Court-Martial Snippet 2

First a sitrep: I received CM back from Rea at 5:30 am this morning. I'm...surprised. Wow! Okay! I need to go through it and do the usual post edit chores, add the bits and stuff, then send it off to Goodlifeguide.com. :)

On to the CM snippet. Still in chapter 1:
Note: this is from my old CM copy, I haven't had the time to go through Rea's yet. Also, 1 paragraph refuses to format to white font again. Sigh.

“So, you are saying you won't rewrite your report?” Commander Dauplin demanded, voice dripping with danger as he looked intently at the Neoorangutan.

“Hell no. I told you before Commander, I was there. I made certain every I was dotted, every T crossed. I documented everything, and I do mean everything. I was the NCIS on the scene, and I stand by my conclusions,” Agent Shaffer stated.

“Then you are out.”

“Excuse me?” the orange ape demanded, green eyes bugging out in surprise.

“You heard me.”

“Out of what?”

“Out. As in, out of the ship, out of this investigation, and most likely out of a job. I'll speak to your director personally.”

“You can't do that Commander. I'm not in your chain of command.”

“I won't have to. The brass wants this to happen. I'm not stupid enough to get in their way. You are. So, we'll bring another team on board to do it right. If that means your report gets thrown in the trash, so be it.”

“Fine, whatever. Do what you want. But leave me out of it,” the ape said, waving a long fingered hand at the commander.

“I intend to.”

@<o>^<o>@

Many of the major news outlets treated the broadcast as a hoax until they got confirmation from the navy and the government. Both the navy and government had a clear no comment, so they were forced to fall back on their own sources. Since the broadcast had been made so openly, they had to treat it as real. The question was, was it actually from Irons or a hoax? The media outlets played up both sides.

But the news of Horatio's arrest slipped out as well, adding to the questions swirling around. At first, the news got to the backrooms via sources within the navy. When reporters tried to get official confirmation their requests were ignored which only fueling their curiosity. The arrest was too much to ignore for long many knew. Eventually one of their organizations would break to scoop the others. Many reporters argued and pleaded with their editors to be the one to break the news. The editors in turn passed the requests up the corporate chain. For the moment, they were ordered to just gather information.

Admiral Childress and his supporters did what they could to stem the tide before they went into damage control mode. Captain Prescott was off duty on leave, so the public affairs department was closed for comment, stymieing the media's attempts to get something there. While the first drops of inquiry began to fall, Admiral Draken and Childress Industries had to trade heavily to keep the break with the Federation and Horatio's arrest out of the news.

Some of the corporations were okay with censoring the news, if the price was right. Many of their sponsors were subsidiaries of industrial concerns, like major vehicle manufacturers. The threat of them pulling their ad funding was enough to make them think twice about not playing ball with the industrialists and the navy.

But they wanted more tech releases plus other forms of access that Admiral Childress's backers were frantic to prevent. Admiral Draken initially promised some concessions but that upset Admiral Childress and a few of their conservative backers. They refused which threw the negotiations into chaos.

Admiral Draken realized he couldn't give the media corporations everything they wanted. He tried to negotiate a compromise but Omar's flat out refusal had destroyed their faith in him.

However, the corporations couldn't control the indie media outlets and others, those who saw an opening to exploit and use to rise through the ranks. They saw the major media outlets remaining quiet about the story so they picked it up and ran with it. They were considered the fringe, but it was picked up by social media. Some were cynical and skeptical of the news, but inquiries began to grow. The social media sites tried to police the news, but the more you tried to keep something a secret the more people took an interest in it.

When a communications officer admitted overhearing the arrest order for Admiral Logan during a bathroom break at a mall while off duty, a fellow patron managed to get the admission on camera. That went viral on social media. Then it was joined by the military family's network who also confirmed something was going on.

Shamed into being shown that they were not doing their jobs, first one, and then other light media outlets let slip about the broadcast. They kept it as 'alleged' in order to protect themselves from any prosecution, but the dam had burst.

Within an hour of the initial break, all of the major outlets had broken faith with the navy and Childress Industries and had gone on the attack. Captain Prescott's public affairs department was swamped within minutes by requests for information, clarification, and commentary.

@<o>^<o>@

Admiral Omar Childress read the report of the broadcasts and the media reports. He tucked his hands behind his back, incensed that it had come that far. “That disloyal son of a bitch. I'm going to break him,” he seethed.

“To be fair, Irons is a bit far out of your league,” Vice Admiral Sherman Draken, his chimera number 2 said mildly.

“Not him, Irons I can't touch, obviously. But his mouthpiece... I'm going to make an example of him. I should have broken him a while ago. He should have stayed gone,” the human growled.

There was a firestorm going on behind the scenes. His corporate supporters were trying to keep a lid on it, but it wasn't easy. He was aware that there were demands he step down. He wondered what Sherman thought of all of it, and if the other man was sharpening a knife to stick in his back. Suddenly his shoulders itched. He couldn't help but turn around to face the other man as he took his seat.

He knew now he had his back up against the wall. There was no turning back from where they were. “My people are dealing with the broadcast. We're breaking it up with jammers, and ONI is landing on anyone who posts something online. They are scrubbing the files as soon as they hit the net,” he said.

“But the damage is already done,” Sherman said.

“So, what are you going to do?” Omar demanded.

Sherman cocked his head and then shrugged. “The orders weren't directed to me.” He said slowly, being evasive. “Not by name. I think, due to the vague nature of them, and the cloud they are under since they were broadcast in the open, I... think the highly unusual method of handling them leads them to be suspect. Given that I'll wait on proper orders from the Federation. I'll put in a written request for clarification,” he said dryly.

Omar held his gaze steadily for a long moment then nodded slowly at the show of support. The relief he felt was intense, almost orgasmic. “Good to know,” he said gruffly.

“What about Admiral Logan? How do we deal with him? And how do we deal with the broadcast long term?”

“We kill two birds with one stone,” Admiral Childress said immediately. Admiral Draken cocked his head. The human admiral smiled. “You yourself pointed out that the means by which he transmitted the orders were highly irregular and therefore suspect. So, we have no choice but to disregard them. I'll say so publicly of course, after people calm down a little. And as for the man who issued them, well, he's committed mutiny.” He turned to the diminutive JAG. “As far as I am concerned, throw the book at him. I want him in the brig. Preferably out an airlock."

"Are you serious?" Admiral Draken demanded as he stared at Omar in shock. “Omar, it's one thing to have the man arrested...” He shook his head.

"I'm as serious as a heart attack,” his boss said flatly. “We don't take the orders head on, we say they are false and he's committing mutiny. We have no proof they actually came from Irons!” He flung his hands apart. “Just the authentication code and voice, both of which can be faked. It could all be one elaborate hoax! This Irons could be a trick, a hologram puppet for all we know!"

Admiral Shren frowned as Sherman looked at him. The JAG didn't commit either way. Finally, the chimera turned to Omar. "You really think it will fly?"

"I think stomping on him hard enough will make people think twice about getting out of line," the Admiral snarled. “Pass on a gag order to the court too.”

  "In order for this to work as you want, it would have to be public. That could get very messy," Admiral Draken warned. "Even worse than what we've got on our plate now."

"What do you want me to do? Resign?" the Admiral demanded. Admiral Draken just gave him a basilisk gaze. After a moment, he snorted. "Don't try that with me. I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. We're in this and we'll see it through."

"See what through? Eventually Irons will..."

Admiral Childress made a brushing motion as if that concern hardly mattered. "I'll deal with that as it comes. For the moment, we're going to land on that bastard mouthpiece with both feet hard. To think he even got a promotion? Without facing a board? Bullshit." the admiral said in disgust.

"That... could add a bit to your claim that it is not a legitimate order," Admiral Draken said slowly as he considered the situation from all angles.

"Of course it does!" the human admiral said with a wave of his hand. "We'll sell it as we see fit. The navy will fall in line. We'll shake the patron trees until they do."

Admiral Draken grimaced. "Telling them to take it raw could spark additional problems."

"Then we'll land on them too."

"I'm talking about a potential civil war within our own Navy. We've got our people in some key positions, but they can't be everywhere. Some are sharpening their own knives..."

Omar smiled darkly. "All the more reason to proceed by setting an example. A nasty one to make them all think twice before they jump into this."