More Marines

Posted on Wed Sep 22nd, 2021 @ 4:12am by Gunnery Sergeant Reishi Hijani

Mission: The Boneyard Heist
Location: Marine Deck

Sgt. Leland 'Lee' Imlay stepped off the shuttlecraft with his ruck slung over his shoulders. He stepped to the side and allowed his three marine companions, two Lance Corporals and a Private First Class disembark the shuttlecraft. He grounded his ruck on the deck and looked around. All he saw was a few Fleet enlisted personnel performing duties.

In a shadowed corner, what seemed to be a part of the shadow detached and came out, an asian marine walking over casually, hands behind her back, "I was wondering how long it would take you to get here." She said in terse, clipped tones, "The rest of us arrived yesterday." Her eyes looked first the sergeant, then the corporals and finally the PFC up and down as if to evaluate them.

Lee and his fellow marines went to parade rest as the female Gunnery Sergeant caught their attention. Lee kept his eyes front as he sounded off. "Gunnery Sergeant, First Squad, Second Platoon, Bravo Company, Second Battalion, Fifth Marines reports!"

A very slight smile crossed her face as she spread her own legs to a perfect at ease position, "Bravo." She said quietly, "Welcome aboard the USS Chimera. I am Gunnery Sergeant Reishi Hijani. None of you know me and there's a reason for that: I was the recon element in Bravo team of the Raiders a month ago before I decided it was time for something new. My family has been a part of the Marines since the Federation instituted them, though I'm the first to take the enlisted route. My grandfather was That Lieutenant General Hijani, yes." Her eyes raked over the four, then speared one of the two lances "Corporal. take these two and report to Corporal Andrews on Deck Five, Section three. He'll get your quarters assigned until the Captain arranges for our own section of the ship. Sergeant, you stay."

The lower enlisted took their gear and departed like good marines with a purpose. Lee stood there at parade rest. He had the thought there was not going to be time to ease into the flow of things, but rather he and probably the entire detachment would be hitting the ground running.

With a visible effort, Reishi brought herself back up and took a couple steps towards him, "Sergeant Imlay, twenty-two and already a sergeant." She walked around him, "What makes you so special, Leland?"

Lee kept his eyes forward as he held his rigid parade rest. He spoke in a clear voice. "Gunnery Sergeant, I am not particularly special. I have been in the Corp since I was 17. My team received our transfer orders yesterday to report to the Chimera. The BC (Battalion Commander) secured us transport as soon as possible."

"Sergeant within three years, Squad Leader for the last year." She took the high points from his file from memory, "What do you see in your future, Sergeant? A Sergeant-Majors slot? A trip to OCS to become an officer? Or do you just desire to be a Marine, a troop sent out to get into the mud and the blood?"

Lee felt a chuckle escape his throat. "Gunnery Sergeant,
the real stuff always happens at the company level. Becoming a Sergeant Major or *mock shudder* going to the dark side...not for me. I just want to make it to First Sergeant. I mean...Diamond is trump in my book."

Rei stopped in front of him again, looking him over once more, "For the love of... Relax, Leland, I'm not going to rip off your left testicle and shove it up your ass for no reason at all." Finally a smile crossed her face, "After all, you are the second squad leader here. You're not just here to be a grunt, you're here to think as well. And to learn. Besides, officers aren't all that bad, the good ones at least."

Lee did relax at Reishi's permission. He gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I know all officers aren't bad Gunny. Just saying that spending another four years in school just to serve in the Marine Corp wasn't for me. Besides, even the officers know we NCOs are the backbone of the Corp."

"The good ones do, the bad ones don't." Rei agreed, "And the Skipper of the ship should be one of the good ones. She started off as one of us before turning officer. I rescued her once about fifteen years ago, after she was shot down while flying an assault shuttle. Calypso Skyie is good people, Sarge, even if she did turn into a Fleetie."

Lee gave the information regarding Cally some thought before nodding. If the Gunny was vouching for the Captain, that was good enough for him. "What about our own CO? Which to whom I should probably report to as I stow my gear."

“Don’t know much about her yet.” Rei admitted with half a shrug, “She seems a good sort, but nothing I’ve been able to find indicates she’s in a fast track upwards or heading down a black hole. Lieutenant Markova should be okay, provided we NCOs make sure to hand her the troops ready to go.”

Lee nodded. "Copy that." He bent down and retrieved his ruck sack. "Well, I best get my gear squared away. Do I need to report to the El-Tee or is checking in with you sufficient there Gunny?"

“I’m sufficient, but it wouldn’t hurt to do it anyways.” Rei judged, “Besides, if I go down, you’d be Top next and we don’t want to have any flaps in the chain of command if we don’t need to.”

"Roger that." Lee slung his ruck over his shoulder. "I will report to the El-tee once I square away my team and gear."

Rei nodded and let the slight smile fade from her face, wouldn't do for anyone else to see that she could do it, "Then, Sergeant, be about it."