including every other member of the engineering department on the USS Maury, after ensuring for her own safety. Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen then lied about her role in the sabotage and murder, complicating and impeding the initial and official investigations into the cause of the awful events of 21 February. Lieutenant Junior Grade should be found guilty as to every charge and specification and brought to justice for the awful fate she visited upon her ship and the sailors who worked alongside her.'
Commander Carr walked back to the trial counsel's table and sat down, resting her chin in her hands so her expression was half-hidden. Her eyes seemed hooded, though. Paul stared at her as an awful realization finally hit. Premeditated murder. That's not just a life sentence. That's a death penalty offense. And Jen's charged with sixty- one premeditated murders. Oh my God.
Paul hadn't noticed Lieutenant Bashir standing and making his own way to the area before the judge's bench. Now Bashir addressed the members as well. 'The defense contends that Lieutenant Shen did not commit the acts with which she is charged. The cause or causes of the damage and death on the USS Maury remain unknown, but that in no way justifies trying to pin the blame for that horrible event on an officer who has repeatedly demonstrated her humanity and devotion to duty. An officer who, in the wake of the accident on the USS Maury, saved the lives of twenty-one enlisted personnel who looked to her for leadership in conditions of utmost peril. An officer whose loyalty, skill and dedication to duty has never before been questioned. Lieutenant Shen should be found innocent of these charges, because she is innocent, and because there is no evidence she played any role in the accident or the deaths which we all regret.'
Lieutenant Bashir returned to his seat. Paul tried to focus fully on the court-room and not on his internal turmoil. The standard preliminaries for a court-martial were over and the actual trial fully beginning. The judge pointed his ceremonial gavel toward Commander Carr. 'You may proceed, Trial Counsel.'
'The United States calls as its first witness Rear Admiral Michael Hidalgo, United States Navy.'
Rear Admiral Hidalgo marched to the witness stand, his uniform crisp, his manner confident. He watched closely as Commander Carr approached the witness stand and administered the oath. 'Do you swear that the evidence you give in the case now in hearing shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?'
'I do.'
'Are you Rear Admiral Michael Hidalgo, United States Navy, currently serving on the staff of the Commander, United States Navy Space Forces?'
'I am.'
'Rear Admiral Hidalgo, what is your exact job title on the staff of the Commander, United States Navy Space Forces?'
'I'm the N4.'
'What exactly does that mean?'
Hidalgo broke his gaze on Carr as he answered, looking around the court-room. 'That's the staff code for engineering. I'm the senior engineering representative in the fleet.'
'As such, are you regarded as an expert on the engineering systems onboard U.S. spacecraft?'
'I am.'
'Are you familiar with the engineering systems on ships similar to the USS Maury?'
'Yes. Very familiar. I personally served as chief engineer on the USS Dahlgren, which is one the Maury 's sister ships.'
'Sister ship meaning of the same class and design?'
'That's right.'
'Were you involved in the investigation of the damage suffered by the USS Maury on 21 February?'
The rear admiral nodded, his expression clouding slightly. 'I was. Yes. I was appointed to head that investigation by Admiral Yesenski.'
'Admiral Yesenski being the Commander, United States Navy Space Forces.'
'Yes. Sorry.'
Commander Carr smiled politely. 'No need to apologize, Admiral Hidalgo. Can you summarize the results of that investigation?'
'Yes.' Hidalgo nodded several times. 'In summary, we found that the USS Maury had suffered serious damage as a result of multiple, near-simultaneous explosions caused by overloading and catastrophic failure of most of the equipment within her engineering spaces.'
'Were you able to determine what caused that to happen, sir?'
Hidalgo looked unhappy. 'No. Too much damage had been suffered and too much evidence either completely destroyed or unrecoverable in space.'
'Were you able to rule out any causes?'
'Yes. Absolutely. There wasn't any sign of a bomb or other explosive device. No chemical residue or anything like that. We also ruled out an accident.'
Carr looked intrigued. 'You ruled out an accident?'
Rear Admiral Hidalgo nodded vigorously this time. 'Yes. The investigation confirmed that such an accident is physically impossible due to the many safety factors incorporated into the Maury 's engineering systems.'
Commander Carr waited a moment for Hidalgo's statement to sink in, then gestured toward a diagram of the USS Maury which dominated the court-room display screen. 'Admiral Hidalgo, as the senior engineering representative on the staff of the Commander, United States Navy Space Forces, had you ever personally inspected the engineering systems of the USS Maury?'
'Of course I had. I've personally inspected the engineering systems of every ship in the space fleet. That's part of my responsibilities.'
'When was the last time you examined the engineering systems of the USS Maury prior to the damage she suffered?'
Hidalgo looked toward Jen for the first time. 'A couple of days before the Maury got underway. I wanted to review the status of some major modifications she'd undergone. I met her entire compliment of engineering officers at that time and went over the engineering system in detail.'
'Would you provide your assessment of the Maury 's engineering system at that time, two days prior to her getting underway?'
'Excellent. The Maury 'd just come out of an extended yard period. Everything looked great.'
'Did Commander Juko, the chief engineer of the Maury, express any concerns to you at that time regarding the engineering system on the Maury?'
Hidalgo looked toward Jen again, who gazed back almost defiantly. 'No, he did not.'
Commander Carr begin pacing slowly back and forth in front of the witness stand as she spoke. 'No problems, Rear Admiral Hidalgo?'
'No.'
'Sir, you've summarized the conclusions of the official investigation into the damage suffered by the USS Maury. Do you know of any reasons, based upon your own expertise and experience as well as your familiarity with ships like the Maury, that would cause you to personally disagree in any way with the investigation's conclusions that the damage was sustained as a result of nearly simultaneous catastrophic overloads of the Maury 's engineering equipment?'
Hidalgo shook his head. 'I do not. That's the only thing that could explain what happened.'
Commander Carr stopped pacing, standing directly in front of the witness again. 'Rear Admiral Hidalgo, you also say it isn't possible for such a thing to happen by accident.'
'It isn't.'
'Would you explain, sir?'
'Yes.' Hidalgo leaned forward slightly, one hand coming up to emphasize his points with an extended forefinger. 'It can't happen. Not by accident. There's too many safety interlocks. Circuit breakers. Automated control mechanisms. Software safeguards. Emergency shutdown systems. All of those things working individually and in concert are designed to prevent exactly that sort of disaster. There simply isn't any way they could've all failed at the same time in such a catastrophic fashion. Not by accident.'
Carr nodded, then held up her data pad. 'With the court's permission, trial counsel would like the enter the ship's engineering system manual for Mahan — Class Long-Endurance Cruisers into the record. It details every
