The submarine Watertown surfaced in middle of norwegian sailboats and Chegwidden (C) sent Harm (H) and Mac (M) to investigate while they were having significant disagreements. Commander Flagler gave M XO Eustis' Palm Pilot to use while aboard. Mess Chief Basilio said that the boat was "not right," having more injuries and illnesses than he'd seen in 7 years. An entire watch got EColi dysentery, ruptured eardrum and scabies requiring sterilization of the entire mess. He said the corpsman was the "hardest working squid on the boat." Chief Hodge, corpsman, said the crew had 4 back-to-back patrols without liberty and had "shared stress." He pressed on Ms foot to "cure" her sore neck. The boat was ordered to N Korea to find an underwater missle facility so they were stuck for 14 days and had to "hot bunk" in the enlisted barracks. The enlisted thought it was funny to harass M with the trash compactor until she faced them down and promised to "haul them out the forward trunk and feed their #!@ to the crabs." H tried to settle her about the "pranks" but finally suggested they "just try to get along." He said he would be more sensitive and she less. She said if he was more sensitive she wouldn’t need to be less. A seaman was killed by a ruptureing high pressure valve which lacerated his Vena Cava. It was probably due to a tiny nick in the packing of the valve during maintenance. Flager didn't accept the XOs suggestion for burial at sea and ordered the food cooked and the ice cream eaten so they could use it for a morgue. At dinner M brought up a "cursed boat" and was shot down by Flagler. Hodge announced that seaman Bluestein had "hepatitis A" so everyone had to be tested. H deduced that someone was trying to hurt people because the crew hadn't been ashore in four patrols to contract hepatitis A. He and M thought it might be the XO due to his lack of empathy for the crew and being the only one on the watch that didn't get sick. He told H that he was the only one who was allergic to wheat and didn't eat the pancakes. Flagler was angry that they woke him up with their accusations and no back-up.
M told H that if they pursued it they would "be the most unpopular suests at the party." H said "as long as we dance together" and M retorted "and you lead." They got into another row that their anger wasn't just "a bump in the road." H said you "honestly resent me" and M said "and you have no faith in me." She suggested they talk about it and H said "this isn't a marriage" so she walked away. H asked Bud (B) to check the records of all the crew and he asked what it was like on a submarine. H told him he could find out by "throwing away all his fresh fruit and vegetables, putting lube oil in his humidifier, sleeping on a shelf in the closet and going to work before sunrise." C came on the line and asked him if he was operating with the full consent of the skipper or had done anything irregular, unlawful or ill advised. B called back that the crew were outstanding and mentioned that Hodge had received commendations two times before for outbreaks of Legionnaire's disease and serious bacterial infection- three epidemics in a row! H went to the infirmary and found an empty bottle of ipecac (emetic) so confronted Hodge with his Munchausen By Proxy syndrome. He had called M down to the infirmary but Hodge struck him in the throat causing spasm then injected him with sedation. When M came H couldn't speak. She told Hodge to accompany her to the bridge to inform the CO. H got to the computer and emailed Ms PDA that it was Hodge. Hodge put ammonia in Ms eyes but she kicked him to the ground and ran into the infirmary. She and H hid in the bulkheads but Hodge came in and tried to inject H again. He dropped the syringe when H hit him but had the advantage and slammed H around. M turned on steam jets; but, when H was downed, was choked into unconsciousness by Hodge. H stuck him in the back with the syringe to subdue him and rescue M.
H was still hoarse when they left the ship. Flager was down on himself for hand picking Hodge and M gave him encourgagement. He told her that "healthy self-criticism was useful but we should never underestimate our support." He said "you two are quite a team. Do you always work this well together?" M told him "when he lets me do the talking."
Tuesday, February 23, 1999
Tuesday, February 16, 1999
River's Run - 76
A teenager, Brian Yarrow, was shot and killed in a national forest where a SEAL team was conducting exercises. Lt Rivers received gunfire and returned fire only to find the dead boy. Chegwidden (C) sent Harm (H) and Mac (M) to investigate. FBI special agent Al Grenin, who previously and maliciously charged H for murdering a Russian mafia agent, said the FBI was tracking a federal building bombing fugitive in the area. Warren Toobin, who's bomb had killed a man, had become a local "folk hero" for the areas' separatists. They left food and supplies for him. Rivers told H & M that his team was only traversing through the forest to get to their normal exercise area and he had been shot at. When he heard that no gun was found he went UA to track who had shot and caused him to kill the boy. C gave H & M 24 hours to bring him in before filing. Having lunch in a small café, H revealed to M that he had washed dishes in the "Eagle and Key café in Julian California" during a high school summer break. Rivers found Toobin's hide-out and began tracking him. He was bit by a copperhead snake and was captured by the separatist gang. Harriet obsessed about the "dead little boy" and Bud (B) had to stop her. She was given her lieutenant JG bars by C and she said she had "completely forgot her two years were up" (yea right!). Grenin climbed on C for sending H & M into the area claiming they would "screw up his investigation."
A local red-neck thug, ex-sailor Lewis Beecham, started harassing M in the café and when H stood to back him down his gang had to be stopped by Mr. Yarrow. Yarrow said his son Brian didn't have a gun and that the "corrupt government had subverted our liberty and undermined the law of the people." He told them to leave but H put a tracking device on his truck which led them to the compound where they were holding a kangaroo "peoples" court for Rivers. M went to higher ground to try and call out on their cell phone while H went in to the compound and was allowed to "defend" Rivers. Yarrow's daughter testified that Brian had his gun in the forest and that her father had gotten it back the next day. Warren Toobin testified that Brian had brought supplies then saw soldiers coming and assumed they were after Toobin. He shot at Rivers, just to scare him, and allow time for Toobin to escape, but was shot. Toobin took the gun, gathered the casing and hid "while the soldiers went by." None of Rivers' men were there and when he tried to say so the judge gagged him. Yarrow quoted the Declaration of Independence and spouted rhetoric about his opinions of the government. H pointed out that the founding fathers said the established government shouldn't be abolished for light and trivial reasons so they gave the Constitution so that it wouldn't be. The separatists ignore the Constitution. Rivers only had returned fire, just like any of them would do. Brian had died because of the hate and suspicion his father had planted in his heart. C assigned B to see if the Forest Service was pressured to close the normal insertion area so the SEAL's would need to use the alternative near Toobin. Lewis' gang on the jury found Rivers guilty without deliberation and the judge sentenced him to be hanged just as a helicopter flew over. They put H, M & Rivers in a shed while Toobin escaped out a tunnel and the rest got their guns in a standoff. H realized that the autopsy had shown Brian was shot in the back exonerating Rivers. They surmised Grenan had done it and told Yarrow; but, he wouldn’t believe. C came into the compound and promised "someone would pay" to no avail so Rivers stood out to let Yarrow shoot him. Yarrow's daughter stopped him saying "she didn't want to loose him too." As Rivers limped out he told C that a Copperhead had bit him. C said "I hope you bit him back." [The producers felt the need for epilogue titles saying that Rivers had been exonerated and was back instructing SEALS, Grenan had been temporarily suspended and faced possible manslaughter charges, and Toobin was still at large. To my knowledge none of those plot lines were ever followed up.]
A local red-neck thug, ex-sailor Lewis Beecham, started harassing M in the café and when H stood to back him down his gang had to be stopped by Mr. Yarrow. Yarrow said his son Brian didn't have a gun and that the "corrupt government had subverted our liberty and undermined the law of the people." He told them to leave but H put a tracking device on his truck which led them to the compound where they were holding a kangaroo "peoples" court for Rivers. M went to higher ground to try and call out on their cell phone while H went in to the compound and was allowed to "defend" Rivers. Yarrow's daughter testified that Brian had his gun in the forest and that her father had gotten it back the next day. Warren Toobin testified that Brian had brought supplies then saw soldiers coming and assumed they were after Toobin. He shot at Rivers, just to scare him, and allow time for Toobin to escape, but was shot. Toobin took the gun, gathered the casing and hid "while the soldiers went by." None of Rivers' men were there and when he tried to say so the judge gagged him. Yarrow quoted the Declaration of Independence and spouted rhetoric about his opinions of the government. H pointed out that the founding fathers said the established government shouldn't be abolished for light and trivial reasons so they gave the Constitution so that it wouldn't be. The separatists ignore the Constitution. Rivers only had returned fire, just like any of them would do. Brian had died because of the hate and suspicion his father had planted in his heart. C assigned B to see if the Forest Service was pressured to close the normal insertion area so the SEAL's would need to use the alternative near Toobin. Lewis' gang on the jury found Rivers guilty without deliberation and the judge sentenced him to be hanged just as a helicopter flew over. They put H, M & Rivers in a shed while Toobin escaped out a tunnel and the rest got their guns in a standoff. H realized that the autopsy had shown Brian was shot in the back exonerating Rivers. They surmised Grenan had done it and told Yarrow; but, he wouldn’t believe. C came into the compound and promised "someone would pay" to no avail so Rivers stood out to let Yarrow shoot him. Yarrow's daughter stopped him saying "she didn't want to loose him too." As Rivers limped out he told C that a Copperhead had bit him. C said "I hope you bit him back." [The producers felt the need for epilogue titles saying that Rivers had been exonerated and was back instructing SEALS, Grenan had been temporarily suspended and faced possible manslaughter charges, and Toobin was still at large. To my knowledge none of those plot lines were ever followed up.]
Tuesday, February 9, 1999
Webb of Lies - 75
Webb (W)called Harm (H) from a ship, where he was under fire; but, H was kissing Jordie so he couldn't be bothered answering. By the time H picked up the reciever, the phone went dead. The next day Chegwidden (C) was notified that Ws burned body was found on a freighter and he assigned Mac (M) and H to find out who did it. CIA agent Paul Candella broke into Hs apartment saying he was investigating Ws one minute call the night before. Bud (B) found that a Japanese scientist, Shoei Wakita, was one of the bodies found with W and he had been working on a superconductor. When Wakita found out that the Bradenhurst corporation was the one funding the research, he disappeared with the prototype. When H heard the words "Bradenhurst," he immediately went to Leavenworth to interrogate Clark Palmer, but found an imposter serving his sentence. H knew the murders on the freighter weren't performed by Palmer- they were too messy. Worried about H, M stayed with him overnight; but, she couldn't sleep so field stripped Hs pistol. M told H tearfully that "everyone around her keeps dying:" W, her ex-husband, and Dalton. H got the DUI charges against Jordie dismissed and she brought him copies of the autopsies. All three had been killed with similar weapons but W was also burned so had to be identified by dental records.
C told them that the CIA suspected a mole inside it who kept funneling information to ex-DSD agents (competing with them as "intelligence beltway bandits.") Palmer bluffed his way into CIA headquarters to obtain records on the superconductor and was nearly intercepted by Candella. H & B went to "feed Ws fish" and found that he had been a musician competed in the 1988 Olympics' modern pentathlon. Candella interrupted them and seemed surprised when H told him that Palmer wasn't in Leavenworth. Palmer was waiting in the backseat of Candella's car and they spoke, knowingly, about the superconductor. Candella said Palmer would get it when they found it. Palmer gave him a cigarette, laced with high tech poison, which killed him. H visited Ws mother who said that she and her husband, Neville, were both intelligence agents and Clayton had gone "into the family business." His mother took a call from Lt Abby Cowan, who didn't exist in military databases. M discovered that the name was an anagram for "Clayton Webb." H found W alive on the ship with the superconductor. W said that he had believed Candella was the mole so couldn't tell anyone in the CIA that he had arranged to get the scientist and the superconductor into the US. Palmer trailed H to the ship and got the drop on them. He had arranged a "trap" for Jordan at Hs apartment in order to bargain for the superconductor. W was already shot in the leg so, when they escaped from Palmer, H sent W off the ship to get help for Jordie. Palmer, however, shot H and got the drop, again, on W who he forced to retrieve the superconductor. Just as he was going to shoot W, H appeared and shot Palmer three times while chasing him onto the deck. He went back for W and when they returned found Palmers body gone. H found Jordie asleep in his apartment but Palmer had left a photo of himself taped to the back of the door.
W said that Palmers ultimate revenge would be to leave H in the "wilderness of mirrors"- a term for extreme paranoia suffered by "spooks" in the business too long. Bud was third in law class. He angered Harriet by wanting to wait for M to read his grades to him, like she always did, for luck.
C told them that the CIA suspected a mole inside it who kept funneling information to ex-DSD agents (competing with them as "intelligence beltway bandits.") Palmer bluffed his way into CIA headquarters to obtain records on the superconductor and was nearly intercepted by Candella. H & B went to "feed Ws fish" and found that he had been a musician competed in the 1988 Olympics' modern pentathlon. Candella interrupted them and seemed surprised when H told him that Palmer wasn't in Leavenworth. Palmer was waiting in the backseat of Candella's car and they spoke, knowingly, about the superconductor. Candella said Palmer would get it when they found it. Palmer gave him a cigarette, laced with high tech poison, which killed him. H visited Ws mother who said that she and her husband, Neville, were both intelligence agents and Clayton had gone "into the family business." His mother took a call from Lt Abby Cowan, who didn't exist in military databases. M discovered that the name was an anagram for "Clayton Webb." H found W alive on the ship with the superconductor. W said that he had believed Candella was the mole so couldn't tell anyone in the CIA that he had arranged to get the scientist and the superconductor into the US. Palmer trailed H to the ship and got the drop on them. He had arranged a "trap" for Jordan at Hs apartment in order to bargain for the superconductor. W was already shot in the leg so, when they escaped from Palmer, H sent W off the ship to get help for Jordie. Palmer, however, shot H and got the drop, again, on W who he forced to retrieve the superconductor. Just as he was going to shoot W, H appeared and shot Palmer three times while chasing him onto the deck. He went back for W and when they returned found Palmers body gone. H found Jordie asleep in his apartment but Palmer had left a photo of himself taped to the back of the door.
W said that Palmers ultimate revenge would be to leave H in the "wilderness of mirrors"- a term for extreme paranoia suffered by "spooks" in the business too long. Bud was third in law class. He angered Harriet by wanting to wait for M to read his grades to him, like she always did, for luck.
Wednesday, January 13, 1999
War Stories - 74
Chegwidden C assigned Mac (M) and Bud (B) to defend Commander Thomas Risnicki, leader of SEAL team 8, charged with involuntary manslaughter and disobeying orders. He had delayed his assigned rescue mission for 2.5 hours due to adiabatic fog which probably would have killed the team then found the three NATO hostages hung. They were killed by an ultra radical faction of the Yugoslav army who had given NATO a day to leave the country. When the team arrived 37 minutes late the observers were dead and the SECNAV told C "you could hear NATO Commander, Major General Richard Plesac's screams all the way to the White House." C appointed Harm (H) to act as JAG during his "forced" use of vacation time. Brum asked H about defending a tuba player who struck a "flatulent note" as the president sat down, and Harriet (Ht) asked about naming their son. When H suggested naming after naval hero's they all commented that H seemed "different," "older," and "getting taller." With Plesac on the stand M brought out his previous reprimand for "ignoring intel, being ambushed, and the 14 men who died were not worth another bar on his shoulder." Plesac shouted at M then went to the SECNAV who demanded to see H. M said she was going to call Plesac again because he had a "history of loosing men under fire" and wanted to "contrast his apparent disregard for lives with Risnicki's concern." When H disagreed with Ms need to "shift blame" onto Plesac in order to win the case, M told him that when he "got power he became as political as the SECNAV."
Unable to find anything to do, C kept calling H and told him to "call or stop by anytime." He finally drove to JAG headquarters only to find Fran Glass producing a movie, "Field of Gold" starring Dan Lander, being shot in front. After dressing down an actor, thinking he was a disgraceful soldier, Glass convinced him to work as "technical advisor" for the show. When H came that night to talk he found C with the co-star as a date. H said that M had not taken his advice and C reminded him of all the times he had ignored the advice C had given. C said that he had to "decide what was best for the case: defending your authority or the choices of the people who define it." Then advised that H "get a handkerchief." The SECNAV ranted and raved in Hs face about maligning Plesac and said that "if M called him again he would make him personally responsible for the fall out." H told M that it would be her call. Risnicki found that B hadn't taken the bar and threatened to dismiss him. H told Risnicki that his "best shot was to use his strongest ally" so he didn't fire him. B found that the bodies were already cold and stiff so that they must have been killed at least a day before. Risnicki's delay had kept them from falling into a trap. He was found Not Guilty of manslaughter but guilty of disobeying an order. Risnicki apologized to B; and, when told he didn't need to advised B to "accept any and all acts of contrition because you don't often see it." C was fired from the movie because he dressed down the director for rudeness. When he returned he had become used to all the snacks on the set so told Ht to see that JAG got some. They asked if they could name their baby after C and he said he was honored. They all were happy until C revealed that he expected them to name him "Albert Jethro Roberts."
Unable to find anything to do, C kept calling H and told him to "call or stop by anytime." He finally drove to JAG headquarters only to find Fran Glass producing a movie, "Field of Gold" starring Dan Lander, being shot in front. After dressing down an actor, thinking he was a disgraceful soldier, Glass convinced him to work as "technical advisor" for the show. When H came that night to talk he found C with the co-star as a date. H said that M had not taken his advice and C reminded him of all the times he had ignored the advice C had given. C said that he had to "decide what was best for the case: defending your authority or the choices of the people who define it." Then advised that H "get a handkerchief." The SECNAV ranted and raved in Hs face about maligning Plesac and said that "if M called him again he would make him personally responsible for the fall out." H told M that it would be her call. Risnicki found that B hadn't taken the bar and threatened to dismiss him. H told Risnicki that his "best shot was to use his strongest ally" so he didn't fire him. B found that the bodies were already cold and stiff so that they must have been killed at least a day before. Risnicki's delay had kept them from falling into a trap. He was found Not Guilty of manslaughter but guilty of disobeying an order. Risnicki apologized to B; and, when told he didn't need to advised B to "accept any and all acts of contrition because you don't often see it." C was fired from the movie because he dressed down the director for rudeness. When he returned he had become used to all the snacks on the set so told Ht to see that JAG got some. They asked if they could name their baby after C and he said he was honored. They all were happy until C revealed that he expected them to name him "Albert Jethro Roberts."
Tuesday, January 12, 1999
Dungaree Justice - 73
[A follow-up to the episode where Mac confessed to killing her estranged ex-con husband] Mattoni prosecuted Mac (M) for "lying" in the court-martial of her and her ex-CO, John Farrow, over the death of Christopher Ragle her estranged, (but not divorced) ex-con, husband. Harm (H) defended her arguing that it wasn't to avoid punishment or germane to the case because they were wrongly charged so it didn't rise to the level of perjury. Adm Morris agreed and sent her to Captains mast before Chegwidden (C) who wasn't very happy. He chewed her out for not only lying but for not trusting him and making him think she had murdered her husband. He said he was withdrawing his recommendation for her early promotion to Lt Col. and would dismiss her from JAG if she ever lied again.
Mikey (Mk) had been coerced into joining the navy by his father and came to Bud (B) to ask him to get him out of it. Tiner helped B find possible excuses behind Cs back. C told them that he hadn't "seen someone look so guilty since his last visit to the white house." B couldn't find a "loophole" and advised that he would have to "suck it up." Mk said B was just like dad and hope he "did a better job raising his son than dad on us." Later he came back and apologized saying he was a great brother and the baby was lucky to have him as a father. B took him to the navy art gallery at Annapolis and said that after boot camp he would try and help him get into the navy combat art program.
The owner of a bar, Peter Reardon, was beat up by 3 sailors who said they were doing it for "the Hawk." Reardon identified PO3 Wade Colbert, (actual beater), seaman Hendrix and seaman Olin. M and H investigated and found that the three denied knowing anything about either the beating or "the Hawk." They asked questions of the ships captain about non-cooperation in what they were calling "unit cohesiveness." He got angry at them but while on the bridge they overheard a radio transmission referencing "the Hawk," PO Lopez, a female gunner. She claimed not to know anything either, and denied being in the bar that night. They recommended referral to an article 32 hearing and were assigned to prosecute while Brumby (Brum) defended. C told them to identify, up to the top, if there was a culture aboard the ship that condones dungaree justice. They found that Lopez had missed role call two weeks previously after getting drunk with her three buddies at Reardon's bar. While she was in the restroom the three left in bar, drunk, and when they didn't return Reardon gave her coffee then helped her to her car to sleep it off when she couldn't find her keys. M and H interrogated her about her lying by omission and, after H left, she told M that she was just trying to "fit in" by not complaining. M told her that she could recognize the signs of someone who is trying to forget a drunken indiscretion. On the stand H got her to admit that she had passed out in the car then awoke finding she had been raped and drove home after finding her keys on the floor of the car. She had missed muster then told Colbert about it. H went to Reardon with accusations but he (luckily?) had been wounded in Vietnam and was impotent so couldn't have done it. Brum let H talk to the three and advised them they had beaten the wrong man.
Hendrix and Olin got civilian lawyers and turned evidence against Colbert for immunity against prosecution. On the stand Hendrix said that they had taken Lopez' keys for "survival training" and that it was Colbert who had the idea to beat Reardon up and actually did it. H got Olin to say that Colbert had taken her keys but had given them to him. H charged that it was he who had gone back and raped Lopez but the keys fell out of his pocket onto the floor. H told him that he had immunity from the assault charges not rape. He denied it on the stand but when Lopez asked him "why did you do it?" in the hall he told her that "military wasn't a woman's game." He said he "didn't join up to have some girl calling my gunnery," in front of M and H. At episodes end H saw C watching a ZNN report about the kidnapping of 3 NATO observers in Kosovo. There was a 24 hour deadline for NATO withdrawal. C said almost all at the Pentagon "were looking pretty grim;" and when H asked who wasn't looking grim, replied "some of my old friends."
Mikey (Mk) had been coerced into joining the navy by his father and came to Bud (B) to ask him to get him out of it. Tiner helped B find possible excuses behind Cs back. C told them that he hadn't "seen someone look so guilty since his last visit to the white house." B couldn't find a "loophole" and advised that he would have to "suck it up." Mk said B was just like dad and hope he "did a better job raising his son than dad on us." Later he came back and apologized saying he was a great brother and the baby was lucky to have him as a father. B took him to the navy art gallery at Annapolis and said that after boot camp he would try and help him get into the navy combat art program.
The owner of a bar, Peter Reardon, was beat up by 3 sailors who said they were doing it for "the Hawk." Reardon identified PO3 Wade Colbert, (actual beater), seaman Hendrix and seaman Olin. M and H investigated and found that the three denied knowing anything about either the beating or "the Hawk." They asked questions of the ships captain about non-cooperation in what they were calling "unit cohesiveness." He got angry at them but while on the bridge they overheard a radio transmission referencing "the Hawk," PO Lopez, a female gunner. She claimed not to know anything either, and denied being in the bar that night. They recommended referral to an article 32 hearing and were assigned to prosecute while Brumby (Brum) defended. C told them to identify, up to the top, if there was a culture aboard the ship that condones dungaree justice. They found that Lopez had missed role call two weeks previously after getting drunk with her three buddies at Reardon's bar. While she was in the restroom the three left in bar, drunk, and when they didn't return Reardon gave her coffee then helped her to her car to sleep it off when she couldn't find her keys. M and H interrogated her about her lying by omission and, after H left, she told M that she was just trying to "fit in" by not complaining. M told her that she could recognize the signs of someone who is trying to forget a drunken indiscretion. On the stand H got her to admit that she had passed out in the car then awoke finding she had been raped and drove home after finding her keys on the floor of the car. She had missed muster then told Colbert about it. H went to Reardon with accusations but he (luckily?) had been wounded in Vietnam and was impotent so couldn't have done it. Brum let H talk to the three and advised them they had beaten the wrong man.
Hendrix and Olin got civilian lawyers and turned evidence against Colbert for immunity against prosecution. On the stand Hendrix said that they had taken Lopez' keys for "survival training" and that it was Colbert who had the idea to beat Reardon up and actually did it. H got Olin to say that Colbert had taken her keys but had given them to him. H charged that it was he who had gone back and raped Lopez but the keys fell out of his pocket onto the floor. H told him that he had immunity from the assault charges not rape. He denied it on the stand but when Lopez asked him "why did you do it?" in the hall he told her that "military wasn't a woman's game." He said he "didn't join up to have some girl calling my gunnery," in front of M and H. At episodes end H saw C watching a ZNN report about the kidnapping of 3 NATO observers in Kosovo. There was a 24 hour deadline for NATO withdrawal. C said almost all at the Pentagon "were looking pretty grim;" and when H asked who wasn't looking grim, replied "some of my old friends."
Tuesday, December 15, 1998
Jaggle Bells - 72
[Chloe and Jordan Parkers introduction] Bud (B) and Harriet (Ht) were handing out mounds of Christmas gifts at children's hospital. B said he knew how lonely it could get from when he had a candy cane stuck up his nose. Harm (H) was acting department head while Chegwidden (C) went to Italy to see his daughter Francesca and let everyone secure early because of the blizzard. The airport was closed so C returned to an empty office and was upset. Chloe arrived at JAG saying she was "looking for her mother," M (M), and other lies. She proceeded to act rude, offensive and embarrass M by telling C that she "though he would have more hair and why didn't he ask M out?" She had said that her father Kyle Anderson had died on May 17th, 1987- the day she was born. Her mother had died four years ago with cancer and she told M that she had run away from her stepfather because he didn't want her and was abusive. M braced her up with "just because your life had been hard doesn't give you the right to lie or be rude." She asked, if they took her away from her stepfather, could she live with M. When M was calling child welfare to report the abuse, Chloe recanted and said that her bruise was from "his girlfriend" when "she lost it" over Chloe cutting and dying her hair when she was "passed out drunk." She ran into the elevator and hid above the trap door. B realized the date she gave as the date the USS Stark was attacked and found Chloe's father still alive on the USS Cayuga. They put through a $4,000 video call to her father to get her to come down. He hadn't known she was born and had just lost his wife and son in a car accident. Chloe went, temporarily, back to her stepfathers after a "girlfriend to marine" talk. M apologized to C for what Chloe had said and C told her that "there are two sides to duty- doing things we don't want to do- and, resisting the temptation to do things we want to do."
H couldn't find anyone to do anything with over the holidays so took the "next case up" which was Lt Cdr Jordan Parker, a psychiatrist who had skidded off the road and was arrested for DUI. She claimed she was ill with a cold and had only had one eggnog. H tried to get her to accept substance abuse counseling and she told him to analyze himself in a mirror. She deduced that he must have been named after a relative (or family pet), family history of naval service, live up to past expectations, having "baggage" from going to JAG from "gold wings," painfully "obvious" singleness, few and far between relationships from being "too busy or too picky" and that a relationship with a single mother would be "appealing to someone of your age who's afraid he's running out of time." H just left but returned, later, with Chinese food. He confessed that she had pretty much pegged him and said that he normally spends Xmas eve at the Vietnam Memorial Wall. He said that he had found his father, buried, in Russia. He now had closure, but found a void he didn't know he had. He discovered just how much of "who he was, had been formed by his search for his father." That he always before had a goal, but now "wasn't driving the bus anymore" and instead was "sitting in the back with no idea where it's going." Parker told him that "most people spend their whole life riding the bus instead of driving." H found alcohol in the cough syrup she took before the breathalyzer which would have thrown it off and got her released on her own recognizance.
B and Ht acted the doofus again dressing up in Santa costumes and having arguments over robot toys. C told B to find him a "ride to Milan tonight." C left a message on Francesca's answering machine that "this was the first time he was looking forward to Christmas in a long time." After playing with toys the whole episode, he "almost forgot" to tell C that he had found him a seat on a military transport plane."
H couldn't find anyone to do anything with over the holidays so took the "next case up" which was Lt Cdr Jordan Parker, a psychiatrist who had skidded off the road and was arrested for DUI. She claimed she was ill with a cold and had only had one eggnog. H tried to get her to accept substance abuse counseling and she told him to analyze himself in a mirror. She deduced that he must have been named after a relative (or family pet), family history of naval service, live up to past expectations, having "baggage" from going to JAG from "gold wings," painfully "obvious" singleness, few and far between relationships from being "too busy or too picky" and that a relationship with a single mother would be "appealing to someone of your age who's afraid he's running out of time." H just left but returned, later, with Chinese food. He confessed that she had pretty much pegged him and said that he normally spends Xmas eve at the Vietnam Memorial Wall. He said that he had found his father, buried, in Russia. He now had closure, but found a void he didn't know he had. He discovered just how much of "who he was, had been formed by his search for his father." That he always before had a goal, but now "wasn't driving the bus anymore" and instead was "sitting in the back with no idea where it's going." Parker told him that "most people spend their whole life riding the bus instead of driving." H found alcohol in the cough syrup she took before the breathalyzer which would have thrown it off and got her released on her own recognizance.
B and Ht acted the doofus again dressing up in Santa costumes and having arguments over robot toys. C told B to find him a "ride to Milan tonight." C left a message on Francesca's answering machine that "this was the first time he was looking forward to Christmas in a long time." After playing with toys the whole episode, he "almost forgot" to tell C that he had found him a seat on a military transport plane."
Tuesday, November 24, 1998
The Black Jet - 71
Jack Keeter (Harm's (Hs) old roommate, rescued from Cuba) had multiple severe computer malfunctions while flying recon over Iran in a stealth F117. Under a plan of Webb's (Ws), he was looking for reported nuclear weapons using new technology which allowed the Stealth to automatically land on a carrier. He was able to land then walked out, to prevent anyone from finding the Stealth; but, was found by Iranians and taken to prison. Brumby (Brum), who had previous assignments in Iran, and Mac (M) were assigned to help defend Keeter in court. Brum magnanimously deferred to H which prompted M to tell him that she didn't "hold hard feelings" for him trying to pin a murder charge on her. Keeter gave H a coded letter to his dead father, with the coordinates of where he had landed, and told H "no martin baker" (i.e. he didn't use martin-baker ejection seat). H told M that in his third class year at the academy he had gone UA during finals before Christmas. Before anyone knew he was gone Keeter found him and brought him back. Ws plan was to give H some new circuit boards and have him fly it back to the carrier leaving M and Keeter behind for "State to do the best it can after the trial." Bud (B), on the Seahawk with W, strenuously chastised him telling him H lived by his "duty to country and loyalty to friends" and shouldn't have to choose between them. He said "there must be a better way" and W changed his plans into rescuing Keeter as well. W used Sina Kazzari, a CIA agent of Iranian extraction with US citizenship, to help them rescue Keeter and escape. However, by the time they reached the disabled Stealth, Bedouins had found it. M asked Keeter if "H had always been this cocky," and was told "only around women." She negotiated that she would stay with the Bedouins as collateral for one million in gold to be sent later. H advised her that sometimes people in her situation punished themselves by taking risks and she retorted that she would "pay her dues at her article 32 hearing."
Kazzari turned out to be a double agent, who had notified the Iranian military. The army came rumbling over the desert just after H had shot Kazzari, using an "ol' Western movie distraction trick;" and, just as Keeter was able to start the generator for take off. The SECNAV had refused to send in air extraction support so W "setup" Chegwidden into overriding the decision. B confronted him about it and was told US jets arrived and helped defend the plane against Iranians while H took off. The next thing you saw was H trying to land on a carrier with warning lights flashing and his being killed in crash; but it turned out to be only in a simulator - to teach H a lesson that he couldn't have landed anytime the warning lights were flashing. He was asked if he would have tried, and responded that yes, he probably would have! When they were worried about M and Keeter making it out, Brum said "she'll be back, I promised I'd take her skiing." She did arrive, with Keeter complaining about her ability to tell exact time by her "body clock."
Kazzari turned out to be a double agent, who had notified the Iranian military. The army came rumbling over the desert just after H had shot Kazzari, using an "ol' Western movie distraction trick;" and, just as Keeter was able to start the generator for take off. The SECNAV had refused to send in air extraction support so W "setup" Chegwidden into overriding the decision. B confronted him about it and was told US jets arrived and helped defend the plane against Iranians while H took off. The next thing you saw was H trying to land on a carrier with warning lights flashing and his being killed in crash; but it turned out to be only in a simulator - to teach H a lesson that he couldn't have landed anytime the warning lights were flashing. He was asked if he would have tried, and responded that yes, he probably would have! When they were worried about M and Keeter making it out, Brum said "she'll be back, I promised I'd take her skiing." She did arrive, with Keeter complaining about her ability to tell exact time by her "body clock."
Tuesday, November 17, 1998
People vs. Mac - 70
[Follow-up from previous episode] Chris Ragle (Ms ex-con husband from whom she hasn't gotten a divorce) did not leave as promised and ran to Mac's (M) apartment as sanctuary from loan shark Benny Turpin. Turpin broke down her door and beat up Ragle but not before M had broken the nose of one of his thugs. When they left with a 24-hour ultimatum for repayment of "$15 bills" Ragle said "honey" I'm home. M went to Harm's (H) apartment to talk but found Bobbi Latham (L) and left. H was back from "straightening out a congressional committee" and found new Mic Brumby (Brum) at JAG with "open ended" TAD orders from his Australian command. Brum began disagreeing with H from his first meeting in a visible and challenging way. He tried to force his "advice" on H about M; and, being annoyed, H told him that M was "just a friend." M was noticeably distracted but told H "I already tried" when he attempted to get her to talk. He said "let's talk now" but was interrupted, again, by a phone call from L. When M got home, Ragle was still there and when she threw him out he began blackmailing her about her previous tryst with her ex-CO John Farrow in Okinawa. Chegwidden (C) had defended him last month for sending troops into Haiti without orders and, although found guilty, was awarded no punishment (The good of the service). Over Ms objections, Farrow said "I'll talk to him." Ragle was shown answering his hotel door and saying "I've been expecting you," then H answering his phone to M saying "I've been arrested for murdering my husband."
C told everyone the next day that Ragle had been murdered with a 9mm Sig Sauer, having partial prints of both Farrow and M, but "inconclusive" powder residues. The police thought it was a "lovers triangle" but turned the prosecution over to JAG. Brum slammed Hs request to defend M for emotional bias; but, C assigned him anyway, and gave Brum and Bud (B) the defense of Farrow. He told them both to "play nice" or be replaced. Ted Lindsey prosecuted and told C "things have changed here since I left." C replied "you don't know the half of it." Brum exposed the affair and justified it to H that it was "to show they acted differently and not complicitly." H accepted that but then Brum tried to pin the murder on M and H asked for "severance." In front of L, Brum said that he "was convinced M killed her husband" and accused H, B & C of all being "a little in love with M" and "blinded." H said that he was an "arrogant bastard" and Brum said they would eventually "strip blouses" to which H agreed. C said he "didn't think much of" Brum's tactics but left them both in their positions. At the severance hearing, Farrow reigned in Brum who told the judge that his "client would refuse to answer questions that would incriminate M." L exclaimed "is this the 5th by proxy?" and Admiral Morris asked if this was just their "attempt at setting him up for an appeal." The severance was not allowed. Farrow said that he had gone to Ragle with $20K but Ragle pulled his gun and was killed in their struggle. Lindsey called it a lie because no money was found. M was upset that Farrow was taking the blame and wanted to testify. When H wouldn't let her she said "either you put me on the stand or Brum will." She testified that she had gone to talk to Ragle, "one last time." When she was leaving Ragle had pulled his gun out and put it to his own chest saying "then you better kill me now." He told her she "wouldn't have a life" because he "would follow her and kill her man and her kids and her." She claimed she pulled the trigger. She was shown cleaning out her desk and taking boxes to her car. (Unbelievably) Brum was shown "making time" with her saying that "I wish there were something I could do to comfort you." She had him hold her boxes then slapped him saying "there, now I'm comforted."
H found that money had been withdrawn from Farrow's account so went, with B, to shake down the hotel manager who had done time for breaking and entering. They blackmailed him into admitting he had seen Turpin leave the room after M and Farrow had left. Then they met Turpin in a library with Brum and blackmailed him into testifying claiming to have a security videotape of his break in to Ms apartment. Turpin testified that "nobody killed Ragle." Turpin went to collect but when M came hid in the closet. Ragle got the gun and gave it to M telling her to shoot him just as she had testified. She threw it away and Farrow came with the money. Ragle grabbed the gun and was going to shoot Farrow but M wrestled with him and it went off. Turpin said if M hadn't shot, "Farrow would have been dead and probably her as well." Lindsey accused Turpin of being "paid to lie" but he said "no, I'm paying them." H gave the $20K to the judge that Turpin had returned. The case was dismissed and Farrow told H to "try and keep her out of trouble." Brum tried to chat up M again (!) and she said "maybe." H found it incredible! She said it was "to give him a chance to apologize." He disillusioned' "the men you pick!"
C told everyone the next day that Ragle had been murdered with a 9mm Sig Sauer, having partial prints of both Farrow and M, but "inconclusive" powder residues. The police thought it was a "lovers triangle" but turned the prosecution over to JAG. Brum slammed Hs request to defend M for emotional bias; but, C assigned him anyway, and gave Brum and Bud (B) the defense of Farrow. He told them both to "play nice" or be replaced. Ted Lindsey prosecuted and told C "things have changed here since I left." C replied "you don't know the half of it." Brum exposed the affair and justified it to H that it was "to show they acted differently and not complicitly." H accepted that but then Brum tried to pin the murder on M and H asked for "severance." In front of L, Brum said that he "was convinced M killed her husband" and accused H, B & C of all being "a little in love with M" and "blinded." H said that he was an "arrogant bastard" and Brum said they would eventually "strip blouses" to which H agreed. C said he "didn't think much of" Brum's tactics but left them both in their positions. At the severance hearing, Farrow reigned in Brum who told the judge that his "client would refuse to answer questions that would incriminate M." L exclaimed "is this the 5th by proxy?" and Admiral Morris asked if this was just their "attempt at setting him up for an appeal." The severance was not allowed. Farrow said that he had gone to Ragle with $20K but Ragle pulled his gun and was killed in their struggle. Lindsey called it a lie because no money was found. M was upset that Farrow was taking the blame and wanted to testify. When H wouldn't let her she said "either you put me on the stand or Brum will." She testified that she had gone to talk to Ragle, "one last time." When she was leaving Ragle had pulled his gun out and put it to his own chest saying "then you better kill me now." He told her she "wouldn't have a life" because he "would follow her and kill her man and her kids and her." She claimed she pulled the trigger. She was shown cleaning out her desk and taking boxes to her car. (Unbelievably) Brum was shown "making time" with her saying that "I wish there were something I could do to comfort you." She had him hold her boxes then slapped him saying "there, now I'm comforted."
H found that money had been withdrawn from Farrow's account so went, with B, to shake down the hotel manager who had done time for breaking and entering. They blackmailed him into admitting he had seen Turpin leave the room after M and Farrow had left. Then they met Turpin in a library with Brum and blackmailed him into testifying claiming to have a security videotape of his break in to Ms apartment. Turpin testified that "nobody killed Ragle." Turpin went to collect but when M came hid in the closet. Ragle got the gun and gave it to M telling her to shoot him just as she had testified. She threw it away and Farrow came with the money. Ragle grabbed the gun and was going to shoot Farrow but M wrestled with him and it went off. Turpin said if M hadn't shot, "Farrow would have been dead and probably her as well." Lindsey accused Turpin of being "paid to lie" but he said "no, I'm paying them." H gave the $20K to the judge that Turpin had returned. The case was dismissed and Farrow told H to "try and keep her out of trouble." Brum tried to chat up M again (!) and she said "maybe." H found it incredible! She said it was "to give him a chance to apologize." He disillusioned' "the men you pick!"
Tuesday, November 10, 1998
Mr. Rabb Goes to Washington - 69
[An important episode to the "back story" where Mic Brumby came, Congresswoman Latham came and attached herself to Harm, and Christopher Ragal came, announcing himself as Mac's ex-con husband.] A "recon" team, at El Bakkar Kuwait before the Gulf War, was accused of using Sarin nerve gas on three American scientist traitors helping SadDAM. Sgt Clyde Morrison was currently the only survivor after PO Cary Dugan, who had videotaped the mission, committed suicide. Congresswoman Bobbi Latham (L) was holding House Committee hearings and asked Chegwidden (C) to assign Harm (H) TAD to her office to help be her "truth detector." She said "I'll owe you one," and C told her that he had "every intention of collecting." Norman Delaport, ZNN investigative reporter- a "legend", broke the story with a videotape of the mission which ended with Dugan being told to "stop videotaping." Deleport got Sgt Richard Ford, who found the dead American bodies 2 days later, to say that Morrison had been carrying Sarin canisters, which is what they had died from. Mrs. Dugan was uncooperative with H and said she had already talked with Delaport. The official copy of the videotape was missing and Delaport, who L knew, refused to answer Hs questions claiming "privileged information." Colonel Cobb testified that no nerve gas was used but congressman Martin stupidly asked "why were your men dressed in chemical suits then." L was clearly jumping to conclusions and bullying witnesses- "playing for the publicity." H prompted L to ask Ford questions that showed he could have been mistaken about seeing canisters marked with "GB" (for Sarin) and later told H that he had "made her look foolish." Cooking pasta for L in his apt, H told her that she "had been seduced by the story." Seductively L told him "you don't give an inch" and H said "I'm not good with compromises." She said "you have to meet half way," and H answered "sometimes half way isn't close enough" before he kissed her.
H asked L to delay hearings so he could find the facts then quit when she said no and wanted him to stand with her doing a Deleport interview. L came to his apartment and called him names (quitter, about "pride") trying to get him to come back. Bud (B) found Morrison in a bar. He told H that they only used teargas; but, Deleport had already made his mind up and could "get you to say anything if he talked to you long enough." B used "Millie," his old flame, to find the original Videotape of operation Sirocco, which had been misfiled. H gave it to L who asked "am I going to like it?" H said "no" and she said she had "already taken a position" so he told her to "cut her losses" she was on the wrong side of the truth. She trapped Delaport into saying the tape was only 18 minutes long and that he had not paid for it. Mrs. Dugan said it was 22 minutes long and that he had paid for it. H showed that, in the last 4 minutes of tape, the canisters were labeled "CS"- for tear gas. H accused Delaport of deliberately leaving things out- and he said no "I decided what to put in." L told Delaport that the committee was going to investigate him.
Mac (M) was assigned to defend PO Ellsworth who had bulldozed his congressman's local headquarters. She went to pick up Mic Brumby (Brum), exchange officer from Australia, at the airport and confused him with someone else because he was traveling in civilian clothes. C assigned Brum to assist M with Hs case load. He told her that his mother was American, he had dual citizenship, had graduated from Georgetown in law and had passed the DC bar ten years ago. M left Brum with Harriet (Ht) to show around and he said "I've seen all I need to" while looking at Ms departing back. Christopher Ragal came to visit M, now that he was out of prison, and asked her why she hadn't gotten a divorce from him. M told him that they were married "twelve years ago when my hair was a foot longer, skirts a foot shorter and was using Clearasil." She said that she was drunk on their wedding day and during their honeymoon. He wanted a "second chance" and she told him she had already given him that. He said that after he did "3 - 5 for armed robbery" he followed her to Okinawa but didn't have the nerve to face you with Major Farrow. M said that she had just "never gotten around to the paperwork for divorce" and didn't want him around. Ragal was shown explaining to his bookie, Benny Turpin, why he "hadn't gotten the 15 bills from M yet." Brum came to Ms apartment "bringing cases" and said he "wouldn't mind a beer" so she told him "it was late." Ragal came to JAG because M didn't answer calls. He reminded her when they "rode their Harley from Flagstaff to Gallup in the rain and she lost her shirt." He said he wanted her back and she asked for the truth. He told her about owing Turpin $15,000 but "I don't mind if I get my leg broke, I just want you back." He said he was leaving the next day. M was shown with Ragal at the airport giving him $3,000, all she had, and saying "I don't want to see you again," before she kissed him. He was shown not boarding the plane after the kiss, to the title "… to be continued."
H asked L to delay hearings so he could find the facts then quit when she said no and wanted him to stand with her doing a Deleport interview. L came to his apartment and called him names (quitter, about "pride") trying to get him to come back. Bud (B) found Morrison in a bar. He told H that they only used teargas; but, Deleport had already made his mind up and could "get you to say anything if he talked to you long enough." B used "Millie," his old flame, to find the original Videotape of operation Sirocco, which had been misfiled. H gave it to L who asked "am I going to like it?" H said "no" and she said she had "already taken a position" so he told her to "cut her losses" she was on the wrong side of the truth. She trapped Delaport into saying the tape was only 18 minutes long and that he had not paid for it. Mrs. Dugan said it was 22 minutes long and that he had paid for it. H showed that, in the last 4 minutes of tape, the canisters were labeled "CS"- for tear gas. H accused Delaport of deliberately leaving things out- and he said no "I decided what to put in." L told Delaport that the committee was going to investigate him.
Mac (M) was assigned to defend PO Ellsworth who had bulldozed his congressman's local headquarters. She went to pick up Mic Brumby (Brum), exchange officer from Australia, at the airport and confused him with someone else because he was traveling in civilian clothes. C assigned Brum to assist M with Hs case load. He told her that his mother was American, he had dual citizenship, had graduated from Georgetown in law and had passed the DC bar ten years ago. M left Brum with Harriet (Ht) to show around and he said "I've seen all I need to" while looking at Ms departing back. Christopher Ragal came to visit M, now that he was out of prison, and asked her why she hadn't gotten a divorce from him. M told him that they were married "twelve years ago when my hair was a foot longer, skirts a foot shorter and was using Clearasil." She said that she was drunk on their wedding day and during their honeymoon. He wanted a "second chance" and she told him she had already given him that. He said that after he did "3 - 5 for armed robbery" he followed her to Okinawa but didn't have the nerve to face you with Major Farrow. M said that she had just "never gotten around to the paperwork for divorce" and didn't want him around. Ragal was shown explaining to his bookie, Benny Turpin, why he "hadn't gotten the 15 bills from M yet." Brum came to Ms apartment "bringing cases" and said he "wouldn't mind a beer" so she told him "it was late." Ragal came to JAG because M didn't answer calls. He reminded her when they "rode their Harley from Flagstaff to Gallup in the rain and she lost her shirt." He said he wanted her back and she asked for the truth. He told her about owing Turpin $15,000 but "I don't mind if I get my leg broke, I just want you back." He said he was leaving the next day. M was shown with Ragal at the airport giving him $3,000, all she had, and saying "I don't want to see you again," before she kissed him. He was shown not boarding the plane after the kiss, to the title "… to be continued."
Tuesday, November 3, 1998
Angels 30 - 68
Harriet (Ht), pregnant, burst into tears at the drop of the hat. Chegwidden (C) found her crying about Bud (B) not having called from his assignment in 29 Palms. He explained to her that it was "HORMONES" and showed her two scars on his balding head. One from 39 stitches given him by the Viet Cong and the other where his ex-wife had knocked him unconscious 6 hours with an electric can opener in her 2nd trimester. He invited Ht to dinner with him but told her not to "make him regret it." Later, she nauseated him with a sardine Dagwood sandwich then threw out his risotto lunch when she cleaned out the fridge.
Harm (H) and Mac (M)investigated the loss of a Tomcat aboard the Coral Sea. Lt Cdr Rice (Karma) and his RIO Anne "go-go" Bender ejected after "popping up" between attacking Iraqis and his wingmen, Lt "slider" Morrison and Lt Brian "bear" Hass in the "no-fly" zone. The Iraqis had drawn them in with one aircraft then came up behind with another. The Iraqi was on sliders tail with a lock. Karma got a lock on the enemy craft but didn't fire. Instead, he "charged" the craft shearing his wing and ejected before it exploded it's fuel into a fireball. PO Moses said the plane was OK when it left. Go-Go said that Karma had acted like he didn't hear her telling him to take the shot and kept saying "what?" Karma finally admitted that he had "heard a voice" ordering him NOT to fire. The doctor said Karma was in good health then the CAG climbed on H for "saying something that made Karma resign." H and M found Karma and Slider in a fight and had to break them up. H asked M which on she wanted to take and she said "I'll take the cute single one." "Just kidding," she said. H found Karma in the chapel where he claimed that it was God who had ordered him not to fire. The radio tapes revealed Karma saying "what?" but no other voices or transmissions. They even asked Webb if there was a new "radio jamming device" that they didn't know about. H told M they needed "advice from a higher source," and M asked "C?" The chaplain said that he believed Karma was honest and heard something. "Whether it was God or not was between Karma and the Man upstairs." M retorted, "unless the Man is a Woman."
H tried to talk Karma out of resigning. Karma asked him if he thought his night blindness was for a purpose so he could help people as a lawyer. When H said he didn't believe so, Karma advised that there "may be a grand scheme that we are only privy to now and then." Upset, Karma said that the "laws of physics: gravitational force, centripetal acceleration and Bernoulli's principle, "are my ten commandments." "There is not room for God, or angels, or anything like that- I didn't talk to God, why is he talking to me?" "I don’t want to stop flying," he told H, "but I don't ever want to hear that voice in my cockpit again." H asked the CAG to let them re-fly the mission and was given 1 hour in the air with Slider as his RIO. Karma told H he got his call sign by surviving a couple of close calls. H told him that flying a combat jet was the "most dangerous job on earth. Who needs a higher power more than the men who drive them." And "even if the voice was God," H said, "he told you not to fire. He didn't tell you not to fly." They went up together and M advised H to "be home before the streetlights come on." Karma asked H, "are you ready?" "Always!" H said.
At altitude, Karma and Bear began hallucinating and went unconscious, on autopilot, from bad oxygen. They were heading toward Iraqi airspace and M suggested they just "disengage the autopilot." The CAG blew up at her for her naivety and she was sent to check the source of the bad oxygen. They found a "bad O ring" which had contaminated the oxygen. Then the CAG apologized and assigned her to get a technician from Grummand on the phone. The technician said that if the planes sensors got sent out of parameters by tilting greater than 45 degrees the autopilot would automatically disengage. H was ordered to fly his wing tip under Karma's and use Bernoulli's principle to lift it over 45 degrees. "Who's brilliant idea was this?" H asked. The dubiously designed plan was to disengage the autopilot then have Karma, who had been unconscious to the point of seizures, wake up in time to pull out of the power-dive in time to not hit the ground. (?!) It did work but Karma was told that when he had "heard the voice" he was flying on "clean" oxygen. "Then why did I hear the voice?" he asked. H said "I guess it wasn't your enemies day to die, like today wasn't yours."
Harm (H) and Mac (M)investigated the loss of a Tomcat aboard the Coral Sea. Lt Cdr Rice (Karma) and his RIO Anne "go-go" Bender ejected after "popping up" between attacking Iraqis and his wingmen, Lt "slider" Morrison and Lt Brian "bear" Hass in the "no-fly" zone. The Iraqis had drawn them in with one aircraft then came up behind with another. The Iraqi was on sliders tail with a lock. Karma got a lock on the enemy craft but didn't fire. Instead, he "charged" the craft shearing his wing and ejected before it exploded it's fuel into a fireball. PO Moses said the plane was OK when it left. Go-Go said that Karma had acted like he didn't hear her telling him to take the shot and kept saying "what?" Karma finally admitted that he had "heard a voice" ordering him NOT to fire. The doctor said Karma was in good health then the CAG climbed on H for "saying something that made Karma resign." H and M found Karma and Slider in a fight and had to break them up. H asked M which on she wanted to take and she said "I'll take the cute single one." "Just kidding," she said. H found Karma in the chapel where he claimed that it was God who had ordered him not to fire. The radio tapes revealed Karma saying "what?" but no other voices or transmissions. They even asked Webb if there was a new "radio jamming device" that they didn't know about. H told M they needed "advice from a higher source," and M asked "C?" The chaplain said that he believed Karma was honest and heard something. "Whether it was God or not was between Karma and the Man upstairs." M retorted, "unless the Man is a Woman."
H tried to talk Karma out of resigning. Karma asked him if he thought his night blindness was for a purpose so he could help people as a lawyer. When H said he didn't believe so, Karma advised that there "may be a grand scheme that we are only privy to now and then." Upset, Karma said that the "laws of physics: gravitational force, centripetal acceleration and Bernoulli's principle, "are my ten commandments." "There is not room for God, or angels, or anything like that- I didn't talk to God, why is he talking to me?" "I don’t want to stop flying," he told H, "but I don't ever want to hear that voice in my cockpit again." H asked the CAG to let them re-fly the mission and was given 1 hour in the air with Slider as his RIO. Karma told H he got his call sign by surviving a couple of close calls. H told him that flying a combat jet was the "most dangerous job on earth. Who needs a higher power more than the men who drive them." And "even if the voice was God," H said, "he told you not to fire. He didn't tell you not to fly." They went up together and M advised H to "be home before the streetlights come on." Karma asked H, "are you ready?" "Always!" H said.
At altitude, Karma and Bear began hallucinating and went unconscious, on autopilot, from bad oxygen. They were heading toward Iraqi airspace and M suggested they just "disengage the autopilot." The CAG blew up at her for her naivety and she was sent to check the source of the bad oxygen. They found a "bad O ring" which had contaminated the oxygen. Then the CAG apologized and assigned her to get a technician from Grummand on the phone. The technician said that if the planes sensors got sent out of parameters by tilting greater than 45 degrees the autopilot would automatically disengage. H was ordered to fly his wing tip under Karma's and use Bernoulli's principle to lift it over 45 degrees. "Who's brilliant idea was this?" H asked. The dubiously designed plan was to disengage the autopilot then have Karma, who had been unconscious to the point of seizures, wake up in time to pull out of the power-dive in time to not hit the ground. (?!) It did work but Karma was told that when he had "heard the voice" he was flying on "clean" oxygen. "Then why did I hear the voice?" he asked. H said "I guess it wasn't your enemies day to die, like today wasn't yours."
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