Oak leaves and Mission Debriefs

Posted on Fri Aug 8th, 2025 @ 6:39am by Commodore Samantha York & Major Cameron Bourne

1,289 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Broken Mirror
Location: CO's Ready Room

ON:

Making his way up to the bridge, Cam was rereading over his report for the last away mission. He wanted to hand it to Samantha in person so he could discuss a few training ideas he had for the marines, and maybe any other crew member who might want some combat training. Feeling the turbolift begin to slow, Cam straightened up is uniform and took a quick breath in. He was proud of how his marines had performed, and his report reflected that. Stepping out of the turbolift, Cam walked down along the edge of the bridge and tapped the door chime.

Sam was seated at her desk, going over the information collected by Ensign Tuff. The team did well and she was hopeful the information collected would tell them who was behind the attacks so they could pass it off to Starfleet and move on. When the door chimed, she saved her place and called, "Come in."

Stepping in, Cam walked over to Sam's desk, "Captain, here's my report for the away mission," he said, putting his Padd down on her desk. "how's the scientist?"

"He's doing well, fortunately," she replied. "They wanted him for his knowledge." She picked up the PADD and quickly scanned it, then set it aside for a closer read. "Thank you. Is there anything I should focus on?"

Cam shook his head, "nothing in particular. The away team performed as expected, minor injuries, nothing newsworthy." he said, looking over at the other PADD on Sam's desk, "hopefully the information we retrieved will be useful."

"As do I. Intel is taking a look at it, and I have a copy I'll go over later." She opened a drawer in her desk and took out a small box. "This is for you." She slid the box over to him.

Looking at the box, Cam cocked an eyebrow before reaching forward to take the box. Opening it up, he was surprised to find a gold oak leaf inside. "Oh. wait, are you serious?"

"Very." She smiled. This was a part of her job she particularly enjoyed. "You've done an excellent job since returning to the Calypso and you deserve the promotion."

Giving a sigh, Cam shook his head, "I'm just doing my job Captain, but since you've gone to the trouble of pushing this through, I might as well accept" he said, taking the oak leaf out. "Would you do the honours, Ma'am?"

"I'd be happy to." She quickly replaced his captain's bar with the oak leaf. "Congratulations, major."

Snapping to attention, Cam nodded, “thank you Captain, I hope to serve for a while longer yet”

"Good. What plans do you have for the Marines, if I may ask?" Sam had no doubt he had ideas, and she was curious as to what they were.

“I’ve got a few ideas of how I’m going to keep them fit and ready. Holodeck training, daily PT. Things like that. Weekends off,” Cam replied, running the ideas through his head.

"I don't mind weekends off, as long as they understand leave will be cancelled if they're needed. But, as that isn't likely to happen often, it shouldn't be a problem," Sam replied. "What else?"

“Weapons training, federation, Klingon, Romulan, Orion. All of it,” Cam answered, going through his mental list, “I want my marines to be able to field-strip and use anything they come across.”

"I think that's a good idea. You might also consider cross-training with security. It'll be good for both of you."

Cam nodded, “that’s not a bad idea. Give my marines a moving target to shoot at” he says with a sarcastic grin

"Same could be said for security. Some of them are pretty good shots," she countered. Yes, the Marines trained more, but Cam shouldn't discount them--even with his Marine pride.

Cam’s smile only grew, “That sounds like a challenge. Care to place a wager on that?”

Sam laughed. "I never bet against my crew. Especially not with other members of my crew. It sets a bad precedent."

“You sure? I’ve got a bottle of aged whisky on the line” Cam said.

If Damon were there, he would have bet that the Marines would win. The thought caused her to take a quick breath. "You might want to see if anyone from security will take that bet."

Thinking it over, Cam nodded, “why not, I’m sure I can entice them into a friendly bet.” He said, relaxing his stance, “now, enough with the formal stuff. How are you going Sam? Not the Captain, Sam. How’s she doing?”

Sam was quiet for a long moment. "Damon has been on assignment for over a year and out of touch for most of that. I recently got word he and his team were killed in action. I haven't told anyone yet. To be honest, I don't want to. I'm still processing it. But, since you may have heard about it--or will--you should know." She raised a hand before he could respond. "It's something we talked about, and knew was always a possibility. It's just...something I prefer to deal with alone."

letting her talk, Cam gave a sigh, "I'm sorry for your loss, he was a good man. But you know you don't have to deal with this alone. In fact, I can say from experience it's easier to deal with if you have someone to talk it over with." he said, taking a seat across from her, "even if it's just the ship's counsellor."

"Oh, I know." Sam smiled. "I've given that advice often enough. I will, at some point, but right now, I just need to process it. I'm only telling you because I don't want you hearing it from other sources first."

“And I appreciate that Sam, I’ll keep it under my hat.” Cam said, giving her a caring smile. She’d been his CO since the Calypso had rescued him from the Orion mines and she’d even helped him gain his officer’s commission. The least he could do was be a support for her, “has his funeral been sorted yet?”

"No. FMC will be sending me his dog tags and a medal of honor. They buried his remains on the planet with the others, but I could still hold a memorial service for him. Right now, I have to focus on the task at hand. Then we'll go somewhere for shore leave and I'll do something then." She appreciated that he wouldn't say anything. She would need to do that herself, but possibly only to the crew that actually knew him. 'You can tell Kara if you wish. Or I will later. She worked with him and deserves to know." And there were a couple others. But most only saw him when he came for a few days and never really got to know Damon.

Cam nodded, "understood, I'll let her know." he said, giving a sigh. Whatever Damon did to earn him a posthumous MOH, being buried that quickly often meant things happened fast. "I better get back to it, If you ever need anything, even if it's just a drinking buddy, give me a call"

"I appreciate that." Sam knew all the things to do when she lost a member of her crew--all captains received that training---but this was different. Still, she would get through this because she had to. And if she ever needed a drinking buddy, she knew who to ask.

Standing up straight, Cam stood to attention, "If you'll excuse me, Captain."

Sam stood and saluted back. "You're excused. Good job, major."

A post by

Major Cameron Bourne
Marine CO

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer

 

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