Burden of Proof by Jack Campbell & 9780857689603

Author:Jack Campbell & 9780857689603 [Campbell, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780857689603
Publisher: Titan Books
Published: 2023-01-23T00:00:00+00:00

8

Paul hadn’t been in Forward Engineering since the night of the fire. It had changed a great deal since then. Once the investigators had gone over it carefully in search of evidence, the repair work had begun. Equipment damaged by the explosion, the fire, or the water used to put out the fire, had all been evaluated for repair or replacement. Wiring, cabling, control panels, ventilation, all the systems that made up the nerves and lungs of that compartment, were pulled or blocked off for replacement. The bulkheads, the deck and every other surface had been scrubbed clean of debris and tested for damage. During most hours of the day, the compartment resounded with a bedlam of work designed to get the USS Michaelson operational again as soon as possible. Right now, late at night, Forward Engineering was temporarily quiet and empty, except for Paul and his companion.

Paul glanced around. Even though the compartment had been cleaned and most of the damaged equipment removed, he still found himself uneasy. Something clattered off to one side where shipyard workers had been replacing damaged equipment, causing Paul to jerk around nervously. He reached the spot where he’d found Chief Asher’s remains and stopped, staring downward.

“What’s this about?” Colleen Kilgary asked. “Why’d you want me to meet you down here?”

Paul tore his eyes away from the spot and looked at her. “You were the main propulsion assistant on the ship until Scott Silver took over the job. I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

Lieutenant Kilgary shrugged. “I couldn’t help the investigation much, not that they asked me.”

“Chief Asher’s body was here, meaning he probably was working on something not too far away. The investigators reported the explosion occurred in the power transfer junction.”

Kilgary pointed to an empty area nearby. “Yeah. That’d be here.”

“Could Chief Asher have been working on that?”

“Alone? That wouldn’t be like Chief Asher.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the interlocks. The only way to work on stuff like the power transfer junction is to use two people, one to monitor the safeties and the other to do the job.”

“So it’s impossible with one person?”

“It’s not impossible. You just have to shut off the interlocks, which shuts down the safety monitors, which shuts down the fire—” Kilgary scowled. “The fire-suppression systems.”

“Asher could’ve done that?”

“No! He wasn’t like that. But, yes, in theory somebody could’ve shut off all that stuff in order to work on something like the power transfer junction single-handed.” She walked over to the spot the piece of equipment had occupied. “But it didn’t need work, Paul. It wasn’t on the casualty reporting system.”

“You checked?”

“Of course I checked.” Kilgary folded her arms, staring around with a stubborn expression. “I leave and within a month the leading chief dies and a major fire occurs. Of course I checked.”

“I’m really sorry, Colleen.”

“Why should you be sorry? You didn’t do it, despite what that damned investigation says.”

Paul nodded gratefully. “What would’ve happened if somebody did shut down all those interlocks? Wouldn’t you get an alarm?”

“No.

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