"It's gonna be difficult to find them without radar, skipper." "Can't even see our own bow." "If they're out there, we'll find them." "Remember that exercise off Ibiza?" "Back before either one of us was allowed near the wardroom." "There you go." " All engines ahead standard." " All engines ahead standard, aye." "Bridge, Lookout." "Contact 4,000 yards off the port bow." "Apparent heading, north-northeast." "It's a Turkish destroyer, sir." " All engines ahead flank." " All engines ahead flank, aye." "Sir, wouldn't it be safer to withdraw to missile-firing range?" "And what would the crew learn from that?" "Steady up on 340." "Wanna overtake them on their starboard quarter." " Steady on 340, sir." " Weapons, Bridge." "Stand by Mount 1." "Optical tracking only." "Simulated fire." "Stand by." "Release batteries." " CIC reports direct hit, sir." " Radio, Bridge." "This is the captain." "Break EMCON and tell them they've just been sunk." "Captain, the Turkish ship is turning sharply into our path." " Hard-right rudders." " Hard-right rudder, aye." " Is radar up and running?" " Yes, sir." "They're 1,000 yards and closing." " All engines back full." " All engines back full, aye." "Radio, contact the Turks." "Tell them they are in extremis." " XO, sound the collision alarm." " Aye, aye, sir." "Six hundred yards." "Four hundred yards." " All hands, brace for impact." " One hundred yards." "You and the Turkish team were on opposite sides in the exercise?" "That's right, ma'am." "A NATO TRANSITEX." "It's like a big game of hide-and-seek." "Eight U.S. And Italian ships seeking, four Turkish ships hiding." "You found one." "Yes, sir." "I understand they're blaming a Greek ship that wasn't even part of the exercise." "Look out." "Look out." " Watch it, now." " Push in on this." " Hit it." " Clear." " Fast on your feet there, chief." " Thanks." "Not bad yourself." " Oh, my apologies." "Skipper." " No problem, commander." "I'm Commander Rabb." "This is Lieutenant Colonel MacKenzie." " Skipper." " Any news on the Turkish casualties?" "Still seven dead, two missing." "XO, is that a dispatch from Com, Sixth Fleet, relieving me of command?" "Only temporarily, sir." "We'll see." "Commander, I realise that the timing is bad, but we're required to get a statement from the commanding officers of all three ships." "And I won't keep you from your rounds." "This is my statement:" "We got caught in a fog bank searching for the enemy." "It cleared." "We found ourselves two miles from the Gelibolu." "I closed range." "It changed course." "I hit it." "Seven dead, two missing." "End of story." "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do, even though I'm not the CO anymore." "Even if I'm not the commanding officer anymore, it does not mean I cannot lend a hand." "You were running without radar or lights" " when the United States ship hit you." " All ships were on EMCON." "Total emissions blackout." "So the United States ship couldn't see you when they hit?" "They saw clearly enough to fire at us when they came out of the fog." "They should've been able to see we were having a problem." " With the Greek ship?" " Yes." "The one trying to ram us." "I didn't try to ram them." "I attempted a shouldering manoeuvre." "We saw a vessel outside shipping lanes, running without lights." " I did what I was supposed to do." " Did you try hailing them?" "Several times by radio." "But we received no response." "We couldn't respond." "EMCON means no radio, no sonar, no radar." "Navigation..." "How do you say it?" " By the seat of our pants." "This was the same way the U.S. Ship was navigating?" "Yes." "It was the rule of the exercise." "Eventually, we replied to the Naxos by signal light." "We identified ourselves and informed them of the exercise." "They just kept coming." "It didn't matter who they claimed to be." "They could have been anyone." "And that's when you decided to shoulder them?" "No." "That's when I decided to contact my chain of command to see if there was any such exercise scheduled." "There was not." "Colonel, I do not attack another ship on a whim." "The Turks left me no choice." "I informed them they were in Greek territorial waters and ordered them to change their course." "Greek territorial waters?" "Within three nautical miles of the Greek island of Anaxios Vrahos." "We call it Kiymetsiz Kaya." "It's an uninhabited rock." "The Greek claim has no validity." "Even if it did, we were on a NATO operation, exercising our right of innocent passage." "So, what does it matter?" "What'd you do when you saw the Naxos heading towards you?" "I immediately broke EMCON and ordered hard-right rudder, which brought us right into the path of the American ship." "You took these actions immediately, knowing that breaking EMCON would disqualify you from the war games?" "Come this way." "It was my first night onboard." "I woke up on the floor." "I tried to move, but..." "My hip, they say it's shattered." "The bow of the American ship was right there in my quarters." "Then it reversed, and I saw Lieutenant Ince, my bunkmate, tangled in the American anchor chain, all torn up." "And I watched him go by, out the hole the ship made in the bulkhead." "This man is alive." "Seven are not." "I did not hazard my ship to win a game." " Tiner." " Good morning, lieutenant." " Can you use LexisNexis?" " And Westlaw, ma'am." "I need you to run a search on precedents involving Article 134, abuse of a public animal." "You get stuck with the loser cases again, ma'am?" "Every time they go out of town." "It's like there's a sign on my back." "Wish we could spend more time together, but with everybody gone..." "It's no problem." "I'll just spend the day with Harriet." "I love diapering my nephew." "I could postpone a motion hearing, free a few hours up after..." "Don't sweat it." "My ship was on O.R.E." "For the last 30 hours before we got to Norfolk." "So a little nap wouldn't hurt." "Coffee mess is this way, right?" "That way." "What kind of doughnut you want, lieutenant?" " I don't eat those anymore." " Sprinkles, right, sir?" "Rainbow." " Oh, my gosh." " Are you all right?" "I'm so sorry." "I'm sorry." "Sorry." "Oh, my God." "Hey, Roberts." "Man, Gunny, if I had a girl like that..." "What would you do?" "I'd..." "You know." "Hey." "Victor." " Hey, Val." "All right." " Hey." "I missed you." "I'm sorry, Gunny." "I didn't know she was your girlfriend." "She's not." "She's my sister." "Hey, could you get a long lunch, Vic?" "The Vermeer show's at the National Gallery." "I'd love to, but I can't." " Things are crazy around here." " The Vermeer show's over." " They got art nouveau now." " What?" " Art nouveau kicks ass." " What?" " Mike." " Valerie." "I was gonna go see it, if you wanna go." " We could both go." " You sure you can't come?" " Let's go." " All right." "Oh, hey, Mikey, I was able to clear away a few hour..." "Where's my brother going?" "Out with my sister." "Turkish captain's blaming the Greeks." "And the Greek is pointing it right back at the Turks." "This has been going on for a thousand years, sir." "Turks drink raki, Greeks drink ouzo." "They're identical, but try telling them." " What about the American captain?" " Commander James Merrick." "Outstanding service record, sir." "Golden Anchor award for retention." "John Paul Jones Award for leadership." "And he's the only one not working overtime to cover his butt." "That's refreshing." "More refreshing not to have to compete with officials from four different countries." "We're tripping over each other out there, sir." "Try dealing with admirals in four countries with their defence ministers looking over their shoulders, making sure nobody forgets their political agendas." "Then there's the press." "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for all your interest." "We will answer all your questions at the press briefing." "Follow me, please." "Some of those reporters would make damn good Marines." "We are the nation that gave the world the paparazzi." "Now, please, sit." "So you are the American team in our investigative Olympics." "Yes, sir." "Admiral Picato commanded the NATO transit exercise." "Oh, admiral, we need to speak with you." " Speak." " Sir, Commander Vlahakis, the Greek skipper, claims he never received word that the TRANSITEX was being conducted." "My office informed the Greek navy via its fleet command at Salamis." "So the Greeks were at fault?" "There was apparently an unfortunate breakdown in communications." "Admiral, why were games held near an island, the ownership of which is disputed between Greece and Turkey?" "The op area was 75,000 square kilometres, commander." "Find me a section of the Aegean that size without a dozen disputed islets, and I will be happy to use it." "Admiral Picato, don't you have a meeting?" "Yes, with the NATO press office." "A different sort of damage control than I learned at the naval academy." " Good day, gentlemen." "Colonel." " Sir." "Admiral, we should be going too, sir." "We have a meeting with a translator to go over the Gelibolu's log." "Oh, that won't be necessary." "We're past the investigation stage on this." "Mr. Secretary, we've hardly begun, sir." "The key facts of the collision are not in dispute." "Apparently, not even by Commander Merrick, according to your report." " He will be prosecuted." " For what, sir?" "Dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel, and manslaughter." "Seven counts." "Mr. Secretary, I don't see how primary responsibility can be assigned to Commander Merrick." "What about the captains of the other ships?" "The Greeks and the Turks are frying their fish, we're frying ours." "Unless you want to argue that the Uniform Code of Military Justice applies to officers of foreign navies." " No, sir." " Good." "We're concerned that the prosecution of Commander Merrick may be premature." "Really?" "Does anybody here remember the TCG Muavenet?" "Turkish destroyer, sir, the USS Saratoga accidentally hit with live missiles during a war game in '92." "Killed five sailors." "No one was court-martialed." "Was Commander Merrick on the Saratoga, sir?" "The Turks are making noises about revoking our use of their airfields to enforce the Iraqi no-fly zone." "How is that our department?" "Anything that affects America's national-security interest is our department." "At least that's the impression I've been labouring under." " Yes, sir." " Oh, for God's sakes, A.J." "Merrick ploughed his ship into another vessel." " At least seven people are dead." " Yes, sir." "Turkey needs to know that we are taking this one seriously." "I understand." "I'll assign my best people." "I want you to prosecute." " Me?" " Yes, A.J." "So they'll know we are taking this one seriously." "I trust you'll allow me to name the defence counsel?" " A.J., you know I trust you." " Good." "Because I wanna make sure Commander Merrick's defence team is just as serious, sir." "So, what was your favourite?" "Ford's Theatre." "No." "Magnum's aloha shirt at the Smithsonian." "No, wait." "This tiramisu." "If you wanna walk off the tiramisu, we could check out Dupont Circle or..." "I should probably get back to my brother's." "You know, I am supposedly spending time with him." "I go back aboard ship on Wednesday." "You can see him all week." "Well, what about your brother?" "Aren't you supposed to be spending time with him?" "I saw him this morning." "You know what I need right now?" " Another cappuccino?" " To dance." "I mean, you're not tired, are you?" "Okay." "I know some clubs." "You're 21, right?" "My driver's licence says 22." "If I'm asleep in my quarters, and a radar operator with a bad cold gets blurry eyes and he doesn't see a blip on his screen, and we hit a rowboat, I'm responsible, because I'm the commanding officer." "Now, if I'm on the bridge, and we hit a 4,000-ton destroyer..." "A number of factors led to that collision, commander." "Colonel, there are always a number of factors." "But somebody has to be responsible." "Otherwise, next time, nobody will be." "We respect the responsibility that comes with command, but to volunteer to take the blame, comman..." "When I volunteered to be a Naval officer 22 years ago," "I accepted that something like this could happen." " What?" "To become a scapegoat?" " What would you propose that I do?" "Prosecution will try to prove you acted negligently." "We will show that you made legitimate choices according to the situation." "That this collision is the result of a long chain of events." "Misjudgement by the skippers, miscommunications, faulty equipment." "Dust in my eyes, full moon, that sort of thing." "I am not some old lady with a lap full of hot coffee." "That is not the way I do things." "Letting our client take the fall for others is not the way we do things." "Now, commander..." "Harm, if he doesn't wanna fight, we can't make him." "I joined the Navy to fight, like my father and my grandfather before me." "But they served 56 years between them without killing seven people in a war game." "Enter." " Excuse me." " Commander, you're right on time." "We're trying to convince your CO not to fall on his sword." "Skipper, I just received this order from the prosecutor to testify against you." "That was great." "Victor would never take me any place like that." " He wouldn't even know it existed." " Well, you gotta know where to go." "Where's the best place to see the sunrise?" "Jefferson Memorial, Tidal Basin." "Come on, I'll take you." "What would he want you to testify about?" " I don't know." " Oh, I think we both know." "When we came out of that fog, you recommended that I withdraw to missile range instead of approaching the Turkish ship." " That doesn't mean anything." " It might mean something" " to a court-martial panel." " Recommending is an XO's job." "Then the captain makes his own decisions." "I won't testify against you." "You have no choice, commander." "It's an order." "I don't care, sir." "Tim, if you respect me at all, you'll follow that order." "And help send you to Leavenworth?" "No, sir." "Your XO is willing to disobey an order to defend you, commander." "What are you willing to do?" "Just wait five minutes?" " Can't believe I drooled on you." " Hey, it happens to the best of us." "Oh, I wish you didn't have to go back to your ship so soon." "Well, I could come back next Friday." "How was the art nouveau?" " "Nouveau."" " Oh, my mistake, Roberts." "And I guess it's also my mistake to think that you can see an art exhibit in less than 19 hours." " Oh, come on, Vic." " Valerie, inside." "Are you trying to send me to my room?" "I'm trying to get you or this swabbie here to tell me what the hell you been doing for the last 19 hours." " Sightseeing." " Sightseeing?" "Yeah, sightseeing." "When you stay under my roof, you don't go out all night long." "News flash, Vic:" "I am 20 years old, and you are not my father." "I was sightseeing." "Good night, Mikey." "That was fun." "Your motion is rather unusual, commander." "You're saying the relationship between commanding officer and executive officer is the same as between husband and wife?" "Not exactly, Your Honour." "I should hope not." "But I do believe there should be a limit on the government's ability to compel an executive officer to testify against his commanding officer." "Like husband and wife." "It's more like lawyer-client, Your Honour." "For the success of their missions, a CO and his or her XO must be able to communicate freely and openly." "The fear that one might later be called upon to incriminate the other could impede the necessary flow of information and advice." "Is my learned opponent suggesting that an executive officer might not tell his commanding officer that they are under attack because of some fear of legal liability?" "He might not tell his commanding officer how he feels an attack should be dealt with if he's afraid that he might later be prosecuted for giving bad advice, sir." "Commander, do you have a scrap of law to support this notion?" "I believe it's inherent in the structure of the Naval service, Your Honour." "Inherent, but unstated." "The executive officer on the Monroe Smith has pertinent testimony..." "Save your breath, admiral." "He can testify." "Motion denied." "Hearing adjourned." "We'll meet you outside." " Interesting motion, commander." " Thank you, sir." "Preposterous." "Sir, you must admit it is a little distasteful to compel Lieutenant Commander Bryant to testify." "Distasteful?" "Are we having a garden party here, colonel?" " No, sir." " That's right." "I'm gonna convict Commander Merrick." "If there's any doubts, they'll disappear when you see your client packed off to Leavenworth." "Have a nice day." "After we received the message that we'd been sunk, the collision came." "So Commander Merrick took the time to tell you that he'd won the war game, but didn't bother to tell you he was about to hit you?" "That is correct, sir." "When did the warning message come?" "When it was too late to do anything about it." "Thank you, captain." "Captain, I'd like you to walk us through the collision from the beginning, if you would, sir." "We were cruising at 12 knots." "The Greek ship approached us on our port beam." "A little farther forward." " Then they ordered us to stand clear." " And what was your action?" "Using our signal lights, I identified our vessel and informed them we were conducting a NATO transit exercise." " How did they respond?" " They repeated their order." "I immediately changed course." "Immediately?" "Your communications log indicates messages from the Naxos over a period of eight minutes before you changed course." "I had to determine that the other ship was not a participant in the exercise." "Hadn't they identified themselves as a Greek warship, captain?" "It is common to use cover and deception tactics." "It could've been the other team pretending." "Pretending by turning on their lights and breaking EMCON?" "It is possible." "Captain, are you familiar with Paragraph 9 of your op orders?" "I am familiar with the op orders, not with paragraph numbers." "Captain, would you please read the highlighted portion?" "Any participant breaking EMCON for other than an emergency will be disqualified and directed to vacate the operations area." "So had the other ship been a participant, they would have already been disqualified by turning on their lights." "Isn't this true?" " Yes." " So did you wait the eight minutes because you didn't wanna forfeit the exercise, or because you didn't understand the rules, captain?" "I did nothing wrong." "Captain, aren't you currently the subject of an investigation" " by Turkish naval authorities?" " They are investigating, yes." "So during this eight minutes that you were doing nothing wrong, how much did the gap between you and the Naxos close?" " I am sure you will tell me." " No, captain, I'd like you to tell me." "What was the distance between your ship and the Naxos when they ordered you to stand clear?" "Nine thousand yards." "And what was the distance when you finally complied?" "One thousand yards." "Leaving you only one direction to turn in which to avoid a collision with the Naxos." "I ordered the Turks to change their course before I approached them." "Then you deliberately steered toward another ship, violating the most basic rule of prudent navigation." "My duty supersedes those rules when I'm defending Greek territorial waters." "From a NATO ship on a NATO exercise?" "I had no proof of that." "NATO Southern Command records show that notification of the exercise was sent to your fleet headquarters." " It never reached me." " Your own ship's log shows the message was received at 0600 the morning of the collision." "This message was erroneously delivered to my chief engineer." " It was only located afterward." " In your first statement following the collision, didn't you say you'd contacted your command and been told that there was no exercise in that area?" "I thought my XO had contacted our command." "In fact, he only checked my own ship's record." "So isn't it fair to say that there was dereliction of duty aboard your ship?" "By whom?" "By the seaman who misdirected the message." "The engineer who failed to forward it." "The executive officer who didn't find it." "And me, colonel?" "Isn't it a fact, commander, that if you had seen the message, there would've been no collision?" "Objection, Your Honour." "Calls for conclusion." "Sustained." "Would you have challenged the Gelibolu had you known about the exercise?" "No." "Lieutenant, about your supply requisition." "Not now, Tiner." "I thought you were through with the Ballard case." "Oh, I would be, if the brother of the year hadn't come in two hours late because of personal reasons on the day that I needed him to get my witness statement." "Yes, ma'am." "Gunny, this requisition form you filled out for staples," "I can't tell if that's a seven or a two." "It makes a difference between standard point and chisel point." "Tiner, go away and don't ever ask me about staples again." "Tiner, sorry." "Sorry." "It's just..." "Listen, you were talking to Petty Officer Roberts the other day." " Did he mention anything about a girl?" " What's going on, Gunny?" "Nothing, sir." "Well, you mentioned my brother's name?" "Sir, permission to speak freely?" "As you know, sir, your brother took my sister out the other day." "So?" "He kept her out all night." "And I have reason to believe that his behaviour was less than honourable." " What, did your sister tell you this?" " No, sir." "He did." "Hey, Val." "Guess who." "It's the guy who drooled all over your lap." "Sorry I couldn't go all night last time." "But if you wanna give me a second chance," "I'll be back in town on Friday." "All right." "Later." "Dark, foggy night." "Ships running without radar." "Sounds like a dangerous exercise, admiral." "All exercises have a risk factor." "But the op orders were to reduce speed to five knots if visibility was below 200 yards." "Did Commander Merrick comply with that directive?" " Apparently not." " Who do you think is responsible for the collision between his ship and the Gelibolu?" "Objection." "That's what this proceeding is meant to determine, Your honour." "Your Honour, this is the 23rd NATO exercise" "Admiral Picato has directed." "He's more than qualified to express an opinion." "I agree." "Objection overruled." "I believe Commander Merrick displayed bad judgement in approaching the Gelibolu as he did." "I believe he's exercising bad judgement now in attempting to shift blame to everyone but himself." "Move to strike, Your Honour." "Non-responsive and irrelevant." "Granted." "Members will disregard the last statement." "No more questions." "Admiral, if a captain is responsible for everything that happens aboard his ship, it should follow that an exercise commander would be responsible for everything that happens during an exercise." "There are limits to command responsibility, commander." " I was 200 miles away." " Well, isn't it a fact, sir, that the prosecution of Commander Merrick occurred after a meeting of high-level officials from several NATO countries?" "We had all gathered, including your secretary of the Navy, to discuss an incident that involved several of our member nations." " Including Greece and Turkey." " Objection." "Relevance." "Your Honour, if you'll allow me a little leeway," "I believe I can establish relevance." "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, commander, for the moment." "Thank you, sir." "Admiral Picato, hasn't the fact that Greece and Turkey are historic enemies complicated the mission of NATO?" "They have their differences, but they get along." "Were they getting along last October when Turkey blocked Greek jets involved in a NATO exercise from flying over two Aegean islands?" "No, they were not getting along last October." "When the incident in discussion here occurred, wasn't there special concern, sir, because it once again involved Greece and Turkey?" " No." " No?" "Even though the Greek and Turkish prime ministers issued statements immediately following the collision, blaming one another?" "They are politicians, commander." "Well, isn't NATO a political organisation, sir, as well as a military one?" "It lives." "You've been asleep for 12 hours." "I thought you were used to getting up at the crack of dawn." "Yeah, well, I need to save up my energy." "Yeah, well, good idea." "Harriet and I got lots of plans for this weekend." "We figured we'd all go hiking on the Appalachian Trail on Saturday." "Maybe go to Annapolis, do some antiquing on Sunday." "I was planning on staying in town." "What, and miss out on all this great weather?" "Weekend snow expected." "Well, we could go to Baltimore and hammer some crabs." " I sort of have a date." " With Valerie Galindez?" "Maybe." "Why?" "Well, Gunny's kind of worried about you and her." "We just like to hang out." "She's cool and all, but it's just..." " You know?" " Mikey, Gunny's sort of overprotective." " She can handle him." " She can?" " I can too." "What's he gonna do to me?" " Break your arms." " I don't care." " You don't care" " that he's gonna break your arms?" " Bud, don't laugh, but I think I might be in love." "When you emerged from the fog, and saw the Gelibolu, what were your strike options?" "Withdraw to missile-firing range, sir, or approach and use the 76 mm gun." "And which option did Commander Merrick choose?" "To move in and use the gun, sir." "At that point, did you have a conversation with him?" "We had many decisions to make, sir." "I'm sure we had several conversations." "Did any of those conversations relate to Commander Merrick's order to approach?" "It's possible, sir." "Your Honour, permission to treat as a hostile witness?" " Granted." " Isn't it true that you disagreed with Commander Merrick's order?" "I don't recall, sir." "Do you want me to bring in three crewmembers who heard that conversation, commander?" "You have a promising career, son." "But you could end it in the next 30 seconds." "I suggested we withdraw to missile-firing range, sir." "Why?" "To keep out of range of their close-in guns, sir." "Any other reason, commander?" "Yes." "To minimise the risk of a collision." "Thank you." "You had another disagreement with the captain after the collision." "Yes, sir." "The captain wanted to send out boats to aid the Turkish ship." "I thought we should wait until we assessed the damage to our own ship." "Even though there was the possibility of men in the water?" "I know it sounds callous, sir, but if we began to list while lowering boats, some of them would've hit the hull and capsized, putting more men in the water, or worse." "So, what would you have done?" "Waited until the situation stabilised, then sent the boats." "And what was the result of Commander Merrick's decision?" " We saved six Turkish sailors, sir." " Good thing you weren't the captain." " Objection." "Argumentative." " This goes to the witness's credibility." "Lieutenant Commander Bryant does not understand the risks inherent in command, sir." "He's ending his career with those questions." "He's trying to save yours." "Overruled." "I'll allow the line of questioning." "How long would you have waited to put the boats in the water?" " Your Honour." " Your Honour, defence requests a recess." " Now?" " Yes, sir." "Very well." "Ten minutes." "What is going on?" "I can't allow you to crucify him in order to save my neck." "Commander, his testimony is damaging." " We have to do this." " No." "No, we don't." "It's over." "You make me a deal." "Thank you." "Keep me informed." "They've located the last missing Turkish sailor." "He's been in a military hospital in Turkey since the day before the collision." " He wasn't even on the ship?" " Apparently not." "How's the trial going?" "Commander Merrick wants to make a deal." "Two pieces of good news." "I just need to know what we can offer." "I think dismissal, forfeiture of pay, and a few years imprisonment will make the point." " A few years?" " Couple years." "He has to do some time." "I'll leave the details to your discretion." "Yes, sir." "What's happening with the investigation of the Turkish and Greek captains?" "They're back on their ships." "Neither of them is gonna be charged." "What?" "You told me they were gonna be dealt with." "That was my understanding at the time." "Was it, sir?" "Yes, it was." "If we're done here, I'm late for a meeting." "Mr. Secretary." "It hardly seems fair" "Commander Merrick should take all the blame." "Commander Merrick drove his ship into another ship." "The captain of which was derelict in his duty, as was the captain of the third ship involved." "With all due respect, when you assigned me this case," "I was under the impression that I was serving the law, not joining some damn lynch mob." "A.J., do you think it was up to me?" "I thought you looked after the interest of your people, sir." "You think that I alone make the decisions when the future of NATO is at stake?" "If the Greeks and the Turks are threatening to tear the alliance apart, then we've gotta do what we've gotta do to make sure they don't." "We?" "You got your marching orders, admiral." "I got mine." "These terms seem a little harsh, sir." "The prosecuting attorney doesn't decide what terms are acceptable." " You know that." " How much brig time, sir?" "Oh, six months would do." "Well, admiral, against our advice, Commander Merrick has indicated that he would accept something along that line." " All right, then." "We're all set." " I suppose so." "I'll let the SECNAV know." "On second thought, those terms are not acceptable." " You want more brig time, sir?" " That's not what I said." "Commander, you and the colonel are doing a pretty good job on this trial." "Well, thank you, sir." "We thought so." "If I were Commander Merrick, I'd be happy for you to continue." "Sir, he's given us specific instructions to stop." "Perhaps we don't have to stop just yet." "Well, whatever you think is best." "Gunny." "Can I talk to you for a minute?" "Yes, ma'am." "You need to take a deep breath, count to ten, whatever." " Ma'am?" " You're worried about your sister." "Your Marine training teaches you to take direct action." "In this case, bad career move." "Good news:" "Take a look at your sister." "Take a look at Mikey Roberts." "Same league." "What exactly are you worried about?" "I understand, ma'am." "I just wish I had a brother that cared this much about me." "Thank you, ma'am." "Thank you very much." " What?" " Ma'am, that was so considerate." "Tiner, Mikey Roberts can eat that girl for breakfast for all I care." "As long as the Hatfields and McCoys are still fighting," "I get stuck with more work." " Hi." " Hey." " Mikey, hi." " This is for you." " Oh, thank you." " So are you ready for lunch?" "Sure." "I just wanted to say hi to Victor." " Have you seen him?" " Gunny?" "No." "I haven't seen him." "He's probably around somewhere, though, but check this out." "I've got not one, but two Fatboy Slim tickets for tonight." "Cool." "Can you get three?" " Three?" " Yeah." "This is my boyfriend, Ray." "What's up?" "He flew in from New Mexico to surprise me." "Can you believe it?" "Yeah, I can." " Victor." " Valerie." " Roberts." " Sir." " Beasley?" " How's it going, Vic?" "What a surprise, huh?" "He and I and Mikey are all going out." "Ray rented a Miata." " Okay, what are we looking for?" " Something to change his mind." "Whose mind?" "Merrick's?" "The admiral's?" "SECNAV's?" "Somebody's." "Anybody's." "What do we know about the Turkish sailor who turned up in the hospital?" " Does it matter?" " I don't know." "A day before the collision," "Petty Officer Suleiman Metin arrived at the military hospital in Canakkale with second-degree burns, concussion and a broken ankle." " Injuries received aboard the Gelibolu." " What was his duty?" "Electronics technician." "Well, he didn't get second-degree burns tripping over a power cord." "Is there anything in the ship's medical log?" "No, we don't have it." "They didn't send it over." " Big night planned?" " Yeah." "Bigger than I thought." "Oh, I don't know what it is about that girl." "That Beasley guy, total loser." "Every guy she brings home is worse than the one before." "And the more I tell her what jerks they are, the more she likes them." "You must love me, then." "No, Roberts." "I can't stand you." "I'll tell Val that every chance I get." "Did you make the deal?" "Almost." "There are just a few minor details to be worked out." "Then why are you here?" "Sir, we've uncovered new information about the Turkish ship involved in the collision." "The day before the exercise began, the radar aboard the Gelibolu went out." "A petty officer went up to check the dome." "The radar came on suddenly, burning him, causing him to fall from the tower." "I trust the Turkish safety investigators are investigating." "With an intermittent and undiagnosed radar fault on one of the ships, sir, the NATO exercise should, under op orders, have been postponed." "But the commander of the exercise, Admiral Picato, apparently, was eager to conduct the games before the end of his fiscal year." "There is a possibility, sir, he colluded with the Turkish captain to keep the mishap quiet." "Where are you getting all of this?" "I made a few phone calls after they brought this to my attention." "Was this in your job description as prosecutor, admiral?" "Well, Mr. Secretary, as an officer of the court, it's my duty to bring forth any relevant information, sir." "I see." "Did the radar problems have anything to do with the collision?" " No, sir." " Then I don't see" " how it is relevant to this case." " Oh, it's not, sir." "That's why we'll be handing this report off to the NATO inspector general." "This could cause some difficulties for NATO." "But I imagine you realise that." "You mentioned some minor details remained to be worked out in Commander Merrick's deal?" "Yes, sir." "The admiral's informed us that confinement is required." "We were wondering if there was any leeway on that." "I suppose you have an alternative to propose?" "Yes, sir." "Commander Merrick be allowed to retire, with a punitive letter of reprimand, forfeiture of $3,000, and no confinement." "Fine." "I'll put this through the proper channels." "She's a good ship, Tim." "If they give it to you, take care of her." "I will, sir." "Commander." "We stopped by your quarters." "I had some leftover FITREPs to sign." "Loose ends." "Well, I'm sorry we couldn't do something to keep you here." "I knew I was finished driving ships the minute that destroyer crossed our path." "At least I'll be going home without that long layover in Kansas." "You might not be going home quite yet, commander." "Admiral Picato is being charged with dereliction of duty in conjunction with the collision." "Now he's taking the fall?" "Really didn't matter who it was, as long as it wasn't a Greek or a Turk." "That stinks, commander." "You're being called as a witness against him." "I used to think I might have what it takes to be an admiral." "You weren't wrong, commander." "No." "Thank God I was." "Captain departing."