Patrick's Arrival and Running Into the Major

Posted on Wed Aug 15th, 2018 @ 3:52pm by Major Hailey Weston & 1st Lieutenant Patrick O'Shea

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/4
Location: Major Hailey's Office
Timeline: Cutrent

ON:

The transport had just finished docking with the Wellington, Patrick was sweating his pants off because the cooling units went on the blinking fritz half way out. To say the least he was pissed off. Irish temper or not he was going to have someones stripes for this. As the airlock opened, the cool air from the Wellington hit him in the face. "Ah...now this is more like it, cool air feels great", he said, as he walked onto the deck.

She moved quickly through the halls, the personnel shuttle had arrived earlier than expected and she had intended to meet Corporal Seltegaard as he came off the shuttle, but there was naught she could do now but try to get there as soon as possible. As she neared the shuttlebay door, she brought the PADD up to review the file one more time before meeting the Scandanavian heavy weapons trooper.

Patrick saw he would have just enough time to get settled in and a quick shower before meeting his new boss, Major Hailey. Turning quickly he slung his duffle on his shoulder and took off fast. His long strides ate up the deck quickly and right into a Major standing there reading her PADD.

The impact came as sudden as a bullet and Hailey had less a chance of dodging the former than of the latter. The uniform was a blur of color, she couldn't even tell which color it was, before she bounced off of it, then a wall, then somehow managed to twist by reflex to impact the ground with the point of her shoulder to minimize the pain.

Not seeing what he hit, he bounced off the woman, back into a few crewmen who un-surreptitiously wound up in a heap on the deck, before he fell himself flat hear the woman. "Oh jeez, what the hell did I run into now", he stammered, as he picked himself from the deck and looked around. 'Oh hell Patrick what in all the lords of Ireland did you do now?', he thought to himself. "Excuse me ma'am...", stopping short when he saw the rank. "I beg your pardon Major sir", he said, forgetting the customary salute to help her up.

"Ma'am still works." Hailey pushed herself up off the ground before accepting the help to her feet, ""Well, I'd say you were an American-rules football player with that hit, but not enough room on the ship for that crap." She picked up the PADD from the ground and glanced over the larger manin civilian clothes, "Well, you are definitely not Corporal Seltegaard, though the size isn't that far off. You're not blonde for one thing."

"No ma'am, so sorry but begging your pardon, I have just enough time to get to quarters for a fast shower, shave, and clean uniform before I meet my bo...I mean my superior officer", he said, salute snapped, spun on his heel, and fled the scene.

Hailey's hand had only started to return the salute, but ended up only returning it to his back, mouth opened and then shut it. "Okay, then." then turned back to where a young man in crisp uniform and carrying the 'standard' carryall of the Marines. He came to attention and she returned the salute, "Welcome aboard, Corporal."

****A Half Hour Later****

The Corporal was now in the hands of Ami, a heavy weapons trooper, would be an interesting fit in fact, for the unit. Ideas on how to use him started to run through her head as she sat down and leaned back in the chair in her office. "Interesting indeed he will be."

Happy to finally be aboard, he showered, shaved, and put on his crisp uniform, slicked his hair making sure it looked regulation, and headed for the Majors office to report in. 'Now Patrick, be cool, level headed, and no smart remarks when you meet the Major. He may not like it mich for a first impression', yeah that was the ticket, as he walked briskly to the office door and knocked.

"Enter." Hailey stated, still looking at the ceiling. Even with the new person, she had now just had a wash with personnel. The loss of Lieutenant Zen in a freakish transporter accident still stung. True, she hadn't quite been a fully interlocked part of the team, but her loss still hurt. She waited for the steops to stop in front of the desk and finally kicked back over to see, "You.. Ran me over."

He walked through the door not realizing who said that, "1st Lt. Patrick O'Shea reporting fo...". Stopping short as he saw the woman he ran over in the shuttle bay, he nearly turned and fled in terror! 'Begora, that was the Major you ran over, Patrick me boy', flashed in his mind, as he stammered the rest of the previous sentence, "for duty sir." Then he remembered the salute, as the color drained from his face.

He started to babble, "Sir...Ma'am...Major...Begging your pardon, had I known it was you...I would have acted differently, I assure you. I am truly sorry for my actions and I humbly beg your forgiveness", he said, the color, now flooding back into his face, along with the heat, would have most people laughing. His face was a deep tomatoe red! Patrick so wished that this whole thing would end quickly because he needed a shot of whiskey just to calm his rattled nerves!

Part of Hailey wanted to laugh at the Lieutenant standing in front of her, in fact a small part of her attention was focused on not snorting in laughter, but that faded very quickly. Instead, anger began to form deep down inside her. Her hands planted flat on the desk in front of her, "If you had known it were me." She repeated, very quietly, "You would have acted differently if you had known it were me?" It was obviously a rhetorical question, "Why? Because I wear oak leaves instead of round pips? Just because I'm a MARINE, I'm to be treated better by you? Did you not notice, this is a Starfleet vessel? There are over Twelve HUNDRED people on board this starship and do you know how many of them wear GREEN? Thirteen, counting you. That is right about ONE percent of the people on this ship!"

Her hands exerted pressure on the tabletop, raising her a centimeter from that alone, "And I have friends that wear the pips of officers in Starfleet, I have friends who wear enlisted insignia in the Fleet as well. So you choose to dishonor THEM by saying that if you'd known it were ME, that you would have acted differently." Her eyes bored into his, challenge in them, "So give me a good reason why I shouldn't put you on the next shuttle off this ship." She released the pressure and sank back into her seat.

Setting his jaw and meeting the Major's challenge, "Sir with all due respect, I too have Starfleet officers who wear pips as well and some of them are also Marines, so we stand on equal ground. However if you want to send me back on the next shuttle then do so, but I am here to work and lead so here I am and here I will stay until I am relieved. If I wasn't in such a hurry to get my ass off the shuttle and into the shower to come and report in maybe I would have seen your oak leaves and realized it was a Marine Major I was talking to", with that said, he waited for her to either send him to the brig for insubordination or send him packing on the next shuttle out.

The Majors eyes remained bright, but only as bright as the moon on an Arctic night as there was no warmth in them at all, not even the fire of fury. The temperature in the room seemed to fall as Haileys voice went completely calm, “Be careful what offers you make, Lieutenant O’Shea, because there is only one reason I don’t take you up on your offer: I don’t ‘own’ you yet. I haven’t received movement orders sending you to me. In fact, aside from Corporal Seltegaard today, the only arrival I have coming in is next week with Sergeant Dreik. I certainly have nothing regarding a not-so-bright Lieutenant.” Hailey paused for effect, letting the silence sit to almost the time it would take to get awkward, “We do not stand on equal ground. You aren’t here to lead until I tell you that you are. But you have a choice, not me. I assume you have your orders with you sending you to the Wellington. You can either take them, board a shuttle and leave this ship with no repercussions, or you can give them to me and if they do actually say to come here, so be it.” Her voice never raised from very calm and collected, her eyes never leaving his, boring in. “Take the time you want to make your choice, but make it before you leave this office.”

Patrick's eyes glowed bright with fire and his temper showed in the coal blackness of his pupils. He had been challenged by his new commanding officer, and he remembered what the colonel had said about the Major. He also remembered from where he came from and the life he had before he became a Marine and he had to bridle his temper so not to revert to the street life mouth he had as well. He bristled with anger to what the Major had said and about not having his orders or her receiving them either. Colonel Hanson had given him a mini PADD with a letter of recommendation and his transfer orders and he went straight into his tunic and pulled out the PADD and thrust it at her.


"Major, here are my transfer orders and Marine Jacket with a letter from the Colonel. Everything you need is right here. I will not apologize for my actions or my tone of voice but you have challenged me and where I come from and what I learned about challenges, I don't back down from them that easily. Now after you read what is there, you can decide if you want me to leave or stay", he said simply.



Patrick’s Marine Jacket and Transfer Orders:

To: Major Hailey Weston Marine CO
USS Wellington

From: Colonel John Hanson Marine CO
USS Godchild 5th Marine Corps.

Re: Patrick O’Shea 1st Lieutenant

Major Weston,

I am sure by now that Patrick has made an ass out of himself again but seriously, you need to look past that. He is a good Marine and one of the best that I had in my platoon. He showed so much promise with me that I had started to train him as my XO, but because of a seniority problem here I had to make a serious and painful decision. I know from being friends with General Weston, that you are the right choice for him. Your abilities and your knowledge of being a Raider comes highly praised from the General and...well I know that you will mold him and put him on the right path. Be patient with him Hailey...he too has had his own horror story as you did. One day ask him and he will tell you about it. It is a sad one too but it has built his character up into a strong individual.

I am sending you my best marine from the Godchild Hailey...he has leadership qualities that I see are good and qualified to lead a platoon and a challenged attitude of, “have to get the job done and leave no one behind, and make damn sure they are dead before you turn your back on them or your ass is grass!”

Marine jacked says much about him personally and as you can see from reading it, he did grow up in the not so good places on Luna 6.

Major, I would hope that you will put Patrick’s talents to good use and finish his training as I know that someday he will eventually become what he wants to be, a Raider and a Marine CO. All he needs is a chance and guidance which I know you will provide.

Colonel John Hanson
Commanding Officer
USS Godchild
5th Marine Corps.


Hailey let him stand there while she read the letter twice, then leisurely scrolled through his personnel file, or jacket as they were often called. But that letting him remain standing was just tradition. Finally, she held it up, “Do you know what this says?” She asked, clearly just looking for a simple answer.

"I have some idea", he said. True, Patrick did have some idea of what was in the file but he wasn't sure of what was all in the file. He knew that the Colonel would put the truth in perspective and would probably ask that he be given the same opportunity that he was on the Godchild but, this was not the Godchild, this was the Wellington and this was not the Colonel but his new commanding officer, who he had made an ass of himself groveling to her earlier.

"This Colonel Hanson thinks you're special." Hailey tossed the PADD on the desk in front of her, voice regaining some warmth again, "I've never heard of this Colonel Hanson, but apparently he knows General Weston which is why he sent you out here..." She folded her hands in front of her, "The Godchild is in the Alpha Quadrant right now, which means that since you had to be in transit for what? Ten days? Twelve? That the message saying that Colonel Blanchard was killed and Major Lo'Mah was attainted for treason and that I was being reinstated and placed in command of this unit, if you add in the transit time for the message, it took your Colonel Hanson under two weeks to finagle an unofficial transfer to a unit that has been declared unfit for service because of a mass mutiny. Odd thing to do with your 'best' Marine, throwing them into a snake pit that some Generals are trying to get rid of" Her eyes still remained on his, "So, what makes you so special? Why do you think you'll fit in with an undermanned unit that isn't going to be reinforced?"

"Major, all I know is that my commanding officer made a hard decision to send me out here. I broke my ass to get where I am today and I have broken many fool in my platoon that I was in command of to get their respect by teaching them the things I was taught. I saved their lives by giving them something I was taught by my father, trust. I trusted them to do their jobs and they trusted me to keep them alive", he said. "Trust by a bunch scared and green marines on their first combat mission says something about their platoon leader. It also says a good deal about his character as well. Major, I am not blowing my own horn but it says at least something that is worth working with", he added.

"A bunch of scared and green marines would follow a little old lady if they sounded confident enough to get to the nearest grocery store." Hailey countered, "Until they gain some experience, they tend to listen to the most confident person in their own uniform when they hit that point, so pardon me if I don't think that's so special. In their first combat mission, they'd trust in the man in the moon if they gave orders that sounded like that moonman had half a clue what they were doing. I've been there and seen that, with both good and bad results." Her eyes narrowed by a fraction of an inch, "So I ask again, what makes you so special?"

His eyes narrowed slightly to meet her icy cold gaze, "Major with all due respect, I did not get transferred here for some stupid thing. I was the top of my class in demolitions, top of my class in sharpshooting, took up several months of sniper training, and was taught by the best in searching for hidden traps. Now if that isn't good enough for you, then what is?" he said. "I was sent here to learn from you and to become what I wanted to be, a damn good Raider and a damn good XO, so if that is not something special in someone who wants to be something other than just a plain old Marine, then what is? I learned what the uniform meant and I will die in the uniform if need be but I will be that Raider and that XO that I want to become", he said.

Hailey didn’t laugh, that was how much control over herself she had, but the very corners of her mouth curved upwards by a millimeter. Bad sign indeed. “I didn’t request your transfer, Lieutenant, you came here bearing orders I wasn’t aware of.” She tapped the PADD with one finger, “I don’t know this Colonel who speaks highly of you. But I don’t know why you think you’re going to be a Raider, much less my XO, aside from the fact this unit is converting to one. Being a Raider isn’t just being a damned good Marine, it means being the absolute best. There are what? Roughly eight million Marines under arms right now, Federation-wide? There are seventy-two Raider teams of fourteen troops each, for the sake of even numbers, we will round it up to a thousand Raiders. One troop for every eight thousand soldiers in the Marines. Officers are under an even more microscopic set of standards. Of that number, there are sixty-eight Raider officers. Two teams are led by Sergeant Majors, then a Master Sergeant and one led by a rather brilliant Gunnery Sergeant.”

She didn’t give him a chance to respond, “As for your skills, that’s all well and good. I have a sniper, Corporal Callen, I have a demolitions expert, Sergeant Chavez and we are all sharpshooters. I even have a Staff Sergeant named Valentine, who voluntarily was demoted from First Lieutenant that can take any one of us with any weapon there is, quite probably any two of us. I have a hand to hand expert who has only lost one match that I know of, Gunnery Sergeant Rori. I have a new heavy weapons troop, Corporal Seltegaard, I also have four others I’m see some potential in. I myself am a close-combat specialist as well as being the medic, doctor, actually. But you really think you have what it takes to be a part of this?” She asked coldly

Clearly Hailey was angry and upset and tight and he wasn't about add more to the growing fire that was burning here in her office. "Major, I understand that maybe you have had something that has upset you and that is...shall we say upsetting you and you right now don't need me to add to the problem. I will say this, yes I do think I have what it takes and the skills I do have, I ask that you give me a chance to prove them to you, if not to myself. I do want to be a Raider and I do want to be your XO more than you can realize. All I ask is a chance Major, nothing more", he said, with a softer tone in his voice.

The Major continued to evaluate him for a few additional seconds, "Well, congratulations Lieutenant, you're getting your chance." Hailey sent a copy of the orders to her desk computer, then dashed her signature topped by a thumbprint onto his copy and slid them back to him, "You are being accepted provisionally pending qualification assessment. Less than five percent of enlisted Marines make it into the Raiders if the have the minimum requirements, officers are worse: Perhaps one percent. We have our own specialties and we have to exercise command on and off the field. You are going to report to my Executive Officer, Gunnery Sergeant Rori, She's the Trill out there trying not to look in to see if I'm about to shoot you. She'll give you a runaround and if she thinks you have some potential, we'll talk again." She settled back into her chair again, "One more thing: Keep your damned 'observations' to yourself. I don't care if you have an opinion about me or what you happen to think is going on, you can have them, just don't tell me about them. Do that again and I don't care if you're the best Marine in the galaxy. Dismissed."

Not saying a word, Patrick snapped a fast salute, turned on his heel and left quickly.

Hailey took a moment to watch him leave, then sighed, picking her PADD back up, "Cocky bahstard..." She said quietly to herself, "Could be worse, could be better, let's see if he pans out enough to keep him, then see if he's good enough to make my exec.."

OFF:

1st Lt. Patrick O'Shay
Marine XO
USS Wellington

Major Hailey Weston
Marine CO/Second Officer
USS Wellington