"That's okay, Jen."
"No, it's not. You're upset, aren't you?"
"Yeah. You might say that."
"You should've slugged him."
"Jen, that really would've been a bad idea."
"I know that! Promise me something, Paul."
"What?"
"Whatever happens with this, we will not let it define our relationship."
"Your dad hates my guts and thinks I'm a lousy officer."
"What does your dad think of me?"
"He's never met you!" Paul mustered a small smile. "Though he's heard a lot of good things about you."
"You're lying to your father?"
"No! Be serious, Jen. In any case it wouldn't matter what my dad thinks…" Paul grinned. "Point noted."
"Good. Let's go get some dinner."
"Okay. You deserve a homecoming celebration better than what you've had so far. But tell me about that stuff you mentioned to your father. Emergency repairs? Sucking vacuum?"
"Oh, that." Jen gave Paul an arch look. "It's kind of like firefighting. It comes with the job sometimes. So when's the court-martial? Will you be there?"
"It starts next week. And, yeah, I'll be there. Captain Hayes wants me in the court room as an observer."
Jen laughed. "Garcia's still your department head, isn't he? I bet he's really happy about that."
Paul grinned. "Oh, yeah. It's not as if Chief Imari can't handle everything for a few days, and it's not as if I won't be coming back to the ship after court proceedings are over each day. But I'm the blankety-blank Combat Information Center Officer! Not a blankety-blank JAG! It's not my fault I got assigned ship's legal officer duties. Hey, that reminds me, guess who one of the members of the court is?"
She shrugged. "I can't imagine."
"Herdez."
"Herdez? Good God. I was thinking of trying to drop by the courtroom, but now…"
"Jen, she liked you."
"She ran me ragged! Don't say it. I know I once told you that was Herdez's way of rewarding people. Give them more to do! But she didn't do it to me as a reward."
"Then why did she?"
"Damned if I know. Here you are, going back to a court-martial, and Herdez will be there. Old home week. Speaking of home, did you get a room for us, yet?"
"Well, sure."
She glanced around to see if they were being watched, snuggled close for a moment, and grinned at him. "Dinner can wait. Let's you and me go celebrate my homecoming right now."
Paul smiled back and nodded. "Sounds good to me." No wonder they compare the ocean to women. Moods change in a heartbeat, and all you can do is try to keep up. Not that I'm complaining. It was the next day before Paul realized Jen had avoided telling him anything about the hazardous emergency repairs she'd overseen on the Maury.
The courtroom in which Lieutenant Scott Silver would face a general court martial wasn't the same as that in which Captain Wakeman, former commanding officer of the Michaelson, had once also faced a trial. Other than that, though, to Paul it appeared identical to the other courtroom. The judge's bench, set higher than the other seats and tables in the room, rested in the front. A table had been set up on one side of the room, facing the area in front of the judge's bench and draped with a navy blue tablecloth. It had five chairs, one for each member of the court. Two doors in the back of the court room were for the judge and the members respectively to use. Facing the judge's bench and to either side were the tables for the defense and the trial counsel. After a gap of a couple of meters, rows of chairs for spectators were lined up, with a clear path down the middle for those entering the court through the front door.
Paul hesitated in the entry, memories of Wakeman's court-martial filling his mind.
"Looking for a seat?" someone asked behind him.
Paul simultaneously slid to one side and spun around to offer apologies to whoever had been held up by his blocking the door. One certainty in the life of a lieutenant junior grade, though less so than for an ensign, was that just about anybody in authority you encountered would outrank you. "My apologies, ma'am."
Commander Carr smiled impishly. "Nervous? Don't be. This is my show. I'm glad your captain agreed to let you be here as an observer. Do me a favor and sit right behind my table. I may have some questions for you as the court-martial progresses."
"Yes, ma'am."
"If any of the testimony makes you think of something you think I should know, tell me at the first opportunity."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Now relax."
"Yes, ma'am."
Alex Carr grinned again and walked up the aisle and over to the trial counsel table. Paul followed, taking a seat where she'd instructed. Lieutenant Commander Jones came in, placing some items on the defense table, then crossing to talk briefly with Commander Carr. He gave Paul a dispassionate glance as he turned to leave the room again.
An enlisted legal assistant bustled around, making sure the member's table and the judge's bench had cold water, data pads for note taking, and were otherwise arranged just right. Spectators began arriving, scattering themselves around the available chairs. Paul glanced around a few times, trying to discern whether the spectators were there to support Silver or in hope of a conviction, but nothing in anyone's bearing gave their desires away. The one thing I do know is that Vice Admiral Silver won't be making an appearance. That'd be such an obviously prejudicial move, something that would surely influence the members of the court, that he couldn't do it without causing a mistrial. It must be hard, or humbling, for a vice admiral to realize he can't even watch his son's court-martial.
Lieutenant Commander Jones reentered, this time with Lieutenant Silver. Scott Silver walked without the jauntiness Paul had grown accustomed to seeing on the Michaelson, but he still had a hint of smile. He'd better drop that real fast. A face like that'll make the members vote him guilty the minute they see him.
The court bailiff came in, taking position in the front of the court and holding up one hand for attention. "I will announce 'all rise' when the military judge enters, and everyone is to rise. The military judge will instruct everyone to be seated. The judge will direct me to summon the members of the court, at which point everyone should rise again. The military judge will inform you when to be seated after that. Are there any questions?" After waiting a moment, the bailiff went to one of the back doors, opened it a bit and spoke to someone inside before returning to the area near the judge's bench. "All rise."
Paul came to attention automatically, only his eyes moving as Captain David "Hang 'em" Halstead entered. Halstead paused to examine the court room, then walked to the judge's bench and took his seat. "This Article 39 (A) session is called to order. You may be seated."
One thing about a military court, Paul reflected, is that when someone ordered you to stand or sit, everybody did it quickly.
Commander Carr stood, her back erect, somehow looking taller than her height should have permitted, and addressed Judge Halstead. "The court-martial is convened by general court-martial convening order 0320, Commander, United States Space Forces, copies of which have been furnished to the military judge, counsel, and the accused. The charges have been properly referred to the court-martial for trial and were served on the accused on 12 October 2100. The accused and the following persons detailed to the court-martial are present: Captain Mashiko, Commander Juarez, Commander Herdez, Lieutenant Commander Bryko, Lieutenant Commander Goldberg, Commander Carr, Lieutenant Commander Jones."
"Very well. Bailiff, the members of the court-martial may enter."
After passing on the message to those behind the other back door to the room, the bailiff called out, "All rise."
With Captain Mashiko in the lead, the five officers entered. Captain Mashiko took the center of the five seats at the members' table, with the other officers taking seats to either side in decreasing order of seniority. As Commander Herdez took her seat, her eyes swept the court, lingering for just a moment on Paul. A fractional nod acknowledged Paul's presence, then Herdez's attention turned fully toward the judge.