Final Preparations

Posted on Sat Oct 12th, 2024 @ 12:35am by Lieutenant Commander Alexander Espersen & Captain Natalya Markova

Mission: Doing What We Do Best
Location: Armory
Timeline: 40 minutes to battle

About an hour had passed since the Captain had informed the seniormost crewmembers of the their impending encounter with pirates in defense of a Dashian freighter. Their ETA was forty minutes.

For some, this was plenty of time. For others, hardly at all.

For Alexander Espersen, it was an opportunity to make sure his people were ready.

In the Armory, he saw Security Officers and Marines alike preparing for boarding operations, the former in defense of the Dashians, the latter on offense on the pirate ship.

It didn't take long to spot the Marine CO, even if she stood half a foot under most of the others in the room, Alexander included. He moved through the crowd to stand next to her.

"Captain," he said. "How goes the preparations?"

Nat glanced up at the man. A bulk of the prep for the Marines had been done in the barracks. Here, the final touches were being tended to. "We have a plan." She said, with a smile. "Ozcanian is gonna take half the unit and hit Engineering. Gunny, myself, and the rest will hit the bridge. One of us should be able to shut down main power before the pirates decide the ship is lost, and activate a self-destruct."

Most people would have at least paused, considering the possibility of their own demise in a cloud of matter/anti-matter vapour. For all of Nat's demeanour, it was just another Tuesday.

"What else do you need?" he asked plainly. "Forty minutes until arrival. What can the rest of us do to make sure you're at 110%?"

Nat shrugged. "I got my Marines, I got my trusty tactical vest, and of course I got my Mark 3 Phaser rifle. I'm good." She cocked her head slightly, looking at him. "You don't seem convinced."

The bustle around them continued. Nat sighed and took his arm, leading the two of them to a corner of the room. "What?" At just over thirty minutes out, she needed to get back to her team.

His sigh matched hers.. “Look, I really do just want to make sure your team gets everything it needs. And…fine, I’m worried. Last encounter the ship had with a hostile force of unknown composition, we came home two crew members fewer. It’s not happening again today.”

Nat's eyes stayed on his, yet her vision went slightly out of focus as she saw the faces. More than just the two crew. "I am very aware." Her voice wasn't harsh, but it carrian edge, sharp enough to cut. "I also remember what happened the last time I set foot on a pirate ship." The look on the Major's face as she opened the outer airlock door was still there. "No one's being killed today, Commander. Unless some pirate grunt decides not to surrender."

“Good,” he said, his own edge in his tone. “With Valleroy on his own mission I expect I’ll be at or near Tactical. We’ll be at the ready with fire support, as you call it in. I’ll let you get back to your team then.”

Nat gave the man a nod, and watched as the XO made his leave. She frowned slightly at the sudden concern for her well-bring. Was it just their recent losses? She shook her head to dismiss the thought. She didn't need any distractions. She had a combat mission to focus on.