Defending His Honor

Previous episode: "Tribunal"

Captain Sebring (Corbin Bernsen), a judge, allegedly ran a young mother off the road. Admiral Chegwidden assigns Commander Rabb to defend and Lt. Colonel MacKenzie to prosecute. Mac tries to wriggle out of it but it's an order. Commander Amy Helfman (Jennifer Savidge) will be the judge.

Commander Turner (Scott Lawrence) thinks it's a lose-lose situation for Mac, so he volunteers to be second-chair at the prosecution table.

However, Rabb soon finds that defending Sebring is just as difficult as prosecuting him, though for different reasons: Sebring and Rabb disagree on almost everything, including the important question of whether or not Sebring should take the stand (Sebring wants to).

The prosecution case seems to go very well. Jenny Wilson (Karina Logue) is a very sympathetic witness as she is a mother who lost her baby after Sebring ran her off the road. Rabb does poke a hole in the prosecution theory by pointing out that Sebring stayed for a while and rendered assistance.

Chegwidden is called in as a character witness. According to Chegwidden, Sebring is very calm even in situations that would try the patience of a saint. This opens the door for Mac to ask Chegwidden about an incident at the Sebring house in which Chegwidden physically restrained Sebring to keep him from attacking his own son, a presumed drug addict.

Rabb tries to redirect to fill in some sorely needed context, but Sebring wants no further mention of his son, and loses his temper, thoroughly invalidating Chegwidden's testimony about Sebring's saint-like patience. Upset by Sebring's loss of composure, Helfman adjourns court for the day.

Sebring doesn't want his wife mentioned in the trial either. Mrs. Sebring is taking several medications for her lymphoma: an anticoagulant, an antidepressant, and others which Captain Sebring doesn't even know what they do.

Fran Masters (Lauren Thompson) is a nurse who quit caring for Mrs. Sebring because she got tired of Captain Sebring's rudeness. Fran has a saved phone message from Captain Sebring which Mac wants to bring into evidence.

In fact Fran quit on the very night of the accident. Sebring does take the stand. Mac paints Sebring as a man so enraged by Fran's unexpected abandonment that he rushed home, unwilling to let anyone or anything get in his way on his rush home.

Rabb recalls Jenny Wilson to the stand. She started taking antidepressants after the death of her baby. However, Rabb counters with evidence that she was already taking an antidepressant before the accident. Rabb gets Jenny to admit she suffered postpartum depression and wanted to die with her baby. Sebring just happened to be on the same road.

Rabb asks Helfman for a directed not guilty verdict. Mac joins the motion, Helfman grants it. Sebring looks forward to being a judge again, with both Rabb and Mac as lawyers.

Meanwhile at Darya Bulkh in Afghanistan, Agent Webb (Steven Culp) oversees the torture of a suspected terrorist who might know something about Kabir Atef (Francesco Quinn). Waterboarding gives no results. But as soon as the torture victim hears the click of a gun, he reveals that Kabir Atef went to Murmansk “on the sea.”

Webb goes to Murmansk, talks to Russian Army Captain Volkonov (Aleksandr Kuznetsov). Volkonov connects Webb with a Russian Navy captain (Andrew Divoff), who was approached by Kabir Atef and offered a lot of money, which he refused.

Captain Yerastov (Bo Svenson) does take the money, a wad of bills stuffed inside a matryoshka doll Atef made himself. Atef and Yerastov travel to the no man's land between Iran and Afghanistan, “two lands that should be one under Allah,” according to Atef.

Thanks to satellite photos, Webb becomes aware that Atef has slipped back into Afghanistan, but has no idea why.

Also, Lt. Singer (Nanci Chambers) butts into Lt. Sims's instant messenger conversation with Lt. Roberts aboard the USS Seahawk to congratulate him about the new house his wife bought. Singer also reveals to Sims (Karri Turner) that Roberts's legalman is Petty Officer Jennifer Coates (Zoe McLellan).

Roberts jumps to the conclusion that the house that Sims bought is too big and costs too much. And Sims stops short of accusing her husband of infidelity. After a fight through instant messenger, Roberts and Sims kiss and make up “virtually.” Much to Sims's exasperation, Singer takes credit for transforming their relationship of lies into an honest relationship.

Next episode is "In Country"