Taking an Unexpected Lead

Posted on Sun May 20th, 2012 @ 1:02pm by Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson & Lieutenant Amanda Owens & 1st Lieutenant Michael Watters

Mission: Episode 1.0 - "Enduring Legacy"
Location: Holodeck I, USS Yorktown
Timeline: Mission Day 04, 0813 Hours

ON: [[Holodeck I, USS Yorktown, Mission Day 04, 0813 Hours]]

"I've only run a few drills," Amy was saying to Watters, "and never with Marines. Do you think we should start by taking a mutual objective, or competitively?" It would have been nice (for Amy) if they all could have just used firing ranges, but even she understood the pointlessness of a joint training session that only accomplished what could be done separately by either side.

Michael couldn't help but chuckle, though he immediately realized how his amusement might have sounded to the young woman and quickly stifled his laughter with a more serious look. "You're not the first person to be walking on eggshells when it comes to joint exercises with marines," he assured her, "but there's only so much you can take away from a firing range and the range doesn't really prepare us to work with one another in the field."

"That's true," Amy agreed with a small laugh of her own. "Still, I think I'll follow your lead on this one."

"Alright folks, listen up," Michael said, raising his voice to draw the attention of everyone in the room, "For those of you who may not already be aware, this is Lieutenant Amanda Owens, Assistant Chief of the SecTac department and I'm First Lieutenant Michael Watters, Marine Commanding Officer. Today's exercise is geared toward practical operations we might actually encounter. This particular scenario might seem easy at first, but I'm warning you now...it learns quickly. You will need to work together."

"Since when have Marines needed to rely on security teams to get something done?" Joe called out from the back of the group of Marines. Inwardly, he was grinning, but of course his features left no indication that he was playing devil's advocate here by voicing the concern of many Marines who had not worked with the Fleet.

Amy heard the complaint and looked over at its source. It was a PFC, of course; the lower ranks always had trouble seeing the bigger picture. Still, it was a bit of a blow to Amy, who already had enough on her plate. "Look," she said. "I understand that you Marines have the idea that you don't need us, but regardless of how skilled you think you are we'll still be working together. We can either resist and make it impossible for us to accomplish tasks, or we can train to at least know how not to run into each other when we get into a fight."

There was a moment of silence during which Michael leveled a stern gaze in the direction of PFC "Tommy". The whole point of the exercise was to foster cooperation between the two departments, not greater competition. While Michael and the commander had come to a sort of mutual understanding as to how the session would most likely play out, he also knew he would not have tolerated such an outburst from any other member of his detachment and PFC "Tommy" was no exception. "You heard the lieutenant, private," Michael said sharply, "and that goes for everyone here. I want you all to forget everything you've ever heard about marines versus fleet personnel...throw it all away. We are all Starfleet personnel, we all serve the Federation, and as of this moment, we are all members of the Yorktown's crew. It's time we start acting like it."

"Sir, yes, Sir!" Joe chorused with the rest of the Marines, noting it took only a moment longer for the security team to join the acknowledgement of the order. Good, he thought. Better a little slow than they not acknowledge him at all. Now, let's see how they do when we actually get going. "What's our mission, Sir?" Joe asked.

"Modern starships are designed with several offensive and defensive systems to protect against external or internal threats that could bring harm to their crews," Michael said as he continued to shift his gaze back and forth between the two groups, "Our primary goal should always be to solve such conflicts diplomatically and to minimize escalation through the use of violence. Centuries of experience has taught us this is not always possible. Starships can be boarded, facilities can be infiltrated, the lives of personnel and civilians can be threatened."

"When those threats come, it's our job to minimize and eliminate them," Amy said, smoothly continuing where Watters had left off. "One of the most dangerous things a crew can face is being boarded; intruders can gain opportunities to target unprepared crewmen or even civilians, and skilled intruders can even attempt to wrest control of the ship. Today, we'll be training under such a circumstance: the Yorktown has lost her shields, and two raiders have forcibly docked and boarded. We have to repel the intruders and find a way to detach their ships so that we can make the jump to warp and escape."

The outline Lieutenant Owens had just given was intentionally vague so as not to give anyone too much prejudice going into the exercise. There were several different ways this scenario could play out depending on how people reacted to each situation and overconfident anticipation would only hinder their efforts. Michael surveyed the assembled personnel for a moment before asking, "Are there any questions?"

As the expected chorus of "No, Sir!" faded, Amy nodded. "Let's get to work," she said confidently.

OFF

A Joint Mission Post by:

Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer & Second Officer
USS Yorktown

First Lieutenant Michael Watters (PNPC)
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Yorktown
Played by: Capt Naros

and

Lieutenant Amanda Owens (PNPC)
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Yorktown
Played by: LtCmdr Thompson