SD241805.20 - Duty Log - Grey - "Marine Briefing"

Posted on Sun May 20th, 2018 @ 4:12pm by Brigadier General Jonathan Grey

620 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Tremor Trouble
Location: Versailles
Timeline: Current

=^= Briefing Hall 7 =^=

The hundred-fifty strength of the Versailles MEU was here in its entirety tonight, a modest sea of green rallied with minimal notice. Here and there the signs showed; soap behind this ear, bed hair on that head, and a baker's dozen mouths still chewing the last bite of a meal they'd been torn away from.

Confused, yet professional, the marines were gathered in their squads and platoons. Lines formed near the stage as the NCOs took control with hand gestures, a smattering of barked commands, and one case of a private who had to be physically moved.

Eventually the crowd had simmered down, coinciding with the arrival of Captain Domino (MEU Logistics) and newly-promoted Major Meitner (MEU Infantry, and temporary CO). The two senior officers walked down the side of the hall and climbed the stairs to the stage. Domino, the MEU's XO, hung back as the Major took position behind the lectern.

"Atten-hut!" shouted the NCOs in unison, followed by the echoing stamp of the MEU coming to attention. Heels clicked together, backs straightened, and arms hung at peoples' sides.

"At ease." said the Major, out of habit. Feet swung apart to a shoulder-length, punctuated by the sound of at least one marine who'd failed to measure distance properly, and was now standing on his neighbour's foot. Nothing was said, but the Major had no doubt that the clumsy private would be chastised later.

"This is a short-notice tasking for the entirety of the MEU, direct from the General." Meitner began, her voice ringing out over the speakers. "In one hour's time, we will be deploying to the colony of YaDalla. There has been a severe series of earthquakes there, with a potential death toll in the thousands. Our orders are to help the local forces keep order, and assist in the evacuation."

Meitner pushed a button on the letern, and a quickly-assembled breakdown of forces and locations popped onto the oversized wall screen behind her.

"Infantry will be working with Versailles Security forces on the ground, keeping the peace, stunning looters, and acting on other objectives as time goes on. Logistics will be working with our engineering teams, evacuating people trapped by debris, coordinating supplies to people who cannot or will not evacuate, and so forth. Once our ground forces have been deployed, the dropships will operate under the authority of the Ops department, assisting in the evacuation of the civilians."

"That is all. More detailed briefings will be prepared en-route as more details become available. Right now we need to get moving, so report to docking bay five and get ready to deploy. Dismissed!"

Without missing a beat, the Lieutenants and NCOs led their people out of the room. No-notice deployments were drilled on a regular basis, and Meitner had seen the completion times, so she knew the MEU would be en-route in short order. It galled her a little to divide her new command and stick them under the larger departments, but authority was often a function of manpower, and right now the Versailles MEU force was tiny.

Hopefully with a marine in charge things would change, but for now it was crisis time, and marines knew as well as anyone that a crisis didn't wait until you were ready for it. They would deploy now with the resources they had, and figure out the future later.

Domino stepped up to Meitner's side after the hall had cleared, and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked at the man, once her equal, now her subordinate. He gave her a simple nod, and moved off to follow the men to the bay.

Meitner, nodding to herself in turn, followed him.


=^= End of Log =^=

NPCs (Grey)

 

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