Pansies

[Crash Calestorm 0]

"Captain Calestorm's techniques leave something to be desired…Presuming you mean the written report, sir," she replied, matching his tone. "I shall make certain it includes the use of tear gas on bystanders and fellow officers."

 

“Under the Wartime Powers Act, I am granting you the authority to end this strike using whatever measures you deem required.”

 

"I know it's going to put you a little short-handed, but would you agree that perhaps Captain Calestorm and crew should be on their way to pick up the Marines before you are required to carry out my orders?"

~ Admiral MKory and Colonel C.E. Harper, Plot/Harper Log: Corianis Situation

- - - -

Despite the orders from Admiral Mkory, no matter how well worded the message transmittals were, it was obvious that the Jackrabbit and her crew were being sent off on a milk run mission to pick up Marine reinforcement fire teams. And Captain Ashton ‘Crash’ Calestorm couldn’t be happier.

 

The change in orders was obviously a thinly veiled attempt to put some temporary distance between Cale’s and Harper’s crews due to the mounting tensions, but, hey, no complaints would be forthcoming from the Jackrabbit’s commander.

 

Her ‘Rabbit crew was busy setting about the pre-departure flight checklist, while Ashton and her XO, Commander Lucas McCall, were sampling a bit of the local alcoholic brew within the confines of her ready room. Calestorm sat in the chair located behind her desk, while Lucas McCall sat in one of the two guest chairs facing towards the desk. Ashton Calestorm might have had a prickly personality, but her office and desk area was impeccably neat.

 

Cale knocked back the last of her shot and damn near choked herself to death. “Where in the…::cough:: ::hack:: Blue Sun ::cough:: did you get that fire ::hack:: whiskey, McCall? Jay H. Christmas!”

 

“A local miner. Makes the stuff, sells it for a decent price, so I grabbed a bottle and contributed to the local Corianis economy.” He saluted his captain with his own half filled shot glass and then took a drink of the whiskey.

 

Cale grimaced and chose not to go for seconds, placing her now empty whiskey glass off to one side. “We can use that stuff to power a fusion reactor or something.”

 

Then, adventurous forays into the art of alcoholic drink aside, she got right down to the business at hand as she passed along the orders from Admiral Mkory to her executive officer. “So, we’re off to grab replacement and backup troops. Word came on down from Mkory himself – the Agincourt is to implement martial law on Corianis.”

 

“That’s a bit of a blunt edged order, even for Fleet Command.”

 

“Aye, it is. I admit, I was a bit surprised. But, ya know Lucas, we’re at war. The Soltans are out there, and these Fleet ships need dilithium to protect the borders and the inner planets, and these dilithium workers in the sectors need to produce, that’s the bottom line.”

 

Calestorm stretched a painful kink out of her knee and groaned slightly, vocalizing the discomfort she felt; McCall was one of the few officers that she didn’t mind showing this sort of weakness to.

 

“…you planning on going to see the Doc and get an injection for that knee? It’s been playing more hell then usual with you since we started this Corianis business.”

 

“Hush up. Anyway, Corianis ain’t our problem now; it’s up to Harper and her people to deal with the implementation, and I’m not just sure they’ll even be up to the task of implementing the martial law. You need a crew that can be stone cold bastards in order to pull something like this off.”

 

Crash waved a hand through the air in derision as she continued her assessment regarding the ‘Court crew, her Earth Southern action thickening a bit as she let her full on annoyed opinion come to the forefront. “‘Cept for the gropo in charge, they’re all a bunch o’ pansies anyway, judging by the Agincourt ground teams assigned to the Corianis surface that we dealt with. So, those ‘Courters’ll all be safer maintaining orbit over Corianis while we go fetch the backup battalion. Although, now that I think on it, Harper’s prolly slipped a bit herself, gettin’ soft since takin’ on command of the ship…a Marine in starship command? You know if it ain’t dirt, they go all stupid-fied, and Devil Dogs can’t comprehend three dee ship maneuvers at all. Hell, it’s a wonder she hasn’t crashed the dang ship into an orbital moon or sumthin’”

 

The two senior staff members sat in a quiet and easy silence for a few moments, both thinking of the new mission ahead. Then, Lucas finished the rest of his drink, placed the empty shot glass on the corner edge of the desk, and then stood. “I’m off Captain. I’ll do a deck by deck and make sure the crew is all set to go.”

 

“Sounds good. Send Chief Barrons up when you spot her down in main engineering, will ya? I gotta talk with her about those two young bucks of hers that damn near tore apart the main lounge the other day…all that fuss over a card game…”

 

“Will do sir.”

 

McCall offered a jaunty salute, and then quickly exited the ready room office area, leaving Calestorm alone with her thoughts.