Burden of Proof

Chapter Nine

Commander Carr glanced up as Paul knocked on her doorframe. This deep inside Franklin, the compartments were larger, and subdivided into rooms which could've been somewhere on Earth, except for the nagging sense that gravity wasn't quite right. Carr stood in greeting, smiling politely, and offered Paul a handshake. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Sinclair? I'm Alex Carr. I'll be the trial counsel for Silver's court-martial."

Trial counsel was the military term for the prosecutor. Paul tried not to wince from the pressure of her handshake. Commander Carr may have been a bit height-challenged, but what there was of her slim body obviously included plenty of toned muscle. A chin-up bar fastened to one wall offered a hint as to where the muscle came from. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"Have a seat." Carr laughed as she returned to her own chair. "Let me tell you, Mr. Sinclair, no JAG wakes up in the morning wishing she'd get handed the job of prosecuting an admiral's son at a court-martial. Especially Vice Admiral Silver's son. Do you know what Admiral Silver's nickname is among his staff?"

"No, ma'am."

"They refer to him as 'the Neutron Bomb,' because he leaves structures intact but destroys people. And I get to prosecute his son! What do you call that sort of thing in the operational forces?"

"We call it an opportunity to excel, ma'am. Sarcastically, of course."

"Oh, I like that. An opportunity to excel. Or to watch your career head for the nearest waste disposal unit." She grinned again. "Fortunately for this case, I'm in this business for the thrill of battle, so the idea of nailing Admiral Silver's son doesn't make me curl up in a ball."

Paul nodded. I have the feeling there's not very much that would make Commander Carr curl up in a ball. I'm glad she's not prosecuting me.

Carr turned toward her display. "It's an interesting case you put together. Interesting because there's strong evidence of misconduct, and an equal lack of evidence directly and unambiguously implicating the individual charged with the offenses."

"I know the case is mostly circumstantial, ma'am."

" Mostly circumstantial? Try almost entirely, at this point." Carr's grin faded as she scanned her display, eyeing the information intently. "But still, the evidence does point fairly conclusively in one direction, and hopefully we'll uncover some more. Lieutenant Silver's counsel is going to have to do some real tap-dancing to try to get around some of this." She looked straight at Paul again. "I need to be clear on something going in. Why'd you do all this investigating? What was your motivation?"

Paul tried to keep from frowning. "What does that matter?"

"It might not, and it shouldn't. But it could come up. Why'd the lieutenant junior grade go digging for evidence pointing to malfeasance on the part of the lieutenant?"

"One of our people died, ma'am, and my master-at-arms knew something that hadn't been included in the official investigation. He's a good cop, with good instincts, so I listened to him."

"And what about Lieutenant Silver? Is there anything between you two?"

"Nothing in particular, ma'am. I mean, we serve on the same ship and we're in the same in-port duty section, but we usually don't interact outside business. I don't particularly like him."

"A lot of other people apparently do like him." Carr leaned forward, her eyes locked on Paul's. "Nothing of a romantic nature? No involvements like that?"

"How do you mean, ma'am?"

"You and him. Him and some her. You and some her and him. Whatever combination you like."

Paul's reaction must have shown, as Commander Carr laughed. "Ma'am, I don't swing that way. I have no idea what Silver's idea of fun is, but he's never come on to me, if that's what you're asking."

"Have you got a girlfriend right now?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Has Silver ever met her?"

"I don't think so. She's on a different ship. Of course," Paul added hastily.

"Of course," Commander Carr replied with a smile. "Since regulations prohibit two officers on the same ship from dating. She's an officer, also of course?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Have you discussed this case with her?"

"Not yet, ma'am."

"So she's not involved in the case in any way."

Paul hesitated, drawing a raised eyebrow from Commander Carr. "Well… there is a connection, ma'am."

"And what would that be?"

"She's Lieutenant Junior Grade Jen Shen, on the USS Maury."

"Shen? Where have I seen that name recently?" She glanced at her display. "Didn't a Captain Shen conduct the initial investigation into the accident on your ship?"

"Yes, ma'am. He's her father."

"You're kidding."

"No, ma'am."

"How's he feel about this? About you uncovering evidence his investigation missed?"

"I imagine he's not very happy."

"I bet. Let's just do our best to keep this little domestic drama out of the courtroom, shall we?"

"I'd like nothing better, ma'am."

"I won't put you on my witness list. I don't see where I need to do that. As a matter of fact, I'm sure it'd be a mistake to do that."

"Why, ma'am?"

"Because your motivations and actions are a potent avenue for the defense to question every piece of evidence you uncovered. You didn't come out of the initial investigation covered with glory, and the estimable Lieutenant Silver received a medal for his 'heroic' efforts against the fire while you didn't. The defense might want to discredit you in order to discredit the government's case. If I put you up on that witness stand, I might as well be covering you with steak sauce and dropping you in a shark tank."

Commander Carr leaned back. "The defense might try to call you as a witness, though, to try to make an issue of your motivation and argue that this is all sour grapes, motivated by jealousy and an attempt to spread the blame."

"Ma'am, I swear — "

"You don't have to do that unless you get called as a witness." Carr flashed another smile. "Which we'll avoid at all costs. I expect the defense will start out trying to win this case on its merits. That is, by disputing the evidence and arguing that it doesn't point to Lieutenant Silver in any case. If the defense thinks they're losing that battle, they may try to discredit the case by bringing you and your motivations into it. The court may not allow that, of course, unless there's strong grounds for questioning your professional standing. What's your record look like, aside from this case?"

"Uh…" Paul licked his lips. "I was involved with the court-martial of Captain Wakeman."

"Wakeman?" Carr's eyes widened. "I remember… hey. You're that Sinclair? You testified for him."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Most line officers go their entire careers without being involved in a general court-martial, Paul. And here you are working on number two already."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Do you harbor aspirations to become a Navy lawyer yourself?"

Paul thought of the smirk he'd see on his hotshot civilian lawyer brother's face if he heard Paul was pursuing a legal degree. "No, ma'am!"

Commander Carr tried to smother another smile. "That's a firm enough reply. All right, Paul, I'm still familiarizing myself with the evidence, but I'll probably have some questions for you later, and I'll want to tour the ship itself."

"Herself." Paul blurted the correction without thinking.

"Herself? I thought ships were officially 'it' nowadays."

"I guess officially they are, ma'am, but to us who serve on them, they're ladies."

Carr grinned yet again. "Then they're exceptionally tough ladies, Mr. Sinclair."

Paul nodded, thinking that Commander Carr, despite her quick smiles and pleasant demeanor, seemed to be exceptionally tough as well.

She offered Paul a data pad. "The convening order hasn't been disseminated, yet, but here's the names of the members of the court. Do you know any of them personally or by reputation?"

Paul read the list carefully. Captain Michael Mashiko. Line officer. Currently at Space Warfare Officers School. Commander Juanita Juarez, also line, attached to the Joint Space Intelligence Center. Commander Gwen Herdez -

His reaction must have been apparent to Commander Carr. "I take it you know one of them?"

"Yes, ma'am. Commander Herdez. She was my executive officer until about six months ago."

"Is that good or bad? What's she like?"

Paul pondered how to describe Herdez in a few words. "Very tough, very demanding, very capable, and expects a thousand percent from everyone who works for her. She loves the Navy, I guess. At least, she gives it everything she can and insists everyone else does, too."

"Hmmm. Commander Herdez doesn't sound like the sort of officer who'd look kindly upon an officer accused of grossly neglecting his duties."

"Yes, ma'am, but — " Paul struggled for the right words. "She's very fair. Commander Herdez doesn't let her emotions or preferences decide an issue. She'll have to be convinced."

"Fair enough." Carr made a note on her own data pad. "Convincing her is my job, but I'd appreciate any hints you might think of for what would best serve to do that. What about the rest of the members?"

Paul went back to reading. Lieutenant Commander Peter Bryko, attached to the Commodore's staff. Lieutenant Commander Susan Goldberg, from the Space Officer's school, just like Mashiko. "No, ma'am. I don't know them. I'll ask around the ship, though. Some of the other officers may have worked with them."

"Okay, but keep it discreet. What's your ship's schedule look like for the next couple of months? Will you be underway much?"

Paul couldn't help a short, bitter laugh. "Sorry, ma'am. No, we won't be underway at all. Forward Engineering was very badly damaged by the fire. They're having to replace, rebuild, and test everything there and check everything in surrounding compartments for damage. The last estimate I saw called for completion of that work in about two and half months."

Commander Carr shook her head. "It'll be a pleasure to nail Silver's hide to the wall." She saw Paul's look. "What's the matter?"

"Well, ma'am, isn't he presumed innocent?"

Alex Carr laughed again. "By the court. By the members. But my job is to presume he's guilty and do everything I can to prove it. I'll always talk about Silver as being guilty. You don't want the prosecution arguing that the accused could be innocent!" She sobered. "Needless to say, that doesn't mean if I found proof of his innocence that I'd disregard it. Okay, the word I have is the court-martial will convene in about two months. The defense counsel and I have both already tentatively agreed that'll be long enough to build our cases. That doesn't rule out a request for a continuance, of course. I'm going to ask your captain for permission to work directly with you during that period. Will that cause you any problems?"

Paul thought of Commander Kwan, and Commander Garcia. Kwan had been very unhappy with what had happened to Silver already, and Garcia wouldn't like either the chance of negative attention nor any distraction from Paul's regular duties. Then he thought of Chief Asher. "Some of my superiors on the ship might not be thrilled, ma'am, but there won't be any problems I can't handle. I don't think Captain Hayes will have any objections to it."

"Good. Oh, yes, one more thing. I understand the military judge will be Captain David Halstead." Another smile. "Within the JAG Corps he's known as 'Hang 'em Halstead.' He runs a tight court, but he's actually very fair through the trial. It's only if Judge Halstead decides the punishment that his nickname applies. That's it, then. I'll be in touch."

"Thank you, ma'am." Paul left, thinking about two months for him, Scott Silver, and everyone else to spend wondering how the court-martial would come out. Then he realized that time span meant the Maury would be back before the court-martial. At least I'll have Jen around.

As expected, Captain Hayes approved of Paul working directly with Commander Carr. Also as expected, Commander Kwan and Commander Garcia found ways to let Paul know they weren't happy about it. The agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service took apart Lieutenant Silver's former stateroom piece by piece, looking for any evidence of wrongdoing but confiding nothing to the ship's personnel. Their work done, Mike Bristol could finally get to his own shaving kit and bunk again. Alex Carr came aboard one afternoon, touring Forward Engineering with such an exhaustive attention to detail that Paul found himself wondering if she'd learned to conduct inspections at the feet of Commander Herdez.

As for Lieutenant Silver, Paul heard he'd been assigned temporary duty at a desk job somewhere deep within the bowels of Franklin Station. Wherever Silver happened to be working, no one from the Michaelson caught any glimpses of him, something which brought Paul great relief. On the ship, Silver had become sort of a nonperson. Everyone was aware Silver was gone, but no one talked about his absence, about the job he'd held, or shared memories about his time on the ship. Conversations dwelled on the upcoming court-martial, but aside from that Silver might never have been assigned to the Michaelson.

Lieutenant Commander Bartlet Jones had been assigned to conduct Silver's defense. He also came aboard the Michaelson, interviewing crew members and conducting his own inspection of Forward Engineering. He didn't ask to talk to Paul.

And, in due course, the USS Maury returned to Franklin. Paul watched her arrival from Combat on the Michaelson, as the Maury approached closer and closer, until her symbology merged with that of the station. By calling in-port ship status readings, Paul could tell when the Maury had finished mating to the station. But there wasn't any sense in heading down to her dock at that point. Even if he hadn't a work day to finish on the Michaelson, Paul knew all too well that many jobs had to be closed out before officers and crew could bolt from the ship that had been their sole home for three months.

Liberty call sounded on the Michaelson, and Paul finally headed down to the Maury 's dock. He waited about fifteen minutes after that, surrounded by a crowd of others greeting the arrival of the ship, before he heard liberty call being passed onboard the Maury. Within a few minutes, crew members began filing off the Maury 's quarterdeck as fast as they could request permission to go ashore.

Paul spotted a familiar figure, waved, then waited until Jen made her way to him. "You came back."

"Yeah. Not that I had a choice. My ship came back, and I was sort of tied to her." Jen looked around. "I don't see any new girlfriends."

"Nope."

"I don't have any new boyfriends."

"That's good."

"You still want me, huh?"

"More than ever."

"Still desperate, I take it."

"Not at all. At the moment I'm feeling incredibly lucky to be with you again."

"Lucky? Like you won me in a lottery?"

"Maybe that's not the best word."

"It's not. Luck has nothing to do with it. Three months away made me sure of one thing. I want to be with you because of who you are, Paul Sinclair."

"And I want to be with you because of who you are. Don't look at me like that. It's true. The last three months have helped me realize how important you are to my life. You're my anchor."

"Your anchor? That's certainly a lovely analogy. Are you saying I'm really heavy and tie you down? That I'm often filthy and snag objects as I drag along the bottom? That you're chained to me and straining to break free?"

Paul grinned. "My spiritual anchor. I'm only chained to you by chains of love."

"Oh, gag me. Good thing I haven't eaten yet."

"I love you, Jen."

She eyed him, smiling slowly. "I love you, too. We're both in uniform, so you'll have to consider yourself mentally hugged and kissed." They started walking. "I heard there was a fire on the Michaelson."

"Oh, yeah, there was a fire."

"Has anything else happened since I left?"

"You might say that."

It took Paul a few minutes to outline events, then Jen shook her head. "For heaven's sake, Paul! Can't I leave you alone for more than five minutes without you getting involved in a court-martial?"

"You were gone for three months," Paul pointed out. "That's a lot more than five minutes."

"The principle's the same." She gave him a suspicious look. "You haven't mentioned something, yet. What is it?"

Paul sighed and passed over his data pad. "This is the investigation initially conducted to determine the cause of the accident and where the fault lay."

"I have to read it all?"

"No. Just the summation and the name at the end."

Five minutes later, Jen slammed down the data pad. "Great! My father. And he blamed you."

"Not in so many words."

"He didn't have to." Jen shook her head and sagged onto a nearby bench. "When you met my father he joked about my high standards and past boyfriends not lasting long. Remember? That was always my decision, but some of them also ran head-on into my father's standards for me, which frankly seem a lot more restrictive than my own."

"Oh. I'd wondered why he didn't recuse himself from the investigation. Now I'm wondering even more, if he goes after your boyfriends."

"My father should have refused to conduct this investigation because he couldn't be impartial. But he didn't, because sure as hell he honestly believes he was impartial. You just happened to not come out all that well in the investigation. He could swear to the truth of that without hesitation." Jen rubbed her face with both palms. "Now I also have to worry about him getting charged with some kind of dereliction of duty."

"What? You mean for going into the investigation biased? I wouldn't charge him, if that's what you're thinking."

"I don't think you're that big an idiot."

"I love you, too. As for anyone else… intent counts a great deal in violations like that. If your father honestly believed he was being impartial, if he thought he had no bias, then he didn't intend conducting an investigation improperly. His personal judgment could be questioned, but he didn't set out to break any laws."

"Good. Not that you're a lawyer or anything, but I appreciate your telling me that." Jen slumped a little more. "Obviously, you found evidence enough to charge this Silver guy. Is that based upon my father's investigation?"

"Uh, no."

"You found evidence he hadn't uncovered?"

"Yes."

Jen stared at Paul. "Oh, is he going to be pissed."

"That's what I figured."

"You haven't talked to him since the investigation?"

"Would you have in my place?"

"No way." She suddenly looked tired. "I knew Chief Asher. He was good people."

"That's what I hear."

"The first priority is finding out for certain if this Silver killed him through sheer careless stupidity. That's all that matters."

"It's not an open-and-shut case, Jen. A lot of it's circumstantial."

"All the more reason to dig as deeply as we can to find the truth. The Mahan 's in port. Let's go over and talk to my father. Don't look like that. We'll work it out. My dad's a reasonable man."

This time the sharply turned out ensign on the quarterdeck of the Mahan looked startled when Jen asked to speak to the captain. After a call to Captain Shen conducted in whispered tones on the quarterdeck's end, the ensign beckoned to his messenger of the watch. "Escort these two officers to the captain's cabin."

Paul tried to keep his breathing steady, tried not to think ahead, until they were ushered in to the captain's cabin and faced Kay Shen once again. Captain Shen looked steadily at Jen for a long moment, not offering them a seat.

"I'm disappointed, Jen." Captain Shen shook his head to underscore his words. "You had considerable time to rethink this relationship. I expect better judgment from you."

Jen glared back at him. "What does that mean?"

"It means you'd benefit from my guidance in this situation, young lady."

"Are you under the illusion that I'm some piece of property which belongs to you? That I'm incapable of acting independently?"

"It's no illusion that you're still young and in need of guidance."

"I don't believe this. I'm an officer, Dad. I could've ended up sucking vacuum on my last cruise if a back-up seal had failed while we were doing emergency repairs. Repairs I was overseeing. I am not a child in need of 'guidance' on how to live my life."

"You're disproving that little speech by your own actions, by letting your emotions get in the way of your judgment, Jen."

"Of course I'm deciding this based on emotions! You don't decide to forge a serious relationship with someone else based purely on logic! Or have you forgotten that?"

"I haven't forgotten that this young man has displayed a serious lack of judgment of his own which has no relation to what is going on between you. If he's incapable of carrying out his duties properly, and if he responds to corrective advice by attempting to besmirch the reputations of other officers — "

" He is standing right here! If there's something you want to say to Paul, say it to him!"

Paul, already upset over the fight he was witnessing, felt his guts tighten as Captain Shen whirled to face him. Gee, thanks, Jen. Not wanting to give Captain Shen the initiative, he spoke quickly. "Sir, follow-on investigation revealed — "

"Oh, yes." Captain Shen frowned at Paul. "Follow-on investigation. You didn't want to accept the results of my investigation so you cooked up something that blames someone else."

"That's not true, sir!"

"Now I'm a liar, huh?"

"No, sir! I — "

"Mr. Sinclair, I don't want to see you on my ship again, and I'd thank you to stay away from my daughter from this point forward."

Paul felt his face flushing with anger. "Sir, Jen is the only person who can tell me to stay away from her."

"Wasn't my order clear enough for you?"

"That's not a legal order, sir, as you're well aware. I'm under no obligation to obey it."

"A sea lawyer." Captain Shen faced Jen again. "That's what you want? A damn sea lawyer?"

Jen's eyes were hard. " I'll decide what I want, dad. Let's go, Paul." She came to attention and saluted formally. "By your leave, sir."

Captain Shen snapped a fast, angry salute in reply. "I expected better of you."

Not replying, Jen led Paul out of the stateroom and out to the Mahan 's quarterdeck, the surprised messenger of the watch hastily following them all the way, then onto the dock. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Jen moving quickly with her face tight, Paul knowing she needed time to deal with the scene they'd just left. Finally, she erupted. "I cannot believe this! Who does he think he is? Who does he think I am? Who does he think you are? Say something, Paul!"

"Which question am I answering?"

"You don't have to answer any of them." Jen's face shifted from pure rage to a mix of anger and sadness. "I can't believe it."

"I'm really sorry, Jen."

"For what? You didn't do anything."

"I've come between you and your dad."

"No, you haven't. Stop it, Paul Sinclair. Right now. Stop thinking what you're thinking."

"What is it I'm supposed to be thinking?"

"I know you. You're thinking you've come between a loving father and his daughter, and maybe you ought to step aside for a while so they can be a happy family again. No, no, no. You did nothing wrong, here."

"Jen — "

"Paul, have I ever hesitated to tell you when I thought you'd screwed up?"

"Uh, no. You're pretty straightforward about that."

"You didn't come between my dad and me. He did. He's making totally unreasonable demands on my life. Again. He's trying to treat me like his little girl. I'm not a little girl."

"I've noticed that."

"Then you've also noticed that I don't let anyone push me around. I do things for you because you don't act like it's some sort of obligation for me to do whatever you want. Like I need a firm guiding hand to keep me from veering from stupid decision to stupid decision. I can't believe my dad actually thinks he can do that! I'm so mad I'm tempted to haul you off to the nearest chaplain and get married as fast as we can, only if we did that it'd just seem like it was confirming my dad's belief that I'm a hormone-addled lovesick loose cannon." She subsided for a moment, then spoke in a quieter tone. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to endure that. I should've known it'd be a disaster."

"That's okay, Jen."

"No, it's not. You're upset, aren't you?"

"Yeah. You might say that."

"You should've slugged him."

"Jen, that really would've been a bad idea."

"I know that! Promise me something, Paul."

"What?"

"Whatever happens with this, we will not let it define our relationship."

"Your dad hates my guts and thinks I'm a lousy officer."

"What does your dad think of me?"

"He's never met you!" Paul mustered a small smile. "Though he's heard a lot of good things about you."

"You're lying to your father?"

"No! Be serious, Jen. In any case it wouldn't matter what my dad thinks…" Paul grinned. "Point noted."

"Good. Let's go get some dinner."

"Okay. You deserve a homecoming celebration better than what you've had so far. But tell me about that stuff you mentioned to your father. Emergency repairs? Sucking vacuum?"

"Oh, that." Jen gave Paul an arch look. "It's kind of like firefighting. It comes with the job sometimes. So when's the court-martial? Will you be there?"

"It starts next week. And, yeah, I'll be there. Captain Hayes wants me in the court room as an observer."

Jen laughed. "Garcia's still your department head, isn't he? I bet he's really happy about that."

Paul grinned. "Oh, yeah. It's not as if Chief Imari can't handle everything for a few days, and it's not as if I won't be coming back to the ship after court proceedings are over each day. But I'm the blankety-blank Combat Information Center Officer! Not a blankety-blank JAG! It's not my fault I got assigned ship's legal officer duties. Hey, that reminds me, guess who one of the members of the court is?"

She shrugged. "I can't imagine."

"Herdez."

"Herdez? Good God. I was thinking of trying to drop by the courtroom, but now…"

"Jen, she liked you."

"She ran me ragged! Don't say it. I know I once told you that was Herdez's way of rewarding people. Give them more to do! But she didn't do it to me as a reward."

"Then why did she?"

"Damned if I know. Here you are, going back to a court-martial, and Herdez will be there. Old home week. Speaking of home, did you get a room for us, yet?"

"Well, sure."

She glanced around to see if they were being watched, snuggled close for a moment, and grinned at him. "Dinner can wait. Let's you and me go celebrate my homecoming right now."

Paul smiled back and nodded. "Sounds good to me." No wonder they compare the ocean to women. Moods change in a heartbeat, and all you can do is try to keep up. Not that I'm complaining. It was the next day before Paul realized Jen had avoided telling him anything about the hazardous emergency repairs she'd overseen on the Maury.

The courtroom in which Lieutenant Scott Silver would face a general court martial wasn't the same as that in which Captain Wakeman, former commanding officer of the Michaelson, had once also faced a trial. Other than that, though, to Paul it appeared identical to the other courtroom. The judge's bench, set higher than the other seats and tables in the room, rested in the front. A table had been set up on one side of the room, facing the area in front of the judge's bench and draped with a navy blue tablecloth. It had five chairs, one for each member of the court. Two doors in the back of the court room were for the judge and the members respectively to use. Facing the judge's bench and to either side were the tables for the defense and the trial counsel. After a gap of a couple of meters, rows of chairs for spectators were lined up, with a clear path down the middle for those entering the court through the front door.

Paul hesitated in the entry, memories of Wakeman's court-martial filling his mind.

"Looking for a seat?" someone asked behind him.

Paul simultaneously slid to one side and spun around to offer apologies to whoever had been held up by his blocking the door. One certainty in the life of a lieutenant junior grade, though less so than for an ensign, was that just about anybody in authority you encountered would outrank you. "My apologies, ma'am."

Commander Carr smiled impishly. "Nervous? Don't be. This is my show. I'm glad your captain agreed to let you be here as an observer. Do me a favor and sit right behind my table. I may have some questions for you as the court-martial progresses."

"Yes, ma'am."

"If any of the testimony makes you think of something you think I should know, tell me at the first opportunity."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now relax."

"Yes, ma'am."

Alex Carr grinned again and walked up the aisle and over to the trial counsel table. Paul followed, taking a seat where she'd instructed. Lieutenant Commander Jones came in, placing some items on the defense table, then crossing to talk briefly with Commander Carr. He gave Paul a dispassionate glance as he turned to leave the room again.

An enlisted legal assistant bustled around, making sure the member's table and the judge's bench had cold water, data pads for note taking, and were otherwise arranged just right. Spectators began arriving, scattering themselves around the available chairs. Paul glanced around a few times, trying to discern whether the spectators were there to support Silver or in hope of a conviction, but nothing in anyone's bearing gave their desires away. The one thing I do know is that Vice Admiral Silver won't be making an appearance. That'd be such an obviously prejudicial move, something that would surely influence the members of the court, that he couldn't do it without causing a mistrial. It must be hard, or humbling, for a vice admiral to realize he can't even watch his son's court-martial.

Lieutenant Commander Jones reentered, this time with Lieutenant Silver. Scott Silver walked without the jauntiness Paul had grown accustomed to seeing on the Michaelson, but he still had a hint of smile. He'd better drop that real fast. A face like that'll make the members vote him guilty the minute they see him.

The court bailiff came in, taking position in the front of the court and holding up one hand for attention. "I will announce 'all rise' when the military judge enters, and everyone is to rise. The military judge will instruct everyone to be seated. The judge will direct me to summon the members of the court, at which point everyone should rise again. The military judge will inform you when to be seated after that. Are there any questions?" After waiting a moment, the bailiff went to one of the back doors, opened it a bit and spoke to someone inside before returning to the area near the judge's bench. "All rise."

Paul came to attention automatically, only his eyes moving as Captain David "Hang 'em" Halstead entered. Halstead paused to examine the court room, then walked to the judge's bench and took his seat. "This Article 39 (A) session is called to order. You may be seated."

One thing about a military court, Paul reflected, is that when someone ordered you to stand or sit, everybody did it quickly.

Commander Carr stood, her back erect, somehow looking taller than her height should have permitted, and addressed Judge Halstead. "The court-martial is convened by general court-martial convening order 0320, Commander, United States Space Forces, copies of which have been furnished to the military judge, counsel, and the accused. The charges have been properly referred to the court-martial for trial and were served on the accused on 12 October 2100. The accused and the following persons detailed to the court-martial are present: Captain Mashiko, Commander Juarez, Commander Herdez, Lieutenant Commander Bryko, Lieutenant Commander Goldberg, Commander Carr, Lieutenant Commander Jones."

"Very well. Bailiff, the members of the court-martial may enter."

After passing on the message to those behind the other back door to the room, the bailiff called out, "All rise."

With Captain Mashiko in the lead, the five officers entered. Captain Mashiko took the center of the five seats at the members' table, with the other officers taking seats to either side in decreasing order of seniority. As Commander Herdez took her seat, her eyes swept the court, lingering for just a moment on Paul. A fractional nod acknowledged Paul's presence, then Herdez's attention turned fully toward the judge.

When they were all seated, Captain Mashiko nodded to Judge Halstead. "We're ready, your honor."

"Thank you. Everyone may be seated. Trial counsel, continue."

Commander Carr stood again. "I have been detailed to this court-martial by order of the fleet judge advocate general's office. I am qualified and certified under Article 27(b) and sworn under Article 42(a). I have not acted in any manner which might tend to disqualify me in the court-martial."

Lieutenant Commander Jones stood. "I have been detailed to this court-martial by order of the fleet judge advocate general's office. I am qualified and certified under Article 27(b) and sworn under Article 42(a). I have not acted in any manner which might tend to disqualify me in the court-martial."

Paul listened to the declarations, remembering when he'd last heard them. Much of what the lawyers and judge would say to open the court-martial was written in stone, or at least in the Manual for Courts-Martial, to ensure every legal nicety had been observed. For some reason, this seemed to give the stately formality of the announcements extra weight.

Judge Halstead looked toward the defense table. "Lieutenant Scott Silver, you have the right to be represented in this court-martial by Lieutenant Commander Jones, your detailed defense counsel, or you may be represented by military counsel of your selection, if the counsel you request is reasonably available. If you are represented by military counsel of your own selection, you would lose the right to have Lieutenant Commander Jones, your detailed counsel, continue to help in your defense. Do you understand?"

Lieutenant Silver nodded firmly, his expression now studiously serious. "Yes, sir."

"In addition, you have the right to be represented by civilian counsel, at no expense to the United States. Civilian counsel may represent you alone or along with your military counsel. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have any questions about your right to counsel?"

"No, sir."

"Who do you want to represent you?"

"I wish to be represented by Lieutenant Commander Jones, sir."

"Very well. Counsel for the parties have the necessary qualifications, and have been sworn. I have been detailed to this court by order of the judge advocate general's office of the Commander, United States Space Forces."

Commander Carr left her table, walking briskly to take up a position where she faced both the judge and the members' table. "The general nature of the charges in this case allege culpable negligence which resulted in the death of an enlisted member of the United States Navy and extensive damage to US military property, and subsequent criminal acts to cover up responsibility for this death and damage. The charges were preferred by Commander, United States Naval Space Forces, and forwarded with recommendations as to disposition to Commander, United States Space Forces." Commander Carr faced Judge Halstead. "Your honor, are you aware of any matter which may be a ground for challenge against you?"

"I'm aware of none."

"The government has no challenge for cause against the military judge."

Commander Jones stood again. "The defense has no challenge for cause against the military judge."

Halstead focused on the defense table. "Lieutenant Silver, do you understand that you have the right to be tried by a court-martial composed of members and that, if you are found guilty of any offense, those members would determine a sentence?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you also understand that you may request in writing or orally here in the court-martial trial before me alone, and that if I approve such a request, there will be no members and I alone will decide whether you are guilty and, if I find you guilty, determine a sentence?"

"Yes, sir."

"Have you discussed these choices with your counsel?"

"Yes, sir, I have."

"By which type of court-martial do you choose to be tried?"

Lieutenant Silver looked confidently toward the members' table. "By members, sir."

"Very well. The accused will now be arraigned."

Commander Carr held up her data pad. "All parties and the military judge have been furnished a copy of the charges and specifications. Does the accused want them read?"

Jones looked at Lieutenant Silver and whispered something. Silver's lips twitched in a smile and he nodded. "The accused wishes the charges to be read."

"Very well." Carr positioned her pad where she could easily read it. "Lieutenant Scott Silver is charged with violations of the following articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

"Article 92, Dereliction in the Performance of Duties. In that Lieutenant Scott Silver, United States Navy, who should have known of his duties onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3, from about 20 August 2100 to about 19 September 2100 was derelict in the performance of those duties in that he negligently failed to ensure the proper operation and maintenance of equipment under his area of responsibility as Main Propulsion Officer.

"Article 107, False Official Statements. In that Lieutenant Scott Silver, United States Navy, did, on board USS Michaelson CLE(S)-3, on or about 19 September 2100, with an intent to deceive, make to Captain Richard Hayes, United States Navy, his commanding officer, an official statement, to wit his knowledge of events onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3, the evening of 19 September 2100, which statement was false in that it failed to correctly state Lieutenant Silver's actual knowledge of and role in those events, and was then known by said Lieutenant Silver to be false.

"Article 108, Military Property of the United States — sale, loss, damage, destruction or wrongful disposition. Specification One. In that Lieutenant Scott Silver, United States Navy, did, onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3, on or about 19 September 2100, without proper authority, willfully damage and destroy by ordering actions contrary to established safety procedures and regulations, military property of the United States, to wit all equipment located within the Forward Engineering compartment. Specification Two. In that Lieutenant Scott Silver, United States Navy, did, onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3, on or about 19 September 2100, without proper authority, willfully damage and destroy by use of unauthorized software the records contained within the engineering logs of the ship.

"Article 110, Improper Hazarding of a Vessel. In that Lieutenant Scott Silver, United States Navy, did, on or about 19 September 2100, while serving as command duty officer and main propulsion assistant onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3, willfully and wrongfully hazard the said vessel by ordering a subordinate to take actions contrary to established safety procedures and regulations.

"Article 119, Manslaughter. In that Lieutenant Scott Silver, United States Navy, did, onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3, on or about 19 September 2100, by culpable negligence, unlawfully kill Chief Petty Officer Vladimir Asher by ordering him to undertake single-handedly repairs of the power transfer junction in the Forward Engineering compartment in culpable disregard for the foreseeable consequences to others of that act.

"Article 131, Perjury. In that Lieutenant Scott Silver, United States Navy, did, onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3, on or about 23 September 2100, in a statement under penalty of perjury pursuant to section 1746 of title 28, United States Code, willfully and corruptly subscribe a false statement material to the matter of inquiry, to wit the cause of the death of Chief Petty Officer Vladimir Asher and associated explosion and fire in the Forward Engineering compartment, which statement was false in that it did not reveal Lieutenant Silver's knowledge of Chief Asher's purpose in Forward Engineering nor Lieutenant Silver's orders to Chief Asher which directly led to the accident, and which statement he did not then believe to be true.

"The charges are signed by Commander, United States Naval Space Forces, a person subject to the code, as accuser; are properly sworn to before a commissioned officer of the armed forces authorized to administer oaths, and are properly referred to this court-martial for trial by Commander, United States Space Forces, the convening authority."

Paul's eyes had been fixed on Commander Carr as she spoke, but now he swiftly shifted his gaze to the defense table. Lieutenant Silver was standing at attention, his expression that of a man enduring assaults on his character with dignity. I have to give Silver credit. He's good. I bet that's why he asked the charges to be read, so he could act noble and aggrieved while listening to them.

Judge Halstead looked at Silver as well. "Lieutenant Silver, how do you plead? Before receiving you pleas, I advise you that any motions to dismiss any charge or grant other relief should be made at this time."

Lieutenant Commander Jones answered instead of Silver. "Your Honor, the defense moves that all charges and specifications be dismissed in light of the lack of evidence directly implicating Lieutenant Silver as being guilty of any of the offenses listed."

"The motion is denied. The purpose of this proceeding is to determine whether the evidence the government has compiled is sufficient to prove the charges brought against Lieutenant Silver. Do you have any further motions?"

"No, Your Honor."

Lieutenant Silver faced the members rather than the judge. "I plead not guilty to all charges and specifications."

Halstead nodded. "Very well. Does the prosecution have an opening statement?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Commander Carr also faced the members now. "The prosecution intends to demonstrate that Lieutenant Silver exercised negligence in his duties as main propulsion assistant, which caused the failure of a critical piece of equipment in Forward Engineering on the USS Michaelson. As a result of this, and in an attempt to conceal his negligence, Lieutenant Silver personally obtained a necessary spare and ordered Chief Petty Officer Asher to install single-handedly that spare on Saturday, 19 September 2100. In order to do so, Lieutenant Silver ordered Chief Asher to disable safety interlocks which further disabled the fire suppression systems in Forward Engineering, assisting Chief Asher in this by providing an officer's authorization. Following the explosion and fire that resulted in Chief Asher's death and extensive damage to the ship, Lieutenant Silver lied to his commanding officer about his knowledge of and role in the events. Lieutenant Silver then used software to destroy the records in the USS Michaelson 's engineering logs which would have documented his role in the explosion, fire and death of Chief Asher, then subsequently swore to a false statement during a formal investigation of the accident. Lieutenant Silver should be found guilty as to all charges and specifications, for his culpable negligence which led to the death of a sailor under his command, for his lying to his commanding officer, for the destruction of government property engineered by him, and for his perjury during the investigation of the accident."

Commander Carr returned to her seat, as Judge Halstead looked toward Commander Jones. "Does the defense have an opening statement?"

"We do, Your Honor." Commander Jones walked to the same position Commander Carr had occupied. "The defense contends that the government lacks proof of the charges lodged against Lieutenant Silver. There is no evidence Lieutenant Silver engaged in the actions alleged by the prosecution, and if he did not commit those acts, then he did not make a false statement or commit perjury when describing his role in the terrible events onboard USS Michaelson the evening of 19 September 2100. While the loss of life and property onboard USS Michaelson is cause for deep regret, scapegoating Lieutenant Silver will not bring back Chief Asher or undo the events of that night. Lieutenant Silver is a dedicated Naval officer who has done his duty to the best of his ability. Since the prosecution lacks proof otherwise, he should therefore be found innocent on all charges and specifications."

Commander Jones, his statement completed, returned to his seat. Silence reigned in the court for a brief moment as Judge Halstead seemed to be pondering his own thoughts. Then Halstead gestured to Commander Carr. "You may proceed, Commander."

"Thank you, Your Honor. The United States calls as its first witness Petty Officer First Class Alysha Kulwari."