Burden of Proof (29 page)

"No, sir, but -"

"This meeting the day after the accident. Can you tell us exactly what it was Lieutenant Silver said to you?"

"Exactly, sir? No, sir."

"Lieutenant Silver expressed concern for Chief Asher's family?"

"Yes, sir, he did."

"Do you find anything inappropriate about that?"

"Uh, no, sir."

"At that meeting, did Lieutenant Silver tell the personnel in your division to lie to the investigators? Did he order anyone to hold back information from the investigators?"

"Not like that, no, sir."

"Not like what, Petty Officer Kulwari? Did or did not Lieutenant Silver order the enlisted personnel in his division to lie to the investigators?"

Kulwari looked around desperately. "N-no, sir. He didn't order us to do that."

"No further questions."

Judge Halstead watched Commander Jones walk back to the defense table, then looked toward Commander Carr. "Does trial counsel wish to redirect?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Commander Carr stood before Petty Officer Kulwari again, smiling once more. "You had something to add when you answered the question about whether or not Chief Asher could have failed to inform Lieutenant Silver about the true state of the controller. Would you care to say that now?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kulwari glanced defiantly toward Commander Jones. "I've no doubt Chief Asher told him it was really broken. Why else would the lieutenant have said he was working on it?"

"That's a good question, Petty Officer Kulwari. Now, I understand Forward Engineering is a big compartment with a lot of equipment. But if someone were walking through that compartment, would you miss seeing them?"

"If they were moving around? No, ma'am. I couldn't miss them."

"In your last conversation with Chief Asher, on Friday afternoon, you said he indicated the spare part hadn't been located?"

"Yes, ma'am. That's why he told us to knock off work."

"Would Chief Asher have told you to knock off work and go on liberty if he either had the spare or expected to see it soon?"

"No, ma'am, no way."

"So obviously he couldn't have received orders to install a spare he didn't have at that time, correct?"

"Uh, that's right, ma'am. If he'd had it, he would've held us until we got it switched out."

"Petty Officer Kulwari, how long have you been in the Navy?"

"About ten years, ma'am."

"Then you have a lot of experience listening to officers, don't you?"

"Oh, yes, ma'am." A brief chuckle ran around the court room until it was silenced by a hard look from Judge Halstead.

"How many times do officers say 'I order you' to do a task?"

"Not very often, ma'am. Usually, they just say to do it, and you know it's an order."

"Based upon your experience, did you interpret what Lieutenant Silver told his division the day after the accident as an instruction?"

"I . . . Yes, ma'am. I guess I did. It sure felt like it."

"No further questions."

Halstead nodded. "How about you, Commander Jones?"

"No further questions."

"Captain Mashiko, do you or any of the other members have any questions for the witness?"

Mashiko looked at his fellow officers before replying. "Petty Officer Kulwari, you said you didn't see Lieutenant Silver very often in Forward Engineering. During the month he served as main propulsion assistant, how many times do you recall seeing him there?"

Kulwari paused, her face reflecting concentration. "Just a couple of times, sir."

"A couple? One? Two?"

"Two or three, sir. Three maximum for sure."

"What about Lieutenant Silver's predecessor in the job?"

"Lieutenant Kilgary, sir? She was down there just about every day when she was main propulsion assistant."

Commander Herdez spoke next. "Petty Officer Kulwari, how often did you speak with Lieutenant Silver?"

"Me, ma'am? Uh, a couple times, I guess."

"A couple of times. About what? Did he ask about your equipment?"

"No, ma'am. Lieutenant Silver just sorta said 'hi, howya doing,' and then moved on."

"He never asked you any questions about your job or the equipment in Forward Engineering?"

"No, ma'am. I'd've remembered that, ma'am."

"Thank you, Petty Officer Kulwari. I have no more questions."

Lieutenant Commander Bryko held up some fingers for attention. "Petty Officer Kulwari, you say the division personnel knew the power transfer junction was broken, and that you needed that part to be working for the ship to get underway on Monday. Did you voluntarily stay aboard the ship over the weekend to ensure that task was done?"

"Sir, it wouldn't have mattered if I did. I'm not checked out on that gear. There's about a half-dozen people in the division qualified to do that. Of them, only Chief Asher had duty on Saturday."

"Did any of them speak to you about volunteering?"

"We talked a bit about it, sir."

"But none of you did?"

"No, sir."

"Why not?"

Petty Officer Kulwari shook her head, looking down again. "I wish some of them had, sir, but everybody's attitude was sorta 'the lieutenant don't care, so why should we?'"

"Why did you conclude the lieutenant didn't care?"

"We knew there wasn't any spare on board, and the equipment hadn't been casualty reported even though it'd been going bad for a while, and the lieutenant hadn't been down to Forward Engineering that afternoon to talk to anybody about it. I guess that's why."

Captain Mashiko looked at his fellow members one more time. "There are no further questions from the members."

Judge Halstead nodded. "Very well. Petty Officer Kulwari, you are temporarily excused. Please ensure you are present for the remainder of this court-martial in the event you need to be called again. As long as this trial continues, do not discuss your testimony or knowledge of the case with anyone except counsel. If anyone else tries to talk to you about the case, stop them and report the matter to one of the counsels."

"Yes, sir. No, sir. Uh, I'll do what you said, sir." Petty Officer Kulwari stood up with a stiffness which betrayed the tense way she'd been sitting and left the court with relief clearly visible on her face.

Commander Destin, the
Michaelson
's chief engineer, was called as the next witness. After swearing her in, Commander Carr indicated the defense table. "Commander, were you ever informed by Lieutenant Silver that the controller on the power junction transfer in Forward Engineering was failing and in need of replacement?"

Destin seemed gloomier than ever. "No. I never received that information."

"Not in writing? Not in an email? Not verbally?"

"No."

"Did Lieutenant Silver ever indicate in any way that he had any equipment problems?"

"I received some status reports from Chief Asher."

"But not directly from Lieutenant Silver?"

"No."

"What was your impression of Lieutenant Silver as an officer?"

Destin looked stubborn as she replied. "He'd just come aboard and was still learning the ropes. I had a favorable impression overall."

"Based upon what factors, Commander?"

"His attitude, his bearing, his general approach."

Alex Carr looked momentarily puzzled. "Pardon me, Commander Destin, but that list lacks specifics. Is there any specific action Lieutenant Silver carried out while working for you which you recall favorably?"

"He'd only been aboard a few weeks."

Paul tried not to let his own reaction to Destin's attitude show.
Great. I break my butt trying to do everything I should, and get chewed out by my department head. Silver coasts through his days, sucking up to his bosses, and they think he's doing great. Like Sonya Sindh said, it's not fair, but there's nothing we can do about that
.

Commander Carr nodded in response to Destin's last statement. "What did Lieutenant Silver tell you about the accident in Forward Engineering?"

"He didn't know any more about it that anyone else."

"That's what he told you."

"Yes, and I believed it. Believe it."

"Even though Lieutenant Silver's enlisted personnel all say Mr. Silver did know something about it?"

"If I have the choice between believing one of my officers or an enlisted sailor, I'm going to make the same choice every time."

"What about
one
of your officers and almost twenty enlisted?"

"Same difference. You either trust your officers or you don't."

"Then you don't trust the enlisted in Lieutenant Silver's division? Yet you still allow them to run vital equipment?"

Lieutenant Commander Jones stood. "Objection. Trial counsel is harassing the witness."

Halstead gave Carr a sour look. "Sustained. You've made your point, Counsel."

Carr nodded. "Yes, your honor. Commander Destin, you returned to the ship on the evening of 19 September after you'd been paged and informed of the fire, correct?"

"Yes."

"About when did you return to the ship?"

"I got back about 2200. I remember because I checked the time just before I reached the area near the quarterdeck."

"Where was Lieutenant Silver at that time?"

Destin frowned. "I don't know."

"When did you first encounter Lieutenant Silver that evening?"

"About . . . maybe 2300. Maybe a little later. We were drafting our report on the accident and needed his input."

Commander Carr assumed her momentary puzzled look again. "Lieutenant Silver was the command duty officer, responsible for events on the ship, and was the main propulsion assistant, whose Forward Engineering compartment had just sustained serious damage, and whose leading chief had apparently died. Yet you didn't see him for an hour?"

"I assumed Lieutenant Silver was busy elsewhere. As you just pointed out, he had many responsibilities to deal with."

Carr leaned closer, her attitude now challenging. "Commander Destin, have you met
anyone
who saw Lieutenant Silver during that period? Anyone at all?"

Destin glowered back. "I haven't gone around asking."

"I can help with that, commander, because I have. No one saw Lieutenant Silver. Not on the quarterdeck, or in the wardroom, or in Damage Control Central, or anywhere near Forward Engineering. As his immediate superior, how do you explain that?"

"Objection." Commander Jones gestured toward Carr. "Trial counsel is citing matters not previously introduced into evidence."

Halstead cocked an eyebrow toward Carr. "Counsel?"

Alex Carr held up her data pad again. "I have sworn statements from every officer and chief petty officer on the USS
Michaelson
attesting to their inability to account for Lieutenant Silver's presence during the period from about 2200 to about 2300 the night of 19 September. With the court's permission, I'd like to have them entered into the record at this time."

Judge Halstead glanced toward the defense table. "I assume you mean every officer except Lieutenant Silver?"

"Yes, Your Honor. I apologize for the inaccuracy."

"I hereby order the statements entered into the record. Objection overruled. Continue, counselor."

Carr faced Destin again. "Commander? How do you account for Lieutenant Silver's disappearance during that period of time?"

"I can't. Ask him."

"I'm asking you, commander, because as his immediate superior you are responsible for his behavior and evaluating his professional performance. Do you, personally, believe a professional officer with those responsibilities should have been unseen and unheard from for an hour's time on the evening of a serious accident and death on the ship?"

Destin stared back, but finally shook her head. "No."

"No, you do not believe this was something which a professional officer should've done?"

"No, I do not."

"Do you like Lieutenant Silver, Commander?"

Destin flushed as she spoke through clenched teeth. "What are you implying?"

Commander Carr held up two palms in a calming gesture. "Nothing unprofessional, Commander. Not at all. I'm simply asking whether you, as the department head, liked having Lieutenant Silver as a division officer."

Commander Jones, halfway out of his seat to register another objection, sat back down.

Destin's flush faded a bit. "Yes. Lieutenant Silver has been respectful and demonstrated a pleasing personality. As I noted earlier, I've had no grounds for questioning his professional capabilities."

"Until now, Commander? You just indicated his disappearance for an hour that night was unprofessional in your opinion."

"Yes."

"The night of the accident, the data in the engineering logs was so severely damaged that it was unrecoverable. As chief engineer on the USS
Michaelson
, do you know of any accidental cause which would account for that?"

"The investigation of the accident found the cause of the data loss could not be determined."

"Yes, I know that, Commander. I'm asking for your professional judgment. Aren't those logs designed to survive the complete destruction of the ship?"

Destin made a face. "That depends how the ship's destroyed."

"Conventional explosion? Fire? Decompression?"

"They should be able to survive those."

"Then, again in your professional judgment, should the accident on 19 September have been able to destroy the data in those logs?"

Destin's lips pressed together in a tight line, then she shook her head. "Not to my knowledge."

"What sort of information would those engineering logs have contained?"

"Anything pertaining to the status and operation of the equipment in Forward and After Engineering."

"In other words, they would've told us if someone were working on the power transfer junction in Forward Engineering?"

"Yes."

"And if whoever was working on that equipment had disabled safety interlocks?"

"Yes."

"What does it take to disable those safety interlocks, Commander Destin? Could Chief Asher have done it by himself?"

Destin's mouth worked for a moment. "No."

"Doesn't the engineering system require authorization codes from an officer and an enlisted to disable safety interlocks?"