Rule of Evidence

by John G. Hemry

  "No."

  A rustle of interest followed Falco's very brief reply.

  Bashir nodded again. "Why not, Lieutenant?"

  Falco leaned forward in his seat. "Because they made too many assumptions that stuff would work as designed. I'm here, every engineer in the space fleet is up here, because stuff doesn't always work as designed. Any engineer with an ounce of experience could tell you that."

  Bashir walked slightly to one side, making Falco turn also so he faced the members of the court better. "You don't agree that an accidental cause for the Maury's damage was impossible?"

  "No. I don't. That's garbage. You can try to make stuff work perfect and you can try to make it sailor proof and you can try to make it safe, but nothing is one hundred percent."

  Bashir faced Falco squarely, speaking in a slightly louder voice to emphasize his next words. "Then, as probably the most experienced naval engineer in space, you do not believe sabotage is the only possible explanation for what happened to the Maury?"

  "No, I don't."

  "As an experienced engineer, who would you send to investigate a piece of equipment which was giving you problems?"

  Falco grinned. "Whoever was best qualified to find out what I wanted to know. Maybe that's a new seaman. Or maybe that's my most senior engineer. It depends."

  "Would you blame the only surviving officer for an accident based solely on the fact that she by chance survived?"

  "Objection." Commander Carr gave Bashir a tired look. "Counsel for the defense is leading the witness and making prejudicial statements."

  "Sustained." McMasters leveled his gavel at Bashir. "That's two, Lieutenant. Make it three and you'll regret it."

  "Yes, Your Honor. No more questions at this time."

  Commander Carr approached Falco with a calm demeanor that worried Paul. She seems too confident. What does she know about this guy?

  "Lieutenant Falco, when you said you switched ratings from machinist to electrician, isn't it true that you'd failed to advance three times running to Machinist Mate First Class even though there was a shortage of such machinists?"

  Falco's mouth twisted in a stubborn expression. "People weren't advancing in that rate. That happens sometimes."

  "And when you said Admiral Michaelson asked 'for you,' didn't you mean he assigned your entire unit to the construction of Franklin?"

  "He knew I was part of the unit."

  "Lieutenant Falco, you were commissioned as an ensign nine years ago. Normal promotion periods should have you a Lieutenant Commander by now. Can you explain why you haven't made rank?"

  Lieutenant Bashir stood up. "Objection, your honor. Trial counsel is harassing the witness."

  McMasters shook his head. "Trial counsel is asking legitimate questions, Lieutenant. Overruled. Proceed, Commander Carr."

  "Thank you, your honor." Carr turned back to Falco, who was now openly glowering at her. "Lieutenant?"

  "I don't always rub people the right way, Commander. I may not be the most diplomatic man in the Navy but by God I know my job!"

  "Why were you asked to do back-to-back tours at the Franklin Naval Shipyard, Lieutenant Falco?"

  "Because they needed me!"

  Carr consulted her data pad. "Do you want me to quote from the recommendation of your superior, Lieutenant Falco?"

  Falco flushed. "I told you I rub people the wrong way, sometimes. That b— excuse me, my superior didn't know her job and wanted me to stay so I could cover for her."

  "Didn't she actually say, in a memo endorsed by each of your superiors, that you needed to be closely supervised and were best held in that position at Franklin until you could be forced to retire next year?" Falco just glared at Carr. "Lieutenant?"

  "I don't know what that memo said. I don't know what my superiors said. None of them know half what they should know to do their jobs right!"

  This time, Paul tried not to let his despair show. Oh, great. Falco's a blustering braggart. His credibility just got shredded. Paul looked toward Lieutenant Bashir, who had the expression of a gambler who had just failed to draw to an inside straight.

  Commander Carr audibly sighed. "Lieutenant Falco, are you an expert on engineering systems on Mahan-Class warships?"

  "I'm as expert as anybody!"

  "Lieutenant Falco, you're under oath. What do you believe qualifies you as an expert on the engineering systems on Mahan-Class warships?"

  Falco stabbed his forefinger at her, his entire face now red. "I know engineering! It's all the same. It doesn't change."

  Carr waited for several seconds after Falco finished, as if waiting for him to continue. "That's all, Lieutenant? General knowledge of engineering? That's make you a better expert on the engineering systems on the Maury than, say, Rear Admiral Hidalgo, the fleet engineering staff officer?"

  Falco slumped back, his face still red. "Practical experience. Yes. Hell, yes. I've worked on all that stuff." He held up his hands. "I've got calluses from working on it! Not a bunch of college courses and theory and garbage, but on the deck working experience!"

  "I see." Carr's tone carried a dismissive meaning that penetrated Falco's anger and made him glare even more angrily. Commander Carr eyed him a moment longer, then shook her head slowly. "I have no further questions for this witness."

  Bashir shook his head. "No redirect."

  Paul thought he could read Bashir's mind. Just get that idiot off of the witness stand before he does more damage to the credibility of the defense case. Why'd Bashir choose him for a witness, anyway? Why not somebody else? He felt a sick sensation in his stomach not unlike what happened when the main drives shut off. Maybe there wasn't somebody else. Maybe Falco was all Bashir could find willing to testify that the investigation was wrong.

  Captain Carney had a smile on his face, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. "Lieutenant Falco, are you always right and your superiors always wrong?"

  Falco sat up straight again. "It usually seems to work out that way, yes, sir."

  Paul barely restrained himself from slapping his forehead. You idiot. You didn't even recognize the sarcasm in Carney's question.

  Carney nodded. "I kind of thought you'd say that, Lieutenant. Any more questions for Lieutenant Falco?" This time, at least, the rest of the officers on the court-martial didn't need to be intimidated. All shook their heads with varying expressions of amusement or annoyance. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

  Falco looked around as if unsure what to do now. The bailiff gestured him toward the main door of the courtroom and Falco walked out, his face and neck still red with anger.

  Lieutenant Bashir stood again. "The defense calls as its next witness Mr. Victor Zimmer."

  Zimmer wasn't really out of shape, but in a court-room full of officers and enlisted personnel who were required to meet rigorous standards for weight and fitness, the civilian looked a bit chunky. Unlike the military witnesses, he didn't march up to the witness stand, but almost seemed to stroll. Paul remembered the suggestion about using his brother David as a lawyer for Jen. He'd look like that, too. Out of place. As far as I know, David's a fine enough lawyer, but he'd be a fish out of water up here.

  "Mr. Zimmer." Bashir smiled encouragingly. "What is your current position?"

  Zimmer ducked his head and smiled back as he answered. "Team supervisor, Franklin Naval Shipyard."

  "Did you work on the USS Maury during her recent overhaul?"

  "Yes, sir. I certainly did." Zimmer nodded firmly. "Shift on and shift off for months. There's not all that much to do up here but work, so we usually work shift on and shift off."

  "Yes, Mr. Zimmer. What can you tell us about the work you observed during that time?"

  "Oh, we had some problems. Yeah. Drugs. Booze from local stills. Sloppy work. You name it."

  Paul wanted to believe Zimmer, but at the same time he found his testimony a little too good. How could all that have been missed by the people overseeing the work on the Maury? And Jen never said anything to me about the work being ex
ceptionally sloppy. He looked at her, but Jen's face wasn't revealing anything.

  Bashir leaned closer as he pressed Zimmer. "Miswiring?"

  "Sure."

  "Safety rules ignored?"

  "All the time."

  "Work not done according to specifications?"

  "Yeah."

  "Do you have any estimate as to what the combined effect of all this on the engineering systems of the Maury would be?"

  Paul looked toward Carr, expecting her to object, but she simply watched Zimmer.

  Zimmer shook his head with a sorrowful expression. "Bad. I mean, I don't know how bad. But it wouldn't work like it should. No, sirree."

  Bashir paused, then nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Zimmer. No more questions."

  Commander Carr once again rose as if tired, staying behind the trial counsel's table. "Mr. Zimmer, how much time have you spent actually working at Franklin Naval Shipyard?"

  "Uh, lessee, came up in, uh, September, about."

  "Six months?"

  "Well, I didn't start for a few weeks 'cause of some paperwork issues—"

  "Five months."

  "About. Yes."

  "What is your primary area of work?"

  "Excuse me?"

  Commander Carr bent her head for a moment, then looked at Zimmer again. "What do you work on at Franklin Naval Shipyard?"

  "Ships!" Zimmer looked around at the reaction to his answer, then his face cleared. "Oh, you mean like, exactly, right? I'm a multi-system connectivity specialist."

  Carr nodded. "That means you run cables through the ship, right, Mr. Zimmer? Fiber optic, electrical, and other cables?"

  "Right."

  "Did you file any reports on this miswiring and safety violations and other problems you say you observed?"

  "Uh, well, now, I talked to some folks about it."

  "Did you file any formal reports?"

  "Uh, no."

  "How do you explain the fact that the records on the Maury's overhaul at the shipyard show the work on her passed quality assurance inspections at every stage?"

  "I guess they missed some stuff."

  "How do you explain the fact that the Maury's crew did not complain of the conditions you say were easily visible?"

  "I dunno."

  Commander Carr looked down at her table and shook her head again. "No more questions."

  McMasters gave Lieutenant Bashir a questioning look. Bashir shook his head. The judge turned toward the members. Captain Carney, smiling the same way he had with Lieutenant Falco, shook his head. "The witness is excused."

  Bashir had his head bent as Jen whispered to him with a fierceness that could be easily seen. He shook his head. She whispered again, her face stern. Bashir nodded and stood. "Your Honor, the defendant wishes to testify on her own behalf."

  McMasters seemed nonplussed for a moment. "You're kind of rushing things, aren't you, Lieutenant? If Lieutenant Shen wishes to make a sworn statement during that portion of the trial, she's free to do so."

  "Your honor, Lieutenant Shen wishes to testify as a sworn witness in her own defense."

  The judge bent a stern look on Jen. "Lieutenant Shen, I'd normally be giving these instructions a bit later in the trial, but I'll give them now to ensure you understand your rights. You have the right to make a statement. Included in your right to present evidence are the rights you have to testify under oath, to make an unsworn statement, or to remain silent. If you testify, you may be cross-examined by the trial counsel or questioned by me and the members. If you decide to make an unsworn statement you may not be cross-examined by trial counsel or questioned by me or the members. You may make an unsworn statement orally or in writing, personally, or through your counsel, or you may use a combination of these ways. If you decide to exercise your right to remain silent, that cannot be held against you in any way. Do you understand your rights?"

  Jen stood to attention and nodded. "I understand, Your Honor."

  "And you still wish to testify at this time under oath?"

  "I do, Your Honor."

  Judge McMasters made a bemused gesture. "Very well, Lieutenant Shen. You may proceed."

  As Jen walked to the witness stand, her movements carefully controlled, Paul finally realized the implications of what was happening. Those were the only two witnesses Bashir could turn up, and they were both really weak. He couldn't find any real experts to testify for Jen. He couldn't find technical evidence to exonerate her. So now it's all up to Jen to defend herself, to try to convince the members of the court what I already know is true, that all the experts are wrong.

  Jen reached the witness stand and turned to face the courtroom. She slowly raised her right hand for the bailiff to swear her in. "Do you, Lieutenant Junior Grade Jenevieve Diana Shen, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

  "I do." Jen sat, her back perfectly straight, her eyes scanning the courtroom before settling on the members of the court. Paul grimaced at her voice, so controlled and unemotional that it sounded almost robotic. But what else can she do? How else can she speak that wouldn't also look bad? Emotional is bad. Unemotional is bad She just has to be neither emotional or unemotional. One more trap for her in this court-martial.

  Lieutenant Bashir stood before her. "Lieutenant Shen, please describe in your words what happened onboard USS Maury on 21 February."

  She took a deep breath. "The engineering system on USS Maury had been displaying minor but erratic problems since we had come out of overhaul. Commander Juko told Lieutenant Schmidt and me that he was getting increasingly frustrated trying to deal with the problems. While each problem was individually minor, Commander Juko told us that he was concerned they might indicate some underlying problem that could prove more serious."

  Paul glanced over at Commander Carr, who was listening intently and taking notes, but not revealing any reaction.

  Jen swallowed and took another breath. "On the afternoon in question, we had just deactivated our anti-detection systems. That caused some fluctuations in power loads. Most of them seemed to be dealt with, but the after power coupling kept saying it was overloading and then immediately saying it wasn't. Up, down. Up, down. We couldn't figure out what the problem was by remote readings. I suggested sending one of our petty officers to check out the coupling in person. Commander Juko instead ordered me to go check it. He told me he wanted to be sure we could figure out what the problem was."

  Another pause, another breath. "I headed aft. I'd just cleared the after survival bulkhead when a tremendous shock shook the ship. I was hurled against the nearest bulkhead. When my head cleared, I could see the survival bulkhead had been badly damaged and the area I was in was decompressing. I accessed the nearest survival locker. Many of the suits had been damaged by fragments from the explosion, but I found an intact one. After donning it, I tried to open the hatch leading forward. It was jammed solid. Within moments of discovering this, enlisted personnel began entering the same area I was in, trying to find out what had happened and seeking safety. Since we couldn't patch the survival bulkhead with the means available to us, we salvaged as many intact survival suits as we could and headed farther aft in search of undamaged compartments."

  Jen paused. "We initially followed instructions to wait for rescue, but without enough survival suits we determined that would result in the death of many of the personnel. So I took an enlisted crew member and proceeded forward again, attempting to make our way past the survival bulkhead in hopes of contacting the rest of the ship. When we finally found a route into the area where . . . where . . . the after engineering compartment had been, we encountered a few members of the crew conducting emergency repairs."

  "At no time did I take any action which could have caused the destruction of the engineering compartments on my ship. I did nothing which could have led to the deaths of so many of my shipmates, many of whom . . . whom . . . were my friends. I don't know why anyone, let alone me, would have wanted to harm them. I do
not know what caused the events of 21 February. I do know I had nothing to do with them."

  Jen stopped speaking and abruptly looked straight at Lieutenant Bashir, unable to conceal her nervousness. Bashir smiled reassuringly. "Lieutenant Shen, when you said 'we' undertook various actions to ensure the safety and survival of the personnel in the after portion of the Maury, didn't you actually mean you did those things?"

  "I was the senior line officer present, Lieutenant. I had the responsibility to take command and order such actions as necessary given the situation in which we found ourselves."