What You Take With You

Posted on Wed Aug 26th, 2015 @ 2:13am by Lieutenant Nicolette De La Croix & Staff Sergeant Sandrine White

Mission: Prelude to War
Location: USS Manoora, Crew Mess

So it might have been a cheap trick, but the crew mess seemed to be the best place to try and catch people to ask about being interviewed. Over the edge of a sandwich, coming down off the stress of a shift, drink in hand: people were just more naturally inclined to talk, Misuu found, so that was her hunting ground of choice. She stepped into the cafeteria just after the end of her shift and started eyeing up the potential candidates. Too tired. Too scary. Too busy. Too boring. Her eyes fell on a dark haired woman in whatever the marines called their standard uniform get up (probably something abbreviated. They loved to abbreviate ev-ery-thing and plastered on her best smile.

"Hi there.." the smaller woman offered chipperly as she approached the table. "I don't want to bother you or ruin your lunch if you need space- I was just wondering if I could have a few minutes of your time." She held out a hand to shake and smiled even wider. "My name's Misuu Caran."

Looking down at her crocodile soup, Sandrine sighed, noting the young woman’s chipper attitude. Turning her head slowly towards the young grinning woman, she wondered what she had done to deserve this. Stay calm, no sudden movements. “How can I help you .." Dropping her eyes to the woman's collar she added "Ensign?”

A hint of Australian accent could be detected by someone who could recognize it. She looked the woman over, trying to determine the reason why someone with such as sunny disposition felt inclined to speak with someone who had the emotional appeal of a brick wall.

Caran's smile drooped just a little. "I don't mean to disturb you. I just.. I do a little amateur journalism on the side and I'm putting together a program about the people side of what's going on, not just the glitzy-glamour ratings grab stuff that shows up on the big stations. I think it's important to represent the reality of the people involved, not just the ships or the fleet or the wide lens explosion glossies. Nothing confidential, nothing mission related.. Is this something that you're interested in? I haven't talked to any of the marines on board yet."

As the young journalist spoke, Sandrine peered deeply into her eyes seemingly looking for something. Once she was done speaking, she kept staring at her for a long moment. Long enough to be uncomfortable.

When she finally broke eye contact, she nodded and pushed the chair in front of her with her feet. “Have a seat.” While she didn’t smile, or use any of the usual visual cues people offer to show others they are welcome, her demeanor did seem to relax considerably.

The ensign sat and made herself comfortable. She waited for a moment as if biding her time then piped up with "So what's your name?"

“Sandrine White. Staff Sergeant. Resident medic of Delta Company’s first Platoon.” It was obvious to anyone she had tried very hard not to blurt out the information in a military fashion. The answer being thus left rather odd in it’s structure.

As she seemed about to add something, color drained from her face and she stiffened. Her feet braced themselves on her chairs legs, as if to keep her balance. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, her eyes fell on the young ensign, embarrassment visible for an instant.

"It's okay. It's okay..." Misuu was completely unsure of what to do or what was going on. She didn't want to embarrass the woman, but she risked touching her hand lightly any how. "Nothing's recording. It's just us. Are you okay? Do you need some water?"

Shaking her head in the negative, Sandrine forced herself to relax. “Inaprovoline doesn’t quite work well for me.” Unsure why she felt she could admit this to a stranger, she looked around to make sure no one had caught her unease. “Spent most of my life planet-side. For some reason, my spacial awareness seems to be hypersensitive when I’m in space.”

Taking a spoonful of her soup as if nothing odd had happened, she looked back up to the ensign. “And of course that pilot of yours seems to feel he needs to make a course correction every other minute.” She sighed to herself, pushing aside the bowl of soup. “So, you had questions I imagine.”

Once the other woman seemed to be steady again, Misuu sighed. Her younger sister had been epileptic when she was younger and for a terrifying moment she thought that distant look was the telltale beginning of a seizure. "Oh, yeah I do. I'd like to record it if that's okay with you. Anything that I ask that you don't quite like we can skip or if you feel ill I'll edit it out, but I'm looking for about ten or so minutes of conversation to mix in with other pieces for a small block segment. All candid stuff. Are you okay with that?"

Sandrine simply nodded, looking at Misuu with what was perhaps curiosity.

"Okay then.." Misuu scooted a little closer to White and quickly to set up the shiny blue and black PADD that she'd had tucked under her arm on its prop backing, readjusting it a bit until it caught them both squarely in the center of the preview screen that popped up. "Are you ready" She asked, sweeping her short hair behind her ears. She waited for the marine's signal to tap the record icon. "Hello and welcome to Trench Talk. I'm Misuu Caran and today we're talking with Sadrine White. As an experienced medic, I'm sure you've seen your share of action," Caran led straight into her first question briskly. "There's a lot of new recruits coming not just into actual combat situations for the first time, but onto ships. I've seen all kinds of responses from exaggerated bravado to anxiety over what could happen. Do you have any advice for your peers that might help them get through this uncertain time?"

Sandrine seemed to think that one over for a second before responding. “Don’t focus on what is about to come. No matter what you imagine it will be like, no matter how you think you’ll act, it’ll be worse. “ She sighed, briefly displaying a genuine care for others. Glancing at Misuu she continued.

“Think of why you want to come back. Focus on your loved ones. Focus on the ideals you hold dear. Focus on getting out alive. Focus on getting the people around you out alive. Whatever works for you really, but focus on something positive.”

Looking back at Misuu she asked “Was that ok?”

"That's perfect," Misuu told her with an encouraging grin. "That's exactly what I think people need to hear. Not just the talk up to get your blood pumping and aim you at a target, but what you need when the adrenaline dies down and you find yourself trying to figure out what to do next. One foot goes in front of the other. You've made it through pulling on those kinds of thoughts that you just shared and made it back, which means that they can, too. They need to see this."

Nodding, Sandrine rested her back on her chair. "Next question then."

"Okay.." Misuu leaned back in her seat as well and folded her hands over her knee. "Here's one that another another of your crew mates asked me to pass down the line to people who've been out there before. What do you take with you when you're headed on world to a hot spot. Not like gear or weaponry; are you allowed to take anything personal? Is it wise to or are the chances that you'll never see it again too great?"

The staff sergeant shifted slightly on her seat before answering. "That depends I guess. We are very physical beings by nature. We tend to feel the need to cling to physical objects that we connect to a strong emotional response." She looked down for a moment, before looking back up. "Find something with a strong emotional pull, but that you won't deplore the loss. Bring a holo of your family, but make a backup before leaving. In battle, things get chaotic. There's always a chance you'll loose what you bring down with you, so make sure the loss of it won't upset you too much in the end."

Tugging under her shirt, Sandrine brought out a small silver and gold pendant of the Vulcan IDIC. "I bring this. It was offered to me by a civilian I once saved on Thelka IV. I keep it to remind me that this is exactly why I do this job. And because the IDIC represents everything the Federation stands for." Tucking it back in, she looked at the camera, and one could almost perceive an actual woman behind those eyes. "As for allowance, truth is, your not. Starfleet and Marine regulations both stipulate you cannot bring anything but sanctioned gear in a war zone or away mission. But I've never met a commander who didn't permit it despite regulations. Make sure it's discreet and you won't have a problem."


Misuu beamed, thoroughly moved by Sadrine's show of camaraderie. She didn't know how much of a difference her little show would make or if the captain would allow it to continue, but to her- even if it was only getting people to talk- it meant something. "That's good to know. Thank you again for your time. I hope we can talk to you again as we proceed through the next few weeks or months to help keep us all going. That's all for Trench Talk tonight. Stay safe people!"

She reached over and tapped the little red button at the bottom of the screen. "That was great! I know so many people that will feel better after hearing you speak. This one guy from engineering has a little girl about three or four and he's never been away from her. His wife gave him a curl wrapped up in ribbon and told him to keep it in his pocket for luck, but he's been terrified of being written up for it."

"Heh! if he does, tell him to send his C.O. my way. I'll have words." Looking around a the other people in the mess hall, Sandrine couldn't help but feel sorry for all of them. Their lives were about to change in ways they would never comprehend. None of them would ever be the same again. "If you think it'll help... but in my experience, nothing can prepare anyone for whats about to come." Seemingly at a loss, she cleared her throat. "Never been one for words. If you'll excuse me, I got letters to write."

Without waiting for a reply, or a second look at the young reporter, the staff sergeant rose up quickly and left at a fast pace, leaving her cold soup on the table.

As she left, Misu picked up her PADD and held it for a moment. She couldn't help but feel like the marine had just given her a profoundly private piece of herself when asked to give ten minutes of time with her time to her fellow crewmen. She gathered up the other woman's discarded dishes and carried them to the recycler, ignoring a few of the odd looks sent her way before taking leave herself.

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Staff Sargent Sandrine White
Marine Medic

and

Ensign Misuu Caran (NPC - Kitty)