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Date Posted: 12:44:16 05/06/13 Mon
Author: fananicfan
Subject: Epilogue - The Truth Is Everything

EPILOGUE

TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2009

RLSO
SAN DIEGO, CA
1130 LOCAL - 1430 EASTERN

Tiner saw Harm walking briskly through the bullpen towards the elevators. It was rapidly approaching mid-day, so he thought that the captain was probably going out to lunch. However, the weight of what was on his mind was greater than his fear that he'd cause his CO to be delayed.

"Captain Rabb," Tiner called, doing double time to close the distance between them.

"Yes, Tiner," Harm responded kindly and unhurriedly, turning to make eye contact with the person calling out to him, a contridiction to the pace that he'd been traveling a moment ago.

"You're going out, Sir, so I don't wish to detain you, but when you have a free moment, Sir, I have a question about the Kane case."

Knowing that they'd solved the Kane case at the end of last week by way of a confession, Harm couldn't imagine what question Tiner might have to ask him, but if it was a simple one, he didn't want to put off what would take him a few seconds to answer now.

"Will my answer have to be more than a yes or no?" Harm asked.

"I'm afraid so, Sir." Tiner replied honestly.

"Are you available for the next hour, maybe a little longer, Tiner?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Then you're with me. We'll talk on the way."

"Yes, Sir," Tiner responded.

Harm's pace picked up again, and Tiner had to almost jog to keep up with him.

Tiner was lucky that the elevator wasn't at their floor and that Captain Rabb had to press the call button, which allowed Tiner time to catch his breath.

"Captain, where are we going?" Tiner asked.

"To my house, Lieutenant. The former tenants, who'd originally told us they'd be out the last weekend of the month, are finally ready to turn the property back over to me. I'm going over there to see what needs to be done to get the house ready for my family."

Harm managed to get his answer out before the elevator signaled its arrival with a ding.

Since two people were already on the elevator, it wasn't the place to have a conversation about a case, causing the two men to remain silent as they descended to the main floor.

"It's a personal errand, so I'm taking my car, Lieutenant. Hop in," Harm ordered as they approach his red Corvette convertible, which was parked near the entrance to the building and adjancent to the command car.

"Yes, Sir," Tiner said, eager to ride in the classic beauty.

Once Harm had his car out of the parking lot and on the road towards the main gate, he began the converstaion.

"Lieutenant, since our involvement ended last Friday - aside from some paperwork - when the victim's mother-in-law confessed, what question do you have now about the case?"

"I should've been more specific, Sir. My question doesn't pertain to the case, but to the paperwork that you mentioned, Sir." Feeling that he was perhaps asking a foolish question or one to which he should know the answer without consulting his superior, Tiner hedged in getting to his question.

"On the final report, there's a section for comments/recommendations, and I'd thought that I'd just put in there that Chief Kane was cleared of the charge, but I have to question if that's sufficient since there's still a chargable offense that hasn't been addressed, Sir. Shouldn't I recommend that Master Chief Hollenbeck and Chief Kane be prosecuted for having the affair?"

"It's certainly an option for you to make that recommendation," Harm commented, thinking over the impact of the suggestion on the chief and master chief.

"I gather from the way you said that, Sir, that if you were me, you wouldn't make that recommendation, Sir?" Tiner stated as a question.

"Probably not," Harm answered honestly.

"You don't believe that their actions violated the UCMJ, Sir?" Tiner asked.

"They definitely did, by their own admission, but I think that there are some crimes that are better left unprosecuted."

"I don't understand, Sir."

"Let's say that their COs left the choice up to you. Who should be charged, with what and why?" Harm asked, the first step in demonstrating his point.

"Since the master chief is senior, I'd charge him with fraternization, and he being the married one of the two, adultery."

"I understand how you reached that decision, but I want to point out that they weren't in the same direct chain of command since one of them was stationed as part of the ship's crew and the other was part of an air wing assigned for deployment. Also, we're not talking about an enlisted service member and an officer here, so getting a conviction on fraternization with such a minimal difference in rank would be unlikely."

"I see your point about that charge, but what about the adultery charge, Sir?" Tiner asked.

"A case could be made for that charge because, as you pointed out, being senior and the one married, Hollenbeck, even if he was the one who was pursued, should've said no and reported her for sexual harrassment."

"You said that a case could be made, Sir. Does it mean that, if you were the one who was making the decision, you wouldn't charge him, Sir?"

Harm knew that, now as a CO, part of his reason for not moving on the rarely prosecuted charge of adultery was partly due to the resources of time and money that it would take away from the budget and the impact that the shortage could have on other cases, but this was a hypothetical situation, and the mention of monetary concerns didn't seem to belong. Besides, it wasn't Harm's only reason why he wouldn't opt to charge the master chief.

"I wouldn't, but my primary reason may not be as clear to you. I'd decline to prefer charges because the punishment doesn't hurt only the one charged, but it also impacts the family, compounding an already existing problem."

Tiner looked confused, so Harm explained.

"It would be unusual for someone to receive jail time for a conviction on an adultery charge, which leaves monetary punishements such as having to forfiet some pay, being reduced in rank or discharged, which means that the punishment usually does as much damage to the family financially as the adultery did emotionally."

"I understand that, especially in the master chief's case because of his severely ill child, but doesn't it seem like we're condoning his behavior if we do nothing?" Tiner asks.

"I didn't say to do nothing, Lieutenant. Sometimes in an effort to achieve a balance between crime and punishment, you need to be creative," Harm said, sounding mischieveous.

"For instance, I don't think that a follow-up with Mrs. Hollenbeck to check on her and her children would be a bad idea, and while you were there, I'm sure that a resourceful attorney such as yourself could find a way to give her information on where she could go if she chose to leave her husband and clarify that, as dependent children, their father would be obligated to maintain medical coverage for them. You can do that without her perceiving that you're offering to represent her in the matter," Harm explained.

Arriving ten minutes later at the Rabb home in La Jolla, Harm was as equally enthusiastic about getting inside to survey what work needed to be done to prepare for his family's arrival as he was in continuing to mentor Tiner.


The end of this one, but there are a few more stories in the works.

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Replies:

[> That snuck up on me, I was really getting into Tiners dilema, also excited about Rabb family reunion! Will patiently await your next! -- JoyZ, 12:55:51 05/06/13 Mon [1]


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[> Excellent chapter now patiently wanting more. I will try to be patient. -- Beth, 13:18:03 05/06/13 Mon [1]


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[> great chapter looking forward to see the next story -- Bev uk, 14:13:56 05/06/13 Mon [1]


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[> Great job! -- cd, 19:10:08 05/06/13 Mon [1]


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[> As usual, fananicfan, another great episode. Can hardly wait -- but, I will, and patiently -- for the reunion. Sure hope the tennts didn't tear the place up! -- carramor, 19:31:37 05/06/13 Mon [1]


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[> Great to see Harm being such a great mentor to Tiner. That quality is one of my fave things about him. I've loved this part of your wonderful series, looking forward to the next. -- Dee, 05:33:19 05/07/13 Tue [1]


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[> Nice way to end Part 45, thank you and looking forward to Part 46 when you are able to post. -- Can Sheshe, 15:33:57 05/07/13 Tue [1]


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[> Thank you fananicfan, great story. Can't wait for the next installment!!!! -- Kelsey, 07:33:05 05/08/13 Wed [1]


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