Camp Shirthu Nath: Federation Marine Corps HQ

OC-FMC Office

Beaufort, South Carolina

Earth

There wasn't any rum in the office anymore. Jack Marshall had never cared for rum, entirely too strong and sweet in the same notion.

For most of his life, he preferred red wine, either Château Picard or Mont Blanc. He had however, by chance or design, developed a taste for Gin, thanks to his dear friend Jackie Fishier, still Captain of the first Federation Battleship, Vanguard.

Jack debated pouring himself a martini, but thought better of it. The last time alcohol was served in the office, he was forced to punch a man he greatly respected to snap Mark back into reality.

Instead, he poured a coffee – two cream and two sugar – and returned to his desk just before the knock on the door came.

"Come in," he answered.

Jack smiled as the two Officer Candidates walked into the office. Ten years ago, he graduated from OCS at the top of his class, tied with Ginny Tatum in Class B.

But these two in front of the General had blown every record out of the water.

"Cadet Kaimeao, reporting as ordered, Sir!" Kayla saluted.

"Cadet Rela, reporting as ordered, Sir!" Rela saluted in turn.

Jack returned their salutes, "At ease, Cadets. Thanks for coming, have a seat where you like."

Once the two cadets had found a seat, Jack opened a briefing package, "Well, you two seem all but inseparable, shared living spaces aside. Your notes from Sandhurst indicated that the two of you perform best together. So ideally, I'd like to put the two of you together as scout snipers. Familiar with the concept, I'll assume?"

"Yes Sir," Rela answered, "One shooter and one spotter. The spotter tracks the target, while the shooter makes the kill."

"Nicely done, Cadet Rela. Any idea on which role you'll be taking?"

Rela and Kayla looked at each other for a moment, before Rela turned back to Jack, "I'll be the shooter, and Kayla will be my spotter, Sir."

Kayla smiled. She knew by heart that she was the better shot, but Rela was a reasonably good hand with a rifle, and she admired her adopted Romulan sister's bravery.

"Excellent," Jack said with a nod, "Well, then I think you two will be perfect for a little job I have in mind."

Jack hit a switch on his desk, and the display on the north wall changed to a new starship.

"That's Alexia. A little bit like the pair of you. Fast, sleek, a deadly shot, but brand new and untested. So, I've decided to hit the ground running with her for Operation Blackbeard."

Kayla and Rela both sat up immediately. The rumours around Camp Nath had been all but exploding among recruits and commissioned Sharkies alike. The FMC was about to take the fight to the enemy for the first time, without Starfleet getting in the way.

Jack continued to flip images on his display, detailing the mission, "Orion Pirate attacks have been stepping up in the last few months. Just in December, twenty Federation transports, thirty Klingon, forty Romulan, and who knows how many other independent ships have been seized or destroyed. MIS thinks they're trying to seize the means to build up their forces, but we don't know the why, yet."

"The purpose of Operation Blackbeard will be two-fold. The obvious first will be to put a stop to these attacks, once and for all. The second will be to find out why this happened, and what it was that provoked the Orions into trying to piss us off. Any questions, Cadets?"

Kayla, naturally, understood the plan in seconds.

Rela asked a question, however, "Sir, I admit that my knowledge of Terha history is a little lacking, but this mission seems a little much."

"Rela…" Kayla started to sigh.

Jack however let a smile creep across his face, "Oh, I think that's fine. Speak your mind, Cadet Rela."

"Well, Sir, my people fought the Orions once. Enriov Tebok led a task force across the Klingon border to attack one of their colonies as retaliation for them sponsoring a similar raid by the Klingons. He had eighty top-of-the-line D'Deridex AkhDhaels under his command."

"Tebok eh?" Jack asked, "I've heard of him. Pretty tough bastard. Did a number on the Jem Hadar during the Dominion War, too."

"He did, Sir, but not this time. The Orion Space Navy managed to track Enriov Tebok even under cloak. After the battle, only ten D'Deridexes came back home. We'd be varuul if we underestimated them," Rela finished.

Jack took the words in for a few moments, turning his complexion serious.

But after a long few moments, he smiled yet again at the young Romulan, "I like that. You aren't afraid to speak your mind, Ms Rela. I appreciate a Marine who knows how to think."

"We've gone over this top and bottom with the Fishies. You'll have the edge in speed, firepower, technology, and training. And they won't be expecting you. Keep quiet, keep fast, and keep the Fishies out of danger, and I think we'll see this through."

As Jack re-assured Rela, Kayla continued studying the plans, running the simulations in her mind, and coming up with a counter plan for each contingency. She did feel the need to ask one question, however.

"Sir, we'll be pretty close to the Klingon border for this op. Any chance we can count on any help or intel?"

Jack sighed, an unexpected reaction to her question, "Not likely. At the moment, the Klingon's are having quite a few internal shuffles. I can't really tell you all of what's going on, but for your purposes…"

He took another deep breath before continuing, "I'd advise giving any Klingon ships or personnel you encounter a very wide berth. Understood, Marines?"

"Sir, yes sir!" both cadets replied, though Kayla sheepishly smiled to herself, knowing what was coming next judging from Jack's subtle change in vocabulary.

He reached behind the desk into a drawer – the same drawer where he had three more stars waiting for him, ten years ago – and produced a pair of black berets, adorned with an embossed pin of the Federation Marine Corps logo, the Federation's blue globe over a pair of crossed rifles.

"Usually, we have a little more circumstance to this, but I know that you two are ready to get into the fight," Jack said as he held the berets, "Kayla Kaimeao, Rela Kaimeao, it is my pleasure to present to you your black berets. Wear them with pride, as only one group of select individuals have the right to wear these items."

Rela and Kayla both saluted, "Who are we, sir?!"

Jack returned the salute, "The damned few. And everyone else is dead. You'll report to Alexia at 0700 sharp, under the command of Major Andrew Ingles. Try not to be late and make me look bad in the process. Dismissed!"

Rela and Kayla both stood at attention before turning to leave.

Once in the hallway, Rela instantly put her beret and all but flourished through the hallways.

"Look at me! I'm famous now! I'm the very first Rihann to ever wear a uniform for Lloann'na! D'Tann is going to be so impressed!"

Kayla smiled for her adopted sister as she tucked the beret into the shoulder loop of her MDU, instead placing a more suitable article of clothing on her head.

Rela raised an eyebrow at her, "Kayla, what are you doing? We should show these off!"

Kayla tucked her red hair through the loop and smirked back, "Oh, I will. But I know Mom would have wanted me to wear this instead. It's a full circle thing."

The Magic Cap. A simple, standard issue MDU patrol cap, that Kayla had kept for over a decade, a reminder to her that the monsters would never find her (as long as she wore it on her head) and thanks to her adopted family, which now included the Federation Marine Corps.

Rela simply went back to dancing through the hallway, "Feanna Hevams and their weird rituals. Come on, slowpoke, let's get a drink!"

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