Fitting Out
Posted on Sat May 10th, 2025 @ 5:17am by 1st Lieutenant Jeksyne Vale & Sergeant Audie Fitch & Gunnery Sergeant Gaagii & Sergeant Andrew Shy
Edited on on Sun May 11th, 2025 @ 11:44pm
2,525 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: The Morgue SFMC - Deck 9 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD009 2100 hrs
Andrew finished updating the inventory records and training requirements. With the likelihood of the Cure going into action soon against some unknown species on behalf of another barely known species, everyone needed to be up to speed on the Cure’s gear.
Word had come down. The Colonel had back-channeled a request (that probably should have come from the Captain) for Andrew to ensure the Detachment members were checked out and ready to deploy in their suits. And that said suits were ready for deployment.
As an old hand, Andrew was well aware that just because records claimed something, it wasn’t necessarily so. He’d spent the past couple of duty rotations making sure the gear was thought in was ready and now he’d set up a hands on for anyone who wanted to test-fit their MARVEL-EAS suit.
In ancient earth parlance, he was functioning as armorer and saddler/farrier sergeant, according to the Colonel. Andrew wasn’t overly happy having extra duties heaped on him because the Captain was too busy with his love life to issue order himself. There were other marines that actually had time on their hands for these collateral duties. The Colonel was using his and Andrew’s past history to call in favors.
Grumbling under his breath as he lugged the last of the weaponry out, Andrew checked his comm and then pushed a hip up on a work table while he waited.
He didn’t need to worry about the Colonel and Lieutenant Mira’s suits. Neil had fitted those personally. Andrew was kind of disappointed about that. He’d seen the intelligence officer in her body glove while she was training in the holo-tanks.
She definitely had her hooks into the Colonel. It didn’t bode well for the Cure’s leadership. Then there were the two new leu’s. One wasn’t even leading a Team but had the Sergeant Major apparently mother henning him like some butter-bar.
Snorting, Andrew wriggled his rear more onto the work table and let his mind wander.
The doors to the armory slid open with a resonating sound, admitting the Company XO, Jeksyne Vale. He hadn’t had a chance since his arrival to see himself down here for fitting of his suit, but seeing as the mission at hand required the MARVEL-EAS suit, here he was.
“Sergeant Shy?” Jeksyne asked as he entered.
Gaagii had heard about these beings known as The Silence. He was aboard the Pioneer during the last encounter with them yet like everyone else he had no recollection of that. He had down a spirit walk and encountered his spirit guides. They did advise him that his path did cross with The Silence. They also advised that the path ahead would be fraught with battle but needed. He knew that the time had come to deliver the Cure what ailed The Silence. So, he made his way to the Morgue to make sure his suit was ready for the task.
The doors swished open and he stepped into the Morgue with a smile on his face. Gaagii's had a way of smiling with his entire face and this was no different. "Sergeant Shy I thought you could use a hand with the greenhorns." His melodic and subdued way of speaking was a signature to his personality.
As the hatch cycled, Shy slid to his feet and saw his first victim was the new XO. "I'm Shy, sir," Andrew replied. "Welcome to the Morgue. I have your body glove and gear layed out over on this fitting table and I'll get you through the process. We generally encourage people to get geared together, checking each others suits visually as well as off the automatic indicators. If you'll step this way?
"Of Course." Vale nodded, walking over to the table. It was a long metal table, a black suit laid upon it. Reasonably big, but Jeksyne was a large marine. He picks it up, examines it, noting the quality.
"Experimental Tech, Sergeant?" Jeksyne asked the Sergeant.
"No. Not so much. There are a few M-Mobile units in the FMC, sir. The Cure were the first Detachment to get outfitted with them though so sometimes we get upgrades to test," Shy said as he poked at the helmet. "They talked about doing a neural link to increase response times, but that died in committee. Between the Borg and other issues."
Andrew shrugged.
"Instead, they've been working on fine tuning the motion-response. The hardest thing to get used to is you don't have to muscle the servo's to work. Picking up 200 kilos always makes me tense up and want to lift with my legs. Here you just grab and toss."
"Grab and Toss?" Jeksyne asked as he moved over to the crates, trying to get used to the suit.
"We're still able to use our rifles, correct sergeant?" Jeksyne asked for clarification.
"Yessir," Shy confirmed, picking up modified phaser rifle. "Personal preferences for load out depend on the mission, but individual weapons are up to you. In this case, the colonel has the AM-60 Spider drones configured for artillery support. I'll be networking those for the entire detachment at the same time as I pull squaddie detail. To help me multi-task, I'll be using a shoulder mount phaser, centerline, backpack grenade launcher and putting my suit into point defense mode if things really get complicated everywhere. I'll still be taking my pair of claws though."
Turning, Andrew picked up a heavy pistol. His whole hand slipped into the housing. Without his suits enhanced strength, he had to strain slightly. "Duel emitters top and bottom, each the same as a Fleet phaser rifle. Curved housing to magna-lock to my thigh plating in carry mode. Capable of pulse fire and can recharge while in carry configuration." Pointing the handheld weapon toward the ceiling, he thumbed a button and two foot long curved clawssprung from the either side of the grip. "Two thirty-four centimeter pyrosteel bayonets per claw," he said with a grin. Just what the doctor ordered when things get close and personal."
"Very Impressive. I'm sure that I can adapt my Carbine to the suit along with the new Heavy Phaser Pistols." Jeksyne commented, with a nod of the head.
"It'll take a bit getting use too, but I can see the advantages of the suit in a combat situation. I look forward to some field time in it."
When the hatch cycled again, Andrew looked over his shoulder and then said, "Hey Gunnery Sergeant. "My mother always said more hands make for a lighter load. I'm sure the L-T would appreciate your experience in getting him dressed."
"I am always ready to show an officer what is what." Gaagii's subdued voice did not allow everyone to fully understand that was a joke. He made his way over to his own suit and checked to make sure the custom tomahawk holsters that he designed were there and ready for use. When he was done he turned to Vale. "Right Lieutenant with all due respect you are going to have to strip down to your skivvies."
"Oh, skivvies, my favorite!" Audie declared as she waltzed into the room. "Light and cool, simple!" Of course, they'd have to be down to skivvies, or less, to be properly fitted for the suits, and she didn't intend to wear one with 'less'!
Glancing over his shoulder, Shy looked over the new marine and said, "The body gloves don't leave a lot to the imagination. It's just like being back in boot with the co-ed every thing Fitch. Let's see how your suit is fitting, hey? If it aint right it's hard to fight."
"Fighting?" Audie frowned as she started stripping unabashedly down to her skivvies. "No one said anything about fighting. Is it too late to change my mind?" She grinned.
Jeksyne was a marines marine. Nothing bothered him much after so many years in the corps. He stripped his shirt, his back and arms flexing before he unhooked his belt and let his pants drop. he steps out of them, only left in his issued boxer briefs.
Turning, he picked up the bodyglove and began to pull it on.
Gaagii twirled two tomahawks in his hands and then placed them into the holsters. "Right so the body glove fits like a second skin. It has interfaces to link up with the tech of the EAS. This way the suit reacts to your movements and environments. It does take some getting used to especially when it comes to hand to hand combat. However, it is not much different than EVA training or difficult terrain training." He spoke as he donned his own bodyglove and then started putting the suit proper on. Gaagii thought that he could show the new members of the Cure how to use the suit.
Audie shimmied into her suit, surprised to find that, despite the snug fit, it was forgiving and flexible. She tried a few squats and lunges, then nodded approval. "As long as it doesn't read my mind, I approve!" she chuckled.
"No, not your thoughts. If it did that I think we would all be in trouble." Gaagii added with a soft chuckle. "But it can detect you wants or needs. For example you are trying to move a large storage crate out of the way, and you cannot move it due to its weight. The suit will grant you extra strength by shunting energy into the arms of the suit. This will allow you to accomplish the task at hand."
"Oh, but what if I need a man?" Batting her eyes, Audie shifted her hips, then laughed. "It all sounds a but...odd, so it's good to get used to it before I need it in combat. This should be interesting. What about running and jumping and whatnot? And does it ward off nightmares?"
Raising an eyebrow, Andrew "Audie, I'm assuming you went through the SIM training. The suits exoskeleton gives you increased strength and protection. It also has weapons mounts such as an upgraded phaser, photon grenade launcher in a backpack configuration or flame thrower as you like. The phaser shoulder mount the colonel uses is taken from a runabout."
Gaagii laughed at the mention of the Colonel's phaser mount. "Colonel Tremble has a penchant for overkill. For most of us a standard phaser will do. Besides, I prefer the thrill of hand to hand."
"Isn't the whole point to avoid getting that close?" Audie grinned and shrugged. "So long as the job is done, right? And I'll take any help I can get. And there's plenty of places to stow medical gear so I can take care of all those hand-to-hand boo-boos!" Not that she expected any Marine to complain about anything short of lethal! 'Carry on!'
Shy felt his eyes start to widen at the corpsman's antics but stopped them mid stretch. Instead he calmly went on, "Generally, the suit's pharma packs can administer some pain blockers as well as stims for keeping you on the bounce. And of course they have built in triage nets and tourniquet systems. Keep us in the fight longer."
Even if the suit did it all, Audie was still going to carry some sort of medical kit, but leave it to the military to figure a way to keep them in the fight longer! "Good to know it'll take care of most injuries." Because sometimes you didn't get there soon enough, and intervention was too late.
"Yeah it is said that these suits can keep you together and moving even if you are dead. However, I will tell you this much. I would rather a Corpsman any day of the week." Gaagii said with a smile toward Audie. Once Audie had her suit entirely on he walked over toward her. "In fact as a Corpsman your suit has an interesting feature. Point your finger in my direction and then look at the wrist-mounted screen." When Audie did as he asked she would find that the hand of the suit had a built in medical scanner.
"Suits will keep you going. But they can keep you past common sense too and then at the end, there's a bigger job for the bandage binders," Andrew said as he watched the return feeds from Audie's suit on his repeater, taking notes.
Audie did as asked, then broke into a wide grin. "It's like having super powers!" She lowered the tone of her voice as she pointed at Gaagli. "Show me you vitals!" While she was joking around, she was paying attention and making sure she learned every aspect of the suit.
"Yeah it comes in handy for negotiations too. Just don't tell the brass." Gaagii added with a broad smile. "All the suits are outfitted with technology that can assist in the performance of ones duties. Mine for example has enhanced tracking systems and allows me to see in all situations. That helps with RECON."
Andrew finished running diagnostics through the Sergeants and Gunnies suits. "Both your suits look like they're ready to go. Gunnie, I added that patch that will help with intuitive tracking and the toggle you wanted so as to tell the computer to shut up," he grinned. "Audie, your medical vambrace should automatically attune to your personal preferences anytime you power up. Additionally, we do have a small medical drone that can be fitted to extend your range. It has the AED feature, though the troops at R&D did somehow figure out how to disable the safeties. A couple of the medics configured the drones to go into a protective mode that would attack any bad actors attacking them or a designated patient."
"Ah, death by electricity!" Audie grinned, finding the idea useful, and as for the overrides, that shouldn't pose a problem, since she had the training to know how and when to use a standard monitor/defibrillator. "I bet that would work just fine on those bugs!"
Gaagii smiled. "You know Sergeant that is not bad thinking. I once knew a medic who told me that any life saving skill when applied to a healthy person can and would kill them. So, keep that in your pocket as a last resort." He just finished testing the targeting scanner and the composition scanner that was part of the RECON systems check in his suit.
A Joint Post By
First Lieutenant Jeksyne Vale
Company Executive Officer, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Gunnery Sergeant Gaagii
RECONN, Team 2, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Sergeant Audie Fitch
Corpsman Team 2, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Sergeant Andrew Shy;
Tactical Systems Operator, Team 2, The Cure;
USS Pioneer;
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