A Decision Overturned

Posted on Sun Sep 18th, 2011 @ 9:18am by Vice Admiral Iluvar

Mission: Episode 2.3 - "Hippocratic Oath"
Location: Chief-of-Staff's Office, Starbase 386
Timeline: 28 May 2387

ON: [[Chief-of-Staff's Office, Starbase 386, 28 May 2387]]

Andrew (PNPC) carefully read over the information written on the PADD he held in his right hand as he stood outside the door to Admiral Olivia Tavez's (PNPC) office. He didn't usually make a habit of housecalls to deliver the results of judicial proceedings, but as the review had been petitioned for by Admiral Tavez, he figured it was worth the trip.

There had been no gathered hearing or public trial as had been witnessed on Deep Space Four during the original Board of Inquiry. Instead, Andrew had opted for a simple investigative review. He had personally interviewed several witnesses and participants involved with the inquiry of Iluvar to gather sufficient evidence upon which to base a sound decision. Now it was time to present his findings to the petitioner.

Inside her office, where she'd been the past hour at least, Olivia frowned slightly at the looming shadow created by the large stack of PADDs balanced only somewhat precariously in front of her. Another long day. The stack of PADDs she had already looked through was considerably smaller.

Receiving a knowing look from the admiral's yeoman, Andrew proceeded down the short hallway which ended in the double doors that separated the Eighth Fleet Chief-of-Staff's private office from the reception area out front. He paused only to adjust the hem of his jacket before reaching out to press the doorchime and announce his presence.

Olivia glanced up from the PADD she'd just picked up; she didn't remember having any appointments, but due to her position, her office was fairly busy regardless. Reaching forward, she pushed the PADDs off to the sides of her desk before responding, "Come in."

The doors parted and Andrew stepped over the threshold into the office beyond. He was reasonably confident that his visit had not been expected, seeing as how he had only recently made the decision to deliver the information in person. "I apologize for my interruption," he said slowly as he approached the desk.

Seeing Andrew walk in, she smiled, "Good morning; please, have a seat." Gesturing to one of the chairs in front of her, Olivia leaned back in her chair just slightly. "What do you have for me today?" She hadn't seen anything JAG related in her stack of PADDs thus far, but she might have missed something...or it might be something else entirely - the Iluvar review, even, or so she hoped.

"It is as you suspect," Andrew replied, lowering himself into the offered seat. He reached out to place his PADD on the desk between them before settling into the chair. "I have finished my review of the Board of Inquiry," he continued, folding his hands and resting his elbows on the armrests of his seat, "and I think you will find the results to be most interesting."

Raising an eyebrow, Olivia let the words sink in for a few moments, "I'm glad to hear you've finished the review. Hopefully those you spoke with didn't put up too much resistance... What did you find?" She had to admit that she partly expected some of those who had been questioned to be rather difficult - nobody liked to have their decisions reviewed in this manner. Mostly though, she was intrigued about what he might have found out.

A grim look passed across Andrew's face as he recalled the painstaking process of interviewing witnesses and reviewing evidence only to discover something that should have been readily apparent from the very beginning. "I am afraid the motives behind the initial prosecution of Mister Iluvar were not as noble or well-intentioned as many were led to believe," he explained, adjusting himself slightly in the seat, "I have not yet been able confirm whether the presiding officers were aware of the situation, although they very well should have recognized the signs, it is clear Captain Mercer was not interested in the pursuit of justice when he petitioned for prosecution of this case."

Although she wasn't entirely surprised, given Captain Mercer's reputation, Olivia was not pleased to hear the development. Nodding slowly, she responded, "I would have hoped the presiding officers would have made sure that was not the case... I'm almost afraid to ask, but what exactly were Captain Mercer's motives?"

"If I had to say...I would imagine he felt the proceedings would help further his own career," Andrew replied, "Based on his previous prosecutions and the testimony I received, I cannot really attribute the behavior to any other possible motivation."

Olivia shook her head, "Very disappointing. I'm not sure which would have been worse - prosecuting someone to further your own career or prosecuting someone for revenge. Neither has a place in our courts. Still though, Captain Mercer didn't render the verdict...and as I recall, the defense had some good points of their own. Where else did things go wrong?"

"How familiar are you with Mister Iluvar's career up to this point," Andrew asked.

"I'm pretty familiar with it at this point," she said, laying her folded hands on the desk. "The few things I was unfamiliar with before I learned during the trial and did follow up with a bit of research on my own." Some Admirals wouldn't have bothered, perhaps, but Olivia had felt it important to understand what was going on with one of their Task Force Commanding Officers. Actually, she made a point to know at least the major points of the careers of the Fleet staff.

"Then you are aware that there are many who would not necessarily agree with his methods," Andrew continued, "perhaps even to the point of questioning his ability to continue serving in such a prominent capacity within the fleet. Mister Iluvar is by no means perfect, none of us are, but what I do know of him has shown me that he is certainly a capable officer who consistently places others before himself."

Nodding Olivia replied, "Yes, I'm aware. If we barred everyone with supposedly questionable methods from a higher level staff position, I imagine we wouldn't have staff. But I agree with what you're saying." She paused, considering the information thus far and asked, "So, other than a perhaps overzealous prosecutor, the rest of the case was alright? What other conclusions did you make?"

"I have reviewed the evidence and investigated a bit further to fill in some of the holes that were left by the prosecution's questioning," Andrew replied, leaning forward slightly, "and have found no reason to believe Mister Iluvar is incapable of fulfilling the responsibilities of Task Force Commanding Officer. He has clearly earned respect from his subordinates, peers, and superiors during his service and I see no reason not to validate those who found him worthy of promotion during that time."

"I certainly appreciate your thoroughness, not that I expected any less," Olivia commented, placing one hand on top of the other. "What of the verdict and punishment then?" Not that the rest was unimportant, but Andrew's decision would certainly have an affect on Iluvar. She was anxious to hear what he thought.

Andrew slowly leaned back in his chair again. He had given the entire situation a great deal of thought, as he did with any decision he faced, and certainly had not come to a conclusion lightly. "Based on the evidence I have reviewed, I cannot justify upholding the verdict handed down by the board," he said, "therefore, I am ordering Mister Iluvar be returned to the rank of Rear Admiral. Whether or not you should choose to reinstate him as Task Force Commanding Officer is entirely up to you..."

Olivia nodded solemnly, taking in his decision and pondering the situation for a couple minutes. "I think that reinstating him is the right thing to do. Had this trial not occurred, he would still be a Task Force Commanding Officer...he might have even been made a Vice Admiral by now. I can write up an order reinstating him to his former position to go along with your decision if you'd like." It seemed only fair, after all, and Horizon Fleet was in need of a Task Force Commanding Officer.

"I shall refrain from announcing my decision until the order has been prepared," Andrew said with a nod, "Do you have any preference as to how we might inform him of this decision? I certainly would not want to learn of something as important as this through more...public channels."

"I'll see about preparing it today," Olivia promised; she didn't want to drag her feet on an important matter. Nodding slowly, she answered, "I most definitely agree. Perhaps either one or both of us should contact him...whatever you prefer is fine by me. He can read over your findings afterwards and ask if he has any questions."

OFF

A JP by:

Admiral Olivia Tavez (PNPC)
Chief of Staff
Eighth "Horizon" Fleet

and

Vice Admiral Andrew Hawkins (PNPC)
Judge Advocate-General
Eight "Horizon" Fleet