Burden of Proof

Chapter Eleven

The first prosecution witness called after lunch was the first to be wearing civilian clothes. "Special Agent Sullivan, you are assigned to the staff of the fleet commander as a representative of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service?"

Sullivan nodded as he answered. "Yes, I am."

"Did you conduct a search of the stateroom formerly occupied by Lieutenant Silver onboard the USS Michaelson?"

"I did, along with Special Agent Connally."

"Can you summarize your findings?"

Sullivan nodded again, then consulted his own data pad. "Most of the material belonging to Lieutenant Silver in that stateroom was of a personal nature. Clothes, toiletries, that sort of thing. We found twenty-two data coins, of which eighteen contained various professional and personal files along with computer games, music and assorted other software. Four of the coins were totally blank."

"Excuse me, Special Agent Sullivan. Totally blank?"

Another nod. "Yes. Not unused, because then they'd have had all the formatting on them. They'd been scrubbed clean. Nothing was recoverable on them."

"The data on them had been deleted, then."

"No. If it'd been deleted, we could've recovered it. These had been wiped by software designed to render the contents unrecoverable."

"Did you find that particular software?"

"No. It wasn't in the stateroom."

"What else did you find?"

Sullivan consulted his data pad again. "One of the larger drawers assigned to Lieutenant Silver contained a quantity of unopened official mail for the main propulsion officer."

"Unopened?"

"Yes. Stuff like software updates for systems, safety advisories, technical manual updates and revisions, that sort of thing."

Paul stole another glance at the members. This time he caught Captain Mashiko's brow lowering in a sign of disapproval. Let's see Scott Silver explain that.

"Lieutenant Silver hadn't been opening his official mail and passing on the materiel in it to his personnel or entering it into the engineering system?"

"No. We found no trace of opened official mail. You know, envelopes that hadn't been discarded, contents of opened mail in the files or drawers, that sort of thing."

"I see. Anything else, Special Agent Sullivan?"

"Lieutenant Silver's data terminal contained numerous pieces of personal software. Mainly games. That's unauthorized, but it's not all that unusual on ships."

"Thank you, Special Agent Sullivan. No more questions."

Lieutenant Commander Jones didn't bother getting up. "No questions."

"I have some questions," Captain Mashiko stated. "Special Agent Sullivan, this unopened mail in Lieutenant Silver's stateroom. It was in a drawer?"

"That's right."

"How was it stored in there? Filed neatly?"

Sullivan twisted his face in thought, then shook his head. "No. It looked like it'd just been tossed in."

"How old was the oldest unopened mail?"

"Let's see." Sullivan checked his data pad. "The oldest date was 22 August."

Mashiko looked as if he were tasting something unpleasant. "According to the charges, Lieutenant Silver assumed duties as the main propulsion assistant on the Michaelson on 20 August. Is that correct, Commander Carr?"

"Yes, sir."

"Special Agent Sullivan, what sort of games did you find on Lieutenant Silver's terminal?"

Sullivan consulted his data pad again. "I can list them by title if you want. Essentially, they were all action games. Twitch and shoot stuff."

Paul felt like smiling, but repressed it. Shoot 'em up games are common enough on the ship, but the existence of lots of those games alongside unopened official mail creates a strong image of an officer playing games instead of doing his job. Which matches what I know about Scott Silver. Dammit, I shouldn't be taking any pleasure in this. Besides, even if that convinces Captain Mashiko to vote for conviction on the charge of dereliction in performance of his duties, that still leaves all the other charges against Silver and the rest of the members to convince. If I know anything about Herdez, she's wishing she could get Scott Silver alone for twenty minutes while she reamed him out for not doing his job. But what about the rest?

Captain Mashiko cast a long look toward the defense table. "The members have no more questions."

Paul knew the next prosecution witness, even though he wasn't from the Michaelson.

"If the court pleases," Commander Carr asked, "trial counsel would like to stipulate that Chief Warrant Officer Rose is one of the top software engineers on Franklin Station, and in the Navy as a whole."

Judge Halstead gave Rose a skeptical look. "I might agree to so stipulate if Warrant Rose can fix my case management software so it doesn't lock up almost every time I try to update my files."

Rose looked up at the judge. "Milcourt version 9.5, sir? I can fix that."

"See me after the trial. Does defense counsel have any objection to the stipulation?"

Lieutenant Commander Jones shook his head. "No, Your Honor. Warrant Officer Rose's qualifications are known to me."

"Then the court stipulates that Chief Warrant Officer Rose is an expert software engineer."

Commander Carr nodded to acknowledge the ruling. "Thank you, Your Honor. Warrant Officer Rose, during the evening of 19 September the engineering logs on the USS Michaelson were so severely damaged that no data could be recovered from them. Have you examined those logs?"

"Yes, ma'am, I have."

"What was your conclusion?"

"The damage to the logs was caused by a hacking program whose name I've provided to the court but otherwise prefer to keep confidential. It's very hard to detect when this program has been used, but it leaves a couple of markers for those who know where and how to look."

"You're saying the damage to the engineering logs was deliberate."

"Absolutely, ma'am."

Paul glanced over at the members to see how they were taking Rose's testimony. He couldn't decipher the poker faces they were wearing, but they were definitely all paying very close attention. Paul shifted his gaze to defense table, where Lieutenant Silver displayed every appearance of being horrified by the revelation.

"Could you tell the time-frame in which the engineering logs were deliberately damaged?"

"Yes, ma'am. The hacking program activated at 2235."

"At 2235 on the evening of 19 September." Carr looked directly at the members. "According to previous testimony, Lieutenant Silver's presence could not be accounted for from about 2200 to about 2300 that evening. Was Lieutenant Silver logged on to the Michaelson 's system when the damage occurred?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Objection." Jones pointed to the witness. "Warrant Officer Rose can only testify to what he knows, which is that someone using Lieutenant Silver's account and password was logged on at that time."

Commander Carr nodded. "Defense counsel is correct. I'll restate the question. Warrant Officer Rose, was someone using Lieutenant Silver's account and password logged onto the Michaelson 's system when the damage occurred?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"This hacking program you described. How would someone acquire it?"

"Off the 'net, ma'am. Anyone can find stuff like that if they look for it, which is why I don't want to name the program here."

"Warrant Officer Rose, four data coins in Lieutenant Silver's stateroom had been rendered unreadable. Are you familiar with software which does this?"

Rose shrugged. "Ma'am, there's a number of programs out there that can do that."

"Where would you get them?"

Another shrug. "You can buy them, like the government does. We use that type of software to wipe hard drives or data coins that are being disposed of. But there's a number of versions available free on the 'net as well."

"The ability to render data unreadable, then, while still allowing the coin to be reused in the future, requires software for that purpose."

"Of course."

"Then Lieutenant Silver must have had such software in his possession."

"At one time, yes, ma'am."

"Warrant Officer Rose, you're responsible for updating fleet guidance on software which is allowed on military and government systems. Is software capable of rendering data unreadable authorized?"

"Not unless it's the government's program, and only system administrators are supposed to have that one." Rose shook his head and looked weary. "Let the average user get his or her hands on that stuff, and they'll destroy critical data or wipe their hard drives without knowing what they're doing. Users do enough damage without allowing them to have software designed to cause damage."

"Thank you, Warrant Officer Rose. No more questions."

Lieutenant Commander Jones stood up but stayed at the defense table. "Warrant Officer Rose, I'd just like to clarify a few points. Is there any evidence you are aware of directly tying Lieutenant Silver to the destruction of the data in the engineering logs?"

"You mean something with his name on it, sir? No, sir."

"Is there any evidence Lieutenant Silver actually possessed the program which did that damage?"

"I'm not aware that anyone found that program in his possession, no, sir."

"Warrant, do you ever have data on file which you'd prefer no one else ever saw? Personal matters, perhaps?"

Rose grinned. "Everybody does, sir."

"Then even if Lieutenant Silver had somehow used unauthorized software to render the four data coins found in his stateroom unreadable, that doesn't mean whatever information those coins once contained bears on the charges against Lieutenant Silver, does it? Those coins could've contained anything."

"Yes, sir, they could've. We have no way of knowing. Unreadable means unreadable."

"I'd also like you to restate one point, Warrant Officer Rose. If the system shows an individual was logged on at a certain time, that doesn't prove that person was the one who logged in, does it?"

Rose shook his head, looking annoyed. "No, it doesn't. People are too careless with passwords."

Paul tried not to show his dismay. Jones zeroed right in on the weakness of the case against Silver there. We know someone did it, but we can only infer it was Silver. There's no way to prove it, even though it's easy to speculate one of those unreadable coins once contained the program that allowed Silver to damage the engineering logs.

"No further questions."

"Does trial counsel wish to redirect?" Judge Halstead asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," Commander Carr stood, though also remaining at her table. "Warrant Officer Rose, we have established that a spare controller for the power transfer junction was present with Chief Asher in Forward Engineering. The chief engineer of the USS Michaelson has already testified that it required authorization codes from an officer and an enlisted to disable the safety interlocks on engineering equipment. Would those authorizations, and who entered them, have been recorded in the engineering logs?"

"No question. Yes, ma'am."

"Then by destroying the data in the engineering logs, whoever committed that act ensured we could not identify that officer, the officer within the engineering department of the USS Michaelson, who provided an authorization to disable the safety interlocks."

"That's correct, ma'am."

"How often are the engineering logs backed up, Warrant Officer Rose?"

"Once a week at midnight, ma'am. The process is automatic."

"Once a week at midnight. They're backed-up to a separate storage area?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then it's reasonable to conclude that whoever destroyed those records was attempting to conceal something which had occurred within the last few days, isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is."

"No more questions."

Captain Mashiko leaned forward. "Warrant Rose, is there any other possible explanation for the damage to those logs? You are positive the damage was deliberate and caused by destructive software?"

"Yes, sir, I am."

"Do you know why this deliberate destruction was not detected in the initial investigation?"

Rose looked a bit uncomfortable as he answered. "Sir, not all experts are created equal. I know the sailor who checked for the cause of the data loss for the initial investigation. He's not bad, he's really very good, but he's not as experienced as some other people. Like I said earlier, you need to know exactly what to look for to spot the evidence that this software had been used."

"And the investigation's expert didn't know what to look for."

"He does now, sir."

Captain Mashiko smiled for a moment. "Thank you, Warrant."

Paul watched Rose leave, exchanging brief nods as Rose walked out of the court room. Clever. Carr could've brought out that stuff about the interlock authorization and the recent time period during her first questioning of Rose, but she waited so she'd have something else to toss in front of the members after the defense counsel brought up the lack of evidence proving Silver did the damage.

Commander Carr stood. "The prosecution has one more witness. Captain Richard Hayes, commanding officer of the USS Michaelson."

Paul stared at her, then looked toward the back of the court room as Captain Hayes came walking down the aisle. Why the hell didn't somebody tell me my Captain was testifying?

After Hayes had been sworn in, Commander Carr took her usual position in front of the witness stand. "Captain Hayes, on the night of 19 September 2100, you were paged to return to your ship."

"That's right. I was informed there'd been an explosion and a fire, which was still being fought at that time."

"Who informed you of that, Captain? Who paged you?"

"Chief Petty Officer Imari, the in-port officer of the deck."

"Did you speak with Lieutenant Silver at that time, sir?"

"No. I assumed he was engaged with dealing with the shipboard emergency."

"You then returned to the ship."

"Yes. As fast as possible." Hayes' face had grown progressively grimmer, apparently due to recalling the events of that evening.

"What did you find on the quarterdeck?"

"Chief Petty Officer Imari was fielding calls and information, and relaying those to Lieutenant Silver."

"Then Lieutenant Silver briefed you on the current situation, sir?"

Captain Hayes frowned. "He tried when I told him to, but he didn't seem to have a handle on a lot of things. General impressions, but few details. I finally told Chief Imari to give me a rundown."

"Can you give an example of this lack of detail on Lieutenant Silver's part?"

"Certainly. The, uh, teams sent to assist us from other ships. All Silver could tell me was that some had come aboard. Chief Imari told me what ships they'd come from and what they were doing. She knew the Midway 's people were setting up a temporary airlock to assist our own Damage Control team, for example."

"Did Lieutenant Silver tell you the accident had taken place in Forward Engineering?"

"I didn't need him to tell me that. Chief Imari told me when she paged me."

"Did Lieutenant Silver tell you a piece of equipment in Forward Engineering wasn't operating properly?"

"No."

"Did Lieutenant Silver tell you he'd acquired a spare for that piece of equipment and passed it on to Chief Asher?"

"No."

Paul felt like flinching every time Captain Hayes bit off a reply. Each "no" came out harder. I do not want to be chewed out by this man. I'm sure I will be someday, but now I know it's not going to be any fun.

"Did Lieutenant Silver then or later tell you that Chief Asher could have been in Forward Engineering, working on that piece of equipment?"

"No."

"Did Lieutenant Silver then or later inform you that he knew of a possible cause or contributing factor to the explosion, and the likely reason for Chief Asher's presence there?"

"No."

"Objection." Jones looked toward Carr. "Trial counsel is covering the same ground repeatedly."

Judge Halstead looked questioningly at Commander Carr. "I tend to agree. Counsel?"

Carr smiled in a professionally courteous way. "I had just finished going over those points, Your Honor."

"The objection is sustained. Get on with it."

"Yes, Your Honor. Captain Hayes, at any point were you approached regarding the need to acquire a spare controller for the power transfer junction in Forward Engineering?"

"No, I was not."

"Sir, were you informed the ship could not get underway as scheduled on the next Monday because of a problem with equipment in Forward Engineering?"

"No."

"When did you first discover that problem existed?"

"In the course of an internal investigation I authorized to resolve some new information regarding the events of 19 September."

"At that time you were informed of the problem by engineering personnel?"

"No. I was informed of the problem by an officer outside of engineering."

"Do you, sir, as commanding officer of the USS Michaelson, believe you received complete and accurate information from Lieutenant Silver on the evening of 19 September?"

Hayes looked directly at Silver, who looked away quickly. "At this point in time I do not believe I may have ever received complete and accurate information from Lieutenant Silver. As for the night of 19 September, I have no doubt that Lieutenant Silver deliberately chose to withhold critical information from me."

"Then Lieutenant Silver no longer has your trust and confidence?"

"I never want him on my ship again. I never want him in any position of responsibility in the US Navy again."

"Thank you, Captain Hayes. No further questions."

Lieutenant Commander Jones had a determined look on his face as he approached the witness stand, as if he were bracing himself for battle. "Captain Hayes, how long had you been commanding officer of the USS Michaelson as of 19 September?"

"About a month."

"Only a month? That's a short time to learn all there is to know about a ship and its crew, isn't it, sir?"

Hayes smiled crookedly. "It's a challenge."

"Are there things you still don't know about the ship?"

"You'll have to clarify that question. If you mean I don't know every single thing there is to know, then of course that's true. If you're asking if there's anything important I haven't learned, I doubt it."

"Is it possible, sir, that you could have been informed about the problem with the power transfer junction in Forward Engineering and, in the midst of so much else to do and to learn, misplaced that information?"

Hayes' eyes narrowed. "No."

"Sir, by your own admission, there are still some things — "

" No, Commander. The status of that piece of equipment was critical to my ship being able to accomplish her mission. I would not have forgotten it."

Commander Jones eyed Hayes for a moment as if deciding whether to pursue the point or not. His next question revealed he'd decided to try another tack. "Captain Hayes, you earlier indicated you were told about the problem with the power transfer junction by an officer on your ship. Who was that officer?"

Commander Carr was on her feet. "Objection, your honor. The question is immaterial."

Jones faced Judge Halstead. "Your honor, I am attempting to establish possible prejudice."

Halstead raised one eyebrow. "By whom? Captain Hayes?"

"No, sir, by this other officer."

"Your Honor," Commander Carr stated, stepping forward, "the identity of that officer is irrelevant to this trial. We've already established that the information regarding the power transfer junction was factual. Why does it matter who reported it?"

"Your Honor, evidence tainted is evidence that is inadmissible in court."

Judge Halstead bared his teeth in a humorless smile. "Counsel, I'll be the one deciding what is and is not inadmissible."

Jones hesitated as if regretting his last statement. "I'm sorry, Your Honor. That is true and I did not mean to imply otherwise."

"Thank you, Counsel. Does the counsel for the defense intend offering proof of bias, proof that some evidence introduced is in fact inadmissible?"

Paul watched the argument with a icy feeling in his gut. They're arguing about me. Am I going to get ripped apart on that witness stand, my motivations and own professionalism subjected to trick questions and negative interpretations? I knew I ran a risk of this. I can handle it if it comes to that. But I really hope Carr wins this argument.

Jones nodded with every appearance of confidence. "Yes, Your Honor."

Commander Carr let skepticism show. "Your Honor, if counsel for the defense had such proof, why did he wait until now to introduce this line of argument? After trial counsel has entered so much evidence into the trial?"

"Good question, Counsel. Commander Jones?"

Jones looked back at Halstead confidently. "Your Honor, defense actions evolve as the trial proceeds. Surely trial counsel will not dispute that, or the right of the defense to introduce new issues in the course of defending the accused."

"Your Honor, a fishing expedition is not introducing new issues. It is a distraction from the business of the court-martial."

"Your Honor, if trial counsel is so certain of the tactics and questions to be pursued by the defense, I would respectfully have to inquire as to the source of her information."

Paul tried not to openly wince. That's a real good point. Jones is better than I gave him credit for. But Carr's supposed to know him! Keep me off that witness stand, Commander.

Judge Halstead raised the fingers on one hand to halt the argument among the counsels. "You've both brought up legitimate arguments. I will allow defense counsel to pursue his line of questioning, but if defense counsel attempts to divert this court-martial from its course or engage in a prolonged fishing expedition, I will bring it to a halt. Is that clear, counsel?"

Jones nodded. "Yes, Your Honor."

"Objection overruled. Proceed, counsel."

Commander Carr returned to her seat, tight-lipped, and gave Paul a passing glance, her eyes conveying regret for a moment.

Commander Jones went back to the witness stand, where Captain Hayes had sat watching the by-play impatiently. "Captain, I repeat, who brought this information to your attention?"

"My collateral duty ship's legal officer."

"And who is that, Captain?"

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Sinclair."

"Thank you, Captain. No further questions."

Paul stared at Jones, then back at Commander Carr, who gave Jones' back a hard, questioning look. Jones went to all that trouble just to ask my name? There's got to be more to this. I wonder what?

Captain Mashiko nodded in greeting to Captain Hayes. "Captain, Lieutenant Silver has earned promotions to his current grade, indicating good performance evaluations. How do you reconcile that with your current opinion of Lieutenant Silver's performance?"

Captain Hayes shook his head. "Captain, I don't know what Lieutenant Silver did in his earlier assignments. All I know is what he did on my ship. I regard that as more than sufficient grounds for reaching my conclusions."

"I'm assuming you thought long and hard before reaching these conclusions?"

"Yes, of course I did."

Commander Herdez spoke next. "Captain Hayes, as commanding officer, have you toured every compartment on the USS Michaelson since coming aboard?"

"Yes, Commander, I have."

"How many times have you visited Forward Engineering?"

Hayes frowned in thought. "I'd say two or three times, at least."

"Then you have visited that compartment at least as many times as Lieutenant Silver, the officer who holds primary responsibility for it?"

"That seems to be right, Commander."

"Captain Hayes, have you observed Lieutenant Silver performing other professional duties on your ship?"

"Yes, I have."

"Which duties, sir?"

"Officer of the deck underway, command duty officer in-port."

"What are your opinions of Lieutenant Silver's performance in those duties?"

Captain Hayes frowned again. "As officer of the deck underway, Lieutenant Silver displayed passivity."

"Can you explain that, sir?"

"Sure. Whenever we had a special evolution, Lieutenant Silver would delegate it to his junior officer of the deck. Whenever he needed detailed information, he'd have to get that information from his junior officer of the deck or another watch stander. And he was habitually late in assuming the watch."

Paul fought down another grin. I'll be damned. Hayes noticed how Silver was doing his job on the bridge. Just like Carl Meadows said. You don't think he's watching, but he is.

"And as command duty officer in-port, sir?"

Hayes shrugged. "Prior to 19 September, on those few days in which Lieutenant Silver stood CDO, I was unaware of any problems. As I already noted, on 19 September he didn't have a handle on the situation."

Lieutenant Commander Bryko licked his lips before speaking. "Captain Hayes, Lieutenant Silver received a Navy Commendation Medal for his handling of the events of 19 September. Why did he get recommended for that medal if you had such a negative opinion of his performance?"

Hayes' face reddened slightly and his voice tightened. "I don't know."

"You didn't recommend or approve the award?"

"The recommendation for that award did not originate on my ship."

Bryko looked surprised. "Did you even know Lieutenant Silver had been recommended for that medal, sir?"

"No, I did not. If I had been aware, I would've done all I could to block it."

"Can I ask exactly why, sir?"

"Given what I knew then, I didn't feel Lieutenant Silver's performance rated an award."

"Thank you, Captain."

Judge Halstead checked his watch after Captain Hayes had been dismissed. "Does trial counsel have further witnesses?"

Commander Carr stood. "No, your honor. The prosecution rests."

"Then this court-martial is closed. It will reconvene at 1000 tomorrow morning in this same court room for the presentation of evidence by the defense."

Paul stood with the others, stretching muscles he hadn't realized were tense. Commander Carr stood at the trial counsel's table for a moment, both hands resting on the desk top as if she needed the support, then turned to face Paul and smiled. Paul smiled back. "That seemed to go real well."

"It went okay. Not perfect, but you work with what you've got." Commander Carr stretched as well.

Paul, sensitized to Carr's appearance by Jen's teasing, tried not to notice the way her body moved. As if I need that distraction on top of everything else. And with a superior officer no less. "Do you think they'll put Silver on the stand tomorrow?"

Carr finished flexing her back muscles and relaxed. "Ah, now that's a good question. On the one hand, anything Silver says could look bad, like he's making excuses for being such a screw-up at his job. On the other hand, good ol' Scott Silver is a consummate actor and may try to charm the members of the court into submission."

"You don't think he'll make a sworn statement, do you?"

Carr snorted. "No chance in hell. The little bastard's guilty, and they know if I get to cross-examine him I'll tear his entrails out and let the members read the proof of his guilt in them."

"He'd probably take the Fifth — "

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Carr paused. "Wasn't there a song like that a long time ago? Anyway, you and I know that taking the Fifth Amendment as grounds for refusal to self-incriminate is not ever, no way, supposed to be used as a presumption of guilt. You and I also know that just about everybody thinks anyone taking the Fifth is guilty, no matter what instructions they get from the judge. Otherwise, why do they refuse to talk? Unfair or not, that's the way it is. As defense counsel, I'd know that minefield was waiting for me and there's no way to sweep it, though if you're really good and really lucky you can navigate through it without getting your butt blown off. As trial counsel, I think that universally-assumed presumption of guilt is great."

"Why do you think Commander Jones went to all that trouble to get my name introduced into evidence, but then didn't do anything with it?"

"Obviously, he's planning to do something with it."

Paul felt the ice in his guts again. "Will I get called as a witness?"

"No." Alex Carr shook her head for emphasis. "If Lieutenant Commander Jones had any intention of doing that, he'd have moved to have you excluded from the courtroom. No, I think he'll try to attack you indirectly. Undermine our evidence by raising questions about how it was obtained, about whether someone else could've been motivated to set up Silver. He doesn't have to convince the members you actually did the dirty deeds. All Commander Jones has to do is create sufficient doubt in the members' minds that Silver did it."

"Oh." Paul exhaled heavily. "I hope he doesn't manage that."

"It's my job to make sure he doesn't, and I'm going to bend every effort to ensure Lieutenant Scott Silver's head is mounted on my trophy wall in the very near future."

Paul started to laugh at the image, then sobered. "You really do believe he's guilty?"

"That's also my job, Paul. You can be as ambivalent as you want to be, now. The outcome's in the hands of the judge, the members, Commander Jones and me."

Paul nodded. Starting a court-martial's a fire-and-forget weapon. Without any recall capability. Set it on the target, watch it go, and hope like hell the target deserves to get hit. What was that saying? "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war." You don't control them once you've set them loose. You just get to watch them do their work. "I'm not ambivalent about his guilt, either, ma'am. I just wish it hadn't come to this."

"If it all-too-often didn't come to this, I'd be out of a job. Unfortunately, I have the best job security in the world."

Captain Hayes was waiting for Paul outside the courtroom. Paul felt another knot form in his gut, wondering how long he'd kept his captain waiting, but Hayes just indicated Paul should walk with him as they returned to the Michaelson. "How'd it go in there today? What can you tell me now?"

"Sir, there's not a lot I can tell you now. Not if you're also a witness."

"Okay. I understand that. Damned nuisance, but it's worth it to make sure Silver gets his."

Paul launched into a general recital of the day's events, speaking carefully to ensure he didn't veer into specifics. When he reached Commander Destin's appearance as a witness, Paul felt an even greater reluctance to talk. How am I supposed to critically report on the performance of an officer senior to me? You don't do that. At least, you're not supposed to do that.

Hayes gave him another look. "That's all you can tell me about Commander Destin's testimony? You pretty much just said she showed up."

Paul felt sweat starting under his uniform. "Sir, I'd be commenting on the behavior of a senior to another senior."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Hayes looked forward for a moment, then nodded. "Fair enough. Any idea what the defense is up to?"

"Commander Carr thinks they'll try to discredit the evidence."

"That doesn't take a lawyer to figure out."

"No, sir."

"Any idea why that guy made me name you?"

"Not for sure, sir."

"Keep your guard up."

The Michaelson 's quarterdeck loomed ahead. Captain Hayes boarded the ship, returning the officer of the deck's salute as the petty officer of the watch struck the ship's bell four times in two pairs of bongs then announced over the all-hands circuit, "USS Michaelson, arriving."

Paul followed Hayes across the brow, saluting the officer of the deck. Ensign Gabriel returned the salute, along with a questioning look. "Can you talk about it?"

"Yes and no."

"Man, if you keep hanging out with lawyers we'll never get a straight answer out of you."

Paul grinned. "Ouch. That hurt."

"Don't tell Lieutenant Shen about it, then. I hear she's fiercely protective."

The joking statement aroused mixed emotions in Paul. On the one hand, I like knowing Jen'll defend me. But on the other, I can fight my own battles. "Hey, I can be pretty fierce, too."

Gabriel unsuccessfully tried to smother a laugh. "Paul, I like working with you. I'm sure I'd like working for you. But not because you're fierce."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Paul waved farewell and headed for his stateroom. First I need to check what came in that I have to deal with, then I'll call Chief Imari for a rundown on how things are going on the ship. He turned a corner, squeezing around two sailors working on a piece of equipment that had been helpfully installed in an almost inaccessible spot, and found himself facing Commander Garcia at the other end of the passageway.

Commander Garcia's expression couldn't be made out for certain, but he hooked some fingers toward Paul in a "come here" gesture. Oh, great. Now what? Chief Imari didn't give me a heads-up on any problems. "Yes, sir?"

Garcia gave Paul one his usual demanding looks. "You just get back?"

"Yes, sir."

"How's it going over there, Sinclair?"

"You mean in the court, sir?"

"Yeah, I mean in the court. Does it look like he'll get convicted?"

Paul tried to think through his reply. Does Garcia like Silver? I don't remember Garcia ever talking about him. What answer does Garcia want? I can't even guess, and in any case what else can I tell him but the truth as I see it? "I'm not sure, sir. The members of the court are hard to read. They've asked some questions that imply they're not happy with what they're hearing about Lieutenant Silver, but I can't tell if they're unhappy enough to vote for conviction on any of the charges."

"What about Commander Herdez?"

"She looks like she always did, sir. Not missing a thing and keeping her thoughts to herself. I wouldn't want her judging me if I was Lieutenant Silver, though."

"Neither would I. That prosecutor. How's she doing?"

"She's very good, sir."

"Good." Garcia seemed to be trying to decide whether or not to say more. "Sinclair, I'm not happy you get involved in distractions like this. You're supposed to be working for me. But if Silver did even half of what he's charged with, then I'm damned glad he's off this ship. And I want him to pay for what he did to that chief. You and that prosecutor better make damned sure Silver doesn't come back. You understand?"

"We're doing our best, sir."

"That better be good enough." Garcia turned to go, then looked back for a moment. "Thanks, Sinclair."

"Yes, sir." Paul, his mouth hanging open, watched Garcia walk away. The words "thanks, Sinclair" were the closest Garcia had ever come to praising Paul's work.

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.