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untitled The way the words fit together is all mine though.  The Company Commander began. "We are reviewing Marine Tashigi`s post recommendation to Loguetown upon successful completion of training." He turned to his associates. "Gentlemen..." She realized she was holding her breath. These three men would decide the course of her post-Basic career. She had made it this far; passed Common Tasks Testing and the Physical Training, survived the final training missions, and had walked proudly in the graduation parade that morning. Yet this was the most important test of the day. Her interview with the Marine Post review committee was what really mattered. The two officers on either end of the table she did not know, but the one in the middle she did; he was the most powerful man on the training base. He was the Company Commander and he was the man with the seal. It was he who would put the final stamp on her first position in the Marines. And they had just said that she was to be posted to Loguetown; the beginning and the end... The officer on the left cleared his throat. "Sir? Loguetown? Perhaps this Marine's talents would be utilized better at a less, er, primitive post." Loguetown...Gold Roger, the Pirate King, was born and executed there. It was a holy site, a place of pilgrimage. Pirates were drawn to Loguetown like moths to a flame and that served her purposes exactly. The other office spoke. "I concur. Loguetown is uncivil." He examined the papers before him before saying, carefully, "Then there is the issue of Captain Smoker. He likes his subordinates `a certain way." She kept her face impassive. It was the joy of living with kinder, gentler Marines, where euphemisms and acronyms were a way of life. The everyday translation went `a certain way,` i.e., `male.` With over 85% percent of the ranks male, the Marines were still a boy's club, even though a few women had managed to jam their foot in the door. The Commander cleared his throat. "My colleagues raise interesting points, Marine. What are your thoughts?" "Me, sir?" She'd just spent the last few months being told that the only thoughts she should have were the ones the drill instructors put there. "Yes, you, Marine, or do you think I'm addressing the air for my health?" he retorted. The two against her exchanged knowing looks. "No, sir," she said meekly. "Well, then, the Loguetown appointment." He leaned back in his chair. "I would be happy to serve at Loguetown." Non-committal, and not exactly true. Happy wasn`t the word for it; more like ecstatic. Loguetown attracted pirates and that attracted bounty hunters; the two groups of people that held the swords she cherished. The one on the right almost snorted. "That`s because you have no idea what Loguetown is like. There's an equally respectable position in East Blue... " His counterpart continued. "Loguetown is dangerous, Marine. It is hardly the place for a recruit`s first position, especially under Captain Smoker." She turned the question back at them. "Far from being a dangerous place, I`ve read that the Loguetown situation has improved under Captain Smoker`s policies." "There are things not stated implicitly in the public reports, Marine." "Such as?" She didn't give them the opportunity to answer. "Nothing that would put me off this post." She had to have this assignment; it was too perfect. "Is that what you believe, miss?" The officer on the left had broken protocol by addressing her as anything other than sergeant major or Marine. He was close to sneering. It was evident that he was another officer who believed subordinates should be `a certain way.` "Captain Smoker has eaten a Devil Fruit." He folded his arms and waited for that information to sink in. Her blood was up. They didn't think she could handle Loguetown. She answered quickly and perhaps a little rashly. "Sir, Captain Smoker could be the Devil himself, but if he's putting pirates away, then I`d be happy to serve with him. Even if I`m not `a certain way`...Sir." No one spoke. This was not the time to get butterflies, but her stomach pitched and rolled like a ship in a storm. How could she have spoken to the Commander and the review committee like that? There was no way she`d get to Loguetown now. They'd pack her off to some desk job, serving tea to a post commander in some backwater in East Blue (or god forbid, West Blue), and the most action her sword would get would be when she used it in parades given to impress the port brats - The sudden thud made her jump. The commander had stamped her recommendation. "Your file will be sent to Captain Smoker. You`ll be expected to report to Loguetown by the end of the month. That`ll give you plenty of time to put your affairs in order. Dismissed, Sergeant Major." "Y-yes, sir!" she stammered gratefully, before stumbling out the door. At the post`s only bar, everyone was drinking to his or her fill. The music was loud and there was plenty of food; real food, not the stuff they had had in the cafeterias that was only called `grub`. Tashigi laughed and felt her face with the hand that wasn`t holding a stein. Her cheeks were flushed and not from the heat in the crowded bar. She went up to the bar for a refill and bumped into a body. "Ah, Sergeant, be a dear and have them fill up my mug for me." She almost told him off, assuming that it was one of her platoon members, but she bit her tongue when she saw it was the Commander. And because she was in such a good mood, she had them fill up his mug, too. The drink loosened his tongue and he spoke of her new assignment, something that he wasn`t supposed to do outside of the committee. "I can`t wait for Smoker to see you. He`ll have a fit." "Because I`m a woman," she said bluntly. He laughed. "Maybe. More like because you`re a decent human being who remembers what courtesy is. I'm not saying Smoker`s an ogre but," the Commander waved his hand vaguely, "Living in rough places gives a person rough edges. He won`t know what to do with you." The Commander chuckled again. "Don't worry. He`s got a heart somewhere; you`ll just have a hard time finding it in all the smoke he blows." She kept her mouth shut. The Commander was being informative. He jumped to another subject. "You'll have to excuse the other officers for giving you a hard time. They weren't sure if `deferential` meant `no backbone.` Couldn't send a Marine that had no guts." It took her a moment to figure out what he meant. "That was a set-up?" she asked. He either didn`t hear her or was ignoring her question. He looked at her with bloodshot eyes, half closed because of the drink. "I saw your sword fight. Good work, huh? Won platoon honors with that one, yeah?" "Yes, sir." "Relax, Marine. This is a party." He looked into his mug. It was empty again. "But I have to know...you`re picking a rough way to go. Post duty is thankless and isn`t the quickest way to jumpstart your career. So why?" The Commander was so drunk he probably wouldn`t remember her answer anyway. She told him everything and he nodded at all the right places. "Forward thinker, very good of you," he said approvingly. "Need more Marines like that." He wandered off, still rambling about the future. She took a long swig from her stein and wiped the foam off her nose. That had been unexpected. Then one of her platoon called her over to a table and the partying truly began. It was only much later that she'd realized that the Commander wasn't being metaphorical about the `smoke`... |