Meeting the Marine

Posted on Sat May 16th, 2026 @ 9:58pm by Commander Thomas Johnson & Lieutenant Colonel Ashok 'Ash', Son of Norath

3,322 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Flight Of The Valkyries
Location: Marine barracks

Going over a few things in his short time that he had departed, he found they had received a new marine commander. With everything settled as they could for the moment he made his way down to the marine barracks on the ship.

Upon reaching the barracks area of the Marine deck, Commander Johnson would find the atmosphere mixed, as well as the large amount of Marines scattered around the place. Some where in areas training, exercising, and running drills. Others were gathered in groups talking and laughing amongst themselves. It was as if they had little concern for the mission they were about to embark on. Maybe they were just hiding it and were prepared for the outcome, regardless of what it would be.

It took a few minutes, but a Marine soon notices the XO's presence and immediately jogged over. As soon as he came to a stop, he stood and attention and saluted, before dropping his arm and saying. "Private Wedge, Sir. Is there something I can assist the Commander with, Sir?"

"Lt Col Ashok, where is he private?" Thomas replied watching the men. It was a more intense training than starfleet officers went through. With good reason. Although the Marine CO being klingon would most certainly be the better reason.

Private Wedge turned around and pointed to a door along the wall with a makeshift sign that was marked as Marine CO Office. Outside of the door was a little girl with long black hair, sitting down with a small Targ jumping around her as if waiting for something.

"Right there, Sir." Wedge said firmly as he turned back to face the XO with a smile. He hesitated slightly before adding softly. "Just be mindful of the girls Targ. It's harmless, but very protective." He gave a smirk before standing back at attention. "Sir, is that all the Commander needs, Sir?

"Thats everything private, thank you." Thomas replied walking to the door.

As Commander Johnson would approach the door, he would see what all the excitement for the little Targ was all about. The little girl would roll a small ball and the small beast would rush after it, snorting and squealing lightly, before catching up to it and taking it in its mouth. The girl would clap in excitement as the animal would rush back, sliding to a stop, before dropping the ball in front of her as the creature would jump about in anticipation for her to do it again.

Thomas watched as the young klingon child enjoyed her time with the targ. This what being a child meant. But their current status,, with the iconians... this was changing everything. It would only be a matter of time. That being said. He was father to a newborn himself. This was life in the federation, and the little ones they brought into this universe, was his way of keeping things normal.

Finally he rang the chime to the Cols office, and awaited a response.

The sound of the chime stopped the young Targ in its tracks, who immediately let out a high squeal and snort, before charging at the Commander. The little girl quickly reacted as she got to her feet and grabbed the Targ as it tried to run by her. She picked up the Targ, holding it close to her small chest, as she looked up at the man. Her eyes widened, recognizing the Red uniform and what the number of circles on his neck meant. Her father taught her about ranks and uniforms, even introducing her to some from before.

Cirilla seemed hesitant to speak, before finally letting out, in a soft voice. "I'm... I'm sorry, Comm-Comm-Commander. My targ... his name is Hur'q is trying to keep me safe. He doesn't know how important you are... Sir."

"He does know how important you are to the ship, so thats all that matters." Thomas replied as he knelt. "Whats your name?"

The little girl suddenly became shy, holding the targ up to cover her mouth as she lowered her head, hesitant to replied. After a second or two, she lowered Hur'q and spoke. "Cirilla..." She stopped again as she remembered something suddenly. Ciri seemed to mouth a few words before finally speaking again. "Cirilla... Daugther of Ashok of the House of Grandpa.. I mean.. Norath. The House of Norath." She gave a big smile, proud of herself that she remembered to say the whole thing, just like her Grandparents had taught her. As she hugged her targ, rewarding herself, her hair slight shifted, revealing an unexpected detail of her ears. They were pointed. Like a Vulcan... or even Romulan. Cirilla looked up to the Commander with a smile, asking. "What's your name, Sir?"

"Well, my long name is Commander Thomas Johnson, first officer of the federation starship, Tokyo. But you can call me Thomas or Tom."

The door to the Marine CO's Officer slide opened as the tall Klingon stepped out. He looked at Ciri, then noticed the Officer speaking to her. "Commander? Welcome to the Marine Barracks. How may I help you, Sir?"

"We need to talk in private..." Thomas replied as he stood back up.

"Of course." Ash said before gesturing inside. "Right this way, Sir." He soon looked down to Cirilla and said. "Ciri, stay close, alright? We need to get you ready to get off ship soon."

"I know, Daddy." Cirilla replied, before holding up a hand, waving slight as she struggled to keep the targ up with her other hand. "Nice to meet you, Tom. Bye-bye." She immediately placed her had on one of Hur'q small legs and began to move it, to mimic waving. "Say bye bye to Tom, Hur'q. Bye bye." She repeated softly with a smile.

"Bye bye Cirilla." He replied before following him inside. Once inside he turned to the Col.. "I'm going to get to the point. Seeing as you leading the Marine Company here. I've been given command of the Tokyo. The Captain, has had complications with her pregnancy, and is headed to starbase with a 50/50 chance of making it."

Ashok crossed his arms over his chest and let out a deep sigh. "That risk would have been even greater had she stuck to her original plans and stayed on board." He then uncrossed his arms and added in his deep tone. "At least, on the Starbase, she'll have a much better facility and a group of medical officers trained for such emergencies who will do everything they can to ensure her chances of survival increase. At the moment, Commander, our focus should be on the battle at hand. My Marines and I are at the ready. Whatever you need, whether it be on or off ship, consider it done."

"Had no doubt about that. Col, one request however, we are not letting the crew know about the status of the Captain, their minds have enough to focus on. If you could remain silent on her condition to the people onboard."

"How would knowing her condition change anything?" Ashok replied with a curious look on his face. It must have been no secret the Captain was with child, so announcing she would not be on board due to her obvious pregnancy, shouldn't change the mission at hand. If anything, the news, should ignite the crew and make them want to fight even harder. "I can't imagine lying to the crew would be any better. They will notice she isn't here. She is the one who originally decided on this course of action. Not telling the crew why she isn't around for the same battle she planned will only raise suspicion. Wouldn't telling them ease their minds on the matter and ignite their fire to want to see this victory fulfilled for her? To show her she can count on this crew to see something through even when she isn't able to be there for it?"

"Currently she has fifty percent chance of making it, it also means she has the same chance of not making it. That's the part not being mentioned to the crew. Plus it was her wish for the crew not to know. Our chief medical officer is also gone with her. It will raise suspicions I suppose but at the moment, the task at hand needs to be on top of everyone's mind."

"I believe that's a cowards decision, Commander. You've decided how the crew will react without giving them the respect they deserve to react for themselves." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Don't you trust them to make up their own decision how to feel with what's going on with their Captain? Starfleet has trained each and everyone one of them to priorities their mission and the Commanding Officer's orders before their own. My Marines, Sir, would never pull back and abort a mission if I was injured or had fallen in battle. They know like every other member of Starfleet, Marine or otherwise, the mission always comes first. The objective always takes priority, because failure to finish the mission, could mean more than just my life would be lost. This battle... this enemy... cannot be allowed to win this fight. Whether the Captain's there or not, everyone here knows what's at stake, so keeping our crew in the dark shows a lack of respect for them and dishonors their training, Sir. I know this is what you decided, but I still feel it shows a lack of trust in your own crew to hear this news and not prioritize their orders over their feelings for the Captain's status. It's wrong to make the decision for them and assume they won't be able to accomplish the mission otherwise."

"I understand your view Col. At this moment, if there is any chance what so ever that something may become a distraction, no matter how minute it is, I have to take it off the table. A cowards way of thinking. Perhaps, there will be ample time to deal with that after the mission, or if it is in the cards, in stovokor." He paused for a minute. "It does not sit well with me, the crew should know of her situation, but her request, and my duty to the mission, takes priority."

Ashok looked down, letting out a sigh which changed into a small irritated groan. He looked back up to the Commander and replied quickly without thinking. "Considering her original plan was to go into battle with her child at full term and now to hide the truth from her own crew in fear they will lose perspective on the mission at hand, it amazes me she ever made it to Captain with decisions like that." The Klingon grinned slightly, having immediately regretted his words to his Executive Officer and how disrespectful it came out. Taiga obviously earned her rank and position, or else Starfleet Command wouldn't have allowed it to happen, but her recent decisions were certainly in question. "I... apologize, Commander for my words. If you feel it necessary to report my insubordination, I will not argue against it."

"I think you will find that I take no offense to anything you have said. Your view is valid. Trust me, I debated long and hard, whether I should tell the crew." He relaxed a little, "She earned her spot, and then some. For her to leave mid mission, the only way she would do so is if she was on her death bed. Which I have been informed, that she might just be. All I can do is respect her wishes, and make sure I make her proud and get the job done as she would have."

"I am sure Starfleet Command wouldn't have given her the position otherwise." He let out a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest, before speaking in his deep voice, but in a much softer tone. "I was taught, before even stepping foot into the Klingon Academy, to think and fight a certain way. Due to reasons I will not go into, I did not proceed through, but when given an opportunity to be in the Starfleet Marine Corp I decided that this was my chance to prove I was capable of being a warrior. The training seemed familiar, but Starfleet instilled in my a code that was difficult to grasp, but I soon found myself attached to it like a personally maintained blade I had come to rely on to keep me alive. Even though, my instincts tell me to honor my Captain and kill in her name, the part of me that was trained by Starfleet tells me that deceiving my fellow crew is disrespectful and only serves lay seeds of distrust later down the line. If you cannot trust your crew with important information, how can you trust them to do the same for you?"

The Klingon looked away slightly, before locking his eyes back onto the Commander. He stared at him firmly before giving him a slight nod. "I will abide by your orders and the Captain's wishes. Against my better judgement. However, should my men question her status and ask me, you can't expect me to lie to them. I made a promise to never withhold anything and I will not break that. As their Leader... I can not."

"Not asking you to lie, that is dishonourable. The truth will be brought to them, when we can do so without possibility of distraction of the mission."

"But you are, Sir." Ash countered, still speaking in his soft tone. "Lying to them and withholding information is still a means of deceiving them which could still break their trust. The only difference is lying to them about it is giving them false information. Withhold her status is still concealing the facts of what's going on." He slowly uncrossed his arms and looked at the Commander with a uneasy defiant look. "I am afraid we are at an impasse, Commander. I will not freely give out what's going on, but if asked, I will not lie. Reprimand me if you wish, but I will remain firm on this." He looked down to the picture of his daughter, remembering how much he wanted to set a good example for her, even though she was not here. As he looked back to the Commander, he added. "Either way, Commander, me and my men are at your command. Our level of skill won't waiver, no matter the cause. You should expect nothing left."

"Not giving out information is not a lie Col. Its only a lie if someone asks you." He paused. "Lets put it this way, you may look at it differently however. You come up with a plan, to take over an enemy position. Its classified, you are to keep it secret. Someone comes up to you. Asks if what they heard is true and proceeds to give detailed information. Do you deny it. In time the truth will come out, you know. But do you risk even the smallest chance that it distract your people from their mission."

"If I need my men to assist me in capturing that position, why would I lie to them if I am relying on them to help?" Ashok countered quickly. "Furthermore, I've trained these men not to be distracted, so I trust them to move forward with the mission without being distracted because, they know, their mission matters. I've seen, first hand, what they can do. I know, they will not hesitate, because hesitation brings risk. Why are you so convinced your people will get distracted? On that note, how often are you doing to find yourself concerned that they won't be distracted by anything in the next mission? Or the mission after that? Eventually, whether its you or the Captain, you'll have to trust these people not to be distracted and to move forward. If you don't think they are capable of doing that then your should ask yourself are these officers the right one for the job? You can't keep making decisions for them based on whether you think they will be capable of doing their job, because you won't always be there to protect them from that. They will have to rely on their own skills, experienced, and training to decided whether they are strong enough to succeed."

He paused for a moment, looking the man firmly in the eye, before adding calmly. "I know I will not always be there to protect my daughter from harm, so I have to trust the lessons I teach her will provide her with the knowledge and strength to make those decisions on her own, otherwise I have failed her as a father by failing to guide her through the difficulties of life. A great deal of these officers already had parents or maybe still do. We are not here to be their parent and decide what's best for them. We are here to be their leader and trust them to do the jobs they were trained to do by the same people who trained us to do ours before we were given the burden of command." Ashok looked down, letting out a deep breath, as he placed his hand on the desk and added softly. "I must prepare my daughter and her departure and say my good-bye. I need to find a way to explain to her why she can't he here now. You do what you feel you need to do, Sir." He looked up to the Commander and added. "If there isn't anything else?"

"Its been a pleasure Col. Perhaps we can finish this debate at a later time. As I have said, I respect your feelings on the matter, and you being upfront about me about them. I would not ask for anything more. I have my newborn here on ship as well as my wife. They will not be departing the ship prior to our mission. Hard choice considering, but all other family we have, are in the same situation." Turning to leave. "When you and your men are needed, I know you will be there. As will i if the need arises with your men."

Ashok allowed a groan to escape his lips as he placed his palm over his face, as he head shifted downward. He grew tired of these decisions he was witnessing. Another officer, Commander no less, admitting to willingly put his newborn and wife in harms way against an dangerous enemy whose shown no disregard for their lives, nor any hesitation when it came to woman, children, or civilians. Just a strong desire to destroy whatever was in their path. The Captain and the Commander. One who hasn't even held their child in her arms and the other whose child is just beginning their journey at risk of it being cut short should tragedy strike. Parents are meant to protect their offspring. Teach them to handle themselves and fight their own battles when they were strong enough to pick up their own weapon. To pass on their experiences and legacy for them to then pass it one to their children and the next and the next. The Klingon stood there, wondering to himself, whether this assignment was worth the risk. Not to himself or his men, but to his daughter and her well being. To face and enemy like this and insisting that civilians and their families leave for their safety, but not insist the same for your own, is a move that made Ashok regret his current assignment and the future of this ship and crew.

Feeling he said too much, Thomas nodded and left the marine to his duties, his next part was to gather the troops and start this mission.

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