Demise

[Boss]

One Day Later

In a smallish room, decorated with a large flag of Liberty, as well as a number of very bright-fronted Naval officers, stood Darryl Mason, the accused, Roland Smith, the General Court-Martial (Prosecution), several dozen aides, witnesses for both sides, and a small forests' worth of printed material.

"I am Captain Smith. I was detailed a general court-martial by General Court-Martial Convening Order Number 2238762, Headquarters, Commodore Robinson, dated 22 April 818 AS.

"Certain charges against you have been referred to me for trial by general court–martial by Commander Nicholson on 23 April 818 AS. I now hand you a copy of the charges against you and I suggest that you keep this copy and refer to it throughout these trial proceedings.

"The court is now assembled for the trial of your case. The charges are signed by Fleet Admiral Hale, a person subject to the Code, as accuser, and are properly sworn to before an officer of the Liberty Navy authorized to administer oaths. The charges allege, in general, the offense of treason against House Liberty in a time of war...

"I am now going to advise you of the rights you have in this trial. You should carefully consider each explanation because you have the right to object to trial by general court–martial. Until I have completed my explanation, I do not want you to say anything except to answer specific questions that I will ask you. Do you understand?"

Mason nodded. "Yes, sir."

Smith turned back to his sheet. "As general court–martial it is my duty to obtain and examine all the evidence concerning any offense(s) to which you plead not guilty, and to thoroughly and impartially inquire into both sides of the matter. I will call witnesses for the prosecution and question them, and I will help you in cross- examining those witnesses. I will help you obtain evidence and present the defense. This means that one of my duties is to help you present your side of the case. You may also represent yourself, and if you do, it is my duty to help you. You are presumed to be innocent until your guilt has been proved by legal and competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. If you are found guilty of an offense, it is also my duty to consider matters which might affect the sentence, and then to adjudge an appropriate sentence. Do you understand that?"

Again Mason nodded. "Yes, sir." The explanation of Darryl Mason's rights would take some time. The right to object to the general court-martial. The right to inspect allied papers and personal records.

"You may inspect the allied papers and personnel records." At this point transcripts of the sensor station logs were deposited before Darryl."You may also inspect the bridge logs from the Reliant which are located in the adjoining room. You may have time to examine these if you wish." Mason indicated that he did not wish to, and the trial proceeded with the remainder of his rights.