'The chief master-at-arms. Petty Officer First Class Sharpe.'
'Ivan Sharpe? I know the man. What was the nature of your discussion with him?'
'He advised me to write a, uh, concise and to the point statement, ma'am.'
'Ah. Very good. Congratulations on taking Petty Officer Sharpe's advice. I know a few full-fledged lawyers who wish they'd done the same.' She cocked a questioning eyebrow at Paul. 'You appear to have done a good job as ship's legal officer. Are you at all interested in pursuing a legal degree and transfer into the JAG corps?'
'Uh, no, ma'am. Not really.' She doesn't need to know my brother's a civilian lawyer and I've been butting heads with him since we were kids. Nor that my dad was happy I chose to be a line officer like he'd been. And being collateral duty legal officer on this ship hasn't exactly made my life happier. Three good reasons not to be a lawyer, and none I know of to become one!
'That's all right, Mr. Sinclair. Not everyone wants to be a lawyer. Thank you. That's all. Please send in the next witness.'
'Yes, ma'am.' Paul fought down an impulse to grin with relief as he left, then frowned as he remembered one of the JAG's questions. Why'd she want to know if I told Wakeman if our orders said it was okay to shoot at the SASAL ship? Where would… Wakeman. I'll bet Cap'n Pete claims I gave him that advice. Like Jen said he would, he's still trying to place the blame on everyone else. I guess it's sort of a compliment that he thinks I'm important enough to be a target for some of the blame.
Later, comparing notes on their interviews with some of the others, Paul repeated his suspicion. Lieutenant Sindh nodded knowingly as he did so. 'That also explains a question I was asked, I believe. The JAG wanted to know if I'd told the Captain the SASAL ship appeared to be trying to ram us.'
' Ram us?' Carl Meadows stared at her. 'Wakeman's trying to claim the SASALs were on some sort of suicide mission?'
'No. I think he's trying to claim all of us in a position to do so were giving him advice that made his actions seem correct at the time. In other words, that he acted properly based on the information and assessments we provided.'
'What a sleezeball. I wonder what Wakeman's blaming me for? Using up some of the ship's oxygen so he didn't have enough to think straight with? Or the fact that my weapons worked when he told us to fire? Hey, if they'd all failed then we wouldn't be in this mess. It's too ridiculous.'
'Be careful.' Lieutenant Sindh looked at all present, a warning expression clear on her face. 'This is the sort of thing which could easily drag down everyone involved in any way. Guilt by association. Even if Wakeman is found one hundred percent responsible, his accusations will find fertile ground if we act in a way that seems to support them.'
'What do you mean?'
'I mean if we go around bad-mouthing Wakeman, calling him a fool and an idiot, it will cause those who hear us to believe we did fail to properly support him.'
'He is a fool and an idiot!'
'I know that as well as you do. Everyone else doesn't. To them, he's a ship's captain who was depending upon his crew for the best possible support. We need to ensure people know that we gave him the best possible support, despite what we know to be Wakeman's many and manifest failures as a commanding officer. They won't believe we gave him good support if we're openly contemptuous of the man.'
Meadows stared down at the deck as if unable to think of a rebuttal. 'Okay. You're right. No sense in the rest of us sinking any deeper into this than we have to.'
Sindh looked straight at Paul. 'What could be the outcome of this investigation? Can you guess?'
'Sure I can guess. It's serious. A JAG-level investigation means the result could be a recommendation for a court-martial.'
' A court-martial, or multiple court-martials?'
'Possibly multiple ones. Yeah. Or maybe letters of reprimand. Or maybe nothing. It all depends.'
Carl looked up again. 'There's SASAL representatives on the station. They've been invited up as observers.'
'How'd you find that out?'
'I know somebody who's involved with the care and feeding of them. They gave me a heads-up.'
'Observers.' Sindh ran the word around her mouth as if she didn't like the taste. 'What will they be observing? Surely not the delivery of a letter of reprimand.'
Paul shook his head. 'The JAG-level investigation hasn't even been completed. How could they have already brought up a SASAL delegation to observe a court-martial when the investigation hasn't made any recommendations yet?'
'How? Sometimes, Paul, the results of investigations are foreordained. Not officially. Oh, no, never that. But it's understood. There's reports of a major oil discovery in SASAL territory. SASAL possession of such a resource makes them important friends for the U.S. to have. The South Asian Alliance would not regard a pro forma wrist- slap or exoneration of Captain Wakeman as a friendly act.'
'Even though their ship all but invited it? But the system isn't supposed to work that way.'
'Paul, you've been in the Navy for a while now. How many systems work as they are advertised?'
Paul stared back at Lieutenant Sindh. Like Carl before him, he couldn't think of anything to say.
The next few days were an odd mix of routine and suppressed tension. Paul began seriously considering the temporary use of some of Tweed's hiding places as Commander Garcia became more incendiary than usual. Wakeman spent almost every hour of every day in his own cabin, rarely venturing out and then not speaking to anyone. The junior officers began referring to Wakeman as the Neutron Captain, since he passed through groups without interacting in any way. Paul found himself checking not only the calendar but also the clock, wondering how long it would take for a high-priority investigation to produce recommendations, and how long it would be before those recommendations were acted upon. If someone had really decided on the results beforehand, it might not take long at all.
'All officers assemble in the wardroom.'
Paul responded as quickly as he could, finding the small space packed with most of the rest of the other officers already. 'Hey, Carl. Where's the department heads?'
'Somebody told me Herdez already called them in separately.'
'That doesn't sound good.' Paul looked up with surprise as Jen Shen squeezed into the wardroom. 'Jen, aren't you on watch?'
'Yeah. Senior Chief Kowalski relieved me for a few minutes. He said the XO wanted every officer here.'
Lieutenant Sindh, taking up station near the entrance, craned her head in an attempt to tally everyone's presence. 'Ensign Shen. Are you here, yet?'
'Yeah, I'm here.'
'Sinclair? Bristol? Okay, I see you both. Alright, that's everyone. Hold on.' Sindh vanished for a few moments, then reappeared. 'Attention on deck.'
The officers straightened into the best semblance of attention they could manage while crowded so close. Paul eyed the hatch curiously. The attention on deck command was reserved on a ship for the captain or any visiting senior officer, and there weren't any visiting seniors present at the moment. Wakeman's coming out at last? What's he got to say to us?
But instead of Wakeman, Commander Herdez entered. 'At ease.' Her face a professional mask, Herdez surveyed the other officers for a long moment. 'We have been notified by Commander, United States Naval Space Forces that Captain Wakeman has been relieved of command of the USS Michaelson effective immediately. I am to serve as acting commanding officer until Captain Wakeman's relief arrives. I expect you all to continue to exercise your duties to the best of your abilities and to ensure your personnel do the same.'
'XO?' Lieutenant Sindh spoke in a subdued voice. 'What's happening to the captain?'
Herdez didn't register any emotion as she replied. 'Captain Wakeman is being referred to a court-martial which is to be constituted by order of Commander in Chief, U.S. Space Forces. At this time, I do not know the exact nature of the charges.'
'Only him?' Carl Meadows blurted, then reddened as Herdez eyed him. 'I'm sorry, ma'am. But, Captain Wakeman's the only one being charged?'
