AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, guess I can't put it off any longer. The trial begins!

Please show mercy. I imagine I've made a dozen mistakes already in this chapter, from a legal POV; lawyers will probably cry at seeing this. I'm a historian, not a lawyer, so I did the best I can...besides, if "A Few Good Men" is laughably bad when it comes to its courtroom rules, and it won several Oscars, then I guess I'm not that bad. Right? I know one thing I did get wrong for sure was that Ruby Flight would've already met Captain Chapel at the arraignment, so Ruby being surprised by her appearance doesn't make any sense...but it's for dramatic purposes.

I did throw in a little world building here as well. One thing I like to do is throw in little reminders that this is not quite our world.

And Qrow is back!

Building 8923 (Judge Advocate General Courtroom)

Fort Presley, North Carolina, United States of Canada

27 September 2001

They had gotten a week, Ruby reflected as they drove through the well-kept streets of Fort Presley. A week's continuance for the defendants and Lieutenant Commander Forrest to figure out their defense, get through the arraignment, and clean up their personal affairs. Now it was time for the trial, and Ruby was more scared now than she had been when Neo had her chained up naked in the Jabberwockies' torture chamber. The worst Neo could do was kill me, and she basically did, Ruby thought. These people can do far worse…and what if they're right? That was the worst part of it, she mused, and idly she wondered what Ironwood himself would think about all this.

"Thanks for driving us down here, Uncle Qrow," Yang said into the silence. "Are they going to allow you into the courtroom?"

"Nah, can't do it," Qrow replied, as he stopped for a red light. "This isn't like it is in the movies. They're not letting people in. Hell, the networks wanted to put cameras in and the judge damn near threatened to have them shot if they tried."

"He doesn't want it to be a media circus," Blake commented.

"Nope. Same reason why the media isn't being allowed on base or to interview you. They'll get pissed, but they'll get over it." Qrow shrugged. "Slow news day anyway. Things are pretty quiet in Europe right now, there's no huge domestic things for President Shawcross, so you're the big story. Next week they'll catch some Congressman diddling his intern and then no one will have ever heard of Ruby Flight."

"I'm just glad you're here," Ruby said.

Qrow looked over his shoulder. "Yeah. Sorry I couldn't get over sooner. Arashikaze and General Gale have got me flying all over Eastern Europe, trying to figure out what Salem's strength is and if she's preparing a winter offensive—being Russian and all."

"I'm halfway surprised that you're not being called in as a witness," Weiss told him.

"I might be. I was told not to leave the States for awhile."

Yang grinned. "I'm more than halfway surprised they're not putting you in with us. Didn't you tell Ironwood to suck it?"

Qrow laughed. "I told him a lot more than that. If I didn't think the fucker would shoot me, I would've punched his fucking lights out. I mean, he actually put me in prison at Spandau. But all charges dismissed for me, but not for thee, which is total bullshit." Qrow wasn't smiling any more. "It was politics. Arashikaze told Gale's little hatchet man that if they put me in the dock, then I was going to sing like a Mafia stool pigeon. I'd tell them all the deep black ops shit that Oz had me doing, and there would be a shitload of Senators who would be on CNN and Fox five minutes later asking just who is running the CIA. Arashikaze would have to have me killed. So everyone pretends I'm as innocent as a little wooly lamb, while you four get fucked, and not in a good way."

Oscar had said nothing on the drive down from Patch, but now he spoke up. "You think Arashikaze's going to betray us?"

Qrow said nothing for a long minute. "Kid, remember this about our friendly deputy director of intelligence. She will do anything to protect this country. If that means dropping a cruise missile through a guy's skylight, she does it. If that means killing a drug lord and his entire family at their own dinner table, she does it. And if that means leaving four fighter jocks out to dry, she'll do that." He winked at Oscar. "But I think our little friend is well and truly pissed off at that Senator, so she'll defend you four out of spite if nothing else."

They drove for a few more blocks before pulling up to a rather nondescript building, which looked like a dozen others on the base. Only a sign betrayed that this was the nearest thing to a courthouse Fort Presley had. "Fort Presley," Qrow mused as he parked the minivan. "I remember when this place was called Fort Bragg."

"Who's Bragg?" Ruby asked as she undid her seatbelt.

"Who's Presley?" Oscar wanted to know.

Yang stared at him in shock. "What the hell, Oscar? You've never heard of Elvis Presley?"

"Can't say as I have."

"Holy shit!" Yang got out of the passenger's seat—she had called shotgun before Ruby could back at Patch—and slid open the door for the others. "So Presley was one of the founders of rock 'n' roll, right? He got drafted, but he was out of the Army by the time the Third Big One happened. He gets called back in, ends up with a tank unit back in Germany when the GRIMM attacked. Dude won the Medal of Honor after he fought to the last shell in his tank, then called an airstrike on himself to cover his crew while they escaped. Fucking legend, and you've never heard of him?"

Oscar put up his hands defensively. "Gee, sorry! Just never liked rock. More of a country guy. You know, Toby Keith? Martina McBride?"

"You don't like rock?" Weiss whistled. "That might be a deal breaker for Ruby."

"Tell me you like Johnny Cash, at least." Yang folded her arms over her chest.

"Of course."

"Well, all right then."

"If you two are done discussing ancient music," Blake sighed, "I think the United States armed forces would like to put us on trial for mutiny."

The courtroom was not exactly what they expected either. Instead of old wood paneling and an imposing judge's chair towering over the witness dock and the jury bench, there was just a dais and a podium, with a chair for the judge, flanked by the national flag and the flag of the USC Army. The witness had a simple wooden seat to one side; the court stenographer another on the opposite. The jury sat in two rows of government issue chairs. Two tables, one for the defense on the right and the prosecution on the left, stood in front of a few well padded pew-like benches for the witnesses and any guests the judge would allow—in this case, none. A rickety looking extension was put in on the defense table, since there were four defendants.

Forrest was already there, getting his papers in order. He wore Navy dress blues. He had told Ruby and the others to show up in their dress uniforms, knowing it would impress the jury. All of them had impressive rows of ribbons, and the little gold pin of Huntresses and Huntsman: Ruby in particular looked like a teenage girl cosplaying as Patton. "Morning," he said. "Is it raining?"

"Off and on," Qrow said. "We were dodging showers all the way down here." He put a hand out. "Qrow Branwen."

Forrest shook it. "John Forrest."

"You think you can win this?" Qrow asked bluntly.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

Qrow looked at Forrest's wings and his own row of ribbons, which were not as impressive as Ruby Flight's, but not unimpressive. He grunted. "All right. Better get going before the judge sees me and confines me to base." He kissed Ruby and Yang on the cheek, his stubble tickling them. "Good luck, kiddos—you too, Blake—Oscar. Give 'em hell and keep the faith." He tossed Forrest a half-assed salute, then walked out of the courtroom.

Weiss didn't follow, and sat down on one of the benches behind the defense table. "Weiss, what are you doing?" Blake asked.

"Staying," Weiss replied simply.

"The judge is going to have your ass."

Weiss shrugged. "He'll see reason."

"Shit," Yang said as she sat. "I just noticed something."

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

"Uncle Qrow. He wasn't wearing eagles. They busted him back to Major."

"Didn't think they could do that," Oscar said. "Doesn't it take an act of Congress?"

"More like an act of Arashikaze." Forrest snapped his briefcase shut. "When I talked to her the other day up in Greenbrier, she inferred that was part of the deal she made to keep Major Branwen out of here." He smiled in Qrow's general direction. "He doesn't strike me as the type who cares."

The doors opened and three other officers all walked in—all of them Marines. They wore khakis rather than the dark blue dress uniform Blake wore. All three went to the prosecutor's table, and Ruby noticed that the short woman in the center wore captain's bars; the other two were second lieutenants. She glanced over at them, and Ruby had the uncomfortable feeling of being put under a microscope. The woman was attractive, with mocha-colored skin and black hair pulled back into a bun, but her eyes were like those of a shark. She smiled at Forrest, but the smile never reached her eyes. "Good morning, John," she said, no longer looking at Ruby.

"Morning, Jane. How's the family?" Forrest replied. "Your dad doing better?"

"Yes. The chemo's been hard, but…well, he's a Marine."

"Heh, yeah," Forrest chuckled. "Your dad's too mean to die."

"I was surprised to see you take the case, but…well…" Jane Chapel shrugged. "Here we are. I can't wish you luck, of course."

"We'll get drunk after this," Forrest said.

"You bet." The smile was wider, but Ruby saw that her eyes still looked emotionless. Oh, damn, that's the prosecutor. We are in deep shit.

No more small talk was held between prosecutor and defense counsel; they couldn't be seen as friends, though Ruby saw that they obviously were. A few more people filed in—clerks, the court artist who would draw the pictures to be released to the press, the stenographer-a prim Army lieutenant who looked like she had been chosen by a movie studio to play the part. Two MPs also took up positions at the doors, their uniforms spotless and their boots bloused; they were drawn from the 82nd Airborne Division, the resident unit at Fort Presley.

The door at the front of the room suddenly opened, admitting a third MP, this one wearing the stripes of a master sergeant. He came to attention. "All rise!" Everyone in the courtroom did exactly that, coming to attention as well. "Colonel Jeffrey Beck, judge presiding." Ruby did a double take as the judge strode in. He wasn't just tall; he was huge, with hair so close-cropped it was nearly invisible, and hands that looked like they could palm her entire head. His uniform strained to keep in his bulk, and none of it was fat. His ribbons were also impressive, and included a Combat Infantry Badge and Master Jump Wings. He surveyed his realm like he planned on suplexing all of them, then sat. Everyone else did the same, and then the jury filed in. There were twelve, of course, all split between the various services—Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, to avoid any impartiality; as no Army member was accused, it made sense the judge would be Army, which was why the trial was taking place at Fort Presley. The jury was half male and half female for the same reason: an all-male court that convicted would be accused of sexism; an all-female court that found in favor of the defendants would be accused of sisterhood.

Ruby watched as the jury was sworn in and urged to remember that the defendants were innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Unlike in civilian courts, only a majority was needed to convict rather than unanimous, as no death penalty was involved. Ruby had been told by Forrest that the prosecution was not seeking the death penalty for mutiny, which in theory they could.

Once that was finished, Beck looked at the defense table. If Chapel had made Ruby feel like she was under a microscope, Beck's flinty eyes made her feel like a mouse being examined by a grizzly bear. "Defense, do you challenge the judge for cause?"

Forrest stood. "No, sir." If Ruby, Yang, Blake or Oscar had wanted to have Beck replaced by another judge for any reason—like, say, he had said something derogatory about female fighter pilots—they could do so. They had agreed beforehand there was no reason to.

"Defense, do you wish to exercise your premptory challenge to any member of the jury?" Both prosecution and defense could have a jury member removed for no reason—once again, if they thought that any member would be prejudiced against them.

Forrest looked to his defendants. Ruby shook her head. "No, sir, we do not."

"Prosecution?"

Chapel stood. "No, sir, no challenges."

"Very well. Before we proceed, I need to address something very quickly." A finger stabbed at Weiss. "Hauptmann Schnee, I presume. What are you doing here? I specifically said no guests. Would you like to be held in contempt of court, Hauptmann?"

Weiss stood at attention. "No, sir, I would not. Sir, I ask to remain because this is my flight. These are my friends, and I stand with them. The only reason I am not in there with them is because my government would not let me."

Beck's eyebrows rose. "I can probably arrange for you to be on trial as well, Hauptmann."

Weiss gave a short nod. "I wish you would, sir. I committed the same actions they did."

Beck suddenly rumbled, and they realized it was a laugh. He looked over at Chapel. "Does the prosecution have any objections?"

"None, sir," Chapel repeated.

"Very well, Hauptmann. You may remain as a guest. You will not speak to the defendants. Am I understood?"

"Absolutely, Colonel."

"Be seated." Beck picked up two sheets of stapled papers. "Very well; let's proceed." His eyes flicked over to the four of them. "Captain Ruby Rose, Captain Yang Xiao Long, Captain Blake Belladonna, Ensign Oscar Pine." All four rose to their feet. "You stand accused of violating Article 87: Missing Movement. Article 89: Disrespect Towards a Superior Officer. Article 92: Failure to Obey Orders or Regulations. Article 133: Conduct Unbecoming an Officer. Article 134: Conduct to the Prejudice of Good Order and Discipline." Ruby's heart sank. General Gale's JAG officer had gotten that last charge added after all, citing various incidents of Ruby, Yang, Blake and Oscar engaging in such conduct. Forrest had hoped that would be thrown out. "Finally, and most seriously, Article 94: Mutiny." Beck let the word hang in the air for a few moments. "Article 108, Destruction of Military Property, has been removed, as it was successfully argued by the defense that such destruction of property—namely one F-16, one F-23, one F-14, and one F-18 aircraft—was done in reasonable line of duty, namely the so-called Battle of Leszno, and might have been lost even if the defendants had not committed the other charges. Moreover, Ensign Pine could not be charged with the loss of his aircraft as he was not flying it. Likewise, a separate charge for Captains Xiao Long and Belladonna, on illegal sharing of classified information, has also been dismissed as that information was shared by General James Ironwood himself less than a few days later, in public." He set down the papers. "Defense, how do you plead?"

Actually both judge and the prosecution already knew how they would plead, but it was for the record. "Not guilty to all charges, sir," Forrest intoned. A few of the jury looked surprised; Ruby thought she saw one or two of them smile, but it might have been wishful thinking.

"Very well. The government may present its opening statement." Beck sat back in his chair.

"Thank you, sir." Chapel stood and walked to the center of the courtroom, facing both the jury and Beck at the same time. Ruby saw that her uniform was crisp, the seams on her khaki pants so sharp she could shave her legs with them. "Ladies and gentlemen," she started. "With the media firestorm over this case, it would be impossible to not have heard of it. You were carefully selected based on your responses that you could render a fair and honest verdict." She pointed at the four defendants. "My colleague in the defense undoubtedly had the accused dress in their Sunday best, with their medals, in an effort to immediately put you on their side. After all, how could someone who has been awarded so many of our nation's honors be accused of such heinous crimes? Surely this trial is nothing more than a publicity effort by certain politicians to deflect blame from themselves."

Uh oh, Yang scrawled on a yellow legal pad for Ruby to see. That argument was one they had explored as a means of defense, where Forrest would play on the traditional loathing that the armed forces had for politicians. Chapel had anticipated that, and figured out Forrest's ploy to generate sympathy almost instantly.

Chapel shook her head and continued. "While that is true, and while I would never cast doubt on the bravery of someone who has been awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government and the Navy Cross by ours, I believe that it is those very decorations that spurred the defendants to commit the crimes that they did. You see, they were committed to independent operations for so long, on their own, that they believed that they no longer needed to heed the chain of command. While Huntresses and Huntsmen, by their very nature, should be allowed a breadth of independence, this is not intended to allow them to engage in their own private war.

"On several occasions, during operations over Japan, in Kazakhstan, in Algeria, and over Poland, the accused willfully and happily disobeyed direct orders from their superiors—reading classified material—" Ruby realized that was as close as Chapel could get to revealing JINN "—trying to sneak past a blockade in defiance of the orders of a general of the French Air Force, refusing orders to land so that they could take on formations of GRIMM. Why? Because they wanted that glory. They wanted those medals. They wanted to stick it to this Salem creature in revenge for what happened at Beacon. While that may be understandable, even commendable, the accused regarded the rest of NATO and the United States of Canada armed forces as little more than their support in this private quest for glory and revenge."

Yang's metal fist audibly tightened around the wood of the chair. Ruby was struggling to keep her face placid; Oscar looked embarrassed. Yang looked like she was about to leap across the table and strangle Chapel. Blake, who had managed to stay neutral, gently put her hand on Yang's metal one, beneath the table.

Chapel took a quick look at them, at the sound of the wood crumpling. Ruby might have felt better if the prosecutor had smiled, or looked triumphant. Instead the eyes remained pitiless. "General James Ironwood, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, took a different approach to the threat of Salem. He did what we train our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines to do in basic: act as a team. He did not want Ruby Flight swanning off on their own, attacking GRIMM where they felt like it, cutting deals with mercenaries like the Happy Huntresses willy-nilly without the input of their own commanding officer. They wanted to win the war in Poland on their own, and instead they made the situation far worse. The accused undermined Ironwood's attempts to defend Poland at every step, and even berated the general to his face that he was doing the wrong thing." Chapel again shook her head, then gazed at each member of the jury in turn. "All of you have held a command of some kind. If an airman came up to you and accused you of cowardice, wouldn't you be angry? If a lieutenant of a rifle platoon refused to take a hill and instead took the hill they wanted to, wouldn't you regard that as an insubordinate act? Of course you would. At the very least, you would order that person to back off, to cool down, to get control of themselves. Or, you would do what General Ironwood did: get them the hell out of your AO." That brought a few smiles as well among the jury.

Chapel continued. Ruby had expected her to pace like they did in the movies, but her legs never moved, only her upper body. "And that is exactly what General Ironwood did. He ordered them out of the theater, pending a possible court-martial. You will hear testimony that he even told the accused that he did not think they would be prosecuted, and that he would even recommend they not be court-martialed or even given a letter of reprimand. He gave them every opportunity to accept their punishment, mild as it was, and—to use a term I've heard—sit on the bench for awhile while the rest of the team won the game. All of us here have watched such a game, when a star receiver or a great pitcher is sent to the bench for a little bit. They always come back, usually better and more humble for the experience."

Chapel did suddenly turn, stabbing a finger at the four of them. "But that was not what Ruby Flight did. Instead, they insulted General Ironwood to his face, hurled insults at him, and as soon as they returned to their base at Poznan, immediately planned to disobey him. To commit mutiny." Much as Beck had, Chapel let that word hang in the air for a few moments. "They convinced their enlisted people to follow them—not that the enlisted had much choice, since they were staying all the same. Captain Rose even gave a speech about how they were knowingly committing mutiny.

"Once she had gotten Captain Xiao Long and Captain Belladonna—and yes, Hauptmann Schnee—to agree to this crime, they proceeded to indeed fight their own war." Chapel sighed. "It would be remiss of the government to fail to admit that they fought that private war well, and yes, bravely." She nodded to Oscar. "Ensign Pine, after he had agreed to this mutiny, was shortly thereafter shot in the stomach by an assassin, then captured by the enemy. Despite torture, he did not divulge any secrets. In any other circumstances, I and any one of us in the room would be proud to pin a medal on him. Or on Captain Xiao Long, who bravely volunteered to accompany a Delta Force team, despite being completely unqualified, to rescue Ensign Pine."

Yang grabbed the pen and angrily scrawled on the legal pad. She's making me out to be crazy! She's killing us! She then shoved the pad over to Forrest. He calmly wrote on it, and pushed it back to Yang. This is the opening act, not the finale.

"As for Captain Rose?" Chapel shrugged. "She and Major Pyrrha Nikos, among others, put together a brilliant evacuation plan for the Polish civilians caught in the fallout of the Belchanow nuclear detonation. In the battle for that first convoy, it was thought that all of Ruby Flight died defending it. Then, a few weeks ago, they came out of the chaos that is Eastern Europe, having disposed of one air pirate gang and contributed to the deaths of three enemies of this nation." She gave a small bow of the head. "Once more, I wish that we could decorate the accused, rather than stand them in a courtroom and accuse them of these crimes."

Chapel walked back a pace, and sighed. "Unfortunately, we cannot. Whatever brave actions they took, they disobeyed orders. Whatever good they might have done, they did it in spite of their superiors. Whatever heroics they may have accomplished, none of them would have been necessary had they simply obeyed Ironwood's order and left Poland. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we are here.

"The military runs on trust and the chain of command. If Colonel Beck gives me an order, I salute and say 'Yes, sir,' and do my damnedest to obey it. That is the tradition that has kept us strong as a nation since 1775. It is a tradition older than even our Declaration of Independence or Constitution. We do not tolerate officers going off and doing their own thing, because that undermines that trust and chain of command. Without discipline, we have chaos. With chaos, our enemies win. I would not be so foolish to claim that the loss of Poland was the sole fault of Ruby Flight. However, I would say that their actions, at best, did nothing to alter the fate of that brave nation; at worst, it contributed to its loss. That is what you must decide, ladies and gentlemen of the jury: do we continue to exist as a military, obeying the orders given to us, or do we descend into chaos, where junior officers are allowed to make policy and disobey their commanding officers as they see fit?" Chapel let the silence stretch, then turned to Beck. "The government has presented their opening statement, sir."

"Very well," Beck said. "We will take a five minute break, then the defense may present their opening statement."

When everyone had come back and resumed their seats, Forrest got to his feet. He did begin to pace, but slowly and deliberately, and Ruby saw that his pacing, just like Chapel staying in place, was a conscious decision. The jury would have all watched courtroom dramas in movies and on television; he was doing what defense attorneys did in those shows because that was what the men and women of the jury expected.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "All of you heard my colleague, Captain Chapel, lay out the government's arguments. They are compelling ones, about chains of command, the importance of obeying orders, how the defendants fought their own, quote, 'private war,' and so on. She even expressed sorrow that she has to do this—sorrow which I genuinely believe is sincere, and share in. There was also some waving of the flag and appeals to the Constitution; I'm honestly surprised that she didn't find a way to work the Port Huron Accords of Unification in there. All in all, a rather well reasoned opening statement that you will be hard-pressed to find fault in.

"The core of the government's case against the defendants is that they disobeyed orders. All six charges revolve around that. If Ruby Flight had not disobeyed orders, none of these charges would exist. And I tell you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury…" Forrest raised a finger "…Ruby Flight did disobey orders." That brought looks of shock, not just from the jury, but from Beck and Chapel. Ruby, Yang, Blake and Oscar kept straight faces, because Forrest had made this very statement to all of them at Taiyang's house the first day they met.

Forrest grinned. He had a very winning grin, and unlike Chapel, it didn't seem predatory. "Now you're probably wondering, 'What the hell? Is the defense quitting already? Can we just render a guilty verdict, go home, and catch that new Survivor show?'" Even Chapel had to smile at that one. "Well, I hate to disappoint, because that show does look rather interesting, at that…but no, I'm neither quitting nor admitting guilt." He nodded to Chapel. "The government builds their case around obeying orders. We make ours around whether those orders should be obeyed. Because I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen…they shouldn't have. Those orders should never have been given at all."

Forrest resumed his slow pacing. "Perhaps my colleague over there is wondering just what strange games I'm up to, but realize this: while our military is indeed built on trust and the chain of command, it is also based on our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines using their own judgement. In 1864, a madman ordered the death of Cheyenne elders, women and children at Sand Creek. In 1969, a similar madman ordered the death of hundreds of refugees at South Pass. In both cases, soldiers disobeyed those orders because those orders were unlawful, and either refused to participate or even stood between their own guns and innocent civilians. It is what differentiates us from the Third Reich and Imperial Japan, where German and Japanese soldiers put aside human decency and murdered millions of people.

"Now I see the expression on some of your faces, and no, I am not comparing General James Ironwood to Adolf Hitler or Hideki Tojo, or even John Chivington and William Lagune. Far from it. Ordering out eight of your best fighter pilots is hardly ordering the murder of innocent people. However…such massacres are aberrations in American culture rather than the norm, because we question orders. We do not blindly obey them." Forrest nodded. "And that is the defense's argument, ladies and gentlemen. Ironwood gave a poor order, and an unlawful one, and not only did Captains Rose, Belladonna, and Xiao Long, as well as Ensign Pine have the right to disobey it, they had the duty to disobey it."

Forrest let out a long sigh. "I hate to speak ill of the dead, but I must, in the interest of justice. James Ironwood was a good man, a man with a long service to this nation and its people, a man who devoted his life to it. At Desert One in 1980, he ran back into a burning helicopter to save the lives of two of his men, receiving third degree burns over half his body in the process. That is a hero, ladies and gentlemen, but heroes are fallible. And James Ironwood made a grevious mistake in ordering out Ruby Flight. It's understandable," he argued. "Ironwood was exhausted. He was not eating well. He was up against a relentless enemy that deprived him of sleep and rest, an enemy that even resorted to the use of weapons of mass destruction. For every move James Ironwood made, Salem made two. Our forces have to eat and sleep. Hers does not.

"And that is the only explanation I can come up with for giving such a strange order, taking his best players off the field when the score was tied, to use the government's analogy. He was overtired and not thinking straight. Perhaps he was even frustrated with the onslaught of Salem and mistakenly took out his frustrations on Ruby Flight." Forrest emphasized the mistaken aspect of the statement. "Even the prosecution has admitted that the defendants' combat record to this point was exemplary—and remained exemplary even after this so-called mutiny. The defendants didn't try to undermine Ironwood, or overthrow him—they tried to help him, despite himself.

"If they were overzealous in going after the GRIMM—is that a crime? Was the man whom this fort was named after overzealous when he took command of his tank platoon and led it in a desperate counterattack, to buy time for the villages behind him to be evacuated? If they tried to sneak in through a blockade—wasn't that blockade illegal, pushed by a man now on trial for treason in Germany? Even my colleague admits that Captain Rose helped plan an evacuation convoy for civilians facing irradiation and famine. Is that the actions of someone fighting a 'private war'—" Forrest used scare quotes "—or is that someone who is desperately trying to save lives? Ensign Pine could have given everything to Salem to avoid horrible torture—if he was the mercenary he is accused of being, then he owed nothing to Ironwood. Instead, he held out despite being beaten and shot. Captain Xiao Long could have stood by and let the professionals rescue her friend—and instead she volunteered to go in, into the heart of the enemy. She even engaged Salem herself in hand-to-hand combat, which is more than any of us can say. And Captain Belladonna was instrumental in the defeat of the White Fang. Are these criminals, ladies and gentlemen?"

Forrest stopped his pacing in front of the jury box. "That is what you must decide, people of the jury. At worst, the defendants were overzealous in pursuit of their duties and in the defense of this nation—hardly a court-martial offense. At best, they are heroes and heroines, with a nearly unmatched record of bravery that even their enemies have acknowledged. We shouldn't be putting these fine fighter pilots on trial…we should be thanking them for doing what any of us would do, and excusing Ironwood's single poor decision of a man under incredible stress. Honor him, and honor these four. Thank you." Forrest stepped back, then executed a sharp about-face and returned to his seat.

"Very well. Opening statements are concluded," Beck said after a pause. "Is the government ready to proceed?" He nodded at Chapel.

"It is, sir." Chapel stood. "Your honor, the government would like to call its first witness, who luckily is already here." She turned and faced Weiss. "The government calls Hauptmann Weiss Schnee to the stand."