Burden of Proof (32 page)

Commander Carr nodded. "Defense counsel is correct. I'll restate the question. Warrant Officer Rose, was someone using Lieutenant Silver's account and password logged onto the
Michaelson
's system when the damage occurred?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"This hacking program you described. How would someone acquire it?"

"Off the 'net, ma'am. Anyone can find stuff like that if they look for it, which is why I don't want to name the program here."

"Warrant Officer Rose, four data coins in Lieutenant Silver's stateroom had been rendered unreadable. Are you familiar with software which does this?"

Rose shrugged. "Ma'am, there's a number of programs out there that can do that."

"Where would you get them?"

Another shrug. "You can buy them, like the government does. We use that type of software to wipe hard drives or data coins that are being disposed of. But there's a number of versions available free on the 'net as well."

"The ability to render data unreadable, then, while still allowing the coin to be reused in the future, requires software for that purpose."

"Of course."

"Then Lieutenant Silver must have had such software in his possession."

"At one time, yes, ma'am."

"Warrant Officer Rose, you're responsible for updating fleet guidance on software which is allowed on military and government systems. Is software capable of rendering data unreadable authorized?"

"Not unless it's the government's program, and only system administrators are supposed to have that one." Rose shook his head and looked weary. "Let the average user get his or her hands on that stuff, and they'll destroy critical data or wipe their hard drives without knowing what they're doing. Users do enough damage without allowing them to have software
designed
to cause damage."

"Thank you, Warrant Officer Rose. No more questions."

Lieutenant Commander Jones stood up but stayed at the defense table. "Warrant Officer Rose, I'd just like to clarify a few points. Is there any evidence you are aware of directly tying Lieutenant Silver to the destruction of the data in the engineering logs?"

"You mean something with his name on it, sir? No, sir."

"Is there any evidence Lieutenant Silver actually possessed the program which did that damage?"

"I'm not aware that anyone found that program in his possession, no, sir."

"Warrant, do you ever have data on file which you'd prefer no one else ever saw? Personal matters, perhaps?"

Rose grinned. "Everybody does, sir."

"Then even if Lieutenant Silver had somehow used unauthorized software to render the four data coins found in his stateroom unreadable, that doesn't mean whatever information those coins once contained bears on the charges against Lieutenant Silver, does it? Those coins could've contained anything."

"Yes, sir, they could've. We have no way of knowing. Unreadable means unreadable."

"I'd also like you to restate one point, Warrant Officer Rose. If the system shows an individual was logged on at a certain time, that doesn't prove that person was the one who logged in, does it?"

Rose shook his head, looking annoyed. "No, it doesn't. People are too careless with passwords."

Paul tried not to show his dismay.
Jones zeroed right in on the weakness of the case against Silver there. We know someone did it, but we can only infer it was Silver. There's no way to prove it, even though it's easy to speculate one of those unreadable coins once contained the program that allowed Silver to damage the engineering logs
.

"No further questions."

"Does trial counsel wish to redirect?" Judge Halstead asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," Commander Carr stood, though also remaining at her table. "Warrant Officer Rose, we have established that a spare controller for the power transfer junction was present with Chief Asher in Forward Engineering. The chief engineer of the USS
Michaelson
has already testified that it required authorization codes from an officer and an enlisted to disable the safety interlocks on engineering equipment. Would those authorizations, and who entered them, have been recorded in the engineering logs?"

"No question. Yes, ma'am."

"Then by destroying the data in the engineering logs, whoever committed that act ensured we could not identify that officer, the officer within the engineering department of the USS
Michaelson
, who provided an authorization to disable the safety interlocks."

"That's correct, ma'am."

"How often are the engineering logs backed up, Warrant Officer Rose?"

"Once a week at midnight, ma'am. The process is automatic."

"Once a week at midnight. They're backed-up to a separate storage area?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then it's reasonable to conclude that whoever destroyed those records was attempting to conceal something which had occurred within the last few days, isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is."

"No more questions."

Captain Mashiko leaned forward. "Warrant Rose, is there any other possible explanation for the damage to those logs? You are positive the damage was deliberate and caused by destructive software?"

"Yes, sir, I am."

"Do you know why this deliberate destruction was not detected in the initial investigation?"

Rose looked a bit uncomfortable as he answered. "Sir, not all experts are created equal. I know the sailor who checked for the cause of the data loss for the initial investigation. He's not bad, he's really very good, but he's not as experienced as some other people. Like I said earlier, you need to know exactly what to look for to spot the evidence that this software had been used."

"And the investigation's expert didn't know what to look for."

"He does now, sir."

Captain Mashiko smiled for a moment. "Thank you, Warrant."

Paul watched Rose leave, exchanging brief nods as Rose walked out of the court room.
Clever. Carr could've brought out that stuff about the interlock authorization and the recent time period during her first questioning of Rose, but she waited so she'd have something else to toss in front of the members after the defense counsel brought up the lack of evidence proving Silver did the damage
.

Commander Carr stood. "The prosecution has one more witness. Captain Richard Hayes, commanding officer of the USS
Michaelson
."

Paul stared at her, then looked toward the back of the court room as Captain Hayes came walking down the aisle.
Why the hell didn't somebody tell me
my
Captain was testifying
?

After Hayes had been sworn in, Commander Carr took her usual position in front of the witness stand. "Captain Hayes, on the night of 19 September 2100, you were paged to return to your ship."

"That's right. I was informed there'd been an explosion and a fire, which was still being fought at that time."

"Who informed you of that, Captain? Who paged you?"

"Chief Petty Officer Imari, the in-port officer of the deck."

"Did you speak with Lieutenant Silver at that time, sir?"

"No. I assumed he was engaged with dealing with the shipboard emergency."

"You then returned to the ship."

"Yes. As fast as possible." Hayes' face had grown progressively grimmer, apparently due to recalling the events of that evening.

"What did you find on the quarterdeck?"

"Chief Petty Officer Imari was fielding calls and information, and relaying those to Lieutenant Silver."

"Then Lieutenant Silver briefed you on the current situation, sir?"

Captain Hayes frowned. "He tried when I told him to, but he didn't seem to have a handle on a lot of things. General impressions, but few details. I finally told Chief Imari to give me a rundown."

"Can you give an example of this lack of detail on Lieutenant Silver's part?"

"Certainly. The, uh, teams sent to assist us from other ships. All Silver could tell me was that some had come aboard. Chief Imari told me what ships they'd come from and what they were doing. She knew the
Midway
's people were setting up a temporary airlock to assist our own Damage Control team, for example."

"Did Lieutenant Silver tell you the accident had taken place in Forward Engineering?"

"I didn't need him to tell me that. Chief Imari told me when she paged me."

"Did Lieutenant Silver tell you a piece of equipment in Forward Engineering wasn't operating properly?"

"No."

"Did Lieutenant Silver tell you he'd acquired a spare for that piece of equipment and passed it on to Chief Asher?"

"No."

Paul felt like flinching every time Captain Hayes bit off a reply. Each "no" came out harder.
I do not want to be chewed out by this man. I'm sure I will be someday, but now I know it's not going to be any fun
.

"Did Lieutenant Silver then or later tell you that Chief Asher could have been in Forward Engineering, working on that piece of equipment?"

"No."

"Did Lieutenant Silver then or later inform you that he knew of a possible cause or contributing factor to the explosion, and the likely reason for Chief Asher's presence there?"

"No."

"Objection." Jones looked toward Carr. "Trial counsel is covering the same ground repeatedly."

Judge Halstead looked questioningly at Commander Carr. "I tend to agree. Counsel?"

Carr smiled in a professionally courteous way. "I had just finished going over those points, Your Honor."

"The objection is sustained. Get on with it."

"Yes, Your Honor. Captain Hayes, at any point were you approached regarding the need to acquire a spare controller for the power transfer junction in Forward Engineering?"

"No, I was not."

"Sir, were you informed the ship could not get underway as scheduled on the next Monday because of a problem with equipment in Forward Engineering?"

"No."

"When did you first discover that problem existed?"

"In the course of an internal investigation I authorized to resolve some new information regarding the events of 19 September."

"At that time you were informed of the problem by engineering personnel?"

"No. I was informed of the problem by an officer outside of engineering."

"Do you, sir, as commanding officer of the USS
Michaelson
, believe you received complete and accurate information from Lieutenant Silver on the evening of 19 September?"

Hayes looked directly at Silver, who looked away quickly. "At this point in time I do not believe I may have ever received complete and accurate information from Lieutenant Silver. As for the night of 19 September, I have no doubt that Lieutenant Silver deliberately chose to withhold critical information from me."

"Then Lieutenant Silver no longer has your trust and confidence?"

"I never want him on my ship again. I never want him in any position of responsibility in the US Navy again."

"Thank you, Captain Hayes. No further questions."

Lieutenant Commander Jones had a determined look on his face as he approached the witness stand, as if he were bracing himself for battle. "Captain Hayes, how long had you been commanding officer of the USS
Michaelson
as of 19 September?"

"About a month."

"Only a month? That's a short time to learn all there is to know about a ship and its crew, isn't it, sir?"

Hayes smiled crookedly. "It's a challenge."

"Are there things you still don't know about the ship?"

"You'll have to clarify that question. If you mean I don't know every single thing there is to know, then of course that's true. If you're asking if there's anything important I haven't learned, I doubt it."

"Is it possible, sir, that you could have been informed about the problem with the power transfer junction in Forward Engineering and, in the midst of so much else to do and to learn, misplaced that information?"

Hayes' eyes narrowed. "No."

"Sir, by your own admission, there are still some things -"

"
No,
Commander. The status of that piece of equipment was critical to my ship being able to accomplish her mission. I would
not
have forgotten it."

Commander Jones eyed Hayes for a moment as if deciding whether to pursue the point or not. His next question revealed he'd decided to try another tack. "Captain Hayes, you earlier indicated you were told about the problem with the power transfer junction by an officer on your ship. Who was that officer?"

Commander Carr was on her feet. "Objection, your honor. The question is immaterial."

Jones faced Judge Halstead. "Your honor, I am attempting to establish possible prejudice."

Halstead raised one eyebrow. "By whom? Captain Hayes?"

"No, sir, by this other officer."

"Your Honor," Commander Carr stated, stepping forward, "the identity of that officer is irrelevant to this trial. We've already established that the information regarding the power transfer junction was factual. Why does it matter who reported it?"

"Your Honor, evidence tainted is evidence that is inadmissible in court."

Judge Halstead bared his teeth in a humorless smile. "Counsel, I'll be the one deciding what is and is not inadmissible."

Jones hesitated as if regretting his last statement. "I'm sorry, Your Honor. That is true and I did not mean to imply otherwise."

"Thank you, Counsel. Does the counsel for the defense intend offering proof of bias, proof that some evidence introduced is in fact inadmissible?"

Paul watched the argument with a icy feeling in his gut.
They're arguing about me. Am I going to get ripped apart on that witness stand, my motivations and own professionalism subjected to trick questions and negative interpretations? I knew I ran a risk of this. I can handle it if it comes to that. But I really hope Carr wins this argument
.

Jones nodded with every appearance of confidence. "Yes, Your Honor."

Commander Carr let skepticism show. "Your Honor, if counsel for the defense had such proof, why did he wait until now to introduce this line of argument? After trial counsel has entered so much evidence into the trial?"