Chapter 4 - The Legacy of Blood
"Sir," Jake pleaded, his voice cracking into high-pitched panic. "I didn't know! Her file wasn't distributed to team leadership! She wasn't wearing standard command insignia! I thought she was an unauthorized civilian or a contractor sitting in the team-only section!"
"You thought she was a woman you could bully without consequences," Captain Sterling roared, slamming both open palms onto his oak desk with a violence that made the crystal paperweights jump. "You thought because she sat quietly in an old uniform, she was an easy target to impress your junior sycophants!"
Sterling stepped out from behind the desk, stopping two inches from Jake’s nose, his face flushed with righteous anger. "Let me educate you on the history of this command, Lieutenant. That faded jacket you pinched between your fingers? Master Chief Carter wore that jacket during Operation Red Wings recovery. She wore it during the Takur Ghar extraction. When your father was sitting in an air-conditioned congressional office in Washington, Master Chief Carter was dragging wounded Navy SEALs out of burning helicopters in the Hindu Kush!"
Jake’s knees shook visibly. His eyes darted to me, pleading, desperate, but I remained standing at parade rest, my expression carved from granite.
"She is not a contractor, Morrison," Sterling snarled. "She holds the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, and three Purple Hearts. She was the first female master chief assigned as senior enlisted advisor to the Special Operations Joint Command. And she is here on direct orders from the Secretary of the Navy to conduct a structural audit of this entire unit’s leadership culture."
"Captain, please," Jake whispered, tears finally escaping his eyes and running down his pale cheeks. "My record... I am up for selection to Team Six next month. If an Article Ninety-Two is filed, my packet will be revoked permanently."
"Your packet is already in the shredder, Morrison," Sterling said with cold finality. "Did you honestly believe your congressman father’s phone calls would protect you if you committed battery on an active inspector? Senior Chief Miller!"
"Sir!"
"Relieve Lieutenant Morrison of his sidearm and security access badges immediately. Confine him to quarters pending formal charges under Article Ninety-Two, Article One-Hundred-Thirty-Three for conduct unbecoming an officer, and Article One-Hundred-Twenty-Eight for assault. He is barred from entering the training compound, the armory, and the mess hall."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Miller barked, stepping up and unhooking Jake’s holster with practiced, brutal efficiency.
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Jake looked at me one last time, completely broken, the shining future he had taken for granted evaporating into dust. "Master Chief... I'm sorry. God, I am so sorry."
"Save your apologies for the tribunal, Lieutenant," I said evenly. "They have better ears for fiction than I do."
