'All rise.'
Once the judge and the members of the court had once more taken their places, McMasters used his gavel to once again indicate Commander Carr. 'This court-martial is open. Proceed, Trial Counsel.'
'Thank you, your honor. The United States calls as its next witness Captain Elizabeth Halis, United States Navy.'
The courtroom, already quiet, seemed to fall even more silent as Captain Halis entered, walking steadily to the witness stand and taking the oath with a stubbornly unreadable expression. Commander Carr stood a little further back from her than she had other witnesses, as though granting Captain Halis an extra measure of respect. 'Captain Halis, please state your current assignment.'
Halis actually twitched one eyebrow as if amused. 'I am currently serving as commanding officer of the USS Maury.'
'And you were serving in that capacity on 21 February of this year?'
Halis stared evenly back at Carr. 'I was.'
'Previous testimony has established that on the afternoon of 21 February, 2101, the USS Maury, your ship, was wracked by devastating internal explosions that destroyed her engineering compartments and killed sixty-one members of her crew. Prior to that happening, had you received any notification from your engineering personnel of concerns or problems in engineering?'
'There are always problems and concerns in engineering, Commander.' Halis' voice betrayed nothing of whatever she was feeling.
'Anything out of the ordinary, then? Anything that aroused particular concern?'
'No. Not that aroused particular concern. As for out of the ordinary, I received a report about noon from Commander Juko that the engineering system was continuing to display what he called 'teething troubles' in the wake of our yard period and modifications.'
''Teething troubles?' Nothing Commander Juko or you regarded as too serious, then?'
'No. I would not have taken my ship out of Franklin if either I or Commander Juko had safety concerns regarding the ship.'
'Then you received no warning whatsoever prior to the destruction of the Maury 's engineering systems?'
Captain Halis bent her head in thought, then shook it. 'No.'
'No alarms sounded. No warnings delivered. Just sudden destruction.'
Halis closed her eyes for a moment. 'Yes.'
'Did Commander Juko tell you he had sent Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen to another part of the ship?'
Halis' jaw worked for a moment before she replied. 'No. He did not. But that was not necessarily a matter he would've brought to my attention.'
Commander Carr took a step closer but remained in a respectful pose. 'Let me clarify that issue if I may, Captain. One of the engineering officers left the engineering compartments allegedly to personally investigate a piece of equipment. Had you received any reports of engineering equipment in the after portion of the ship malfunctioning in a fashion that would apparently require an officer's attention?'
Another pause. 'No.'
'Commander Juko did not inform you of any unusual concerns regarding the after power coupling on the USS Maury?'
'No. He did not.'
'How long had you been Commander Juko's commanding officer?'
'Commander Juko served as my chief engineer for seven months.'
'In that time, is it your opinion that he kept you, as commanding officer, well informed of engineering issues?'
'Yes.'
'Did you ever feel that Commander Juko had failed to inform you of any significant problems?'
'No.'
'Ma'am, did you ever personally discover that Commander Juko had actually failed to inform you of any significant engineering problems?'
'No.'
Commander Carr turned and took a few steps to one side so that Captain Halis was now looking toward both her and the members of the court. 'After the explosions, when you discovered that Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen was still alive in the after part of the ship, what was your first thought?'
Halis' eyes moved away from Carr and settled on Jen. 'Relief. One officer and twenty-one enlisted personnel I'd thought dead were in fact alive.'
'Were you surprised to learn Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen had been in the after part of the ship when the engineering compartments exploded?'
Halis visibly bit her lip. 'Yes. I was.' She looked back at Jen. 'Pleasantly surprised.'
'Did you wonder why she'd been there? Safe from the destruction visited upon the other members of her department?'
'Objection!' Bashir looked as heated as Paul had seen him. 'Your honor, Trial Counsel's last sentence is inflammatory, leading and improper. She is attempting to prejudice the witness and the members of the court against the defendant by implying misconduct which has not been proven.'
Commander Carr stared stolidly back at Lieutenant Bashir. 'Your honor, my job as trial counsel is to prove misconduct over the course of this proceeding. I am doing so.'
McMasters shook his head. 'That went over the line, Commander. Objection sustained. The last sentence spoken by trial counsel is to be stricken from the record and disregarded by the members of the court.'
Bashir sat down, no signs of celebration evident even though his objection had been sustained. Paul looked at the members of the court and realized why. No matter what the judge says, the members of the court heard that and they'll remember it. As if Captain Carney needed that extra dig at Jen to make up his mind. But the others might still be swayed by statements like that. I sure wish Alex Carr was defending Jen instead of prosecuting her.
Commander Carr bent her head in brief acknowledgment of the judge's rebuke. 'Yes, Your Honor. I will restate the question prior to that statement. Captain Halis, when you discovered Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen had been in the after portion of the ship, did you wonder why she'd been there?'
Halis slowly nodded. 'Yes. Only for a fraction of a second. I had other things to worry about.'
'I understand, Captain. But you did wonder?'
'Yes.'
'Because you knew of no reason why she'd have been there instead of at her duty station in engineering?'
Captain Halis stared stolidly ahead for a moment before answering. 'Yes.'
'If I may summarize your testimony, then, Captain Halis, you had no indications prior to the destruction of engineering on the USS Maury of any problems, and had received no notification of any problems specifically in the after part of the ship which required special attention. Is that an accurate summation?'
The captain chewed her lip for a moment before answering. 'Yes.'
Commander Carr indicated her data unit. 'I have here the performance reports prepared by Commander Juko and signed by you regarding Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen. They're very impressive.'
Paul was certain a trace of wariness had appeared in Halis' eyes as she nodded. 'Lieutenant Shen is an impressive officer.'
Carr nodded. 'In fact, one the performance reports you signed state that Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen is quote an exceptionally capable and competent engineering officer unquote. The performance reports also state quote I believe there is no engineering task which I could set to Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen which she would be incapable of mastering unquote.'
Paul tried not to wince. I remember that wording. That's what Carr got Rear Admiral Hidalgo to say would be needed to sabotage a ship's engineering systems. He could see the side of Jen's face as she watched Captain Halis. What are you thinking, Jen? That being good at your job isn't supposed to be a bad thing?
Captain Halis, unaware of Rear Admiral Hidalgo's earlier testimony, nodded. 'I can't recall off-hand the exact
