Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in And you get a court-martial, and you get a court-martial, and you get a court-martial…when the past doesn’t match the future or the present

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Peter Sigmundsson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in And you get a court-martial, and you get a court-martial, and you get a court-martial…when the past doesn’t match the future or the present

Posted by Lieutenant Cara Esmé O’Farrell (Counselor / Education Specialist) in And you get a court-martial, and you get a court-martial, and you get a court-martial…when the past doesn’t match the future or the present
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Kelly typically wore one of two expressions. The first was a bemused one where some thought was occupying her thoughts that had a fifty-fifty chance of being inappropriate. The second was her more neutral expression when she was doing the more mundane aspects of her daily job Sitting in the conference room, waiting for the officers to arrive, Kelly’s mouth was drawn into a thin-lipped tight line. There was none of the casual banter in the room nor were there snacks: Only her and the JAG officer John “Lucky” McDevitt.

A few weeks after taking command of the Atlantis, Kelly has assigned Jacen to rip out the customary rectangular table and replace it with a round one. Her decision was controversial and earned numerous jokes about it being a starship with officers or Camelot with knights. She had intended to eliminate the bias of rank as much as possible. With a round table, there was no head however that did not mean it could mistaken as to who was in charge. If she needed to remind an officer this, they probably didn’t deserve to be sitting there. Kelly always prided herself on having open lines of communication with all her crew regardless of how shiny their neck was. Today the rounded table served another symbolic purpose. Idylly she wondered if this was another first for the Atlantis crew. Had another ship’s entire command crew get summoned with court-martials simultaneously?

The charges were all irrational and without merit but when did logic or ration come into play when Admiral Perkins had an agenda? Kelly took a long sip of coffee waiting for the officers to arrive at the unexpected summons to the conference room.

Kelly Bordeaux CO

River was the first to arrive, as she entered she immediately clocked the JAG officer and gave him a look of pure disgust and hatred. However as soon as she turned to the face the captain her face became her natural stoic and cold expression.

“Captain.” she said nodding in respect “Why are JAG here? Did the get turfed out of the playground they were bullying kids in?” she asked as she took a seat, one chair away from McDevitt but as close to in-between him and the captain as possible. Her tone was cold but respectful to the captain. River hated JAG she had dealt with them before and they had not left her with a good impression at all. She knew that pretty much all of them where soft shirted, book worms whose sense of justice was dictated by which ever Admiral they were licking the boots of.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

Peter followed behind the Marine officer, he gave a deep rumbling chuckle at her jibe at the JAG officer, he was in much the same boat, his work in intelligence did not make him the greatest of friends of Lawyers.

“Wow is that how you won first place for Miss Congeniality,” McDevitt asked taking a sip of his coffee. John was young but that did not mean he was not a good lawyer.

“Easy you two. The fight is out there not in here,” Kelly stated in a frustrated tone. Nothing about this situation made sense and all of it was thrown together at such an unprecedented speed the only conclusion was that it had to been preplanned on some level. “Lt. McDevitt is our lawyer and representing the entire crew in this matter.” The disdain in Kelly’s voice was evident. “The charges don’t merit a senior officer as counsel but a real bona vida attorney.”

John opened up the folder and looked at the charges leveled against River Styxx. As with most of the other crew being court-martialed, most of the charges were outlandish and a few downright incredible. “So Lt. I am your court-appointed JAG officer. I will speak to the group as a whole but for now I would like to go over your charges.”

Kelly Bordeaux and John McDevitt (JAG)

River scoffed “Thanks but no thanks. I have my own lawyer” She said simply “If I’m being tried for something then I want Ty’lin. She was my lawyer during the trumped up Acheron trial. The Romulan star empire hired her on my behalf and she turned out to be better then any Star fleet lawyer. If I’m being tried for something I’m having her. ” she said looking for the Captains blessing.

Kelly looked at River with a blank expression. It was not due to disapproval but more deep thought. River had been sent up the creek once before. She did not doubt Styxx, like everyone around the table, was a bit nervous about the charges. They were ridiculous and yet they required an action. “I have no issue. Everyone is entitled to counsel and a defense. I will contact the Romulan embassy and request her presence. Until her arrival, I might suggest McDevitt liaise with Ty’lin so that she receives all the information to do with your case. McDevitt can act as her proxy.” If River wanted Ty’lin then her officer would have her as their representation.

River wondered if McDevitt had heard of Ty’lin. She did have a reputation of being a massive pain in the neck to the Admiralty and she had made a name for herself defending people of lower ranks and from organisations outside of Star Fleet. She’d been nicknamed the Admirals bane behind closed doors.

“Fine by me,” McDevitt stated leaning back in his seat. The most important thing any lawyer could do was instill a sense of calm in their clients. John hadn’t heard of Ty’lin directly but he had studied River’s case. It would have been a larger legal president if there had been any merit to the charges leveled against the officer. Styxx’s brutal tactics stunned many, however, most people did not understand war. Depending on the victor, a soldier in combat was heralded as a hero or a war criminal after the fighting was done. After Ty’lin’s defense, River was essentially cleared of all charges. “I will reach out to the Romulan legal system and request Styxx’s case go into collaborative Law with evidentiary privliedge between with Ty’lin being the primary attorney and myself the secondary attorney of record.” John was speaking out loud but more to Kelly than River as he brought up several documents on a PaDD.

Sliding the document over to Styxx, John directed his attention to the Marine officer. “Collaborative Law is essential in this situation since this case is multi-facted. You have personal charges leveled at you but you are also part of a larger case against the ship as a whole. Ty’lin will be your primary lawyer. She will mount your defense and represent you in court. I will be your secondary only there to assist her if necessary and to incorporate Ty’lin’s wins to the larger case. Ty’lin has a reputation for winning,” John gave River a sly smile. “If you agree sign on the line and this will document her as attorney of record and I can begin to forward your charges to her.”

“You can still tell my what alleged crimes I’ve committed though. My legal team will need them anyway” she added after a short pause.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

“As to your charges,” John paused for a second to read them before announcing them.” Dereliction of Duty due to the fact you did not stop the Elders when they beamed into Marine country. Indecent language due to the fact there were minors present.
Straggling which again references that you did not stop the Elders before they made it to the promenade. Negligent homicide based on your using inappropriate force where they are suggesting you might have arrested Da Mu instead of just killing him.
Disloyalty statements which I am assuming is the opposing counsel trying to twist your words to get close to kill Da Mu as believing what he said. I can fully appreciate your rage at these charges but we can discuss them more in depth and your defense in a conference with Ty’lin. Please sign the form below to indicate you have been made aware of the charges leveled against you.”

John “Lucky” McDevitt JAG

Cara walked in just at Styxx’ last words. Her eyes scanned the room. “Captain,” she nodded to Kelly as she took a seat next ti the very large chair reserved for the COS. “Lt. Styxx,” she said by way of greeting. She looked at McDevitt. “McDevitt, right? We have no met yet, but yer presence doesn’a bode well.”

Lt. O’Farrell, counselor

Peter took a seat and placed his hands on the table interlocking fingers and fixing the Lawyer with a neutral expression, or what he considered a neutral expression but his face had a harshness that without expression to soften made him look irritated by a person’s very existence. Like Styxx he had his own outside counsel who defended him last time he was court-martialed but that was information to keep close to one’s chest. He did note the fact that the Romulans had hired a lawyer for her, for a brief moment he was reminded of Luna and he shook his head free of the thought, it had been years since he’d thought of her.

CIO

OOC: If I bring Aurra Talisse, CMO into this meeting, can you come up with charges against her since I wasn’t involved in anything? You can make stuff up, right?

D…