A moment of silence answered him. "Damn, sir."
"She was arrested, but the brig won't tell me anything."
"I'll get you something, sir. Give me a few minutes."
Paul waited impatiently for more than a few minutes, feeling a wild urge to charge off and do something but fighting it down. Sharpe finally called back. "Yes, sir. She's in the brig. Pre-trial confinement."
"Pre-trial? They're going to keep her there?"
"That's the judge's orders, sir. Confinement until trial."
"I swear I'm going to find out who did this and-"
"Sir, with all due respect, don't let your temper run away with this. It won't help, and it will hurt."
"I'll go-"
"The only visitor Ms. Shen is authorized right now is her lawyer."
Her lawyer. "Who is that?"
"My contact at the brig didn't know. The lawyer may not've been appointed, yet."
"So she just sits there? Alone?"
"Sir, I… yes, sir."
Paul stared at nothing for a long while, then remembered something and made another call. "Commander Hughes. I hope you can do something."
Two hours later Paul was sitting on one side of a video screen set to look like a window. On the "other side" sat Jen, still in uniform but with all her insignia and ribbons removed. She stared back at him with an uncomprehending expression. "Paul, what's happening?"
"They didn't tell you?"
"They told me. Charges. About the Maury. God. It's a nightmare. Wake me up, Paul. Please."
"I can't."
"I'm in a cell. Like I'm some kind of threat."
"I'm trying to get you out, but they haven't appointed a lawyer to represent you, yet."
"They said I can't see anybody. How'd you manage this?"
"Commander Hughes. She's giving you counseling, remember?"
"I-"
"She's your doctor, Jen. They have to let you see your doctor."
The message got through. Jen nodded rapidly. "When?"
"She's going through search procedures right now. She'll see you in person in a few minutes."
"Okay." Jen swallowed and sat straighter. "It's ridiculous. They'll see that and I'll be out of here."
"Yes." A red light blinked in one corner of Paul's "window." "I've got the thirty-second warning before they cut this off. Should I send your father a message?" Not that he'd necessarily get it for a long time with the Mahan out on patrol.
"No! We'll fix this and then tell him."
The blinking light sped up, indicating only seconds remained. "I love you. I'm with you."
"Tha-"
The screen blanked. Paul stood up and left the small visiting room. Outside the door, a master-at-arms stood at parade rest awaiting him. Paul looked at the sailor. Every other time I've seen a master-at-arms I've thought of them as being on my side. One of the good guys. And now they're holding Jen in the brig. Like Commander Carr, they're just doing their jobs. "Do you know Petty Officer Sharpe?"
The master-at-arms nodded. "Ivan Sharpe? Yes, sir."
"He works for me."
"Yes, sir. That doesn't matter, sir."
Paul met the master-at-arms's eyes. "Professional courtesy. He believes she's innocent."
"Yes, sir." Totally noncommittal.
Frustrated and angry, Paul realized he'd been off the Michaelson for hours. He headed back for the ship, wondering what to do. Talk to Sharpe. Find out if Jen's got a lawyer assigned yet. Why did Alex Carr have to be assigned to prosecute her?
Approaching the Michaelson 's quarterdeck, Paul rapidly saluted the national ensign aft, then Ensign Gabriel, the officer of the deck. "Request permission to come aboard." Gabriel watched after him, startled by his abruptness. Paul turned right off of the quarterdeck and ran straight into Commander Garcia, who glowered at him. "Where the hell have you been all afternoon, Sinclair?"
"Sir, I…" Paul told him.
Garcia's eyes narrowed, then he nodded. "You've got the rest of the day off. Put in for as much leave as you need." He turned away, then looked back with a glare. "Make sure Chief Imari knows everything she needs to know while you're wrapped up in this."
Stunned, Paul watched him go through a hatch and disappear. "Thank you, sir." Life and death. Garcia's a pain the butt for lesser issues, but when it comes down to life and death he can be a decent human being.
There was a message waiting for him in his stateroom. Paul didn't recognize the number and hurriedly dialed it, thinking it might be from Jen's newly appointed lawyer.
But when the screen cleared he immediately recognized the woman who answered, as well as the man who joined her. "Paul! Surprise!"
"Mom? Dad?" Paul couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Yes. We got a contract job up here on Franklin and thought we'd surprise you."
"That's, that's great."
"I know you're probably not ready for us and you probably have a lot of work every day, but we should have some opportunities to get together. You father and I really want to tour your ship and see how it compares to the old relics we used to sail around in up here."
"Sure."
"And we're both really looking forward to finally meeting this girl of yours we've heard so much and so little about."
"Uh…" Gee, Mom and Dad, my girlfriend's in pretrial confinement in the brig, awaiting court-martial on charges of killing over sixty of her fellow crewmembers and sabotaging her ship.
I know you want to see the woman I haven't yet told you I want to marry, but the brig probably won't allow all of us to visit her.
I think I can safely wonder how things could possibly get any worse today.
Chapter Eight
Lieutenant Ahmed Bashir, United States Navy, Judge Advocate General's Corps, was a few years older than Paul, but looked far too young to be Jen's lawyer in Paul's eyes. He wanted somebody who looked like he or she had argued and won cases in every court and venue. But the best lawyer he knew had been assigned not to defend Jen, but to prosecute her. He could only hope Bashir could go toe-to-toe with Alex Carr and not get steamrollered. "When can you get Jen out of the brig?"
Bashir sighed. "I doubt I'll be able to do it all."
"Why not? Do they think she's going to run away on a space station?"
"It's not about that. It's about the safety of the station."
"What?"
"Look." Bashir leaned back and spread his hands helplessly. "This is how the government's looking at it. Lieutenant Shen is charged with sabotaging the equipment on the Maury, causing it to blow up and kill scores of sailors. If she's free on Franklin, she could presumably do the same thing here."
"That's so completely ridiculous."
"Maybe. But the government's convinced the military magistrate, so Lieutenant Shen is in the brig and in the brig she will almost certainly remain."
Paul slumped back. Great. This guy isn't even going to fight for her. "Have you even talked to her yet?"
Bashir picked up on Paul's tone of voice and attitude, leaning forward and pointing both fore-fingers at him. "Yes. I have. And I'm going to do everything I morally and legally can to get her acquitted of these charges. Clear?"
"Clear. What can I do?"
The Navy lawyer relaxed again, shaking his head. "I don't like this. I don't mind telling you. Secret Article 32 Investigation. Secret findings. Secret hearings. I've demanded to see all the evidence they've compiled to justify those charges against Ms. Shen, but as far as I know right now it's all circumstantial."
"Won't that help us?" When we tried Silver on circumstantial evidence, they didn't want to convict him of some charges because of the uncertainty of his guilt.
"It should, but…" Bashir rubbed his face. "You try someone for one murder on circumstantial evidence, and everybody gives them the benefit of the doubt. Try them for six murders on circumstantial evidence and they assume they're guilty. Why? Because they've been charged with something extra bad."