Title : Where The Sea Meets The Sky

Author : Jaggie 107

Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. 'Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye' belongs to PAX TV - and I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you. (Here's the disclaimer for NCIS, as above...I'll leave it in for the rest of the story; makes life easier when I need to 'borrow' Gibbs and his team!)

Rating : G to PG-13

Thanks go to cbw, jtbwriter, beegirl, katydid13, ninjaturtle, capriceann, starryeyes10, kirsten, soonerfan, another tracy, tomcat-all, lori4, carol, eliv.thade, alicia5, fragmentpieces, kesh, claysmvl, chicmns, skyefire, tammy-jet, abigaile, kjflygirl87, anna7, nikki, jbird7986, angelab, pineapplehead, rosa, manda, rinkrat, bard2003, laura carr, tj , sahc, kstorm and arian04 for their reviews. As before, any reviewers I miss between posts will be added to the list for the next chapter!

Replies to previous chapter reviews :

alicia5 Dunstan is coming in from the cold! Hope I can keep you interested! Thanks for your support and please keep reading!

arian04 Hello, and welcome to the story! I 'love' Scooby Doo - your comment was great, I can just picture the lovely hound! Glad to know you are enjoying the story, and thank you for your support. Please keep reading!

jtbwriter Hiya! I had an idea for Dunstan to come later in the story but I'd lost track a little, so it is working out better to bring him in now. I can't resist Harm and Mac's 'tender moments' - they seem so easy to write! Job-wise, thinking of you and fingers crossed! Thanks as always!

lisa brown Thanks for your support, and please keep reading!

jbird7986 More is here! Thanks for your support, and please keep reading!

anna7 My bout of writers' block seems to have shifted in favor of new ideas! Can't complain when I get such wonderful reviews from yourself and others. Thanks for your support, and please keep reading!

skyefire I really like Dunstan, I do! I think H&M do too, otherwise he wouldn't be appearing in Mac's visions... I'm sure they'll do their best to hoist him out of any trouble he's in. Thanks for your support, and please keep reading!

abigaile Readers' wishes are what writers live for - the ideas they promote are great fodder for our stories! Thanks for your support, and please keep reading!

To 'S/J stories should be banned' - I'll keep this brief. I have read your comments. You are entitled to your opinions, but 'please' keep them to yourself now. I accept that you don't like my story. So, leave it alone and move on. Thank you.

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THE BRIDGE

USS SEA HAWK

SOMEWHERE IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

SUNDAY NIGHT

"Sir, we have ATARS transmissions coming in from Captain Rabb's aircraft."

Captain Johnson walked across to the console and watched as the readout appeared on the screen. As he looked at the pictures in front of him, and the data showing on the adjoining screen, he spotted the marker he had been advised should appear, if it was really a 'friendly' on the ground.

"That's our guy. Whoever he is, he's one of ours."

"Sir," the Executive Officer was looking at the screen also, and raised a question that Johnson had been reluctant to ask himself. "Do you think Colonel Mackenzie is right? That it's Dunstan out there?"

"If it is Dunstan, he's got his hands on some pretty high-priced hardware, and that's classified, XO, so it doesn't go off this bridge."

"Understood, sir."

"Right, patch me through to Rabb."

"Aye, sir. Communications, link to Captain Rabb, now!"

"Aye, sir!" The communications officer contacted Harm direct and transferred the link to the captain's chair.

"Hammer, this is the Sea Hawk. We have your target on the ground in the desert area inland, around the west coast. Be advised, I need you to return to the base in Bahrain and await further instructions."

"Aye, sir. Who will contact us?"

"Colonel Mackenzie will be out on the COD in the morning. I know I can trust her."

"Aye, sir." Harm's response was short, but even from so far away Johnson just knew the man would have a smile on his face. He smiled himself, even as he was putting the call out for Mac to meet with him on the bridge.

ATARS FLIGHT

AIRBORNE

SOMEWHERE OVER THE DESERT

WEST COAST OF SAUDI ARABIA

SAME TIME

"Harm, you're smiling a little too much. You know something I don't?" Jorgensen grinned in the mirror, and Harm grinned back.

"Need to know, Jorgensen. I just heard something I needed to know. It's not what I had planned, but we're going to be on the ground in Bahrain for a while, and we're meeting up with Colonel Mackenzie before she leaves the Gulf."

"That's great, sir. I'm looking forward to seeing her before she leaves."

"So'm I, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir." Jorgensen's cheeky grin came back at Harm in the mirror, and he laughed.

"Time to turn back. Punch in the heading for the airbase."

"Aye, sir."

THE BRIDGE

USS SEA HAWK

SOMEWHERE IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

SUNDAY NIGHT

Mac appeared at the hatch to the bridge just as Captain Johnson was passing and he signalled her to come in, before the ensign on duty could announce her. Johnson waved him off, and Mac hid a smile at the confusion on the young officer's face.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Colonel. We've received confirmation through ATARS that it is one of ours on the ground. Whether it is Dunstan is yet to be determined. If it is him, he's got a hell of a lot of explaining to do! He's got access to some high-tech equipment that even the US Navy would have a hard time explaining away."

"Yes, sir," Mac acknowledged, and then continued. "What happens now, sir?"

"I've ordered Captain Rabb to the base in Bahrain. You're to meet up with him and let Jorgensen come back on the COD. He's going to need an empty seat to pick up his passenger."

"He's going to fly into Saudi airspace, sir? Without permission?"

"No, Colonel. The plan is to do a helo drop, and collection, and then transport back to the base. Rabb can then fly Dunstan back to the Sea Hawk. It's one way we can guarantee the agencies don't get their hands on him first. If they did, we would probably never see the man again. Whatever Dunstan's done lately, he doesn't deserve to be 'buried' by the powers that be. At least in our custody he has a chance."

"Yes, sir. Very well, I'll go get some sleep, if that's all?"

"I'll see you on deck before the COD leaves. 0700, Colonel."

"Yes, sir." Mac stood to attention and saluted, and then turned to leave the deck. Johnson's voice made her turn back.

"When I first met Captain Rabb, then Commander, I really wasn't sure what to make of the man. His file read like something out of a super-hero novel. He's quite an officer."

"Captain Rabb does have a...colorful history, sir."

Johnson nodded in acceptance, and then continued. "What it doesn't tell you is how human he is too. A jacket like his makes you think of a single-minded individual, almost robotic, who lives and breathes his career."

"Yes, sir." There really wasn't anything else that could be said. Harm's humanity tempered his devotion to his career, and made him the man he was. Even the Admiral, in the past, had referred to Harm as being 'driven by his emotions'.

"Goodnight, Colonel."

"Goodnight, sir."

Johnson watched as Mac left the bridge, and smiled again, musing at the relationship that Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie and Captain Rabb shared. It was an enigma. From reading both their files he knew that Mac had shared many of Harm's 'adventures', and they had saved each other's lives time and time again over the years. That kind of relationship weathered all kinds of storms, and still came out the winner.

SOMEWHERE IN THE DESERT

WEST COAST

SAUDI ARABIA

SAME TIME

The man shivered, pulling the zip up on the jacket he was wearing. He'd seen the vapor trail of a jet going over, and hoped that it was a 'friendly' and that it had seen his signal. He knew, one way or another, he would be taken out of the desert, but it wouldn't be an easy extraction. If it were Saudis that found him he was in for a rough trip, and if it was a US-led rescue, they were in danger the moment they set out to find him. There was nothing left to do but sit and wait.

FLIGHT DECK

USS SEA HAWK

SOMEWHERE IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

EARLY MONDAY MORNING

At 0700 hours, on the dot, Mac was found standing on the flight deck beside Glennan and Carson, who was handcuffed as advised. Johnson returned their salutes as he stepped out of the hatch and onto the deck.

"At ease." Glancing from Mac to the two men, and back again, he handed her an envelope. "Colonel, I'd appreciate you giving this to Captain Rabb. He'll know what to do when he reads the contents. Have a safe trip back to the States."

"Thank you, sir. I'm sure we will. It's been a pleasure serving on the Sea Hawk again, Captain, and I look forward to being here again another time."

"And the Sea Hawk looks forward to welcoming you back, Colonel. Until then," Mac raised her hand in a salute, and acknowledged the senior officer, before turning to Carson and escorting him to the COD. Behind them, Glennan stood and waited until Carson was on board, and then addressed Mac.

"Colonel Mackenzie, ma'am. It's been great working with you in the JAG office. I hope we can work together again sometime."

"Well, when you're deployed stateside again there's every chance, Commander. I'm going to be transferring from JAG shortly, but if you're ever trying cases, you could end up in my courtroom."

"That would be an honor, ma'am."

"Thank you, Commander." Mac saluted and then shook hands with Glennan before boarding the COD behind Carson. When they were both strapped in and secured, the flight prepared for take-off. Mac glanced out of the window at her side of the aircraft, and saw Glennan glance down at his watch and then at the COD. His actions caught her attention and held it for a few moments.

"Ma'am, is there a problem?" Carson addressed her quietly. "Ma'am?"

Mac heard the voice addressing her, and it took a few seconds to bring her focus back from Glennan's actions.

"Yes, I'm fine. Something caught my attention on the deck."

"Something? Or someone? I saw him, too, ma'am."

"Glennan? Do you have a problem with him, Carson?"

"Not exactly, Colonel, but he has been asking a lot of questions lately on board. While I've been in the brig he's been in most days going over files. Personally, I think he was there to listen in to conversations going on. Some of his questions haven't been answered fully, and he's desperately trying to find out what's going to happen to me when we get stateside."

"Did you tell him anything?"

"No, ma'am. He's never asked me directly, which is strange in itself. I mean, I've not exactly hidden why I went absent, have I?"

"Not once we worked it through, no," Mac admitted, nodding her head in agreement. "I'll make a point of letting Captain Johnson know. He might want to keep an eye on Glennan for a little while. It might just be nerves, trying to settle into his deployment. Maybe he's trying a little too hard to fit in."

"Maybe, ma'am. I'm glad you're thinking of letting the captain know. He'll know what to do, ma'am."

"Your thoughts on Commander Glennan could be misconstrued, Carson. You are, after all, the one in handcuffs here. It could just be sour grapes because he got the post as JAG."

"I messed up, ma'am, I accept that. But I believe once we are stateside I can state my case and be heard fairly."

"With my defence, certainly." Mac smiled as she looked at Carson.

"You'd defend me, ma'am? I thought you were sent to prosecute me."

"I was, but since I believe the circumstances have changed, and I also believe that Admiral Chegwidden will drop the court-martial charges, then that leaves me free to offer you a defence. If you want to take it."

"Yes, ma'am, I do. Thank you."

"You might want to brace yourself, Carson. We're about to take off."

"Yes, ma'am."

Mac crossed her arms in the standard brace position, and beside her she watched Carson do the same, despite the handcuffs. He caught her glance.

"I'm fine, ma'am. This is a small price to pay for being able to get back to the States safely."

Mac smiled, and then leaned back in her seat as the COD left the deck. There was a slight tilt to her lips as her thoughts moved forward to the man who would be waiting on the tarmac in Bahrain.

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To be continued