'Captain Halis? Does that mean you would or would not accept Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen in your engineering department again?'
Halis looked downward for a long moment, then back at Jen. 'Yes. I would. She's given me no reason to feel otherwise.'
Paul could see Jen's back quivering and knew how deeply Captain Halis' words were effecting her. And me. Thanks, Captain.
Captain Carney nodded, smiling politely. 'Thank you, Captain Halis. Your loyalty to your crewmembers is commendable.'
What does that mean? Paul wondered. Is he brushing off Captain Halis' response as just reflecting loyalty? Was this question a lose-lose for Jen? He looked at Bashir's face and saw no joy there. Yeah. You know, don't you? Carney, and maybe other members of the court, would've jumped on it if Halis had said 'no.' But they're blowing off a 'yes' as not proving anything. Just a captain standing by her crew.
Captain Halis stood and walked out, every eye following her until she'd left the court-room.
Chapter Eleven
The next two witnesses had less drama but posed less support for Jen.
The fleet surgeon from the military hospital on Franklin testified to the injuries suffered by the sailors Jen had been accused of maiming. The slide show on the display screen portrayed each injury, some the results of fragments striking bodies, some from blunter, massive objects hurled by the explosions and hitting soft humans in their path, one the result of a sailor whose hand stayed on a hatch rim too long when the Maury 's emergency mechanisms started sealing hatches. Bashir objected, futilely, to the parade of suffering.
Autopsy results and official findings were entered into the court record, establishing that as a result of the explosions sixty-one officers and enlisted personnel of the USS Maury had been declared dead in sufficient form and detail to satisfy all legal, medical and bureaucratic requirements. The names had to be read into the record at this point. Paul listened, trying to numb his emotions. Strange. I've heard a lot of lists of names read. Class rosters and unit members and just going through a phone directory. But listening to this list, knowing they all died on the Maury like that, is so painful. When he looked at Jen, she was clenching her hands together as tightly as she could and staring down blankly at the surface of the defense table.
Then came a supply corps officer, who provided mind-numbing detail on the property losses suffered by both the U.S. government and by individual sailors as a result of the explosions on the Maury. Paul thought a convention of accountants would've been thrilled by the presentation, but an almost audible sigh of relief went through the courtroom when that witness had finished testifying.
Lieutenant Bashir rubbed his eyes wearily and leaned toward Jen. 'There should only be one more,' Paul heard him tell her.
'The United States calls as its next witness Lieutenant Edwin Taber, United States Navy.'
Lieutenant Taber walked briskly to the witness stand. He didn't look toward Jen even though Paul knew Taber was part of the Maury 's wardroom. Commander Carr stood a bit further back from Taber than she had even from Captain Halis, but in the case it didn't seem to be a matter of deference. 'Lieutenant Taber, what is your current assignment?'
Taber kept his gaze locked on Carr as he answered. 'I'm the Weapons Officer on the USS Maury.'
'Do you know Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen?'
Taber still didn't look her way as he nodded. 'Yes. We've served together for several months.'
Commander Carr paused before speaking again, though Paul couldn't tell why. 'What can you tell us of your personal observations regarding Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen's relations with her fellow officers?'
Taber's lips twitched in a spasmodic smile. 'She was very friendly with Lieutenant Schmidt.'
Paul saw Jen twitch involuntarily, then her eyes narrow as she stared at Taber.
'Lieutenant Schmidt?' Carr asked.
'Yes. Helen Schmidt. The, uh, former main propulsion assistant on the Maury.'
'Lieutenant Schmidt died in the destruction of the engineering spaces?'
'Yes. Yes, ma'am.'
'What do you mean by 'very friendly?''
Taber's hands, held together in his lap, could be seen clenching and unclenching restlessly. 'Uh, well, for example, one time I entered a compartment… I mean, I made to enter a compartment, and Lieutenant Schmidt and Lieutenant Shen told me to wait, and when I finally opened the hatch Lieutenant Shen was just finishing putting on her uniform and they both seemed to be, uh, breathing heavily.'
Paul felt his face warming and knew he was flushing with anger. He could spot a similar reaction on Jen's face.
Commander Carr paused again. 'You interpreted that as a sign of an intimate physical encounter between Lieutenant Schmidt and Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen?'
Lieutenant Bashir stood. 'Objection, Your Honor. This is the crudest kind of character assassination.'
Commander Carr didn't look toward Bashir as she answered. 'Your Honor, it is unfortunately necessary to establish motive for the offenses which Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen is charged with committing. Improper physical relationships tell us about the emotional stability of those who engage in them, as well as a pattern of actions contrary to good order and discipline. They also indicate that working relationships had been poisoned with… unpredictable results.'
Paul wanted to yell across the court-room at her, but he knew that wouldn't do Jen any good and would get him ejected for the remainder of the trial. I can tell you don't want to say this stuff, Commander Carr, but I wish to God you hadn't had to do this. Carr's eyes strayed toward Paul and he read a message there. And you wish to God you hadn't had to, either, don't you?
Lieutenant Bashir was also shaking his head. 'Your Honor, this testimony isn't evidence of anything. It's pure innuendo and unworthy of the trial counsel.'
McMasters looked unhappy, but he shook his head, too. 'No, Lieutenant. It's too early to determine whether we're talking innuendo or meaningful observations. As long as trial counsel continues to base the witness's testimony on his actual observations and personal knowledge, I must allow this line of questioning to continue. Objection overruled.'
Commander Carr didn't look back toward Taber as she repeated her last question. 'Lieutenant Taber, did you then believe you had witnessed the end of an inappropriate physical encounter between Lieutenant Schmidt and Lieutenant Junior Grade Shen?'
Taber glanced rapidly around, his eyes settling nowhere before resting back on Carr. 'Yes. Yes, ma'am.'
'Was that the only occasion when you witnessed physical encounters between them?'
'No. I'd see them touch each other sometimes.'
'Did you ever confront them on such occasions and express your belief that their behavior was inappropriate?'
'Yes, ma'am. They… they laughed at me. Like it was some kind of joke.'
Carr nodded, her gaze still averted from the witness stand. 'And this behavior continued up until Lieutenant Schmidt's death?'
'I… I think so. But Lieutenant Schmidt got engaged just before we got underway, so maybe-'
Carr held up her palm. 'No more questions.'
McMasters looked toward Lieutenant Bashir with a grim smile. 'I assume defense counsel has questions for the witness?'
Bashir, listening as Jen whispered to him with a fierce expression, nodded. 'Yes, Your Honor.' Paul heard him whisper back to Jen, 'I've got it covered,' as he stood up.
Lieutenant Bashir walked slowly and steadily toward the witness stand, coming close until he stood just before Lieutenant Taber, his face reflecting skeptical interest. 'Let me recap what you just testified, Lieutenant. You say on one occasion you approached a compartment occupied by Lieutenant Shen and Lieutenant Schmidt. You were asked to wait before entering the compartment. When you were allowed to enter, Lieutenant Shen appeared
