Null and Void
Posted on Tue Sep 22nd, 2020 @ 11:46am by Major Cornelius Tremble & Corporal Tyrigus Fry
Edited on on Tue Sep 22nd, 2020 @ 12:35pm
1,249 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Episode 10 - New Home, Same Pioneers
Location: Starbase Sirius, Assembly Area One/Echo Company 3rd Platoon DRP (Deep Reconnaissance Platoon)
Timeline: MD009 1100 hrs
Corporal Tyrigus Fry stepped into the commander’s office and saluted as Captain Tremble looked up from his desk. The skipper’s face looked lined and tired and scuttlebutt was that Ms. Tallida had bailed on him without a word, disappearing during the last operation.
Fry’s thoughts on Tremble’s personal life flitted away as the Captain spoke. “At ease, Corporal. Take a pew. Tremble said and Fry slipped into the leather and wooden framed chair on the right side facing the captain without a word.
“Evaluation time, and the short and sweet of it is you’re doing a good job Corporal. Looks like your coursework is up to speed and you’re on the path to make Sergeant in a year or so.”
The captain’s hand lifted and waggled, “Barring the normal fleet and corp red tape. Beyond that, good job on the gift shop. It should be an interesting addition to Pioneer’s marine country.”
Fry shook his head wryly at that and said, “I don’t know sir. Seems an odd thing.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more. However, I think it will add something to game night and offer visitors something a bit softer to the Detachment. Especially with the Fleet types insisting on adding kids to manifest. Though I still prefer the drones.”
Fry chuckled dutifully and found the captain’s eyes on him and he froze slightly when he said, “Yes, laugh at your Captain’s joke. Because it was a joke right. He couldn’t possibly mean that using Vyp-r mines or Skitters on small children is a good idea.”
The thraggling guy was a mind reader.
Tyr didn’t say anything, following the axiom that when all else fails you, shut up.
Neil sighed then and flicked one of his hands, “Maybe part of my brain does think that, but some things just have to remain locked away. At any rate, as far as I’m concerned, you’re a good marine. You did really well on the last mission and you’re on good footing for your next promotion. How are you feeling about the Cure and serving aboard Pioneer, Corporal?”
Fry relaxed slightly in his chair and gave that some thought before saying, “The Cure’s a good unit sir. I don’t have a problem with anyone…but we do seem understaffed. Loses are loses, but some of the teams have had holes for a while.”
Neil nodded. “Aye, I know. With us being at the tip of the spear, it’s not for everyone and Pioneer is a volunteer only berth, as you know.”
“Yes sir, I get that,” Fry said, “But it still stretches things. We all know it but…
“But, you’re showing that you are thinking like a leader who also knows that if you don’t say something, you really don’t know that the word’s gone out,” Tremble said approvingly, if somewhat cryptically.
“Yes sir,” Tyr said, grinning now.
“Well, I’m glad you brought that up,” Neil said, a wolfish smile running over the CO’s face. “What can you tell me about Corporal Andrew Shy”
Fry walked into the assembly area for Echo Company’s third platoon DRP (Deep Reconnaissance Platoon) on Sirius station and looked around. A bored looking Corporal of the Guard approached and Tyr identified himself to the Bolian, then asked “anNoid Shy around?”
The Bolian grinned and yelled out, “He’s in his quarters corporal, let me call him out there. You really don’t want to go in there unless you’re armed…or drunk.”
Fry grinned and waited. Looking around the squad bay which only held a handful of people, he thought maybe the skipper had the right idea. A gift shop here would be distracting.
A few minutes later a baritone voice called out, “By the fates, Gus. I thought you had died…but maybe it’s just the smell.”
Turning, Tyr saw the familiar face of his friend Andrew Shy break into a grin as they shook hands and Shy introduced Fry around.
Twenty minutes later, the two sat against a bulkhead, sharing stories and drinking from chilled bottles of bug juice. After comparing life in the Detachment to that within the recon platoon, Tyr said, “Speaking of the Cure, Noid. My CO wanted to extend an invitation on the QT.”
“To me?,” the recon corporal asked, surprised. “What…”
“The way I get it,” Tyr told his friend, “Tremble wants an S2 element that hasn’t been washed by the fleet.”
“What about Pioneer’s intel section. I hear they’re good people,” Andrew asked.
Fry shrugged and took a pull from his orange bug juice, “They are. But they’re fleet. Tremble just said he wanted someone in-house.”
The dark skinned human considered that and asked, “I don’t know man. How many Vulcans or Betazoids or the like do you have?”
“There are a couple of people, a combat engineer and pathfinder type in the Cure itself. Then a woman in the intel division,” Fry replied immediately. “You still making people uncomfortable, Noid?”
The other marine made a rude gesture in Gus’s direction then took a pull from his own bottle and said, “Same as always. The telepathic types get all worked up when they meet a Null.”
“Funny. They use their telepathic gifts to read people, but when they hit someone that they can’t read they get all squirmy,” Andrew commented. “And…”
“And they get defensive. I remember,” Fry finished for his friend and Andrew nodded.
“Well, Tremble will smooth it out if he has to. But I can tell you that the people in the Cure really don’t want him to have to. He was a Gunny just a couple of years ago…”
Peering at his friend over his bottle, Andrew asked “Good officer though?”
After an hour, Fry headed back to the Pioneer to continue preparations for the open house that the Cure was hosting and Andrew sat alone, head against the bulkhead considering his friends offer.
Tremble knew how to offer the carrot. Specialist 6 until he made Sergeant and then a review of the Cure’s needs in the Intel field after Andrew had built it. He mostly knew the steps; had been to the advanced intel specialists schools and had a year working in the Company’s intel shop.
But working intel and putting together what amounted to a clearing house for intel that the other intel types on the Pioneer wouldn’t know about tickled him. It also meant that Tremble, would get him hooked into more intel then he currently had access to. Which meant he might be of use to his recon crew and vice versa of course.
Shrugging, he finished off his bug juice and climbed to his feet. Andrew was pretty sure he’d Volunteer, but he needed to find out all he could about Tremble, the Cure and Pioneer first.
A post by
Captain Cornelius Tremble
Marine Commanding Officer/Second Officer, USS Pioneer
Corporal Tyrigus Fry
Rifleman RFT 1, USS Pioneer
Corporal Andrew Gabriel Shy
Intel Specialist/Sigint 3rd DRP, Echo Company, 85th Recon Battalion
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