Battle of the wills
Posted on Wednesday June 3rd, 2026 @ 6:26pm by Commodore Carol Hogan & Major Markurius Savage
Edited on on Wednesday June 3rd, 2026 @ 6:27pm
4,011 words; about a 20 minute read
Mission:
VFY S9, E1: We Have A Home
Location: Valhalla Fleet Yards
Timeline: TBA
One of the many docking bay doors slid open, dozens of people walked through into the buzzling promenade. Some where excited to be there, but some where showing signs of sadness as well. The war with the klingons where not going well and a lot of people where being displaced. Having been forced to leave their homes in a rush or panic. A few moments after what some would think that all of the passangers had disembarked came the soft sounds of heavy boots hitting the floor plating. What made them stand out was the perfect thythm of them, like someone was walking in a military parade. The black clad man wouldn't have judge people for thinking that, he had been in marines for decades and walking like he was going up and down the ilse and talking to his young troops during briefings was second nature.
He wasn't clad in standard marine atire, the cloths where black, heavy leather boots that looked like they had seen some serious things. He didn't bother putting on his dress boots, he wasn't here to look flawless. He was here to look after the marine attachments of this station. Unlike most marines who thought the fleet personel where lazy or soft. Major Savage saw the bigger picture, it could be true that the fleet had easier jobs by exploring and things like that. But most didn't see was the hard work and pride these men and women took in their job. Not to mention the support the fleet provided the marines, they handled logistics and support. He had lost count on the number of times some fleet pilots had swooped down in fighters and given ground support. He had seen many shot down in a fiery ball of death, often never stopped shooting until they crashed. Of course, he had often ordered the marines to try and rescue the pilots. He had managed to save quite a few, but he also wanted to bring back the bodies of the falen pilots.
His heavy cadence of walking sounded rouch to the organic sounds of the promenade as he walked past an antique shop called 'Eagles Antiques', he stopped for a moment, he had heard many of his manrines talking about the beautiful red head who worked in an antique shop. Could this be the one? Well, he didn't have time to linger or think about love so he carried on towards the lift.
Carol was also strolling down the promenade, in a rare instance she didn't have Anastasia with her. She was in classes right now. She took advantage of the fact that she had a little break on her schedule. Her whole morning even filled with nothing but meetings. An introductions to some of her new staff. The last thing on our mind was meeting the new Marine Commander at this very moment. For the moment she was just relaxing and having a good time, she started to head towards the Eagles antique shop she hadn't yet to go in there personally. She hadn't talked to the Eagles since they left Planet Rosa.
She knew that Dom was having the eagle family prepare for their upcoming mission. But first it they needed to settle in on Port Royale. Ashley is walking out she noticed one of her Marines, not in the traditional uniform but a more of a tactical looking one. "Major Savage, anything in there worth buying?" Carol asked, helping to do a little late window shopping. She wanted to do this now before Anastasia practically bought everything in the store. The more she could get done on her own the less it would hurt her pocketbook.
The marine turned slightly to look at the woman who had adressed him, he doubted many knew of who he was here, probably only the command staff would have a reason to know of his arival. He quickly assessed her, the rank was easy enough and having been given orders to report to Commodore Caron Hogan upon arival, he assumed this was her. It wouldn't be impossible for more than one of her rank to be onboard a major station like this, but it was highly unlikely. "Ma'am." he said, his voice calm yet carrying since it was natural for him to adress people in briefings. "I wouldn't know ma'am, I've heard many things about a specific antique shop. I have also heard that it was lost with statiuon above Rosa." it wasn't important information for him to look into what happened to the civilians after that incedent.
"I'm so glad you're here, General Vanora advised me that he was sending his best. I have a high expectations for you. And I'm told you're the man that can get it done." Carol suggested to him, not really wanting to discuss it here but wanting him to understand that she would be calling upon him soon and they needed to get their ducks in a row quickly. She was grateful that he made it because she felt like their position was vulnerable right now.
The major stood a long moment and simply starred at her. He didn't see himself as the best, in fact he had many times been denied promotions because he was telling the upper command to go take a long stroll off a short pier. Many times he had been prepremanded for not following orders to the letter. But the results always spoke for them selves, he had one of the highest success and survival rate of any marine company in the federation. The brass rarely understood that taking in information and ideas from all sources, even your lowest ranked marine could lead to the highest chances of success. He had also found that if the lower ranked marines had a chance to voice their ideas, it developed their critical thinking and problem solving. "I do what I can for the men and women under my command Ma'am." he said sharply, his silver eyes staring at her. He was sure she had seen all the complaints in his record, how some commanders found him bourderline insoburdinate and dificult to work with. Not that he cared much what other people thought about him.
"Nicely done major, I baited you with that question, and you did not fall for it." Carol pointed out to him. "I am well aware of your reputation for being hard to work with. I'm also told, you are the best, and I was advised that you know that. Well that's what your previous commander, said about you." Carol started to say, and she took her breath before continuing on.
She felt like she owed him more of an explanation. "I am a woman of honesty, and I can be pretty demanding times, I have been known to give unrealistic deadlines. I know a lot of my officers under my command don't give their full potential, like you I make sure they do. I chose you, for a particular reason." Carol started to explain to him, as she thought how to phrase, why she chose him.
"You get results. I have heard that you can be pain in the ass. However I am frim believer that hard work should be rewarded. Everyone needs an opportunity to shine. Because of this reason, I'm giving you command of your own strike Force and a Starbase as well. I will handle the paperwork back in my office at a later time." Carol suggested with the warm smile on her face, she wanted him to see that she was sincere.
The major took it all in, even if her actions where unorthedox she knew what she wanted and even knowing of his reputation, she not only chose to actually bring him here but also giving him a strike force with very few strings attached. He was confident she had several of those but had not decided to tell him yet. He could work with someone like this, provided she held firm with what she had just said. "Ma'am, should we relocate to a better location?" he asked, speaking about strike forces in the middle of the promenade was probably not the most secure way of doing things. He also knew that the term strike force could include very sensitive information. Now he stood at parade rest as he waited for her answer.
"Your right, I will have my yeoman schedule a time. I believe later tonight, I have some time. I have your credentials, ready to go. So now that work is out of the way, how was your trip to Port Royale?" Carol asked, trying to make small talk with him. He was right, this was not the place to talk logistics. Especially near civilians. Even though they trusted the Eagles, there could be other listening in.
"Uneventful Ma'am." he responded, he caught the slight body language of making sure they weren't heard. He looked at the man who sat behind the counter of the shop. His body language was relaxed, even if it was clear that the shop owner was working on his PADD, the way his head was turned as if listening in to their conversation was disconcerning. Maybe he was over reacting or this man was really good. Major Savage made a mental note to keep sensitive conversations away from this place. Maybe even look into this shops past. He knew a lot of shop owners loved collecting information.
"I wish I could say that, Anastasia and I came from Risa. It was hard to leave that tropical paradise." Carol said with a warm smile on her face, as she motioned for him to follow her. They started to walk down the promenade. She wanted to keep the conversation going. She had yet to accomplish her goal, and that was to get to know Major Savage better. "Since your new here, may I suggest Lowry's Bar and Grill, Sabrina is a top tier chef."
"I see. I have observed that paradise dulls the edge if utilized to much." Major Savage said. "Ma'am, I do not believe 'beating around the bush' as they call it is the most efficient use of our time at this very moment." he said flatly as he followed her, his steps a steady beat on the hull plating. He had smelled the food from that perticular place as he walked past it. Few things were as apetizing as good grilled meat.
"What makes you think I'm doing beating around the bush? There's another saying that you might be familiar with, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. If you maintain a social distance, how are you supposed to get close to your friends or your enemies. Granted I don't want to be your enemy, but I do want to be your friend. I believe it builds great rapport as long as professional boundaries are kept." Carol started to say being equally as what.
"I am hoping to get back to work ma'am. Idling at times like these is not something I like to do. I suspect you want me part of the marine core." the marine said calmy as he marched behind her.
"I know I can't take you away from the core, but part of leadership is learning to do those things that are uncomfortable. I'll be direct we need to work on your political alignment. You're a capable officer, that has a bad reputation and we need to adjust it. Especially if you ever want to see a shiny star in your collar someday." Carol said being very direct with him, as they continue to walk towards Lowry's Bar and Grill.
"Ma'am, I am a grunt at heart. Being stranded behind a desk is the last thing I want. I expect the best, I give the best back." Savage said, "Very few things in the core is comfortable in my experience. It's often dirty, sweaty, hard work and dicipline. But I doubt you didn't know that. Besides, poletics are for polititians and diplomats. I am a hammer that hammer down nails."
"You're more than just a hammer, and you have a lot more in you. You're capable of giving more to the Marine Corps. I realize that I'm asking you to become a politician but you'll be a politician with a hammer, imagine the combination of that type of leadership." Carol pointed out to him trying to sound serious and not patronizing at all. They were getting closer to Lowery's Bar and Grill. She could hear the noise ambience increasing the closer they got.
"Ma'am, you are beating around the bush again. Simply say what you want to say." Savage said, he was getting tired of this conversation being slow. He had a feeling there was something special she wanted from him, probably something that needed him to act political.
What a crafty guy she thought to herself, by calling her out she needed to establish that that wasn't her intent. "I think we can both agree to disagree on that. I'm not beating around the bush, I'm telling you directly. You are the person I need in that role. Maintaining any kind of structure order in a fleet yards is going to take a specific type of person, and that person is you." She stated as a walked over to the entrance.
Savage actually tilted his head for a moment, it was a rare thing that confusion was effecting him. "I believe you have a chief of security for that ma'am. I am a marine, I am like an old K9 with a bone, try and take the bone and I'll chase you until you drop."
"I don't think you understand your new role, let me make it clear your overall in charge of security operations for the fleet yards. Any ship coming in, are under your jurisdiction. Local ship and Station security will handle internal matters but anything involving a fleet-wide matter will go through you. If we have a rogue ship coming in, that falls under you. Think about it this way, if they're in our sector of space, you're ultimately responsible for the security until they arrive at their destination which is either a ship or station within the fleet yards and at that point you would turn it over to the local security teams."
He arched an eyebrow. "You are talking about Rapid Response." this concept was intriguing to him. Marines were trained to do fast and precise operations. This would require new tactics, specialized training that was even beyond Star Fleet security and marines combined. A specialized force, a very faint smile came to his face for a moment. He could even make even more specialized forces, more focused on the covert.
"I am, and you're the Marine I need for it. " Carol said as she noticed a host coming up towards them. She was motioning for the two of them to follow her to a table. She smiled as they sat down and got ready to order. "We're going to table there for a second." Carol said she noticed a waitress coming up after the host left.
The waitress was young and pretty, not that girl really cared about things like that at her age. He smiled and she noticed the waitress did not miss a beat. "Do you know what you want to eat and drink, or do you need a couple of minutes to decide?"
"I'm good, major do you need a couple of minutes?" Carol asked, as she waited for Markurius to decide. She had been to this facility several times so she already knew what she wanted ahead of time. However she was trying to be fair to him.
"A tall glass of water with plenty of ice." he said as his mind started to run through scenarios.
"Are you not going to eat?" Carol started to say she looked over to the waitress after looking at him. "I'll have your three neat platter, can I my sides be a roll and a macaroni. And let's do two Polish sausage sliced and barbecue turkey sliced." Carol said if she just handed the menu back to the waitress.
The waitress took her order and she didn't turn around and look to Markurius. Carol is also curious if he was going to order anything.
"No ma'am. You are eating for the two of us anyway."
"I'm not sure if I should slap you or laugh hysterically." Carol suggested to him. His comment about eating for the two of them was insulting. Was he being sincere, or trying to be humorous. She was not sure. She studied his face. The waitress filed after hearing his rude comment.
He arched an eyebrow again. "Is it normal for a female to eat that much?" he asked, his face showing he was serious.
"First of all it's not that much, and second I was planning on sharing some of this with my daughter. Normally we would have dinner together, but she has an extended choir practice tonight and ask me not to attend. Apparently I make the other parents feel uncomfortable being the fleet yards commander. I told her for this practice I would purposely Miss out, but I'm not going to miss her performances I told her." Carol suggested to him. She was having a hard time still adjusting to dealing with the preteen and all their drama. Life was so much easier when she was littler, just 3 years ago she was a lot easier to deal with. But now she was 12 going on 13.
The major took a moment. He didn't understand children, the only children he had interacted any amount with was any civilian child that was found in the field. They were either scared or shell shocked. He knew that if a child was involved, them men under his command always pushed past their limits. If a child were to be harmed or killed... He smiled, not at the idea of a child harmed. But the fact that no matter how hard core a marine was, the instingt to protect the innocent was always there.
"I think you should really try this place. Sabrina is one talented chef." Carol pointed out to him, and she took a stip from her drink. She could tell the marine was a little rigid around the edges. His reputation definitely preceded him. But she wasn't giving up.
"I'll take it under advicement ma'am." calmly without another word he drank from the cool water, one of the icecubes in his mouth as he slowly crushed it with his teeth.
"Major if I may be so humble, I know this is completely out of your element. However I want to see you succeed. And learning how to have social dinners, and polite discourse are crucial to your political rising. The upper echelons of rank command is all about the politics. I know this isn't what you signed up for, but I know you're capable of it. And yes I chose the public setting so we could try to have a polite discourse. And to show to you, that is not all that bad today is just me." Carol suggested as the waitress came by a few minutes later to refill their drinks and advised to be a couple more minutes for her food.
"That might be so ma'am. But I do not require sustinace at this time." he answered, chewing on another piece of ice.
"That maybe true, perhaps we should try to compromise, maybe a salad.? Not really fulfilling not going to ruin your appetite. But it does give the impression that you're trying to engage with dinner." Girl suggested to him. Jumping on ice and looking very rigid isn't really very warming.
Savage was growing frustrated. He had told her he wasn't hungry and not in the mood to eat. Yet she was pushing him to do just so. So instead he simply looked at her with his piercing gray eyes and said nothing.
Carol was trying to provoke him. And so far he was passing the test, even though she wouldn't tell him that at this moment. He was showing great personal strength to resist the temptation to snap. Probably a year ago he would have. As the food slowly arrived, she took a couple small bites.
"All right major what would you like to know about me that's not work related?" Care last, deciding to let in the mood up for a few minutes so she could eat. If he hadn't realized it by now Carol like to push her people to see their full potential. She had done it throughout the whole entire day.
She gave Ensign Sorrin and impossible task just to see how well she handled it. Wanting to organize an entire fleet full of inventory and supplies Plus deliver them in a short amount of time was not a feasible task for a young new ensign out of the academy.
She had told Commander Vox to prepare preliminary ports for a retrofit of a Starship of her choosing from any of them in the fleet yards and she wanted to completed within a short amount of time, also practically through the command of the station and the USS Bushido on her without any warning. Needless to say the commander was a little stressed.
She had ordered Lieutenant Hunter to get her station online and to get the dry dock facilities ready because the fleet would need to be retrofitted as soon as possible, again another unrealistic expectation. But she wanted to see how well her crew did.
Just because he was a marine with attitude issues according to his previous commanders didn't mean she was going to go easy on him. But she knew her conventional approach wouldn't work that she had to think a little outside of the box, and this was her solution.
Savage looked for a long moment longer at her as she ate. "Nothing ma'am. Me knowing personal things about you does not affect my work, words are also cheap, actions speak louder than lip service every can."
"You're not going to make this easy are you? I like a good challenge. Very well let's schedule a meeting, and talk about more of the specifics behind your position. What are you doing after lunch?" Carolas rhetorically, insinuating that he better clear his schedule. Her tone was flat and she looked straight into his eyes, and she took another bite.
"Report for duty ma'am." he answered truthfully. He had been told he was a little bit of a workaholic.
"Good I expect to see you shortly. If you're not going to eat your dismissed now." Carol suggested to him with the sterile tone. Not showing any emotion almost vulcan like, in her approach.
"Yes ma'am." Savage said, downed his water before placing the glass by the kitchen of the establishment. It was a quirk of his, making it less annoying for the people working here. Cleaning up after himself was the least he could do. Once that was done, he turned to the commodore, gave a slight nodd before headed for the lift to the Ops.
Carol continue to eat for a few more minutes before flagging down the waitress to get her to go box so she can give the other half to Anastasia. She could tell that Savage was definitely living up to his expectation, but she liked a good challenge. She was confident that she could get him to become an excellent commanding officer someday. She knew it was going to be the battle of the wills, and she didn't give up easily. Has she started to gather up her stuff, she just had a big smile on her face thinking about this encounter. And she thought to herself nicely played Mr Savage, nicely played. She slowly got up with her to go box in hand and started to head towards the door as the scene fades away.
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