Meeting the General
Posted on Mon Jul 8th, 2019 @ 12:43pm by Major Cornelius Tremble & Brigadier General Francis 'Judge' Sobel & Captain Ir'dama
Edited on on Mon Jul 8th, 2019 @ 9:47pm
1,391 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Episode 7 - Home Again
Location: Marine Country - Empok Nor
Timeline: MD006 0900
Neil was waiting.
He wasn’t surprised, but it didn’t make his nerves any easier. It’s not everyday you get an order to ‘call upon the Commanding General’ at your earliest convenience. Which was Marine speak for get your rear end over here and wait until someone remembered you were there and thought to ask if he wanted to see the Lieutenant. Brigadiers General were powers onto themselves.
And there was the problem of keeping his uniform unwrinkled. Advanced materials only went so far, so he’d been standing for close to an hour before the General’s aid stuck her head out of a door and told him, “Alright, he’ll see you now Lieutenant.”
“Aye aye, ma’am,” Neil acknowledge and marched into the Brigadier’s office. The room looked more like a field office then anything. The furniture was meager and slightly mismatched and the walls had screens occupying most of their surface area.
Behind a large desk, sat Brigadier Francis N.M.I. Sobel who looked up at Neil’s approach.
Stopping the prescribed distance of 45 cm. in front of the brigade commander’s desk, Neil saluted crisply and stated, “Lieutenant Cornelius Tremble reporting as ordered, sir!”
Sobel returned the salute and told him, “At ease, Lieutenant. He stood, looked Neil over carefully then looked at his aide de’ camp. “Well Captain, he looks like a Marine.” Then he gestured at a PADD on his desk and said, “And, based on the records, you act like a marine. At least most of the time.”
Neil didn’t say anything, deciding it hadn’t been a question as he shifted into parade rest.
Frank looked him over then said, “The Pioneer’s Counselor… Lieutenant Ovaa? Cleared you for duty?”
Neil nearly ground his teeth at the Counselor’s name, but kept his composure. “Yes sir.”
Sobel seemed to catch something from Neil’s tone and he looked closely at him. “You’re related to Adolphus Tremble?”
“My father, sir.” Neil replied, though he knew it was in his file.
“I served with him,” the brigadier said, thoughtfully. “He was a very good marine.”
“So I gather sir,” Neil replied.
“And he was a huge pain in the ass too. You seem to take after him in both regards,” Sobel said.
Again Neil said nothing.
Chuckling then, Sobel said “At ease, Tremble. And take a pew. You’re making me feel inadequate standing there like a monument.”
Neil moved a step to the left and slid into the chair, regarding the General as the man spoke. “Since I’m technically in command of the Task force marines as well, I wanted to meet one of the latest mustangs in the core. You’re an officer now and seem to be doing well. Malbrooke didn’t have any major complaints with the Cure and you’re learning what you need to be an officer.”
That being said, I will be holding an Brigade Mess in the near future and you will be invited, along with a guest. And the guest part is required, by the way. I want my officers well rounded socially. You know everything in the corp is a test, one way or another, don’t you Neil?”
At Sobel’s joking tone, Neil cracked a wry grin and said, “Yes sir. That bit was drilled into my at a very young age.”
“With your father, I can imagine. He was my DI when I went through OCS,” Sobel related.
Nobel leaned back in his chair, his eyes glancing past Neil toward the Vulcan aid de camp. “The other thing you need to take away from this meeting is that the Commandant and Fleet has signed off on upgrading the Cure with a mobilized designator and issuing you the with Mark IV, MARVEL-EAS, formally known as SCARS. Your shuttle will also receive an upgrade package as well and the Pioneer will be modified to take a Morgue for the suits.”
Neil thought that over and then said, “Aye aye, sir. “What about training? Are we getting a dedicated school or on the fly?”
“Holo training in house, I’m afraid,” Sobel said. “As much as I’d like to get you over to Camp McCoy, your people earned some leave and the Pioneer probably shouldn’t be without her detachment for very long. Along with that, cycling people through training with Company J of the 385th isn’t in the cards either. However, we will be taking yourself and three others through a crash course here on the station. Four days for familiarization and train the trainer coursework. The remainder gets done in the holo decks as you can fit it into your duties.”
There wasn’t much to say, really. Neil knew that any questions he might have weren’t really something he should bother the general with. The decision to upgrade the Cure had been made and it was up to him to make it happen smoothly.
“Aye aye sir. When do we start?” Neil asked.
Nodding, the General said. “Eager, I do appreciate that, Neil. Two days from now you and three of yours will undertake the training. Sorry to cut your shore leave up, but..”
“Requirements of the service. I understand it sir,” Neil replied.
Nodding again, Nobel stood and held out his hand, “Very nice to meet you Lieutenant. Unfortunately, I’ve got other things that need my attention, so I’ll let the Captain get the details and then you can enjoy what bits of your shore leave you can.”
Neil slid from the chair and shook the general’s hand, then followed Captain Ir’dama from the general’s office.
The Vulcan led him to her desk and sat down, “All I’ll need from you Lieutenant are the personal who will be getting the training.”
Neil frowned, he hated screwing up his people’s leave as well. “Captain, is there any way it can be me who takes the training. My people have more than earned a break. I know the upgrade’s important to the corp…”
The Vulcan studied the Lieutenant and considered his request. “Very well, Lieutenant. Since you have experience as an NCO and your unit has detachment status, I’ll approve it. But you’ll need to hold training for your cadre first, then have them teach the rest of the Cure.”
“Yes ma’am, I thought I’d take my Fire team leaders through it first and then go from there.”
Nodding, Captain Ir’dama made some notes and then told him. “I sent the details of your training to you. You’re dismissed back to the general duties of the Pioneer and or shore leave as Captain Malbrooke sees fit.”
Neil saluted, and Captain Ir’dama, stood and returned the salute. She watched Neil leave, then headed back into the General’s office.
Sobel looked up as she entered and asked, “Did you get Tremble squared away?”
She nodded and then he asked, “Alright Ir’dama. What did you think of our Lieutenant?”
The Vulcan thought for a moment, then said. “What I expected from his file, sir. You were correct in that he asked for permission to go through the training himself and let his detachment have their leave.”
“No big shock there,” Sobel said.
“I do think the assessment of his social skills within the officer corp is going to be the test. He’s had little or no opportunity for that,” the Vulcan said. “As we have discussed sir. I don’t think meeting him face to face has changed any impressions in that regard.”
“Right,” Sobel said. “Well, maybe all this won’t go to hell before we hold the mess. Continue planning it and we’ll go from there. Now, lets go over the latest from Camp McCoy and go over those action reports.”
A Joint Post By
Brigadier General Francis Sobel
Commanding Officer, 258th Starfleet Marine Expeditionary Brigade
Empok Nor
Captain Ir'Dama
Aide De Camp, 258th Starfleet Marine Expeditionary Brigade
Empok Nor
First Lieutenant Cornelius Tremble
Marine Commanding Officer, USS Pioneer
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