| Subject: ...For Meritorious Service, Chapter 26d, part two - conclusion |
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TxJAG_b
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Date Posted: 11:45:24 09/14/09 Mon
In reply to:
TxJAG_b
's message, "...For Meritorious Service, Chapter 25d, part two - continued" on 16:25:09 01/08/09 Thu
A/N1 - Thanks to my troika of editors for their fantasic help with this, now let's conclude this chapter. PS - thanks for all the kind comments. :)
Shark Team Landing Zone
Dawn would be coming soon and the disaster at the landing zone had seriously messed with Darcy's timetable. After giving the recon troops a brief overview of their mission for Colonel Briggs, she divided up the Shark One and Three's personnel while sending Colonel MacKenzie and Shark Two ahead of the main group.
MacKenzie quickly gathered her Marines and within a few minutes the entire unit was speeding away in their Dodge pickups from Colonel Livingston and her assembled units. As soon as Mac's troops were out of sight, Darcy gave her Force Recon Marines a wicked smile.
"Now that we've eliminated those who could have compromised this mission, we can get down to business…."
Before she could complete her next thought, one of the assembled Marines interrupted her.
"What's our real mission, ma'am?" it was Bart Skinner, the leader of Shark Three.
Darcy nodded to Captain Lewis who had been conferring with 1st Lieutenant Baggett, Darcy's XO for Shark One. "Our real mission, Skinner, is really quite simple. First, we eliminate Shark Two and then we make our way to al-Sahood's safe house."
"But I thought you said Colonel MacKenzie could be trusted…" shot back Sergeant Greg Saunders, one of Skinner's reconnaissance engineer NCOs.
"She can," the Captain reassured Saunders and some of the others who had looked nervous about taking on a whole armed squad of their fellow recon soldiers. "But she has several in her unit who would try and stop us. We have to help eliminate them."
"So how are we going to do that?" Desmond Bailey, Shark Three's XO, asked. "Are we going to ambush them?"
Darcy shook her head. Sometimes these new recruits…they may be Force Recon Marines, but they didn't understand the first thing about being really ruthless. "No, nothing so pedestrian, Cher…we're going to let Sahood's men do the dirty work for us and then we'll eliminate any surviving opposition from MacKenzie's unit."
Bart though, still didn't like the idea. "I don't know, Colonel, killing our guys from a distance is one thing, but getting in close…" He didn't finish his thought.
Darcy laid a seemingly sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Cher, you know we tried to talk sense into them, but they wouldn't listen. It's better this way, you know that."
Bart looked up at her, as if he'd suddenly realized that this kind of hesitation could lead to his own death. "You're right ma'am; it's better this way."
He couldn't see Sergeant Gonsalves behind him. The Force Recon sniper had pulled out his combat knife. Out of his line of vision, Jacques signaled to the Sergeant `not yet'. Gonsalves re-sheathed his knife, but the look on his face told everyone around them that Skinner's reprieve was only temporary.
"Yes, and unfortunately, it is the only way, Cher." Her voice was cold and emotionless. She did not regret having to do it this way anymore than she regretted PFC Alton's death or the shooting down of Pelican 3.
Seeing that she had satisfied Skinner, she continued her briefing.
"Now then, once al-Sahood's men have eliminated our liabilities, MacKenzie and her team will be combined with our units and we'll make our way to Sahood's safe house. When we have replenished and reequipped ourselves there, we'll position ourselves so we can direct the SCUD and FROG missiles down onto the 36th as it pushes its way past Sahood's `frontier defenses."
She smirked at her crew. "What Colonel Briggs doesn't know, won't hurt him." That comment elicited a few sarcastic chuckles from Darcy's Force Recon Marines.
*~*
Navy Detention Facility
Washington Navy Yard
Major Clemons and Commander Burford sat across the table from Admiral Chegwidden and Commander Mattoni
"So, what are you charging our clients with?"
John Burford cleared his throat and then began reading the charge sheet. "Violation of the following articles of the UMCJ: Article 134, Unlawful entry; article 108, theft of electronic data; article 104, aiding the enemy and sabotage of naval equipment; and violation of article 106a, Espionage."
"You have no proof they stole that data or that they were engaged in espionage, it's all hearsay at this point…." The Admiral's eyes bored into his two junior officers. They tried their best to ignore his intimidation tactics.
"It's on Corporal Bannion's disk," countered Carly Clemmons. Despite himself, AJ was beginning to admire the Major's spunk.
Alan Mattoni shook his head. "Doesn't mean a thing. You can't prove the file is Bannion's. And the unlawful entry charge is weak."
"We have a sworn statement from Lieutenant Porter stating that her spare key disappeared over two weeks ago and hasn't been recovered yet." John said firmly.
"Does the serial number match her lost key?" The Navy/Marine JAG asked. He was fishing and both John and Carly knew it.
Carly decided to let him have this one. "Yes it does, Admiral."
That was all AJ Chegwidden needed. The Admiral and Commander Mattoni began picking up their papers and files and putting them into their briefcases.
"Fine," replied AJ with a hint of smugness, "it looks like a plea bargain is out of the question…we'll see you in court."
John and Carly rose and watched as both men exited the room, leaving them alone. Nothing was said between the two junior JAG attorneys for a moment.
"Did he say what I think he did?" Carly finally asked in a quiet voice.
John nodded, looking as if he had just survived a chance encounter with a mountain lion. "He did; you think we have a shot at winning this case?"
Carly began hurriedly gathering her papers and stuffing them into her briefcase. She shot him a worried look. "We'd better…because if we don't, he'll hang us from that yardarm out there in the courtyard."
???? Local
USS Patrick Henry
Harm and Nicole had on their gear and were headed through the ship's passageways toward the Patrick Henry's flight deck.
"So this Webb character, just how good is his intel?" Nicole asked. She had been talking with Harm about Clayton Webb's threat assessment report and about who gave the first confirmation that there might be traitors in the 36th MEU.
Harm chuckled sarcastically, "Annoyingly accurate," he quipped, thinking about his previous run-ins with this particular CIA Agent.
Nicole gave him a wry grin. "Well, let's hope he's off this time."
Harm gave her a quick unsettled smile. "Yeah, let's."
Harm opened the door to the flight deck and they were simultaneously greeted and assaulted by the noise and odors of the carrier flight deck. Bathed in early morning floodlights, steam swirled and mixed with jet exhaust. All around them flowed a veritable rainbow of crews- aviation fuel teams, plane handler teams, catapult and arresting gear teams, ordnance crews and teams responsible for putting liquid oxygen in the planes. Moving carefully through this multihued tide, they hustled to join their RIOs who were already standing by their Tomcats.
"Glad to see you two finally deigned to join us!" Pete barked over the noise and confusion of the deck operations going on around them.
"Sorry; big secret meeting with the JAG man, here!" She quipped as she pulled on her helmet.
Both Pete Gibbons and Jeff Rodriguez gave Harm a puzzled look.
"She's kidding!" Harm replied in a slightly annoyed voice as he secured the chin strap for his helmet.
"Commander!" Yelled the leader of the plane handler team nearest to Harm and Nicole's aircraft, "Time's a wastin'! You gonna fly this morning or not?!"
Harm looked at Nicole and the RIOs, and then he turned back the leader. "We're good to go!"
"Then get on board! As the Duke would say; you're `burnin' daylight'!!"
The two pilots and their RIOs climbed into their aircraft and strapped themselves in. Once the plane crews were sure they were secure, they moved the fighters to the rear of the steam catapult. Harm's plane was hooked in first, then Nicole's. As they were being attached to the catapult mechanism, the jet blast deflectors slowly rose in back of each plane.
On board their aircraft, the two Tomcat crews made their final checks to make sure everything was go for launch.
Harm looked out of the cockpit at the yellow jersey wearing launch officer. Harm and Nicole began to give their planes power at his signal. This was always the hardest part and the most dangerous. Would they get up enough speed to clear the deck and get airborne? Was the catapult dialed to the right weight for these aircraft? If not, they would sail off the carrier and their planes would plunge into the warm Gulf waters while Pete and Jeff would become the newest members of the Martin Baker Fan Club.
Harm closed his eyes for a moment as he goosed his throttle a little bit more. What was taking so long? Suddenly Harm was pressed back in his seat as he felt his plane rocketing toward the end of the launch ramp. The aviator/lawyer gave his plane more power and felt it rise into the still dark sky. His launch was swiftly followed by Nicole's and soon the two were winging their way into the darkness.
*~*
Back on the carrier, Captain Tobias Ingles was sitting in his chair on the bridge, drinking his morning cup of coffee. Not many Captains would be up this early, but he was having trouble sleeping…perhaps because of the recent `incidents' with the Iranians. It wasn't like they were just starting this up now. They had been bumping noses with American carrier battle groups since they first started patrolling in the Persian Gulf. Maybe it was this flu bug. He checked with the ship's doctor; there was nothing deadly about this strain, just more debilitating than the usual run of the mill flu. Still, the number of pilots who were down with this thing was a concern to him.
As he ruminated on what else might be bothering him and thus ruining his good night of sleep, a radio officer with a look of urgency approached him.
"Captain Ingles, sir?"
"What is it Petty Officer?" Captain Ingles could see the sailor was holding a folded letter.
"From Central Command, sir," he said simply. Ingles wondered if the Petty Officer had read it.
The Captain of the Patrick Henry acknowledged the Petty Officer and took the letter. He unfolded it and began reading. There were all the usual protocols at the top. He skimmed past them and began reading through the first paragraph. Enemy activity on the rise…insurgent attacks on the increase south of Najaf…. Then his eyes stuck on the first sentence of the second paragraph. He read it again just to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.
"Officer of the deck!" he barked.
The snarl in his voice was so unexpected that the young Lieutenant almost snapped to attention.
"Yes sir!"
Tobias Ingles wasn't about to apologize for that. Right now he had bigger things weighing on his mind; like the contents of this letter. "Get the Air Boss and the Mini-Boss up here on the double!"
"Aye, aye, sir!"
The Lieutenant hurriedly grabbed the ship's public address mike and spoke into it. "Air Boss and Mini-Boss! Report to the bridge! Air Boss and Mini-Boss! Report to the bridge immediately! !"
---TBC…
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