Major Cloud

“Don’t you die on me…” Cloud heard the words, but yet couldn’t. Amid the dust and the dirt, the pain, the searing heat of the Bryyiam sun, Cloud Makisu felt his life ending. So this was it? This was what all the fuss was about? Weren’t you supposed to get a bright a light at the end of a tunnel? A brilliant embrace of the mother goddess? All he felt was cold. And pain. And cold. He didn’t even get a chance to see his life ‘flash before his eyes’ in a cheesy montage to warm the hearts of viewers and remind everyone just how cool he’d been before he was cut down in an explosion in the middle of the gamma quadrant on some planet no one had ever heard of before this mission. Had he been able, he would have scoffed at the ignobility of it all. “Damn it Cloud,” he heard the Orion half-shriek, “You. Are. Not. Going. To. Die. On. Me. I absolutely won’t have it. Now wake up you dumb marine son of a bitch.” He tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn’t budge. He tried to move his arm, but it wouldn’t move. He felt something move though. He couldn’t tell what. “If I pull my back,” he heard the Orion grunting, “while getting this thing off you, and you die. So help me, I will… I will I don’t even know but I will have my revenge. Don’t you dare die.” Maybe this was the out of body experience he kept hearing about? Was he dead? And if so, this was pretty disappointing. No. He wasn’t dead. He still hurt. Everywhere. You didn’t hurt when you were dead. You were dead, right? Gods, this was bad dream it had to be. He’d wake up. He would wake up. “By fire,” he heard her shouting again. He also heard another, deeper voice grunting. There’d been someone else with them, hadn’t there? “Come on,” he heard the deeper voice. “One… two… three…” And then it was like a great weight lifted off his body. But the pain was there still, just not pressure. Pressure that felt like it was pushing him deeper into death by the moment. “Fine a commbadge… we need to get him medical attention…” And then it was a blur. Voices, people, things, places. His mind wandered off into the distance and into the smoke and clouds. He was dead, wasn’t he? He wasn’t going to wake up. Was he? Was he?

The marine barracks of the Excalibur were humming with activity after the latest round of PT. Striding in with a cool, collected confidence the master of their drills, Major Cloud Makisu greeted them with a slight smile as he headed towards his small office. They held their collective groans and whines till they were entirely sure he was out of ear shot and began to change into their duty uniforms. The purple-eyed Dachlyd slid into his chair and looked about his sparsely decorated office. His steel-desk was flanked on either side by two simple plastic chairs that were rarely occupied. A small, chrome bookshelf was the only adornment on the three walls other than the replicator. He liked his office this way. The only clutter he ever allowed and then only out of necessity were PADDs and assorted paper work. Thankfully, even that had stayed mostly off his desk. For what seemed the first time since he’d been assigned to the Excalibur over a year before, they were getting down time. He knew his Marines were less than thrilled about a milk run, not because they particularly liked being shot at by god-only-knew what alien race, but because it meant the Major was free to indulge himself in putting them through PT hell. Still he’d rather they be moaning because of sore joints and muscles than moaning because a pulse blast had ripped them to shreds. Pushing that unpleasant thought to the back of his mind, he focused on his schedule scrolling on his screen. There was the usual litany of boring tasks and meetings he’d need to attend, like the joint Security-Marine meeting that happened twice a week to keep the jar-heads and the barnacles on the same page, or the staff meeting with the rest of the senior officers in which the dog would sit impassively and listen to the Orion or the Trill yammer on about something (or play footsie under the table), or the in-service medical was offering on field care so that in the event someone did get shot (notably the medic) someone else could use the hypospray. There was also a tactical reports to be filed to the Captain and well not the ex-oh till they had one. He also had the sparse intelligence report for this week to go over. Sighing he leaned back into his chair. Part of him considered writing a letter to the people at Starfleet telling them their recruitment posters were grossly inflated (sure they said, come see the galaxy and fight the unknown, they said, tons of excitement they said); while the other part embraced the mundane of their mission with glee. “Major,” the sound of someone breaking his reverie came. “Yes,” he said without even looking up. “I was… well some of us were wondering if we could…maybe…not have personal training every twice a day for a week?” The Dachlyd very calmly closed his terminal and looked up at the Marine, no scratch that, the wimp who’d deigned to ask such a question. His purple eyes locked onto the figure, a slim, well built sandy haired human male named Nicholas Sash. “Excuse me?” Sash froze. He hadn’t really thought he’d get the whole sentence out, let alone survive long enough to be asked to repeat himself. By now the whole of the squad who’d talked Sash into the operation were staring blankly from behind the doorframe, silently placing bets on whether Sash would soon be running around the ship until his heart exploded or if Makisu would simply toss him out an airlock and get it over. “Well…umm…sir,” he stammered as the Major looked at him expectantly. “Nothing, sir.” Normally, Makisu would have let it go, but he was feeling unusually playful; after all, the second lieutenant had worked up enough courage to actually question his commanding officer, this deserved more time. “Oh, I heard you the first time. Clearly there’s something you’d like to address.” Sash was starting to turn a shade of red somewhere in between the red alert signals and a Thallonian. “Well uhh… it’s just, we’ve been doing more PT lately than normal and uh well, sir, um Major sir… we didn’t do this much PT at the Academy when my Cadet squad snuck into the General’s Quarters and replaced all his uniforms with cadet ones.” The Major curiously wondered which General that had been and made a note to find out for latter amusement. Doing his best not to show his amusement, Makisu nodded. “So, Lieutenant Sash, you’re saying I might be working you and your…uh… squad mates…over a little too hard?” Sash nodded, “Yes, sir.” “I see.” Clearly seeing doom on his horizon, Sash started to open his mouth but was cut off by the Dachlyd. “Tell you what, Mister Sash. I have a special assignment for you. If you pull it off, you and your…uh squad mates will be off PT the rest of this assignment.” Sash wasn’t entirely sure if this was a good or bad thing. Tentatively, he nodded. “Yes?” “Since you’re apparently skilled at infiltration, I want your squad to infilitrate the Captain’s quarters and tie a tail to all of his pants.” “THAT… THAT…THAT…” Sash could barely process the request at more than a ‘oh dear jesus god’ level for a moment before calming himself. “That’s suicide, Major. Do you have any idea what the Captain would do to us?!? Have you seen those claws?” Makisu was grinning from ear to ear, which almost frightened Sash more than the assignment. “Yes, I have. Watched him rip someone’s throat out with them during a holodeck training mission too.” Sash’s complexion quickly drained from his face and it took an effort to keep from fainting. “Surely there’s something else. A panty raid on the Orion? Switching out the replicators chips in the mess to only produce Klingon food?” The major shook his head. “Nope. That’s your assignment, unless you’d like to keep doing PT.” The human frowned, wondering what circle of hell he was about to enter. “I see…” “As an added bonus,” Makisu said. “If you can accomplish your primary objective and also steal me a bottle of that famed liquor of his, I’ll give the lot of you the week off.” His eyes glinted. An entire week without duty? Oh this might be worth the risk afterall. “Um. How long do we have to get this thing done?” “I expect to see the Captain with a tail by the time we leave orbit of our next planet and to be drinking a shot of his whisky while doing so.”

The CMB buzzed with activity, lockers opened and shut with almost gleeful force. The various members of the 26th Marine Company were suiting up for a little 'fun' as the Major had put it. They were actually going to get to do some work they'd be trained to do, this time sweeping for contraband. In his office, Cloud Makisu leaned back into his chair with a wide grin on his face. He'd know Corizon off and on for a few years now, and this certainly had to be one of the most amusing stunts he'd ever seen the Dameon—or any Commanding officer pull. Word was that the gold shirts had the fortitude to not only search general quarters for contraband weapons, but also the sheer stupidity to search Corizon's personal quarters and try and take something. Apparently, the dog was on the warpath. Major, I want you to do me a favor... Of course Captain. I'd like a thorough sweep of security quarters done. And when I say thorough, I mean it. It was the wink that told the Major everything he needed to know. Besides creeping him out, it also meant that the Captain wanted to send a message that certain things weren't kosher. If it meant ruffling the goldshirts, Makisu was all for it. So now the 26th was getting prepped for major action. Makisu had decided that sweeping the quarters one at time wouldn't do. That would be to easy for Segami to find out about and go beg Corizon to stop...that clearly hadn't been what the Captain wanted. Instead, the Marines would show up in force and search all of the Security quarters at the same time. By search, he meant tear apart. After all they were looking for weapons and god only knows what else those security goons could have hidden away. And hey, you couldn't trust sensor scans, now could you. A wide grin was forming on the Major's face. Oh this was going to be fun.

Days on Camelot were slightly longer than Cloud Makisu had become accustomed to on Earth, but not as long as those he'd experienced for three weeks on the gnarled hulk of rock that the Cardassians had named Kalon. That had been the longest three weeks of his life, literally and as he watched the twin Avalon suns rise over the horizon of Avalon and casting their brilliant double light on the Camelot Station—he'd considered how long the last three weeks had been. Waiting. That was what was making this worse. He hated it. Hated it. And that was all he could do, sit and wait, at least on Kalon people were shooting at him. His company had enjoyed it, and that made it, he supposed, slightly worth it. They'd done nothing for the past several months but train for this mission and this was the first time in weeks they'd had any down time. He supposed that would do them some good, but it was killing him. In the distance, a flash of bright light caught his amethyst colored eyes—the signature sign of a ship dropping out of warp. A few moments later his communicator beeped, it was Commander Sprint askin him to report to the CNC. Straightening his uniform, the Marine Major moved away from the observation windows and headed towards the nearest lift, the wait, it seemed, was over—the Excalibur had arrived. -- “Major,” the Dameon Captain said stoically. “I trust that your Company is ready to begin transfer to the Excalibur?” Makisu nodded quickly, but took longer to respond any further—he was measuring Corizon up. Finally speaking Makisu nodded again and said, “Yes, Captain. The company is ready to begin the transfer at your leisure.” Lifting an ear, the Dameon looked at the Marine for a long moment, now it was his turn to measure up the man. There was something...familier about him, but something he couldn't quite place either. He was shorter than Corizon and more thickly built. His eyes were purple and they almost seemed to glow against his pinkish-purple hued skin that was a few shades purple of a human. That was the first thing Corizon noted. The second was the way the Marine carried himself. His posture was upright, and he spoke clearly and with confidence. In other words, he wasn't intimidated by Corizon. “Very well them, Major,” he finally said, “Have your XO get in touch with shipboard operations and get them moving. I'd rather not waste time here.” “Of course, sir,” came the response from Makisu. “Welcome to the team then, Major,” Corizon said, placing his right hand in a fist and bending his arm so that his fist met his shoulder, the Dachlyd gesture of welcome...as well as Corizon could remember. Laughing despite himself, “It's the left arm...” “Oh,” Corizon said with a chuckle. “I could never remember that...” “If I could ask,” Makisu said, “Where did you even learn that? Its not as if there are a lot of Dachlyd in the Fleet...” “And it's a good thing,” Corizon said jokingly, “As stubborn as the lot of you are.” “I take it that means you've known a few.” “A few,” Corizon said nodding. “I can tell getting answers out of you hasn't gotten in easier.” Opening his mouth slightly, Corizon closed it and tipped his head to look at the Marine. “I am slightly embarrassed to say this, but do we know each other?” Makisu laughed again, grinning from ear to ear. “I made it a point to stay out of the front row...I always heard those were the first ones you clawed if the class did poorly on a test.” “I had you at the Academy?” Corizon looked at him dubiously, not because he doubted it, but because it meant he was getting older. “Spring semester '71,” Makisu said quickly, as if he had, and he had, been waiting for this for sometime. “I had you for Tactics 364....” “Advanced Tactical Theory...” “That's correct sir.” “Seventy-one, eh?” “That's correc...” “Don't tell me you...” Smiling incredulously, the Dachlyd could no longer contain himself. “As I recall you wrote in the margins of my final paper 'Perhaps you should transfer to something more suiting? Perhaps...wa..” “Waste removal,” Corizon finished the sentence. “I still have that paper...” Grinning, fangily. “Well...I guess I might have been wrong about you.” “Might? Might?” Makisu was still grinning from ear to ear. “You did turn out to be a...what is the human word...'bottlehead.'” “Jarhead,” Makisu smirked, quite amused with himself. “Right.” “So you admit you were wrong about me?” “Me? Never. You on the other hand, well your paper was utter trash.” “And the Dachlyd are the stubborn ones?” “From everything I hear,” Corizon said innocently. “You haven't changed one bit, Captain. That's good...considering what I've heard.” “Oh,” Corizon said waggling a hand, “I am sure you've heard quite abit about me...” “And all of it lies?” “Maybe, maybe not.” “I'll keep that in mind, Captain.” “You do that, now if you'll excuse me, Major...I have an appointment with the Vorta...” “Aren't you the lucky one?” “So they tell me...”

Name: Cloud Makisu (Mahky-soo) Age: 34 (Born 2351) Sex: Male POB: Danarin Minor Ht: 5'11" Wt: 210 lbs Eyes: Amethyst Hair: Black, Regulation Crew Race: Dachlyd Rank: Major Assignment Commanding Officer, 26th Marine Company, USS Excalibur-C Call Sign: Masamune Father: Jeal Makisu, Commander (resigned), Starfleet Command (deceased) Mother: Tabri Makisu, Commander (resigned), Starfleet Command (deceased) Siblings: none Scars: none Marks: none History: Born to two career starfleet officers, Cloud spent most of his early life on Starbase 91 with his father, or on the nearby planetary base with his mother on Danarin Minor. For the greater part of his early life, Cloud lived a fairly normal and benign existence. At age 13 he enrolled at San Diego Prep Academy in preparation for his application to Starfleet Academy at San Fransisco. At age 18, he applied and was accepted to the Academy in the security track, with an emphasis on tactical ground combat and defense system technology. Two years into his stay at the Academy, the idyllic life he'd lived came shattering down when both his parents resigned from Starfleet to join the rebel group known as the Maquis. Like many people with family connections to the Maquis, Cloud found himself under increasing scrutiny from Starfleet Intelligence, even going so far as a temporary removal from the Academy on suspicion he was aiding his parents in their Maquis activities. Though charges were dropped, things did not improve for Cloud as his father was killed by Cardassian Agents while attempt to secure weapons from Ferengi merchants. Despite having high marks early in his academy, the slide in his grades that occurred during this period caused Cloud to graduate 439th in his Academy-class with the rank of Ensign, in 2373. Shortly thereafter his mother, along with almost the entire Maquis movement, was slaughtered by the Dominion-Cardassian offensive against 'enemies of Cardassia.' The Dominion War began shortly after this event and now Ensign Makisu was assigned to the USS Redding as a security officer. His tour on the Redding lasted for nearly three months longer than it was originally intended as the Redding had been assigned to front line duty, and Starfleet needed all the ships it could spare in the brutal opening months of the war. After his tour on the Redding, now Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Makisu was assigned to base defense at the Camina Listening Post on the edge of Allied controlled space. After three rotations at Camina, Makisu was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assigned one of the ground troop squads for the invasion of the Cardassian planet of Jallon IV. Following the success at Jallon IV, Makisu was assigned to be on the planetary assault force for five more major Federation-Klingon offensives and several minor ones. Like many other Starfleet officers, Makisu was among those prepared for the final invasion of Cardassia, but was spared what would have been no doubt a bloody battle with the surrender of the Dominion. In the immediate aftermath of the Dominion War, Makisu was stationed as a garrison commander on the Cardassian moon of Jal-torn, where he would remain in his position as a full Lieutenant until 2378. That year saw him transferred to Maclaro where Starfleet was helping the indigenous population recover from heavy devastation caused by an impact from a large meteorite. At the beginning of the 2380's Starfleet began to look more fully into a proposed plan to create a dedicated ground force, separate from Starfleet Security, by developing the Marine program from a small force used mostly for guard duty into a fully viable branch of the Starfleet. This would eventually develop into the Starfleet Marine Study program, initiated in early 2381. Because of his extensive background in ground operations, the new branch's primary charge, Makisu was among the first officers to be asked to join the new Marine Corp in its infancy. Following intial successes in the trial program, Makisu along with others who were brought in from other branches of Starfleet service were commissioned fully as Marine officers with the specific marine grade ranks and intergrated with the already dedicated Marine servicemen and officers of the former program. Makisu became a Major and was assigned to Starfleet Academy where the first batch of cadets were being honed to Marine standards as the Trial program kicked into its final phase of implementation before a final vote would be made by the Federation Council. As one of the final trial tests, Starfleet wished to try a full-on implantation of a Marine company aboard a Federation starship, the USS Excalibur-C and Makisu's 26th Company were chosen for this task. Service Record: -Graduated Starfleet Academy rank of Ensign (2373) -Assigned to USS Redding, Assistant Security officer (2373) -Promoted to the Rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Captain Aurturio Kazin, USS Redding (2374) -Assigned to Camina Listening Post (2374) -Assigned as to Starfleet Offensive Ground Force (2374) -Promoted to the Rank of full Lieutenant (2375) -Assigned to Starfleet Garrison, Jol-torn(2376) - Named Garrison Commanding Officer, Jol-torn (2377) -Assigned to Starfleet Recovery Force, Maclaro system (2378) -Assigned to Starfleet Command Marine Study team (2380) -Re-commissioned rank of Major, Starfleet Marine Corps.(2381) -Assigned to Starfleet Academy Marine Trial Program (2381) -Transferred to USS Excalibur-C, Commanding Officer, 26th Marine Company (2383)