'I… that wasn't my responsibility.'
'Did you suggest Captain Wakeman ensure the SASAL ship was not in distress?'
'I didn't have to. Captain Wakeman knows standard procedures as well as I do.'
'So you simply assumed Captain Wakeman was aware of alternatives instead of advising him?'
'When the SASAL ship turned toward us, I advised Captain Wakeman to maneuver the Michaelson. I did that more than once!'
'Oh, yes.' Garrity walked a few steps away from Garcia, then turned to face him again. 'When the SASAL ship turned toward you. At what point did you first advise Captain Wakeman that the SASAL ship might be on a firing run?'
'I… I didn't…'
'Didn't you specifically state that the SASAL ship's course would place it in what you referred to as a 'perfect firing position'?'
'I may have. That's all theoretical. You have to look at all possible alternatives. I didn't say the SASAL should was going to fire on us.'
'Didn't a subsequent recommendation to maneuver from you make reference to confusing the SASAL ship's firing solution?'
'Possibly. That's, again, a possible alternative. I didn't say that was what was happening. I said we needed to maneuver, and that was one possible reason.'
'When Captain Wakeman asked you if the SASAL ship was armed, what did you reply?'
'I said we had no information to that effect.'
'Didn't you actually say you could not confirm the SASAL ship was unarmed? Isn't that the same as telling Captain Wakeman the SASAL ship could have been armed?'
Garcia was reddening even more, just as Paul had seen him do so many times when his temper flared at his subordinates. 'No. Different emphasis.'
'Didn't you tell Captain Wakeman that the SASAL ship was on what you called a 'perfect firing approach'?'
'I may have. That's meaningless unless the ship is armed to fire upon you. And I didn't tell Captain Wakeman that the SASAL ship was armed.'
Garrity shook her head. 'No. You told him you couldn't confirm it was unarmed. What about the transients your watch standers reported and which you passed on to Captain Wakeman?'
'What about them? You pick up transients all the time. A lot of it's just noise from our own gear because the stuff's so sensitive.'
'But you reported those transients to Captain Wakeman. According to the ship's log, you stated those transients could represent detection of charges leaking from shielded weapons. Isn't that correct?'
'Yes. Of course. It was my job to report that. And when Commander Herdez, she's the Michaelson 's executive officer, asked if they were definitely from weapons, I said no.'
'Then, if I may summarize, during the approach of the SASAL ship, you made repeated references to firing runs and firing solutions, told Captain Wakeman you could not confirm the other ship was not armed, and reported the detection of what you said could be indications of weaponry being charged. Commander Garcia, what conclusions did you expect Captain Wakeman to draw from all that information?'
'It's not my job to second-guess what the Captain will do with the information I give him.'
'Would you agree that the information you provided would have led a reasonable person to conclude that the Michaelson was in imminent danger of being fired upon?'
'Objection.' Wilkes waved toward Garcia. 'The question requires that the witness speculate as to the state of mind of another person.'
'I will rephrase the question. Commander Garcia, if you had received the information you in fact provided to Captain Wakeman, would you have concluded that the Michaelson was in imminent danger of being fired upon?'
Garcia stared back at Garrity, his face redder yet, his lower lip and jaw thrust forward. 'No. I would have factored that information in with everything else.'
Garrity met Garcia's gaze calmly, then turned away. 'No further questions.'
Judge Holmes looked toward Wilkes. 'Does trial counsel wish to redirect?'
'I do. Thank you.' Wilkes came forward again, smiling encouragingly at Garcia, who responded by visibly relaxing a bit. 'Commander Garcia, how did Captain Wakeman respond to your reports on the SASAL ship? Did he ask for further information or assessments from you?'
'Uh, no. No. Captain Wakeman didn't.'
'Did Captain Wakeman ever ask you for your assessment as to whether the SASAL ship was actually on a firing run or actually preparing to fire?'
'No. No, he didn't.'
'Then he reached his own conclusions. The decision to fire, the assessment that the SASAL ship was a threat to the Michaelson, came entirely from Captain Wakeman?'
'Yes. That's right.'
'No further questions.'
'Commander Garrity?'
'No further questions.'
The judge turned toward the members. 'Admiral Fowler, do you or any of the other members have any questions for Commander Garcia?'
Fowler rubbed his chin with one hand. 'I'm a little curious on one point, Commander Garcia. When you were talking about the Michaelson 's orders you said it wasn't your job to offer unsolicited advice to Captain Wakeman. Right? But you advised the captain to maneuver the ship. You did that repeatedly, you said. Wasn't that unsolicited advice?'
Garcia hesitated. 'No, Admiral. Sir, when we were talking about the orders I was talking about being the Operations head and offering advice on general operations, and then when we were encountering the SASAL ship we were at general quarters and I was in charge of CIC. So that was different, sir.'
'How?'
'Well, it was a specific situation, sir.'
Fowler glanced at the other members. 'Anyone else? Captain Feres?'
'Yes, please, Admiral. I have one question. Commander Garcia, wasn't all that talk about firing runs and positions also a form of unsolicited advice? Wasn't that intended to convey something to Captain Wakeman?'
'Sir, like I said before, I had to let Captain Wakeman know possible alternatives. I wouldn't have been doing my job if I hadn't told him these things were possible.'
'But you yourself never believed the SASAL ship was on a firing run?'
'No, sir.'
'Why didn't you convey that belief to Captain Wakeman?'
Garcia hesitated again, this time longer. 'I… suppose… there wasn't sufficient time before Captain Wakeman reached his own determination.'
Captain Feres tilted his head slightly, regarding Commander Garcia for several seconds in silence before speaking again. 'Thank you, Commander.'
Paul glanced over at Lieutenant Sindh. I wonder if she's remembering the way Garcia kept harping on firing runs and positions? He sure didn't sound so certain there wasn't any threat back then. But Feres certainly made Garcia look bad with that last question. Or I guess Garcia made himself look bad, and Feres just pointed that out.
Fowler looked around again. 'I guess that's it. No more questions from the members at this time.'
'At this time? Very well.' Judge Holmes focused on the witness stand. 'Commander Garcia, you are temporarily excused. Please ensure you are present for the remainder of this court-martial in the event you need to be called again. As long as this trial continues, do not discuss your testimony or knowledge of the case with anyone except counsel. If anyone else tries to talk to you about the case, stop them and report the matter to one of the counsels.'
Garcia stood stiffly, marching down to the back of the court room once again, his eyes scanning the rest of
