When Worlds Collide.

Posted on 19 Jul 2026 @ 12:37pm by 1st Lieutenant S'earr & 2nd Lieutenant Elora Rykov

2,366 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: MCO's Office

[ON]

The doors to the Marine Commanding Officer's office slid shut behind the departing staff officer, leaving 1st Lieutenant S'earr alone once more with the ever-growing collection of personnel reports scattered across his desk.

The towering Caitian leaned back slightly in his chair, golden eyes settling upon the newest notification that had arrived from the Captain's office.

Personnel Assignment Update.

His ears flicked once.

Opening the file, he immediately recognized the name. 2nd Lieutenant Elora Rykov. The official orders were brief.

By authority of Captain Jasmine Somers, Lieutenant Rykov was assigned as Executive Officer of the Ninety-Fifth Marine Expeditionary Unit effective immediately. S'earr read the message twice before closing it and opening her service record once more.

This time he studied it differently. Not as another Marine under his command.

But as the officer who would stand directly beside him. The distinction mattered.

Captain Somers was not known for making impulsive decisions.

If she had selected Rykov personally, there would be a reason.

He continued reading. Training certifications, field qualifications, personnel management experience, operational planning. The further he progressed through the file, the more one thing became apparent.

This was not a promotion handed out as a reward. It had been earned.

The office remained silent for several moments. Then S'earr activated the personnel display again. A holographic image of Lieutenant Rykov appeared above the desk. The Caitian studied it thoughtfully.

Young.

At least by Human standards, recently promoted.

Almost certainly carrying the weight of proving she belonged in her new role.

He had seen that look before.

Many times.

=^= Lieutenant S'earr to Lieutenant Rykov. Report to my office. =^= The level tone, the finite edge to it left little to the imagination that a meeting was going to happen, sooner rather than later.

Elora awoke in Taren's arms curled snuggly against him in their first shared bed. It was a new experience, a good one at that. She had only a moment to enjoy it though as her Comm badge chirped to life and an unfamiliar yet unmistakable voice sounded from the device shattering the silence, invoking her body to move before her brain had full registered his words entirely.

She grabbed her comm from the bedside table and spoke even as she got up to grab her uniform. From its hanger in the closet.

=^=Aye sir, on my way. Rykov out.=^=

She dressed quickly double checking her gig line and making sure she had laced her boots up correctly as she went. It was only a handful of minutes before she was speed walking down the corridors to the lift. A hand full more to navigate the marine decks before she finally arrived at S'earr's office. She swallowed hard then reached out to the chime to announce her arrival. There wasn't time to be nervous.

"Enter." He spoke, the doors opening to reveal his new Executive Officer. He stood up and like all other females to meet him, granted the same respect as he bowed his head.

"Thank you for joining me Lieutenant, please, take a seat." The two chairs in front of his desk were vacant. "May i get you anything?"

Elora had by force of habit come to attention and saluted. She had been about to sound off with the standard 'second lieutenant Rykov reporting as ordered' only to have been met with a bow from her MCO. He'd asked her something and her mouth struggled a moment as her body responded first by slipping into a chair at the phrase 'Take a seat.' from him. "I ..er..umm.." she studders momentarily. "I am um.. I'm good thanks sir."

S'earr studied the woman and her stutter. "I am from a caste system on the Homeworld, different to WO K'Muss with whom you are familiar." S'earr spoke then his tail wrapped about him as he too sat. "I understand that you have been appointed as my Executive Officer. I thought it prudent that we meet if we are going to be working together."

She watched him sit, he was huge even sitting behind the desk. "Aye sir. I was informed of my promotion last night by Captain Somers. I apologize for not checking in with you sooner. I was told to report to you on my next duty shift." She explained gaining a bit more confidence as she regained some of her wits.

"Acceptable given the circumstances." S'earr spoke. "I have read your record, but I would like to hear from you. Tell me about yourself." S'earr knew that reports often held an analytical perspective that focused on some things while ignoring others. He wanted to know what kind of woman Elora was, how she worked, in her own words and perspectives.

"What exactly would you like to know?" Elora returned. No one had ever really asked her about herself before, with the exception of Taren.

"You have served with this company for a while, lead teams, earned the respect of the men. Why only now have you been elevated to the position of leadership such as this?" S'earr wanted to know if she had ambition, drive and determination, many of those that served with him developed and progressed into leadership roles of their own.

Okay, this she could answer. "Well if you want to know the truth I never applied for a promotion. I have no idea why they promoted me now. I have several outstanding demerits for being reckless and impulsive. Worst yet for being defiant. Those assigned under me trust me and follow me because I earned it. I have proven to them that they can trust me with their lives. I have never failed a mission, big or small. I value those I work with and know how to use their skills to get the job done. The only casualties I have had under my belt were due to higher powers pulling rank and my men, my friends they chose to listen to the brass. I don't play games with my mens lives. No man left behind. I mean it when I say it. They know no matter what that they are coming home one way or another." Elora spoke with depth and passion. "They are my family sir."

S'earr understood the bond formed between marines and the flaws in blind obedience. "You say you never applied, yet here you are." S'earr commented. "To the chase, I am aware of what I am and the impression I exude to others. I am an unknown element, so I expect there to be problems as I adjust and settle in. I believe a command element should be a combination of the work styles, performances and means." S'earr continued as he shifted slightly in his obviously too small chair.

"I would like you to be the person that takes the edge off my actions because of my ways before it reaches the men. I understand people are wary of a new commanding officer, so I'd like your aid in settling and working with the marines to restore company cohesion." S'earr wasn't here to disrupt, or cause issues. He was here to lead, yet with Elora's help he hoped not only to cut down that time but perhaps together they could a solid working team to get things done.

Elora nodded. "It would be an honor sir. I guess the first thing we would want to address is the rumor mill. I am not sure how it started or where it started from but some of the men are under the impression you killed and ate someone at your last duty station. It has a lot of them on edge." She confessed. She had been up until last night one of those people on edge. She inwardly thanked Taren for his wisdom and helping her see reason on the situation. Now it was time to confront it.

S'earr couldn't stop a low rolling growl from escaping. Someone...had done some homework. "I apologise." He rubbed this throat before he spoke again. "The rumour is true. During my last assignment I was tasked with recon observation of a raider hideout known to be smuggling Promazine. Sentries patrolled the outskirts and I was forced to kill, they enhanced their patrols believing a rival gang was encroaching, so i killed again only this time I made it clear that an animal had done it. I also made sure they saw me. This fear forced the raiders to withdraw into the compound, which made capture much easier."

It took a beat for Elora to try and think of a response. She was a mixed bag of emotions on the subject. Primarily impressed, how clever of him! As well as deeply disturbed at what it must have cost him to do it. She had questions that she knew she was never going to ask, far too personal for a first meeting. Maybe someday if they both lived long enough, she'd find the courage to. Or maybe then she would have too much respect. Some questions just didn't need to be answered anyways so she let them go. She waited for the fear to return. Oddly enough it did not. instead, she felt respect at the sacrifice he had made to likely save so many other lives in a more confrontable assault.

"Well, I hope they at least tasted like chicken." She hadn't meant to say it. It had come out though. It was her odd way to cope with what he had said. To make light of it because what else could one do with that information.

The black lines on S'earr's facial fur could be seen to shift, though it couldn't be told if it was humour or frustration. "It has been some time." S'earr remarked, though he understood she was trying to lighten the mood. "I should tell you that my ways prevent any contact with females physically without permission. I hope that in time you may gain a familiarity of my ways to help us work together."

"Aye boss I will." Elora agreed. She wasn't sure what she was seeing in his face, but it made her shiver slightly. The comment about not being able to touch her rang like a bell in her head. She had fucked up. "I am sorry for, what I said. I ummm." She licked her lips and took a deep breath. "I didn't mean any disrespect." It was import that he knows that. "I have had to see and do things.. It's how my mind handles the uglies. It won't happen again."

"There is one more thing I'd like your clarification on." S'earr lifted the Padd that contained the briefing that was awaiting him. "Lieutenant JG Faith Benson's rescue." He returned his gaze back to Elora. "I'd like to hear your recommendations on how to proceed." S'earr was keen to see what Elora thought on the potentially tactical rescue under his command.


Elora looked over the PADD briefly before returning her attention to S’earr.

"Lieutenant Benson’s recovery should be treated as a CSAR operation, not a standard retrieval. She is not a passive casualty. She is an active tactical officer who has already demonstrated sound judgment by identifying the enemy’s deception and maintaining independence behind hostile lines."

Elora reached into her jacket prepared and removed a PADD she had with a holo emitter. Setting it on his desk she then brought up the tactical map she had been going over again just hours ago.

"My recommendation is that we avoid approaching Landing Zone Alpha unless Benson confirms it is secure. The enemy knows that location and may be using it as a trap. Rally Point Bravo gives us the best position to establish communications, security, and a controlled extraction plan. Our first priority should be countering the enemy’s electronic warfare capability. Ghost Team needs to locate and disrupt their communications relay before we expose the rescue team’s position."

She looked back to S’earr. "When contact is made, we need to trust Benson’s actions. She has survived because she adapted. Authenticate her identity, assess her condition, and then move to extraction. We are not there to take over. We are there to bring her home. The mission priority is recovery, not engagement. Avoid unnecessary contact, preserve intelligence opportunities, and only respond with force if Benson or the team are threatened. My recommendation: low-profile approach, controlled movement, secure communications, and immediate extraction once we have her. Faith Benson is exactly the kind of officer we send into difficult situations. Our job is to make sure she doesn't have to face this one alone."

S'earr listened to Elora give her brief, but one thing still puzzled him. "Why is this ships Chief Security Officer, engaging in activities better suited to trained and experienced marine forces, with recon, observation and threat assessment skills that this same ship has in abundance? Our job is to be sent into difficult situations, it's what we train for."

Elora shrugged, "To my understanding she was testing a drop pod. She had full autorotation to do so from the brass. I was only just appointed your Executive officer just before you arrived. I am as stumped on those details as you are boss."

S'earr wasn't happy about the situation, but it was the situation he found himself in. "Very well, you will lead the ground element while I maintain operational control from the ship. Assemble your team, equipment and any supplies you might need. Let's hope that the information gathered is worth the lives of those put at risk to retrieve it."

"Aye sir." Elora came to attention and saluted waiting to be dismissed so she could go get things moving as orderd.

"Dismissed." S'earr spoke, the displeasure clear to see on his face, but both knew it was a situation they found themselves due in part to no contribution of their own.

[OFF]



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