Young Pup

Posted on Sun Oct 25th, 2020 @ 8:16am by Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea & Private Christian Laknema

Mission: SEASON 4: Episode 1: Know Thy Self!
Location: Various
1201 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Christian stared wide eyed at the station business section and how busy it was. There were people crammed where there probably shouldn't have been, he was shocked that the Starbase Security Force didn't clear the lot of them out but when money flows right. Christian moved with a cautious purpose through the group trying not to bump or disturb anyone, but that was hard with the amount of people here. He missed fresh air. The recycling unit was having a hard time keeping up with these many people in one space and the smell was starting to get pretty ripe. Making it through the crowed to the next turbo lift he set his duffle down and let out a sigh of relief. His hand moved to his collar and the chevron that was there, it was a basic rank basically telling people that he had completed his training but it was still an achievement that he was proud of.

Shaking his head he forgot to tell the lift where to go and stated. Pulling out a PaDD from his Dufflebag he read back through is transfer orders. He was to report to a Major Azhul on the U.S.S Elysium, he was a little bit timid as this was his first duty assignment and he didn't know exactly what to expect but he was eager to prove his worth.

Arriving on Deck 32 Christian wasn't having the hardest time finding stuff but he was finding it a maze to move through. He stopped by the Headquarters and Administrative Office to get his room assignment as it was on the way to the Major's office and then made a bee light right there.

Sitting in her office, Naxea personally hated these new assignments and with her XO off on leave, that left her with majority of the "paperwork." She was also pulling some strings with the upper Brass at Starfleet Marine Command to get some Marines she knew personally assigned to the detachment. She had tried the professional approach and ended up with losing half of her detachment in the last mission. Despite everyone telling her it wasn't her fault, she still felt responsible. Now it was time to bare the teeth and sharpen the claws, so to speak.

As she looked over a service record belonging to a Sergeant Luxa Gami, her door chime rang. "Enter," she said, looking from her terminal to the door.

Christian walked in with purpose wanting to impress the Major, coming before her desk he stopped and gave a quick salute before adding over his PaDD, "Major. Private Laknema reporting."

Naxea stood, returned the salute and took the PaDD. She looked it over. Great...as green as they come, Naxea thought to herself. She kept her eyes on the PaDD and gestured to the nearby chair across from her desk. "Have a seat, Private Laknema."

Looking at the chair he moved to it and took a seat like a good young pup, he was nervous to say the least but he tried not to show it in front of the Major.

Naxea looked up at the young private as she sat. I was never that young, she thought. "So what brings you to the Marines, Private Laknema?"

"Ma'am to get out explore, meet new people and blow stuff up Ma'am," he replied the last with a grin. The last one was true, the others were just the recruiting line.

"Yeah...nice motto speech. I've been leading Marines for over ten years. Now how about the truth? It's true we blow stuff up but if you wanted to explore, why not join the Fleet?" Naxea asked, locking eyes with the young man.

He looked nervously at her, she had seen right through him. Looking down for a moment he looked back up, "I want to serve the Federation, my family, and myself. To be the best Marine that you have at your disposal," he said with pride.

Yet more bravado she thought before sighing. "Whatever your reasons for joining, I expect your best all the time. Anything less and you're out of my detachment. That doesn't go for just you but everyone in my detachment. We recently suffered over fifty percent losses. I need Marines willing to act without hesitation. To out think, out shoot and out fight any enemy we encounter. Am I clear?"

Over fifty percent. He was struck for a moment, no one has told him that on his way out. There hadn't been that many Marines lost at one time for a while or at least from what he could remember. He could feel his boyish features showing and then shoved them back into the box where they should belong, "Yes, Ma'am you say shoot and there will be no enemies left on the battle field in front of me." He tried to say it with some gusto but hearing that they had lost half of their Detachment was actually shaking him more than he tried to show.

Naxea was quiet as she studied the young Marine. "Good," she replied after a few moments. "Get to know everyone--especially the veterans here. They can teach you alot." She then set her PaDD down. "Come on, I'll show you around Marine Country as it's called on the ship," she gestured to the door as she stood up.

"Yes Ma'am," he replied standing up and allowing her to lead the way.

She led him down the corridor leading from the administration offices to the the rest of the area. "All of Deck Thirty-Two belongs to the Sixty-Second Marine Detachment, nicknamed Spartans." They came to a large open area adorned with a "This is main staging area where we assemble before departing on a mission. It's also used as a training area when needed. We have our own armory, manufacturing bays, messhall, medical bay, transporters, and intel center, in addition to several additional training areas. Everything we could need for any situation is at our disposal.

Christian listened to what the Major had to say. All of Deck Thirty-Two that was impressive they might as well call the deck Fort Elysium for how big it was. With his Quarters, Messhall, Medical, and Training Facilities all on the same deck there was no need to even leave the deck short of using the holosuite for recreational means.

After several minutes, Naxea led Laknema back to the corridor to the admin complex. "Do you have any questions, Private Laknema?"

"Who is my Section Commander Ma'am?" he replied looking at the Major.

"Warrant Officer Man'darr with First Platoon. You can't miss him. He's the only six-foot-seven bald headed Capellan on board. Hopefully you will meet the XO, Warrant Officer Rhodes when he returns from leave," she explained. "They're both two of the best officers I've ever worked with and have a lifetime of experience and knowledge. Anything else?"

"No, Ma'am I believe I have it from here," he stated turning to her.

"Welcome to the Sixty-Second Spartans, Private Laknema," Naxea grinned as she offered a hand. She had a feeling he would fit right in.

He shook her hand, "Glad to be here Ma'am!"