suspended bust to seaman.'
'And now you've graduated to trying to rape a shipmate, is that right, Petty Officer Vox?' Captain Hayes's face had reddened as he glared at the accused sailor.
'Captain, I don't remember-'
'You said that. Even if it's true, it doesn't excuse the act in the least. Nor the use of a controlled substance which has long-term effects on a person's judgment. You're a menace to this ship and to your own shipmates.' Hayes shifted his glare to Paul. 'This is too serious an offense to dispose of at mast. I want this… individual… court-martialed.'
Paul nodded. 'Summary or special court-martial, sir?'
'See if the station will approve taking it for a special. If not, we'll do a summary.' Hayes looked back at Vox. 'Regardless, you are going to get hammered, Petty Officer Vox. Chief Sharpe.'
Sharpe came to attention. 'Yes, sir.'
'I don't want this man on my ship. Will the brig take him for pre-trial confinement?'
'I believe so, sir.'
'Make it happen. Today. Notify me if I have to talk to the brig commander in person. Master Chief.'
Maines also came to attention. 'Yes, sir.'
'I want to ensure Vox doesn't come back to this ship. If the court-martial doesn't discharge him I want to make sure he's transferred somewhere else.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Dismissed,' Hayes snapped.
Vox, his face rigid, marched out of the compartment, followed by Isakov and Seaman Kanto. Hayes shook his head. 'Inexcusable,' he said to himself, then walked out.
Sharpe pointed to one of his deputy master at arms who was standing by and then to Vox. 'Lock him up in the confinement compartment.'
Paul let out a long breath as he relaxed. 'Let me know how the brig goes, Sheriff.'
'Aye, aye, sir,' Sharpe replied grimly. 'It shouldn't be a problem. I know they've got a few vacancies.' He sketched a salute and hastened away.
Master Chief Maines rubbed her chin. 'I'll go talk to Kanto.'
'She handled Vox real good,' Paul noted.
'Oh, yes, sir. Real damn good. But that sort of thing still rattles a person something fierce. I'll talk to her and listen to her.'
'Thanks, Master Chief.'
Maines shrugged. 'It's my job, sir. Too bad I can't have a personal talk with Vox. If he'd attacked me he wouldn't be walking around right now.'
'That's okay, Master Chief. I have a feeling that even if Vox isn't already real sorry for what he did, he's going to be real sorry before all's said and done.'
'Are you sorry for him, sir?'
'Hell, no.'
'I didn't think so.' Maines gave Paul a fierce grin. 'By your leave, sir.' She left, heading in the direction Kanto had gone.
Paul exhaled again, then walked out of the compartment. He had a lot of other things to do.
Late that afternoon, Paul was standing on the quarterdeck, talking to Senior Chief Imari and a contractor who claimed the tracking software problem had been fixed even though the same problems kept popping up, when Brad Pullman came out as well. 'Don't tell me you're still working,' Pullman chided Paul.
'Yeah. Some of us have real jobs.'
'Better you than me. I had duty last night and I'm ready to get off this tub and hit the bars.'
'Have one for me.'
'I'm a better shipmate than that, Paul. I'll have two for you.' Pullman laughed and faced the officer of the deck. 'Request permission to go ashore.'
Paul shook his head and went back to arguing with the contractor. Then he heard something unusual and looked up again.
Brad Pullman wasn't far from the ship. He had three people standing by him, one in front and one on each side. The one in front Paul recognized as Special Agent Gonzalez. As Paul watched, Gonzalez used a small device to scan over Pullman, locating what seemed from this distance to be a couple of data coins. Gonzalez dropped the coins into his data pad ports, read briefly, then nodded. A pair of hand restraints appeared and were clapped around Pullman's wrists.
Paul realized his mouth was hanging open as Pullman was led away. He shut it, then spotted Special Agent Connally near the ship as well. Seeing that Paul was looking at her, Connally gave him a discreet but triumphant thumbs up and then followed the agents taking Brad Pullman into custody.
'Sir, what happened to Mr. Pullman?' Senior Chief Imari asked, staring at the departing figures.
Paul shook his head, trying to clear it. 'I… I need to see the captain, Senior Chief.' Ignoring the contractor, Paul went in search of the captain. He didn't feel triumphant, just sick to his stomach.
The wardroom was crowded with officers again and filled with a buzz of conversation. Paul hung near the back, trying not to look like the man who'd help get Brad Pullman arrested. And I still can't believe he's actually guilty.
'Attention on deck!' Commander Kwan barked and everyone leaped to attention as Captain Hayes entered.
Hayes looked around the compartment for a moment, his expression unreadable. 'As some of you may already be aware, Lieutenant Pullman has just been arrested. He was apparently carrying highly classified information which had been illegally downloaded from the ship.' Hayes paused while his audience absorbed that information. Paul, watching faces, saw various degrees of shock and disbelief registering. Commander Moraine had gone very pale, her cheek twitching spasmodically.
The captain cleared his throat before speaking again. 'There'll be a full investigation into the charges against Lieutenant Pullman. You will all be expected to cooperate in that investigation to best of your ability. Lieutenant Sinclair.' Paul jerked his head up, staring at the captain. 'You and Chief Sharpe will be our primary points of contact with NCIS during their investigation. Make sure the XO and I are kept fully informed.'
'Yes, sir.'
Hayes paused again, long enough for Commander Destin to interject a question. 'Captain, exactly what is Pullman going to be charged with? Mishandling classified materials? That doesn't seem serious enough to warrant-'
'If I didn't make it clear before, Lieutenant Pullman is suspected of committing espionage. The extent and duration of the suspected espionage is one of the focus points for the investigation.' Hayes grimaced. 'I know this is unpleasant news. I expect you all to continue focusing on your jobs. If the crew poses questions about Lieutenant Pullman, you are to tell them that there is an ongoing investigation and you can't comment on it. That's all.' The captain turned abruptly and left the wardroom so fast he was already out the hatch before Kwan could yell 'attention on deck' again.
The XO gave them all a hostile look. 'You heard the captain. Keep your mouths shut on this.' Then he left quickly, heading in the same direction the captain had gone.
The other officers held themselves at attention a moment longer, too stunned to do otherwise, until Commander Destin snapped, 'Carry on.' She shook her head, speaking in a low voice to the other department heads near her.
Gabriel was staring into the distance. 'Brad was spying on us?' she asked no one in particular.
Paul swallowed and nodded. 'That's the… the allegation. It hasn't been proven.'
'But the captain said Brad had classified material he'd taken off the ship.'
'Uh, yeah.'
Jack Abacha suddenly looked livid with anger. 'He was in our stateroom. He lived with us and worked with us and he was spying on us? Why?'
