Colonel Ryan Anderson, dressed smartly in his dress blues with his cap under his left arm rose and snapped to attention before the judge.
"Colonel Anderson, you stand charged with failure to exercise proper command, negligent performance of duty, insubordination and conduct unbecoming an officer of Star Force in relation to the accident and subsequent loss of the space vessel Orion this past March. Having reviewed the evidence, this general courts martial finds the following. With regards to the charge of failure to exercise proper command, we find you not guilty. With regards to the charge of negligent performance of duty, we find you not guilty. With regards to the charge of insubordination, we find you not guilty. With regards to the charge of conduct unbecoming, we find you guilty as charged."
A murmur rose over the court room. Colonel Anderson stood stiff as a board, unmoved and showed no outward reaction.
The judge continued. "In passing sentence, we have taken into account your 15 years of unblemished service, the glowing testimonials of your superiors and peers alike and the fact that while your actions raised many troubling questions, they did lead to the survival of your entire crew, but also led to the destruction of a priceless national asset. It is the judgment of this court martial that you retain your present rank and are restored to flight and command status immediately, however, you are as of this date terminated from the front line Star Force and re-assigned to command the newly formed Star Force Youth Astronaut program. Your leadership and dedication to duty are too important to be lost to this program and will be of exceptional service to your new command. So be it. The judge intoned as he brought his gavel down with a crash.
A million thoughts raced through Ryan's mind. He could have faced a long stint at the Edmonton disciplinary barracks and never be allowed to fly again. Instead he was reassigned to command the astronaut kiddy corps. On the bright side, he was restored to flight status and could, according to Malcolm Drummond, his lawyer, basically have free reign to run the youth program as he saw fit.
"Thanks for everything Major," he said to Malcolm and offered his hand.
"You're welcome Colonel. I wished it could have turned out differently, but I think you can make a real go of this."
"I hope so. I suppose I could always head south if not. NASA is always looking to poach good people from us."
"These kids need you. The program needs these kids," Malcolm said seriously.
"I'll give it my best shot," Ryan replied somewhat skeptically.