[BACK POST] A New Rifle Officer

Posted on 07 Jan 2022 @ 12:31pm by Lieutenant Commander Samantha Smithson SB51 & 2nd Lieutenant Thoran Shon
Edited on on 12 Jan 2022 @ 9:52pm

1,968 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: Starbase 51/Various
Timeline: Prior to Current mission

[ON]

- Security Office SB 51 –

Lieutenant Commander Samantha Smithson had just finished up her filing when an alert showed up saying that a new Rifle Officer had arrived on the station, she cursed a blue streak as she always hated these short notice notifications. Sighing heavily she called up said file and was surprised to see another Marine Officer mentally shrugging she stood up and tugged her tunic down and left her office and entered the nearest turbolift.

“Arrival’s and Departures,” she said when the lift doors closed she felt the lift move before the Inertial dampeners caught up she pulled out a Padd, made a note and sent it to engineering. Eventually, she arrived at Arrivals and Departures and cited the lift, she looked around for an Andorian in Green, eventually, she spotted him and walked up to him.

"Second Lieutenant Thoran Shon! I am Lieutenant Commander Samantha Smithson Chief of Security on this base, welcome to the Mira Sector, I am here to do your Orientation before you board the Tomcat, so if you bring your items and follow me we will go to my office to get you set up" She said and paused.

Thoran spun around at the sound of his name being called, "Alright Lieutenant Commander." He swung his bag over his shoulders and followed the blonde-haired woman down the corridors of the station. oO Tomcat? Oo he thought to himself as he walked, oO figured I would be slated for another dirt side assignment, not a shipboard role. Oo He continued to follow her for what felt like hours, when in reality it was maybe five minutes given the speed of the lifts, till they finally arrived at her office. As Thoran unslung his bag and took a seat he spoke, "So ma'am, the Tomcat?"

Leading the way into her office after a long lift ride she indicated the seat and the Lieutenant quickly sat while she went around to her side and tapped something into the computer and a whirring sound could be heard, now she looked at him.

"Yes the Tomcat, The USS Tomcat is a heavily modified Akira Class Cruiser, while she can carry out Scientific and diplomatic missions, she cannot do such missions as well as ships and crews dedicated to those missions. The ship has over 400 Rifle Officers of the 95th Rifles, she has no Marine tanks or cannons, the stationed Regiment are Rifles, I think the heaviest weapon they have is Assault minigun. The ship also has three squadrons of Gryphon class fighters and each squadron has twelve ships per squadron plus another 12 per squadron for the second lot of pilots for each squadron. As for what their current missions are I do not know, you will need to report to either Second Lieutenant Falk or Marine Captain Jackson when you board the Tomcat, any questions so far?" She asked as she pulled out an ID card and placed it in another machine that would imprint level clearances on the card.

"No questions ma'am. Though you do have my attention with the mention of the 95th. We heard stories of their exploits while I was in OCS." As Thoran spoke he anxiously picked at the side of his pants leg, a nervous habit he developed as a child back on Andoria, one that he never really grew out of. "Ma'am, is there anything you can tell me about why I was reassigned shipboard rather than to another dirt side assignment?" He asked. "I figured I must have stepped on someone's toes to get reassigned but would never expect to be put out into space."

She paused and leaned over to the right behind her desk and pulled out a Rifle Officers sash and passed it to him "you will need to wear this Lieutenant, all Rifle Officers are required to wear them" she said looking at him as she held out the item. "To answer your query, you were assigned to a ship as you had not done such a duty and I assume your superiors wanted you to get some ship experience, as for stepping on toes you have not done this as far as I am aware, besides not the Tomcat has an actual MCO who is rebuilding the Rifles on the ship, he needs experienced officers," she said looking at him and with a friendly smile "out in the Mira, Sector experienced officers are needed and you have done duty in the Galen System so your knowledge is likely one of the reasons as to why you are here Lieutenant Shon" she paused.

After he had taken the Rifle Officers sash the ID Card was ready, she placed it on the desk as she again looked at him "One thing, currently, the actual Commanding Officer Fleet Captain Somers is off-ship attending other duties so her cousin Lieutenant Colonel Somers is commanding, one thing you will see some Fleet Officers with are white bands around their shoulders and a Rifle Officers sash like the one I handed you. These are Officers who achieved the White Cord elevation and are permitted to wear such sashes."

"The only Rifles on the ship with white bands around the base of their shoulders are Bravo Unit, these are actually known as Chosen Men, they are the Captain's Personal guard, all other rifle officers just have the sash like you and to date, there are only two officers serving aboard the Tomcat that have the White Cord and Officer sashes, that if the Fleet Captain and Commander Remington Dodd the ships First Officer. The Colonel while a vastly experienced combat veteran, is on what used to be called on job work experience, she has been attending Starfleet Academy to learn how to do bridge command, as she is slated to eventually take over from the Fleet Captain at some point, but from what reports I have seen and heard, she is a capable ship commander, but currently on detached duty" Smithson said.

As she paused she handed the ID card to Shon "back to the task at hand this is your ID Card, it will allow you access to all areas of the ship, it is to be worn on your person while on the ship or on you if wearing it openly is not feasible, should you go on a mission off the ship the ID card remains in your quarters" she said as the machine to the right of her began to print out a strip of red paper type material as she waited for Shon to take the ID card.

Thoran nodded and took the ID card. "On me or in my quarters got it. Is there anything else Commander?"

"Yes, a little bit more, as the Tomcat operates in a volatile area of space there are certain security requirements all-new crew have to go by being they officers or enlisted as it is key to slowing down any hostile take over of the ship should it ever happen" as Sam finished the printed strip had completed, she tore it off and held it to the Lieutenant.

"I must impress this on you, Lieutenant, while you are a junior officer, you like all other officers on the Tomcat have more trust and responsibility than other officers on other starships and this piece of paper has a one-shot and use code, it is to only be used in an emergency and only if all other senior officers or dead or incapacitated, it is an emergency code clearance that will lock out any hostiles that are trying to access the Tomcat's systems and key them to you, and if they try and succeed to get past the code the system will automatically be wiped leaving a blank and empty computer memory core, memorize it and then destroy it and tell no one else on the ship or elsewhere about it, each emergency code is unique to the officer in question and only this office besides you and others have access to what the code is as it is registered to the individual. Any questions, ask now as you may not get the chance at a later date?" Smithson ended with a question as she held out the strip of Red Paper with black inked code on.

Thoran held the sash in one hand then the strange paper in the other. He had never heard of a unit wearing something like the sash outside of a dress uniform, not everyday wear. The paper was also strange, as most forms of writing were now done on PADDS. There was one thing that Thoran was curious about most of all, "I do have one question, ma'am. What makes these Rifles as you call them so special that they get special sashes and ID chips that we have to wear and keep on us at all times?

Smiling oO another officer who asks the right questions Oo she thought to herself "The ID Cards are only used on the Tomcat, the ship operates out in the Mira Sector where there is little or no backup, it is a security precaution. The Sash is the standard item for all Rifle Officers, something to do with tradition, the 95th was reformed some years back by then, Major Jasmine Somers, while they are classed as a Regiment, it is only in the name they are more like a large Company than a Regiment, their numbers are not great and few if any new Marine Officers will be assigned."

"Then Major Jasmine Somers changed to Fleet Officer and now commands as a Fleet Captain. The Rifles are a Special Operations unit that does missions that mostly come under the heading "Government denies all knowledge" if they are caught, while they use regenerative Phaser Rifles, every single Rifleman is trained to use the TR 116 rifle even if their file does not say so. Currently, the highest-ranked Rifleman is Lieutenant Colonel Alexandria Somers, she is currently acting CO, so when we have finished here, you are to report to Rifle Captain Patrick Jackson the ship MCO, it is funny on other assignments he would be Marine Captain" she said and fell silent.

Thoran nodded, "One well-placed shot could save the lives of thousands," he mumbled under his breath. Everything started to slowly sink in more and more as the Commander continued the explanation. The one thing that stood out was the mention of the TR 116, as well as every "Rifle" being trained to use one. "You know Commander, the Marines have used the adage 'Every Marine is a rifleman' for centuries. I guess that has new meaning onboard the Tomcat."

Looking at Shon "you have no idea, Lieutenant, no idea" she said with a smile, "but if you have no more questions, we are finished here and I have logged you into the systems, but I will say one more thing, secure yourself some Starbase side quarters for the larger items you may have as the quarters on the Akira class are not suited to a massive amount of personal items, especially the junior officers quarters, so secure some starbase quarters for yourself then report to Captain Jackson on the Tomcat" Smithson said and stood up holding her hand out.

Thoran reached for his bag and slung it over his shoulder, "Guess it's a good thing I travel light Commander." He nodded, flashed a smile and made his way out of the office.

As she watched the Lieutenant leave her office Sam sat back down and stretched and yawned, it was midday and she was already feeling tired, now that was done she returned to her normal tasks.

[OFF]

Lt Cmdr Samantha Smithson [P: Somers]
Chief of Security
SB51

2nd Lieutenant Thoran Shon
Rifle Officer
USS Tomcat

 

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