“Nope—she did call you a bird-turd—but she also said she didn’t believe in using stuff like race and s*x as a cop out.”
“Bird-turd? Yeah, I guess they’re pretty much white as white can be.” He looks at me and that hint of a smile gets more obvious. “Well, mark that one up for Petty Officer Denning. It might interest you to know I ain’t very anxious to take this thing to mast either.”
“Worried about promotion?”
“I’m always worried about that, Lieutenant. What with the cutbacks and all, making Chief is a tough deal these days. That said, I’m a professional and the Navy is my life. It’s my duty to maintain good order and discipline. If doing that means I wind up with some kind of black mark on my record…so be it.”
“What makes you think bringing charges in this case would look bad for you?
