Crew Wellness
Posted on Sun May 24th, 2026 @ 4:13pm by Captain Remy Johansen & Major Clay McEntyre III & Gunnery Sergeant Ragnar Grymblöd
Edited on on Sun May 24th, 2026 @ 4:14pm
1,759 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Day 11, early morning
OOC: I was looking up what a Gunnery Sgt does - and one thing is crew wellness. Remy has an unusual request...
We'll start in the middle of the action as you both arrive.
The Captain greeted both Major McEntyre and Sergeant Grymblöd as they stepped into her ready room. She wasn't familiar with the Sergeant, this was a meeting of first impressions. The Captain felt small next to the two large statured officers, but she didn't let that let her take up any less space.
"Welcome, gentlemen," she said gesturing to the more casual seating arrangements away from her desk. "Please have a seat. Can I get either of you something to drink?"
"I'm fine, thank you Captain. May I introduce Sergeant Grymblöd?" Clay spoke as he stood before the captain's desk and introduced his new Sergeant.
Ragnar nodded curtly, offering a quick salute to Remy. "It's a pleasure, ma'am. I transferred to the Astrea from Barisa Primes garrison. Kinda decided it was time to get off planetside." He paused and considered the offer of a drink. "Raktajino will do, please."
"Please, relax, Sergeant, Major," Remy said casually as she walked to the replicator. "We aren't standing on formalities today."
She order the Sergeant a raktijino and herself a tea. She carried the drinks over along with a pitcher of water and three glass and placed it on the coffee table away from her desk. She was the first to take a seat in one of the plush guest chairs arranged informally around the table.
"Join me. I don't bite," she said as she picked up her cup of steaming tea.
Ragnar eased his bulk into one of the seats, somehow seeming to make it look almost too small for him despite being comfortable. He looked every bit as though he would be more comfortable in Medieval Attire than the crisp Marine uniform that he wore. "That is always a comforting thing to hear." His eyes flashed with a deep internal fire as he caught Remy's gaze before reaching for his Raktajino.
"Major," Remy gestured for the large Caitian to sit. There had been some unresolved tension still between the two of them and the major's decision to go over her head about Commander Spello, but she was stuck with the Marine Commander for now and would make the best of it.
Clay sat. He had felt tension betweeen them since he confronted her about the mission on Freecloud. He knew that when he submitted his report to Starfleet it would only grow.
"I know it's been a bit more of a chaotic transition that you might have expected," Remy acknowledged. "I'm sure you've had plenty to keep you you busy. Though being on board a ship can certainly be different. Slower at times. We aren't always engaged in managing situations as complex as this conference has become."
Ragnar chuckled at the comment, a small smile cracking his otherwise stern face. "In my experience Chaos is the norm and peace is the rare treat, Captain."
"We definitely seen some chaos, I will admit, Gunny. I tend to try to run as tight a ship I can with the MARDET." Clay nods as he commented.
"I'd like to hear from you, Mr. Grymblöd, if you don't mind, what you hope to bring to your position here on Astrea. To the ship, to the Marines," Remy asked. "To be honest, this is my first posting with a Marine contingent on board. I feel like I know the Major's background and vision. But, I'd like to be in touch with the enlisted personnel as well."
Ragnar thought for a moment before answering. "As a Gunny I typically fill the role of liason between the enlisted personnel that I have direct command of and the Brass, ma'am. There is a lot more to the position than that of course; but as long as I have the proper support from above I don't usually have an issue in that regard..." he paused, glancing at Clay "...from what I have seen so far I don't think that will be an issue in honesty, I am usually a pretty good judge of character and neither of you feel like the bad sort of Command."
"It's my understanding in Marine culture that generally someone wouldn't be promoted in your position unless they were someone who naturally commandeered the respect of their peers and subordinates," Remy prodded. "A mentor type that people look up to?"
Ragnar nodded, offering a confident smirk. "That is a good way to put it... becoming a Gunny requires you to have the trust of your peers as well as the favor of your command structure. It takes some work getting there; takes even more proving yourself again to those you now stand above in rank."
"If the Major hasn't already mentioned it, I think he'd agree that thus far I've pretty much let him run the Marines division as he sees fit," Remy stated. "We've gotten off to an unusual start - the ship I mean. Quite candidly, this conference is probably the one assignment that is actually most closely aligned with what our mission is in the fleet. Because we've not really been used as we were originally expected, the Marines have somewhat taken a backseat at times, or have had to fold in and offer support to our security and intelligence forces - which I know they don't mind doing. But, I do expect that as we level out and begin to assist more in our designated sector, you'll see yourselves deployed a bit more."
"I fully intend to use us to the degree that our mission as Marines entail. Sitting idly is not what we signed on for, and I don't intent to keep us out of the fight. We're here to support the mission and to support the Astrea." Clay included as well.
Ragnar nodded quietly, the movement not wasting any excess effort. "I expect nothing less."
"And that will be the ongoing question. We don't really know who our fight is with, to be perfectly honest," Remy admitted. "There seems to be Romulan or maybe even Vulcan influence involved with T'varel's attack, but I don't believe it's the official Romulan or Vulcan governments behind them. But the Romulan Free State is wholly unorganized, and will likely remain that way for the forseeable future."
"I think it will be good for there to be a designation of Marine personnel to be briefed with our intelligence department as needed. Commander Keel is also working with the Department, I think the collaboration wil be helpful."
"Well, that will be a welcome change... Marines actually being first in line to receive intel for operations that we are to be on," Ragnar gave a hearty laugh as he spoke and after a moment made the effort to compose himself, his eyes glinting with mirth.
"Something we've been working on. Can't plan missions without reliable intel." Clay commented.
"I understand, Major." Remy punctuated her point before moving along.
"And on something unrelated, and this is more of a favor. I'm sure you are aware of the 20th century human that we have on board, Josef Forstinger," the Captain began. "I haven't heard yet if he'll be ordered back to Earth, but he's indicated some concerns about life being too easy for him there, yet he's feeling idle and out of place here."
"He's formal military, rough around the edges. Understandably still suffering from PTSD. I'm not looking to to get him to any kind of combat training or anything, but I was wondering if the Marines are involved in any kind of generic PT, workouts, that he could maybe join, meet some people his own age?"
Ragnar's face became pensive for a time while he thought through it. "I had actually been about to mention the matter of PT. With the Major's permission, as well as yours, Ma'am; I would like to implement a new PT and training rota for the marines. It is one I have worked with to great success in former posts... courtesy of my first posts Master Sergeant. I can get better details submitted formally but it would change PT and training to be more organized and would implement some additional weapons and combatives training for all Marines on board... along with ensuring that we are all exceeding standards when we have to do our quals every six months." He paused, leaning forward slightly. "As for Mr. Forstinger, if he can keep up I have no issues with him taking part."
"Major?" Remy turned to the large Caitian.
"I'll start integrating him into our detachment. I'm sure that some of his knowledge will come in handy and I will enjoy picking his brain on old tactics to spice things up against anyone who would try to fight us." Clay smiled just a bit as he followed the Captain's lead and stood to walk toward the door.
"I think that might be good for him - with caution," Remy advised. "I trust you to glean what you can from their tactics, but he doesn't exactly come from a time where soldiers were treated with any kind of ethical or moral code of honor," Remy warned. "While he processes this -- And I'm sure there is some PTSD at play, reliving those memories could be a risk for him, he won't be ready to fully integrate until we're sure it's safe."
The captain took a deep breath. "But, he didn't seem particularly excited about the classes I assigned him to catch him up on interstellar affairs. So, I'm sure time with you will give him something to at least look forward to."
"As for your questions on PT, Sergeant. I have no objections to departments running their sections as they see fit. The Marines, certainly do have more physical demands on them than much of Starfleet," the Captain added giving the Sergeant a firm nod.
"I appreciate you both."
Captain Remira Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
Major Clay McEntyre III
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
Gunnery Sergeant Ragnar Grymblöd
Marine
USS Astrea
(NPC of Alexandra Blackstone)
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