A Just Determination (29 page)

"I prefer to describe it as being mission-oriented, Admiral."

A low chuckle ran through the court room, drawing a warning look from the judge. Wilkes curled up both corners of his mouth in a pro forma smile. "No further questions."

After Sykes received the same temporary excusal as Garcia had, Judge Holmes looked around the court room. "Admiral Fowler informed me earlier today that he has an urgent personal matter to attend to later. Therefore we will only take one more witnesses' testimony today before closing. Call your next witness, Commander Wilkes."

"The United States calls Lieutenant Sindh."

A few minutes later, the swearing in and identification completed, Wilkes stood before Lieutenant Sindh, eyeing her intently. "Lieutenant, you were officer of the deck during the encounter with the SASAL ship. During that incident, was Captain Wakeman in control of himself and the situation?"

"Objection. The question calls for the witness to state an opinion."

"I'll rephrase the question. Lieutenant Sindh, did the actions of Captain Wakeman during the incident inspire confidence in you?"

"No, sir."

"Did you have the sense that Captain Wakeman was in control, or did you believe he was reacting to events?"

"At first he was in control of things, sir. Then it seemed to shift and nobody knew how to react."

"Nobody? Or just Captain Wakeman?"

"Objection. Opinion."

"I'll rephrase. During the period preceding firing upon the SASAL ship, that is during the last few hours prior to that, did Captain Wakeman express any misgivings or concerns that you are aware of?"

"Just about the SASAL ship maybe getting away, sir."

"Did he express any concern on the bridge about the SASAL ship being a potential threat to the
Michaelson
?"

"No, sir, not until after the ship changed course toward us."

"Lieutenant Sindh, as the officer of the deck during a general quarters situation, you are briefed on any plans to deal with enemy action or respond to any crisis. Isn't that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"We're you briefed on any plans to react to movements of the SASAL ship?"

"No, sir."

"To the best of your knowledge, were there any plans for dealing with the SASAL ship if it did not cooperate with Captain Wakeman's instructions?"

"I wasn't told of any such plans, no, sir."

"Then, again to the best of your knowledge, would it be fair to say that Captain Wakeman had brought his ship into a confrontation with another vessel without any plans for handling that confrontation?"

"Yes, sir, I'd have to say that matches with what I know."

"And once that confrontation began proceeding in a manner Captain Wakeman did not anticipate, did he display any sign of having a plan of action prepared, of having thought through what might happen and how he would respond to it?"

"No, sir. My impression was that we were reacting to the actions of the SASAL ship."

"You were reacting to the actions of the other ship without any plan for dealing with those actions. Would you say then that Captain was in control of the situation, or not?"

"He wasn't in control of the situation, sir. We were reacting. Since the SASAL ship wouldn't—"

"Did you receive any orders from Captain Wakeman to maneuver the USS
Michaelson
during the incident?"

"No, sir."

Did you hear Commander Garcia recommending such maneuvers?"

"Yes, sir."

"In your experience, what is the proper course of action to take if another ship is on a course which threatens a collision with your own?"

Lieutenant Sindh took a moment to reply, apparently organizing her thoughts. "Well, the first thing you do is try to talk to the other ship."

"Why, Lieutenant?"

"To make sure that any actions you take, any maneuvers, are coordinated. Otherwise you might both turn away onto the same vector and end up still colliding."

"Did Captain Wakeman attempt to coordinate maneuvers with the SASAL ship?"

"He told our own communications people to tell the SASAL ship to veer off, sir."

"He told the SASAL ship? The same ship that hadn't responded to any earlier communications?"

"Uh, yes, sir."

"Is telling another ship what to do, a ship you can't be sure is receiving your communications, the same as what you called coordinating maneuvers?"

"No, sir."

"As an experienced officer of the deck, what course of action would you normally follow if another ship was on a near collision course and had not communicated with you in any way?"

"I'd maneuver to open my CPA, sir."

"CPA?"

"I'm sorry, sir. Closest point of approach. I'd maneuver to try to put more distance between my ship and the path of the other ship."

"But Captain Wakeman didn't order that, did he?"

"No, sir."

"What would you expect to happen to you, as an officer of the deck, if you were in such a situation and failed to maneuver? If you simply maintained your own course and speed while the other ship came closer and closer?"

Lieutenant Sindh looked at Wilkes for a moment before replying. "I'd expect to be relieved, sir. Removed from my station as officer of the deck."

"Because you'd failed in your duties?"

"Yes, sir."

"But Captain Wakeman, who had control of the bridge at that point, never ordered any maneuvers."

"No, sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. No further questions."

Lieutenant Commander Garrity took Wilkes' place before the witness stand. "Lieutenant Sindh, in response to a question from the trial counsel on being in control of the situation, you were saying something about what the SASAL ship wouldn't do, and didn't get to finish. Would you like to finish what you were saying a moment ago?"

"Yes, ma'am. I was saying that since the SASAL ship refused to respond to any communications and was maneuvering around us, we didn't have any choice but to react to its actions."

"Did you anticipate the SASAL ship behaving in that fashion? Had you formed any plans yourself about what to do if the other ship refused to communicate and maneuvered aggressively?"

"Objection. It has not been established that the maneuvers of the other ship were 'aggressive.'"

"I will rephrase. Had you conceived of the SASAL ship behaving in the manner it did, and for dealing with that behavior?"

"No, ma'am. Nobody expected them to act that way."

"Would you characterize their behavior as unpredictable?"

"Objection. Opinion."

Judge Holmes looked toward the members. "Is this a reasonable judgment to demand from the witness?"

Fowler twisted his mouth while he considered the question, then nodded. "Yes. As a fleet officer of the deck, Lieutenant Sindh is qualified to make a judgment of that nature."

"Objection overruled. The witness will answer the question."

"Yes, ma'am. I would say the SASAL ship's behavior was unpredictable."

"Do you believe it is reasonable to expect someone to plan for the unpredictable?"

Lieutenant Sindh managed a small smile. "Uh, ma'am, it may not be reasonable, but in the fleet we're asked to do it all the time."

Garrity rubbed her mouth for a moment, apparently unhappy with the last reply but unable to retract what had been said. "Lieutenant Sindh, did you believe the
Michaelson
to be in danger when the SASAL ship came to a near-collision course?"

"There's always some danger when that happens."

"After the SASAL ship changed course and headed toward the
Michaelson
, didn't the
Michaelson
's collision warning alarm sound?"

"Yes, it did. Twice, if I remember right."

"And isn't that system set to warn of situations in which the ship's tracking equipment assesses a danger of collision? That is, actual physical contact between two ships?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Do you recall what the estimated closest point of approach was for the SASAL ship?"

"Yes, ma'am. It was about two kilometers. Maybe a little less."

"Two kilometers? At the velocities your ships were traveling? How dangerous is that?"

"Extremely dangerous."

Paul listened with growing curiosity. Garrity's questions seemed to be simply reinforcing Wilkes' point that Wakeman had failed to maneuver when he should have.

Lieutenant Commander Garrity looked over at the members before asking her next question. "Now, Lieutenant Sindh. The SASAL ship had refused to communicate with you."

"Objection. The reason for the failure to communicate remains unknown."

"I will rephrase. The SASAL ship had failed to communicate with you. It had changed course, coming to a vector which created the risk of collision between your two ships. Did you have any way of knowing how the SASAL ship would react if you maneuvered the
Michaelson
?"

"I don't understand the question, ma'am."

"If you had maneuvered the
Michaelson
, couldn't the SASAL ship have altered its vector to counteract that maneuver and maintain a situation in which your own ship's tracking systems had declared an imminent risk of collision?"

"Yes . . . I suppose that's true, ma'am."

"The SASAL ship had deliberately come to a course risking collision. Did you have any way of knowing whether or not it would do so again even if you maneuvered?"

"No. It could've done that."

"And you had no means of determine its intentions, did you, Lieutenant Sindh? Because the SASAL ship hadn't communicated with you, you had no way of knowing how it would react to an attempt to maneuver on your part."

"That's true, ma'am."

"Assuming the SASAL ship did maneuver in response to any evasive action you took, could that have actually brought about a collision even earlier than predicted by your own ship's tracking systems? Too quickly for the
Michaelson
to react again?"

"Objection. The defense counsel is asking the witness to speculate about events which did not occur."

"I withdraw the question."

Paul nodded to himself.
But you got your point out to the members of the court-martial, didn't you
?

Garrity came close to Sindh, looking at her intently. "Lieutenant Sindh, when the SASAL ship came to a near-collision course with the
Michaelson
, did you, as a qualified officer of deck, feel your ship to be in danger?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And is that assessment based upon your professional experience?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then would you regard it as reasonable for another professional officer to feel the same or greater degree of concern for the safety of the ship?"

Sindh paused before replying. "I . . . yes, ma'am."

"You wouldn't regard such a concern as unreasonable?"

"No, ma'am."

"Did you feel in danger? Did you think the ship was threatened by the actions of the SASAL ship?"

"Yes, ma'am. I did."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. No further questions."

Wilkes stood quickly. "I have a few more questions, if it please the court. Lieutenant Sindh, as the officer of the deck during this incident, did any action by the SASAL ship strike you as hostile? Not reckless, but hostile."

"No, sir. I can't honestly say the SASALs did anything I could definitely classify as hostile."

"Have you encountered situations before where civilian spacecraft maneuvered in a reckless fashion near your ship?"

Sindh couldn't help smiling bitterly. "Every officer has encountered such situations, sir. None of us are really comfortable with civilian spacecraft nearby."

"But Captain Wakeman brought his ship close to a civilian spacecraft."

"Yes, sir, he did."

"Even though civilian spacecraft sometimes maneuver recklessly."

"Yes, sir."

"Again, as a qualified officer of the deck, do you believe there is any circumstance in which you are authorized to fire upon another ship just because it is behaving recklessly?"

"I'm not aware of such a circumstance. No, sir."

"Do the standing rules of engagement, which you are required to be familiar with as a fleet watch officer, authorize you to fire upon a ship simply because it is acting recklessly?"

"No, sir."

"What would do if a ship was behaving a reckless manner?"

"As I said before, I would attempt to steer clear of it, sir."

"But Captain Wakeman didn't even attempt to steer clear of the SASAL ship. He didn't even try such a maneuver."

"Uh, no, sir."

"Didn't Captain Wakeman in fact order you to close on the SASAL ship?"

"Objection." Lieutenant Commander Garrity stood as well. "It has already been established that Captain Wakeman's decisions to close on the SASAL ship occurred prior to the SASAL ship's own maneuvers. He did not order any closer approach after the SASAL ship itself began maneuvering."

"I withdraw the question. No further questions."

"Do the members wish to question the witness?"

Admiral Fowler looked to either side. "Apparently not."

Paul took a deep breath as Lieutenant Sindh stood and walked down off the witness stand.
I wonder if I'll do half as good as Sindh did? Sindh's a lot more experienced with handling pressure than I am, and Wilkes will be gnawing on me during cross-examination, not Garrity. The members were impressed enough by Sindh not to even ask her anything. What'll they do to me?

Judge Holmes looked out over the courtroom. "The court-martial is closed. It will reconvene at ten hundred tomorrow morning in this courtroom."

Paul looked toward the back of the room as he stood. As she'd predicted, Jen wasn't there.

Carl spotted Paul looking his way and mimed a flat hand across his throat as he shook his head. The message
You're going to have a rough time
was unmistakable.

Thanks, Carl. Like I needed you to tell me that. I hope Jen has something pleasant to talk about
.

* * *

Paul rapped a couple of times on the bulkhead next to the port ensign locker, then stuck his head inside. Jen Shen and Kris Denaldo were both in the stateroom, seated at their desks, Kris as usual absorbed in her work even though it was after normal working hours. "Hey, Jen. You asked me to look you up after the trial."