Chapter Five: Missing Mom and Dad

It's never easy to let those you've lost go. And for River and Haruo it was no exception. Losing their Mom and Dad. Fiona and Mayumi as well as Haruo's father was heart-wrenching in any case. Even if Mayumi wasn't the best of mothers, she was still Haruo's mother and seeing her pass-on while doing what was arguably the only selfless thing in her entire life; ensuring the survival of her son - it was something laudable on her behalf.

River, on the other hand, had more of a close relationship with a mother who was who sole supporter and now she, as was her best friend Haruo, was orphaned. And at fourteen, with her whole life ahead of her, was a hard pill to swallow.

The only way that RIver could unload all her feelings was to talk to her best friend, Haruo,

Mac being only three years younger than Harm, was certainly finding it tough to take on a teen when she herself was pushing the upper limits of her child-bearing years. On top of that, she had been diagnosed with endometriosis which had put her hopes of having children on very shaky ground. So being place in the role of a surrogate mother to an orphaned teen was quite a load to take on.

Meanwhile, Tosh had a conversation about the news that he'd heard about Ft. Gnome's Marine Liaison detachment CO and his desertion. "Article 85 is a pretty touch and go charge, sir." Harm said. "We can choose to prosecute him under the Uniform Code of Military Justice however these circumstances were extreme. They are after all brought on by pretty much what would be considered the end of humanity. If there was still cause and enough manpower for a JAGMan investigation, he'd more than likely be facing a long stint in the brig rather than the death penalty. The last person we executed for desertion was Eddie Slovik and I doubt we're going to go that far again."

Tosh looked at him grimly, "If you were in his boots, would you have deserted?"

Harm looked at him for a long moment, took a deep breath and said, "No...my Dad did his duty and you know what happened to him... I'd do mine too, even if it meant being vaporized into atoms at my post."

"Case Closed..." Tosh said, "He deserted at a time of war." he said finally, "However, I'm not going to line him up against a wall, but he will get a fair hearing and once the rest of this mess is over, he's going to end up going into confinement for twenty. Working at hard labor between now and Restoration will determine how long of that twenty he has to serve. Loss of rank. He drops from a Colonel to a Second Lieutenant, court-martial, loss of pay and benefits; again, whether he gets pension will be determined by how hard he works to help Sunset Valley get back on its feet again."

A sudden crack of lightning startled the both of them as a loud groan was heard from the park across the trail which was all that was left of Summerside Court Road. "Looks like someone got hit by lightning." Harm snickered, "Guess his Momma should have told him not to stand too close to high-standing trees."