What Do Marines Do?

Posted on Fri Oct 10th, 2025 @ 2:10pm by Colonel Danny Lennox & 1st Lieutenant Taz & Gunnery Sergeant Agtx & Major Arlen Reacher & Cadet Freshman Grade Micheal Taggart & Ensign James Wayne

1,635 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 120 - Guardian at the Gate
Location: Starbase 400
Timeline: Current...

ON:

Ops

K'Temoc had returned to Ops with plans to complete a lingering report to Starfleet Command, then knocking off a little early....but that plan wouldn't be...

"Admiral, we're receiving a distress call from the USS Ortegas, they're requesting immediate docking." An Ensign called out.

K'Temoc walked over behind the Docking Control position and looked at the list of ships due in for the day.

'USS Ortegas - NCC-81604 - Sovereign Class - Dry Dock 8 - 1730hrs - Impulse Engine Overhaul, Navigational Deflector Replacement'

"They're not due for another few hours. Signal them, find out their situation." K'Temoc replied after reading information on the screen.

K'Temoc stepped over to the holo-display in the middle of Ops. Dry Dock 8 was clear, so if the Sovereign class vessel needed to dock, space was available.

"Um, sir....Command Woods of the Ortegas says they have three escaped prisoners aboard and Captain Corothers has been injured and taken to their Sick Bay. They deployed Security Teams, but their manpower is low. The ship had dropped off over a third of their crew at DS11 for reassignment. They're scheduled to embark new crewmembers after their overhaul here. While enroute, they were tasked with transporting four inmates accused of piracy and murder to Starbase 24 before doubling back here...but they managed to get out of their cell, kill the Security Officers in the Brig. Most of the ship's Security are protecting the Bridge, Engineering, and other vital areas. The Captain led a team, encountered the four. They killed one but lost three killed and two wounded including the Captain." The Ensign explained as she relayed the message.

K'Temoc slapped his comm-badge. "Colonel Lennox, have two Marine squads readied and report to Ops at once."

K'Temoc then looked back at the Ensign at Communications. "Have the Ortegas dock inside dry dock 8. We're activate a transport inhibitor field around the ship so the inmates can't beam out. We'll then have the Marine squad shuttle over to sweep the ship."

A few minutes later, Lennox arrived in Ops and was briefed on the situation and the plan of action.

"What do we know about the three?" Lennox asked.

K'Temoc handed him a PADD. "One Klingon, one Human, and one Orion. Their names, charges, and images are below. The ship doesn't have any Klingon or Orion crewmembers, but the crew that is aboard is forty-two percent Human."

"So this...Jacob Greene could try to impersonate a crewmember. Not so easy for the other two." Lennox thought aloud before adding, "Why does his name sound familiar?"

"Wasn't that the name that Section 31 Operative used when he arrived here last year?" K'Temoc asked. "Hexx."

"The image is of a different individual, but there could be a connection." Lennox added.

K'Temoc nodded. "I don't see Hexx being involved with something like this, but we also know Section 31 will stop at any means necessary to complete their assignment. Keep your eyes open."

Lennox nodded. "I'm going to take that new Major, Reacher as one of the squad leads. I'll have Taz lead the other and I'll coordinate. I'm also taking that new Cadet along, he can help me with communication between the teams."

K'Temoc nodded as Lennox turned to the turbolift. "Major Reacher, Lieutenant Taz ready a squad each and meet me in the Marine Briefing Room on Level 40 in ten. Sergeant Agtx, Cadet Taggart also report to the Marine Briefing Room in ten.

Reacher had been prowling the deck just a section away when the order came through. Without hesitation, he tapped his combadge. “Copy that, already en route. Reacher out.”

Micheal had been studying in his quarters, when the call came over the comm. Activating his commbadge, he hesitated briefly, then replied. "Uh..y-yes, Sir! On my way, sir!" He then stood, pulled his uniform jacket on and, remembering that the channel was still open, and he doubletapped the device, terminating the call. He then grabbed his PADD and typed in his destination and the computer showed him the fasted path that he could use to get there. From his quarters, the trip would take him nearly seven minutes. Knowing this, he broke into a sprint, running towards the nearest turbolift.


Marine Briefing Room

GSgt. Agtx and 1st Lt Taz arrived in the Marine Briefing Room together. If someone had never seen a Gorn and a Krazzel together....the site of the two must have been a fearsome thing to see.

"Colonel, whatt isss going on?" Agtx asked.

"Gear up, we're sweeping a ship that's arrived for escaped prisoners." Lennox replied as he sheathed a combat knife.

Taz grunted, "Arrre we to shot on ssite?"

"Come on, man." Lennox replied as Taz smirked.

James had just finished a check flight of one of the argos when he happened to overhear the marines talking about what was essentially a boarding mission but one where they would not be able to use transporters. He made his way down to the marines briefing room and walked in taking a position against the back wall. His red uniform in stark contrast to the sea of green that otherwise occupied the room.

"That’s an intriguing situation," Reacher said, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "I suppose I’ll approach this situation much like I did back in my SWAT days." He began strapping on his gear, his movements precise and methodical, each piece of equipment reminding him of the intense training and high-stakes operations of his past. The weight of his experience settled over him, fueling his determination as he prepared for the challenge ahead.

The doors slid open and a young man in a Starfleet Academy Cadet uniform came to a racing halt, breathing heavily as if he had just been running hard. Looking around, he saw the other officers present and snapped to attention, still trying to get his heavy breathing under control. "C-cadet Freshman Grade....Micheal Taggart...reporting as ordered, Sirs!"

"Take it easy cadet no need to trip all over yourself. Take a breath and relax." Said James from where he was leaning against the wall wandering if he had ever been that bad and deciding rightly or wrongly that no he had not.

Lennox smirked. "Cadet...are you okay?"

Seeing the Colonel addressing him, Micheal remained at attention, and nodded. "Yes, Sir! Please forgive my lateness, Dir, I'm still learing the layout if the station. I received instruction to be here for a Marine mission briefing, but," he shrugged slightly, "I honestly don't know the first thing of how to be a Marine, Sir!"

"I think this will be a good learning experience for you. We're beaming over to an inbound ship. They have a skeleton crew aboard and prisoners they were transporting escaped. Lieutenant Taz and Major Reacher are leading Marine teams to sweep the ship. You're going to accompany me to the Bridge and set up a command post there to coordinate the sweep. Questions?" Lennox explained.

James stood from his position. "Excuse me sir but I would not be here if you could just beam over. From what I understand as soon as the ship docks in dry dock 8 they are throwing up blanket transport inhibitors to prevent the people your being sent to collect from just beaming off the ship. To that end I have a mustang class runabout preflighted and on hot standby to take both squads over and a Danube Class runabout ready if needed for the return flight." Said James calmly but firmly

Lennox nodded, "Okay...good good." Ideas raced through his mind, "Okay, instead of docking in a shuttle bay, we'll need to use one of the smaller docking ports...the bay will be locked down."

Lennox then turned to everyone gathered. "Ready?"

Micheal looked around from the spot he had planted himself, not knowing if the Colonel had understood what the Vice Admiral had just told him. He suddenly started to feel his ears warm, hoping he didn't just step into the middle of a senior officer argument.

Reacher glanced around at the marines and cadet surrounding him, feeling a growing sense of frustration. He was not in the mood for the mundane, routine todos that seemed to be dominating the moment. They were on a mission, one that required focus and precision—capture the three criminals without causing unnecessary damage. The stakes were high, and every decision mattered.

As he considered the situation, he knew that if the suspects chose to resist, things could escalate quickly. Reacher had always preferred a straightforward approach; if it came down to it, he wouldn’t hesitate to take them down hard, slamming them face-first onto the deck plating if necessary. He just hoped it wouldn’t come to that. His goal was to resolve this quickly and efficiently, minimizing chaos and collateral damage. After all, they were professionals, and the last thing he wanted was a brawl.

James headed to the mustang that he had on hot standby. What he had told the col. was the truth the runabout was ready to fly but considering what they could be flying into he also wanted to ensure that she was ready to fight. He sat down in the cockpit his fingers already flying over the interface. Shields were ready so were ready so was the phaser array and the micro torpedo launcher with a full load of torpedoes. He also checked the hidden compartment and found the hand phaser he had put there just in case. Everything was ready to go now it was just waiting on the marines to get their gear stowed and get aboard so they could depart on the mission. James was both looking forward to this but dreading it as well it would definitely be an interesting mission.


TBC....

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