<USS Avalon> Here's the deal...

(Note, this takes place before "Flirtin' in the Mess")

Here's the deal... 
By, Adrian Jackson Phillips 

The familiar sites and sounds of the marine facility came into Adrian’s mind as 
he walked coolly into the room. His meeting with Ketchum was surprising to say 
the least, particularly with the promotion. But, Vega Prime is not something to 
snuff at. 

1st Lt. Wilkinson already had the full company present and waiting, though some 
more calmly then others. Marines were never good about that, when not on 
assignment of course. It’s almost like they were young children in a playplace 
and you told them to sit still, just can’t seem to do. 

Some were dressed casually, coming from off duty. Others were in uniform and 
had returned from a routine patrol of ship. Still others were probably in the 
middle of some form of training, the sweat still glistening from the lights. 
All eyes seemed to turn to the main doors as Adrian walked in. 

The company made their over to him, and while normally things would be joking 
and in a good mood, Phillips’ expression told them otherwise. After all, some 
of the men present had served with Phillips through most of the Dominion War. 
They knew when it was time to be serious, or time to relax. 

“Well folks, looks like were on our way for a new and exciting assignment.” 
Adrian’s first words were meant with a mixture of joy and interest. Some of the 
younger members don’t know what that means yet. He pon
dered to himself as he scanned their faces. “This isn’t any normal assignment 
though. Were dealing with something from Vega Prime.” 

Even in the marine realm rumors of what went on at Vega Prime Research Facility 
floated around, and weren’t the good kind. The smiles and sounds of joy died 
away as they listened intently, each man and woman now realizing what exactly 
they were about to embark upon. 

Adrian paused for a moment longer, letting this information fully sink in. Word 
choice was critically important here and he needed to make sure he stressed the 
importance of all aspects of their mission. “Someone stole a shuttle from Vega 
Prime, a shuttle which had biological weapons onboard.” 

His words echoed through the large space as he continued. “We are the second 
ship to be sent to retrieve these items. The SS _______ was sent to recover 
them and came under attack, and was utterly destroyed.” 

The room was filled once more with murmurs and chatting from the marines. “What 
about survivors?” came a voice from among the pack. Adrian let the chatter go 
for a few more moments before he answered the question posed to him. 

“Scans report a few escape pods got away and landed on one of the nearby 
planets. The same planet that this shuttle was sighted going to.” Was his 
response. “Unfortunately, whomever has given us this assignment, and it wasn’t 
our Admiral, has decided that the survivors are secondary.8
0 

Before the room erupted once again, Adrian held up his hands. “Trust me 
however, that this will not be the case. 3rd and 4th squads will be designated 
on search and rescue crews to recover our missing comrades. We’ll find them.” 
The conviction in his voice was direct and true, his men knew that, especially 
those who had been with him. 

“Our job is simple. Find the culprits and the stolen weapons and bring them 
back. We are not to use them and make sure they are untainted. If this is 
impossible, we are to destroy them. We know nothing about them yet, but I 
promise to work on that. Any questions?” Phillips finished finally and looked 
around the room, scanning each face to make sure they understood what was 
expected of them. 

The silence told him what he needed to know. “Alright then, lets get to work!” 

A few of the men started to head back for new training assignments, but 
Wilkinson piped up. “Phillips, what’s that new thing you got on your collar 
there?” 

“Someone decided to go ahead and promote me to Major it seems.” Adrian shrugged 
as the group cheered him on for his promotion. “Enough enough!” He said 
quickly. “We’ll have plenty of time after today to congratulate me, lets get 
back to work!”

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