Article 40 of the UCMJ:
"The military judge or a court-martial without a military judge may, for reasonable cause, grant a continuance to any party for such time, and as often, as may appear to be just. "
Do I have the wrong edition on my table?
One other thing that's been buggering me - who's senior?
They are not in the US military. They are in a space Navy, and based on UK military tradition (as Notty is from that side of the pond.) Whether their articles are based on any existing articles... I can't find the equivalent of the UCMJ for the UK online (I searched a little, but can't be arsed to search deeper).
RE: who's senior - Chris is senior when they're in transit - it's
her ship. The MC is senior on the ground, as it's
his mission. In fact, he is (for the duration of his mission) in charge of the entire research station (thus, the authority to shut it down completely.)