A Just Determination ps-1

by John G. Hemry

  "Yes. That pretty much sums it up."

  "Once the Michaelson had caught up with the wreck, which was all that remained of the SASAL ship, and sent boarding parties over to examine the SASAL ship, what did those boarding parties find?"

  "Uh, nothing."

  "Nothing?"

  "Nothing out of the ordinary, I mean. I commanded the second boarding party. There wasn't anything on the SASAL ship that shouldn't have been there."

  "Did the SASAL ship show any signs of having been prepared for any sort of combat situation?"

  "No. They didn't have suits on, they didn't have interior airtight partitions sealed, nothing like that."

  "Then the SASAL ship was unarmed and unprepared for any kind of combat when Captain Wakeman ordered that it be destroyed using the full firepower available to the USS Michaelson?"

  "That's correct."

  "No further questions."

  Judge Holmes gestured to Garrity. "You may cross-examine."

  Garcia sat stolidly while Wilkes returned to the prosecution's table and Lieutenant Commander Garrity came to the witness stand. "Commander Garcia, when Captain Wakeman ordered his ship to pursue the SASAL ship, did you advise him you believed this to be contrary to your orders?"

  "Captain Wakeman had read the orders, just like me. He knew what they said."

  "So you didn't say anything to him? You didn't indicate any belief that Captain Wakeman's actions might not be justified by your orders?"

  Garcia bared his teeth in a humorless smile. "Captain Wakeman didn't take kindly to unsolicited advice. If he wanted your opinion, he'd ask you. If not, you were supposed to keep your mouth shut."

  "Then you regarded it as your duty to keep Captain Wakeman happy instead of well-supported?"

  Wilkes was on his feet before the question ended. "Objection. The question disparages the witness."

  "I withdraw the question," Garrity stated, apparently oblivious to Garcia's reddening complexion. "Commander Garcia, during the actual intercept of the SASAL ship, what were your recommendations regarding communicating with the other vessel?"

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "You said attempts to communicate with the SASAL ship failed. What alternatives did you suggest?"

  "I… that wasn't my responsibility."

  "Did you suggest Captain Wakeman ensure the SASAL ship was not in distress?"

  "I didn't have to. Captain Wakeman knows standard procedures as well as I do."

  "So you simply assumed Captain Wakeman was aware of alternatives instead of advising him?"

  "When the SASAL ship turned toward us, I advised Captain Wakeman to maneuver the Michaelson. I did that more than once!"

  "Oh, yes." Garrity walked a few steps away from Garcia, then turned to face him again. "When the SASAL ship turned toward you. At what point did you first advise Captain Wakeman that the SASAL ship might be on a firing run?"

  "I… I didn't…"

  "Didn't you specifically state that the SASAL ship's course would place it in what you referred to as a 'perfect firing position'?"

  "I may have. That's all theoretical. You have to look at all possible alternatives. I didn't say the SASAL should was going to fire on us."

  "Didn't a subsequent recommendation to maneuver from you make reference to confusing the SASAL ship's firing solution?"

  "Possibly. That's, again, a possible alternative. I didn't say that was what was happening. I said we needed to maneuver, and that was one possible reason."

  "When Captain Wakeman asked you if the SASAL ship was armed, what did you reply?"

  "I said we had no information to that effect."

  "Didn't you actually say you could not confirm the SASAL ship was unarmed? Isn't that the same as telling Captain Wakeman the SASAL ship could have been armed?"

  Garcia was reddening even more, just as Paul had seen him do so many times when his temper flared at his subordinates. "No. Different emphasis."

  "Didn't you tell Captain Wakeman that the SASAL ship was on what you called a 'perfect firing approach'?"

  "I may have. That's meaningless unless the ship is armed to fire upon you. And I didn't tell Captain Wakeman that the SASAL ship was armed."

  Garrity shook her head. "No. You told him you couldn't confirm it was unarmed. What about the transients your watch standers reported and which you passed on to Captain Wakeman?"

  "What about them? You pick up transients all the time. A lot of it's just noise from our own gear because the stuff's so sensitive."

  "But you reported those transients to Captain Wakeman. According to the ship's log, you stated those transients could represent detection of charges leaking from shielded weapons. Isn't that correct?"

  "Yes. Of course. It was my job to report that. And when Commander Herdez, she's the Michaelson 's executive officer, asked if they were definitely from weapons, I said no."

  "Then, if I may summarize, during the approach of the SASAL ship, you made repeated references to firing runs and firing solutions, told Captain Wakeman you could not confirm the other ship was not armed, and reported the detection of what you said could be indications of weaponry being charged. Commander Garcia, what conclusions did you expect Captain Wakeman to draw from all that information?"

  "It's not my job to second-guess what the Captain will do with the information I give him."

  "Would you agree that the information you provided would have led a reasonable person to conclude that the Michaelson was in imminent danger of being fired upon?"

  "Objection." Wilkes waved toward Garcia. "The question requires that the witness speculate as to the state of mind of another person."

  "I will rephrase the question. Commander Garcia, if you had received the information you in fact provided to Captain Wakeman, would you have concluded that the Michaelson was in imminent danger of being fired upon?"

  Garcia stared back at Garrity, his face redder yet, his lower lip and jaw thrust forward. "No. I would have factored that information in with everything else."

  Garrity met Garcia's gaze calmly, then turned away. "No further questions."

  Judge Holmes looked toward Wilkes. "Does trial counsel wish to redirect?"

  "I do. Thank you." Wilkes came forward again, smiling encouragingly at Garcia, who responded by visibly relaxing a bit. "Commander Garcia, how did Captain Wakeman respond to your reports on the SASAL ship? Did he ask for further information or assessments from you?"

  "Uh, no. No. Captain Wakeman didn't."

  "Did Captain Wakeman ever ask you for your assessment as to whether the SASAL ship was actually on a firing run or actually preparing to fire?"

  "No. No, he didn't."

  "Then he reached his own conclusions. The decision to fire, the assessment that the SASAL ship was a threat to the Michaelson, came entirely from Captain Wakeman?"

  "Yes. That's right."

  "No further questions."

  "Commander Garrity?"

  "No further questions."

  The judge turned toward the members. "Admiral Fowler, do you or any of the other members have any questions for Commander Garcia?"

  Fowler rubbed his chin with one hand. "I'm a little curious on one point, Commander Garcia. When you were talking about the Michaelson 's orders you said it wasn't your job to offer unsolicited advice to Captain Wakeman. Right? But you advised the captain to maneuver the ship. You did that repeatedly, you said. Wasn't that unsolicited advice?"

  Garcia hesitated. "No, Admiral. Sir, when we were talking about the orders I was talking about being the Operations head and offering advice on general operations, and then when we were encountering the SASAL ship we were at general quarters and I was in charge of CIC. So that was different, sir."

  "How?"

  "Well, it was a specific situation, sir."

  Fowler glanced at the other members. "Anyone else? Captain Feres?"

  "Yes, please, Admiral. I have one question. Commander Garcia, wasn't all that talk about firing runs and positions also a form of
unsolicited advice? Wasn't that intended to convey something to Captain Wakeman?"

  "Sir, like I said before, I had to let Captain Wakeman know possible alternatives. I wouldn't have been doing my job if I hadn't told him these things were possible."

  "But you yourself never believed the SASAL ship was on a firing run?"

  "No, sir."

  "Why didn't you convey that belief to Captain Wakeman?"

  Garcia hesitated again, this time longer. "I… suppose… there wasn't sufficient time before Captain Wakeman reached his own determination."

  Captain Feres tilted his head slightly, regarding Commander Garcia for several seconds in silence before speaking again. "Thank you, Commander."

  Paul glanced over at Lieutenant Sindh. I wonder if she's remembering the way Garcia kept harping on firing runs and positions? He sure didn't sound so certain there wasn't any threat back then. But Feres certainly made Garcia look bad with that last question. Or I guess Garcia made himself look bad, and Feres just pointed that out.

  Fowler looked around again. "I guess that's it. No more questions from the members at this time."

  "At this time? Very well." Judge Holmes focused on the witness stand. "Commander Garcia, you are temporarily excused. Please ensure you are present 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."

  Garcia stood stiffly, marching down to the back of the court room once again, his eyes scanning the rest of the audience in a challenging way as he went past each row of seats. Paul watched Garcia out of the corner of his eyes. You certainly scored some hits on Wakeman, but I think you took some damage yourself, Commander Garcia.

  Chapter Ten

  The next witness called by the prosecution was Commander Brilling, the Chief Engineer of the Michaelson. "Commander Brilling, you were in charge of the first inspection team sent over to the wreck of the SASAL ship from the Michaelson, were you not?"

  Brilling seemed nervous, unhappy at interacting with people instead of his engineering plant. "That's correct."

  "What was the purpose of that inspection?"

  "Captain Wakeman told me we were find and document all evidence of weaponry on the SASAL ship."

  "And what weaponry did you find on the SASAL ship?"

  Brilling seemed reluctant to reply. "None."

  "None? There were no weapons?"

  "Just some hand weapons that Ensign Sinclair found in the captain's cabin. Nothing besides that."

  "So you found no means by which the SASAL ship could have presented a threat to the USS Michaelson?"

  "No. No, there wasn't anything there."

  "Did the interior of the SASAL ship show any signs of having been prepared for combat?"

  "Uh, no. None of the airtight hatches had sealed. Uh, that is, a few had when atmosphere vented because of their automatic spring-loaded triggers, but the ship was pretty much wide open."

  "Were the crew all suited up?"

  Brilling grimaced in time to Paul's own internal flinch at the memory of the bodies they'd found. "No. They'd all… they were all dead. From decompression. Those that didn't get hit by our weapons."

  "How much damage had the Michaelson 's weapons done to the SASAL ship?"

  "Oh, it was effectively destroyed. We'd punched holes in him from one end to the other."

  "Effectively destroyed." Wilkes walked away for a moment, then turned back to face Brilling. "Would you say the amount of force employed was excessive?"

  "Objection." Garrity indicated the chief engineer. "The question calls for a subjective opinion."

  "I will rephrase the question. Commander Brilling, could any threat from the SASAL ship to the USS Michaelson, even assuming the SASAL ship had been armed, been countered by using less force than was actually employed?"

  "Uh, well, if we'd targeted the engineering spaces we could've taken them off line and eliminated his ability to power-up weapons or maneuver."

  "But you said the entire ship had been 'punched full of holes' or words to that effect. So the degree of force actually used was in excess of that needed to neutralize any threat from the SASAL ship?"

  "Yes. You could say that."

  "No further questions."

  Lieutenant Commander Garrity stood before Brilling. "Commander, you said your search party was sent to the SASAL ship to, in your words, find and document evidence of weaponry on that ship. Did you expect to find weapons onboard?"

  "Uh, I guess I did."

  "Did Captain Wakeman expect you to find weapons on board?"

  "Yes. He sure did."

  "So would you say there was an expectation of finding weapons on board that ship?"

  "I… well, if we knew weapons were there we wouldn't have had to send a search party to investigate."

  "Were you personally surprised not to find any weapons?"

  Brilling looked away, his mouth working, then nodded. "Yes, I was."

  "Commander, if the SASAL ship had been armed, and if those weapons had been charged, would targeting the engineering spaces of the SASAL ship have eliminated its ability to fire on the Michaelson?"

  "Well, not entirely. I mean, they still could've discharged whatever was in the weapons."

  "So if the SASAL ship had been armed, then even if deprived of its engineering spaces, it could still have fired a volley into the Michaelson at point-blank range?"

  "I… guess that's true."

  "No further questions."

  "Trial counsel will redirect." Wilkes took Garrity's place. "Commander Brilling, speaking for yourself, what evidence were you aware of regarding weapons on the SASAL ship prior to your leading a party aboard?"

  "There wasn't any. That's why we went."

  "There wasn't any. But you'd fired upon and destroyed that ship. Did you really expect to find weapons, or were you hoping to find weapons?"

  Brilling flicked a glance toward Wakeman. "I… I… was hoping to find them."

  "In order to justify the actions of Captain Wakeman?"

  "It doesn't… I mean…"

  Wilkes eyed Brilling with apparent sympathy. "Your ship had just destroyed another ship on orders of Captain Wakeman. Would it be fair to say you hoped that destruction had been justified?"

  "Yes. Absolutely."

  "And wasn't that hope what led you to 'expect' to find weapons on board the SASAL ship?"

  Brilling looked at the deck. "I think so. Yes."

  "No further questions."

  To Paul's surprise the prosecution next called Commander Sykes as a witness. Why the supply officer next? I heard the weapons officer kept tripping over his tongue when he went over testimony with Wilkes. I guess Sykes is all that's left at that level, but what is Wilkes planning to get him to say about Wakeman?

  Sykes was sworn in and settled back in the witness stand as if he were holding court in the Michaelson 's wardroom. Wilkes came to stand before him. "Are you Commander Steven Sykes, United States Navy, currently assigned as supply officer to the USS Michaelson?"

  "That is correct."

  "And you have served on the USS Michaelson for fifteen months, and during that entire period Captain Wakeman has been in command."

  "That is also correct."

  "Commander Sykes, has Captain Wakeman ever given you reason to doubt his judgment?"

  "Objection." Lieutenant Commander Garrity indicated Sykes. "This question is immaterial to the charges against Captain Wakeman, which concern his actions in several specific cases."

  Judge Holmes looked at Wilkes. "Trial counsel?"

  "Your Honor, I am seeking to establish a pattern of questionable judgment by Captain Wakeman during the last underway period for the USS Michaelson. Since this is the same period in which the actions in question took place, I believe it is material to determine if Captain Wakeman's record
is consistent with the charges of later negligence and poor judgment."

  Holmes pondered the matter for a moment. "Overruled, Commander Garrity. The question is judged material and is allowed."

  Wilkes focused back on Sykes. "I'll repeat the question for you, Commander Sykes. Has Captain Wakeman ever given you reason to doubt his judgment?"

  Sykes made a noncommittal face. "Everyone has bad days, Commander Wilkes."

  "Perhaps I should be more specific." Wilkes leaned a little closer to Sykes. "During your last underway period, a captain's mast resulted in one of your petty officers being reduced in rate to a seaman. Do you know the case I'm speaking of?"

  Sykes nodded. "That would be Petty Officer Arroyo."

  "Did you think the decision reached by the captain in that case reflected good judgment?" A pause stretched while Sykes gazed imperturbably back at the prosecuting attorney. "Commander Sykes? Did you understand the question?"

  "Certainly. No, I did not believe it reflected good judgment on Captain Wakeman's part."

  "Captain Wakeman disregarded the testimony and character judgments rendered by both you and your assistant, Lieutenant Bristol, didn't he?"

  "That's correct."

  "Did Captain Wakeman give you any reasons for doing that?"

  Sykes shrugged. "No, but then he wasn't under any obligation to do that."

  Captain Nguyen interrupted whatever Wilkes had been planning to say next. "What exactly was this mast case about? What was it, uh…"

  "Petty Officer Arroyo."

  "Yes. What was it Petty Officer Arroyo did, or was accused of doing?"

  "Captain Nguyen." Judge Holmes indicated Commander Wilkes and then Lieutenant Commander Garrity. "It is customary to allow both prosecution and defense to finish questioning a witness before the members ask questions."