Against All Enemies ps-4

by John G. Hemry

  "Very well." Commander Carr looked down at her data pad and began reading, looking up often to scan the members and gauge their reactions as well. "Lieutenant Bradley Fielder Pullman, United States Navy, is charged with violations of the following articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice."

  "Article 92 — Failure to obey order or regulation. First specification. In that Lieutenant Bradley Fielder Pullman, United States Navy, did onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3, then docked at berth seven alpha of United States Naval Space Station Benjamin Franklin, on or about 20 August 2102, violate a lawful general regulation, to wit: Secretary of the Navy Instruction 5520.5 dated 1 July 2100, Security and Handling of Classified Materials Onboard U.S. Navy Ships and Installations, by wrongfully and without authorization downloading Top Secret documents from the combat support data systems of the USS Michaelson onto portable and transportable storage media."

  Paul, knowing the boilerplate part of the charges by heart, concentrated on watching the members, trying to gauge their reactions to the charges, and on watching Brad Pullman to see how he took hearing the charges against him being read in all of their grim formality.

  "Second specification. In that Lieutenant Bradley Fielder Pullman, United States Navy, did… violate a lawful general regulation, to wit: Secretary of the Navy Instruction 5520.5 dated 1 July 2100, Security and Handling of Classified Materials Onboard U.S. Navy Ships and Installations, by wrongfully and without authorization removing Top Secret materials downloaded onto portable and transportable media from onboard the USS Michaelson."

  "Article 106a — Espionage. First specification. In that Lieutenant Bradley Fielder Pullman, United States Navy, did… with intent or reason to believe it would be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of the South Asian Alliance, a foreign nation, deliver operational orders and annexes classified up to and including Top Secret and pertaining to U.S. Naval operations then soon to be carried out, to an agent of the South Asian Alliance."

  "Second specification In that Lieutenant Bradley Fielder Pullman, United States Navy, did… on or about 20 August, 2102, with intent or reason to believe it would be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of the South Asian Alliance, a foreign nation, attempt to deliver intelligence reports classified Top Secret which directly concerned current knowledge of foreign military capabilities, to an agent of the South Asian Alliance."

  "Third specification. In that Lieutenant Bradley Fielder Pullman, United States Navy, did onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3, on or about 20 August, 2102, with intent or reason to believe it would be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of the South Asian Alliance, a foreign nation, attempt to commit espionage by emplacing covert taps within selected compartments onboard his ship with the aim of covertly collecting information.

  "Article 133 — Conduct unbecoming an officer. In that Lieutenant Bradley Fielder Pullman, United States Navy, did onboard USS Michaelson, CLE(S)-3… wrongfully and dishonorably engage in conduct unbecoming an officer, to wit: misappropriating classified information for personal gain."

  "Article 134 — False or unauthorized pass offenses. In that Lieutenant Bradley Fielder Pullman, United States Navy, did… have in his possession a station access pass which had been improperly tampered with to allow Lieutenant Pullman to access areas of the station without leaving any record on the station personnel tracking and security system."

  "The charges are signed by Commander, United States Naval Space Forces, a person subject to the code, as accuser; are properly sworn to before a commissioned officer of the armed forces authorized to administer oaths, and are properly referred to this court-martial for trial by Commander, United States Space Forces, the convening authority."

  As far as Paul could tell, Brad Pullman hadn't flinched from the charges at all, but had kept his expression cool and confident throughout the reading. If they'd been in a card game, Paul would've assumed Pullman had a very good hand.

  Judge Campbell kept looking at Commander Carr for a moment after she finished speaking, then looked at Pullman. "Lieutenant Pullman, how do you plead? Before receiving your pleas, I advise you that any motions to dismiss any charge or grant other relief should be made at this time."

  David Sinclair stood up, his expression respectful. "Your Honor, the defense would like to move for the dismissal of the violation of Article 133 on the grounds that it is duplicative and nonspecific as to the nature of the requirements which Lieutenant Pullman is alleged to have violated."

  Judge Campbell shook her head. "The motion is denied. The Uniform Code specifically states that violations of Article 133 can be brought in addition to charges for specific actions if those actions substantiate a charge of conduct unbecoming an officer. As to the 'nonspecific' nature alleging conduct unbecoming an officer, the law presumes that all officers are aware of the special requirements placed upon by virtue of their holding a commission as an officer. Does the defense have any other motions at this time?"

  "No, Your Honor." David Sinclair sat down again.

  Brad Pullman stood at attention, speaking in a firm, clear voice. "I plead not guilty to all charges and specifications, ma'am."

  "Very well. Does the prosecution have an opening statement?"

  "Yes, Your Honor." Commander Carr took another two steps, placing herself in front of the judge's bench, but still partially facing the judge and the members. The members were watching attentively, no expressions betraying their feelings. As far as Paul had been able to tell, none of them had reacted when the charges were read, either. "The prosecution intends to prove that Lieutenant Pullman has engaged in multiple cases of espionage against the United States, that in the furthering of this espionage he has willfully and repeatedly violated United States Navy regulations and instructions governing the handling of classified materials, and that he has received monetary compensation from a foreign country in exchange for these acts of espionage. Lieutenant Pullman should be found guilty as to all charges and specifications, because by his actions he not only disgraced himself, he intentionally caused grave injury to the United States."

  Commander Carr walked back to her table. Judge Campbell motioned toward David Sinclair. "Will the defense make an opening statement?"

  "Yes, Your Honor." David Sinclair remained standing at his table as he spoke, his voice carrying easily across the courtroom. "The defense intends to prove that Lieutenant Bradley Pullman is innocent of the most serious charges against him, and that any mishandling of classified material which may have taken place was both inadvertent and not done with any intent to cause injury to the United States. Since Lieutenant Pullman will be proven innocent of any intent to commit espionage or mishandle classified material, he should be found not guilty as to all charges and specifications."

  David Sinclair sat down. Silence fell for a moment. Captain Campbell pointed her gavel at Commander Carr again. "Proceed."

  "Thank you. The United States calls as its first witness Ensign Akesha Taylor, United States Navy."

  Ensign Taylor came down the aisle moving purposefully. As she sat down and looked Paul's way, one eye twitched in what might have been surreptitious wink. Taylor seemed no more intimidated by a military courtroom than she was by any other aspect of the Navy.

  Commander Carr stood before Ensign Taylor. "Do you swear that the evidence you give in the case now in hearing shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

  "I do, ma'am."

  "Are you Ensign Akesha Taylor, currently assigned as Electronic Systems Officer onboard the USS Michaelson?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Briefly describe your duties, please."

  "Yes, ma'am." Taylor hitched herself over slightly so she partially faced the members' table. "In laymen's terms, I'm responsible for making sure all the electronic systems and linkages talk to each other properly. I handle the interfaces."

  "Do you have much experience with electronic system interf
aces?"

  "Only about twenty-two years, ma'am."

  Paul caught a glimpse of smiles flickering on the faces of the members of the court-martial.

  Commander Carr gave a small smile as well. "Do you also oversee the software safeguards and hardware cut-outs designed to prevent unauthorized actions?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Were all of those safeguards and cut-outs operational on the evening of 20 August?"

  Taylor nodded several times. "Yes, ma'am, they were."

  David Sinclair rose to his feet, looking serious. "Objection, Your Honor. How can the witness be certain none of the referenced safeguards and cut-outs malfunctioned for even a very brief time on the evening in question?"

  Commander Carr gestured toward Ensign Taylor. "Perhaps we should ask the witness."

  Judge Campbell nodded. "Perhaps we should. Ensign Taylor?"

  Taylor shook her head just as firmly as she'd earlier nodded. "That couldn't have happened, ma'am. The system maintains a continuous track of the interfaces, the safeguards and cut-outs and everything else. Any failure, and lapse, even for a microsecond, gets tagged. I check the system reports every morning and they were clean."

  "Ensign Taylor," Captain Nguyen spoke up. "What if the systems doing the monitoring fail?"

  Paul looked at his brother, who seemed torn between distress that the senior member of the court was questioning the witness directly and happiness that a potential flaw in the prosecution's argument had been brought out.

  But Taylor shook her head again. "Ma'am, if I had that kind of failure it'd mean the primaries and two back-ups had all failed simultaneously. I don't know the odds of that happening, but they're awful long. And if somehow it did happen, everything would start locking up and I'd get sparks spitting out here, there and everywhere. It'd be impossible to miss, as well as one tremendous mess to fix."

  "Then," Captain Nguyen pressed, "in your expert opinion, it is virtually impossible that there could have been failures of not only the safeguards and cut-outs, but also simultaneous failures of the systems monitoring the working status of those safeguards and cut-outs?"

  "Captain, the only way I could see that happening is if we'd sustained major battle damage and been totally knocked out of commission." Taylor looked from Carr to the judge to David Sinclair. "Can't happen, otherwise."

  Captain Nguyen sat back, clearly satisfied. Commander Carr looked up at Judge Campbell, who looked over at David Sinclair. "Objection overruled."

  David Sinclair nodded and sat down. Paul thought he might be the only one in the courtroom who could spot the tiny but tell-tail signs that his brother was seriously ticked-off. Didn't you think Commander Carr would be prepared to handle such an issue? Maybe after this David will stop assuming he's head and shoulders a better lawyer than the JAGs up here. Paul took a look at Lieutenant Owings and saw he was making notes with a carefully expressionless face. I bet David didn't listen to you, did he? Well, David's smart enough when he wants to be. I have a feeling he'll learn fast.

  Judge Campbell gave Commander Carr a nod. "Proceed, Trial Counsel."

  "Thank you, Your Honor. Ensign Taylor, do the safeguards and cut-outs to which you refer include functions designed to prevent the unauthorized downloading of classified material?"

  Taylor nodded. "Yes, ma'am. They check to see if a specific terminal is authorized for access to that information, that is, if they can handle classified material and at what level of classification, then they check to see if whoever's logged in has high-enough access as well, then they allow viewing of the material but no copying, no transfers and no downloads of any kind. People are always complaining to me that the system is a pain in the neck, but I tell them that's the rules and if they don't like it they need to talk to somebody quite a bit higher in the chain of command than I am."

  Paul hid another smile. He hadn't thought about what a persuasive and personable witness Taylor would make, but he was sure Carr had realized it immediately.

  Commander Carr looked toward the members as she asked the next question. "Then your system works exactly as required, Ensign Taylor? No unauthorized modifications of any kind that would short-circuit any of those safeguards?"

  "No, ma'am. And I've got inspection results to prove it."

  "In your expert opinion, Ensign Taylor, is there any possible way for someone to accidentally download classified information in violation of regulations?"

  "No, ma'am. It'd take a lot of work and you'd have to be doing it on purpose."

  "Thank you, Ensign Taylor." Commander Carr gave her a small, professional smile. "No more questions."

  Judge Campbell leveled her gavel at David Sinclair. "Defense may cross-examine."

  David Sinclair rose, frowning slightly, but his expression cleared as he approached the witness stand. "Ms. Taylor-"

  Taylor's eyes widened. "My mother's not here."

  A brief chuckle ran through the courtroom. Judge Campbell rested her chin on one hand. "Please use military courtesies in my courtroom, Counselor."

  David Sinclair had flushed slightly at his error, but recovered quickly. "Forgive me, Your Honor. Both my mother and father are retired Navy officers so, as one raised in a Navy family, I shouldn't have made that error."

  Paul almost let his admiration show. His brother had brought out his military family credentials as early as possible without making the revelation seem phony.

  David Sinclair faced the witness stand again. " Ensign Taylor, does your equipment ever malfunction?"

  "Sure it does. If it didn't, I wouldn't have a job."

  "Does it ever behave in ways it's not designed to behave?"

  "Sometimes. Within limits. It's-"

  "Has it ever done anything unexpected?"

  Taylor gave David Sinclair a look of grudging respect. "Yes. It has."

  "Can you honestly say that it is absolutely completely impossible that the safeguards and the system monitoring software didn't suffer brief simultaneous failures, or that some combination of failures somehow led the system to approve an action which it should not have approved?"

  "Nothing's impossible. But-"

  "Thank you, Ensign Taylor. No more questions."

  David Sinclair walked back the defense table and sat down as the judge addressed Commander Carr again. "Does trial counsel wish to redirect?"

  "Not at this time, Your Honor. Trial counsel defers to the members."

  David Sinclair looked up quickly, then frowned again as Judge Campbell addressed the members. "Do the members have any questions for this witness, Captain Nguyen?"

  Paul saw his brother whispering to Lieutenant Owings. It was obvious to Paul, at least, that this aspect of military justice didn't suit David Sinclair at all. It allowed the military officers on the "jury" to use their own experience and expertise to draw out information which the lawyers might or might not want brought into evidence.

  Lieutenant Kilgary spoke softly to Captain Nguyen, and at Nguyen's nod she leaned forward. "Ensign Taylor, would you complete what you were about to say in your last answer?"

  "Thank you, ma'am. I was about to say that something might not be impossible, but that doesn't mean it's got any real chance of happening. I can't rule out my system suddenly becoming self-aware, deciding it's God, and trying to take over the world, but just because that isn't flat-out impossible doesn't mean I stay awake nights worrying about it."

  Another brief smile flickered over Lieutenant Kilgary's face. "Thank you, Ensign Taylor."

  Lieutenant Commander de Vaca leaned forward next. "Ensign Taylor, when was the last time your system was certified safe for the storage of and access to classified materials?"

  "Sir, that was last done on the afternoon of 17 August." A murmur ran through the courtroom.

  De Vaca looked impressed. "The system was certified and approved in all respects?"

  "Yes, sir. No faults noted, no waivers required. There never have been," Taylor added. "Not on my systems. You can look it up."

&n
bsp; Commander Carr stood. "If the member desires, Trial Counsel is prepared to enter the inspection report and certification into the trial record."

  "Yes, ma'am." De Vaca nodded. "Please."

  Paul noted that de Vaca looked pleased with himself for bringing out the point about the inspection. He wondered at what point Carr would've introduced it if one of the member's hadn't. She likes letting her points get brought out by the members or even the defense. They make more impact that way. Maybe David will learn a few things from her.

  Captain Nguyen looked from side to side to see if any other members had any questions, then gestured to the judge. "No more questions from the members, Your Honor."

  Judge Campbell pointed her gavel toward the witness stand. "Ensign Taylor, you are temporarily excused. Please ensure you are available 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, ma'am." Ensign Taylor stood and walked out, looking for all the world like she was actually the one in charge of the proceedings.

  "The United States calls as its next witness Special Agent Pamela Connally."

  Paul watched Connally stride purposefully to the witness stand, looking quietly professional. Commander Carr swore her in, then standing near her, began asking questions.

  "Are you Special Agent Pamela Connally, currently employed by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service and assigned to the NCIS office on Franklin Naval Station?"

  "I am."

  "Describe your actions on the evening of 17 August."

  Connally gazed calmly back at Commander Carr as she spoke. "I went aboard the USS Michaelson and placed a special tap onto the personal terminals of some of the officers."

  "What was the purpose of this tap?"

  "It would alert us if any classified information was downloaded in violation of the usual safeguards."