STF

Main Sim - Semper Fi... When It's Convenient (Tag Marine CO)

Posted Jan. 13, 2021, 10:08 p.m. by Gamemaster Alias Smith N. Jones, Esq. (GMT) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Gamemaster Alias Smith N. Jones, Esq. (GMT) in Main Sim - Semper Fi… When It’s Convenient (Tag Marine CO)

Posted by Colonel Calvin Harris (Marine Commander) in Main Sim - Semper Fi… When It’s Convenient (Tag Marine CO)

Posted by Colonel Calvin Harris (Marine Commander) in Main Sim - Semper Fi… When It’s Convenient (Tag Marine CO)
Posted by… suppressed (22) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The Dresden began moving, a subtle motion that only those practiced in zero-G operations would notice. Some of the Marines looked at each otther with a sense of relief, and a few mumbled “Finally.” as the mammoth ship began to depart.

=/\= Bridge to Colonel Harris! =/\= came a somewhat frazzled voice. =/\= Colonel… we have Commandant Visil requesting to speak with you, Colonel. That is… Commandant of the Marine Corps, sir. Uh… want that in your office, sir? =/\=

GMT

Col. Calvin Harris looked more annoyed than concerned. “What the hell does that crotchety ol’ SOB want now?!” The Marine grumbled to himself as he stalked toward his office before tapping his badge.

=A= Harris here… put it through to my office in the Bay. =A=

Walking into his office suite, Harris sighed as he walked by Jersey. “Hold my calls Brianna… Corps Brass on the horn. I’ll be out… when I’m out hun.”

Jersey looked alarmed but nodded. “Aye aye sir”

Walking into his office, Harris day at the desk… his screen was already up and the ‘Transmission Holding’ screen was on with the rotating seal of Starfleet Marine Headquarters in the middle.

Taking a slow breath, hoping to take most of the annoyance from his tone, Harris tapped the receive key and smiled slightly.

=A= Commandant Visil… Harris here. How can I help you General?=A=

Harris, MarDet CO

The face of the Commandant of the Marine Corps came into view. He looked stern, which was usual, but there was a slight grin as well. Harris knew the man well enough to know that this did not bide well… for him at least.

Well son of a bitch! Harris thought /This/ should be fun Though his expression didn’t change, Cal knew this was not a friendly phone call.

=/\= Cal… how are ya? I hope you’re settling in to your new role well. And I see you and the Dresden are heading out. Good, good… I like my Marines in the field instead of bounving around the Bay. =/\= he added the last part to let Cal know he was keeping an eye on him.

GMT

“I’m well General.... as best as can be expected. It was nice to have some leave and spend time with the family.” Pausing, the Marine added “As for my role, I much prefer command of Leathernecks… they listen better!” Harris smiled warmly.

After a pause, Cal added. “Aren’t you up for Retirement soon, Sir? You had already left the Academy before Dad even started… that was around 40 years ago.”

Harris, MarDet CO

The Commandant chuckled, by his eyes flashed at the i situation he knew Harris was making. “Oh, I’m not too far gone yet, Colonel. Still have it where it counts.” and he leaned back in his chair and stared at Cal through the screen. “So tell me, Colonel… whats happening at the Julian Echo station that requires the Dresden’s attention, eh?” The question was given very informally, but there was something in the way the Commandant spoke… he was fishing.

GMT

Harris caught the change in the General’s demeanor almost the moment it occurred and an alarm klaxon went off in his head but the Marine didn’t even visibly flinch. Leaning back in his chair as well, Cal smiled slightly. “Nothin’ much really… jus’ some eggheads o’er at SpecPro got their damn panties in a bunch over some fancy ass observ’tory tha’ ain’t answerin’ da’ damn phone.” The Marine began in his Okie drawl. “By da’ looks of it, I’ say we’re jus’ da’ unlucky bastards tha’ som’ Fleeter Brass looked out his damn window n’ saw sittin’ in dock… now we’re off ta’ get those whitecoats ta’ pick up da’ damn phone.” Cal shrugged. “That’s ‘bout all I know General… I’m not in da’ Command loop anymore.”

Harris, MarDetCO

The Commandant nodded as Harris spoke, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly in a suppressed smile at his last statement. “Well, maybe someday you’ll be back in that particular loop… So. No comms from the station, huh? How long has that been happening, Colonel?”

GMT

bump

Harris raised an eyebrow at the Commandant’s question. The reaction wasn’t necessarily in surprise… as he knew the question might come up, but in curiosity as to the rather brazen way the query came… especially attached to the ‘back in that particular loop’ comment. Cal fought off the subconscious shiver up his back… as the last time such a statement was presented to him, he had ended up on a goddamn Black Op in the Neutral Zone that was still classified TS-Eyes Only even all these years later.

In a rather flat tone, the Colonel replied. “From my understandin’… a’cuple weeks.” The Marine’s drawl returning to his relaxed demeanor. “As I said… don’t really hav’ much of’a say as ta’ the Dres’ comin’s & goin’s anymore, but considerin’ we ain’t doin’ anythin’ ‘ight now… I guess I’m jus’ as glad as the other guy jus’ ta’ be underway.” Harris then leaned back with a slightly cocked smile and asked, his Okie accent noticeably absent. “Is there a reason for the Corps’ interest in this mission General?”

Col. Harris, MarDetCO

Visil gave the Colonel a half-smile and said “Oh, no… no reason. The station is strictly science and such, so no need for us ground-pounders. More of a… professional curiosity than anything else. Rumors and whatnot… you know the way scuttlebutt flues around the office.”

GMT

“Scuttlebutt…” The Marine said with a slightly raised eyebrow. “… well, ya know what they said in the Second World War sir… Loose Lips Sink Ships.” As he absentmindedly turned his Academy ring on his right hand, Harris asked. “Will that be all Commandant?”

Harris, MarDetCO

The Commandant smiled and said “Almost. Send me an Eyes-Only report when you get an idea on what the issue at the station is. Send it direct, not via the Fleet. I want your take, Colonel. Not some Fleeter who is more concerned with image than facility security. Looking forward to hearing from you. Semper Fi.” and the screen went dark.

GMT

“Goddamnit!” Harris’ fist slammed onto the desk, nearly bouncing his Academy mug off onto the floor. Before the cup had even settled on the desk, Jersey was standing in the doorway looking incredibly concerned. “Raven… what’s going on?” The Marine Commander’s blue eyes flashed angrily as they met the young woman’s. “Commandant Visil is frackin’ pokin’ around about this Op. Patch me through to my father… secure comms… his private channel” Jersey gave a sharp, unquestioning nod and turned from the door before it shut. Moments later, the screen on Cal’s desk flashed to life once more with a “Please Standby” glowing in the the middle of the screen.

Harris, MarDet CO

The comms activated and the General swiveled in his chair to look at the screen, his stern face breaking into a soft smile. “Hey there, son. How’s everything? You get that jerky I sent ya? Mcallister’s had a big deer harvest, so if ya need more just let me know.”

GMT

Cal’s frustrated scowl soften slightly at his father’s words, a smile of his own breaking across his face. “Hey Pops… yeah, I got the jerky. It actually beat Moll’s & I back from St. Lou’. If ya can set me aside a little extra… between Moll’s & Boomer, I doubt it will last long.” The younger Harris smirked, knowing damn well his father hated that he shared good jerky with the Lab… but his father would also grudgingly admit he loved the old pooch too.

“I’m having some issues with Visil… I had Jersey lock down the call, so we’re private. Are you where we can talk?”

Harris, MarDet CO

“Wait one.” the elder Harris replied and he left the screen momentarily. A half-minute later he sat back down and said “Ok. We’re good. So…” and the Marine General smiled knowingly, “… having trouble with head cheese, huh? Yeah… color me not f!@#$%g surprised. What’d he do now?”

GMT

Cal ran his hand through his hair, taking a slow breath before looking back at his dad. “Molls was given orders to take the Dres’ on… what I originally thought… was a BS ‘welfare check’ on some science station. Neither she nor the schmuck we’re working for really even talked to me about the plan… which, knowing Molly, means they didn’t tell her a damn thing either.” Cal smirked, knowing how highly his father thought of the fiery redhead.

He tapped a PaDD in front of him on the desk.
“Then, the damn Comms were flooded with a frack ton of inquiries from a bunch of random politicians and the like. That’s when Visil called me and… specifically… requested an ‘Eyes-Only’ report on the mission.” Harris looked annoyed and more concerned than he wanted to let on. “I don’t like it Dad… this reeks of something that could get a bunch of people hurt. I’ve quietly upped the Alert Status for the Detachment to Operational Red… last goddamn thing we need is to be blindsided. I’m gonna grab coffee with the new CoS later today and recommend he does the same.” Cal then paused and after a deep breath, asked. “Thoughts Sir?”

Harris, MarDet CO

The older man smiled. “Sir? So your calling for General Dad, and not your old man then, huh?” and he paused and his eyes looked off as he gave serious thought to the situation. After a few moments, they snapped back into focus and he said “What ‘schmuck’ are we talking about, first off. Second, whats the OP, if you can say. Even generalized terms is fine.”

GMT

OOC: Sorry for the delay old buddy!

IC: Cal sighed, tapping a few keys, he used the secure link between the men to first display two personnel file images of two men. “The Fleeter involved in bringing the schmuck here was Admiral Hallsley, I understand he’s a big shot on SB One. The schmuck, on the other hand, is a Dr. Drillek with Starfleet Engineering Command. You’ll be proud of your future daughter-in-law… Molls didn’t let either snowblow her for a single second.” The Marine smiled proudly before returning to a more stern expression. “But that being said, I don’t think they’ve told us everything… and I don’t mean in the ‘shucks! I forgot!’ sorta way either Pops.

Tapping a few more keys, Cal brought up the image of the station Drillek had included in the vague Mission Profile. “So, this is place we’re heading to… nothing spectacular really… a little three deck hole-in-the-wall called O.S. Julian Echo. It’s fancy and all… another damn waste of Federation resources to monitor the eventual collapse of a brown dwarf. He was…” Cal rolled his eyes. “… a little /too/ proud of the place. That was honestly when the klaxons started goin’ off for me. I mean, seriously Pops, why in the frack would the FSC (OOC: Federation Science Council) spend all this time, money, and energy on this pointless endeavor? The Drillek practically gushed over the place… what was it he said.” Harris paused for just a moment before snapping his fingers in a moment of clarity. “Ah yes… I believe how he put it was, quote ‘for lack of a better term… perfect’. Like I said, sir.... too proud.”

“Anyway…” He continued. “… apparently the station has suffered some communication outage a few weeks back and we drew the short straw to go find out why. That’s where more little things Drillek and Hallsley said that made my skin crawl. For whatever goddamned reason.... Hallsley tapped a damn warship to zip out there like our damn nacelles were on fire..” Harris’ jaw visibly clinched. “… even though the station was ahead of schedule on reporting. But that’s the thing… Hallsley did this, not Command.” The Marine was thinking deeply as he spoke. “Command wasn’t, apparently, inclined to send a ship… and yet, here we are… warping halfway across the fracking Sector for what?! To take a warship to check in on a damn Science Station! I don’t buy it. Not for one damned second! The system isn’t even bordered by any claimed space Dad, not a damn stitch of strategic value and they even said they don’t suspect any kind of hostile activity.” After a paused, Harris chuckled and a slight smile broke over his face. “That’s when the bastards lost Molly… you know she’s more damn paranoid than even I am!”

“Oh yes… when Hallsley tried to sweep Molly’s concerns under the rug… saying this place wasn’t Intel… let me tell you!” He chuckled once more. “If looks could kill, Molls’ look would have burned straight through that clown Hallsley!” Harris smiled a warm smile, clearing thinking of his lady. “I don’t have all the details after we left the meeting, but apparently the good Admiral tried to bully Molly and boy did she let him have it!”

Cal ran his hand through his hair once more and sighed. “I don’t wanna hold you any longer Sir… but I think you can see and understand my concern.”

Col. Harris, MarDet CO

The patriarch of the Harris family listened intently as Cal spoke, and as the names were mentioned a slight twitch was visible at the corner of the older Marine’s mouth as he stifled a grin. When Cal finished, his father chuckled. “Damn son… you sure know how ta pick ‘em, don’t ya?” and he laughed softly.

Cal chuckled at his dad’s response to rambling frustrations. “God… ya could say that again!”

Settling in, he looked at Cal and his face took on a stern expression. His shift from Dad to General was instantaneous and past history would remind Cal that his father, for all the love and affection he held for his son, expected him to be a Marine first and foremost.

Colonel Harris…” he said formally, “… I am very well acquainted with the figures that you have mentioned. And I will tell you this from jump… calling either of those men ‘schmucks’ is a quick way to my bad side, you hear?” and he gave Cal a look that said the question was rhetorical. And he leaned back and his face softened slightly.

The junior Marine looked like he wanted to crawl under the deck plating beneath his chair as he swallowed softly and simply nodded.

“Now then. Y’all have, apparently, caught the attention of Star Fleet Special Projects. Let me tell you this first… that’s something. Whether that somethin’ is good or bad is gonna be up to y’all. Special Projects is its own animal, Cal. And you damn well better pull your head outta the belief that this is just Fleet pulling some s&$t. Special Projects is a big deal. And it has eyes on it from all over the Federation… and outside it , too. So you and your crew better up your game to top their and put your feelings of ‘We’re a war ship, why are we running errands’ in the recycler right now. You hear me, Cal?”

“That’s the thing Pop…” Harris said defiantly. “… if it /was/ just BS, we /would/ just be a warship running errands! I would say I was about 10% in that direction. The other 90% was the fact we’re going in blind on one of those ‘big deal’ missions. As the MarDet CO, I really don’t care going into something like that blind… as screwing up those kinda missions can cost you your career.”

“Now as to the two ‘schmucks’. Colonel, I hope you realize that the Admiral, Hallsley, as you so eloquently referred to as that particular term of endearment, has been in the service longer than you’ve been alive. He has been promoted more times than you ever will be. Know why? He started as enlisted… E1. He’s a Mustang… he’ll, he’s the Mustang. And he knows his stuff. And he takes no crap. He’s also one of the most honest men I have ever met. If he didn’t tell you something that you may need for mission success, he doesn’t know it.” and he paused and looked at Cal for a long moment. “Hey. You remember that Force Recon team that got stuck a few years back on that deserted Jem Hadar base near Apulia VI? The base that wasn’t so deserted after all?”

Harris’ coughed in surprise. “Hell yeah I remember that… nearly wiped out the whole team. I was pissed we were locked out!”

“Then you remember that all Corps assets were ordered to stand down? We couldn’t go get ‘em? And do you remember the surprise when they all were beamed right into Corps Headquarters after a few weeks? Yeah… that was Special Projects. That was Hallsley. He just went and got ‘em. No orders, no permission… just did it. So that schmuck saved the lives of Marines. You don’t have to like him… but you better respect him. I do.” and he leaned in conspiratorially and smiled wickedly. “And the Commandant is afraid of him, so there’s that.” and he winked and leaned back.

Cal’s jaw dropped. “Holy Frack! You’re kidding…!?!” Harris chuckled softly. “I didn’t think that ol’ bastard was scared of anyone… ‘cept you.”

“Now for Doctor Drillek. I would have thought that you of all folks would have put him in your wheelhouse. You know the new Valkyrie fighters? The ones that you said were great but didnt have enough firepower from what you saw at the unveiling? The one that less than two weeks later had not only upgraded phasers but also a retractable micro-torpedo launcher? Yeah… that was Drillek. He heard you. He looked you up. Saw you knew your stuff and took it to heart. Revamped the tactical heads-up display, too. So I gotta say, Cal… I’m a bit surprised that you’d up and dismiss him like that.” and he grinned, knowing that his son wouldn’t have had he had all the information. But as was often the case, the older Harris had to yank his son’s chain a bit to remind him to not rush off without the right information. That tendency made him a great pilot: he responded quick and wasn’t easily distracted. But outside of the cockpit it had landed Cal in hot water more than once.

GMT

“Hell… I thought that write-up was lost in the fray and we just got lucky! Damn, I feel like a horse’s ass!” Cal chuckled. “You’re right, I shoulda known.” After a moment, with a sigh, Cal asked. “Any advice?”

Harris, MarDet CO

Bumpity!

The elder Harris smiled and chuckled. “You should feel like a horse’s ass, so I’ll just go ahead ‘an let you wallow in that for a bit, kiddo.” He looked away from the camera and did something off screen. “Advice… yeah, I can give you some. First up, get your Command Team on the same page. Special Projects is all about efficient and timely response, damn the cost or whose nose gets put outta joint. Greater good is always the priority. Make sure y’all take that to heart. Second… listen. You, Molly… all y’all have a great opportunity to learn a whole lot about a whole lotta things. Some you’ll want to know, probably. And a lot you won’t, but there you are.” and the old Marine leaned back and looked at Cal.

“Son… you do your best. From here on, ya hear? You’re gonna be in the thick of it more often than not. And if Special Projects grabbed the Dres…? Somethin’ big is coming down the pike. Head on a swivel from here on out, you got me? Molly, too. But don’t be wasting time looking out for the typical BS from Command… you got the Fleet version of Chesty lookin’ out for you now. You copy?” he asked with a sense of urgency that his son had rarely seen.

GMT

Bump


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