Post by Lord Bromosalino on Aug 11, 2015 20:41:29 GMT -5
This thread takes place directly after this thread
Things were finally starting to look up. Sure Isaac had just fallen into another "mini-trance" (though medically it was probably something more along the lines of a coma), but besides that, the usually reserved Marine Captain was all smiles. Pulling on a freshly washed and ironed black tee-shirt, Isaac Saifer seemed to be a completely different person in light of what had transpired over the last few hours. Through one of the multiple Den Den Mushis that littered the giant mahogany desk of the Captain's office, he could hear his Second-in-Command Lieutenant Caroline Amyot speaking, her voice carried via Den Den Mushi throughout the giant hulking galleon known as the "Black Guard". "All hands on the upper deck immediately. Special announcement from the Captain in five minutes!"
Special might not have been the right word. After all, Isaac was only going out there to inform the crew of their mission and to assure them that he himself was going to lead his crew from the front, not his office. Though, considering how much time the 'elusive' Isaac had spent in his office, it might have been a special announcement for the sole reason that the Captain himself was making it, rather than his Second-in-Command. For years, Isaac refused to build many bonds, especially with his crew. It had been nearly six years since the now disbanded Marine crew known as S.H.I.E.L.D. had been torn apart from war and from the death of their commanding officer. Isaac Saifer wasn't able to save Commodore Thor back then, and even now he feared that he wouldn't be able to save his new crew. He couldn't take anymore loss, and so he kept his feelings hidden away and had taken his heart off of his sleeve. Only Caroline knew his heart. But, since "speaking" (and based on whatever had happened in the last few hours and not really knowing what to call it, speaking might be a loose term) with Commodore Thor, Isaac wasn't necessarily afraid anymore. Sure, fear existed in his heart. War and battle was not something to be taken lightly. Instead, Isaac was more afraid of leading strangers into battle and not being there for his crew. Not just physically, but in all of the ways a leader was needed to. The Commodore had reminded Isaac exactly who he was; a man of valor, passion, trained to be among the very best (and trained by Commodore Thor himself from a young age), and most importantly a Marine Captain. And it was time for the rest of his newly founded crew to discover what kind of man they were following was.
The tee-shirt was tucked into a pair of dark, combat jeans, with an equally dark, green bomber jacket going on top. Lacing up a pair of desert tan, combat boots, Captain Isaac was ready to make his appearance. Leaving his room, which is situated at the end of the Captain's cabin, Saifer stepped into the main room of the cabin which served as his office space. Behind the heavy desk, a matching mahogany chair with maroon plush was tucked in. A Captain's coat provided by the Marine's laid draped over the chair, while the Marine cap was pushed towards the corner of the desk, while the rest of the desk was littered with files and papers ranging from his personal notebook to the "Blackwatch's" first mission to standard procedures and protocols. Atop the mess, one thin file was opened, containing the contents of their mission. Grabbing it, Isaac Saifer zipped his jacket up to his chin, bracing himself for the cold that would greet him the moment he opened the heavy metal door. Even Thor the "Hellhound", a large black Doberman that served as Isaac's partner, had his head lowered in order to shield himself from the cold found in the North Blue.
Struggling with the door for a moment due to the fast and fierce wind opposite the door, the Captain finally stepped out of his cabin. With clouds covering the sun and sky, his eyes adjusted immediately. Overlooking the top deck, Isaac leaned over the rails, his eyes observing the two-hundred plus Marines that helped run the behemoth known as the "Blackwatch". In front of the soldiers, his five senior staff stood in a line, taking their place in front of the regular 'grunts'. At the left most position, the Second-in-Command Lieutenant Caroline Amyot stood relaxed, a smile on her face. From there, the oldest of the staff stood, as relaxed as Amyot, though he still stood ready at attention. His many years as head adviser and head-gunnar, Simon Dupont was clearly at ease when it came to his Captain. From there, Head-Engineer Junior Lieutenant Ralph Rogers stood, his face and hands covered in oil and soot as he had been called from the bottom most deck where he was hard at work on the boiler system. Next to him was the prettiest of all the Marines aboard the "Blackwatch" (or so most of the Marines said), Head Medic Amy Mitchell; she too was beaming. She always enjoyed seeing the Captain; though when she did, she became a flirt, always throwing herself at him. And lastly, the smallest of the advisers, Head Chef Albert Morgans. Like Junior Lieutenant Rogers, he too was a mess and hard at work, as tomato sauce covered his apron from preparing today's lunch.
As soon as the Captain came into view, a resounding click was heard as nearly two-hundred Marines clicked their heels together, their hands moving into a position of salute. "GOOD MORNING CAPTAIN SAIFER! Though there was very little interaction between Captain and crew, there was no miss-step in their salute to attention. Such was the order and hierarchy of the Marine Organization. Throwing back a lazy salute of himself, Isaac took a moment to simply look over what was his. A giant ship that had rarely been seen (especially for someone of his rank), two-hundred plus Marines under his command, and more importantly the trust that these soldiers had placed in him. "As you were." Again, as one body and as one unit, the soldiers moved to a position of "at ease", ready to hear whatever announcement the Captain had for them. After all, with a ship large enough to be a small base, stopping all work from deck-hands to cooks to medics was no small thing.
"As many of you are aware, we are mere moments from reaching Ice Nine. Since leaving the B1 base, I have yet to reveal our first assignment as a new Marine Division. In fact, none of you know why we were created in the first place. Before we make port, I'd like to catch you all up." Now leaning over the rail with his elbows, legs crossed over behind him, the once reserved Captain tried to open up to his crew, as difficult as it might be. "Many of you have heard of my time in the now defunct S.H.I.E.L.D. division. For those of you who don't already know, that division was disbanded when our commanding officer, Commodore Thor, was killed in battle. Many of you have, though, heard that during this time I was injured quite badly and was forced out of the Marines to allow my body to heal." Those words came out slowly, but the next ones would actually be painful to say. "The truth is, I lost many friends during my time with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I wasn't well enough...mentally to continue my service. A lot has happened since my return to the Marines, including the creation of this crew. I'd like to let you all know, we have a lot of eyes on us and how we perform. That being said, it's time we function as a real crew. You all have gotten to know your five supervising commanders (depending on your work station of course) especially Lieutenant Amyot, but not me. If this crew is to function," here Isaac drew in a deep breath, ready to make the commitment he was scared to death to make in the first place. "This crew is going to need to function as one unit, with trust on my part as well as yours. Can I count on you Marines to follow me and will you trust me enough to lead you?"
"SIR YES SIR!"
Really, did they have any choice but to follow wherever their commanding officer led them? That didn't really matter though. Captain Saifer made a commitment to them, and he was going to keep it, just like Commodore Thor did for his crew. "Good, I'm glad to hear that. In that case, I'll keep this short and we'll move out. The 15th Marine Division was created as a counter-terrorism unit, and this, (here, Isaac lifted the file he brought with him up into the air, a picture of a woman clipped to the front of the file) "is our first assignment. Angela Belmonte, an extremist revolutionary hiding out on Ice Nine. We'll go in as a small group to catch them. Make contact with the Marine Base on Ice Nine and let them know we'll need one or two local Marines to act as guides. In fact, ask for an engineer of sorts and a doctor; we're not used to the colds of the North Blue and I don't want our equipment failing out here in this frozen tundra. Miss Mitchell, report to my office for a final sign off. Lieutenant Amyot, gather an expeditionary group and be prepared to embark in ten minutes. While we're gone, you're in charge Mr. Dupont. Dismissed!"
And with that, the group of Marines dispersed. Half of the crew rushed back to their cabins for some precious sleep (as the ship operated with four divisions, two working and two sleeping and switching off every six hours), while others went back to their individual workstations (whether that was the kitchen, engineering room, or one of the many other tasks that were usually done on a ship). Lieutenant Amyot herself immediately was swarmed by twenty or so Marines ready to embark on their first assignment. The Captain himself was already back in his office waiting for the Head Medic to make her way up for a final medical check up following Isaac's unconsciousness. A hand on the head of Thor (the canine), Isaac waited patiently. Soon they would make port in Ice Nine, and from there, everything would finally come to a start.
"Yea, I'm a bit nervous too Thor.
Meet the Crew
From here, you two can start from the Marine base located on Ice Nine. In my next post, Captain Saifer will pick you two up and we'll move out!
From here, you two can start from the Marine base located on Ice Nine. In my next post, Captain Saifer will pick you two up and we'll move out!