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“When did you first believe that something suspicious was going on that violated orders, Dr. Genson?”
The man looked like he had aged in the time since Brooks had last seen him. It had only been what, ten days? Yet the man seemed thinner, his hair grayer.
“I . . . After we received the dream trace images from Michal Denso’s sleep, around the time he began to emit krahteons, Dr. Urle went to confer with Captain Brooks,” he said. His voice rattled, and Brooks wondered just how bad his health had become.
As far as he knew, no one had received such a dose of krahteons that they should be causing major health problems.
But the treatments for an exposure could be quite harsh in themselves. The immune system of the body had to be driven into overdrive, to hunt any cancerous cells. Likewise, nanoprobes had to be sent in to ferret out even more.
It was possible this was only from those treatments . . .
But to Brooks, it seemed like something else entirely.
“And why did you find that odd?” Advisor Nuuan asked.
“Because we had just made a significant discovery about a patient that threatened lives. And she left, specifically to talk to Brooks. I recall it, because it seemed inappropriate.”
“Was there anything else she should have done, beyond what the record shows she did?” Davij Kernos asked him.
“There is no procedure for such a situation, sir. I don’t know what else she should have done, I only remember it struck me as odd.”
“And then later, Doctor Urle attempted to terminate Michal Denso’s life,” Nuuan noted.
“Yes,” Genson said.
The Chairman raised a hand. “I must note that Dr. Urle’s actions are not under scrutiny today. There have been no charges, and the Medical Bureau has backed her options as following protocol. Captain Brooks supported her decision to attempt to terminate Denso, following protocol.”
“No one is accusing Dr. Urle,” Director Freeman said. “But Captain Brooks had also been given orders by myself to prevent exactly this from happening. And as we have since learned, Dr. Urle was present in the room when I spoke to him.”
“Is this true, Captain?” Kernos asked Brooks.
“Yes,” Brooks said.
“When did you give your consent to Dr. Urle’s plan?” Kernos asked him.
“Prior to Dr. Freeman’s order,” Brooks said. “But I still held the same view afterward.”
The Tribunal took in his words silently, sparing only a few glances between each other.
Vandoss stood. “I would like to point out something that is obvious but I believe is escaping notice here; Captain Brooks is not in the Research Division, but is a Voidfleet Officer. Dr. Freeman did not have the authority to override the acting duties of a Voidfleet Captain – not without permission from above.”
“This is a point of contention,” Kernos said. “It is not common that a ranking officer from another division gives such a controversial command to a command-level officer of another branch without formal backing.”
“Time was of the essence,” Freeman said. “I have defended this under the Emergency Expediency Ruling, and it has been provisionally upheld by the Justice Bureau.”
“Provisionally!” Admiral Vandoss said sourly. “In other words, it’s horseshit.”
Even Brooks was surprised to hear the man talk so crudely, even if he felt similarly.
The Tribunal members did not seem to like it either; at least Kernos and Cressin looked displeased. Nuuan was as unreadable as any Dessei, whose crest had not moved a centimeter.
“Do you have any other questions for Dr. Genson?” the Chairman asked.
“I have one more,” Cressin said. “Doctor, do you believe that Dr. Urle’s decision was correct?”
Genson hesitated, glancing down and away. Brooks saw him squirming, and suddenly hated the man. He’d not felt it before, but now he had an undeniable feeling that the man was just Freeman’s puppet. Perhaps some people could have been there and not agreed with Verena’s decision, but he could tell Genson did. There were too many lives to risk anything else.
“I beg the tribunal’s permission,” he said, “not to have to answer that.”
Cressin looked to Nuuan, whose crest did rise; the Dessei was surprised. But they looked to Kernos and nodded.
“Very well,” Kernos said. “We will excuse you from the question.”
Freeman cleared his throat. “On Dr. Genson’s behalf, I would like to add that he is currently suffering ill-health as a result of the events on MS-29. I would like to extend my thanks to him for his bravery in still agreeing to come forward.”
Genson was excused, standing and quickly moving towards the door, his every movement sickly and rushed, as if he was near panic.
“We call as a witness Dr. Arn Logus,” Kernos said.
Brooks took a sharp intake of breath.
This, he felt, would not go well.
Other Terrestrial 