“Do you have any reason to believe that any member of this panel might be unfairly prejudiced against you?”
Devereux very quickly scanned the faces of the officers seated there. Pujani still watched her with an uncomfortable intensity. She could not very well single him out just because she did not like the way he looked at her, she decided.
“No, sir.”
duMondt held her in his gaze for a moment, as if sensing that there was something that she really did want to say. Devereux fought down the urge to shift slightly under his eyes.
“Very well,” he agreed. He gave a quick glance at the other members of the panel.
“I assume you’ve had the opportunity to review Captain Devereux’s logs and official reports,” he stated.
To Devereux’s ears, it was clearly not a question. It would be interesting to serve under him, she considered.
There were vague nods and gestures of agreement from the other members of the panel. duMondt nodded slowly and entered something into the tablet in front of him.
“Let’s begin by reviewing the sequence of events then,” he said. “Beginning with the Captain’s—the Emerald Flight’s—initial contact with the Brenndari.”
#
“We deployed defensive countermeasures only,” Devereux recounted, “hoping to divert the Brenndari long enough for us to gain enough velocity to jump to slipstream and get away.” She paused, swallowing against a dry mouth. “But they managed to position themselves so that was impossible.”
She took a slow breath before continuing. Fatigue from what felt like several long hours of constant questioning was catching up with her.
“They continued their attacks,” she went on, trying to keep voice steady. “And, when they breached the main hull, I ordered a full battle of missiles from the forward launchers.” She straightened slightly, knowing this could be pivotal point in her report. “It was clear to me that the Brenndari intended to capture or destroy my ship, so I responded in kind.”
“Resulting, according to your logs,” Pujani added almost immediately, “in the destruction of one Brenndari vessel and significant, probably critical, damage to another one.”
Devereux felt herself grow numb. She had relieved those moments in her memories many times during the past several weeks. It made her feel no better in terms of the losses to her own crew.
“Yes, sir,” she replied flatly.
“And the inspections by our Engineering teams support that you were assaulted by Brenndari weapons?”
Yes, Devereux wanted to scream. Couldn’t you see that in the reports and my own logs? Instead, she forced herself to remain calm against her growing fatigue.
“Yes, sir,” she replied, and then quickly added before Pujani could insert his next question. “Lt. Commander Coronado conducted the evaluation himself.”
Pujani appeared slightly miffed at being subverted. His momentary pause gave duMondt an opportunity to step in.
“Lieutenant Meyers,” he said, looking toward the young officer recording the inquiry proceedings. “Is Lt. Commander Coronado on the station?”
She consulted something quickly on the console. “Yes, sir,” she replied promptly. “He is.”
duMondt looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Please ask him to report to this room as soon as is convenient,” duMondt instructed the lieutenant. “In the meantime, we’ve been at this for way too long without a break.” He consulted the tablet before him. “Unless there are any objections,” he went on after a moment. “I’d like to call for a thirty-minute recess.”
Three of the other panel members expressed their assent. Pujnai looked sullen, but finally acquiesced.
“Very well then,” he announced. “We are now in recess.” His eyes turned toward Devereux. “Your patience is appreciated, Captain.”
He gave Devereux the faintest hint of a cordial smile before turning away. Devereux rose, but waited until the other six had left before heading toward the door.
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