Posted by Commander Heathcliff Rinker (Chief Medical Officer/ Psychiatrist) in Court Martial of Heathcliff Rinker

Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Court Martial of Heathcliff Rinker
The courtroom felt pristine and clinical but also familiar and safe. The cases were being tried in one of the small diplomatic rooms on the ship. This made it feel familiar to those from the USS Atlantis with its familiar furniture and decor. What made it feel antiseptic was the arrangement of the room. A large table sat along the left wall with five chairs filled with five Admirals occupying the spot a jury normally sat. The accused sat in a chair perpendicular to the Admirals and facing McDevitt along with the opposing counsel James Hudson. There were no other seats in the makeshift courtroom which was by design. This was not going to be a spectacle. Starfleet wanted the trials over and done with minimal disruptions.

“So Commander Rinker, how long have you been a part of the crew of the USS Atlantis,” Hudson asked the man.

JAG lawyers

Rinker sat in the chair looking far more relaxed than most people in his position would look. It was not that he wasn’t worried. He was as angry and frustrated as the rest of the officers on the Atlantis were, however, this was not the first time he had sat in court having his skill as a therapist on trial. Over the years, Heathcliff Rinker had been called to various courtrooms as an expert witness, especially during his tenure as Assistant Clinical Director of Star-Fleet. “Ten years,” he responded to the question. Being on trial was a lot like sitting in a counseling session. The less you talked, the more it made the other person talk. Rinker had trust and faith in McDevitt representing him but that did not mean he would make the case any easier for opposing counsel.

Heathcliff Rinker CMO/CPO

“Before that your career in descending order was Assistant Clinical Director of Star-Fleet, Director of Starfleet Psychiatric services on Earth, and Counselor at Starfleet Command?” Hudson began laying the path to the charge of aiding and abetting the enemy. It was going to be a winding slope down slippery terrain but he would get the court there.

“Tell me about your association with the terrorist Jessa Novar?

“Would you say you are closer to the terrorist than most of your clients?”

Hudson JAG