The Return

Posted on Tue Jul 26th, 2022 @ 9:01pm by Captain Tracey West Jr & Major David Hurd Senior

Mission: McKinley Outpost
Location: Major Hurd's Office
Timeline: Current

Walking into his office, Hurd was in a foul mood. His Family was gone, and now he had to ask to resume his command, which made him even angrier. Tapping his commbadge, Hurd said in a steely cold voice, "Lieutenant West, report to my office immediately, Hurd out."

West tapped his comm badge, rising from his chair. "On my way." He didn't like the tone in the Major's voice, and he'd be dammed if he was going to be railroaded for doing his duty, but orders were orders, and if he did nothing else well, he followed the chain of command.

Moments later, he stood in the Major's doorway. "Reporting as ordered, sir." He said, standing at attention.

"At ease, and have a Seat", Hurd said cooly. "I bet you are wondering why I asked you here". "I am herby resuming my Duties as Marine Commanding Officer, and I'd like to know more about you".

Tres nodded and took the proffered seat. "Understood Major. Not much to know about me really. Been a marine my whole career, but only recently took the officer route."

"What are your duties as of this moment?", Hurd asked in a pleasant voice, "And also, I would like a description of your Combat Record".

"I was asked to fill in as marine commander, so I've been making changes to the training regiment, focusing less on combat maneuvers and more on policing tactics. I believe a marine that knows how to interact with people is more capable than one who know only how to shoot first and ask questions later. As a result, we have combined teams of marines and security officers comprising away team contingents. As for my combat history, this is my first ship assignment. My experience with combat has been largely land based".

"Hmm, that I do like", Hurd said. "Understand this is your First Ship assignment, but we get more than our share of land and ship based action, but like you I had almost no land experience before I arrived." Pausing for a moment smiling, Hurd reached into his desk and pulled out two boxes, one smaller than the other. Opening the first, it contained two single silver bars. Sliding it across the desk, he said, "2nd Lieutenant West, by the authority granted me by the Marine CIC and and the Commodore , I herby promote you to the rank of First Lieutenant, and appoint you as Acting Marine Executive Officer, with all rights, responsibilities, and privileges therein".

Trace looked down at the box for a long moment. He'd only been on the ship a short time, and had only been an officer for a few months, so a promotion seemed premature. However, the Marine Corps was not the Navy, and promotion was more directly tied to performance and the ability to make decisions under pressure. As a result, it was somewhat less...political. He took the box and nodded, as if to reassure himself that he was worthy of the recognition of his abilities.

"Thank you sir, I'm honored. You have my word I'll do right by the men."

Of that I have no doubt", Hurd said smiling. "What is our current readiness state , and status of our men and equipment?".

Trace took almost no time in responding. "They are in top shape, sir, in terms of equipment and the ability to perform. But I'll be honest, some of the men are a little more...trigger happy than I like. It's one of the things I'd like to work in to the training rotation in an effort to...temper some of the hottest heads."

Arching his eyebrow in a Vulcan-like manner, Hurd said, "Please explain what you mean?"

Tres shrugged. "I've added civilian bystanders and surrendering hostiles into some of the training programs. Some of our marines have higher kill rates for these non combatants than others, particularly if they're introduced later in the training sequence. I think we need to focus on reducing those numbers."

"Civilian yes, but you have to understand, so called "Surrendering" Hostiles have killed or seriously injured many of my men, so unless ordered, by a higher rank than I, we don't really take many prisoners". "Besides that, 99.9 percent of the enemy combatants we fight fight to the death anyways, but perhaps marginal or low level improvements in that area would be in order as well".

Trace considered that for a moment. It was true, surrendering as a combatant was a strategy some employed to wreak havoc on their conquerors, and the last thing he wanted to do was train them to hesitate. On the other hand, shooting a man while he was down was not in line with the spirit of Starfleet. "Understood. I think there may be some middle ground here, but I'll need to think on it to find it."

Pondering that for a moment, he said, "Perhaps, I'll do the same and think on it." "So, you have any questions about me, or any rumors you have heard, so I can tell you if they are true or not?"

"I hear you drive the men hard. I hear you have a temper," Trace replied, then softened his voice a bit "and I hear you lost your family."

"All Correct", Hurd said. "I just, very, very recently, lost my Wife and Kids, and all my other Family is gone as well". "And I do have a temper, which I'm working on, and as for driving the Men hard, absolutely correct." "I firmly believe the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat", he finished, folding his hands together.

"On that, we're of one mind." Trace said, standing up. "Will there be anything else, sir?"

"No, that will be all", Hurd said standing and saluting. "Dismissed".

Trace nodded and headed back to his office, where he resumed reviewing the training regiments. He had a lot to think about after talking to the Major, and he was excited to see what direction he would take the marines.

Major David Hurd Senior
Commanding Officer SFMC
USS Amandora

and

1st Lieutenant Tracey West Jr
XO SFMC
USS Amandora