Jethro: First to Fight (28 page)

“Really. So instead you make the Marines
look like push overs,” Fonz grumbled.

“No, well yes, but then there was that
whole smell thing. You see the look on the guy's face?” Hurranna asked and then
chuckled.

“So?” Fonz demanded.

“So we can track him by scent. And the
smell? He pissed himself. I bet he'll be looking over his shoulder for a looong
time.”

“Yeah well, we better report this to
higher. Which means save it in your implants,” Jethro ordered.

“Shit,” Fonz sighed.

...*...*...*...*...

They immediately called and talked to
Gunny Schultz, reporting the incident. The Gunny listened to their report and
then passed it on up the chain of command. The Gunny knew that Marines were no
angels, off duty personnel were known to get wild and more than a few had ended
up in the station or ship brig sleeping off a bender. They'd all received searing
new puckerholes afterward... which for some wasn't much of a deterrent. That
was also on par for service personnel. Losing their chance at liberty for a
month or more usually helped curb them however.

Most were mild, drunk, bar fights, drunk
and disorderly, gambling, solicitation, the occasional vagrancy for someone who
had passed out in a corridor, and even two lewd behaviors that had been
sufficient to pass up the chain to JAG for court martial instead of the usual
Captain's mast.

Service personnel were made aware that
their implants would record any incident they were involved in, both for their
prosecution and for their defense. When usage of such footage in the Captain's
masts were made public to service personnel they quickly learned to at least tone
it down and watch out for each other. They also learned to pull their punches,
implant enhanced strength could kill or do significant damage. More than one
victim's broken jaw could attest to that fact.

 When a few drunken squids had been
mugged for their valuables, the noncoms learned to release most of their people
going on liberty in a buddy system, and on rotation. Security on Anvil and on a
few of the colonies also learned to keep an eye out on the bars when personnel
were off duty... and to work with the shore patrol assigned to mop up any
incidents.

Drinking had its own dangers. Dust,
alcohol, and other stimulants or depressants were hell on someone who had
enhanced senses. Hangovers with enhanced senses tended to make many wary of
overindulging. Marines learned that sometimes, having enhanced hearing, sight,
and smell when you overdid it wasn't necessarily a good thing. Some medics and
noncoms were positively malicious with those who overindulged, usually brutally
so. Sometimes noobs were set up just to experience such attention, it was all
part of the brotherhood. If you couldn't take the joke you should never have
joined.

This incident however didn't sound like
an ordinary incident. A quick scan of the file Jethro sent him confirmed his
suspicions that something was hinky. The Gunny put the alarm out.

Major Forth got wind of the incident
right along the same time other incidents were reported. He groaned when a
choice select number made the evening conservative news circuit. Of course he
had to take his ire out on the Marines for letting it happen, not that it was
their fault, it was obvious that they had been set up, but he still had to
remind them of their larger responsibilities.

He couldn't blame the Marines in the
videos. Two had kept their heads, turning what could have been a messy brawl
into a shouting match. One had come to blows, but had instantly pinned his
opponent when the cameras had come out into the open.

The one thing that ticked him off was
one of the men was in the hospital. He claimed to have whiplash and a broken
jaw. Commander Thornby replied that he had neither, and the footage of the man
in a hospital bed was not from one of her facilities. Forth fed that to Knox as
well as the assertion that the entire mess was a put up job.

The injured human sued the Marines the
next morning. He appeared before the doors to the courthouse chambers in a halo
ring and all bandaged up, with a pair of smartly dressed attorneys on either
side of him, talking to the cameras for him. He looked like he'd been beaten to
a pulp, with a swollen cheek and two black eyes.

Hastily the Anvil prosecution's office
was called in. No criminal charges were to be filed, it was obvious from the
witness statements that the so called victim had antagonized the situation and
even thrown the first punch. The prosecutor reported that he was being leaned
on by the system attorney general to file charges against the Marine. He had
told her flat out to go to hell, he wouldn't move until his investigation was
concluded.

The Judge Advocate General's office had
been involved from the beginning, they had already viewed the footage from the
media as well as from the Marine and the other Marines and off duty naval
personnel in the crowd. They were still forming a brief when word got out about
the lawsuit. The JAG office sent a representative right away, and asserted
jurisdiction since a military personnel had been involved. They also sent a
representative to handle the civil lawsuit. The media played it up, showing the
smartly dressed formal uniform of the naval officer stepping into the court
chambers.

Judge Farely, senior judge on Anvil and
also Chief justice of the Anvil supreme court somehow took the case. There was
some consternation when a pair of bailiffs escorted the attorneys into an empty
court chamber.

The judge brushed through the opening
court proceedings and took his seat, brushing his black robe and settling
himself into his chair. He nodded to both parties. “All right, let's hear it.”
He motioned a gnarled hand towards the plaintiff.

The attorneys representing the 'victim'
Mister Yurelli filed for damages and then filed for a motion to open the trial
to the media. They then filed a motion to suspend all Marines from Anvil, and
finally a continuance motion to further gather evidence.

“I don't see a need for that. You have
all the evidence here, witness statements, the video record...” the judge said,
holding up a tablet.

“Your honor in light of the
circumstances...”

The judge waved the protest aside as he
turned to the JAG officer. “Er, Ensign...”

“Lavot sir. For the defense.” He nodded
to the young woman with him. “This is ADA Winters, who was down the hall when
this civil action was filed. We were both called in to represent the
defendant.”

“Ensign Lavot. Does your client wish to
proceed?”

“Yes sir. We wish to put this all behind
us as soon as possible your honor.” He turned as the doors opened and Doctor
Thornby entered. She nodded and took a seat. She was in her military uniform,
full mess dress of a Lieutenant Commander. Unlike the Ensign who had the badge
of a book on his right shoulder, she was dressed in a medical white uniform,
with a caduceus of her branch service in gold on the badge on her right
shoulder. She nodded at the JAG officer.

“I don't see your client Ensign.”

“We're ready to proceed your honor.”

“Sir, we renew our continuance motion,”
the testy female attorney said.

“Request denied,” the judge replied,
looking at her. “First, all motions must be in writing. Second, you do not have
grounds for a continuance.”

She looked affronted. “Your honor!”

The judge shook his head. “You have
witness statements. You have evidence, your client is here, and you are his
counsel and are present. Now sit down Miss Gera, you are getting on my nerves.”

“Sir, I protest!”

“Now what?” the judge asked, eyes
narrowing.

“Not all witnesses are present, nor is
the defendant!”

“The defendant? She does have a point
there,” the judge replied, turning to the Ensign. “Where is your client?”

“I and Miss Winters are representing
him.”

“I want him here. Do you need a
continuance to fetch him?”

“That won't be necessary your honor,”
the Ensign said. “I believe he is now outside the courtroom,” he said, turning.
He sent a signal to the Private to enter.

The doors opened and the bailiff turned
with the court spectators to see the Private march in. He was in his pea green
Marine uniform, smartly dressed with his cap under his arm. He marched up to
the space between the parties, turned smartly to the right, and then stepped
three steps to the side of the Ensign, then smartly turned to face the judge
and came to attention. “Sir. Private Holder reporting as ordered.”

“Private, glad you are here,” Miss
Winters said, glancing at her companion. She leaned closer to both of them.
“But under the circumstances perhaps time to go over the material would be
wise?”

“No need. I've taken the Private's
statement and watched his video already ma'am,” the Ensign replied softly.

There was a persistent murmur from the
spectators. The judge tapped his gavel and the room quieted. “Well! If you are
certain you are ready to proceed Ensign?”

“We are your honor.”

“Very well then.” Judge Farely turned to
the prosecutor. “You seem to be on the wrong side young lady,” he teased.

“I like it where I am at your honor. You'll
see why in a moment,” she said, dimpling slightly.

“I see,” the judge replied, and nodded.
He turned his eyes to the doors. People were filing in and taking seats. He
motioned to the bailiff to get a handle on the situation. The courtroom was
turning into a packed court.

“If you are not on the witness list
ladies and gentlemen, then you need to remain quiet and not disrupt the
proceedings. I thank you all for participating in the judicial process. Now,
let's begin shall we?” he asked, looking pointedly at Miss Gera.

“Um,” she got up and brushed her power
skirt off nervously. She'd thought they'd have time to prepare, time to draw it
out in the media, make the navy squirm. Work the public opinion in their favor,
play up the beaten underdog and brutish military. They had planned on the Navy
trying to buy time, which they would have then exploited, stating that they
were dragging their heels. Obviously, the planners hadn't planned enough. “Yes
your honor. We um, are a little unprepared.”

“Then you shouldn't have started this
then,” the judge said, cutting her off at the knees. “You should always have
your ducks in a row before you move forward young woman. Make your statement.”

“Very well.” The woman frowned as she
stepped around the table. She went on to make a case about how her client had
been viciously beaten by the thuggish Private in an unprovoked fight where the
Private threw the first punch. She went on to state there was a cover up, and
how the military was sweeping it all under the rug.

It was obvious to those with judicial
training that the woman was working without a proper script, summarizing bullet
points, but without any practice in the statements. The Ensign smiled and
nodded to the judge when he called him forth.

“Your honor, if it pleases the court, I
don't think I've heard a single true statement in that mess there. Well, I do
believe she was right about who threw the first punch, but that was about it.
We are prepared to prove that the situation was staged, complete with
sympathetic witnesses and cameras, in order to create a political crisis and
defame my client as well as the Marine corps. We have a pattern of behavior
from which we can prove this chain of events.”

“Secondly,” he crossed his arms. “We
intend to prove fraud in this case. No qualified medic has examined Mr.
Yurelli, so his injuries haven't been verified and are therefore suspect.”

“I object!” Miss Gera said, lunging to
her feet.

“Well, since this is an opening
statement, objection overruled,” the judge replied. “For now, I'm going to
allow it. Please continue Ensign.”

“I'm about finished your honor. I will
point out in my finishing statement that the Private was a Private First Class
before this incident and since he is a Marine, he is subject to the UCMJ, the
Uniform Code of Military Justice. His chain of command has waved a trial and
has handled his part in this with a NJP, Non-Judicial Punishment for being
involved in the incident.”

“I see. That is why the prosecution
waved jurisdiction,” the judge said, glancing at Miss Winter. The woman nodded.
The judge turned to Miss Gera. “Call your first witness.”

Each of the witnesses Miss Gera called
were ringers, all were bruisers claiming that they were minding their own
business when the Marine came over and started the altercation. Each milked the
situation the best they could, but it was obvious that they were grandstanding
and after the second witness laid it on a bit thick she quietly murmured to him
to tone it down.

When she was finished with the five men
she played selected portions of the incident. Each time a witness was called
the Ensign asked to wait before he cross examined them. Miss Gera and Miss
Winters were confused, but Miss Gera seemed to go with it. She replayed the
video, slowed it down to make sure everyone saw that indeed, the Private did
throw the first punch, and that punch did knock her client off his feet.