New Digs

Posted on Wed Feb 17th, 2021 @ 5:46am by Captain Brenda Sinclair
Edited on on Tue Feb 23rd, 2021 @ 7:00am

Mission: A New Legacy
Location: Marine Officer's Mess Hall, Deck 35
682 words - 1.4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

The late hour, and slowly dwindling supplies of drink were hardly a sign the night was coming to an end. The bulk of the equipment was unpacked, and the three Platoons were in the process of making sure everything was catalogued, stored, and located for when it was needed. At present, the loading docks in their area - affectionately dubbed Marine Country - looked like a clusterfuck, but it was a process that would take time. With the move now behind them, the four officers, and senior-most NCO were taking a much needed break. Marine Captain Brenda Sinclair, Company CO examined the cards in her hand. Not the worst she’d seen during the game. “Five.” She said, tossing a chip onto the table.

The other four at the table, her three Platoon CO’s, and the Company’s Gunnery Sergeant – although technically an enlisted, he had more years and more experience than any of them – were enjoying a quiet night after moving all 128 Marines, plus equipment onto a flying city. It was nice to be able to sit back, enjoy oneself, and not have a disaster to worry about, at least in the immediate.

Gunny Perez, the next one in the circle gave her a look. “I’ll see your five. And raise you another five.” The chips joined the now growing pot on the table. “No pulling punches, just cause you’re a Captain.”

Lieutenant ch'Tala, the Andorian who led First Platoon, and was the de facto Company Exec considered her CO. “You know Cap.” She said, contemplatively, tossing the new bet in, and then some. “Raise another five, by the way. You know, this move has got me thinking. I don’t think we’ve ever truly heard why you joined up. We know Li here-“ she waved a hand at the younger officer next to her, who was tossing in chips of his own “-joined to honour a family legacy … you’ve said you joined because of your family. I was chatting with one of the Spooks upstairs-“ the Intelligence Department had an entire deck above them “-and, apparently, you got no Service in your family. Fleet or Marine. What gives.”

Brenda took the opportunity of calling the latest raise – now sitting at twenty to stay in – to consider the question, and her answer. She’d have to make a mental note to speak to someone about her record, and family history. That was strictly on a need-to-know – in her mind anyway, and she didn’t like that it was beginning to leak.

Yet, that would have to wait. For the immediate, she needed to address the issue. Calling the new bet, Brenda considered her words. “I never said I joined because of a history of Service in the family. I simply said I joined because of my family.” Because of her mother’s insistence in her future, and a life she wanted to leave well enough behind.

“I guess, also,” the drink had been a parting gift from the Regiment’s Colonel, upon the transfer of the Company. Real, honest-to-god, alcohol. It had done wonders to her mind, it seemed. “You could say a broken heart.” Two counts of it, in fact. Though she was trying to ever forget that one had happened. Briefly, she wondered what the man – then, teen – was doing now. Probably became a doctor, just like his father. “Home had never been fun for me.” The screaming matches with her mother had often reached a fever pitch. “I wanted something as far different from where I came from as I could find, and beating the crap out of the Federation’s enemies was probably as different as one could get.”

The answer seemed to satisfy, for which Brenda was glad. The calls went around the table, and it turned out Lieutenant Li had the winning hand. With a sigh, and a last round of drinks to bring the evening to a final close, Brenda called the night to a close, ready to start a new chapter on board the USS Arcadia.

OFF