Same Old Song, Different Verse

Posted on Mon Apr 26th, 2010 @ 12:30am by Captain Rodrigo Ramos & Colonel Wilhelm Baron von Hackleberg

1,185 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Preparing The Fleet
Location: Courier Ship Damocles, Starbase Typhon
Timeline: Current

Rodrigo sighed as they left warp. Noone had really said much since he had left their last stop, and the silence wasn't the worst of it. He didn't know why but everywhere he went, it seemed like a piece of him was missing. It wasn't his engagement being broken off. Things hadn't felt right, and he had ended up finding that the docs had been wrong, that he wasn't experiencing Pon Farr, but rather some kinda exotic bug that imitated all the symptoms. There was a sense of loss from having left the Trafalgar, but since the explosion and subsequent move to the new ship, he just hadn't felt at home there anymore.

He stared into space, as he thought back to what the Fleet Command Assignment Depot had told him when he had first reached earth.

*2 years prior*

"We are looking forward to hearing from you in response to your newest assignment." The woman smiled at him as he asked how soon he could expect reassignment aboard a deep space vessel. Then her smile faltered as she realized what he was asking. "Well unfortunately that won't be possible for you, with your, with your ummm, MEDICAL history. That is why you received the assignment as cadre here at Fleet Academy."

Rodrigo had left, taking some personal leave, planning on never coming back, actually. He had been doing some deep sea fishing off the Sea of Japan, when he had heard from an old friend who had joined the Marines instead of Fleet.

Rod jumped when he heard the chirp of his commpanel, and went to answer it, anchoring his line as he did so. When he activated the panel, he was surprised to see Hitori Yashimatsu, an old, old friend. "Hitori! I didn't expect to see or hear from you. The last I heard you were getting ready to take command of your own company of Marines on board the Acheron. Where you at now?"

Hitori chuckled as he took in Rodrigo's appearance. "I would say you look good, but you never could pull off that much facial hair. You look like a man who has been on a deserted island for months and years." His eyes sparkled as he laughed at Rod's grimace. "I heard what happened to you, and I have an offer to make you. You used to be as good as me with hand to hand, what would you say if I told you I could get you back into space, as a Marine Officer?"

*Present Time*

Captain Rodrigo Ramos stretched his legs a bit, as he came to out of his reverie. He turned to look straight into the eyes of his Betazoid pilot, and somehow could feel the man reading him. "Isn't it a bit out of line to be reading someone else s thoughts unless you are a Counselor?" The man smiled, and laughed. "I wasn't so much reading your thoughts, as I was checking your emotional state. You seemed to be very sad for a moment and I was wanting to make sure you were alright." The pilot straightened and continued. "We are on final approach to Starbase Typhon and will be docked in a moment. I came back to tell you, and see if you wanted to disembark there in the bay, or if you would prefer I beam you to the Marine's Duty Office."

Rodrigo smiled and held out his hand. "Yours is the first friendly face I have seen since I left Earth, and I think I would rather show up directly at the Marine's Duty office, if you can swing it."

"Oh I am sure I can manage, let me see what I can do." He turned back and headed to his console, and sat down, with Captain Ramos behind him. "Typhon Docking Control, this is the Courier Ship Damocles. We are requesting permission for direct beam in of Captain Rodrigo Ramos, the new Detachment Commander for the USS Blackhawk, straight to the Marines Duty Office to report in to Colonel Hackleberg."

Wilhelm was in his office getting ready to deploy his regiment when the chime on his door went off. "Enter.." Wilhelm said, as a young marine Captain came into his office. Not recognizing the marine Wilhelm said, "What can I do for you Captain?"

Rodrigo snapped smartly to attention, and saluted. "Captain Rodrigo Ramos, assigned to the USS Blackhawk as Detachment Commander, Sir. I thought it would be in my best interests to report in here first, Sir." Rod calmly waited for the Colonel to acknowledge and return the salute.

Wilhelm returned the salute quickly and said, "From the Blackhawk hmm... Well Captain you really didn't need to report in to me, though I do appreciate it. I'll also give you full access to all of our marine facilities for you and your men and that includes Camp Stonebreaker on Tiberius V, if you want some 'live-fire' time. Are you and your men squared away in the visitor's quarters, or do you wish to stay in the 21st's rooms and barracks?" Wilhelm asked.

"I have not as yet ascertained the state of affairs onboard the Blackhawk as far as my new detachment. I do appreciate the offer of quarters here, but I believe I would be better served by seeing to my command first, Sir. Depending on time restraints before our next mission, I will definitely make good on the offer of Live-fire training, since I for one would like to see first hand what my Marines are capable of." Ramos relaxed a hair. "I was however wondering why the Intel brief attached to my orders was so very short and was wondering what the current objectives and missions are, so that I can better fulfill my duties."

"Well Captain." Wilhelm said, "You've happened to arrive when the whole 21st Regiment will be deployed to root out some mercs and Breen. The rest of the station is repairing and recrewing starships as they come in. If you haven't noticed, it's a trade hub too. Personally, you should concentrate on getting your marines up to par and armed for duty."

Ramos nodded, and reviewed what he had read about his new unit. "I don't feel there will be any issues with getting my men up to par and beyond in a very short amount of time. From what i have read about the previous commander, he ran a tight ship. I expect to be able to continue that. If there was nothing further, Sir?"

"Not that I'm aware of Captain. Welcome to Starbase Typhon." Wilhelm finished then turned back to his pile of PADDS.

Ramos snapped to attention, popped off a quick salute and then turned on his heel to exit. He found his way to the docking berth for the Blackhawk, and then quickly requested permission to board and went looking for the ships CO so he could report in. Today was shaping up to be a busy day in deed.

Colonel Wilhelm Baron von Hackleberg
CO, 21st Marines
SB Typhon

Captain Rodrigo Ramos
CO, Marine Expeditionary Force
USS Blackhawk

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