Chapter 17 - General Vance Delivers A Devastating Career Ending Verdict
After four hours of relentless testimony and undeniable evidence, the military judge handed me the final verdict folder.
I stood up slowly from my observation desk, buttoning my jacket as I stepped down to the center floor.
The entire courtroom fell into a profound, suffocating silence as I opened the crisp white document folder.
“Major Preston Hale, you have disgraced your commission, abused your authority, and dishonored your oath,” I said clearly.
“You treated fellow human beings as servants and assumed your rank made you immune to basic human decency.”
Hale swallowed hard, his hands trembling violently as he clutched the edge of the wooden defense table.
“By the authority vested in me as commanding general, I hereby approve the court-martial findings of guilty on all counts.”
“You are stripped of your rank, dishonorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps, and stripped of all pension benefits.”
The gavel struck the wood with a final, echoing crack that sounded like a gunshot in the quiet room.
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Major Hale buried his face in his hands as military police stepped forward to strip his insignia away.
***
