Major Hue sat and Commander Carr walked to about the same place, facing the members. “Your Honor, members of the court, there are indeed serious issues here, but they involve second-guessing of a single action by a single individual and attempts to blow that one action out of proportion. You heard the testimony of Captain Dila and Colonel Lamont. Those who attacked this station did exactly what they were told, even when those orders were clearly wrong and counter-productive, and when deprived of detailed instructions were at a loss. The personnel defending this station had to react in the face of confusion, of lost and damaged systems, of inadequate information, but they did act, and they frustrated the attack on this station. Why? Because we entrust our defense to people who are trained to think.
“A military force needs discipline. But it also needs initiative, it also needs wisdom, it also needs common sense. You heard Colonel Lamont, a decorated veteran of combat. It depends, he said. Should front-line troops follow exactly the orders they receive from superiors removed from the scene? It depends. Chief Petty Officer Sharpe is being charged with failing to follow an order to fire when he believed his target was a friendly. He could have fired, and avoided these charges. But he is not a robot, not a machine. He is a human being, and in the final analysis we need to ask ourselves what we want defending us – machines which kill without hesitation on order, or humans who sometimes hesitate, sometimes think, sometimes decide that the order they’ve received may be unlawful, may be wrong.”
Carr pivoted to look at Sharpe. “Some of the charges against Chief Sharpe were disproved by the testimony of the prosecution’s own witnesses. His failure to fire on one occasion at one possible target did not have any impact on whether or not this station was saved, but his actions as part of the emergency response team were important in saving the station. But as Chief Sharpe testified, and as the prosecution did not attempt to refute, he was under no obligation to obey an order he reasonably believed could be unlawful. In the end, that’s what this court-martial comes down to, what the members of this court must decide. Do we grant those to whom we entrust our defense the right to think and to decide, or do we insist that they rigidly follow instructions even when they have cause to believe those instructions are wrong? Do we use the intelligence and common sense of our personnel, or do we order them to do exactly as they are told without question? The answers aren’t always easy, but that’s why we need to offer our personnel the right to use their own initiative instead of insisting on ironclad, no-exception rules. Our enemies have chosen one path. I urge you to chose the other, and find Chief Petty Officer Sharpe innocent as to all charges and specifications.”
Captain Halstead looked from the members to the trial counsel’s table to the defense counsel’s table. “The members will now deliberate. Do you anticipate difficulty in rendering findings, LCDR Nasser?”
Nasser looked to either side at the other members. “No, Your Honor.”
“Then this court is closed and will reconvene at ten hundred tomorrow in this same courtroom.”
After everyone else had left, Jen turned to Commander Carr. “I didn’t realize my presence here would sandbag Major Hue as much as it did.”
Carr stretched and smiled. “I hoped for that, and got more than I expected. But the game isn’t over, lieutenant. I never celebrate prematurely.”
Jen jerked her chin toward the judge’s bench. “I was thinking, if they’d just charged Sharpe with disobeying an order, it probably would’ve got him non-judicial punishment and he would’ve taken hits there. But they wanted to nuke him.”
“You’re very likely right, lieutenant. But that’s one of the perils of trying to classify too much. The right people, the ones who could’ve kept this from getting this far, didn’t hear about it at all or heard too late to impose a little sanity on the process. Chief Sharpe might have been hammered because of that.” Carr yawned. “I’m not even sure what time-zone my body is in. I’ll see you in the morning, lieutenant.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jen watched Carr leave the courtroom.
#
“Have the members reached findings?” Captain Halstead asked.
“We have.” LCDR Nasser passed over the data pad containing the findings to the bailiff, who carried it to the judge, who studied the pad before handing it back.
“Chief Sharpe,” Halstead directed, “will you and your counsel stand up. LCDR Nasser, announce the findings, please.”
Nasser gave Sharpe an enigmatic look, then focused back on the data pad. “Chief Petty Officer Ivan Sharpe, this court finds you not guilty as to all charges and specifications.”
There was some more legal boilerplate to go through, but eventually Captain Halstead looked around the courtroom once again. "The court-martial is adjourned."
As the judge, the members and Major Hue left the courtroom, Chief Sharpe turned to Jen and saluted her. “Thank you, ma’am.”
Jen returned the salute, shaking her head. “You and I both know what Lieutenant Sinclair would have done if I hadn’t helped bail you out, Sheriff. You damned well better thank Chief Henga for saving your butt, too.”
Sharpe’s old grin finally returned. “The woman never listens to me.”
“Lucky you. Get back to work, Sheriff. Try to stay out of trouble from now on.”
“Yes, ma’am. Please give my regards to Lieutenant Sinclair.”
Jen waited while Commander Carr finished wrapping up paperwork with the court, uncertain if her role as assistant had wrapped up as well. When Carr finished and came back to the defense counsel’s table she gave Jen a surprised look. “You’re free, lieutenant. I’m officially back on leave, while I try to find the quickest shuttle back to Earth.”
“I know some contacts who might help,” Jen suggested.
“Do you know a decent place to eat while I work those contacts?”
“Fogarty’s is okay, if you don’t mind being around a lot of ship drivers.”
Carr grinned. “Some of my favorite people are ship drivers. Can I treat you to a victory lunch?”
“Thank you, ma’am.” They began walking out of the courtroom, Jen struggling with words she knew she had to say. “Commander, Paul always told me that you pulled your punches when you were prosecuting me. I never really believed him.”
Carr shook her head in denial, but didn’t look at Jen. “I did my duty.”
“Which isn’t always that easy to figure out, is it? But I saw what you did to that master chief. If you’d hit me like that, with all the stress I was under, I might’ve fallen apart.”
“I doubt that,” Carr remarked. “You stood up pretty well on 6 July. I’ve never thought of myself as being more intimidating than terrorists.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, ma’am. Anyway, thanks for what you did for Chief Sharpe.”
Carr swept away Jen’s thanks with a wave of her hand. “I’m still trying to balance the scales, lieutenant. Besides, I wanted to see justice done in this case, too. But if you need me again, you call me. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jen extended her hand. “Pax?”
“Seriously?” Carr stopped, looking at Jen’s offered hand, then smiled and shook it. “Thanks.” They started walking again. “How’s Paul doing on Mars, by the way?”
“Getting in trouble.”
“Big shock.”
“Yeah. You heard about the Utopia incident, didn’t you?”
Carr nodded. “I saw the transcripts, but I’d love to hear Paul’s personal take on things.”
“Well, stuff started going wrong as soon as he got to Mars, starting with the surprise he got when he reported in . . .”
Jack Campbell, Swords and Saddles
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