A/N: Real life chaos decided to take a breather most of this week, so I got a little break to write. Still hectic, but a little less than it has been the last few months. Hope you like the chapter, and I will post more when I can.
JAG HQ
Falls Church, VA
Cresswell's Office
General Cresswell looks at Harm after Lt. England has departed his office and remarks, "Well, I guess that went about as well as could be expected. I don't know what I was thinking bringing in some fresh blood around here. I knew that we needed some junior trial attorneys stationed here at HQ permanently for Commander Roberts to mentor. Apparently, I didn't make the best choices, at least not as far as Lt. England is concerned. I think perhaps she should have been one of the attorneys who just rotated in for a few months, to attend your training sessions, before I sent her off to another command."
Harm chuckles at the General's dry humor, and chooses his next words carefully, not wanting to offend the superior officer. He says, "It hasn't been all bad, Sir. Lt. Tiner seems to be coming into his own, and he is becoming both a better investigator, and a trial attorney, every day. He has definitely come a long way from the aloof Petty Officer he used to be when he was the Admiral's yeoman several years ago."
The General smiles, "Be thankful that I wasn't in charge back then. If he was as clueless then as I have heard, he never would have been selected for Officer Candidate School."
Harm sighs, "Tiner was just a kid then, and even though he was a bit scatterbrained at times, he is smart, and always had a good head on his shoulders. He just needed to grow up a bit. And as bad as Lt. England's personality is, her trial skills are actually decent. There are definitely worse choices you could have made."
The General's eyes twinkle with merriment as he teases Captain Rabb, "Let me guess, you would be referring to Lt. Vukovic."
Harm hesitates for just a minute before he chokes out, "Why would you think that, Sir?" Yes, Harm personally thought that Lt. Vukovic was a slimeball, and he really despised the way that the Lieutenant leered at his wife. There was more than one occasion where Bud had to reel him in before Harm decked the man, or worse. However, Harm wasn't aware that the General knew any of that.
Tongue in cheek, the General replies, "Just because you didn't complain, doesn't mean I didn't know how you felt about the guy. I didn't want to have to court-martial my Assistant JAG."
Harm lets a small grin overcome his features as he asks, "Is that why the Lieutenant transferred out of here earlier then the rest of the group with him?"
The General answers, "That is only one of several reasons. I originally considered having him permanently stationed here, so that I could keep an eye on him personally. Unfortunately, his reputation proceeded him. Instead, I decided to send him to London, under Captain Turner's tutelage. I've heard that Sturgis is about as by the book as they come."
Harm replies deadpanned, "That is completely true, he is after all the only son of a preacher. Mac and I hated it when he was slated as the interim JAG. He enjoyed the administrative side of things a little too much for our liking. In his time, Captain Chaplain Turner was a force to be reckoned with as well. Unfortunately, his sweet disposition didn't completely rub off on his son, or if it did, Sturgis lost it along the way somewhere."
The General states, "I didn't realize that you were all that familiar with his family."
Harm nods, "Sturgis and I went to Annapolis together, and were very good friends for many years. Our relationship soured when he was sent to investigate ME. I was out on a carrier for quals, and ended up having to shoot down a foreign civilian aircraft that was non-responsive to calls, and was headed for an offshore oil rig. Sturgis accused me of murder without so much as even asking for my side of the story!" The General quirks his eyebrow in question before Harm continues, "Don't get me wrong, I expected no personal favors from our long-standing friendship. You have to set those feelings aside when you are investigating folks that you know. That being said, I did expect him to at least give me the benefit of the doubt. I am all about searching for the truth, and thought that he was also. He didn't even care that I had attempted other methods to get the aircraft's attention before I fired. However, I was tried and convicted in Sturgis' mind before the investigation that eventually cleared me was even complete. We managed to repair the relationship enough to co-exist, but there is too much water under the bridge for us to ever be close friends again."
The General pauses for a moment to absorb Harm's assessment of Sturgis before stating, "Damn! I know Turner was a hard ass, but I didn't know he was that bad. I was a little shocked that he was selected for Captain after some of the things I read in his file. However, he performed well here as acting JAG and that tipped the scales in his favor for promotion. I'm thankful that in your case, the true won out. I'm also glad that you passed up the FJA position in London in favor of staying here. It sounds like I made the right choice in sending Vukovic to him. If the Lt. pulls the type of behavior he did here with several female personnel, Captain Turner will have him up on charges fairly quickly. If he doesn't, maybe Turner can turn him into a decent officer. Either way, the Lieutenant has to deal with the dismal weather in London."
Harm shakes his head at Cresswell's implication, "I thought it was just Mac he looked at improperly."
The General laughs, "No wonder you wanted to punch his lights out! I didn't realize he looked at the Colonel that way. I thought he only flirted with the single women he thought he could charm, which was mostly enlisted personnel and junior officers. Unfortunately, he never went far enough to actually exhibit behavior that I could charge him with. He always kept his actions a shade away from conduct unbecoming, and sexual harassment. If a woman told him 'no' he just moved onto the next unsuspecting woman. I had no idea that he had his eye on the Colonel. He couldn't have possibly been stupid enough to think he could charm her."
Harm states, "Thankfully, Mac didn't notice it firsthand either. The only reason she even knew about it was by prying the information out of me when I was in a particular foul mood, and wouldn't tell her why."
Cresswell smiles, "I'm sure it isn't the first time she has had to do that. I often find that it sometimes easier to get information out a brick wall than it is to get you to open up."
Harm doesn't take any offense at the General's comment. He knows that he can be completely obstinate at times. Then a wide grin suddenly appears across his face. Before the General can ask why, Harm comments, "Mac said that Vukovic could look at her whatever way he wanted, but if she ever caught him, she would 'bend him like a pretzel.' I almost dared him to do it, just so I could watch her wipe the floor with him. However, I didn't want the mother of my children in the brig, so I left it alone. It's a shame you didn't let him stick around long enough to try a few cases before her though, that would have been fun to watch!"
The General looks at Harm with mild amusement, "You have a warped sense of humor, Captain!" Cresswell stands up, "It's been fun chatting; however, I have a call with the SecNav in a few moments, and you need to go convince your wife that it's time to let the cat out of the bag."
Harm stands up, and comes to attention, "Aye, Aye, Sir!" before being dismissed.
He leaves Cresswell's office, and for some unknown reason, Harm finds himself whistling on his way to Mac's chambers. He glances at his watch, and realizes that she is most likely in court already. He will just leave a note with her assistant to buzz him when she takes a break.
