and so labeled; along with a box containing a hundred thirteen items of jewelry,
and another containing one hundred fifty-eight sets of Pell civilian ids and
credit cards. There was also a written record which I have appended to the
report listing items of value and fifty-two crew and troops of the Fleet other
than those present on the premises with certain items of value by the names. I
confronted Lt. Benjamin Goforth with these findings and asked for his
explanation of the circumstances. His words were: If you want a cut, there’s no
need for this commotion. What share will it take to satisfy you? Myself: Mr.
Goforth, you’re under arrest; you and your associates will be turned over to
your captains for punishment; a tape is being made and will be used in
prosecution. Lt. Goforth: Bloody bitch. Bloody bastard bitch. Name your share.
At this point I ceased argument with Lt. Goforth and shot him in the belly. The
tape will show that complaint from his companions ceased at the same moment. My
troops arrested them without further incident and returned them to the carrier
Europe, where they remain in custody. Lt. Goforth died on the premises after
giving a detailed confession, which is appended. I ordered items in the
apartment delivered to Europe, which has been done. I ordered the Pell civilians
released after intensive identification procedures, with a strong warning that
they would be arrested if any details of this matter became public knowledge. I
returned the apartment to station files after it was completely cleared. End of
report. Appendices follow.”
Mazian had not ceased to frown. “To your observation was Lt. Goforth
intoxicated?”
“To my observation he had been drinking.”
He waved his hand slightly, an indication for her to sit down. She did so,
leaned back with a scowl on her face. “You neglect to account for your specific
reason for this execution. I’d prefer it stated for clarity’s sake.”
“It was refusal to acknowledge an arrest not only by a troop major, but by a
captain of the Fleet. His action was public. My answer was equally so.”
Mazian nodded slowly, still grim. “I valued Lt. Goforth; and, in the normal
practice of the Fleet, captain Mallory, there is a certain understanding that
troops are not subject to the stricter disciplines of crew. This… execution,
captain, places a severe burden on other captains now called upon to follow up
this extreme penalty with decisions of their own. You force them to support your
harshness against their own troops and crew… or to disagree openly by dismissing
troops with the reprimand that such activities would normally merit; and thereby
seem lax.”
“The issue, sir, is refusal of an order.”
“So noted and that will be the complaint lodged. Those troops determined in
court-martial to have participated in that refusal will be dealt with by the
severest penalties; bystanders will be faced with lesser charges and dismissed.”
“Charges of willful and knowledgeable breach of security and contributing to a
hazardous situation. I’m making progress with the new card system, sir, but the
old ones are still valid in major areas of the station, and the personnel in
that apartment were directly engaged in black-market traffic in id’s to the
detriment of my operations.”
The others murmured protests, and Mazian’s frown grew darker. “You were faced
with an immediate situation that may have had no other answer than the one you
gave. But I would point out to you, Captain Mallory, that there are other
interpretations that affect morale in this Fleet: the fact that there were no
Norway personnel arrested, and none on the infamous list. It could be pointed
out that this was a case of a rumor deliberately leaked to you by some rival
interest among your own troops.”
“There were no Norway personnel involved.”
“You were operating outside the province of your own administration. Internal
security is Captain Keu’s operation. Why was he not advised before this raid?”
“Because India troops were involved.” She looked directly at Keu’s frowning
face, and at the others, and back at Mazian. “It did not look to be a major
operation.”
“Yet your own troops escaped the net.”