Chapter 14

Amantus was getting a reputation; fortunately, it was a good one, as in helping the Middies out on their various projects. In reality, this wasn’t out of the goodness of his heart, though he had no objection to helping them, but was doing this to add to his own knowledge base, particularly in areas that had nothing to do with command.

Hence, he assisted the service Middies in accessing data in Menthel’s library and learned from them just how complex Menthel’s set of subsystems was. Food came from processed yeast that was topped up periodically in a Base station. However, warships periodically added the fruit from the ship’s plant, a dense genetically modified ‘bush’ that provided oxygen and fruit to the whole ship. The plant also recycled wastewater and raw sewage byproducts from the crew and returned them for reuse ... or, in the case of solid waste, converted them into a nutrient that fed the yeast in its processing tanks, extending its life cycle. The plant could also be genetically modified to remove radioactive particles from the air if necessary, though the fruits it produced then were usually jettisoned into space.

The engineering Middies were a different proposition; most of what they researched was well above Amantus’s knowledge base, though he did appreciate their input on what the grav drive and the XD drive could do if pushed to their limits and for how long it was safe to maintain such stresses on the system. Occasionally, he got to speak to the ordinary crew, though they rarely came into the library, as they weren’t given assignments but trained on the job; still, Amantus increased his knowledge of the Menthel, particularly on what was vital and what she was capable of in a pinch.

The day finally came when the enquiry assembled, and deliberations began. As a key witness, Amantus was there, along with Virki, Grago and Firil. Also in attendance was Commodore Finst, along with the bridge crew of the Talonfire that had been on duty during the incident. There were no witnesses from the Armant; none of its bridge crew at the time of the incident had survived.

It was immediately obvious to Amantus that Finst intended to lay the blame on the Armant, as there were no witnesses of their bridge crew to refute the testimony of the Talonfire’s pilot that it was the Armant that had drifted ... or so he thought.

“Sub-Lieutenant Amantus, you were the navigator on the Menthel when this incident happened, were you not?” the senior enquirer asked.

“I was, ma’am,” Amantus replied.

“Could you tell the board what you observed?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Amantus described in detail just what he had observed, including the earlier drifts by the Talonfire, causing it to dangerously approach various ships in the formation.

“The Talonfire proceeded to do something similar with the Armant, but got too close, and a grav shear occurred between the two vessels, causing the Armant to veer into the path of the Menthel, which was when I hit the forced detransition button, ma’am,” Amantus concluded.

The Talonfire’s crew, sitting alongside Commodore Finst, had gone pale at Amantus’s testimony, as it was both accurate and technically detailed. Though Finst merely sneered, clearly expecting one of the enquirers to pull Amantus’s testimony apart.

“Sub-Lieutenant Amantus, you are an involuntary enlistment, are you not?” an enquirer asked.

“How is this relevant?” the senior enquirer interjected.

“Indeed,” Admiral Carse, sitting as part of the adjudicators, added.

“It is my intention to prove that the Sub-Lieutenant has an agenda against the senior officers of Fleet owing to his circumstances,” the enquirer replied.

“You have proof of this?” Carse asked ominously.

“His records show he has violent tendencies and disrespect for authority.”

“I fail to see where; I did approve his transfer to Sixth, after all,” Carse rebutted in icy tones. “May I suggest, unless you have proof of any agenda, that you carry on with your remit and not indulge in a character assassination of a junior officer?

Amantus realised that this was a ploy by a supporter of Finst to imply that he, Amantus, was potentially unreliable as a witness; fortunately, it looked like Carse was having none of it. Still, it had been openly aired during the enquiry to the adjudicators.

“Sub-Lieutenant Amantus, is it possible that owing to the imprecise nature of the grav detection monitor, your observation could be mistaken?”

“No, sir,” Amantus replied firmly. “The system used on the Menthel was set to the higher bands and was precise in its measurements.”

“We only have your say so on this,” the enquirer rebutted.

“I was recording my shift for further self-evaluation, sir,” Amantus replied. “So no, there is not only my say on this.”

“Such proof could be manufactured,” the now pale enquirer replied.

“My personal recording was handed over to Captain Vinns, sir. I was permitted a copy for my evaluation.” Amantus replied.

“Commander Virki, did you witness this?” the enquirer asked.

“No, sir,” Virki replied. “I was off the bridge getting a head wound treated.”

“So, no proof that this was done immediately?”

“Not by me, no, sir.”

“The Menthel ship logs show Captain Vinns requested the recording,” the senior enquirer interjected. “Sub-Lieutenant Grago, did you witness this request?”

“I did, ma’am,” Grago confirmed. “As did others on the bridge.”

“We can call them as witnesses, if you wish?” the senior enquirer spoke to her junior. “Or is there some point to this line of enquiry?”

“Data can be tampered with,” the enquirer replied.