Learning to be a Marine

Posted on Wed Dec 31st, 2025 @ 12:30pm by Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea & Civilian Teevs Dosivi

Mission: Season 6: Episode 6: Conglomerate
Location: Marine Country; USS Elysium
Timeline: MD4
2067 words - 4.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Naxea waited by the main turbolift doors. Teevs Dosivi had volunteered to help out the Marine Detachment. She was hesitant about accepting non-Marine trained people into her department but they were running out of options. Plus he had handled himself well during the boarding.

It felt strange going to an area Teevs hadn't had permission to access before. The meeting had barely ended before he had been summoned to meet with Naxea, and he admittedly was nervous, for multiple reasons. When the turbolift doors opened, he saw her waiting for him and straightened a little, unsure of their procedures but figuring that some of that formality extended to other higher ranking officers would be appropriate. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting, ma'am," he said.

"No, I haven't been waiting long. Are you sure about wanting to help out in my department? From what I understand you are quite the engineer and pilot." She wondered why someone with such skill would want to fight with the Marines.

Teevs gave a faint, close-lipped smile, the kind that said he knew what he was signing up for. "I wouldn't say I want to be a soldier again, but circumstances don't often yield to personal preference." He had offered his services to the engineers, but this was the Galtonians they were dealing with. "I may have piloting skills, but the Spheia is a cargo vessel. It would waste resources to adapt my ship for combat, and it would take too long to learn to fly yours. The Galtonians don't attack just once, and you mentioned during the meeting that you are running out of combat ready marines. With my training, it makes the most sense for me to be here."

"Tell me about your experiences. What training do you have?" she asked as she motioned for him to walk with her. "I at least know that you can shoot from what I saw on the Promenade during the attack."

With a nod, Teevs fell into step beside Naxea. "I was drafted for war when I was younger. They trained us primarily in close-quarters combat and weapons control. There were many boarding attempts during the war, so I spent a lot of time defending against those and am familiar with the mechanics involved. Mister Kyle has assessed my weapons proficiency, if that report would be useful."

"Impressive," she replied honestly "The Marines have different weapons than those used by security. Most of our weapons are pulse fire. The only beam type weapons we have are the Type 2 sidearm phasers. Our go to weapon is the Type 4 CQB Pulse rifle that is effective in tight spaces. They also offer a more rapid rate of fire than the standard Type 4 Rifle." She rounded a corner as she approached the armory

Teevs wasn’t going to pretend he understood much of the details she'd listed off, and he doubted the UT would provide a meaningful translation either. The broad strokes were, unfortunately, familiar. "I believe your people used such devices during the first attack," he said after a pause. The tactical logic was creeping back in now, and he adjusted his sleeve to keep his hands busy. "I'm sure I can adjust if you want me using your weapons. It's been a while, but you never really lose the principles."

"That's why we're going to the Armory and shooting range so you can get familiar with the weapons. They're not complicated to use. " A moment later, she stopped at a large door with a Marine Guarding it. "Good day ma'am. "

Naxea nodded. "Good day. I'm here to assign Mr. Dosivi a weapon and armor as he will be helping out."

"Understood, ma'am. "

Naxea entered as the large doors sliding open to reveal a massive room with a large variety of weapons of all sizes stored on racks, shelves, and lockers. She began to make her way towards the phaser rifle section.

It made sense to get practice with their weapons. The curiosity of handling alien technology was muted by the current crisis, but it didn't stop Teevs from looking around. Some of the weapons looked familiar, like variants of what he had seen on Starfleet personnel, but a lot of them were foreign, and he could only guess their uses based on size and shape.

She picked up a shorter length phaser rifle and handed it to Teevs. "Here is the CQB Pulse Rifle that you will be using. I'll grab a few energy clips just in case you need them for the training and then we'llhead for the range. " She said as she moved to a nearby rack and removed three energy clips. "

As she retrieved the energy clips, Teevs inspected the weapon she put into his hands, adjusting his grip and positioning as he got familiar with its weight. He could tell from the centre of mass that it was designed to swing quickly. Tilting it to the side, he traced the lines of its housing and the placement of the vents, gradually understanding how the rifle wanted to be used. Once he was done, he lowered the rifle, muscle memory tilting the business end downward. "What's ideal distance from the target when using these?"

"Maximum range is about two hundred meters. Typical engagement range is often around twenty five meters or less. It has a shorter range but hits harder and faster than the typical type four rifle," she explained as they entered the shooting range. She handed Teevs an energy cell. "Load this into the weapon at the bottom of the rear grip and you should be ready to fire." So far she was impressed with how Teevs had handled the weapon.

"Harder and faster hits will be good against the hounds," Teevs agreed, accepting the energy cell. The subtle click of the housing preparing to receive it made him freeze. He stared at his hands, positioned at the rear grip waiting for him to finish the motion his body had begun without his permission. The familiarity made his skin prickle. This was the part he hated: muscles remembering what his mind sought to forget.

The memory of Kerilia, voice trembling and eyes wet with fear, then surfaced. Do it for her. Pressing his lips together, he pushed the cell into place. The lock engaged with a clean and mechanical snap, and at the same time he felt tightness in his chest. He let the breath pass, steadying himself. Stepping into place in the range, he shouldered the rifle, now aware of every micro-adjustment he made to account for the new weight. "Ready."

Naxea watched him load the energy cell and was impressed with his movements. They were certainly the one of a trained soldier. "Alright. Fire when your target appears. We'llstart off easy until you get used to the weapon. " Naxea pressed a button a a human sized target popped up.

Teevs had sorted out the distance conversion in his head by the time the first target showed up. He looked through the scope at the target. His hands gripped the rifle just a little too tight. The stance was too wide. Or was it? That old reflex whispered that he should brace against the recoil, and it made him uneasy. He adjusted his grip again, mostly to try and quiet that unease, then fired. The shot went low, hitting the abdominal zone of the target. Not a miss, but not a clean shot either. He exhaled late, the air leaving him in a sharp rush.

He was fighting his own reflexes, and it put him slightly out of sync for a first couple shots. A grip too tight. A breath held for too long. Unnecessary adjustments. All the shots hit, but they weren't consistent. The reminder that he was doing this to protect his daughter helped him find some common ground with the soldier, and eventually it began to show as his aim started to improve.

"Not bad. Now let's try with the target moving. Remember to lead and relax your grip and steady your breathing," Naxea advised as she watched Teevs prepare to fire again.

Something about being given instructions helped Teevs reconcile with his hesitation. Attention ahead of him, he acknowledged Naxea as he adjusted the rifle against his shoulder, forcing his grip to ease up. He inhaled through his nose, this time with purpose, as he tracked the target's movement. The rhythm was better, close enough to an old memory to assure his confidence but different enough to keep him alert. He knew he could do better if he would just stop thinking about it. Naxea had seen that in action on the Promenade.

He exhaled, the air gently tickling the back of his hand. The tension in his grip started to relax. The moving target forced him to adjust in real time, small micro-corrections that came from the trained instinct. Another target appeared, and he fired. This time, the impact was clean. He didn't react to the shot, even though it was quietly satisfying. Each shot provided positive reinforcement, allowing his muscle memory to sync with conscious intent.

Naxea nodded at the movement. The basics of support and stance were there. Teevs had certainly had military training prior. "Much better," she complimented. "Now, have you had explosives training?"

When the target practice stopped, Teevs lowered the weapon and looked toward her. "Not formally," he responded, offering a faint smile at the implication. "I've hit fuel cells on purpose before, but that's about it."

Naxea smiled. In a way that was explosives training . "Not exactly what I was asking but let's try Grenade training. Starfleet grenades have a variety or settings from stub to full power which can rip apart bulkheads and vaporize unprotected organic tissue." She grabbed a practice grenade from a nearby weapons bench. "This is a training grenade so the explosive yield is much smaller and non lethal compared to the normal ones. The setting selector is on top. Pull the tab, run, push, and toss. There's about a 3 second delay," she explained as she held the training grenade put for him.

The wariness in Teevs' expression gave away his discomfort. Cautiously, he took the training grenade from her hand, holding it like a living being he wasn't convinced was safe to touch. "You're allowed to use such devices on a ship?" he asked, taking his time inspecting it to understand how it worked.

"Only in emergencies," she explained . "Even then the full setting is never allowed aboard a Federation Starship to prevent hull damage or rupture. We also never use them in engineering sections."

The safeguards only partly eased Teevs' concerns. Looking at the grenade in his hands, he grabbed onto the pull tab before looking into the training area, seeing a target appear. He pulled the tab, hearing the device in his hand respond with a click. Since he didn't know how big a "training yield" was, he made sure to create distance. His coordination was a little clunky as he repeated her steps in his head, but he selected a setting that seemed appropriate for the single target before throwing the grenade at it.

Naxea watched as Teevs tossed the training grenade. The throw was on target and a second later the grenade went off, taking out the target as it released a pressure wave that simulated the setting the grenade had been set on as she barely felt the force from the pressure wave. She nodded with a grin. "Good throw and setting on the grenade," she complimented.

Teevs had tensed when the grenade exploded, expecting a larger pressure wave than what actually occurred. The target was gone, which meant his aim didn't completely suck. "Thanks," he said to her. "I'll admit, I don't know how comfortable I am with those, but I'll do whatever you need me to if it means surviving the Galtonians."

"Just remember not to use them in engineering and to be mindful of your setting," she grinned at Teevs. "You'll do fine. And don't worry. I plan to place you in reserve as you are basically an ambassador aboard this ship and have a daughter."

Teevs nodded. Being in reserve was far more preferable than being called immediately, but it didn't get rid of the unease. A fight would come, it was just a matter of when.