accuse Picard of being a traitor. During Picard's kangaroo court-style hearing, he quotes Judge Satie in an attempt to bring Admiral Satie to her senses. Fortunately by this point the sector's active-duty flag officer, Vice Admiral Thomas Henry, was on hand to witness these events, being disgusted with Satie's behavior Admiral Henry suspended the hearing and removed Satie from power.