"Sir, I heard enough to be sure of that."
"Could they have just been generally discussing the controller?"
"Sir, they were talking about the controller going bad."
"Are you certain the discussion wasn't theoretical? That Lieutenant Silver might have been asking his Chief about that piece of equipment and trying to learn about it?"
Petty Officer Kulwari looked taken aback. "Sir, that part was going bad."
"But are you absolutely certain Chief Asher was telling Lieutenant Silver that? Can you swear the discussion was about what was wrong, or about what might go wrong?"
"Um, well, sir, I thought — "
"I'm not asking for your interpretation, Petty Officer Kulwari. I want to know what you heard. Are you certain?"
"Well, sir…"
"Isn't it possible that Chief Asher never told Lieutenant Silver what was actually wrong with that power transfer junction?"
"Sir, that may be possible, but — "
"Thank you, Petty Officer Kulwari. Now, as to Lieutenant Silver's presence in Forward Engineering. That's a pretty big compartment, isn't it?"
"For a ship, yes, sir."
"It contains a lot of equipment, too. Is there any point within that compartment from which you can see everyone who's in there?"
Petty Officer Kulwari twisted her face as she thought. "I don't think so, sir."
"So someone could be in that compartment and you wouldn't know it."
"Uh, yes, sir."
"At any point, did Chief Asher tell you he had orders to replace that controller single-handedly?"
"No, sir, but — "
"This meeting the day after the accident. Can you tell us exactly what it was Lieutenant Silver said to you?"
"Exactly, sir? No, sir."
"Lieutenant Silver expressed concern for Chief Asher's family?"
"Yes, sir, he did."
"Do you find anything inappropriate about that?"
"Uh, no, sir."
"At that meeting, did Lieutenant Silver tell the personnel in your division to lie to the investigators? Did he order anyone to hold back information from the investigators?"
"Not like that, no, sir."
"Not like what, Petty Officer Kulwari? Did or did not Lieutenant Silver order the enlisted personnel in his division to lie to the investigators?"
Kulwari looked around desperately. "N-no, sir. He didn't order us to do that."
"No further questions."
Judge Halstead watched Commander Jones walk back to the defense table, then looked toward Commander Carr. "Does trial counsel wish to redirect?"
"Yes, Your Honor." Commander Carr stood before Petty Officer Kulwari again, smiling once more. "You had something to add when you answered the question about whether or not Chief Asher could have failed to inform Lieutenant Silver about the true state of the controller. Would you care to say that now?"
"Yes, ma'am." Kulwari glanced defiantly toward Commander Jones. "I've no doubt Chief Asher told him it was really broken. Why else would the lieutenant have said he was working on it?"
"That's a good question, Petty Officer Kulwari. Now, I understand Forward Engineering is a big compartment with a lot of equipment. But if someone were walking through that compartment, would you miss seeing them?"
"If they were moving around? No, ma'am. I couldn't miss them."
"In your last conversation with Chief Asher, on Friday afternoon, you said he indicated the spare part hadn't been located?"
"Yes, ma'am. That's why he told us to knock off work."
"Would Chief Asher have told you to knock off work and go on liberty if he either had the spare or expected to see it soon?"
"No, ma'am, no way."
"So obviously he couldn't have received orders to install a spare he didn't have at that time, correct?"
"Uh, that's right, ma'am. If he'd had it, he would've held us until we got it switched out."
"Petty Officer Kulwari, how long have you been in the Navy?"
"About ten years, ma'am."
"Then you have a lot of experience listening to officers, don't you?"
"Oh, yes, ma'am." A brief chuckle ran around the court room until it was silenced by a hard look from Judge Halstead.
"How many times do officers say 'I order you' to do a task?"
"Not very often, ma'am. Usually, they just say to do it, and you know it's an order."
"Based upon your experience, did you interpret what Lieutenant Silver told his division the day after the accident as an instruction?"
"I… Yes, ma'am. I guess I did. It sure felt like it."
"No further questions."
Halstead nodded. "How about you, Commander Jones?"
"No further questions."
"Captain Mashiko, do you or any of the other members have any questions for the witness?"
Mashiko looked at his fellow officers before replying. "Petty Officer Kulwari, you said you didn't see Lieutenant Silver very often in Forward Engineering. During the month he served as main propulsion assistant, how many times do you recall seeing him there?"
Kulwari paused, her face reflecting concentration. "Just a couple of times, sir."
"A couple? One? Two?"
"Two or three, sir. Three maximum for sure."
"What about Lieutenant Silver's predecessor in the job?"
"Lieutenant Kilgary, sir? She was down there just about every day when she was main propulsion assistant."
Commander Herdez spoke next. "Petty Officer Kulwari, how often did you speak with Lieutenant Silver?"
"Me, ma'am? Uh, a couple times, I guess."
"A couple of times. About what? Did he ask about your equipment?"
"No, ma'am. Lieutenant Silver just sorta said 'hi, howya doing,' and then moved on."
"He never asked you any questions about your job or the equipment in Forward Engineering?"
"No, ma'am. I'd've remembered that, ma'am."
"Thank you, Petty Officer Kulwari. I have no more questions."
Lieutenant Commander Bryko held up some fingers for attention. "Petty Officer Kulwari, you say the division personnel knew the power transfer junction was broken, and that you needed that part to be working for the ship to get underway on Monday. Did you voluntarily stay aboard the ship over the weekend to ensure that task was done?"
"Sir, it wouldn't have mattered if I did. I'm not checked out on that gear. There's about a half-dozen people in the division qualified to do that. Of them, only Chief Asher had duty on Saturday."
"Did any of them speak to you about volunteering?"
"We talked a bit about it, sir."
"But none of you did?"
"No, sir."
"Why not?"
Petty Officer Kulwari shook her head, looking down again. "I wish some of them had, sir, but everybody's attitude was sorta 'the lieutenant don't care, so why should we?'"
"Why did you conclude the lieutenant didn't care?"
"We knew there wasn't any spare on board, and the equipment hadn't been casualty reported even though it'd been going bad for a while, and the lieutenant hadn't been down to Forward Engineering that afternoon to talk to anybody about it. I guess that's why."
Captain Mashiko looked at his fellow members one more time. "There are no further questions from the members."
Judge Halstead nodded. "Very well. Petty Officer Kulwari, 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."
"Yes, sir. No, sir. Uh, I'll do what you said, sir." Petty Officer Kulwari stood up with a stiffness which betrayed the tense way she'd been sitting and left the court with relief clearly visible on her face.
Commander Destin, the Michaelson 's chief engineer, was called as the next witness. After swearing her in, Commander Carr indicated the defense table. "Commander, were you ever informed by Lieutenant Silver that the controller on the power junction transfer in Forward Engineering was failing and in need of replacement?"