you half-a-month's pay for two months. You decide whether those peaches were worth that much! Dismissed.'
Arroyo, looking stricken, exited, followed by Chief Mangala. Commander Sykes left last, looking daggers at Mangala's back. As Arroyo passed Sharpe, the Master-at-Arms helped him along with a firm hand on one arm and a nod of encouragement. Sharpe turned back to face the room, his eyes meeting Paul's but betraying no emotion. Paul shifted his eyes enough to see Senior Chief Kowalski's face and caught the same expressionless gaze. Paul wasn't certain what he'd just witnessed, but whatever it was, nobody but Captain Wakeman and Chief Mangala seemed happy with the outcome.
'Next case,' Wakeman stated gruffly. A slow parade of seamen and junior petty officers followed, each linked to violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice ranging from Article 86 (Absent Without Leave), through Article 112 (Wrongful Use, Possession, etc. of Controlled Substances), all the way to Article 134 (the General Article). The Captain interrogated each sailor, asked that sailor's superiors for their views, and then rendered judgments. He glanced toward Paul a couple of times, but never spoke to him or asked him questions. As time passed, Paul became aware of a growing crowd in the corridor as crew members gathered awaiting their noon meal, which couldn't be served until the captain's mast was completed. More than once, Sheriff Sharpe made threatening gestures to silence the crowd.
'Last one, Captain,' Sharpe finally announced.
'Good. About time. What's wrong with the middle management on this ship? I shouldn't have to… never mind. Bring 'em in and let's get this over with.'
Sharpe leaned back into the corridor. 'Seaman Alvarez.'
Alvarez came in, slightly better turned out than she'd been for XO's screening, adopting a posture as close to attention as could be achieved in zero g. Her division officer, Lieutenant Sindh, took up position opposite Paul and nodded to him in brief recognition. Chief Thomas came last, standing next to Sindh. As Sharpe's eyes rested in Alvarez, his face momentarily displayed dislike and contempt before settling back into formal lines.
Captain Wakeman scanned the document before him, frowning, then looked up at Alvarez and spoke quickly as if rushing through the procedure. 'Seaman Alvarez. You're charged with being absent from a place of duty and insubordination toward a superior petty officer. Articles 86 and 91. What do you have to say for yourself?'
Alvarez licked her lips before speaking in a slightly pleading voice. 'Captain, sir, I should have made it to formation on time and I shouldn't have mouthed off to Chief Thomas. I made some mistakes, sir. But, like I told the Chief, I think somebody slipped something into my drink the night before. It wasn't no normal hang-over. No, sir. I tried to get up and get to formation, but I couldn't. I really tried, sir.'
Paul, his eyes on Alvarez, caught a glimpse of Chief Thomas and Lieutenant Sindh rolling their eyes toward the ceiling in mutual reaction to Alvarez's contrite statement.
Captain Wakeman frowned again, looked down at the charging document, then back at Alvarez. 'Then you're saying you did it but it wasn't your fault? Is that it?'
'Yes, sir, Captain. I mean, I guess it was my fault I wasn't more careful where I drank. But I didn't ever mean to break no regulations, sir.'
Wakeman looked over at Chief Thomas. 'What exactly did Seaman Alvarez say to you that prompted this insubordination charge?'
Chief Thomas cleared her throat, then pointed her jaw toward Alvarez. 'She told me to go to hell, sir. I told her to get up to morning formation, and she told me to go to hell.'
'Hmmm.' Wakeman shifted his gaze to Lieutenant Sindh. 'How about you? What kind of sailor is Seaman Alvarez?'
Lieutenant Sindh spoke softly but firmly. 'Seaman Alvarez is a difficult individual. She requires almost constant supervision and direction. Her appearance and military bearing are usually marginal. I do not consider her an asset to my division.'
Wakeman blinked, then focused back on Seaman Alvarez. 'You don't have a good record. Your supervisors don't think much of you. What do you have to say to that?'
Alvarez slumped slightly, as if feeling overwhelmed. 'Captain, sir, I really want to be a good sailor. I'm trying. I am.'
Captain Wakeman blinked a few more times. 'Seaman Alvarez, I hate seeing a potentially good sailor go to waste. I think with a little more inspired supervision you might come around.' He turned slightly to face Lieutenant Sindh and Chief Thomas, wagging one finger at them. 'Seaman Alvarez is an opportunity to display your abilities as managers. I want to see what you can do with her.' Wakeman faced Alvarez again. 'Ten days extra duty. Forfeiture of one-half month's pay, suspended for six months pending good behavior.'
'That's all? Sir?' Lieutenant Sindh blurted out, than snapped her mouth shut.
'That's right. That's all. Dismissed.' Without waiting for Alvarez, Sindh and Thomas to depart, Wakeman plucked up his data link and headed out the hatch so quickly that Sharpe barely had time to yell 'Attention on deck!'
Paul found himself relaxing after holding a tense posture he hadn't been aware of. In the center of the room, Alvarez had also relaxed, a smug expression spreading across her face.
'Alvarez.' Chief Thomas, her face as hard as the metal bulkhead, spoke the one word, drawing the seaman's gaze, then crooked her finger in a come-with-me gesture. Alvarez's expression shaded quickly from smug to alarmed and then defiant as she followed the chief out of the mess.
'Mr. Sinclair.' Senior Chief Kowalski said his own brief farewell then was gone. Paul followed Lieutenant Sindh out silently, judging it unwise to speak to her given the rigidity of her neck muscles. As he cleared the mess, crew members began rushing in, clamoring for their meal.
'Sheriff?' MA1 Sharpe turned at Paul's call, holding himself against the bulkhead as crew members pushed by into the mess. 'Thanks again for making sure I made it to captain's mast on time.'
Sharpe snorted, plainly out of sorts. 'Glad you enjoyed it, sir.'
'Uh, yeah. What was that bit with Arroyo, anyway?'
'Sir, with all due respect, I don't want to talk about it. Perhaps you ought to ask Commander Sykes.'
Yeah, I should. I also ought to have more sense than to ask a petty officer to comment on something the captain did. 'I saw Chief Thomas take Seaman Alvarez with her.'
'That's right, sir. The captain told Chief Thomas to see what she could do with Seaman Alvarez, didn't he? Me, I'd love to see what I could do with Seaman Alvarez. I'd probably start by feeding her piece by piece through the solid waste recycler, then I'd dump the end result out the nearest airlock.'
'I take it you're glad you're not Chief Thomas.'
'Sir, if I may say so in confidence, right now Chief Thomas is so pissed off she's probably trying to pound a hole through the hull with her head. And if she succeeds, she'll plug that hole with Seaman Alvarez's worthless butt. Sir.'
Paul exhaled heavily. 'Then she won't get off as easy as it seems?'
'Not if Chief Thomas and Lieutenant Sindh can help it.'
'Good. Just one more question, Sheriff.'
'Is that a promise, sir?'
'Yeah. Why the hell was I there? The Captain barely looked at me, and he certainly never asked me for any legal advice.'
Sharpe obviously couldn't help smiling at the question. 'Mr. Sinclair, do you have a car back on Earth?'
'Yeah.'
'Have you got a jack in the trunk?'
'Of course I do.'
'Just in case you need it to change a flat tire, right? But even if you never have a flat and never need that jack, you've always got it handy in the trunk of your car. Just in case you ever do need it.'
Paul managed a small laugh. 'That puts my role in perspective, Sheriff. Thanks for the ego boost.'
'My pleasure, sir.'
Paul headed back toward officer's country. He'd become aware that his own stomach was growling with hunger, but he had fifteen minutes before his shift was served in the wardroom. That meant he could grab about ten minutes of sleep before then.
