Something Imposing This Way Comes

Posted on Mon 25th Jun, 2018 @ 4:29pm by Major Haley Sawyer

459 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Brushfires
Location: Marine XO's Office

"Of course, sir." Haley Sawyer said with the utmost formality. "I understand completely."

Then the monitor that she was looking at went blank and was quickly replaced by a Starfleet Marine Command logo.

Sawyer closed her eyes and leant back in her chair, fully aware of the scale of the news that she just received, but not entirely sure how to process it yet. After a few seconds, she leant forward, wiped her eyes with the fore-fingers of her left hand and, simultaneously, pressed one of the comm-buttons on her desk.

"Captain Sharpe could you report to my office, please?"

A few minutes later, the Marine in question stood in front of Sawyer's desk. Tall, hard, and scarred, with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, she looked like the weapon she was. "Captain Sharpe, reporting as ordered, ma'am."

“Have a seat, Captain,” Sawyer said, grimly, indicating one of the chairs opposite her desk.

Sharpe took the indicated seat, and looked attentive.

“There are changes coming,” Sawyer continued, not feeling in the mood for preamble. “The marine detachment on one-oh-nine is being restructured, redesignated and repurposed.” She paused for a second, before adding, “Effectively we’re being pulled apart and put back together again.”

She scanned Sharpe’s face, immediately getting the feeling that the captain was about as enthusiastic about the news as she was.

Sharpe shrugged with one shoulder. "I'm a Raider officer," she noted. "Unless they decide to drastically expand the Raider and Recon force here, or drastically reduce it, I don't anticipate the changes will mean much, functionally, to my Marines. Though, if they send us a new Colonel, I suppose it'll be spit and polish and inspection time for a while."

Haley Sawyer arched an eyebrow. "Didn't know you were telepathic," she said, a smile forming at the edges of her mouth. She tapped a couple of commands into her terminal and then turned it to face Sharpe. "Do you know him?"

Sharpe examined the image for a moment, then shook her head. "Spec Ops is a small community, and we don't always get much exposure outside of it. I haven't come in contact with this gentleman previously."

Sawyer smiled. "I know you're a tough soldier," she said, "But this guy is another thing altogether. He's the toughest there is. And he wants his units to be equally as tough. I've got a feeling some of our Marines are going to be in for a bit of shock."

Sharpe nodded. "As with a surprising number of things, it shall be that which it shall be. And, as with all things, our approach should be to prepare as best we can, recognize that no plan survives contact with the enemy, and then adapt, improvise, and overcome."

 

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