William Forstchen - Article 23

"How are you, Justin?"

Justin stood up as his legal advisor, Janet Kowalski, came into the room and sat down beside him.

"How are things?" Justin asked. "I don't know. I feel like I was dragged through a meat grinder over the last week."

"I told you that they were going to be tough. This is not some simulation, although you raised that question. This is for real. Careers, and not just MacKenzie's, are on the line. There are major political considerations as well. A kid like you often gets caught in the grinder for far less, even when they're right."

"Are you telling me it's looking bad?"

" MacKenzie is basing his whole defense on the fact that at the time he acted he had every reason to believe that Matt was planning a mutiny and was about to strike. He then claims a show of mercy for not executing the other eight even though that was within his power. Matt had to be executed, according to MacKenzie, to prevent a general uprising of his comrades. In a perverse way, your mutiny now actually serves as proof of MacKenzie's claim, rather than the justified provocation you claim."

"That Colson is such a damn little weasel."

"He is also the son of a member of the United Nations cabinet, and you can believe that his old man is screaming bloody murder. I'm willing to bet Wendell's father has called every flag officer in the service who in any way whatsoever can bring pressure to bear on Singh. That's a lot of heat to take. Colson can threaten to squeeze appropriations, question promotions and in general make life a pain for the top echelon if they don't back his son up."

"And the hell with the truth," Justin sighed.

"If Colson's story is accepted, then MacKenzie has a peg to hang his defense on; that he had probable cause to at least seek the arrest or temporary detain- ment of Cadet Everett. If that fact is accepted, then it follows that Cadet Everett struck the Captain."

"Even if he did," Justin replied hotly, "is that any reason to space a sixteen-year-old cadet?"

"Hell, no," Janet replied, "that was something straight out of the old navy, as if he were playing Captain Bligh or Billy Budd."

"Melville wrote that too, didn't he?" Justin asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Just that MacKenzie had me reading Moby Dick. It was creepy."

"He is a deeply disturbed man. But unlike the vids, someone can be crazy without walking around frothing. Ninety-nine percent of the time they appear to be perfectly normal. And there are some people who want to see MacKenzie continue to appear normal. Because if he's proven not to be, then there are going to be a whole lot of questions asked as to how such a man rose to the authority of command of a ship. And not just any ship, but a ship that is considered to be a weapon and is, in fact, carrying nuclear weapons on board which could be released on any country on Earth."

"So we're damned in nearly every direction," Justin said, "and truth becomes secondary."

Kowalski laughed and shook her head. "My young Mr. Bell, when did you ever hear that truth had anything to do with politics? Take a look at some of the presidents your country has had, and some of its other leaders as well. Truth is relative to the moment."

"There was the Declaration of Independence I believed in that. My father and grandfather believed in the Charter of Organization of tike USMC. I figured that was something to believe in, at least that's what Thorsson said."

Kowalski reached out and patted Justin on the arm.

"I wish it was, but it's not looking quite like that at the moment."

"And if he wins?"

"Oh, they'll call him back Earthside, and when the fuss dies down he'll be quietly retired. There'll be discreet internal reviews, things will be changed, but he'll walk.

"As for you, Matt, Leonov, Smith, Hemenez and O'Brian, you'll get time. A year, maybe two. After serving six months, you'll all be dishonorably discharged. The other cadets who helped you will simply be discharged. There'll be some in the service who will quietly say you did the right thing; in fact, your actions will be studied and analyzed. Maybe a dozen years from now you might even be recognized for having done the right thing. But execution, I don't think anyone wants that."

"So what you're telling me is that at MacKenzie's court-martial tomorrow we'll get slammed and MacKenzie will go free."

"You have to face that possibility."

"I can't believe that."

"What you want to believe and reality are crashing together here, Bell."

' Thorsson taught us to believe in a higher ideal, and such an ideal is based upon truth."

"We're not in the Academy now, Bell, this is the real system, and out here on the frontier it can be rough and damned unfair at times."

"That man arrested nine cadets. He never formally charged them, they were never given the opportunity to make a statement, defend tihemselves or face their accuser, there was no formal board hearing or trial where Matt could have defended his life. MacKenzie just arbitrarily announces, I'm going to kill this cadet,' and now you're telling me the Service will back him up?"

"They're caught by Article Twenty-three, and it's a dilemma as old as navies, in space and on the sea," Janet replied. "In the old days, when ships were out of contact from the moment they cleared port, the authority of the captain had to be absolute. He had to be given broad powers to maintain control, and if needs be, to enforce his authority with the threat of swift and instant punishment. When our service was formed it was decided to follow the traditions of the surface navies. In modern times a lot of thought went into this power of the captain and it was felt that through careful screening only the best would be given such powers. MacKenzie is being protected by that tradition, because you, Mr. Bell, struck right at the heart of all such power. Remember the ease aboard the Goddard?"

Justin nodded. After nearly a year in space the Goddard's second officer had become unhinged upon receiving a message from his parents that his girlfriend had left him. Breaking into the weapons locker, he had taken a high-power gun, seized the bridge, and threatened to start shooting up the control panels. The captain had finally shot and killed him. The captain had been fully exonerated for taking action without trial.

"That's different," Justin snapped. "The guy had a gun."

"You wound up with a gun, aimed straight at the Captain some might not see any difference."

"We did. MacKenzie was out of control. He had overreacted."

"Sure they realize MacKenzie overreacted. But to what? He is claiming that at that moment he believed he was facing a mutiny and had to preserve the authority of the Service. His decision to spare eight cadets from a possible execution is being presented as an act of restraint. And you see, Justin, he does have one clear and positive argument in his favor."

"What's that?"

"The fact that there was a mutiny, and you led it."

Justin's shoulders sagged. Everything had seemed so clear and simple back on the Somers. He felt now as if he were sinking into a muddy swamp with nothing to hang on to.

"Now, I want to go over everything one last time before tomorrow's trial."

After hours of reviewing the events and Janet probing every point with questions, Justin felt as if his head would split apart.

"Look, like I told you a dozen times. O'Brian caught my signal that I needed to talk to him. I went into the galley, Leonov came in a minute or so later after O'Brian woke her up, and then Hemenez came in. O'Brian turned up the music from the computer player and I laid out my proposal to seize the ship."

Janet looked up from her computer pad.

"Turned up the music? Why?"

"We all did on that ship whenever we wanted to really talk."

"Why?"