Legione della Marina [all invited]

[Potenza]

The three main lieutenants were busy barking orders at the recruits, telling them to organize, line up, get in their assigned positions, and then leading them through the process of acquiring their uniforms and learning of their barrack assignments. The barracks themselves were hardly five star quality, given the run down nature of the place, and if one thing could be said that was good about it all, it was that the roaches had died in the winter. At the very least, the uniforms were of good make and model. The company with whom the navy worked to make uniforms often saw little business, given how ignored the navy was, but now they were cranking out several uniforms at a time, and believed they had acquired enough funds to get them through most of the year.

Accorso was marching alongside his men, leading them towards the area of the barracks where they would change into the uniforms and prepare their bedding. As he marched he called aloud in a cheery voice:

"Avanti marsc! Sinistra! Destra! Sinistra! Destra!"

He suddenly came along one of his men marching, a fairly young looking man it seemed that some might say looked as if he was "born yesterday." The man seemed nervous, unsure, perhaps even a little scared.

"What's the matter Recruit..." The lieutenant stuttered a moment, then glanced down at the name patch on the uniform the man was carrying. "...Redmond? Scared? Don't be scared! See those rolling hills and the vineyards in the distance? This is paradise!" Accorso slapped him an on the back and quickened his pace to get to the front of the line, "Sinistra! Destra! Sinistra! Destra!..."

Lieutenant Baggio was likewise leading his men towards their destination, although he found difficulty in some who did not appear to grasp the Tiburan language enough. Baggio was especially trying to assist a recruit that looked older than he was. The man bore a distinct look (perhaps from Karlovia), and seemed unsure as his lieutenant attempted to get him to understand Tiburan commands. It was then...

"The fuck is going on here?"

The line of recruits came to an abrupt halt. Baggio turned around, visibly turning red with flustered emotions, and snapped into a salute.

"Lieutenant, I asked what the fuck was going on here!" It was Monti. He had appeared again. That single eye stared at Baggio with such fiery anger that one might have imagined a ball of flame was about to burst forth from it.

"I was attempting to assist the recruits in Tiburan commands, sir," Baggio replied, keeping in his salute, his voice betraying his nervousness.

Monti brushed aside Baggio and went to the Karlovian man. He eyed him up and down with that lone pupil and then asked him in English, "Do you not know the Tiburan for 'left' and 'right'?"

The recruit answered in the negative. Monti turned towards the rest of the unit and shouted, again in English:

"How many here do not know the Tiburan words for 'left' and 'right'?"

Half the unit raised their hands.

"Mother of fu..." muttered Monti. He glared angrily at the Karlovian recruit again, then suddenly...

BAM! A hard slap on the chest. "AVANTI!"

BAM! A hard slap on the back. "RETRO!"

STOMP! His foot went down on the recruit's left foot. "SINISTRA!"

Just as the captain was about to stomp on the recruit's right foot, the Karlovian instinctively raised it up.

"Good! Now you're learning," Monti said, smirking at the recruit. He turned to Baggio and said, "Keep them in shape. I can't play nanny for you every time." As the captain marched away away, Baggio's men could tell the poor lieutenant had been greatly embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Chaplain Abandonato had disappeared a moment after Monti's speech, but he was now seen again, this time with his priestly cloak over his uniform and carrying his incense burner, attached to strings and bells. He walked along the line of recruits as they walked and shook the burner, and each time he did a soft ring was heard, followed by a puff of sweet smelling smoke towards the new Legionnaires. He stopped at one recruit, who happened to be Malkhaz, and smiled a little, bowing and shaking the incense a few more times before continuing on.

Later that evening saw D'Amore sitting at his desk in his office, writing on a sheet of paper. He heard a knock on the door and said aloud: "Enter." He looked up and saw Ksenia enter and snap into a salute:

"Sergente Kaminska reporting as ordered, sir!"

"Oh good, welcome," D'Amore said, quietly happy that she already knew the protocol for entering a superior's office, "please, at ease." He placed the pencil down and folded his fingers together before continuing:

"Tomorrow we're going to be running rifle tests on the shooting range. Before the men go out, I'm going to have the women go out themselves early in the morning and try their hand at it. I want you to go through and eliminate those who show either no skill or poor skill. If they don't know how to handle a rifle, disqualify them. If they can't hit the broad side of a barn, disqualify them. Put aside the ones who show exceptional skill at shooting and put them aside, then come get me."

D'Amore stood up and walked across the room, where Ksenia now saw that a bolt action rifle was laying against the wall. The lieutenant picked it up and then expertly snapped the bolt back, two clicks ringing in the room once and then again as he tested it. He then held it out to Ksenia: "Carcano Model 91/38. Get acquainted with it. Oh, and by the way..." D'Amore pulled open a desk drawer and took out what appeared to be a military patch. It was the sergente rank.

"You'll need this on your uniform, I believe?"

 

[Potenza]

As night came, and the recruits went to their barracks to rest, the officers likewise went to their "places of residence" for their own rest. While Monti and Abandonato had their private quarters, the four lieutenants shared a living space that had formerly been for the civilian staff, when the base was functioning. Unlike the recruits, who had to fight and quarrel over who got the top or bottom bunks, the lieutenants had their own private, single beds, and there was plenty of room for everyone's comfort. Baggio took a bed at the far end, where a windowsill that rested on the inside of the wall. There, on the flat surface between wall and window, he placed a photograph of his father. Di Pasqua, seated on his book and reading The Wise Thief, took notice that Baggio seemed to be laying on his own bed, staring at his father's photograph with a look of hurt and internal pain. It appeared to Di Pasqua that Baggio still took the reprimand from Monti earlier that day to heart.

D'Amore kept to himself when he came in - the last lieutenant to do so - putting his navy-issued duffle bag on the floor, taking out a pair of pajamas and beginning to undress.

"Saw you getting cozy with one of your girls, D'Amore," Accorso said, walking over and leaning against the wall as he grinned at D'Amore, who refused to meet eye contact, "some of them aren't too bad. We might have to keep an eye on you."

"I will not dishonor the uniform," D'Amore replied.

Accorso laughed, "Hey, can't dishonor the uniform when you're out of it, right?"

D'Amore finished dressing, sliding his duffle bag under the bed. As he sat on the bed, taking out a newspaper, he suddenly turned his eyes towards Accorso and, pointing a finger, said:

"Accorso...if even see you looking at one of my female recruits the wrong way...I'll kill you."

Accorso's expression fell. D'Amore snapped open the newspaper and began to read to himself. Di Pasqua couldn't help but smile as he saw Accorso put his hands in his pockets and move over to his own bed. For the lieutenant's part, it was rather astounding: D'Amore hadn't used a four-letter word, and he hadn't raised his voice...and yet, by the look in his eye, he had frightened Accorso far more than Monti had.

***

OOC: If people want to write responses to my last post, that's perfectly fine. Just figured I'd post in here to show this thread SHALL NOT DIE!!!