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rix_scaedu(Part 2 is handwritten A4 page so it should be way shorter than this.)
The tipstaff called the hearing room to order for the second day of the public hearings into the near miss incident between the Empress Mhaihild and the Pearlish Star seven days earlier. Both ships were still at Amnestri's airship port with their departures delayed at the Board of Inquiry's convenience, a factor that the passengers on the Empress Mhaihild were finding increasingly onerous. The first day of hearings had gone into the technical aspects of the incident and established in the minds of interested and knowledgeable parties that the incident was caused by the Empress Mhaihild, had not been due to an engineering or technical failure and that the ship had, in fact, been responding to its controls. The members of the Board of Inquiry filed in, took their places, and the first witness of the day was called.
Chief Petty Officer Ghaidh Khidhaign (Eng) testified that the Empress Mhaihild had three stations with controls that could have sent the Empress Mhaihild into the dive that had caused the near miss incident, and that only the bridge station had been active at the time of the incident. The other two stations, one in the engineering section and one in a backup bridge area, both had their inspection seals from the safety inspection three months earlier in place.
The second witness, Petty Officer Spaikha Ghaignnaim confirmed the Chief Petty Officer's findings.
The third witness was then called. To the undiscerning, Mrs Rhosata Nainhaikhar looked like a stereotypical barque of frailty. To the discerning it was clear that she was the type of lady of quality expensive barques of frailty tried to look like. Today her dark hair and fair skin were set off by a dashing walking dress and pelisse in dark green and an equally dashing bonnet trimmed to go with them. She entered the room with confidence, happily took the indicated seat in front of the Board, and then took off her bonnet and put it on the table she was seated at, just to one side of her. If the gentlemen in the room did not understand this, their wives or mothers could have told them that the lady expected, or intended, to be some time.
The Chairman of the Inquiry, Rear Admiral Lord Raiph dh'Khaitheer, asked the usual questions to establish the lady's identity and swore her in as a witness. He then handed the tipstaff a document to pass to her. When she had it in hand, he asked her to read it. When Mrs Nainhaikhar indicated that she had done so, he asked her if that was a true copy of the statement she had given to one of the Inquiry's investigators on the morning of 23 Ochd. Mrs Nainhaikhar agreed that it was. He asked her if she stood by the contents of that statement. She replied that she did. The Rear Admiral then directed that the statement be entered into the record in full. Then the Rear Admiral asked, "Mrs Nainhaikhar, could you please explain to this Inquiry why you decided to come forward?"
Mrs Nainhaikhar sat taller in her seat, a thing which, given her stature and excellent posture, should not have been possible. "After all that nice young midshipman did to stop Mr dh'Lhong from killing us all, I heard Mr dh'Lhong threaten to have him dismissed from his position and kicked out of the industry if he said anything about Mr dh'Lhong and I being on the bridge or what Mr dh'Lhong did. I decided that if I raised the issue, then no-one could be blackmailed or persuaded into silence."
A significant portion of the audience, including the local manager of the Northern Stars Line and the company's solicitor, decided that they needed to see a copy of that statement.
"So," continued Rear Admiral dh'Khaitheer, "how did you, a lady passenger, come to be on the bridge of the Empress Mahihild at that hour of the morning?"
"I was taking my morning constitutional around the promenade deck before breakfast when I was approached by Mr dh'Long who, from his dress and state of inebriation, was not another early riser but someone who was up very late from the previous night. He greeted me and suggested...well he made unwelcome suggestions." Mrs Nainhaikhar pursed her lips disapprovingly. "I declined. He then came closer to me than I was comfortable with and insisted that I come and see the view from the bridge with him. At that point I wanted to get to a place with more people in it because Mr dh'Lhong was making me feel very uncomfortable - and the bridge would have officers on duty, so I went."
"Surely that was a very short interaction to make you feel uncomfortable, Mrs Nainhaikhar?" The counsel assisting the Inquiry oozed courtroom experience.
"If you think it's possible that a man might be strong enough to pick you up and throw you into a wall, it needn't take a lot to make you uncomfortable with him," retorted the lady. "Also, in the time we have both been aboard the Empress Mhaihild, Mr Caitus dh'Lhong has earned a notoriety with the ladies in first class for being importunate and a bully. He started with the paid companions and has been working his way up the hierarchy ever since. He had already told myself and another widow that we were 'fair game' for a 'bit of rump and pump' in his opinion. Mr dh'Lhong's presence had become enough to make me uncomfortable and that is all down to his behaviour."
"I see," commented the Rear Admiral. He was not the only one, and the Northern Stars Line's local manager wondered how much coverage this was going to get in the papers. "Who was on the bridge when you arrived there?"
"After Mr dh'Lhong let us in, I realised that there was only a midshipman standing station," replied Mrs Nainhaikhar. "He said that the captain had stepped out to use the head and asked if he could help us."
The Rear Admiral asked, "Mr dh'Lhong let the two of you into the bridge? How did he do that?"
"He had a key," replied Mrs Nainhaikhar. "He said something about it being a perk of being on the Board."
The Northern Stars Line's local manager pulled out a notebook and a pencil and wrote himself a short note that involved exclamation marks and lots of circling.
"What happened next?" That was from Commodore Haidail.
"He pulled me over to the centre of the bridge and invited me to admire the view. Then he tried to put his arm around my waist," add the witness. "I moved away from him, out of reach. I don't believe the midshipman saw anything because he was looking out ahead of us through those big windows at the front of the bridge." Three of the Inquiry Board members nodded their heads to indicate that they knew what she was talking about. " Then he stepped up to the central panel and did something to the controls. The airship tilted downwards so much that I slid across the floor towards him, and he was waiting to catch me. Then the midshipman was there trying to pull the controls back up, Mr dh'Lhong was trying to stop him, and I started hitting Mr dh'Lhong with my reticule to try to distract him so the midshipman could level us out."
"When did you become aware of the Pearlish Star?" asked the Rear Admiral.
"As soon as we broke through the cloud layer," replied Mrs Nainhaikhar. "I really thought we were going to hit it, and then the captain was there. He and the midshipman got our airship level again, and then the captain managed to change our direction before that thing where multiple drive fields interact, and they both stop working happens."
"Lateral stall," supplied Commodore dh'Rhainair (Eng).
"Yes, that's the phrase I couldn't recall," agreed Mrs Nainhaikhar. "It was while the captain was doing that that Mr dh'Lhong pulled the midshipman aside and threatened him. Then other officers started arriving."
"And what happened after that?" The Rear Admiral's tone was almost avuncular.
"The Second Officer hurried me out of the room and back down to the passenger decks," replied Mrs Nainhaikhar. "I haven't seen the captain or the midshipman since. I have, unfortunately, seen Mr dh'Lhong. He told me that it would be best if I didn't discuss the matter with anyone - a matter of my reputation, and so forth. He hinted broadly at a possible continuance of our acquaintance - which I have no intention of entertaining."
The next witness called was Midshipman Bhartailos Saidhelhaid.
After the midshipman was sworn in as a witness, the Rear Admiral looked at the new document in front of him and asked mildly, "Midshipman, now that you are under oath to tell freely and generously tell the truth, do you wish to stand by the statement you gave to the Inquiry's investigators on the twenty second of this month?"
A moment's hesitation, a cast of his eyes around the hearing room, and the reply was, "I do not, sir."
"And why not?" The Rear Admiral appeared interested but dispassionate.
"Because it's not true and I gave that statement under coercion from a third party, sir." The midshipman looked painfully young.
"By whom were you being coerced, midshipman?" The Rear Admiral's tone remained unchanged.
"Mr Caitus dh'Lhong, a member of the Line's board, sir." The young man swallowed nervously.
"That would be the Board of Directors of the Northern Stars Line, would it?" The Rear Admiral looked up and made eye contact with the witness.
"Yes, sir."
The Rear Admiral went on, "So why did you wait until now to tell the truth?"
"Because I wasn't under oath before, sir, and I thought if I waited until now there would be half a chance I'd keep my job. I also thought that even if I do lose my job, there's a better chance that I can get another position if I show that I respect the Board of Inquiry's authority, even if Mr dh'Lhong does have the influence to get me thrown out of the industry."
Captain bh'Dhraiphair (Eng) looked up from the notes he was making with a steel nibbed, ivory dip pen. "Is that what Mr dh'Lhong told you?"
"Yes, sir. He said that if I told anyone about what he did, he'd know because the authorities in his pocket would tell him, and then he'd have me sacked and blackballed from any other ship." The young man took a deep breath and added, "While he was telling me that he had government officials in the palm of his hand, he was holding onto the neck of my coat and stopping me from following the captain's orders while he was getting the ship out of trouble."
"Did Mr dh'Lhong name any officials?" The Rear Admiral was dipping his own pen, steel nibbed bloodwood, in the inkwell as he asked the question.
"No, sir. He wouldn't in the circumstances, would he? But it did make me think there was a good chance he was bluffing." The midshipman finished with a look on his face as if he were wondering if he'd been too garrulous.
"Had you had any dealings with Mr dh'Lhong before this incident?" The Rear Admiral looked up from his notes, if he'd been wearing glasses then he would have been looking over the top of them.
"No, sir. I'm not important enough to be introduced to a Director of the Line," replied the young man honestly. "I'd seen him among the first class passengers, and I know that there had been discussions about him among the senior officers but that's the limit of my knowledge."
"What did those discussions pertain to?" The Rear Admiral was still looking over his metaphorical glasses.
"I don't know, sir. I heard his name mentioned several times, but I wasn't included in those discussions. I am only a midshipman," he added apologetically.
"As you say, Mr Saidhelhaid. Now, please tell us what it was that Mr dh'Lhong did that he does not want you to tell anyone about."
The young man began, "After he and the lady entered the bridge-,"
The Rear Admiral interrupted. "How did they enter the bridge?"
"Mr dh'Lhong had a key, sir. I saw him put it into a waist coat pocket." The midshipman made a shoving motion on his left side at about diaphragm level.
"Thank you," replied the Rear Admiral. "Please continue."
"I asked if I could help them, but Mr dh'Lhong ignored me, although I think the lady wanted to say something, so I turned back to scanning the sky in front of us - we were above a cloud layer and there was the chance another airship might ascend in front of us. In the reflection of the room on the glass I saw Mr dh'Lhong try to embrace the lady, but she moved away from him. He came forward to the centre of the window near the controls, but I thought he was going to tell her the view was better there and, perhaps, try his luck again." He added, "Because he had a bridge key I assumed that he knew how to behave on the bridge. I didn't expect him to move the altitude controls forward and send us into a dive. Then he just turned around and waited for the lady to slide into his arms." The midshipman looked bewildered. "Who does that?"
"Mr dh'Lhong, apparently," replied the Rear Admiral drily. "What happened next?"
"I made my way from my watch station to the altitude controls and started to pull back on them. Slowly, like I was taught, so I wouldn't damage the control surfaces. Mr dh'Lhong tried to stop me, pull me off the controls. I think the lady was hitting him around the head with her reticule and calling him an idiot." He swallowed, took a breath and went on, "Then we broke through the bottom of the cloud layer and there was another airship, in Pearlish Line colours, in front of us - I didn't think I could level us off in time to miss them, but then the captain was there, and he did it somehow...."
"Did you assist the captain?" That question came from Captain dh'Ghair, seated on the end of the not-engineering half of the table.
"I tried to, sir, but Mr dh'Lhong had me by the collar of my uniform while he was telling me to keep my mouth shut, so it was difficult." The midshipman looked apologetic.
“Any more questions for this witness, gentlemen?" The Rear Admiral glanced at his fellow Board of Inquiry members and then over at the table of the counsel assisting the Inquiry. "Learned counsel? No? Then thank you for your time, Mr Saidhelhaid, and please make yourself available for recall if we require you again."
The next witness called was Captain Haimail Ghaisardail of the Empress Mhaihild. After the preliminaries and his swearing in, the Rear Admiral asked, "Captain, do you stand by your statement given to this Inquiry's investigator on the twenty second of this month?"
"I do, sir." Captain Ghaisardail's statement was clear and direct.
"So, you were in the head when you realised that the ship had begun to descend, pulled yourself together and returned to the bridge with all possible speed." The Rear Admiral was summarising and the Captain was grateful for it.
"Yes, sir."
"Aside from the change in course, was the bridge as you left it with regards to personnel and content?" The Rear Admiral's tone was calm and even.
"No, sir. There were two first class passengers there," replied Captain Ghaisardail, his tone equally calm and even.
"Do you know how they got there?" The Rear Admiral had his pen in hand.
"As we keep the bridge locked to keep inquisitive passengers and non-bridge crew out, I assumed that Midshipman Saidhelhaid admitted them for some reason." The captain's tone suggested he was not pleased at this.
"Would you be surprised to hear that Mr dh'Lhong has a copy of the bridge key?" The Rear Admiral's tone was very calm.
Captain Ghaisardail sat straighter in his chair, "Very, sir. If he does, it can't be one of ours - they were all accounted for when we left our previous port, and they were all accounted for again after we arrived in Amnestri - twice, because the investigators asked for an audit...." Comprehension dawned. "That explains-." Then he remembered where he was and stopped talking.
"Exactly," confirmed Rear Admiral dh'Khaitheer with a nod of his head. "Now, did you hear Mr dh'Lhong talking to Midshipman Saidhelhaid?"
"He was talking to him while I was leveling out the ship," the captain's forehead wrinkled, "but I don't recall what he was saying. Didn't pay attention at the time except to be annoyed that the man was stopping Saidhelhaid from doing what I needed him to be doing."
The Rear Admiral asked, "Stopping him in what way?"
The captain's forehead wrinkled again, "He was holding on to him, I think. Every time Saidhelhaid moved in my direction, dh'Lhong pulled him back to him."
"Did Mr dh'Lhong take any other actions while he was on the bridge?" Captain bh'Dhraiphair had his pen hovering over his notes as he asked the question.
"None to my knowledge," replied Captain Ghaisardail. "My other bridge officers arrived and moved the passengers back to where they ought to have been in the first place. I was more concerned with the ship than with them."
The board agreed that they had not more questions for Captain Ghaisardail at this time and reminded him to hold himself ready to return at their convenience.
Rear Admiral Lord Raiph dh'Khaitheer's parting words were, "Oh, and Captain - I would take it as a personal favour if Mr dh'Lhong did not happen to fall from a great height onto a hard surface, such as from the Empress Mhaihild's promenade deck to the landing apron, any time soon. I'm sure you know who should be aware of that."
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Date: 2023-09-05 01:10 pm (UTC)Mr dh'Lhong is quite a piece of work, isn't he?
And I expect the Board will be even more unhappy with them than they were before.
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Date: 2023-09-05 01:18 pm (UTC)Mrs Nainhaikhar is a widow with money. That makes her an independent woman. :) She has options and she opts that they do not include Mr dh'Lhong.
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Date: 2023-09-05 01:36 pm (UTC)I have to assume he wasn't present at the hearing for the testimony given so far. Otherwise I would have expected screaming and ranting.
Either that or he's currently restrained and gagged.
Upon reflection, he's guilty of some *serious* crimes (and I'm not talking about his behavior with the women on the Empress).
At a guess, unauthorized possession of that bridge key. Unauthorized access to the bridge (dragging the Lady along is another count). Unauthorized use of the controls (probably called something else).
And the biggest is endangering the ship and *another* ship thru his actions.
Then there's likely to be perjury. Oddly enough, his statement to the press is *not* false. Because *He* is going to take all the blame.
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Date: 2023-09-05 01:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-05 01:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-05 02:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-05 01:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-05 02:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-07 12:57 am (UTC)I read this for the first time while out on a walk earlier, and I absolutely exclaimed, squawked, and squeaked at certain points. If anybody noticed any of that, they didn't comment. :P
That midshipman deserves a commendation, if not a promotion, in my opinion. At the other end of the spectrum, Mr. dh'Lhong can take his 'rump and pump' (that phrase isn't any less demeaningly suggestive out of context, eww) home and play it, although I suspect he'll be heading elsewhere, given the charges he's likely to face. I almost said his rump will be heading elsewhere, but decided that was a little too on the nose.
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Date: 2023-09-07 04:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-25 03:42 pm (UTC)