Two Captains, One Ship

Posted on Sat Sep 11th, 2021 @ 9:36am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Major Chiyo Shimada & Captain Elizabeth F. "Liz" Beurling
Edited on on Sat Sep 11th, 2021 @ 9:41am

2,332 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Operation Romulus Return
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: Prior to the Tokyo's departure

OOC Taiga: Pulling this back to saved after that PM from Charlie. Not sure what to do about it?


Chiyo and Liz rode the turbolift up to the bridge to report in to the captain: A routine procedure both women had performed before. However, this was the first time they were doing so together as the Marine command staff. As the two rode the turbolift up to the bridge, Liz pulled out her pack of smokes with the intent of lighting one. Chiyo was quick to notice her XO's behavior:

"Liz, put that shit away." She ordered. "This is the captain we're speaking to: We need to make a good first impression."

"Aye, ma'am..." Liz muttered as she tucked the smokes back into her pocket.

The doors to the turbolift opened, and the two marines strode across the bridge to the ready room door. Chiyo pressed the chime to the ready room and the two waited to be permitted entry.

"Come in" called Taiga.

The doors to the ready room swooshed open and Chiyo and Liz stepped through. They stopped once through the door and stood to attention, saluting the captain.

"Captain Chiyo Shimada and First Lieutenant Elizabeth Beurling, reporting for duty as Marine CO and XO respectively, as ordered, ma'am." Chiyo said.

Taiga looked up at the two women. "Why not take a seat..." she began nodding towards the teo chairs set in front of her desk.

Nodding, Chiyo and Liz proceeded to assume the seats Taiga had indicated. Chiyo took the left chair, Liz the right chair. Upon seating herself, Liz took out her smokes and lit one, much to Chiyo's disgust.

"Liz!" Chiyo groaned before turning back to Taiga. "Excuse my XO's behavior, captain; she chain smokes like it's the 20th century. How she lived to be as old as she is with that kind of habit, I'll never know."

Taiga frowned as she turned her attention to the other woman. "Lieutenant" she said sternly. "What you do in your own time or quarters is none of my business. However. You are in my ready room, not only is smoking tobacco an old fashioned way of slowly killing yourself..." she slowly rose "but it is inappropriate to be doing that here. Put it out. NOW"

Wordlessly, Liz slowly looked up into the captain's eyes, a Vulcan death stare on her face, which she maintained as she held her arm out to the side, dropped the cigarette to the floor, and stepped it out under her foot.

Well, at least she showed some respect... Chiyo thought as she cupped her hand over her eyes and sighed. She could've easily just scorched the desk in front of her...

"This isn't off to a good start..." Chiyo muttered under her breath.

"No. It would appear it is not. I'll be sending you the bill for the carpet burn..." Taiga replied her sharp hearing catching what the Marine said as she lowered herself back down into her seat. "Now tell me, will I be expecting this sort of behaviour from all of your marines?" She asked, clearly unpleased.

"No, ma'am:" Chiyo responded firmly, returning to her upright position. "None of the other marines have an interest in tobacco. However, I do ask that you do not let first impressions impede your perception of my XO: I consider her my sister-in-arms, and that's a title I only give to people I would trust with my life: You can spit in her face and drag her through the mud at high warp as much as you please, but when the chips are down and you need assistance, she'll have your 6 no matter what. You may not agree, but I consider that admirable. Dismiss it as me talking her up if you want, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather have an imperfect marine like her who I can depend on to have my back rather than a chiseled role model reg who talks a big game, but when the chips are down, tucks tail and runs like a coward."

Taiga raised an eyebrow. "Well, as long as you can trust your marines I have no problem with that" she said. "However Lieutenant, please keep the smoking down to a minimum when on duty or around other officers" she explained simply.

"Moving on..." Taiga said. "Tell me what you understand about this ship and the status of the marines on board"

"I actually took the liberty of viewing the schematics of this ship prior to coming aboard, and there's no doubt that the fighter wing is the crown jewel." Chiyo explained. "However, that doesn't mean that the marines are anything to laugh at either, considering there are over 100 of us stationed on board."

Chiyo held up the PADD she had brought with her from her office and began skimming through it.

"Anyway, during our little layup here in the Sol system, some marines transferred off, others remained on board, and more came aboard to replace those who transferred off. I know this for a fact, because I brought some 3 dozen marines aboard with me. I've yet to muster all the marines and do a head count, though."

"I should make this clear however that you will be mainly leading any ground assaults, however if needed to deal with on board ship threats you will be taking orders from the Chief of Security" she stated. "There is sometimes confusion as to how Marines and security operate on starships" she added "especially on vessels such as the Tokyo" Taiga explained simply.

"I've come to find that every commander has a different use for us Marines." Liz responded in her Vulcan tone. "If that is what you require of us, then so be it."

"What she said." Chiyo agreed. "So long as the person in question upholds the values of diversity and inclusion you regs tote, and respects women in uniform, especially green uniforms. I don't expect you to understand the nitty gritty goings on in the corps, but safe to say, I've had my fair share of folks who don't trust me on the basis that I'm a woman, and a rather feeble-looking one, in uniform."

Taiga raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised at what the Marine Captain had just said. "I don't particularly care who or what you are" she stated simply. "As long as you do your job well and don't screw up you'll be part of the crew on the Tokyo. Its that simple. I value service and loyalty over anything else"

"Funny you should say something like that:" Chiyo said. "Because you sound just like that cocky admiral you took down saying it. Though, friendly word of warning; I wouldn't consider yourself out of the woods just yet, because some Bajoran sitting in a dark room somewhere really hates your guts."

Taiga frowned, clearly not amused. "I am nothing like that asshole!" She said to them simply. "He was delusional, always wanting a fight and put himself over others. Everyone to him was a pawn in some bigger game. He thought of life like a chess game and was more than happy to sacrifice his pieces as long as he got what he wanted. He put this crew through so much crap and got his ass handed to him. The Galaxy is better off without him" .

"And yet, there are so many in the galaxy who would gladly disagree:" Chiyo responded. "I've been tracking an extremist conspiracy theory for years now: It started off in the Bajor sector, but ever since the incident with Jepson, it's exploded across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, and despite being disproven multiple times over, still manages to gain followers. The theory names you as the head of a galactic cabal of Pah-Wraith-worshipping slavers."

"The theory has shifted its narrative every now and then from its conception." Liz added. "But, in its most recent iteration, it has named Miyahara as something of the next Ben Sisko; appointed by the Prophets to expose the cabal's existence to the galaxy, and have you and many individuals the theory names as cabal members arrested in a time period known as 'The Purge'. And now they're using cabal intervention to explain Miyahara's defeat."

"Fact of the matter is; I'm anticipating a major attack to happen on Federation soil sometime in the coming days." Chiyo explained. "After all, this is twice that these people feel they've been cheated, and if there's one thing that son of a bitch was ever good at, it was playing off negative emotions."

Taiga frowned once again. "Miyahara will never be like Captain Sisko. He is one of the most decorated Captain's in the whole of Starfeet like Archer, Kirk, Picard or Janeway. However I believe that war may be on the horizon again and I don't like it. It brings unnecessary death, destruction and grief for both sides" Taiga explained to them both. "It is vital that we succeed in this mission to prevent exactly that. I don't like writing letters to the loved ones of my crew that are lost under my command, its something which evert Captain hates doing" she paused for a few moments. "Starfleet Iis here to keep the peace, I hope you two can say the same"

Though Chiyo was surprised at Captain Aisaka's reaction to being named as a figurehead of a major conspiracy theory, she didn't let her surprise show and instead, slowly rose to her feet. Not in a gesture of aggression, but instead one of demonstration.

"Captain, every marine, be it an officer or enlisted, is required to take an oath. Now, the wording between the two oaths are slightly different, but the point is still the same:" She said, giving the customary salute before reciting the oath: "I, Chiyo Shimada, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United Federation of Planets against all enemies; foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me."

When Chiyo began reciting the oath, Liz rose to her feet and saluted, joining Chiyo in reciting the oath in unison.

"Liz and I both took that oath when we joined the corps;" Chiyo expounded. "Maybe you regs take a similar oath; but neither of us would even be here if we didn't completely believe in the text of the oath. It's one of the chief driving forces behind any job I take, and this one is no exception. Not only am I interested in preventing another bloody conflict, but also because I truly believe that a Starfleet officer is incapable of committing such evil as outlined in a disproven conspiracy theory. If this doesn't convince you that we have the same interests at heart, then I don't know what will."

"Fair enough" Taiga said simply. "We all took the oath when we joined the fleet" she added. "I want you to work with security and the SWORD team on how to best defend this ship in case of boarders" she said snapping back to the business. "Most of the marines are new to the ship, so I want you to put them through their paces and get them ready for any situation that may arise"

"Very well." Chiyo responded. "If that is what you ask of us, than we shall deliver... As soon as we're dismissed, of course."

"Then by all means. Dismissed" Taiga said simply.

"I'm headed back down to your office, we can discuss our plan of action from there:" Liz said to Chiyo as she got up and turned to leave. "Ciao," She said in parting to Taiga.

Chiyo watched Liz leave the ready room, but faltered in following her, and turned back to Taiga, as she had noticed something in Taiga's expressions throughout their meeting, and felt it best to address it here and now;

"Captain, setting rank aside for one minute;" Chiyo said. "Over my 13 years of service, I've come to be pretty good at reading faces, and I have to say that when I look into your eyes, I see a yearning in them: A yearning for something that's missing in your life. Something that, by looking into my eyes, you can see that I already have."

Chiyo placed a hand on the desk and leaned in slightly, but not too much as to intrude into Taiga's personal space.

"Allow me to give you a piece of advice, woman-to-woman:" She continued. "Don't get so caught up in trying to reach your destination that you begin to take for granted the one you have along for the ride."

Taiga was a little surprised at this sudden change but didn't show it. "Captain. My life is my own. I choose to live it how I want. Don't read too much into it, in the end I am still responsible for every soul on this vessel, regardless of my personal feelings and desires" she explained. "We both have a job to do. Ensure that you do yours well"

Typical regs... Chiyo thought to herself. Always hiding behind rank when faced with an uncomfortable truth...

"Very well..." Chiyo responded simply, regaining her upright posture and turning to leave the ready room. Though it wasn't Chiyo's place to dabble in the captain's personal life, if she wished to experience true heartbreak like Chiyo had, then there was little Chiyo could do.

"Dismissed" Taiga said simply before turning back to her computer desk console.

Posting by

Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer

Captain Chiyo Shimada
Marine Commander

1st Lieutenant Elizabeth F. "Liz" Beurling
Marine Vice Commander

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