One Fine Morning

Posted on Fri May 27th, 2011 @ 9:09am by Major Maxim Kamarov

KAMAROV FAMILY QUARTERS
DECK 14
(Six hours prior to "Meeting The Professor)

Most families aboard Starbase 900 were housed in civilian quarters, or in whatever level quarters their mates were, i.e. junior or senior officers. Maxim and his family enjoyed senior officer status and were assigned to very spacious quarters on Deck 14. The suite of rooms included a spacious living room, dining room, secure study for Maxim, and kitchen on the main floor. Several rooms for the children, Maxim and Natalya, plus a hobby/game room for the family were on the next level. A green house sat on the top level, providing fresh veggies and oxygen. All in all, it was one of the nicest homes Maxim had been issued during his career, much better than the quarters his family had endured on the Klingon Homeworld.

Maxim heard the computer alarm blaring and immediately swore in Russian. "I just got to bed, love!" he growled playfully as Natalya pressed her warm body to his. He wrapped his powerful arms around her and was rewarded with a purr.

"Remember Maxim Iosefovich, this is how we acquired all of our children!" she whispered, exposing her neck for a nuzzle. Maxim lowered his head and kissed her neck, enjoying the shiver from her that it produced....

The doors opened and little Feliks Kamarov came into the bedroom, unaware of his parents burgeoning need. "Mama, I was in the kitchen making some breakfast when Iosef and Nina came in and called me a 'little Cossack kisser'!"

Maxim moaned into his wife's neck, keeping his body pressed against Natalya's back, feeling her wiggle her rear end in an attempt to keep him aroused. "You are a Cossack kisser, my son," Maxim explained in Russian. "Your mother and I are descendants of the Kurgans, the meanest, fiercest of all the Cossacks. You are a Kurgan as well, little one, which makes you a Cossack kisser!"

The boy's eyes brightened and a smile lit up his face. "Thank you, papa!" The boy turned and left the room. Maxim leaned over his wife's bare shoulder and grinned. "Where were we?"

Natalya turned to face her husband. "We were about to make love, but with the children up and trying to kill each other, this will have to be quick!" She shifted position again and smiled at her husband invitingly.

45 MINUTES LATER

Both Natalya and Maxim joined their children in the kitchen, Natalya manning the stove while Maxim herded the kids into their places at the table. Natalya made delicious stacked pancakes with sausages, bacon, and toast while Maxim loaded the younger children's plates and kept them tidy.

"Feodr, Nina, the principal of the school told me you are having trouble with your calculus," Maxim stated, forking sausage into his mouth. "Is it a problem I can help with?"

"Nyet, papa," Feodr replied. "It's not the work itself, it's the class. There is no challenge in playing with numbers. One cannot change the universe by finding transverse roots of equations."

Maxim smiled to himself, knowing how his oldest son felt. The boy was approaching manhood and feeling the burning of his hormones. Perhaps it was time to speak to him about a possible career in the Corps. "Son, have you considered a career as a Marine, like me?"

The doors to the Kamarov home hissed open, admitting Sergeant-Major Woodard. "God no! Who in their right mind would want to be a mindless officer in the Marines?"

"Nobody asked you!" Maxim shot back.

"Good morning, Hanley!" Natalya smiled at her husband's right-hand man. "I have your plate ready!"

"Thank you, ma'am!" Woodard smiled, then addressed the children. "How are my troops today?"

The children all grinned at the older man and chimed in with choruses of "Good, Uncle Woody!"

"You need to get married, Hanley!" Natalya scolded as she sat down next to him. "A woman in your life would do you a world of good."

"And save on our food expenses!" Maxim grinned.

Woodard favored his boss with a "kiss my ass" stare, then began to devour his food. "Who needs a wife when I already have a family, yours!"

"There is such a thing as too much of your company, sergeant-major!" Kamarov grinned.

"Then transfer me!" Woodard grinned. You can't run this outfit without me and you damn well know it! Right, Feliks?"

"Da, uncle!" Little Feliks answered.

Maxim smiled at his boy. "Cossack kisser!"

Woodard leaned over and whispered something to the boy. "Marine lummox!" Feliks replied.

"Eat your food, young man!" Natalya scolded.

20 MINUTES LATER

The children were all off to school or in their playrooms. Maxim, Natalya, and Woodard sat in the living room, sipping coffee and orange juice. "I read our Intelligence summaries, major, and they are for shit! Whoever was in charge of Intel before the new chief didn't have their heads in the real universe. Our Threat database has gaps in it big enough to drive a Puller through."

Maxim nodded. "If I am going to get the rapid deployment force ready for action, I need up-to-date reliable intelligence. Send the new chief, I think Hawke is her name, a request for data; better yet, pay her a visit."

Woodard scowled. "Sir..."

"Don't make me order you, Woody."

"Aye aye, sir!"

Natalya changed the subject. "What is your primary concern, love?"

Maxim sipped his coffee. "My main concern is what I don't know. We are in a very small area with races that don't like the Federation. What I do know is that some of Captain Janeway's interactions with various species in the Delta Quadrant have been transformed into a lot of conjectural bullshit about how Starfleet interacts with other cultures. There are mindsets at work here that I am not familiar with and that troubles me."

Natalya rubbed her husband's BDU covered leg. Maxim hated Starfleet duty uniforms, except for the duty vest variant, and had made the Marine urban camouflage BDU utility the standard uniform of his troops, unless they were on Ops duty. "It is impossible to know all things about everybody, Maxim."

"My darling, you know that is bullshit. You know all there is to know about me!"

"You're too easy!" Natalya grinned.

Maxim swatted his wife's leg playfully.

"I share your concern, sir," Woodard said seriously. "I think until we get a broader mission definition, we should keep the troops at plus-ten and keep the secure areas on the base at level-3." "Plus Ten" denoted an alert level that required all Marines to be ready for combat within ten minutes of notification while Level 3 security denoted a manual check of any and all authorizations pertaining to secured storage and flag officer access.

"Make goddamned sure you let Brooke know!" Maxim said firmly. "The CoS is our biggest ally on this station."

"Point taken, sir. This brings me to a situation. The animosity between Marines and Starfleet is an issue that has come up in the past few hours. Three Marines and seven Starfleet noncoms were in an altercation in the anti-gravity gym..."

"Seven Starfleet noncoms?" Maxim grinned. "The Marines here are motivated!"

"Still major..."

Maxim waved a hand dismissively. "Article 15 them and keep them occupied for a couple of days."

"Done. Time to get going, sir. Natalya, thanks for the food!" Woodard stood up

"I will be home later, Nat,"

Natalya smiled. "Good, maybe we can pick up where we left off?"

Maxim nodded as Woodard rolled his eyes.

The pair left the Kamarov home. Maxim looked at Woodard as they made their way to a lift. "Why aren't you married?"

"Too fucking ugly, sir!" Woodard replied, relishing the use of profanity.

"No argument here!" Maxim grinned as they entered a lift.

"Up yours, major!"

"Marine Command Center!" Maxim ordered, and the doors shut quietly.

A Post by:

Major Maxim Kamarov
CO, VI MEF; 3d Marine Exp. BGDE; 3d Marine REG
Starbase 900

&

Sergeant Major Hanley "Woody" Woodard (PNPC)
NCOIC, VI MEF; 3d Marine Exp. BGDE; 3d Marine REG
Starbase 900