John Hemry: Against All Enemies

Commander Carr grinned. "You left the Navy in the hands of your son? He seems to be taking the responsibility seriously." Her smile faded. "I hope you can forgive me for trying to send your future daughter-in-law to prison."

"From what I hear you did your best to make amends when you learned of evidence of her innocence," Paul's mother replied. "I know enough about the legal system to know that's not a given with prosecutors."

"Sadly, no."

"Will you be able to attend the wedding? We're going to be a little short of guests thanks to a sudden change in schedule."

Carr gave Paul a look. "I don't think that'd be wise. There's still hard feelings toward me from the bride. I don't blame her in the least, but I don't think she needs me there to remind her of the past on her wedding day."

Paul nodded. "Commander Carr's right."

"But I hope to see your entire family outside a courtroom someday," Carr added, then she hastily checked the time. "I'd recommend returning to your seats. When Judge Campbell says ten minutes, she means ten minutes and not a second longer."

Lieutenant Pullman was already being escorted back into the courtroom by the masters-at-arms. Precisely ten minutes after the bailiff had called everyone to attention, she ordered them all to rise again. Judge Campbell settled herself, the members took their seats, then the judge eyed David Sinclair. "I'll ask again. Does the defendant desire to make a statement?"

David Sinclair stood and nodded, his face composed. "He does."

The judge gestured to Pullman. "Stand up." As soon as Pullman had come to attention, Judge Campbell began reciting the required instruction. "Lieutenant Pullman, you have the right to make a statement. Included in your right to present evidence are the rights you have to testify under oath, to make an unsworn statement, or to remain silent. If you testify, you may be cross-examined by the Trial Counsel or questioned by me and the members. If you decide to make an unsworn statement you may not be cross-examined by Trial Counsel or questioned by me or the members. You may make an unsworn statement orally or in writing, personally, or through your counsel, or you may use a combination of these ways. If you decide to exercise your right to remain silent, that cannot be held against you in any way. Do you understand your rights?"

Lieutenant Pullman stood up and nodded gravely, though his expression remained quietly confident. "Yes, Your Honor."

"Which of these rights do you want to exercise?"

"To make an unsworn statement, in writing, Your Honor."

"Do you wish the statement to be entered into the record, or read?"

"Read, Your Honor."

"By you or your counsel?"

"My counsel, Your Honor."

"Very well. Does Defense Counsel have the defendant's statement?"

David Sinclair nodded. "I do, Your Honor."

"Then proceed with the reading whenever you're ready."

"Thank you, Your Honor." David Sinclair looked down at his data pad and began reading in a voice that didn't seem loud but carried clearly through the courtroom. He didn't put obvious emotion into his reading, but still managed to convey feeling. Paul couldn't help being impressed by the presentation, and realized Pullman had wisely chosen to have his statement read by a professional orator to make it sound better.

"Statement of Lieutenant Bradley Pullman, United States Navy."

"I am a military officer. I have already dedicated years of my life to the service of my country, and I hope to dedicate many more years to such service. I have agreed to place my life on the line in the service of my country. I have labored under harsh and demanding conditions in the service of my country. Now I am accused of committing crimes against that country."

"No one should believe these charges. I may have erred in various ways, through carelessness or over-eagerness or perhaps excessive dedication to getting the job done. Those are the sort of 'crimes' all junior officers commit at one time or another. They lead to mistakes, they lead to errors, but such mistakes and errors come from a desire to get the job done."

"I should have told my shipmates I enjoyed building complex role-playing scenarios. It's easy to understand how such scenarios could be confused with real mischief. But my failure to tell them that doesn't mean it isn't true."

"Many people supplement their incomes or just enjoy the thrill of wagering on professional sports. They can't openly acknowledge the source of such money, but that doesn't mean they acquire it from foreign powers."

"I ask you to accept my plea of not guilty to all charges and specifications. I do not believe the government has proven these charges. I do not believe the government has given you grounds to believe them when more plausible explanations exist. I do not believe my past service to my country will be ignored and that I will be cast aside in this fashion."

"Very Respectfully, Bradley Pullman, Lieutenant, United States Navy."

David Sinclair sat down, leaving a period of silence in his wake. Paul assumed everyone else was doing what he was, trying to work their way through Pullman's statement for what it said and didn't say. He had to admit that David's reading of the statement had given it much more power than if an untrained speaker had recited the document. But Paul was still puzzling over the statement when Judge Campbell pointed her gavel at Commander Carr. "Is Trial Counsel prepared for closing argument?"

Carr stood. "I am, your honor."

"Then let's get on with it."

Commander Carr paced slowly forward, her steps deliberate, the slow steadiness of her motions drawing attention to her. "Captain Nguyen. Members of the court. This is a simple case." She turned, raised and extended her arm, and then pointed at Lieutenant Pullman with the same slow deliberation. "Lieutenant Pullman was caught off of his ship with two data coins in his possession. The coins were carefully concealed on Lieutenant Pullman's person. One held illegal software whose sole purpose is to bypass security safeguards. The other held classified information downloaded without authorization that day from the systems on Lieutenant Pullman's ship. There's nothing inadvertent or careless about that. It can only reflect deliberate and carefully carried out actions. Actions which violate regulations known to Lieutenant Pullman."

"Actions which may well have led to the deaths of civilians. Because other documents stolen from Lieutenant Pullman's ship are known to have been delivered to a foreign power. Documents which gave that foreign power inside knowledge. Knowledge which that foreign power may well have used to plan a massacre."

Carr's arm held steady, her forefinger still pointing at Pullman. "Lieutenant Pullman's possessions are known to have contained concealed instructions for committing espionage. The defense tried to explain such instructions in terms of games. This was not a game. There is nothing in that material which indicates it is anything other than actual instructions for successfully delivering stolen classified material to a foreign power."

"Lieutenant Pullman had in his possession a station pass which had been altered in a very sophisticated fashion. Even the defense's own witness had to concede that this was a real tool of espionage, not a prop for someone playing at espionage."

Paul was torn between staring at Pullman, whose face reflected quiet determination and who was occasionally shaking his head as Carr spoke, and staring at Carr's arm, which remained extended and leveled at Pullman like a rifle. The arm wasn't even quivering despite being held in that position for so long, making her gesture seem all the more powerful.

Commander Carr kept speaking. "Lieutenant Pullman has money whose source he can't explain. Money hidden in accounts under false names with the help of the finest money laundering schemes known to the underground financial community. Where did Lieutenant Pullman learn such skills, and why did he go to such lengths to hide that money, and why has the defense not presented proof that it came from illegal betting on professional sports?"