"Commander, you're as clean as a whistle," says Lieutenant Commander Sari Priyatosh.
The judge advocate sits in her office, looking up the information on the new witness. She recalls two trials which she had won as a defense attorney due to finding out information about a witness, and recalls one time she lost as a prosecutor for the same reason.
But this new witness has nothing she could use to discredit him on the stand.
Priyatosh once again thinks to the manslaughter charges. The prosecution has to connect the dereliction of duty with the fatal crash. She opens a drawer, pulls out a folder, and looks through some paper copies of health examinations from Lieutenants Seuk and Hunter.
There might be something.
The lights start to flicker, and then her office, and the rest of the building, is shrouded in darkness. Dark red emergency lights activate, casting everything in a reddish shadows.
Second time this month. I'd better have a word with Sergeant Pao.
She closes her Spacy-issued Apple laptop, figuring that she could get more work done at home. Navigating through the shadows of the main office, she makes her way to the hallway.
Someone bumps in to her. She looks and sees a shadowy humanoid figure.
"Uh, sorry, my bad," the other person says. "Can't see what's to the side of me when it's dark like this."
"What did you say?" asks Priyatosh.
"I can't see anything to the side,m like, right at the edge of my field of vision...ma'am."
"Excuse me."
The judge advocate goes out of the office and under the night sky, with the only light from lampposts and the sunlight reflected from Planet Fantoma.
She runs over to where her car is parked. Opening the driver's side door of the Starfire. She reaches for the handle sticking out from the left side of the steering wheel and gives it a twist, turning the headlights on. With the headlights on, she places papers into the headlight beam, illuminating their contents.
She gets an idea, an idea to ask for a new witness for the defense.
Ooooooo
"All rise," says the sergeant serving as the bailiff. "General court-martial in session. The Honorable Jaquan Thompson, Captain, United Nations Spacy, presiding."
The judge walks out of his chambers and sits at the bench, facing the attorneys, defendants, and observers.
"Call your next witness please," he says.
"The UEF calls Marcus Rush," says Lieutenant Commander Michael Sarakian.
A man with auburn hair walks toward the back of the courtroom. His outfit is similar to that of Commander Arihiso Hamato, complete with the three one-inch stripes on each shoulderboard and the veritech space aviator badge and the ribbons pinned to his shirt telling the story of his service. He takes a seat.
"Commander, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God?" asks the bailiff.
"I do, Sergeant," replies the witness.
"State your name for the record," says Sarakian.
"Marcus Rush," says the witness.
"Rank and current post?"
"Commander, United Nations Spacy, commanding officer of our veritech training squadron at V-School, Joint Forces Air Field, Tirol."
"Is it fair to say, sir, that you have experience in veritech combat aviation?"
"I have ten years' experience, Commander," answers Rush. "I flew in both the Battle of Reflex Point, the SDF-3 Recovery Mission, and the Battle over Haydon IV."
"So it is fair to say, Commander, that you know what it takes to become a veritech pilot?"
"Yes, I do."
Commander Sarakian holds up a some pieces of paper. "Allow me to read these names, sir," he says. "Lee Xang. Stan Burbich. Daniela Irizarry. Tom Ashtear. Pepe Dubuque. Do you recognize these names, Commander?"
"Yes, I do," replies Commander Rush. "I have ordered them disenrolled from my training class."
"Let the UEF enter into evidence, orders from Commander Marcus Rush disenrolling seven student pilots," says the trial counsel. He looks at the witness. "Explain to this court-martial why you ordered them disenrolled."
"May the court excuse my long answer," says Rush. "When I took command, I needed to measure how well my student pilots had been trained, and whether they had a future as a veritech aviator. My cadre administered written tests and sim tests, and I was personally in the air to observe their handling of the veritechs in all three modes. It took four weeks before I made my decision. And that is why I disenrolled these students. I do recall Lieutenant Burbich- during an asteroid field simulation, he virtually did. He did not just clip a wing; he crashed head on into a virtual, four-hundred meter wide rock! And so I made my judgment call for Burbich and the other students."
"One more thing, sir. When you took command, did you happen to look at the assessment your predecessor in command made about the students."
"Yes, I have."
"And what did these assessments say?"
"They said the pilots were all outstanding. Their performance were well above standards."
"I see, and yet you failed seven of them, sir."
"That's right, Commander."
"And who was your predecessor? Who signed off on those assessment reports, sir?"
"Those assessments were signed by Commander Arihiso Hamato," says Commander Rush.
"No further questions, your Honor," says Commander Sarakian.
"Your witness," Captain Thompson says to Commander Priyatosh.
The defense attorney whispers with her client.
"I have no questions for Commander Rush, though I do reserve the right to call him as a witness to the defense," she says.
"Call you next witness," says the judge.
"The UEF calls Fan Zeppel," says Commander Sarakian.
Lieutenant Commander Fan Zeppel, dressed in his white service charlies, sits on the witness stand. The bailiff swears him in. On the stand, he provides his name and rank for the record.
"I am presently assigned to Headquarters, Robotech Defense Fleet, at Spacy Air Station Hawthorne, Planet Glorie," he says.
"Three months ago, you were the XO for the veritech training squadron right here on Tirol. Is that right, Commander?" asks Sarakian.
"Yes, I was," answers Zeppel.
"And did you testify before the Commission investigating the death of Lieutenant Hyun Seuk?"
"Yes, I testified before them."
"Commander Zeppel, you testified that Lieutenants Stan Burbich and Roy Hunter virtually crashed in their sim training prior to the training exercise in which Lieutenant Seuk was killed. Do you stand by this testimony."
Zeppel looks at his former CO, now sitting at a wooden table next to Commander Priyatosh. "Yes, Commander Sarakian, I did testify to that and I affirm it."
"UEF wishes to enter into evidence written reports submitted by Commander Hamato to the Commission," says Sarakian. He then shows Zeppel the papers "Can you identify these papers?"
"Yes, Commander," replies Commander Zeppel. "Training evaluations."
"Does it show the results of the sim practice?"
"Yes, it does."
"Commander, does it read that Lieutenants Burbich and Hunter crashed their veritechs."
Commander Zeppel reads through the papers. "Uh, no."
"And who signed off on this, Commander?"
The witness takes a deep breath, looking down. "it would be Commander Arihiso Hamato," he says.
"One more thing, Commander. Who personally writes the evaluations?"
"For sim training, I personally write the evaluations, Commander. And I did mention the virtual crashes that Burbich and Hunter had."
"so you did not write this, is that correct?"
"Oh no. I spoke with the commander about Burbich and Hunter, recommending that they not yet perform live debris field maneuvers."
"I have no further questions," says Commander Sarakian.
Commander Priyatosh whispers with Commander Hamato. "We have no questions at this time, your Honor."
"Witness is excused," says Thompson "Trial counsel will note that defense counsel reserves the right to recall Commander Zeppel as a witness."
"The United Earth Forces rest, your Honor," says Commander Sarakian.
"Court-martial in recess until Monday," says the judge.
"I have this motion to add a witness, your Honor," says Priyatosh.
Ooooooo
"May I remind you, sir, that she could have added him to the witness list before the trial started," protests Sarakian. "You did exclude me from calling the programmers of that meta data program."
"Yes, I did," replies the judge, sitting on a leather seat in his chambers. "And I will remind you of the Ping principle; the defense gets a bit more leeway than the prosecution in adding witnesses, and defense counsel's request is within that bit more leeway. Believe me, a judge reminded me of that when I opposed a motion, as a prosecutor, similar to the motion presented by the defense."
"Then I move to depose the witness, your Honor."
"Granted. We adjourn until tomorrow."
Commanders Hamato, Priyatosh, and Sarakian go outside to the hallway.
"I want to offer your client a chance to cut his losses," says the trial counsel.
"We're listening," says the defense counsel.
"The UEF made a strong case, Sari. I will propose a deal to get this out of the way. I propose that your client plead guilty to the manslaughter of Hyun Seuk. In exchange, all other charges are dropped, and he gets seven years' confinement, one hundred eighty days' forfeiture of pay, and a bad conduct discharge."
"Seven years, Michael?"
"We made a strong case, You had let Commanders Rush and Zeppel go without cross, because you knew they had no answers that could help your client. So we demand a higher settlement. Maximum sentence, if I may remind you, is twelve years, one year forfeiture of pay, and a dishonorable discharge. And my offer is only good now. Take it, or we go for broke."
Commander Hamato breathes heavily. He had wondered if the prosecution would offer favorable terms. And now they are demanding even more prison time for him, just for wanting to be the best.
"No," he says. "I decline your deal, Commander."
"We will see you in court, sir," replies the prosecutor.
Oooooo
Arihiso Hamato opens the door to his condominium unit, located in a condominium complex about four miles from downtown Tiresia, and a ten minute drive to the main gate of Joint Forces Air Field Tirol. He sits down on the leather couch and turns on the television, which shows sports playing. It shows a football game from a region of Earth called the Ashanti Kingdom. Sports broadcasts from Earth had not been available even five years ago.
As he watches the athletes try to get the ball to the other side, he ponders recent events. Until recently, he did not have a sense of how much time commanding a training unit took up. Even with his meetings with his lawyer and attending his court-martial, he still had so much free time. Sometimes he would use amenities on base, from the fitness center and the officers' club to the movie theater, and sometimes he would check out the sights of downtown Tiresia, which has a more exciting nightlife than any city on Earth or humanity's colonies. . He even paid a visit to a museum in Tiresia, showing artifacts when this city had been the capital of the most powerful interstellar civilization in the Milky Way in at least the past ten thousand years.
The condo complex has a common room where residents sometimes eat take-out food or read books or listen to music on headphones. He decides a quiet time at home is needed.
There is just so much to ponder.
All he wanted to be was the best. It seemed so long ago that he was looking forward to being promoted to captain.
