A Matter Of Honor
Posted on Tue Jun 3rd, 2014 @ 12:15pm by James Holbridge & Marine Captain Quentin Harrison & Major David Lorenz
Edited on on Tue Jun 3rd, 2014 @ 12:16pm
Mission: Breaking New Ground
EN ROUTE TO GARETH IV
FOUR DAYS AFTER THE EVENTS ON SOLARIA STN
Jim was on the bridge of the Ghost, quietly reflecting on the past few days' events. Kieran had been finally captured and neutralized and was back at Starbase 900, answering for his many crimes. The crew of the Ghost were excited to learn that Wyatt Holbridge had been alive and well on a remote part of Risa for the last three weeks, undergoing a regimen of mental and physical therapies to undo the horrors he had been subjected to.
Jim was now thinking about what had occurred between Quentin and his wife. He had told Tricia that she was forgiven and she was, and so was Quentin, yet something would not let Jim cut the matter loose from his mind. "Quentin, come to the bridge, please," Jim said, exhaling a sigh.
Quentin breezed into the bridge, a smile on his bearded face. "Ye sent for me?"
"Sit down," Jim said quietly.
Quentin sat, taken off guard by Jim's quiet manner. "Is there something on your mind, boss?"
Jim looked right at Quentin. "I know I told you that we were all good with what happened between you and Tricia, and I mean it. With everything that's happened lately, you seem to have made yourself very indispensable to both the corporation and Nebula Gold Security Group."
"Thank ye, sir."
Jim held up his hand. "How long has it been since you have been home?"
"A few years, to be sure."
Jim nodded. "After we secure Wyatt's release, I want you to take a ship home and get some downtime."
"Ye cannae be serious, Jimmy!" Quentin was barely able to contain his surprise. He launched himself out of the chair only to come to a halt as he stood. "I have proven meself time and..."
"Don't start with me!" Jim held up his hands. "You are a valuable member of this team and company."
"Then why in the name o' Christ am I being sent to the shithouse?" Quentin demanded.
"We are all taking some downtime..."
"Bullshit!" Quentin roared. "Ye want me in the Alpha Quadrant so that I dinnae have me way with yer bonnie lass again! I gave me word, Jimmy-boy, Tricia and I are done; but ye cannae trust her or me on the same starbase, even one as monstrous as 900?!?!?"
Jim's eyes narrowed. "I am not deactivating you because of that!" Jim's voice was acidic. "I'm giving you some time off because of how you helped Captain Hawke! I was thinking maybe you and she could hook up, ya muscle-bound idiot!"
The doors opened and Dave Lorenz wandered into the room. "I could you dummies shouting down in the galley! What the hell is going on?"
"Paranoid Pete Harrison thought I was benching him for schtupping my wife!" Jim pointed at Quentin.
"Believe me, big man, Tricia has screwed around on him more than once, only when he was younger. Now, he's an ugly old man with a withered pecker and his wife stays with him only because she has a cushy job. Love ain't got nothin' to do with it!" Dave's grin was spread across his face.
"Both of you can kiss my ass!" Jim returned his friends' grins. "Now that I have you here, I need to get you all working on some training doctrine for the teams we put together. I am 200% sure that the colonials, explorers, treasure-hunters, and hare-brained archaeological expeditioners that want to poke around the Delta Quadrant will want competent security team escorts. That is why I increased our fighter requisition to forty and our gunabout request to twenty. I am sure this ship has ample internal volume, so we are going to begin modifying her into a covert carrier for extended deployments of six months or more."
"What about personal security?" David asked.
"Ever hear of Major Maxim Kamarov?" Jim asked.
"Aye, I have. He's the bloke that replaced Dave as the Marine XO. Good man, has a head for organizational detail and planning." Quentin answered.
"That's the guy. I got this communique from my wife that says he resigned from the Corps and has been organizing NGSC back at HQ. Several dozen Archadians have applied for the first round of training..."
"Put that Kiriana bitch into the course!" Dave snorted.
Jim gave Dave an amused look. "Sure thing, buddy!"
"What's the matter, Davey?"
"Not one more word about me and her or I'll murder you all in your sleep!" Dave warned.
Quentin stifled a laugh. "He's just mad because he was used!"
"Okay, enough, you idiots!" Jim raised a hand, to signal the end of the shenanigans. "The Archadian women will be run through the course just like any other recruit. We run em through what amounts to Marine basic, with some SOCOM tactical and weapons classes thrown in. The fliers we accept will have to have proven prior experience. I am not wet-nursing new pilots through a training course. I want you two to get busy on the models we use for training. I want emphasis put on species capability and other limiting factors. Also, we aren't going to have a gigantic military service so we are limiting or personnel to one hundred operators. Questions?"
"Why the hell are you still alive?" Dave asked.
"Kiss my ass. Dismissed!"
TBC
a post by
Nebula Gold Security, LLC
A Bunch Of Ex-Fleet Officers
