matching the formality of his witness. 'Captain Shen, you conducted the official investigation into the explosion and fire in Forward Engineering on the USS Michaelson on 19 September 2100. Is that correct?'
Captain Shen nodded once. 'That's correct.'
'Captain Shen, can you briefly describe your experience with warships which qualified you to conduct this investigation?'
'Certainly.' Captain Shen glanced around as if ensuring everyone was paying attention. 'I am currently commanding officer of the USS Mahan. Prior to that, I served as executive officer of the USS Midway. Before that, I was chief engineer on the USS Rickover, and main propulsion assistant on the USS Belleau Wood. I've also served on the staff of Commander Naval Space Forces, the staff of Commander, United States Space Forces, and as an instructor at Space Warfare School.'
'Thank you, Captain Shen. Now will you summarize your conclusions from your investigation?'
'Briefly, I found no evidence of misconduct.'
'No evidence of misconduct on anyone's part?'
'That's right.'
'Including Lieutenant Silver, sir?'
'Correct.'
'Did you reach any other conclusions regarding the performance of the officers and crew on the USS Michaelson?'
'I found no deliberate or willful failures, but did identify a number of training and procedural deficiencies that may have contributed to the accident.'
'Captain, could you establish the physical cause of the explosion and fire?'
A flicker of anger lit Captain Shen's eyes. 'No, I could not. The physical damage to Forward Engineering on the USS Michaelson was so extensive it had destroyed almost every source of information.'
'Including the engineering logs, sir?'
Commander Carr shot to her feet. 'Objection. It has already been established by expert witnesses that the damage to the engineer logs could not have been caused by the explosion and fire.'
'Sustained.' Judge Halstead bent a stern look toward Commander Jones. 'Phrase your questions with care, counsel.'
'Yes, Your Honor. Captain Shen, did you conclude the physical damage to the engineering logs had been caused by the explosion and fire?'
Commander Carr looked unhappy, but said nothing.
Paul understood her concerns. Captain Shen's conclusions are a matter of fact. Whether or not they were correct, and whether or not the members remember that they were wrong and why, is another problem.
'You concluded the damage was caused by the explosion and fire. On what basis did you reach that conclusion?'
Captain Shen looked around again before answering. 'I called in an expert computer technician to examine the records. He could find no signs of deliberate tampering. That meant the damage had to have been caused incidental to the accident.'
Commander Carr stood again. 'Objection. The investigation's conclusions have already been disproved by expert witnesses. Restating them will only confuse the issues before the members.'
'Your Honor,' Jones insisted, 'these conclusions are matters of fact.'
'They're erroneous matters of fact, Your Honor.'
A stern look from Halstead silenced Commander Carr and Commander Jones. 'I can rule on what's already been stated, thank you very much. If counsel for the defense wishes to discredit previously established facts, he must provide evidence to support his position. Are you prepared to do that, Commander Jones?'
'No, sir.'
'Objection sustained. Counsel for the defense is to refrain from bringing up any further items which have previously been disproved in the course of the trial.'
'Yes, Your Honor.' If Commander Jones was abashed at Judge Halstead's ruling, he didn't show it.
And why should he be? Paul thought. He's doing what he wants to do, bringing up stuff which will confuse and mislead the members of the court. He glanced over at Lieutenant Silver, who had adopted a pose of intent interest. Too bad he never looked that interested in doing his job when I stood bridge watches with him.
Commander Jones resumed his position before Captain Shen. 'Captain, you've already established your experience in the Navy and as an officer on warships. Was your conclusion that the accident was the result of no willful or negligent wrongdoing based upon that experience?'
Paul looked toward Commander Carr, but she made no objection. Of course. She can't. We never disproved that result directly. It's one of the things the members of the court have to decide.
Captain Shen nodded. 'That's also correct.'
'You did not find Lieutenant Silver to have been negligent…' Jones drew out his sentence deliberately as Commander Carr tensed. '… based upon what you knew at that time.'
Commander Carr relaxed slightly, but her eyes watched Commander Jones like a hawk tracking prey.
Captain Shen answered firmly. 'No, I did not.'
'Did you find anyone else on the Michaelson had shown a lack of professional conduct prior to and during the fire?'
'I did.'
'Objection.' Commander Carr had sprung up as she'd been a coiled spring. 'Irrelevant and immaterial. Lieutenant Silver is the one on trial here.'
Commander Jones faced Judge Halstead. 'Your Honor, Lieutenant Silver is indeed the accused. But if he is being accused of negligent behavior, it is relevant to establish how his actions were judged relative to other officers on the Michaelson.'
Halstead frowned, then nodded. 'Objection overruled.'
Carr sat down as rapidly as she'd risen.
Jones turned back to Captain Shen. 'I'll ask again, sir. Did you find anyone else on the Michaelson had shown a lack of professional conduct prior to and during the fire?'
'I did.'
'Among them the collateral duty ship's legal officer whose own subsequent investigation led to the charges being filed against Lieutenant Silver?'
'Objection!'
'Overruled. For now. Counsel for the defense, you are skating dangerously close to the edge in your examination of this witness.'
'Yes, Your Honor.' Jones began pacing. 'Lieutenant Silver's actions during the accident on the USS Michaelson were exonerated by your report, by your assessment based upon your years of experience. Lieutenant Silver was subsequently awarded a medal for his actions the night of 19 September. Yet another officer, one whose actions were judged less than adequate in your report, initiated events which led to Lieutenant Silver being court-martialed. Do you regard that as a fair summation of events?'
'I do.'
Paul tried not to look away from the witness stand. He kept his eyes firmly on Captain Shen. I have nothing to hide. Nothing to be ashamed of. There's no way I'm going to act like the guilty one here. Commander Carr looked back, saw Paul's posture, and nodded with a quick, grim smile. Paul took another look at Lieutenant Silver, who now had an expression of unfairly wounded pride. How does he do that? Too bad he didn't go into acting instead of being responsible for the lives of others.
Jones drove his point home again. 'Captain Shen, did you conclude Lieutenant Silver had acted negligently?'
'No, I did not.'
'No more questions.'
Commander Carr rose with a casual ease which startled Paul. Instead of displaying tension, she moved like a leopard stalking a challenging opponent. 'Captain Shen, are you aware of the evidence marshaled against Lieutenant Silver in the subsequent investigation?'
'I am partly aware of it.'
