Friday,

12-1-2006

1:17AM

Challenge:

A Smoker & Tashigi Story

Smoker's stare washed over his subordinates. Realizing that there was one missing, Smoker cursed under his breath. "Tashigi," he muttered, clenching his teeth slightly and glaring. Of all days to be late, it had to be today. Yes, today, the day of the base's inspection. A higher-ranking officer was coming this very afternoon to make sure that everything was as it should be. Oh. Hell.

Suddenly, a young, blue-haired woman came racing out of the building and onto the parade grounds. The Sergeant Major ran straight up to Captain Smoker, and, out of breath, she gasped, "I'm sorry I'm late, Captain."

"What's your excuse this time?" asked Smoker, clearly irritated. When she opened her mouth to speak, he interrupted, "Never mind. I don't even want to know." His voice took on a more agitated tone, "D you realize that the Admiral is coming today? He's come here to make sure that things are running smoothly. Do you know why that is?"

"..." Tashigi couldn't think of anything to say.

"It's because things have become a little ragged lately, Tashigi," Smoker continued, "and one of the problems is the punctuality of our troops." He stopped for a moment before he continued, "Sergeant, you are one of the higher officers in this outfit. The marine troops look up to you -"

"Captain, I can explain -" Tashigi tried to cut in.

He continued with a raised voice, "- as an example for them to follow. Even if you have a good track record as a marine, it is of no use if you cannot be a role model for them to follow. Understood?"

He looked down at Tashigi, waiting for a reply. After taking a long, dry swallow, Tashigi said in the clearest, most respective voice she could muster, "Yes, Sir!"

"Good," said an irritated Smoker, "Now go inside. There is still some paperwork that needs to be done, and I want it finished by the time the Admiral gets here. He'll arrive at 3 o'clock, so make sure that it's done by 2:30. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" replied the Sergeant.

"You are dismissed."

Tashigi saluted him and left for the building. As she shut the door and walked up the stairs, her shoulders went into a slump, and she let the facade fall away from her appearance. She hated it when things like this happened. Unfortunately, they happened all the time. Which was why Tashigi didn't feel in high spirits most days.

Why do it always have to be me? she thought, Just because I'm a little late doesn't mean that ... She stopped there. This was the military, the Marines. There was no room for error here. If Captain Smoker thought he was right, then he was right. Never mind the fact that he, in some way, was human, too. Never mind that he was also capable of making mistakes. No. It was always Tashigi that took the fall when it all hit the fan. No one blamed Smoker. It was all her. After all, everyone needs a good scapegoat, right? She'd been working on paperwork all night, just so that today would be perfect. However, nobody seemed to realize that, much less appreciate it, and Tashigi was getting tired of it.

There was also another problem, one concerning matters of the heart. Every day, she did her best to catch his attention, to win his favor. And every day, she failed. No matter how hard she tried, she could never receive his appreciation. If she did something well, she got a begrudging complement, at most. For the most part, she received nothing at all, as if such a thing were common-place, when, in fact, she did more work than any of the subordinates on this base. Why couldn't he notice her just once? If he could openly complement her and appreciate her hard work just once, she might be content to leave things as they were. But Tashigi knew this wasn't so. Even if it were only once, no matter how many times such an event happened, it would never be enough for her. She was a damned good Marine, and she knew it, but he never seemed to notice. And that fact, alone, made her extremely depressed; lonely, most of all. She could disappear off the fact of the Blue Planet, and he wouldn't even care. Quietly, she walked back into the office to complete what little paperwork she had left. She'd tried to surprise him by getting most of it done last night. She'd stayed up at all hours trying to finish it. Now, however, she really didn't think it would matter to him.

As soon as the paperwork was done, Tashigi's head hit the desk, and she fell into a deep sleep. Hours went by, and Tashigi took no notice. She was tired, and needed rest. What she didn't realize was that it was already 3 o'clock, meaning, the Admiral was here.

The door opened, and still Tashigi slept. It wasn't until Smoker raised his voice that Tashigi woke up. She opened her eyes. The Admiral was standing right beside him with a look of disapproval in his eyes.

"Captain Smoker, is this how all of your subordinates act when you're not here?"

"No, Sir," he said calmly, "In fact, none of them do at all."

"So this is the first time this has happened?"

"No, but it will be the last," replied Captain Smoker, "Am I right, Tashigi?" She nodded, eyes wide open and scared. "Good."

"I've seen all I needed to see," said the Admiral approvingly to Smoker, "You've done an excellent job. I'll leave you to deal with the Sergeant."

"Thank you, Sir," said Captain Smoker, as he saluted the Admiral. The moment he walked out, the very moment the door shut, Smoker began yelling. "I told you he was coming today! You knew that he was to arrive two days before he even showed up! What is the meaning of this?!"

Tashigi couldn't take it anymore. She just snapped. Bowling the Captain over, she dashed down the stairs and down to the docks.

Once there, she jumped up on one of the smaller vessels, one that could be manned alone, untied the rope from the dock, and prepared to set sail. As soon as the winds picked up, she pushed it to it's highest speed, and, within minutes, she was out of sight. This was it. No more Smoker; no more Marines; she was on her own.