Burden of Proof (34 page)

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Paul normally had about a day and a half's worth of work to do on any given day, so trying to get that all accomplished in a couple of hours made for an even more hectic pace than usual. Knock-off ship's work and then liberty call passed with Paul barely noticing. Jen came aboard to chat, saw how busy he was, and kept her visit very short, but also insisted on dragging him to the wardroom to for-God's-sake eat something for dinner. Paul eyed his meal dubiously, wondering if Suppo had somehow managed to slip another serving of Syrian beef stew past the Captain, but managed to eat some of it.

He did take time to walk Jen to the quarterdeck afterwards. "See you tomorrow?"

"No can do. I've got duty. It looks like you won't be visiting me, either."

"I think I can catch up. It sort of depends on what happens tomorrow."

"My father's going to be there tomorrow?"

"Yeah. No doubt of that."

"He respects it when you fight back, Paul."

"I'm not going into battle, Jen."

"Yes, you are. Be brave, my warrior." She giggled again. "I can't believe I'm joking about this."

"Me, neither."

"Oh, Paul, you'll comport yourself in the highest traditions of the Naval Service, yada, yada, yada."

"Yada back to you. Good night, Jen."

"I prefer saying that when we're sleeping in the same bed." She looked carefully in all directions, then seeing no witnesses, leaned up and gave Paul a quick kiss. "See you tomorrow, or the day after. Hang in there."

"That I know I can do. Love you, Jen."

"Ah, you say that to all your girlfriends."

Paul watched her leave, then walked slowly back to his stateroom.
Hang in there. I guess that's the secret of life. Only I won't settle for just hanging in there where Silver's concerned. Commander Carr is right. We've got to nail him
. After Paul finally got to bed, he spent a long time twisting and turning restlessly, his mind filled with questions about what Commander Jones might do in defense of Silver.

"The defense calls as its first witness Captain Kay Shen, United States Navy, commanding officer of the USS
Mahan
." Captain Shen marched to the witness stand and took the seat as if he were striding to the captain's chair on the bridge of his ship. He glanced at the members' table, nodded very slightly toward Captain Mashiko, then looked straight ahead. If he took notice of Paul's presence in the courtroom, he didn't acknowledge it in any way.

Lieutenant Commander Jones adopted a similar rigidly correct stance as he stood before Captain Shen, matching the formality of his witness. "Captain Shen, you conducted the official investigation into the explosion and fire in Forward Engineering on the USS
Michaelson
on 19 September 2100. Is that correct?"

Captain Shen nodded once. "That's correct."

"Captain Shen, can you briefly describe your experience with warships which qualified you to conduct this investigation?"

"Certainly." Captain Shen glanced around as if ensuring everyone was paying attention. "I am currently commanding officer of the USS
Mahan
. Prior to that, I served as executive officer of the USS
Midway
. Before that, I was chief engineer on the USS
Rickover
, and main propulsion assistant on the USS
Belleau Wood
. I've also served on the staff of Commander Naval Space Forces, the staff of Commander, United States Space Forces, and as an instructor at Space Warfare School."

"Thank you, Captain Shen. Now will you summarize your conclusions from your investigation?"

"Briefly, I found no evidence of misconduct."

"No evidence of misconduct on anyone's part?"

"That's right."

"Including Lieutenant Silver, sir?"

"Correct."

"Did you reach any other conclusions regarding the performance of the officers and crew on the USS
Michaelson
?"

"I found no deliberate or willful failures, but did identify a number of training and procedural deficiencies that may have contributed to the accident."

"Captain, could you establish the physical cause of the explosion and fire?"

A flicker of anger lit Captain Shen's eyes. "No, I could not. The physical damage to Forward Engineering on the USS
Michaelson
was so extensive it had destroyed almost every source of information."

"Including the engineering logs, sir?"

Commander Carr shot to her feet. "Objection. It has already been established by expert witnesses that the damage to the engineer logs could not have been caused by the explosion and fire."

"Sustained." Judge Halstead bent a stern look toward Commander Jones. "Phrase your questions with care, counsel."

"Yes, Your Honor. Captain Shen, did you conclude the physical damage to the engineering logs had been caused by the explosion and fire?"

Commander Carr looked unhappy, but said nothing.

Paul understood her concerns.
Captain Shen's conclusions are a matter of fact. Whether or not they were correct, and whether or not the members remember that they were wrong and why, is another problem
.

"You concluded the damage was caused by the explosion and fire. On what basis did you reach that conclusion?"

Captain Shen looked around again before answering. "I called in an expert computer technician to examine the records. He could find no signs of deliberate tampering. That meant the damage had to have been caused incidental to the accident."

Commander Carr stood again. "Objection. The investigation's conclusions have already been disproved by expert witnesses. Restating them will only confuse the issues before the members."

"Your Honor," Jones insisted, "these conclusions are matters of fact."

"They're
erroneous
matters of fact, Your Honor."

A stern look from Halstead silenced Commander Carr and Commander Jones. "I can rule on what's already been stated, thank you very much. If counsel for the defense wishes to discredit previously established facts, he must provide evidence to support his position. Are you prepared to do that, Commander Jones?"

"No, sir."

"Objection sustained. Counsel for the defense is to refrain from bringing up any further items which have previously been disproved in the course of the trial."

"Yes, Your Honor." If Commander Jones was abashed at Judge Halstead's ruling, he didn't show it.

And why should he be
? Paul thought.
He's doing what he wants to do, bringing up stuff which will confuse and mislead the members of the court
. He glanced over at Lieutenant Silver, who had adopted a pose of intent interest.
Too bad he never looked that interested in doing his job when I stood bridge watches with him
.

Commander Jones resumed his position before Captain Shen. "Captain, you've already established your experience in the Navy and as an officer on warships. Was your conclusion that the accident was the result of no willful or negligent wrongdoing based upon that experience?"

Paul looked toward Commander Carr, but she made no objection.
Of course. She can't. We never disproved that result directly. It's one of the things the members of the court have to decide
.

Captain Shen nodded. "That's also correct."

"You did not find Lieutenant Silver to have been negligent . . ." Jones drew out his sentence deliberately as Commander Carr tensed. ". . . based upon what you knew at that time."

Commander Carr relaxed slightly, but her eyes watched Commander Jones like a hawk tracking prey.

Captain Shen answered firmly. "No, I did not."

"Did you find anyone else on the
Michaelson
had shown a lack of professional conduct prior to and during the fire?"

"I did."

"Objection." Commander Carr had sprung up as she'd been a coiled spring. "Irrelevant and immaterial. Lieutenant Silver is the one on trial here."

Commander Jones faced Judge Halstead. "Your Honor, Lieutenant Silver is indeed the accused. But if he is being accused of negligent behavior, it is relevant to establish how his actions were judged relative to other officers on the
Michaelson
."

Halstead frowned, then nodded. "Objection overruled."

Carr sat down as rapidly as she'd risen.

Jones turned back to Captain Shen. "I'll ask again, sir. Did you find anyone else on the
Michaelson
had shown a lack of professional conduct prior to and during the fire?"

"I did."

"Among them the collateral duty ship's legal officer whose own subsequent investigation led to the charges being filed against Lieutenant Silver?"

"Objection!"

"Overruled. For now. Counsel for the defense, you are skating dangerously close to the edge in your examination of this witness."

"Yes, Your Honor." Jones began pacing. "Lieutenant Silver's actions during the accident on the USS
Michaelson
were exonerated by your report, by your assessment based upon your years of experience. Lieutenant Silver was subsequently awarded a medal for his actions the night of 19 September. Yet another officer, one whose actions were judged less than adequate in your report, initiated events which led to Lieutenant Silver being court-martialed. Do you regard that as a fair summation of events?"

"I do."

Paul tried not to look away from the witness stand. He kept his eyes firmly on Captain Shen.
I have nothing to hide. Nothing to be ashamed of. There's no way I'm going to act like the guilty one here
. Commander Carr looked back, saw Paul's posture, and nodded with a quick, grim smile. Paul took another look at Lieutenant Silver, who now had an expression of unfairly wounded pride.
How does he do that? Too bad he didn't go into acting instead of being responsible for the lives of others
.

Jones drove his point home again. "Captain Shen, did you conclude Lieutenant Silver had acted negligently?"

"No, I did not."

"No more questions."

Commander Carr rose with a casual ease which startled Paul. Instead of displaying tension, she moved like a leopard stalking a challenging opponent. "Captain Shen, are you aware of the evidence marshaled against Lieutenant Silver in the subsequent investigation?"

"I am partly aware of it."

"Are you aware of the discovery that the engineering logs were deliberately damaged?"

"Yes, I am."

"Are you aware that a major piece of equipment in Forward Engineering was found to be in urgent need of repair, and that Lieutenant Silver made every effort to acquire the necessary spare without informing either his department head or his commanding officer?"

"I have heard that."

"Are you aware, sir, that Captain Hayes, Lieutenant Silver's commanding officer at the time of the accident on 19 September, believes Lieutenant Silver lied to him regarding his knowledge of events?"

"No."

"Were you aware that a statement provided to the investigation by Petty Officer First Class Ivan Sharpe of the USS
Michaelson
never reached you?"

"Of course not!"

"Sir, which officer on the USS
Michaelso
n did you assign responsibility to for gathering and forwarding documents to you during your investigation?"

Captain Shen's jaw worked. "Lieutenant Silver."

A slight rustle of motion attracted Paul's attention to the member's table. The officers there were watching Captain Shen with surprise and making notes.
Another direct hit on Lieutenant Silver, courtesy of Commander Alex Carr. So that's what happened to the Sheriff's statement. I wonder how many other stealth weapons Carr has tucked away inside her blouse
?

Commander Carr continued her questioning of Captain Shen as if unaware of the members' reactions. "Because Lieutenant Silver was the command duty officer on the night in question?"

"Yes."

"Do you find it interesting, Captain Shen, how many pieces of evidence regarding the accident on the USS
Michaelson
and the death of Chief Asher appear to have gone missing while Lieutenant Silver was in positions to influence them?"

"Objection." Commander Jones was doing his own imitation of a great cat whose territory was being challenged. "Trial counsel's statement is an attempt to prejudice the members by placing words in the witnesses' mouth, as well as an attempt to establish in court evidentiary matters still in dispute."

Commander Carr smiled at Jones. "I withdraw the question, Your Honor."

Judge Halstead eyed her narrowly. "Next time, Counsel, ensure you don't ask such inappropriate questions in the first place. The members are instructed to disregard the last question from trial counsel."

Carr looked momentarily contrite. "Yes, Your Honor. Captain Shen, does any of the information we discussed in any way alter your assessment of Lieutenant Silver's actions the night of 19 September?"

Captain Shen stared back at Commander Carr, his expression as hard as granite. "I would need to review all the information in its entirety. I do not make snap judgments based upon partial information."

Commander Carr leaned forward as if ready to spring. "Isn't that your job, sir, as commanding officer of a U.S. Navy warship? To make quick judgments based upon whatever information is available to you?"

Captain Shen's face clouded. "Commander, I do not need lectures from a
lawyer
regarding my duties as a line officer!"

Instead of responding directly, Commander Carr addressed Judge Halstead even as she kept her eyes locked on Captain Shen. "Your Honor, I ask that the court direct the witness to answer the question."

Halstead nodded. "It is so ordered. The witness will answer the question put to him."

"Thank you, Your Honor. Do you need the question repeated, Captain Shen?"

"
No
, I do
not
.
Commander
Carr, I am fully capable of, and experienced in, making the necessary decisions based upon available information. This situation does not qualify for such snap judgment."

"With all due respect, Captain Shen, that decision is for the court to make. I ask again, does any of the information found since your investigation was completed in any way alter your assessment of Lieutenant Silver's actions the night of 19 September?"