Thread: Justified Sin

Justified Sin Prologue In the later half of the Nineteenth Century, the small island nation of Cuba found herself deadlocked in internal strife and chaos. Anti colonial sentiment spread amongst the Cuban people, who desired absolute independence from their Spanish Overlords. At the same time, another wave of anti-colonial sentiment spread throughout another Spanish controlled territory, the Philippines. Economic turmoil, in the mother country, caused her colonial territories, in the west, to push for their independence. Refusing to lose any of her influence, Spain responded by clamping down with military might. This, in turn, caused the rising power in the area, the United States of America, to throw her support behind the various rebellious groups, in the hopes of overthrowing the colonial might of the Spanishand, perhaps to replace her as a colonial master in the region. As a show of force, President McKinley sent the pride of the U.S. Navy, the USS Maine to Havana Harbor, in the hopes of forcing the Spanish to the negotiating table with a Cuban separatist organization known as Cuba Libre. However, late on the night of February 15, 1898, a shocking event occurred, which thrust the United States into open war with the Empire of Spain. A mysterious explosion ripped through the hull of the Maine, killing 266 sailors in the process. Yellow journalists, lead by the infamous William Randolph Hearst, fanned the flames of anti Spanish sentiment in the United States, forcing the hand of President McKinley, who sought a declaration of war from Congress the next morning. During the war, many brave men lost their lives, and the legend of other men, such as one, Theodore Roosevelt, were seared into the annals of history. Yet, with every American conflict, since the American Revolutionary War, a corps of military lawyers, known as the Judge Advocate General's Corps followed the military into the war zone, to ensure that the men kept in line, and also to defend the wrongfully accused. Our story centers around an unexplained double homicide of two enlisted men, by an Army Nurse in the Philippine Capital, Manila. A young attorney finds himself in the middle of a scandal which might threaten to undermine America's position in the region, causing the Filipino people to rise up in rebellion against the American forces, even though they just fought a bloody battle alongside those same soldiers to dislodge Spanish forces from their country. And, so, our story begins... Arrival at Manila, September 12, 1898 A large, bristling, white transport ship arrived in the harbor, just outside Manila. Rows of men in crisply pressed and gallant looking khaki uniforms, crowded the claustrophobic decks of the ship. Two blasts from the fog horn announced the arrival of yet another contingent of troops, to the weary Filipino people, who witnessed the near destruction of their historic and beautiful capital, the month before. Worse yet, rumors about the unexplained killing of two servicemen outside a house of ill repute by an American Army Nurse of half-Filipino descent, spread like wildfire through the ranks of the American soldiers, and Filipino citizens alike. Tensions were already growing between the allies against Spain. Filipino political leaders distrusted their American allies, suspecting them of plotting to merely replace the Spanish, whilst the Americans viewed the revolutionary factions within the Filipino Army as dangerous. Indeed, the military feared that these groups posed the threat of igniting a separate conflict all unto itself. Thus, any sort of turmoil involving the American Army, and any one with some tie to the Philippines, no matter how tenuous, could be ill afforded at the time. Understanding this, the war department dispatched a group of Judge Advocate General, JAG, officers to investigate, and ultimately adjudicate the nurse accused of murdering the service men. The top brass just wanted to get this entire, nasty, affair behind them. Of course, the unofficial Army Nurse Corpsas it wouldn't be officially established until 1901 had reason to believe that one of their best skilled nurses couldn't possibly have committed the crime, without good reason and, were anxious to make contact with the JAG officer assigned to defend their girl. A lone captain, clad in a fine khaki uniform, with matching wide brimmed campaign hat, paused at the top of the gang plank. His striking six-foot figure cut a dashing image, as his piercing hazel eyes, paired with his charming face, tapering down to a squared jaw, scanned the crowded docks, as if searching for someone sent to greet him. After a moment, he spied a mesmerizing white uniformed woman, with flowing red hair which curled at the ends, with a porcelain like complexion mated with two green eyes, stood at the end of the dock, her hands folded in front of her. A brilliant burst of sunlight enhanced her alluring beauty, causing the captain's heart to skip a beat, while he descended the gang plank making his way over to her. Her eyes followed him, as he walked up to her, seeming to sparkle in the bright tropical sun, and a smile curled upon her full, ruby-colored lips. Finding himself tongue-tied for a moment, the captain finally managed to blurt out, Good morning, my name is Captain Craig Harrison with the Judge Advocate General's office. I presume you are the young lady sent by the Army Nursing Corps to bring me up to speed on this little case. A slight chuckle escaped the five-foot-two-inch woman's lips as she nodded her head in affirmance to his query, replying, Pleased to meet you, Captain Harrison. I'm First Lieutenant Sarah Muller. Indeed, I was sent by our commanding officer to meet you. Since there aren't many souls trained in the secretarial arts in the whole of this city, I am to assist you for the duration of the case. My God, I never dreamed I'd be assigned a date by Uncle Sam! And please, call me Craig, I don't need the constant reminder of rank while I'm here. I get enough of that back home, Craig said in a lighthearted tone of voice. If you say so, Captain, Sarah replied with a smirk, teasing the young officer some, before motioning with her hand for him to follow her. The two officers proceeded down the dusty streets of the Philippine capital, which was strewn with rubble, displaying the harsh realities of battle for all present to see with their own eyes. Ox carts lined the road, and merchants peddled their wares up and down the winding cobble-stone sidewalks. In the distance, an imposing fortress emerged, with a large star-spangled banner waving in the sea breeze. Is that Fort Santiago? Captain Harrison inquired, gazing upon the ominous structure with awe-struck eyes. Yes sir, the Spanish conquistador, Miguel Lpez de Legazpi, ordered the construction of the citadel around 1590. There were concerns of Muslim attacks, at the time, and so, the Spaniards decided a fort might serve their interests here. The architecture is beautiful, it reminds me of some of the old Spanish ruins back home in Florida. Well, all of this occurred at around the same time, Captain, Sarah quipped in a half-sarcastic tone. Ah, we're only ten minutes into our first date , and already you're giving me problems! Sorry, sir. Forget about it. So, tell me a little bit about this, Agatha Sanders, character. I only had a chance to skim through her personnel file, during the voyage over from Key-west, Craig said with a sigh, placing his campaign hat atop his head, hoping it might relieve him some from the relentless heat of a vengeful sun. Like all of us, Captain, she's actually a contract-nurse, hired by the Army, and given a rank. Like me she carries a status equivalent to first lieutenant. Her mother was from Manila. On top of this, Aggie, as we call her, speaks fluent Tagalog, and understands the native culture and peoples, like the back of her hand. So, what in the hell was she doing around a house of ill repute, just outside the Army encampment? Craig inquired in a puzzled tone. None of us really know, sir. Modesty keeps her silent, and she won't even tell her closet friends and compatriots exactly what happened that night. Something about this entire incident has me worried. Three soldiers were 'procuring services' from a prostitute, and according to the sole surviving dough-boy's account, an Army nurse appears out of nowhere, wielding a machete, and hacked two of the men to death. So they claim, sir. Lieutenant, fetch me three interpreters, I want to dig up as many witnesses as I can, Captain Harrison muttered, as they proceeded to the Army brig located inside the heart of the old Spanish fort.