Taking Command of Bravo Platoon

Posted on Tuesday 22 June 2021 @ 11:54 by 2nd Lieutenant Drakur Redragon & Gunnery Sergeant Alexander Beck

Mission: A Cry from the Darkness
Location: Marine Barracks
Timeline: MD8 0815
1801 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

"Computer, inform all on duty members of Bravo Platoon to report to the Marine Barracks for transfer of command in 15 minutes." Drakur took a deep breath after issuing the command to the computer. He straightened his uniform again and tried to go over the words that he would be speaking in front of everyone. I am 2nd Lieutenant Drakur Redragon, assuming command of Bravo Platoon. That part was simple enough. He didn't want to go through the whole ceremony of a change of command; there was work to be done.

I will be meeting with each of you... That seemed strange to him. He wanted to know each man and woman under his command; he needed to be able to trust them to follow his orders, and he needed them to trust him in return to provide orders that were in their best interest. I will schedule time with each of you to discuss your current...status? training level?...no....

Drakur sighed deeply again. He wasn't a fan of talking; he simply wanted to offer his combat skills to Starfleet. A flash of regret struck through Drakur's mind, but he pushed it back. He would lead these marines, and he would do so successfully. I am scheduling time to meet with each of you individually. I want to know the marines under my command. I look forward to working with you. Dismissed. Simple and to the point. He walked out into the room where he was assembling his platoon and waited for them to arrive.

Pearl heard the summons, and headed to the assembly at a jog, she wasn't going to be late for this. She caught a glimpse of the new 2nd Lieutenant her steps slowing down for a moment and almost crashing into another marine. "Er sorry." she whispered.

"No worries, Princess. Now get into formation, new officer reporting in. " said Beck.

As the last of the members of the platoon filed in, Drakur centered himself in front of them. He hid the remainder of his nervousness and stood at attention. “Platoon, tench-hut! I am 2nd Lieutenant Drakur Redragon, assuming command of Bravo Platoon. I will be scheduling time to meet with each of you individually. I want to know the marines under my command. I look forward to working with you. Dismissed.” It was simple, to the point, much like the man himself., much like the man himself. He let them return to their work. He retired to the platoon commander office and set up the schedules to meet with the members of his platoon.

Beck, as the senior NCO in the platoon, was first, of course. He walked into the new Lieutenant's office and saluted. "Gunnery Sergeant Beck, Alexander T, reporting to the platoon leader as ordered, sir. " he said.

Drakur looked at the PADD as the marine walked in, returning the salute as quickly as he could. It was getting old to him, but he did understand the purpose of ceremony. “Gunnery Sergeant Alexander Beck. Specialist: Sniper. Please, have a seat.” Drakur motioned to the chair.

Beck sat.

“I see you are married and stationed here with your wife and child.” A pang of sadness struck out at Drakur for his own wife, but he dismissed it before it reached the surface. “According to your file, you were injured, but it has no bearing on your capabilities. You are an exceptional marksman as well. Your previous assignments are classified, so I won’t pry into them. Is there anything I need to know?”

"No sir. Should it become necessary for me to divulge any of those classified assignments I will do so. Most of it is just operational knowledge of some things Starfleet would rather be kept quiet, if you take my meaning, sir. " said Beck.

"That I do. It's a concept I'm becoming increasingly familiar with. Now, you are one of the most senior enlisted marines in the platoon. You have more experience here, both in the Corps and on this ship. Is there anything I need to be aware of in the platoon or with any of the other marines? I would also like this to be a recurring conversation between you and I. You will hear and know things about the others that they won't tell me or that won't reach my ears for whatever other reason; would that be a possibility?"

Drakur knew that he held rank, but it didn't much matter in the face of experience. It was a curiosity that Drakur had found with Starfleet, how a man like himself with some more schooling would be placed in charge of men like Beck, men who had arguably seen more than the average officer coming out of the Academy. But that was a philosophical discussion for a different day. He needed to know if the man before him would be willing to help in that capacity; willingness may not have been required, but it still made things easier.

"Of course, sir. Any time you want to discuss things in the platoon, just say the word. At the moment we don't have any problem children. Major Scarlet runs a pretty tight unit. Our guys and girls are rowdy and always up for a fight, but they're solid professionals and they'll do the job without any hesitation. You can trust them. Mind some advice from an old NCO? " asked Beck.

"I would certainly not be opposed to it," Drakur replied. "Experience is the best teacher."

"Don't be afraid to lean on me, especially right now. You are the head, I'm your right arm. You're new, so you're trying to find your feet here. Let me handle the day to day of running the platoon, while you get to know the men. Once you've found your feet you will know what to do and what you need to know. It'll come to you. They'll try to test you, to see what they can get away with. That's just how Marines are. I did it myself in my younger days, and more than once I was bounced around the mats by the platoon sergeant. They're a rowdy bunch, but in combat I'd rather have no one else at my back. Just don't try to micromanage them and you'll be okay. " said Beck.

"Excellent. I appreciate that. I don't believe in micromanagement; everyone here is an adult and can do what needs to be done. I will simply provide the direction. I'm very pleased to have a marine like you under my command, particularly in the position that you are in. I won't waste any more of your time, if you have nothing else?

"No sir. Just give me the orders, and I'll make sure they're carried out. All of our NCOs are top notch. You've inherited a platoon of hard chargers. If you observe any of them stepping out of line, let me know and I'll deal with them. Other than that, sir, they're all yours. " said Beck.

"Then you are dismissed."


---------------------

Drakur awaited the next of his arrivals, a problematic (if the file were to be believed) Lance Corporal.

With a pounding heart, Pearl took her turn into the office, she felt like a kid going to the principal's office, "Hello sir." she meekly said taking a seat. She felt immensely nervous and didn't know why.

“Lance Corporal Pearl Bijoux. According to your file…well, I’m sure you know what’s in here.”

Pearl nodded, "yes I am quite aware of what it says." giving a bit of a sigh. She didn't quite know what he thought of those records at all.

“I frankly don’t care about the past. I need to be able to trust you to follow my orders when I give them, and I need you to trust me to give the appropriate orders when they are needed. I see that there have been…problems…with previous commanding officers.
How do I earn your trust?”

"You want to earn my trust? I am thinking that, getting to know you while you are not in official mode may just help. I don't know you at all yet, though you seem to be a fair minded person. I'd like to know your background see if you and I can talk at the same level." she looked around at the office. "This.. is to stifling. For someone who is more used to open spaces, I find this." making a circle motion with her index finger, claustrophobic."

Drakur chortled, a wry half-smile appearing on his face before he squashed it behind the decorum expected. He cleared his throat slightly.

"I can certainly understand that. Perhaps we can knock two birds with one stone, as the saying goes I believe. I also need to evaluate combat effectiveness of the platoon. How is your melee combat? Perhaps a spar would serve well?" The file said that it might not be the best of ideas, but he truly needed them all to trust him. How can you follow an order to march towards what could be your death if you didn't trust the man giving it?

Her melee combat? Well he did have a point in asking that, and this was an improvement on her part. She hasn't even made a snarky remark. "You will have to judge my melee performance or and hand to hand techniques for yourself when we get to the mats. A sparring session sounds good to me. This way I can see what you can do as well. Though from your stance, you may know your stuff. And I had best watch out." Pearl smiling but inwardly wincing. Did she sound snarky then? "May I be excused sir? I'd like to get prepared for assessments."

"You are dismissed, Lance Corporal Bijoux. I'll see you on the mats later."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Redragon" Pearl said with a smile, and walked off, thinking that she was going to be in a world of hurt possibly, but smiled about that too.

Drakur sat alone in the office and took a deep breath. He had a good group of marines under his command, soldiers and warriors all. He hoped that he would rise to the occasion, to do them the greatest service he could as their direct commanding officer. He grabbed a PADD from his desk. It was time to evaluate combat effectiveness and prepare the report for his own CO now.

OFF:

| 2nd Lieutenant Drakur Redragon
Platoon Leader
USS Merlin


((>>> Gunnery Sergeant Alexander Beckt
Marine Sniper
USS Merlin


Lance Corporal Pearl Bijoux
Marine
USS Merlin