reactionless generators we use as artificial gravity shorting out, even squeaking deck plates. I somehow get everything done and crash into bed by about midnight, or 0100 hours if I’m feeling like I like pain.”
“And so there’s no real recreation time in your work day, then?”
Rowe shrugged. “Not really. Even when I’m off the job, I’m on the job. It’s not your usual forty hour work week; it’s pretty full on.”
Martin nodded in agreement. “So there’s really no time for training anyone else, since you’re so busy with your actual work.”
Rowe gave a loud, long, pronounced laugh. “There’s literally no way I could train some minion up at the same time as I kept that ship sailing.”
“So Liao’s decision to keep you working, although risky, was the best choice for the ship and its crew?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
Martin turned to Qu. “Very well, no further questions.”
*****
“Please state your full name for the court records.”
“Commander Kamal Bashiri Iraj, Your Honour, representing the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy.”
Kamal Iraj was Liao’s XO, her second in command, and someone she had relied on considerably during her time in command. He was taller than Liao, with Persian features and a completely shaved head. His most distinctive feature was a thick, jagged scar running from between his eyes down the left-hand side of his face. He’d earned that scar fighting off a second wave of Toralii boarders who had attacked the ship during their encounter with the Seth’arak . Liao had been unconscious.
She gave him a reassuring nod and the questions from Fang began.
“How did Liao handle having an Arab as her first officer? Was there conflict between the two of you?”
Kamal narrowed his eyes slightly. “I wouldn’t know, as I am Persian , much like most Iranians. I can say that my ethnicity had no bearing on Commander Liao’s conduct. I suspect, based on both her words and her actions, that she valued my input. I believe she considers me a confidant and good friend.”
“A confidant? But she did not reveal her pregnancy to you until after she had told the Toralii on Velsharn, after she had told Saara, and Doctor Saeed.”
Kamal looked at her, but Liao met his gaze and did not look away.
“That is correct, Mister Fang. I was… offended, I admit, but I understand her reasons for doing this. I do not hold it against her.”
Fang paused, flipping over a page of his notes, skipping a section. “Very well. Is it true you were made aware of Commander Liao’s relationship with Captain James Grégoire?”
“I was.”
“And is it true that you did not act on this knowledge because Commander Liao reciprocally concealed your relationship with Lieutenant Bai Peng?”
Kamal affixed an icy stare at the lawyer. “You know a great deal about a ship you’ve never stepped foot upon, Mister Fang.”
“Please answer the question, Commander Iraj,” said Qu. “Did you not act upon this information because you knew of Commander Liao's relationship with Captain Grégoire?”
“As you wish, Your Honour: No. There was no reciprocity and we did not ‘collude’ to disguise the truth. It is true, though, that we as commanding officers exercised discretion where it was appropriate in an unusual situation to preserve the ship’s day-to-day operations.”
Fang shuffled his papers, laying one on top. “So you were engaged in a same-sex relationship with Lieutenant Peng?”
Kamal leaned forward slightly. “Did he tell you that?”
“That’s irrelevant, Commander. Answer the question.”
Liao watched as Kamal stared down the lawyer.
“Yes,” he finally answered, “but it was brief. It ended when Peng was transferred away from the vessel after Lieutenant Jiang regained consciousness and resumed her post as chief tactical officer. To the best of my knowledge, Peng is now serving a post aboard the Cerberus Mars Lagrange Point blockade.”
“So he is not aboard the Beijing