On the 19th of June 291 <>, the Crow Squadron of the SIDF was sent on a routine patrol along the edge of allied space. This squadron, commanded by Captain Léonne D'Aramitz, entered the so-called "Sector Q" 25 minutes after leaving their home station, and pilot Mairi Jardine took point in their patrol.
5 minutes after their arrival, D'Aramitz reported the appearance of ships that refused to identify themselves, followed shortly thereafter by the squadron being attacked by the strangers. In the ensuing shoot out, Jardine's ship was struck near the cockpit with a great deal of force, sending her ship into an uncontrolled spiral. When the hostiles had been neutralised, the communications of Crow Squadron received no response from Jardine.
Upon realising that Jardine was not dead, but barely conscious and unable to speak, D'Aramitz called SIDF Medical Command. When she requested the dispatch of a medical transport, as opposed to a collection craft, this was denied. She continued to press the issue, arguing with the call staff for several minutes. Lieutenant Kuroki Hinata then called Station Communications, requesting that they check Jardine's communications, validate her current status, and force Medical Command to send the correct ship. After a moment, her request was first forwarded to Station Command to overview, and after a second validation, Medical Command was ordered to send a medical transport.
Though the medical transport arrived within 30 minutes of dispatch, and their best efforts were made, Mairi Jardine was declared deceased upon her arrival back at port.
Sequence of Events
0:00: Crow Squadron leaves Home Port
25:03: Squadron enters Sector Q
30:10: Unidentified ships reported
30:45: Combat initiated by opposition
34:27: Mairi Jardine's ship sustained heavy damage
39:41: Last hostiles reported neutralised
41:04: Distress call placed
47:32: Call placed to Communications
49:21: Communications call forwarded to Station Command
51:07: Command call forward to Medical
51:56: Medical ship ordered to dispatch
53:44: Medical ship departed
80:23: Medical ship arrived
107:03: Medical and Crow Squadron return to base
109:00: Mairi Jardine declared deceased
Aftermath
In the wake of Jardine's death, the five surviving members of Crow Squadron were immediately given leave to return to their homes or nearest civilian centre to process their grief. A brief investigation including an autopsy was done, and Station Command's publicly released finding stated that Jardine had died of blunt force trauma when her ship had been struck, and that the squadron had been mistaken in their beliefs and their requests.
This accusation infuriated the pilots, with D'Aramitz returning to the station to speak with Command directly on the matter. Jardine's family also raised their objections, as even at this early stage the delay in sending a medical transport was becoming known information. They, along with the squadron pilots, submitted a formal request for a second investigation into how the various branches of the SIDF had handled the incident. This request was denied. Shortly thereafter, pilot Yi Jiwon submitted a request for permanent discharge from the SIDF, and Sascha Von Brandt followed suit some days after. These were granted, though publically spun as 'individuals retiring due to stress and injury'.
When the remaining three pilots returned to official service in the following months, they found themselves separated into different units as part of their reassignments. When D'Aramitz again raised a complaint about the splitting up of her crew, she was reprimanded. Following this, she left without informing the SIDF of this decision, causing panic over whether she might have defected to enemy combatants. In actuality, she had returned planetside and refused to return. She was court-martialed for desertion and found guilty, though she was punished only with a dishonourable discharge and a small fine due to mounting public attention.
Pressure
In 293, Jardine's family decided to air their frustrations with the SIDF publicly, taking part in a televised interview with the local media. As part of the package, the survivors of Crow Squadron were contacted for comment. While all expressed interest in the broadcast, both Kuroki Hinata and Espen Ibsen were forced to back out of appearing due to their ongoing service in the SIDF.
The Jardine interview caught the attention of many throughout the system, and increased interest in the original SIDF investigation into Mairi's death. Anonymous reports from within the SIDF echoed the concerns of her family and of Crow Squadron, while the official line remained firm. Efforts were made again to get the opinions of Kuroki and Ibsen, but before any words could be attributed to either, Ibsen was killed in a military engagement at the edge of allied space.
Though his death carried none of the ambiguity of Jardine's, his family came out to condemn the SIDF's callous treatment of them and the Jardine family, and the lack of respect for the pain they had all gone through. Specifically, they claimed that Ibsen had not been adequately supported in his grief and had not been helped when his mental state had darkened, placing him at greater risk of injury in the field.
Lawsuit
In 294, the Jardine family formally filed a wrongful death suit against the SIDF, alleging that the rigid adherence to protocol and the subsequent delays had directly caused their daughter's death. In their support they had the testimony of
3 Squadron pilots, as well as that of the Station Communications staff member who had recieved Kuroki's call, and of some of the medical staff aboard the transport.
The SIDF attempted to have the suit dismissed, citing the many waivers signed by pilots upon enlistment in the military, but their dismissal was denied. Hearings began soon thereafter, in one of the most well known court cases at the time.
A: SIDF Medical Command speaking, state your emergency.
D'Aramitz: Captain D'Aramitz of Crow Squadron, requesting a medical transport to Sector Q for pilot Mairi Jardine.
A: A medical transport?
D'Aramitz: A medical transport to Sector Q, to the coordinates of Mairi Jardine's ship.
A: Why are you requesting a medical transport?
D'Aramitz: I- Because Jardine requires medical assistance as soon as possible.
A: What is her status?
D'Aramitz: Unconcious and unrespons-
A: Then a collection carrier will be sent.
D'Aramitz: No, you don't understand.— Excerpt from the infamous Medical Command call
The prosecution hinged upon the perceived misconduct of the various communications staff and the protocols they had been told to follow, while the defence sought to justify their processes and place the blame upon Crow Squadron, especially Captain D'Aramitz and Lieutenant Kuroki.
Excerpts from the various calls made on June 19 were played for the jury, which each side justifying the actions of their individual. D'Aramitz made multiple statements in her own defence, explaining that she attempted to follow standard protocol for as long as she could bear before she lost her temper. Yi supported her sequence of events, additionally stating D'Aramitz had always been calm under pressure prior to this point, and that for her to lose her temper during a call to Medical Command was highly unusual.
Before he was able to add his supporting testimony, Von Brandt was killed in a horrific transport accident. The case was suspended for a few days for grieving and for the prosecution to decide how to proceed without their third squadron witness.
When the court resumed, Von Brandt's position had been replaced with a surprise witness - Lieutenant Kuroki, who had up to now remained quiet on affairs. She backed up the actions of her captain, and went on to justify her own significant delay in calling Station Communications.
During D'Aramitz's call, she had been focused on halting the momentum of Jardine's ship and securing it for the transport, and was unaware of the lack of progress made with Medical. When D'Aramitz finally lost her temper, Kuroki discussed with the remaining pilots what to do, with Yi suggesting a call to communications. As this was not protocol, and there was a high likelihood of reprimand for 'misuse of SIDF resources', she had been hesitant to do so. She only resolved to do so when an involuntary reaction from Jardine suggested that her condition was worsening and that the situation was urgent, whereupon she made the call.
Station Communications staff member Jimena Costa, who recieved the call, also mentioned her fear of reprimand for the unorthodox actions Kuroki was requesting. But after calling Jardine's ship, and seeing her state and "obvious consciousness" for herself, she forwarded the request to Station Command. The representative for Command testified to the unusualness of the request, but decided to "humour" Crow Squadron on the matter, owing mostly to D'Aramitz's long history of service and good record.
Costa: Station Communications, what i-
Kuroki: Lieutenant Kuroki speaking, we have been requesting a medical transport and are being denied.
Costa: I- Are you calling the correct-
Kuroki: Yes! Medical Command refuses to send a transport, I need you to make them send one.
Costa: Th-That is not-
Kuroki: Okay then, I want you to call pilot Mairi Jardine, Crow Squadron.
Costa: Excuse me?
Kuroki: I want you to confirm for yourself what the medical staff won't - that she's fucking alive, and needs medical attention. A collection carrier won't do. Can you do that?
Costa: ... Yes, I can do that.
Kuroki: Thank you! Please act quickly. She doesn't have much time.— Excerpt from Station Communications
The SIDF shot back with the results of their medical autopsy, which stated that the injuries Jardine had endured were too severe to not have killed her within minutes of impact, likely before the first call was even made. Therefore, the 'responses' the squadron and Costa claimed to see where not the reactions of a person in pain, but a body in decay. Unfortunately for their case, a handful of the medical staff aboard the transport would attest that this was untrue. While she had sustained harsh trauma from the impact on the cockpit, the recent developments in pilot safety had successfully cushioned the blow enough that she was "without question" still alive when the medical transport finally arrived some 45 minutes after.
Prosecutor: Mx Najjar, in your professional opinion, what was the prognosis for Ms Jardine?
Najjar: She was in an awful state when we arrived. The most optimistic view was that she would sustain severe brain damage, and perhaps need a wheelchair or around-the-clock care for the rest of her life. The least optimistic, of course, was that we were far too late.
Prosecutor: In your opinion, then, how much earlier would you need to have arrived for that former prognosis to be more likely?
Najjar: Even 5 minutes would have made a world of difference. Had we been quickly and accurately informed of her condition, I suspect we would have had upwards of 15.— Testimony of Amani Najjar, Medical Staff
Amani Najjar, who had been on the medical transport sent to Sector Q, testified that they had not been correctly informed about the nature of the emergency they were responding to. Specifically that they had been told the medical emergency was a 'light bump', and that the mission would mostly entail the retrieval of the pilot's ship. When they arrived at the coordinates and saw the damage done to the exterior of Jardine's ship, they came to the conclusion they had been misinformed.
As a result they had not brought the kinds of equipment which would have made a difference, being forced to request that they be met at the dock by the station's medical staff with the required tools. All members aboard made their greatest efforts to stabilise and save Jardine, but though she was alive on their arrival, she did not survive the return to the station.
Most controversially, Najjar stated they and their crew were reassigned away from medical transport after the incident, only being expected to handle injuries that happened on the station. Additionally, all were forced to sign a form in the aftermath stating that they had "done all they could" for Jardine, which struck them as odd. While that was true, this form was then used in the SIDF's investigation as proof that Jardine was dead when they arrived, which was "categorically untrue".
Outcome
When the case drew to a close, the jury found the SIDF guilt of Jardine's wrongful death, with the delay in medical response solely their responsibility. They were forced to compensate the Jardine family and all members of Crow Squadron for the harm brought to them by their actions and by the legal proceedings, including supporting the families of Ibsen and Von Brandt. While the SIDF attempted to appeal this ruling, it was upheld.
Aside from monetary compensation, the SIDF reformed its protocols for dealing with the injuries of pilots, especially in regards to single-pilot craft like those flown by Crow Squadron. From then on, all field incidents would be responded to on a case by case basis, and medical transports would be made more available for this purpose.
By far the strangest outcome of the Jardine lawsuit was a change made to the design of single-pilot craft. In addition to adding more support and protection for pilots, newer models included the ability to 'dock' ships together while in space. This way, the SIDF reasoned, a pilot would be able to dock onto an injured squadmates ship and enter it to render assistance, serving to both lessen the culpability of the SIDF as an organisation and make it more likely a pilot would survive a moderate injury.
For the survivors of Crow Squadron, unfortunately, this would not be the end of their troubles. For Léonne D'Aramitz especially, she found it difficult to get work due to damage to her reputation inflicted by her desertion and the efforts of the SIDF to descredit her testimony. She was able to find some success with a memoir about the incident, which contained words from both Kuroki and Yi, and which was briefly opposed by the SIDF. However, she continued to have a hard time, and died in 304 <> under non-suspicious circumstances. Though the organisation had railed against her, her funeral was attended by a significant number of current and former personnel, with others sending words of support in their stead.
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