Roderik Kos

School was difficult for the boy, who would rather explore the hills, creeks, meadows and ruins around his hometown than pay attention in his studies. This did not mark him as an unintelligent person, but as an uninterested. His school career would therefore not continue into higher education, instead following the route of his mother into the Marine Corps. His mother would later reason it would be to see exotic places, and meet new people.

S’Lara’s boot camp was considered the heaviest of the four Marine Corps Recruit Depots in the Federation. The scorching heat, higher gravity, and thinner atmosphere forced these cadets to work harder than many others. For Rodi this was perfectly fine. He had always excelled in physical activities, and the muscles came easily to him.

What came less easy were the decisions of the drill sergeants. There were exercises in which the recruit was expected to act a certain way, according to the drill sergeants. The expected actions were less efficient than the way Rodi tried doing them. As a result of not complying with instructions, Rodi spent the first weeks on many punishment details. His acts were not serious enough that they warranted dismissal, due to the goal still being achieved as expected. Rodi soon learned to do as the drill sergeant instructed, when the drill sergeant was supervising.

After Basic training graduation came Rifleman School. As opposed Basic, Rodi excelled at the more specific and dedicated training. During a life-fire exercise, Private Gonzales was injured, with a shot to the chest. It was Rodi’s quick action, and the medical training he had received from his mother during his childhood that allowed Gonzales to survive and receive professional medical attention. The quick thinking of Rodi did not go unnoticed by his NCO, who recommended Rodi for Corpsman Training, as it fit within his qualifications and trials.

The life in San Francisco was a far cry from what Rodi had become accustomed to in the last year with the Marines. While there was still military discpline, there was more freedom than he had been given. It took less than a week to become accustomed to having more the expanded flexilibility.

The training itself came rather naturally to him. A childhood filled with looking at his mother in medical situations allowed him to feel rather natural in his actions. The classroom work was still challenging to Rodi, but he fared better than he had during his high school life. He still did not enjoy the sitting still component of it, but he took that for granted. It was during this time Rodi met his ex-partner, Jameson O’Sullivan, then still a young second lieutenant in the Marine Corps attached to Starfleet Academy.

Their romance was swift. Rodi first approached Jameson in a small bar named the DogPound. The young lieutenant was having a beer as Rodi approached him. He saddled up to the bar and claimed the stool empty next to Jameson. Jameson explained the seat was taken by a friend, Rodi replied that he was far more interesting than the friend that had vacated the place.

It turned out there was no friend and the two men quietly enjoyed each other’s company, sharing beer, tales of back home, and a dislike of each other’s respective British Isle. This lead to a drunken arm wrestle, and a bet that the loser would have to kiss the winner. Rodi happily lost to the officer as a chance to kiss him. A kiss far more intimate than Jameson had expected, but that did not go unappreciated.

The romance flared for the six months Rodi was in San Francisco. The couple promised each other to stay in touch, to write, and if possible to spend more time together. This was during the Dominion War, and Jameson was assigned to the USS Exeter, a ship that suffered massive casualties during the conflict, including Marine First Lieutenant O’Sullivan.

The loss of a lover, his first real love he would later admit to himself, hurt Rodi in ways he has yet to find words for. It lead him to be more reserved in his speaking to strangers and friends alike.

His own posting to the Dakota took him to the Breen border during the war. The ship he served on was a marine transport ship, a modified Nebula-Class. It was well-armed and meant to deposit boots on grounds and deliver orbital support.

The first conflict Rodi saw was on Decos Prime. There the Breen had captured a large Duranium Mining Operation, vital for hull production. The Dakota was part of the attack group deployed to recapture the mine.

His training hadn’t prepared him for the effects of Breen Pulse Guns on human tissue. It was designed to kill, but if a victim was shot in an extremity necrotic tissue would form and spread across it. This regularly lead to having to amputate limbs that, if fired by a Cardassian disruptor, or even Jem’Hadar plasma weapon would have been able to be repaired. The Decos conflict turned into a protracted ground war, with the mine’s significant anti-ship weaponry being used to keep starships and bombers away.

A year on he surface of Decos Prime finally concluded the recapture. It were the experiences on base that showed him his true calling. The forward teams needed medics, more so than the doctors on base. He applied for a transfer to an assault team the week after they were back on board.

The Dakota’s next deployment was to the group tasked with recapturing Starbase 204, on the Breen border. In contrast to the Decos Prime engagement this was rather quick. It took four days of constant battle to secure the entire base. It was Rodi’s first experience on the front line, with a phaserrifle in his hands that he actually used. It was also the first time he was forced to take a life.

His team engaged a Breen strongpoint on Deck 9, near the main powerplant. His team lead the charge, with Rodi as the rear guard while they were moving. As they moved towards the strongpoint a small group of Breen soldiers had manouvred behind the marines. It was Rodi’s phaser that killed the first enemy, and allerted the team of the arrival of combatents. The battle itself was brief, twelve marines against four Breen ended very favourable on Starfleet’s side.

Even after the Dominion War, the Dakota’s marines were kept busy. Their posting was moved towards the Romulan Demilitarized Zone. The Dakota’s Marine Battalion was given specialized Urban Combat Training at Terra Nova Marine Base. This was to ensure the ship’s marines would be able to fight better on Maquis-held planets.

The post-war activities of the Dakota, and as such of Rodi, were focused mostly on Setlik III, the site of the massacre. New settlers had come to the planet between the two wars, and with the anti-Cardassian sentiment on the rise had become a safe haven for many Maquis terrorists. The Dakota and was thus used to ensure peace and stability was held on Setlik, and the hunt for the terrorists.

During his time on Setlik, Rodi’s squad came across a supposed Maquis shelter in the Anuris mountain range on the southern continent. A tarp-covered Maquis Raider was spotted, as well as close to a dozen terrorists.

The squad engaged the terrorists from a high-ground position, feeling confident their ambush would give them the upper hand in, what seemed, an equal numbers fight. What the marines hadn’t noticed was a group of five terrorists that had circled around and took the marines in the rear. Four marines, including Rodi’s battle buddy Lance Corporal were killed in the first seconds.

It was Rodi again who was able to flip over from his stomach to his back to stop the terrorists from killing more. He reacted swiftly, neutralizing two of the terrorists and forcing the others to retreat behind cover. A grenade thrown by another marine ended the terrorist ambush, and concentrated fire forced the terrorists near the Raider to surrender themselves.

Further engagements became scarce as marine patrols further found whatever Maquis were planet-side, as well as ship-boarding from the Dakota’s boarded marines checked and arrested more smuggling and terrorist activities.

To further advance his skills, Rodi chose to go through with his medical training. During lighter duty on board the Dakota, the ship now assigned to a border checkpoint, he was able to specialize deeper into Trauma Care.
His time-in-grade, combined with specialization promoted im to a Corporal. This promotion coincided with a transfer of his Company to the Starfleet vessel USS Frontier.

On the Frontier Rodi was further given command of a Front Line Squad, attached to larger operations. The squad was meant to set up medical points near active engagements, moving with the attacks. Mostly this meant they were building small medical stations at outposts during anti-terrorist operations near the Cardadssian border to further stamp out Maquis activity.

This posting didn’t satisfy Rodi, who for all the danger, had enjoyed the combat-focused role he had with the Dakota’s squad. He looked for further advancement. He discussed his dissatisfaction with his Platoon Sergeant. The older sergeant, a former Force Recon marine who had since transferred out of Special Operations heard the complaints and had a knowing smile. He knew some people loved the fight. He also knew that Force Recon always needed medical staff, since they were hardest to attract to more dangerous postings. With this knowledge the Sergeant gave the advice that changed Rodi’s career forever.

Six months later Rodi was transferred off the Frontier, and was on a runabout back to Earth to undergo the Marine Corps’ most demanding training, 20 months of Force Recon School.

His time on Earth, and the Force Recon School was surprisingly centering for Rodi. While the school dragged him down, emptied him out, broke him down, and built him back up differently, it was the rigour, clarity of expectation, and his own sheer stubbornness that allowed him to find peace in the activity.

Rodi’s placement in the Force Recon was aboard the USS Triumphant, an Ares-class vessel ran by the Marine Corps. With the Ares and Prometheus class’ being the fastest in the Federation, their usage was to deploy one of its four Special Operations teams near a certain location, where many of its more unidentified vessels would be used to traverse into specific areas to engage.

Within Squad Four, Rodi was the medical officer. This meant he was often one of latter marines through the door. But he also functioned as the squad’s Designated Marksman. The inner peace he had achieved during the Force Recon School allowed him to find the calm he needed during operations.

One operation deployed Squad Four to Mariko, a Gorn-controlled planet. There a Starfleet Intelligence drone had crashed without transmitting a data-dump. This meant the Drone would be recoverable by the Gorn, and would also give them valuable information on how to detect future drones.

Squad Four deployed to Mariko in a secured and renamed Suliban freighter, equipped with hidden weaponry and an upgraded shield. Rodi’s on-board duties included weapon and sensor operation.

The trip to Mariko from the Triumphant went relatively easy. They had travel papers to cross through Federation space, and nothing required a search of the ship. The Gorn’s trade agreement with the Suliban permitted them entry, the only patrol vessel stopping them only demanded visual communication, which was run through the holo-masking system.

On Mariko the marine squad quickly discovered the drone and moved to capture it when a Gorn team arrived at the same time. Using the communication jammer the team carried, the fight was swiftly ended. The four Gorn soldiers, presumably conscripts saw Federation staff and assumed an easy battle.

Their large repeater rifles chewed through the cover Squad Four was using and took Sergeant Giles, the team leader, in the chest. The Gorn, hidden behind rocks and firing through a large crevice were well-hidden from enemy fire. Except for the marksman phaser Rodi was carrying. Using its scope he found the moments the Gorn were re-aiming their weapons, and each was given a quick burst of Nadion particles through the head.

With Giles secured by Rodi, the Drone recovered, and the marines back on their freighter, the mission was classed a total success and never spoken about again.

The mission that brought Rodi to Memory Theta’s attention was his deployment to Xepolite, in the Cardassian Demilitarized Zone. A Cardassian functionary had found, and taken the Orb of Regret.

The quiet assault on the compound went swiftly, it being lightly protected. When the Squad entered the office the casing of the Orb flew open and gave the Squad its experience.

Rodi was returned to the day he finished his Corpsman training. He was hugging Jameson again, kissing him and wishing him farewell. A voice spoke to him and explained that this was the moment of greatest regret to him, and if he wished to leave he had to release this regret.

When he left the Orb’s Experience he was the first. Closing the Orb allowed his Squad to exit the trance they were in. Even Sergeant Giles had been so severely affected by it Rodi had to take lead of the Squad. He lead the Marines out of the compound and back home.