"Not the greatest anymore"

Posted on Thu Oct 3rd, 2024 @ 11:29am by Captain Samuel Woolheater

Mission: Season 6: Episode 5: A church beyond heaven
Location: TITAN - FOB Camp Margrave
Timeline: MD1
2518 words - 5 OF Standard Post Measure

[ON:]

TITAN – SFMC FORWARD OPERATING BASE (FOB) CAMP MARGRAVE – THE GRAMPY REECE BAR & GRILL
The Grampy Reece bar was one of the better establishments at Camp Margrave. It was a simple, straightforward, no bullshit Marine bar. The TV was loud, the beer was cold, and the burgers were grilled. Bob, a man in his early sixties was struggling to clear one of the sink drains on the barback. He was down on his hands and knees as Lisa, a civilian worker to the Marine base stood over him holding a flashlight and trying to help.

Bob struggled to get the cover off the drain and finally did. Bob is from Earth and a Texan. West Texas to be exact and is a straightshooter. Hired on, they say, by Grampy Reece himself, Bob was, many years ago, an SFMC Sergeant. He was direct and had a delightful southern drawl. It wasn’t so delightful at the moment though. He reached into the wet, black, gooey drain and extracted a huge clump of hair. “Yuuueesshh! Judas H. Priest, Lisa…you shove a cat down this drain??!!”

Holding the light and then shining it into his face as he scooped out a huge new clump she said, “I haven’t had time to do anything around here except clean this place up and try to keep Jolly from the beer taps!”

Another huge clump of hair camp up and Bob was disgusted as he put it into the bucket on the floor. The bar was busy and so people carefully stepped around him.

“Bob!” Lisa whined at him, “You gotta do something. You gotta get me an assignment on a starship. I’ll even take a Marine starship.”

Bob grimaced at her, “Uh huh…I can’t help you no more. You’re on your own. What about that hot shot pilot you like?”

“I’m tired of waiting on him. Bob, you don’t understand what it means to be a woman. I want to get out there and explore. Not serve up drinks here for the rest of my life. When I’m 65 I do not want still be at this bar helping you scoop out hair clumps from the bar back.”

Bob answered, “Well, you got me there, I’ll grant you that.”

“Oh? So you agree with me that I should get on a starship?” Lisa asked excitedly.

“No. I agree with you that I don’t know what it’s like to be a woman.”

Lisa rolled her eyes and shined the light back into Bob’s face. The bar was busy, as usual, Grampy Reece’s was after all a Marine bar and Lisa yelled down at him, “I’m tired of being bottom rung around here. While you and Jolly sit here all day…like kings…while I do all the work around here.”

Bob pulled the last of the black gooey, hairy clumps out of the drain as it gurgled and started moving again. He dropped the hair clog into the bucket and then rinsed his hands while he said, “Now…I am not a history buff… but I don’t remember Louis the Fourteenth pulling clumps of I don’t know how it got here hair outta drains!” And he gave her such a look as she moved closer to see the black water now draining out of the sink.

A video monitor was on in the bar. The FNN logo appeared, and Bob the bartender turned up the volume and yelled, “SHAAAAADUP!!! THE LOT OF YOU!” The music was turned off and the bar got a little bit quieter.

“Breaking News – first on FNN”

A Marine at the bar said, “FNN, they’ll finger anything with a pulse.”

Bob said, “I think that’s ‘they have their finger ON the pulse.”

The announcer’s voice came over the video feeds at Camp Margrave. The Marine Commandant together with representatives from Starfleet Command and Starfleet Engineering had just announced a new starship class. The announcement was being broadcast here on Titan Marine FOB because the new starship, USS Manumit was being launched.


TITAN – SFMC FORWARD OPERATING BASE (FOB) CAMP MARGRAVE – REAR ADMIRAL MATTHEW POPKES CONFERENCE ROOM
The Starfleet Commander said, “This new class of starship, the Manumit class is a designated rescue and extraction starship. An image of the starship was displayed at her docking port. And then those images changed from live to blueprints.

USS Manumit was a single hull design, like the compacted nature of the Defiant class. Her two nacelles were towards the front on either side of the main hull and not on engine struts. Like the Steamrunner class, she was well armed with defensive weapons. Her overall profile was small and compact. Her mission profile was an extraction vessel. For quickly escaping enemy fire, for rapid deployment to hot zones and for urgent rescue and extraction missions, like evacuating personnel from an Embassy.

The Starfleet Engineer Commander continued, “For the last twenty-years, Starfleet Command, the Starfleet Marine Corps together with Universal Spacecraft Systems have examined thousands of missions debriefs about vessel performance. The overwhelming majority of these losses were due to close quarters combat fire from enemy fighters. The Manumit project aim to give the SFMC a superior craft in order to rescue and extricate persons that need immediate rescue. She is a fast ship, standard crew compliment of twenty-four. Room for 300 persons and three emergency transporter modules. We can get in and out of a hostile situation with predictable and repeatable results. I turn over the final portion of today’s announcement to the Marine CMC.

BACK AT THE GRAMPY REECE BAR & GRILL
Someone turned up the volume as a cheer went up from the assembled Marines in the bar. Everyone was looking at the new class of starship and the Marine Commandant. CMC, a four-star General named, Budd Hawkins, “Thank you Commander, thank you to both Commanders of Starfleet and the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and to our partners at Universal…”

The Marines listened to the CMC speak. The man was usually counted on to go on for a bit. But this time, he was very short. He ended the short speech with this, “…and I hope that one of the first missions for the Manumit-class ships will be to find our lost ship and crew. Specifically, I am talking about Elysium and the Marines of the 62nd detachment. Starships like the Manumit will have to earn their place in the fleet and in our hearts. Thank you.”

BACK AT – REAR ADMIRAL MATTHEW POPKES CONFERENCE ROOM
Reporters started asking questions all about the new ship. There weren’t supposed to be a televised Q&A but the meeting was running a bit overtime. The questions that were asked were all softball questions. Fawning over the technology and the greatness of the Federation and of its large-scale building capabilities. No one even acknowledged Budd’s last statement. Then, this happened while the cameras were rolling.

A reporter from FNN asked, “Gentlemen, can you tell me why you think the Federation is great? I think everyone here will agree with me that we are fortunate to live in such a great Federal system as the Federation where member worlds retain a lot of their own power. So, please tell us, what you think makes the UFP so great?”

The Starfleet Commander went first, “The Federation is all about exploring our diversity. We have people from all over the quadrant and then some. And we all live together peacefully.”

CMC Hawkins gave the Commander a look but said nothing.

The Starfleet Engineering Commander said, “Our exploration of the Universe. Our peacekeeping missions and expansion of our knowledge about the Universe, the Federation is the only body where you can do these things.” Most people nodded in acceptance. The Marine Commandant did not. Then it was his turn. The same reporter asked, “Commandant Hawkins? Why is the Federation so…”

"You don’t want my answer.”

“No, please. We do. Why is…”

Budd stepped up to the front and firmly said, “It’s NOT the greatest organization in the galaxy or the quadrant. And how arrogant are we to even entertain such an idea?”

The FNN reporter was stunned but so were those in the room, “So…you’re saying?”

“Yes. I am saying that.”

The reporter was stunned and the room fell silent.

BACK AT THE GRAMPY REECE BAR & GRILL
A Marine said, “….oohhh shit y’all…its going down now…” More people came closer and Bob turned up the volume on the monitor


REAR ADMIRAL MATTHEW POPKES CONFERENCE ROOM
Budd Hawkins started by saying, “ I am the Commandant of the Starfleet Marine Corps. And I am clothed with immense power, staggering arsenal of lethal, deadly, fighting Marines and an astounding arsenal of weapons. The Commander of Starfleet has even more starships and personnel than we have had at any time in our history. And the Starfleet Engineers keep us supplied with ships and bases and facilities and weapons that are so enormous that they are virtually inexhaustible. Limitless power…..limitless. And we have not even yet explored but, best guess, is around twenty-percent of the Alpha Quadrant.”

Budd turned to the Starfleet Commander first, “And you have the gall to say that we all live in peace? I have Marines deployed – throughout – this Federation and they do not know peace. We are right now engaged in over thirty, different engagements all over the Federation. We do not all live together in peace.”

Turning to the Starfleet Engineering Commander he said, “And with a straight face, you’re gonna tell the people listening to this that we’re the only ones that are exploring the Universe and we’re the only ones that can do that peacefully, respectfully….it’s ours so we do it better?! Vulcan has been exploring the Universe while we were just discovering how to make mechanical clocks, Tellar has science and freedom, commerce and culture three-hundred years before we had a declaration on the Right of Man. The Bynars, the Andorians, the Dinobulans, the Kaspar, the Edrosians…the Iconians and the Bajorans. For crying out loud the CARDASSIANS…have science and exploration and freedom and culture. We are not the only ones and they did it before the Federation. So, before we start congratulating ourselves on how great we are here’s something to think about. There’s absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we’re the greatest galactic organization ever conceived. That we’re the best. No evidence of that whatsoever. In fact, looking at the number of battles we’re in right now, the number of missions where I have Marines defending installations and outposts….it would be quite the opposite. You want facts? I have a lot of facts and data and numbers. Based on the testing that we do for new recruits to the SFMC, we’re 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 17th in infant mortality, 3rd in development, number 4 in labor force, and number 4 in exports. Out of…270, fully-fledged voting member worlds in our Federation.

We lead the galaxy in only 3 categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who are employed by a single large corporate employer that rhymes with USS, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 member worlds combined. 25 of them we call our allies. One of them, Fontalis, is brand new. What have they joined fifty years ago? What have they joined?

I mentioned Elysium earlier. You want to know how that came about? Because for a solid month, parents and families of the crew and the Marines stationed on Elysium would not accept that we’re giving up on finding her. You want to talk about strength and character? Look at those families, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers who want to know why we – the mighty Federation – are doing nothing. Were…doing nothing.

I am the Commandant of the most lethal fighting force the galaxy has ever known. No question. There is no doubt. The Federation used to be great. But it wasn’t because of our fighting capability. We used to be great. And I mean…we inspired people and planets to be with us and join us.”

THE GRAMPY REECE BAR & GRILL
The bar was quiet. All eyes on the monitor. Bob listened and looked down and frowned before looking up again. What CMC Hawkins was saying was true. And it hit home. Marines in the bar and all over Titan listened and watched.

REAR ADMIRAL MATTHEW POPKES CONFERENCE ROOM
Marine Commandant Hawkins continued, “We stood up for what was right. You don’t need to be a Marine to do that. We fought for moral reasons. We fought and sacrificed because of the rightness of the cause. We had a moral compass, guided by moral leadership. We passed laws because they were just, in the fullest sense of that word. We struck down laws for moral reasons, we waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We banned ignorance…not books. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors. We said what we meant, and we meant what we said. Our word used to be our bond. Not a Marine’s rifle. Not a Federation starship armed to the teeth. We put our treasure where our mouths were, and we never beat our chest. My god people…we built great big things, orbital platforms, spacedock one, this base, the Argus array….we made god-like technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and we were a beacon to the galaxy’s greatest artists and the galaxy’s greatest opportunity. We reached for the stars, we had dreams and we dreamt big. We acted with honor. We were kind and we were humble. We aspired to intelligence, we didn’t belittle it, it didn’t make us feel inferior. We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in our last election, and we didn’t, scare so easy…Huh.

We were able to be all these things, and to do all these things, because we were informed. By great men and women, people of Science and Culture, Diplomats who used their words instead of a phaser rifle, people with vision and who were revered. Anybody want to get back to those days? Help me find the Elysium and let’s do them right. The First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.

The Federation is not the greatest organization in the galaxy anymore. But it can be.”


[OFF:]

Captain Samuel Woolheater
“Saepius Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater Infinitas”
Division VI, MARDET 62nd Company "Spartans"
Marine XO, 1st Platoon CO
=/\= USS ELYSIUM - NCC-89000 =/\=