Carney frowned slightly despite Bashir's careful tone and phrasing.
Judge McMasters thought a moment longer, then shook his head. "No, I believe the argument presented by the captain is a sound one. These are two sides of the same coin. Objection overruled."
Bashir sat again. Paul couldn't read his disappointment from his expression, but he knew it had to be there. Not only did he get overruled, but the senior officer among the members stuck his nose in and got it a bit bent out of joint. Great.
"Thank you, your honor. Rear Admiral Hidalgo, should I repeat the question?"
"Uh, no. You asked if it would need someone who wouldn't be watched or have what they did checked, right? Well, of course. They'd have to do a lot of stuff they weren't supposed to do and not get caught."
"Thank you, Admiral." Commander Carr turned to face the defense table. "You've already testified that you met all of the engineering officers on the USS Maury prior to her last underway period. That included Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen?"
"Of course."
"What is your professional assessment of her as an engineer?" Bashir began to rise. "Based upon what you know," Carr added. Bashir frowned and sat down again.
This time, Hidalgo avoided looking toward Jen. "She seemed very capable."
"Did you, personally, see any reason to question her expertise as an engineering officer?"
"No."
"Would you say it was fair to describe Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen as being exceptionally competent and capable?"
"Objection." Lieutenant Bashir's word held more force this time. "Trial Counsel is putting words in the witness' mouth, and asking him to make an in-depth evaluation of an officer he met only briefly."
"Sustained." McMasters pointed his gavel at Commander Carr. "Let the witness answer questions in his own words."
"Yes, Your Honor. Thank you, Rear Admiral Hidalgo. I have no further questions at this time."
Lieutenant Bashir, still standing from his last objection, walked up to the witness. "Rear Admiral Hidalgo, hadn't the USS Maury recently had extensive changes made to her engineering system? Changes which rendered her engineering system unique?"
Hidalgo frowned. "Well… unique…"
"The Ship's Efficiency Engineering Regulator System. SEERS for short. It's brand new."
"That's true."
"How much experience do you have with SEERS-equipped engineering systems?"
"None! You said yourself, it's brand new. No one has experience with such systems in an operational environment."
Lieutenant Bashir frowned as if puzzled. "But, then, how you can be so certain of what that system would do under any and all circumstances? Isn't your expertise and experience with different engineering systems, sir?"
Hidalgo flushed slightly. "It's still basically the same. More so. SEERS was designed to reinforce and consolidate all those safety features. Everything I had to say about safety in an engineering system goes double for a ship with SEERS!"
Bashir paused. Even Paul could see he'd been thrown off by the force of Hidalgo's reply, but Bashir recovered quickly. "Admiral, you're a very experienced officer, but upon what experience do you base that assessment of ships equipped with SEERS?"
"On… on… tests prior to its acceptance into the fleet. We don't just plop equipment onto ships, Lieutenant. SEERS was extensively tested. That's part of the design and acquisition process. Test it over and over again. Make sure it does what its supposed to do and passes every test."
"But not in an 'operational environment.' Is that right, Admiral?"
"Well, yes. The Maury was the first ship with SEERS. That was the operational integration phase. But I've seen the background material on the system, Lieutenant! SEERS was certified to be ready for employment on warships. That may make it a bit unique but it doesn't make it one tiny bit less safe. Quite the contrary. There are people responsible for reviewing these things, for making sure something is ready for the fleet. They said SEERS was ready."
"Your honor." Commander Carr had stood and was gesturing toward Lieutenant Bashir. "Counsel for the defense is apparently attempting to argue that the SEERS on the USS Maury somehow represented an unknown modification to safety measures on the Maury 's engineering systems. But the defense has introduced no evidence to substantiate that line of questioning. Trial counsel objects to any attempt by the defense to make unsubstantiated claims regarding the safety or reliability of equipment which has been certified as ready for employment on ships of the U.S. Navy."
Judge McMasters nodded. "An excellent point, Commander. Lieutenant Bashir, if you want to pursue this line of questioning, you need to provide something to indicate it's anything other than pure speculation on your part. Are you prepared to do so?"
"Your honor, since the case against Lieutenant Shen rests on speculative modifications-"
"No, defense counsel. Do you have information substantiating your argument that SEERS could've altered the safety status of the Maury 's engineering systems?"
Lieutenant Bashir shook his head, his expression again grim. "No, your honor."
"Do you intend to call any expert witnesses to claim SEERS adversely affected the safety of the Maury 's engineering systems, or to otherwise counter Rear Admiral Hidalgo's statements?"
"No, your honor. Not at this time."
"Objection sustained."
Bashir consulted his data pad. "Rear Admiral Hidalgo, you testified previously that when you visited the USS Maury two days prior to her getting underway she had nothing wrong with her engineering system."
Hidalgo, who'd listened to Carr's objection and the judge's dressing down of Bashir with a smile, smiled again. "That's right."
"But the Maury had numerous casualty reports on file regarding her engineering systems. Fleet staff was an addee on those casualty reports."
Hidalgo's smile vanished. "Well, yes, routine CASREPs."
"Routine?"
"The usual stuff. Nothing ever works one hundred percent right one hundred percent of the time."
"But you testified there were 'no problems.' Your exact words, sir."
Hidalgo flushed again, deeper this time. "No significant problems."
"Fleet reporting requirements state that only significant problems with systems are to be reported via CASREP. Isn't that right, sir?"
A long pause, then Hidalgo nodded. "That's what the instruction says."
"Then the Maury 's engineering system wasn't in perfect shape when she got underway."
"No. Of course not. No engineering system is ever in perfect shape. But-"
"Thank you, sir. When you met with the chief engineer of the USS Maury, did he indicate in any way to you that he lacked confidence in Lieutenant Shen?"
"Objection. Hearsay."
"Your Honor, I am asking Admiral Hidalgo what the Maury 's chief engineer said to him."
A nod from the judge. "Objection overruled. You know what constitutes hearsay, Trial Counsel."
Bashir directed his attention back to Hidalgo. "Sir?"
"What was the question?"
"Did the chief engineer of the USS Maury communicate to you, in any way, any kind of misgivings regarding Lieutenant Shen?"
Admiral Hidalgo finally looked at Jen again. "No. He did not."
"Thank you, sir. No further questions."
Commander Carr came forward once again. "If it please the court, I'd like to redirect. Rear Admiral Hidalgo, did any of these casualty reports just referenced regarding the engineering systems on the Maury generate safety concerns?"
"No! I was going to tell the lieutenant that!"
"Then the fact that the Maury 's engineering systems weren't in perfect condition didn't mean they were unsafe."
"Of course not. That ship never would've left the dock if she were unsafe."
"Then would you say those casualty reports have no bearing on the issues we've discussed?"