Paul braced himself against one side of the compartment where Captain's Mast would be held. As the collateral duty legal officer, he was required to be present for every Captain's Mast. Floating next to him was Senior Chief Kowalski, the senior enlisted crewmember. Standing at the hatch was Master-at-Arms Sharpe. 'Attention on deck!' Sharpe called out.
Captain Hayes pulled himself into the compartment, nodded to Paul and the Senior Chief, then took up position near a podium fastened to the deck. He pulled out his data pad, placed it on the podium, called up the first case record, then gestured to Sharpe. 'Let's go. First case.'
Sharpe leaned out into the passageway. 'Seaman Fastow. Front and center.'
Fastow entered, her eyes darting about nervously. Sharpe pointed her to a position directly in front of the captain. Behind her came Chief Imari, who also nodded to Paul.
Hayes read over the information on his data unit, then looked sharply at Fastow. 'Seaman Fastow, you are charged with violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 112a, Wrongful Possession of Controlled Substances.' Hayes glanced at Sharpe. 'What was it?'
Sharpe cleared his throat. 'Joy-Buzz dots, sir.'
The captain focused back on Fastow. 'What do you have to say?'
Fastow licked her lips before replying. 'Captain, Sharpe there went rummaging through my locker-'
'Seaman Fastow, Petty Officer Sharpe conducted a search of an area onboard this ship. Onboard my ship.'
'But, he didn't have any warrant-'
'Mr. Sinclair?'
Paul looked steadily at Fastow. 'Lockers, desks and all other areas onboard the ship are government property, not personal areas. There's no right of privacy for them and no warrant is required for them to be searched.'
Hayes narrowed his eyes at Fastow. 'That's the law. Now, what about this stuff found in your locker?'
Fastow's eyes looked to the side, then back at the captain. 'Sir, I don't know how it got there.'
'You're claiming it's not yours?'
'No, sir. I mean, yes, sir. It's not mine. I don't know how it got in my locker.'
Hayes glanced at Sharpe again. 'Was a drug test run?'
'Yes, sir.' Sharpe couldn't hide a flash of disappointment. 'Negative results.'
'Hmmm. How long does Joy-Buzz stay in the system?'
'About seventy-two hours after use, sir.'
'I see.' Hayes speared Fastow with a demanding look. 'You claim those drugs weren't yours.'
'That's right, sir. They're just those little specks.'
'Where did they come from, then?'
'I… I don't know, sir. Maybe when I was on liberty last somebody spilled some on my clothes.'
Hayes kept a hard look on Fastow but she didn't flinch. Finally, he looked over at Paul. 'You're Seaman Fastow's division officer. What kind of sailor is she?'
Paul kept his own face unyielding. 'Marginal, Captain. Fastow requires a great deal of supervision.'
'Have you seen any signs of drug usage by her?'
Paul thought, looking over at Chief Imari, who reluctantly shook her head. 'Sir, I cannot say I have.'
Hayes nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on Fastow. 'It seems I may have to give you the benefit of the doubt. But I don't want to, because your chief and your division officer both tell me you haven't been doing well. When things like this happen, Seaman Fastow, you want them to be telling me you're a good sailor. Otherwise, I'll be inclined to think you deserve to be hammered. Do you understand me?'
'Uh, yes, sir.'
'Because of some doubt as to your guilt in this matter, I will go lightly this time. But if it happens again, and your performance remains bad, then I won't regard it as a coincidence, and I will nail you to that bulkhead. Do you understand?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Fifteen days restriction to the ship. Reduction in rate to seaman apprentice, suspended for six months.' Hayes leveled a forefinger at Fastow. 'Any more nonsense and you'll only be a seaman apprentice again for about two seconds, because I'll use that next Captain's Mast to bust you down to seaman recruit. Get your act together, Seaman Fastow.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Dismissed.'
Fastow saluted and left. Paul couldn't tell whether she was relieved or frightened, but he passed another nod to Chief Imari as she followed Fastow out of the compartment.
Captain Hayes shook his head and then looked around the compartment. 'I want a close eye kept on her.'
'Yes, sir,' Paul and Sharpe answered together.
'Who's next?'
'Seaman Jacob, sir.'
Jacob pulled himself inside the compartment as his name was called. The lanky seaman had sweat droplets visible on his forehead as he stopped before the Captain and came to rigid attention. Lieutenant Kilgary and Chief Petty Officer Meyer came in as well, taking up positions along the bulkhead opposite Paul. Captain Hayes gave Jacob a long look before consulting his data pad. 'Seaman Jacob, it says here you are charged with violations of the Uniform Code Article 86, Absent Without Official Leave, and Article 87, Missing Movement. What do you have to say?'
Jacob licked his lips and took a deep breath before answering. 'Sir, Captain, I, uh, yes, I didn't get back from leave on time. But it wasn't my fault, sir. No, sir. I never woulda done it on purpose.'
Hayes glanced at Lieutenant Kilgary and Chief Meyer, who were maintaining poker faces. 'Then how did it happen, Seaman Jacob?'
'Well, sir, it all started 'cause I took leave earthside to get married.'
'Then I guess congratulations are in order.'
'No, sir. No, I, uh, when I got back home, it turned out Justy was marryin' some other guy.'
'Justy?'
'My girl, sir. Or at least she was my girl when I left for the Navy. I was pretty sure we had 'a understandin'.'
Hayes took another look around the compartment before focusing back on Jacob. 'You knew she was getting married, but thought she was marrying you.'
'That's right, captain.'
'You got an invitation to this wedding?'
'Yes, sir! But I guess since Justy and I had that understandin' I alluded to I just figured it must be our wedding and didn't read the thing too close.'
Paul managed to avoid smiling only by an heroic effort. Opposite him, Lieutenant Kilgary was clearly biting the inside of her cheek to avoid smiling herself.
Captain Hayes looked down at his data pad for a moment, hiding his expression, then back up at Jacob. 'You arrived at the wedding and found out it wasn't your wedding.'
'Yes, sir, Captain, and I got sorta ticked off, if you know what I mean. Justy and I had some words. But it wasn't nothin' violent. Not at first. No, sir. I didn't want to hurt anybody, just like I told the judge-'
'The judge? What judge?'
'The one what heard my case on the assault charges and he agreed with me that maybe me being in jail was a bit much-'
'You were in jail?'
'I said I'd been arrested, didn't I, Captain?' Hayes shook his head solemnly. 'Oh. Well, yeah. I mean, yes, sir. And that Frank guy threw the first punch-'
'Frank?'
'He's the one what was marrying my girl, sir.'
'I see. I don't think she's 'your girl' anymore, Jacob.'
