Post by York on May 10, 2021 5:31:40 GMT -5
“TENSHUN!”
Every pair of black boots in the room clicked together at the heels, with everyone bringing a hand to their foreheads in salute to their superior officer. All but one, however, but hopefully, he would go unnoticed for a moment longer.
“Today is the start of a brand new life for you lot. You brave young men and women represent the future of justice, order, and our way of life as we currently know it.” The commanding officer marched down passed the line of new recruits, surreptitiously scrutinizing them as she walked past them. “We're all depending on you to do better than your very best, and loosen the grip that this new generation of piracy has gripped onto the throats of humanity.” She finally stopped at the last new recruit on the line, looking not at her, but at something in his hands that he was fiddling with. The superior did not say anything, waiting for the new recruit to notice her presence, and sheepishly turn around. It was his neckerchief that he had been fiddling with, desperately tying and untying it over and over again in an attempt to find the neat looking knot everyone else in line had mastered long ago.
“You have all been given your duties, you are dismissed. Except for you, you stay” she said to the recruit with the disheveled uniform, who had only now remembered to throw up a salute. Unlike the standard salute which required an inward facing palm, this marine’s palm faced outward, further frustrating the higher ranked official staring a hole into him. Feeling the room getting colder, and all too pleased to get out of Ensign Leena’s line of sight in her current mood, the other recruits marched out of the room, leaving her alone with the newest Marine Chore Boy, Adrian Idol.
The pause was uncomfortably long, and Idol could only feel like he was shrinking with every second he spent staring into Ensign Leena’s irritated eyes. Finally, she broke her stare and uttered a sigh. “Really, Adrian. This is the best you can do? And on your first day?”
Idol, feeling the back of his neck getting hot, brought down his saluting hand and looked down at his standard issued marine uniform. Granted, the shoes were stained with a bit of mud, the shirt wasn’t ironed quite right, the neckerchief was ruffled with all of the manipulating; Idol was proud of the fact that the shirt was tucked in, and that there weren’t any obvious stains. That had to be worth something, right? He wasn’t about to ask, as he had a funny feeling that he wouldn’t like the answer.
“I’m sorry, Henson. I promise, I’ll do better next time” he sheepishly said.
“You don’t break from your salute until I tell you ‘at ease’, number 1” she said, as Idol quickly threw up his poor salute in response. “Number two, you’ll do yourself a service to reread the handbook you were given to better remember the proper salutes, uniform guidelines, and ranks!”
Idol didn’t want to admit that he had lost the handbook given to him the other day, and merely nodded in agreement. Once he got his apartment sorted out, he was sure he’d be able to find it in no time. “Remember, we’re all counting on you. For Sifs sake. And if you can’t get your act together, and end up drawing the ire of someone of a higher rank who suddenly decide that you aren’t worth a next time, then you’ll be letting all of us down.”
Ensign Leena turned on her heel and approached a door on the opposite side of the room, stopping as she reached the threshold. “And we marines, especially that Gunhildr, hate being let down, Chore Boy,” she said, glancing back at Idol with a stern expression before disappearing behind the door. “At ease.”
As the ensign left the room, Idol suddenly realized that he had stopped breathing and took a deep breath. While used to getting yelled at from his days on the WBCW Battle Ship, this was a whole different experience. When Ensign Leena spoke to him, it had felt like a weighted blanket was being pressed over his entire body. It was nothing like their prior interactions, before Idol had signed up for the Marines. Slowly bringing his saluting hand down, Idol undid the poor knot in his neckerchief again, and tried once more to make it match the knot the other recruits had.
Every pair of black boots in the room clicked together at the heels, with everyone bringing a hand to their foreheads in salute to their superior officer. All but one, however, but hopefully, he would go unnoticed for a moment longer.
“Today is the start of a brand new life for you lot. You brave young men and women represent the future of justice, order, and our way of life as we currently know it.” The commanding officer marched down passed the line of new recruits, surreptitiously scrutinizing them as she walked past them. “We're all depending on you to do better than your very best, and loosen the grip that this new generation of piracy has gripped onto the throats of humanity.” She finally stopped at the last new recruit on the line, looking not at her, but at something in his hands that he was fiddling with. The superior did not say anything, waiting for the new recruit to notice her presence, and sheepishly turn around. It was his neckerchief that he had been fiddling with, desperately tying and untying it over and over again in an attempt to find the neat looking knot everyone else in line had mastered long ago.
“You have all been given your duties, you are dismissed. Except for you, you stay” she said to the recruit with the disheveled uniform, who had only now remembered to throw up a salute. Unlike the standard salute which required an inward facing palm, this marine’s palm faced outward, further frustrating the higher ranked official staring a hole into him. Feeling the room getting colder, and all too pleased to get out of Ensign Leena’s line of sight in her current mood, the other recruits marched out of the room, leaving her alone with the newest Marine Chore Boy, Adrian Idol.
The pause was uncomfortably long, and Idol could only feel like he was shrinking with every second he spent staring into Ensign Leena’s irritated eyes. Finally, she broke her stare and uttered a sigh. “Really, Adrian. This is the best you can do? And on your first day?”
Idol, feeling the back of his neck getting hot, brought down his saluting hand and looked down at his standard issued marine uniform. Granted, the shoes were stained with a bit of mud, the shirt wasn’t ironed quite right, the neckerchief was ruffled with all of the manipulating; Idol was proud of the fact that the shirt was tucked in, and that there weren’t any obvious stains. That had to be worth something, right? He wasn’t about to ask, as he had a funny feeling that he wouldn’t like the answer.
“I’m sorry, Henson. I promise, I’ll do better next time” he sheepishly said.
“You don’t break from your salute until I tell you ‘at ease’, number 1” she said, as Idol quickly threw up his poor salute in response. “Number two, you’ll do yourself a service to reread the handbook you were given to better remember the proper salutes, uniform guidelines, and ranks!”
Idol didn’t want to admit that he had lost the handbook given to him the other day, and merely nodded in agreement. Once he got his apartment sorted out, he was sure he’d be able to find it in no time. “Remember, we’re all counting on you. For Sifs sake. And if you can’t get your act together, and end up drawing the ire of someone of a higher rank who suddenly decide that you aren’t worth a next time, then you’ll be letting all of us down.”
Ensign Leena turned on her heel and approached a door on the opposite side of the room, stopping as she reached the threshold. “And we marines, especially that Gunhildr, hate being let down, Chore Boy,” she said, glancing back at Idol with a stern expression before disappearing behind the door. “At ease.”
As the ensign left the room, Idol suddenly realized that he had stopped breathing and took a deep breath. While used to getting yelled at from his days on the WBCW Battle Ship, this was a whole different experience. When Ensign Leena spoke to him, it had felt like a weighted blanket was being pressed over his entire body. It was nothing like their prior interactions, before Idol had signed up for the Marines. Slowly bringing his saluting hand down, Idol undid the poor knot in his neckerchief again, and tried once more to make it match the knot the other recruits had.