Skirmish By J.P. Part 1:

	The slight jolt of the landing awakened her. Though most would have
remained undisturbed by it, Jessie Powers was never a heavy sleeper. Her
experiences over the past few years had more than insured that. She stood and
stretched, her lethargic muscles now beginning to feel energized once more.
She tied her long blond hair in a ponytail and hefted her duffel. A metallic
clank was heard as it found its way over her shoulder. The shuttle pilot
stuck his head out of the cockpit. "This is it, Sergeant. Welcome to the EFS
Normandy." Jessie nodded and noiselessly walked down the ramp.

	The dropship hanger was less busy than usual, with the troops
awaiting another mission assignment. To kill time, they talked amongst
themselves in small groups. "Heard we're getting a new trooper today, a
Sergeant Powers." said Corporal Robert Preston. He was checking over his
jump pack, his usual pre-mission ritual.

	"Hear anything about him?" asked Private Leon 'Unholy' Dyvim, as he
checked the cyberjack relays on the back of his jump helmet.

	"Not much really, supposed to be a Gunnery Sergeant and real
hardcase."

	"Would it be too much to ask for a hot chick?" interjected Dirk
Dagger. He was pacing about, unable to find something to hold his attention.

	"What's the matter, Dagger? Run out of woman to hit on?" said Unholy
dryly.

	"Sort of, I mean there's only so many times you can score on this
ship. I'm running out of women, need some fresh blood, ya know?"

	"Fresh meat is more like it." added Preston.

	"Whatever." Dagger fell to his knees, his hands held upward. "God,
send me a babe, I'm in a dry spell here!" Preston and Unholy simultaneously
rolled their eyes. Dagger got to his feet again. "Thanks for squat big guy."

	Unholy looked up from his helmet. "Don't look now, Dagger. But I
think you're prayers have been answered."

	Dagger noted the young woman's entrance at the same time. "You da
man, God!" She stood at an impressive 6 feet 5 inches tall with long blond
hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her muscular build seemed to make her more
appealing to Dagger. "I am so in love at this moment."

	"It will pass, hopefully without as much noise this time." noted
Preston.

	"That's right, your quarters are right next to his aren't they?"
asked Unholy.

	"Unfortunately."

	"Hey, I had no idea the last one would scream like that." said Dagger
defensively. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go introduce myself to my
latest conquest, er, girlfriend."

	Jessie looked about the hanger. Her new C.O. was to be Captain Tom
Jose, her X.O. was to be Lt. Crow Mengele. "Hello there." Jessie spared only
a moment's glance at the private by her side. Then she continued on her way.
She could hear his nearby friends trying not to laugh. The faces changed but
the game always remained the same. Jessie usually had to deal with situations
like this, albeit never this early. This guy must be some kind of self
proclaimed Casanova. He stomped along the deck after her. "Excuse me, I was
introducing myself to you."

	Jessie stopped and turned around to face him. "So introduce yourself,
private."

	"Name's Dagger, Dirk Dagger. And you are?" Jessie dropped her duffel
and reached out to take hold of his uniform's collar. "You like to play
rough, I like that." said Dirk.

	Jessie pulled him toward her, quickly kneeing him in the stomach.
With the wind knocked out of him, Dagger stood there trying to catch his
breath. Jessie grabbed his left wrist, firmly planted her feet, twisted
Dagger around and neatly flipped him over her back. When he landed on the
floor, she still held his wrist. Drawing it taut, she planted her left foot
on his throat. With Dagger effectively immobilized, she spoke to the crowd of
troopers that had gathered round. "Sierra Three Platoon! My name is Jessie
Powers and I think we need to get some things straight between us. Number
one, I am here to fight, not to be the brunt of your sexist jokes. Number
two, I am not a lay to be scored or a notch on your bedpost. And number
three, I am your new Gunnery Sergeant which means that when the Captain and
the Lieutenant aren't around, you take orders from me. Do we understand each
other!"

	The assembled troops barked back with an immediate "Yes Sergeant!"

	Jessie turned her attention to the trooper under her boot. "What
about you Dagger? Do we have an understanding?"

	Dagger croaked back something close to "Yes Sergeant."

	Jessie released him and he slowly got to his feet, rubbing his now
sore throat. "Sergeant!" Jessie snapped to attention as Captain Tom Jose
entered the hanger. He maneuvered his bulky frame in front of her. "Just what
the hell were you doing?"

	"My job, Sir." answered Jessie. Jose eyed her hard, but she remained
at perfect attention. "Orders, Sergeant." Jessie quickly produced yellow
sheet of paper which she placed in his hand.

	"Walk with me." ordered Jose. He read over her papers as they left
the hanger.

	"Well, at least I'll sleep soundly tonight." noted Preston.

	"I'm down, but not out." answered Dagger.

	"Only because she decided to let you up." pointed out Unholy.

	"Boys, that woman represents a challenge truly worthy of my skills."
Dagger rubbed his hands together while he rethought his strategy.

	Preston looked from the departing Sargent Powers back to Dagger. "So
is there any place in particular you'd like us to send the remains?"

* * *

	"I knew you had a chip on your shoulder. But dammit Powers, you've
only been on board for less than 15 minutes, and you've already gone and
kicked the snot out of one of my best men." started Jose.

	"Permission to speak freely, sir."

	"Granted." replied Jose. "Sir, that situation had to be resolved now.
If I didn't do that, then the men would never respect my authority."

	"Acting like that, they won't respect your authority - they'll fear
you." said Jose.

	"Sir, if I'm not mistaken we're going on a mission in less than four
hours. I don't have time to earn they're respect, so fear will have to do."

	"How did you know we're shipping out that soon?" asked Jose.

	"Sir, the scout ship is undergoing a maintenance check and being
fueled. Standard mission protocols state..."

	"That has to be done three to four hours in advance of a mission. You
know your regs, that's a plus at least." Jose folded the slip of paper and
put it in his pocket. "I assume you know what Lt. Mengele looks like?"

	"Sir, I took the liberty of reading the file of every member of the
platoon." answered Jessie.

	"How industrious of you. When you find Lt. Mengele, tell him to bring
you to the briefing room."

	"Actually sir..." began Jessie.

	"Let me guess, you pulled the ship's schematics, right?"

	"Yes, sir." answered Jessie.

	"Then bring Lt. Mengele with you to the briefing room." Jessie
saluted and Captain Jose returned it, followed by a leisurely "Carry on,
Sergeant" as he left.

To be continued...