extra pounds of weight around his waist spoiled the effect somewhat. Wilkes came to stand before him. '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 Commander Allan Garcia, United States Navy, Operations Department Head on the USS Michaelson?'
'I am.'
'Do you know the accused?'
'Yes. Captain Wakeman has been my commanding officer for the past year.'
'Now, Commander Garcia, as Operations Department head, were you familiar with the orders issued to the USS Michaelson during the ship's last patrol?'
'Yes. Intimately familiar. That's part of my job.'
'In general terms, what did those orders require of the USS Michaelson?'
'Well, in general, we were required to patrol through the American zone and challenge any third-party shipping which entered the zone without requesting and receiving permission.'
'Did the orders indicate you should leave this patrol area at any time?'
'Not explicitly, no.'
'When the USS Michaelson moved to intercept the vessel henceforth to be referred to as the SASAL ship, and the SASAL ship responded to this challenge by fleeing the area, did you regard your orders as having been satisfied?'
'Yes, I did. That's what they said. Challenge anyone entering the zone without permission, and that's what we did.'
'But Captain Wakeman ordered the Michaelson to pursue the SASAL ship. Did he consult with you regarding this decision?'
'No.'
'Did he seek your advice, as the department head responsible for operational matters?'
'No.'
'After sustaining his pursuit for sometime, Captain Wakeman brought the Michaelson close to the SASAL ship. Would you describe, in your own words, what happened?'
'Well, I was in Combat. The Combat Information Center, that is. Because we were at general quarters. Captain Wakeman tried to tell the SASAL ship to heave to so we could board it for inspection, but they didn't respond.'
'Do you believe your orders authorized him to make this demand of the SASAL ship once it had left the American zone?'
'No. There wasn't anything in there about that.'
'How did Captain Wakeman attempt to communicate his demands to the SASAL ship?'
'We tried a lot of ways. Radio first, of course, then visual signaling, and finally some particle beam taps on the SASAL's hull.'
'Did the SASAL ship respond to any of these attempts to communicate?'
'No. Not a word.'
'Commander Garcia, if you encounter another ship in international space which refuses to respond to your communications, what is standing policy for dealing with that situation?'
'Well, you make sure he's not in distress, and if he's not then there's not much you can do.'
'What did Captain Wakeman do?'
'He ordered us to fire a warning shot across the SASAL ship's bow.'
'A warning shot? Had he determined whether or not the SASAL ship was in distress?'
'Uh… no. We didn't take any steps to do that.'
'So Captain Wakeman ordered you to use force in an attempt to compel the SASAL ship to comply with his instructions?'
'Yes.'
'And what happened after you fired that shot across the bow?'
'The SASAL ship maneuvered. He turned his bow toward us and lit off his main drive so his course intersected ours.'
'Intersected? You mean there was a risk of collision at that point?'
'Yes.'
'And you recommended to Captain Wakeman that he maneuver the Michaelson to open the distance with the SASAL ship, didn't you?'
'Yes. More than once. That's standard procedure.'
'And did Captain Wakeman do that? Did he follow standard procedure?'
'No. We maintained course and speed the entire time.'
'And while the SASAL ship continued to close on the Michaelson as Captain Wakeman took no corrective action, what action did Captain Wakeman order?'
'He ordered us to lock weapons onto the SASAL ship, and about two minutes before the SASAL ship reached its closest point of approach he ordered us to fire on it.'
Wilkes leaned forward, looking at Garcia intently, then faced the members of the court-martial as if addressing them instead of Garcia. 'So, Captain Wakeman brought his ship close to the SASAL ship by leaving his ordered patrol area. Once close to that ship, he ordered it to comply with his instructions even though it had no legal obligation to do so. When it refused to respond to his commands, he ordered a shot fired near it, and when it reacted by turning to close on his ship Captain Wakeman ignored repeated advice to maneuver his own ship and instead ordered you to fire on the other ship. Is that correct, Commander Garcia?'
'Yes. That pretty much sums it up.'
'Once the Michaelson had caught up with the wreck, which was all that remained of the SASAL ship, and sent boarding parties over to examine the SASAL ship, what did those boarding parties find?'
'Uh, nothing.'
'Nothing?'
'Nothing out of the ordinary, I mean. I commanded the second boarding party. There wasn't anything on the SASAL ship that shouldn't have been there.'
'Did the SASAL ship show any signs of having been prepared for any sort of combat situation?'
'No. They didn't have suits on, they didn't have interior airtight partitions sealed, nothing like that.'
'Then the SASAL ship was unarmed and unprepared for any kind of combat when Captain Wakeman ordered that it be destroyed using the full firepower available to the USS Michaelson?'
'That's correct.'
'No further questions.'
Judge Holmes gestured to Garrity. 'You may cross-examine.'
Garcia sat stolidly while Wilkes returned to the prosecution's table and Lieutenant Commander Garrity came to the witness stand. 'Commander Garcia, when Captain Wakeman ordered his ship to pursue the SASAL ship, did you advise him you believed this to be contrary to your orders?'
'Captain Wakeman had read the orders, just like me. He knew what they said.'
'So you didn't say anything to him? You didn't indicate any belief that Captain Wakeman's actions might not be justified by your orders?'
Garcia bared his teeth in a humorless smile. 'Captain Wakeman didn't take kindly to unsolicited advice. If he wanted your opinion, he'd ask you. If not, you were supposed to keep your mouth shut.'
'Then you regarded it as your duty to keep Captain Wakeman happy instead of well-supported?'
Wilkes was on his feet before the question ended. 'Objection. The question disparages the witness.'
'I withdraw the question,' Garrity stated, apparently oblivious to Garcia's reddening complexion. 'Commander Garcia, during the actual intercept of the SASAL ship, what were your recommendations regarding communicating with the other vessel?'
'I beg your pardon?'
'You said attempts to communicate with the SASAL ship failed. What alternatives did you suggest?'
