Paul looked away, bitterness rising in him. 'It didn't make any difference.' When no reply came, he looked back to see Sharpe watching him with a surprised expression. 'What?'
'Sir, whether it made a difference or not isn't the point. You tried. Everybody's telling me Vlad Asher couldn't have made it no matter what. But you tried, sir. Thank you, sir.' Sharpe straightened and saluted Paul.
'Ah, hell, Sheriff.' When Sharpe held the salute, Paul stood and returned it, feeling awkward. 'Get back to work.'
'Yes, sir.'
Chapter Seven
Captain Shen eyed Paul flatly, nothing about him betraying any evidence he'd ever met Paul before in any way. 'Lieutenant Junior Grade Paul Sinclair?'
'Yes, sir.' Well, that makes how to handle this easy. Captain Shen's going to keep it totally impersonal. That's a relief. I think. As Paul had expected, Captain Shen had completely cut him out of the investigation process as soon as he knew Paul had been on duty the day of the fire. Now, barely three days later, he was seated in the wardroom of the Michaelson opposite the man who was Jen's father and would also render judgment on Paul's actions. I'm still wondering why he didn't recuse himself from the investigation when he found out I was one of the subjects. But how can I formally bring that up without creating the appearance I have something to hide?
Shen pushed a data pad toward Paul. 'Read and sign this.'
Paul read quickly, recognizing a standard form for a sworn statement from the Judge Advocate General's Manual. Do you, Paul Sinclair, Lieutenant Junior Grade, United States Navy, solemnly swear (or affirm) that the evidence you shall give in the matter now under investigation shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (so help you God)? He signed quickly and returned the data pad to Captain Shen.
Captain Shen checked the signature and then fixed his eyes on Paul. 'On 19 September 2100 you were on duty onboard the USS Michaelson?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Where were you when the explosion occurred?'
'I'd just left my stateroom and was proceeding toward the quarterdeck, sir.'
'What did you do when the explosion occurred?'
'I paused to wonder what it was, then heard the alarm sound and ran to the quarterdeck, sir.'
'How much time elapsed while you 'paused?''
'A second or two, sir. No more than that.'
'Who was on the quarterdeck when you arrived?'
'Chief Petty Officer Imari, the officer of the deck inport, and her petty officer of the watch.'
'No one else?'
'No, sir.'
'How did you end up leading the on-scene damage control team?'
'DC Central informed us Chief Asher, the regular team leader, could not be located.'
'You decided to leave the quarterdeck at that point?'
'No, sir. Lieutenant Silver, the command duty officer — '
'So Lieutenant Silver was also on the quarterdeck.'
Paul hesitated, taken aback by the statement. 'Yes, sir. By then he was. He arrived a couple of minutes after I did.'
'And he then ordered you to assume duties as the damage control team leader?'
Paul phrased his reply carefully. 'Lieutenant Silver was CDO and Chief Imari had the quarterdeck watch. I was the only one free to assume that duty, so I asked permission of Lieutenant Silver to proceed to the scene.'
'You volunteered.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Didn't you have other duties to attend to?'
Paul swallowed before answering. 'There were other things I could have been assigned to do, sir, which is why I requested Lieutenant Silver's permission before going to the scene of the fire.'
'And he told you to go.'
'Yes, sir.'
'His exact words were?'
'Sir, as I recall, all he said was 'okay.''
'He said 'okay.' And you were certain that constituted orders to proceed to the fire scene?'
Paul nodded firmly. 'Yes, sir.'
'You assumed command of the Damage Control team and led it into Forward Engineering. Why did you decide the enter the compartment?'
'The fire suppression systems in the compartment weren't working, and DC Central reported the fire temperatures would damage the bulkheads if we let it burn. Since we couldn't drain the fuel tank feeding the fire until the fire was out, we had to put the fire out.'
'How much experience did you have at such fire fighting?'
'Just my damage control training, sir.'
'Specify the extent of that.'
'One week damage control training during my Academy time, then another week during specialty training.'
'And you felt this qualified you to decide to enter the compartment?'
Hell, he's not just being impersonal. He's digging at me. Why'd he have to ask it that way? 'Yes, sir. Before I went down to the scene of the fire, Chief Imari — '
'Why did you decide to use water hoses on full fog?'
'Sir, I asked the lead hose, Petty Officer Santiago, for advice, and she suggested that.'
'So lacking experience of your own you simply did what this petty officer said you should?'
Paul took a moment to answer, fighting down an impulse to respond angrily. 'No, sir. I asked Petty Officer Santiago for her advice. I weighed that advice against my own knowledge and training, and then made a decision.'
'Did you receive authorization to enter Forward Engineering before opening the hatch?'
Paul started to reply, then hesitated. Did I? 'I don't recall receiving specific authorization, sir. I kept the quarterdeck and DC Central advised of my intentions and I was not told to take any other course of action.'
Captain Shen, his expression hard but unreadable, tapped some information onto his data pad. 'You appear to have done a number of things on your own, Lieutenant Sinclair.'
'I did what seemed appropriate, sir. I kept everyone informed.'
'When you left Forward Engineering, did you know what had happened to Chief Asher?'
'Yes, sir.' Paul had finally managed to partially suppress his emotions at the memory. 'I'd seen his remains.'
'Were you certain they belonged to Chief Asher?'
Paul hesitated again. 'Sir, there wasn't much left.'
'Then the remains could have been those of someone else?'
'I hadn't been advised anyone else was unaccounted for, sir.'
'Did you make any attempt to check the rest of Forward Engineering to see if Chief Asher was present, to see if he'd managed to get into emergency survival gear and was still alive?'
'Sir, we had zero visibility, the team was exhausted from putting out the fire, I had an injured team member, and our suits were warning of impending system failures due to the heat.'
'Then your answer is 'no.''
Paul felt his jaw tightening. He tried to control his voice as he answered. 'Yes, sir.'
'When was the last time you were in Forward Engineering prior to the fire?'
