Rogue Powers (8 page)

"Commander Terrance Mackenzie Larson reporting as ordered, sir."

"Thank you, Commander. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you would be so good as to accept receipt of the defendant's weapon. Be seated, Commander." Leventhal straightened some papers on his desk and watched the sergeant bear the gun away. An ancient ritual, the surrender of the defendant's weapon. Putting that gun in the safe was a good way of asking: Was the accused worthy to bear arms in the name of the state? Was he guilty of a crime, or, of equal importance to a military tribunal, had he betrayed his trust? The gun itself was meaningless; was certainly unloaded, perhaps had never been fired. But it was a symbol of what the state put in the hands of its young men and women. Starships, for example, were powerful things, powerful weapons. Was Terrance MacKenzie Larson to be trusted with one?

Leventhal sighed. He was an old man, old enough to have been stuck on-planet for twenty years, and old enough to have served on dozens of courts-martial. He was almost entirely bald, and his face was worn and solemn. When he had had hair, it had hidden the fact that his ears stuck out. Now he was old enough, respected enough, known enough, that no one dared think his stuck-out ears looked funny. He had a wide, thin-lipped mouth that fell easily into a

frown that was not of anger or sadness, but of concentrated thought. His eyes were as clear as ever, and of a deep, penetrating gray.

Pete Gesseti considered the chief judge. He knew that drawing Leventhal was a big plus. The admiral's kid had been on the
Venera,
had been a classmate and friend of Mac's. Mac and the admiral even knew each other slightly. Pete had dickered and dealt hard to snag Leventhal. He hoped it was worth it.

'Mr. Gesseti," Leventhal said.

Pete rose. "Admiral."

"Are you involved with this case? I was not aware that the State Department was taking an interest."

"It is not, your honor. I have requested and been granted a leave of absence to serve as assistant counsel to the defense. I hold a law degree and a reserve Navy commission."
And if State wasn't taking an interest, I wouldn't have been let within ten kilometers of this place, and you know it, Admiral.

"I see. Might I ask what school and what rank?"

"I was law school class of '98 from New Amherst College, and hold the reserve rank of captain."
But don't ask to see the commission because the ink's still wet.
It had taken a few more deals to get the military rank, but Pete had wanted to be damn sure Mac had a friend in court.

"You are aware that these proceedings have been classified as secret?"

"I hold a higher clearance from State, Admiral."
And leaking this farce to the press would raise some merry hell indeed,
Pete thought:
"Navy Brass Puts Hero On Trial." Don't tempt me to use
that
weapon, Admiral.

"Very well, Captain Gesseti. Thank you. The clerk will read the charge."

"Republic of Kennedy Navy Judge Advocate's Office proceeding in a general court-martial against Commander Terrance MacKenzie Larson, ROK Navy, this 9th day of Fifthmonth, year 97 Kennedy Calendar, March 19, 2116, Earth Standard Calendar. The Honorable Admiral Louis

Leventhal, presiding judge; the Honorable Captains Benjamin Stevens, Eric Embry, David White, and Sandra Tho, associate judges. The defendant, Commander Terrance MacKenzie Larson, is charged under Article VII section iii paragraph 3 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: 'public utterances detrimental to an alliance to which the Republic of Kennedy is a signatory,' and paragraph 6, 'public utterances detrimental to the prosecution of Naval operations,' both charges raised from a Class IV to a Class III violation under the provisions of Article I section ii paragraph 4, 'the Republic being in a state of War, each charge shall be considered one Class higher than described in this Code of Justice.' Charges are brought in regards to the following allegations, to wit: numerous public oral statements by the defendant in opposition to the deployment of RKS
Eagle,
USS
Yorktown,
and HMS
Impervious,
the three large space-going carrier craft available to the League of Planets in the prosecution of the present war against the Guardians."

"Captain Brown, how does your client plead?"

"Not Guilty, your honor."

"Then let the record show a plea of Not Guilty. Captain Tsung, if you would proceed for the prosecution."

"Your honor, as the facts themselves are not in dispute, and by prior agreement of opposing counsel, I elect to forego my opening remarks and reserve my evidence until the defense has concluded its own case."

"To the defense, then. Captain Brown."

"Thank you, your honors. I will be as brief as possible in my opening remarks. As Captain Tsung has remarked, the defense will not dispute the facts of the case, which are well known. The defendant did indeed make statements and comments and allow himself to be interviewed at the times and dates and with the persons itemized in what will be the prosecution's exhibit A. Our case will instead turn upon an entirely different point of military law and tradition.

"It has been said that the sublimest word in the English language is 'duty.' Duty is service, and military service

especially. Duty above self-preservation, duty above honor, duty above even the orders of a superior. Any sailor or soldier of this Republic would be liable to arrest, court-martial and punishment for obeying criminal orders—orders, for example, to massacre civilians. Under such circumstances it is the sworn duty of our military personnel to not only question, but refuse, their orders.

"The Navy of the Republic of Kennedy traces its traditions back hundreds of years, to the ocean-going navy of England that defeated the Spanish Armada and the American wet navy that held the sea lanes against Hitler. It looks back to Task Force One, the three U. S. Navy starships that made the first journey beyond Earth's sun a century ago. Since our race first left the solar system, we have come to be more and more spread out among the stars, and so communication has become more difficult, slower, less reliable. At the same time ships have become fester, more powerful—and thereby, potentially—more dangerous. For this reason, independent judgment, the ability to react to a changed or entirely new situation not covered by orders, has been a vitally needed skill in the Navy. Also for this reason, no Kennedy naval officer is trusted with a ship until and unless he or she is thoroughly indoctrinated into our traditions, until the events carved into these walls are etched as well into the psyche of the officer, until that naval officer has learned the many things a ship
can
do that it
must never
do. Our defense against the might of our own weapons is and always has been the quality and integrity of our people.

"Obviously, the refusal of orders is a serious thing. It cannot be done lightly, and in all but the most drastic of cases—such as the hypothetical one I have offered—the commanding officer must be allowed the benefit of the doubt. Obedience to orders is the due of a commander.

"A sailor or soldier must be prepared to obey orders that will result in his or her own death, in the destruction of his or her unit, in the loss of all that is held dear—just as an officer is expected to give orders, if need be, that will kill that officer and destroy that officer's own command. Clearly, such sacrifice must be made to a purpose. No person in our military is expected to die uselessly. He or she is expected to die and kill willingly
if it is needful.

"It is an assumption inherent in all this that there is a higher good than survival. That higher good is the preservation of one's family, one's people, one's society, one's beliefs. Defense of these higher goods, perhaps at one's own expense, we call 'duty.' But when a sailor or a soldier or an officer knows, with certainty, that obedience to an order will accomplish the destruction of men and material sorely needed in the fight to come, and will accomplish no other thing, then duty lies with disobedience. Such, we will prove, is the present case. Terrance MacKenzie Larson was ordered to remain silent. With full knowledge of the consequences of his actions, he spoke. As he expected, this resulted in the present court-martial. As I have noted, duty is above honor, and Commander Larson has willingly risked the shame of imprisonment and conviction to do
his
duty. It is now the
duty
of this court to see that justice is done, and to see that Commander Larson is held blameless for his actions, released from custody fully vindicated, and returned to his unit with his reputation intact."

Pete leaned over and whispered to Mac. "Now
that's
some kind of speaking. You might get out of this yet."

"I didn't get in to get out, Pete," Mac whispered back. "That twenty bucks still says I lose."

Brown winked at Mac as he collected a sheaf of papers from the defendant's table. Then he turned to the bench and said, "The defense calls as its first witness Terrance MacKenzie Larson, Commander, Republic of Kennedy Navy."

The prosecutor rose and spoke. "For the record, I wish to insert a correction. The defendant's rank was conferred by brevet, and was not even conferred by a ROK Navy officer. His permanent rank is second lieutenant."

"Your honors, I object!" Brown shouted. "My client's brevet rank—conferred at the discretion of the U.S. Naval

officer under whose command he serves in the joint operation known at the Survey Service—is every bit as legal and binding as a conventional promotion, and I defy the prosecution to suggest that it was undeserved. The only effect the brevet promotion has had upon my client has been the denial of the pay and benefits of a commander. He continues at the pay schedule of a second lieutenant. I thank the prosecution for reminding us of yet another injustice done my client."

The five judges conferred briefly and then Leventhal spoke. "Objection sustained. Captain Tsung's remark will be struck from the record. Commander Larson, you may take your stand."

The clerk swore Mac in. Brown went through the usual preliminaries of identification and then began to question him.

"Commander. For the record, and for the information and with the permission of the court, could you repeat the opinions that got you into this situation?"

"Yes. As I have said publicly on many occasions, I believe that the deployment of the
Eagle, Yorktown,
and
Impervious
would be potentially disastrous to the Republic of Kennedy and to the alliance, the League of Planets."

"And why is that?"

"These carrier ships are the largest men-of-war ever built by the League. Their function is analogous to that of an ocean-going aircraft carrier: They carry fighter and attack spacecraft, and deploy these fighters in battle. The idea is simple: The carrier serves as a forward base. The fighters and attack ships can return to the carrier rather than to home base, and can thereby be shorter-range, lighter, faster, and carry less fuel and more armament then a fighter forced to travel from a distant base."

"But this sounds as if the carriers are ideal for space war."

"In theory, they are. However, like the old ocean-going carriers, including the namesakes of the
Yorktown
and the
Impervious,
these carrier ships are extremely tempting

and vulnerable targets. Because they are so large, their fusion rocket engines must be very powerful, and of course a fusion engine emits a lot of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum. The
Yorktown’s
engines, for example, would be detectable at least a light year away. Beyond that, of course a large target is easier to pick up on radar than a small one. For these and other reasons, it's easy to find one of these ships. The enemy, having found it, will certainly try to destroy it, both because it is a great threat to him, and because destroying it will remove such a large fraction of our war-fighting capability.

"There is an additional problem with the three ships in question. They are old—of old design and old construction. They have been more or less mothballed for decades. Upgrading a forty-year-old engine or attempting to retro-fit a modern system into these old hulls is far more difficult and expensive than starting from scratch on a new ship."

"We are all naval officers here, Commander, and all have no doubt heard these arguments before. What made you pursue your views so vigorously, so publicly, all but forcing a prosecution, risking damage to your career, or even a term in the brig?"

"My experiences in the New Finland star system soon after the League-Guardian War began."

"Could you elaborate?"

"Objection! The prosecution must object in the strongest terms." Captain Tsung had been waiting for this, and dreading it. He had to try to cut this line of questioning off. "The defense is attempting to bring in extraneous side issues. How the defendant came by his view is irrelevant. For that matter, the defendant's views are themselves irrelevant. The defense it attempting to build a case on the altar of duty. This, too, is beside the point. The only issue here is whether or not the defendant did indeed violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice by making certain statements. The defense admits he did indeed make such statements. As this is the only point on which the case turns, I respectfully request the bench to instruct defense to rest so we may proceed to the prosecution."