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“Dr. Logus, please state your credentials for the tribunal,” Chairman Chung said.
Dr. Arn Logus did not look good, Brooks thought. He was not sickly, as Genson had been, but still looked pale, dark bags under his eyes, as if he had not been sleeping well.
“I have forty-four years of experience in my field,” he began. “Graduated with High Honors from Luyten University, and have received numerous citations for my work with those affected by high-stress careers here in the Sol System.”
As Logus stopped talking, Admiral Vandoss signaled. “Doctor, have you had extensive work with fleet officers who work in deep space?”
“No, Admiral, I do not,” Logus replied. “I typically work with intra-system patients.”
“I fail to see what value this man’s testimony will have,” Vandoss said to the tribunal. “From the records, the doctor was not involved in any of the moments that are relevant.”
“Nevertheless,” Freeman said testily. “He can testify to Captain Brooks’s relative state of mind.”
“We would like to hear this,” Kernos said. “Though I, too, am curious as to the relevancy.”
Freeman walked up. “Dr. Logus, you were involved in Captain Brooks’s decision to send a mission to violate the Exclusion Zone around the Terris System, correct?”
Logus hesitated – just a slight pause, before answering. “I was informed,” he said.
“You opposed the mission, didn’t you?”
“I object!” Vandoss said, standing again, his face turning pink. “That decision is not being questioned. We’ve been over this.”
“I agree, Admiral,” Freeman replied, doing a better job of keeping calm than Vandoss. “Nevertheless – I beg some indulgence, as it is relevant. Doctor, the specific details of the mission are unimportant. What would you say Brooks’s mental state was like when he made this decision?”
Brooks felt himself lean forward. The tension between him and the psychologist had been . . . intense, especially at that time.
“Captain Brooks was calm, but very concerned for the lives of both his crew and the people on MS-29,” Logus said.
Brooks could tell that Freeman was as surprised as he was. “Doctor . . . from my understanding of your earlier reports, you believed Captain Brooks was acting irrationally.”
“I did not use that word,” Logus said. “But whatever my earlier report, further study and reflection on the situation have caused me to reconsider my earlier observations. Captain Brooks was adamant, yes, but I believe he felt that the mission was entirely worth the risk – a decision that I must reluctantly say I now agree with.”
Brooks felt floored. Of all the people to defend him, he had not expected Arn Logus.
Though . . . Jaya had spoken on his behalf, hadn’t she?
Grudgingly, Brooks decided he had to take a new look at the doctor – run over their prior interactions in his head, try to see them in a more objective light.
“So you believe there was a severe danger to the station from Michal Denso?”
Logus looked uncomfortable. “I . . . That I cannot say. It is certainly within the realm of possibility, inasmuch as we know so little about these sorts of matters. I . . . do not know if I would have made the same decisions as Brooks in the situation. But I am not a star captain, and I believe he acted within the bounds of fleet regulation in his actions.”
“Including in his failure to follow my orders?” Freeman asked.
Logus sighed. “Orders must be interpreted by the officer in command in the field. At times they do not have the whole picture, but at times neither do those not present have a true grasp of the situation. Thus, I must say that his actions seem to fall within fleet rules and regulations.”
Freeman digested that a moment. “But ultimately, you feel that we do not know the extent of danger – or lack thereof – that Denso posed, correct?”
“That is true,” Logus replied. “None of us can.”
“I am not so certain of that,” Freeman replied softly. “Those are my questions.”
Vandoss stood and cleared his throat.
For a moment, Brooks thought he was just about to chew out the man, who had an even more intense dislike of psychologists than Brooks did.
To his relief, though, Vandoss was calm. “Doctor, in your estimation, beyond rules and regulations, do you believe that what Captain Brooks did was correct?”
Logus did not hesitate. “Yes, Admiral. I do.”
“That is all.”
Brooks did not know what to say, if he even could have spoken to the doctor, as he rose and began for the exit. He could only watch him, as Logus avoided his eyes.
Just before he left the room, however, he did glance over. Brooks could not tell the expression in his eyes, but through his own he tried to convey his thanks.
Other Terrestrial 